“In the long run, nothing can withstand reason and experience, and the contradiction religion offers both is palpable.” —Sigmund Freud By Eric George Tauber CORONADO, California — In all likelihood, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis never actually met. But what if they had…? Two great minds, both respected scholars in their own right, hold two […]
C.S. Lewis on Freud’s couch Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — As I started out this column, my intent was to make a statement for the “ownership” of the term Holocaust. As long as I can remember, I always had a visceral reaction when this term was used by others to describe a potential disaster. To me, anything would pale in
‘Holocaust’ and ‘Shoah’ meanings and emotions Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — There’s a new movie in town, well, not yet, but it’s “coming soon,” as they say in the movie biz, and it’s called Chloe and Theo. The co-star is an Inuit man from Canada named Theo Ikummaq who plays himself in the climate-themed flick, and it’s not an
‘Chloe and Theo’ brings idealism to Cli-Fi Read More »
The World We ShareYes, It’s Possible by Ehud Diskin, Gefen Publishing House, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — On the first page of the Preface – as well as several more times throughout his book – Ehud Diskin makes the following statement: “Long ago I defined the principles by which I would live my life……to try and
From the Jewish library: ‘Yes, It’s Possible’ Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Like some of the readers of these columns, I grew up in the US during the 1940s and 1950s. It was a time of assimilation for Jews and all the rest of the hoi polloi who had streamed from Europe. The US was ascendant as the result of World War II,
Face it, this is not the U.S. of our childhoods Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The unexpected victory of Netanyahu’s Likud in last month’s elections in Israel was largely at the expense of the two parties ideologically closest to it: Naftali Bennett’s Habayit Hayehud (the heir of the National Religious Party now wedded to the settler movement) and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu with immigrants from the
Coalition building seems to preclude ‘unity gov’t’ Read More »
Middle East
Deb Bowen and Cassie Brown, A Walk With Esther; Never Forget Publishing, 2015, $10. Order via http://www.abookbyme.com/Pages/default.aspx By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Many years ago, while I was serving a congregation in Rock Island, Illinois, I was privileged to work with a number of Jewish and Christian professionals in designing one of the
Children interview Survivors, write their stories Read More »
Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of Judaism. In ancient times, during the seven days of the holiday, Jews came to the Holy Temple to make sacrifices. Today, there is no Holy Temple, but Israelis and Jews from the Diaspora fill the city with thousands of
Fighting organized anti- Semitism on campuses Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — As I reviewed Parashat Sh’mini, images from the Shoah (the Holocaust) flashed in my mind. Parashat Sh’mini begins with instructions about the sacrifices Israelites made in the Mishkan in the desert and later the Temple in Jerusalem: “Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt
Why we go from mourning to celebration Read More »
Jewish HistoryObama condemns anti-Semitism on Holocaust Remembrance Day (JNS.org) U.S. President Barack Obama condemned anti-Semitism in a message on Thursday to mark Israel’s Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) as well as the international commemorations of the end of the Holocaust and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. “It is incumbent upon us to make real
Jewish news briefs: April 17, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We’re in the midst of Israel’s secular holidays, that are arguably more profound in terms of popular sentiment than the principal religious holidays of Yom Kippur and Pesach. Thusday was day to remember the Holocaust. Together with next Wednesday–the day to remember fallen soldiers and victims of terror–these are the two
Days of mourning have punch in Israeli society Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO–Every time we hear a story from a survivor’s own lips, we are faced with the reality that the generation of survivors is passing into history. This is why the National Jewish Theater Foundation (NJTF) has created Remembrance Readings compiling over 600 plays into their Holocaust Theater Catalog. By staging
Dramatic readings keep Shoah memory alive Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California– Lou Dunst, the renowned and beloved survivor of four Nazi death camps and two aborted gas chamber murders, remembers many things. Of his innumerable escapes from certain death, he simply asserts: “Ha-Shem [God] made another miracle.” On one occasion, there was an unfathomable malfunction in the delivery of the Zyklon
Survivor believes he was saved to ‘tell the story’ Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for president by criticizing the President “for looking backwards” and having “forgotten that when America fails to lead, global chaos inevitably follows.” To set an example of how he will break with the past and restore American power, he promised to invade Cuba. * Responding
Humoring the headlines: April 16, 2015 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire