By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ORANGE, California — Coming to the U.S. from Israel (or Europe, come to that) one of the first things that strikes you is how big everything (and everyone) is. Well, in California, where i am just now, everything is even bigger. Not necessarily better, but definitely bigger The roads and freeways are […]
California Dreaming Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Travel and Food
Over the past 50 years, my wife Bonnie and I have shared our homes with six cats. The first was a beautiful seal point Siamese paradoxically named Whitey bequeathed to us by friends intent on stopping their baby from playing in her litter box. In one of her former lives she must have been a dog. She fetched balled up pieces of paper, followed us around like a shadow, and emitted piercing yowls. Siamese are lookers, not singers! [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Mercury Baron: Our Last Cat (For Now) Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, San Diego County, The World We Share
Jewish books from the PJ Library are mailed free every month to 680,000 Jewish children to be read to them at bedtime by their parents or guardians. Yes, you can thank Harold Grinspoon, the Massachusetts real estate entrepreneur who funds much of this philanthropy, along with Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, his daughter-in-law who serves as president of his Foundation. [Donald H. Harrison]
Dolly Parton Inspired the PJ Library Program for Jewish Children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Judaism, Lifestyles, USA
The senior program at the Lawrence Family JCC is among the 26 programs receiving financial grants from the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation (SDSCF), it was announced Thursday, Nov. 18. [San Diego Seniors Community Foundation news release]
Lawrence Family JCC Senior Program Receives Chanukah Grant Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County
Shoulds are injunctions carried over from earlier in life, from parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other authority figures. Some have become dispensable. As we grow older, we shed many of these shoulds. [Natasha Josefowitz]
Gaining Freedom from Old “Shoulds’ Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
Ira Spector, who contributed more than 30 columns to this publication on subjects including his childhood in Brooklyn, his service in the Coast Guard, his extensive travels, interesting personalities he had met, and his flamboyant tennis game, died Oct. 14, just four days shy of his 88th birthday. [SDJW]
Ira Spector (1933-2021) Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Middle East, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. Ever since the 1950s when Albert Ellis, Ph.D., an early teacher and mentor of mine, developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy/Coaching, the mental health field has not been the same. Thankfully. Instead of spending months and even years gazing inward and backward with no real behavior change in sight, folks experiencing
The ABCs of a Healthy Mindset Read More »
Lifestyles, Michael MantellBy Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Having just finished reading Suzanne Simard’s book, Finding the Mother Tree, I was bowled over by the ability of trees to communicate with each other through a microbial networks. The Mother Tree is in reality an old tree in the forest who is needed by younger
Various Forms of Communication: Visual, Auditory, Tactile and Chemical Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
Abe Goldberg’s mother, Bronia, and stepfather Harry Sajgeman died within three months of each other in the mid-1980s, but due perhaps to a communications error, most people at Tifereth Israel Synagogue were unaware that he and his wife, Bea, were sitting shiva, alone, at their home. Because the Goldbergs lacked the ten Jewish adults necessary to say kaddish during the seven-day mourning period, they were left feeling forlorn. [Donald H. Harrison]
A Grateful Synagogue Bids a Surprise Farewell to Constant Volunteers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA
The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), the people-to-people network of Jewish communities from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are developing Jewish life in the region, facilitated the first Jewish wedding in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 52 years this past weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in the capital of Manama. [JNS.org]
Bahrain Holds First Jewish Wedding in 52 Years Read More »
Lifestyles, Middle East
Two key factors have kept us sane while raising the next generation of Jewish kids: involving God in the process and striving for consistency in our parenting effort. My wife, Shira and I leave the heavy lifting to God. What we eat, how we treat others and what we do on Shabbat and holidays isn’t something we have to negotiate. We have a priceless 3500-year-old tradition offering precise guidelines on maximizing life and minimizing drama. [Sam Glaser]
Our Jewish Parenting: Keeping Consistency Constant Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Sam Glaser
You want it, you pay for it. Economic liberalism is the essence of the American experience. Don’t tread on me. Don’t make me pay for someone else’s benefit. Of course it’s not total. In the U.S., there are programs to pay, or help to pay for those in need. And there’s lots of insurance, often associated with a job, that pays most or all of health care needs. And government programs to lend money for education. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
American Lifestyles Contrast with Israel’s, Western Europe’s Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Ira Sharkansky, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA
By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) In a sense, the Jewish communal reactions to the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the coronavirus pandemic were diametric opposites. After Robert Bowers shot and killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, American Jews were urged to show up at services in droves the
Can a Synagogue Feel Open with Locked Doors? Rabbis Reflect on Pittsburgh, 3 Years Later Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA
The Jewish Federation of San Diego County, which broadens and deepens engagement in Jewish life and works with many local partners to strengthen community, has established the “Kulam B’Bayit: Everyone At Home” Fund to provide emergency financial support to help seniors live comfortably in their homes. [Jewish Federation of San Diego County]
Jewish Federation Announces Effort to Help Seniors Remain in Their Homes Read More »
Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA