Judaism

Samson vs. Hercules

Many consider Hercules the strongest ancient Greek and Samson the most muscular Jew. Both tales involve eating and drinking. Both were engaged in romantic affairs; Hercules had four wives, and Samson had liaisons with three women and married one of them. The two had miraculous births involving a deity: Hercules’ father was the god Zeus, and Samson gave birth after his mother received a message from heaven delivered by an angel. The two births focused on their mother, the woman Zeus cohabited with, and the woman with whom an angel communicated. In both instances, the husbands were ignored. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Some Jewish American Athletes to Watch in the Olympics

Sara Levy, a San Diego native, had never played rugby until her first year of college at Northeastern University. Now she’s representing America on the women’s Olympic rugby team. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Remembering a Friend Dating Back to Our Teen Years and Through Motherhood

I checked the news in Israel as I always do after Shabbat  and saw a headline about children and a woman injured in a fire in Kochav Yaakov. The first thing I thought was ‘Kochav Yaakov! Adina!’ But what are the chances it was her? [Ilanit Zakowski]

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Ilanit Zakowski, Israel, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Borscht Belt Signage Pays Homage to Melvin James Kaminsky

Melvin changed his name to make it in the entertainment industry.  He was always a jokester, even as a kid. Melvin was never very tall, being only 5’ 5”, not counting his socks with the big holes in them from when his older three brothers wore them. [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

An Historic Plaque for a Jewish Hero of the Dunkirk Evacuation

“I went through the unpleasant experience of being machine-gunned in the water, after we had been sunk, by four very persistent Junkers 87 diver bombers. They even dropped incendiary bombs in an attempt to catch any floating oil on fire. They have not got much mercy, those Germans. I then had to swim for seven hours towards a place that was already occupied by Jerry and eventually got back to England in charge of a French fishing boat, dressed as a French sailor, only to be arrested as a spy!” [Jerry Klinger]

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International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Women Artists, Survivors, and Victims who Fought the Nazis

Graphic artist Trina Robbins, who died earlier this year, was saluted by Comic-Con panel members who recalled Robbins’ salute to Lilly Renée, another woman pioneer in the comic book industry.  Both Jewish women had a hand in World War II comic book stories in which the evil Nazis were given their comeuppance.
[Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Father of Missile Defense Systems Gave Up Career as Locksmith

In the late 1970s, when no one thought it could be possible, Dov Raviv, a Technion alumnus, had a fantastical idea for a defensive weapon that could intercept and shoot down long-range incoming missiles. The idea developed into what would become the Arrow Antimissile System, the world’s first missile defense platform, and what would protect Israel from Iran’s missile barrage on April 13, 2024. [Press Release]

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Israel, Jewish History, Press Release, Technology, USA

Torah Study Method: Inquiry, Intention, Exploration, Reflection

Author Adina Allen finds tension between the millennia of rabbis and scholars who create and pontificate biblical interpretations and Moses’ exhortation to the wandering Israelites that understanding Torah is not beyond anyone’s reach (Deut. 30:11-14) [Fred Reiss]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Who Is the Man Second from the Left as Ben-Gurion Declares Independence?

David Remez worked closely with Golda Meir in the Histadrut, where she served on the executive committee before leading the political department of the Jewish Agency in 1946. Remez and Meir were joined at the hip for many years. As Remez’s grandson Gideon Remez, a Sokolov (Israel’s version of the Pulitzer) Prize winner, explained, their relationship was “the most guarded, and yet most well-known, state secret.” [Gedaliah Borvick]

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Gedaliah Borvick, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food