By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. This week’s Torah reading has been described as a pivot point in the Book of Exodus, where we drill down to the details of behavior in an ideal relationship with Hashem. We see repeatedly that behavior over belief is what is critical in our faith. It says quite dramatically: וַיִּקַּח֙
Parashat Mishpatim: Behavior Over Belief Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The biblical story of the prophet Elijah is interesting, but it is subject to radically different interpretations. A literal reading of scripture, without imagining acts that are not explicit in the verses, yield a negative interpretation of Elijah’s behavior with God being dissatisfied with him, criticizing
Did the Prophet Elijah Act Properly? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
In Nestor, a neighborhood of San Diego northwest of San Ysidro, a small, two-acre, formerly abandoned burial grounds, recently undergoing restoration, is named the Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Located at 2127 Iris Street, it is so small, it sometimes is called Mount Oliveito Cemetery. It is surrounded by single-family residences. [Donald H. Harrison]
Bible Inspired Name of Cemetery in Nestor Neighborhood Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel The first proclamation of the Ten Commandments, “ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” (Exod. 20:2) has puzzled Jewish scholars and philosophers for well over 2,000 years. Maimonides deduced from this passage the biblical precept
Is Belief a Commandment? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — In his Guide for the Perplexed, book 3, chapter 51, in the easy to read translation by M. Friedlander, Maimonides (1138-1204) tells readers: “The present chapter does not contain any additional matter that has not been treated in the [previous] chapters of this treatise. It is
Maimonides’ View on the Proper Way to Worship God Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
This is an academic work, yet a very personal one for Bernice Lerner of Boston University’s Center for Character and Social Responsibility. The Jewish girl referred to in the subtitle was author Lerner’s mother, Rachel Genuth. Her Romanian hometown of Seghet was annexed by Hungary, then an ally of Nazi Germany. Teenaged Genuth and the town’s other Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. [Donald H. Harrison]
Author Tells of Survivor Mother and the Extraordinary Medical Campaign that Saved Her Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish HistoryBy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. In this week’s parasha, Yitro, one of the six portions termed for an individual, we discover the Ten Commandments, the Aseret HaDib’rot, being revealed to Moses and to the Israelites in the wilderness. We see from this pinnacle experience that the Torah can be learned anywhere, even in a wilderness,
Parashat Yitro: Covering Our Challah Loaves Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael MantellBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Being Jewish, my wife and I light Shabbat candles on Friday evening before the Sabbath begins. This is a longstanding Jewish practice, usually understood to be over 2,000 years old. The usual explanation for the custom is based on a dispute between the Sadducees and Pharisees.
Why Do We Light Shabbat Candles? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., gave a lecture via Facebook entitled How the Nazis Manipulated the Masses. Historian Dr. Edna Friedberg and USHMM Teacher Educator Kim Blevins-Relleva were the presenters. Nazi propaganda didn’t begin with hatred, but a kind of patriotism. In the 1920s, the
Dissecting Nazi Propaganda Read More »
Eric George Tauber, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
At our last stop, Jewish merchants were our focus. Another reason one can anticipate finding a “Jewish story everywhere” is the nation of Israel. Every other country in the world either enjoys or refuses relations with Israel, but whichever the case, it leads to a Jewish-interest story. On a more personal level, there are relationships between the Jews who live in the Land of Israel and people living in other areas of the world. [Donald H. Harrison]
Israeli Agriculture and the Little Landers Movement Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food
By Jacob Kamaras One of the most important decisions I needed to make upon recently taking ownership of the San Diego Jewish World was, how should we spell antisemitism? The prior sentence should tell you everything you need to know about my decision. Nevertheless, here’s the story behind the style choice. In August 2021, The
The Case for Antisemitism (the Spelling) Read More »
International, Jacob Kamaras, Jewish History
By Raphael Menko SAN DIEGO — For the past month, I’ve been trying to live more intentionally with the character trait called Menuchat HaNefesh — in English, equanimity. I am following a program called Midda a Month put on by the Mussar Institute, which gives readings and meditations to help channel a specific Midda (character
Living With Equanimity Read More »
Jewish Religion, LifestylesBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, the author of Tranquility and Travail, is a Haredi rabbi. Many Haredi Jews are very conservative and have more fundamental ideas than other Jews. One of Rabbi Sapirman’s views, which many non-Haredi Jews do accept, is that God is involved with matters here
Why Do Good People Suffer? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rafael Medoff WASHINGTON, D.C. — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year will be commemorated just before the 75th anniversary of a remarkable but little-known campaign by American Zionists and African-Americans that helped defeat racial segregation in Baltimore. This story began in the autumn of 1946, when the Zionist activists known as the Bergson
How Zionists Helped Defeat Segregation in Baltimore Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, USA