Lifestyles

With theaters dark, all the world must now be a stage

Growing up, Judaism always took center stage, but when I moved to Pittsburgh to study directing at the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, suddenly theater was in the spotlight. For the first couple of years, it felt like I had to give up practicing Judaism in order to pursue theater full time. Choosing rehearsals over Shabbat or having to miss High Holiday services for class felt like I had opted to practice the religion of theater over Judaism. [Adira Rosen]

With theaters dark, all the world must now be a stage Read More »

Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Some 70 years of love for tennis

The first time I ever saw or stepped on a tennis court was in 1949 when I was sixteen and got a job at Camp Watitoh near Tanglewood in the Berkshires as a maintenance worker. One of my first jobs was to brush and roll the tomato-colored clay tennis courts smooth early every morning. That was boring but tolerable in the cool early morning air. So now I was the tennis court maven, and was assigned to build two new courts in the lower unshaded unused part of the camp property. [Ira Spector]

Some 70 years of love for tennis Read More »

International, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

Just another day of flight training

From March through December 1956 I went through the Naval Flight School, Pensacola, Florida, as a student pilot. We were transferred to different airfields in the area for each phase of training. At any one time, day and night, there were a couple hundred SNJ, T-34 and T-28 training planes in the skies overhead, practicing different types of maneuvers. Saufley Field is where we were taught formation flying. This story is about an incident that happened when I was stationed there. [Ira Spector]

Just another day of flight training Read More »

Lifestyles

Avoiding the Clonal Effect

What is the clonal effect? It is the tendency of individuals, groups, and organizations to replicate themselves or others that are familiar to them wherever they have an opportunity to do so. The dictionary defines a clone as “a person or thing that duplicates, imitates, or closely resembles another in appearance.” [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW; Ph.D]

Avoiding the Clonal Effect Read More »

Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

Becoming a Yenta

As spring turned to summer, more Jewish activities began to emerge. It was almost as if the collective Hebrew community was dipping its toe in the water of social gatherings. Outdoors and with everyone at least six feet apart, I attended shul for the first time in months. In the midst of the swaying and chanting that so often accompanied davening, I felt some sense of normalcy return. While there was no kiddush after services, some people lingered around to chit chat. [Teresa Konopka]

Becoming a Yenta Read More »

Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Teresa_Konopka

Your Mindset is Your Compass

“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.” — Ellen Langer, Ph.D. in Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibilities. “What? But my world is upside down! I mean, I’m financially stretched way too thin, my waist is getting way too large, my relationship at home is disintegrating, and she’s saying it’s all in my mind?!” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Your Mindset is Your Compass Read More »

Lifestyles, Michael Mantell

Cancel Culture or Learning to Accept One Another?

Should we cancel people and their ideas if we do not agree with them? This has become the dilemma of our era. The so-called “cancel culture” which consists in removing support for public figures for their opinions or actions is already a trend invading the Internet. At times when the lives of all revolve around the same struggles and challenges, what we need to cancel are our divisions. Instead, we need to embrace our differences and create an environment of acceptance. Our common destiny is at stake. [Michael Laitman, Ph.D]

Cancel Culture or Learning to Accept One Another? Read More »

Lifestyles

The raging fires also are within us

Entire neighborhoods are engulfed in fire; thousands have been evacuated from their homes in California. A historic and unusual summer thunderstorm and rare massive lightning strikes combined with record-breaking heat ignited devastating fires across the Golden State. Death Valley reported temperatures of 130°F in what is believed to be the highest temperature ever measured on Earth, and this is attributed to climate change. Other natural disasters around the globe endanger our very existence. What is nature trying to tell us? Its message is clear. We are unwanted guests on this planet unless we humans change. [Michael Laitman, Ph.D]

The raging fires also are within us Read More »

Lifestyles, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA

It Ain’t Like John Wayne

When I visited a jail, it was a lonely ride, made lonelier by the barren landscape of empty hills and valleys. My V-8 powered, beige pickup truck, which easily climbed and descended the steep grades was the same color as the landscape. My final destination was a desolate outpost that could double as a frontier fort if Mexico decided to attack the United States in a refrain of the Alamo. The border is just over the next hill or two. [Ira Spector]

It Ain’t Like John Wayne Read More »

Lifestyles, San Diego County

Nothing Wrong with Egoism (If Used Right)

When we talk about egoism being the bane of our generation, we need to understand what it means. After all, where would we be without it? We wouldn’t have industry, modern medicine, or communication. We wouldn’t be able to travel, explore, or lead a pleasant and easy life compared to our forefathers. Moreover, the ego is not man’s creation; it is inherent in our nature. So when we praise nature, how can we condemn the ego, nature’s own creation? The problem isn’t with the ego; it is with how, how much, and when we use it. [Michael Laitman, Ph.D]

Nothing Wrong with Egoism (If Used Right) Read More »

Lifestyles

Fiction: “It’s a Good Start”

Adam looked at the kitchen clock and realized he would not make it to the morning minyan, even if he sprinted. He would daven shachris from home, in his new apartment. He began the morning blessings, thanking Hashem for causing him to wake from sleep, for being born a male, for being sure-footed. These primary blessings were intended to set the tone of praise, gratitude, and mindfulness for the prayers to follow. [Short story by Eva Trieger]

Fiction: “It’s a Good Start” Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Jewish Fiction, Lifestyles

A mind is a fine thing to grow

I climbed the cheap metal steps to one of the many cheap “temporary” classroom buildings that sprouted like weeds between my Spring 1965 campus visit to SUNY Buffalo [UB] and the August start of freshman year. The classic Gothic campus on Main Street had turned into a muddy mobile home park, but I was happy to be there. Not quite 17, I celebrated as my parents drove off in tears, leaving me 400 miles from home. They had told me to choose a state school, and the map told me Buffalo was as far as I could get from Brooklyn. A bonus was UB’s academic reputation, good enough for the elitists in my high school to express surprise that I had been accepted. [Michael Ginsberg]

A mind is a fine thing to grow Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Michael Ginsberg, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA