News Sources

Learning from Isaac Leib Peretz’s Masterpiece ‘If Not Higher’

I consider Peretz’s story “If Not Higher” the best of his tales. In it, the Hasidim of the town of Nemirov believe their rabbi is so holy that he ascends to heaven each year during the Penitential Prayers, which are recited in synagogues every Friday morning before the New Year holiday Rosh Hashanah. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

LFJCC Will Present 13 Songs by the Late Cantor Sheldon Merel

Hebrew liturgical works by 20th century composers will include, “Hashkiveynu,” and “Avinu Malkenu,” by Max Janowski, “La Kol Z’man,” and “Shalom Rav,” by Ben Steinberg, “Kiddush,” by Kurt Weill, “L’Shana Haba B’Yerushalayim,” by Morton Gold and a setting of the “Kol Nidre,” by Max Helfman.  [Eileen Wingard]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Lizzie Black Kander

Courtesy of Wikipedia Elizabeth Black Kander (May 28, 1858 – July 24, 1940) was an American progressive reformer, philanthropist, and author, founder of a settlement house in Milwaukee, where she originated her best-known work, The Settlement Cookbook. Elizabeth Black was born on May 28, 1858, to John and Mary (Perles) Black from Jewish families from England and Bavaria.

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Jewish History, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA, Wikipedia

Need a Breast Cancer Screening? ‘You Are Not Alone’

Many of us women realize it is time to focus on our health and start to get screenings we did not think we would need. My dear friend, Andrea Schnieder will be sharing her breast cancer story at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, for Chabad of East County. All those in attendance will receive a signed copy of her book You Are Not Alone. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

San Diego Jewish Federation Women’s Report: To Cuba With Love

Still, Jewish life exists in Cuba. At Temple Beth Sholom (a Reform synagogue and community center in Havana), Shabbat services take place whenever there is food for Shabbat dinner, usually from visiting groups like ours. They gather for Shabbat despite not having a rabbi anywhere in Cuba. The congregants have learned to do everything themselves, often even offering special blessings to young couples and others leaving Cuba to make Aliyah. [Heidi Gantwerk]

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Heidi Gantwerk, International, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

‘Vanity Fair’ Confusing in First Act, Redeemed in Second Act

The play is cute once you figure out the various players.  The only actors that don’t play multiple parts are Macias and Austin, so it does take a bit in the beginning to follow the fast character changes (illustrated by costume changes or putting on a smock or shawl).  Dagmar Krause Fields for example, is the narrator, Miss Matilda Crawley, and Lord Steyne. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jewish Biography: Lion Feuchtwanger, the Cosmopolite

His books probe which type of Jew serves the nation more faithfully – the court Jew Joseph Süss Oppenheimer from  Jew Süss; Yehuda ibn Ezra, the favorite of King Alfonso VIII from The Spanish Ballad; the assimilated and estranged historian and writer, the collaborationist Joseph Flavius in The Jewish War trilogy; Jephthah, the leader and fighter for the national interest in Jephthah and His Daughter; or the revolutionary leader Thomas Wendt (Ernst Toller) in The Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighteen? [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Henry Kissinger

Courtesy of Wikipedia Henry Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the United States Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977 and national security advisor from 1969 to 1975, in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Born in Germany, Kissinger emigrated to the United States in 1938 as a Jewish

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Today's Jewish Birthday, USA, Wikipedia

Hounding the Headlines: DEI, Dog Equity, and Inclusion

Doesn’t Major League Baseball realize how insulting it is to dogs to know that marlins and devil rays have teams bearing their names even though neither of those animals can run the bases or catch and retrieve balls?  Why honor venomous diamondbacks when dog bites are rarely fatal?  [Elona Baron]

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International, Lawrence Baron, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, The World We Share, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jan Schakowsky

Courtesy of Wikipedia Jan Schakowsky (May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative from Illinois’s 9th congressional district since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Chicago’s North Side, including much of the area bordering Lake Michigan. It also includes many of Chicago’s northern suburbs, including Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Kenilworth, Mount

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Today's Jewish Birthday, USA, Wikipedia

Novel Tells of Female Math Whiz Helping the U.S. to Win World War II

Her misplaced feelings of guilt prompted her to hide a remarkable inheritance, the gift of being able to visualize the solutions to math problems in her head, similar to the way that television’s Dr. Shaun Murphy of the just concluded The Good Doctor series was able to mentally picture complex medical conditions and interactions. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Beverly Sills

Courtesy of Wikipedia Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet, and Verdi, she was especially renowned for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of

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Jewish Celebrities, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA, Wikipedia

Anti-Israel Sign Removed from Chicano Park by Order of the City Government

“Over 600 constituents have contacted the City of San Diego requesting the removal of this messaging on public property,” Dargan wrote to the Steering Committee. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA