Ohr Shalom Synagogue Tu'B Shevat Seder February 8


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LETTER FROM JERUSALEM



Israel endures the propaganda war

By Ira Sharkansky


JERUSALEM—Is there a "war of public opinion?" If so, is it important? And is Israel losing it?

These are old questions, which surface whenever Israel does something perceived as ugly or disproportionate.

There is no obvious measure of the current surge in anti-Israel demonstrations, editorials, or letters to the editor, in comparison with the levels reached during the Lebanon War of 2006, attacks on the West Bank after the suicide bombing at a Passover Seder in 2002, or any other event in the bloody history.

We should not overlook those who support Israel. There are letter writers, bloggers, lecturers, and politicians who justify and even applaud what Israel has done, often with greater impact than official representatives.

Much of the leadership and the noise against Israel is coming from Muslims in Europe and North America, as well as those in the Middle East. There are reports that Europeans' opinion moves toward Israel when large number of Arabs march in their cities.

Among the protesters are leftists who flock to the cause of the moment. There are also people who make an effort to say that Israel has a right to defend itself, but ask to what extent.

There are those in the latter group I would consider reasonable. However, there are also many who do not trouble themselves to ponder the problems that appear daily in the Israeli media, affect individuals at the pinnacle of the government and throughout the military.

Israelis are not as completely pacifist or humanitarian as populations that have not fought in decades or centuries, or among those in the United States or Europe who would be the last to go into the military or send their children to the military. However, Israelis continue to worry about the implications of how they defend themselves against evil.

Nothing is more likely to sharpen one's capacity for moral introspection than frequent attempts at terror, shielded by Arab civilians, by people who see themselves served by pictures of women and children killed as the "collateral damage" of Israeli actions. Military and political leaders realize that their attacks will bring retaliation, and continue a "cycle of violence." That concern might stop the process of national defense among those who do not have to worry about the realities of Israel.

The realities go beyond the spectacular events that get to the front pages of western newspapers. The inner pages of Israeli newspapers report, virtually on a daily basis, attempts at violence against civilians. Even if they do not succeed in killing or injuring Israelis, these efforts fuel a lack of confidence that persuasion, or votes in the United Nations will protect against violence.

How many troops has the Pope?

The old question is relevant to the war of public opinion. It is not a matter of quantity of opposition to Israel, but who opposes Israel. In these days after Gaza, there appears to be considerable understanding of Israel's position where it counts, among those actually in government positions.

"World opinion"so far has not deterred Israeli politicians or soldiers. A recent headline is that there has been a decision to give Hamas another massive blow, in response to continued missile and mortar attacks toward Israeli civilians.

The public opinion that counts most is that of Israel. There is an Israeli left which criticizes excesses and is certain that authorities missed an opportunity to convince Hamas with persuasion and decent offers. The stronger opposition is one that feels the government stopped too soon, without destroying Hamas completely. Pre-election polls show an increase in the support for right of center Likud , and a party further to the right, Israel our Home.

There will be efforts in the United States to cut aid to Israel. There always are, especially when Democrats dominate Congress. In a period of economic crisis, there may be cuts in aid to every recipient. There may be efforts to deny Israel's requests to sell it munitions to replace supplies used in Gaza. If they are denied, Israel's own munitions plants will produce items, perhaps of different quality than those purchased abroad. If next time Israel has to use bombs and shells less "smart," there will be more damage to civilians.

Israelis do not enjoy all those demonstrations, or accusations of war crimes.

Israelis also do not like to kill. The military knows the cost of its actions. It moves only after prolonged deliberation. The Gaza operation came almost eight years after the rockets started to fall on Sderot and other towns. The commanding officers, and the politicians who lead them, are not sure that it is time to stop.


Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University. He may be contacted at msira@mscc.huji.ac.il

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FROM THE SIDELINES


Fewer traffic deaths in Israel during wars

By Rabbi Dow Marmur

JERUSALEM--Some good news at last: this January Israel has had less road fatalities than in any month since 1967, despite the fact that traffic has increased enormously in the last three decades. The monthly average death toll is 40, but this month “only” 17 people lost their lives on Israel’s roads. In other words, more lives were saved on the roads than Israeli lives lost in the Gaza war: a memorable January, indeed.
           
By all accounts, the war is, in fact, the reason for the good news. It seems to have brought Israelis to their senses. Similarly, in August 2006 - during the second Lebanon war - 26 people died in road accidents, again far below the monthly average.
           
Several factors contributed to it. Those often mentioned include a greater sense of awareness of issues of life and death on the part of the population; a little less traffic on the roads; less young people traveling because they were in uniform.
           
But by far the most decisive factor is greater police surveillance. Thus for security reasons, the major roads were heavily patrolled in January. For example, on several highways police officers stood on bridges to prevent stone throwing. Their presence influenced drivers to slow down and take more care. One is tempted to conclude, therefore, that one way of securing road safety is to turn Israel into a police state.
           
The kind of information and education that our open society provides is obviously not sufficient. Though the media constantly carry warnings and urge people to be sensible – including, incidentally, not to drink and drive: a sign that we’ve left the ghetto in more than one sense – accident figures remain very high.
           
They are particularly alarming in pedestrian casualties. Of the 451 persons killed in traffic in 2008, 158 were pedestrians, a percentage double that of developed countries. One of the causes is unquestionably the carelessness of drivers. To cross any street is a challenge. Even if you stand at a designated (“zebra”) crossing, you better wait on the curb, perhaps sometimes daring one foot onto the road, until you’ve made eye contact with the driver and s/he has stopped. You then go to the middle and repeat the procedure to face the traffic from the other direction. While this is going on, one or more cars behind the one that stopped will be honking angrily. Even where there’re traffic lights it’s prudent to wait till the vehicle has actually stopped before you venture out.
           
But that’s not all. Many pedestrians cross carelessly and dangerously in the middle of streets and roads. I’m particularly incensed when I see parents rush across in this manner with little children in tow. With them as role models we can predict how their offspring will behave when they grow up.
           
It’s probably discriminatory to record the background and religious affiliation of offenders, but the fact that Jews living in the Diaspora don’t behave in similar manner gives us reason to speculate.
Needless to say, I’m not suggesting that war is wholesome for Israeli society. Nor am I pleading for Israel to become a police state because of the traffic or for any other reason. My aim is only to reflect on yet another complexity in living in this marvelous country and to suggest why the term “Shabbat shalom” has added significance in Jerusalem: the traffic here slows down dramatically.
           
Next time you say, “Shabbat shalom,” please think of us.

Marmur is rabbi emeritus at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He divides his time between that city and Jerusalem, and may be reached in either place via marmurd@sandiegojewishworld.com 

SOILLE SAN DIEGO HEBREW DAY SCHOOL

First Grade Great Artists Series at Soille Hebrew Day

The first graders at Hebrew Day are continuing their “great artists”series by studying Wassily Kandinsky. After learning about his life and abstract painting style, students tried their hand at renditions of the Kandinsky painting, “Squares with Concentric Rings”. These works of art will be in the windows of the first grade classroom soon.

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




THE VIEW FROM JINSA



'The Choice Is Ours'—Iraqi voter

By Shoshana Bryen


WASHINGTON, D.C.—"The choice is ours," is the loose translation in The Washington Post of a comment made in Baghdad before Saturday's vote. More than 15 million Iraqis chose from 14,400 candidates on 400 lists for 440 seats on provincial councils. The Post story interviewed several people ready to take possession of their fractious country (at least in 14 of 18 provinces) and noted that "elections have now won an enthusiastic if grudging fealty, emerging as a true arena for contest in which nearly every sect, ethnicity and tribe in the country has staked its future." Says one Baghdadi, "My sense and the sense of people I talk to is that if they don't vote, then they're responsible for a situation that stays bad."

What more could small-d democrats ask?

The Post, one of the most important newspapers in the United States, has finally acknowledged that in the secure space the U.S.-led surge has produced, the Iraqi people have agreed that voting beats killing. The story even acknowledges what promoters of democracy have always known, that in an open political system, alliances will change and coalitions will emerge. A Sunni politician said, "Everyone knows the political map will change, definitely. Everyone is waiting to see the results to rearrange their papers and to set up their alliances for the next elections."

It's a good thing they didn't listen when Harry Reid said the war was lost. Or when then-candidate, now-President Obama said the surge had failed. Even now, The Post hedges - "In some ways, (elections) have revealed a landscape perhaps more precarious than the one the United States inherited in 2003."

Certainly there remains in Iraq sectarian problems and elections are not a panacea - in fact, three Sunni candidates were assassinated this week, which probably shows the fear of those unwilling to present themselves to the public for a vote. But even at that, it is hard to imagine how freely contested elections make a country more precarious than Saddam's torture rooms, mass graves and the poison gas he used against the Kurds and the Shiite Marsh Arabs.

Dictators definitely present the advantage of a single address for all issues, but that is an advantage that accrues only to outsiders, not to the people who have to live under them. It is hard to imagine that Iraqis would trade their messy, fractious but free and competitive elections for a return to the terror of Saddam.

Slipping a look across Iraq's border to Iran, where a clique rather than a single person runs the dictatorship, one wonders how the Iranian people understand the burgeoning freedom of their neighbor next door. Or whether people ruled by Bashar Assad, Hosni Mubarak, Moammar Qaddafi or the corrupt cadres of Hamas, Hezbollah or Fatah wonder what it would take to produce clean, open, multiparty elections in their prisons.

We are reminded of the question put to Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?" To which Dr. Franklin replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it." The Iraqis will have to work hard to keep their new system, and they still need American support, but they have proven they can build a system to keep.

Bryen is special projects director for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). Her column is sponsored by Waxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, a longtime JINSA supporter and national board member.





UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION OF SAN DIEGOFebruary 24 options








UJF MEN'S EVENT VIPS—Speaker Howard Fineman, second from left, is joined at VIP reception
by David Wax, Robert Lawrence, and Marc Channick. UJF photos



THE JEWISH CITIZEN


Obama 'gets it about Israel, ' Newsweek's
Fineman reassures UJF Men's Event

By Donald H. Harrison

LA JOLLA, California—Howard Fineman (at right), senior Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, says that unlike Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama “was not marinated in Jewish culture,” but nevertheless has “had Jewish friends his whole life,” is “comfortable around Jews,” and “gets it about Israel.”

In other words, the journalist told more than 600 community members attending the United Jewish Federation’s Men’s Event last Thursday evening, “I don’t think supporters of Israel should be upset.”

Addressing nervousness within the Jewish community about former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell’s new role as Special Envoy to the Middle East, Fineman noted that the expectation is that Mitchell would be “more even handed” than the Bush Administration was in its dealings with the Arabs and the Israelis.

“George W. Bush was the staunchest ally that Israel has had,” Fineman said.  He then challenged his audience.  “Do you think his actions have made Israel safer?”

In response to the question, there was silence in the ballroom of the La Jolla Marriott Hotel.

Fineman said that if one studies Bush’s record, the 43rd President turned out to have been a “philo-Semite --  Who’da thunk it?”

The journalist speculated that one of George W. Bush’s motivation as President was to be the opposite of his father, President George H. W. Bush—especially in his relationship to the Jewish community.  He recalled that Bush’s Secretary of State James Baker once said famously, “F__ the Jews.” 

Rather than Obama's first official interview, with Al-Arabiya, having any adverse implications for Israel, Fineman said it more likely meant that “Obama wants to mess with (Iranian leader)  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s mind” who’d shudder at the prospect of resurgent American influence in the Muslim world.

Looking back on the 2008 presidential campaign, which he closely covered, Fineman said notwithstanding efforts by right wing groups to scare the Jewish community about Obama’s intentions towards Israel, approximately 76 to 77 percent of Jews voted for Obama—in keeping with the percentage that chose Democrat John Kerry over George Bush four years ago.

He said Jews “chose science over fear. What do I mean by that?  Sarah Palin! “  Referring to the Republican vice presidential candidate's embrace of Creationism as worthy for teaching in the schools, Fineman reiterated: “ Jews chose science and rationalism over ignorance.”  Notwithstanding that Palin was outspoken in her support for Israel, “we as a people would rather have a smart person,” Fineman declared.

The journalist suggested that the inauguration of Barack Obama was a quintessential moment in American history.  Seated near the Capitol steps where Chief Justice Roberts swore Obama in (for the first time), Fineman said he looked back toward the Lincoln Memorial to see a crowd of two million people, with their American flags making them appear like a “field of red wild flowers.”  

As Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, began to sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” Fineman said he reading about the time 70 years before when another great African-American singer, Marian Anderson, was denied the opportunity by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing at Constitution Hall.   So Eleanor Roosevelt, who was then was the nation's First Lady, arranged for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial.   She sang the same song: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

Fineman suggested that the principles upon which America was founded—no hereditary leader, rights for all—find their roots in Jewish theology.  Although the United States population is overwhelmingly Christian, he said, there is “Jewish marrow” in the country’s bones.

Some of those principles were on display earlier in the evening when a video introduced three people who received support from the United Jewish Federation via such beneficiary agencies as Jewish Family Service.  One was Samuel Rothstein (left in photo at left), who is able to get to his appointments and senior activity centers, through the new Rides and Smiles program.  Another was Jeff Graves, who received financial assistance after his home in Ramona was burned to the ground by the recent wild fire.   And the third was Christine Domyanic, a young wife of a Marine enlisted man in Iraq, who receives food and other gifts through a Jewish Family Service distribution program.

All three stepped to the podium to thank the assembled men for making such aid programs possible through their financial contributions to United Jewish Federation.

Among guests introduced in the audience were two members of the local Jewish community who are elected officials: Congressman Bob Filner and Assemblyman Marty Block, both Democrats. Another to whom Fineman made a point of telling that his son plays football at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C. (where First Children Sasha and Melia Obama now also attend) was attorney Ron Mix, a former San Diego Charger and an honoree in the Football Hall of Fame.

Harrison may be contacted at editor@sandiegojewishworld.com

 



TIFERETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE







AUTHOR—Sociologist Suzanne Vromen participates in a book signing at the Agency for Jewish
Education's 'Yom Limmud" in San Diego on January 25



Hidden Jewish children in WWII Belgium are subject of lecture at AJE's Yom Limmud

By Gail Feinstein Forman

LA JOLLA, California—“I respond to David and to Daniel……”

Getting used to a new name was just one step on the road for David to adjust to a new identity. Like over 2,500 other Jewish children in World War ll Nazi- occupied Belgium, David spent the duration of the war hiding secretly under the watchful, and protective eyes of Catholic nuns and priests in Belgian convents.

Though the higher levels of the Catholic Church in Belgium did not participate in the rescue of Jewish children, local parish priests and nuns were the fibers that stitched together the patchwork of rescue efforts.

The Odyssey of children like David from home to convent was a journey fraught with conflict and fear. After the parents agreed to have the child go into hiding, the child was taken from the house and escorted secretly to a convent or other church facility. They didn’t know when or if they would see their parents again.

When the children arrived in the convent, they had to adjust to a foreign environment and find ways to blend in and not appear different in any way. There were strict rules about daily life for which the Jewish children had no reference point.

One child, who recalled the fear of being seen naked and circumcised, only washed above his waist and below his hips for the several years he remained in the convent.

Children were required to attend all prayer services and learn all the prayers, which consumed a large part of every day. Faced with fear and loss of their family, many children found solace in Church teachings and rituals and looked to the Virgin Mary as a substitute mother.

For the children, nuns and parents, the issue of baptism was a source of high anxiety and conflict.

In many cases, the nuns never required the children to be baptized and encouraged them retain their Jewish identity. At other times, nuns followed the wishes of the parents—if they were known. When children had to decide for themselves, many chose baptism, as it put them on equal footing with the Gentile children.

Sociologist Suzanne Vromen recounted the many personal stories of children in hiding through her research for her book The Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Belgian Nuns and Their Rescue of Young Jews from the Holocaust. The room in the Lawrence Family JCC in which she spoke during the Agency for Jewish Education's 'Yom Limmud' (Day of Learning) January 25 was filled to overflowing.

Having personally survived the Belgian World War ll occupation under the Nazis, and having endured a harrowing escape to what was then the Belgian Congo, Vromen lends a personal connection to this historical narrative.

She paid tribute to the risk-taking Resistance members who escorted the children to safety and the nuns and priests who clothed, fed and cared for all the children.

Vromen found that strong emotional bonds developed between many of the nuns and the children. Camille, a hidden child in a Belgian convent, told the story of Sister Clotilde, who had asked her to translate the sentence, “Schloof git mein kind.” Although Camille knew very little Yiddish, she did know the words meant, “Sleep well my child.

Camille continued her story relating that “once a month, when Gentile children had visitors who brought them “goodies, ” Sister Clotilde would lean close to my ear when we were all in bed. She would whisper, 'Schloof git mein kind,' and slip a candy in my mouth.”

Vromen raises the question about the true motivation of the nuns to save the Jewish children. Was it to save a life or save a soul through Christianity? Vromen concludes, after much research and many interviews, that most, but not all, of the nuns and priests protected the Jews for humanitarian rather than narrow theological reasons.
 
This was played out in contentious postwar court dramas where the fight for Jewish souls ensued; the church claiming that a specific group of hidden children, those orphaned by war and baptized, “baptized Jews,” should remain under church auspices.

For decades after the war, the stories of  Europe’s hidden Jewish children were relegated to a lower status than those who had been in the camps and suffered great pain and deprivation.  The hidden children had survived without physical torment, and were perceived as having no rightful place in the “hierarchy of martyrs," Vromen said.

But children who had been hidden suffered their own anxieties. The years of secrecy and forged identities left them reluctant to share their stories. Most experienced shame for having practiced and often times embraced, Catholicism.

These so-called Hidden Children came out to tell the world of their stories at the First International Gathering of Children Hidden During World War ll in New York City in 1991.

It’s hard not to root and cheer for the rescuers and clergy who put their lives on the line for Jewish children and fall prey to what Vromen calls a “redemptive triumphalism.” You want so much to put down her book and walk away with only the sweet memory of nuns dropping candy into the sleepy-headed mouths of Jewish children and let their good deeds overshadow or overcompensate for the evil that was seen there.

But that was not Vromen’s aim.

With a lack of sentimentality, Vromen has charted with meticulous detail the humanitarian efforts of Jews and non-Jews in Belgium during this period. She attests to and praises the spark of life that survived despite the horror of the Holocaust.

Due to those efforts, over 2,000 Jewish children were saved from deportation and eventual death in Belgium.

However, the fact remains that despite these heroic efforts, over 5,093 Jewish Belgian children under the age of sixteen-one just 39 days old- were deported and killed by the Nazis.

And Vromen reminds us in the haunting conclusion to her book that “Every single one should have lived.”

Forman, a San Diego-based freelancer, may be contacted at formang@sandiegojewishworld.com

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TORAH ON ONE FOOT



Jewish 'forms' insufficient without content


By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

SAN DIEGO--In preparation for the Exodus from Egypt, Moses tells the Israelites how to explain the Passover rituals and the miraculous events to future generations:

"And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this rite?' you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses." (Ex. 12:26-27)

The Mechilta, one of the classic collections of midrashim, explains that the verses above can be interpreted positively or negatively. Affirmatively, the Torah could be reassuring the Israelites that there would be future generations asking about and celebrating the Passover. Conversely, it could be predicting that, in the future, even as basic and formative event as the Passover would be forgotten and require explanation.

The commentator Raiyonot Hadrosh incorporates both perspectives into his comments. He writes that during their years of exile and wandering, Jews may forget the Torah and its meaning and significance to our people However, they may still observe the most well known Jewish rituals, such as the Passover Seder, without
knowing what they are about.

Even if Jews fall to such a sorrowful state, says Raiyonot Hadrosh, we can still find hope for the future. As long as Jews continue to preserve even small elements of Jewish religion and culture, it will be refutation to our enemies, such as Pharaoh and Hitler, who wanted to destroy us. (Meorah shel Torah, Shemot, p. 44)

I humbly beg to differ with this commentator's conclusion. Jewish form independent of Jewish substance is not meaningful nor a guarantee of a Jewish future. There are abundant stories of devout Catholic women of Spanish descent who light candles on Friday nights without knowing that their rite is a remnant of the celebration of Shabbat in their families. There are countless families who light candles on Chanukah without saying the blessings or telling the story, or who come together on Passover for an elaborate family dinner but do not read the Haggadah or recount the Exodus.

While these individuals and families retain Jewish forms, the forms are bereft of Jewish meaning. Their rituals contain no narrative from which to derive hope and meaning for one's life and future, nor expression of yearning or hope for a better world. Statistically we know that there is scant hope that these remnants of Jewish life will be appreciated and preserved by future generations.

The future of our Judaism, the Jewish People, and Israel does not lie in those who preserve Jewish form but not content. Our future lies in those who infuse their lives with knowledge, and whose celebration of Jewish holidays and rituals reflect their love and understanding of Torah. As the Midrash teaches, if the Torah becomes an empty vessel we have only ourselves to blame.

Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted at rabbi@tiferethisrael.com

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AMAZING STORIES OF JUDAISM Dvar Torah: Bo


Merit of hard-to-peform mitzvoth described

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman


SAN DIEGO—Before the exodus from Mitzrayim (Egypt) the children of Israel were commanded to perform the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach (Pascal Lamb). This was not easy for them to do because lambs were a deity to the Egyptians. There was great fear of retribution from the Egyptians. The children of Israel declared, "If we sacrifice that which is sacred to the Egyptians before their very eyes the will surely stone us." It took great courage and conviction for the Jews to carry out this mitzvah. They trusted the Holy One Blessed be He , Who assured them, "Now you will see the wonderful things I am about to do for you.

By executing this difficult mitzvah with pure faith in Hashem, the Jews earned the merit to be redeemed from Egyptian bondage. Had they not risen to the occasion, we wouldn't be here today. The ability to perform difficult mitzvos under daunting circumstances is a hallmark of the Jewish people and the zechus (merit) is incalculable. The Jewish people possess this trait to an amazing degree as the following true story illustrates:

Here is a translation of a letter received by the Central Taharas Hamishpacha (Family Purity) Office:

In the town of Emmanuel in Eretz Yisroel (Israel), there lived an elderly couple, olim (immigrants) from Russia, who were childless. They lived there for several years, quietly and alone, without any real contact with other members of the community. There was nothing outstanding about them, they were very simple Jews. Last year, the old man passed away. Except for the small community, there weren't many who knew him and therefore at the funeral there was only a minyan (ten men) present, with the help of the Chevra Kaddisha (burial society).

At the time of burial, the wife of the departed asked that someone eulogize her husband. Everyone remained quiet because none of them really knew him. The silence was deafening. It was awkward, but no one really knew the man. He was a plain, simple, nondescript fellow who minded his own business.

Finally, the wife said: "No one is speaking, so I will speak!"

Everyone was very quiet as she said the following words: "Herschel, when you go up in heaven and you are asked why you did not bring children onto this earth, explain to them that in Russia there was no mikvah (Ritual Bath). By the time we came to Eretz Yisroel (Israel), we were already too old!"

Everyone present was stunned. There was not a dry eye in the group. Even the Chevra Kaddisha cried.

Dedicated by Yossi & Rebecca Kaplan in memory of his grandfather Asher Zelig ben Mordechai HaLevi.

Rabbi Lederman is spiritual leader of Congregation Kehillas Torah in San Diego. He may be contacted at rbl613@nethere.com

                                              



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A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt

OLDSMAR, Florida— Q: When Out Here Grindin’ is played, who comes to bat?

(1) Ryan Spilborghs

(2) Ryan Braun

(3) Ryan Seacrest

(4) Bob Ryan

Background: He was drafted out of UC Santa Barbara in the seventh round in 2002, came up from the minors in 2007 to serve as a utility outfielder for the Rockies, made the club out of spring training in 2008 as its fourth outfielder and is expected to be the Rockies’ starting centerfielder this season.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ANSWER




LAWRENCE FAMILY JCC, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS

Jewish Internet Favorites

To see previous selections, please click here to go to our archive index

Jenifer Bertoli sings Le Souvenir de ce jour (the memory of this day) --It's women's day out for this French Jewish chanteuse.

Keren Ann Zeidel sings "Not Going Anywhere"--An English-language ballad by the Eurasian-Israeli who divides her time between Israel and France.


Zehava Ben sings "Inta Omri" ("You Are My Life")—The Israeli of Moroccan Jewish origin sings a popular Arabic song in this video.

CAROL ANN GOLDSTEIN

SAN DIEGO -- I took a very good friend to see Tosca on opening night. Leafing through the program, I counted how many times I had seen Tosca in previous productions here in San Diego starting in 1974. When I told her I had seen just about all of them save the first two, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was even more amazed after I told her I had just finished listening to it on my CD. On the way out, she confided that indeed, it was a wonderful experience. She then asked ‘what was I looking for, had I seen something different in this production and was there anything unusual about this production that I had not seen before?’ These were loaded questions from a first time Tosca viewer to an old (well) and well-seasoned Tosca observer.

The questions struck me as warranting some serious thought from someone who has loved opera all her life to being able to translate that love to another who comes with fresh ears and eyes. While pondering an answer away from the happy crowd on opening night and at home in my office, I happened to find the first of the season Tosca Opera Roundtable discussion, which is open to the public, and held at the Civic Theatre in the Beverly Sills Salon. The main players were present. It was recorded and can now be heard on an Opera Blog.

The first question posed to the artists was “What is it that draws us back to Tosca over and over again”? Which was not so far removed from my friend’s question. Sylvie Valayre, whose Tosca is one of her many signature roles, and who continues to soar in this production, mentioned that it was a classic love story adding romance, and power. Our tenor Marcus Haddock, her lover Cavaradossi, zeroed right in on the music of Puccini. “It’s glorious," he said.

Bass Baritone Greer Grimsely, the bad guy Scarpia, boiled it down to ‘the timeless misuse of power in the name of politics and religion." Conductor Edoardo Müller (one of my favorites who dropped the ball on this one, never reaching the heights of past performances) talked about the variables with the different and new personalities and director Andrew Sinclair, talked about the different interpretations with different personalities. He concluded however with “the music."

Surely, I’m not one to disagree with any of their reasons for doing this opera over and over again. I have to admit however, that my main reason for seeing any Puccini opera as often as I have the chance is, without a doubt the score, the music! Puccini would have been 150 years old this year and his music is as splendid now as it was then.

I could close my eyes and just listen to the music, it’s that beautiful and yes, glorious. Of course the players are what make the music come to life and the director makes it possible for the performers to look as convincing as possible to make that happen around the music.

This current production, which opened San Diego Opera’s 44th season, has both some highs and lows, yet met the standard of all of the artist’s requirements. It still continues to entertain and draws crowds to enjoy. Tosca is after all an all-time favorite right up there with Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Carmen, La Traviata, Aida and Turandot to name a few. It will always attract Puccini lovers. Some of Sinclair’s choices in directing, however, left much to be desired which in turn sent some away on opening night a tad bit disappointed.

As mentioned earlier, Tosca is about love, politics, power and religion during the 1800’s in Rome. Three very strong personalities, Tosca, her lover Cavaradossi and their adversary, Chief of Police Scarpia, form an unholy triangle with Scarpia holding all the power cards and Tosca and Cavaradosi unwilling puppets in his perverse use of that control. Jealous by nature, Tosca just about seals her fate when Scarpia can convince her that her lover, Cavaradossi is having an affair with ‘the beautiful painting of the woman with the blue eyes he is completing. No sense convincing Tosca it’s her because she has brown eyes, something they playfully banter about and he convinces her to leave the chapel. (Qual occhio al mondo può star di paro)

Scarpia tries to get information about Cavaradossi’s friend Angeletto (Jamie J. Offenbach), a political prisoner who has escaped into the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle where he bumps into Cavaradossi painting his masterpiece. And so the opera begins. Cavaradossi gives his friend refuge and food planning to meet up with him at a later time. When Scapria learns of Angeletto’s escape, he heads for the church, the center of everyone’s world. He learns the Cavaradossi was there earlier painting his Madonna. Putting two and two together he questions him.

Frustrated with Cavaradossi’s evasiveness as to where his friend is hiding he naturally goes through Tosca knowing she will never endure any torture imposed by his thugs, to get at the truth of her lover's friends' whereabouts. Using her jealous streak as ammunition, he convinces Tosca of Cavaradossi’s wayward eye (Va, Tosca) then remembering he is in the church cries: “Tosca, you made me forget God." He is an impressive figure.

After being taken to Scarpia’s apartment on the upper floor of the Palazzo Farnese (Jean-Pierre Ponnelle set design is uninspired), in Act II, Tosca learns it is connected to the torture chamber, where she hears cries from Cavaradossi. Scarpia, whose lust for Tosca is all he can think about, wants her to surrender to him and when she does, he admits, Cavaradossi will go free. Grimsley is most convincing and almost too handsome, unlike other Scarpia’s I’ve seen. His powerful voice was a most welcome one. When she offers money he claims he doesn’t take money from pretty women. What he does desire is Tosca. Tosca, mad with anguish and revulsion agrees, turning to God (Vissi d’arte) to demand what has she done to deserve such suffering? Needless to say it’s high drama with a beautiful score and some lovely voices.

It goes without saying that expectations were high on opening night even after General Manager and Artistic Director Ian Campbell come to the stage and gave the audience the dire news of the current fix opera houses across the country and the world are in. Revenues are down, programs are being cut, endowments are shrinking and donor dollars are not even equal to those of last year. Our own company has put off mounting Moby Dick, a newly commissioned opera that had been scheduled for 2011. But the show goes.

For this reviewer there were some frustrations about this production. One was the passion between the lovers. Both Valayre and Haddock are most attractive and excellent actors and soar in both duo and solo arias. Both are convincing enough when singing, but when they were together the passion, the thrill, the excitement didn’t translate or show through. One of the biggest puzzles that came up for me throughout the production was the fact that as ardently as they confessed their love for each other they never really kissed passionately. Call me a romantic, but… it makes it more sense.

There seemed to have been an awkwardness about their intimacy leaving an overall feeling of wanting more from the lovers especially in the final scene, when Cavaradossi, whose fingers were dripping with blood from torture couldn’t write his final letter to Tosca (as is in the libretto) so asked the jailer to do it for him. (E lucevan le stelle) Nor could he hold Tosca’s hands as they professed their love for each other and in his final farewell to her (O dolci mani ) both of which he sang beautifully but not magnificently, he stood there holding his bloody hands in mid air. It didn’t make for wonderful drama or sense given that we waited for all evening to hear these arias and watch the final moments of them together.

Other frustrations: both people and the children’s chorus could be heard singing off stage in glorious voice but when it was time for them to assemble back on stage at the end of Act I they were off in the background leaving some of the most colorful and enjoyable religious pomp to our imaginations; Ron Vodicka’s lighting was pedestrian and Ponnelle’s sets are undistinguished. Since we own the sets, I’m guessing it was the lesser of the money spent. They worked but not always to the benefit of some audience member’s sight lines. Suzanne Mess’ period costumes were on target.

My frustrations not withstanding, Tosca is an opera that should be added to everyone’s repertoire of Puccini’s works and this one is once again worthy of a look-see. Tosca continues through Wednesday, February 4, at the downtown Civic Theatre.

Critic Davis may be contacted at davisc@sandiegojewishworld.com




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Adventures in San Diego Jewish History

Editor's Note: To create a permanent and accessible archive, we are reprinting news articles that appeared in back issues of various San Diego Jewish newspapers. You may access an index of the headlines of those articles by clicking here. You may also use the Google search program on our home page or on the headline index page to search for keywords or names.

Y.J.C. Club
Southwestern Jewish Press, July 25, 1952, page 7

A hayride is planned by members of the Young Jewish Couples Club for Sunday evening, August 17.  Social committee members have their heads together right now in a big pow-wow to make this affair the best yet put on by the club.  For particulars watch the next issue of Southwestern Jewish Press.


Public Invited To Greet Nixon Here
Southwestern Jewish Press, July 25, 1952, page 7

Sen. Richard M. Nixon will be in San Diego next Wednesday, July 30, and his visit will be made the occasion of a public reception honoring the young Southern Californian who won the Republican vice presidential nomination at the recent Chicago convention.

 The reception will be held in the Balboa park Club, in Balboa Park, with the program starting at 7 p.m.

Sen. Nixon is returning Monday (28th) to his home town, Whittier, where an elaborate community celebration is being arranged.  A similar welcome will take place the next day in San Francisco.  His San Diego visit will complete a three-day round of receptions.

Civic leaders in all communities in the area have been invited to join in the welcome.  Local groups have been asked to form auto caravans, and converge on Balboa Park for the first event of the kind ever staged in San Diego.


B.C. Crum Announces New International Gift Certificate Plan – Scrip to Israel
Southwestern Jewish Press, July 26, 1952, page 8

A new international gift certificate plan, by agreement with the State of Israel, designed to facilitate the sending of food, clothing and other vital necessities to Israel, was announced by Bartley C. Crum, President of Script to Israel, Inc..  Miss. H. Tizotzky of Los Angeles was appointed Western representative.

Persons in the United States can now purchase at the Scrip to Israel Office in Los Angeles and other recognized outlets in United States and Canada Scrip certificates which they can send to their relatives and friends in Israel.

The Israeli recipient can then visit any of the newly established Scrip to Israel stores and select for themselves, without the surrender of ration coupons the merchandise they need. They pay for the merchandise they receive with the Scrip to Israel Gift Certificate they receive from abroad.

Huge inventories of Kosher meat, chicken, tea, coffee, spices, milk, cereals, fruits and vegetables are being distributed by the Scrip to Israel stores in Israel. 

Scrip gift certificates can be obtained at the San Diego Scrip Office – 333 Plaza, F-8393 and F-4353.


Cottage of Israel
Southwestern Jewish Press, July 25, 1952, page 8

Our first annual elections by full Cottage membership is being held during July nd early August. A ballot showing the slate of members nominated for office for 1952-53 has been sent to every member. Voting can be done by casting ballot at the Cottage of Israel on any of the following Sunday afternoons, July 20, August 3 and 10.

Following is our nominating slate: President, Fred Yaruss; Vice President, Seymour Gates; Delegates to the House of Pacific Relations, Mrs. Wm. B. Schwartz and Isaac Potere; Financial and Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. George Borushek; Recording Secretary, Mrs. Alvin Feiler; Treasurer, Phillip Abrams.


Local Women Are Honored By Regional B’nai B’rith
Southwestern Jewish Press, July 25, 1952, page 8

A “Citation of Merit” was presented to Mrs. David Sugerman and Mrs. Harold Garvin by the Pacific Southwest Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. Mrs. Sugerman served as the  first ADL Chairman for the Bay City Chapter and during this past year has been the ADL coordinator for San Diego. She is also a member of the “School Community Advisory Commission on Moral and Spiritual Education.”  Mrs. Garvin was charter president of the Bay City Chapter and was appointed ADL coordinator for San Diego during that time. She is now a member of the Exectuvie Board of the Women’s District Grand Lodge No. 4. It was during this time that Mrs. Garvin was coordinator and Mrs. Surgerman was chairman that an ADL Essay Contest was sponsored in the San Diego Junior High School jointly with the Birdie Stodel Chapter.  This has now become an annual event.

“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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SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD: THE WEEK IN REVIEW