Lifestyles

Tales of a Jewish Santa Claus

I think that most of us have a complicated relationship with Christmas. The lights are pretty, the food is tasty and many of the songs are catchy, but it’s just not our holiday. The über-orthodox just ignore it as it’s no more relevant to them than Diwali, Eid or Buddha’s Birthday, but the vast majority of us don’t live in such an ethno-cultural bubble. When you’re a professional entertainer, this relationship is heightened as it behooves you to own some Santa-themed costume pieces and know the words to Christmas carols. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Lifestyles, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Write Out Loud’ Brings Joy of Storytime to Children and Adults

Who isn’t seduced by a great storyteller?  That enveloping sensation of being caught up in the creative, vibrant snare of a gifted word weaver transforms each of us into wide-eyed innocents, eager to share in the spinning of a yarn. Few raconteurs are as talented as the folks at Write Out Loud. [Eva Trieger]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

The Motives and Significance Behind Our Gifts

My newspaper came today with a large, glossy supplement of ideas for gift giving. I also received several catalogs with holiday gift ideas. Some magazines are even trying to be helpful by designating categories: for the man who has everything, for the woman in your life (a generation ago the suggestion was giving her a vacuum cleaner), gadgets for seniors, and, of course, toys for children, even toys for dogs and cats. Given the ongoing pandemic, we are being urged to buy early in order to avoid predicted supply-chain delays. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

Autonomy and the Moral Obligation to Get Vaccinated

To date, nearly two hundred million Americans – just over 60 percent of the population – have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Recent reports indicate that unvaccinated adults are more than three times as likely to lean Republican. In other words, for every unvaccinated Democrat there are roughly three unvaccinated Republicans. An important question then not only for bioethicists but for all of us is whether there exists a moral obligation to vaccinate. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Sam Ben-Meir, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Chula Vista Eye Doctor Invents App for the Color Blind

Dr. Robert Penner, 91, has done a lot of things in his life. He was an ophthalmologist with a private practice in Chula Vista; a colonel in the Army Reserve; president of the San Diego County Medical Society and of the San Diego County Eye Bank; and chairman of the San Diego Port Commission, among other distinctions. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

How to Age Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed

More than 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the United States, and people are living longer. In 2019, the average life expectancy of American men was 76 years, while for women it was 81. Accordingly, I am already living 15 years beyond what is projected. Until very recently, I thought of myself as old, that was until I realized it is my children who are old; I am in a new category called old-old. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

California Here I Leave

After two weeks in California, with all its delights and attractions, it is a relief to be back in the humble abode that is our home in Israel. In California everything, or almost everything, is large. Most of the homes we visited are grand, the people generous and hospitable, and the wide streets and huge stores provide an array of goods and facilities that keep the mind on constant alert for the next attractive bargain or delightful display. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA

Urgent Surgery for Holocaust Survivor, Psychologist and Educator Levy Van Leeuwen

Levy Van Leeuwen was one of those people at Camp Moshava, who influenced our lives for the better. As a counselor, Levy walked back and forth in the dining hall, leading us in song. In the rustic synagogue, Levy led us in prayer. In our classes on Jewish and Zionist topics, Levy led us in acquiring knowledge. Now it is Levy who is fighting for his life. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA

Comic-Con on the Come-Up

Comic-Con@Home once again took place online this past summer due to Covid fears. However, Comic-Con also hosted a live convention in San Diego this year, perplexingly on Thanksgiving weekend. So, I took my tryptophan-laden self, picked up my recently Black Friday bruised wallet, and headed downtown to see an all new and all different Con, one from 30 years ago. [Shor M. Masori]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori

Music Was The Flashlight: A Profile of Yale Strom

Strom is known in the modern Jewish world, and certainly around San Diego, for his accomplishments as a violinist, composer, filmmaker, writer, photographer, and playwright. He’s conducted significant research in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans among the Jewish and Roma communities, as well as toured with his klezmer band Hot Pstromi Trio. They compose their own New Jewish music combining klezmer with Chasidic nigunim, Roma, jazz, classical, Balkan and Sephardic motifs. [Danielle Levsky]

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Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Varied Lives of Israeli Expatriates in Southern California

Spending time in Orange County gives one a new perspective on life as it is lived by former Israelis in America. Like all other ethnic groups, they tend to gather together in groups, associate socially with one another, speak their own language and maintain their traditional habits. So, although it came as something of a surprise to find that our son and his partner seem to associate almost entirely with former Israelis, what was surprising was to discover how varied their lives are. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA

3 Subjects Worthy of Deep Study: Torah, JCC’s, Mideast History

The great Jewish texts and sources are an enormous trove of knowledge, insights, traditions, and wisdom. His months at Pardes will barely scratch the surface and are tantamount to studying the initial pages of the first volume of a 32-volume encyclopedia—just enough to know that he’ll hardly know anything. But through these months, he will have evolved both respect and appreciation for the works’ scope and breadth. [Doron Krakow]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA