Some Little-Known Jewish Calendar Facts

The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar because the Torah requires Passover to fall in “Hodesh Ha-Aviv,” the month of spring. If the Jewish calendar were not linked to the seasons, ruled by the Sun, the Jewish calendar would retrogress about 11 days a year, or one season every eight years. The calendar achieves this balance by adding thirty-day month 7 times every 19 years, a scheme learned during the Babylonian captivity and taught by the Greeks. Rosh Hashanah falls early or late every year compared to the secular calendar because these “make-up days” are sometimes added two years and sometimes three years apart, rather than annually. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

What Should We Read and Why?

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) wrote that humans are better than plants and animals because humans can think. He stressed that a person who does not think is no better than a plant or animal. The Jewish philosopher Maimonides (1138-1204) agreed but took one step further. He added that when the Bible states that God placed the image of God in humans, this image is the ability to think. The main benefit of reading is acquiring information about the world, how it functions, how humans behave, and how we can use this information to improve ourselves and society. [Rabbi Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, USA

Parashat Re’eh: Leave the ‘I’ and Enter the ‘We’

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. Look for the “I” in the words happy, joy, glad, cheerful, and pleased and you obviously won’t find it. In this week’s Torah reading, we learn an important insight into this simple observation. There is a recurring theme in Re’eh regarding simcha, meaning happy or joyful. The Hebrew root of

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

New KKL-JNF Project Broadcasts Live From the World’s Most Valuable Spots for Wandering Birds

HULA VALLEY, Israel (Press Release) — After a long process of being developed as an international birdwatching park, KKL-JNF has initiated a unique project for the benefit of land site visitors, professional and amateur birdwatchers worldwide, an extensive project consisting of network of HD live cameras. The project includes installation of electric infrastructure, laying a

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Israel, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Allen Weisselberg

By Mark D. Zimmerman Allen Weisselberg, longtime Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to 15 felony criminal charges including grand larceny, tax fraud, and falsifying business records. While he has not agreed to testify against Donald Trump, he is expected to testify against the Trump Organization in a trial scheduled to begin in a

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Separation of Powers

By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — While many countries have adopted a separation of powers, the American case is an extreme example of a distinct executive, not associated with a parliament, as well as a further division between the federal government and 50 states. The full story of the United States must include the division

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Ira Sharkansky, Opinion, USA

Curator Vows Holocaust Exhibit Will Find a Permanent Home

Project RUTH – “Remember Us: The Holocaust” – which was on exhibit for two years at the Chula Vista Public Library is in the process of closing, but even though it soon will be gone, creator and curator Sandy Scheller vowed Sunday, August 21, that its content won’t be forgotten. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, San Diego County

Love Stories Reenacted at the Hive

The staged reading of A Play for Tu B’Av, presented at the Hive at Leichtag Commons, Sunday evening, August 14, proved to be a delightful theatrical journey into six variants of love between two people. Five of the couples were from the San Diego Jewish Community and those of us familiar with the community were able to identify them, even though, in Ali Viterbi’s play, they remained nameless. The story of the sixth couple, whose love story wove seamlessly among the other tales, was based on the Biblical account of Jacob and Rachel.  [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Ilhan Omar’s Close Call

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) will almost certainly return to Congress in January, but she barely broke 50% in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, which allows her to move on to the general election on November 8. Her rival, Don Samuels, mused in The New York Times, after conceding, “If this

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Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA

Students Engage With Art to Understand the Holocaust, Discrimination, and Hatred

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — “The David Labkovski Project creates a bridge from the lessons of the Holocaust to the realities of today’s world. The rise in antisemitism, bigotry, and hatred makes Holocaust education even more crucial,” shares Leora Raikin, Founder & Executive Director of the David Labkovski Project. The David Labkovski Project (DLP) uses

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Holocaust, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

This Book is Better Than Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer

By Rabbi Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Although virtually all readers of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer did not live or think as Tom, they enjoyed and still enjoy his adventures, Mark Twain’s sterling writing, his humor, and insights. The same applies to Levi Welton’s magnificent memoir, Be Like the Moon. Welton’s book does this

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, USA

OneTable Announces 2 New Features for Guests and Hosts to Help Serve More at Shabbat Dinner Tables

(Press Release) OneTable, a national non-profit that empowers people (21-39ish) to find, share, and enjoy Shabbat dinners, today announced two new exciting features for Guests and Hosts to elevate hospitality at Shabbat dinner tables. The “guests +1” feature and “open your dinner, unlock $300 nourishment” options are immediately available through OneTable [onetable.org]. “We are excited

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Jewish Religion, USA