Many claims are made about Abraham, most likely to enhance his stature, reputation, distinction, and prestige. Perhaps also because it was felt that Abraham must have had some kind of relationship with God before he was 75 years old. Yet, none of the following popular views are even hinted in the Torah. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Some mistaken ideas about Abraham Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Social media users in San Diego County and around the country soon will be bombarded with the Republican Jewish Coalition’s opening salvo in an effort to reelect Donald Trump in 2020 – a 30-second video spot contending it is a “shanda” (disgrace) how leading Democrats are attacking Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]
Republicans launch bid for Jewish support in 2020 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, USAHis work is comprehensive, full of information, and eye-opening. The writings on each parasha is divided by chapters; each of which is subdivided by subjects that Rabbi Samuel addresses in clear detail. For example, in Genesis chapter 1, he examines 22 subjects, such as the meaning of Elohim, the purpose of creation, the reason for marriages, God does not decree moral behavior, the nature of biblical metaphors, exempting women from some biblical commands, and more. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Rabbi Samuel’s many insights into Maimonides Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
One of the reasons that I think God might have been so angry at the people for building the tower, was because they misunderstood an essential piece of what it means to be close to God. There are most definitely some physical places and spaces where we may feel closer to God than others, but what the people building the tower failed to realize is that God can be found everywhere. [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]
Why the Tower of Babel offended God Read More »
Jewish ReligionWhy were different divine punishments done in very different ways? For example, Cain was banished in Genesis 4:12 for murdering his brother Abel; Noah’s generation was killed with flood in Genesis 6-8; Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with brimstone and fire in Genesis 19:24, the builders of the Tower of Babel were punished by having their languages confused in Genesis 11: 7; Egyptians who enslaved Israelites died during ten plagues beginning in in Exodus 7. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Parashat Noach can be a guide to Torah reading Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Scholars think that a deluge of such cataclysmic proportions was unlikely in the setting of the Land of Israel, given its topography. It is believed that relatively nearby Mesopotamia was a natural locale for the story. In fact, cuneiform documents and archaeology provide testimony for periodic inundation of the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Torrential rains, tornadoes, and the melting of snows in the mountains of Anatolia, in combination, have periodically flooded the valley and turned it into a huge lake. This area produced a number of flood stories in ancient times, including the Gilgamesh Epic. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]
Noah is one of the world’s many flood stories Read More »
International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
These creatures project an image of ourselves that make us feel uncomfortable—a rotting corpse, reminding us about the power of death. Zombies have no redeeming qualities. Unlike vampires, you cannot have conversation with them at the dinner table. The history of zombies goes back to antiquity. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Reflections on Halloween about zombies Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
Dr. Ben Dishman, PharmD, who is retired as a psychiatric pharmacist from the Veterans Administration Hospital, enjoys visiting Sea World on the average of once a month. Besides seeing the animals, he likes to see love bloom among Orthodox Jewish couples who apparently consider Sea World to be a perfect meeting place for their arranged dates. [Donald H. Harrison]
Orthodox romance at Sea World Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
In the whole of the Torah, there are only six portions that are named after an individual. Don’t look for parasha Avraham or Moshe. But we do have the Noach Ish Tzaddik Tamim Hayah BeDorotav the wholehearted, righteous man, “perfect in his generation.” Yes, there are, of course, many interpretations of tzaddik, tamim, dorosav, and even ish. [Michael Mantell, PhD]
Noach was a righteous man Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
Ah, the joys of time travel! San Diego author Marcia Berneger, a retired teacher, uses this device to imaginatively retell the story of the first Chanukah in A Dreidel in Time, a chapter book for children between the ages of 8 and 13. [Donald H. Harrison]
Time travel fiction dramatizes first Chanukah Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger, San Diego County, The World We Share
Had he lived, today, Monday October 28th, would have been Jonas Salk’s 105th birthday. Last night, an audience of mostly senior citizens remembered and appreciated the enormity of the contribution that he made to world health by developing the polio vaccine. And, indirectly, the man who was the speaker at Tifereth Israel Synagogue—Salk’s son, Dr. Peter Salk—played an important role in that drama while he was still a child.[Donald H. Harrison]
The legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
With Jews around the world scheduled to read the story of Noah’s Ark next Saturday, the Abraham Ratner Torah School at Tifereth Israel Synagogue held a blessing for the animals in a brief outdoor ceremony on Sunday. Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, with arms raised, blessed about a dozen dogs and one rabbit that were brought by congregants of the Conservative shul. [Donald H. Harrison]
Animals receive a blessing at Tifereth Israel Synagogue Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USAThe general scholarly and rabbinical view is that the Oral Torah blossomed during the Second Temple period, when Judeans, as Jews were called at that time, who had returned from the Babylonian exile were faced with new problems that the Torah did not address and others that were addressed but needed updating to fit the situations they found. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
What is the origin of the Oral Torah? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Professor Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla will be awarded the Prince Albert I Grand Medal for science on Nov. 7 in Monaco by Prince Albert II, the principality’s reigning monarch, in a ceremony that also will honor former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. [Donald H. Harrison]
Scripps oceanographer’s date with a prince Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast