Jewish Religion

Morality lessons in the daily news

When reading the San Diego Union-Tribune, there are times that I feel I am benefiting from more than the news.  The newspaper also reinforces some fundamental concepts of good behavior and dare I say it? – morality – in its coverage. Let me work from the back sections to the front to explain what I mean. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, USA

Resolution on Israel wins S.D. reps. support

Three Democratic members of Congress representing portions of San Diego County – Susan Davis, Scott Peters, and Mike Levin – were among 192 cosponsors of a House Resolution approved by a vote of 226-188 on Friday, Dec. 6, that reiterated support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. A fourth San Diego Democrat, Juan Vargas, joined his colleagues in the majority. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

But for Lavan, Joseph could have been Jacob’s first-born

Had Lavan not tricked Jacob into marrying the wrong daughter, Joseph would have been the first born child. If that were the case Joseph would never have been thrown in the pit, and his family would never have followed him to Egypt. Baeyrav points out that Lavan had no reason to hate Jacob, yet caused him pain and suffering on each and every step of his journey, and continues to do so, until this day. The Rashbatz adds, this is meant to teach us a very important lesson; that when there is unpacifiable hatred forming relentless enemies, peace seems almost impossible. [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Love at first sight, and other biblical phenomena

“And when Jacob saw Rachel,…and watered…(her) flock…Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears.” This is an example of love at first sight. I wondered about existence  of this phenomenon in ancient times.  It is acknowledged to have commonly occurred, but the first well-recorded explanation comes from a story told by Aristophanes, described by Plato in The Symposium. [Irv Jacobs, M.D]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

Searching for God a route to wellness

In this week’s parasha, Vayetzei, we learn quite a bit about spirituality, how we can find a deeper, broader meaning in life. In Genesis 28:17 Jacob proclaims, “How awe-inspiring is this place! This is none other than the house of G-d, and this is the gate of heaven!” When was the last time you felt awe inspired, recognizing the house of G-d wherever you may be? [Michael Mantell, PhD]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Chanukah: A time of dreams, visions

For eight nights, starting with the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev, Jews celebrate the 165 BCE victory of the Maccabees, a brave troop of priest-warriors that vanquished the mighty Syrian-Greeks. Every winter, we commemorate this military miracle by lighting the Chanukah candles, increasing the glow of spirituality in the world and saluting those who keep the dream of freedom alive. [Sam Glaser]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Sam Glaser

Attorney, singer Roberta Winston runs for judge

You might have heard attorney Roberta Taylor Winston perform as a cantorial soloist at Congregation Beth El, where she also has served on the board.  Or perhaps you heard her belting out the songs for Congregation Beth Am’s Rockin’ Shabbat band. Even before that, you might have heard her sing as part of the High Holiday quartet that accompanied Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Now, she’s campaigning for another spot in which she would have an audience, but instead of performing, for the most part, she would be actively listening.  Roberta Winston, 58, is in a race to become a Superior Court Judge in Office No. 18, from which Judge Jacqueline Stern is retiring [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

San Diego Jewish World to vacation Dec. 19-Jan 8

Everyone needs a vacation, even people who run daily websites.  Accordingly, my wife and co-publisher, Nancy Harrison, and I plan to take a three-week breather from this exciting and enjoyable task of putting out San Diego Jewish World.  We will suspend publication after our report is filed on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, and will resume publication on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County

Can God regret? Is God all-knowing?

In response to my recent article on Noah’s Flood, reader Turk Hill wrote with a question that I answered. Dear Rabbi Drazin, After the flood, Genesis recounts G-d in a state of regret, “His heart was saddened.” This has caused some scholars to ask the question, “Does G-d regret?” Certainly, G-d is all-knowing and knew the future. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Religious misconceptions about women’s infertility

The idea of the barren woman caught my attention, as it occurs numerous times in the Tanakh.  I checked the internet for how the issue was handled by others in former times.  There is much on the topic, actually universally throughout history, and often in an unkind way toward the woman who doesn’t conceive. Commonly she was considered to have sinned. In the Fertile Crescent, because of its fertile land, there was a large focus also on the fertility of animals and women.  A near complete absence of true scientific knowledge prevailed.  Pregnancy was attributed to a gift from the gods, and its absence a punishment by gods. [By Irv Jacobs,MD]

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International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

The love story of Isaac and Rebecca

If you’re looking for a love story, this week in Toldot, we read a magnificent one, in fact the first. You see, we are told that husband and wife are to, “cleave to each other and become one flesh.” This is precisely what Isaac and Rebecca teach us so perfectly. In fact, they even prayed as one. We see this in the gematria of Yitzhak יצחק and  Rebecca רבקה totaling 515, which equals to the gematria of בשר אחד or “one flesh.” Even more, 515 is also the gematria of tefilah תפלה. [Michael Mantell, PhD]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Shabbat in Temple times started at daybreak

If people would take the time to look at the bulletin of an Orthodox Synagogue, they would find something very curious. The women are instructed to light candles several minutes before the men are scheduled to attend the Mincha service, and Mincha takes place about fifteen minutes before the onset of the Sabbath. Thus, remarkably, this schedule obligates women to start the Sabbath long before men do so. Simply stated, most Jews understand that the current practice is that the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening, but the rabbis required the lighting of the Sabbath candles eighteen minutes before sunset on Friday evening and set the end of the Sabbath and the saying of the Havdalah service forty-two minutes after sunset on Saturday night. This seems straightforward, but it isn’t. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

What local Jewish candidates are telling voters

From time to time, we’ll be checking the websites, Facebook pages, and news releases of local Jewish candidates to see what they are emphasizing to voters.  As they are competing in contests for federal, state, county, and city offices, it is natural that they address different kinds of issues. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, The World We Share, Videos

JFS official tells DHS abuses of asylum seekers

Attorney Kate Clark, who serves as the senior director of immigration services for Jewish Family Service, told a congressional panel on Friday that officials of the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border routinely ignore DHS’s own regulations concerning the protection of unaccompanied minors and individuals with significant medical issues. Furthermore, she said, the Remain-in-Mexico program “has caused unnecessary suffering and harm to over 55,000 asylum seekers forced to return to Mexico and has completely overwhelmed the U.S. immigration courts. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA