In December 2001, I was semi-kidnapped by a taxi driver in the state of Karnataka, a remote area in Southeast India. Although scary at the time, it ended being one of many adventures/ stories that happened during the three weeks I was in India, studying with His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama. [Mimi Pollack]
Adventures of a Jewish Buddhist Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, Travel and Food
This week when thinking about these catastrophes I couldn’t help but think about the triumph of one particular segment of the Jewish people; Jewish women. The major failures that come to mind include the story of the Golden Calf, the Spies, the Rebellion of Korach and his cohorts, and consorting with the Midianites. The lack of participation by the Jewish women is in stark contrast to their Jewish brethren. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: Strong women of Judaism Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
Laurie Baron, PhD, collates a list of streaming lectures on Jewish topics for Sunday, July 12 through Thursday, July 16
Streaming Jewish lectures: July 12-16 Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The Tifnoute community of 44 villages (about 12,000 people) … is so remote that it takes 24 hours to get there due to having to circle around the Atlas Mountains in order to arrive, with the last 70 kilometers of which being unpaved paths. When, as Peace Corps Volunteers, we were assigned to the Toubkal park, we could choose to live anywhere among its valleys of villages, so when I heard that no one had gone to the Tifnoute, I said, “OK, I’ll do it, I’ll go.” I traveled in segments, and it took me three days to get there that winter in 1993. [Yossef Ben-Meir]
The Moroccan villager who changed my life’s course Read More »
International, Middle East, USA, Yossef Ben-Meir
It’s almost Shabbat. Time to look at two new picture books. The first helps families welcome Shabbat, the Sephardic way. The second introduces young children to Havdalah, to help close Shabbat and usher in the new week. [Marcia Berneger]
Books for Jewish children: On Shabbat Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger
Jew-hatred (politely termed anti-Semitism) has returned to the US and the West, jolting some Jews but befuddling others who fail to recognize the phenomenon. We baby boomers grew up in era of acceptance of the Jewish community. But this ancient hatred has reverted to the mean as the shock of the Holocaust has receded and Israel has become a powerful nation. [Steve Kramer]
Jew-hatred, then and now Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
The euphoria lasted exactly two weeks. As June progressed the general rejoicing and premature self-congratulation on the part of the government came to an abrupt stop. The dreaded second wave had arrived. The curve which had been flattened reared its ugly head again, and alarm bells started ringing as the number of infections rose drastically. The idea of returning to the theatre and the concert hall vanished like the proverbial mirage. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Between Hunkering Down and Resurgence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The Talmud has always been a champion of free speech. It is a unique document of human history where rabbis engage philosophers, wise women, emperors, Roman centurions, and a host of other people as they debate the meaning of life and the message of Judaism. Rabbinical discourse is dialectical. It presents a no-hold-bars approach to virtually any topic, from war and peace to the laws governing sexual relations. But be forewarned: the Talmud is not for the faint of heart. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Why the great Talmudists valued contrary opinions Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
This week’s Torah Parasha, Pinchas, is all about family. We’ll start with a quick history lesson. In the first book of the Torah, we’re introduced to the families of several important people: 1) Abraham and his wife, Sarah, 2) their son, Isaac, who marries Rebecca, and 3) Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob marries two women, which was okay back then, and winds up with twelve sons (and a daughter). It is the families of those twelve sons who appear, many years later, in this week’s reading. God is about to divide up the land among these different families. Moses is told to make a list of the different members of each family. This is such an important idea, that this entire parasha is mainly a listing of those names. (Marcia Berneger)
Torah for children: Pinchas Read More »
Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger
“DEFUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!!!!!” The U.S. Supreme Court might as well have issued such a three-word ruling to send its message allowing Montana to spend tax money on religious schools. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Supreme Court decision may drain public schools Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Matthew Brown had 20 years experience as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation before becoming the Homeland Security Program Manager for the San Diego Unified Port District. Earlier this month he joined the staff of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of a three-year partnership program with the Jewish Federation of San Diego County to improve security for the local Jewish community. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
ADL, Jewish Federation team to boost community security Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA
There’s a Jewish maxim, “Every generation receives the leader it deserves.” Parasha Pinchas seems to provide a foundation for this old adage. The parasha distinguishes between the leadership of Moses, who in today’s language would be described as a wise, dauntless, self-aware, “we” not “me,” conscious leader, and Joshua, of whom the Talmud, in Baba Batra 75A, says, “The Elders of that generation said: The countenance of Moses was like that of the sun; the countenance of Joshua like that of the moon. Alas, for such shame!” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Moses knew how to relinquish leadership Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
We absolutely do not feel personally safe in the current national environment. And a horrifying number are frightfully sick while an explicable number are losing their lives. We have both viral illness and viral racial injustice–they have eerily converged into an uncommon veil of American disease, distrust, disavowal–but, yes, hope. We the people, the authentic American body-psyche, have become the default leadership of our complex nation. Knowing that we’ve been forgotten, many of us have decided to remember what principles this country telegraphed when we threw off the shackles of royal colonialism. [Ben Kamin]
Many broken Americans respond with dignity, patience Read More »
Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Sol Gothard passed away, at home, on July 5, 2020. He was 89 years old. The Judge, as he was known to all, was born and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of immigrant parents, Samuel and Lillian, and the youngest of four brothers, Jack,
Judge Sol Gothard, advocate for children, animals Read More »
Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA