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
“Teachers in a Texas school district were told last week that a new state law requiring them to present multiple perspectives about “widely debated and currently controversial” issues meant they needed to make “opposing” views on the Holocaust available to students.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 10/14/2021 [Laurie Baron, Ph.D}
Satire: Both Sides Now Read More »
International, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
In this week’s Torah portion, we shall briefly compare the thoughts of Maimonides, Philo, and Spinoza on the subject of circumcision. We shall first mention some interesting citations from Philo, who spent considerable time explaining the rationale of Jewish precepts to the non-Jewish world. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Lech Lecha and the Rite of Circumcision Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Sunbelt Publications Inc. published the first of the six books I have written so far. It was the biography, Louis Rose: San Diego’s First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur. In the event that you haven’t heard of him, he was the man for whom Rose Canyon, Rose Creek, and the Roseville section of the Point Loma neighborhood were named. The Robinson-Rose Building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is another reminder of his legacy. [Donald H. Harrison]
Sunbelt Offers Free Copy of Louis Rose Biography to First 50 Who Request It Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County
“Saying ‘Free Palestine’ is the beginning of what we meet to talk about on this issue,” says Canadian author Desmond Cole. As I moved on to read his further comments, I was anxious to finally learn what “Free Palestine” means. Many readers are probably cynical enough to expect Cole to disappoint. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Palestinian Slogans Displace Real-World Truths Read More »
Bruce Ticker, International, Middle East, USA
I saw the film Hannah’s War about the heroine and martyr Hannah Senesh on TV. I feel that it is a film everyone should see. It is very moving. Hannah Senesh is one of Israel’s most important heroines. She was born on July 17, 1921 in Budapest, Hungary, and died on November 7, 1944 in Budapest, murdered by a firing squad at age 23, after refusing a blindfold, but looking straight at the pro-Nazi Hungarian firing squad that killed her. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Legacy of Hannah Senesh Read More »
International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Middle East
One of the mystical traditions of Judaism is that a person’s soul remains close to the body until the 30th day after death, when it departs for the next world. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Game of Life’ Modernizer Reuben Klamer Honored in Death Read More »
Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A reunion of people who, like my husband, were born in 1940, i.e. now aged 80, might sound over-optimistic, but these were no ordinary people. These were men and women who were born and brought up in Kiryat Haim, a settlement situated on the coast slightly north of
Turning the Clock Back Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, LifestylesBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — One of the most lamentable recent events was the death of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was born in 1948 and died on November 7, 2020. He was a British Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, award-winning author, international religious leader, respected moral voice, and public figure. He
The Legacy of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
San Diego’s eminent Israeli folk dancer teacher, Yoni Carr, will be going back to Israel as a returning citizen, a toshav hozer. After 37 years of teaching Israeli Dance in San Diego, Yoni was feted by two events…. (Eileen Wingard)
Esteemed Israeli Dance Teacher Returns Home Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Every step we take in life carries with it magnificent opportunities, but when we are promised that we will be made into a great nation, that we will be blessed, that we will become a blessing, what would make us hesitate to take that step? Abraham, following his Divine calling more than 3700 years ago, took a step that changed the world. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Answering Your Divine Calling Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
City Councilman Raul Campillo told a forum sponsored by the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club that dealing with the problem of homelessness in San Diego requires not only money, but an understanding that there are different sub-classes of homeless people, whose needs are different. [Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo Outlines Homelessness Problem Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego CountyLast week President Biden announced that today would be Indigenous Peoples Day to offset the deleterious impact Christopher Columbus’ voyages had on Native Americans. Of course, they already memorialized Columbus Day as Genocide Genesis Day. If this serves as a precedent for renaming other holidays to reflect what they stand for, then expect Biden make the following announcements in the future: [Laurie Baron, Ph.d]
Satire: Renaming Holidays Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
After New York City public relations practitioner Marcia Horowitz received the diagnosis that she was suffering from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, she and her husband, author Richard S. Cohen, discussed how they would prepare for her death, which came 160 days later. They decided that they would have both a medical plan and a life plan, both of which they would pursue with equanimity. [Donald H. Harrison]
An Intellectual Approach to Looming Death Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, LifestylesThe following selections are from the commentaries I have written on Philo and Maimonides. The selection from Philo comes from Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Jewish Commentary: Vol. 1: Genesis (Sarasota, FL: First Edition Design, 2016). The selections from Maimonides are from my new commentary, Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentary Vol. 1 Genesis (Sarasota, Florida: First Edition Design, 2016). Each work introduces an approach I call “philosophical peshat,” which contains the plain meaning of a biblical passage along with its philosophical nuances and meaning. Although both these scholars lived over a thousand years apart, they often arrived at a similar philosophical understanding of Scripture. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
What Philo and Maimonides Said About Parashat Noach Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi