By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — Now that Chanukah is over, some people may still be wondering what it was all about. Here are four facts about Chanukah, of which you may have been unaware. 1-The first Chanukah was a delayed Sukkot. What about that? During the battle for religious freedom in the […]
Four little known facts about Chanukah Read More »
Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Siddur Avodat Halev by Rabbi Basil Herring, Editor-in-Chief, Toby Press, New Milford, CT © 2018, ISBN 978-965-301-936-2, p. 1346, plus an introduction and essay section, $34.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Siddur Avodat Halev, the newest prayer book from the Rabbinical Council of America, one of the largest Orthodox Jewish rabbinical associations in the world,
New Orthodox siddur provides modern translations Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
Story by Donald H. Harrison, Photos by Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO – Undeterred by last month’s massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, or by more recent anti-Semitic vandalism in Poway, more than 100 Jews and Christians joined in a March of Light late Sunday afternoon, Dec. 9, from Ashley Falls Park
March of Light concludes with chanukiah lighting Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, USA
San Diegan finds hate message in a library book Adira Rosen, a San Diegan now attending Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the subject of local television news reports when she found swastikas and hate messages drawn onto the pages of a library book only a month after the massacre at the Tree of Life
Editor’s E-Mail Box: December 9, 2018 (3 items) Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
By Toby Klein Greenwald EFRAT, Israel — The recent marking of 80 years from Kristallnacht, and the approaching 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet, which the Israeli chief rabbinate designated as the day of Kaddish for those who perished in the Holocaust, brings to mind a ground-breaking project that grew out of the ashes
From the ashes of the Shoah, a Talmudic Encyclopedia Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Toby Klein Greenwald
By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — One of the most iconic prayers of Chanukah is the Al HaNisim, where we thank God for the miracles that have been performed for us throughout history, from the ancient times with the Maccabees through today. While there are many miracles that we celebrate which are specific to the
A Word of Torah: Parashot Miketz Read More »
Jewish Religion
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Rabbi Mendel Polichenco, director of The Chabad Carmel Valley and Del Mar Jewish Center, will join The National March for Light Organization during the last night of Chanukah to spread a message of hope and a firm commitment to transforming the world from darkness to light. Thousands will march across
March for Light set for Dec. 9 in Carmel Valley area Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego CountyBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — I often get asked the questions, “What is the symbolism of the dreidel? What exactly is its origin?” The dreidel is a four cornered top that was popular in the medieval era and originally used for gambling. Jewish folklore purports that when the Syrians prohibited the
History and meanings of the dreidel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Daniel Sokatch NEW YORK — Chanukah reminds me of our power to create more light in the world. Even in dark times, we can make change by joining together for freedom, equality, and pluralism. You and I know that Israel could use more light, and that too many politicians are busy driving wedges between different
Bringing Arabs and Jews together in Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
Becoming by Michelle Obama; © 2018; Crown Publishing; ISBN 9781524-763138; 421 pages plus acknowledgments and photo credits; $32.50 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — If one theme predominates throughout former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, it is that, notwithstanding the fact that she and her husband had risen to the very pinnacle of power
Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ also about belonging Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Travelling on planes, trains, taxis, cars and even a bus on one occasion, not to mention a great deal of walking, staying in New York, Las Vegas and San Diego in the USA, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, taking in visits to museums and meetings with friends and
East, West, Home’s Best Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Travel and Food, USABy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Do novels about the Holocaust have to be vetted before publication? It’s a good question and one that literary critics and Holocaust historians and educators have been grappling with since 1945. Now in 2018, the question remains as important as ever, and new novels about the Nazi concentration camps under
Weighing the ‘Tattooist’ controversy Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History
By Chavi M. Lemberger Courtesy of Children’s Village of Jerusalem It’s cold outside, the winter is here. The wind is blowing, it’s that time of year. Snow’s lightly falling, but inside it’s bright. Chanukah is here, the Festival of Lights. We commemorate the miracle of long long ago, when the Menorah in the Holy Temple
The Story of the Menorah Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion
Israeli ambassador anticipates a U.N. vote repudiating Hamas Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, is participating in the IAC conference and held an interview with journalist Gil Tamari, which focused on Israel’s activities at the United Nations. In light of the American proposal to condemn Hamas in the General Assembly, Ambassador Danon said
Editor’s E-Mail Box: December 2, 2018 Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, John McCormick, Middle East