Judaism

Israel muddled by coronavirus, school openings, High Holidays

School, High Holidays, travel to Uman. They are all problematic, and causing squabbles for us, as well as the government of Ukraine with its Jewish President. Most immediate is the opening of school, set for today. Until now we’ve been wondering about a teachers strike, the prospect of paying an extra several thousand teachers and aides to allow smaller classes, and how the various grades will be treated with respect to masks, teaching in class or from home, as well as the thousands of students still without computers or internet connections that would allow some kind of distant learning. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

A new generation of writers tackles the Holocaust

This history of one Holocaust family’s experiences, together with a book by Julie Gray that I reviewed yesterday —  The True Adventures of Gidon Levin in which Gray traveled with Lev to the major venues in his life, — leave me with a hopeful sense that we are moving into a new era of Holocaust research and scholarship.  I’m hopeful because I’ve often heard Holocaust survivors ask plaintively, “When we’re gone, who will tell our stories?”  The answer is that an entirely new generation of journalists, descendants, and academics will probe the history of the mass murder of six million Jews, unearthing untold stories and bringing to them fresh new perspectives.  [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Willie the plumber and Lavender Laura

Willie and Laura Pincus were a forever couple. There was never any Willie without Laura, nor Laura without Willie, even after he died. He was sixty-five when he checked out, after many years of heart trouble. Jerry Lewis, the comedian once said; “Good Jewish food killed more of my people than the Holocaust did!” Willy had too many delicious pastrami, and chopped liver, sandwiches. When he died, Laura felt cheated. She often told me that she was waiting to rejoin him. She had to wait twelve long years, but finally her patience paid off, and I’m left to tell the tale. [Ira Spector]

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Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County

Memoir of a Holocaust survivor, Kibbutznik, lover

Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev had written a memoir but he needed an editor.  Julie Gray, who had recently made Aliyah to Israel, had a background as a writer for magazines and periodicals.  Even though Lev had children older than Gray, their relationship became more than a work match; the two would travel together, become lovers and lifelong companions, and produce a joint memoir that was  both an  exploration of Lev’s experiences and Gray’s reaction to them. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Torah for Children: Return lost objects

An important part of this parashah are rules to follow when you find something that belongs to someone else. If you find an animal that has wandered away from its home, the Torah says you must return it. If you don’t know to whom it belongs, you can keep it until the owner claims it and then you must give it back. The Torah says “…and so too shall you do with anything your fellow loses and you find.” [Marcia Berneger]

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Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger

A Word of Torah: ‘Optional’ warfare

There were different types of war that the Jewish people would engage in. Those wars that entitled conquering the Holy Land were called, “Milchamot Mitzvah,” “Mitzvah” wars, as it was a positive commandment to conquer the land and expel the Canaanites, who were exceedingly evil people. Lest we accuse the Israelites of being colonialists it is appropriate to remember that the Canaanites had driven off the offspring of Noah’s son Shem, from whom the Jewish people trace our roots. In other words, the Jews were simply repatriating the land that belonged to them and which the Almighty had given in a bequest to Abraham our father. Astonishingly we learn about a different type of war – a war that was optional. The Torah explains that under certain circumstances the Jewish people would be allowed to expand the borders of Israel and fight wars with her neighbors in order to conquer additional lands [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

San Diego Democrats to vote on anti-Semitism

Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Democratic Central Committee will vote on Tuesday, Sept. 1, on a resolution dealing with anti-Semitism.  A previous meeting on the subject indicates that there is considerable opposition to the resolution among some of the committee’s membership. By Matthew Finkelstein SAN DIEGO — I knew some in the San Diego

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Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Karen Parry new Hillel of San Diego executive director

Karen Parry, a Jewish community professional who grew up and held her earliest positions in San Diego County, will return to her native city from Seattle to become the executive director of Hillel of San Diego. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Museum pretends to be an airport terminal

The Museum of the Jewish People has temporarily transformed itself into an “airport terminal” so children and families can “travel” the world both in-person and virtually despite ongoing air travel limited due to COVID-19 safety concerns. There’s even a “Museum Airlines” to help visitors’ imaginations take flight.   [Press Release0

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Travel and Food, USA

An outdoor Shofar service for 2nd night Rosh Hashanah

Zoom services  may be good, but those in the open air are better in the opinion of Rabbi Mendy Begun of Chabad of Chula Vista.  With what he hopes will be the help of other Jewish congregations, the rabbi plans to put on a free second night of Rosh Hashanah shofar blowing and concert  by Cantor Daniel Moreno in Cottonwood Park in Chula Vista. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Animals enact biblical moment at Ein Gedi gorge

It was my habit to stop at a corner along the trail, in the spreading shade of a tropical Moringa tree, and to recite the story of a fateful meeting between David and Saul (2 Samuel 26), here on the very location where it took place. It couldn’t be more authentic.
If the tour leader had a good voice, not a tiresome mumble, I would find the designated chapter in his travelers’ bible, thrust it in his hand and request him to read it to his flock. (Ithamar Perath)

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, The World We Share, Travel and Food