By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO-Sometimes life can feel pretty cruel. We have each had those moments when we feel stricken or have lost our compass. For many of us, we have the benefit of family or friends to whom we can turn. But what about those of us who are on their own? What must [...]
By Eileen Wingard EL CAJON, California — Jazz violinist, pianist and composer, David Morales Boroff, was clearly the star of the Gala Fundraiser for the Music Department of Grossmont College. This attractive, talented 19-year-old, the recipient of a President’s Scholarship (four years of free tuition and housing) from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, [...]
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — One of the interesting paradoxes of human life is our tendency to copy one another and to try to “fit in” with friends and acquaintances, while simultaneously trying to be distinct from others, and to be our “own person.” The pressures of conformity are very strong in [...]
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — In a ceremony celebrating its 150th anniversary which was named “My Honor is My Freedom,” the International Red Cross together with the Palestinian Red Crescent planted 150 trees in Jenin bearing the names of “veteran prisoners.” According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) the Palestinian Authority uses the term “veteran [...]
By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California– In this affluent coastal community which gained fame in 2003 as the first U.S. mainland city to ban smoking on its public beaches, Steve Blumkin preaches what might be described as environmental tikkun olam. One of his particular interests lies several thousand miles to the south in the rain [...]
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — After Grossmont College’s Entrances & Exits, I hooked up with Sidney Franklin for an interview. I met Sidney years ago when he was a spirited and promising teenager and have watched him grow into a fine, polished performer. What follows is the bulk of our conversation –minus my [...]
By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — “Vibrant” “Engaged” and “Enchanted” were three adjectives that leapt into my mind when I met the teacher, clarinetist and international performer. Alexander Gourevitch and his wife Anna, welcomed me into their Carmel Valley home Friday morning. I was eager to learn about Gourevitch’s upcoming role in the San [...]
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — I trace back my love of poetry to Mr. Perle. He taught freshman English in the high school I attended. I remember him as diminutive in stature, but not at all diminutive in his ability to inspire reluctant students to read, and to actually enjoy, fine literature. [...]
By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Rachel Barton Pine informed us, as she opened her recital at San Diego State University, that she was not Jewish. In fact, with the exception of the Nigun by Bloch and the Hebrew Melody of Achron, she had never played any of the selections on the Jewish Studies program [...]
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM–Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the weekly government meeting at Mount Herzl on Sunday in honor of Jerusalem Day which is to be celebrated on Wednesday (May 8). Israel will celebrate the 46th anniversary of the unification of its capital. Netanyahu stated during the special session that the liberation of [...]