Page 2 - Gershon Albert News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Majesty and humility. These two words have been swirling through my mind. After consulting with health experts who confirmed my role as a community educator, I received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on March 10. The experience was breathtaking. Standing in an incredibly-well organized series of lines, having my appointment registered through a QR code, and watching the dozens of volunteers and healthcare workers vaccinate hundreds of humans within the span of one hour that I was there; it was the first time in my life that I felt as though I was t...

We in the temperate Bay Area do not experience the kind of deep winter freeze typically found back east or, now, even in Texas. But after a year of pandemic lockdown, separated from friends and family, cooped up with the kids, the cats and Zoom, we can state with confidence that a thaw is coming. Coronavirus cases nationwide are plummeting. Vaccination rates are rising. Congress is soon to pass a giant rescue package that should significantly bolster the economy. No, we’re not at the end of the pandemic tsuris, but we can see it from here. How perfect, then, that Purim has rolled around to ...

Among Purim’s traditions, perhaps the most well known is the Purim spiel, a theatrical retelling of the Book of Esther that can be pointed, satirical, parodic or just downright silly, depending on the community and the year. Often, Purim spiels use the story of Esther and Haman as a way of commenting on or joking about current events and the state of the world. So, almost one year into the pandemic and only a month and a half since a violent insurrection at the Capitol, what are we ready to laugh about? For performer and educator Kiki Lipsett, who runs an annual politically charged spiel in...

Honors & Awards Sheri Greenawald Sheri Greenawald has been awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal in recognition of years of service. She made her debut with S.F. Opera in 1978 and went on to play a number of leading roles in the company. Since 2002, Greenawald, who is retiring this month, has been the S.F. Opera Center director and the S.F.-based Merola Opera program artistic director. “On Sunday, Nov. 11, 1978, a house debut was made by a young Marzelline in ‘Fidelio,’” Matthew Shilvock, the opera’s general director, said in a press release. “On that day a journey began that woul...