As six members of the DPS board filed into its monthly meeting Sept. 17, a palpable air of angst was in the air. The board was slated to address the awkward dynamic over allegations that one board member, Monica Hunter, had made a blatantly anti-Semitic remark about fellow board member Amy Klein Molk, who is Jewish.

Yom Kippur break-the-fast has ballooned into a significant event in the Jewish calendar. Though menus have become more extravagant, for many Ashkenazi Jews, the heart of the meal are the classics — bagels, smoked fish, blintzes and cake.

Rabbi Kalman Topp and his wife Jordana recently announced that they are making aliyah to Israel. For the past 17 years, Rabbi Topp has led Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills, Calif., one of the area’s largest and most influential Jewish communities. Now he is coming to Israel to establish a new community for new immigrants in Jerusalem.

For 32 years, Esther Melamed has been the secular studies principal at Beth Jacob High School. That’s a lot of students she has seen and guided. Melamed estimates that over the years she has taught 800 to 900 graduates; a perfect background to bolster conversations about the 250th anniversary of the US and the future of America.

Rabbi Susan Miller Rheins’ passport has a lot of stamps: Eastern Europe, Morocco and Israel, of course.One place draws particular fascination. One place keeps calling her name. Cuba.

Yom Kippur break-the-fast has ballooned into a significant event in the Jewish calendar. Though menus have become more extravagant, for many Ashkenazi Jews, the heart of the meal are the classics — bagels, smoked fish, blintzes and cake.