Lifestyles

‘Careful, Beauties Ahead’ Probes Lives of Haredim

Tuvia is an expat Israeli born to a Yiddish-speaking rabbinical family in Bnei Brak, Israel’s largest majority ultra-Orthodox city. He has lived in Germany, the US, and elsewhere for many decades, working as a journalist and author. Holding multiple academic degrees and speaking several languages, Tuvia is also a playwright, essayist, and the founding artistic director of the Jewish Theater of New York. [Steve Kramer]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA

‘Go Around Cemetery’ Sign Led to Program of Community Participation in Development Projects

I sincerely internalized lessons from his experience and that signpost, coming to understand the needs that communities determine and express and the responsibility of development agencies to respond accordingly. This primary tenet of sustainability is so simple, and yet it has taken decades for prior generations worldwide (and still may require generations going forward) to truly forsake the destructive control of central planning in lieu of people’s own decision-making as it impacts their lives. [Yossef Ben-Meir]

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International, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Yossef Ben-Meir

Cooking with Ingredients from Gaza Border Farms

About 75 per cent of Israel’s vegetables came from the Gaza border area, known as the Gaza envelope (Otef Aza in Hebrew), as do many fruit and dairy products. Since the October 7 attack, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 89 per cent of Israeli farmers have been negatively impacted by this war. [Michal Kramer]

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Israel, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Ethnically Jewish Author Explains His Atheism

Eventually, he imagined people sitting in a gigantic house with an infinite set of windows. Each person’s view of the world was influenced by the location of his or her window.  They could see what was in front of them, but not what was in front of the other residents.  Each person’s beliefs are determined by what happens outside their individual windows. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Families That Can’t Afford Diapers Turn to Jewish Family Service

Imagine running out of diapers for your child and not being able to afford to buy more. The cost of diapers has increased, along with food, rent, utilities, and more, making the squeeze on families even tighter. Today, nearly half of American families struggle to afford this essential item. [Press Release]

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Lifestyles, Press Release, San Diego County

Israeli President and Viral Video Creator to Share Webinar on Sunday, Aug. 25

“We basically have been dehumanized,” Eitan Chitayat said in a Zoom interview from Tel Aviv. “We have been boiled down to apartheid lovers, to colonialists, to genocide enablers, and this has to stop.  The only way it will stop is if one person at a time in the private sector, in our own individual lives, start saying ‘We’re Jewish,’ or ‘I’m Jewish!’  Let’s start there.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Why Our Fellow Jews May Be More Affectionate on Monday

Monday (August 19) is the minor Jewish holiday Tu B’Av. This holiday is on the 15th day of the month of Av and known as the Jewish Day of Love or slightly compared to Valentines Day in the United States. [Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

An Israeli-American Perspective: Growing Up in Two Worlds

Those early years in Israel, from preschool through my early teens, were shaped by a unique blend of independence, community, and a deep connection to our surroundings. The rhythm of our days was set by the school bell and the hum of local life—a far cry from the structured, often insulated, childhoods I would observe later while raising my own kids in the United States. [Shahar Masori]

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Israel, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shahar Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Parsha Va’etchanan, Shabbat Nachamu: Caring for One’s Health

The parsha urges us, pleads with us, to prioritize our self-care and well-being. Our bodies harbor immense potential, which can only be fully realized when we maintain optimal health. In the Torah’s view, our physical forms are sacred vessels, instruments for achieving greatness. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors

How to Heal Troubled Mother-Daughter Relationships

The mother and daughter relationship can be a very sensitive subject for most mothers and daughters. How they communicate, don’t communicate, and interact in everyday life can be a constant tug-of-war on the mind and body. Someone is right and someone is wrong. It is a delicate process when dealing with emotions and hormones in different spectrums of womanhood. [Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Federation Teams Up to Present Zoom Seminar on Israel

Jewish Federation of San Diego, Impact Cubed, The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and Lawrence Family JCC have announced there is still time to register for the Zoom session “Understanding Israel: Current Events and Public Opinion” at 10 a.m., Wednesday, August 14. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, International, Israel, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Mexican Jewish Leader of Tijuana and San Diego Tells His Humble Origins

Our arrival in Tijuana, a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, was a significant moment in my life. It was August, a hot month that brought a plague of fleas due to the unpaved streets. We embarked on a train journey from Mexico City, where we unfortunately lost all our hard-earned money in Chihuahua. Despite this setback, we were ready to face the challenges ahead. [José Galicot]

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International, Jose Galicot, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Memoir Tells of Russian Immigrant’s Social Climb in New York City

Memoirs are typically written by famous people or by those who survived extraordinary events.  Politicians, movie stars, artists, and diplomats are in the first category.  Soldiers and Holocaust Survivors are in the second.  But who is Anya Gillinson?  How many people outside of New York City have ever heard her name?  What impelled her to write her memoir? [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

An Israeli-American Perspective: Navigating Youth Culture in Both Countries

My early 20s in Florentin, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv near Jaffa, were truly magical. I was part of a local band, living in the bohemian heart of the city, feeling carefree and immersed in the moment. We were a generation connected by shared experiences, yet separated by the vast cultural currents flowing through our lives. Most of us were fresh out of the IDF, eager to enjoy the freedom we had fought for. [Shahar Masori]

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Israel, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Shahar Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA