SAN DIEGO (SDJW) – Purim 2024 begins at nightfall Saturday, March 23, and ends after sunset Sunday, March 24. A list of Purim activities may be found in our San Diego County Jewish Calendar.
Anticipation of Purim is keeping the rabbis and rebbetzins of the many Chabad Houses in San Diego quite busy.
Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad of La Costa notes that observant Jews will refrain from eating during the Fast of Esther. He explains: “Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, courageously approached King Achashvairosh so as to reverse Haman’s (boooooo!) decree against the Jewish people. Esther realized that she needed the blessings of the Almighty to bring about the Jewish people’s salvation. She therefore requested that the nation fast, as fasting brings us to repent and ultimately enhances our connection with G-d. When we are demonstrably closer with G-d, we become impossible to defeat. That is why the Jewish people fast on the Eve of Purim; to commemorate Esther’s heroism and to inspire us to do Teshuva. This year we fast on Thursday, March 21st, because Erev Purim is Shabbos, and we only fast on Shabbos when Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbos. Locally, the fast begins at 5:33am and concludes at 7:27pm. The Jewish definition of fasting means nothing to eat or drink. Those with medical conditions that require eating must consult with the Rabbi, so as to learn how their eating/drinking could be permitted. The Rebbe also emphasized the importance of giving Tzedakah on a fast day. Benefitting others by giving charity goes a long way in bringing folks closer to Hashem and spiritually arousing them.”
Rabbi Zalman Carlebach of Chabad of Downtown S. Diego alerts us that “the four mitzvot of Purim are 1) Listen to Megillah twice—at night and during the day; 2) Give charity to the poor; 3) Have a festive meal: and 4) Give gifts of food to friends.
In observance of the fourth mitzvot, Rabbi Rafi Andrusier of Chabad of East County has initiated a “Mishoach Manos Friendship Project” whereby it will be “preparing beautiful gifts and will deliver them to friends and family in the community.” To participate, click here.
EDUCATION MATTERS
San Diego Hebrew Day School 8th grader Mikhael Kamshad won a first-place award at the San Diego County Science and Engineering Fair in the computer science division, and with it recognition from the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovation Challenge, the Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award, the RED Award, and the Lemelson Early Inventor Prize. He’ll take his invention–an object classification headset for assisting the blind—to the California State Science and Engineering Fair, along with other first place winners. In the product testing division, first place winners from San Diego Hebrew Day School included Ivonne Cohen for her display on “Does Water Impact the Effectiveness of Sun Protectors?” and Asher Kaplan for his project on baseball spin rate testing.
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Applications to become StandWithUs “Emerson Fellows,” who are trained to lead pro-Israel events and discussions and to combat college-campus antisemitism, may be obtained by clicking here. At the high school level, StandWithUS offers a year-long internship named for Kenneth Leventhal for 11th and 12th grade students who want to “effectively combat antisemitism and cultivate leadership skills through personalized mentorship.” To nominate a student, click here.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, celebrating Women’s History Month, will honor three women skateboarders at a 12:45 pm. ceremony Monday at the Encinitas Skate Park, 429 Santa Fe Drive. They are Jordyn Barratt, who was a member of the USA Olympic Skateboarding team in 2017 and 2018; Amelia Brodka, a member of the Polish Olympic Skateboard team, and Bryce Wettstein, a 2019 and 2021 USA National Champion in women’s park skateboarding. Last week for Women’s History Month, Lawson-Remer recognized as “women of impact” Mayor Paloma Aguirre of Imperial Beach, Vernita Gutierrez, Pacific Southwest Vice President of External Affairs for Planned Parenthood, and Katherine Hildebrand, lead program manager overseeing street outreach for PATH, formerly known at the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health.
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JEWISH HUMOR
Rabbi Rafi Andrusier of Chabad of East County passes along this story about a puny man who was called upon for Hagbah (lifting the Torah). With great effort he managed to lift it, almost fainting in the process. Vowing never to be embarrassed again, he goes through a six-months long heavy training course. After completing the course, he was called up again. “This time Moshe picks up the Sefer like it was made of feathers and flips it in the air. While the Torah is spinning, Moshe does a somersault and gets on his feet just in time to catch the falling Torah. He then turns to the Gabbaim (shul functionaries) and says, ‘What do you think of that, then?’ The Gabbai replies, ‘Very nice, but we gave you Shishi.’”
FOOD AND TRAVEL
Ollie Benn, the Jewish Community Foundation’s director of philanthropy and social impact, sends out recommended reading lists. Among his most recent recommendations is a story in San Diego Magazine about Warung RieRie the backyard Indonesian restaurant in Serra Mesa. San Diego Jewish World’s restaurant reviewer Sandi Masori did a video report a year ago about the unique restaurant and cultural experience.
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Ethnomusicologist Yale Strom plans to lead an Ayelet tour to Lithuania in May 2025 “if enough of our travel friends express interest in committing to such a trip.” Some highlights of the trip would be a visit to Vilna, known once as the “Jerusalem of the East,” taking in such sites as the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History and the Paneriai Holocaust Memorial site and a day trip to Trakai Island “which for centuries has been home to the Turkic Karaites, a Jewish minority community with their own independent traditions.” Then, on to Kaunus (Kovno) to see the home of Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara, who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust by issuing visas. In Seduva, the Lost Shtetl Museum “will present the history, culture, religion, folklore and daily life of the Jews of Lithuania’s shtetls and their relations with their neighbors.” In Klaipeda (also known as Memel), the life of Rabbi Israel Salanter, founder of the Mussar Movement, will be explored. Strom and his wife, Elizabeth Schwartz, promise klezmer performances during the trip and some fine local cuisine. Interested travelers may contact Strom via this email.
OBITUARY NOTICE
Am Israel Mortuary: Private funeral services were conducted for Barbara Jane “Bobbi” (Goldman) Wittner (April 6, 1938-March 7, 2024) of Carlsbad. A family-written obituary may be viewed by clicking here.
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SDJW staff report