San Diego Jewish Journal March 2017 by San Diego Jewish Journal

MARCH 2017 ADAR â&#x20AC;¢ NISAN 5777

The region's enduring

Jewish history on display in Balboa Park

ANNUAL Simchas

resource guide

“...a triumph of theatrical style...” — NEW YORK TIMES

“...inventive, sparky, amusing. Makes for a lively evening.” — DAILYMAIL.COM

AMERICANS’ RESPONSES TO JEWISH REFUGEES WRESTLING WITH FEAR AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

XENOPHOBIA, ANTISEMITISM, ECONOMIC INSECURITY, AND RESTRICTIVE IMMIGRATION LAWS. These were the barriers Jewish refugees faced in the 1930s and 1940s when seeking safe haven in the United States. More than 70 years later, how can this history help us think about the world we live in today? Monday, March 27, 7 p.m. Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center 4126 Executive Drive La Jolla, California Co-presented with Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center

APRIL 12 – MAY 7, 2017 By Graham Greene

Adapted by Giles Havergal Directed by David Ellenstein A New York Times Critic’s Pick in 2015, TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT is an engaging journey. Eccentric Aunt Augusta swoops in and shakes up the life of her staid bourgeois nephew and ignites the lust for adventure. Four highly versatile actors tackle more than 20 roles in this life-changing, offbeat odyssey. This is definitely a trip worth taking!

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at ushmm.org/events/

refugees-lajolla.

Photo: Two Jewish refugees arrive in New York City after the war. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Centre d’Études et de Documentation Guerre et Société Contemporaines

ushmm.org/campaign 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2126

Help us keep Holocaust memory alive for a changing world. Visit ushmm.org/campaign.

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 3

HAZON SAN DIEGO RIDE APRIL 2, 2017 The People of the Bike are coming to San Diego! Join Hazon for our first ever, fully-supported San Diego Ride. Cycle 20, 36, or 60 miles past gorgeous beaches, through country roads, and over rolling hills. The ride will launch from Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas. Proceeds from the San Diego Ride fund Hazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental activism and educational programs in the Jewish community of San Diego and the world.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

4 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Thank You Margot Cohn & John Rucinsky

Your Memory Will Always Be A Blessing for Israel and the Jewish People Through their family trust, Margot Cohn and John Rucinsky, of San Diego, CA, left a legacy gift to Jewish National Fund upon their passing. Margot, a Holocaust survivor, valued Israel as a safe haven for Jewish people and the family’s generous bequest is supporting the land and people of Israel for generations to come. JNF is proud to recognize Margot and John’s love of Israel with a plaque in their honor at American Independence Park in Jerusalem.

Build a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people—leave your legacy to Jewish National Fund in your will or trust and be forever recognized in Israel. To see more stories of people who have left their estates to JNF, visit jnflegacy.org Contact a JNF Planned Giving Specialist 800.562.7526 · plannedgiving@jnf.org · jnflegacy.org

Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 5

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To find out more about programs in the community, contact: MARK GREENBERG, San Diego Chapter Director 858.750.2135 6 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 7

CONTENTS

March 2017

Adar/Nisan 5777

COVER STORY:

Did you know Jewish people have lived in San Diego since California became a state? That and other incredible details of the region's Jewish history in our cover story.

32 SIMCHAS:

Our annual party-planning resource guide helps you conquer the details when preparing for your Jewish celebration.

FOREIGN POLICY:

Professor Jacob Goldberg returns for his 15th consecutive three-day lecture series at the JCC. His expertise on Israel, the United States, and foreign policy couldn't arrive at a better time.

50 HEALTH:

When staff and family at Chabad Hebrew Academy found out one of their Hebrew teachers needed a kidney, they rallied around her to help find a donor.

54 THEATER:

For the first time ever, Lisa Kron's two plays about her mother and father are being shown in repertory. Pat Launer checked in with the production team at Diversionary to see why this is so subtly brilliant. 8 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

DIVORCE-FAMILY LAW Compassionate Yet Aggresive Family Law Experts

• Divorce • Child Custody • Mediation “Hire ThemSupport • Colla Spousal Support • Child Before Your SpousePartnership Does” tive Practice • Domestic •D solution • Divorce • Child Custody • M • Divorce • Child Custody diation • •Spousal • Child Suppo Mediation •Support Spousal Support • Child Support • Collaborative Practice Collaborative Practice • Domestic Partne • Domestic Partnership • Dissolution • Dissolution • Divorce • Child Custody Mediation • Spousal Support • Child Su

58 MONTHLY COLUMNS 12 The Starting Line 20 Parenting 22 Israeli Lifestyle 24 Aging 26 Examined Life 76 Advice

40 SIMCHAS:

AROUND TOWN 18 Our Town 64 What's Goin' On 71 Synagogue Life

47 SIMCHAS:

IN EVERY ISSUE 14 Mailbag 16 What’s Up Online 66 News 68 Diversions

56 HEALTH

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 28 OP-ED:

70 SYNAGOGUE:

Why we need Jewish education more than ever.

A mother looks back on her three kids' B'nai Mitzvah.

42 SIMCHAS: Trends for 2017.

858.720.1496 or 760.729.0941

2755 Jefferson Street, Suite 200 Carlsbad, CA 92008 www.frfamilylaw.com

Myra Fleischer

44 SIMCHAS:

A modern take on the traditional ketubah.

A look at one local girl's mitzvah for her zaide.

52 BOOKS:

An author recalls her family's immigrant past. Why one nonprofit thinks everyone should get their genes tested, now.

58 FOOD:

Israeli rainbow salad. San Diego's longest-serving rabbi, Tifereth Israel's Rabbi Rosenthal, retires.

949 975 0833

30 OP-ED:

Jewish voices on the refugee question. Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 9

hoices, You are to to choices, You are going to have to make somesome choices, es, are going going to have have to make make some choices, hoices, You ne. but you don’t have to make them alone. but you have to make them alone. but don’t yougoing don’t have make them alone. ne. You are to have totomake some choices,

ppway. of the Changing way. can be but we are with you every stepway. of the the way. way. but you don’t alone. Changing jobs canjobs be difficult buttowemake are you every of the Changing way. jobs canhave be difficult difficult but with wethem are with youstep every step of of the

You are goingdifficult to have to make some choices, Changing jobs can bePlans  Retirement  Retirement Plans Retirement Plans but we are with you every step of the way. but you don’t have to make them alone. Life/Disability  Life/Disability Insurance  Retirement Plans Insurance Life/Disability Insurance You are going to have Changing jobs can be difficult but weto aremake with you some every stepchoices, of the way.  Life/Disability Insurance  Investment Strategies  Investment Strategies  Investment Strategies

www.sdjewishjournal.com March 2017 • Adar/Nisan 5777

 •Investment Strategies but you don’t Retirement Plans have to make them alone.

• Life/Disability Insurance Changing jobs can be difficult but we are with you every step of the way. • Investment Strategies  Retirement Plans  Life/Disability Insurance  Investment Strategies

PUBLISHERS • Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400

ve, STE 400 ve, STE 400 400 02130 ve, STE 04 92130 92130 wmg.com 904

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12531 High BluffDrive, Drive, STE 400 12531 High Bluff STE 400 San Diego, 92130 12531 High Bluff Drive, 400 12531 12531 HHigh H igh igh BBluff Bluff luff Drive, DCA D rive, rive, Sigh TE SSTE TE 4B 400 00 12531 400 12531 HSTE luff 12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400 Drive, STE 400 Tori Avey, Betsy Baranov, Linda Bennett, Eva Beim, Judith Fein San Diego, CA 92130 858-523-7904 SanSan Diego, CA 92130 San D D iego, iego, C C A A 9 9 2130 2130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 858-523-7904 San D iego, CDrive, A 92130 12531 High www.liberlincolnwmg.com 12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400 (Senior Travel Correspondent), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, Sharon Bluff STE 400 858-532-7904 858-532-7904 858-‐ 55 23-‐ 7904 858-532-7904 858-‐ 23-‐ 7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 www.liberlincolnwmg.com 858-523-7904 858-‐ 523-‐CA 7904 San San Diego, CA 92130 Diego, 92130 Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Jon Schwartz, Marnie Macauley, www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® www.liberlincolnwmg.com

Jeffrey R Liber, CFP®

Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® Managing Investments Jeffrey Jeffrey RR L iber, LDirectoriber, CFP® CFP® Jeffrey R DirectorLiber, CFP® Managing Investments CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 Managing Managing DD irector-‐ irector-‐ Investments Investments Managing Director- Investments y R Liber, CFP® jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance ic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic L#0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com gingJeffrey DirectorInvestments R CFP® Jeffrey RRLiber, jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Liber, Jeffrey Liber,CFP® CFP® jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Natalie Jacobs CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Derek Berghaus ASSISTANT EDITOR • Brie Stimson ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Eileen Sondak OFFICE MANAGER • Ronnie Weisberg

858-523-7904 858-523-7904

Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine

Don Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Don Don LLincoln, incoln, Lincoln, CCFP®, C FP®, FP®, CIMA® CCIMA® IMA® 12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Senior CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Senior Senior VVice V ice ice PPresidentresident-‐ President-‐ Investments IInvestments nvestments

San Diego, CA 92130 Senior Vice Investments Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic ##0821851 0821851 CA IInsurance nsurance LPresidentic #0821851 CA Lic 858-523-7904 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com 12531 High Bluff Drive, STECIMA® 400 don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, www.liberlincolnwmg.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com San Diego, 92130 CA Insurance LicSenior #0821851 Senior Vice PresidentInvestments ViceCAPresidentInvestments Yesenia Gil 858-523-7904 Don Lincoln, CLic FP®, CIMA® CA Insurance Lic #0821851 don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance #0821851 Client Associate Gina Gina GG rimmer rimmer Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Yesenia Gil

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES

urance Lic #0C28496 Managing Director- Investments stments Managing DirectorDirector-Investments Investments Katelyn Barr, Alan Moss (Palm Springs) stments Gina Grimmer Managing Jeffrey R addell LRaddell iber, CCFP® FP® CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 .liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 Registered Client Associate Alissa W W Jeffrey Liber, GinaAlissa Grimmer Registered Registered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate tments Managing D irector-‐ I nvestments Senior V ice P resident-‐ I nvestments Yesenia Gil Fluent in Spanish jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com AVP AVP -‐ R -‐ R egistered egistered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate CA insurance Lic #O178195 Gina Grimmer m jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice President- Investments m Client Associate Client Associate Registered SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL CA CA insurance iCA nsurance Lic Lic #I0178195 #nsurance 0178195 yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com CA iInsurance nsurance LLic ic ###0C28496 0I18483 CA insurance LLic #0I18483 eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Registered Associate Insurance Lic #0821851 CA ICA nsurance ic 0C28496 CA Jeffrey RClient Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Lic #0821851 Fluent in Spanish CA insurance Lic #O178195 Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CAalissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com Fluent in Spanish insurance Lic #0178195 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Managing Director- Investments Senior Vice President- Investments yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com m jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com (858) 638-9818 • fax: (858) 638-9801 Yesenia Gil rimmer eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 GilYesenia Grimmer Associate Gil Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer ClientYesenia Associate eredGina Client 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204 • San Diego, CA 92121 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Registered Client Associate Client Associate Registered Client Registered ClientAssociate Associate Investment Investment and andInsurance Insurance Products: Products offered !NOT FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee Lic #O178195 Gil Fluent in Yesenia Spanish Gina Grimmer urance !MAY Lose Value Fluent in Associate Spanish CA insurance Lic #0178195 Fluent in Spanish& Gina G rimmer CA insurance Lic #0178195 CA insurance LicAssociate #0178195 Client Registered Client @DonLincolnWFA @JeffreyLiberWFA @DonLincolnWFA yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com a.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is aNOT registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Investment and Insurance Products: FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Fargo Value EDITORIAL: editor@sdjewishjournal.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Fluent in Spanish Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Company. Yesenia Gil CA insurance Lic #O178195 Investment and Insurance Products offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Gina Grimmer m yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Registered Client ALLC. ssociate eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com MAY ©2009 Wells FargoAdvisors, Advisors,LLC. Allrights rightsreserved. reserved.88580 88580–v1 –v1-0312-2590 -0312-2590(e7460) (e7460) ©2009 Wells Fargo All Lose Value Wellseugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Fargo Advisors is a Associate trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Registered Client Investment and Insurance NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value ADVERTISING: marke@sdjewishjournal.com insurance ic #Products: O178195 (c) CA 2016 Wells FargoLClearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995 Fluent inLLC, Spanish CA Advisors insuranceisLic #0178195 Fargo a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, Member Don L incoln Wells Advisors Jeffrey FINRA/SIPC Liber Don Lincoln Wells eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo a trade Services, name used byAll Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS: ronniew@sdjewishjournal.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com (c) 2016 Fargois Clearing LLC Rights reserved 1016-02995 eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995

e Value Investment and Insurance Products: !NOT FDIC Insured !NO Bank Guarantee !MAY Lose Value Investment and Insurance offered through affiliates: FDICNOT Insured NO Bank Guarantee ee Investment andProducts Insurance Products offered throughNOT affiliates: NO Bank Guarantee nk Guarantee Investment and Insurance Products offered through affiliates: FDIC Insured Guarantee MAY LoseMAY Value Lose MAY LoseValue Value lls Fargo & Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & t and Insurance Products: NOTProducts FDIC Insured NO Bank NO Guarantee MAYMAY Lose Value Investment offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee Investment and Insurance Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured Bank Guarantee Lose Value Company. ells Fargo Advisors is Advisors aAdvisors trade used name by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPCFINRA/SIPC MAY Lose Value name Wells Fargo isaatrade trade used by Wells Wells Fargo Clearing A/SIPC Wells Fargo is by Fargo Clearing Services, ©2009 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. Allname rightsused reserved. 88580 –v1 -0312-2590 (e7460) LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC ) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Allused Rights reserved 1016-02995 (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC AllFargo Rights reserved Wells Fargo Advisors is aby trade name Wells Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995 Advisors is2016 a2016 trade name used Wells Fargoby Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC

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SDJJ is published monthly by San Diego Jewish Journal, LLC. Subscription rate is $24 for one year (12 issues). Send subscription requests to SDJJ, 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204, San Diego, CA 92121. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a free and open forum for the expression of opinions. The opinions expressed herein are solely the opinion of the author and in no way reflect the opinions of the publishers, staff or advertisers. The San Diego Jewish Journal is not responsible for the accuracy of any and all information within advertisements. The San Diego Jewish Journal reserves the right to edit all submitted materials, including press releases, letters to the editor, articles and calendar listings for brevity and clarity. The Journal is not legally responsible for the accuracy of calendar or directory listings, nor is it responsible for possible postponements, cancellations or changes in venue. Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Journal become the physical property of the publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such material. All contents ©2017 by San Diego Jewish Journal. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a member of the American Jewish Press Association and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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THE STARTING LINE by Natalie Jacobs

EDITOR’S LETTER editor@sdjewishjournal.com

A Reason to Celebrate

urn on the news or scroll through social media these days and it doesn’t seem like there’s much worth celebrating. Every day brings a new assault on truth, stability and the morale of the American people. But the Jewish Journal’s editorial calendar is not as malleable as the news cycle, so in March, we celebrate Jewish celebrations. And now that we think about it, we’re actually happy for the momentary diversion. Brie Stimson has compiled our annual Simchas Resource Guide with all the updated contact information for local vendors who will help make your party sparkle. Plus, that section features a handful of personal stories that get to the heart of why it’s worth enduring all of the pain that party-planning will (inevitably) bring – a mother looks back on her three children’s B’nai Mitzvah, a young girl explains why it was important to her that she honor the Bat Mitzvah tradition, and a West Coast artist explores her modern take on the Jewish wedding document. That’s not to say that this issue is all theme parties and flowery ketubahs. The San Diego History Center is opening a huge exhibition (taking up nearly 10,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space in the Balboa Park institution) that explores this region’s Jewish history. Turns out, Jewish families have been here since California became a state in 1850. The show’s guest curator, Joellyn Zollman, introduced me to a few of these adventurous Jews

12 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

who, as she puts it, were eager to forge new paths “at the edge of the world.” As our cover image suggests, the SDHC exhibition touches on Jewish history up until today (because, as Zollman points out, history started yesterday). In 1973 it was Jewish San Diegans marching in Banker’s Hill in support of Israeli independence. In 2017, it is rabbis and Jewish San Diegans making their voices heard on the President’s now-defunct travel ban. A last-minute gathering co-hosted by all of the major Jewish organizations in town brought together more than 800 Jewish San Diegans who were concerned about the ban and its implications for refugees. To dig deeper into these sentiments, we pulled together a round-up of Jewish voices on this matter and have published excerpts in the following pages (full text of the op-eds are available on our website). While the courts have nullified the executive order, it’s still worth unpacking these opinions because, at less than two months into this new administration, we are fairly certain that this issue is far from settled. One of the most riveting revelations of this issue is actually about the exact opposite of a celebration – the possibility of war. There are plenty of ways that the dominoes could fall as a result of any number of international calamities, but Professor Jacob Goldberg makes a strong case for keeping an eye on Russia. He’ll go into the topic further during his three-night lecture series at

In 1973 it was Jewish San Diegans marching in support of Israeli independence. In 2017 it is rabbis and Jewish San Diegans making their voices heard on the preisdent's nowdefunct travel ban. the JCC, but on pg. 50 he introduces the Russia-Israel-United States “frenemy” situation as the most important and least talked about issue facing the U.S. and its Middle Eastern BFF. And if after all of that you’re ready for another diversion, there are a few more articles toward the end of this issue to focus your attention. Pat Launer gives us a taste of the Lisa Kron repertory happening now at Diversionary Theatre. One play looks at a mother-daughter relationship mired by illness, and the other is a moving monologue about a father-daughter relationship punctuated by the Holocaust. And in the actual “Diversions” feature for this month, a look at Iran’s Oscar submission and what it says about the American Dream. A

PRESENTED BY

VETERANS DAY

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 University of San Diego, Jenny Craig Pavilion

HONORARY CHAIR

Maj. Gen. William M. Matz Jr. (Ret.) ’73

Join us at the University of San Diego’s Founders Gala to support student scholarships and pay tribute to our service men and women on Veterans Day. The black-tie evening will feature unique silent and live auctions, a Swarovski Sparkle Station, an exquisite dining experience and an unforgettable After Party. Be a part of the celebration! Proceeds will establish a new, endowed scholarship fund dedicated to student veterans.

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 13

we’re listening let us know what’s on your mind or how Israel ended up liberating those lands. From reading the article one would (mistakenly) conclude that the lack of peace with the Palestinians is due exclusively to Israel, and today persists mostly due to the “settlers.” There is a huge problem with one’s morals if he/she believes that Jews building in our ancestral homeland is a legitimate cause of war. What’s worse is the author seems to write off any Jewish claim to our historical homeland by inaccurately calling such claims “conservative interpretations of the Bible and ancient events.” I do not know of one Biblical scholar who denies our Torah’s claims that Israel is the cradle of the Jewish nation. Stating that the settlements look “jarringly out Send us your comments: of place” is inaccurate. They look no more like editor@sdjewishjournal.com “unnatural impositions on the land” than any 5665 Oberlin Dr., Ste 204, San Diego, CA 92121 other town or city anywhere in the world. Why is the author against Jewish, and only Jewish, building, in the traditional Jewish homeland? ON THE COVER Finally, claiming that the settlements are an “exA small group marching in support of istential threat” to Israel’s security is absurd. Israel in downtown San Diego, 1973. I urge your publication to please in the future Photo from the San Diego History Center edit such incendiary and demonstrably false calCollection. Our story begins on pg. 32. umnies from appearing, or absent that, please offer another piece that shows some balance and intellectual honesty. The days of the one-sided REVIEWING A REVIEW libels against Israel and the settlement enterprise Dear Editor: “All Complex, No Compromise” by Michael must end now. Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort Fox in your February 2017 edition is lacking Chabad at La Costa due to its superficiality, misrepresentation of facts, and hostility to Jewish beliefs. Anyone who reads the review with an open mind quick- COMMANDING KUDOS ly sees that there is nothing “mostly even-hand- Dear Editor: ed” about it, despite the author’s claim. It at- I would like to comment on the letter autacks the “settlers” from beginning to end. And thored by James Kahn [“Letter of Concern,” while the purpose of the piece is to review the Feb. 2017]. Obviously, Mr. Kahn has no probdocumentary, it would seem appropriate to at lem calling the President of the United States least attempt to try and understand the settler names, and attempting to demean him. Thankmovement. Alas, no attempt is made. Instead fully, Mr. Kahn does not speak for the rest of the every conceivable opportunity to lash out at country who voted for Mr. Trump. President Trump has shown in the few short settlers (and never at Palestinian suicide bombweeks as our leader that he is a man of his word ers and those who finance, train, and applaud – working on increasing jobs, fixing the defithem) is undertaken. ciencies of Obamacare and its exorbitant rates, The writer asserts that Israel “seized” the lowering taxes, working with heads of other West Bank and Gaza during the Six-Day War countries to better alliances, etc. – and, most sigin 1967 without giving any context to the war nificantly, keeping our country safe. How about 14 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

some kudos for those and all the other positive actions President Trump has performed in his short time in office, adverse to past presidents? Mr. Kahn’s letter was not just “grim,” it was distasteful and disgraceful. Get your facts straight: President Trump has not gotten in bed with Russia. He simply said that if we could work with Russia to defeat ISIS, that would not be a bad thing. And, how dare Mr. Kahn say that our President “has no real loyalties and will horse trade all issues.” Is he kidding? What greater loyalty is there to Americans and our country than for him to do everything in his power to protect us from terrorists? Lastly, President Trump’s interests are fiercely Pro-Israel, adverse to our last president whose last act upon leaving office was to slap Israel in the face. I wish people like Mr. Kahn would stop griping and do something positive for their own party. S. Burke San Diego

ALWAYS A BRIGHT SIDE Dear Editor: Just a note to say that I picked up your silver screen edition [Feb. 2017] and wanted to commend you on your “Incompatible Truths” editorial. I do believe your Journal does give voice to diverse and disparate voices. I myself was surprised to have a pleasant exchange with someone I did not know as I was leaving the JCC turn into a fierce tirade because I do not support Trump’s politics. Even after 10 minutes or so, when I nicely said, “It’s obvious we will not agree,” she continued her harangue. It was disheartening to think that even when we do not agree that we cannot, at least, maintain a respectful listening stance. That people will not always agree is a fact of life, and by presenting articles that provoke thoughtfulness and reflection you aid in exploring “the competing realities that live within ourselves ... and this community.” Well said! And a worthy vision for the Jewish Journal. Patricia Goldblatt San Diego and Toronto

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 15

whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up on sdjewishjournal.com

JCC SAN DIEGO RECEIVES TWO BOMB THREATS IN AS MANY MONTHS On Jan. 31, the Lawrence Family JCC was evacuated after it received a bomb threat over the telephone. It happened again in the early morning hours of Feb. 21. More than 60 bomb threats have been levied on nearly 50 JCCs across the country and in Canada so far this year.

IN FIRST MEETING, NETANYAHU SURPRISES TRUMP BY CALLING FOR REGIONAL APPROACH TO PEACE In a press conference held before the two heads of state had actually met and discussed their two countries' policy interests, Netanyahu said the great opportunity for peace was "from a regional approach." Trump noted that this is something he's been trying to do for "awhile."

16 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

JEWISH DEMS SEEK TO FIGHT BANNON ON SECURITY COUNCIL In an effort to kick Steve Bannon off of his unelected position at the NSC, House Dems introduce new legislation.

SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND REFUGEES All of the major Jewish organizations in San Diego pulled together a last-minute forum on why and how the local community can show resistance against the executive order on refugee travel and resettlement from seven Muslim-majority countries. The gathering brought out more than 800 people to a La Jolla synagogue before the order was struck down by the court. A few weeks later, Jewish organizations signed onto a letter urging the San Diego City Council to add its name to an amicus brief against the travel ban.

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Photo from the Film Festival's Underwriter's opening night.

our TOWN BY LINDA BENNETT, BETSY BARANOV AND EMILY BARTELL. PHOTOS COURTESY SDCJC AND BY AARON TRUAX PHOTOGRAPHY

Film Festival

We noticed great attendance for the 27th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival, sponsored by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. Through a very eclectic mix of films on the roster this year we enjoyed “Rosenwald,” “The Essential Link: The Story of Wilfred Israel,” and “Fanny’s Journey.” Among those enjoying the films were, Harvey and Shelly Neiman, Jain Malkin and Gary Watson, Renee Feinswog, Olga and Oscar Worm, Judy Faitek, Nancy Geist, Gordon & Diane Kane, Sharon and Stuart Davidson, Barbara and Bill Sperling and many more.

Options

More than 800 of San Diego’s Jewish women descended on the Manchester Grand Hyatt for Options, the signature women’s philanthropy event of Jewish Federation. This year’s keynote speaker Nancy Spielberg spoke about her past and forthcoming films, including “Above and Beyond” which screened at a previous San Diego Jewish Film Festival.

MIDDLE ROW, L-R: Jenna Zetisky and Brooke Klein • Raquel Benguiat, Stacy Soefer, Simone Abelsohn and Kira Finkenberg FRONT ROW, L-R• Golda Akhgarnia and Stephanie Nisan • Nina Rabin and Jacki Reichenbach.

18 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

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MUSINGS FROM MAMA

by Sharon Rosen Leib

PARENTING srleib@me.com

Hearing the Voices of Elders Lost

n this scary alternative-factual world, I long for the wisdom of elders. I miss my 102-year old Bubbe and 92-year-old Great-Uncle Paul, who both died with their wits intact. Unburdened by the weight of Attention Deficit Disorder-inducing Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds, text messages and email, they had plenty of time to watch reputable tv news outlets and read a wide range of publications. Their lightness of digital being enabled them to think and contextualize current events based on a century of real-life experience. I’d much rather be conversing with them than listening to mind-numbing talking heads on CNN or reading the panic-inducing Twitter feeds of New York Times columnists. That said, I’m happy my Bubbe didn’t live to see the day President Trump issued his temporary and, in the case of Syria – indefinite – immigration ban on traumatized refugee families from seven predominately Muslim countries. The president’s heartless stroke of pen would have made my grandmother apoplectic as in, “What the hell happened to my goldene medina – the one who welcomed us?” Imagining the ever-sharp voice emanating from her wheelchair-bound body makes me want to cry. As an 8-year-old girl, Bubbe and her family fled the violent, anti-Semitic pogroms roiling their small Romanian shtetl to come to America – their new dreamboat country. The ugly, nightmarish state of current affairs would make her shiver with cold disillusionment. But then she’d perk up and leaven the tragedy with Yiddish-inspired wit. “Oy! What does that putz with the ridiculous hair think he’s doing? He has no right to keep desperate people out! Feh! He should be ashamed of himself!” Astute, succinct words (even if only imagined) from the wise truly are sufficient. Why obsessively read David Brooks’ columns when I have Bubbe’s voice in my head? On the other hand, I’m saddened that my Great-Uncle Paul didn’t live to see his wild-

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est conspiracy theories vindicated. The son of a pioneering movie producer, Paul spent his entire life in Hollywood and worked as an assistant director in cinema and television for five decades. His film-land experience endowed him with a brilliant sense of sarcastic humor and a fine-tuned bull-shit detector firmly lodged in his brain. He viewed reality tv as a cheap opiate of the masses. The fact that Trump sprung from his shticky gig on “The Apprentice” to the Presidency wouldn’t have surprised him. “I told you tv lobotomized the American people. After watching all that crap they don’t know their asses from their elbows. That’s how we ended up with Bozo as president,” I hear him saying in my head-speak. But his real thrill would’ve been all the news about Trump’s campaign team colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin to kneecap Hillary Clinton. The clandestine meetings, bugged hotel rooms, poisoning of enemies, veiled threats to foreign journalists – all so redolent of a 1930s B-movie script – would have had him crowing “I told you so!” Actually, he may have been disappointed at the amateur-hour obviousness of some of the espionage. Not subtle enough for conspiracy purists like Paul. I must admit he was spoton. After consulting the memories of my elders, here’s my advice: put down your smart phones for a few minutes and spend real face time with your family elders. They’ve lived through world wars, been immigrants themselves, survived violent anti-Semitism and witnessed history unfold. Spanish philosopher George Santayana, who died in 1952, warned us, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If you listen long and hard enough to your elders, you’ll remember their pasts – and, in troubled times, be able to hear their comforting voices in your head. A

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“The Fortunate Ones” This is a debut novel that is written with the prowess and force of a veteran storyteller. Ellen Umansky explores fate, guilt and the ability of our memories to sustain our connections to long-gone family histories through two women of different generations. Set in WWII Vienna and contemporary Los Angeles, “The Fortunate Ones” is a story about life, loss and art.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” This is not a new release. It’s actually a “classic” that was released in 1985, but it’s worth mentioning here because it suddenly topped the Amazon besteller lists in early February, along with “1984” and “It Can’t Happen Here.” Anyone looking to fuel their hungry dystopian paranoia, you are not alone.

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Masks and Meaning of Purim

e know that she was raised in the house of Mordechai, a devout and G-d-fearing Jew. Thus, it stands to reason that the laws of kashrut – keeping kosher – were scrupulously observed. No mixing of milk products with meat and separate utensils for both, no shell-fish or pork, vegetables checked in a prescribed manner. It stands to reason that Esther was equally Torah-observant and not sneaking off for the occasional McDonald’s cheeseburger or lobster roll. Just saying. The Queen Esther Diet would have most likely consisted of fruit, vegetables, nuts and an occasional whole-trout cooked in foil. She must have looked stunning because at that time there were no Chabad Hospitality Houses offering sliced brisket and grease-laden slabs of kugel. I love the story of Purim because it is the story of partnership. Not only the partnership between Esther and Mordechai who intrepidly saved the Jewish people from extinction; the partnership of the Jewish people and G-d. Many readers of this article will not believe me when I tell them that the name of G-d appears nowhere in the Purim Megillah. Not once. But everyone thinks it is a religious story. Because it is. G-d doesn’t “appear” because He is everywhere at all

22 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

times. Even when we don’t think He’s present. Esther didn’t want to participate in the beauty contest. She would have been much happier staying at home, reading some Jane Austen and crocheting challah covers. But that zany King, Achashverosh, made the competition non-optional and, with his goofy history of hanging women who disobeyed him, Esther brushed her teeth, combed her hair and headed for the palace. Surrounded by thousands of women at what appeared to be a Kardashian convention, Esther felt confident that her drab, mousy look – sans jewelry and makeup – would not attract the King’s lascivious gaze. She’d be home watching Seinfeld by 7. But she erred. He was crazy about her. Her purity and no-nonsense attitude served as an aphrodisiac, like the law of opposites. He had to have her! The missing half of his tormented self! Clearly she’d goofed and, consequently, became the inspiration for Purim costumes around the world for eternity. Esther learned to dress, apply lip-liner and, in time, the other Kardashians curtsied when she sashayed past, trying to cozy-up into her good-graces. However, keeping quiet about being Jewish weighed heavily upon Esther and she told Mordechai that she was scared

of becoming another swinging-from-thegallows ex-wife. Mordechai’s (paraphrased) answer deserves deep-reflection from members of the tribe living in Jerusalem, California, Johannesburg, Bangkok and other nooks and crannies of the globe. “G-d will do His thing and redeem the Jewish people from their enemies with or without your help, Esther. Our ultimate redemption does not lie in the efforts of man. However, as history weaves, turns and unfolds, what part will you have played? Will you embrace the challenge that is thrust upon you or, instead, cower and kow-tow while trying to hide that which cannot be hidden?” Being “out there” with one’s passions denotes nothing other than mob-mentality, especially after the press leaves and the palace make-up artists pack up their bags. Change, morality and hope are products of that which is both hidden, accurate and acted upon. The story and lesson of Purim is not one for the bookshelf or dustbin. It is painfully relevant today, quietly pulsing beneath the screaming headlines. Calling upon each and every one of us to accept our respective challenges with outstretched arms. A

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 23

OLDER, WISER, BETTER by Jon Schwartz AGING

jonaschwartz@hotmail.com

Meetings and Events Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein at (858) 521-8694 March 12, 10 a.m.

Dealing with Dementia

ith this column, I typically aim to inspire a positive approach to aging, to imbue a sense of optimism and vigor. I was gearing up to write a similar positive message this month but I worried that at times, I may miss some of the real fears and challenges that come with aging. Perhaps the largest fear surrounds dementia – developing it oneself or caring for a loved one who does. Solving this disease should be one of our top global initiatives as it is a growing public health crisis. Last month I read a disappointing report that the drug company Merck halted the late-stage trial of its promising Alzheimer’s drug Verubecestat, after an independent study found that it had “virtually no chance” of working. Unfortunately, this news comes just three months after Eli Lilly announced that it was ending the clinical trial of its Alzheimer’s drug Solanezumab, after patients taking it demonstrated no signs of improvement compared to those taking a placebo. No doubt, big pharmaceutical companies and other research institutions have spent billions of dollars on research and development, yet it has now been over a decade since a new drug for Alzheimer’s was made available. There is currently no treatment that has been proven to slow the impact of the disease. What we know about Alzheimer’s disease is that risk increases with age. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 66 seconds someone in the United States is diagnosed with the disease. By mid-century someone will develop the disease every 33 seconds. As the population continues to push 85 and older, dementia rates will continue to rise. Nationally, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death. More locally, and since 2008, the San Diego Health and Hu-

24 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine at (760) 295-2564 March 16, 12:30 p.m.

man Service Agency has ranked Alzheimer’s as the third leading cause of death county wide. Even with these grim statistics and projections, there is some cause for hope. In 2016, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the rates of dementia have fallen sharply in recent years, most likely as a result of Americans’ rising education levels, better heart health and improved management of diabetes which are all closely related to brain health. This study is consistent with others that show rates (not total cases) are on the decline in the U.S. and Europe. While two well-established risk factors for Alzheimer’s are genetics and aging, “there is hope that adopting healthy brain habits might delay or prevent the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease,” the Alzheimer’s Association says. Here are some tips: • Stay physically active to maintain good blood flow to the brain and encourage new brain cells. • Eat a “brain-healthy diet” low in fat and cholesterol. • Stay social to reduce stress levels and maintain healthy brain cell connections. • Stay mentally active to strengthen brain cells and the connections between them. In the early 1950s our national plan for Polio was grim. A cure did not seem attainable in the near future. Therefore, our plan was to build more iron lung machines and hospital floors to put people in. Thankfully by the late 1950s a treatment was available. There is reason to believe this will happen with dementia, too. There are many brilliant, well-intentioned and well-funded scientists working toward a new treatment. However, until this comes to fruition, our national plan is to build more memory care communities. History has a way of repeating itself. A

Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings March 12, 11 a.m. Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 March 30, 10:30 a.m., “Age of Love” free film screening at the JCC. R.S.V.P. to (858) 362-1141 JFS Balboa Ave. Older Adult Center Contact Aviva Saad (858) 550-5998 March 13, 10 a.m., Purim celebration with entertainment by Lesley. $27. On the Go Excursions Contact Jo Kessler (858) 637-7320 March 22, 11 a.m., “San Diego’s Got Talent!” at Balboa Park Club. Reserve by March 10, $20. JFS No. County Inland Center at Adat Shalom Contact (858) 674-1123 March 15, 11 a.m. Declutter Your Life with Sue Crum. JFS College Avenue Center at Temple Emanu-El Contact Sara Diaz (858) 637-3270 March 10, 10 a.m. Purim with the synagogue, featuring music, single and a schpiel.

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Adar â&#x20AC;˘ Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 25

OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT by Saul Levine

EXAMINED LIFE slevine@ucsd.edu

THE Holocaust

ike many of you, I lost family members in THE Holocaust. I don’t say this to garner sympathy, but rather to point out that I remember that atrocity with pain and horror. While I don’t “wear it on my sleeve,” it has left an ingrained sadness in a part of my soul. You no doubt noticed that I just referred to that infamous genocide which killed millions of Jews as “THE Holocaust,” because the label has recently come under some bizarre and hostile criticism. It was that terrible tragedy which befell us, and in reality the entire world, some 70 years ago. It was THE Holocaust which killed six million of our brothers and sisters, and many millions of other innocent people. I emphasize this point because I was astounded to read an opinion piece which strongly stated that the Jewish concept of “THE Holocaust” is overused and overblown by the Jews of the world. The provocative author of these opinions is an American man named Richard Spencer, who feels that the concept of the Holocaust is being over-utilized by Jews. His perspective is that Jews have been for too-long and too-intensely preoccupied with their post-Holocaust pain and suffering. He feels that they are disingenuously using it as a regressive symbol of their perpetual hurt, as a strategy to gain sympathy for themselves, and worst, to manipulate others. Richard Spencer happens to be the leading ideologue of the new “alt-right” movement. He has evidently always enjoyed playing the role of being an enfant terrible and “agent provocateur.” Mr. Spencer is an unabashed “nativist,” pro-white flag-bearer and spokesman, as well a fervent supporter and now advocate

26 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

of Donald Trump. Mr. Spencer applauded the recent statement issued by President Trump when he was (supposedly) commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day. That official statement, you may recall, had not a single mention of either Jews or anti-Semitism. In defending that latest bit of presidential wisdom, Mr. Spencer supported the intentional omission in the text (“Judenrein!” at last!) He then went on to refer to the importance of the “de-Judification of the Holocaust” as a constructive and worthy goal. The late Elie Weisel, THE Holocaust survivor, esteemed author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Honor, is undoubtedly spinning in his grave. Jews do not claim the “rights of ownership” to genocidal victimhood. If anything we are acutely aware of other horrific genocidal massacres and conflagrations which have occurred throughout history. Over just the past century, we have witnessed mass atrocities in countries such as Indonesia, Rwanda, Darfur, Armenia, Serbia, Cambodia, Russia, China and many others. Jewish people have always been on the forefront of condemning mass murders, and have been among the most sensitive, empathic and generous to victims in response to any of these terrible actions, with or without Jewish victims. Nor do Jews claim exclusive rights to the usage of the word “holocaust,” which was included in English dictionaries long before The Holocaust occurred in World War II. It was (and still is) defined as “a mass slaughter or killing of human beings in a fire or wartime.” But there are few if any dictionaries anywhere which will not add an asterisk, denoting “THE Holocaust” as the

Richard Spencer happens to be the leading ideologue of the new "alt-right." singular planned genocidal operation instituted by Hitler and the Nazis to eradicate Jews from their midst. (We vividly remember “Yudn Raus!”) Richard Spencer is a take-no-prisoners agitator, a White Supremacist, and the “original” alt-rightist. He is not a constructive social thinker, and he is wrong, if not malevolent, in his close-minded assumptions. This is not a “contest” as to who has the “bragging rights” as to having suffered the most, or whose tragedy was the greater. Victims and their families share identical loss and pain. Just as there are numerous Holocaust Memorials around the world which focus on “THE Holocaust,” there are memorials to the victims of many other genocides, or holocausts. The horror of THE Holocaust has made me more pensive about human existence, religion, and the enigma of our indecencies coexisting with our inspiring behaviors. These opposing propensities reflect the benevolence and bestiality resident in all of us, including, I am sad to say, thee and me. THE Holocaust should serve as a reminder to all of humankind that we are capable of such wanton brutality. There have been many holocausts, but there has only been one “THE Holocaust.” A

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Missing the Mark? Dramatically increasing financial support for Jewish Day Schools may be the only way to ensure the long-term viability of pro-Israel organizations and Jewish America’s love for Israel BY ILIAN GLOVINSKY AND DR. LARRY KUTLER

ro-Israel organizations work hard to promote support for Israel and the security and future of the United States-Israel relationship. They strive to encourage positive activism across the political, religious and social spectrums. The San Diego branch of AIPAC, along with 10 regional offices and seven satellite offices, tirelessly advances the mission of the organization. As a forward-thinking organization, they also work with the next generation of America’s pro-Israel leaders on campuses in colleges and secondary schools. Their effort is laudable and vital to the interests of the Jewish community. However, is it enough? Sadly, the answer is no. According to the Pew Report “More older Jews than younger Jews say they feel ‘a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people.’” This seems to be reflected in their attitude toward Israel. Fifty-three percent of Jews aged 65 and older believe that caring about Israel is essential to being Jewish. In contrast, only 32 percent of Jews under 30 share the same belief. 28 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Another finding shows that Jews who make charitable contributions are more likely to support non-Jewish organizations than Jewish ones. According to an article that appeared in JewishIdeasDaily.com, the wealthiest Jews allocate less than 25 percent of their total contributions to Jewish causes. As current and future generations of apathetic and assimilated Jewish school children grow up to become apathetic and assimilated Jewish adults, pro Israel organizations, will have a harder and harder time raising the millions in funding that assures the continuation of American support for the Jewish state.

So what can be done? A key finding of the Pew Report shows that there are significant differences in the level of involvement in Jewish organizations between Jews who care to some extent about Judaism as a religion and those who don’t. Those who identify themselves as Jews on the basis of religion are nearly five times more likely to say being Jewish is very important

to them, compared with Jews whose identity is not based on religion (56 percent vs. 12 percent). Most Jews by religion also say they have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people (85 percent) and that they feel a responsibility to care for Jews in need (71 percent). Far fewer Jews who do not identify themselves with Judaism as a religion share these sentiments. Clearly, unless a strong understanding and love of Judaism and the land of Israel is instilled in our children throughout their primary and secondary education, at best, they’ll be apathetic toward Israel. At worst, they may actually embrace incipient ideas like BDS that are proliferated by the enemies of Israel and free democracies. Such ideas are frighteningly prevalent in our secular education system. And most young Jews today are woefully unprepared to deal with them. There can be no doubt that the future leadership of Jewish organizations will come from knowledgeable and educated young leaders, many of whom are current Jewish Day School students. These students feel Jewish and understand Israel. This pride and bias toward action in support of Israel engenders the capacity to respond to disinformation movements like BDS with rational, persuasive and fact-based arguments. All who care about the sustainability of pro-Israel organizations have no choice but to recognize the future roots that will nurture the goals of such organizations. These roots are in the Jewish Day Schools, especially at the middle and secondary level. To this end, the Jewish community of San Diego and elsewhere, must re-double its support of their local Jewish Day Schools by providing the funding and inspiration to assure that a new and vibrant generation of Jews will step up and effectively advocate for the mutual security of America and Israel for many years to come. Failure to act, will leave open the question of long term sustainability for many Jewish organizations and the unique and mutual bond between two great democratic countries. A Iliana Glovinsky, MFT is a member of the Board of Directors at Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School and Torah High School. Dr. Larry Kutler is Head of School for Talmud Torah/Herzliah in Montreal, Canada.

COUNTERING INDIFFERENCE COUNTERING INDIFFERENCE 23,

YOM HAZIKARON ISRAEL'S DAY OF REMEMBRANCE larcy¦twkrum¦ylljl¦}wrkyzh¦swy hbyah¦twlwup¦yugpnw

SUNDAY, APRIL 30 | 7PM

SUNDAY, MAY 21 2:30 - 6:30PM

SAN DIEGO JEWISH ACADEMY

Yom Ha’atzmaut

ACTIVITIES

Friendship Circle Walk, Henna Tattoos & Crafts, Face Painting, Entertainment & Games, Israeli Music, Israeli Dancing, Kosher Food, Community Booths, Artisan Booths

Learn more about upcoming events at

jewishinsandiego.org/events Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 29

||| OP-ED |||

Jewish Voices on the Travel Ban More than 1,900 rabbis across the country, including five from San Diego, signed a letter initiated by HIAS, the global refugee resettlement and support agency, imploring elected officials to “ensure that the refugee program be maintained and strengthened for refugees of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.” In a rare show of unity, all four of the major American Jewish denominations issued statements condemning or criticizing the executive order that was to halt refugee resettlement for 120 days (and indefinitely for those from war-ravaged Syria). Conversely, the Zionist Organization of America championed the travel ban. While the executive order has been blocked by the courts and is supposedly being re-written, it is still worth exploring the moral questions that its implementation brought up. The San Diego Jewish Journal has compiled opinions from local religious and lay leaders, as well as the statement issued by the ZOA. Excerpts of these opinions are published on this spread. For the full text of each op-ed, visit sdjewishjournal.com and search “Jewish Voices on the Travel Ban.” COMPILED BY NATALIE JACOBS

Biblical History Repeating By Rabbi Michael Berk, Congregation Beth Israel

everal months ago a student asked me about the Jewish attitude towards refugees. With the Executive Order signed Jan. 27, that question became an urgent one. We can look to a brief passage in our Scriptures to find an answer. The central story of the Israelites is the story of enslavement and G-d’s intervention as a Liberator. Ever since, Jews have kept the memory of slavery and redemption before us all the time. On Passover, when we retell our story at Seder, we repeat words each Israelite recited at the Temple in Jerusalem when he appeared there on the festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). When the pilgrim gets to the temple, he approaches the priest with a basket of first fruits to offer Thanksgiving. He puts the basket down and recites a speech in which he summarized Israelite history (Deuteronomy 26:3-10). He starts with a phrase that has confounded scholars. It says something about an ancestor and an Aramean. Most translations say, “My father was a wandering Aramean.” ... We started under terrible circumstances: we lost everything and had to flee for our lives. We ended up in Egypt. There, we were the “ger,” the stranger, refugee. We were slaves. But now! Now, we are thriving in the Land which the Eternal your G-d gave you. The author of Deuteronomy knew that when people become the haves, that’s precisely when they need to be reminded what it’s like to be a have-not. ... Even more important than the giving of Torah is to know this – you cannot be indifferent to those around you who have nothing.

Children of Holocaust Survivors Respond

By Marta Fuchs, MLS, MFT and Henry Fuchs, Ph.D.

s children of Holocaust survivors and refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, we strongly oppose the administration’s ban on immigrants. ... We already have a very strict screening process in place, and there is overwhelming evidence that it is working. Not a single American citizen has been killed in a terrorist incident by a refugee from any of the seven banned countries. On the contrary, evidence is overwhelming that immigrants are hardworking and make positive contributions to our society while filled with gratitude for the safe haven America provided them. ... Do not let unfounded fears destroy all that we Americans stand for. The legacy of this wonderful country for centuries has been to be a haven for oppressed refugees. The few times in our history when we turned our backs and acted with fear –- refusing entrance in the 1930s for Jews fleeing Nazi oppression, and incarcerating innocent Japanese-Americans into detention camps in the early 1940s – we now look back with shame and sorrow. ...

30 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Preventing Radical Islamists from Murdering Americans a Moral Act By Morton Klein and Elizabeth Berney, Zionist Organization of America

he left’s confusion about what constitutes “morality” compels us to explain why President Trump’s executive order is a moral act, and why the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has been speaking out in support of this executive order. Most Americans agree with the ZOA: Americans overwhelmingly favor Trump’s order, 57 percent to 33 percent (Rasmussen poll). ... President Trump’s executive order calls for reviewing our screening processes and establishing adequate standards to prevent infiltration. The temporary suspension of immigration from seven countries that the Obama administration identified as “countries of concern” (only 7 out of 53 Muslim-majority nations) facilitates establishing such a proper vetting system. This is not only moral; it’s a moral imperative. Protecting U.S. citizens is “Job One” for a responsible president. Moreover, Trump’s executive order allows individuals from “countries of concern” to enter the U.S., on a case-by-case basis, during the suspension period. This humane provision enables admission of those especially deserving refugees whom the left

wrongly claims are absolutely banned. ... Also, under Jewish law, someone with a potential “profit motive” to favor a particular position is in no position to judge. Some groups, such as HIAS, which have invoked “morality” arguments to promote admitting poorly vetted refugees have been receiving millions of dollars of government grants to resettle refugees. ... There is also no moral equivalence between Trump’s executive order and Roosevelt slamming the doors on Jews trying to escape from Nazi Europe. The 1930s Jews posed no terror threat to the U.S., were in imminent danger of annihilation and had nowhere else to go.

The Ban and Jewish Identity By Rabbi Phillip Graubart, Shalom Hartman Institute

s there a cogent, ethically plausible argument for turning away all refugees from certain majority Muslim countries? Maybe – I’ll get to that in a moment. But it’s impossible to separate President Trump’s executive order from his paranoid campaign rhetoric aimed at scapegoating others. As we all know, he began his campaign condemning Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and reached his low point when he called for a complete ban on all Muslims entering the country. Along the way he tweeted false, offensive and fear-mongering messages about Jews (too powerful, too rich) and African Americans (hopelessly prone to crime, live in ravaged, crime-infested neighborhoods). The not so subliminal (and effective) message of his campaign was that notorious others – mostly Mexicans and Muslims, but also sometimes Jews or blacks or women – are out there threatening you, your livelihoods and your families. And he’ll put a stop to it.

It’s impossible to exaggerate the galloping danger of this message. Bigotry is one thing, but paranoid bigotry employed by national leaders stirs up demons, destroys empathy, leads directly to oppressive measures, and gets people killed. It’s not a new or unfamiliar message; its echoes reverberated not so long ago in Rwanda and Kosovo. But it is, quite possibly, the most dangerous and deadly idea in the history of humanity. ... When the Israelites escaped [Egypt], G-d gave them the Torah with one commandment repeated more than any other: “Do not oppress the stranger because you were strangers in the Land of Egypt.” In several places the text reads: “Love the stranger.” Judaism’s dominant, normative message is to transform our own slavery wounds, our trauma, into love and empathy, and, at all costs, avoid the trap of Pharaoh and his advisers. ... the Torah repeats the command-

ment, 36 times. Which brings me to the policy argument. Should the most powerful country in the history of the world close its doors to victims of the worst contemporary humanitarian crisis? Should we act on our finest ideals, but then risk bringing in terrorists who may murder us? The only way to answer these questions is to assess the risk – and then the answer becomes obvious. Precisely zero Muslims from any of the seven countries under the ban has killed any American in a terrorist attack. ... Jordan, a much poorer country with a lot more to lose, has taken in over half a million Syrian refugees. Israel, with all its security concerns, has taken in more than the United States. How did this happen? How did we lose the courage of our convictions, how did we embrace demagogic fear mongering at the highest levels? A Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 31

PHOTO FROM THE SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER COLLECTION

||| COVER STORY |||

32 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

LEFT PAGE: A “Free Soviet Jews” sign hangs from Temple Beth Israel in 1971. RIGHT PAGE: WallNaiman and Klazkin families at Ocean Beach in 1918.

PHOTO FROM THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES

“I sensed maybe a little skepticism from our staff that we would find a lot.”

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 33

When they’re the only thing that’s left after a certain amount of time has passed, they offer a valuable snapshot of what life was like “back then.”

PHOTO FROM THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES

ABOVE: Abe Ratner accepting an award in 1951. MIDDLE: Eli and Goldie Witt wedding at Tifereth Israel in 1943.

PHOTO FROM THE SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER COLLECTION

BELOW: Confirmation class at Congregation Beth Israel in 1922.

PHOTO FROM THE SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER COLLECTION

34 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Is This You?

Afraid, controlled, exhausted. Living with insults and threats. Isolated, cut off from money, no one to talk to. We Can Help. SARAH Listens. SARAH Cares. SARAH Helps. Contact Project SARAH

(858) 637-3210 | www.jfssd.org/projectsarah

Pediatric Care

“We enjoy and take great pride in providing the best possible pediatric care for our families.”

Joel M. Snyder, M.D., F.A.A.P CertiFieD OrthODOx MOhel

CAll 619-583-6133

San Diego Pediatric Primary Care Medical Group 6475 Alvarado Road, Suite 120 • San Diego, 92120 Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 35

Mitzvah-making and Party Planning

Simchas Resource Guide BY BRIE STIMSON

“A

nything people need they can find there,” Lydia Krasner, co-owner of BESA San Diego says of their annual Bar and Bat Mitzvah expo this month. And Krasner isn’t lying. There’s everything you could want or need for your party, and some things you didn’t even know you needed – like a digital caricaturist. “Caricatures have become more popular now because they added digital technology,” Krasner says. For example, Digital Event Caricature, who will be at this year’s expo, draws and colors a person’s image on an iPad. The photo can either be printed out or emailed to the party goer. The BESA Expo will have everything from caterers and decorators to photographers, DJs, invitation ideas and bands. “It’s a one-stop shop,” Krasner says. Although synagogues often provide approved lists of people and companies, by going to the expo “people … save a lot of time instead of making individual appointments,” Krasner explains. “There’s a great energy in the room because you have all these pre-Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids and their parents and it’s so exciting to be in the room, and there’s music and there’s dancing and they get their hair sprayed funny and there’s free food and it’s just a party going on but it gives them so many ideas.” Krasner says she sometimes has people come up to her whose

Venues B Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/ Del Mar 3939 Ocean Bluff Ave. hiltongardeninndelmar.com (858) 720-9500 Capacity: up to 150 Room cost: food and beverage minimum of $2,500 gets free room rental Advance booking recommended: anytime, but book by June 15, and the hotel will offer a complimentary chocolate fountain with two dipping items, enough for 35 Outside catering allowed: Only for ethnic requirements, but perperson fee is applied B Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines 10950 North Torrey Pines Rd. hiltonlajollatorreypines.com (858) 558-1500 Capacity: 36 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Room cost: Advance booking recommended: Outside catering allowed: Hilton San Diego Bayfront 1 Park Blvd. hiltonsandiegobayfront.com (619) 321-4211 Capacity: up to 2,400 Room cost: varies, call for quote Advance booking recommended: one year Outside catering allowed: No, Kosher catering available in-house Hilton San Diego/Del Mar 15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd. sandiegodelmar.hilton.com (858) 764-6044 Capacity: up to 400 Room cost: call for quote Advance booking recommended: 6 months Outside catering allowed: Only if dietary restrictions are required

parties were several years ago, and sometimes she talks to people whose parties are several years away. For those who’ve been to the Expo before and think they’ve seen it all, she explains that there’s always something new to see each year. Krasner, who’s been in the event business for more than 20 years, thinks she’s seen just about everything too, when it comes to Bar and Bat Mitzvahs (from mechanical bull rides to a “Hamilton”-themed party) but she never gets tired of it. “[The Expo] is so much fun every year. Of course I walk away and I can barely talk because I’ve talked all day, but it’s just so much fun to see all these excited kids and parents hungry for information walking through the room, and everybody gets a bag when they come in and they get the BESA brochure, and they’re all just excited to go try everything.” For those looking to get a jump start on their celebrations, this Simchas supplement will also help you prepare. Here, the Jewish Journal has compiled and updated its annual list of venues and vendors who will make any gathering a memorable one. We also check back in with Lydia Krasner for some tips on what’s trending this year, plus feature a modern ketubah artist, and a few personal stories of mitzvah-making. A

Homewood Suites by Hilton San Diego-Del Mar 11025 Vista Sorrento Parkway (858) 523-0500 Capacity: up to 90 Room cost: varies by event date and requirements Advance booking recommended: book early to save up to 15% Outside catering allowed: No, except for kosher events Hornblower Cruises 1800 N. Harbor Dr. hornblower.com (619) 686-8700 Capacity: 10-1,000 Room cost: price varies with custom options Advance booking recommended: as soon as possible Outside catering allowed: No Hotel Del Coronado 1500 Orange Ave. hoteldel.com (619) 435-6611

Capacity: up to 1,100 Room cost: food and beverage minimums on top of room rental charges Advance booking recommended: at least one year Outside catering allowed: No

B Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine 3777 La Jolla Village Drive lajolla.hyatt.com (858) 552-6025 Capacity: up to 650 Room cost: $50-200 per person Advance booking recommended: one year Outside catering allowed: Yes Maderas Golf Club 17750 Old Coach Rd. maderasgolf.com (858) 451-8100 Call for quote and details

B Parq Restaurant & Nightclub 615 Broadway, San Diego parqsd.com (619) 727-6789 Capacity: up to 850 reception, 250 dinner Room cost: venue rental fee depends on group size and day of the week Advance booking recommended: 3 months Outside catering allowed: Not usually, but exceptions for kosher catering

B Party Pals 10427 Roselle St. partypals.com (858) 622-6613 Capacity: up to 1,000 (inside and/or outside space available) Room cost: call for quote Advance booking recommended: extremely busy through summer, starting in May. Recommended six months in advance Outside catering allowed: Yes San Diego Botanic Garden 230 Quail Gardens Dr. sdbgarden.org (760) 436-3036 Capacity: 30-300 Room cost: $550-1900 Advance booking recommended: 15 months Outside catering allowed: No, but exceptions can be made for Kosher requirements

B San Diego Marriott Del Mar 11966 El Camino Real marriott.com/hotels/travel/ sandm-san-diego-marriottdel-mar (858) 523-1700 Capacity: 120-420 Room cost: varies by event date and requirements Advance booking recommended: depends on the season desired Outside catering allowed: Yes B San Diego Marriott – La Jolla 4240 La Jolla Village Drive marriottlajolla.com (858) 597-6384 Capacity: groups of 80-700 Room cost: $25-60 per person plus tax and service charge Advance booking recommended: short term up to a year and a half out Outside catering allowed: only if full kosher is need

B San Diego Marriott Mission Valley 8757 Rio San Diego Dr. marriott.com/hotels/travel/ sanmv-san-diego-marriottmission-valley (619) 692-3800 Capacity: 150-550 Room cost: food and beverage minimums only, depend on day of week Advance booking recommended: ASAP Outside catering allowed: Yes San Diego Zoo 2920 Zoo Drive sandiegozoo.org/catering (619) 685-3223 Call for quote and details

B Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa 5480 Grand Pacific Dr. sheratoncarlsbad.com (760) 827-2414 Capacity: 300-500 Room cost: no room reservation cost, only charged for food and beverage to be consumed Advance booking recommended: 6 months to one year, but flexible Outside catering allowed: No B Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina 1380 Harbor Island Dr. sheraton.com/ sandiegomarina (619) 692-2702 Capacity: 50-1500 Room cost: consultation required Advance booking recommended: at least one month Outside catering allowed: No

B Stoneridge Country Club 17166 Stoneridge Country Club Lane stoneridgeclub.com (858) 487-2138 Capacity: up to 300 Room cost: consultation required Advance booking recommended: Yes Outside catering allowed: Call for info Tango Del Rey 3567 Del Rey Street tangodelrey.com (858) 794-9044 Capacity: 5000 sqft with seating up to 220 Room cost: varies, call for quote Advance booking recommended: as early as one month depending on preferred date. Outside catering allowed: No. Kosher-style available The New Children’s Museum 200 West Island Ave. thinkplaycreate.org (619) 233-8792 Capacity: 1,000 Room cost: $2,500-6,500 Advance booking recommended: availability varies Outside catering allowed: No, but exceptions can be made for Kosher requirements

B UCSD Faculty Club 9500 Gillman Drive, #0121 facclub.ucsd.edu (858) 534-5450 Capacity: call for info. Room cost: call for info Advance booking recommended: call for info Outside catering allowed: call for info

The Westin Gaslamp Quarter 910 Broadway Circle westingaslamp.com (619) 239-2200 Capacity: 100-600 Room cost: call for a quote Advance booking recommended: as far out as possible but availability is very flexible Outside catering allowed: Yes

Event Planners Decorators At Your Side atyoursideplanning.com (619) 322-7084 Bliss Events blissevent.com (619) 252-1058 Brilliant Event Design brillianteventdesign.com (305) 588-2761 Events by Gisele eventsbygisele.com (858) 531-3181 First Comes Love Weddings and Events firstcomeslovesd.com (619) 501-1695 I Do... Weddings and Events sdweddingplanner.com (858) 405-7244

B Mitzvah Event Productions mitzvahevent.com (619) 548-3485 Michele Moss Events michelemossevents.com (858) 220-9011

B RSVP Events Rsvpsdevents.com 619-517-6395 B The Party Link thepartylink.net (619) 464-3800 Timeless Event Design timelesseventdesign.com (800) 851-9403

Invitations Decorations B Absolutely Fabulous! absofab.net (858) 866-6807 Products: games, lighting, glow products, furniture

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 37

AFR Lounge Furniture Rentals afrevents.com (619) 819-9680 Products: furniture

B Allen’s Flowers allensmitzvahflowers.com (619) 233-7673 Products: floral-themed centerpieces, flowers, ceremony arrangements and baskets for outof-town guests B A Little Scene Flip Books alittlescene.com (619) 922-0939 Products: photo flip books B Backdrops Beautiful backdropsbeautiful.com (858) 300-2100 Products: digital and static backdrops

B Charming Expressions charming-expressions.com B Chris’ Custom Airbrush

airbrushchris.com (858) 488-7723 Products: airbrush t-shirts

B Create-A-Design at CLONE createadesign.net (858) 259-6789 Products: invitations, napkins, iPhone cases, other favors and gifts Hatikva Fine Judaica hatikva.com (858) 695-9777 Products: Judaica, jewelry, bookstore, cards, stationary and largest family-owned Jewish store in San Diego, since 1991.

B Interactive Photography by CEG Entertainment cegint.com (858) 978-8998 Products: interactive photo entertainment services B Lounge Appeal Furniture Rentals loungeappeal.com (914) 497-1893 Products: high quality lounge furniture

(858) 450-7777 Products: furniture, bars, lighting & staging, props, florals, entertainment

Pacific Events Productions, Inc./ Pep Creative pacificevents.com

B Paper Moment papermoment.com (858) 342-7774

Products: invitations

B Shirley Sharff Invitations & Judaica ssinvitations.com (858) 675-0509 Products: invitations, Tallit, Kippot, accessories, Simcha scroll

Capture the Moments

4805 Mercury St. • Suite L • San Diego, CA 92111

Trusted in the Jewish Community since 1983 Bar/Bat Mitzvahs | Weddings | Photography | Videography | Photo Montage

38 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

B The Center of Attention thecenterofattention.biz (619)857-5225 Products: décor

Henna San Diego hennasandiego.com (858) 752-3628 Services available: Henna tattoos

ENTERTAINMENT

Kevin Viner kevinvinermagic.com (760) 586-3947 Services available: magic, mentalism and comedy

B Bollotta Entertainment Bollotta.com (619) 295-3522 Services available: Djs, dance B Launch Live Art bands, comedians stephenfishwick.com Cirque Quirk (619) 787-5215 cirquequirk.com Services available: live art (619) 800-1887 B Stoneridge Country Club Services offered: clowns, 17166 Stoneridge Country Club Lane B Maximum Impact performing arts stoneridgeclub.com m-i-p.com

(858) 487-2138 B CEG Interactive (760) 929-9669 Capacity: Services up to 300available: DJs, dancers, cegint.com Room cost: consultation party pumpers,required lighting, sound (888) 978-8998 Advance booking systems,recommended: video screens Yes Services available: DJs, photo Outside catering allowed: Call for info booth, green screen, graffiti wall B Magic Mike Stilwell magicmikesd.com Dance Masters (619) 660-9662 dancemasters.tv Services available: magic shows (818) 430-5626 Services available: hip hop and B Mr. Disc Jockey break dancers mrdiscjockey.com (760) 575-4798 Services available: DJ, party

pumpers, lighting My Little Carnival mylittlecarnival.com (619) 571-7654 Services available: carnival games and prizes, clowns, jugglers, magicians, dunk tanks, rock walls, amusement rides, pony rides, balloon decoration

B Second Avenue Klezmer

secondavenueklezmer.com (619) 275-1539 Services available: live music

B SoCal Green Screen socalgreenscreen.com (760) 755-7720 Services available: green screens PartyPOP partypop.com (949) 939-4363 Services available: DJs, musicians, décor, airbrush and body art

dancers, video projection, party props, lighting

B The Funky 4 thefunky4.com (949) 500-5158 Products: w fun, posh nailz polish parties, face painting, twinkle couture, funky tattoes B ZG Productions zgproductionsonline.com (760) 722-4450 Services available: MC/DJ, dancers, lighting, video screens, photo booth 3d Cheeze 3dcheeze.com (714) 771-1281 Services available: flip photos, graffiti wall, 3d images, flip books, magazine covers Listings continue on pg. 42.

B Sundance Productions sandiegobarmitzvah.com (619) 286-DJDJ Services available: MC/DJ,

SUPPORTING JEWISH SINGLE PARENTS

Family Camp Weekend

Friday, April 7 – Sunday, April 9 at Camp Mountain Chai

Play. Relax. Rejuvenate.

Back by popular demand! Please join us in spending an exciting Shabbat weekend with other Jewish single parent families. This memorable experience will include: • Family evening programs • Camp activities for kids ages 6 & older • Activity program for children ages 5 & under • Camp style Shabbat services • Break-out sessions for parents • Meals and snacks!

Register by March 17, 2017 at www.jfssd.org/camp For more information, please contact Malissa Winicki at malissaw@jfssd.org or (858) 637-3328.

Thanks to generous donations, we are able to offer discounted rates: Adults: $70 | Children Ages 3-18: $35 Children Age 2 & under: FREE Financial assistance available

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 39

||| SIMCHAS |||

Celebrations

as Passages The case for enduring the minutiae of simcha preparations BY PATRICIA GOLDBLATT The author’s eldest daughter with her husband at their wedding at the Goldblatt home.

oseph Campbell writes that our lives are marked by rites of passage. And it is true that if you reflect on your life, the moments that burble up from all the days and the nights are the ones that have afforded the most intense joy or sorrow. Usually those reminiscences return to you accompanied with sights, sounds, and smells that can overwhelm, even years later. Some of my happiest days concerned my children’s simchas, their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Days of delighted, focused preparation culminated at the synagogue where each of my three children chanted their portions as family and friends witnessed their endeavors. My mind’s eye still passes over my elder daughter as a confident young woman in a starched white dress with puffed sleeves, facing the entire congregation who waited expectantly, fearing a missed or garbled word. We held our collective breath, but there was no need. Her father and I stood beside her, proud at the person she was becoming, the person we knew she was: beautiful, humble, and passionate. So much goes into the making of a child. I think the first born has it hardest of all as parents foist their own personal dreams or missed opportunities on the child they want to give everything. The beaming girl celebrating her confirmation is merely the outer face, the radiant façade before the congregation. 40 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

At such celebrations, transformations between child and adult may not be totally evident, as unruly hair, gawkiness, unexpected burps often mar the slick appearance assumed by the adolescent. Yet rites of passage mark an official beginning and ending. People once chortled, “Today I am a fountain pen,” gently mocking the once favored gift to the Bar Mitzvah, and underlying the fact that no 13-year-old is truly ready to traverse the world and commence their travails as an adult. Whether in Africa or America, the prescribed rites of passage are built into a societal need to monitor the education and development of its children. This is the way of celebrations. They can assume the on-stage fantastic and lavish production that only occur when the backstage arrangements, the heavily thought out, worried-about, well-planned arrangements and overwhelming details have been carefully attended to. For my son’s Bar Mitzvah two years later, he again performed his portion flawlessly and when the after-lunch moment arrived to give his speech, thanking our guests, he started well, but then faltered. He had written his own words carefully, practiced, and was accustomed to public speaking. He decided to speak about my father who had passed away several months earlier. And yet, unlike his perfect recitation from the Torah, he was now stymied. He commenced his

speech, but at the mention of my father, his words stuck in his throat. And so he paused. We smiled our encouragement and he tried again. But once again when he reached the section concerning my father, he gulped, had to pause, tears now rolling down his cheeks. And once more, he cleared his throat and made a valiant attempt. And so, he dropped his paper, glanced at me, mumbled some thanks and abruptly sat down. The guests who had suddenly become one with the intense relationship between grandfather and grandson experienced an unexpected closeness with this man-child few really knew. Later one person confided, “Everything was perfect until Jordan spoke, but his emotions made your simcha human.” Our younger daughter, when her turn came, effortlessly chanted her part as flawlessly as her siblings had, and the events of the day were as choreographed. The flowers were extravagant, the invitations again hand produced, the luncheon at the top on the thirty-third floor of the hotel delicious. And just as I had hoped to reflect the attributes of my other children through the planning of the minutiae, I had encouraged her talent and passion for music. Recently, I inquired of my youngest child, now 35, “What do remember about your Bat Mitzvah?” She wrote, “Getting my hair done, wearing a flowered wreath, singing at

synagogue and feeling like a rockstar. I kind of felt like a rockstar all day. It was a huge celebration for me, about me. People I didn’t know knew me. For a Type-A extroverted teenager, it was a huge deal and I loved it. I remembered enough from my sibs’ that I felt it took forever to come. It didn’t disappoint.” When my son married his sweetheart, my husband and I created a chuppa. I researched Jewish art, prayers, marriage symbolism, and designed a pattern, taking council from a woman who had created several for synagogues. I drew the pattern; he used graph paper to enlarge with fine sharpie pens while meticulously enshrining the Hebrew words of commitment on a backdrop of grapes, lions, lambs, doves and does. Then, every night after our work day for four concerted hours, my husband and I cross-stitched the six foot long pattern in silk and merino wool from September until August! In the end, it was one of the accomplishments of my life, and it has passed from my son’s marriage ceremony to my elder daughter’s, to her sister’s. The simcha or celebration is the fulfillment of dreams that signifies an extreme moment of accomplishment. It shines brightly alone against the flurry of the ordinary, the hard work that has contributed to that “stand-alone” performance before loved ones. This is the paradox of all things. We are part but also apart in our simchas. Individuals stand with their loved ones, but also alone: at the bima, but also in the arena with a congregation. These passages since

the very beginning were established for an important purpose and that is why they have been handed down and endured until today. But intrinsically the ceremony itself is a proclamation of sorts with deep significance, for the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, wedding, bris, baby naming or funeral underlines difference from ordinary everyday activities, indicating the occasion as significant in the life of the participants. Simchas are the most treasured and most recalled moments of our lives because they move our inner lives out onto a larger stage, joining the secular with the sacred. So we

stand together with our family and friends and demonstrate how our world, our community, our society will be taken forward with joy and confidence, with religious tradition but also with the knowledge that life changes and we must adapt, just as our parents and grandparents did before us, that change is good and we have contributed to the process. These simchas are the productions that comfort us when we are sad, the times we look to that brighten the darkness and remind us of the life cycles that mark our beginnings and endings. A

The simcha or celebration is the fulfillment of dreams that signifies an extreme moment of accomplishment.

The handmade chuppah, by the author and her husband, pictured above, for their son’s wedding (left).

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 41

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Trending Topics for Bar / Bat Mitzvahs BY BRIE STIMSON

ECOFRIENDLY

“A lot of people are doing eco-friendly – like making their party green,” BESA co-chair Lydia Krasner says. She adds that natural fibers like burlap and jute have become very popular. “I think people are looking for authenticity,” she says. People no longer want plastic or silk flowers, she explains.

LOUNGE FURNITURE

“Lounge furniture is always a hit,” Krasner says. “I feel like the lounge furniture is always a great way to go because you put it around the dance floor and it keeps the kids engaged with the DJ.” She says, unlike 10 years ago, they rarely do big tables because it hinders flow. Wherever the kids are sitting they can move around and always have access to the dance floor.

SOPHISTICATION

Krasner says she’s seen more cultured themes in the last few years, things like Broadway, modern Judaic. Whereas 10 years ago she would do more parties along the lines of sports or Disney themes, kids now are looking for something that feels a bit older. “The internet has opened a lot of doors to kids,” she says. “The themes have gotten more mature.”

42 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

FOOD TRUCKS

Trucks that serve everything from coffee to brownies to food on a stick are trending right now. “That trickled down from Hollywood and a lot of the L.A. parties,” she explains.

TIFFANY BLUE FOR GIRLS

“You don’t have to have a theme,” Krasner says. “It could be about a color.” In the last year, Tiffany Blue has been the most popular color for Bat Mitzvahs, according to Krasner.

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Rewriting the Traditional Ketubah West coast artist brings folksy design and professional authors to Jewish wedding vows BY BRIE STIMSON

ulianna Bright, a Portland, Ore.,-based artist, is attempting to modernize the traditional ketubah design and the text that resides in it. Ketubot, which were originally legal marriage documents outlining the responsibilities of the bride and the groom, have become, for many modern Jews, a way of symbolizing their love and commitment and memorializing their wedding day. Bright began designing ketubah artwork at the suggestion of her Israeli brother-inlaw. To modernize the traditional text, she turned to several author friends to write their own. Stylistically in the tradition of ketubah, her artwork has a folksy and ornamental quality. “I think for a lot of modern Jewish couples, and I think interfaith couples and even people who aren’t Jewish who want to have a document that memorializes their vows, those original scripts [are] a little transactional and quite old fashioned,” Bright tells the Jewish Journal. “So I think now if you

44 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

shop for ketubah on most sites there will be one that is the secular script, or the Humanist script or the Reform or maybe a samesex couple script and you can sort of choose from those categories. What we did was we kind of wanted to take it one step further and invite people who are writers to take the original script and reimagine.” Bright says traditional ketubot have a classic Judaica style to them, “and more and more I think there is some interest in modern alternatives.” Here is an example of a traditional ketubah text, which focuses on the groom’s obligations to feed, clothe and attend to his wife’s conjugal rights: “On the [day of the week], the [day of the Hebrew month], the [year] after the creation of the world, according to the manner in which we count [dates] here in, the bridegroom [...] son of [...] said to this [...] daughter of [...], ‘Be my wife according to the law of Moses and Israel. I will work, honor, feed and support you in the custom

of Jewish men, who work, honor, feed, and support their wives faithfully. I will give you the settlement of [...] silver zuzim, which is due you according to [...] law, as well as your food, clothing, necessities of life, and conjugal needs, according to the universal custom.’ Ms. [...] agreed, and became his wife. This dowry that she brought from her father’s house, whether in silver, gold, jewelry, clothing, home furnishings, or bedding, Mr. [...], our bridegroom, accepts as being worth [...] silver pieces (zekukim). Our bridegroom, Mr. [...] agreed, and of his own accord, added an additional [...] silver pieces paralleling the above. The entire amount is then [...] silver pieces.” With her new mission to modernize the script, Bright first reached out to her friend Alicia Jo Rabins, a poet, musician and Torah teacher. “It felt important to me to ask Jews to do this writing,” Bright says, “especially because I think the original text is … very important

Original ketubah designs by Portland-based painter Julianna Bright.

if you’re Orthodox or if you’re Conservative, but it felt like asking someone to reimagine it through the prism of their cultural experience. I’d say of all of the texts [Rabin’s] is maybe the most traditional.” “Chesed (Loving kindness). Boundaries. Beauty. Chesed. We will love each other unconditionally. We will love each other forever. With full hearts, we choose each other; we accept each other as we are. We recognize the sacred light at the center of our union, and the sacred light inside each other. We will nurture this light for the rest of our days. Gevurah (Boundaries). We will be honest with each other. We will be true to each other. We will be real with each other. We will honor each other’s limits, and our own limits, so that our love will be boundless. We will grant each other the space to grow and change, so that our union will thrive. We will maintain our lives as separate people, so that our life together will be a true and beautiful union of two souls. Tiferet (Beauty) We will see and recognize the beauty in each other and in our union. We will create harmony in our home. We will return to balance, again and again. We will journey through life together. We will celebrate our love in every season.” Each ketubah text that Bright and her author friends have re-worked, so far five different author texts and two “BK house texts,” is distinct and reflects the personalities and writing style of its author. Here is another text, written by Sara Jaffe: “It’s still solid there Remember when we said we weren’t sure? We didn’t know if it was too soon. We didn’t know if it was too conventional. We weren’t yet ready to be-

come our parents, or to become parents. Remember when we were at the kitchen table in the car on the island at that one dark bar? When what we felt was vast and uncontainable? When we wanted to find a way to ensure the lastingness of that moment, without containing it? It was too soon. It was the wrong-sized container. It was too late, because our life already looked like something. And then our minds changed like the weather. The us of now is no more or less committed, no more or less real, yet there was the sensation of stepping off a cliff. It’s still solid there.” Although not Jewish herself, Bright is married to a Jew and has her ketubah from their wedding up on the wall. “I think at least in Jewish families there are people for whom ketubah is an important part of the ritual. It’s definitely something that goes up on the wall,” she says, “something that’s a sacred place in the home and a place for couples to return for encour-

agement and reverie and to remember their vows and refuel.” Bright has been an artist and musician for years, and met her husband through music. They were in several bands together before becoming a couple. She has designed artwork for album covers, playing cards, books and has had her work displayed in galleries. She started her online ketubah business just last fall, and says she hopes her ketubot, seven designs available so far, have a timeless quality to them with a bit of modernity. “I think one of the things that appealed to me most about the ketubah,” Bright says, “is the idea of binding an intention in a beautiful work of art with a partner, to be able to take something that is kind of so esoteric and hard to pin down … and put it into something that is physical and I like that a lot. I like the intentionality of it.” A Her website is brightketubah.com.

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 45

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A Mitzvah for Zaide BY NATALIE JACOBS ydney Lasensky was the first person in her Hebrew class at Temple Solel to complete her mitzvah project. The idea came to her quickly because she had seen her sister complete the process a few years prior. The two girls “are both into fitness” so a run/walk made a good fit. Sydney’s, though, would be a fundraiser for melanoma research in honor of her grandfather who died from the disease in 2011. “I was about 6 or 7” when he passed, Sydney recalls. “But there are some things I remember. ... We always went to get yogurt whenever we were with him.” When he noticed his granddaughter’s cups weren’t full to the brim, “he would always say ‘add a little more, fill it to the top.’”

He liked to indulge, Sydney explains. With the help of her parents and a dedicated planning schedule, Sydney created a website to process the funds she would raise, through a company called Everyday Hero, and sent out emails to friends and family notifying them of the project. They decided on a goal of raising $2,592 through a very Jewish math problem – her grandfather’s age at the time of his passing, 72, times a double chai, 36. Approximately 50 people showed up for the run/walk fundraiser which started and ended at their home in Carlsbad. Sydney raised at least $3,388 for melanoma research (she was still tabulating checks at the time of our call), not a magic number but a significant donation all the same.

Sydney says she wanted to become Bat Mitzvah because “it’s important, and it’s part of life. “My mom didn’t have hers,” she continues, “but she’s Jewish. My dad had his, and my sister had hers. It’s not because they did it that I feel obligated to do it, but I feel it’s important. It’s part of the Jewish culture. You learn and keep the tradition going.” She says she doesn’t have anymore mitzvah projects planned, but she is continuing to look at volunteer opportunities provided through her synagogue. Sydney became Bat Mitzvah on Feb. 18, and celebrated with nearly 200 family and friends afterward. A

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 47

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||| FOREIGN POLICY |||

Discussing the Relations in an Professor Jacob Goldberg discusses Trump, prior to his 15th annual lecture series BY NATALIE JACOBS

rofessor Jacob Goldberg will return to the Jewish Community Center this month for his 15th annual threeday lecture series on the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy and Israel relations. These lectures typically turn out more than 1,200 attendees. With all the uncertainty that this new U.S. administration has presented to the whole world, organizers at the Center for Jewish Culture are expecting record numbers this year. I spoke with Professor Goldberg to get a sense of what’s what in the Middle East, whether he sees any stabilizing efforts on the horizon, and how this year’s lectures might differ from those in the past (hint: Russia). Here is an abbreviated transcript of our conversation. San Diego Jewish Journal: Do you anticipate anything different with this lecture series than say last year? Jacob Goldberg: Every year there is an additional element. But in general, the attendance in the lectures has grown by 3040 percent in the last years because of the centrality of the Middle East in world affairs since the so-called Arab Spring. The Western media has not given the Middle East such centrality ever before as it has in the last four or five years. And of course now, with Trump being elected, I think people have so many questions about what his policies in the Middle East will look like. 50 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

SDJJ: After his inaugural address I was left wondering what does an “America first” policy mean for Israel? Does this increased sense of American protectionism worry Israel? JG: The best way to describe Israeli attitude towards Trump is to say that he is an enigma. The Israelis are very confused, not unlike the rest of the world, because he has said so many different and at times contradictory things that it’s very hard for people to tell where he is on all the issues. As far as Netanyahu himself was concerned, it’s very hard to tell what he really hoped for. We said jokingly before the elections that if you ask the Israeli Prime Minister who does he want to win the elections, we would say that Netanyahu wanted Clinton to win but Bibi wanted Trump to win. That really reflects the confusion because at the same time that Netanyahu is happy that it is Trump and the Republican party and so on, he is very worried about the unpredictability, for two reasons. Number one, early in his election campaign, one of his first statements was, on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, “I am neutral.” It was only later, much later, before he came to speak at AIPAC in March that all of a sudden he became very pro-Israel and speaking about moving the embassy. Netanyahu doesn’t know which Trump will it be to determine Israeli-American relations.

Now the second reason is that historically there have been two segments within the Republican party of the United States. One segment was always really strong on foreign policy, on containing the Soviet Union, now on Russia, and protecting American allies all over the world and providing a security umbrella and intervening places where American interests are in danger. There has been at the same time a segment that has been isolationist. That might be the answer to your question about Trump’s “America first.” “America first” could mean we shouldn’t really get involved in areas far away from the U.S. which do not affect our security and national interest in a very direct way. Or, for example, when it comes to Saudi Arabia and wherever else, let them defend themselves and let them pay for whatever weapons. These isolationists can be very worrisome for Israel. It still remains to be seen which way would this “America first” slogan translate into concrete and tangible policies. SDJJ: Is there anything coming up between the two countries that we could look to for the first sign of which way it might go? JG: Well, the major thing of the 10-year security relationship [was] concluded about six weeks before the election. At least Netanyahu positioned that as a major achievement and he thanked President Obama profusely. I think this was $38 billion over

Future of Israeli American Age of Uncertainy the American Embassy, and the 6 million square-mile elephant in the room,

10 years of mostly armaments and air force. The most public Israeli American issue has been the Jerusalem embassy but quite honestly, a lot of Israelis are not putting a lot of emphasis on this. They say it’s a symbolic thing, it will not do anything to enhance Israeli American relations and it will certainly turn out in the future to be destabilizing in terms of Israeli, Palestinian and growing relations with the Sunni Arab world such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, etc. I think that under the radar, the most important issue that might affect Israeli American relations that people do not talk so much about is Trump’s policy [regarding] Russia and Putin. SDJJ: What is Israel’s relationship with Russia? JG: It’s a very complex one. During the Communist Era, Israel and Russia were sort of enemies, adversaries. For many years, the Six Day War until the ’80s there weren’t even diplomatic relations between the countries. [Then] of course all the Russian Jews left, over a million came to Israel within two years. Especially since Putin came to power, the relationship might be characterized as twofold: on the one hand, Russia wants a significant role in Middle East politics. This is a new policy pursued by Putin in the last four or five years, trying to take advantage of the Arab chaos. The civil war in Syria provided Russia with an excellent opportunity to not only come in

politically and diplomatically, but also militarily. Russia is trying to establish better relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, countries that have been totally within the American sphere of influence. With Israel, Putin wants to establish very close, warm relations. He always says that Russia cannot be an enemy of Israel because 1.5 million Israelis speak Russian. But on a strategic level, the two countries are on a collision course. Because of the Russian military intervention in Syria, the freedom of action of the Israeli air force in the area has been curtailed. Whenever Israel wants to bomb weapons deliveries to Hezbollah that arrive in the Damascus airport from Iran that are going to Lebanon, Israel now has to take into consideration the Russian presence. This is why top military officials have been visiting Moscow. Netanyahu himself was in Moscow I think four times in 2016 to establish a working relationship over Syria. If Russia goes into other countries, that is, from Israel’s point of view, a very bad development. It means that America has created a vacuum in the Middle East and into this vacuum we see Russia only happy to enter and to reestablish its influence in the Middle East. In a way, we call it the resumption of the Cold War in the Middle East, except that instead of saying the Soviet Union, we just say Russia. But it’s clear that the Russian Amer-

ican competition in the Middle East which disappeared for almost 20 years is definitely back as a major phenomenon in the Middle East. SDJJ: If the U.S. does miraculously create this warm relationship with Russia, what might that look like? JG: The point is, we don’t know yet, especially when the Secretary of Defense and the head of the CIA are vehemently opposed to Russian offensive intentions in the Middle East, how they would go along with Trump trying to warm up relations with Russia. And we also don’t know what are the origins of this Trump Putin cozy relationship. It’s been a huge question mark and we have no idea how U.S. Russia relations will evolve and this is why we have no idea how Trump’s policies in the Middle East will look. I think that within the next six months we will start getting some idea of where it’s heading. [But for now] this is a total enigma. A Details on Professor Goldberg’s lectures can be found at sdcjc.org.

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 51

||| BOOKS |||

Saving Our Stories How we consider the promise of refuge in foreign lands BY SONIA TAITZ

The author with her parents, who immigrated from Lithuania during World War II. 52 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

have always defined my life by that of my parents, who were Holocaust survivors. Both of them grew up in Lithuania, where the Jewish people had lived for hundreds of years. When World War II broke out, my father was a master watchmaker, and my mother was training to become a concert pianist in a musical conservatory. Both were confined to the Kovno ghetto, (but did not meet there); then, they were sent to concentration camps (Dachau and Stutthof, respectively). Miraculously, they survived – as only 5 percent of their Lithuanian Jewish compatriots did. They did so partly through sheer determination, and partly through remembering and recounting tales of their lost world. After the war, both lingered in German Displaced Person camps, waiting for repatriation. Finally, they sailed to America, ultimately meeting each other in New York at a Holocaust Survivors’ Ball. After a few waltzes and a spirited polka, they fell in love, and soon after that, they started their new-world lives together. I was born “here” in America, but a large part of me still lives back “there,” far away and in the past. I’ve lived, and still live, in the past of Europe – which I heard about through my parents’ words and stories, so vivid that I felt I’d been there. But like them, I’ve also lived in another vanished world – the world of Washington Heights, New York, where I grew up surrounded by refugees. To be the child of immigrants is to live in misty places. As a child, I spoke Yiddish at home, and learned English from the crackling, black and white television set. Slowly, the two languages overlapped. In the summer evenings, refugees would sit outside in the courtyard, some speaking Yiddish, some English, and some a charming hybrid that is no longer heard these days. The stories of their past experiences in the old country enchanted me – this one’s Tante (Aunt) Ida, whose children were all perfect in her eyes, that one’s grocery, which sold the freshest “farmer’s cheese” you could ever taste. Their voices bubbled up to my bedroom window, an immigrant’s symphony, lulling me to sleep. My world was rooted in other worlds, and much of its old music – like my mother’s piano playing (itself an old-world artifact) – is now silent. In order to better understand “our van-

“This modern-day Jane Austen winningly and wittily takes on love, sex, pregnancy, and working motherhood.” —Marian Thurm, author of New York Times-praised The Good Life

GREAT WITH CHILD A Novel

SONIA TAITZ ished world,” my parents sent me to yeshiva (almost everyone in their past had been at least nominally observant). Beginning at the age of four, I learned about thousands of years of Jewish history. As much as I lived in my parents’ Old Europe, I also lived in Persia with Queen Esther, saving my people from the evil Haman (the beauty contest part of the story especially appealed to the young girl in me). I lived with Daniel in the lion’s den, and in Egypt with the slaves. Our Haggadah says that every generation must feel as if they personally came out of Egypt. (My father, at this point in the Seder, would say – “I don’t have to imagine this. I was a slave, in Europe.”) That was not a problem for me, either. I, too, came out of Sinai, Shushan, and Dachau. It is America itself that sometimes still seems alien and new to me. Like the world of my parents, my own world has vanished. The old neighborhood I lived in no longer echoes with Yiddish humor and pathos. New waves of immigrants have replaced the old; salsa music now rings from the cars that pass by, and plantains are sold in the bodegas. Even where I live now, (a fairly Jewish enclave on the Upper West Side of Manhattan), Bar Mitzvahs no longer feature “stuffed derma,” as they did in my day, and my local synagogue rarely serves a good cholent (a beef and bean stew that was a staple of my youthful Sabbaths). Yiddish is not heard at all, except in the echoes of memory. My children remember their grandmother calling them “shepselehs” (lit-

tle lambs); they remember their grandfather standing by the window, swaying and praying – but little else remains of my parents’ world, the world of my own childhood. Like the generation before me, I sometimes feel liked a “displaced person,” awaiting passage to new and more secure harbors in that I’m sometimes lost in a mixture of memories, and the sense of aloneness is unsettling. Who else would long for “glass of tea” instead of a pumpkin frappuccino at Starbucks? Or for kichels instead of croissants? I’ve found safety and comfort in my writing, which always ends up featuring immigrants and their children as central characters. I wrote about these themes in my first two novels, in my memoir, and most recently, in my new novel “Great With Child.” Whatever the story within, the setting is the same – in the heart of an immigrant who wants to build secure and lasting bridges to a new world. I suppose that is my true neighborhood, the neighborhood of books, and that is my language, the language of literature. And maybe that story is the most Jewish story of all, one that tells of something almost lost – but eternally and lovingly sustained. A Sonia Taitz is the award-winning author of the memoir “The Watchmaker’s Daughter.” Her latest novel is “Great with Child.”

Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 53

||| HEALTH |||

Tzipi Tivon, with her son (left) and husband (right)

TWO KIDNEYS,

One Life-Saving Donation A local woman gains hope from a Jewish organization while awaiting a kidney BY NATALIE JACOBS

zipi Tivon was diagnosed with end stage renal failure on her birthday. Her kidneys had been weak since chemo treatments for breast cancer nine years ago, and while she’s been in remission from cancer since then, her kidney function has continued to decline. Last year, in mid-January, she couldn’t breathe. “When I went to the ER, I couldn’t breathe at all,” Tzipi says over the phone one afternoon. “I felt like [I was] going to die. They put me on a breathing tube. I was unconscious for a few days and then I spent a month in the hospital.” Upon release, her lungs and heart had begun to work properly, but her kidneys never recovered. Tzipi, a Hebrew teacher at Chabad Hebrew Academy for the last two years, has a son in 7th grade at the Scripps Ranch Jewish day school, and two daughters, 22 and 25, who live in Israel. Tzipi herself emigrated from Israel in 1998. Since her diagnosis, she has been receiving dialysis at a private center three days per week, for three-hour sessions each day. “I’m waking up around 4:45 and starting 54 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

my treatment around quarter to 6, until 9:30. I come to the school around 10 and I start teaching. This place, school, for me, is like a resting place where I can forget everything about my condition. I feel at home, really at home.” The Chabad Hebrew Academy community has rallied around Tzipi to support her efforts in finding a kidney donor. She is on the kidney registry list, but has been told the wait time would likely be up to seven years. Recently, Tzipi was accepted into a program run by the Jewish organization Renewal, which is now helping her and her CHA team to find a match outside of the national donor registry. “Renewal facilitates our efforts,” says Rafi James, who was sitting with Tzipi at her apartment during our call. Rafi’s son had Tzipi as a Hebrew teacher last year, and when CHA head Rabbi Yosef Fradkin notified him of her condition, Rafi asked Tzipi if he could help her find a donor. In 2016, the United Network of Organ Sharing reported that more than 33,600 organ transplants were completed in the United States, continuing a five-year growth

trend. Of that, 18 percent of organs came from live donors, so about 6,000 people. There are six compatibility markers that are measured in the blood, starting with the blood type. Tzipi’s is A, so she can accept an A or O donor. Recently, the process for potential donors changed slightly from blood testing to saliva swab testing. But that’s only the beginning. There’s also a host of physical fitness and psychological testing that happens to measure a person’s emotional fitness for the grueling process of donating a vital organ. Rafi and others have organized an email campaign, which is how the Jewish Journal heard about Tzipi’s story, along with a poster campaign and a community event that was held in late January to “spread the word.” Sheryl Daija, also working with the CHA organizing group, says that close to 100 people came to the January event at the school. She reports “some interest” but wasn’t able to disclose details because of privacy concerns. Rabbi Josh Sturm of Renewal does “outreach events” often, to, as he puts it, “demystify the process” of kidney donation. He says

his organization, based on the East Coast, is not actively recruiting patients like Tzipi. Instead, Renewal focuses on the donor, supporting him or her by organizing doctor appointments (of which there are many), making available past donors who are willing to discuss the process, and covering lost wages during recovery. Sturm says Renewal was involved in 67 transplants last year, and 365 in their total decade as an organization. There are many other organizations that encourage and support donations from live kidney donors, but Renewal is the only one focusing on the Jewish community, even though the risk of kidney disease for Jewish populations is roughly the same as the general population (African Americans have the highest rates of kidney disease). In 2014, Jeffrey Greenberg, a 37-year-old accountant, was on a Jewish listserve when he got an email about a woman with a disabled son and a sick husband whose kidney was failing. They were looking for someone with Type A+ blood to donate a kidney. “I read that email and went back to it a few times over,” Greenberg recalls over the phone. “It kept drawing at me, being someone with A+ blood. Something about that email kept drawing me in.” He says he responded a few days later, and began the process of matching. After a few months, he learned that they had found

a better match for that initial woman, but asked if he’d be willing to donate to someone in the future. “I said yes, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime act that you can do so I told them that I was really only interested in giving to someone that was still taking care of young children so there would be a ripple effect to whatever I was doing.” A few more months passed and Greenberg, who doesn’t have children himself, received another call. They had a good match on all levels except one. The patient didn’t have children, and he was in his late 50s. But the organization thought Greenberg might still be interested because the guy was a neurosurgeon who had been operating up until his kidney disease forced him to be hospitalized. “He had plans to go back to the O.R. and to teach,” Greenberg told me, “once he was able to stand back on his feet again. While it didn’t fit exactly my criteria, it was in the same spirit so I agreed and went from there.” Greenberg says he questioned the decision “probably every single step of the way.” “There were a number of times where I thought I might have pulled the plug, but somehow I kept persevering. Something just kept calling me to it, I don’t really have a good explanation as to why, I just kind of kept pushing forward, even beyond the doubts, the fear.”

Greenberg meets about twice a year with the neurosurgeon who now has one of his kidneys. “It’s gotten less weird,” he says of the lunch meetings. “In the beginning, his wife constantly referred to me as her guardian angel. It was a little overwhelming, a little too much. I didn’t want that much attention.” At the time of this writing, there are about 76,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list. Kidneys are the most transplanted organ, representing 59 percent of all transplants completed since 1988. “The statistics are that the majority of donors are people who know the recipient,” Rafi James says. “Our hope [for Tzipi] is to find somebody within our Chabad community. That’s our greatest potential. But we have to extend our search as far as we can. ... A compatible live donor is not an easy thing to find.” Tzipi’s team plans to continue sending out emails, and has created a Facebook page, #AKidneyForTzipi, to spread the word. “If it’s not going to be somebody that I know,” Tzipi says, “eventually they’re going to be my family.” People interested in more information about kidney donation on Tzipi’s behalf or in general can contact the donor coordinator at Renewal by calling (718) 431-9831 ext. 209. A

A snapshot from the kidney donor information session hosted at Chabad Hebrew Academy in January.

“I’m waking up around 4:45 and starting my treatment around quarter to 6, until 9:30. I come to the school around 10 and I start teaching.” Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 55

||| HEALTH |||

Encouraging Couples to

EXPLORE THEIR GENETIC MAKEUP Los Angeles nonprofit Gene Test Now hopes to expand in San Diego BY BRIE STIMSON

haron Glaser first started thinking about genetic testing when she was working as an educator years ago. She and the rabbi she worked with were approached by parents whose children had illnesses she and they didn’t understand and weren’t skilled to handle. “All of that stuck in my head,” Glaser tells the San Diego Jewish Journal. Fast forward to 2009, Glaser attended a Jewish Federation conference in Los Angeles and a breakout session on Jewish genetic diseases. “We have to do something,” Glaser says she told her brother and co-founder of Gene Test Now, Jerry Factor, at the time. They continued their research into Jewish genetic dieseases and three years later they launched a nonprofit. Their website, GeneTestNow.com, promotes education and advocacy for genetic testing focused on couples who are thinking about having a child. The organization aims to answer questions like “Why are there Jewish genetic diseases?” and “What if I test positive as a carrier for a Jewish genetic disease?” “Our mission is to stimulate awareness, and in San Diego, for example, if we are able to publicize the issue, we hope that people … who are in a child conceiving situation … will ask for that service through their physician or their rabbi or some way,” co-founder Jerry Factor says. Glaser says her nonprofit has helped screen about 1,000 people in Los Angeles, by connecting couples with genetic testing groups. “It should have been 10,000,” Glaser bemoans. 56 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Couples looking to conceive have the option of a blood or saliva test, and the whole process can cost around $100 with health insurance. “It’s a subject that may not be on people’s minds,” Factor explains, “and in some cases they may not want to know how it is. It’s not a case of if you test positive then you are doomed. You’re not … both partners have to have the same carrier in order to have any exposure, and if they are in that situation there are things that can be done to … avoid having an impaired child.” Genetic counsellor Daniella Kamara says there are several options for couples in which both partners test positive as carriers of a disease. For some, Kamara says, the 25 percent risk is low enough to continue with a natural pregnancy, which can then be monitored through amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS). Other couples may decide not to take any risk during pregnancy. “Some people choose to either have an egg donor or a sperm donor who’s not a carrier for the same disease,” Kamara says. “Some people choose to have IVF – in vitro fertilization – where they actually will combine the egg and sperm in a dish and then they screen the embryos for that disease and they then implant embryos that are unaffected into the woman and she will then have a healthy pregnancy. [Or] some people choose to adopt.” Genetic diseases are also not particular to Jews, and people who intermarry should still get tested, Factor says. “My own sense is that everyone should be tested for all the genetic problems, not only

Jewish but otherwise, to just know what their genetic makeup is.” “Having the information kind of empowers people to make smart decisions and allows them to plan accordingly,” Kamara says. “It gives them a lot of options in terms of decision making when it comes to family planning.” Glaser says the biggest problem is when a couple gets pregnant before they find out, which creates urgency and limits their options. For Glaser, her work comes down to one thing – “I remember a young woman who I spoke to … She looked at me straight in the eye and she said ‘Sharon … I’m afraid, I don’t want to know.’ And that expression ‘I don’t want to know’ is something we have to penetrate and that’s the purpose of this whole thing.” All three agree that knowledge is power. “I think the biggest thing we’re advocating for is just that information empowers people and knowledge is power and by no means does seeking out information put people kind of into a box or trap them into doing certain things,” Kamara explains. “It’s all about just knowing what your options are and being prepared.” Gene Test Now is in the process of expanding to San Diego and would welcome the opportunity to speak with synagogues and local Jewish groups to coordinate programs with genetic counselors. For more information on genetic counseling or to find a place to get tested go to genetestnow.com. A

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Adar • Nisan 5777 l SDJewishJournal.com 57

||| FOOD ||| Tori Avey is an award-winning food writer, recipe developer, and the creator of the popular cooking website toriavey.com. She writes about food history for PBS Food and Parade.com. Follow Tori on Facebook by searching for “Tori Avey” and on Twitter: @toriavey.

in the kitchen WITH

TORI AVEY IKWTA IKWTA

Rainbow Isra eli Salad

n our most recent trip to Israel, my husband and I were invited to Shabbat dinner at the home of our friends, film director Doron Eran and his wife Billy Ben Moshe. Shabbat at their home in Tel Aviv is cozy and fun, a weekly celebration with family and friends. Billy goes all out when she cooks for Shabbat, serving course after course of beautiful food. Her family is 7th generation from Tiberias, Israel, a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. She serves dishes from a variety of backgrounds, all home-cooked with care. She spends hours cooking for Shabbat, presiding as the chief-mama-incharge over a weekly celebration of life, love and family. Billy truly goes all out when she cooks a meal. She brought dish after dish to the table – fish with peppers in paprika sauce, tender chicken slow-braised in a spicy red sauce, an enormous roast with olives 58 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

and potatoes, marrow bones with bread, and salad after salad after salad. Shabbat dinner is truly a labor of love for Billy, and it shows. While we prepared to sit down and eat, I sent out a picture to my readers through Facebook and Twitter of one of Billy’s salads – a very colorful mixture of fresh vegetables straight from the kibbutz. I received lots of requests for the recipe, which Billy kindly shared. It is easy as can be. The result is downright delicious! This colorful take on Israeli salad is filled with a flavorful mixture of vegetables. It has a nice, fresh crunch. The simple lemon and olive oil dressing brings it all together in perfect harmony. It looks beautiful on the table thanks to all of that lovely fresh produce. This salad is the perfect addition to almost any meal; I’ve even enjoyed it for breakfast alongside a frittata. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

½ small red cabbage, shredded in small pieces 3 small ripe tomatoes, diced 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 lb Persian cucumbers, diced small with skin on 4 oz small white button mushrooms, sliced ¾ cup pitted kalamata olives 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 tbsp olive oil ¼ tsp salt, or more to taste

YOU WILL ALSO NEED: Mixing bowls

Yield: about 8 servings Total Time: 30 minutes Kosher Key: Pareve

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all vegetables in a large mixing bowl and mix well. In a small mixing bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Pour over the chopped vegetables and mix well. Serve. A

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||| THEATER |||

The Sum and its Parts Lisa Kron repertory at Diversionary offers a brilliant look at a father, a mother and the daughter who vacillates between them BY PAT LAUNER

isa Kron is a trailblazer. The acclaimed actor/playwright has written and per formed deeply personal, autobiographical monologues that are unique in structure and immersive for the audience. Most famously, she wrote the book and lyrics to a musical based on the best-selling graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, “Fun-Home,” which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical of 2015. In Kron’s first foray into musical theater, she took home two Tonys, for Best Book of a Musical and Best Musical Score. Even more revolutionary: “Fun-Home” (with a national tour now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A., through April 1) was the first full-scale Broadway production of a lesbian coming-of-age story. And it also made history by featuring the first female team to win a Tony Award for Best Original Score: Kron and acclaimed composer Jeannine Tesori. Kron (pronounced ‘crone’) was born in the Midwest, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In one of her plays (“Well”), she says that she felt like an outsider even in her own family, because they were the only Jews in town. Her mother’s family is Christian, though her mother converted to Judaism for her marriage. None of Kron’s father’s German Jew-

60 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

ish family survived the Holocaust. In 1965, the Krons moved to Lansing, Michigan, where Lisa was enrolled in a predominantly African American elementary school. Her mother, she tells us in “Well,” wanted her to help integrate the school. Mandatory racial integration came to the Lansing schools three years later. Kron has traced her love of theater to the Purim plays she performed in as a child at her Reconstructionist/Conservative temple, Kehilat Israel. In junior high, she was determined to be the funniest girl anyone knew. She accomplished this by telling stories. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school, she went on to major in theater at Kalamazoo College. A theater professor helped her land a role with a national touring company. After moving to New York in 1984, she acted in various productions, and in 1989, she and four friends became The Five Lesbian Brothers, a theater group that performed witty, satiric material from a feminist/lesbian perspective. Their plays were produced by the New York Theatre Workshop, the Joseph Papp Public Theater and others. They published two books, won an Obie Award and toured the country.

TELLING INTIMATE TALES

Ultimately, Kron began developing stories about her family. As New York Times chief theater critic Ben Brantley put it, “Fans of that beleaguered literary form, the memoir, can breathe a little more easily this morning. Kron’s sparkling autobiographical play, “Well,” has arrived on Broadway … to restore the honor of a genre that was slipping into disgrace.” “Well” opened on Broadway in 2006, and earned Kron a Tony nomination for Featured Actress in a Play. Her first play, “2.5 Minute Ride,” which had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1996, went on to win the 1999 New York Press Award for Best Autobiographical Solo Show. One play was about her mother; the other, her father. Diversionary Theatre executive artistic director Matt Morrow thought they’d work wonderfully in repertory. He was the first person in the country to come up with the idea. “I’ve always loved Lisa’s writing,” says Morrow. “I was the first to produce and direct what I call ‘Lisa without Lisa,’ the first New York revival of ‘2.5 Minute Ride,’ in 2008, with someone else in the lead. I wanted to expose her as a legitimate playwright in her own right, her work not dependent on

Samantha Ginn (purple blazer) plays the playwright in “Well.” Photos below are snapshots from the Diversionary Theatre production, which runs now through March 19.

tween Kron’s journey to Auschwitz with her German-born septuagenarian father, a Holocaust survivor (at age 15, he was part of the Kindertransport); the annual pilgrimage of the Christian side of her family to the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio; and her brother’s wedding to his Internet bride at Seaview Jewish Center in Canarsie, Brooklyn. “Well” focuses on Kron’s mother and their sometimes fraught relationship. She juxtaposes her mother’s nearly lifelong incapacitating illness with her dynamic social activism, using sickness as a metaphor for societal “illnesses” such as racism.

A ROLLER COASTER RIDE

“2.5 Minute Ride,” a solo play, is directed by Rosina Reynolds, who recently snagged a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, for her tour de force turn as Golda Meir in “Golda’s Balcony” at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. “When I first read the play,” says the English-born Reynolds, “I was intrigued. It had some similarities to ‘Golda’s Balcony,’ in that it jumped around from story to story. “The stories are well written and funny,” Reynolds says. “But it’s a challenge main-

taining a through-line. [Kron] set out to tell one story, but there was something else that was begging to be told that she wasn’t ready to tell. “Finally, three-quarters of the way through, she tells a story about her father’s experience after the war, when he went back to Germany as a U.S. Army interrogator of Nazi war criminals. During one interrogation, he realizes how easily he, too, could have been drawn into this ideology. ‘If I wasn’t so lucky to be born a Jew,’ he says, ‘I would’ve been a Nazi.’ It’s a shocking moment. “The point,” Reynolds continues, “is that we’re all potentially culpable. It’s easy to point a finger, but we’ve never been put to the test. This is a critical moment for Lisa; this memory spills out of her and she has a moment of panic, a kind of meltdown. But this fills her father out as a person, and when she begins to see him completely, she loves him more for it.” “Shana is doing a tremendous job,” Rosina says of her leading lady. “She’s charming and engaging, and very intelligent – onstage and off. She’s a great person for the role, a great storyteller. “The fact that she’s not Jewish is incidental,” Reynolds adds. “Just as it was when I played Golda.

PHOTOS BY DAREN SCOTT

her performing it. “I knew when I got to Diversionary that I wanted to bring Lisa Kron with me. And I wanted to dedicate my second season to female playwrights. After re-reading ‘2.5’ and ‘Well,’ I was incredibly moved again. Once you reach a certain age, your parents’ mortality starts to weigh on you. This is the issue Lisa was wrestling with in both these astonishing plays. “I wanted both shows to be led by strong female voices, and that’s what we have in directors Rosina [Reynolds] and Kym [Pappas]. The design team is also predominantly female. “I knew we had to have two special actors to take on Lisa. They had to have comic chops and also the capacity for profound emotional depth. Shana Wride, a San Diego superstar, immediately came to mind for the solo show. And Sam Ginn has an authentic comic sense, and a compelling presence. There’s a natural chemistry between them. Not that they ever appear onstage together, but it’s important for the Repertory to feel whole.” In “2.5 Minute Ride,” Kron invites the audience on “a roller coaster ride through the Kron family album.” Equal parts hilarity and horror, the play switches back and forth be-

Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 61

Shana Wride plays the playwright in “2.5 Minute Ride,” a monologue.

“This play is about family – the good and the bad of it. Accepting them, warts and all. Lisa Kron draws the characters with love, even though she highlights their eccentricities.” Which brings us to “Well,” in which many similar elements surface.

A DEEP “WELL”

Director Kym Pappas, co-artistic director of InnerMission Productions, is helming this piece, which features “Lisa Kron” (played by Samantha Ginn) and her mother, Ann (Annie Hinton), as well as several other characters/actors. “Initially, I was drawn to the mother-daughter relationship,” says Pappas. “But there’s this whole play-within-a-play. You think it’s one thing, then the whole thing deconstructs. It’s a memoir in a big sense, about Lisa’s mother and her work in the community. And how we affect each other. And what we don’t know about people we think we know best. “It’s also about the stories we choose to tell,” Pappas continues, “and how we think about and remember the people in our lives. The thing with our parents is, we try to grow away from them; we don’t want to be like them. Lisa discovers that the core of who she is actually is the best part of her mother. “Lisa’s mother always claimed that her debilitating exhaustion was due to allergies, though Lisa thinks that these days, she 62 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

would probably be diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia. Lisa herself was once admitted to a hospital allergy unit. There’s an undercurrent of worry that she might end up like her mother.” One of the most challenging parts of “Well,” says Pappas, is the fact that the other characters are called by their own real names, and are exhorted, in the Playwright’s Introduction, to be themselves. “It’s hard to get them to drop the acting, and get in and out of it,” Pappas asserts. “The whole play doesn’t fall apart till Ann breaks character and becomes Annie. It’s all very meta. “It’s a very human story. In the end, Lisa learns a lot, especially after reading something her mother wrote for the neighborhood organization. ‘Integration means weaving into the whole, even the parts that are complicated or painful.’ What is more healing than that? When I read it, the air was taken out of me. We are ultimately responsible for each other. How did Matt know we would need this message right now, when the whole world is going crazy?” “The bottom line,” asserts Rosina Reynolds, “is, we are the sum total of everyone around us – all our family members and all we’ve been through. The more you know about them, the more you find out about yourself and stand taller.” “These plays can be very funny,” says

“The point,” Reynolds continues, “is that we’re all potentially culpable. It’s easy to point a finger, but we’ve never been put to the test.” Pappas, “then they hit you in the heart. I hope audiences love them as much as we do.”

JUST FOR THE RECORD

Update on Lisa Kron: She still lives in New York, with her wife, playwright Madeleine George, whose play, “The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence” ran at Moxie Theatre in 2015. Together, they are members of the social justice congregation B’nai Yushurun. Kron, who was recently awarded the 2017 Kleban Prize for writing in musical theater (she won for “most promising musical theater librettist”), is working on another musical, an adaptation of the Russian movie “Stilyagi,” about, as she puts it, “the desire for human expressiveness and political pushback against that.” As this Diversionary repertory clearly demonstrates, both of those elements are in Kron’s DNA. Lisa Kron’s plays, “2.5 Minute Ride” and “Well” run in repertory through March 19 at Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., in University Heights. Tickets ($27-$45) and information are at (619) 220-0097; diversionary.org. A

DISTINGUISHED

SPEAKER SERIES 2017

Presented by San Diego Center for Jewish Culture

GOLDBERG LECTURES On the Middle East * PROFESSOR JACOB GOLDBERG ¡ Monday, March 13, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. “ARAB WINTER” CHAOS IN FULL SWING: Six Years and Counting

• The state of the Arab world—fragile, failed, and collapsed states • Sunni-Shi’ite schism, the new Middle East fault line • Iranian-Saudi wars by proxies • The Syrian fiasco—one civil war, six conflicts • Iraq after Mosul: return to civil war or to a unified state? • Erdogan creates a new Turkey-Kurdish self-rule • ISIS in decline but Jihadist terrorism on the rise • Refugees as political pawns

¡ Tuesday, March 14, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. IN THE AFTERMATH OF AMERICAN FAILURES — TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST DILEMMA: Continue Obama’s Retreat or Re-engage? • Scrap the Iran nuclear agreement? • Let Putin call the shots in Syria? • Shift in American priorities— Is Iran or ISIS a bigger threat to US national security? • Check Iran’s regional ambitions? • Adopt a new strategy against Islamist Jihadism? • Put American-Saudi relations back on track?

¡ Wednesday, March 15, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. ISRAELI OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN A CHAOTIC MIDDLE EAST: Trump as an Enigma, Putin as a Challenge • Try to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace process? • Trump as a dilemma • Putin as a challenge • A new regional landscape—growing cooperation with the Sunni block • Iran – the “dormant” strategic threat • The immediate military threats—Hezbollah and Hamas • What if the Syrian war ends in a Putin/Assad/Iran/Hezbollah victory? • PalestinianIsraeli deadlock—between Intifada and a Bi-National State • Israel as a paradox—a high-tech, “start-up” nation vs. a paralyzed political establishment and absence of statecraft • Shimon Peres—the last founding father

* Topics Subject to Change

ROFESSOR JACOB GOLDBERG (PhD from Harvard University in Middle East politics) is a former Senior Adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He is the author of The Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia, and has also published numerous articles in newspapers in Israel and the U.S., including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 63

? GOIN '?ON ?? WHAT'S BY EILEEN SONDAK

San Diego Repertory Theatre

San Diego Rep continues its production of “Sex with Strangers” through March 19. This comedy comes with a warning, so be prepared for strong language and sexuality. “Sex…” is followed on March 30 by the world premiere of “Into the Beautiful North.” The show (which takes audiences on a 1,000-mile road trip from the Mexican coast to the Bahia Hotel in Mission Bay) is a satire that strives to remind audiences “dreams know no boarders.”

San Diego Musical Theatre

City Ballet has a treat for balletomanes March 10-12 at Spreckels. The troupe is dancing works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins – three giants in the world of contemporary ballet. It’s a rare opportunity to see these stunning ballets in San Diego.

Cygnet Theatre

PHOTO BY JIM COX

City Ballet

San Diego Musical Theatre will present “First Date” at the Horton Grand Theater March 31 through May 7. This romantic musical comedy revolves around the chances we take to find love – and it’s hilarious.

Cygnet Theatre is gearing up for the San Diego premiere of “On the 20th Century,” a madcap musical comedy – with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. The show (which takes place on a luxury train to New York) has a cast of colorful characters. It will be ensconced at Cygnet’s Old Town Theatre March 9 through April 30, under Sean Murray’s direction.

La Jolla Playhouse

La Jolla Playhouse’s new musical, “Freaky Friday” will wind down its run at the Weiss Theatre on March 5. “Freaky Friday” is a comedy about an overworked mother and her teenage daughter, who magically swap bodies.

Lamb’s Players Theatre

The Lamb’s Players continues to showcase two of its brightest stars – Robert Smyth and Deborah Gilmour Smyth – in “Shadowlands.” The play recounts the story of C.S. Lewis and the Jewish woman who stole his heart. “Shadowlands” will stay on through April 9.

North Coast Repertory Theatre

North Coast Rep’s production of Tony Kushner’s “The Illusion” –a contemporary work directed by David Ellenstein – continues at the troupe’s Solana Beach home. The piece is an inventive tour de force illustrating the magical nature of theater. You can fall under its spell until March 19. In other news for the North County theater, they have begun exclusive negotiations with the City of Encinitas for development of a “state-of-the-art theater venue.” While this is still very early in the planning and approval process, the theater is optimistic. 64 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

L-R: Donald Faison as Freddy, Justin Long as Albert Einstein, Luna Veléz as Germaine, and Philippe Bowgen as Pablo Picasso in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”

The Old Globe Theatre

Season opener, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” continues on the Main Stage through March 12. The story revolves around a hang-out for struggling artists, circa 1904. Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein hold court there with other interesting characters. Following on March 25 is “Red Velvet,” London’s hit drama that brings history to life with exuberance. The play harks back to the 1800s, when the first black actor portrayed Othello on the London stage. The show will be on the boards through April 30. The Globe’s White Theatre is featuring a world premiere titled “The Blameless,” through March 26. This outgrowth of the Globe’s 2016 New Voices Festival is a compassionate and moving examination of the power of familial bonds in the most extraordinary circumstances.

La Jolla Music Society

La Jolla Music Society will have a full slate this month, starting on March 3 with Jeff Edmons and the Chamber Orchestra performing at Sherwood Auditorium. Violinist Caroline Goulding is on the docket for March 5 at TSRI, and Brad Mehldau will tickle the ivories at Sherwood on March 9. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is coming to Sherwood on March 10. Malandain Ballet Biarritz is dancing “Beauty and the Beast” on that occasion. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is headed to Symphony Hall on March 30, and Max Raabe & Palast Orchester will perform at the Balboa Theater on March 31.

Museum of Contemporary Art

The Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla is closed for renovation and expansion, but there’s a lot going on in the downtown facility. It is showing off Jennifer Steinkamp: Madame Curie” – a digital video animation inspired by the artist’s research into atomic energy – through Aug. 27. “Dimensions of Black: A Collaboration with the San Diego African American Museum of Art” is on view downtown through next January, and “Tristano di Robilant,” sculptures balancing geometric forms with delicate light and color, will stay on through April 30.

Fleet Science Center

The Fleet has two new exhibitions. “Sherlock Holmes and the Clocktower Mystery” is an interactive murder mystery that tests your powers of observation and deductive reasoning, and “So Moved: The Art & Science of Motion,” a hands-on exhibit that explores movement as presented by San Diego artists. The newest IMAX film, (opening March 10) is “Dream Big: Engineering our World” – a first-ofits-kind film that will transform the way we think about engineering. “National Parks Adventure,” and “Extreme Weather” continue

San Diego Symphony

The San Diego Symphony is featuring “Shostakovich and Beethoven” March 3-5. The Fox Film Series will present “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” March 11-12. Violinist Augustin Hadelich will be guest artist, with Markus Stenz on the podium. As with their successful musical and theatrical production of “Star Wars,” the Symphony will project the “Harry Potter” while the orchestra plays along with John Williams’ unforgettable score. Then, “Mozart Up Close” with special guest pianist Orion Weiss, and “She’s Got That Swing: Women in Jazz” on March 18, with some of the most vital female jazz artists performing. Bruckner Symphony No. 8 is slated for March 25-26. Maestro Jahja Ling will conduct, while Yao Zhao performs Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major.

San Diego Opera

The San Diego Opera will stage Peter Brook’s “The Tragedy of Carmen” (a distilled version of Bizet’s classic opera) at the Balboa Theatre March 10-12. Peabody Southwell stars as Carmen, along with Adrian Kramer as Don Jose.

USD Hoehn Galleries

The USD Hoehn Family Galleries are the first ever to display an exhibition of British modernism from the British Museum. On view until May 19, this exhibition chronicles the graphic work of two of the most significant movements of early 20th century modern art in Britain: Vorticism and the Grosvenor School. Selected from the world-renowned print collection of the British San Diego Museum of Art Museum, the exhibition will feature around 60 works by exemplars The San Diego Museum of Art’s newest acquisition is on display – a th of British modernism. The recent 100-year anniversary of the besignificant Spanish masterpiece, Saint James the Lesser. This 17 cenginning of the First World War, as well as recent reassessments of tury work by Baroque master Ribera is a life-sized painting the museVorticism (Tate Britain, 2011) and the Grosvenor School (Museum um can show off with pride. This month’s exhibitions include works th of Fine Arts, Boston 2008) make this an opportune time to consider of German Expressionism, Art of the 20 Century, and Venetian these two path-breaking movements in relation to one another. Views – among others.

Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 65

news Brandeis Nat’l Cmte Hosts Three Authors at Luncheon The Rancho Bernardo Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee will host a lunch-time discussion between authors Layla Fiske, Neal Griffin and Doreen Mattingly, along with moderator Zoe Gharemandi on March 14. The event takes place at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo at 10:30 a.m. The cost is $55 with all proceeds donated to the Brandeis University Scholarship Fund. Registration is requested by March 8. Contact Linda at (858) 487-8041 to R.S.V.P.

Atlantis Announces Jewish Wedding Accommodations Atlantis, Paradise Island, a luxury resort in the Bahamas, is launching a Jewish weddings and celebrations program in partnership with Kosherica, the Glatt Kosher travel industry leader. The program can be combined with LOVE Atlantis wedding packages or planned on a custom basis. Groups can also plan Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, which may include dolphin swims. There is a choice of over 20 ceremony and reception venues on the island.

PHOTO COURTESY HAZON

Environmental Group to Host Fundraiser Bike Ride in North County Hazon, a Jewish environmental organization with operations in San Diego, is launching a group bike ride from Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas on April 2. The all-day, fully-supported ride will take bikers through coastal beaches and inland paved trails. The ride, which can either be 20, 36 or 60 miles, raises money to fight climate change, pollution and the depletion of the world’s natural resources. The ride includes marked roads, cue sheets, sweep cars, mechanics, medics, bathrooms and snacks. Riders pay a registration fee and are encouraged to raise at least $100. The ride will culminate in a group lunch and celebration at Coastal Roots Farm. At the farm, riders will be able to meet and buy from local sustainable venders.

Yad Vashem Opens First West Coast Office

Half of Israeli Jews Unsure About Continued Settlement Construction

The American Society for Yad Vashem, dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, has opened a permanent office in Los Angeles. The Southern California office is the first outside of New York City, and was prompted by hundreds of committed donors who live in the area. Strengthening ties and building relationships will be the L.A. office’s main priorities. The American Society for Yad Vashem was established 35 years ago by a group of Holocaust survivors.

A majority of Jewish Israelis (53 percent) oppose annexing large parts of territories like Judea and Samaria, according to the latest Peace Index released by the Israel Democracy Institute at Tel Aviv University. About 37 percent are in favor of it.

66 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

This is despite the belief by some conservative politicians that Israel must exploit Donald Trump’s presidency to expand construction in the territories. Similarly, 50 percent of the Jewish public thinks it is unwise to expand construction. If the territories were annexed, only 24 percent of Israeli Jews believe Palestinians should be granted citizenship. A divided 30 percent think they should been given resident status and 31 percent believe they should maintain the status they have now.

PHOTO BCOURTESY INDIAN WELLS

Tom Boatright “In the moment.”

Innovators Wanted: UC Health Hack Seeks New Ideas to Solve Critical Health Problems UC San Diego Health and three partner organizations are seeking participants in a two-day “hackathon” focused on finding new solutions to global health problems. Health care experts will work with the public to develop their ideas into practical innovations.

International Art Showcased at Desert Festival A collection of art spanning 25 countries will be on display at the Indian Wells Arts Festival from March 31 to April 2. Paintings, sculptures, jewelry, fashion, photography, ceramics and other mediums will be exhibited and available for purchase directly from the artists. David Palmer, an L.A. based pop art painter, was chosen as the festival’s Feature and Commemorative Print Artist for 2017. Indian Wells is a desert city just southeast of Palm Springs.

State Archives Explore California During World War II in New Online Exhibition The California State Archives’ latest online exhibit, “Home Front: California During World War II,” displays the sacrifices Californians made at home and overseas, the defense industry’s boom, the shameful internment of the Japanese and other items of interest through photos, telegraphs and other documents. In partnership with the Google Cultural Institute, “Home Front” is the sixth online exhibit released by the State Archives. Past exhibits include the construction of the Bay Bridge, California’s first motorists and highways, the history of California state parks, the office of the California Secretary of State and the nation’s first political consulting firm, Campaigns Inc. The California State Archives, a division of the Office of the California Secretary of State, maintains all government and other public records relevant to California’s history. The archives are located in Sacramento. Find the online exhibition at sos.ca.gov.

Adopt a Family Hosts “Evening for Israel”

PHOTO BCOURTESY AAFF

The Adopt a Family Foundation is hosting its annual fundraising gala this month at El Cortex in downtown. Dubbed “An Evening for Israel” the event will feature Denis Charbit, professor at Open University and visiting scholar at UC Irvine along with singer/songwriter Liel Kolet. The gala takes place March 26 beginning at 6 p.m. Details at adoptafamilyfoundation.org.

“Often times,” said Josh Glandorf, director of hospital affiliations at UC San Diego Health, “these entrepreneurs miss the mark because they don’t understand how health care works. During the hack, we will describe challenges to help participants converge on an idea and develop real-world solutions.” UC San Diego Health, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, UC Irvine Health and the UC San Diego student-led chapter of Engineering World Health are partnering for the first time to host the hackathon March 4 through 5. The hackathon is free and open to anyone 18 or older. More information at uchealthhack.ucsd.edu.

Hotline for Jewish Women Extends Hours of Operation Nishmat’s Golda Koschitsky Women’s Halachic Hotline (1-877-YOETZET) – which assists Jewish women seeking woman-to-woman advice on personal questions related to Jewish Law (halacha) and women’s health – announced new, extended hours of operation in the United States and Canada, beginning Thursday, Feb. 23. A new callback feature invites callers to leave a phone number if the line is busy. The Hotline, staffed by women halachic consultants is supervised by rabbinic scholars in New York. Questions most often refer to issues gynecological problems and procedures, pregnancy, prenatal testing and childbirth, fertility treatments, family planning and menopause.

Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 67

DIVERSIONS

After their old flat becomes damaged, Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), a young couple living in Tehran, are forced to move into a new apartment. However, once relocated, a sudden eruption of violence linked to the previous tenant of their new home dramatically changes the couple’s life, creating a simmering tension between husband and wife.

“The Salesman” BY NATALIE JACOBS

he Oscars turned political again this year, after 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite campaign brought attention to the unrepresentative complexion of last year’s nominee roster. While that issue has bubbled up in Hollywood before, the controversy this year is from an unlikely source – the President of the United States. As a result of Trump’s Executive Order which placed a travel ban on people from seven Middle Eastern and African countries, the director of Iran’s Oscar-nominated film “The Salesman” decided that there were too many “ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip.” Asghar Farhadi would not be traveling to Los Angeles from Tehran for the Oscars. His movie, however, is screening in San Diego this month as planned and it is well worth seeing. The film’s drama happens between scenes from Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” The central couple, Emad and Rana, are acting as Willy and Linda Loman in a theatrical production of that play when their life is turned upside down in a couple different ways. That the quintessential play about the “American Dream” rolls beneath the action is no accident, but Farhadi (the writer and director) takes pains to string the audience along for as long as possible until he offers 68 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

any substantial clues as to what he might actually be trying to say about that. The differences between the two societies – the capitalist United States of the mid-20th century and the crumbling metropolis of contemporary Tehran – are made clear through subtle references to government censorship of the “Salesman” production, and a complex scene in which Willy Loman’s mistress complains of needing to get dressed, while wearing a wool coat instead of a nightgown. Farhadi is a thoughtful storyteller, with a patience and restraint that is distinctly not American. He used the statement about his decision not to attend the Oscars to share what he would have said, had he been able to travel freely to the event. “Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an ‘us and them’ mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of ‘them’ and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.” Farhadi asserts that “instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals” but says that he believes the similarities between humans of all nationalities far outweighs the differences. His film “The Salesman” celebrates the differences between humans in different social contexts and by watching it, we may get closer to those universal commonalities. A

Support our dog’s Hebrew education! Students Give the Gift of Sight to Israeli Blind Students are urged to help sponsor a puppy, either as a class Tzedakah Project, or as a Mitzvah Project for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah, to assist blind Israeli veterans and civilians in regaining their lives.

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 69

Looking Back, Looking Forward At the End of a Long Tenure Tifereth Israel’s Rabbi Rosenthal retires after 29 years BY NATALIE JACOBS

hen he retires on March 5, Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal will give up his seat as San Diego’s currently longest-serving rabbi. With 29 years at Tifereth Israel in San Carlos, Rosenthal isn’t the longest-serving rabbi in our city’s history (that honor still rests with Rabbi Marty Lawson who served 36 years at Temple Emanu-El), but he’s still pretty proud, and frankly a bit surprised, that he lasted as long as he did. I spoke with Rabbi Rosenthal in his office, piled with boxes, books and paperwork that he was rifling through in preparation for his big transition. We talked about what’s next for the synagogue, what’s next for his personal life, and a few fond memories of the events and programs he’s presided over. The following Q&A has been edited for length. San Diego Jewish Journal: Does someone like an associate rabbi come and take your place? RABBI ROSENTHAL: No, there’s no associate rabbi here, I’m the only rabbi. Our size, we don’t need another rabbi. The congregation is now actively looking for my successor.

low point. I have colleagues that were kind of gently encouraged to retire, when they thought they could or should be working longer. I never wanted it to be like that. I always wanted to go out when things were going good and I felt healthy and young enough to do something else with my life.

SDJJ: It’s a nation wide search? RR: Yes, and they’ve been working on it for about a year and a half now. The first year they spent thinking about what they want as far as a next rabbi and as a congregation. But they started the actual search after the High Holidays.

SDJJ: Do you know what that’s going to be? RR: My standard answer is drive my wife crazy. [Laughs] But I’m not sure exactly yet. I’ve got a few more years to do something else but I’m not quite sure what it is.

SDJJ: How long had you been considering retirement before you made the announcement? RR: Since the day I started working here. [Smiles] I really can’t pinpoint when I started thinking about it. Seriously, probably the last couple of years, as I got closer to 65. My contract with the congregation runs for another couple of years but I decided it was a good time for me and a good time for the congregation to retire a little earlier than that. SDJJ: Are there certain things going on in the congregation that make now a good time to retire? RR: No, actually things are good. I’ve always wanted to retire at a high point rather than a 70 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

SDJJ: Have you experienced any changes in the synagogue in your tenure here? RR: Yes, tremendous changes. Demographic changes have had a tremendous impact since I first came. This used to be the center of the Jewish community – San Carlos, College Area, Del Cerro – the JCC used to be on 54th Street. The congregation is smaller now than it was when I first came in. The demographics have changed as far as who joins and doesn’t join the synagogue. The nature of the synagogue has changed too – we used to be much larger corporate personality and now we’re much more family oriented. It’s a tighter group now. SDJJ: Do you have any favorite fond mem-

ories of your time here? RR: First thing that leapt to mind was family camp. We haven’t done it in a long time, but family camps were fun. Some of the holiday celebrations have been a lot of fun – Purim. Many years ago we did a ceremony for Russian immigrants to the country who had never had Jewish weddings. A lot of good times and happy memories. SDJJ: Will you continue to worship here afterward? RR: Yes, I plan to. I’ll put some space between myself and the new rabbi so he or she can find his or her own place without my interference, but I plan to. SDJJ: What does that transition look like? RR: It really depends on the incoming rabbi. I was Rabbi Gold’s associate for a couple of years so he was very helpful with that transition as far as me being his successor. I’ll be as helpful or not as they want me to be. It’s really up to them. As I tell people, during the High Holidays my plan is to sit in the back, complain about the service, the temperature of the synagogue and the rabbi, just like everybody else. [Laughs]. A Tifereth Israel will likely announce its new rabbi by July. Visit tiferethisrael.com for more information.

SYNAGOGUE LIFE PURIM CELEBRATIONS

ILLUSTRATION BY PEPE FAINBERG

Purim Carnival at Tifereth Israel March 5 10 a.m.-1 p.m. 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd. San Diego, CA 92119 Jumpies, carnival games, temporary tattoos, crafts, karaoke, photo booth, professional face painting, prizes, and more. Call (619) 697-6001 for more information. Temple Solel Annual Purim Carnival March 8, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 3575 Manchester Ave, Cardiff, CA 92007 templesolel.net The festivities include games and rides, great ethnic food and even spa services for adults. Temple Adat Shalom’s Annual Purim Carnival March 12, 11:45 a.m. 15905 Pomerado Road, Poway, California 92064 adatshalom.com A wide range of carnival games with exciting prizes, entertainment by “The Amazing Dana!”, face painting, bounce house, homemade hamantaschen pastries and more. Community Purim Carnival Hosted by Beth Israel and Beth El March 12, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 4126 Executive Dr. La Jolla, CA 92037 cbisd.org Wristband includes all rides and games (obstacle course, game truck, train, ring toss, photo booth and much more) *Interested in having your event featured?

Purim Carnival at Temple Emanu-El March 12 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 6299 Capri Drive San Diego CA, 92120 teesd.org Featuring games for all ages. Costumes encouraged. Purim Palooza with Beth Am March 12, 9 a.m. Nickel City 8990 Miramar Road San Diego, Ca 92126 $15 per person which includes: Megillah reading, two slices of pizza, unlimited drinks and popcorn, free bowling. Call (858) 481-2869 for more information. Purim Carnival at Chabad of East County March 12, 2 p.m. Boomers El Cajon, 1155 Graves Ave, El Cajon, CA 92021 There will be a Megillah reading, pizza and free play at Boomers. Reservations required. Call (619) 389-8770. Purim Dinner at Temple Beth Shalom March 12 4 p.m. 6299 Capri Drive San Diego CA, 92120 Cost is $10 at the door. Call (858) 344-5632

Contact assistant@sdjewishjournal.com. Submissions are due by 15th of the month for the next issue.

Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 71

JUNE 12th through AUGUST 11th

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Please contact Preschool Director Tamara Levin at (619) 286-2999 or tamara@teesd.org to enroll or for additional information 6299 Capri Drive San Diego, CA 92120 (619) 286-2555 temple@teesd.org • www.teesd.org • facebook.com/teesd Devorah Marcus, Rabbi • Martin S. Lawson, Rabbi Emeritus Shiri Haines, Executive Director •JMadeline Gershwin, Presidents Affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism

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Lights of Ohr Shalom A dinner honoring

The Past Presidents of Ohr Shalom and its predecessor synagogues: Shelley Berman Eddy Cohen Norman Greene Stan Heyman George Kaplan Morris Lazard Susie Meltzer Raulf Polichar Rocky Reid Ruben Rosental Al Shelden Mark Smith Mark Strauss Jane Zeer Please join us:

Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 5:00 PM Ohr Shalom Synagogue Social Hall 2512 Third Avenue, San Diego Contact us! Phone (619) 784 8886

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 75

ASK MARNIE

by Marnie Macauley

ADVICE asksadie@aol.com

Wedding Wonders Personally, I’ve rarely seen a “tsouris-free” major simcha. Is there a special helix in our DNA that manages to find the OY VEY in happy events? We Jews who have spent centuries running, hoping, trying to survive have become, after 3,000 years, a little…suspicious should a little mazel creep in there. And if, G-d willing, things are going well, a Jew with saychel might even create some tsouris…to deflect any outside demons from ruining a perfectly exquisite event. WEDDED BLISS-TERS? Dear Marnie: My future mother in- law called to say that she may not be able to join us in Scottsdale for our wedding due to the fact that she is trying to sell her house in Tucson. She wants us to consider changing the location! She knew my family was making the wedding in Scottsdale and we booked with the synagogue and catering hall over a year ago. I’m furious! Should I just go with this, blow it off, or call and confront her?! - Rock and hard place MARNIE SAYS: Mamala, the following words have been handed down to me since the very first “Marnie the Maven” advised “Vilda the Chaya” in the next cave whose MIL brought her own bison to Shabbos. Now I shall pass these words onto you: Don’t START! Hear that? That’s the sound of your mouth filling with bilious ire, aching to spew: “Who the HECK does she think she ....” OK, you feel manipulated by a mama in-law who has fast become “high maintenance.” Suddenly your plans are “an issue” you feel you have to defend. All I’ve heard is “I.” Where’s the “son,” our khosn? Choosing latke puffs? Well, how does he feel about this mess in the making? Get things straight with your fiancé. 76 SDJewishJournal.com l March 2017

Decide together how you’ll go. For example, celebrate with her after the wedding, help her get to the wedding – whatever. Then, it’s up to him to call her with these suggestions. When it comes to new in-law meshugas, the very best thing you can do in the interest of peace, harmony and your stomach lining is ... bupkes. You have a lifetime to work with him on new “mommy” strategies. For now, allow your future mate to lead this dance – that is, if you want your “First Dance” as man and wife to be to the theme from “Love Story” not a Mylanta commercial. STEPSON STEPS ON WEDDING BELLS? Dear Marnie: I’m a widow engaged to a widower I met on a Jewish marriage site over five years ago. The problem is his 18-yearold son. (My late husband and I did not have children.) When we first started dating I thought the boy was okay with this. From the start I put up with him. I try to be civil but mostly we avoid each other. A few weeks ago, the boy wrote a letter to his dad stating if we married he wouldn’t come to the wedding or spend summers at home (he’s in college away). It was left in a conspicuous place, so I couldn’t help but read it. After meeting with our rabbi, my fiancé said he

wouldn’t let it interfere, but talk of marriage has come to an abrupt halt. I don’t want to be in limbo because of the whims of his son. Will this boy, who I think is a spoiled brat, get better or should I look for a way out? – Stuck in San Diego MARNIE SAYS: I could tell you to stop lying to “dad,” to talk to “the boy” together with concern, honesty and devotion, then ask your rabbi about counseling and support groups. But I won’t. Because you won’t. Why? Because you don’t want to. Face it. Whether “the boy” is as appetizing as a sinus infection, or he’s responding to one (you), you can’t stand him. Truth, now, OK? You didn’t “try” – you “tolerated.” As did his papa. You see, if after two years you’re both: a) this “unkosher” in your communication with each other and “the boy,” b) still clueless enough to believe avoidance is terrific solution, your chances of finding lasting love here are about the same as finding a pastrami sandwich in downtown Damascus. Unless you and Dad get “unstuck” by tackling this as adults, go! Scram. For even if you manage to “win,” a victory upon the broken back of a stepchild it will be a precarious and pathetic one, indeed. A

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Theodore Ellison - San Diego, CA 07/26/1947 - 12/19/2016 Survivors: Sister - Renee Kuhl Rosalie Asakura - Solana Beach , CA 07/19/1930 - 12/20/2016 Survivors: Daughter- Lisa Godwin, SonGary Klugman, 4 Grandchildren & 2 GreatGrndchildren

Michael Fischer - San Diego , CA 07/22/1956 - 12/21/2016 Survivors: Wife - Debbie Fischer & Sons- Andrew & Steven Fischer

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Adar • Nisan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 77

“Old-fashioned musical comedy magic” – USA Today

e h t on

0 2 th

CENTURY

a medy! o c madc l ap mu s i ca BOOK AND LYRICS BY BETTY COMDEN AND ADOLPH GREEN MUSIC BY CY COLEMAN DIRECTED BY

MUSIC DIRECTION BY

SEAN MURRAY TERRY O’DONNELL

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CHOREOGRAPHY BY

DAVID BRANNEN

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