Judaism

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Maurycy Gottlieb

His painting “Shylock and Jessica” won the Gold Medal at the Munich Academy. Later, he returned to Vienna to study under Heinrich von Angeli, and produced paintings on biblical themes. Meeting in Rome, Matejko urged him to return to Krakow to work on a series of monumental paintings including scenes depicting the history of the Jews in Poland. [SDJW staff]

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday

Rashi: Marvelous but Irrational

Rashi’s commentaries are not original ideas. He drew fascinating stories from Midrashim and placed them into his commentary. Midrashim are books that collected fanciful, engaging stories written as parables and teaching aids − enjoyable and sometimes even exciting accounts − that, for the most part, were not originally intended to be understood as true history, or the true meaning of scriptural passages. However, Rashi and others, such as Nachmanides in the thirteenth century, took these tales as facts and used them to explain the Bible. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Winehouse Statue in London Defaced with Palestinian Sticker

LONDON (JNS) — A sculpture of Amy Winehouse in the town of Camden, in northern London, was defaced over the weekend with a Palestinian flag sticker covering the late Jewish singer’s Star of David necklace. “This is disgusting. Amy Winehouse was a famous Jewish singer who was proud of her Jewish heritage,” wrote the National

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International, Israel, Jewish Celebrities, JNS, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

Israeli Composer Forwards ‘Jewish Tunes from Haifa’

I completed a fantasy piece about the songs of the Jewish people a few days before their tragedy broke on the day of their great and joyous holiday, the Joy of Torah. I titled the piece I Hear a Scream. On the “Black Sabbath” of October 7, I heard the screams of Jews, victims of a pogrom that happened where there could have been no pogrom – in the territory of the Jewish state. [Boris Levenberg]

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Alex Gordon, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Videos

Our Shtetl San Diego County: Permanent Plaque Will Honor Howard Wayne at Hall of Justice

The San Diego County Bar Foundation has notified Mary Lundberg that her late husband, former California Assemblyman Howard Wayne (D-San Diego) will be memorialized with a permanent plaque bearing his likeness in the Hall of Justice of the San Diego Superior Court. [SDJW staff]

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California, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Theodore Bikel’s Songs to Be First in JCC’s ‘Beloved Voices’ Series Feb. 22

I will be hosting the program, and my special guest will be Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, who was Theodore Bikel’s wife during the last years of his life and founder and director of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project. The songs were selected to illustrate Bikel’s vast range and the large number of his recordings in our Astor Judaica Library.  [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Biography: Hermann Cohen Sought a Merger of Judaism and Germanism

Beginning with the Kant and Moses Mendelssohn dispute, the German-speaking world debated the question of whether Judaism was a religion of reason. Cohen believed that Germany was the only country in which reason and religious feeling could easily be combined because of its philosophical idealism. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Milos Forman

In 1975, Forman had his first big hit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, about life in a psychiatric ward, which won him an Oscar as best director. In 1979, he directed Hair, based on the Broadway musical but it did not do well financially. In 1981, he directed Ragtime, based on a novel by E.L. Doctorow, and in 1985, he won another Academy Award for directing  Amadeus, about the life of Mozart. [SDJW staff]

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Holocaust, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Temple Etz Rimon Shares in Interfaith Projects with Pilgrim Church; Both Congregations are Committed to Social Justice, Inclusiveness

Every synagogue has its own personality. Farber said that Temple Etz Rimon’s is that “it is very, very friendly. Warm. You come into the building and you are greeted. You are welcomed at the oneg. They grab you; they love you. People will say, ‘Oh my God, you are so friendly!’ We are. There is no snobbishness in the group. It’s really a nice congregation. Unfortunately, it is getting smaller and smaller.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Ben Dishman, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego County: Jewish Community Foundation’s Leadership Transition

Beth Sirull completes her tenure as CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego on March 15, when she will be succeeded by Jeremy Pearl, who currently is the foundation’s chief financial officer. [SDJW Staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Israel, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

WJC Condemns European Court’s Decision on Ritual Slaughter Ban in Belgium

Stern remarked, “The court’s ill-advised decision that perpetuates discrimination against Belgian Jews and Muslims is deplorable. This ruling is a backward step, not a matter of animal welfare, but a clear suppression of religious freedom and liberty. We cannot stand idly by as instances of religious persecution unfold.” [World Jewish Congress]

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Antisemitism, International, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food, World Jewish Congress

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Chaim Potok

In 1967 Potok published The Chosen, and in 1969 a sequel The Promise, which helped delineate differences between Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.  The Chosen was made into a film in 1981.  In the interim,  the Potoks moved to Jerusalem in 1970, returning to the states in 1977.  Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev was published in 1972. [SDJW staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA