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

Congregation Adat Yeshurun Grows Through Spiritual Connection, ‘Cohesive Diversity’

By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — Amid a return to relative normalcy following two-and-a-half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congregation Adat Yeshurun of La Jolla is growing its community through what Rabbi Daniel Reich calls the “three Fs” — family, friends, and faith. “People are not feeling connected on a spiritual level and to […]

Congregation Adat Yeshurun Grows Through Spiritual Connection, ‘Cohesive Diversity’ Read More »

Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — A Detroit congresswoman, an Australian student editor, and a sex-abuse survivor from Vermont escape from a sanatorium and regale us with stories confirming their standing as antisemites. The trio has entangled Judaism and Israel, proving once again that from their perspective anti-Zionism is indeed antisemitism. A congresswoman we know

Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism Read More »

Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA

Overcoming Obstacles to Honor a Father

From the time she was a child, author Sarah Birnbach always went to her father Marvin for comfort.  Her strained relationship with her mother permitted no such interaction.  When her father died, in some ways she felt like an orphan, even though her mother was still living.  There was no recognition on her mother’s part that Sarah was grieving too.  What would she know about loss, her mother would say, she wasn’t married for 54 years. [Donald H. Harrison]

Overcoming Obstacles to Honor a Father Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

Elizabeth R Led Her State; Who Will Lead Israel’s Government?

We returned home to heavy campaigning to elect a new government on November 1, the fifth such election in three years. From my viewpoint, it looks like it may be another stalemate, with Bibi Netanyahu, leader of the conservative Likud (the most popular party) failing to form a majority coalition. The current “caretaker” prime minister, Yair Lapid, who heads the leftist Yesh Atid (the second most popular party) has been increasing his clout by performing his interim duties fairly well.  {Steve Kramer]

Elizabeth R Led Her State; Who Will Lead Israel’s Government? Read More »

International, Israel, Steve Kramer

Science AND Religion Needed for True Understanding of the World

Given our sophistication, what relevance does the birthday of man and creation have to do with scientific reality? Who are we fooling? What message might this holiday have for us as we enter the next millennia? How can you seriously believe that Adam and Eve were the first people ever to live on the earth? Or that “God made the world in just six 24-hr. days”? [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

Science AND Religion Needed for True Understanding of the World Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Firing and a Resignation Request at Local Chabads

Chabad of San Diego’s regional director Rabbi Yonah Fradkin has announced that he has fired Rabbi Yehuda Hadjadj as the rabbi at Chabad of UC San Diego and has asked for the resignation of Rabbi Mendel Goldstein of Chabad of Poway.  Neither Rabbi Hadjadj nor Rabbi Goldstein could be reached for immediate comment. [Donald H. Harrison]

Firing and a Resignation Request at Local Chabads Read More »

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

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Hopeful Derides Jewish Day School

During a rally last Wednesday, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano reminded his followers that Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state attorney general, “grew up in a privileged neighborhood, attended one of the most privileged schools in the nation as a young man – not college, I’m talking about as a kid.” [Bruce S. Ticker]

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Hopeful Derides Jewish Day School Read More »

Bruce Ticker, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Submerged Jewish Themes in ‘The Face of the Waters’

At 87, Robert Silverberg has won every science fiction award there is on offer, not to mention a tremendously large fan base.  You might think he has done it all, but now comes a new paperback version of his 1991 book, The Face of the Waters, in which the Jewish writer offers us an odyssey on a faraway water planet with creatures as fantastical as any that Homer ever conceptualized. [Donald H. Harrison]

Submerged Jewish Themes in ‘The Face of the Waters’ Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Parashat Nitzavim: Choosing Life

The Torah reading this Shabbat asks us where we stand as we set the tone for the rest of our lives. “I have set before you, life and death, the blessing, and the curse. You shall choose life, so that you and your offspring will live.” The themes of t’shuvah, renewal, choosing life, and a recommitment to the covenant by everyone in our community resonate throughout Nitzavim. [Michael Mantell, PhD]

Parashat Nitzavim: Choosing Life Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell