By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO –Although Laban promised his daughter, Rachel, to Jacob in marriage, he tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister, Leah, instead. When Jacob complains to Laban about his deceit, Laban replies, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. Wait until the […]
The seven days and seven blessings for a bride and groom Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Emigration from Israel is one of those issues that erupts every so many years to excite the fearful. Americans might think about abortion, prayer in the schools, gun control, or the placement of a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah on a public place. What is common to them all is
Israel’s immigration ministry hurts Americans’ feelings with ill-conceived ad campaign Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By David Amos SAN DIEGO — The story is told that after a live concert of the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini, an elderly lady turned to her companion and asked, “That man on the podium; is he also supposed to know the music?” This is obviously an exaggeration of what most people
On conductors and their necessary egos Read More »
Travel and Food
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–“Hi Jake, how are you doing?” “Hi guys. Just fine. What’s up?” “We’re on our way up to the school’s library to help move and cover the books. They’re going to paint the room and they need lots of help. Do you want to come?” “Are they paying you anything
What’s in it for me? Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A cartoon image in Ha’aretz shows animals walking two-by-two to Noah’s ark, while men and women are separated in the IDF, reflecting one of the issues in the headlines. There is a wave of extremism in Judaism parallel to those in Islam and Christianity. With us, it does not take the form
Israel less a melting pot than a buffet Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastSAN DIEGO (Press Release)– Temple Emanu-El’s Hanukkah/Holiday Bazaar, will be hosted by the Women of Reform Judaism Sisterhood on Sunday, Dec. 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm, at 6299 Capri Drive, in the Del Cerro area. Designed as a one-stop Hanukkah and Holiday experience, the bazaar will feature returning and new vendors offering such items
Hanukkah/Holiday Bazaar Dec. 4 at Temple Emanu-El Read More »
Travel and Food
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –The belief in the Evil Eye (in Hebrew, it is known as the Ayin Hara) has existed since time immemorial in cultures all around the world. Ancients believed that the world was suffused with invisible powers that could be utilized as a supernatural weapon against one’s foes. In magic,
The marriage of superstition and modernity: thoughts on the evil eye Read More »
Travel and FoodLA JOLLA, California — Prof. Joellyn Zollman will instruct an 8-session course in modern Jewish history at the Lawrence Family JCC on Tuesdays, Jan 10- Feb. 28. Students have a choice of taking the class from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on those dates. “This class examines the
Zollman to instruct JCC course in modern Jewish history Read More »
Travel and Food
By Cynthia Citron BEVERLY HILLS, California — For those of us who have lived much of our lives in the Kennedy Century, The Color of Rose is a poignant revisit with the fabled family that always seemed an extension of our own. Kathrine Bates’ fascinating play, told through the eyes of the matriarch, Rose, is
Three faces of Rose viewable in Beverly Hills Read More »
Cynthia Citron
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Scientists at the Sde Boker campus of Ben Gurion University of the Negev are making strides in their quest to make the world’s deserts more productive by increasing their yields of energy, food and water, Pedro Berliner, director of the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research told about 50 people Tuesday
Can the desert be made to yield more water, food and energy? Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Maj. Gen. Larry Taylor, USMCR (ret.) “A nation that does not prepare for all forms of war should then renounce the use of war in national policy. A people that does not prepare to fight should then be morally prepared to surrender.” – T.R. Fehrenbach, in his classic study of the Korean War, This
Is the U.S. encouraging potential enemies? Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–There has been another explosion in Iran. This one in the city of Isfahan, home to spectacular Muslim architecture, and industrial facilities linked to the country’s nuclear program. There are no reports that the explosion damaged the mosques or madrases. Among the Iranian reports are that it occurred at a gas station.
Nuclear sabotage in Iran preferable to all-out war Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Cynthia Citron BEVERLY HILLS, California — In the hands of playwright Kathrine Bates, even history’s certified villains get a sympathetic hearing. Take, for example, Lucrezia Borgia. Bates penned (with Ted Lange) and starred in the one-woman Evil Legacy: The Story of Lucrezia Borgia, performing it first for a dozen friends in her own
‘The Color of Rose’ explores life of Kennedy matriarch Read More »
Cynthia Citron
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, the White House pulled the props out from under the military government in Cairo, calling for it to yield power. Now. “The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately…we believe that the full transfer of power to a
Rational Egyptians, haters and the U.S. government Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen