Jewish Religion

Our Shtetl San Diego County: September 20, 2019

I have met other people who can recall song lyrics from the 1950’s on, but none, absolutely none, whose memory is as phenomenal as that of Judy Gumbiner, the retired San Diego State University director of career services.

With the High Holy Days approaching, soon thereafter to be followed by Succot and Simcha Torah, Judy and I were discussing the impressions of the Jewish Bible that a popular music fan might derive from pop music and Broadway show tunes.

Here are some of the “lessons” we (mostly she) came up with:

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Book Review: ‘A Field Guide to the Jewish People’

Co-author Dave Barry is a well-known syndicated humor columnist; Alan Zweibel has written comedy for television programs including Saturday Night Live and Curb Your Enthusiasm;  and Adam Mansbach is the author of Go the F*ck to Sleep and You Have to F*****g Eat – the titles of which indicate a certain enthusiasm for F-bombs, which, in my opinion, appear all too frequently in the current collaboration.

Co-authors Barry, Mansbach and Zweibel have their comedy credits – and that may be enough to make this book popular, despite its very questionable taste.  Mixing Torah and F-Bombs, to my way of thinking, is more derision than humor, and the fact that two of the co-authors are themselves Jewish (Barry is a Presbyterian) doesn’t excuse that.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

D’var Torah for September 21, 2019

This is the time of the year when we reflect, when we turn inward, review our past year’s successes and disillusionments, with the purpose of looking forward to a better year…in other words, gezunt, hatlacha and parnassa.

The parasha begins with “When you arrive,” and ends with “When you have arrived at this place.” We are to be joyful, to be sameach, not simply because we feel we’ve succeeded, but because it is a commandment to do so.

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Our Shtetl San Diego County: September 18, 2019

Items in this column include:
*Local businessmen fly to Bahamas to help victims of Hurricane Dorian
*Councilmembers Bry and Campbell often find common ground
*San Diegans will host IDF veterans as they sort out combat memories
*Bible Players to enliven services this weekend at Tifereth Israel Synagogue

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Our Shtetl San Diego County: September 16, 2019

Items in today’s column:

*San Diego County teens, successful in past, may apply for Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards
*Bible, Holocaust, and Israel subjects of new books by local authors
*Barbara Bry gets backing of neighborhoods group in mayoral race
*Sukkot activity planning well underway in the county

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego County, September 15, 2019

San Diego History Center in Balboa Park and author of The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, told Rowe that instances of men playing females have long been considered family entertainment.  Furthermore, she said, “Some of the highest paid drag queens in the past have identified as heterosexual.  It has nothing to do with sexual behavior. It has everything to do with entertainment.”

All of which brings to memory that the 1959 Billy Wilder film, Some Like It Hot, one of the most celebrated movies ever to be filmed at the Hotel del Coronado,  starred Marilyn Monroe as a member of an all-girl band that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon joined, in drag, in an effort to escape from some gangsters. 

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Was the biblical command to destroy nations cruel?

God commanded the Israelites through Moses to completely blot out the memory of the nation of Amalek. The command is repeated by the prophet Samuel in I Samuel 15. The only voice speaking against this apparent genocide is that of the first Jewish king Saul, who was strongly criticized by Samuel for not killing all of the Amalekite people and who lost his monarchy because of his apparently reasonable behavior.

Philo sidesteps the difficulty of the slaughter of an entire people by interpreting the entire report allegorically. Amalek is not a nation, but a symbol of the impassioned coward who strikes anyone he sees standing in his way. He hides until his enemy has passed him by, no longer looking at him. Then he rises and assaults what he perceives is his opponent’s weakest point. Philo was thus the first to introduce the idea that it is not the people that should be eradicated, but the nefarious self-destructive quality of Amalek that an individual must obliterate from his personality.

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Our Shtetl San Diego County: September 14, 2019

Items in this column include:
* Attorney Joe Leventhal becomes a candidate in 5th City Council District
* Georgette Gomez jumps into race to succeed Congresswoman Susan Davis
* Brushing up on your Jewish knowledge with a game of ‘Jew-perdy’
*A Backyard Challah Bake
* Camp Mountain Chai increases summer sessions from three to four
* Three ‘self-compassionate resolutions’ for the New Year
* And Finally, Some Fun With Numbers

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego: September 12, 2019

Subjects in this column:
* 2020 may be the year of local exhibits on the Holocaust
* Rabbis weigh in on the controversy over kosher slaughter of animals
* How mayoral candidates are spinning the latest poll

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food

Notes on Torah Reading for September 14, 2019

….you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her and would take her to wife, you shall bring her into your house, and she shall trim her hair, pare her nails, and discard her captive’s garb. She shall spend a month’s time your house lamenting her father and mother; after that you may come to her and possess her, and she shall be your wife. Then, should you no longer want her, you must release her outright. You must not sell her for money; since you had your will of her, you must not enslave her.”

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion