L'CHAIM Magazine 0321 Passover Issue

MARCH 2021

HAPPY PASSOVER

DIVERSITY AND DISCOVERY Plus:

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contents

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March 2021 • www.lchaimmagazine.com

1000 WORDS Collector of Jewish Souls: A rabbi’s treasures culled from around the world................

COVER STORY Discovery and Diversity of Pesach....................................................................................................................

Pesach Basics: Alef-bet on how to prep a Seder at home..............................................................

FOOD

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12 14

Mushroom Pizza Bites...................................................................................................................................

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FEATURES Ten Fabulous Fortresses in Israel...........................................................................................................

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Dating in a Pandemic: Some Jewish singles battle loneliness, others find creative approaches to time..........................................................................................

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PASSOVER SEDER

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MUSHROOM PIZZA BITES

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Hershey Felder...................................................................................................................................................

ADL............................................................................................................................................................................

COLUMNS

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Prayers & Passages................................

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Mazel and Mishagoss............................

PUBLISHERS Diane Benaroya & Laurie Miller

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TORAH l BY RABBI-CANTOR CHERI WEISS

prayers

& passages Finding the unique in our Passover traditions

Y

ou might think that the most popular holidays on the Jewish calendar are the High Holy Days. However, statistics prove that it is Passover which is the mostcelebrated holiday of our year. Even those who take a hard pass on fasting and praying on Yom Kippur want to get in on a Seder.

The Torah commands us to teach the story of Passover to our children: “On that day you shall tell your child, I do this because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.”

(Exodus 13:8). “In days to come, when your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

(Exodus 13:14) Yet the Torah has many commandments, most of which have faded from our Jewish lives save for the most observant Jews. Why is this one so important?

If you ask a dozen people about their family’s Passover Seders, you will get a dozen unique stories. My childhood memories of Passover still make me smile as I remember relatives who have long-since passed away. My beloved Uncle Harris sneakily drinking half the Cup of Elijah when we kids left the room then telling us with a wide grin on his face, “He was here and you just missed him!” I can 6

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

still smell the aroma of my Grandmother’s matzah ball soup, which she lovingly prepared only for this holiday. She sent me the recipe years later when I asked for it, and I still treasure following the instructions written out in her own handwriting.

Foods and family customs are a vehicle for transmitting our people’s story and Jewish values from one generation to the next. We all have a Seder plate with the similar foods, we tell the same story, but it is the uniqueness of our own celebrations that touches our hearts and keeps us coming back for more year after year. We become a living part of our own Jewish history, and we transmit that forward with both joy and reverence.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory expressed this connection beautifully: “I believe that I am a character in our people’s story, with my own chapter to write, and so are we all. To be a Jew is to see yourself as part of that story, to make it live in our time, and to do your best to hand it on to those who will come after us.”

Last year, the pandemic compelled us to find a new way to celebrate, writing yet another chapter in our personal Passover story. On the first night, we held a family Seder on Zoom, which included some

relatives who have never celebrated this holiday together: my brother in Japan, my Mom in Florida, cousins in Boston and Los Angeles, my kids in Santa Barbara and Portland, my daughter’s Dad in another part of San Diego. To be honest, it was wonderful.

We talked, we laughed, we sang and we told the story of the Jewish people escaping from Egypt.

In other words, we lived the essence of Passover. Wherever you may be this year, may the essence of Passover find its way to you.

RABBI-CANTOR CHERI WEISS IS THE FOUNDER AND SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE SAN DIEGO OUTREACH SYNAGOGUE, A POST-DENOMINATIONAL CONGREGATION THAT WELCOMES PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS INTERESTED IN EXPLORING A UNIQUE MIXTURE OF TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSIC, PRAYER AND LEARNING. SHE IS ALSO THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY CHOIR, WHICH EXPLORES A WIDE VARIETY OF JEWISH MUSIC INCLUDING LITURGICAL PRAYERS, ISRAELI FAVORITES, MUSICAL THEATER AND OTHER POPULAR SONGS BY JEWISH COMPOSERS AND MUCH MORE.

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L’CHAIM | BY DEBORAH FINEBLUM | JNS.ORG A sample of the hanukyiot collection hailing from (from top to bottom) Italy, Morocco, India, Poland and Greece.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

L’CHAIM

1000

WORDS COLLECTOR OF JEWISH SOULS

A RABBI’S TREASURES CULLED FROM AROUND THE WORLD

A

12-branch copper candelabra kindled on holidays by Jews in 18th-century Italy. Sheets of prayers handwritten in Hebrew by an unknown scribe in 15thcentury Spain. An oven for baking matzah from 19th-century Portugal. A Passover Haggadah in Hebrew and Arabic from 18thcentury Iraq, transported to India where it was discovered more than 300 years later.

These are among the thousands of treasures from the Jewish past that Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum has collected over the last 22 years.

Treasures he’s discovered while mentoring the rabbis and teachers the outreach and education organization Ohr Torah Stone (OTS) has dispatched to Jewish communities around the globe.

Many of the artifacts — well-loved and well-used by Jews in days gone by — were gifts from family collections. Others Birnbaum has found among the battered tin cups and moldy picture frames in junk shops, and still others he unearthed while exploring old genizas — repositories for sacred books and documents no longer fit for use.

The rabbi’s office in Ohr Torah Stone’s headquarters in Efrat, Israel, in addition to his walls and shelves at home, are a virtual tour of Jewish history around the world, including objects from India, Poland, Egypt, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Uganda, Jamaica, Georgia, Singapore, Ethiopia, New Zealand, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Tunisia, Portugal and Uruguay, too.

“Behind every one of them there is a story,” says Birnbaum. “Each one invites us into another time and another place where generations of Jews have lived. Each one says,

Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum in India.

‘We were here.’ “ Take the matzah oven, for instance.

Covered with common roofing tiles, it was ingeniously designed to camouflage its function during a time when celebrating a Jewish holiday would easily have gotten Portuguese Jews into serious trouble with the authorities. An unexpected bonus came with this gift from an old Jewish family there: A box of 70-year-old matzah from the last time it was used.

When he arrives in a community to work with the OTS rabbis and teachers there, sooner or later, Birnbaum slips into detective mode. “Yes, we have a geniza, but it’s nothing

important,” he’s been told numerous times.

“But I’ve found amazing old books, prayers, Haggadahs and more in those places.”

No wonder Rabbi Birnbaum’s been called the Jewish Indiana Jones.

Though possessing the soul of a collector, Birnbaum’s life’s work is actually as a collector of Jewish souls. Indeed, his gathering of bits and pieces of Jewish history is a natural outgrowth of his travels as director of OTS’ Straus-Amiel and Beren-Amiel Emissary Program.

“Committed to the rejuvenation and cultivation of world Jewish community” through the training and placing of rabbis WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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L'CHAIM

and educators to serve communities on virtually every continent, the program has 277 emissaries in 300 communities in all.

And it keeps the rabbi on the road more than half the year (in pre-coronavirus times) to support these young (mostly Israeli-born) emissaries.

TAKING TORAH ON THE ROAD

Born into a strongly Zionistic community in Uruguay soon after his bar mitzvah in 1972, Birnbaum made aliyah by himself, living with a cousin until his parents and sister arrived two years afterwards. A dozen years later, he’d earned his rabbinical degree from Har Etzion Yeshiva, eventually becoming chief rabbi of his native Uruguay.

It was there that he took a walk with a visitor — OTS founder Rabbi Shlomo Riskin — one that was destined to change Birnbaum’s life. The year was 1996.

“I saw how knowledgeable and charismatic he was — a natural for outreach,” recalls Riskin. “The Lubavitcher Rebbe had told me, ‘Your new empire in Efrat will last until the coming of the Moshiach on the condition that you send out Israeli emissaries of Torah all over the world, as Isaiah teaches, ‘Because from Zion Torah will come forth.’ As soon as I met Rabbi Birnbaum, I knew he was the one to lead this.”

On their walk, Birnbaum said he had also been wondering how to replicate what he was doing in Uruguay all over the world. “And I told him that’s exactly what I want him to do for OTS,” says Riskin. “To see to it that Jews throughout the world would appreciate their beautiful tradition and their amazing history.”

More than 20 years after that fateful walk, 277 OTS rabbis and teachers, in partnership with their spouses, work with communities on nearly every continent.

Eliran Shabo is one such rabbi. Last year, the Jerusalem native, his wife and their children were sent to Athens, Greece. “When my family and I arrived in this warm and welcoming community, we soon learned about its rich past and traditions that had 10

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

almost disappeared from the world,” he says. “Romaniot Jews [emigrating to Greece and Rome following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.] have customs that are more than 2,000 years old — sometimes in the community’s Jewish institutions, I feel like I’m in a living museum.”

OTS president Rabbi Kenneth Brander, who came on board following Riskin’s retirement in 2018, says he’s been impressed with Birnbaum’s devotion to the OTS communities and the young leaders sent to enrich them.

“For decades, he’s helped people in hundreds of communities around the world to know and own their Jewish story,” says Brander. “Our emissaries, who speak 24 different languages, touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year with each community having its own history and traditions and its own challenges.”

The rabbis help community members untangle such dilemmas as to how to bury loved ones in accordance with Jewish law in countries where the authorities insist on cremation. “Our rabbis are called upon to be spiritual leaders no matter how young they are,” reports Birnbaum. “The million-dollar question is how to keep Jewish momentum going in these communities today, especially with COVID keeping everyone apart.”

And, while most of the people Birnbaum spends time with around the world are Jewish, others he visits have no halachic claim but nonetheless trace their roots deep in the Jewish past, often believing that they are descended from the 10 lost tribes.

“We’re still connected with them,” he says. “And we need to respect and appreciate them.”

THE POWER OF THE OBJECT

Indeed, Birnbaum will tell you that his collection of ancient Jewish artifacts serves two interlocking purposes. “By learning about the past from them, we both raise the pride of the Jews there with their long and beautiful history, and we raise the awareness of Jews everywhere that the Jewish people

survived and even thrived in virtually every corner of the world.”

To Chaviva Levin, a senior lecturer in Jewish history at Yeshiva University in New York, rescuing and sharing these ancient Jewish treasures unleashes an irreplaceable power showing what it felt like to be Jewish over the generations and around the world.

“It’s the simple act of connecting with something a Jew touched so long ago,” she says. “Through them, we can sense their relationship with their culture, with their people, showing us that they are so different from us and yet we’re so connected — so strange and so familiar at the same time.”

As Brander puts it: “Each of these found objects is a portal to celebrate our people and empower Jews everywhere to know our own story.”

Now that they’re brought together in the Jewish homeland, Birnbaum says he’s looking to use these resources from the Jewish past to open the eyes, minds and hearts of today’s Jews. Towards that end, he’s hoping to open a museum for visitors to experience what he calls “the multi-colored story of Jewish life around the globe.”

But these days, the 62-year-old Birnbaum, like so many others, has been benched by COVID-19, allowing him to spend more time at home in Israel with his wife, four grown daughters and their families. Yet, he says, he misses spending time with these farflung Jewish communities.

“Traveling as much as I usually do throughout the Jewish world and the lost tribe communities, I’ve enjoyed a life filled with every color of Am Yisrael,” says the rabbi. “It’s difficult for me to be apart from them for so long.”

But at least he’s surrounded by so many of the objects that remind him of those far-away communities. “Looking at them, we can learn so much about our people’s history over the centuries and in the different cultures where we’ve found ourselves,” he says. “They can wake up Jewish souls one piece at a time.”

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COVER STORY | BY DEBORAH VIETOR

PASSOVER 2021

Diversity and Discovery

PHOTO COURTESY: ANN JAFFE

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

COVER STORY

F

or Passover this year, L’CHAIM is proud to introduce several interesting and creative people making a difference in the Jewish community and how they celebrate Passover.

Although the focus is on diversity, we also explore and discover new and different ways to celebrate Passover.

Jana Mazurkiewicz is the founder and CEO of YAAANA, the Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (www.yaaana.org). She is a theater director, playwright, and a Yiddish educator and activist. She is working on her PhD in Yiddish theater at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Originally from Poland, Mazurkiewicz provides a connection for Polish Jews in San Diego. She also creates theatrical opportunities in Yiddish theater within the Jewish Queer community, providing a safe place for these performers.

For Passover this year, Mazurkiewicz has created a global Seder where members of the Queer community can perform virtually and share their experiences.

Each location will include an individual Seder, sharing their own traditions and cuisine, magically coming together.

Soon, she will be reaching out for volunteers to perform the Seder which can be shared internationally via Zoom.

She shares her creativity, inclusion and joy of Jewish culture and holidays with her husband and young daughter. Ultimately, Mazurkiewicz is creating “Yiddish Land” which is a kind of Disneyland for Jews everywhere interested in Yiddish.

Ann Jaffe is a philanthropist, Registered Dietician, Nutritionist and volunteer within the San Diego Jewish community.

Prior to COVID, Ann hosted 40 people for Passover Seder, some of whom had not attended a Seder and occasionally, individuals from our military. Her focus is to connect people of all backgrounds, through the holidays and Judaism.

This year, her family, including her husband and 3 adult children will celebrate differently, in a hybrid fashion — using Facetime and Zoom to connect with people — and with limited family

members in her home.

Jaffe plans on providing “Passover in a box” as a food service to others in addition to finding new and creative ways to honor and support Jewish women.

“This year due to COVID restrictions, we need to be more creative in our use of our rituals and symbols for our Seder.

Most importantly is to treat everyone well and to repair the world through Tikkun Olam,” Jaffe said.

She also wrote a cookbook for family and friends and has found ways to incorporate healthy habits into the Seder (see below for one of her recipes). She uses lots of vegetables, including sweet potatoes and her husband’s favorite, “Passover Pizza.” This includes matza with tomato sauce and cheese. Another creative way to use matza!

Supporting women has always been important to Jaffe, as she shared each year she includes an orange on the Seder plate.

Why an Orange? Because years ago, a Rabbi said a woman belongs on the bimah like an orange belongs on a Seder plate.”

Naomi Gabai-Fisher is Director of Education and has been with B’nai Tikvah since 2006. She works with students from the ages of 7 to 13 and with teens in middle and high school.

Gabai-Fisher shared that she finds it very rewarding to pass on our traditions as it is written in the Haggadah as well as in the Ve-ahavta: “You should teach them to your children.”

She enjoys the children asking questions, and celebrating with their family and friends as they become part of our community, developing an important connection to our people.

Regarding Passover, Gabai-Fisher facilitates learning about all aspects of the holiday, including a variety of our religious and family traditions. They focus on the 4 Questions in Hebrew and English.

“We will have a ‘Taste of the Exodus’ experiential activity a few days before the B’nai Tikvah first Seder,” she said.

Due to the COVID situation, the Religious School has been on Zoom this year.

Older and younger children interact during class time with an emphasis on exploring the use of Break-out Rooms

during the congregational Seder. This feature on Zoom offers an opportunity for families to be together as well as a separate children’s activity.

The congregation has secured Worship Service Permits for monthly outdoor services and holiday events in a local park with social distancing and people wearing masks. The religious school is no longer a neighborhood school, with families located in the San Diego County area, out of town and out of state.

Kids are allowed to be kids as group classes and smaller Hebrew Pods are interactive with social time for the children built in. Partnering with ShalomLearning, an online Hebrew and values curriculum, the structure is flexible to the needs of the children and everyone has a place in the virtual classroom.

"There are many ways to learn in addition to the traditional classroom setting. In some ways the experiential approach can be more exciting, drawing the children in, learning about Judaism, values, and holidays such as Passover so that we may truly discover learning through the eyes of a child," she said.

Here’s to a meaningful Passover Seder ­— no matter how you celebrate this year!

ANN JAFFE’S MOCK CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER Ingredients 2 onions, chopped 3 tablespoons your favorite cooking oil 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts 5 hard boiled eggs 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon Sherry salt and pepper to taste.

Directions 1. Sauté onions with the oil and sugar until golden brown, Remove onions and put in bowl.

2. Sauté the walnuts in the same skillet as used for the onions.

3. Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix together. Do not over blend, should have some texture and completely smooth. Refrigerate and enjoy!

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PASSOVER

PESACH Basics

'Alef-bet' on how to prep a seder at home

BY JACKSON RICHMAN | JNS.ORG

What is Needed for the Passover Seder Haggadah booklets Matzah (handmade shmurah matzah is ideal) Wine or grape juice Maror (bitter herbs, typically romaine lettuce and grated horseradish) Vegetable for dipping Saltwater (just salt and water) Food for your Passover feast Roasted bone (chicken neck or lamb shank) Charoset Eggs Cutlery (either disposable or kosher for Passover)

T

he Jewish holiday of Passover — the celebration of Jewish freedom — is traditionally spent with family and friends.

But with the coronavirus curtailing travel plans and social interactions, many are facing the prospect of celebrating Passover alone.

“It is vital for everyone to have their own Passover Seder,” Rabbi Mendy Cohen at Chabad of the Main Line in Merion Station, Pa., said. “The Seder is essential; it is a Jewish highlight of the year. Many of our fondest memories revolve around the Seder. It is an opportunity to focus on Exodus that took place 3,300 years ago, and at the same time, to realize that freedom is still so relevant to us today.”

He noted that according to Chassidic teachings, Mitzraim, or “Egypt,” comes from the Hebrew root word meitzar for “boundary.”

“Going out of Egypt means we need to go out of our own Egypt, our own limitations, our own self-inflicted slavery,” he explained.

“The Passover Seder is about experiencing liberty and freedom, the Exodus from Egypt, and also our own personal Exodus — me, now, today.”

“For many right now, without our usual family and friends, it is easy to say ‘forget it, we can skip it this year,’ “ he continued. “But in truth, the challenge of this year’s Seder, of this year’s freedom is to do have our Seder in our homes, smaller ones or possibly even alone, and make it personal with God. Today, it is more relevant than ever.”

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

Can you suggest some ballpark quantities?

Wine: Every individual needs to drink four cups of wine or grape juice, so a bottle of wine per person per Seder is a safe bet. (If you have small, 3 oz. cups, a single bottle should just be enough for two nights.)

Matzah: If you are alone, three matzahs for each evening will cover you just fine. You should factor in an additional two matzahs per additional participant, as well as some extra for snacking during the meal. (There are various customs of exactly how much matzah to eat, and some matzahs are thicker and bigger than others. These estimates assume you will be using round matzah, which is somewhat larger than square, but better to err on the side of caution.)

Maror: Each person needs to have two portions of maror (one eaten alone and one as part of the Korech sandwich), each one at least twothirds of an ounce (total). Preparing two ounces per person per night will have you covered.

Vegetables and Saltwater, and Charoset: Even a minimal amount will do (in fact, you should eat less than an olive-bulk of the dipping vegetable).

Roasted bone: Is not eaten at all, so you just need one per Seder plate.

Egg: One egg per Seder plate is fine. Some have the custom to eat the egg during the meal. If this is the case, prepare a few extra.

Feast Food: Bear in mind that you will be eating after having imbibed two cups of wine, and lots of matzah and maror, so you may not be too hungry.

Can you suggest a Haggadah I can print online?

You can choose from a number of options. Pick one to fit your style and print as many as you need.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

FOOD

MUSHROOM PIZZA BITES

O

ver the years, dietitian nutritionist, educator, published author, mom and health enthusiast Ilana Muhlstein M.S., R.D.N. has become a sought-after weight loss expert. Ilana is an acclaimed public speaker and influencer and sits on the prestigious Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association.

She has been lecturing for the Bruin Health Improvement Program at UCLA since 2013 and is a contributing writer for distinguished publications including The Journal of Obesity, and has been featured in the LA Times, The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, SHAPE, Health and Women’s Health.

“My mission is to show people that a healthy lifestyle is easier and much more attainable than they think. I love to empower people through their journey, free them from their insecure past times, and take them into the next amazing chapter of their lives”.

Ilana also created the popular weight-loss program called the 2B Mindset™ based on her experience, advanced education, and her hundreds of personal clients both at UCLA and in private practice.

Over 200,000 participants have joined the program since its inception. And has since launched The Mindset Membership as well as her new book You Can Drop It! Here is one of her recipes, perfect for Passover.

Join Sharsheret on March 17th at 11 a.m. PST, to watch Ilana Muhlstein, MS, RDN demo this recipe (and others) and share tips for a healthier Passover from Beachbody.

MUSHROOM PIZZA BITES

(Makes 1 serving)

Nonstick cooking spray 12 large white mushrooms, stems removed 1/4 cup chopped raw spinach 1/4 cup all-natural marinara sauce Garlic powder (to taste; optional) 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; coat with spray.

2. Arrange mushrooms on prepared baking sheet, stem-side 3.

4.

5.

6.

down; coat lightly with spray. Bake for 6 minutes; leave oven on.

Flip mushrooms; let mushrooms sit for 1 minute to release liquid.

Pour out any liquid that has collected inside the mushroom cap, then blot dry with a paper towel.

Fill each mushroom with 1 tsp. spinach, 1 tsp. marinara sauce, and garlic powder (if desired); top with 1 tsp. cheese. Bake for 3 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Garnish with basil; serve immediately, or store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to four days.

Note: You can replace spinach with your favorite veggie pizza toppings.

Cook harder vegetables, like bell peppers or onions before using. You can even finely chop the mushroom stems, cook them with garlic, and add to your “pizzas.”

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FEATURE

TEN FABULOUS Fortresses in Israel Israel is the place to imagine yourself in shining armor

BY NAAMA BARAK, ISRAEL21C VIA JNS

The Apollonia Fortress in Herzliya, Israel.

PHOTO BY ALLA KHANANASHVILI VIA SHUTTERSTOCK

W

hen you think of Israel, castles aren’t the first thing that comes to mind, which is a shame considering that the country boasts some truly magnificent ones. Some date back thousands of years, while others are more recent. But they are all monuments to history, lost empires and power struggles worthy of their own Netflix show.

Here, we’ve whittled them down to our top 10 castles and fortresses (to be admired while 18

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

wearing your finest crown or gown).

Belvoir Castle Like many of Israel’s castles and fortresses, Chateau Belvoir was built by the Crusaders who ruled over the whole country, and later parts of it, from the 12th to 13th century.

A short distance from the Sea of Galilee, the castle is concentric, meaning that it has two circuits of defensive walls, one inside the other.

It was ruined by its Muslim conquerors in the early 13th century to ensure that Crusader forces wouldn’t occupy it again in the future, but fortunately, they only destroyed the top floor and filled in the moat, leaving intact the base that can be viewed today. Currently, as part of a national park, the castle boasts not only great ruins but a stunning panoramic view.

FEATURE

Cafarlet Castle Cafarlet Castle, within the serene Moshav Habonim on Israel’s coastline, is rather mysterious in that there’s little historical record of it. It was probably built by the Muslim rulers of the Land of Israel in the eighth or ninth century, alongside similar fortifications constructed along the coastline to protect it from invading Byzantine Christians.

The rectangular castle had guard towers in each corner, which all underwent reconstructions when taken over by the Crusaders. Eventually, the area was once again taken by Muslim conquerors, and the castle and surrounding area fell into disrepair.

Today, the site remains off-road and is not maintained, so is perhaps best enjoyed from a distance.

David’s Citadel One of Jerusalem’s best-known landmarks, the David Citadel at the entrance to the Old City is a big, imposing complex that was originally the site of King Herod’s watchtowers some 2,000 years ago. It was then turned into a fortress by the Arab rulers of Jerusalem, further fortified by the Crusaders and then fortified yet again by the returning Arab rulers. The minaret that now adorns it was added by the Ottomans, who also surrounded it with a moat. Today, the citadel houses archaeological finds, the Tower of David Museum and an impressive light-and-sound show.

Nimrod Castle Nimrod Castle on the slopes of Mount Hermon in northern Israel looks like it was taken straight from the set of “Game of Thrones,” being medieval and all. The huge complex was built by Muslim rulers on a strategic spot to protect the important road to Damascus.

It fell out of use hundreds of years ago but still very much crowned the local landscape, even leading a visiting Mark Twain to call

it “the stateliest ruin of that kind on earth.”

Today, it is a national park open for the public to enjoy an ancient stone inscription, marvelous architecture and magnificent views.

Montfort Castle Montfort Castle is a unique Crusader castle, in that it was built not to protect the Christian kingdom from Arab invaders, but rather to house some of the Teutonic Order’s administration and protect it from rival Crusaders. Built in the 13th century, it is located on a steep cliff in the northern Galilee, where it is surrounded by green forest. Today, it is part of a national park that is also home to rare and endangered plants.

Masada Possibly the most jaw-dropping fortress on this list, Masada is one of Israel’s leading archeological sites. Perched atop a cliff in the Judean desert, this complex housed King Herod’s palaces and was where Jewish rebels fortified themselves again the Romans until, according to tradition, they killed themselves in 74 C.E., rather than falling captive.

Today, Masada National Park is one of Israel’s most popular tourist sites, accessed by two walking trails or via a less strenuous cable-car ride. The best time to visit is at sunrise when the desert and the adjacent Dead Sea practically glow with light.

Apollonia Fortress Seaside Apollonia is one ancient town, established at the latest in the fourth century BCE. It was the home of Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Crusaders, Jewish immigrants, and most recently, well-to-do Israelis in Herzliya. The Crusaders left the most memorable mark on the place in the shape of a fortress that juts out to the sea. The fortress existed in its entirety for only 24 years before it was razed by Muslim conquerors.

Today, it’s a popular nature reserve that also includes a Roman villa, a moat and a mosque.

Antipatris Fort The Antipatris Fort is also known as Binar Bashi, a variation on the Turkish word for fountainhead. It was built in the late 16th century by the Ottoman rulers of the Land of Israel to guard the passageway between the sources — or fountainhead — of the Yarkon River and more distant areas, and is located on the ancient Via Maris trade route linking Egypt and Syria. The impressive fort is now part of Tel Afek National Park, which boasts a lake and extensive recreational grounds.

Akko Hospitaller Fortress The crusading Hospitaller Order built the impressive fortress in Akko in the 12th century, when they and other Christian communities resided in the port city. The remains of their large-scale complex include a courtyard, a heavily secured gate and gate tower, and the knights’ dining room—a huge, pillared stone room that you can just imagine teeming with knights in shining armor devouring their spit roasts.

Atlit Fortress When the Crusaders built their fortress in Atlit back in the 13th century, little did they know that it would one day become an Israeli Navy commando camp that would fascinate the public, which is not allowed to go inside.

Aside from being a huge and well-fortified fortress, the place was the last Crusader stronghold in the Land of Israel from which the last Christians knights departed back to Europe.

Years later, stones from the fortress were used to build new buildings in nearby cities and the whole site suffered damage from an earthquake in the 19th century. Still, it is an imposing sight, especially when you think of the secretive divers lurking underneath.

Note: This article first appeared in Israel21C.

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FEATURE

DATING

in a Pandemic

Some Jewish singles battle loneliness, others find creative approaches to time

BY HEATHER ROBINSON | JNS.ORG

Jewish dating experts, social scientists and singles say that while there’s a good deal of loneliness out there during the coronavirus, the situation has also prompted a reprieve from the psychological pressure of feeling alone.

PHOTO BY WAVEBREAKMEDIA/SHUTTERSTOCK

T

he book of Psalms says, “The life of man is like a breath exhaling; his days are like a passing shadow.”

Indeed, most Jews are raised to treat time as a precious commodity, prioritizing education and the attainment of life goals, including marriage and family. Yet with the COVID-19 pandemic surging throughout the world for the past year, many Jewish singles, like everyone, have felt stymied in reaching their goals.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

And there is a range of reactions to this situation.

Jewish dating experts, social scientists and singles interviewed say that while there’s a good deal of loneliness out there, living during the coronavirus has also prompted a reprieve from the psychological pressure of feeling alone, which has yielded an opportunity for some singles to reflect and explore opportunities for self-improvement and growth.

Several mid-life Jewish singles living alone spoke of painful isolation and feeling stuck.

Jordana, 45 (who requested that her last name be withheld for privacy), an attorney who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and is usually a prolific dater, said she “went from getting a fair amount of traffic on the dating apps to zero people engaging” with her. “Men I had discussions with early on disappeared.”

Although she froze her eggs several years

FEATURE

ago and is still hopeful about finding a partner, she wonders, “Will I ever have a family?’ “ Others echo the perspective that the pandemic has put a crimp in their efforts to move forward.

Karyn Larson, 55, owner of a pet-care company in Mount Airy, Md., said, “I can count on one hand the hugs I’ve had since March, and that is hard, super hard.”

Larson, who missed her father’s memorial service in March and has not seen her mother, who lives in Louisville, Ky., in more than a year due to the pandemic, recently wrote on Facebook: ‘To all my friends who are tired of not having a minute alone, the next time you feel annoyed, give that child or family member a hug for me and for others who are living alone.’ “ If there’s an upside to the pandemic for singles, it’s the imperative to slow down and be selective; since Larson’s not meeting men in person, she’s corresponding with them.

“It forces more communication” upfront, she said, adding that “at least, I won’t be going on any bad dates.”

Some Jewish dating experts and social scientists echo the idea that caution about too many meetups has actually prompted a healthier dating culture.

Singles determined to find a partner may find this period frustrating, according to Elyakim Kislev—a sociologist, assistant professor of public policy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living. But they can use it to help clarify feelings and goals, he said.

For serial daters, Kislev believes this time can be an opportunity to get off the dating treadmill.

“The group that is addicted to the hunt and the quest” for the ideal partner “now needs to slow down,” he said. “They are having withdrawal symptoms.”

In fact, It can be a useful time to introspect

and get in deeper touch with what kind of romantic relationship one truly desires, if any.

“When the physical is not in the picture, then clarity comes quicker and easier.”

“Their mother can’t ask ‘Who are you dating?’ and because there is a halt to this pressure — and to the pressure to play the role of the happy couple or happy single person that goes to fancy restaurants and shows off”—in some cases, Kislev has heard about “people having started to enjoy time with themselves.” Citing a recent Pew Research Center survey that found more than half of Americans now believe marriage is not essential for living a fulfilling life, Kislev added, “This can be a great period to see if you are really into it or you are doing it because you are supposed to do it.”

That said, Jewish dating sites and matchmakers, especially those catering to Orthodox Jewry, report that after an initial drop at the outset of the virus last March, business is booming, with many Jewish singles redoubling their efforts to get matched.

Mark Goldmann, co-founder and CEO of SawYouatSinai.com, a Jewish online dating service that employs 350 matchmakers, said that engagements have increased 100 percent over the past six months compared to last year.

“Usually, we have 300 engagements per year; now it’s 300 over the past six months,” he reported.

Daily signups have increased by about 25 percent compared to pre-COVID levels on the site, which serves 35,000 active users.

“People are more willing to try a matchmaker ... because maybe it hasn’t worked other ways,” said Goldmann.

The company has launched a Zoom dating platform and hosts Zoom dating events where singles can see and chat with each other through their computer screens.

“Aleeza Ben Shalom, owner and founder

of Marriage Minded Mentor, a Philadelphiabased coaching and matchmaking service, said her business has increased dramatically during the pandemic with the trend towards a focus on character.

“People are evaluating more on the essence of who someone is — how emotionally comfortable they are with someone and how aligned in terms of values.”

Ben Shalom, who noted that her business has expanded during the pandemic to include a number of less religious singles who are now open to matchmaking, said the inability to get physical quickly has been clarifying for some. “’Do I like you, or don’t I like you?’ is the toughest thing to really know, and when the physical is not in the picture, then clarity comes quicker and easier,” she said.

She also sees a shift towards more virtual and long-distance dating and relationships.

“You can’t [easily] date the boy or girl next door, so people are more open to video or phone dating, and if there’s a connection, they then deal with, ‘How can we meet?’ “ she said.

Among those who remain uncoupled, the pandemic has not been bad for everyone.

Lee Hendelman, 46, a copywriter from the Bayside neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., said that while he initially worried about “losing time” to date as COVID raged on, he has used the break to get in better shape, save money and enjoy his own company.

On the whole, he said he feels more confident than pre-pandemic.

“If I were at a Matzo Ball-type of party now, instead of wondering ‘What other guys are here, and how do I stack up?’ I’d just be myself,” he said.

“On the other side of this,” he quipped, once life resumes to a semblance of normalcy, “it’ll be like the Roaring Twenties, and people will go crazy.”

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FEATURE STORY

TRAVEL

HERSHEY FELDER BRIGHTENING OUR TIMES

BY JANA MAZURKIEWICZ MEISAROSH

A

s a Yiddishist from Poland, I could not resist exploring fascinating roots of San Diego favorite Hershey Felder.

As I learned from an interactive interview I initiated as a part of the Yiddish Celebrities series, organized by the Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA), Hershey is a native Yiddish speaker. Born in 1968 in Montreal, Canada, he grew up with parents who were Holocaust survivors. His father came from Ustrzyki, Poland, and his mother came from Budapest, Hungary. It was a Yiddish-speaking household. Besides talking in Yiddish to his mishpokhe, Hershey was exposed to that language in Peretz school in which Yiddish was a part of curriculum. Moreover, many of his friends grew up speaking Yiddish, and that was a language one would hear spoken on the streets of Montreal. He even ended up marrying a Yiddish speaker, Kim Kampbell, a former prime minister of Canada. While enjoying Yiddishkeit and maintaining a strong sense of pride being Jewish, Hershey eventually abandoned modern Orthodoxy that he grew up with. He shared that at the age of 18, he had a moment of epiphany when 22

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

he tried shrimp for the first time in his life.

Speaking of food, Eastern European cuisine is very close to Hershey’s heart and stomach. Growing up, he was surrounded

by Hungarian and Polish dishes, and now he eagerly replicates them in his own kitchen.

For instance, a Hungarian dish consisting of fried cabbage and home-made noodles has become very popular with Hershey’s guests who cannot move after consuming Eastern European delicacies, but they enjoy the experience, nevertheless.

Hershey was always a performer, a storyteller, and a musician. At the age of 10, he started to play piano. Since he was 13, he acted in Yiddish theater in Montreal. A wellknown Yiddish writer Bashevis Singer stayed at his house, and Hershey made friends with countless other Yiddish celebrities. Hershey’s dream was to be able to make a living utilizing his musical and acting skills, and although his family was worried about his future, it remained largely supportive. The innovative idea of creating impersonations of famous composers on stage, and then, during the pandemic, on the screen, made Hershey famous all around the world. So

far, he told us life stories of such composers like George Gershwin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Claude Debussy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Irving Berlin. In February, he surprised us by impersonating a Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, a production in which Hershey utilized his Yiddish background and which can still be viewed on demand.

On March 14, a new production will premiere live from Florence, where Hershey was originally planning to retire, but where he eventually settled down earlier due to the pandemic. This time, he will be impersonating Giacomo Puccini. More information about this upcoming show can be found online at sdrep.org. It is hard not to admire Hershey’s creativity and diligence. While his movies certainly are brightening our mageyfe days, San Diegans surely are missing his presence in town and hope to welcome him soon!

JANA MAZURKIEWICZ MEISAROSH IS A FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE YIDDISH ARTS AND ACADEMICS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA (YAAANA), AND A PH.D. CANDIDATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR.

Mark S. Stern, MD

Certified by the American Board of Neurosurgery 4150 Regents Park Row, Unit 312 • La Jolla, CA 760-489-9490 • www.scins.org

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FEATURE STORY

TRAVEL

FIGHTING EXTREMISTS AT THE CAPITOL & BEYOND

BY TAMMY GILLES

L

ike most Americans, I could not take my eyes away from live coverage of insurrectionists attacking our Capitol on January 6. While I vacillated between sadness and anger, one thing I was not was surprised.

ADL has been monitoring the extremism, conspiracy theories, and white supremacy that fueled the violent uprising for years.

January 6 was the predictable outcome of these growing threats to American security and democracy. In fact, ADL’s Center on Extremism’s (COE) recently released their report “Murder and Extremism in 2020” which highlighted that over the past 10 years, 75 percent of extremist-related murders were perpetrated by far-right extremists.

In the immediate hours and days following the attack on the Capitol, COE began providing law enforcement with our resources and information to aid in their investigation of the day’s events. Ultimately, ADL’s information exchange aided in the arrest of over 100 insurrectionists. We then released our new national initiative, the PROTECT Plan, which is a comprehensive approach to addressing the ongoing threat of domestic terrorism in the US. The PROTECT Plan’s priorities include: Adopting a whole-of-government and whole24

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

of-society approach to prevent and counter domestic terrorism while protecting civil liberties; passing the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act to authorize offices to address domestic terrorism and ensure those offices have resources proportionate to the threats; taking steps to ensure that individuals associated with violent extremist movements or engaged in violent extremist activity are deemed unsuitable for employment at the federal, state, and local levels – including law enforcement and military – and not given security clearances; funding civil society programs to address violent extremist radicalization and recruitment, while ensuring these programs do not stigmatize communities; investigate any complicity between social media companies and extremists, and make social media platforms more transparent and accountable for dangerous content.

Locally, we continue our efforts to ensure our community’s safety, which is supported through our communal security partnership with the Jewish Federation of San Diego County. On March 2, ADL’s Associate Director for Law Enforcement Initiatives and Community Security, Matt Brown, hosted the quarterly meeting of the Jewish Community Security Committee (JCSC)

for over 50 attendees. The March meeting focused on reports around extremism and antisemitism by our Center on Extremism, along with updates from the District Attorney’s office on the ongoing state and federal prosecution of the Chabad of Poway shooter, and from local law enforcement on recent hate crimes and incidents.

Additionally, we remain committed to indepth outreach to local Jewish institutions around planning and security for their communal spaces, and to coordinating timely information sharing between all of our local partners to enhance safety. Our local website, sandiego.adl.org, also provides resources and links for reporting hate incidents in San Diego, which we respond to around the clock. Local incidents like the man grocery shopping in Santee with a Klan mask on, or the truck driving through East County with a swastika flag flying boldly in the back remind us that our community is not impervious to the kind of extremism seen at the Capitol.

As the foremost authority on extremism in the country, ADL is uniquely poised to make an impact in the fight against those seeking to harm our country through violence and chaos, and we will continue to double-down on our efforts to thwart this growing threat.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

BY STEPHANIE LEWIS | HUMOR

mazel

& mishagoss God is Everywhere!

G

od is Everywhere! Even Online.

Really! He’s been stalking me.

Granted, it might be some sort of God Fraud, (Unless he now spells his name Godd?) but I still find it enormously flattering and therefore I will NOT be getting a restraining order. It all started when I clicked on the “See Who Viewed You Recently,” button on my “LinkedIn” account. Turns out God is very business savvy…there he was in all his glory! (I’ve put my personal comments in parentheses.)

Godd’s Profile Looked like this on LinkedIn: Previous professions included Owner of Merry Maids Inc. (Cleanliness is next to Godliness?) Detective/Investigator (God works in Mysterious ways?) Atlas Moving Van Lines (God moves heaven and Earth?)

Beef/Cattle Industry (Holy Cow!) Math Teacher (Is your number up?)

The next thing I knew, Godd was friend requesting me on Facebook. For heaven’s sake! So I checked him out there too and these were God’s stats: Divorced from: Betsy (Heavens to Betsy?)

Children: One Daughter named Marcy (Lord Have Mercy? Hmm, Typo on Birth Certificate?) Favorite Quote: There, but for the grace of God, go I!” Favorite dessert: Angel Food cake Favorite Song: God Only Knows by the Beach Boys and Stairway to Heaven. Favorite Movie: All Dogs Go to Heaven. (God isn’t allergic!) Pet Peeve: Why do so many people have to sneeze? It’s exhausting, all their blessings.

To my further surprise, I got a notification that God had an Instagram account, so of course I had to see what photos he put up.

This was God’s description there: “The images I post are created in my image!

I am all places, all times, all knowing, and all powerful. I command you to follow thee.” Of course, I clicked the Follow button. People left him comments too, along these lines: “Wow, quite the God complex you’ve got going on. How’s that working out for you, buddy?”

You’re giving out recommendations for tablets at Best Buy. But you do understand these are electronic devices, right? Just not sure why you’re smashing them up on mountains?

Then quite unexpectedly I got a wink from Godd at Match.com. Of course I couldn’t wait to see what kind of mate He was looking for. Might it be me?

Hi! Thanks for considering me. Though I’m not tall, dark and handsome, I count my blessings I don’t look like George Burns. You needn’t have the face of an Angel either. Just be a good person. I have a few rules I would like for my Perfect Match to follow, well there are actually Ten. Be warned: There could be Hell to pay if you don’t abide by them.

But we can talk about that on our first date.

And Holy Smokes, please be a non-smoker!

Remember the burning bush? As for what we’ll do together? For G-d’s sake, please leave that in My Hands, too. I have a Grand Plan.

And it doesn’t include Starbucks. We won’t be going to hell in a handbasket either. My

hobbies are Walking on Water, Raising Hell -- and when it Freezes Over, I Pave the road to it with good intentions. I also enjoy arts and crafts because idle hands are the devil’s workshop. What am I looking for? Just don’t have a fiery temper like my last girlfriend – Hell have no fury like a woman scorned.

I thought we might be compatible, so I wrote Godd with my phone number. He texted this, which made me think he was the possessive, jealous type ---- “i m only 1 4 u.

No 1 b4 me.”

We set up a time/place to meet — I was disappointed. As usual for these dating sites, Godd did not resemble his image at all. Probably not current photos. His skin was bad and he had a little paunch. Betcha he snored, too. But then Godd confessed.

He was not “Almighty.” He was only just sorta, “Alrighty.” It seems he wasn’t getting responses to his ordinary profiles when he put down his true description of, “Odd” so one day he added the “G” just for fun. The results were life-changing. He immediately felt like God’s Gift to Women. I’m relieved. The original way was too much pressure. But now . . . well my being “Quirky” and him being “Odd” seems like it could work. I mean we could possibly be a match. Just not a match made in heaven, of course!

STEPHANIE D. LEWIS WRITES COMEDY FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST AND CAN BE FOUND AT MEDIUM.COM/@ MISSMENOPAUSE

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NEWS

NEWS

TO KNOW

NOW WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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OPTIONS - THE WOMEN'S EVENT - SEASONS OF STRENGTH

OPTIONS held their annual fundraiser on Zoom last month. The theme was “Seasons of Strength” and about 800 women participated.

Rain Pryor, comedienne, actor and the daughter of Richard Pryor was the featured speaker, delivering a compelling, inspirational speech regarding her childhood. Growing up as a black, Jewish girl, she supports both cultures. She learned about Judaism mainly from her grandparents. She has searched for secular ways to belong in the Jewish community with her 12-year-old daughter and she has become a Schusterman Fellow through Schusterman Family Philanthropies.

Pryor shared that many Jewish temples are primarily Ashkenazi.

Seeking to find inclusion in the community and as an advocate for Jews of color, she found a home through JFSD for herself and her daughter.

She focused on this being the year of true service, and simplifying our lives. She supports the JFSD and how we can all give, whether financially, volunteering, or sharing our resources, we are able to utilize our traditions to grow beyond challenges.

According to Pryor, we reaffirm our commitment to ourselves and Israel, and the generations before us, remembering our roots, investing in future generations. We are holding together through JFSD as a strong generation of Jewish women sharing our Jewish lives.

For more information regarding how to volunteer or donate to the Jewish Federation of San Diego: www.jewishinsandiego.org

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HILLEL OF SD STUDENT SUCCEEDS IN CAMPAIGN TO PUSH UCSD ASSOCIATED STUDENTS TO CONDEMN ANTISEMITISM

Hillel student leader Bianca Kermani succeeded in campaigning to achieve a UC San Diego resolution that condemns antisemitism and adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

Both UC San Diego’s Associated Students and Graduate Students Association unanimously passed the resolutions in February.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

2 Kermani started the campaign effort last fall, and built a groundswell of support with 60 co-signers across San Diego Jewish community organizations.

“I felt it would be momentous to be able to do this at UC San Diego because we are a campus that had already passed a Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel (BDS) bill,” she said. “I felt reversing a bill from 8 years ago would not be a productive thing to do. Acknowledging antisemitism would be a better foundation for other things to come.

I wanted to start that.”

Hillel at UC San Diego Campus Director Lisa Motenko said, “Passing this resolution is validation for the student community on campus, it’s an important tool for educating and a way to guide conversations.”

Bianca added, “I think the significance of passing this resolution is different for UC San Diego as opposed to other campuses because we have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirement. Yet, DEI requirement courses offered currently only focus on African American, Hispanic and Pacific Islander communities. I think this resolution is the necessary foundation to be able to expand that for others to learn about Jewish history as well.”

Kermani is a fourth-year student at UC San Diego, studying Linguistics & Global Health with plans to attend medical school after graduation. Born and raised in Persian-Jewish household in Las Vegas, Bianca has served as the president of Tritons For Israel through Hillel and held several Hillel leadership positions that have culminated in passing the IHRA definition on her campus this year.

Karen Parry, Executive Director, Hillel of San Diego, commended UC San Diego’s student government for unanimously adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism in an effort to name, identify, and educate about antisemitism.

“This is an important step in the right direction for making UC San Diego more inclusive and a safer college experience for hundreds of current Jewish students and for future Jewish tritons,” Parry said.

“La Jolla has a long history of antisemitism and this resolution serves as another new and promising turning point for our entire Jewish community.”

Hillel of San Diego supports every Jewish student in San Diego to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel. Hillel of San Diego has programs at UCSD, SDSU, USD, and CSUSM.

NEWS

the 2018 Woman of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal.

Marten has broad professional experience and a varied background.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, and then a master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from the University of California, San Diego. She also holds multiple-subject, reading specialist and administrative-services credentials.

Marten worked for 10 years at Central Elementary in City Heights, one of San Diego’s 4 3 most ethnically diverse and economically challenged school communities.

Her leadership in the San Diego Unified School District has paid CINDY MARTEN NOMINATED FOR off for generations of students.

Under Marten’s leadership, San Diego Unified in 2019 achieved UNITED STATES DEPUTY SECRETARY OF the EDUCATION highest graduation rate of all big-city school districts in Cindy Marten learned the value of a strong education as a student in California and the fastest reading growth among large urban San Diego schools, and when the time came to launch her career she districts nationwide. According to a recent study by the Learning Policy Institute, students of color in San Diego Unified outperform returned to the classroom.

Marten’s lifelong commitment to public education has been their peers across California. The same study found a link between recognized in Washington D.C., where President Joe Biden student success and qualified, experienced teaching — something nominated her to become Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department Marten has championed as a former classroom teacher.

She also has supported calls for a national teacher corps to help of Education. ensure that every child in America has access to a quality education Pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Marten will leave her and academic success. Eliminating systemic racism is central to her post as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District to philosophy and equity work in education. Marten has challenged help shape national education policy and programs. her colleagues to create an anti-racist school district, and she has put Marten will bring to Washington, D.C. more than 30 years of in place specific policies that have improved academic outcomes for experience as an educator in San Diego, including 17 years as a students of color.

Marten has served as superintendent of California’s classroom teacher in San Diego, Poway and at Beth Israel Day School. second-largest school district since 2013, making her one of the As a teacher, instructional leader, and later as principal at Central longest serving big-city school superintendents in the nation.

Elementary School in City Heights, Marten established a deep

3

commitment to educating the “whole child,” through an emphasis on social and emotional learning and the arts combined with academic rigor.

Marten has served as superintendent of California’s second-largest school district since 2013, making her one of the longest serving bigcity school superintendents in the nation.

Marten has credited her family for shaping her as an educator and advocate.

Marten’s mother, Fern Siegel, who has served as president both of Temple Emanu-El and Jewish Family Service, showed her children the importance of giving back to the community.

Her brother Charley, who is developmentally disabled, helped inspire Marten to become a teacher at a young age.

Marten has been at the forefront of the restorative justice effort that promotes healthy outcomes in cases of conflict rather than the suspensions and expulsions that can permanently scar young people’s lives.

The White House was not alone in recognizing Marten’s talent and passion.

In 2015, Marten received the prestigious Peacemaker Award from the National Conflict Resolution Center. She was also named

4

STANDWITHUS ANNUAL CONFERENCE WELCOMES LOCAL STUDENTS

More than 1,000 students and community members from around the world attended SWU’s annual International Conference “Israel In Focus” held virtually after Shabbat January 30 and 31, 2021.

Anna Maya, the StandWithUs Leventhal High School Intern from Bonita Vista High School spoke on a panel about how she is combating antisemitism every day in her public school. She was joined by fellow Intern Aidan Mosley, Rio Americano HS in Sacramento. Moderated

by Kate Chavez, senior southwest high school coordinator and Max Samarov, executive director of research & strategy, they also discussed actions SWU is taking to correct the antisemitic aspects of the CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC).

Also attending were StandWithUs Leventhal HS Interns Ben Davis from La Jolla HS and Rebecca Danzig from Canyon Crest Academy. SWU Emerson Fellows Niv Levi from SDSU, Joshua Glasser from the University of San Diego and Sivan Barashy from UCSD also joined.

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WISHING YOU A HAPPY PASSOVER FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS! Daniel R. Weiner is a trusts and estates attorney and holds a masters degree from Duke Law School. He spent 10 years working at international firms in London, Hong Kong and Washington, DC, before setting up his own firm here in San Diego.

Wills & Trusts • Estate Tax Planning • Medi-Cal Asset Protection Planning • Special Needs Planning • Kids Protection Planning

SOCIALLY DISTANCED

WINE & WILLS

PACIFICA DEL MAR MARCH 31, 6PM. This complimentary, socially distanced, outdoor event will cover the latest developments in estate planning. Wine and appetizers served throughout the evening. Space is limited to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

Please RSVP to Miriam@drw-law.com

The Law Office of Daniel R. Weiner (858) 790-1128 • San Diego 9540 Towne Centre Drive, Ste 150 www.drw-law.com • miriam@drw-law.com

JEWISH WAR VETS JEWISH WAR VETERANS OF THE USA OF THE USA “The Patriotic Voice of American Jewry” “The Patriotic Voice of American Jewry”

Post 185

Post 185 San Diego

Jewish War Veterans, the oldest Veterans’ Service Organization San Diego in the US commemorating it’s 125th anniversary.

Invites you to become a member

Wishing everyone a Passover that brings peace and good health to all.

• Fight anti-Semitism • Support our military overseas HAG SAMEACH • Comradeship • Support youth through If you are a Veteran and want to join the post, scouting & JROTC Please contact Post Commander Allen Miliefsky (619) 737-6910 or Post Vice Commander Sheldon Kleiman (858) 452-5691

Rick Nathanson, Post Commander

(916) 995-6916

Allen

Jewish War Veterans is a 501c3 nonprofit national organization.

For those interested in donating to Jewish War Veterans of the USA, please submit a donation to P.O. BOX 81171, San Diego CA 92168 to the National Museum of American Jewish Military History, 1811 Iris Street Northwest, Washington DC 20009 Miliefsky,orPast State Commander

(619) 737-6910

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021

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