Lifestyles

Hillel of San Diego reaches 3,500 students on 4 college campuses

In 2020, during the height of COVID, we were barely reaching 400 students (no small feat when everyone was gathering online exclusively), but this year, we served 3,500 students. That’s 3,500 students connecting to Jewish life in San Diego in ways that are meaningful to them. Transformational growth. [Karen Parry]

Hillel of San Diego reaches 3,500 students on 4 college campuses Read More »

Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

JNF-USA plans national get-together in Chula Vista

Jewish National Fund USA announces its “Global Conference for Israel: Unite for Israel’s Future” Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15 at the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista.

JNF-USA plans national get-together in Chula Vista Read More »

Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

The Shema and the Obama Presidential Center

It isn’t a stuffy monument. It is now the only presidential center – a place inviting people to participate not simply in remembering the past but to actively take part in the present and to create a future in that space. [Barrett Holman Leak]

The Shema and the Obama Presidential Center Read More »

Barrett Holman Leak, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Federation fundraises for many good causes

By Heidi Gantwerk in San Diego As this campaign year comes to a close, I am reminded of what our community can accomplish when we show up for one another, especially in moments that test us most. The ongoing war in Israel, the long road to recovery, and rising antisemitism here at home have challenged

Federation fundraises for many good causes Read More »

Antisemitism, Heidi Gantwerk, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

To retreat into safe Jewish spaces or participate fully in American pluralism?

A few days ago, I attended a book talk for On Being Jewish Now, a collection of essays reflecting on Jewish life after October 7. About 50 people had gathered inside a posh clothing store in Beverly Hills, and before long the conversation gave way to a familiar ritual of trauma bonding and story telling. Personal accounts of fear, identity, and all the difficult ways our lives have changed over the last 20 months. [Karen Klein]

To retreat into safe Jewish spaces or participate fully in American pluralism? Read More »

Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘Tortured Soles’ is a celebrity gossip book with a double-entendre title

shtetl

This was a fascinating memoir, and I enjoyed reading about someone working behind the scenes in entertainment journalism, chasing celebrity gossip and experiencing the adrenaline rush that came with it. Weinstein notes that she is now retired and enjoying every minute of it. [Cailin Acosta]

‘Tortured Soles’ is a celebrity gossip book with a double-entendre title Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘The Lost Shtetl’ is a fictional ‘what if?’ novel

Secluded and protected by dense forests and foolish local superstition, the Kreskol community continued to live as though the twentieth century had never happened. The residents still speak Yiddish, observe traditional Jewish customs, and know nothing of the Holocaust, the Cold War, automobiles, electricity, TV, or the Internet. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

‘The Lost Shtetl’ is a fictional ‘what if?’ novel Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Judaism has a ‘to do’ list

The negative commandments can often be fulfilled alone. They require restraint. The positive mitzvot, however, requires a relationship. You cannot welcome a stranger without a community. [Betzy Lynch]

Judaism has a ‘to do’ list Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Juneteenth has deep meaning, especially for someone born Black and Jewish

To be a person of African heritage and a Jewess is to hold a deep, ancestral understanding of what it means to be pulled from the depths, to celebrate a hard-won liberty, and to remain fiercely determined to stay free. [Barrett Holman Leak]

Juneteenth has deep meaning, especially for someone born Black and Jewish Read More »

Barrett Holman Leak, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Hot Jew summer 5786

As Jews, how do we actually practice our faith over the summer?

We sweat, we complain about how much we sweat, we hold off on installing an air conditioner in shul because in 1958, the great-grandfather of the kid who works at Best Buy said something about how his mother’s schnitzel was better than the great-great-grandmother of the current board president’s schnitzel.  (Joshua Kail)

Hot Jew summer 5786 Read More »

Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA