The Arts

Why Rashi wrote sometimes and refrained at others

Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery by Avigdor Bonchek, Gefen Publishing House, New York;  ISBN 978-965-229-779-2 ©2015, $18.00, p. 132, plus Appendix, References and Index of Interpreted Verses By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — Torah Commentator Rashi, the acronym for Shlomo Yitzchaki, stands at the head of a long line of revered Jewish sages. For instance, […]

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

Many reasons for happy children to say ‘Dayenu’

More Than Enough: A Passover Story by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Katie Kath; Dial Books for Young Readers © 2016; ISBN 978-0-8037-4126-3; $16.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — We received at San Diego Jewish World a book to be read to children that either came to our mailbox quite late or extremely

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

Salk’s mixture of music and science stimulates

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO–Violinist Asi Matathias and Pianist Victor Stanislavsky have become regular visitors to San Diego. This time, they performed as the second offering in the Salk Science and Music Series. A unique series, inaugurated in 2013, it takes place in the Salk Institute’s excellent concert hall. These evenings are unusual because they

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Mehta and the IPO please San Diego concert goers

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra presented an all-orchestral program in San Diego’s Civic Theatre  Nov. 12 under its venerable Conductor-for-Life, Zubin Mehta. The concert began with the playing of the two anthems, The Star Spangled Banner and Hatikvah. The latter, which featured the IPO’s glorious string section, brought tears to

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

He does the talking; she dominates the discussion

By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Peter Gould has lived in Vermont for over 45 years and his new novel Marly is about Vermonters, climate issues and wind turbines, among other things. Growing up Jewish, Gould — who calls himself a “non-observant Goddess-worshipping American Jew — said it was his parents who were “intellectual,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Non- English language novels find U.S. challenging

By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –When it comes to translating science fiction novels from France, Japan or other non-English speaking nations, the U.S. publishing industry has a rather dismal track record. Yes, Tor Books published in 2014 a popular sci-fi novel from communist China by Cixin Liu, titled The Three-Body Problem and not only did

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Director Simon Levy brings S. African story to life

By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES –Hi everybody!  I’m back!You might have noticed that my column of theater reviews hasn’t appeared for a few months.  It’s because I’ve had a couple of serious falls: one that broke my leg and another that demolished my shoulder.  But, happily, I’ve recovered enough to wobble off to the theater again, and so

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Cynthia Citron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Russian Army Choir sings ‘Jerusalem of Gold’

Thanks to J.J. Surbeck, Charles Wax for spotting this. JJ Surbeck writes: Our good friend Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, whom we know for her exemplary work as activist and coordinator extraordinaire in her fight against anti-Semitism within the University of California system, is also, let’s not forget, first and foremost a scholar. And she reminded us of

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

World War II from a French girl’s perspective

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I picked this book up in the local bookshop thinking it would make good holiday reading. It did, but it’s not exactly the sort of light reading one takes along to read on the beach. The tale it tells of France under German

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Marshall Voit, son of a rabbi, now a Jewish songleader

  By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,” I believe this could be his mantra.  The singer/songleader told me he believes that, “music has the power to bring people together and build interfaith, justice oriented, warm welcoming communities.” Recently appointed to a new commission, Voit is the

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Eva Trieger, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Never Again: Holocaust news for November 7, 2015

After the Survivors perish, who will tell their stories? By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan–Some time in the near future, the last known Holocaust survivor will pass away, and there will be no more people to tell the first-hand story of what happened in those dark days in Europe. When I asked two people recently

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USA