By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California–Hassidic literature teaches that one of the reasons given for Hassidim swaying in prayer is based upon the analogy of the movement that occurs in the act of love making. Prayer is like “making love to the Shekhinah.” The Baal Shem Tov is purported to have taught: Prayer […]
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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
My Bargain with God: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Lou Dunst, by Ben Kamin. Sunbelt Publishing, Inc., El Cajon, California, 2014. By David Strom SAN DIEGO — San Diegan Lou Dunst has had at least three lives. Family love gave Lou the foundation and core of who he is today. Growing up as the youngest
Biography of Lou Dunst tells of his three lives Read More »
Jewish History
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO –Zalman left the small village of his youth, to seek his fortune in the big city. It was a very rough and lonely trek. The city can be a harsh place for a newcomer. The pace is much quicker and there is always someone out there looking to swindle
Shabbat: More than a day of rest Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past week, a newspaper featured a picture of a Lubavitcher rabbi smilingly putting tefillon on Santa Claus. It reminded me of a story from Eli Plaut’s book, Kosher Christmas. It mentions how an old Ukrainian Jewish immigrant dressed up as Santa Claus and spoke Yiddish. When speaking
Letting go of our past fear… and prejudice Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945 by Charles Slucki; Rutgers University Press 2012 By Garry Fabian MELBOURNE, Australia – An academic based here, Charles Slucki, notes in his recent book that the Jewish Labor Bund was one of the major political forces in early 20th Century Eastern Europe. But the decades after the Second
After World War II, what became of the Bund? Read More »
International, Jewish History
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — After the Pharaoh who had elevated Joseph to power died, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” (Ex. 1:8) Was it really possible that this newly arrived Pharaoh knew nothing of the great man who had just saved Egypt from starvation? Certainly not! Rather,
Facing the truth… and acting upon it! Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO– In 1942, Seymour Lederman was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training. America had just entered World War II, and young men from all over the country were preparing to serve their country overseas. The small Jewish community in Biloxi arranged for a special Pesach Seder for the Jewish
Why the parson’s wife arranged the seder Read More »
Jewish Religion
Stories of the Law: Narrative Discourse and the Construction of Authority in the Mishnah by Moshe Simon-Shoshan, Oxford University Press, New York; ISBN 978-0-19-935638-6 ©2013, $27.95, p. 287, including notes and bibliography By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California– The Romans, who destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, subsequently expelled the Jews from Jerusalem after
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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) – The exhibition “To Me There’s No Other Choice” celebrates the life and honors the courageous deeds of Swedish diplomat and businessman Raoul Wallenberg. It will be on display from December 5, 2013 until February 28, 2014 along the second floor of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126
JCC announces exhibit on Raoul Wallenberg Read More »
Jewish History
Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., The Rabbi and The Nuns, Mekor Press, 2013, ISBN 9781614651338. 190 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– Although the title sounds like the beginning of a joke, this book, in fact, contains numerous recollections of Rabbi Twerski’s career as the head of psychiatry at the Roman Catholic-operated St.
The old, the young, and the alcoholics Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — The whole of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) was in an uproar! A well-known man, a member of the Belzer Chasidic sect, and his wife had just given birth to their first child – a boy – after being childless for twenty-eight years! The sholom zachor (party in honor of baby
The value of rachmanis Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — “I don’t believe in religion, I believe in science,” is an oft-repeated refrain from those who like to argue with rabbis. Their statement presupposes that there is a conflict between the two. They are surprised when I tell them that I believe in both. Religion and science each
God and the Big Bang Read More »
Jewish ReligionRabbi Shiloh Ben-David, Shalom Aleichem: A Collection of Halachos, Aggados, and Anecdotes about Greeting People; ISBN-13: 978-9657599136; 217 pages; Publisher: Self-Published; Price: $23.95. Rating: 2.5 * out of four. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The 20th century Orthodox scholar and philanthropist Irving Bunim, in his monumental study on makes a profound observation about
What halacha says about greeting people Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiHats in the Ring: Choosing Britain’s Chief Rabbis from Adler to Sacks by Meir Persoff, Academic Studies Press, Boston; ISBN 978-1-61811-269-9 ©2013, $24.95, p. 337, including index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The position of a chief rabbi, which originally had such titles as Resh Galuta, Exilarch, and Gaon, has a long history.
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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion