By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — In anticipation of celebrating the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, I did some research about the role of Jews in the Revolutionary War. Besides the well known figure, Haym Solomon, who helped finance the war, I learned that quite a number of Jews played significant roles […]
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel SOLANA BEACH, California — A Walk in The Woods at the North Coast Rep is engaging, informative and entertaining with a fine script and superb acting. The history of the play goes back the Cold War when Russia controlled Eastern Europe, half of Germany, and half of Berlin, while the
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel SOLANA BEACH, California — My daughter Judith and I had tickets for the North Coast Rep on Sunday afternoon to see A Walk in the Woods with David Ellenstein, and J.Todd Adams. We arrived at the theater in plenty of time to pick up our tickets , get seated and
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — The U.S. Merchant Marine were the men and their ships who brought soldiers, food, airplanes, oil and every essential item to our troops all over the world during World War II. Merchant ships and crews were on the front lines and suffered staggering losses from Nazi submarines
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Family members and three fellow clergy saluted Cantor Emeritus Shelly Foster Merel of Congregation Beth Israel on his 95th birthday during a dinner gathering Saturday night, May 18, at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina on Shelter Island. There were so many speakers that the presentations went on
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — At the last minute on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 1, I received an invitation from Genine, my vivacious friend, to attend a program at the Hive. I had a long day of activities, and was ready to relax after dinner, but since the Leichtag campus is
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel SOLANA BEACH, California — All in the Timing is a hit with six clever funny plays, six outstanding actors ,and precise direction by David Ellerstein. If your timing is good I recommend you catch the show before it closes on May 5th. You will laugh your way through the evening,
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel SAN DIEGO — It seemed I walked into the future last Thursday with five friends for our first visit to the “ new” downtown San Diego Library! Its stunning outside and inside structures are an architect’s dream project. Curved aluminum metal rods circle around the building and its beautiful dome
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel SOLANA BEACH, California — Last December I reviewed the movie Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society on this website. It took place on England’s Guernsey and Channel islands just off the coast of France during World War II . I learned then that Winston Churchill considered these islands indefensible and removed
Story by Eileen Wingard, Photos by Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel LA JOLLA, California — The venerable UCSD pianist, Cecil Lytle, chooses a different theme each year for the annual Lytle Scholarship Concert, raising funds for UC San Diego’s Preuss High School. The theme for this year’s 23rd concert was “Jewish Music, from Bessarabia to Broadway.”
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINTAS, California — I arrived at the Coastal Roots Farm around 10.30 Sunday morning, a bit delayed as I assumed the entrance was on Saxony Road, and had to circle around to Ecke Ranch road, north of the farm.. The day’s event was in honor of the Jewish holiday of
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — The Leichtag Foundation welcomed three new directors of Jewish agencies in San Diego at a reception at the Hive on Thursday, January 10. The honorees were Rabbi Gary Oren of Hillel, Betzy Lynch of the Jewish Community Center, and Michael Jeser of the Jewish Federation. Charlene Seidle of the
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — In my original review of The Green Book, I wrote “There may be several screen awards lurking in the future especially for Viggo Mortensen..” Whoopee, last Sunday evening at the Golden Globe Awards I watched my prediction came true. The Green Book won three awards! Here is the announcement
By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — This unusual film title on Netflix promptly caught my attention. I had no idea what it meant. Netflix gave it high star ratings , but I double checked with the “Rotten Tomatoes “ site. To understand the geographical setting where Guernsey is located in the story I