Judaism

Weekly Torah portion: Tzav

Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — Have you ever been in a situation where there seemed to be no positive ending and maybe things got even worse than you thought they could and then your “luck” changed and you have this sense of liberty and you wanted to scream out thank you!? The Talmud brings four […]

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Jewish Religion

Annual shpiel twists plot, lyrics in Purim fun

  Story by Donald H. Harrison; Photos by Shor Masori SAN DIEGO – They fractured the lyrics of numerous popular American songs, and twisted the tale in the Book of Esther to fit those lyrics, but nobody objected.  In fact, the audience loved it.  It was the annual Purimshpiel on Wednesday evening, March 23, at

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David Ogul, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Shor M. Masori

God needs worthy people as partners for His miracles

God and Politics in Esther, 2nd Edition, by Yoram Hazony; Cambridge University Press; (2015); ISBN-10: 1107583454; $18.27 on Amazon. Rating ***** out of 5 Stars. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Yoram Hazony’s exposition of the Book of Esther is priceless. In my Judaism 101 class, everyone read a little bit from God

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Anachnu: Rabbi Roberto D. Graetz

By Donald H. Harrison LAFAYETTE, California – It has been a quarter century since Rabbi Roberto D. Graetz came to this Northern California community after serving as a rabbi in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But the soon-to-retire senior rabbi of Temple Isaiah has remained intimately involved in Latin America as a

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

When God is silent, Jews find a proxy such as Esther

By Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — Purim, or “Lots,”—a woman’s heroic story based in historical facts—begins Wednesday evening, March 23. The Scroll will be merrily read, recounting the rescue of the Persian Jews in 357 BCE from genocide. It should be noted that God is neither mentioned nor quoted anywhere in the text. God

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Weekly Torah portion: Vayikra

By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — The momentous occasion had arrived. After months of dedicated and selfless work, the Mishkan (the portable tabernacle) was completed and assembled. Moshe and all the people stood in awe and trepidation as they watched G-d’s glory descend and rest upon the Mishkan. The nation rejoiced, viewing this as a

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Jewish Religion

‘The Passover Surprise’ is brief yet topic rich

The Passover Surprise by Janet Ruth Heller; illustrations by Ronald Kauffman; © 2015; Fictive Press; ISBN 978-1-927663-17-1; 35 pages including glossary and discussion drive. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –A lot of ground is covered in this story for middle schoolers.  It begins with a pre-teenage girl, Lisa, competing with her younger brother, Jon,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, USA

Why the world should say ‘Judea’ and ‘Samaria’

By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The words we use are important, especially when explaining a situation or making an argument. Evidently, Israelis haven’t read Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass.” It was Humpty Dumpty who said, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor

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Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer