Other items in today’s column include:
*Jewish organizational news
*Lighter side
SAN DIEGO – Jews here and around the world are kneading and baking challah dough today (Thursday) in preparation for the celebration of worldwide Shabbat.
Here’s a list of needed ingredients, which should be used in preparing the dough before 6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
1 Tbsp Dry Yeast
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs
4-41/2 cups Flour
1 Egg Yolk beaten for glazing
A video is viewable via this link on how to make a challah .
At 6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, there will be an internet demonstration of how to braid challah, via this link.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., there will be a Havdalah celebration, with the link still to come.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 and continuing through Nov. 8, there will be via Internet a presentation of Tapestry, described as a community celebration of Jewish learning.
One may register via this website for the Tapestry program, which includes:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
7:30 P.M. ……………………………Keynote Speaker Presentation: David Meltzer
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8
9:30 A.M. ……………………………Tapestry 2020 Sessions Welcome
10:00—10:50 A.M. …………Session #1 Select one class to attend
11:00—11:50 A.M. …………Session #2 Select one class to attend
12:00—12:50 P.M. …………Session #3 Select one class to attend
Price: $18.
All classes will be filled on a first-come basis. Tapestry staff reserves the right to close or cancel a class depending on attendance. After registering you will be sent a link from Sched.com, our Tapestry 2020 scheduling platform, where you will choose your sessions schedule. Please allow up to 24 hours after registering for the link to appear in your inbox. For more information, contact Lauren Luedtke.
10:00-10:50 A.M. SESSION #1 SELECT ONE CLASS TO ATTEND
Acting and Prayer | Todd Salovey
When an actor performs Shakespeare, he has to take ancient unfamiliar words and speak them with passion and meaning. He has to find focus, purpose, and urgency in words and thoughts written by someone else. And if his show is a hit, he has to repeat them daily for months and keep them fresh and alive. Doesn’t this sound a lot like the challenges of Jewish prayer? Award-winning theatre director and UCSD instructor Todd Salovey, who has taught acting and directing for more than thirty years leads an interactive workshop in which acting techniques are the basis for more soulful, meaningful, and purposeful prayer.
Divine Limitation and Human Responsibility | Dr. Raymond Fink
How do we respond to events that question our identity as God’s partner? When the world appears as unjust where do we find justice? What in our tradition provides comfort with our lived reality?
Drumming Up Joy During Covid | Galit Gigi Shezifi
In this class, we will drum together to help you increase your well-being by boosting your immune system, body, mind, and spirit. Learn to place your joyous intention into rhythm, be inspired by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s famous saying (“It is a great mitzvah to live in the state of happiness”), and explore guided imagery with drumming. No music experience is necessary – beginners welcome!
Instruments of the Bible, Precursors of the Symphony Orchestra | Eileen Wingard
In this session, we will read biblical passages about musical instruments, e.g. from Exodus, from the Psalms, illustrate the instruments, and discuss their relationship to modern-day instruments of the symphony orchestra.
Social Justice and the Jews | Rabbi Philip Graubart
In this session, we’ll examine the role of Judaism and Jews in America’s burgeoning social justice movements, including Black Lives Matter, The Women’s March, The Resistance, and others. We’ll study texts from the Jewish tradition which shed light on the sometimes complicated relationship between Judaism, Jews, and movements for social change. We’ll also discuss which key Jewish values should inform our collective social conscience.
Was Shakespeare’s Shylock Really an Italian Jew? | Katherine Aron-Beller
Who was Shakespeare’s Shylock? What image of a Jew is in the mind of this ingenious playwright and why particularly did he write the play in 1596? What did Shakespeare really know about Jews in Venice in the 16th century? These questions will form the basis of our exploration.
Where do we go from here? A vision for the Jewish World in the Covid-19 era | Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein
In 2020, the world has been tilted off its axis. The coronavirus pandemic has changed our world in the most dramatic way, leaving no aspect of our lives untouched. We have seen everything we know and trust turned on its head. As human beings, we crave certainty, predictability, familiarity. When all of our expectations are overturned – when everything becomes so uncertain, so unpredictable, so unfamiliar – it forces us to relook at life and everything we thought we knew. We ask ourselves: can we really be certain about anything? And that, in turn, leads to deeper, more searching questions: what is the purpose of life? What do we want from life? Why are we even here?” At the same time, we have been through a kind of universal lifestyle experiment which has shown us that a different way of living and being is possible. That there are deep joys in life we may have been overlooking. That there are ways that we as individuals and as a society can do better, can be better. And there’s something else we’re desperately seeking at this time – hope. We have come through a time of great darkness, and what we’re craving right now, perhaps more than anything, is a belief in a better tomorrow, a future that looks bright and not foreboding, and in which we rediscover the joys of living. Is there something that can help us confront, understand, and find answers to our existential questions? Is there something that can help us live better, incorporating all that we’ve learned and all the positive experiences we’ve had over this difficult time? Is there something that can help us feel more hopeful about the future?
11:00-11:50 A.M. SESSION #2 SELECT ONE CLASS TO ATTEND
Every Poem Paints a Different Picture: A New Look at Israel | Haim Aronovitz
Poetry, even in translation, allows us to peek behind the covers of any society. Contemporary Israeli verse will serve as our tool to examine the Israel that is more than “three score and ten”, but is often idealistically portrayed as a newborn state.
Jerusalem: Feeling Groovy | Cantor Hanan Leberman
Join me as we visit the spiritual world of Chassidic Niggunim. The power of a good niggun (melody) can help our spirits transcend to levels that words cannot describe. A place so high that only a simple melody can get us there and cradle us while we experience the heights of heaven and the depths of our souls.
Reading to Understand Racism | Nancy Kraus
Tikkun Olam, repair the world. There is a great need for this now as our country begins to see how racism has lived from the founding of our country until this very moment. This session will help you choose which resources might be right for you to help educate yourself on the history of racism in our country as well as teach you to engage in self-examination. Brief summaries of several books will help you make choices which are best for your own reading.
Socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing Israel today & practical solutions for a prosperous future | Monica Edelman
Israel is a new nation that has quickly become a beacon of innovation among nations. While Israel is hailed as the “Start-Up Nation” (and rightly so), the Jewish State indeed faces unique and global challenges that may prove to be serious threats if not addressed urgently and strategically. This session will give an overview of pervasive socio-economic and environmental issues facing Israel today and will explore innovative and holistic solutions to ensure a prosperous future for the Jewish State. Please note that this session will not cover religious, political or military-related topics.
What Can We Learn from this Turbulent Time? | Rabbi Ilana Grinblat
In 2020 we have faced multiple struggles — including the spread of Coronavirus, wildfires, racism, anti-Semitism, and other kinds of hatred. How do we move forward from here? What can keep us afloat? In this session, Rabbi Ilana will reflect back on the spiritual lessons from this past year and share texts and insights we can bring with us to move forward with strength in the year ahead.
What Is a Miracle, and What Is Not? | Rabbi Morey Schwartz, EdD
Miracles are everywhere…or they are nowhere. It depends on who you ask. Have you ever been asked if you believe in miracles? This session will delve deep into the question of miracles, exploring the perspectives of classic and modern thinkers in a quest to revisit a timeless, universal question through a distinctly Jewish lens.
Book Groups with Purpose: The Daughters of Abraham | Rona Fischman
This workshop will provide access to book lists and a discussion of how to develop a local Daughters of Abraham book group. Our goal is to grow meaningful understanding and relationships. Our books demonstrate how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are lived in America. Books provide a jumping-off point that cultivates a safe space to examine how morality and life decisions are influenced by religious belief.
12:00-12:50 P.M. SESSION #3 SELECT ONE CLASS TO ATTEND
Art of Jewish interest in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg | Evgenia Kempinski
We will visit one of the world’s greatest museums – The Hermitage. The combination of beautiful historical palace interiors and incredible art collection makes this museum unique. We will find the paintings of Jewish significance among the masterpieces of Italian and Dutch art. We will walk along the impressive halls of the museum and have a close and attentive look at the unique artworks.
Bias and Oppression: What’s the Difference? | Kelsey Greenberg Young
Please join us for a discussion with Kelsey Greenberg Young on bias and systemic oppression. Kelsey will share her perspective as a white, Jewish, woman working every day to fight hate and build hope via her work with ADL San Diego.
Jews of Color and Anti-Semitism | Soraya Nadia McDonald
This session will explore perspectives on navigating anti-Semitism and anti-Black racism.
Kabbalah and the Tree of Life | Gahl Eden Sasson
According to Kabbalah, God used the ten spheres of the Tree of Life as a blueprint to create the universe. By following this same blueprint you too can create miracles in your own life. This in-depth workshop will acquaint you with this ancient spiritual technology and teach you how to apply it in your everyday life. Connect to the ten archetypes of the Tree of Life and foster spiritual, emotional, and material growth using comparative mysticism, guided meditations, and astrology. Now it is your turn to create miracles.
Omnicide as Theodicy and Theology | Shai Cherry
Jews have never been biblical literalists, so the Torah is not a theological problem because the Rabbis bracketed theology. A uniform practice is what kept us a people for 1800 years of exile. But in the wake of Darwinism and the Shoah, is there anything left to believe in? Our sages and mystics, during those centuries of exile, created a rich literature that can serve as resources to articulating a God in whom Jews can believe.
Working Together to Prevent Another Pandemic | Jeffrey Spitz Cohan
We’ll look at the root causes of the Covid-19 pandemic and other major epidemics in recent decades. Then we’ll look at what we can do individually and collectively to move toward a Pandemic-Free World — and how the solution aligns with Jewish values.
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Jewish organizational news
*Arianna Huffington will headline a business leadership summit hosted by Birthright Israel. The organization, which has been offering free Israel trips to young North American Jews for yearse, also has announced that the free trips are now available to young Jews elsewhere in the diaspora. More information about the summit and Birthright is available via this link.
* Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) has appointed Amarelle Green as executive director of FIDF’s San Francisco Bay Area Region. Green, a veteran of the IDF, previously had served as Silicon Valley director for the American Friends of Tel Aviv University.
“The Lawfare Project has been providing legal aid to Lihi Aharon, who was assaulted on a New York City subway after she was heard speaking Hebrew to another to passenger. Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the Lawfare Project, now has joined with David Abrams, executive director of Zionist Advocacy Center to file a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights on Lihi’s behalf.
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Lighter Side
*Local ventriloquist Joe Gandelman, sensing we all need relief from the tension of the elections, has created a video entitled “Joe Meets the Bagel Monster.” It may be accessed via this link.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com