There isn’t a Torah parsasha that doesn’t have an exact link to what’s going on in the world during the week we read its teachings. This week we read from Vayakhel and Pekudei and, lo and behold, once again we experience an inspirational nexus with our contemporary lives and a biblical passage. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]
Learning, following Torah when synagogues are closed Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
e are definitely in uncharted territory. Today (Tuesday, March 17), for the first time, I had to livestream a funeral because of coronavirus and social distancing that is being mandated by governmental agencies across the country. My team spent hours yesterday developing Chabad Virtual Academy; a place where anyone, anywhere, can log in and participate in a class on varied Jewish subjects, or watch them at a later time. In this regard we are not unique. Thousands of institutions are doing the same; allowing people unfettered access to everything from Torah classes to opera. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
Acts of joy might help overcome the coronavirus Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
With the coronavirus threatening people’s health in the first major pandemic we have seen in over a hundred years, Jewish tradition has much to say about the importance of handwashing. As a “priestly people,” (Exodus 19:6), priests in the Torah were always instructed to wash their hands whenever they enter into the Tent of Meeting or upon entering the Temple.
Just how serious is this precept? [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Torah laws foresaw need for good hygiene Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education
Attorney Joe Leventhal, who is seeking election in the 5th San Diego City Council District, once served as a “gatekeeper” for U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, deciding what memos should go to him, which should first be vetted by others, and reading his proposed speeches for accuracy. It was a pretty heady job for a young lawyer, just 26 years old. Previously having served on the staff of U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Illinois), he had observed then that “Washington at the highest levels of government is actually run by all of these folks under 40, even under 30 — the Administration, Capitol Hill, even at the Supreme Court. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Council candidate tells of being Cheney’s gatekeeper Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA
Remarkably, although Yehuda Halevi’s well-known book is filled with illogical ideas, many Jews call the poet a philosopher and rabbi, although he was neither, and praise his book. I will show some of the illogical matters. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Yehuda Halevi did not live up to his reputation Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion
San Diego City Council candidate Joe Leventhal says, “I’m Jewish and my family is Catholic.” He explained in an interview that although he had two Jewish parents, when they divorced, they both married non-Jews; his mother Deena Leventhal to a Catholic; his father Larry Leventhal to a non-practicing Christian. Even when his parents were together, they were so secular that they gave him as a boy the choice of whether he wanted to attend Hebrew school to study for a bar mitzvah. “I ended up saying no, and I regret it, and that is part of why I wanted my kids to be raised with religion because I felt I missed something being raised without it,” he said. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Candidate Joe Leventhal: A Jew with a Catholic family Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
Somewhere in Eastern Europe, in a little Jewish village, a woman who had been preparing to burn the last pieces of collected chometz in anticipation of that evening’s Passover seder, was startled to see a white mouse jump up on her table, steal a piece of bread, and leave crumbs behind as it ran away. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]
A Talmud-based Passover tale for children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & Satire
A parent of three San Diego Jewish Academy students has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Chaim Heller, the retiring head of the school. In a letter to other parents sent on Saturday (Shabbat) , he wrote, “The parent was at school during the past week. Their children, who are in grades, 1, 3, and 6, were in many rooms, including the Ulam (Auditorium), many times during the past week as well. They were with their friends acting in a regular, non-distance manner during that time. Effectively, they could have been with anyone from the school, from ECC [Early Childhood Center] to high school.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Parent of 3 SDJA students tests positive for coronavirus Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jerry Klinger, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
– In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, we now ask five questions at our Passover seders. [Humor column by Jerry Klinger]
Now it’s the five questions of Passover Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & SatireThis week’s Torah Portion is titled ‘Ki Tisa’, translated as, ‘And you shall count.’ The beginning of the portion tells us about the commandment to take a census of the men of Israel, from the ages of 20-60, who would be eligible to serve in the army. The census was not done in a typical fashion by direct count. Instead each person gave a half-shekel coin and those coins were then counted. The money taken from this census was used for communal needs. Later in our portion the difficult story of the infamous Golden Calf is related. … [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: The infamous Golden Calf Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
More and more Jewish organizations in San Diego County are announcing precautions and responses to the coronavirus pandemic, including Jewish Community Foundation, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation of San Diego County, Jewish National Fund, Lawrence Family JCC, Ohr Shalom Synagogue, Seacrest Village Retirement Community, Tifereth Israel Synagogue, and Western Jewish Studies Association. Following in alphabetical order, is a report about each. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Many S.D. Jewish institutions announcing coronavirus precautions Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
This busy parasha covers a potpourri of topics: a census; protocol for cleansing the priests; formulas for making anointing oil and incense; designation of Bezalel as chief craftsman of the Tabernacle and priestly garments; mandates for keeping the Sabbath and annual festivals; the episode of the Golden Calf and the soothing of God’s and Moses’ outrage during which Moses shattered the original Ten Commandments tablets; Moses’ extended conversations with God and God’s refusal to show Moses His face; creation of a repeat inscribed set of tablets, followed with the famous words about God’s sustained compassion on one hand, and alternatively his prolonged capacity for punishment of iniquity; and finally Moses’ satisfaction over his dealings with God which resulted in his face aglow. There’s a lot to choose from. For today, I have selected only the following three passages, from which I have sought Internet sources for comparison with our Hebrew texts. [Irv Jacobs, MD]
Censuses, feet washing, anointing in the ancient world Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. experienced first-hand in San Diego the concerns shared by Jewish congregations around the country about anti-Semitism — a concern that prompted U.S. Attorney General William Barr to send a directive to U.S. Attorneys throughout the United States to arrange meetings with Jewish community leaders. At a kosher lunch meeting on Wednesday sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, rabbi after rabbi — ranging from Reform to Chassidic–expressed their worries about the safety of their congregants at a time when there has been an increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
U.S. Attorney Brewer reassures Jewish community on security Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Yeruchem Eilfort-RabbiHoly cow! Or should I say, holy cows! This week cows fill our Torah reading, from the sin of one cow, the golden calf, to – this being Shabbat Parah – another cow, the red heifer. Shabbat Parah, the Sabbath of the Red Heifer, occurs on the Shabbat prior to Shabbat Mevarkhim of the month of Nisan. This brings to mind a question. What do you get when you pamper a cow? Spoiled milk, that’s what! Ok, ok, it’s just a bad joke, I get it. But why did the secret service surround the president with dozens of cows? Of course, they were trying to beef up security. Ugh, I now, but writing this so close to Purim leaves its mark of still overflowing fun. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]
The Torah’s two very different cows Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell