Judaism

Shul, Ken, and SDJA to share the campus

By Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — Some believe that there are two types of congregations:  destination congregations and neighborhood congregations.  A destination congregation is so compelling, so well known for its theology, programming, school or rabbinical leadership that people will travel from anywhere in the region to attend or become  a member.  A neighborhood congregation […]

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County

JFSSD’s Jessica Nare honored in New York City

SAN DIEGO – The Hadassah Foundation, headquartered in New York, NY, awarded the Bernice N. Tannenbaum Prize to Jessica Nare, Director of Leadership Programs at Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS), in a June 8 ceremony at the UJA-Federation of New York The Bernice S. Tannenbaum Prize recognizes emerging professionals who have made innovative

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County

I-8 Jewish Travel: CalTrans District 11

-Eighth in a series- Exit 3: Taylor Street, San Diego — Wadie P. Deddeh State Office Building SAN DIEGO — No, Wadie P. Deddeh isn’t Jewish.  He’s an Iraqi Christian, whose success in San Diego County rising from a professor at Southwestern Community College to a state Assemblyman and eventually to a state Senator was

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Sibling rivalry: why religious groups fight each other?

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Speaking on Tuesday night  to introduce his forthcoming book, Not in God’s Name, Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of modern Orthodoxy in Britain, argued that sibling rivalry is a fundamental cause of violence, also in religion. The Book of Genesis offers many telling instances – beginning with Cain’s

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

‘Growing Greatness’ Gala focused on students, food

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The theme of Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School (SSDHDS)’s 52nd fundraising gala on Sunday, June 7, was “Growing Greatness” and what better venue to stage it than at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park, a sports museum conceived and implemented by the late Bob Breitbard, who

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Marcia Tatz Wollner, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share

On which side of the Kotel would Caitlyn Jenner pray?

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — One of the best-known blessings Orthodox Jews recite every day is the blessing, “Thank you God for not making me a woman.” The recent transformation on the cover of Vanity Fair’s 22-page cover story featuring Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce, raises a number of fascinating questions pertaining to

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

The ascent to Torah

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Parashat B’ha-alot’cha begins with the mitzvah of Aaron lighting the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand which illuminated the Mishkan in the desert and later in the Jerusalem Temple: “The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps

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Jewish Religion

I-8 Jewish Travel: The rabbi and the monsignor

-Seventh in a series- Exit 2: Morena Boulevard ~USD campus By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Rabbi Wayne Dosick received a telephone call in 1988 from Richard Stern, an activist in the Jewish Chattaqua Society, which was formed in the previous century to spread among diverse audiences knowledge about the Jewish religion.  Stern wanted to know

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Travel and Food, USA

Book review: ‘Memoirs of a Jewish Gypsy’

Memoirs of a Jewish Gypsy by Jenny Graubart, with Lea Tenenbaum © 2014, ISBN 978-1-939758-88-0, 73 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – As a family keepsake encapsulating Jenny Graubart’s childhood memories along with photos of herself, parents and sister, this slim volume will have enduring value. However, the book does not extend itself

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History

Book Review: ‘Chabad’s Secret’

Chabad’s Secret: Inside the World’s Most Successful Jewish Organization by Chaim Dalfin, Jewish Enrichment Press, Brooklyn, NY;  ISBN 978-0-9889580-7-4 ©2015, $35.00, p. 190, plus appendices, bibliography, glossary, and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.   WINCHESTER, California — Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, universally known as the Baal Shem Tov, is considered the founder of Chassidism, when in

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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion