Donald H. Harrison

Sephardic Prayer Songs Found in Church Records of Mexican Inquisition

When Jews were expelled from Portugal, many moved East to form the Sephardic community we all know, but as many Jews, perhaps 100,000, moved West to the Americas in the 16th century.  Today it is estimated that a quarter of Hispanic Catholics in the Americas derive from Jewish stock, with many now awakening to their heritage. [Mark A. Schneegurt, Ph.D.]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Parsha Vayechi: Transforming Suffering into Divine Purpose 

While the events of our lives are commonly beyond our control, the way we interpret them—and how we choose to react to them—are abilities within our own mind. This teaching echoes through the story of Joseph, who reinterprets the betrayal of his brothers as part of Hashem’s divine plan, and through Jacob, who blesses his children with wisdom. [Michael R. Mantell, PhD]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Novel Depicts a Man’s Metamorphosis from a Hare to a Tortoise

The title of this book, referencing “tortoise” and “hair,” immediately brings to mind Aesop’s Fable about the race between the tortoise and the hare in which the slow and steady tortoise defeats the brilliantly fast but overly distracted hare. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

OpEd: Los Angeles Fires Result from Dependence on Fossil Fuels

While this fire follows a string of others that have ravaged large swaths of America’s west coast, we need not let this become “the new normal.” We are not powerless to confront this reality. We can demand changes that will reverse the trend toward more frequent and extreme climate disasters. [Rabbi Jennie Rosenn]

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California, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Tel Aviv University Archaeologists Theorize Why There are No Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Israel

For over a century, archaeologists have puzzled over the absence of cave art in the Levant in general and specifically in Israel. Now a team of archaeologists from Tel Aviv University (TAU) proposes an original explanation: prehistoric humans in the Levant did not create cave paintings because many large animals, the subjects of cave art in Western Europe, were already extinct there. [Press Release]

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Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

How a Neighborhood Rallied to Save a Library’s Collection Unavoidably Soaked by Firefighters

In 1966, a fire that started on a top floor of the 10-story Jewish Theological Seminary building in New York City destroyed 70,000 books and other written items.  Many were extra copies of the books stored below; others were irreplaceable items such as the Torah scrolls sent for safekeeping from Danzig during the Holocaust. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Stroke Victims May Be Unable to Understand Rehabilitation Instructions

The results showed a decrease in accuracy and response times during instruction following a stroke (compared to the control group). In addition, there was a decrease in information processing speed and a decrease in response inhibition ability. A relationship was also found between the patients’ response inhibition abilities and their ability to follow instructions. [Press Release]

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Israel, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education

Seeing What Author Tom Lamont Imagines in ‘Going Home’

The plot of this delightfully written, dreamlike narrative revolves around Joel, a preschooler whose mother Lea committed suicide after asking Teo, a male friend who admired her from afar, to look after him.  The life of Teo’s elderly father, Vic, apparently is resuscitated after Joel enters their lives. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors