Other items in today’s column include:
*Rabbinic thoughts on the coronavirus
*Sense and Census
*Political bytes
*Recommended reading
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO — Our county battened down on Friday to wait out a coronavirus siege, with Jewish and general community institutions announcing closures as a precaution to prevent the virus from spreading. In addition to the developments reported on Thursday, there were these additional developments to report on Friday.
–San Diego Unified School District announced that schools will be closed from Monday, March 16, until Monday April 6 “unless conditions call for an extension.” In a joint statement with the superintendent of Los Angeles City Schools Austin Beutner, San Diego School Superintendent Cindy Marten said: ““California has now entered a critical new phase in the fight to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is evidence the virus is already present in the communities we serve, and our efforts now must be aimed at preventing its spread. We believe closing the state’s two largest school districts will make an important contribution to this effort.” The two districts serve a combined total of 750,000 students.
–San Diego Community Colleges closed its San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar College campuses as well as its San Diego Continuing Education program as of Monday, March 16, with the expectation that beginning Mondy, March 23, these programs can transition to online classes. “We have two obligations,” said Chancellor Constance Carroll. “Our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. We also must ensure the continuation of instruction and operations. This is a challenging time but if we keep these two priorities in mind, we will manage it well.”
–The County of San Diego has a website page providing up-to-date information on the impacts of the coronavirus here. Here is a link. KGTV/Channel 10 has been keeping a running list of other cancellations throughout the general community. Here is a link.
— Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School will close as of Monday, March 16, and will reassess in “ten-day blocks,” when to reopen, according to Rabbi Simcha Weiser, the headmaster. In the meantime, students will receive online educational materials from their teachers. Weiser said it is his hope that the pandemic will have ended by March 30th so that students might return to Soille for in-person lessons in the week before Passover, which begins the evening of Wednesday, April 8. However, he said, that determination will be guided by the recommendation of county health officials. A 4th grade trip to Sacramento also has been cancelled, while the 8th grade trip to Israel is expected to go forward. Weiser added in an inteview that he believes the students “will manage well” educationally, but said he worries how well they will cope emotionally. What is needed, he said, is for parents and other adults in their lives to deal with the pandemic calmly, and not with panic, so that the children are not traumatized. The Jewish people “have coped with national traumas throughout our history,” the rabbi said. “We need to show the children that there are clear-eyed Jewish leaders, bolstered by faith in God, who can lead our people through difficult situations. We need Churchills with yarmulkes on them.”
–Beth Jacob Congregation –– The Orthodox congregation has decided “after much local discussion, guidance from The Orthodox Union, and with extremely heavy hearts,” to suspend in-person prayers, “as a commitment to do what is in our power to slow the spread of COVID-19 for all and protect the health of our community members.” Rabbis Avram Bogopulsky and Yoni Danziger, along with congregational president Philip Silverman, wrote to congregants that “we do this as part of a collective commitment with schools and shuls locally and regionally throughout the country.” Their letter also recommended that congregants “daven at home at the same time as your normal minyan at shul.”
–Congregation Beth Israel began live streaming its 6:15 p.m. Erev Shabbat service, and has cancelled the oneg Shabbat that would follow. Saturday morning lay-led minyan services have been halted until further notice. Saturday morning Torah study will be conducted remotely via Zoom technology. Bnei mitzvahs will be rescheduled on a case by case basis. The congregation’s April 8 Passover seder has been cancelled. A letter signed by Rabbis Arlene Bernstein and Jeremy Gimbel, congregation president Kimberly Carnot, and executive director Lesley Mills said: “We hope to resume our regular scheduling in mid-April. Please know that we are monitoring the situation carefully and will keep you up to date with any changes. We also promise to explore creative ways to strengthen the bonds of community over the coming days and weeks.”
–Chabad of East County –“As of now, Shabbat services continue as usual. 10 am every Shabbat morning. Limited kiddush following the services,” Rabbi Rafi Andrusier advised. “Following San Diego Unified procedures, Hebrew School will not have classes until after Passover break and will resume April 20th. We are working to create an online option to learn and prepare for Passover. … As of now, we plan on having a Community Seder on April 8th. … We understand many may not feel comfortable at such a setting, therefore we are preparing a limited amount of Seder-to-go-Kits. It will contain your basic needs to have a seder at home, either by yourself, your family or few friends.”
–Hillel of San Diego — Michael Rabkin, the interim executive director, announced on Friday that the organization which serves students at SDSU, UC San Diego, Cal State San Marcos and USD “is going fully virtual starting Monday [March 16]. Our facilities will remain closed until it is clear that it’s safe to re-open them. None of Hillel’s staff, student leaders or participants have contracted the virus (that we know of) and we hope to keep it that way with these preventative measures. As each of the universities in San Diego halt all in-person classes, we anticipate that this transition is going to be extremely hard on students. We are committed to supporting them through the isolation, fear and trauma of this disruption in their lives. We must provide a new sense of structure that has been lost. Our team of professionals and student leaders will be in regular contact with all Jewish students via phone, text messaging, and social media. We will offer discussion groups and Jewish learning workshops using Zoom video-conference technology. We will do Instagram Live candle-lighting for Shabbat (starting tonight!) so students can have that special time together they crave every week. We will host virtual coffee dates with students to maintain valuable relationships of Jewish mentoring. We are even planning a series of thematic virtual Passover seders via Zoom! (We’ll have to see where we hide the Afikomen.) Our goal is to create a new sense of consistent connection so that students can find order in the chaos. The possibilities of how we achieve this are limited only by our imaginations, and the Hillel of San Diego team is deeply creative and excited by the opportunity to be innovative.”
—The Jewish Federation of San Diego County has “made the difficult decision to postpone or cancel all Federation meetings and events scheduled to take place through April 16,” The Federation’s CEO Michael Jeser reported.
— Temple Adat Shalom in Poway has postponed or cancelled 21 events between tomorrow and May 8th, including the Elliott Wulff concert, Men’s Club Gulls Night, a Senior Seder, a Casino Night, a congregational seder and other social activities activities. In other instances it has modified events to exclude the serving of food. Religious services are being video streamed so people can watch them at home. Those who attend services at the temple, have been asked to “please sit at least two seats from people outside the group you came with.”
–Temple Emanu-El notified congregants that Shabbat services will be conducted tonight and tomorrow as follows: “We are asking everyone to observe the rules of social distancing, to refrain from physical contact, and sit separated from each other. Our chairs will be extra spaced out and we will have full seating set up so that people can space apart from each other.” Rabbis Devorah Marcus and Benj Fried and congregational co-presidents Eric Rosenzweig and Jeff Schindler added in a joint advisory that no food will served at Torah study, although participants may bring their own breakfast should they desire, and there will be no receptions with food after the religious services. Instead, “We will wave enthusiastically at each other, smile with warmth and affection, and head home.” Torah school is cancelled through April 19, and Price Family Preschool, following San Diego Unified School District guidelines, will close at least through April 6.
–Camp Mountain Chai –– Leaders of this Jewish community operated camp report that “in partnership with several other California Jewish camps and the Foundation for Jewish Camp, we will be offering a Virtual Pop-Up Camp! Starting on Monday via Facebook Live, camps will be providing activities and programs such as arts & crafts, Israeli dance, music (featuring Jason Mesches), cooking, martial arts, science experiments, and more. Leaders have been asked to use only standard household products, so that campers can follow along and participate from anywhere. Additionally, to support families with young children who are quarantined or selecting to do less socializing through play dates or community classes, UJA-Federation of NY, PJ Library, the Foundation for Jewish Camp and The Jewish Education Project have aggregated a collection of high-quality Jewish activities and content that families can engage in together at home.”
–Youth Action Movement is suspending teen community events until April 1, reports Rabbi Zevi New. “At that point we will re-evaluate the situation and make further decisions on the resumption of YAM events. With G-d’s help, we will be continuing one on one meetings, small class discussions and humanitarian mitzvah programming.”
—Coastal Roots Farm at Leichtag Commons in Encinitas says that “to prioritize the safety and well-being of Farm guests and staff,” it has decided “to cancel all School and Group Visits, Volunteering, and Community Events through March 28.” Its pay-what-you-can Farm Stand will reopen Thursday, March 19, and “We will continue as usual to provide fresh, organic, nutrient-dense produce at no cost to Holocaust survivors, families at Vista Community Clinic and Camp Pendleton, and individuals at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Community Resource Center, and Mercy Housing,” the organization announced.
–San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has warned businesses that price gouging is illegal and will be prosecuted.
—The Old Globe Theatre has announced the cancellation of all performances at least through the end of March.
–The Museum of Photographic Arts will remain open. Deborah Klochko, executive director and chief curator, said “If you were planning a MOPA visit and are not feeling well or are part of a high-risk population, please reschedule. We’re happy to welcome you into our engaging exhibition spaces at a later date. We have restocked handwashing supplies available for employees and visitors and placed reminders for sanitation in handwashing stations. MOPA leadership encourages all staff to stay home if they feel unwell.”
–The San Diego Air & Space Museum has postponed its April 11 “Apollo 13: The Mission Control Story celebration” in response to guidelines limiting crowds to 250 or less. Meanwhile, the museum itself remains open during normal operating hours.
–The Maritime Museum will close on March 16, and will reopen when health authorities say it is safe to do so. Ray Ashley, the museum’s president and CEO, said: “This decision will have a severe impact on our organization and employees. As many of you know, Maritime Museum of San Diego is a tightly funded non-profit operation sustained and reliant by the combination of admission ticket, special events, on-the-water experience, educational program, tours, and donation revenues. Therefore, we will be reducing all non-essential expenses until we re-open or locate alternative revenue sources.”
—The San Diego Union-Tribune has urged its reporters and editors, to the extent possible, to tele-commute. They still can come into the office if they need to, but reporting from home is encouraged, according to one member of the UT staff.
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Rabbinic thoughts on coronavirus
In their weekly messages to their congregants, rabbis have been offering comfort and advice for these times of coronavirus pandemic. Some samples:
Rabbi Joshua Dorsch of Tifereth Israel Synagogue said: “As a Rabbi, I have always seen one of my main responsibilities as bringing people together, especially in challenging times. By embracing the policy of social distancing, we are encouraging exactly the opposite…Cancelling programming and gatherings was a painful decision, and goes against almost every instinct that I have as a Rabbi. Given the fluidity of the situation, I anticipate needing to consider further restrictions and making other difficult decisions in the weeks to come. For now, we are holding our services this Shabbat, Friday night, and Saturday morning, and will continue with our daily Minyan. Nevertheless, I want to encourage you to consider not coming. If you are vulnerable, if you are the least bit unhealthy, even if you just feel nervous, please don’t come. Our Shabbat services should be a place of peace and comfort, not anxiety.”
Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky of Beth Jacob Congregation said: “People are looking for direction, whether at home or in the outside world. Children need to hear a calm, soothing, comforting message that is clear and not ambiguous. Adults need to receive the most updated health information possible in a calm level-headed message that should reassure people that their lives are not in imminent danger. By taking the necessary precautions with a consistent level of concern, we can overcome much adversity. The level of anxiety shoots up during times of potential crisis. Good, firm, honest leadership is required to navigate the issues and allay the fears of the people. A balance between caution and hysteria needs to be established. There is no question in most Rabbinic minds that halacha dictates our religious obligations to follow the medical and expert authorities in any area, especially when it comes to Sakanas Nefashos (danger to life), even when it is only a safek, a doubt. Chaza”l teach us “Believe in the wisdom of the nations “חכמה .בגוים תאמין” Rabbis consult with officials during such times of need and potential danger.”
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Sense and Census
I just had the opportunity to fill out the 2020 U.S. Census questionnaire online — a rather simple affair with far fewer questions than there were in past decades. One question that got me to thinking was the one about race: It offered various choices: “White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Chinese; Filipino; Asian Indian; Vietnamese; Korean; Japanese; other Asian; Native Hawaiian; Samoan; Chamorro; other Pacific Islander; Some other race.” I checked “White” and then under “Some other race,” I wrote in “Jewish ethnicity.”
I am one who believes that Jews are not only a religion; we are a multi-racial, multi-national group of people, who share some common beliefs (while arguing about others) and some genetic markers. I believe having accurate census information would be helpful as our communities plan for our Jewish futures. How many children are there of school age? How great is our aging population? What proportion of the Jewish population is male, female, or non-binary?
Of course, there is political opposition to the idea of counting Jews — for many, the whole idea is reminiscent of the Holocaust, when the Nazis used census information to persecute, isolate, and murder Jews. My reponse is that unlike Nazi Germany, where the government actively fostered anti-Semitism, the U.S. government and the many state and local governments, as a matter of policy and program, are opposed to anti-Semitism, considering hatred of Jews to be diametrically opposed to the principles upon which the United States was founded.
So, I for one, believe the census should be modified next time around to permit people to voluntarily identify themselves as Jews. I’d welcome hearing your thoughts.
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Political bytes
*City Councilman Scott Sherman’s incredible shrinking lead over City Councilwoman Barbara Bry for the second spot in the mayor’s election is now down to 337, following another day of counting by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. Whoever comes out ahead when the final vote is tallied will oppose first-place finisher Assemblyman Todd Gloria in the Nov. 3 runoff election. There are still some 60,000 ballots to be counted, not all of them from City of San Diego voters. Other races going to a November runoff with Jewish candidates stayed stable with Sara Jacobs ahead of City Council President Georgette Gomez in the 53rd Congressional District; Sarah Davis trailing Chris Ward in the 78th Assembly District contest; Terra Lawson-Remer behind incumbent Kristin Gaspar in the contest for the 3rd District seat of the County Board of Supervisors; and Joe Leventhal trailing Marni Von Wilpert for the 5th District San Diego City Council seat.
Recommended reading
San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, in a column for the Mission Times Courier, tells how California’s Red Flag Laws can take guns out of the hands of people who threaten hate crimes.
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In memoriam
*Bernard D. Friedman, 93, died March 5 at Seacrest Village Goldberg Health Center in Encinitas. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he took over and ran his father’s engraved printing manufacturing company at a young age when his father died unexpectedly in a car crash. He relocated with his family to Atlanta in 1973 to be closer to extended family, where he was the owner of Murphy’s Office Supply. Most recently, in November of 2018, he moved to San Diego to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law and their family. He loved a good joke, spending time with his family, playing golf, driving his car even at age 93, and reading a good history book. He was predeceased by his beautiful “bride” of 62 years, Barbara, and his son, Howard. He is survived by his adoring family, daughter, Shari Friedman Schenk, son-in-law, Frederick Schenk, daughter-in-law, Jane Holly Friedman, grandchildren Benjamin and Ana, Michaela, Sydney, Arianna and Ryan, sister and brother-in-law Ann and Sam Galanti, and many adoring nieces and nephews. Graveside service were held at 1 PM, on Sunday, March 8th at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations to Seacrest Foundation in Bernie’s memory would be greatly appreciated.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com Obituaries in San Diego Jewish World are sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.