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 Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –Taxi! Taxi drivers the world over are a race unto themselves. The taxi drivers of London, have to acquire ‘The Knowledge,’ which involves studying London’s streets till they can find any address, and have to pass an exam to gain their taxi license. These days they are separated from […]
Taxi drivers around the world are a special breed Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Many baseball fans I know have grown up and relished the great baseball rivalries of the last fifty years or more. As a native San Franciscan, who could forget the rivalries involving the Giants and the Dodgers—Northern vs. Southern California? Indeed, today’s latest incarnations of the
Red Sox win mirrors Boston’s big heart Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―Embarrassed over leaks that the NSA monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone, President Obama called her on a secure line to apologize. The next day he received a briefing from the NSA citing his conversation with Merkel verbatim and reminding him, “Espionage means you never have to say you’re sorry.”
Humoring the headlines: October 30, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery by Captain Witold Pilecki, Translated from the original 1945 report by Jarek Garliński, Aquila Polonica (U.S.) Ltd., Los Angeles; ISBN 978-1-60772-009-6 ©2012, $34.95, p. 401, including pictures, maps, appendices, index, and discussion questions By Fred Reiss WINCHESTER, California — On September 10, 1940, the German battleship Bismarck fired six shells
The Pole who volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish HistoryBy Stephen Kramer In Part 1, our trip north to Galilee with friends, enjoying a wonderful hike through a stream near Lake Kinneret. Our destination was Safed (Zefat), one of Judaism’s four holy cities. Bet Hameiri (Hameiri House), a fascinating recreation of local history, concentrating on Safed during the 19-20th centuries. Entered via one of
Sightseeing in the Galilee, Part II Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
Peri Berger, Broken Mirrors, Menucha Publishers, 2013, ISBN 978-1-61456-086-7, 270 pages, cover price unlisted. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–From the very beginning of this novel, its denouement is telegraphed. Students at a Jewish school express confusion and consternation when they meet Judy Rangler, their new secular studies teacher. She doesn’t wear a sheitel, but
Novel extols Shabbat and Jewish tradition Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
Julie Weinberg, I Wish There Were Baby Factories, BookLocker.com, 2013, ISBN 9781626464124, 210 pages, cover price unlisted By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Somehow smiling through her tears, Julie Weinberg tells “a story inspired by real life events” about a couple whose efforts to have a baby–including fertility and adoption–were beset with dramatic disappointments,
Coming a long way to have a baby Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonThe Jews and Germans of Hamburg; The Destruction of a Civilization, 1790-194 by J.A.S. Grenville; Routledge, London and New York, 2012, 330 pp. By Dorothea Shefer Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This thorough study of the history of the city-state of Hamburg, a thriving Hanseatic port in north Germany, describes in almost unbearable detail the
Hamburg’s Jewish history told Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Steve Kramer SAFED, Israel — When school is out during the summer, Israel’s vacation spots are crowded and expensive, especially on the weekends. We managed to find the perfect weekend, between the first few days of the new school year and Rosh Hashana, the new year holiday. We located a reasonably priced boutique
Sightseeing in the Galilee Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
Shoshana Mael, Dancing in the Dark, Menucha Publishers, Inc., 2013, ISBN 978-1-61465-094-2, 276 pages, cover price unlisted. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–Rikki and her older sister Daniella, who were both quite popular with their classmates at an Orthodox Jewish girls high school, showed up one day badly bruised. Rikki’s neck had been clawed with
Novel explores impact on teen girls of mentally ill mom Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Isn’t it amazing that Americans are living longer than ever before in recorded history More than 87 million Americans will be over 65 by the year 2040, according to the National Institute of Aging. Today, the over‑65 group accounts for about 30 million people; the
Abraham, Sarah, Moses turn the ‘Paige’ on age worries Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — House Republicans are outraged over the glitches in the Affordable Health Care website. One was overheard saying, “If we would have known it would be done so incompetently, we could have spared voting over 40 times to repeal it and shutting down the government, spent our energy on voting
Humoring the headlines: October 25, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Not saying that it will happen — not even that it might. But if you don’t watch the confluence of events in Syria, you’ll miss the possibility that it could. Now that Washington is finished with last summer’s Elizabeth O’Bagy kerfuffle over the percentage of the Syrian opposition comprising jihadist militias,
The diminishing fortunes of the Free Syrian Army Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
Karen Goldman, Jordan and the Dreadful Golem, Penlight Publications, Rachel Moseley illustrator, 2013, ISBN 978-098-386-852-1, 224 pages, $15.95 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Jewish tweens and teens who enjoyed the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling may find themselves charmed by a new juvenile fiction series launched by Karen Goldman about a village in the
A golem versus tween super-heroes Read More »
Donald H. Harrison