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
Can you imagine an entire book in 12 words, not including the title? That last sentence took one more word than that. [Donald H. Harrison]
An Entire Book in 12 Words Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) The San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved, though modified, a resolution condemning antisemitism that would have also supported “unbiased and politically neutral” classroom materials pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the approved version of the resolution, the board stated that it “affirms the rights of Jewish
San Diego School Board Modifies Resolution Calling for ‘Unbiased’ Materials on Israel Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
The San Diego Jewish World on Tuesday announced that Jacob Kamaras will assume the role of publisher and editor in chief of the daily online news publication beginning January 1, 2022. Kamaras, a public relations professional who previously served as the first editor in chief of the national Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), succeeds San Diego Jewish World founder Donald H. Harrison, 76, who will become editor emeritus. [SDJW]
San Diego Jewish World Names Jacob Kamaras Publisher and Editor Starting January 1 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jacob Kamaras, San Diego County
By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) In a sense, the Jewish communal reactions to the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the coronavirus pandemic were diametric opposites. After Robert Bowers shot and killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, American Jews were urged to show up at services in droves the
Can a Synagogue Feel Open with Locked Doors? Rabbis Reflect on Pittsburgh, 3 Years Later Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA
Several years ago, when writing about this week’s Torah portion, I shared two very contemporary lessons I saw inside of the ancient text – never give up hope and be in emotional control when dealing with oneself and with others. Now several years later, several years older, these lessons appear even more valuable. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Torah Reading for October 30, 2021 Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
The current selection for the PJ Library, mailed free to Jewish children whose families request, age-appropriate Jewish stories is about a self-sufficient farmer named Sarah, who knows how to change her tractor’s oil, how to handle his clutch, and the right way to switch his gears. They were a great team, Sarah and Yitzi. Every Friday night, they would power down and do no work until after Shabbat was over. It was their routine for Sarah to have a sip of wine at the beginning of Shabbat, and for Yitzi to have a sip of gasoline. [Donald H. Harrison]
The Tractor that Observed Shabbat Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
A parade of speakers on Sunday rededicated a 50-year-old Holocaust monument, telling about the Jewish communal building where the monument is now located, about the artist who created the massive bronze sculpture, and most importantly, about the victims and survivors of the genocide launched against the Jews by Nazi Germany. [Donald H. Harrison]
Holocaust Memorial, Once at East County JCC, Finds a New Home Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
This novel for young adults is set in Chicago at the time of the 1893 World’s Fair, when immigration to America was prohibited for people with diseases, but otherwise was unrestrained by quotas. Maxwell Street at the time was a bustling, crowded, impoverished neighborhood for Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, one of whom – the protagonist Alter Rosen – has dreams of earning enough money as a linotype operator to pay for passage from Romania to America for his mother and two young sisters. He also has nightmares that people will learn that he is a homosexual. [Donald H. Harrison]
Dybbuk Possesses a 19th Century Jewish Immigrant in Novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Although most Judaic, Christian, and Muslim commentators and thinkers interpret the Akedah as having actually occurred while Abraham was in a wakeful state of consciousness, Maimonides hints that there may be another way of interpreting the story. Maimonides mentioned on many occasions how the Divine speaks to mortals in either a dream, or by granting them a visionary experience. Perhaps the Akedah was also a visionary experience. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Maimonides on The Akedah and Biblical Visions Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
The 6th Annual TAPESTRY: A Community Celebration of Jewish Learning will be presented on Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24, as a hybrid this year: [Eileen Wingard]
Tapestry Has Diverse Jewish Learning Opportunities Oct. 23-24 Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USABy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. Radical Chesed…Kol Yisroel Chaverim. Are you open to holiness in your life? If so, how open are you? This week’s parasha, Vayeira, filled with abundant trials, passions and complications of family and communal life, can be a guide to doing just that. After all, it begins, “Now the Lord appeared
Parashat Vayeira: Being Open to Holiness Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Gedaliah Borvick On the way to a meeting on Golda Meir Boulevard in Jerusalem, I struck up an interesting conversation with the cab driver about Israel’s fourth prime minister. Golda Meir is memorialized with streets across the country named in her honor and yet many people in Israel lack the adoration that she has
Golda Meir: Pioneer and Lioness Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, Jewish History
Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance, learned of a new camp established by the German Nazis in the Polish city of Oswiecim, toward what end no one knew yet. He volunteered to do the unthinkable: to purposely be captured by the Nazis and to be sent to the camp, which came to be known as Auschwitz. [Donald H. Harrison]
The Polish Spy Who Reported on Auschwitz from the Inside Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
Using many sources, including hundreds of anecdotes, former US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (1985-1987) and Under Secretary of Defense (2001-2004) Rabbi Dr. Dov S. Zakheim, author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage (Maggid Books, 2016), gives us a very informative and riveting, easy to read biography of one of the most important figures of ancient Jewry, Rabbi Judah the Prince (135-217), also called Rebbe, “Teacher.” He was the man who had Judaism’s Oral Law put into writing, called the Mishna, which became the basis of the Talmud. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion