“Twas the night after the Elections and all through the house. Not one political postcard received, not even one political ad shown!” [Cailin Acosta]
All’s Quiet on the Election Home Front Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The Torah instructs us to reconnect with the essence of our souls by leaving behind “your land,” which represents our attachment to materialism. Even if we feel trapped in a state of depression or worldly concerns, the path to liberation lies within those very circumstances, the Torah offers us a path forward. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Parsha Lech Lecha: Leaving Our Comfort Zones Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
“Jews in Opera” will feature the recorded voices of 15 outstanding Jewish opera singers at 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov.14, in the Astor Judaic Library of the Lawrence Family JCC. Many of the recordings are from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library. I will be hosting the program, and my in-person guest will be the distinguished Ukrainian-born mezzo soprano, Susanna Poretsky. [Eileen Wingard]
Voices of Jewish Opera Stars to be Savored at the JCC on Nov. 14 Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USAElection day is here and I decided to share the following prayer I read from myjewishlearning.com: [Cailin Acosta]
A Prayer for Election Day Read More »
Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Numerous questions arise when we delve into the biblical portion concerning Abraham in Lekh Lekha, Genesis 12:1-17:27. One such question is the apparent mistake in narrating Abraham’s story, which begins when he is 75. His early life is briefly noted in only six sentences in 11:27-32. Shouldn’t the entire story of Abraham, including these early years, be presented together, with 11:27-32 forming part of chapter 12? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
What don’t we know about Abraham? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Cecile Fleetwood is a longtime member of Temple Emanu-El who teaches jewelry making and sells her own creations, including dreidel, hamantaschen, and hamza earrings She also makes pottery pieces that were fired in a kiln. [Cailin Acosta]
Novel Judaica Highlights Artisans Festival at Temple Emanu-El Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Leonid Pasternak, a painter and professor at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, a master of portraiture and book illustrations, went down in history in the shadow of his son Boris, a poet and Nobel Prize winner in literature, whom he loved and with whom he diverged in his attitude toward common ancestry. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Leonid Pasternak, Father of Boris, Wrestled with his Jewishness Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined ContributorsMy thoughts: people who don’t vote and complain about the outcome really have no say. If you voted, then you did the best you could. We can just hope for the best and pray it is the outcome we Jews need in Israel and in the states. Whoever you vote for, you have a voice and if you voted, it was heard. [Cailin Acosta]
If You Haven’t Voted Already, Be Sure to Vote on Tuesday Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Members of the New Life Holocaust Survivor group in San Diego gathered with Jonny Daniel, a London-born Israeli activist, to dedicate to their loved ones a letter in a Torah undergoing restoration. [Sandra Scheller]
Holocaust Survivors Help Restore a Desecrated Torah Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The theme of this portion of the story is that the people, the public, any witnesses or observers, and anyone willing to listen had years of warning that a calamity, in this case utter destruction, was on its way. [Yossef Ben-Meir]
Biblical Story of Noah Should Serve as an Environmental Warning Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Yossef Ben-MeirThis week we read of two calamities, “climate change” and “immigration.” Sounds familiar and contemporary, doesn’t it? And we learn from how Noah and the builders of the Tower of Babel responded to their individual challenges, just how to prevail when dealing with misfortune, catastrophe and blows in life – real or imagined. [Michael R. Mantell]
Parsha Noach: Righteousness of Noach vs. Arrogance of Babelites Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
This book is an amalgam of two genres: History and Graphic Non-Fiction. I don’t think it will satisfy devotees of either genre. For graphic arts fans, there are too many pages filled with writing, rather than drawings. For the serious student of history, phantasmagoric images detract from the work’s verisimilitude. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Mufti’ Will Satisfy Neither Historians nor Graphic Arts Fans Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Staff and Bylined ContributorsWhen we read good literature, we should question what we read and why something is happening. We should seek to be stimulated by our reading to change and improve ourselves and everything. Is what we read proper? Should it have been done differently? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
What Role in Society Should Literature Play? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
As a baseball fan, I often think about this magnificent game in theological and ethical terms. One day, I thought: What should God do when Yankees fans pray to God for victory in the World Series and Dodgers fans do the same for their team? [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Does God Really Care About Baseball? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA