SAN DIEGO – The firework celebrations of the 4th of July may be over, but there are plenty of exciting and interesting programs around the area to attend and connect.
Summertime is also the perfect opportunity to join a book club. One of the first groups I joined at Tifereth Israel Synagogue was the Braun Library Book Club where I made a good friend, Ellen Lorang (of blessed memory).
We would read a book a month and would meet in the Braun Library on the first Sunday to discuss the book we read and maybe share a nosh and lots of giggling. During Covid, we met on Zoom. Ellen and her loving husband Phil Lorang would deliver the books to our doorsteps. Since the book club separated, I have had a hard time making myself accountable to pick up a book and finish it. I looked at it as a monthly assignment I needed to finish, or I would have nothing to talk about when we met. I multi-tasked by reading as I walked on the treadmill, combining body and mind stimulation.
Hadassah of San Diego has an evening book club which usually meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Click here for the dates, lists of books they are reading and to be added to the Book Club email list.
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Young Israel of San Diego sponsors a “Rosh Chodesh Raffle” on Rosh Chodesh, Saturday, July 6. The first winner will be awarded a $25 gift card towards a pizza from La Mesa Pizzaworks. The second winner will get a $10 gift card towards their choice of two scoops of La Mesa Pizzaworks ice cream.
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Hadassah of San Diego and Hillel San Diego sponsor a presentation by Karen Parry, executive director of Hillel of San Diego, on “Jewish Life on Campus and the Role of Hillel Navigating Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Activists” at 9:45 a.m., Sunday, July 7 at a private residence. Click here to rsvp.
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Lawrence Family JCC’s Camp Jaycee presents “The Addams Family” at 7 p.m., Monday, July 8 at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre. Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen in love with Lucas Beineke — the most un-Addams sounding person one could be! And to make matters worse, she invited the Beineckes over for dinner. In one fateful, hilarious night, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change. Click here for tickets. I saw this play at the Kroc Center, and it was really funny.
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Chabad of Chula Vista “Lunch and Learn” will be at 12 p.m., on Tuesday, July 9. Take some time out of a busy workday to study a bit of Torah over a kosher lunch. This group meets every Tuesday at 12 p.m. to explore relevant Jewish topics using ancient wisdom as a guide for life in a modern society. Click here to rsvp.
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Chabad of Downtown San Diego hosts “Gimmel Tammuz” will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 9. Thirty years after Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s passing, his teachings continue to inspire. This is a special time to connect to the Rebbe by: Learning, Praying, Giving, Doing, Writing and Spreading the Word.
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Chabad of Poway’s Jewish Women’s Circle “Torah and Tea” will meet at 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 10 on Zoom. Rebbetzin Shterna Goldstein leads this weekly women’s Torah series which brings tradition of classical Jewish learning in a series of clear and engaging classes. Click here for more information.
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Temple Emanu-El “Bridge with Benj” will start dealing at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, July 11. Rabbi Benj Fried leads this session. Click here to receive more information.
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Chabad of East County’s “Shabbat Friday Night Dinner” will be at 6:45 p.m., Friday, July 12. Join Rabbi Rafi Andrusier and Rebbetzin Chaya Andrusier for a night of unity, prayer and strength. Click here to register.
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Hadassah of San Diego Miriam Group presents Mimi Novum’s discussion of “The Encounter of Two Worlds: Her Story” at 10:30 a.m., Monday, July 15 at a private residence. Novum will talk about the migration of Europeans to the New World in the late 15th Century, and the 16th century creation of New Spain. She will share stories of her family’s arrival in New Spain and talk about the successor Sephardic Jewish Community in Mexico. Click here to rsvp.
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Chabad of Chula Vista “Torah and Tea” will be at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 16 at a private location. Torah and Tea is a women’s Torah discussion group. Each class is a stand-alone topic. Rebbetzin Mussie Begun and other women lead the monthly Torah and Tea session. Click here to rsvp.
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Chabad of Poway Mensch Club “Scotch and Torah” will be at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 18. Join the local Menschen for a thought-provoking discussion, some good laughs, whiskey and if you so wish, a cigar. Click here to register.
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Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club Annual Membership Dinner will be at 5 p.m., on Sunday, July 21. The speaker will be Jose Galicot, a well-known businessman, entrepreneur, educator, and philanthropist active on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border. The menu will center on fish tacos, with other Mexican-themed dishes. There will be a vegan option for the taco contents. Beer and wine will be served. Click here to make your reservation.
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Chabad of Poway shared the following joke: A lady calls the Mount Sinai Funeral Home. “Hello, this is Esther Goldberg. My husband passed this morning. Please come and pick him up.” “Oh, but Mrs. Goldberg,” the funeral director replies, “we buried your husband last year.” “Yes, I remarried.” “Oh, Mazel Tov!”
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Blaze Bernstein was the victim of a hate crime, jurors have decided. It was because he was gay, not because he was Jewish, City News Service has reported. Click here to read the article.
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Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.
If there are any books you want the library to buy let us know