SAN DIEGO – Pre-season football is heading into the last few games before the regular season starts. It is still painful to not be scheduling around my beloved San Diego (Super) Chargers. I used to put out my lightning bolt flag, and all my football decorations to settle in for a nail biting and stressful watching experience. Those were the days before they left San Diego. I do keep up with the Los Angeles Chargers and think the new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, is promising. Along with the official season starting Thursday, September 5 with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, research starts on building the best fantasy football team. Bragging rights are fun when joining a league and fun building the best “dream team” if all those players happen to be on the same team.
Here are some Jewish NFL players I might be keeping my eyes on when it is time to draft my fantasy team:
Offensive Tackle for the Chicago Bears, 26-year-old Jake Curhan from Larkspur, California. Curhan attended the University of California, Berkeley and took on the nickname “Bear Jew.” Considering he is signed to the Chicago Bears; his nickname still works.
Running Back for the Green Bay Packers, 26-year-old, A.J. Dillion from Baltimore, Maryland. Dillion confessed at a Jewish teen movement convention, where he shared his experience as a Jew of color and joked about missing Hebrew school for football practice as a kid.
Tight End for the New York Jets, 29-year-old, Anthony Firkser from Manalapan, New Jersey. Fiskser told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about his love of latkes and his bar mitzvah.
Placekicker for the Green Bay Packers, 30-year-old, Greg Joseph from Johannesburg, South Africa. Joseph attended Jewish day school as a kid and has been involved with the Jewish communities of each city in which he has played during his four years in the NFL.
Temple Emanu-El’s “First Fantasy Football League – Bagel Blitzers” will meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, September 4. Pizza and beer will be served, and you must be present at the draft to participate. Click here to rsvp.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Chabad of University City announces “Chumash Class with Rebbetzin Sura Leider” at 8 p.m., on Wednesday, August 28. This class is for women only. Click here for the Google Meet link.
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Chabad of Downtown announces two rabbinical students will be assisting the congregation for the next two weeks. The rabbis-in-training are available for house visits, to study, Q&A sessions or meeting for a coffee. Click here if you would be interested in connecting.
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Chabad of East County Hebrew School of the Arts registration is open for children in TK to 7th grade at 4.p.m., starting Mondays in September. Curriculum will cover Jewish Holidays, History, Love of Israel and Hebrew Reading. Click here to register.
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Jewish Federation of San Diego announces the next LEADS cohort starts Tuesday, September 3. LEADS is a program for young adults in San Diego that focuses on networking and community involvement. This experience is for young professionals with 10 years or less of work experience. Click here to apply.
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Congregation Beth El’s Women Connection announces its “Rosh Chodesh Gathering” at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 4. The night begins with welcomes which transition to blessings and the program. The evening ends with closing blessings and a blast of the Shofar. Click here for more information.
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Tifereth Israel Synagogue features a lecture on “The Middle East After October 7: Historical Legacies, Challenges, and Hopes with Dr. Yoav Alon” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 11. Dr. Alon will share his analysis of the current situation unfolding in the Middle East since the terror attacks of October 7. Click here to rsvp.
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Congregation Beth Israel, We Walk Together and Jewish Federation of San Diego cosponsor a lecture by two IDF officers at 6 p.m., Wednesday, September 11. The evening will feature Major Ilan Shulman and Lieutenant Colonel Amit Grinfeld. Click here to rsvp.
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Chabad at La Costa announces “N’Shei Chabad of San Diego, Unite for Israel” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 18. The gathering is described as a women’s gathering of prayer, learning and inspiration. Chabad at La Costa and Chabad Encinitas will be hosting this event. Click here to register.
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JEWISH HUMOR
Young Israel of San Diego shared the following joke: Sadie is having terrible headaches that just won’t go away so she goes to her rabbi to see if there’s anything he can do. She whines and cries and talks for hours not only about her headache, but about her terrible living conditions as well. All of a sudden, Sadie shouts, overjoyed, “Rabbi, I think your holy presence has cured me! The headache is completely gone!” To which the rabbi responds, “No, no Sadie, it’s not gone. I have it now.”
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Chabad of East County shared the following joke: “A Rabbis Blessing” Rabbi Levine is walking slowly out of a Shul when a gust of wind blows his hat down the street. He’s an old man and can’t walk fast enough to catch his hat. Across the street, Bernie sees what’s happening, rushes over, grabs the hat and returns it to Rabbi Levine. “I don’t think I would have been able to catch my hat.” Rabbi Levine says. He places his hand on Bernie’s shoulder and says, “May God bless you.” Bernie thinks, “I’ve just been blessed by the Rabbi, this must be my lucky day.” So he goes into a betting shop and sees in the first race a horse named ‘Top Hat’ at 20 to 1. He bets $50 and the horse comes in first. In the second race, Bernie sees a horse named Fedora at 30 to 1 so he bets it all and this horse comes in first also. When Bernie finally returns home to his wife, she asks him where he’s been. He explains how he caught the Rabbi’s hat and was blessed by him and then went to a betting office and started winning on horses that had a hat in their names. “So where’s the money?” she asks. “I lost it all in the ninth race. I bet on a horse named Chateau and it lost.” “You fool, Chateau is a house, Chapeau is a hat.” “It doesn’t matter,” Bernie said, “the winner was some Japanese horse named Yarmulka.”
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JEWISH HISTORY
The August edition of Toldot, a publication of the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego, includes two entries from the diary of Edith Naiman. One, dated Oct. 7, 1926, describes a surprise that the Daughters of Israel cooked up for her to honor her two years of service as secretary of the group which was the forerunner of the Sisterhood at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. The other, dated Dec. 20, 1931, recounted how she and her husband, Adolph Naiman, were honored at a celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. She faithfully recounts who attended each occasion, bringing into focus the activities of Jewish community stalwarts of the period. Click here for a view of the collection of the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego.
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OBITUARY NOTICES
Martin Rosenberg (Mordechai ben Shmuel Yakov) father of Yossi Daniel Rosenberg died Wednesday, August 21. Funeral was held on Thursday, August 22 in Los Angeles County. Shiva will be at the Rosenberg home in Fletcher Hills, Chabad of East County reported.
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Joan Schauder died on Friday, August 23. Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, August 25 at Home of Peace Cemetery with Rabbi Zevi New, CEO of Youth Action Movement as officiant, Am Israel Mortuary reported.
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Star Slipock died Saturday, August 3. Funeral was held on Wednesday, August 7 at El Camino Memorial Park with Rabbi Scott Meltzer as officiant, Am Israel Mortuary reported.
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Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.