‘The Optimist’: Troubled teenager brings out Holocaust survivor’s hidden story

An independent film, The Optimist, opens on Wednesday, March 11, in over 700 theaters nationwide.  It tells the story of Theresienstadt-and- Auschwitz survivor Herbert Heller (Stephen Lang) recounting his Holocaust experiences after 60 years of keeping silent. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Shakespeare, Hasidic sage Zusya, shared belief in unique purpose of each human being

Shakespeare and Rabbi Zusya lived more than a century apart and in very different worlds, yet together they illuminate a deeply Jewish idea: tafkid, the belief that each soul enters the world with a particular purpose. [Betzy Lynch]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Federation mission to India ‘refreshing’ and broadening

For two weeks, we were transported into a place more “foreign” than anywhere else I have visited, yet every encounter was positive, welcoming, and gracious. Through our modern Western lens, we kept asking about antisemitism, historically or today. It simply isn’t there, and I cannot express how refreshing that was to hear. [Heidi Gantwerk]

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Antisemitism, Heidi Gantwerk, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Family of Roddie Edmonds presented Congressional Medal of Honor for protecting Jewish POWs from Nazis

Edmonds was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a German POW camp. Over 1275 American POWs, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, were held there. [Jerry Klinger]

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Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Daylight Savings Time comes this Sunday morning

Daylight Saving Time is upon us. I don’t mind when we “fall back” in the Fall since we get more sleep. When we “spring forward” in the Spring, it cuts out an hour of sleep, which can be devastating to teenagers who enjoy sleeping in. [Cailin Acosta]

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss, Provost of HUC-JIR, dies at 60

Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss passed away on March 3, 2026—the day of Purim—at her home in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, following a year-long battle with cancer. Her passing on a holiday defined by courage and the “reversal of fate” mirrors her own life’s work of transforming the rabbinate. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Barrett Holman Leak, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

OU answers ‘Kosher for Passover’ questions

NEW YORK (Press release) — On any given day, Rabbi Zvi Nussbaum, the rabbinic coordinator responsible for managing OU Kosher’s year-round consumer hotline, fields about 150 kashrus-related phone calls. With less than a month until Pesach — OU Kosher’s busiest season — that number will double in the coming weeks, as Yom Tov-based shaylos stream

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Jewish Religion, Travel and Food, USA