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Today's Postings
Monday, November 17, 2008
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DEDICATIONS
Each day's issue may be dedicated by readers—or by the publisher—in other people's honor or memory. Past dedications may be found at the bottom of the index for the "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" page.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday's JINSA Report noting a specific diplomatic gesture by Saudi Arabia to Israel, which we believe signals real Saudi concern for Iran, provoked some outrage from our readers.
There were those who were upset because we failed to be snarky about Saudi Arabia being at a conference on religious tolerance. We could have been; surely there is enough to say about Saudi Arabia's version of religious, ethnic, social and religious tolerance, but it is all old news. The new news is what they did there. There were also those who said we were naïve - the Saudi king only remained in the room because Israeli President Peres was talking about the "Saudi Peace Plan." True, and that's news too, because whatever shortcomings are in the plan, they are best discussed with Israelis and Arabs in the same place. Finally, there were those who thought we read too much into one tuchus in one chair one time. We disagree. First of all, it wasn't any old tuchus; it was the tuchus of the king of Saudi Arabia. And having once accepted that Israeli government officials have a legitimate voice at the podium of a multinational organization, you cannot unaccept, cannot unsit and cannot unlisten.
Moreover, we weren't commenting on the Saudis as much as on diplomacy, an art that when best practiced, allows countries to find areas of common understanding and activity. It does not mean you find friendship, forget differences or drop your own red lines. It simply offers a mechanism for acting against high priority threats in a meaningful way.
And it's better than a poke in the eye. Which brings us to the other notable moment at the UN interfaith conference - brought to you by America's favorite Palestinian, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.
Prime Minister Fayad, considered by the Bush Administration to be a progressive force in Palestinian politics, told the conference that Jerusalem is holy to two religions - Islam and Christianity. Fayad said, "Jerusalem is home to the third most holy place to Islam, the place where Muhammad rose to the heavens, and the place where Jesus, the Christian, was resurrected."
Fayad also said Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 and called for it to become the Palestinian capital. Add to this the fact that Hamas, in the 10th day of rocketing Israel, hit Sderot with 11 rockets and Ashkelon with five Grad rockets - an upgrade from the lowly Kassam.
We repeat our call for the outgoing and incoming American administrations to acknowledge that this would be the wrong moment to increase pressure on Israel (or the Palestinians) for a narrow deal. It would be a mistake to mortgage the delicate understandings between Israel and countries of the region to the extremism and internal chaos of Palestinian irredentism and terrorism.
The enormity of the threat posed by Iran - both in its quest for nuclear capability and its support of terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere - should prompt all parties to focus on their security priorities and let the Palestinians catch up if and when they can.
Or not.
Bryen is special projects director for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). Her column is sponsoree by Waxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, a longtime JINSA supporter and national board member.
TIFERETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
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Introducing Jamie Cohen
SAN DIEGO—Welcome Jamie Cohen who will be joining us to enhance some of our Simcha Shabbat and Daven & Dinner programs at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd., San Diego. And be there when Jamie will join us for Daven & Dinner Friday, on November 21, and again on Friday, December 5 for Torah School Shabbat and Dinner.
Jamie says he is excited to share his storytelling skills and love of Judaism with all of us."I greatly look forward to having a rockin' good time becoming a part of the Tifereth Israel community!" says Jamie.
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SOILLE SAN DIEGO HEBREW DAY SCHOOL
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Hebrew Day School
Soille Hebrew Day kindergarteners give welcome to Avraham, Sarah’s tent
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—Last week at Hebrew Day, the Kindergarten students had an amazing program with their parents to celebrate and bring to life the story of Avraham and Sarah in the last two weeks' Parshas (Torah portions) Lech Lecha and Vayeira. In Parsha Vayera G-d reveals Himself to Avraham three days after the first Jew's circumcision at age 99; but Avraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. In the spirit of Avraham's hospitality, the children cooked and prepared a feast for their parents. They worked hard all week to create a book that summarizes the story of Avraham and his good character traits.
The parents were invited to join their children in Avraham's tent. Each child had made their parents a special Brochim Habaim ("welcome" in Hebrew) hand painted carpet square for them to sit on. When the parents arrived, they sat down on their special mats and the children sang a song about Avraham. Then the children served their parents the feast. The teachers then served the children. Headmaster Rabbi Weiser came to visit and read and explained the Parsha while the children followed along with their parents in the books they had made. The experience was so wonderful for all the children, their parents and their Morahs. It truly brought to life the purpose of Torah study, to learn, understand and imbue the good character traits of our forefathers and mothers. The Torah teaches us the great value of being kind to strangers and doing all we can to help them feel at home. All of our Kindergarteners now truly understand the Jewish value of hospitality.
For 46 years, Soille San Diego Hebrew Day has championed Jewish day school education: instilling Jewish values and inspiring students to aim for excellence in a value-based, family environment. The school serves children from infants through eighth grade, and offers generous financial aid grants to families to make a Jewish day school education affordable to all. For more information on the school, visit the web site at http://www.hebrewday.org/ or contact Audrey Jacobs, Director of School Advancement at 858-279-3300 ext. 106 or ajacobs@hebrewday.org
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THE JEWISH CITIZEN
Idealism and diversity mix at San Diego UJF-sponsored Ibim Student Village
IBIM STUDENT VILLAGE, Israel—A photograph need not be remarkable in its composition, nor catch a unique moment of action, to be memorable. Sometimes, the subjects can be passive, just sitting there in ordinary office surroundings, and nevertheless the image conveys a special story.
At least that is my impression of the photograph below taken in the office of Soni Singer, the director of the Ibim Student Village located in the Sha’ar Hanegev municipality.
IMMIGRANTS ALL—Tigist Demie, Rita Myman, Mare Tironach, Agenhu Misganu, and Tewodros Demia are pictured in the office of Soni Singer, director of the Ibim Student Village in Sha’ar Hanegev, Israel.
Director Singer, in front of whose desk the students are sitting, herself immigrated as a two-year-old with her family from Brazil. Thereafter, her family became active in the work of encouraging others to immigrate to Israel. While she was still a child, they returned to Brazil so that her father could work in Sao Paulo as an emissary for the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Much later, after Singer obtained her first college degree, she followed in her father's footsteps and served as an emissary to Uruguay. Now Singer, married with two young children, is the resident director of Ibim, a reassuring presence for group after group of olim hadash – new immigrants—as they transition to their lives as citizens of Israel.
The skyline photograph at the top left of this picture is not of a Brazilian city, nor an Israeli one, nor Irish, nor Ethiopian. It is of San Diego, California, USA, the city where the United Jewish Federation has taken special responsibility to support the work of this student village, contributing $750,000 yearly toward its budget. The program, under the auspices of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) is now in its 11th year. The UJF plans to continue its support at least through Ibim’s 13th year, its bar mitzvah year.
Irish-born Rita Mymon, came to Israel as an adult volunteer worker on a kibbutz lying well to the north of this region. Born to Christian parents, she wanted to see Israel for herself, and to her surprise, fell in love with an Israeli and decided to stay, marry, and raise a family with him. They moved to Sha’ar Hanegev, a group of kibbutzim and a moshav clustered along the Gaza border near the Israeli city of Sderot. The Mymon children, she says proudly, are Israelis. She has taught English in the schools of Sha’ar Hanegev, and now works as an assistant to Sha’ar Hanegev’s development director Varda Goldstein. She served as an interpreter for me and Nancy throughout our recent visit to the Sha’ar Hanegev region.
As Mymon had to learn about Judaism, so too do the four pictured Ethiopians, who belong to a group of people known as the Falash Mura, a group similar to the “conversos” of Hispanic heritage whose ancestors converted to Christianity in order to avoid persecution. When Ethiopian Jews began immigrating en masse to Israel, members of the Falash Mura community also stepped forward, saying their blood lines and desire to rejoin the Jewish community entitled them to also make aliyah. The young man and young woman on either end of the photograph are brother and sister, Tigist Demie and Tewodros Demia.
At Ibim, the Ethiopians are enrolled in the Kedma program—a Hebrew acronym for Advancement of Personal Preparedness. They are taking courses in Hebrew, English, mathematics, computer technology, and also are studying the Torah and other aspects of Judaism in preparation for conversion. Agenhu Misganau, the young woman in the green sweater, expressed wonderment at the program. When she came, she said, she thought her future was to work at whatever job an immigrant could find. Now, she said, she has set her sights on a different future: she will finish her education at Ibim, go into the Israeli Army, go on to university, and after graduation become a teacher.
The four students are among 51 Ethiopians enrolled in the current Kedma class. They have lived at the Ibim Student Village for nine months, and have another three months before they complete their program. Here, they not only mingle with each other but with immigrants from other countries—such as those from the nations of the former Soviet Union and of Latin America—as well as with groups of Israelis who help orient them to the life and customs of Israel.
I asked the four Ethiopians whether Israel met their expectations. The group had arrived in Ibim before the on-again, off-again ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorists in Gaza went into effect. The sound of the rockets—which thus far have never fallen inside the 10-acre village—were frightening to the Ethiopians. Part of the problem, commented Tigist Demie, in a soft voice, was that the group had not yet learned Hebrew, so when they were not in the company of an Amharic interpreter they had less information about what was happening.
Before they take up residence at Ibim, all the students are briefed on the security situation there, with particular emphasis placed on the emergency procedures they must follow whenever the “Red Alert” sirens are sounded. No student is required to stay in Ibim againt his or her will, Singer said, but during the seven years of Kassam rocketing, she added, only two students ever asked to be relocated. Two students from an aggregate of several thousand over the seven years is a remarkable statistic. In a year when the rocketing was heaviest—some 40 to 50 rockets per day aimed at Sha’ar Hanegev and Sderot—a group of students in the Selah program (students immigrating ahead of their parents) were moved to Ashkelon for their safety. The students made it known that they wanted to return “home,” to Ibim, and their wishes were respected, Singer said
What else is different from their expectations, besides the rockets? I asked the Ethiopians.
Israel is a “developed country, a modern country,” commented Tigist, adding that in Israel there are more opportunities for education than there are in Ethiopia. His sister, Tewodros, commented that the weather in Israel is much different than that of Ethiopia. Which is better? I asked. “Israel,” declared one student. “Ethiopia,” said another. They laughed.
Asked what they hope to do in Israel, the two young men both said they wanted to be economists, whereas one young woman wanted to be a social worker, and the other a teacher.
In an interview with Singer prior to the session, I had asked how well Israeli society was assimilating the Ethiopians. Explaining that she would answer as an individual, and not as a representative of the Jewish Agency, she said that in her opinion there is discrimination against the Ethiopians, discrimination that may be racist but which also is cultural. She likened it to the way Sephardim from North Africa and the Middle East were treated by the Ashkenazim in the 50’s and 60’s, a mistake she said that she was disappointed many Israelis had not learned from.
Whereas Israelis are “liberal” in the way they are raised, with girls and boys going out on dates without chaperones, Ethiopians are far more conservative. Associations between the genders are far more regulated, as evidenced at lunchtime at the school when the genders of their own acord sit separately, said Singer, shown at the right in the photograph to the left.
The structure of the family is also different. Israeli children often talk back to their parents, something which would be nearly unthinkable in Ethiopian society. Eventually, Israel will become more multi-cultural, she said, with people recognizing and appreciating the differences. But as for today, there is a clash between the lifestyles of the brusk Israelis and the gentle Ethiopians.
The Ethiopians often leave the Ibim compound to shop in Sderot, or to attend classes at Sapir College. How are you getting along with native Israelis? I asked. “They are helping us,” responded Mare Tironach, who spoke quite confidently in English. “We have good relations.”
The United States has just elected Barack Obama as its president, I commented. Do you think someday an Ethiopian might become president of Israel?
“Yes,” Tironach responded without hesitation.
“Maybe,” suggested Singer, “he is sitting right here.”
The very thought prompted smiles all around. Obama’s family came from Kenya, it was noted. Ethiopia neighbors Kenya.
The Ethiopians constituted only one of the groups then in residence at Ibim. About 255 people were living at the village the day we visited it—and up to the time that the students from the former Soviet Union graduated their “Selah” program there were even more. However, immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union has passed its peak; the days of long waiting lists are over. Having the luxury of some empty beds among its 100 cottages—each housing four people—Ibim has been piloting some other programs.
Among these is a program providing homes for “lonely soldiers,” often graduates of the “Selah” program who came to Israel ahead of their parents, and then went into the Army with their families still not having arrived in Israel—perhaps never to come. When other soldiers go to their homes on Shabbat, or on the Jewish holidays, where are these soldiers to go? For them, Ibim represents “home,” a place where they can wear civilian clothes and be relaxed. In exchange for their room and board, the soldiers serve as resources for the new immigrants wondering what life will be like in the Army.
Another group is comprised of native Israelis attending nearby Sapir College, who serve as role models for the immigrant youngsters. They help orient the immigrants to the full range of Jewish and Israeli holidays—teaching them about the festivals of Pesah, Shavuot and Succot, as well as about such Israeli commemorations as Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Ha’Atzma’ut. They help teach Israeli songs, and dance, and help relate the history and customs of their country.
Internal immigration is another program in which the Ibim Student Village is experimenting, according to Singer. Israel’s founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion was a great advocate of settling the more rural areas of Israel, including the Negev Desert and the Galilee, so as to safeguard Jewish sovereignty over areas that have large Arab birth rates. So committed was Ben-Gurion to this idea that he spent his final years in the Negev village of Sde Boker, where today his and his wife Paula’s burial places are secular pilgrimage sites.
Among Israeli youth, said Singer, is a new kind of Zionist, youngsters who want to get away from Israel’s urban core surrounding Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and move to the rural areas of the country that lie within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. Now a group of them are living in Ibim, preparing for lives as members of the kibbutzim of Sha’ar Hanegev.
During the year, students in the Kedma and Selah programs, along with the “lonely soldiers,” resident Israelis and future kibbutzniks have many opportunities to socialize formally and informally. Among the favorite entertainments, says Singer, are nights in which the different groups present the dances, songs and foods of their native countries to the others.
A number of romances have led to marriage, Singer notes, although so far all of these have been within their respective groups and not inter-group. When we arrived at the gate of the Ibim Village, the first sight we saw was a group of children of preschool age smiling at us. These are second-generation Ibimites, who are native Israelis.
MARLA'S MEMORIAL—Soni Singer, director of the Ibim Student Village, stands alongside
the memorial to San Diegan Marla Bennett, who was killed by the bombing of the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem by terrorists.
The idealism of the youth who are here calls to mind the name of San Diego’s own Marla Bennett, who was among the students at Hebrew University who were killed in the bombing of the cafeteria there. Owing to the close connection between Ibim and San Diego, there is a memorial plaque for Marla placed atop a stump, representing a tree that has been cut off before its prime. Whenever San Diegans visit Ibim—and they do so frequently—they spend a moment before Marla’s memorial, remembering the remarkable daughter of Linda and Michael Bennett who became a symbol of the tragic cost of Mideast violence.
Her death and the hopeful lives of the olim hadash are juxtaposed in this village within the confines of San Diego’s partnership region of Sha'ar Hanegev, an area that suffers constant the constant bombardment of Kassam rockets, yet which ever looks forward to peace.
SAN DIEGO—It seems as though one half of the time life is teaching us to pay attention to all that is around us, and the other half of the time telling us to concentrate our focus if we want to be successful. Optimally we should be doing both.
My mother used to tell me how while my grandmother ran the successful business and large household, my grandfather and his colleagues spent most of their waking hours concentrating on the Talmud. They had little time left to be aware of the rest of life around them. While they surely gained from their study, one could also ask what they might have missed. Since the Talmud teaches a “way of life” should one not then go out and live that life and apply those principles? At what point does single mindedness of purpose become inhibiting, detrimental or surprising? “Surprising” I can relate to.
In the late 1970’s, I was heavily into taking and teaching ballet classes as well as lecturing, rehearsing and performing (writing came much later); I packed every spare moment with yet another ballet class. Dancers are trained to concentrate one’s effort and focus on a goal despite any kind of distraction. For a professional ballet dancer, five or six classes per week are minimal. Thus, when an opportunity arose to add a class to my schedule I speedily did so.
This additional class was at Grossmont College and though not at a professional level, I raised the difficulty quotient by doing it all on pointe. A class that is not designed for pointe work, but is nevertheless taken on pointe, is much more of a challenge as the dance sequence tempo is quite different. However, additional difficulty makes a dancer sweat with anticipation.
I always hated to arrive “just in time” for ballet class. I needed to take the time to put aside the world of cars, parking lots, freeways and “what am I going to make for supper?” and mentally enter the world of music and dance. One day, as usual, I came to class 45 minutes early, brushed and put up my long-enough-to-sit-on hair, and began to warm up my body. Several of the other students entered, they were all much younger than I, college age, full of chatter, not quite as consumed by dance.
Then a man came in with a large camera, walked around and snapped a picture or two. I was concentrating on the signals my body was sending to my brain - so I didn’t pay him any attention. If he wanted to take pictures of the others, fine. However, he wanted them to pose in various ballet positions, but being intermediate in technical accomplishment, they didn’t have the polish he was after. At that time I had already been dancing for fourteen years, so the teacher pointed him in my direction. Oh no, I thought - I don’t want to be photographed! I haven’t got time for this and it will interrupt my preparatory routine and intrude upon my concentration.
He asked if he could take my picture. As politely as possible I suggested he ask the others. They were younger and much more beautiful; maybe not as heavily into dance as I, but the beauty of their youth made up for that. They were surely more photogenic with fresh faces and lovely smiles. Besides I needed to finish my warm-up and put on my pointe shoes which was by far more important to me.
Well, he angled around this way and that, trying to hoist a heavy camera surreptitiously on his shoulder, while I got on with what I needed to do and ignored him as best I could. Finally finished with my warm-up, I plopped down cross legged on the floor to put on my pointe shoes. This was no small matter as the shoes had to go on correctly, with sufficient but not too much padding so that I could dance in reasonable comfort for the next two hours. I didn’t have room for anything else in my mind, nothing was as essential at that moment. And, surely, sitting crossed legged on the floor is sufficiently unattractive to cause the camera toting man to leave me alone.
It was not to be. As soon as I hit the floor, he came over and began fidgeting with lenses and light meters. I did everything I could think of, outside of actually asking him to leave, to thwart him from taking a picture. A picture of what? A determined dancer sitting on the floor, one foot curled upward, pointe shoe at the ready? Very unattractive! To further discourage him, I pursed my lips as hard as I could, kept my gaze downward and doubly concentrated on not seeing him. He hovered for a while, I heard no snap of the shutter, and then, finally, he left. This part of the story is about life teaching us to concentrate on a goal no matter the distraction.
I forgot all about this incident until I walked into class several weeks later. As soon as the other students saw me they came running over all smiles and happiness with news. “Oh, Sheila! You are going to be so pleased!” And, “Sheila, congratulations - you made it!” And more, “It’s terrific!”
Pleased about what? What “it” had I made? What is “terrific?” Totally at a loss, and giving me no clue to what had happened, they told me to go to another studio across the campus. I didn’t think there was another ballet studio on campus - but when I arrived I found it was a photography studio not a ballet studio. As I walked in several photographers (students and teachers) looked up and smiled “There she is - well, it’s nice to meet you in the flesh. We’ve been looking at pictures of you for weeks in a developing tray and through an enlarger. We have been discussing which of these two pictures to use.” At this point I was completely at sea.
“What,” I asked, “are you all talking about? What pictures?”
And then they handed me the Grossmont College Yearbook. Spread across two pages was a picture of a very determined dancer sitting on the floor, cross legged, concentrating with every fiber of her being on her pointe shoes, and with her lips firmly pressed together. Ballet is a visual art and how one looks is important and this didn’t look good. To make it all worse, the picture was the not only in the yearbook, it was the centerfold.
I was shocked - not an attractive position - certainly not a ballet pose - not my best face - no makeup - and now a centerfold. Oy vey!
While I was mortified, they explained to me how they loved the look of concentration and determination. The photographer was grinning from ear to ear. When I got home I kept the original pictures they gave me, but in a fit of feminine disgust I threw out the yearbook. Well, that’s the second lesson life teaches us; don’t concentrate so much you aren’t aware of what’s happening around you. It’s all about proportionality - which is probably taught somewhere in the Talmud.
Above is the picture, dear reader, you are the judge.
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Just For A Change: Avocado Dunk Southwestern Jewish Press, April 22, 195, page 9
1 cup sieved cottage cheese
Salt and pepper
Pickle relish
Horseradish
1 Avocado, mashed
Grated onion
Cream or mayonnaise
Blend cottage cheese well with mashed avocado and seasoning. Thin with cream or mayonnaise. Serve as a dip for potato chips.
Cottage Cheese Loaf
2 cups cooked lima beans (drained thoroughly)
1 ½ pounds cottage cheese
1 small can pimientos
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teasppon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup.
Put beans, cottage cheese and pimientos through a meat chopper, using coarse blade. Mix well. Add bread crumbs and seasonings and form into a roll. Bake in slightly greased pan, uncovered at 350 degree F., for about 30 minutes. Heat the tomato soup, pour over the loaf and bake about 15 minutes longer. Slice and serve with the tomato sauce.
Tifereth Israel News Southwestern Jewish Press, April 28, 1950, page 12
Sabbath Services will be held at Tifereth Israel Friday, April 28th, at 8:15 p.m. In accordance with the proclamation of the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of America, Tifereth Israel will observe Rabbi Akiba Memorial Month, and will dedicate this service to that event.
Rabbi Akiba Memorial Month is being established as a remembrance to the great catastrophe which has befallen our generation, which saw the destruction of Jewish institutions and cultural traditions in Europe. During this month the emphasis of the place of Torh and study for the preservation of Jewish life will be underscored. According to the Commission On European Cultural Reconstruction, the enumeration of the centers of learning lost during the last war required some 89 printed pages. Through the loss has been great, we dare not lose hope that study of Jewish tradition will disappear (sic) . We must rather seek to make it an ever more effective part of our Jewish living.
Observances of rabbi Akiba Memorial Month began on the 7th of May. It is urged that a memorial light be lit at sundown on Saturday, May 6th and that special occasions of study be set during that period.
Regular Sabbath Morning Services will be held on April 29th, at 9:00 a.m. and at 5:45 p.m. After the Afternoon Services, Rabbi Levens will continue his study of the Ethics of the Fathers.
At the Sabbath Morning services of May 6th, Roger Brenes will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah.
The Junior Congregation will have its regular Service that same morning at 10:30. The season for services for the Junior Congregation will close with the last Sabbath before the festival of Shavuoth, the Saturday of May 30th. After the Services that day, the members of the Junior Congregation will remain for a Sabbath luncheon and an afternoon of movies and fun.
Junior League-- The next regular meeting of the Tifereth Israel Junior League will take place Saturday, April 29th, at 7:00 p.m. The Junior League welcomes all boys and girls of Junior High School Age.
Jewish Education Night—Another gathering dedicated to Jewish education will take place in the Synagogue on Monday evening, May 1st, at 8:00 p.m. A program of interest to parents of the Religious school children and to others who are impressed with the prime importance of Jewish education, will be presented. All are welcome.
Men's Club Meeting– Mr. Zel Greenberg, President, Tifereth Israel Men’s Club, announces that the next meeting of the organization will take place Tuesday evening May 2nd. The regular business session will be followed by a social evening and cards.
The Men’s Club serves as sponsor for the Tifereth Israel’s Young People’s League and Junior League, and also undertakes projects to promote the interest of the Synagogue. The members have recently voted to provide all necessary skull-caps for synagogue use and will purchase new covers for all the Torahs. The Men’s Club welcomes the affiliation of all men in our Community.
Young People's League Card Party and Social —All are cordially invited to an evening of entertainment, cards and refreshments sponsored by the Synagogue Young People’s League on Sunday evening, May 7th. Several door prizes will be given away. Proceeds from the event will be used for the furtherance of the club activities.
Temple Beth Israel Southwestern Jewish Press, April 28, 1950, page 12
Friday Evening Services—This Friday evening, April 28th, Congregation Beth Israel will be host to the La Jolla Bethel of Job’s Daughters. The young ladies of this organization and their parents will attend the service and Miss Barbara Goldy, who heads the chapter this year, will participate. Rabbi Cohn’s sermon will deal with a them appropriate to the occasion.
At the social hour following the service, Mr. and Mrs. William Goldy, parents of Barbara, will be the hosts.
Temple Beth Israel Religious School Makes Record UJF Contribution – In response to the appeal made before the Religious School assembly by the Youth Division of the United Jewish Fund, the children of Temple Beth Israel made an allocation of $200 from their Ts’dokah Fund. They added to this $42.56 collected in a specialdrive last Sunday, and they presented a check for $242.56 to Mrs. Arthur Goodman, Chairman of the Youth Division.
Men’s Club to Entertain Wives—On Tuesday evening, May 2nd at 8 p.m. in the Temple Center, the Men’s Club of Temple Beth Israel will play hosts to their wives at a Television Party. A novel and entertaining program has been arranged by Mr. Richard Lustig, president, and Rabbi Cohn.
The evening of entertainment and sociability will be concluded with tempting refreshments. All members of the Men’s Club and of the Temple are urged to bring their wives to this very lovely evening of sociability.
The business of the evening will be confined to election of officers for the coming year. “Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" series will be a daily feature until we run out of history.
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Mayor urges Israeli government to provide incentives for residents of the Negev ... by Donald H. Harrison in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel
ARTS
Handler handles adversity with humor ... By Sara Appel-Lennon in La Jolla, California
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: Help Jewish Family Service provide a joyful holiday season for those in need
Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Reuben Klamer Game of Life Leadership Program at Soille Hebrew Day
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
April 28, 1950: San Diego Birdie Stodel B’nai B’rith Chapter No. 92
April 28, 1950:Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood
April 28, 1950: Junior Matrons
April 28, 1950: JCR
INTERNATIONAL
Sha'ar Hanegev teachers keep teaching notwithstanding missile attacks from Gaza ... by Donald H. Harrison in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel
ARTS
Thursdays With The Sons of Hal Wingard:
#98 Swan Song
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#291 Get Up and Go
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: Supporting Jewish Single Parents discusses interfaith issues
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Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Preschool 3’s plant in Soille Hebrew Day’s new “Gan Eden”
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY —April 29, 1950: Council of Jewish Women
—April 29, 1950: Sisterhood’s Kitchen Jamboree
—April 29, 1950: San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged
—April 29, 1950: Cottage of Israel Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 270)
INTERNATIONAL/ NATIONAL
Juicy details of Israel's municipal elections ... by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
TV show fails to help Orthodox candidate ... by Judy Lash Balint in Jerusalem
The Jews Down Under, a roundup of Australian Jewish news by Garry Fabian in Melbourne:
—Jewish hopefuls pound election pavement
—Jewish Scout Group leads the pack
—Children of Jewish dads will be recognized
—Jewish Groups slam Israel - Iran warfare game
—Top of the Bible Quiz
—Warning on Right-Wing Extremists
—Deaf Society seeks clues about Jewish benefactor
—Horse Racing - The Jewish Connection
—World Union of Progressive Judaism offers cut price trips
—School fosters cross-cultural links
—Torah "House Calls"
—Well over a century of Jewish education
—New Shaliach arrives in Queensland
—Honouring the Memory of a righteous Australian
—Australian Prime Minister at odds with sections of the Jewish community
LIFESTYLES
I’d eat a mushroom off everyone’s plate: Camp Mountain Chai Women’s Retreat... by Marissa Palin in Camp Mountain Chai, California
ARTS
Culture Clash's Water & Power fluid ... by Carol Davis in San Diego
Jewish Book Fair explores Jewish genetics ... by Gail Feinstein Forman in La Jolla, California
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: Stars of David Adoption provides support for Jewish adoptive families
Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Israeli soldiers visit Soille Hebrew Day
Tifereth Israel Synagogue: Special Shabbat lecture Saturday, November 15 by Dr. Suzanne Brody
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—April 28, 1950: News of the Fox
—April 28, 1950: United Synagogue Held Conference in L.A. May 7th
—April 28, 1950: Jewish War Veterans Post No. 185 and Auxiliary
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday's JINSA Report noting a specific diplomatic gesture by Saudi Arabia to Israel, which we believe signals real Saudi concern for Iran, provoked some outrage from our readers. 
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—Last week at Hebrew Day, the Kindergarten students had an amazing program with their parents to celebrate and bring to life the story of Avraham and Sarah in the last two weeks' Parshas (Torah portions) Lech Lecha and Vayeira. In Parsha Vayera G-d reveals Himself to Avraham three days after the first Jew's circumcision at age 99; but Avraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. In the spirit of Avraham's hospitality, the children cooked and prepared a feast for their parents. They worked hard all week to create a book that summarizes the story of Avraham and his good character traits. 
The parents were invited to join their children in Avraham's tent. Each child had made their parents a special Brochim Habaim ("welcome" in Hebrew) hand painted carpet square for them to sit on. When the parents arrived, they sat down on their special mats and the children sang a song about Avraham. Then the children served their parents the feast. The teachers then served the children. Headmaster Rabbi Weiser came to visit and read and explained the Parsha while the children followed along with their parents in the books they had made. The experience was so wonderful for all the children, their parents and their Morahs. It truly brought to life the purpose of Torah study, to learn, understand and imbue the good character traits of our forefathers and mothers. The Torah teaches us the great value of being kind to strangers and doing all we can to help them feel at home. All of our Kindergarteners now truly understand the Jewish value of hospitality.
IBIM STUDENT VILLAGE, Israel—A photograph need not be remarkable in its composition, nor catch a unique moment of action, to be memorable. Sometimes, the subjects can be passive, just sitting there in ordinary office surroundings, and nevertheless the image conveys a special story. 
Whereas Israelis are “liberal” in the way they are raised, with girls and boys going out on dates without chaperones, Ethiopians are far more conservative. Associations between the genders are far more regulated, as evidenced at lunchtime at the school when the genders of their own acord sit separately, said Singer, shown at the right in the photograph to the left.
SAN DIEGO—It seems as though one half of the time life is teaching us to pay attention to all that is around us, and the other half of the time telling us to concentrate our focus if we want to be successful. Optimally we should be doing both.
And then they handed me the Grossmont College Yearbook. Spread across two pages was a picture of a very determined dancer sitting on the floor, cross legged, concentrating with every fiber of her being on her pointe shoes, and with her lips firmly pressed together. Ballet is a visual art and how one looks is important and this didn’t look good. To make it all worse, the picture was the not only in the yearbook, it was the centerfold. 
