Jewish Religion

Rabbi/ Cantor Arlene Bernstein’s spiritual journey

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – As Arlene Bernstein became less and less “observant”of halacha in her religious practice, she became more and more deeply involved in Jewish life.  Today she is a cantor as well as a rabbi.  And for the next year, she is serving as the Acting Senior Rabbi of the […]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Donald H. Harrison, Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

San Diego County celebrates Israel’s day of love

By Donald H. Harrison ENCINITAS, California – Up and down San Diego County, Jewish congregations and organizations are beginning to embrace the celebration of Tu b’Av, a relatively unknown holiday in the United States, but considered to be the equivalent of Valentines Day in Israel.  This secular year, it arrived on the evening of August

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

Weiss propounds ‘Open Orthodoxy’ in new book

Journey to Open Orthodoxy by Avraham “Avi” Weiss, Ktav Publishing and Urim Publishing, New York © 2019, ISBN 978-1-60280-318-3, p. 592, plus appendix and index, $29.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Reform Judaism in eighteenth century Germany and Hasidism in the Ukraine in the same century represent the first modern ruptures in traditional Judaism;

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Notes on Torah reading for August 17, 2019

Torah parsha “Va-Ethannan”-Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 By Irv Jacobs LA JOLLA, California The most memorable passages in this parsha are the Ten Commandments, the classic epitome of Jewish contribution to Western civilization.  But are the Commandments original?  Do these famous lines have precedents in earlier ancient cultures? In fact, the ideas of the Commandments made an early appearance in

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

Tisha b’Av observance focuses on refugee plight

Story by Donald H. Harrison; photos by Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO — It was a venue of juxtaposition on Sunday, August 11. In Mission Bay, a dog rode on a paddle board, with it and its master somehow keeping their balance as the wake from a powerboat rocked the board on its course. Elsewhere,

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, USA