The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back. ― Ram Dass By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — The Vantage Theatre, co-directed by Robert Salerno and Dori Salois, offers “theatre from a different vantage point” and their current 2 course meal fits the bill. The first is a
Fringe Festival features a guru and a Greek myth Read More »
Travel and Food
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — The house where we are staying in the French countryside is opposite the village church, a not very imposing edifice dating from the late seventeenth century. Many of the other churches in the region are from the twelfth, thirteenth and even ninth centuries and seem to have stood the
An outlander’s view of a French wedding Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The Washington Post and other sources have reported on a regrettable tweet dispatched—and then withdrawn—by Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes, who is married to Israel’s deputy prime minster, Silvan Shalom. She is also is a prominent media personality in her own right. The despicable tweet was as follows: “Do u
Racist tweet mars U.S. – Israel relations Read More »
Middle East, USABy Michael R. Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — What lesson have we not learned from one of the most basic principles in Judaism, “Love your fellow Jew as yourself”? It’s preached on pulpit after pulpit, regardless of the sex of the rabbi, the color of the rabbi’s talit, whether the rabbi wears a kippah or not,
Loving your fellow Jew Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael MantellLanguage – the Art of Human Communication (so, is it OK to use a double negative?) By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — From the moment the Pilgrims set sail across the Atlantic Ocean to establish “Plimouth Plantation” on the North American continent, the language they spoke began to change. New words were needed to describe
From the Jewish Library: ‘Language’ Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–A man once told me that he became a more observant Jew when he changed from being a person who remembers the Sabbath Day, according to the first set of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:5), to a person who observes it, as per the second set (Deuteronomy 5:12). Using the same
The danger of excessive Tisha B’Av mourning Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A few columns ago I sought to tease some lessons about politics from the similarities between Benyamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama (“Political twins,” July 10). Here I’ll try my luck with a comparison between Barack Obama and Woodrow Wilson. The focus is Wilson’s participation in the Paris Peace Conference and efforts to create
Barack Obama compared to Woodrow Wilson Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — A post on Facebook surfaced on Monday July 13th. “I knew Abraham when I was a small grade. I knew him because he was a bookworm….” The post was by a recent immigrant to United States from a small Jewish majority town in the outskirts of Addis Ababa. The
A shul goer in life, will Abraham find a place in death? Read More »
International, Middle East, Sam Litvin, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Does Iran need nuclear bombs? Fuggedaboudit! Though acknowledged as the largest instigator and banker of global terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran is being welcomed back into the community of nations on an equal footing, allowed to continue enriching uranium, to improve its nuclear technology, to have nuclear weapons
Obama ends the dream of curbing nuclear races Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
SAN DIEGO — There are two stories in the July 25 edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune which we would like to call to our readers’ attention. First, with a rally planned by many pro-Israel organizations for Sunday, July 26 at 2 p.m. in Balboa Park (Park Boulevard and Presidents Way), it is interesting to
Rep. Vargas announces opposition to N- deal Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Here is an amusing story based on this week’s parasha which speaks not only of rabbinic discretion and the limits of rabbinic authority, but the independent nature of Jews as well! The book of D’varim (Deuteronomy) begins, “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel”” (Deut.
The need for modesty in law- giving Read More »
Jewish Religion