SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — On Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., there will be a community-wide event featuring Ben M. Freeman, an internationally acclaimed gay Jewish author, educator, and advocate who will inspire and empower people in the fight against antisemitism — from one of fear and frustration to one of introspection, pride, and […]
When the Nazis came to his family’s apartment in Amsterdam, he was able to hide in a recess in the wall that was covered by a door that swung toward him. [Donald H. Harrison]
His Luck Was That He Was Small for His Age Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Journeys to Heaven and Hell by Bart D. Ehrman, a highly respected New Testament scholar, tells some of the different notions various nations and people had about the afterlife in ancient times. He describes a wide variety of katabases and anabases, but not all. Katabasis means
Examining Different Notions About the Afterlife Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Written for high school students, this biography of Charles Lindbergh underscores the wisdom of the decision in 2003 to change the name of Lindbergh Field to San Diego International Airport. Lindbergh used his deserved fame as the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic to spread race hatred against many of the peoples who live, like San Diegans, around the Pacific Rim. [Donald H. Harrison]
Why San Diego International Airport Changed Name from Lindbergh Field Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Rabbi Prinz has utilized some of that knowledge in a collaboration with co-author Tami Lehman-Wilzig in a fictional story for 5-to-8-year-old children that conflates the introduction of hot chocolate to colonial America with the boycott of British tea that saw its most dramatic moments on December 16, 1773, when approximately 50 tax protesters dressed as indigenous Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. [Donald H. Harrison]
Chanukah, Chocolate, and the Boston Tea Party Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
This PJ Library selection to be read with 6-year-old children and up models a positive outlook on life, even when confronted with change. Estrella visits her aunt (tia) Fortuna at the little house (casita) on the beach where she has lived ever since she left Cuba as a refugee. But now, the casita is to be torn down to make way for a luxury hotel. [Donald H. Harrison]
Book for Young Readers Teaches Positive Outlooks Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
This novel about the friendship that forms between two preteen girls in a time of great stress hits many important issues. The danger of radiation from a nuclear power plant. Government cover-ups. Antisemitism. Domestic abuse. The Holocaust. The redeeming power of love. [Donald H. Harrison]
Overcoming Hatred in a Time of Crisis Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — The first in-person program of Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices in two years took place in the Astor Judaica Library Tuesday evening, October 25, and featured three Southern California poets, Nathan Grinshpun, Jane Muschenetz, and Omer Zalmanowitz. Moderator Joy Heitzmann introduced them. First to read was Nathan Grinshpun. Although
Returning In-Person, Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices Features Poem on Lviv and More Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, San Diego County
The PJ Library says Notice the Good Stuff: Give Thanks is for 8-year-olds, but I think there are many adults who would profit as well from its upbeat message. [Donald H. Harrison]
The Fun of Giving Thanks Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
For its October selection for 4-year-old children, PJ Library has brought back an oldie but a goodie: Chicken Man, the story of a kibbuitznik who does everything well, because he has such a good work attitude. [Donald H. Harrison]
A Kibbutznik Who Did Everything Well Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
In Stein’s version of the story, illustrated by Sabina Hahn, Jonah is a teacher, whose class of elementary school students meets under a tree. He told the children stories, brought them snacks of figs and raisins, and gently reproved naughty behavior. He was such a good teacher that God decided he would be ideal for teaching the people of Nineveh {Mosul, in modern-day Iraq) that they must change their evil ways. [Donald H. Harrison]
Story Book Interprets the Jonah Tale for Children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — I wrote in past reviews of Chaim Grade’s books that I and many others are convinced Grade deserves the Nobel Prize for literature. Most readers of his book published in Yiddish in 1967, titled Tsemakh Atlas and translated into English in 1976 as The Yeshiva in
‘The Yeshiva:’ Chaim Grade’s Crowning Achievement Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.
By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — From 1843 to 1854 the literature of Germany, a country which had been fragmented into 36 states, began to produce unifying folk tales in which the German nation began to crystallize. The founding father of the new national identity expressed through literature was the writer Berthold Auerbach. He portrayed
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Urim Publications and Ktav Publishing in Jerusalem and New York have just republished Jewish Women in Time and Torah. It focuses on three periods of time in how Judaism treated women: (1) The early period of more than a thousand years until around the beginning of
Will ‘Jewish Women in Time and Torah’ Stimulate Change in the Orthodox World? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion