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
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As Jews are observing the Passover holiday this coming weekend, recalling a time when our ancestors left Egypt, the land of their oppression, we are witnessing a new kind of Exodus taking place today: Jews are leaving France in record numbers amidst the rising anti-Semitic attacks that have […]
Sometimes, “It’s Hard to Be a Jew” Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi“Cursed be that mortal inter-indebtedness which will not do away with ledgers. I would be free as air; and I’m down in the whole world’s books. I am so rich… and yet I owe for the flesh in the tongue I brag with” (Moby Dick, chapter cviii). By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — In standard
Are animals inherently our moral equals? Read More »
Sam Ben-Meir, The World We Share, Travel and Food
The Limits of the World by Jennifer Acker; Delphinium Books © 2019; ISBN 9781883-285777; 300 pages, $25.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Immigrants from India found themselves distrusted by both sides of the racial divide in colonial Kenya. As far as black Africans were concerned, the brown-skinned Asians were part of the ruling
Book review: ‘The Limits of the World’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Often the greatest critics of religion offer us a series of criticism about the depth of our faith; they confront us with our hypocrisy. They challenge us to reexamine what it means to “believe.” As a young teenager, I remember hiding Raphael Patai’s book, Hebrew Myths in
Book Review: ‘In Good Faith’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Shoshana Bryen and Stephen Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — During the Cold War, the Soviet Union seriously outspent the United States on military equipment. The U.S. and its NATO allies worried that the Russians would have such overwhelming military power that, at any moment, Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces could flood Western Europe, starting with
Chinese tech products threaten U.S. security Read More »
International, Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USASnooze, an A.M. Eatery, 8861 Villa La Jolla Dr #509, La Jolla, California 92037By Sandi Masori LA JOLLA, California — The other day I was meeting with one of my publishing clients and found myself in the UC San Diego area. I was hungry, and while trying to figure out where to grab a bite
Noshing with Sandi: Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Read More »
San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Unlike Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which I describe in my book Mysteries of Judaism, the holiday of Passover did not continue to exist in a radically modified fashion with a new name after the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. It disappeared entirely and Chag
Where did those Passover traditions come from? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Click here for related story By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Erez Zadok’s 2019 Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel, published by Koren Press, will delight parents and children. There are humorous comics explaining the Haggadah and Seder ceremonies in about half of the book’s 170 pages with the chad
Book Review: Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionSpace News By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Scientists released the first photograph of a Black hole in the universe. Looking closely at it, Democrats in Congress expect that it looks a lot like redacted version of the Mueller Report Bill Barr will release next week. * Israel’s spacecraft Beresheet crashed during its attempt to land on
Humoring the headlines: April 11, 2019 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Superhero comics have been influenced greatly by Jewish life in the United States and by Torah learning, according to Jordan Gorfinkel, 51, the entertainment entrepreneur who managed the Batman franchise for a decade before creating his own Avalanche Comics Entertainment company. In the sanctuary of Tifereth Israel Synagogue
Superman, Batman and deeper Torah concepts Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — A few of my readers recently asked me to explain the difference between “Palestinians” living inside and outside of Israel’s borders. Who are the “Palestinians” anyway? First, see below: “Palestine” does not exist today as a nation-state, but at multiple times in history, including the present, it has
A brief history of ‘Palestine’ Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –The Israelites’ first Passover, celebrated in Egypt just prior to the exodus and described in Exodus 12:1-11, was radically different from the Torah mandated holiday observed after the exodus. Exodus 12, which describes the Egyptian ceremony, raises many questions. (1) Why does the Torah command that “this
Why Was first Passover different from all others? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food
Now it’s the Third Generation’s time to remind the world never to forget By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Talia Schauder, almost 17, says that she wants to become a teacher. But, in essence, she already is. On Monday, April 8, with all the aplomb of a seasoned teacher, she faced an assembly
Survivor’s granddaughter lectures on Holocaust Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future by Edmund Case, © 2019 Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism, ISBN 9781732-938809l, 265 pages, $19.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – If I understand author Edmund Case’s basic premise, it is if people “do Jewish,” then for all practical purposes, they are members of
Book Review: ‘Radical Inclusion’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion