Donald H. Harrison

A Jewish Tale Woven Through Napoleon’s Campaign in Egypt and Eretz Israel

This Jewish love story is woven into an account of Napoleon’s unsuccessful war in Egypt and Ottoman Palestine in the final years of the 18th century. Descriptions of the battles and the wanton cruelty of both sides in the war pitting mainly French Christian troops against indigenous and Turkish Muslim defenders remind current-day readers of the murderous barbarism attendant to Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Daughter Pictures Life of Mother Who Died Two Hours After Giving Her Birth

Two hours after Lola Kantor was born, her mother died of complications in childbirth. Lola was given her mother’s first name, but, of course, she had no memory of her. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

What don’t we know about Abraham?

Numerous questions arise when we delve into the biblical portion concerning Abraham in Lekh Lekha, Genesis 12:1-17:27. One such question is the apparent mistake in narrating Abraham’s story, which begins when he is 75. His early life is briefly noted in only six sentences in 11:27-32. Shouldn’t the entire story of Abraham, including these early years, be presented together, with 11:27-32 forming part of chapter 12? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Hillel Responds with Compassion to Fire and Shooting Near SDSU Campus

After the fire was contained, the stay-in-place order was lifted, and everyone was able to go home– we learned a student’s apartment had severe smoke damage and she needed a place to stay. We called on our amazing community and a remarkable community family hosted this student for Shabbat and the weekend– ensuring she felt nurtured and cared for. Well-being was our priority. [Karen Parry]

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Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Appropriate Blood Sugar Levels, Mediterranean Diet Can Delay Brain Aging

While so far aging cannot be prevented, recent research from an 18-month dietary intervention offers hope that lifestyle and dietary changes can slow brain aging. A new international study, led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev as part of the Direct Plus Brain MRI trial, has brought to light how blood sugar control can significantly impact brain health. [Press Release]

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Israel, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education

Novel Judaica Highlights Artisans Festival at Temple Emanu-El

Cecile Fleetwood is a longtime member of Temple Emanu-El who teaches jewelry making and sells her own creations, including dreidel, hamantaschen, and hamza earrings  She also makes pottery pieces that were fired in a kiln. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Bagels

Among ‍the ‍most ‍popular ‍bagel ‍flavors ‍is ‍the ‍everything ‍bagel, ‍typically ‍covered ‍with ‍the ‍combination ‍of ‍seeds ‍and ‍spices, ‍including ‍sesame ‍seeds, ‍poppy ‍seeds, ‍flaked ‍sea ‍salt, ‍garlic ‍flakes, ‍and ‍onion ‍flakes. ‍Everything ‍bagel ‍coating ‍can ‍now ‍be ‍found ‍in ‍many ‍other ‍food ‍products, ‍including ‍which ‍of ‍the ‍following? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Business & Finance, Mark D. Zimmerman, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Violin is the Centerpiece of a Holocaust Story

Nazis pounded on the door and confiscated the treasured violin, throwing it onto a flatbed truck, breaking its string, and then putting it in storage in a cellar, where dust filled its body and extreme weather warped and cracked it.  In the years after the Nazis’ defeat, the cellar was found, and the violin located.  A luthier lovingly repaired it. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Biography: Leonid Pasternak, Father of Boris, Wrestled with his Jewishness

Leonid Pasternak, a painter and professor at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, a master of portraiture and book illustrations, went down in history in the shadow of his son Boris, a poet and Nobel Prize winner in literature, whom he loved and with whom he diverged in his attitude toward common ancestry. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Short-Story Collection Provides Tour of Human Situations and Emotions

This collection of short stories by Roberta Silman is similar to a travelogue, but instead of journeys through locales, these trips are through human emotions in given situations, especially, but not exclusively, through loss and dying. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

50-Year-Old Takács String Quartet Performs Here with One Original Member

Of the original four student members at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, only the cellist, 75-year-old András Fejér, remains. But the uncanny melding of their instrumental voices into a unified whole continues to characterize their playing … [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

If You Haven’t Voted Already, Be Sure to Vote on Tuesday

My thoughts: people who don’t vote and complain about the outcome really have no say. If you voted, then you did the best you could. We can just hope for the best and pray it is the outcome we Jews need in Israel and in the states. Whoever you vote for, you have a voice and if you voted, it was heard. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA