Judaism

The Pole who purposely got sent to Auschwitz

Jack Fairweather narrates a remarkable story about a Polish resistance fighter’s infiltration of Auschwitz to sabotage the camp from within, and his daring escape to warn the Allies about the Nazis’ true plans for a “Final Solution.”The book highlights the power of a single individual who tried to make a difference. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

A potpourri of local Jewish-interest news

* San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez predicts “it’s very likely we will be outspent” in the race for the 53rd Congressional District. “Heavily outspent. We won’t have financial support from extremely wealthy donors, nor will we be accepting any corporate PAC checks to this campaign.” While she didn’t name her opponent, it was clear she had in mind Sara Jacobs, granddaughter of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and daughter Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacob, founders of High-Tech High School. Gary also has served as president of the Lawrence Family JCC and the Jewish Federation of San Diego county. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Was Isaac angry that Abraham tried to kill him?

Many people are convinced that Isaac was angry with his father Abraham because he lied to him when he said that the two were going on a trip to offer a sacrifice to God, implying that the sacrifice would be an animal, and that Abraham tied him up on top of a stone altar, planned to kill him, and only stopped when he heard a voice from heaven telling him to desist. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Female beauty: Torah, mythology, and ancient history

The passage I have chosen to explore is offensive to modern sensibilities:  Genesis, Ch. 12, vv. 11-13  “As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are.  If the Egyptians see you, and think, She is his wife, they will kill me and let you live.  Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you.'” Sarah was carried off by Pharoah’s officials, and placed in his harem.  According to the story, she was not violated, because of God’s intervention.

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles

Rejecting complacency, embracing our true selves

This week’s parasha teaches that to live a meaningful life, turning inward and reflecting on these questions are important, yet we may also have to ditch the links to our past and project a new course…guided by Torah as our road map to discovering our real purpose. We may have to leave our comfortable Haran to go to our Canaan, our Land of Israel. [Michael Mantell, PhD

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell

Chula Vista exhibit to focus on Holocaust survivors

Stephen D. Smith is the executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation, which houses the archive of interviews of Holocaust Survivors financed by movie producer Steven Spielberg.  He will be a special guest Jan. 12 at the grand opening of RUTH (Remember Us The Holocaust), a Chula Vista Civic Library exhibit named in honor of the late Holocaust survivor Ruth Sax. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Republicans launch bid for Jewish support in 2020

 Social media users in San Diego County and around the country soon will be bombarded with the Republican Jewish Coalition’s opening salvo in an effort to reelect Donald Trump in 2020 – a 30-second video spot contending it is a “shanda” (disgrace) how leading Democrats are attacking Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, USA

Rabbi Samuel’s many insights into Maimonides

His work is comprehensive, full of information, and eye-opening. The writings on each parasha is divided by chapters; each of which is subdivided by subjects that Rabbi Samuel addresses in clear detail. For example, in Genesis chapter 1, he examines 22 subjects, such as the meaning of Elohim, the purpose of creation, the reason for marriages, God does not decree moral behavior, the nature of biblical metaphors, exempting women from some biblical commands, and more. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

A consortium of 100 geniuses

Besides being Jewish what do these people have in common?  Amir Amedi, Ron Arad, Marc Benioff, Michael Bloomberg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,  Daniel S. Goldin, Roger D. Kornberg, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, John Landis, Uri Levine, Shuki Levy, Daniel Libeskind, Shimon Peres (z”l), Ehud Shabtai,  Amir Shinar and Barbra Streisand. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food

A busy November for Friends of Israel Defense Forces

With the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) planning its Western Regional Gala on Thursday, Nov.7, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, and the San Diego/ Orange County/ Arizona chapter planning a local gala just two days later on Nov. 9 at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel here in San Diego, it’s likely to be a busy time for the local chapter’s board. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County

Why the Tower of Babel offended God

One of the reasons that I think God might have been so angry at the people for building the tower, was because they misunderstood an essential piece of what it means to be close to God. There are most definitely some physical places and spaces where we may feel closer to God than others, but what the people building the tower failed to realize is that God can be found everywhere. [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]

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Jewish Religion

Parashat Noach can be a guide to Torah reading

Why were different divine punishments done in very different ways? For example, Cain was banished in Genesis 4:12 for murdering his brother Abel; Noah’s generation was killed with flood in Genesis 6-8; Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with brimstone and fire in Genesis 19:24,  the builders of the Tower of Babel were punished by having their languages confused in Genesis 11: 7; Egyptians who enslaved Israelites died during ten plagues beginning in in Exodus 7. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Noah is one of the world’s many flood stories

Scholars think that a deluge of such cataclysmic proportions was unlikely in the setting of the Land of Israel, given its topography.  It is believed that relatively nearby Mesopotamia was a natural locale for the story.  In fact, cuneiform documents and archaeology provide testimony for periodic inundation of the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Torrential rains, tornadoes, and the melting of snows in the mountains of Anatolia, in combination, have periodically flooded the valley and turned it into a huge lake.  This area produced a number of flood stories in ancient times, including the Gilgamesh Epic. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion