The philosophical, religious lessons of Auschwitz

The title of Joshua Hammerman’s book Embracing Auschwitz is incredulous. How can a rabbi, a pulpit rabbi charged with comforting his congregation, in light of the continental genocide and devastation inflicted on so many families, known as the Holocaust, and understanding the Jewish nation has a God-given obligation to obliterate the Amalekites, the biblical archetype of evil, ask us to accept and welcome this malevolence? The conundrum is resolved before one begins to read a single chapter. Hammerman, stressing there is nothing positive about the Holocaust, invokes his interpretation of the word “embrace” by quoting Abraham Joshua Heschel: “There are three ways we respond to sorrow. On the first level, we cry; on the second level, we are silent; on the highest level, we take sorrow and turn it into song.” [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Compassion is health

Can you think of anything more valued in our daily lives than health promoting and stress reducing compassion? Not long ago I, along with my trusted colleague Lance Breger, MS, led a three-day intensive program on “Physician Wellness” for the members of the American Society of Hematology. One of our central topics was “compassion in healthcare.” Compassion is an essential, powerful element in our lives, in healthcare, in society. It elevates all of us and is without limit. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Michael Mantell

Out, Proud and Online

[R]ising to the challenge of making theatre during the pandemic, the Old Globe’s Arts Engagement teamed up with Diversionary Theatre to create coLAB Pride! directed by Skyler Sullivan and Katherine Harroff.On Facebook Live, we were greeted by our Mistress of Ceremonies, Amber St James, a bearded drag queen and San Diego’s first official Mx Gay Pride. Appearing colorful outfits, wigs and abstract make-up, Amber St James introduced the various acts with sparkling enthusiasm. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Another Jewish institution may be involved in tax fraud

Information provided by U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer in the tax fraud case against Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and five co-defendants alleges that another religious institution, not yet identified, has also been involved in tax fraud. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Beware San Diego’s radical densification plan

San Diego’s Planning Department, which works for the mayor, is going under the radar to rush through a dangerous land use change. Hiding under the innocuous name “Complete Communities Housing Solutions Initiative,” the scheme would radically and surreptitiously rezone large swaths of San Diego with minimal public participation and potentially reduce affordable housing opportunities in the City. [Howard Wayne]

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San Diego County

Jewish trivia quiz: Portland, Oregon

The first Jewish mayor of Portland was Bernard Goldsmith, who served from 1869–1871. Goldsmith was born in Bavaria and emigrated to New York City at age 5. He eventually moved to California and started a jewelry store, and in 1861 he moved to Portland where he opened a retail store with some of his brothers. Which of the following is true about Bernard Goldsmith? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

John Lewis: A man of painful sincerity, steel rectitude

As a seventeen-year-old lad from the gravely impoverished Troy, Alabama, John Lewis decided to write a letter to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery. Lewis had breathlessly followed the recent narrative of King, Rosa Parks, and others during the successful eleven-month Montgomery Bus Boycott. Not only did King write back to Lewis, he also included in the letter a round-trip bus ticket to Montgomery and an invitation to meet him, which Lewis eventually did — in March 1958. “I was so scared. I didn’t know what to say or what to do,” Lewis recalled. “And Dr. King said, ‘Are you the boy from Troy?'”  [Source: NPR] [Ben Kamin]

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Obituaries & memorials, USA

Eilfort: ‘Deep sense of betrayal’ over Goldstein’s tax fraud

Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad of La Costa, who is among the longest-serving Chabad rabbis in San Diego County, on Sunday described the revelations of the tax fraud crimes of Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of Chabad of Poway as “deeply shocking and profoundly hurtful.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Humor: How to achieve Middle East peace

For many years I have preached an obvious solution to the Israel desire for peace and an end to many decades of war with the Arab nations. It’s really quite simple… A secret delegation of high level representatives from the Israeli government, some engineers, agronomists and a few of the best chefs travel to the Australian Outback in a timely manner just before Passover. [Ira Spector]

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International, Middle East, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire