Judaism

On homelessness, impeachment, immigration

Our area may wish to consider an idea raised by Oakland Mayor Rebecca Kaplan that cruise ships may provide appropriate lodging for our homeless population.  Older cruise ships are being sold all the time, and with some ingenuity, they can be outfitted to serve not only as dormitories and mess halls but also as places where necessary social services and medical treatment can be easily provided. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Chanukah story does not criticize Greeks

Many people are mistakenly convinced that the Jewish holiday of Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Jewish religion over Hellenism and that the enemy was Greece. Neither supposed fact is true. The Jews in Judea, Egypt and other countries of the diaspora had a longstanding favorable relationship with the Greeks and Hellenism well before and long after the incidents that prompted the rebellion of Judah Maccabee, his father and brothers in 168 BCE. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Work begins on USNS Harvey Milk

The slain San Francisco County Supervisor Harvey Milk (1930-1978) is celebrated as the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.  Besides being gay, he also was Jewish.  Both communities can take pride in the United States Navy deciding to name after him a new fleet oiler that is being built at General Dynamics NASSCO here in San Diego. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Ken Stone, San Diego County

With whom and why did Jacob wrestle?

The text strongly suggests, and most commentators assert, that this man is an angel. That being the case, the YalKut Shimoni asks a seemingly important question: why? If Jacob is our Patriarch, God’s choice to inherit the covenant and be one of the founding fathers of Judaism, why would Jacob need to fight a divine being? The Yalkut Shimoni provides two complementary, albeit very different answers to that question. {Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]

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Jewish Religion

A ‘Chanukah’ Party at the White House

I was given the high honor of being invited to this year’s Chanukah party at the White House. When a dear friend asked if I wanted to go I jumped at the chance. Why? It was not to see the holiday decorations (which made me feel as though I was in a winter wonderland), sample the lavish strictly kosher buffet (all I had was a couple of glasses of water), hear the Marine Corps band play Klezmer music (now THAT was otherworldly), see the historic displays of chinaware, meet the members of various branches of the armed services in their full dress regalia, or even to get the chance to meet the President, First Lady, Vice President, or other elected officials or dignitaries. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USA, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Trump deserves credit for this executive order

I realize not everyone may like President Trump. I get that. But regardless how you might feel about him, you have to give him credit for signing an Executive Order on Wednesday providing new and stronger protections for Jewish students on college campuses against anti-Semitic attacks and harassment. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

Nuanced reactions to Trump’s EO on anti-Semitism

In the midst of partisan debate over President Donald Trump’s possible impeachment, and a day after a kosher market in Jersey City was the scene of a mass shooting, there is a lot of rhetoric going around about Trump’s decision to sign an executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA’s) working definition of anti-Semitism and to apply it to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Why we should honor Jacob’s example

Thank you, Jacob. For what, you may well ask. For teaching us the value of never missing an opportunity in life to do good, to say a kind word, to recognize that the present is all we have. Jacob, in a simple act, showed us to avoid the “someday” mindset, and instead shows us how important it is to never overlook the now, especially when it comes to offering a kind word, or a gift of kindness to another. [Michael Mantell, PhD]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

On bribes, rape, and wrestling with angels

This parasha tells the story of Jacob’s entourage returning back to Canaan from Haran; Jacob’s fear for, and the subsequent encounter with Esau; the rape of Dinah and its violent sequelae; the death of Rachel in childbirth; and finally the genealogy of Esau’s progeny. Three passages caught my attention, to explore for analogous comparison with other ancient nations. [Irv Jacobs, MD]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

On the approaching night of shared candles

A benevolent calendar coincidence, occurring every few years, will bring us on Dec. 24 to the shared lighting of solstice calendars by both Christians and Jews. The solar and lunar calendar cycles have intertwined, and so this Christmas Eve will coincide with the third night of Hanukkah, 5780. The circumstances should work to everyone’s advantage on Earth and must be pleasing to the heavens. [Rabbi Ben Kamin]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

Jews and chocolate: 500 years of sweetness

Sephardic Jews who were expelled in the late 15th century  from Portugal and Spain learned about cocoa and the production of chocolate from the indigenous peoples of Central and South America and the Caribbean. Keeping up contacts with non-Jewish acquaintances who had remained on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, they helped to popularize chocolate and develop it as a product in international trade. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Traveling Israel exhibit opens in Florida

On one side of the seating area on Sunday, Dec. 8, was a documented German cattle car used to transport Jews from Warsaw to their death in Treblinka.  On the opposite side was a full-sized WWII era American Sherman tank, the kind of war machine needed and used to end the Holocaust. It was a dramatic setting for a crowd of hundreds to view the opening of Israel Then and Now, a traveling exhibit combining historical images, milestone moments, interactive media, and film. [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Sara Jacobs on her family, issues, and spending

The local Jewish community has watched congressional candidate Sara Jacobs, 30, grow up within institutions named for her family.  For example, she attended the preschool and later participated in 18 J*Company shows on the Jacobs Family Campus of the Lawrence Family JCC.  Her parts ranged from the mother in Benjamin and Judah to the “scary grandmother” back from the underworld in Fiddler on the Roof.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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