Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Chance encounter of a literary kind

By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — The Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood keeps busy — in addition her literary and TV work — flying around the world on an almost monthly basis to give lectures at universities and book festivals in over a dozen countries. Look up in the sky at any moment, and you […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

Niece reprises Shelley Winters’ role in ‘Anne Frank’

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – In the American History Theater’s current production of The Diary of Anne Frank, some American theater history is being reprised.  Back in 1959, Shelley Winters won an Oscar as best supporting actress for her performance as Mrs. Van Daan in the movie version of that play, which dramatized

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

PJ Library helps families seeking more Jewish context

By H. Applebaum SAN DIEGO — What do parents do if they are raising a Jewish child, yet have no resources at hand?  The cause could be intermarriage, or living far from family or other Jews, or all of the above.  When Jews leave traditional Jewish enclaves, and children come along, it presents a challenge.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Book Review: ‘The Dog Lady of Mexico’

The Dog Lady of Mexico by Alison Sawyer Current; self-published; © 2018, ISBN 9780578-413808; 388 pages; available via Amazon. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The Isla Mujeres is off the northeast tip of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.  It boasts warm beaches, tropical weather, a quiet, lay-back lifestyle, and more dogs than residents can shake

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, The World We Share

Book review: ‘The Limits of the World’

The Limits of the World by Jennifer Acker; Delphinium Books © 2019; ISBN 9781883-285777; 300 pages, $25.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Immigrants from India found themselves distrusted by both sides of the racial divide in colonial Kenya.  As far as black Africans were concerned, the brown-skinned Asians were part of the ruling

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Book Review: ‘In Good Faith’

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California  — Often the greatest critics of religion offer us a series of criticism about the depth of our faith; they confront us with our hypocrisy. They challenge us to reexamine what it means to “believe.” As a young teenager, I remember hiding Raphael Patai’s book, Hebrew Myths in

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Book Review: Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel

Click here for related story By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin  BOCA RATON, Florida — Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Erez Zadok’s 2019 Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel, published by Koren Press, will delight parents and children. There are humorous comics explaining the Haggadah and Seder ceremonies in about half of the book’s 170 pages with the chad

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Superman, Batman and deeper Torah concepts

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Superhero comics have been influenced greatly by Jewish life in the United States and by Torah learning, according to Jordan Gorfinkel, 51, the entertainment entrepreneur who managed the Batman franchise for a decade before creating his own Avalanche Comics Entertainment company. In the sanctuary of Tifereth Israel Synagogue

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Book Review: ‘Radical Inclusion’

Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future by Edmund Case, © 2019 Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism, ISBN 9781732-938809l, 265 pages, $19.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – If I understand author Edmund Case’s basic premise, it is if people “do Jewish,” then for all practical purposes, they are members of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

Book Review: ‘Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries’

Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries, Genesis 1-21 by Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, First Edition Design Publishing, Inc., Sarasota, FL, © 2016, Published January 2019, ISBN 978-1506-907-16-1, p. 294 plus bibliography and index, $21.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, author of Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentaries, is also the author of a multi-volume

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Book Review: ‘Taming Your Guts’

Taming Your Guts: A Complete Guide to Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder, Second Edition, by Arnold L. Flick, M.D. © 2018, ISBN 9781797-411767; 188 pages plus diets and index. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Dr. Arnold Flick, who is a retired clinical professor of gastroenterology at the UC San Diego medical school, takes readers on

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

Comics’ Gorfinkel to visit Tifereth Israel Synagogue

SAN DIEGO  (Press Release)– Jordan Gorfinkel, a former DC Comics editor who managed the Batman franchise for nearly a decade, will be at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego on Wednesday, April 10, for a free-to-the-public discussion of his work, which includes a newly published The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel that brings the Exodus experience into

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, San Diego County