Jewish Religion

I-8 Jewish Travel: Jews and Native Americans

-59th in a series– Exit 33, Willows Road, Alpine (eastbound) By Donald H. Harrison VIEJAS INDIAN RESERVATION, California — I wrote the following story for the Sept. 19, 1997 edition of the San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, of which I was editor.  The sentiments expressed in this excerpt still apply today, and provide background for any […]

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

Mohels warned to get checked for herpes after babies infected

Two babies were hospitalized at Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikva for being infected with herpes during circumcision, Kikar HaShabbat reports Wednesday night – and a prominent mohel has demanded that fellow mohels get checked for the disease before performing the ceremony. Mohel Rabbi Shlomo Mahfoud told the daily that mohels must “check themselves first

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

It took this man 10 years to realize he was living in a synagogue

In 1990, Jihad Al-Mohammed moved into an abandoned building in the old city of Sidon in south Lebanon. The Lebanese civil war had just come to end. The Palestinian refugees who had been sheltering in the centuries-old structure had gone. “But it was filled with rats and garbage,” says Mohammed. “So I cleaned it up.”

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

He found Judaism at 14. Today he’s at the forefront of Poland’s Jewish revival

WARSAW — On the face of it, Maciej Pawlak is an unlikely Jewish day school principal. Born in Szezecin, in northwestern Poland, he was raised in an atheist household and did not even realize he was Jewish until he was a teenager. His father, Zbigniew, was Catholic, and his mother, Alina, was Jewish. “I suspected

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International, Jewish Religion

Lag Ba’Omer bonfires caused Thursday’s major wildfires

Lag Ba’Omer fires may have sparked the massive blazes in Emek HaArazim, Ramot, and Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood the Fire Department announced Monday. A campfire in Emek HaArazim, near Ramot, probably started the blaze as Lag Ba’Omer festivities ended, spreading due to northwest winds at approximately 12:05 pm Thursday, the Investigative Department of the Jerusalem Fire

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Autistic teen celebrates Bar Mitzvah in special ceremony

A unique celebration took place at the Yeshivat Hesder Meir Harel in Modi’in Thursday, on Lag Ba’Omer: a special needs boy celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. The Bar Mitzvah boy, an autistic teen, was the first to celebrate the milestone since the inception of the Bar Mitzvah program Shahak LeBnei Mitzvah eight years ago, complete with

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Internet surprise: I’m quoted by a Christian philosopher

By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO–Every once in a while it is interesting to type one’s name into Google and see what comes up.  It almost never fails to be amusing and upon occasion perplexing as well.   On one such recent excursion I came across an item which caught my eye: “Moral Issues and Christian Responses:

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion

‘Creation’s First Light’ introduces Torah, spirituality

Creation’s First Light by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Rothenberg; © 2013 IBJ Book Publishing; ISBN 978-10934922-94-1; 32 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This might be subtitled “A Child’s Guide to Torah and Spirituality.”  Rabbi Sasso begins with a paraphrase of God’s first command, “Let There Be Light” and subsequently explains

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

Liberal Judaism, complexity science, and Israel

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two friends, who I am sure do not know one another, have provoked this column with issues dealing with what appear to be different matters. One worries about the weakness of Liberal Judaism in Israel. Another sent me an item about “complexity science.” The topics link to one another. The “findings”

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA