Staff and Bylined Contributors

Shavuot Wishes and Some Fascinating Upcoming Events

Youth Summer Music Camp (6th-12th grade) with Sharon Katz will be at 1 p.m., Monday, June 17 until Saturday, June 22 (no camp on Wednesday, June 19) at the San Diego Central Public Library. Katz is the founder of The Peace Train Project and Band and will direct this summer camp at the library. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Lesbian Breaks Free from Gur Hasidim

So, of course she tried to suppress the fact that she was physically stimulated by the touch of women and conversely deadened by the touch of men.  She took no joy in marital sex; it was a duty imposed upon her by the expectation of the Gur community.  The only benefit of having sex with her first husband was her two children, for whom her love knew no bounds. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

OpEd: ‘Screams Before Silence’ an Intense Documentary

Many individuals did not want to watch alone the film about the horrific attacks on Jewish women during the Oct 7 massacre. Limiting the number of reservations to women-only, having mental health clinicians facilitate and not listing the location facilitated this event. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Jewish Federation Invests in ‘Transformational Experiences’

At Jewish Federation of San Diego, we are deeply committed to investing in transformational experiences that ensure a brighter, stronger, and more connected Jewish community for generations to come. Our initiatives focus on inspiring a life-long love of Judaism, fostering a robust pipeline of future leaders, and deepening community bonds. [Heidi Gantwerk]

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Heidi Gantwerk, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Music Review: The Queen is Afire!

Last week, I was both shouting and dancing to the most marvelous violin music. There is a saying that the greatest compliment a Jewish violinist can receive is to say “Your violin really spoke to me.” We must say that to violin maven Alicia Svigals, who is releasing a new CD after more than 20 years. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Barrett Holman Leak, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

A Jewish Immigrant Mother’s Tale

The trauma remained with her, influencing the rest of her life.  Working as a translator of Polish, Yiddish, and Russian at the Bund offices, she was exposed to frequent reports of antisemitic incidents in Poland, heightening her sense of danger.  She took comfort in the strength of her boss at the Bund, Leopold.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Biography: Boris Pasternak Avoided, Denied, His Jewishness

Pasternak’s feelings about Jews and Jewry in the first 22 years of his life are ̶ negative: humiliation, oppression, pogroms. A different vision of the Jewish problem was revealed to him in Marburg. Pasternak encountered Jewish thinking for the first time in his life: Cohen’s teachings were based on the ethics of Judaism. Plagued by Jewish complexes in Russia, he was apparently shocked by the position of the Jewish thinker and rejected Cohen’s offer to continue his philosophical studies. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

In This Play, Daughter is Overbearing, Not Trusting of Mother’s Choices

Mom (Lesa Sailors) has been a widow for two years, and though she loved her husband, has found new facets and interests and is allowing herself to live a more fully expressed life, which is equal parts unexpected and devastating to her daughter, Ellie. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Count Down to Shavuot

“It’s the final countdown” … of counting the Omer and the celebration of Shavuot starting Tuesday, June 11! This is a busy week around the area with many celebrations for Shavuot but also the last day of school for those in the San Diego Unified School District. A well-deserved break “from the books” should be celebrated with some cheesecake or cooling off with some ice cream, am I right? [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire

‘101 Treasures’ from Israel Library is also a Treasure for Home Collections

The joke is that my wife has been an unflagging downsizer, in resisting my acquiring new books, but gifts may be different. I thanked my friend, “Never seen Karen so pleased to get a book in an age where she is trying to get them out of the house.” [Oliver B. Pollak]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak, Staff and Bylined Contributors