By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Historian Joellyn Zollman says whereas lectures about “Jews and the Civil War” or “Jews and Synagogue Gift Shops” may appeal to a segment of the Jewish audience, her lecture series about “Chosen Food, which really looks at Jewish food as a way of understanding Jewish culture and life”
A lecture to smack your lips over Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego CalendarA special event was held Monday evening at the Kotel in the Old City of Jerusalem for some 500 Jewish converts from across Israel affiliated with the Ami Ulpan network. The event, in honor of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, celebrated the converts” journey to Judaism. Shavuot, which marks the giving of the Torah to
‘I wanted so badly to be Jewish’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastWARSAW — 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
He found Judaism at 14. Today he’s at the forefront of Poland’s Jewish revival Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionLag 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
Lag Ba’Omer bonfires caused Thursday’s major wildfires Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The Libertarian party, with two former Republican governors chosen Sunday to head its ticket, will be important to watch in the run-up to the November presidential election, because it may be a place where Republicans who are unhappy with Donald Trump can go and still feel good about
Johnson, Weld should be wary of Holocaust analogies Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USAThe number of Jews around the world is no more than 15 million, and despite their small number, their presence internationally and their influence – politically, scientifically, technically and economically – is manifold their number. It is not known, accurately, why they are so vastly distinguished and superior compared to others, as they are the
Kuwaiti ponders success of the Jews Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastAn anxious job-seeker in the Ukrainian town of Medzhybizh tried finding work at the local synagogue, but when he was told to come back later he became incensed – and tried to stab the rabbi. The rabbi in question says it was a miracle no one was hurt and that the man could have murdered
Rabbi stabbed in Ukrainian synagogue by angry job-seeker Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionA 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
Autistic teen celebrates Bar Mitzvah in special ceremony Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy 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:
Internet surprise: I’m quoted by a Christian philosopher Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish ReligionGenealogical tools aid NJ and Russian relatives’ discovery of bonds Jessica Katz and her grandfather, Abram Belzycki, who died in 2011 at age 95. The Russians, top, and their American cousins have a conversation on Skype. Abram Belzycki in 1948, at age 32. Chaim Belzycki, Abram’s younger brother, who escaped the ghetto and fled to
Divided by Shoa, families find each other Read More »
International, Jewish History, USABy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Since I was ordained in 1980, the Jewish community and its institutions have been going through a period of significant change and restructuring. Rabbis and Rabbinical organizations have not been insulated from these transformations. This week I attended the International Rabbinical Assembly Convention in New York City. I
Conservative rabbis debate proposed reforms Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — “If you will observe my statutes and my laws, then you will dwell in the land safely. The land will produce its fruit, and you will eat to satiety and you will dwell in the land in security.” (Leviticus 25:18-19) With this G-d promises us that if we
Weekly Torah portion: Behar Read More »
Jewish ReligionJerusalem has been photographed from nearly every conceivable angle, dating back to the 1830s, when the world’s first photographic images were captured on film. That photographic heritage is the subject of a new exhibit, “The Camera Man: Women and Men Photograph Jerusalem 1900-1950,” opening Thursday, May 26, at Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum. It was
For photogenic Jerusalem, a look at how locals first captured their city Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsA small town in Poland is building a wooden synagogue — more than 70 years after the Nazis burned all the country’s wooden Jewish temples to the ground. Thing is, there aren’t any Jews left in the town of Bilgoraj. Even the retired businessman who came up with the idea, 62-year-old Tadeusz Kuźmiński, isn’t Jewish.
A synagogue is born in a little Polish town, but no Jews are left Read More »
International, Jewish History