AAA-Writers and photographers

Below are the names of writers who are currently active.  For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com

Hollywood celebrity gifting suite is about more than just swag

However, after spending time at Heather Marianna’s pre-Oscar’s celebrity gifting suite, “A Toast to Hollywood,” I came away with the sense that the event is also very much about connection, strategy, and giving brands a shot at being seen in a crowded world. [Sandi Masori]

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Business & Finance, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘Kabbalah Demystified’: A primer about Jewish mysticism

Dr. Samuel’s very informative and readable book teaches us what kabbalah and mysticism are, their history, the people involved, the countries they were associated with, the influences and impact of these ideas on their lives and others’ lives, and the problems they posed. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish biography: Max Ferdinand Perutz, molecular biologist

In 1998, Perutz published a collection of essays about scientists and science titled I Wish I’d Made You Angry Earlier: Essays on Science, Scientists, and Humanity. Among these essays was the following: “Friend or Foe of Mankind?” (Fritz Haber, “a man’s fascination with poison gas”), where he attempted to decipher the “structure of the hemoglobin molecule” of world history through the example of Haber. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Jewish journey through loss: From death to healing

Death is a certainty, and the emotional and spiritual thoughts that it precipitates agonize and often leave mourners disoriented and alone. Co-authors Batya L. Ludman and Gina Junger provide a compassionate guide to navigating grief through the lens of centuries of Jewish tradition. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Founders, supporters, recipients tell philosophy behind ‘free loans’

HFLSD is part of the International Association of Jewish Free Loans, a network of more than 50 Jewish free-loan agencies built around the same basic idea: helping people remain self-supporting and self-respecting through access to interest-free loans. [Shor M. Masori]

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Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Novella figuratively screams for systemic reforms in authorities’ care for abused juveniles

Our protagonist was a math nerd because unlike people, numbers don’t lie about who they are. A 3 is a 3, a 5 is a 5. And a 2? That’s where doubles come in. Lonely at the children’s farm, she felt like 1/2 a person — half at Valleyview, the other half back in her rightful home, living with her father, older sister Vicki, younger brother Hank, and grandma. That was 4 other people. It had been 5 before her mother died from breast cancer. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Review: A guide to Jewish religious vocabulary

What sets Weinstein’s work apart from standard references (ArtScroll’s dictionaries, the Jastrow Talmud lexicon, or even free online tools like Sefaria’s glossaries) is its deliberate accessibility and Orthodox integrity. Every entry was vetted through Torah-centric sources only—no secular etymology or Reform reinterpretations. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Book Review: ‘New-Russia: Images from a Journey’

New-Russia: Images from a Journey offers remarkable snapshots of the Soviet Union during a brief but revealing historical moment. The book captures the Soviet experiment as it was still taking shape. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Attack on ambulances revives memories of British antisemitism

My first encounter with antisemitism came when I was hospitalized for suspected scarlet fever at the age of ten. The children’s ward contained some 20 beds for both boys and girls, and the treatment we received was coldly efficient. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Antisemitism, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors