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

Maimonides on the Morality of Our Choices and Behavior

Maimonides’ understanding of the Book of Exodus ought to have great relevance to people who study the weekly Torah portion. Although he did not write an exposition on this book of the Torah, he writes about it profusely in his Mishneh Torah and his Guide for the Perplexed; the same may be said about his other voluminous writings. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

OpEd: Israel’s Energy Muddle

 In 2000 a natural gas field was discovered in Israel’s offshore waters near Ashkelon, and amid great rejoicing commercial production started in 2004. An offshore rig can be seen from the coast, which doesn’t do much to improve the beauty of the scenery but certainly helps Israel’s energy-starved economy. Till then Israel relied on imported coal and oil to fuel its power stations, as well as on its only natural resource – ample sunshine – to heat water by means of solar panels on the roofs of houses. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Poems in Paint: Titian at the Gardner Museum

Titian: Women, Myth & Power at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum consists of only six paintings, yet this one-room exhibition feels more like a six-course banquet. So overwhelming, immense and entrancing are the monumental canvases that upon entering the room one must literally catch one’s breath. Titian, greatest of the Venetian Renaissance masters, referred to these paintings, commissioned by King Philip II of Spain, as poesie (poems) and each depicts a different scene from stories in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir

Majority-Rule Advocates Should Restructure the Senate

Instead of blaming Sen. Jon Manchin III for the uncertain status of the Build Back Better bill, perhaps we should direct our wrath at the ghost of William Paterson. New Jersey’s one-time governor might well be disgusted with himself if he were alive to witness the suspension of the $1.7 trillion social policy legislation. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, USA

Jacobs, Bry on Campaign Trails for Congress and County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk

Primary elections are coming next June and two Jewish Democrats are already campaigning hard.  Congresswoman Sara Jacobs this week announced her candidacy for reelection in a recently reapportioned district that includes a large part of her old district.  Former San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry meanwhile has garnered the endorsement of the San Diego County Democratic Party in her bid to become the county’s next Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

Ever Met a Famous Jew? / This Book Tells of Quite a Few!

It’s never too early for a child to be inculcated with Jewish pride.  This board book will be enjoyed both by parents (or grandparents) and the children sitting on their laps both because of the caricatures of famous Jews and the rhyming couplets with which they are described. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Artist Frieda Salvendy Commemorated in British Town of Her Retirement

Frieda Salvendy moved to Malvern sometime after the end of the Second World War, and died here, in obscurity, in 1965.  A short notice of her death was placed in the local paper and probate details gave her address in Alexandra Road.  Beyond that, it would appear that very few, if any, knew of her existence, or that she had been an eminent European artist. [JASHP}

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International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Satire: ‘The Trump is Still Conspiring’

Come Sinema and Manchin
Please heed the call
Don’t block Build Back Better                                                                                                                 
And cause Biden’s downfall.   
Dems will lose midterms  
If it gets stalled…. {Laurie Baron, Ph.D]                            

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Ethics Trump Halakha in Jewish Religion

Most people, Jews and non-Jews, think that Judaism prefers that Jews observe Jewish Law, called halakha, rather than ethics, and if the two come in conflict the Jew must follow the halakha. Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn shows in his excellent easy to understand book To be a Holy People: Jewish Tradition and Ethical Values that they are wrong. What are Jewish Ethics? How does it differ from Jewish law? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

‘The Surprise Visit’ Embellishes a True-Life Scary Story

While some surprises are good and welcome, others, not so much.  In this horror/thriller based on a real story, The Surprise Visit relates the story of an unplanned visit gone horribly awry. The story has factual historic roots, but co-producer, and actress, Serah Henessey told me that she and husband, Nathan Cowles, “Hollywoodized” it.  I was very happy to hear that as the film disturbed me very much and I was relieved to know that it was embellished and not a precise re-enactment. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

What We Don’t Know about The Matriarch Rachel

We know, or think we know, that Jacob was attracted to Rachel as soon as he saw her the first time. Genesis 29:11 tells us that he kissed her and wept. In verse 18, we are told, “Jacob loved Rachel.” He even agreed since he had no money, to work for seven years for her father if he would give her to him as a wife. But how long did this love last? We do not know. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

‘Write Out Loud’ Brings Joy of Storytime to Children and Adults

Who isn’t seduced by a great storyteller?  That enveloping sensation of being caught up in the creative, vibrant snare of a gifted word weaver transforms each of us into wide-eyed innocents, eager to share in the spinning of a yarn. Few raconteurs are as talented as the folks at Write Out Loud. [Eva Trieger]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast