SAN DIEGO (Press Release)– Is it possible to gain deep insight into our personal human struggles by exploring familiar Bible characters and their stories? Modern master of biblical interpretation, Rabbi Norman J. Cohen, brings biblical ancestors to life as husbands, wives, parents and siblings. Using midrash – interpretive literature that reads between the lines of […]
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Many people find at least one aspect of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt unsettling: “The Israelites had done Moses’ bidding and borrowed from the Egyptians objects of silver and gold, and clothing. And the Lord had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people, and they let them have
Did Israelites steal or request objects of silver and gold from Egyptians? Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — When my daughter, Margalit, was young she had very simple tastes when it came to souvenirs: she liked rocks. When we walked into gift shops, she invariably gravitated to displays of brightly colored stones, geodes, and crystals. The more ornate, complex, or unusual the rock, the more she
God–not human incantation–rocks our world Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Though Israel hasn’t (yet?) become the Jewish spiritual centre that some early Zionists envisaged, there’re currently many important efforts to build bridges between Jewish tradition and contemporary Jewry that might renew Judaism and reinvigorate the Jewish people everywhere. Some of it, alas, is ugly and dangerous, e.g., using biblical myths about the
Conference probes halakhah’s role in 21st century life Read More »
Jewish ReligionCompiled by San Diego Jewish World staff Now, HearThis! Southwestern Jewish Press, August 5, 1955, Page 4 This space, formerly occupied by Junior Hostess Joyce Addleson, is happy to extend sincere best wishes to her and her fiancé, Sailor Boy Sherman Love of Albany, New York. Seabee l c Wally Walter also broke the good
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, August 5, 1955, Part 2 Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego CountyBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–When I was attending the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, very little emphasis was placed on “practical rabbinics,” the nuts and bolts of being a rabbi. One piece of advice I do remember was aseh Toratcha keva, “fix a time for your Torah study.” We were warned that
Making time for Torah study Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Victor A. Walsh SAN DIEGO — The discovery of gold in 1848 transformed the sleepy Spanish pueblo of San Diego into a bustling stopover for thousands of miners. These “emigrants” came from all over — New England, the American South, Mexico, South America, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany. The large number of men, with
Jews helped to give San Diego its American start Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego County
A Vow Fulfilled by Fran Laufer; Targum Press; 210 pages; $21.99. By Norman Manson SAN DIEGO–The most inspiring aspect of this memoir – in addition to its story of sheer survival – is the way Fran and Simon Laufer created a thriving, prosperous life for themselves and their family in the United States, at the same
Holocaust survivors inspire with book detailing their commitment to Orthodox Judaism Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — One of the most commented upon panels in the fused glass sculpture of the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the lobby of Tifereth Israel Synagogue is the one which portrays Dan. Dan is symbolized by a snake, which seems to be an unusual metaphor for the ancestors of
What about that other snake in Genesis (49.17)? Read More »
Jewish Religion
How to Be a Mentsh (& Not a Shmuck) by Michael Wex, HarperCollins, New York; ISBN 978-0-06-177112-5 ©2009, $13.99, p. 178 plus notes and bibliography. Hillel: If Not Now, When? by Joseph Telushkin, Nextbook, New York, ISBN 978-0-553-8052-4281-2, ©2010, $24.00, p. 217 plus notes and bibliography. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –Yiddish speakers are
Wex and Telushkin tell us about menshen and others Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Every once in a while something occurs to remind us that we are living in a Jewish country. Currently there are two moderate flaps, and one minor curiosity. Never a major flap that I can recall. Religion is not that important for most Israeli Jews. The qualifier is important. For some, religion is the
Israel has its internal religious controversies Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — No serious thinker has done more harm to the Jewish people than Friedrich Nietzsche, whose writings were an important inspiration for Adolph Hitler and Nazism. Yet far from being an antisemite, Nietzsche was one of the most pro-Jewish German writers of his time. How can this paradox be
Nietzsche was a philo-Semite, notwithstanding Nazis’ admiration for him Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA –As Kramer from “Seinfeld” might say, it’s a Chanukah miracle!!! The word “Christmas” was removed from the 15-foot-high “Christmas Village” sign welcoming visitors to a Christmas market in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall by order of Managing Director Richard Negrin on Nov. 29. Some city workers and visitors griped about
A reason for the season – for all of us Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Yaakov and Yosef, after years of separation, were finally reunited. Yaakov thought his beloved son had been killed. Yosef, though a viceroy in Egypt, was still essentially a prisoner. He believed he would never be able leave Egypt to see his father again. How great was their joy
How wise is that asher yatzar benediction! Read More »
Jewish Religion