By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — One of the Democratic candidates running for President is Cory Booker, the former Newark mayor who later was elected to the U.S. Senate. Booker has had a long relationship with the Jewish community. He once headed Jewish student societies while a student at the University at […]
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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USABy Irvin H. Jacobs, MD, MPH, MFA LA JOLLA, California — This week’s Torah portion, Shelah-Lekha (Numbers Chapters 13-15), deals largely with an expedition of twelve men chosen by Moses to scout the promised land, for its attraction and likelihood of conquest by the wandering Israelites. Two scouts, Joshua and Caleb, reported the land was
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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish ReligionBy Menachem Posner Chabad.org/news SAN DIEGO — A central organ of Jewish communal life is the chevra kadisha, the “sacred society” that performs the final rites for the Jewish deceased. In larger communities, the chevra kadisha may contain dozens of volunteers or paid staff. In smaller communities, however, it is usually a small, dedicated group
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Jewish Religion, San Diego CountySAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The World Health Organization reports that in 2019 more than 141 million children will be born: 73 million boys and 68 million girls. Based on recent mortality risks the boys will live, on average, 69.8 years and the girls 74.2 years. What’s this have to do with a synagogue-based,
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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, San Diego Calendar, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – I received an e- mail advertisement on Friday saying that tomorrow Saturday, June 22, is National Onion Ring Day. I have no idea how such days get to be declared, or who, for that matter, gets to declare them. However, I take the Black Bear Diner’s word for
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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food
Charm, Kindness, and Mischief in Beha’ Alotakha (Numbers: Chapters 8-12) By Irvin H. Jacobs, MD, MPH, MFA LA JOLLA, California — The reading is busy, but here are a few nuggets to tickle one’s sentiments. I. Chapter 8, v. 7 describes the process of prepping Levites for their duties, which were to maintain and transport
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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
By Irvin H. Jacobs, MD, MPH, MFA LA JOLLA, California — This week’s portion (Naso) offers up two topics of some mischief and humor. The first is the “Judicial Water Ordeal,” (Numbers Ch. 5) ostensibly to deal with suspected unwitnessed adultery by wives. The two situations covered are respectively: a rumored affair that reaches the
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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — Our Torah portion this week, Naso, describes the somewhat unusual lifestyle choices of a Nazarite. A Nazarite takes a vow of holiness, abstains from drinking alcohol, cutting his hair, and coming into contact with the dead. The vow is for a predetermined finite amount of time. Through abstaining
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Jewish ReligionBy Eileen Wingard ALISO VIEJO, California — The manuscript of Journey to Freedom languished for decades at the bottom of a pile of Dr. Bernard “Barney” Gilmore’s scores. It was not until after UC Irvine Music Faculty Professor Gilmore’s death, that his wife, while organizing his music for the archives at the UC Irvine Library,
Biblical Exodus inspires ‘Journey to Freedom’ oratorio Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAFrom Infinity to Man by Eduard Shyfrin, White Raven Publishing, © 2019, ISBN 978-1-911195-84-9, p. 122 plus notes and index, $24.99. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Kabbalah is esoteric Judaism, the mystical traditions handed down orally through the generations. Yet, Kabbalah is not a monolith, its concepts and structures evolve. In the introduction to
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are many instances where both Jews and non-Jews tell stories with some variations on the same plot. In many of these instances, the Jewish version attempts to use its version to teach Jews proper behavior. The following is an example. Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving (1783-1859)
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Most people are convinced that there are comparatively few Jews in the world, only about 13.3 million in 2001, about 1.4 percent of the world population. Of these 4.9 million lived in Israel and 8.3 million outside the Holy Land. Logic would dictate that the actual
Those of Jewish blood quite populous Read More »
International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Shavuot (the Sephardic and Israeli pronunciation), or Shavuos (the Ashkenazic pronunciation) just ended. The holiday commemorates God’s giving of the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. Shavuot traditions include eating dairy food, participating in all-night study sessions, and reading the Ten Commandments and the
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Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA