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 — One of the most colorful figures of the 18th century, who almost single-handedly raised the morale of the Jewish people, was a man named R. Yisrael ben Eliezer, a.k.a., the famous “Baal Shem Tov,” (literally, the “Master of the Good Name.”) When one looks back in […]
The Baal Shem Tov would be horrified Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Grandson Sky is an energetic four-year-old. With only a little coaxing he will clean up whatever room he left looking like it was subjected to a hurricane. But I’m not certain that he is ready to absorb the lesson at the downtown Children’s Museum that the world
Learning to think globally at the Children’s Museum Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The other day, I watched an interview with the Jewish Reggae singer Matisyahu, shortly after he had shaven his beard! I could just imagine what some of his Hassidic fans were saying to one another after they heard the news, “Matisyahu! Please
More than a shave, Matsiyahu’s shorn beard represents a change in outlook Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Second through fourth grade students who participate in Deeds by Kids, a nonprofit organization that encourages them to practice volunteerism and philanthropy, saw the payoff for their first project on Friday, Dec. 16. The reward came in the form of smiles from nearly 200 students of Cabrillo
‘Deeds by Kids’ donates books at Cabrillo Elementary School Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — NATO operations in support of the Libyan revolution were seen by Russia as a victory for the West and, consequently, a defeat for Russian interests. The need to prevent another Western “victory” is part of what motivates Russian support for the murderous regime of Bashar Assad in Syria. Russian
Russia supplies gas masks to Syria Read More »
Shoshana Bryen
From the Holocaust to a New Dawn by David Shachar, Gefen Publishing House, 2011, ISBN 978-965-229-546-0; 198 pages, No price listed. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– David Shachar is not a world leader, nor are his Holocaust experiences particularly extraordinary, although they are, of course, tragic. Yet Shachar has written a personal memoir that
Memoir provides insight into Israel’s salad years Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California– Stephen Hawking in the beginning of his book, A Brief History of Time, relates a story he believes originated with the scientist-philosopher Bertrand Russell, who once fielded an interesting question asked by an elderly woman after finishing a lecture he gave on astronomy: “He described how the
Reflections on ‘the God Particle’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Historically, the holiday of Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday when compared to holidays like Passover or Yom Kippur, or the Sabbath. Nevertheless, its significance should not be under-appreciated. Hanukkah celebrates the first triumph for religious freedom in the ancient history of late antiquity. Although the
Not by might, but by light – A modern Hanukkah message Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Hot Chocolate for Seniors compiled by Jan Fowler, Balboa Press of Hay House, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4525-3945-4, 319 pages, $21.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –This is an anthology of positivity with more than 100 short stories, most not longer than three pages–covering such topics as unexplained but happy mysteries; love the second time
An anthology of positivity Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
Baseless Hatred: What It Is and What You Can Do about It by Rene H. Levy, PhD, Gefen Publishing House, 2011, 212 pages including bibliography, ISBN 9789652295309, price unlisted. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — An important concept in this book is that of arevut, which teaches that the responsibility that one Jew
Restoring Jews’ sense of responsibility toward one another Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Recently this question was posed to me: God warns us explicitly not to follow in the ways of the other nations. How does this apply to our custom to give gifts on Chanukah, which seems to have been taken from the very not-Jewish tradition of
Is gift-giving on Chanukah permitted? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Some time ago I was given a small book, Jeder Tag in Theresienstadt ist ein Geschenk; Die Theresienstadter Tagebücher einer Hamburger Jüdin, 1943-1945 (‘Every Day in Theresienstadt is a Gift’) by Martha Glass, published in 1996 by the Hamburg Department for Political Education with an introduction by Barbara
On Translating Martha Glass’s Diary Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO–Conductor David Amos chose, for the opening concert of the season, Nov. 17, familiar and beloved repertoire which both the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO) members and the audience could thoroughly enjoy.The concert opened with Tchaikowsky’s Little Russian Symphony. From the opening notes of the solo French horn intoning a melancholy
Two pre-Thanksgiving concert feasts Read More »
Eileen Wingard
A Prayer for the Departed by Bill Broder, The Ainslie Street Project, ISBN 978-1-461-13893-8 ©2011, $12.95, p. 230 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The narrator of the TV show Naked City, a detective series about the 65th police precinct in New York City, which aired from 1958-63, ended each show with “There are
A story of Jewish Detroit Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD