The same bank account that can fund a scholarship or quiet a neighbor’s panic can also buy isolation, anxiety, and the peculiar unhappiness that only the very rich seem able to afford. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Parsha Re’eh: See God’s ‘ordinary’ blessings Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Comic-Con has been over for a while, but some of its most useful panels have gone mostly unreported. Room 3 is the convention’s primary classroom, where working professionals teach the crafts behind their work. [Shor M. Masori]
Learning to craft and protect a story Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shor M. Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
I want Democrats to retake the Senate majority, but not at the expense of electing a troublemaker who contributes to the dangerous environment facing Jews worldwide. President Trump and his Republican majorities in Congress will surely lose the House of Representatives majority and the careers of at least half dozen GOP Senate candidates are threatened. They can thank in part the severe damage to the economy and for waging an unwinnable war with Iran. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Democrats eye flipping the U.S. Senate Read More »
Antisemitism, Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
With elementary, middle, and high schools all heading back for a fun and adventurous new year, be mindful on the road, look for kids with backpacks, and watch your speed. [Cailin Acosta]
Kids are returning to schools. Be extra careful while driving Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food
Am I shocked? Not really. From the very beginning, I was told that Stage-IV cancer is considered manageable but not curable. (Though I still reject the absoluteness of that statement. I know firsthand that anything is possible.) And truthfully, before the scans and biopsies confirmed the reoccurrence, I knew it was back. [Shayna Kaufmann]
Columnist Kaufmann’s stage-IV cancer returns Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shayna Kaufmann, Staff and Bylined Contributors
An accountant doesn’t guess. He or she opens the books and looks at the numbers as they are, not as he wishes they were. Elul asks us to do the same with our lives. Where have I grown this year? Where have I stood still? What habits are bringing me closer to Hashem, and which ones are quietly pulling me away? (Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.)
Parsha Re’eh: Seeing clearly: the choice before us Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Author Deming and illustrator Teplow take us through the process of decorating a sukkah, with especial attention to such kid-friendly activities as hanging fruit and vegetables from the support beams of the ceiling; making paper chains; indulging passions for many colors; and participating in the ancient ritual of shaking the etrog and lulav to the east, south, west, north, above and below. [Donald H. Harrison]
Book explains holiday of Sukkot to tykes Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
As a person of color, I can say without hesitation: if the Black or Brown community had experienced what the Jewish community experienced at this year’s Pride, statements and action would have been immediate. Silence, in the face of antisemitism, is not neutrality. It is complicity. [Nicole Murray Ramirez]
An open letter to San Diego Pride Read More »
Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Months of planning led to an incredible turnout of members of the Jewish and greater community—those who had been to Israel and those who had not—all coming together to support HOI and celebrate its 78th birthday. [Lisa Rothstain Goldberg]
Profile of the House of Israel and its 2026 lawn program Read More »
Holocaust, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
It seemed strange to associate Schoenberg, known for his atonal music, with the lighthearted, accessible melodies of Strauss’ waltzes, but apparently, Schoenberg loved Strauss’ music. [Eileen Wingard]
Strauss, Schoenberg paired at Summerfest concert Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Verse serves as a thoughtful reminder of the value of genuine, face-to-face human connection. While virtual relationships can foster meaningful interactions, the film suggests they can also become idealized and disconnected from reality. (Cailin Acosta)
‘Verse’ shows a problem of online relationships Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Israel, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
We soon learn that all is not as it seems and everyone has secrets that they have held back in the name of family harmony or not rocking the boat. [Sandi Masori]
Asian American family dynamics resemble those of Jewish Americans Read More »
Lifestyles, Opinion, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By the morning after Comic-Con, the giant studio wraps and offsites had been dismantled. The Gaslamp sign over Fifth Avenue, which had spent the weekend disguised as an Eastern European gateway for Avengers: Doomsday, was once again the familiar entrance to the Gaslamp Quarter’s main street. More than 135,000 fans had come and gone, taking their costumes, props and collective, humidity-enhanced body odor home. (Shor M. Masori)
A tale of three cons Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, Opinion, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
In 1886, two years after his father’s death, Husserl, along with his fiancée, also a Jew, Malvine Charlotte Steinschneider, converted to Protestantism. The wedding on August 6, 1887, took place in the Evangelical Church of Vienna. The purpose of converting to Lutheranism was to avoid discrimination in his academic career. (Alex Gordon)
Jewish biography: Edmund Husserl, founder of Phenomenology Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors