Lifestyles

LFJCC Board Chair Highlights Past and Future Programs

Wow! We really started off our new San Diego Center for Jewish Culture season with a Blockbuster! Jeffrey Seller, Producer of the most iconic Broadway show, the legendary Hamilton, and Producer of other groundbreaking shows such as Rent, Avenue Q, and In the Heights, really swept our audience off their feet! Winner of 22 Tony Awards, Producer of two Pulitzer Prize winning shows and drawing audiences exceeding 43 million around the globe, Jeffrey shared his personal stories with laughter, candor and humility in a one-on-one conversation with the talented and insightful Barry Edelstein, artistic Director of the Old Globe. [Liz Nederlander Coden]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Ladino Words, Customs Highlighted in Board Book for Rosh Hashanah

For those who grew up in the Sephardic tradition, this board book intended for children aged 4 and under may be a simple primer about Rosh Hashanah.  But for those Jews who grew up in the Ashkenazic culture, it is an introduction to the way Sephardic Jews celebrate a familiar holiday. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

LFJCC Open 4,800 Hours A Year for its Activities and Nearly 1,200 More for Its Partners’

Because there is so little downtime, there are almost no true breaks. Instead, what we experience is a shift in energy as we move through the year. This week was one of those shifts. Camp Jaycee marked the close of its 80th summer. The echo of hundreds of children singing camp songs, racing down hallways, splashing in the pool has begun to fade. Camp supplies are sorted and packed away for the future. A fresh coat of paint brightens the walls of the Gotthelf Art Gallery, now hung with new artwork. [Betzy Lynch]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

A Secret Circumcision in the Former Soviet Union Contrasts with How Freely Jews May Practice Our Religion in the U.S., Israel

Every day, when my father left for the factory in the morning, he and my mother were unsure he would return home. Any connection to Judaism could lead to arrest and prison. Circumcision, in particular. But for my grandfathers, a boy not circumcised was as though not yet born as a Jew. [Yakov Nayerman]

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Yakov Nayerman

Up Close and Personal Correspondence Between 2 Holocaust Survivors, Authors

This book captures 26 years of correspondence, from 1945 to 1971, between two Holocaust survivors who both wrote trilogies about their experiences of Lodz, Poland before, during, and after World War II. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Tourism in Israel Rebounds with New Flights, Hotels, Experiences

NEW YORK (Press Release) – In the first half of the year, Israel continued enhancing its tourism offerings with a series of new hotels and attractions designed to inspire and delight visitors. With the reintroduction of flights from legacy airlines including Delta and United, new, and moving art installations, the return of prominent festivals and

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Israel, Lifestyles, Press Release, Travel and Food, USA

Living Dangerously: Integrating the Spiritual into the Commercial World

The central theme of Living Dangerously is the tension between material ambition and spiritual fulfillment. Katsof re-imagines the biblical warning against idolatry, casting money as a false god that promises security but delivers isolation. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Beleaguered Ukrainian Jews Enjoy Weeks of Respite in Poland

As the war in Ukraine continues to displace thousands and disrupt daily life, Chabad of Poland has remained a lifeline to Jewish communities throughout the region. Since 2022, they have provided emergency housing, kosher meals, medical assistance, legal support, education, childcare and spiritual services to tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews. The summer retreat is a key part of this effort. [Press Release]

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International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Press Release, Travel and Food

Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews Have Stronger Connection to Israel Compared to Ashkenazi Jews

The research, directed by Dr. Mijal Bitton and based at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Research, includes recommendations for community leaders, educators, and researchers to better include Sephardic Jews in the community. The myriad specific recommendations in the report are informed by five new recommended frameworks to approach diversity work in the Jewish community. [Press Release]

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International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Press Release, USA

Amid Israel’s Political Chaos, There are Still Family and Household Concerns

Being hugged and kissed by each and every one as they came into the house was heart-warming, especially to experience our nine-year-old granddaughter hurling herself into our arms and telling us that she had missed us, as well as to meet our newest grandchild, four month-old Emily. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Israeli Social Welfare Organization Opens Campaign to Help Youth Displaced by War with Hezbollah

The initiative focuses on Northern Israel’s hardest-hit communities, including Kiryat Shmona, Majdal Shams, the Mateh Asher and Upper Galilee regional councils, Mas’ade, and Ein Qiniyye, with a special emphasis on socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. (Press Release)

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Israel, Lifestyles, Opinion, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education