Stop in the name of law
Before you crown him king!
Stop in the name of law
Before you crown him king!
Overrule him.
Overrule him.
[Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
A song for the Supremes Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
A San Diegan who survived the Holocaust as a child by posing as a Catholic boy helped pay tribute Sunday to the 1.5 million children who perished during World War II under the regimes of the German Nazis and their allies. After telling of his life, he joined listeners who painted ceramic butterflies that will be mounted by The Butterfly Project at the Grossmont Shopping Center in their memory. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jew who posed as Catholic child tells of WWII life Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA
Jewish candidates haven’t done very well so far in their bids for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s political endorsements. In most cases, on San Diego County ballots, the daily newspaper has selected non-Jewish candidates over Jewish ones. There is one exception. Here is a review by level of government: [Donald H. Harrison]
U-T endorsements elude most Jewish candidates Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
On August 18, 1790, Moses Seixas, the warden of Congregation Kahal Kadosh Yeshuat Israel, the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, read a message to George Washington, welcoming the newly elected first president of the United States on his post-election visit to that city. He was accompanied by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York. Rhode Island was the last of the thirteen original states to ratify the Constitution, and Washington was visiting to celebrate the completion of the Union. [Michael Feldberg, Ph.D]
George Washington: ‘To bigotry no sanction’ Read More »
Jewish History, USA
We are bombarded with constant decision-making, and our brains get tired. This explains why ordinarily sensible people buy junk food, splurge on unnecessary items, or procrastinate. Our brains begin to look for short cuts either by acting impulsively, not thinking through consequences, or by saving energy by doing nothing—avoiding making any decision—which could also lead to unintended consequences. Becoming aware that our brains are beginning to function by default, we can postpone whatever decision we were about to make. If your need is to decide now, give your brain some glucose and you’re good for another hour or so. [Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D]
Tired brains make default decisions Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, Travel and Food
Jeanne Shenkman, 83, a retired teacher with the Grossmont High School District, moved to Seacrest Village Retirement Community in Encinitas last May to live near her daughter. Throughout her life, she has always been a busy person with varied interests. For example, in addition to her teaching duties, she played violin in the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra for 42 years and served as a docent at the San Diego Natural History Museum for 15 years. [Donald H. Harrison]
Seacrest Village through a resident’s camera lens Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
On the heels of last week’s revelation and the Ten Commandments, our Torah portion this week, Mishpatim, provides us with more laws and policies, advising us on how to live a Jewish life. One of these assertions can be found in Exodus 22, when the Torah instructs us not to “wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]
Remembering that we were strangers Read More »
Jewish Religion
This week’s Torah portion is titled Mishpatim, which means judgments. In this portion a whopping 53 commandments (out of a total 613 in the entire Torah) are mentioned. Twenty of the commandments mentioned are positive (thou shalt), and thirty-three are negative (thou shalt not). The portion begins by stating, “And these are the judgments that were placed before you.” The word, “And,” is of critical importance we are told by the commentaries, as it demonstrates that this week’s portion is a continuation of last week’s portion. This means in order to properly understand the portion of Mishpatim we have to look back at the portion of Yitro. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: Mishpatim-Judgments Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
Most people think that since Jewish ancestors placed certain books in the Hebrew Bible, this means that they are significant in some way, and this way is clear to even the average reader. Nothing is further from the truth. All of the biblical books have deep messages. Some are even obscure and difficult to understand. The book of Isaiah is an example. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Was the Prophet Isaiah one or three people? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Seacrest Foundation is hosting the 2020 Women’s Auxiliary Gala, “Legacy of Light and Love,” to benefit the increasing numbers of community members in the greatest need. The event will take place on Saturday, February 22nd, from 6-11 pm, and all proceeds raised will support Seacrest Village Retirement Community’s Resident Assistance Fund. I was informed that this year alone, Seacrest will provide nearly $2.5 million in charitable care. [Eva Trieger]
‘Legacy of Light and Love’ to provide care for needy elderly Read More »
Eva Trieger, Lifestyles, San Diego County
Not one of Bloomberg’s adversaries bothered to criticize the mayor about a comment he was quoted saying dating back to November 17, 2016, which is the real subject of this article’s focus. “If you think about it, the agrarian society lasted 3,000 years, and we can teach processes. I can teach anybody – even people in this room, so no offense intended – to be a farmer. It’s a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, you add water, up comes corn. You can learn that. Then you had 300 years of the industrial society. You put the piece of metal on the lathe, you turn the crank in direction of arrow and you can have a job. And we created a lot of jobs. At one point, 98% of the world worked in agriculture. Today it’s 2% of the United States.” (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
How about educating for real jobs? Read More »
Business & Finance, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
This parasha contains the first body of legislation in the Torah, and is called in English the”Book of the Covenant.” It is by no means complete. In general, it emphasizes humanitarian considerations, provoked by and promised, by the divine. I have chosen three passages, with regard to seeking, via the internet, similarities with other ancient literature. [Mishpatim commentary by Irv Jacobs, M.D.]
On female slaves, cities of refuge, hospitality Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO — Playwright Sylvan Oswald identifies as a transmasculine interdisciplinary artist. That’s a mouthful for those of us just getting used to the words ‘trans’ or ‘transitioning’ or ‘transgender’, gender nonconformity, transsexual, gender reassignment, queer gender or labeling ones self as we/they or us. In the words of other mortals, “Get
Diversionary premieres ‘A Kind of Weather’ Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastDuring the 2016 campaign, President Trump declared: “We must maintain law and order at the highest level or we will cease to have a country, 100 percent. I am the law and order candidate.” His record of commutations and pardons suggests the enforcement of law and order is selective and only applies to poor common criminals and not white (white) collar criminals, particularly if they are cronies of the President. [Satire by Laurie Baron]
Pardons and partisanship Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire