Books, Poetry & Short Stories

An Introduction to Jewish Biblical Commentators

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Avigail Rock’s book (1971-2019) “Great Biblical Commentators,” is a very informative, eye-opening, thought-provoking introduction to 24 of the many rabbis and scholars who commented on the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. All of the many who did so could not be listed in the 426 easy-to-read […]

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

The Jewish Foods of India in Five Distinct Sub-Cultures

Author Esther David tells of the history and cuisines of five Jewish communities in India –the Bene Israel, centered in Mumbai; the Cochin Jews on India’s southwestern coast around Kochi;  the Baghdadi Jews on India’s northeastern coast around Kolkata (close to Bangladesh); the Bene Ephraim of Andhra Pradesh on India’s central eastern coast around Machilpatnam; and the Beni Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram on the northeastern arm of India bordering Myanmar (Burma). [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food

‘Poets of the Past’ to Feature Distinguished Holocaust-Era Writer Primo Levi, Yiddish Composer Bertha Kling

By Eileen Wingard   LA JOLLA, California — Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, recognized as one of the most distinguished writers of the Shoah, and Bertha Kling, a Belarus-born Bronx resident, who composed Yiddish songs and poetry in the early 20th century, will be the two featured poets for the “Poets of the Past” program on

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, International, San Diego County

The Adventures of Three Fun-Loving, Environmentalist Dogs

GoGo, Yip and Dave are three dogs who are very much like humans — that is, the variety of humans who are gentle, kind, and care about others. Author Linda S. Klibanow and her illustrator daughter Natalie J. Klibanow have conjured up for young readers a world where dogs talk to other animals, as well as to people, and live by themselves in houses very similar to human abodes. {Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

An Imaginative Tale About the First Jew to Set Foot in the New World

This large format book for elementary school-aged children is about Luis de Torres, who was the interpreter for Christopher Columbus on his 1492 voyage of discovery. Some of the story is true, as best as historians can tell; more of the story comes from the rich imagination of authorTami Lehman-Wilzig. Overall, it should be considered a work of historical fiction, rather than history. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History

The Jewish Eye: San Diego Teen Philanthropists; Mayorkas, Sanders Under Fire

In Jewish tradition, the fate of the world depends upon 36 upstanding people known as the Lamed Vavniks.  As a matter of interest, there are 36 leaders and officers of the Jewish Teen Foundation (JTF) in San Diego County.  They will be awarding philanthropic funds that they have raised to various nonprofit organization at a 4 p.m. ceremony Sunday May 21 at Congregation Beth Am in the Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

The Jewish Eye: Infrastructure Improvements; Washington DC Ethics; Teaching About ‘Others’

San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera says the Council has only reluctantly consented to adding two lanes to State Route 56. While it may ease traffic flow on the route that connects the Interstate 5 and the Interstate 15, it also encourages even more gasoline-powered traffic. “This is not a win from a climate perspective,” Elo-Rivera was quoted Thursday in The San Diego Union-Tribune. “We need to own that and recognize that and do everything we can to turn the wheel in the right direction as quickly as possible.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Israel, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Miep Gies and the Quest for a Lasting Holocaust Lesson

By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) There is something about the story of the eight Jews who spent more than two years hiding in the secret annex on Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam that is irresistible to readers, as well as audiences for plays and movies. The travails of Otto Frank and his family, who were trapped

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Revisiting the the Rothschilds

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — While sorting through and getting rid of books in order to accommodate a new item of furniture I came across “The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait,” which I had given to my father for his birthday in 1965. It still bears my dedication, “To Daddy, with love,” reminding me

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History

‘Breakfast Cereal: A Global History’ — The Book I Did Not Write

By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California – I like porridge, cream of wheat, and semolina. It’s a nice starter for cold weather. I remember the advertising ditty, “Its cream of wheat weather, we repeat, so guard your family with hot cream of wheat.” In 2005 we were in San Francisco for a wedding. We breakfasted

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Tips for Living a Longer and Exciting Life

Authors David Cravit and Larry Wolf differentiate between “Default Aging” and “Super Aging.”  The former style of aging is passive: You retire, take some vacations, become increasingly passive and irrelevant, fade into obscurity, and then die.  It is what “retirement” has meant for too long a time, according to the authors.  On the other hand, “super aging” involves taking charge of your life after the so-called retirement age; finding a purpose, keeping well informed about health and fitness, being mentally active, and not letting anyone else define you by your age. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles

Unpacking the Complexities of Dutch Holocaust History

By Dorian de Wind The Moderate Voice AUSTIN, Texas — The horrors inflicted upon Dutch Jews during the Holocaust were staggeringly evil, nothing short of genocidal. When Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, 140,000 Jews were living there. In September 1944, when the last transport left for the Nazi death camps, a total of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorian de Wind, Holocaust, International

The Jewish Eye: Holocaust Presentations; Ethics and Animals, Artificial Intelligence; Israel’s 75th Anniversary

Holocaust Survivor Joseph Alexander, 100, will tell of his experiences at Chabad of Poway at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 27, exactly four years after a gunman murdered Lori Gilbert Kaye and wounded four other people. Reservations are required via chabadpoway.com.   On May 4, Cheryl Rattner Price, executive director of The Butterfly Project, and Sandra Scheller, curator of the RUTH: Remember Us the Holocaust, will be among speakers at a 1:30 p.m. presentation on the Holocaust at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.  Lee Ann Kim, former KGTV-10 reporter and founder of the Pacific Arts Movement, will emcee the event, which also will include a performance by singer Elizabeth Schwartz. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Waxing and Waning Relations Between the Jewish and Mexican-American Communities in Los Angeles

The construction of Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine was controversial – so much so that it tore at a traditional alliance between the Mexican-American community and the Jewish community who, between the two World Wars, lived side by side the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights.. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Sports & Competitions, USA