Shabbat Lech Lecha 5784 By Rabbi Daniel Reich LA JOLLA, California — Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller (1579–1654), in his classic commentary on the Mishnah, Tosfot Yom Tov (Pirkei Avot, 5:3), offers profound insight into the title bestowed upon our forefather Avraham, known as “Avinu” (our father). We know that Avraham is called Avraham “Avinu” […]
Our Divine Defense System Read More »
Daniel Reich-Rabbi, Jewish Religion
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — In this, the third Torah reading of this remarkably eventful new year, we learn in Lech Lecha of the spiritual trajectory of our lives. Hashem tells Avraham, “Lech Lecha,” go for yourself, “me’artzecha,” from your homeland, “mimoladitecha,” from your birthplace, “u’mi’beit avicha,” and from your father’s house
Parashat Lech Lecha: The Value of Discomfort Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — A few days after the outbreak of the war, I went into a neighborhood hardware store where two old timers were muttering that things would be different today if only Begin were still prime minister. My goal is not to disparage Netanyahu or any of Israel’s politicians. Rather, I would
If Only We Had Menachem Begin Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, OpinionBy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Look at the world Noach lived in. Greed, oppression, corruption, sexual excess, and worse. Wait. What’s changed? Look at our world. How do we cope without an ark to escape into? Floods, figuratively at least, surround us. Our response, our Jewish response, is to continue to be resilient,
Parashat Noach: Being a Mensch in a World Flooded With Strife Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
Shabbat Bereshit 5784 By Rabbi Daniel Reich LA JOLLA, California — Earlier this week, the RCA (Rabbinical Council of America) hosted a Zoom call for congregational rabbis with Dr. Norman Blumenthal, a renowned Jewish psychologist, and Rav Dovid Miller, the Rosh Kollel of the YU Gruss Kollel in Yerushalayim. Their goal was to provide insights
Shabbos: Finding Strength Amidst the Chaos Read More »
Daniel Reich-Rabbi, Jewish Religion
As Morocco rebuilds in the aftermath of a horrifying earthquake that struck High Atlas Mountain ranges last month, this article considers the guiding premises for sustainable societies established in the first chapter of the Torah, “In the Beginning.” [Yossef Ben-Meir]
‘In the Beginning’ in Morocco Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Yossef Ben-Meir
Hitler’s fanaticism and the legacy of his henchmen in implementing his “Final Solution” against the Jews cannot begin to compare with the Islamic fanaticism of Hamas. Unlike the Nazis, who did their best to conceal their genocidal crimes against the Jews, the followers of Hamas take immense pride in carrying out their acts of mayhem against the Jew, as we saw in the recent October 7th attack against the Jews on Shabbat and during the holiday of Simchat Torah. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Hamas Merged Nazi and Islamist Ideologies Read More »
Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
Let us call them out for what they are. They are Nazis. They are wannabe Putins. They are war criminals. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Worse than Nazism: It is Babi Yar All Over Again Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East
Jane Carol Ginsburg directs Columbia Law School’s Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts. Asked what she would like the civilian crew who will serve aboard the Ruth Bader Ginsburg to know about her mother, she replied in an email that they “might peruse two of her books: My Own Words and Justice, Justice Thou Shall Seek. The latter title was taken from Deuteronomy 16:20: Tzedek, tsedek, tirdof. For for a keepsake, or memento of her mother’s, she suggested the ship may wish to display the poster that accompanied the issuance in October 2023 of a U.S. Post Office stamp in Judge Ginsburg’s honor. [Donald H. Harrison and Emily Scalmanini}
A Ship for Justice Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, San Diego County, Technology, USABy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — As we learn from “The Parsha Song” from Torah Island by Suki and Ding, “With Bereishit we begin learning Torah, How precious we hold our Mesorah, Bereishis, Noach, Lech Lecha, Vayeira, Chayei Sarah, Sarah lived for 127 years…” And on we go. Yes, new beginnings often combine excitement
Parashat Bereishit: A Fresh Start Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — In San Diego and across the Jewish world, this past Simchat Torah holiday won’t be forgotten anytime soon. While I was on volunteer security duty at Congregation Adat Yeshurun during Shabbat/Shemini Atzeret, bits and pieces of the devastating news in Israel began to emerge. We heard that 100
Editor’s Notebook: Navigating an Unforgettable Sense of Limbo on Simchat Torah Read More »
Israel, Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County
Ceramicist Josh Herman’s tile work is on display throughout the upscale Paridisea Restaurant in the remodeled interior of the Piano Building in La Jolla’s Bird Rock neighborhood. His “modern, sensual, organic” ceramic sculptures made the cover of the French edition of Architectural Digest in July 2016 when the authoritative magazine profiled the La Jolla Farms Road home known as the Razor House, now owned by singer Alicia Keys. [Donald H. Harrison and Emily Scalmanini}
Ceramicist Herman’s Works are ‘Intentionally Not Conceptual’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
William Medwied, 90 a Holocaust survivor from Ukraine, passed peacefully on September 30. There is a tradition that when people die on Shabbat they are immediately in heaven with G-d. [Sandy Scheller]
William Medwied, Holocaust Survivor, 1933-2023 Read More »
Holocaust, International, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller
By Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg EDISON, New Jersey — The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, claimed that Jews were murdered in the Holocaust not because of their Jewishness. “This is explained in many Jewish books,” Abbas said. “They say that Hitler killed them because of their Jewishness. Not so. They (the Nazis) fought
P.A.’s Abbas Tells Terrible Lies About the Holocaust Read More »
Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Middle East