SAN DIEGO – Chabad of East County shared the following Shavuot message: “Wishing you all a joyous and meaningful Shavuot! May this festival bring you peace, happiness, and spiritual growth. Shavuot is a time to celebrate the giving of the Torah, and we hope this special time fills your hearts and homes with love and wisdom.”
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Coastal Roots Farm shared a light summer squash soup recipe below:
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups roughly chopped summer squash
2 cups roughly chopped hakurei turnips
6 cups vegetable stock
1 white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper
1 bunch hearty greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc), washed and roughly chopped
1 bunch garlic chives, washed and roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano
¼ cup fresh basil, washed
Juice of half a lemon
Instructions:
Put a large pot over medium high heat and add olive oil. Once simmering, add onion and stir (onions should sizzle lightly once in the pot). Once the onion is translucent and fragrant (3-5 minutes), add zucchini, turnip, garlic, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Stir so the oil is coating everything evenly, and then stir every minute or so for the next 5 minutes. Veggies should start to brown and stick to the pan slightly. Once veggies are all soft and slightly browned, add in the stock, and turn the heat to high. Once the stock has reached a rolling boil, cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat to low to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
While the soup simmers, in a separate pot, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Additionally, prepare a large bowl with water and ice and set aside. Add a generous pinch of salt, and the roughly chopped greens and herbs to the pot of boiling water, and stir to submerge. Let blanch until wilted and then remove with tongs and place directly into the ice bath to stop cooking. Once all greens are blanched, use tongs to take them out of the cold water and add them to the soup pot. Turn the heat off and add one more pinch of salt as well as the juice of half a lemon. Using an immersion or stand-up blender, blend the soup until smooth. Top with any herbs, lemon, or a drizzle of olive oil and serve hot.
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House of Israel Balboa Park Lawn Program will be at 11 a.m., Sunday, June 16. San Diego State University campus leader, Ori Lerer will be the emcee for the program. Lerer is a Junior studying International Business and a prominent leader at Hillel. He has organized countless events on campus including the “Fighting Antisemitism Fighting With Love” event.
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Lawrence Family JCC “Jewish Short Play Festival” will premier at 7 p.m., Monday, June 17. This is the inaugural event and will feature a series of short plays varying between 5 and 15 minutes in length. This event will explore significant Jewish themes and the audience will then assist with selecting their favorite play of the night. Click here to get tickets.
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Youth Summer Music Camp (6th-12th grade) with Sharon Katz will be at 1 p.m., Monday, June 17 until Saturday, June 22 (no camp on Wednesday, June 19) at the San Diego Central Public Library. Katz is the founder of The Peace Train Project and Band and will direct this summer camp at the library. Katz is an internationally renowned musician and recording artist and worked in her home country of South Africa to bring divided communities together. She represents the ideals of Nelson Mandela who endorsed her work with The Peace Train in South Africa.
At 8 p.m., Saturday, June 22, Katz will be performing at the Cape Fire Grill/Bunny Chow restaurant in North Park. Disclaimer: No rabbits are served. “Bunny Chow” is a South African curry meal served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread. Click here to rsvp.
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Israeli American Council (IAC) Young Professional Event – Summer Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 25 at Mission Bay. Young professionals of San Diego are invited for an evening around the bonfire where you will meet a delegation from Sha’ar Hanagev, Israel. Click here to rsvp.
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ADL of San Diego announced there is only two weeks left to apply for the Glass Leadership Institute (GLI). Applications for the GLI Class of 2025 are open through Friday, June 21. The GLI is a ten-month program that serves as a comprehensive introduction to ADL to fight antisemitism and hate. Click here to apply for the 2025 cohort.
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Former San Diegan now living in Rome, Jenn Lindsay reports that her documentary Minding Shadows is near completion. The film shares Oliver’s (a survivor of the Rwandan genocide) amazing story about how he transformed from a bitter person bent on revenge into a world-class teacher about mindfulness, forgiveness, and self-acceptance. Click here to view a preview.
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Hillel International encourages new graduates to join the Jewish Career Network to find or share jobs, get essential career advice and make real connections. The Jewish Career Network is made up of more than 10,000 Jewish grads and is open to all ages. Click here to join the network in your area.
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The San Diego Padres take on the Oakland Athletics in a 1:10 p.m. game at Petco Park and my husband and twins will be there. A perk of donating blood last week was complimentary tickets to the game today so I figured it would be an early Father’s Day celebration for him to take the afternoon off and go with the kids. They are excited wondering what treat they are going to get. I bet they come home with the plastic mini-Padres hats that used to be filled with ice cream!
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
San Diego Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera (District 9) joined a unanimous City Council in formally acknowledging that San Diego City sits on native Kumeyaay land. The acknowledgement honors the resilience of the Kumeyaay people despite their enduring the horrors of the last three centuries. It also highlights their ongoing efforts to protect, preserve, and uphold their culture and land. “By including this acknowledgment in our City Council meetings, we honor the dignity of Native people, recognize the horrors and injustices that transpired here and teach our history to future generations,” Elo-Rivera said.
San Diego Councilmembers Vivian Moreno (District 8) and Henry Foster (District 4), along with Sean Elo-Rivera (District 9), are asking community members and skilled volunteers to help rebuild homes damaged by the Jan 22 floods. Click here to volunteer.
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Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.