The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945 by Charles Slucki; Rutgers University Press 2012 By Garry Fabian MELBOURNE, Australia – An academic based here, Charles Slucki, notes in his recent book that the Jewish Labor Bund was one of the major political forces in early 20th Century Eastern Europe. But the decades after the Second […]
After World War II, what became of the Bund? Read More »
International, Jewish History
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — After the Pharaoh who had elevated Joseph to power died, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” (Ex. 1:8) Was it really possible that this newly arrived Pharaoh knew nothing of the great man who had just saved Egypt from starvation? Certainly not! Rather,
Facing the truth… and acting upon it! Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO– In 1942, Seymour Lederman was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training. America had just entered World War II, and young men from all over the country were preparing to serve their country overseas. The small Jewish community in Biloxi arranged for a special Pesach Seder for the Jewish
Why the parson’s wife arranged the seder Read More »
Jewish Religion
Stories of the Law: Narrative Discourse and the Construction of Authority in the Mishnah by Moshe Simon-Shoshan, Oxford University Press, New York; ISBN 978-0-19-935638-6 ©2013, $27.95, p. 287, including notes and bibliography By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California– The Romans, who destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, subsequently expelled the Jews from Jerusalem after
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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) – The exhibition “To Me There’s No Other Choice” celebrates the life and honors the courageous deeds of Swedish diplomat and businessman Raoul Wallenberg. It will be on display from December 5, 2013 until February 28, 2014 along the second floor of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126
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Jewish History
Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., The Rabbi and The Nuns, Mekor Press, 2013, ISBN 9781614651338. 190 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– Although the title sounds like the beginning of a joke, this book, in fact, contains numerous recollections of Rabbi Twerski’s career as the head of psychiatry at the Roman Catholic-operated St.
The old, the young, and the alcoholics Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — The whole of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) was in an uproar! A well-known man, a member of the Belzer Chasidic sect, and his wife had just given birth to their first child – a boy – after being childless for twenty-eight years! The sholom zachor (party in honor of baby
The value of rachmanis Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — “I don’t believe in religion, I believe in science,” is an oft-repeated refrain from those who like to argue with rabbis. Their statement presupposes that there is a conflict between the two. They are surprised when I tell them that I believe in both. Religion and science each
God and the Big Bang Read More »
Jewish Religion
Rabbi Shiloh Ben-David, Shalom Aleichem: A Collection of Halachos, Aggados, and Anecdotes about Greeting People; ISBN-13: 978-9657599136; 217 pages; Publisher: Self-Published; Price: $23.95. Rating: 2.5 * out of four. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The 20th century Orthodox scholar and philanthropist Irving Bunim, in his monumental study on makes a profound observation about
What halacha says about greeting people Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiHats in the Ring: Choosing Britain’s Chief Rabbis from Adler to Sacks by Meir Persoff, Academic Studies Press, Boston; ISBN 978-1-61811-269-9 ©2013, $24.95, p. 337, including index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The position of a chief rabbi, which originally had such titles as Resh Galuta, Exilarch, and Gaon, has a long history.
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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionRabbi Menachem Genack, In Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership Sterling Ethos/OU Press, New York, 2013. 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-4549-0791-6. Price: $24.95 By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — President Bill Clinton is in many ways one of the most iconic and beloved presidents of recent history. His congenial manner
Rabbinic letters to Clinton prove grist for sermons Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Anav Silverman Nearly 100 years ago, French aviator Jules Vedrines landed his Bleriot monoplane in the pre-State Land of Israel, near the beach in Tel Aviv in 1913. The first airplane to land in Eretz Israel, it was flown ten years after the Wright brothers flew the world’s first airplane in the United States
Israel stamp commemorates 100 years of aviation Read More »
Jewish History
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–Skot Golden-Needham shyly approached the aron kodesh on Sunday, Dec. 8, with his kindergarten teacher Lori Bunshaft. Then, turning around, he displayed the model aron kodesh that he made and Mora Lori showed another one fashioned by one of his classmates. It was hard to tell what was brighter,
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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Devarim hayotze min halev nichnasim lalev. Attitudes affect and infect others for good and for bad, both consciously and subconsciously, as the following true story illustrates: A man and his elderly father once fell into a dispute. They were very poor and lived in a shack with no
Behavior can be contagious Read More »
Jewish Religion