Jewish Religion

Haftorah Reading for July 10, 2021

Two non-continuous extracts, all in verse, form the second of the three Haftorahs of admonition, recited between the 17th of Tammuz and Tish-a b’ Av. Each has no literary connection to its accompanying Torah portion. In these verses, Jeremiah poetically goes after the southern nation’s universal violations against God’s law, in a ‘jeremiad.’ [1]  The northern nation of Israel had already been destroyed over 100 years earlier, by Assyria.[Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

Haftorah Reading for July 10, 2021 Read More »

Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

S.D. Synagogues Welcome Palestinian Speaker, Executive Director

Activities and staffing are returning to pre-pandemic levels at various San Diego County synagogues, with Temple Emanu-El in the San Diego State University area hosting a Palestinian refugee who is highly critical the Palestinian Authority’s human rights record. Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the San Carlos neighborhood, meanwhile, has announced it has hired a new executive director. [Donald H. Harrison]

S.D. Synagogues Welcome Palestinian Speaker, Executive Director Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Torah Reading for July 10, 2021

When you walk into a synagogue what do you feel? This week’s double reading, Matot and Massei, on the Shabbat that is the first day of the auspicious month of Av, offers us some insight into this question. After all, these readings teach of a new phase in the history of our heritage, the settlement period when we began to find permanent homes for ourselves. Is that what your synagogue is for you? [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Torah Reading for July 10, 2021 Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Let’s Have Compassion for the Rabbi’s Spouse

I believe some of the most important unsung heroes of non-Orthodox Judaism are the spouses of pulpit rabbis.  We don’t pay them, but more often than not, we expect them to devote their lives to our synagogues.  We want them to attend every social occasion, be there near the front of the sanctuary on Shabbat evening and morning,   to recognize all of us by first and last name, and to be able to chant the blessings before and after the reading of the Torah whenever someone is needed for an aliyah. [Donald H. Harrison]

Let’s Have Compassion for the Rabbi’s Spouse Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

Jewish faith fuels hope and outreach after Surfside collapse

Published by Reuters By Katanga Johnson SURFSIDE, Fla. (Reuters) – Hundreds have gathered every day at The Shul of Bal Harbour, a synagogue near the Florida condominium complex that partially collapsed last week, to pray that survivors will be found. Other members of Surfside’s Jewish community have offered food, water and emotional support to search

Jewish faith fuels hope and outreach after Surfside collapse Read More »

Jewish Religion

Planning for Locally-Based Israel Trips Resumes

As vaccination rates increase and the coronavirus pandemic seemingly is being brought under control, group trips to Israel from San Diego are again being organized.  One of the first to be publicized is a joint trip planned for May 15-29, 2022 and sponsored by the San Diego Outreach Synagogue and the Desert Outreach Synagogue, to be led respectively by Rabbi/ Cantor Cheri Weiss and Rabbi Jules King. [Donald H. Harrison]

Planning for Locally-Based Israel Trips Resumes Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Haftorah Reading for July 3, 2021

This extract, more prose than verse, from the opening chapters of Jeremiah’s book (52 chapters), was selected by the rabbis as the first of Haftorahs of admonition, to be read during the three shabbatot between the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and that of Tish-a b’Av. The former of these two dates (in 586 BCE) recalls Babylon’s breach of Jerusalem’s wall, the latter the actual destruction of Jerusalem, shortly later in 586 BCE. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

Haftorah Reading for July 3, 2021 Read More »

Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

An Excellent New Commentary on the Biblical Book Samuel

The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Samuel, published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem in 2021, is one of the best Bible commentaries in English. I say this because of its massive, easy-to-read, scholarly material on many far-reaching subjects, contributions by 20 renowned scholars.  I see the value of this book after I used over a hundred such books while writing my own books on the Bible, such as my many volumes on the differences between the Hebrew Bible and its Aramaic translation called Onkelos, and after I have reviewed over 8,100 books, many dealing with the Bible. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

An Excellent New Commentary on the Biblical Book Samuel Read More »

Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

A Drumbeat of Antisemitism in San Diego, Across the U.S.

Near the San Diego State University campus, in San Diego’s daily newspaper, in speeches by members of Congress, and in an apology forced upon a children’s book executive for speaking out against antisemitism, the drumbeat of hatred against our fellow Jews grows increasingly persistent. [Donald H. Harrison]

A Drumbeat of Antisemitism in San Diego, Across the U.S. Read More »

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

Torah Reading for July 3, 2021

Know anyone who’s never faced frustration or adversity, or who’s realized all his or her dreams? Not even Moshe, this week’s parasha teaches us, can claim that he’s lived that life. Before Moshe faces his end, he surmounts his own disappointments and pain and focuses on insuring that he will leave a successor. Hashem showed Moses the Land of Israel and told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to bring the Jewish people into the Land. Moses immediately said: “May … God … appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them … and let the assembly … not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:16-17) Moses places his hands on Joshua, announcing him to be the next leader. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Torah Reading for July 3, 2021 Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Torah on a Tatami: How One Couple Found Community In a Pandemic World

She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, her roots deep in the Ashkenazi culture of Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania. He grew up in Long Beach, California, a third generation Japanese American, and he barely knew a single Jewish person. On paper, they might not sound like an obvious match: Jewish Brooklyn versus Buddhist Japan, kvetching as a collective mode of connection versus pursuit of inner peace. But while Leah and Randy Matsui may come from disparate ethnic backgrounds, “two different flavors” as Randy puts it, over the past four decades, they have become one woven unit, and their story teaches a great deal about what love is, what true connection looks like, and most significantly, what diverse Jewish journeys look like in the 21st century. [M. Evan Wolkenstein]

Torah on a Tatami: How One Couple Found Community In a Pandemic World Read More »

International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA