Lifestyles

Various Forms of Communication: Visual, Auditory, Tactile and Chemical

By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Having just finished reading Suzanne Simard’s book, Finding the Mother Tree, I was bowled over by the ability of trees to communicate with each other through a microbial networks. The Mother Tree is in reality an old tree in the forest who is needed by younger […]

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

A Grateful Synagogue Bids a Surprise Farewell to Constant Volunteers

Abe Goldberg’s mother, Bronia, and stepfather Harry Sajgeman died within three months of each other in the mid-1980s, but due perhaps to a communications error, most people at Tifereth Israel Synagogue were unaware that he and his wife, Bea, were sitting shiva, alone, at their home. Because the Goldbergs lacked the ten Jewish adults necessary to say kaddish during the seven-day mourning period, they were left feeling forlorn. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA

Our Jewish Parenting: Keeping Consistency Constant

Two key factors have kept us sane while raising the next generation of Jewish kids: involving God in the process and striving for consistency in our parenting effort. My wife, Shira and I leave the heavy lifting to God. What we eat, how we treat others and what we do on Shabbat and holidays isn’t something we have to negotiate. We have a priceless 3500-year-old tradition offering precise guidelines on maximizing life and minimizing drama. [Sam Glaser]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Sam Glaser

American Lifestyles Contrast with Israel’s, Western Europe’s

You want it, you pay for it. Economic liberalism is the essence of the American experience. Don’t tread on me. Don’t make me pay for someone else’s benefit. Of course it’s not total. In the U.S., there are programs to pay, or help to pay for those in need. And there’s lots of insurance, often associated with a job, that pays most or all of health care needs. And government programs to lend money for education.  [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Business & Finance, International, Ira Sharkansky, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA

Can a Synagogue Feel Open with Locked Doors? Rabbis Reflect on Pittsburgh, 3 Years Later

By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) In a sense, the Jewish communal reactions to the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the coronavirus pandemic were diametric opposites. After Robert Bowers shot and killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, American Jews were urged to show up at services in droves the

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Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

Jewish Federation Announces Effort to Help Seniors Remain in Their Homes

The Jewish Federation of San Diego County, which broadens and deepens engagement in Jewish life and works with many local partners to strengthen community, has established the “Kulam B’Bayit: Everyone At Home” Fund to provide emergency financial support to help seniors live comfortably in their homes.  [Jewish Federation of San Diego County]

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Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA

How to Gain More Wisdom: Insights from Dr. Dilip Jeste’s New Book, ‘Wiser’

By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — The title of the book is intriguing: Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good by Dr. Dilip Jeste. I was eager to read it and hopeful that I would indeed become wiser. I will turn 95 on October 31. I still

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo Outlines Homelessness Problem

City Councilman Raul Campillo told a forum sponsored by the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club that dealing with the problem of homelessness in San Diego requires not only money, but an understanding that there are different sub-classes of homeless people,  whose needs are different. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego County

An Intellectual Approach to Looming Death

After New York City public relations practitioner Marcia Horowitz received the diagnosis that she was suffering from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, she and her husband, author Richard S. Cohen, discussed how they would prepare for her death, which came 160 days later.  They decided that they would have both a medical plan and a life plan, both of which they would pursue with equanimity.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles

Reason and Emotion: Understanding and Monitoring Our Inner Voices

By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — It starts in the morning. Voice 1: “Get up!” Voice 2: “I’m still sleepy.” Voice 1, impatiently: “You’ll be late for work!” Voice 2, pleading: “Five more minutes.” It goes on at breakfast. Voice 1: “Cereal and fruit!” Voice 2: “There’s a doughnut left in the

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz