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

An Excellent New Commentary on the Biblical Book Samuel

The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Samuel, published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem in 2021, is one of the best Bible commentaries in English. I say this because of its massive, easy-to-read, scholarly material on many far-reaching subjects, contributions by 20 renowned scholars.  I see the value of this book after I used over a hundred such books while writing my own books on the Bible, such as my many volumes on the differences between the Hebrew Bible and its Aramaic translation called Onkelos, and after I have reviewed over 8,100 books, many dealing with the Bible. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Teachers Union Campaign Against Israel Threatens Jewish Students

This campaign run by members of United Teachers Los Angeles campaign signals not just a willingness to foster war but also distresses Jewish students and employees, mocks the very idea of seeking social justice, lies about opposing antisemitism, singles out Israel and distracts from their fundamental role to educate the school district’s 465,000 students. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Motion, Violence are Elements of MMA’s Cézanne Exhibit

The Museum of Modern Art is currently presenting an exhibition devoted to an in-depth review of Paul Cézanne’s drawings. If there is any criticism to be made of this extraordinary show, it is that it is frankly overwhelming: with roughly 280 pencil, ink and gouache drawings and watercolors (and even a handful of oil paintings), there is so much to take in that two or three visits to the exhibition may be required to do it justice. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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

If Only She Had Remained in Pre-State Israel

I read this in ebook form as I was told it dealt with Chortkow, the town in Poland (now Ukraine) from which my in-laws came. As I read on I found many similarities between the two stories – both Syma, the heroine of the book, and my in-laws came from a medium-sized town with a large Jewish population, many of whom were assimilated and prosperous. The crux of the story takes place in the port town of Haifa in pre-State Israel, which is also where my in-laws lived. But they fortunately remained there, whereas the heroine of this (real-life) story returned to Chortkow, where the Holocaust caught up with her, leading to her tragic death. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Middle East

Censorship a Hallmark of the ‘Woke’ Society

I must confess. I am a sci-fi fan. One of my favorite films of all time is the Matrix series. People like me cannot help but feel excited that Matrix 4 will soon be coming out. When I first saw a Matrix film, it made me think about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.[1] In my younger years, I wondered whether this world is a simulation–God’s video game, as it were. But now, my appreciation for the film has morphed into something more political. Now I think the Matrix offers a remarkable lesson about today’s political reality. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

A Drumbeat of Antisemitism in San Diego, Across the U.S.

Near the San Diego State University campus, in San Diego’s daily newspaper, in speeches by members of Congress, and in an apology forced upon a children’s book executive for speaking out against antisemitism, the drumbeat of hatred against our fellow Jews grows increasingly persistent. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Torah Reading for July 3, 2021

Know anyone who’s never faced frustration or adversity, or who’s realized all his or her dreams? Not even Moshe, this week’s parasha teaches us, can claim that he’s lived that life. Before Moshe faces his end, he surmounts his own disappointments and pain and focuses on insuring that he will leave a successor. Hashem showed Moses the Land of Israel and told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to bring the Jewish people into the Land. Moses immediately said: “May … God … appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them … and let the assembly … not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:16-17) Moses places his hands on Joshua, announcing him to be the next leader. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Jews in ‘The Decameron’

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) authored The Decameron around 1348, a word meaning “ten days,” referring to the activities described in the book. The book’s subtitle Prencipe Galeotto refers to the legendary friend of Lancelot, an enemy of King Arthur. He helped Lancelot seduce and bed Arthur’s wife Guinevere. The subtitle catches the theme found frequently in the book of tricks played on unworthy men, usually husbands, and of lonely women who were confined in their homes in the 14th century by their spouse and fathers while longing for sex, while men engaged in a fun-filled life which included bouts of drinking and forbidden sex. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Extricating Oneself from the Muddy Middle

Each of us hears an internal voice, it talks to us every day. For some, this voice repeats the harmful and disheartening comments made by parents, teachers, siblings, and friends. It reminds us of our failures and insecurities. This voice, according to Rabbi Shimshon Frankel, a clinical psychologist with more than a quarter century of experience, and author of The Wisdom of Getting Unstuck, is your Antagonist, and “when we start to identify ourselves with the negative messages that it delivers, we’re bound to start experiencing a heightened degree of discomfort, emptiness, pain, and tension.” [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles

SDSU Chabad Again Subjected to Vandalism

For the second time this year, the Chabad House at San Diego State University has been subjected to hostility — this time in the form of a broken branch of its large outdoor menorah and the ripping of one of its banners.  Last month, youngsters burglarized the combination synagogue and residence hall while students upstairs were asleep. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

A Word of Torah: Blessings from an Implacable Foe

This week we read the portion titled Balak. Balak was the king of Moav who after seeing how his neighbors had unsuccessfully made war and lost against the Children of Israel decided that he would take a different approach to try and defeat them. While Sichon and Og, two mighty kings with mighty armies failed by using force of arms, Balak chose to try and attack the Jews spiritually – by attacking their spiritual connection with the Almighty. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Cutting the ‘Umbilical Cord’: Letting Go Because You Have To

My “baby” daughter Maya graduated high school on a recent Friday. Woohoo! On Monday, she flew solo to Europe to visit her sister. Double Woohoo! In two months, she moves to Berkeley to start her next chapter as a University student. Woo…. Wait! What? Moving out? Completely launching? My husband and I becoming actual empty nesters?  I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. I mean I knew this day would come but it always seemed so far down the road. And yet, here it is. Around the corner.[Shayna Gothard Kaufmann]

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Lifestyles, San Diego County, Shayna Kaufmann

L’Etat C’est Moi

The tendency to equate the state with one’s person — expressed in the phrase “L’etat c’est moi” (I am the state) — was a feature of the monarchies of Europe in the period during and after the Middle Ages. With the passage of time, as the introduction of republics, democracies, and various forms of constitutional monarchy became a thing of the past, the phrase is now identified largely with the 17th century French king, Louis XIV (and to a limited extent France’s post-WWII president Charles de Gaulle). The phrase epitomizes the arrogance and self-importance of the person uttering it. I have not heard those words spoken by Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but his behavior in the latter part of his 12-year “reign” as Israel’s prime minister, as well as in the manner of his leaving that position, indicates that he may well think and believe it. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East