Jewish Religion

The chutzpah of the contrarian child

When we read in the Haggadah about the Four Children, one wise, one “wicked,” one simple, and one who is too young to ask questions, it is the “wicked,” son, whom I preferably identify as “the contrarian child.” His question cuts to the essence of the holiday: “What does this holiday mean to you?” The contrarian son’s honesty is refreshingly different from the other sons at the seder.  [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

A word of Torah: The final days of Passover

As the final days of Passover are only hours away (sunset of April 14 through nightfall of April 16) we are pleased to share information and resources about the final days of Passover and the customary ‘Meal of Moshiach.’ which is held on the last day of Passover; a tradition that was instituted over 250 years ago by the Baal Shem Tov (The Baal Shem Tov, which means Master of the Good Name, was the originator of Chasidic Philosophy. ) [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

God and the problem of suffering

he senseless deaths seen in the coronavirus pandemic challenges religious people’s concept of God. How does one reconcile our faith in a personal God who loves life, but allows a natural evil to destroy everything in its path? What kind of God—if any—can allow the suffering of innocent children? Every natural catastrophe seems to make the belief in a personal God seem unlikely. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Congresswoman Davis announces financial help for students

Federal relief funds  for local universities and colleges and for their students in need during the coronavirus pandemic were announced on Monday by Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego).  In total, 23 institutions of higher learning in the count are receiving grant totaling $137,435,195, and will be required to distribute at least $71,360,718 in grants to students to pay for housing food, and other essentials. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Streaming films about the Haredim

For a long time most films dealing with Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews sided with individuals whose choice of lifestyle, partners, or vocations conflicted with the expectations of their families and community.  While that is still true of many movies, in recent years films with sympathetic portrayals of traditional Jewish subcultures have emerged.  Here’s a sampling of both kinds of cinematic depictions. [Laurie Baron, PhD]

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Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Addressing Bible difficulties

It is only in recent times that Yeshivas (post-high-school religious schools) began again to teach Bible. The problem that the rabbis faced was that enlightenment scholars raised multiple questions about the Bible, questions that seemed to show that God did not write or inspire the Bible, but that it was composed by many different authors with different agendas, some of whom made mistakes. The Yeshiva rabbis did not know how to respond to the attacks. So, the rabbis stopped teaching Bible and told students that if they wanted to study the Torah they should do so on their own. Instead, the rabbis taught only Talmud and ethical books. This situation existed when I attended a prominent Yeshiva in the 1950s. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

A virtual Passover in passing

On Wednesday night, many of us had Passover seders we’ll always remember, when we met by Zoom, Facebook, and other Internet devices because the Coronavirus made it unsafe for us to hold our usual celebratory family gatherings.  We’ve been collecting photos from Facebook and our email of San Diegans in their unusual celebrations. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Will the Messiah come this year?

Ever since the coronavirus started, many of my congregants asked me whether this year might be the year of the Messiah’s arrival. A couple of days I ago, I came across an earlier article about how the Israeli Health Ministry Yaakov Litzman has done a poor job in managing the coronavirus crisis that we see in the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) community in Israel. The pandemic has impacted their community, as much as four to eight times faster than elsewhere in Israel. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Passing on Passover thoughts

SAN DIEGO — Members of our community have been sharing their thoughts about this unusual Passover via emails and social media. We are pleased to pass along some of them: Rabbi Joshua Dorsch of Tifereth Israel Synagogue says, “One of the many things that Passover teaches us is that amidst the darkness, and challenging moments in our lives, together, we will persevere. We will emerge from the struggle and the challenges before us, stronger and more connected together.”  Along with Tifereth Israel staff members Michelle Barbour, Amy Stanley, Beth Klareich, and Alissa Messian, he performed in a video parodying Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham:  “I do not want you in my house/ I do not want you or your spouse/ I do not wish to eat with you/ At Seder one or Seder Two/ Don’t get me wrong: I think you’re nice/ but the CDC gave out this advice:/ You must avoid one plague more/ And shoo Elijah from your door./ At next year’s seder, we will tell/ How we were all saved by Purell.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Passover awakens Jewish memory

Passover is a unique holiday. While most people tend to see themselves as a product of the present, the Jew is different in one basic respect. Regardless of denomination, Jews are a people forged by the fiery crucible of memory. We say in the Passover Haggadah, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt . . .Had not the Holy Blessed One taken us out of Egypt, then we and our children, and our grandchildren would still be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Lone soldier from San Diego on patrol near Gaza

  Other items in  today’s column include *Israel Philharmonic teams up in their homes for Pesach melodies *Coronavirus and animals *Passover doings * By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at night, Israel Defense Forces Corporal Sagie Shpigelman, 19,  of San Diego patrols Israel’s border with Gaza along with other

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA