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 Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The ESRA Hiking Club (esra.org.il) ventured south to the hills of the northern Negev recently for one of the most beautiful hikes that I’ve done in Israel. We were heading towards the Yeruham Park and Lake, where there are green groves and a manmade lake in the […]
Exploring the northern Negev Desert Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and FoodBy Eva Trieger LA JOLLA, California — The strains of violin, clarinet and accordion set a reminiscent and inviting tone for this play. The set of the Mandel Weiss Forum was fairly simplistic with English and Yiddish subtitles projected over stage, creating an esoteric sensibility in the viewer. Spirited dancing accompanied the music as characters
Lesbians? Nothing shocking about them Read More »
Eva Trieger, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Recent discussions on the Internet deal with the moral question concerning asylum for Syrian refugees. This issue is especially a matter of concern for the European countries as well. More specifically for Jews, is the comparison between Syrians of today and the German Jewish refugees
Bring in persecuted Syrian groups first Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
Piece of Mind by Michelle Adelman; W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN 978-0-393-24570-7; 304 pages, $25.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – I was enchanted by this novel by Michelle Adelman, who is a teacher here in San Diego. It tells the story of a brain-damaged woman from that woman’s interesting, often humorous, and at
Novel provides insight into the brain- injured Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonA history of early Nazi Germany worth reading In the Garden of Beasts; Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson; Broadway Books, New York, 2011 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The Garden of Beasts in the title refers to the inhabitants of Berlin’s Tiergarten, the park in central Berlin that once served
Never Again: Holocaust news for November 23, 2015 Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– Men’s Club members assembled at 7 a.m. in the kosher kitchen of Tifereth Israel Synagogue and, to the theme of “batter up,” the team began preparing pancakes–some with blueberries and bananas; others with chocolate chips, and still more old fashioned and plain. Mixing their batter thoroughly to eliminate any globs or
Men’s Club’s pancakes fuel Torah students Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego CountyBy Laurie Baron MARGATE, New Jersey — Foreign observers have been surprised by the ferocity of the French government’s response to the terrorist attack on Paris. ISIS should have anticipated this is what would happen if it threatened the French while they were eating and drinking at cafes, attending concerts, or watching soccer. After all,
Humoring the headlines: Nov. 21, 2015 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Middle East
Together We Can Do More: The Leon Williams Story by Lynne Carrier; 2015; Lynne Carrier and Montezuma Publishing; ISBN 978-0-7442-3808-2; 223 pages including notes and index. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This biography of Leon Williams, who was the first African-American to serve on the San Diego City Council and scored another such
Leon Williams biography a lesson in civil government Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County
Tempting The Devil in the Name of God: The Heavy Hand of Fate by Howard Beckman; Inspire on Purpose Publishing; 2012-2015; ISBN 978-1-941783-24-8; 373 pages, $19.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – One of my favorite apocryphal stories concerns the Jewish woman who traveled to India to see the guru. She was told that
Drug dealer becomes a spiritual leader Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
–31st in a Series– Exit 10, College Avenue, San Diego ~ Melvin Garb Hillel Center By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –The Melvin Garb Hillel Center, dedicated in October 2014, is a place for Jewish students to hang out, socialize, and make Jewish connections. Here, says Hillel’s SDSU’s campus director, Jackie Tolley, the students “engage in programs
I-8 Jewish Travel: SDSU’s modern Hillel Center Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Among the subscribers to San Diego Jewish World are a few readers in the Slovak Republic. I would like to address this article to them, as well as to anyone else who might be able to throw light upon the subject of Judge Jacob Weinberger’s early life. Weinberger’s name
An appeal to readers in the Slovak Republic Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, thinking it will eat him last.”–Sir Winston Churchill By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy is well known. The crocodile Churchill is referring to is Adolf Hitler. For decades, Europe had no problem sacrificing Israel to the
Call the enemy by its right name — Radical Islam Read More »
International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USARashi: The Magic and the Mystery by Avigdor Bonchek, Gefen Publishing House, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-779-2 ©2015, $18.00, p. 132, plus Appendix, References and Index of Interpreted Verses By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — Torah Commentator Rashi, the acronym for Shlomo Yitzchaki, stands at the head of a long line of revered Jewish sages. For instance,
Why Rashi wrote sometimes and refrained at others Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
More Than Enough: A Passover Story by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Katie Kath; Dial Books for Young Readers © 2016; ISBN 978-0-8037-4126-3; $16.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — We received at San Diego Jewish World a book to be read to children that either came to our mailbox quite late or extremely
Many reasons for happy children to say ‘Dayenu’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion