SAN DIEGO (SDJW) – Students from preschool through 8th grade at San Diego Hebrew Day School recited the Shema prayer at exactly 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, answering an appeal from the Aish Ha Torah (Fire of the Torah) organization in Jerusalem for Jews around the world to recite it simultaneously.
From Jerusalem through Europe to New York to California and farther west, the time for saying the prayer in unison was carefully calculated by time zone. Perhaps the best-known prayer in the Jewish liturgy, the shema, translated from Hebrew, says “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
Rabbi Shmuel Ertel, Director of Judaic Studies at the Orthodox school, said that reciting the prayer in unison all around the world was a demonstration “fostering unity among Jews worldwide and showing solidarity for the soldiers in Israel” and calling for the release of the hostages who have been in Hamas captivity since Oct. 7.
“This experience was deeply meaningful as it allowed students to connect with a tradition of national prayer and repentance reminiscent of the times of Esther and Mordechai,” Rabbi Ertel said. “Drawing lessons from a story that has endured for generations, this event served as a practical tool for spiritual connection. The World-Wide Shema Recitation touched the hearts of every student nurturing a personal connection to Hashem, to Israel, and to one another.”
The holiday of Purim will be celebrated Saturday evening, March 23, and Sunday, March 24. As told in the biblical Book of Esther, Jews in the ancient days of Persia, fasted and prayed to avert the decree of the vizier Haman, who had ordered all the Jews in the kingdom to be put to death. With the help of Queen Esther, who was a secret Jew, King Ahasuerus reversed Haman’s decree, ordering that the vizier be put to death instead.
In Jerusalem, Chaim Yitzchak Or, whose brother Avinatan is still a Hamas hostage, commented, “the unity in Queen Esther’s time resulted in a monumental victory over the hatred and antisemitism perpetrated by Haman and we hope for a similar result and the return of our hostages so that they can all be brought home now.”
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StandWithUs Southwest on Wednesday showed a 47-minute unedited video of the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas and other terrorists, aggregated from captured Hamas body cam footage as well as home security and CCTV footage taken in Israel that day.
“This difficult to watch but important video emphasized the brutality of the October 7th attack and reinforced the importance of protecting all marginalized and at-risk communities, especially the Jewish community from hate-based violence, which is sadly on the rise today,” commented Oz Laniado, StandWithUs regional director in San Diego.
“Today’s briefing served not only as a wake-up call to the realities of terrorism but also as a powerful reminder of our community’s strength and unity in the face of adversity,” Laniado said. “We are immensely grateful for the participation of each leader, which underscores our shared dedication to maintaining the security of San Diego.”
Over 100 elected officials and community leaders attended the presentation at the LOT theater in Point Loma. Jared Sclar, the event’s spokesman, said the crowd included five local mayors, members of the County Board of Supervisors, various City Councilmembers, and School Board Trustees from across the region along with leaders from the LGBTQ+, Chaldean, Hindu, Jewish, Black, and Latino communities, law enforcement officials and representatives of labor and business.
Attendees were required to refrain from recording the video footage, “ensuring the dignity and privacy of the victims were preserved,” Sclar said. “Participants locked their mobile phones in secure holders that prohibited them from being used during the video portion of the event.”
Prior to the showing of the video, a panel presentation on community security included San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit; County Assessor/ Recorder/ Clerk Jordan Marks; Israel’s Public Diplomacy Consul in Los Angeles Carmel Halevy, TV personality Stella Escobedo and businessman Dan Feder.
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The current and immediate past chairpersons of the JCC Association of North America are San Diego County residents David Wax and Gary Jacobs respectively. The association has announced a program, in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, to create programs for the observance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day), Yom HaZikaron (Remembrance Day for Israel’s soldiers and victims of terror) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day).
Amichai Chiki, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, commented: “Right now, it is critical that the Israeli-American relationship remains as strong as it has been through Israel’s 75 years. Israel is a complex and dynamic country, and to build meaningful connections with North American Jews, we need to share more about Israel’s culture, history, and people. As a movement with reach across the U.S. and Canada, JCC Association is the most effective partner to provide financial and educational resources, allowing each JCC to engage in ways that best suit the community.
North American JCC’s will receive grants to develop the programs which will demonstrate “their commitment to Israel and the Jewish people,” according to Doron Krakow, who is the JCC Association’s president and CEO.
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IN THE COMMUNITY
San Diego psychologist Bert Edelstein was in Washington D.C. to watch a ceremony Thursday in which the “Ghost Army” was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for the 1,100-man unit’s activities during World War II. Combatants, including Edelstein’s father, Philip, used inflatable tanks, sound effects, and other devices to fool the German military into thinking Americans were massing their troops where they weren’t. Read Edelstein’s 2021 account of the Ghost Army’s exploits and the campaign to have them recognized by clicking this link.
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OBITUARY NOTICE
Funeral services for Ted Goldberg will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, March 22, in the Mount Sinai section of El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego, according to Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad of La Costa. He has requested assistance in assuring that a minyan is present.
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SDJW staff compilation