USA

The Mezuzah and the Coronavirus

One of the fascinating aspects of the coronavirus and its impact upon our society is the impact it is having on the religious lives of people across the world. In Israel, the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi asked Jews to stop kissing mezuzahs because of the coronavirus, while a major European rabbinical group published its own directives how to contain the spread of the illness. For those who are unfamiliar with what a mezuzah is, a mezuzah is a small parchment that contains some of the most sacred Jewish prayers, most notably, the Shema. Some Jews are instructed not to touch the mezuzah, or a Torah scroll with their hands. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

The Mezuzah and the Coronavirus Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

The Jewish candidates: Kate Schwartz in the 75th A.D.

Kate Schwartz, a Fallbrook Democrat who will face incumbent Assemblywoman Marie Waldron (R-Escondido) in the Nov. 3 runoff election, said the coronavirus pandemic illustrates the necessity to re-open community and rural hospitals. Furthermore, she said, it is evidence that California should switch from competing private health systems to a unified, single-payer health care system.  She said California could set an example for the rest of the nation. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

The Jewish candidates: Kate Schwartz in the 75th A.D. Read More »

Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA

Assembly candidate rues growing anger amid pandemic

State Assembly candidate Kate Schwartz eared her graduate degree in psychiatric social work, and today as a mental health professional, she serves as one of five members on the Fallbrook Regional Health District Board.  As our society experiences the coronavirus pandemic, she says that Americans appear to be moving from the first stage of grief — shock and denial — to the far more dangerous second stage, which is anger. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

Assembly candidate rues growing anger amid pandemic Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

Scientific, psychological, spiritual advice during pandemic

Via such Internet communication systems as Zoom and Facebook, San Diegans have been receiving scientific, psychological, and spiritual information during this coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego sponsored a 40-minute online briefing by Prof. Erica Ollmann Sapphire, Ph.D,  of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in which some of the points that she covered were: [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

Scientific, psychological, spiritual advice during pandemic Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Neo-Nazi youth taunt Jewish student in New Jersey

On her first two days as a freshman, two teachers laughed when pronouncing a student’s last name, Guiffre, as Jew-Frey. One teacher remarked, “I wouldn’t want a last name like that,” and the same teacher would later recommend Mein Kampf as a great book. An anti-Semitic photo displayed in a group chat in 2018 prompted an investigation by the state attorney general, which last October found probable cause that Paige fell victim to discrimination by the school and the school district based on her religion. [Bruce S. Ticker]

Neo-Nazi youth taunt Jewish student in New Jersey Read More »

Bruce Ticker, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Torah teaches officials to be good financial stewards

Moses gave an exact accounting of the raw material brought to the Sanctuary: gold (29 talents, 730 shekels), silver (100 talents, 1,757 shekels), copper (70 talents, 2,400 shekels) etc. The first thing which strikes us is that this seems to be an accountant’s report on Moses’ business affairs. Moses, after all, is the leader of the Jewish People; if he isn’t above suspicion, who is? But why encumber Moses with a ledger?The answer ought to be obvious. The sacred text comes to teach us that no one is above suspicion. Even Moses is accountable. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

Torah teaches officials to be good financial stewards Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

Major Jewish groups to meet CV19 challenge together

Gary E. Jacobs, the San Diegan who serves as the national chairman of the JCC Association Board of Directors, declared Wednesday that “the Jewish community has historically overcome the greatest challenges only when we united and work together.  This is one of those moments when we in the JCC Community, along with the Federations, summer camps and so many others will collaborate to address this unprecedented crisis.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

Major Jewish groups to meet CV19 challenge together Read More »

Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA

Pollard case recalls two women’s bipartisanship

Jonathan Pollard’s second wife, Esther, has advanced metastatic cancer and is fighting for her life, while Jonathan cannot be with her much of the time.According to various news reports, Israeli officials and, in America, the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel, and the Coalition for Jewish Values, have asked President Trump to lift his parole on “humanitarian grounds.” Based on his release date of November 20, 2015, Pollard’s difficult parole conditions would end in November, 2020. There was a time when Israeli MK’s reached across the aisle to try to help the Pollards. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

Pollard case recalls two women’s bipartisanship Read More »

Jewish History, Middle East, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA

The Jewish candidates: Sarah Davis in the 78th A.D.

Sarah Davis faces San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward, who is another LGBTQ Democrat, so such issues as gay rights, marriage equality, and others that in former years were hot topics will not be matters for much debate in the 78th Assembly District contest prior to the Nov. 3 runoff election.  However, Davis, a member of the Jewish community, says she and Ward have plenty of differences about such issues as placing greater emphasis on women’s health and fighting climate change. [Our Shetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

The Jewish candidates: Sarah Davis in the 78th A.D. Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Are there enough hospital beds for Covid-19 and gun victims?

Baltimore Mayor Jack Young sounded a curious plea this past Wednesday: “We cannot clog our hospitals and their beds with people that are being shot senselessly because we’re going to need those beds for people infected with the coronavirus.” Yet it seemed commendable nearly a month earlier when the House of Representatives passed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act which, true to its name, would make lynching a federal hate crime. It occurred to me that perhaps a century from now the House will vote to make gun violence a federal hate crime – thousands of bullet-ridden bodies later. [Bruce S. Ticker]

Are there enough hospital beds for Covid-19 and gun victims? Read More »

Bruce Ticker, USA

Jewish community establishes emergency Covid-19 fund

The Jewish Federation of San Diego County, the Jewish Community Foundation and the Leichtag Foundation have jointly created a new San Diego Jewish Community Covid-19 Emergency Fund “to support those who are most vulnerable and impacted primarily in San Diego’s Jewish community.” Co-chairing the effort are Emily Einhorn, Leo Spiegel, and Brian Tauber. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

Jewish community establishes emergency Covid-19 fund Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA

Russian-Saudi oil competition damaging domestic producers

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have had fairly stable energy prices for the past few years, and fairly low ones, in part due to the tremendous increase in energy production in the United States – both natural gas and oil. In 2018, the U.S. produced 95% of its domestic energy requirements, the largest

Russian-Saudi oil competition damaging domestic producers Read More »

International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Local Jewish candidates series: Joe Leventhal

San Diego City Council candidate Joe Leventhal served on the City of San Diego’s Ethics Commission for only a year before resigning to run for office, but he’s proud that he has left behind what he says colleagues on the commission refer informally to as the “Leventhal Amendment.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

Local Jewish candidates series: Joe Leventhal Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA

Books, Internet tell of plagues through history

The plague has interested me for over 60 years. On my shelves I have Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year 1665; William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples (1976); John Aberth, the author of The Black Death, The Great Mortality of 1348-1350 (2005), the first of his several studies on mass mortality; Teofilo F. Ruiz, The Terror of History, on the Uncertainties of Life in Western Civilization (2011); and Rachel Kadish, The Weight of Ink (2017). I knew people who suffered through the 1918 Influenza epidemic. And I know three of the above mentioned authors. One of the first books I received as a gift was Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]

Books, Internet tell of plagues through history Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, USA