Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) report that its recent San Diego fundraiser attracted 650 contributors, who honored Sydney and Denise Selati of San Diego, and met five IDF soldiers who, according to security protocols, were identified by their first names or initials only. [Donald H. Harrison]
FIDF gala showcased IDF diversity Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County
Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg is an exceptionally good scholar. In her book Moses, she offers her readers an interesting, generally different but thought-provoking look at the life and deeds of the biblical Moses. She approaches the telling of Moses’ history based on Midrash … [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
A scholarly look at the midrashic Moses Read More »
Jewish Religion
Board members of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County have voted unanimously to contribute $100,000 to help the Lawrence Family JCC to host the August 2-7, 2020 JCC Maccabi Games which are expected to bring to San Diego 2,000 athletes from all over the world. [Donald H. Harrison]
Federation chips in $100,000 for JCC Maccabi Games Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Judaism, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions
Never able to shake off the painful memory of having his fingers shot off by an intruder at Chabad of Poway nor of seeing congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye murdered and two other congregants wounded, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein has decided to retire. [Donald H. Harrison]
Chabad of Poway’s Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein retires Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
VaYera is an eventful parsha, from which I take note of two items: (1) a dispute between Abraham and God, (2) overt incest between Lot’s daughters and Lot. [Irv Jacobs, MD]
Disputing God, incest, themes in VaYera Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
Becky Krinsky, who organized the Pink Challah Bakes, both in Bonita and across the border at the Centro Social Israelita of Tijuana, said there were several reasons for merging Shabbat San Diego with breast cancer awareness. Noting that women traditionally make the challah that Jewish families eat on Shabbat, she commented that “breast cancer affects mainly women. We all have either one person who died from cancer or we know someone who is struggling with cancer, so I think it is a beautiful idea to unite us in praying for everybody and getting both things at the same time.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Event marries Shabbat, Breast Cancer Awareness Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food
At the beginning of our Torah portion this week, VaYera, we find Abraham, fresh off his self-inflicted circumcision, waiting at “Petach HaOhel,” at the opening of his tent. According to a Midrash, Abraham had a habit of doing this because whenever anyone would walk by, he would he would run to greet and welcome them. In this week’s Torah portion, in the heat of the day, while recovering from his surgery, he ushered three random travelers into his tent. He gave them food; water, shelter; he and his wife Sarah went out of their way to make them feel comfortable. He had no reason or ulterior motives in doing so, other than the fact that he wanted to welcome them. [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]
Abraham set precedent for welcoming strangers Read More »
Jewish Religion
And Sarah laughed within herself, saying:… and my master is old (Gen. XVIII, 12); but [when He repeated this] to Abraham, He said: [Sarah said]: And I am old (ib. 13) [Michael Mantell, PhD]
Why God told Abraham a white lie Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
From the respondents to my original article, I am also glad to hear that Witold Pilecki is the most revered in Poland and has been for some time. But one respondent claimed, “There is no anti-Semitism in Poland!” I hoped that this might indeed be the case. But this comment piqued my curiosity, so I decided to check out this out for myself. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Poland, other countries, had mixed Holocaust records Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USA
Sha’ar Hanegev, the partnership region in Israel of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, has been experiencing a lot of tension, but so far no casualties in the current barrage of rockets being fired at Israel from Gaza. [Donald H. Harrison]
S.D partnership region under rocket attack Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
The former foreign minister said that it was during the Second Lebanon War that she realized that there could be no military solution to Israel’s troubles with its neighbors, only a political one. She said when the terrorist group Hezbollah attacked settlements in the north of Israel, she was urged by then U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to prevent her country’s military forces from destroying the duly constituted Lebanese government while retaliating against Hezbollah. [Donald H. Harrison]
Tzipi Livni remains optimistic about Mideast peace Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
There is a continuing focus on Holocaust education in the county, with the Lawrence Family JCC and the J Company Youth Theatre announcing a planned “Remembrance Reading” at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the JCC, and second-generation Holocaust educators Sandy Scheller and Sonia Fox-Ohlbaum pledging to take to schools the concentration camp uniforms their family members had been forced to wear. [Donald H. Harrison]
Survivors’ descendants, youth, to carry on Holocaust education Read More »
Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastI Kings covered the history of ancient Judah and Israel from the coronation of King Solomon in 967 BCE through the split of ancient Israel into two nations, Judah and Israel, because King Solomon’s son overtaxed the people as his father did, though the reign of King Jehoshaphat who died in 846 BCE. II Kings resumes the story and tells readers about the twelve kings of the northern kingdom of Israel from 846 BCE, ending in 721/722 BCE when the kingdom was destroyed, and the sixteen kings of the southern kingdom of Judah from 846 BCE until it was destroyed in 587/6 BCE. It describes the kings of the two nations, Judah and Israel, the politics, wars, and a significant problem of the era in both kingdoms, idolatry. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Middle East was politically unstable in biblical times Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East
Notwithstanding its title, this book is primarily a history of the Holocaust, particularly as it impacted the city of Warsaw. There are some chapters about the Jewish pediatrician Janusz Korczak, whose teachings about respecting the individuality of children were widely admired, but far more attention was given to the rise of Adolf Hitler, the evilness of Nazi ideology, and how Germans degraded, confused, and deceived Jews, ultimately to starve or work them to death or to murder them. [Donald H. Harrison]
A sensitive Holocaust history for teens Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History