Other items in today’s column include:
*UC San Diego athletes, graduate students benefit from Jacobs’ family grant
*Political bytes
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO – The national Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) has a tradition called “World Wide Wrap,” in which Jews around the world are taught traditional ways of wrapping tefillin (phylacteries) on their arms and placing a prayer box on their heads.
Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, instructing a learning session sponsored by the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club, an FJMC affiliate, on Sunday, explained that the custom derives from a literal interpretation of the v’ahavta prayer (Deuteronomy 6:5-9), which in English translation says:
You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your might.
Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day.
Impress them upon your children.
Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead;
inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The Conservative rabbi said that some people wrap the strap of the tefillin so tightly around their arms that it leaves an imprint, thereby reminding them for the rest of the day of the commandment to love God.
Tefillin come in two pieces, one for the hand (yad) and arm; and one for the head (rosh). Jewish law (halakah) requires that tefillin be made a tanned skin of an animal. For people who have allergies to wearing leather, it is possible to obtain synthetic tefillin, but that is not considered kosher and thus one who wears it is not fulfilling the mitzvah under Jewish law.
When wrapping the tefillin on one’s arm (usually the weaker arm), one circles the arm with the strap seven times, then creates a design around the hand that includes the Hebrew letters shin, dalet, and yud, which spells “Shaddai,” one of God’s names.
The leather used for tefillin must come from an animal, whether a sheep or a cow, that has been wholly utilized, so that no part of its body is wasted, Rabbi Dorsch said. Tefillin from cow leather is a recent innovation, dating back perhaps 100 years; before then sheep was the standard. The passages of Torah written on parchment also are made from animal skin.
The head piece has within it four compartments, all made from the same piece of leather, into which are placed four pieces of scripture each relating to tefillin. They come from Exodus 13: 1-10; Exodus 13:11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21.
The same four quotations from scripture are put into the arm/ hand piece, but in this case, they are sewn together in a continuous horizontal piece of parchment.
When people put tefillin on, they first wrap the arm; then fix the head piece, and then make the letters of Shaddai on the hand. When taking off the tefillin, Rabbi Dorsch said, it should be removed in reverse order.
Rabbi Dorsch related that tefillin can lose its kosher status if the parchment inside becomes damaged whether by dust, water, or wear and tear. In such a case, the tefillin must be replaced. He said that once when he was at Camp Ramah, he got caught in a rain storm while wearing his tefillin and it was ruined.
He cautioned that sometimes sharp operators try to sell people tefillin that is not kosher. His own brother, he said, purchased tefillin which, upon inspection, had a photocopy of the words on the parchment rather than the parchment itself.
To be kosher, the Hebrew on the parchment should be lettered by a trained scribe.
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UC San Diego athletes, graduate students benefit from Jacobs’ family grant
Gary & Jerri-Ann Jacobs, the philanthropic founders of High-Tech High School, have given $2 million to UC San Diego for scholarships for scholar-athletes and for graduate fellowships and programs in the field of social science. Gary is the son of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and the father of 53rd CD Congressional District candidate Sara Jacobs. Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, responding to the gift, commented: “As we strive to meet the needs of our students, we thank generous donors like Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs for the investment in UC San Diego and our students.
Gary was graduated from UC San Diego in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in arts and intramural science. He also played intramural soccer and volleyball, and helped adult leagues and little leagues obtain baseball coaches. He is an owner of the Lake Elsinore Storm, a farm club for the San Diego Padres.
“As a Division III school when I was a student and now as a Division II school, athletics were not a unifying tradition for both students and alumni. We believe the move to Division I will provide excitement on campus and an opportunity for alumni to reconnect with UC San Diego. Plus, our ability to be on ESPN 3 consistently will enhance the visibility of the amazing students, staff, faculty and research done at UC San Diego.”
In recognition of their gift to the graduate program in social sciences, UC San Diego will name the Jerri-Ann and Gray Jacobs Family Teaching Preparation Laboratory in their honor.
Jerri-Ann commented, “UC San Diego is always competing for the most competitive graduate students. We often hear how we lost a potential future superstar to another university because they were able to offer a better financial package, even though the graduate student really wanted to study with a UC San Diego professor. Our fellowship provides the additional resources to attract these stellar students.”
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Political bytes
*The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, representing 26,000 service and patient throughout the University of California system, has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. Michael Avant, executive vice president of the local, stated: “This election will be a referendum on a corrupt President who has actively worked to rip off workers, attack our families, and undermine our collective bargaining rights. These are the biggest voting issues for our members. And while any of the major candidates challenging Trump would be a significant improvement, none have walked the talk as reliably and consistently as Senator Bernie Sanders, and that’s why we are enthusiastically endorsing him for President.”
*A canvasser for 7th District San Diego City Council candidate Wendy Wheatcroft, an elementary school teacher and gun violence prevention advocate, delivered a flyer to the door of our home. The Democrat says her priorities will be transit, climate, homelessness and housing. Concerning climate, the literature quoted her to say, “When we improve transit and reinvent our system of trash collection, we can meet our Climate Action goals. We must fully staff our fire department and provide death benefits, so we can be better protected from the inevitable effects of climate change, including heavy rains and extreme fires.”
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In Memoriam
*Contemporary artist Faiya Fredman died Feb. 4 at age 94. G. James Daichenot reviews her life and art career in Sunday’s edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
*Neil Owen Strassman, 70, died Feb. 10. His burial at mount Sinai II Lawn at El Camino Memorial Park in services officiated by Rabbi Wayne Dosick of the Elijah Minyan will be followed by memorial services in some of the places where he lived after his graduation from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. At the Emanuel Synagogue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, services will be led by Rabbi Abby Jacobson and at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker. Strassman had a varied career including work as a reporter, a radio disk jockey and chief of staff to Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. He leaves his wife Fatima Abrantes-Pais, son Joseph Strassman, and stepdaughter Georgia Shelton.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com