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

What We Don’t Know about God’s Behavior

Many people, if not most of them, are convinced that they know quite a lot about God and the people mentioned in the Bible. They would be surprised and some even angry to discover that most if not all that the Bible states about them is obscure. It clearly wants us to think about all that is in scripture and to act properly. The following are some examples about God: [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

California Here I Leave

After two weeks in California, with all its delights and attractions, it is a relief to be back in the humble abode that is our home in Israel. In California everything, or almost everything, is large. Most of the homes we visited are grand, the people generous and hospitable, and the wide streets and huge stores provide an array of goods and facilities that keep the mind on constant alert for the next attractive bargain or delightful display. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA

‘Welcome Home’ Sends an SOS for Welcoming Refugees

Laurie Spiegler, the co-chair and co-founder of Welcome Home, a volunteer group that assists refugees to settle in San Diego, has put out an SOS.  Between now and February 15, as many as 1,500 Afghan refugees will be transferred from temporary lodging on U.S. military bases to the City of San Diego, where they will need everything including places to stay, furniture, bedding, personal hygiene items, paper towels, diapers, cleaning supplies, and just about everything else that cannot be purchased with food stamps. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, USA

An Enjoyable ‘My Fair Lady’ at the Civic Through Dec. 5

If you haven’t seen the show, it’s based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and is the story of a professor (Henry Higgens, played by Laird Mackintosh) who takes in a young woman who sells flowers in the street, (Eliza Doolittle, played by Shereen Ahmed) and makes a bet with his friend (Col Pickering, played by Kevin Pariseau), that he can turn her from a gutter rat into a duchess by teaching her to speak proper English instead of Cockney.  [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

The Cain v. Abel Trial

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Dan Ornstein has written the easy-to-read “Cain v. Abel: A Jewish Courtroom Drama,” an interesting, thoughtful, eye-opening, and thought-provoking book based on the two-dozen biblical sentences in Genesis 4 that report the fraternal murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Rabbi Ornstein includes the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Love, Loyalty, and Suspense in World War II France

“Postmistress” is a euphemism for “messenger,” which was the role that Nanée, an American heiress, played while in Paris, prior to the German invasion.  Initially, she and her compatriots focused on getting well-known artists and intellectuals — many but not all of them Jewish — out of Nazi Germany and into safety in France. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Satire: A Covid Variant By Any Other Name

The World Health Organization employs Greek letters instead of people’s names or places to label new variants of Covid-19. It does so to avoid derogatory terms like the ones coined by Donald Trump who called Covid the China virus and the Kung Flu. Frankly, I wish the WHO had retaliated against him and dubbed Covid Donald’s Disease [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Comic-Con on the Come-Up

Comic-Con@Home once again took place online this past summer due to Covid fears. However, Comic-Con also hosted a live convention in San Diego this year, perplexingly on Thanksgiving weekend. So, I took my tryptophan-laden self, picked up my recently Black Friday bruised wallet, and headed downtown to see an all new and all different Con, one from 30 years ago. [Shor M. Masori]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori

San Diego Civic Youth Ballet Builds Skills and Self-Confidence

The San Diego Civic Youth Ballet was founded in 1945 and makes its home in Balboa Park.  As the resident dance school, the company puts on three shows a year at Casa del Prado Theater.  In addition to the classic and holiday favorite The Nutcracker, there is a full-length spring ballet, and a summer gem, Fairy Tales in the Park.  When possible, the company takes its performances to the community to share the joy of storytelling through movement.  I had the great fortune to speak with a former, and current student, Sara Goldman. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Joseph, Zechariah, the Maccabees, and modern-day Chanukah

This week’s parasha, Miketz, falls out during Chanukah. Yet, Chanukah isn’t mentioned even once in all of our Torah. Recall that in last week’s parasha, Vayeishev, Joseph was thrown into a pit. Joseph prayed and Hashem answered his prayers. This week, we read how his life changed, how Hashem saved his family and by extension, our lives as Jews as well, and how Joseph prayed prayers of thanksgiving…as do we, for Hashem delivering us miraculously as he did Joseph. Our endurance has little to do with military capacity or political perceptiveness, both clearly important, but rather from our own inner determination that is launched in our faith. This is the link between Miketz and Chanukah. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell