Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices got off to a great start Tuesday evening, November 28, in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family JCC. This first program of the 2023-4 season featured Felicia Morgenstern, Larry Gach and Maya Tevet Dayan.[Eileen Wingard]
Morgenstern, Gach, Dayan inaugurate LFJCC’s 2023-24 Poetry Season Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, San Diego County
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A basic aspect of life in Israel is the requirement that every adult, whether male or female, must serve in the IDF for a few years upon reaching the age of 18. While serving in the military, soldiers are trained in one of the many areas in which
Family in Reserves Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Opinion
This is a memoir of an American falling in love with a French man who is more traditional in his religious observance than she is. They marry and live for a while in France, but Israel calls to him. She wants to live in the familiar U.S. of A. He wants his family to be raised as traditional Jews in Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]
Home in Israel or U.S.A.? A Couple’s Dilemma Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA
Some people become increasingly conservative as they age; but the reverse has been true in Dosick’s life. He grew up in a Conservative congregation but decided to enter the Reform seminary of Hebrew Union College because he objected to the Jewish Theological Seminary of the Conservative movement on two grounds. First, it still separated men and women during prayer services and Dosick opposed mehitzahs (physical barriers). Second the JTS leadership was then on record supporting the war in Vietnam in the mistaken belief that if the U.S. left Vietnam to the Communists, its support for Israel against its enemies also might be shaky. [Donald H. Harrison]
With Hanukkah fast approaching, it’s a time to purchase or pull from your family library a thoughtful, comprehensive Hannukah handbook that was written five years ago and is so well-done it should become a standard for the holiday. [Donald H. Harrison]
Hanukkah Handbook is Comprehensive Guide for Children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
Donald H. Harrison, author of a three-volume book on Jewish life in San Diego County along the Interstate 5, will describe his methodology and share some of the stories in a presentation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 2, at Yiddishland, 1128 Wall Street, La Jolla. [SDJW Staff]
Harrison Relates Jewish Stories From Along the Interstate 5 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego CountyThree outstanding poets will be featured in the opening Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices program of the 2023-24 season, Tuesday, November 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. [Eileen Wingard]
Israeli, American Poets To Be Featured Tuesday Night at the JCC Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Israel, San Diego County, USA
Kahana exhibits an impressive command over world history, showcasing a deep understanding of the classical texts and historical narratives that have influenced what is commonly referred to as “Western Civilization,” extending even to the earliest civilizations predating the West. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
‘Spirit of Progress’ Traces Civilizations from Ancient Times to the Present Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Most identify the Book of Psalms as a collection of Jewish hymns, prayers, and poems mostly focusing on praising and adoring God. Rabbis Jack Riemer and Elie Spitz, co-authors of Duet on Psalms, with their long careers as pulpit rabbis recognize for too many, reciting psalms is a perfunctory exercise, spoken without passion and devoid of their intrinsic meaning. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]
The Hidden Passion and Joy of Psalms Described by Two Rabbis Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — “Under the shadow of the horrors of October 7, 2023 and the war, the National Library of Israel made the decision to open its new home to readers and researchers as of Sunday, October 29, 2023.” The Library was due to open on October 17, but given the
In Time of Strife, Israel’s New National Library Opens Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer
Like my father, I was presented as a traitor to the homeland and an enemy of the USSR. Although my immigration to Israel was legal, I was honored with the title of “traitor to the homeland.” My father was labeled a “traitor to the homeland” in 1949, although he loved the USSR and socialism. I was labeled a “traitor to the fatherland” 30 years later. In that country, any Jew could be a traitor – one who loved the homeland, as my father did, and one who did not love it, as I did. [Alex Gordon]
The Melody of Zionism Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Jewish History
SAN DIEGO – This collection of five graphic stories was released on Halloween, October 31, not coincidentally. Each fictional tale has elements of the supernatural, mostly intervening on behalf of Jews who otherwise would have been murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. [Donald H. Harrison]
Supernatural Tales Embody Wishes of Holocaust Rescue Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish Fiction
Imagine that you are an amateur chemist who comes upon a way to manufacture wheat. Such an invention could end hunger worldwide, would it not? There would be celebrations for you, perhaps a Nobel Prize, and everywhere you’d go, you’d be the subject of popular acclaim. Or would you? [Donald H. Harrison]
Another Feingold Short Story Collection Satisfies the Imagination Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Prof. Sanford “Sandy” Lakoff, the founding chairman of UC San Diego’s political science department and a $2 million benefactor of Brandeis University where he did his undergraduate work, has died at age 92, San Diego Jewish World has learned. [SDJW staff report]
Prof. Sanford ‘Sandy’ Lakoff (1931-2023) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education