Judaism

Parashat Mishpatim – We Wander, Wing It, and Wonder Why We’re Late

Parashat Mishpatim shows how lofty spiritual experiences can become daily living. After the thunder and awe of Sinai in last week’s parasha, the Torah now turns to the details of life: laws of justice, business ethics, personal responsibility, compassion, and integrity. No fewer than fifty-three mitzvot appear here, teaching that holiness is built not only through inspiration, but through conduct. [Michael Mantell, PhD]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Jewish People: Myth or reality? A lie with a purpose

While the Prime Minister is in Washington fighting for Israel’s survival, it is crucial to remember that the Jewish people’s attachment to their tiny land was continuous, documented, and unmatched by any competing national claim. It was also legally recognized. Opinion. [Alex Grobman]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Fredy Hirsch

Alfred Hirsch (February 11, 1916 – March 8, 1944) was a German-Jewish athlete, sports teacher, and Zionist youth movement leader, notable for helping thousands of Jewish children during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in Prague, the Theresienstadt concentration camp, and Auschwitz. [Wikipedia]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Our Shtetl: Super Bowl is over, now onto the Winter Olympics

As we finish up all the Super Bowl treats, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, have started and will continue for two weeks.
There are 16 Jewish and Israeli athletes to keep an eye on in the next two weeks. [Cailin Acosta]

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, California, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Parshat Mishpatim 2026

This week’s Torah portion focuses on an old but familiar theme: the social laws known as Mishpatim.  In this Parsha, we discover that the God of Exodus is the God of history and of political liberation more than he is the God of nature. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Biography: Claude Vigee: the wandering Jewish poet

Claude described himself as a “Jew and an Alsatian, thus doubly Alsatian and doubly Jewish”. He associated the wanderings of the Jewish people with the suffering of the inhabitants of Alsace, a land of discord between France and Germany. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Book Review: Hitler’s Canary tells of a daring wartime adventure

The year was 1940, and the Germans were starting to invade Denmark, and 10-year-old Bamse was just as confused as all the other Danes.
Bamse is Danish for Teddy. Bamse’s older brother, Orlando, becomes involved in the resistance and eventually goes to jail. As he was in the hospital, Bamse brought him clothes, and he escaped. [Cailin Acosta]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Something neither of us could build alone

This brief story captures the heart of the Jewish value of arevut, shared responsibility. In life, we often imagine that we are accountable only for ourselves, that “our seat” is private. Judaism insists otherwise. What we do affects those around us. Our fates are intertwined. We rise or fall together. [Betzy Lynch]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Old Canterbury (U.K.) Jewish Cemetery Behind the gate – an entire world

The gate opened.  I chose to go in. Nathaniel Isaacs led me to Alan Barnett, the Chairman of the Canterbury Jewish Historical Society. The gate opened wider. I encountered Henry Hart, Jacob the Jew, and Isaac Nathan in political and social controversy. I encountered P.C. challenges, sadly not overcome, and opportunities to respond to antisemitism by doing what the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation does best: creating and placing permanent Jewish historical markers that affirm Jewish presence, contributions, and commonality. [Jerry Klinger]

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International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Our Shtetl: leaving a legacy

Tuesday, Feb. 3, the La Mesa City Council broke ground on the construction of the La Mesa downtown district sign in the village. I could not attend. But we purchased tiles many years ago, and Ceramic Café at Grossmont Center hosted a tile event for those who purchased tiles to be painted and would be fired for the district sign. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Review of Gustav Mahler’s 7th Symphony concert perfomance to a full house

The San Diego Symphony, conducted by its Artistic Director, Raphael Payare, whose contract was just renewed until the 2029-30 season, delivered a stunning performance of Gustav Mahler’s 7th Symphony to a full house on Sunday, February 1, in the newly named Miller Family Theater of the Jacobs Music Center. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Parshas Yisro – Here Comes the Sunshine

Fast forward fifty years, and our Tu B’Shvat experience is quite different. Here in Eretz Yisrael, not only are the major holidays celebrated throughout the country and across all lines, but even the minor festivals have been transformed into major events. [Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky]

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California, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Light Amidst the Pyres: A Review of Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

Richard Zimler’s 1996 debut, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, is a towering achievement in this genre. It is a work that breathes life into the suffocating atmosphere of 16th-century Portugal, weaving a narrative that is simultaneously a grisly locked-room mystery, a pulse-pounding thriller, and a profound meditation on Jewish mysticism. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jan Brokken’s “The Just; How Six Unlikely Heroes Saved Thousands of Jews from the Holocaust” tells of stories of courage

Throughout this book, which is based on extensive research, interviews with survivors, and far-reaching travel to almost all the places mentioned, the writer inserts his own personal insights and experiences, giving the reader a unique and lively account of how events developed and what people experienced. [Dorothea Sefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors