Theology vs. Philosophy; Aquinas vs. Maimonides

Saint Thomas Aquinas was authored by G. K. Chesterton, whose output includes both fiction and nonfiction books, including the famous Father Brown murder mysteries. Chesterton wrote this comparatively short history of the Italian Roman Catholic saint who was canonized in 1323. Aquinas’ teachings became the official teachings of Catholicism in 1917. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Al Jaffee

Al Jaffee was a major contributor to Mad Magazine’s Jewish ethos, which included the use of Yiddish and faux-Yiddish words such as furshlugginer, farshimmelt, and Potrzebie (possibly based on the insult “putz-rebbe”), as well as the use of Yiddish phrases, such as when the Superman spoof character Superduperman uttered the words, “Shazoom? Vas ist das Shazoom?” In addition to working for Mad Magazine for 65 years, what other magazine did Al Jaffee write for? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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

Farmer-to-Farmer program helps developing nations

Bill Nichols served as a volunteer consultant to the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (F2F) for two weeks in January 2020. Originally from New Mexico, now residing in Boston, Nichols collaborated as an F2F volunteer with four of HAF’s tree nursery cooperatives in southern Morocco. He was tasked with improving their productivity. One immediate benefit of his visits with Moroccan farmers at these sites is that he was able to share not only his technical and business skills but also to find ways for the four individual cooperatives within the same province to share their own specialized skills with one another. [Yossef Ben-Meir]

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International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, USA, Yossef Ben-Meir

On being Black and Jewish

Being of mixed racial background and also Jewish often feels like no matter what group you are with, you are perceived as the “other,” sometimes prompting doubts if there is any group with which you truly belong.  Such was the thrust of comments made by Jessica Lemoine and Jenni Asher during an Internet forum on Sunday sponsored by the San Diego Outreach Synagogue and moderated by Rabbi/ Cantor Cheri Weiss and her husband Dan Weiss. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

A conversation with artist Ruth Poniarski

Ruth Poniarski is a painter and the author of Journey of the Self: Memoir of an Artist (Warren Publishing, 2020), in which she tells the story of her decade long struggle with mental illness, a “spiraling malady” which led her into a “pattern of psychosis.” I recently had the opportunity to talk with Poniarski about her life and work, and how she eventually overcame her demons. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir

Satire: Kvetching in Boynton Beach, Florida

My dues went up for my synagogue. Do we really need as big a building that can sit 500 with three rabbis, a cantor, ten office staff, security, and more? My grandson’s bar mitzvah was canceled. I don’t count a 23-car caravan circling the house as his Aliyah is called by Zoom from the front porch as quite the right experience. [Satire by Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Barry Jagoda recalls life at the Carter White House

Barry Jagoda, a retired communications director for UC San Diego, has had a storied media career. He was a producer at various times for CBS and NBC, coordinating coverage for such historic events as Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon; and the unfolding Watergate crisis and resignation of Richard M. Nixon. With his media savvy, he went on to become a special assistant to Jimmy Carter, initially on the campaign trail and later in the White House.  Many of the stars of his era in television media — Walter Cronkite, Ed Bradley, Dan Rather, for example — were on first-name basis with him.  As you might imagine, Jagoda has a lot of stories to tell. [Our Shtetl San Diego County by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Australia also feels the impact of coronavirus, BLM movement

As everywhere, people are worried in Australia about coronavirus. The number of cases and deaths in Australia is much lower compared with the USA. Partly it is because of our geography, party because of measures implemented by the Government, in particular, border closure. Because of it Chinese officials call us racists. They cancelled several trade deals and told their youths to abandon Australian universities where large numbers of Chinese students studied prior to the pandemic. [Alex Glikin]

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International, Jewish History, USA

Modified Camp Jaycee underway at JCC and Beth Am

Celebrating its 75th year of service to the community, Camp Jaycee opened last Monday, June 22,  at the Lawrence Family JCC and at Congregation Beth Am in Carmel Valley, the first of several locations where satellite camps will be conducted in the county. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

‘The Sacrifice Zone’ and worst cases of pollution

A ‘sacrifice zone,’ American novelist Roger S. Gottlieb tells us, is “a place so polluted it can never be cleaned up.” It is also the title of a highly original, deeply moving new novel from Gottlieb — a prolific philosophy professor at Worcester Polytechnic University (WPI) in Massachusetts. He also has written dozens of non-fiction books on everything from Marxism and contemporary spirituality to the Holocaust and religious environmentalism.[Dan Bloom]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories

‘Zehu-Zeh’ revival brings much needed humor to Israel

Back in the day, when my children were young, I would sometimes join them when they watched certain programs on Children’s TV. One of these was Zehu-Zeh (That’s It), which tried to amuse, entertain and educate by means of little skits, songs and quizzes. Let’s face it, most of the programs on Children’s TV were noisy, gaudy American imports, with little or no educational content, though of course Sesame Street was the exception that proved the rule. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA