Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Superman, Batman and deeper Torah concepts

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Superhero comics have been influenced greatly by Jewish life in the United States and by Torah learning, according to Jordan Gorfinkel, 51, the entertainment entrepreneur who managed the Batman franchise for a decade before creating his own Avalanche Comics Entertainment company. In the sanctuary of Tifereth Israel Synagogue […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Book Review: ‘Radical Inclusion’

Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future by Edmund Case, © 2019 Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism, ISBN 9781732-938809l, 265 pages, $19.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – If I understand author Edmund Case’s basic premise, it is if people “do Jewish,” then for all practical purposes, they are members of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

Book Review: ‘Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries’

Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries, Genesis 1-21 by Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, First Edition Design Publishing, Inc., Sarasota, FL, © 2016, Published January 2019, ISBN 978-1506-907-16-1, p. 294 plus bibliography and index, $21.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, author of Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries, is also the author of a multi-volume

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Book Review: ‘Taming Your Guts’

Taming Your Guts: A Complete Guide to Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder, Second Edition, by Arnold L. Flick, M.D. © 2018, ISBN 9781797-411767; 188 pages plus diets and index. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Dr. Arnold Flick, who is a retired clinical professor of gastroenterology at the UC San Diego medical school, takes readers on

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

Comics’ Gorfinkel to visit Tifereth Israel Synagogue

SAN DIEGO  (Press Release)– Jordan Gorfinkel, a former DC Comics editor who managed the Batman franchise for nearly a decade, will be at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego on Wednesday, April 10, for a free-to-the-public discussion of his work, which includes a newly published The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel that brings the Exodus experience into

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Book Review: ‘Giraffes on Horseback Salad’

Giraffes on Horseback Salad by Josh Frank and Tim Heideker, illustrations by Manuela Pertega; © 2019 Quirk Books, ISBN 9781594-749230, 222 pages including biographical and explanatory notes and appendices. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Try to picture the words in this book’s title: “Giraffes on Horseback Salad.”  Can you picture it?  A giraffe astride

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Book Review: ‘Gentle Judaic Wisdom’

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel’s book Gentle Judaic Wisdom is a brilliant work, very wise, easy to read, and deceptively simple. The book is filled with quotes that have significant information. It is a rich cornucopia of wisdom quoted from sources such as the Torah, Mishna, Tosephta,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Book Review: ‘The Restless Hungarian’

The Restless Hungarian: Modernism, Madness, and the American Dream by Tom Weidlinger; Spark Press, ISBN 9781943-006960; 278 pages plus photo credits, index, and acknowledgments; $16.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – It did not take me very long to decide that I did not like structural engineer Paul Weidlinger, who is the subject of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History

Book Review: ‘Mensch-Marks’

Mensch-Marks: Life Lessons of a Human Rabbi by Joshua Hammerman; © 2018 Helth Communications, Inc.; ISBN 9780757-321771; 250 pages plus appendix,  $14.95 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Rabbi Joshua Hammerman is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Connecticut, as well as a journalist whose column appeared regularly in the Jewish

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

Book Review: ‘The Jewish Journey Haggadah’

The Jewish Journey Haggadah: Connecting the Generations by Rabbanit Adena Berkowitz, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, © 2019, ISBN 978-965-229-912-3, p. 211 plus appendices and bibliography, $29.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Over one thousand Haggadot (plural of Haggadah) are listed in Amazon books, covering a wide variety of genres, from traditional to women-centric. Is

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion