Talking Donkey Teaches Us To See the Good in One Another

Talking donkeys can teach us a great deal about who really offers blessings and curses, that is, only Hashem. And more than this, talking donkeys can teach us to inclusively, with ahavat yisroel, open our eyes and see the good in everyone else in the world. It says in the parasha three times, “And G-d opened the eyes of Bilam and he saw…” Some people, like Bilaam, may need continuous lessons to see the presence of Hashem. We benefit from similar reminders to see every other person with understanding, with the benefit of the doubt, with love, through ayin tova. Our eyes are lenses through which we see the world. Too often shmutz clouds what we see in terms of negative thinking. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Matthew and Iris Strauss Endow UC San Diego Chair for Head and Neck Surgery

Iris and Matthew Strauss, longtime supporters of cancer research and patient care at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, have given $2 million to establish the Iris and Matthew Strauss Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Surgery to support excellence in research, education and clinical care. [UC San Diego Health Sciences photo]

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Former Druze MK New Shlicha from Israel

The Jewish Agency for Israel and The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington on Tuesday announced their collaboration to bring former Member of Knesset Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh (Yesh Atid/Blue and White), the first female Druze member of Israel’s Parliament, to Washington, DC as a senior shlicha (Israeli emissary). She will also support Israel engagement efforts on North American college campuses working closely with Hillel International. [Jewish Agency for Israel news release]

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Israel allows some Gaza exports, Hamas demands more amid fragile truce

Published by Reuters By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Rami Ayyub GAZA/TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel allowed a limited resumption of commercial exports from the Gaza Strip on Monday in what it called a “conditional” measure, one month after a truce halted 11 days of fighting with the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas rulers. But following a meeting with

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Middle East

Merkel: Centre on post-WWII expulsion of Germans plugs historical gap

Published by DPA A new Berlin museum looking at the fate of Germans expelled from non-German territory after World War II closes “a gap” in the way Germans deal with history, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at its opening on Monday. “This centre has been the subject of long and intensive discussions in Germany, but

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International

Political Biography Includes Anecdotes About Biden and Jews

While this book was published prior to the election by which Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States, there is much in it that remains of interest — particularly for people like myself who are interested in the relationships between American presidents and the Jewish community. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, USA

Miraculous Tales of Ancient Judaism Dissected

Most people do not know that the Talmud and other rabbinic volumes such as Midrash include non-legal writings about theology, ethics, psychology, health, and many other topics, as well as fascinating and delightful stories. Along with being appealing, riveting, and charming tales, these accounts also contain subtle often overlooked lessons. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Naftali Bennett

Throughout his personal and political life, Bennett has faced many challenges, and has spoken of one particular problem that he solved creatively, noting that “I had to improvise. So we MacGyvered it.” The term “MacGyvered” refers to the MacGyver television show whose eponymous lead character routinely jerry-rigged solutions to problems he was confronted with. What was Bennett referring to when he said “we MacGyvered it”? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Israel criticizes hardliner’s victory in Iranian presidential vote

Published by DPA Israel’s prime minister on Sunday criticized Iran’s election of hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi as the country’s next president. “Raisi’s election is, I would say, the last chance for the world powers to wake up before returning to the nuclear agreement, and to understand who they are doing business with. These guys

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Middle East

Novel portrays 3 English-speaking students at Hebrew University

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson’s eighth novel concerns three foreign students studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  Each of them is from an English-speaking country; specifically the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.  Two are married, one is single; the Australian and his wife have two children; and all are graduate students in the history department. The  year is 1966, one year prior to the Six Day War. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Satire: The Unexpurgated Geneva Summit Transcript

Both Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin gave press conferences and issued readouts after their summit meeting this week. Did these reflect what they really said behind closed doors? Fortunately, I had access to a transcript of the meeting recorded by devices planted by the same Jewish cabal in charge of the Space Laser program. Here are a few snippets from the meeting. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire