Editor, San Diego Jewish World In your article “Community Mikvah to locate on Tifereth Israel grounds” (September 22, 2009) you write “Although there are three mikvaot operated under Orthodox auspices in San Diego, none are available for conversions by the other movements. This means that many people who convert to Judaism under Conservative auspices, for
Letter to the Editor: Mikvaot in San Diego Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Yeruchem Eilfort-RabbiSAN DIEGO (Press Release)–One late night Rabbi Israel Salanter walked by the home of a shoemaker and noticed the man working late by the light of a flickering candle. “Why are you still working?” he asked. “It is very late and soon that candle will go out.” The shoemaker replied, “As long as there is
Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School Responds to Haiti Crisis Read More »
USA
Compiled by Gail Umeham Personals Southwestern Jewish Press March 19, 1954 Page 2 Home From College–Nelson Olf and a classmate of Oregon State College Edward Elliott, will arrive in town March 22, for a short stay with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Olf. Enroute to San Diego, Nelson and Edward, both Midshipmen at O.S.C.
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, March 19, 1954, Part II Read More »
Adventures in SD History, Middle East, USATempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities & Child Sex Scandals edited by Amy Neustein, Brandeis University Press, 2009, 272 pages, $35. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—This is a difficult book to read, not only because it primarily is written for other academics, but because of the subject matter itself. While we are cognizant that
Sexual abuse of children in the Jewish community: difficult but important to face Read More »
Amy Neustein, Donald H. HarrisonBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Barack Obama is one dramatic guy. His rhetoric is world class. His life story adds to the magic. Inauguration as president, aspirations for economic stability, engagement with the world, peace in the Middle East, reform of health care for the unhealthiest of the wealthy countries, and a Nobel Prize were his highlights
In first year, Obama's promise eclipsed his performance Read More »
Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Years ago when Israeli leaders began to have meetings with Yasser Arafat and his entourage, and later still with his successors, usually under the auspices of the Americans, it was reasonable to assume that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was imminent. It seems that even as late as a year
The ominous quiet in the Middle East Read More »
Middle East, USAScribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible By Karel van der Toorn, Harvard University Press, Cambridge ISBN 978-0-674-03254-5, $18.95, 265 pages plus 125 pages of notes and selected bibliography By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, that is, the so-called Old Testament? Jewish tradition says that Moses wrote
Looking at who wrote the Bible — from the scribes' viewpoints Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdDBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Preschool teacher Sara Kaminski spotted me one Friday night at Shabbat services at Tifereth Israel Synagogue and asked if I would come one day to the kochavim (little stars) class and tell about newspapering. After I agreed, I wondered just what aspect of newspapering four and five-year-olds would be interested
Adventures in a Jewish pre-school Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego CalendarBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel is usually in the headlines about war, terror, great power efforts to make peace, or some other bloody or politically charged issue. This note is not about any of that exciting stuff, but deals with the way others and Israelis often view themselves. That may have something to do
OECD mischaracterizes Israel's economy Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–When the early Zionists wanted to turn the Jews into a people like all other peoples, they didn’t dream that it would mean that the Jewish national home which became the State of Israel would treat other people in the way other people treated Jews. But that’s what’s happening nowadays, not
Sleepless in Jerusalem over whether Israel is becoming as bad as any other nation Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — “On the tenth of this month they shall take for themselves a lamb…” (Ex. 12:3) It took great courage for the Jews to bring the Korbon Pesach (Passover Offering), as Moshe (Moses) had commanded them in the name of Hashem (G-d). The lamb was worshiped by the Egyptians.
The blessing that led to a fortune Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Philip Graubart LA JOLLA, California–Did God write the Torah? The question came up in my son’s Jewish high school last week provoking some surprisingly heated discussions. I say “surprisingly” because I wouldn’t have expected eleventh graders to care so passionately about a theological issue. Also, this is a community Jewish school, a pluralistic,
Debate over God's authorship of the Torah also a debate over meaning in the world Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Considering all of the bad press Israel receives, I was thrilled to see the NBC Nightly News positive coverage of the field hospital set up by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following the earthquake in Haiti. If you did not see the NBC broadcast last Tuesday, you can
Haiti field hospital demonstrates Israel’s humanitarianism, technical skills Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Forward started it in December. Ha’aretz picked up the theme this month, writing, “The Bush administration violated security related agreements with Israel in which the U.S. promised to preserve the IDF’s qualitative military edge (QME) over Arab armies, according to senior officials in the Obama administration and Israel,” and
Has U.S. eliminated Israel's qualitative edge over possible Arab foes? Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA