Jewish Folk Remedies from the Pale of Settlement

Wait, it’s not the chicken soup, it’s the herbs that count! Eastern European Jewry, particularly those living in the area known as “The Pale of Settlement,” on the western side of the Dnieper River, in present-day Ukraine, whose history there began in the Middle Ages, have a “long and distinguished canon dedicated to the healing process,” a research area unfortunately ignored, by-and-large, by sociological scholars. Cohen and Siegel, in their joint venture Ashkenazi Herbalism, describe the history and role of plants and herbs employed by Ashkenazi folk-healers, piecing together sparse, fragmented sources, and weaving them into an engaging story. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education

Neighbor Competed for an International Piano Prize

Some fifty years ago the International Piano Master Competition honoring pianist Arthur Rubinstein was established in Israel. Every three years (four years in 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic), young pianists from all over the world compete in front of audiences in Israel  for the prizes awarded by an international jury in the framework of the competition. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sports & Competitions

Scotland’s electoral bid for independence vote too close to call – poll

Published by Reuters By Guy Faulconbridge EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) -The Scottish National Party’s bid to win a clear mandate for having another independence referendum was balanced on a knife edge on the eve of Thursday’s parliamentary election, with polls showing the expected result was too close to call. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly

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International

Israeli president tasks Lapid with trying to form new government

Published by DPA Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has tasked the former opposition leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid (Future) party with forming a coalition, the presidential office said on Wednesday. The move was expected after caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do so following inconclusive elections in March. Earlier, Rivlin held talks with

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Middle East

Haftorah Reading for May 8, 2021

This poetic text of this week’s Haftorah reading indicates Jeremiah’s commitment to God, despite his failures to successfully correct Judea’s wayward behaviors. The background is the coming destruction of the Southern Kingdom and Solomon’s Temple, with exile of their leaders by Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophesy career is experienced as repeated rejection. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

Commission to Study Possible SDSU Mascot Change

On Tuesday, May 4, the San Diego State University Senate passed a resolution urging SDSU President Adela de la Torre and the administration to begin the process of changing the university’s mascot.  The resolution passed 53-9 with 10 abstentions. It calls for the creation of a commission, chaired by the university Tribal Liaison Dr. Jacob Alvarado Waipuk, who is a member of the San Pasqual Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. [Brenden Tuccinardi, SDSU Daily Aztec]

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

White supremacist who killed 3 at Jewish sites in Kansas dies in prison

Published by The Kansas City Star KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A white supremacist who killed three people at Jewish sites in Overland Park, Kansas, in 2014 has died in prison, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. F. Glenn Miller Jr., convicted of capital murder in 2015, died Monday at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.

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USA

U.S. spike in domestic terrorism ‘keeps me up at night,’ attorney general says

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asked Congress on Tuesday to provide more funding for investigating and prosecuting domestic terrorism, saying it poses an “accelerating” threat that keeps him up at night. Garland, who had served as a federal appellate judge and federal prosecutor before President Joe Biden nominated him

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USA

Netanyahu’s deadline to form government expires, rivals eyed

Published by Reuters By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Benjamin Netanyahu’s deadline for forming a new Israeli government expired early on Wednesday, with the country’s longest-serving prime minister having failed to break more than two years of political deadlock. There was also no guarantee that, after the conservative incumbent was unable to assemble a new

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Middle East

By Our Actions We Choose Blessings or Curses

As this third book of the Torah, the middle book, comes to an end, we are given nechemta, with a hopeful view of future generations. The parasha tells us, “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give you rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage…and I will grant peace in the Land…You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you…” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell