AJC rabbi fights international anti-Semitism

Rabbi Andrew Baker, an official with both the American Jewish Committee and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), says because of the coronavirus pandemic, there probably will be a drop in anti-Semitic incidents in 2020.  However, this is because potential targets, such as synagogues and Jewish schools, have been closed during the pandemic.  When re-opened, he said, they may become targets again. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

A Word of Torah: Looking heavenward and earthward

This week we are again treated to a double portion, Behar-Bechukotai, which translate as “On the Mountain (Sinai),” and, “In My Statutes”. The first portion goes into great detail concerning the Mitzvot of Shmittah / the Sabbatical year and Yovel / the Jubilee year. Every seven years the fields in Israel must lie fallow. Farmers are ‘freed’ from working the land and even the beasts of burden are allowed to rest. The land itself rests and its nutrients are allowed to be naturally replenished. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

FDR not as portrayed in ‘Plot Against America’

In HBO’s recent adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Plot Against America, American Jews are coerced by President Charles Lindbergh to move to rural parts of the country so they will become “Americanized” and shed their Jewish ways. In real life, however, it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who wanted to do just that. [Rafael Medoff, Ph.D]

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Your COVID-19 Story

“Change your story, change your power,” according to positive psychology author Michelle Gielan who wrote Broadcasting Happiness. Sort of reminds me of my most recent book, The Link is What You Think. We change our lives, for the good or not, in the direction of our self-talk, our story. Our families, our companies, our neighbors, all benefit, or are harmed, by the stories we tell ourselves about the circumstances of our lives. We are all story tellers, to ourselves and to each other, and with that comes a great deal of accountability and answerability. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Michael Mantell

Coronavirus from the medical profession’s viewpoints

Six doctors and two nurses participated in a coronavirus Zoom forum moderated on Wednesday night for Tifereth Israel Synagogue members by the Conservative congregation’s program director Beth Klareich. Speaking from the perspective of being both a recovered coronavirus patient and a physician was Dr. Seth Krosner, an emergency and trauma surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Music review: Moshav Kumzits: The Light of Rabbi Shimon

Chag Sameach! Happy Holiday! This week’s Lag BaOmer was a day on fire. This is historically the day to signal triumph over oppression, and to drive away a deadly plague. A Lag BaOmer Kumzits, a Yiddish loanword, is a traditional musical gathering, usually by a campfire, meaning come (kum) sit (zit). So come sit, and enjoy Moshav Band’s Lag BaOmer Facebook watch party: [Omer Zalmanowitz]

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Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Israelis, Palestinians must abandon long-held positions

Israelis and Palestinians remain intensely distrustful of one another and blame the other for the lingering impasse. They now face a fateful crossroad and must reassess their positions. Israel must accept that the Palestinians are not a perpetual mortal enemy and that an agreement can be reached which guarantees its national security. The Palestinians must abandon some of their old and tired demands, which have proven to be fatal to all previous peace negotiations. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, Middle East

How the English language evolved

The author of this book takes the reader through the various periods of British – and American – history, describing who conquered whom and when, and the effect this had on the growth and development of the English language. He starts with the Biblical legend of the Tower of Babel and posits the idea that there may indeed once have been a universal language, now lost in the mists of time, but paralleling the tale that once upon a time all people could speak the same language and understand one another. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, USA

The new government of Israel, God help us

After more than a year of a temporary Netanyahu administration and three inconclusive general elections – and in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic – a new and allegedly stable government is to be sworn in tonight. It may bring a measure of relief to some of us, but it will bring joy to very few other than the prime minister and his coterie. Critics have many cogent arguments against the arrangement; I am among those who still hope that they are at least partly wrong. Even without the social and economic mayhem caused by the pandemic, Israel needed stability. It needs it much more so now. It is inconceivable that it could endure yet another general election in the foreseeable future. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East