L'CHAIM Magazine September 2022

SEPTEMBER 2022

ISRAEL STEPS UP,

SENDS HUMANITARIAN AID AS UKRAINE WAR INTENSIFIES

Plus:

LA JOLLA ART & WINE FEST CATS AT BROADWAY SD

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contents September 2022 • www.lchaimmagazine.com

in this issue...

COVER STORY Israel Steps Up Humanitarian Aid as Ukraine War Intensifies.......................................................

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14 ISRAEL AID

1000 WORDS Athletes for Israel: Through sports and positive messaging, we can change the narrative.........................................................................................

FOOD Immune Support Yellow Quinoa...............................................................................................................

FEATURES A Ride to Remember for Holocaust Commemoration..............................................................

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IMMUNE BOOST

Congregation Beth Israel's focus on Jewish Education..........................................................

La Jolla art and Wine Festival...................................................................................................................

Broadway San Diego hosts Cats..........................................................................................................

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COLUMNS

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

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Mazel & Mishagoss..................................

PUBLISHERS Diane Benaroya & Laurie Miller

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO, LLC (858) 776-0550 P.O. Box 27876, San Diego, CA 92198

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EDITORIAL editor@lchaimmagazine.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alanna Maya

ADVERTISING dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laurie Miller

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CONTRIBUTORS

Ariela Alush, Barbara Birenbaum, Michael Gardiner, Donald H. Harrison, Stephanie Lewis, Salomon Maya, Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh, Terra Paley, Mimi Pollack, Rachel Stern, Eva Trieger, Deborah Vietor, Chana Jenny Weisberg, Cheri Weiss

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TORAH l BY RABBI-CANTOR CHERI WEISS

prayers

& passages Self-Reflection in the Month of Elul

H

ave you ever made a New Year’s resolution on December 31st? (“I’m going to go to the gym more often…” I’m going to eat only healthy foods…” “I’m going to be more helpful around the house…”)

Have you ever actually KEPT these promises beyond say, January 3rd?

In the Jewish calendar, before the High Holy Days, we are offered the entire month of Elul to reflect on our lives, our behavior, and our relationships with others. This month connects the past with the future: where we have been and where we want to go. It is like standing in front of a mirror; but instead of wondering, “Does this shirt really go with these pants?” we look deeply into our souls and ask, “What behaviors do I need to change?” and “How can I be a better person?” Most importantly, we should come up with a plan that answers this question: “What concrete steps will I take to improve myself and the way I treat those around me?”

There are certain rituals practiced during Elul to help us get into the spirit of the High Holy Days. They serve as reminders that this month is special, providing us with daily

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opportunities to prepare for what lies ahead in the Days of Awe. These rituals include: Daily blowing of the Shofar (except on Shabbat). This is a way to awaken our souls to the spirit of the High Holy Days, reminding us that self-growth is always a better option than complacency.

Communal recitation of prayers and poems known as S’lichot (“forgiveness”) either daily or at a special worship service held on a Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. Here is part of one S’lichot prayer: Creator of Your world’s every creature, Sustainer of all, sustain us now.

O hear our song and our prayer.

Daily reading of Psalm 27, which contains themes that reflect our vulnerability and spiritual journey during this time. This Psalm opens with: God is my light and my salvation, Whom shall I fear?

God is the strength of my life, Of whom shall I be afraid?

Visiting the graves of our loved ones. This ritual offers us the opportunity to reflect on the important life lessons those we loved taught us, and a chance to ponder the legacy

that we ourselves hope to leave behind.

During the month of Elul and the High Holy Days, we engage in the process of t’shuvah (returning to wholeness and holiness). Our tradition teaches that during this time of t’shuvah we need to make amends not only with God for our transgressions, but also with those human beings we may have hurt. This process of introspection, forgiveness, and the healing of ourselves and our relationships takes time and effort.

If we wait until the High Holy Days to begin reflecting on our actions of the preceding year, there may not be enough time for us to achieve meaningful healing and growth. We may be sincere in our resolve to improve our behavior as we chant the Ashamnu (“We have sinned…”) prayer on Yom Kippur. Yet by beginning in Elul, our efforts at long-term self-improvement and t’shuva are more likely to succeed.

RABBI-CANTOR CHERI WEISS IS THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF TEMPLE EMANUEL IN HONOLULU, HAWAII.

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HUMOR | BY STEPHANIE LEWIS

mazel

& mishagoss How were the High Holidays first created?

When my meshuga gentile friend asked me this question, (She was considering converting for all the wrong reasons!) I tried to dissuade her by painting a picture of how nonsensical and convoluted Jewish traditions/rituals actually are. I did this by concocting a historical (fictional!) board meeting depicting how Jewish laws for the high holidays originated. It went like this: GOD: Alright, listen up people. Thus far we’ve thrown Purim and Passover at them.

Which means they’re just coasting along shaking silly little noisemakers and asking four questions while reclining to the left. Too easy. Things must ratchet up by midyear, if you get my drift?

GOD’s Secretary: Oh my God. Are you saying what I think you’re saying? For September?

GOD: That’s right. Complicate it more! I’m thinking two huge holidays back-to-back so the women barely have time to clean, shop, and cook. One holiday should revolve around food, but not consuming it. Any bright ideas?

Throw ‘em all at me right now. It’s go time, folks!

GOD’s Assistant: Donate food? Waste food?

Play with food? A food fight? Um…lemme think.

GOD’s Secretary: Grow food? Organize food? A chili cook-off? A cookie exchange?

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GOD: Good ideas! The last two, in particular, are getting warmer. Let’s go with No Food.

GOD’s Assistant: Did I hear that right?

You want zero food? Nothing at all? So they’ll basically starve? Brilliant, Sir. You’ve certainly outdone yourself this time. Wait till they hear!

GOD: I know. And I’d like to see some sort of an animal part used to link both holidays.

GOD’s Secretary: Hmm, let’s see … A bird’s wing? An elephant’s trunk? A horse’s tail?

GOD: Very close. But I’m feeling a ram’s horn. Only we won’t call it that. We’ll call it a shofar.

GOD’s Assistant: And why would we do that?

Won’t that be misleading and confusing?

GOD: Need I remind you — these people are scholars. They have a need to argue and debate.

GOD’s Secretary: (excitedly) We could throw a dunking ritual into the first holiday.

Like cookies into milk, young maidens into mikvahs, or even lobster into drawn butter!

GOD: Lobster? Who hired you? Clean out your desk drawer. You’ll never make it in this town.

GOD’s Assistant: That was weird. But I like the dunking gimmick. Any potential there?

GOD: Yes. Apples. Into honey. Now back to my fasting concept. Think of some valid reason they should all congregate in one large room, wearing white clothing, and stand up, then sit down. Hundreds of times. There’s gotta be a way to tie it all together, without leather shoes.

GOD’s Assistant: I’ve got it! Because they’re all going to build a little hut to hang fruit from!

GOD: No, no! I told you last week — I’m saving complex construction work for Sukkot.

At which point my meshuga friend interrupted me, saying Judaism made such good sense and was so logical, she definitely wanted to convert. I’d inadvertently sold her on the process. Oy! So I told her switching to “one of us” required waving a lemon (that’s not really a lemon) with a tree branch, stepping on a glass to shatter it, singing a 25 minute song about making spinning tops out of clay, and always answering a question with more questions.

She ran straight to a Rabbi to sign herself up!

Go figure.

STEPHANIE D. LEWIS WILL INJECT HUMOR INTO ANYTHING YOU HIRE HER TO WRITE. EMAIL AT THEQUOTEGAL@YAHOO.COM.

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L’CHAIM | BY HOWARD BLAS | JNS.ORG

Auburn Tigers coach Bruce Pearl tours Ir David, the City of David, in Jerusalem, August 2022.

COURTESY OF AUBURN ATHLETICS/BASKETBALL.

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L’CHAIM

1000

WORDS

ATHLETES FOR ISRAEL: THROUGH SPORTS AND POSITIVE MESSAGING, WE CAN CHANGE THE NARRATIVE

S

ince its launch at the end of 2018, Athletes for Israel has regularly brought high-profile athletes and sports teams to the country to compete in athletic events and get to know the Jewish state.

After their trips, the group’s founder, Daniel Posner, says many of the athletes play an important role in telling the story of Israel’s people, history, food, technology and culture.

The Division 1 Auburn Tigers basketball team, which won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship last season, recently participated in a preseason tour, affectionately referred to as “Birthright for College Basketball.” The tour was arranged in large part by the team’s Jewish coach Bruce Pearl, one of the more pro-Israel coaches in the NCAA. Pearl, affectionately known to Jewish fans as “Mordechai,” is the founder of the Jewish Coaches Association which hosts an annual breakfast for Jewish NCAA basketball coaches at March Madness. Pearl has been to Israel many times. He served as a coach for the USA Team in the 2009 Maccabiah Games. His Tigers basketball team made it to the NCAA Final Four in 2019.

The mostly non-Jewish team from Alabama played three games in Israel — against Israel’s Under 20 National Team on Aug. 2 in Jerusalem, Israel’s All-Star Select Team in Tel Aviv on Aug. 7, and Israel’s

National Team on Aug. 8 in Tel Aviv. The Tigers won their first two games with a 11956 win over the Israeli U-20 team, and a 10771 win over the Israeli Select All-Star team.

The Israeli National team was joined by Israeli Deni Avdija, the Washington Wizards small forward who was drafted No. 9 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Avdija scored 25 points as the Israel team defeated Auburn 95-86.

Pearl and Posner of Athletes for Israel agree that the outcome of the three games was only one small way to measure the success of the 10-day trip. Pearl reports, “We’re here to see this country, get closer to God, and by the way, we have three games—that’s how we look at it.”

The team visited Yad Vashem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Mount of Olives, and some players elected to be baptized in the Jordan River. “The guys were just soaking it in, walking where Jesus walked,” said Pearl. The team also took part in a high-tech seminar in Tel Aviv.

Posner, a longtime hedge-fund and privateequity manager in Manhattan, initially started the organization to help share Israel’s vibrant food scene, high-tech landscape and overall positive Israel vibes with friends and colleagues. “I go to Israel often, and each time when I’d return, colleagues would say, ‘I want to go to Israel. Take me!”

He recognized that they had heard many of the negative buzzwords associated with

Israel, including “the separation wall” and “the Occupied Territories.” “It was nervewracking — so much in the press is about the political side of Israel. It is all we hear about.

I said, ‘We have to change the narrative.” He then offers an analogy from closer to home: “If people only heard about politics in the United States, they would never come to the Rocky Mountains or to the National Parks.

We need to talk about the wonderful things about Israel!”

Posner decided to start changing perceptions by bringing athletes to Israel, explaining that “we wanted to bring superstar athletes, across different sports. We had eight trips scheduled, including a trip including three MLB All-Stars, basketball and football players. Some high-profile athletes who have come to Israel already include Mariano Rivera, Ray Allen, Eddy Curry and Rick Barry.

Posner is particularly proud of the recent Auburn trip, saying “it was very special.

ESPN covered the games and did a wonderful job producing them.”

“We have also gotten a lot of interest from major college powerhouses,” he adds.

Posner notes that 20 to 30 boosters (supporters) came with the Auburn teams and can only imagine the potential if other major college teams come to Israel: “We will have hundreds of fans coming with them!”

The idea of sharing Israel with a diverse WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas puts a note in Western Wall in Jerusalem, August 2022.

COURTESY OF AUBURN ATHLETICS/BASKETBALL.

audience is very appealing to Posner. As he explains, “the aim of the organization is not just to reach a Jewish audience. Our larger goal is to reach an audience of the hundreds of millions of people who haven’t made up their mind about Israel.” And he is clear about the goals of the program, noting that “we don’t want to debate Israel; we just want to bring a positive message about Israel’s culture, food, people, the tech scene and more!”

In addition to the Auburn visit arranged with the help of Athletes for Israel, a number of high-profile athletes and teams have also played in and toured Israel recently. Enes Kanter Freedom, who played for the NBA for 11 seasons, traveled all over Israel, praying 12

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at the Al-Aqsa mosque, visiting the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and touring the Machane Yehuda open-air market. He is opening a basketball camp for Muslims, Jews, Christian and Druze kids in the capital.

The Italian soccer team AS Roma and the English Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, recently played a friendly preseason exhibition game in Haifa. Before the game, Roma visited the Western Wall.

Two of the sports world’s biggest names — Lionel Messi and Neymar — were in Israel for a game between Paris Saint-Germain, or PSG. The game took place at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium.

Canadian-Israeli

billionaire Sylvan Adams has brought the high-profile French soccer season-opener, known as the Trophée des Champions, or the French Super Cup, to Israel for the second year in a row.

Prior to the match, PSG met with the Israeli nonprofit Save A Child’s Heart, a humanitarian group that performs cardiac operations on children worldwide. Messi and Neymar have each visited Israel previously. Messi visited Israel in 2019 with Argentina’s national team for an exhibition match against Uruguay, and he had visited Israel once before with his former club team, Barcelona.

Posner is proud of his organization while also acknowledging the work of other entities in bringing athletes to Israel. “Athletes for Israel,” notes Posner, “wants to do it in a more systematic way across different sports.”

He is open to bringing athletes to Israel from sports as diverse as tennis and pickleball.”

David Wiseman, a co-founder of the 36,000-member Facebook group “Follow Team Israel,” explains that “the work Athletes for Israel does is so important for two reasons. First of all, it allows people here in Israel, especially kids, to be inspired by seeing world-class athletes in the flesh.

But then, when these athletes go back to their homes, they’re going to tell everyone as well as their social-media followers what a wonderful experience they had in Israel.

This isn’t to say the athletes are being coerced into saying something that isn’t true, rather they’re shattering myths and fake news that have taken hold vis a vis Israel.”

He also notes that they are “dispelling myths and fake news.”

Wiseman and his team at Follow Team Israel are devoted to sharing Israeli/Jewish sports with the world. He says “given these, we love to share the incredible work Athletes for Israel does so people know about it. It would be the biggest shame if the athletes came to Israel and went without anyone knowing about it.”

Posner and Athletes for Israel are steadfast in pursuing a fairly straightforward and simple approach: “Through positive messaging and experiences, we can change the narrative — that’s our goal.”

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COVER STORY | BY ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN | ISRAEL21C VIA JNS.ORG

ISRAEL STEPS UP AID TO UKRAINE Ramping up operations to help deal with the unprecedented humanitarian disaster

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COVER STORY

T

he humanitarian aid experts at Israeli nonprofit IsraAID are used to disasters, but even they admit that what is happening in Ukraine is exceptional.

“The Ukraine crisis is a record-breaker in terms of its scale,” says Michal Bar, IsraAID’s director of emergency programming and operations.

“We’re seeing the highest number of refugees since the Second World War. This is unprecedented,” she adds.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In the six months since, some 5,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 12.5 million displaced — about 6.3 million internally and 6.2 million outside Ukraine.

The war rages on, continuing to wreak destruction on Ukraine and its 44 million citizens, and severely disrupting the world’s food, energy and financial markets.

Right from the start, Israeli aid organizations rushed to respond, but as IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer acknowledges, Ukrainians’ needs are growing urgently even as the world’s attention to their plight fades.

Estimating that 16 million Ukrainians are now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, IsraAID has announced a fiveyear plan to continue and expand multiple programs there.

It’s not the only Israeli aid organization still on the ground helping. NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief, SmartAID, United Hatzalah and Dream Doctors and several others are also doing their part.

MORE URGENT THAN EVER

Some 560,000 Ukrainians, mainly women and children, fled to Moldova at the start of the war. About 100,000 remain, unable to return home for the foreseeable future.

IsraAID and local partners run five community centers in Moldova providing daycare, psychosocial support, recreation and resilience-building activities.

The organization recently started offering trauma counseling and psychosocial support inside Ukraine, in Odessa and Kyiv; and partnered with MASHAV, (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) and the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine to bring potable water to Mykolaiv, near Odessa.

“Their water supply was cut off after the invasion, and IsraAID worked with the municipality on locating groundwater and providing four reverse osmosis machines to provide drinking water to the city,” Bar says.

IsraAID established a logistics hub in Tulcea, Romania, through which about $30 million worth of food and medical and hygiene supplies have so far been shipped to previously unreachable pockets of displaced Ukrainians in Romania and southeast Ukraine.

“We need to enhance collaboration, working with multiple countries, and extend our support within Ukraine. We are developing our ability to provide logistic support over huge geographic distances,” Bar says.

CONNECTIVITY, CLOWNS, CAMPS

SmartAID set up Wi-Fi hot spots for aid workers and refugees in Poland, equipped smart classrooms for refugee Ukrainian kids, and provided Ukrainian clinics and hospitals with solar generators, emergency generators, LED spotlights, battery chargers and power banks.

“Now we are opening 15 telemedicine units across the country,” says Founding Director Shachar Zahavi, “and we’ve started a huge campaign with European company Kärcher to steam-clean the temporary shelters across Ukraine due to the rise of viruses and mold.”

Dream Doctors has sent 10 teams of trained therapeutic clowns to bring smiles and hope to Ukrainians crossing into neighboring countries, often in bitterly cold weather. Additional teams are on their way to work intensively with the many children stuck in refugee shelters along the Ukrainian border.

Voluntary emergency response network United Hatzalah has provided 32,000 Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu refugees with medical care, psychological support and humanitarian aid—including 145 tons of food and medicine — at the MoldovaUkraine borders and in Kishinev, Moldova. It has chartered 35 humanitarian, rescue, medical and cargo flights and airlifted 3,000 refugees to Israel.

As the flow of refugees to the borders has slowed, UH has refocused its efforts on providing onsite medical care in the Ukrainian cities of Uman and Kyiv.

“As the war advances, we continue to respond to the increasing and developing needs of Ukraine’s people to assist refugees as well as hospitals, vulnerable people, and Jewish communities within Ukraine,” said a UH spokesman.

“We anticipate chartering additional cargo flights to bring aid to Ukraine communities and hospitals in dire need of food, medicine and medical supplies; stepping up our ambulance evacuation missions; and supporting the refugees we have brought to Israel.”

NATAN has deployed 11 delegations of doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, a pharmacist, a medical clown and logistics experts.

All told, more than 100 NATAN volunteers have given medical and psychosocial care to about 10,000 Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Working with locals, they operate two clinics, a secured playground and a Women’s Care Corner.

This summer, NATAN organized a summer camp for Ukrainian teenagers in the Polish countryside.

Another summer camp, accommodating 100 Ukrainian

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COVER STORY

children, was organized and funded by the Israeli nonprofit Lev Echad (One Heart) Emergency Civilian Aid in cooperation with the Lviv Municipality and the Israeli Education Ministry.

“Therapeutic activities, such as art therapy, allow the children to process their trauma,” Lev Echad Director Tomer Dror said, noting that campers and counselors wear shirts with the Israeli flag on them.

“This is what ‘light unto the nations’ looks like,” Dror said.

TECHNICAL, MILITARY AID

Material and tactical aid from Israel and Israeli companies continues as well.

In April, the Israeli Ministry of Defense sent helmets and flak jackets for Ukrainian soldiers. In July, the ministry shipped 1,500 helmets, 1,500 protective vests, hundreds of protective suits for mine clearance, 1,000 gas masks, and dozens of CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) filters to Ukrainian rescue forces and civilian organizations.

Tech company Carbyne is enabling Ukrainian rescue teams to get to emergencies faster with the help of its interactive, cloudbased communications platform that sends contact centers realtime location, video, photos and texts from civilian smart devices.

Founder and CEO Amir Elichai said Carbyne — which has a development center in Ukraine — had already conducted several pilots of its system there before the war. After the Russian invasion he contacted the Ukrainian deputy prime minister and offered Carbyne’s technical assistance for free.

Within two weeks from the start of the war, Carbyne began putting the system in place. It’s now operating across 22 locations to provide real-time information about missile strikes, destroyed buildings and where emergency medical services were needed.

UKRAINIANS FIND WARM HEARTS IN ISRAEL

As of mid-June, some 33,000 Jewish and non-Jewish Ukrainians had fled to Israel since the start of the conflict, with approximately 25,000 still in the country. A Ukrainian refugee even won the Jerusalem Marathon in March.

About a hundred Ukrainian children and their caregivers from the Chabad-run Alumim orphanage were taken in by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) Nes Harim Field and Forest Education Center in April. Their expected month-long stay in Israel has been extended indefinitely as the war continues.

“KKL-JNF are doing a great charity, giving us this beautiful place. We came somewhere where no one knows us, and they gave us such an incredible response,” said Alumim principal Malka Bukiet.

Another 50 young Ukrainian refugees were taken in by Hadassah youth villages through the efforts of Israel’s Ministry of Education and Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), while 13 math prodigies found shelter at Bar-Ilan University’s International School.

Twenty mental-health professionals from the Ukraine were flown to Jerusalem to participate in the three-week International 16

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Summer Course on Trauma and Resilience given by the Metiv Israel Psychotrauma Center at Herzog Hospital.

An additional 27 Ukrainian therapists traveled to Israel for training by specialists from the NATAL Trauma and Resiliency Center in Tel Aviv.

The focus was on treating war-related anxiety and trauma, especially in children, military veterans, prisoners of war, victims of sexual violence and refugees. The course, sponsored by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and Jewish Federations of North America, is continuing online.

And Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem hosted Ukrainian oncologists in May who came to learn methods for providing treatment efficiently under difficult conditions. With support from Hadassah Women in America, more training is planned.

EXCEPTIONAL RESPONSE

Israelis reacted to the Russian invasion with a strong sense of personal connection and communal responsibility to some 300,000 Jewish Ukrainians. But aid from the Jewish nation’s governmental and nongovernmental organizations has crossed all boundaries of faith and nationality in answer to the vast needs.

One of the most ambitious and impactful projects was the 66-bed Shining Star (Kochav Meir) field hospital set up in western Ukraine

by Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s Health Ministry and the Clalit HMO. Over the course of six weeks, the hospital cared for more than 6,000 civilians and airlifted several severely Ukrainians to Israel for further treatment.

Other Israeli nonprofits active on the scene have included Magen David Adom, ZAKA, Rescuers Without Borders, Access Israel, Yad Ezer L’Haver, Brit Olam, Engineers Without Borders-Israel and Shalom Corps.

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FOOD

IMMUNE SUPPORT YELLOW QUINOA

BY RACHEL BELLER, MS, RDN

A

t Beller Nutrition, quinoa is one of the top contenders for powering up our meals with ease — it’s a complete protein, full of fiber, and can be prepared soft and fluffy or firm and crunchy, depending on your mood. This recipe features a delicious healing blend that includes garlic, onion, turmeric, pepper, and parsley. When used together certain spices have synergistic capabilities to boost each other’s powerful nutritional effect. Turmeric’s potential benefits are maximized with black pepper and parsley, which may prevent cancer cell growth and have anti-estrogenic properties; eating more garlic and onion has also been shown to help reduce cancer risk. Isn’t it exciting how something so simple could have this much power?

IMMUNE SUPPORT YELLOW QUINOA

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil 1 yellow onion, diced 1 tsp Beller Nutrition Vegitude Power Spice Blend* 1 cup quinoa 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup sliced raw almonds 1 cup shredded carrots (*Substitute Rachel Beller Nutrition Blend with a few dashes of organic ground turmeric, pepper, garlic, onion, and parsley) Directions 1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent.

This recipe features a delicious healing blend that includes garlic, onion, turmeric, pepper, and parsley.

2. Add the Vegitude Power Spice blend. Stir well for about 30 seconds, or until the spices are fragrant.

3. Add 2 cups of water and the quinoa to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes — season with salt to taste.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Stir the parsley, almonds, and shredded carrots (if using) into the quinoa and serve warm or chilled.

5. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Join cancer nutrition expert Rachel Beller, MS, RDN, founder of the Beller Nutritional Institute, in her next exclusive 8-week Transformation Masterclass starting October 22nd for Sharsheret’s Nutrition Coaching for Thrivers program. To apply, visit sharsheret.org/ get-involved/sharsheret-in-the-kitchen.

Sharsheret, The Jewish Breast and Ovarian Cancer Community, is offering a free limitedtime nutrition coaching program for thrivers who are Los Angeles County residents with a small number of spots for those outside of LA. This program will provide people affected by breast and ovarian cancer tools to make healthy diet choices. Space is limited and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. For questions, please contact Aimee Sax at asax@sharsheret.org.

This program is generously supported by Cedars-Sinai; The Max & Anna Baran, Ben & Sarah Baran and Milton Baran Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles; and The Cooperative Agreement DP19-1906 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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FEATURE STORY

TRAVEL

Dr. Michael Trieger.

PHOTO COURTESY BECKY TRIEGER

A RIDE TO REMEMBER JEWISH MOTORCYCLISTS FOR HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION

BY EVA TRIEGER

O

n September 2, 1939, much of the world was clueless that the Nazis had opened their first concentration camp to obliterate the Jews and Poles of Danzig, just after the outbreak of World War II. The camp, Stutthof, was in a marshy area where inmates were subjected to starvation, brutal beatings, inadequate medical care, and extreme working conditions. Some 28,000 Jews and 35,000 Polish inmates were part of the ethnic cleansing project. Ultimately, in 1944, this camp became home to the Jews who were transferred from Auschwitz when it began liquidation efforts earlier that year. Allies liberated the Stuffhofcamp on May 9, 1945. I have never before heard of Stutthof. Now, I can’t unhear it.

One group has made a commitment to keeping the Holocaust and its survivors in the forefront of our minds. The mission statement of the Butterfly Project is to “teach social justice through the lessons of the Holocaust, educating all about the dangers of hatred and bigotry to cultivate empathy and cultural responsibility.” They do this by partnering with schools and painting ceramic butterflies to represent resilience, commemorate the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust and honor the Survivors, whom we will never forget.

Each year, other groups join forces with the Butterfly Project to raise money to keep these important programs reaching as many children as possible. One committed group is the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance. They span not only the United States but have international clubs. Members of multiple chapters come together to raise funds and straddle their bikes for the Ride2Remember. Though they ride for a serious cause, it is apparent that they enjoy their camaraderie and don’t take themselves too seriously. Take for example the punny names they give to their chapters. From Michigan we have the Chai Riders, New

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Jersey brings us Hillel’s Angels, New Mexico has the Kosher Hogs, Mountain Menchen from North Carolina, Shalom and Chrome from California, and Sons of Abraham from Illinois. There are clubs from Israel, Ontario, and Australia. The mission statement for the Alliance states that they are united by their love of motorcycles, they also share “common faith and heritage... any religion or brand of bikes (are) welcome.”

This year’s Ride2Remember will be held in America’s Finest City!

The event runs from September 8-11, and participants will meet up for the ride, Kabbalat Shabbat services and dinner, Shabbat services and lunch, and some world-class schmoozing. To learn more about the event, I spoke with a diminutive dynamic New Yorker “biker chick,” Lauren Secular. Secular is the Treasurer of the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance, and one of the co-founders of the organization. She is also serving as chair of the Ride2Remember. In a phone interview, I asked how she became interested in riding. “I was hitchhiking to the beach, and was picked up by a motorcyclist.” When she got her first motorcycle at 18, her mom asked, “What’s next? A tattoo? Nah, I already got one!” countered Lauren.

Secular grew up in a reform Jewish family and became a bat mitzvah.

Though she didn’t have a strong affiliation with religious observation, she did identify as a Jew and was a founder of the Chai Riders. Over a dinner meeting at a Glatt kosher restaurant, like-minded Jewish bikers created the club which includes rabbis, psychologists, and dentists! In a short video interview by two Israelis, I enjoyed learning that the men in Secular’s club sported temporary tattoos, as halachah forbids defacing the body. I also got a chuckle out of these grown men admitting that they didn’t have the chutzpah to buy a bike until after

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Though they are united by their love of motorcycles, riders also share “common faith and heritage … any religion or brand of bikes (are) welcome.” their mothers had passed.

Secular participated in two previous Ride2Remember fundraisers; Washington, DC, and Whitwell, Tennessee. If the latter rings a bell, it’s because it’s the small all-white Christian fundamentalist town where the documentary Paperclips was made to help students understand the enormity of the Holocaust and teach compassion and diversity. Delighted to report that interest has grown, Secular shared that this year bikers will come from New York’s Finger Lakes, St. Louis, Florida, Toronto, and even a “couple from Israel.” At least six Chai Riders will be in attendance!

Another club president will be representing Sons of Abraham, from, you guessed it, Abe’s hometown, Springfield, Illinois. Dr. Michael Trieger will be participating in the ride and told me that his love affair with motorized bikes began when he was a twelveyear-old pining for a minibike. Sadly, his father, an oral surgeon, would bring home pictures of faces he’d had to reconstruct following a motorcycle accident. No bike for Mike until after his mother died.

Committed to safety, Trieger took all three levels of motorcycle safety and did so well, that he was asked to be an instructor! Has he ever had an accident, I queried? Yes, I was told. When his front wheel went out from under him, he suffered a fractured rib. He didn’t tell his wife until a week later! Trieger has a personal connection to the Holocaust having lost the majority of his Polish relatives in World War II to the Nazis. He had the amazing and coincidental opportunity to participate in the Whitwell ride and to recall his late brother-in-law and documentary director of Paperclips, Elliot Berlin. Is Trieger sporting any verboten tattoos? He is. On his right arm, he has Max from Where the Wild Things Are, and on his left foreleg a tattoo of his beloved dog, Petey, at the very site where the canine would lick his leg when he stepped out of the shower. “My parents wouldn’t approve, but I’m me.”

San Diego’s Ride2Remember has mapped out a beautiful 2.5hour ride to Idyllwild and a few other more adventurous runs down the coast to Mexico. This important event will ensure that we never forget our triumph over tragedy. Never again can the world remain in the dark. Whether you have a Honda, Harley, or Yamaha, let your headlight illuminate the path!

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BETH ISRAEL WHERE LEARNING AND INNOVATION MEETS COMMUNITY

B

eth Israel’s Lee and Frank Goldberg Family Religious School is a warm, welcoming community that combines current best practice in education with the rich history and traditions of the Jewish people. Through experiential programming that accounts for varied learning styles, weekends at camp to celebrate shabbat and build community, diverse youth programs, and immersive travel experiences, CBI’s religious school learners are offered many different avenues to formulate personal Jewish identities and relationships with Israel and the greater Jewish world.

Educators, specialists, and teen madrichim (teacher’s assistants) act as facilitators of experiential programming and inquiry-based learning, in order to honor learners’ questions and help them to develop meaningful connections to Jewish traditions, values, prayer, and community.

Judaica specialists design their activities to engage learners with varying interests and learning styles. Together, they cook and taste traditional food, as they learn about Jewish people around the world and the holidays that connect us. Science and technology are used to learn about the past and the innovations that Jewish people have contributed to the global community. Hands-on art activities reflect rituals and core values, while deepening each learner’s understanding of Jewish artists and artisans. Theater and music are used to investigate the shared history of the Jewish people in active, engaging ways.

A proficiency-based Hebrew program focuses on the prayers that connect Jewish people across space and time. This program allows learners to make their way through prayers at their own pace, starting with mastery of the Hebrew letters and then moving through prayers needed to participate in a shabbat service. Working through learning 22

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2022

prayers in this multi-grade program allows for concrete milestones to help learners feel a sense of accomplishment and develop community throughout older elementary school grades.

Throughout each year, learners engage with one another, community organizations, and various departments and auxiliary groups at Beth Israel to develop a greater understanding of what it means to participate in Jewish community. Through these experiences, learners will be able to determine ways that they can comfortably participate in their Beth Israel community and find Jewish communities as they venture to college, gap-year programs, and into the workforce both inside and outside the San Diego area.

Service learning is an ever-present component of CBI’s religious school educational programs, as we offer various opportunities for hands-on participation in projects that allow learners to try different ways that they can help others. Learning about why, as Jewish people, participating in acts of service is an important value is foundational element of each of these programs.

An immersive travel programs include a weekend away at sleepaway camp for fourth through seventh grade students to celebrate Shabbat with one another, and introduce learners to an experience away from home together. The tenth grade curriculum includes the L’Taken Social Justice Seminar in Washington D.C. with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to learn how to lobby for causes that teens are passionate about with other Jewish teens from all around the country. In eleventh grade, learners spend a semester preparing for their Linda and Shearn Platt Youth to Israel Trip with Beth Israel staff and clergy to explore historical landmarks and modern Israeli culture. As a capstone, the twelfth-grade learners attend an

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Israel advocacy conference to learn how they can apply their years of learning, lobbying, and traveling to Israel together in a meaningful way as adults.

In addition to these educational offerings, Beth Israel prides itself on a strong youth group community, with programming for participants in third through twelfth grades. Younger youth group event attendees come together for activities that focus on creating memories together and bonding as a group, while older teen groups, affiliated with both BBYO and NFTY combine leadership skill acquisition, social action, and fun to develop teen-led events.

BETH ISRAEL’S LEE AND FRANK GOLDBERG RELIGIOUS SCHOOL OFFERS TOURS AND INFORMATION YEAR-ROUND. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS, CONTACT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, ROSE ORLOVICH, AT RORLOVICH@CBISD.ORG.

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FEATURE STORY

Art by the Sea for Free

BY DEBORAH VIETOR

PHOTO COURTESY BOMMARITO ART & DESIGN.

M

ark your calendar for October 8-9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown La Jolla on Girard Avenue to experience the 14th annual La Jolla Art & Wine Festival.

Featuring over 160 artists covering the U.S. and Mexico, unique and spectacular art will be exhibited in a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, jewelry design, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media, and photography.

Participate in a two-day silent auction and bid for items online.

Visit 15 pet adoption stations with an impressive line-up of live entertainment and music. Gepetto’s Toys Family Art Center will offer interactive art hosted by incredible virtual artists, robotics, 3D printing, crafts and more.

Expect to be pleasantly surprised by craft beer and spirits with the iconic wine and beer garden highlighting over 35 international wineries, local craft breweries, and craft distilleries. Gourmet food will also be available. Although the festival is free, tickets are required for the wine and beer garden.

Among the featured artists are American-Italian brothers Daniel and Jeff Bommarito. Through their stunning and most extraordinary collection of photography, become inspired and enchanted by Bommarito Art & Design. The artist and master photographer Daniel

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2022

is the number one most awarded fine art photographer in San Diego, the owner of San Diego Fine Art Photography and Ocean Wave Art. He is recognized throughout the United States and internationally with original images and artwork recognized by the Smithsonian Museum and coveted international competitions, including the Epson Pano International Awards.

Artist/designer Jeff’s area of focus includes leading their production and sales teams, art making, marketing, and public relations for the company.

“We are inspired to bring the beautiful of the world to you by capturing the most iconic scenes and locations, from La Jolla to Pebble Beach, national parks, the Hawaiian Islands, Italy and more,” Jeff says. “We are driven by the pursuit of capturing the perfect moment in time, and converting it to an art piece to share with others.”

The brothers have driven over 100,000 miles, visiting over 40 countries and are constantly traveling. Their next adventure will be Italy and Iceland in 2023. China and Tahiti are tentatively planned for 2024. In the coming months, the brothers will be in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado amongst other states.

“One thing people underestimate about what we do is the risk,” Jeff says. “It’s high risk, intense, and people use the word sacrifice when talking about giving up something for a chance at something else … it’s been that way for 15 years for us.”

“We set out to create the most complete portfolio of, something for everyone is the mindset. We bring the places you know and love to life with our art. We are in the people business above all and making people happy is about sharing things that are of interest to them in spectacular way. Some love abstract, some love birds, some love airplanes … so we set out to do it all!”

To view this extraordinary and inspirational photography, visit bommaritoart.com, or visit Daniel and Jeff at the LJAWF, booths 437/438.

THE LA JOLLA ART & WINE FESTIVAL FOUNDATION IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. ALL PROFITS RAISED BENEFIT UNDERFUNDED PROGRAMS AT ALL LA JOLLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, THE LJAWF HAS DONATED OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO THESE SCHOOLS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT OF MORE THAN 4,000 CHILDREN. ALL DONATIONS TO THE LAWF ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. VISIT THE LAWF WEBSITE AT WWW.LJAWF.COM TO LEARN MORE FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES, EMAIL INFO@LAJOLLAARTANDWINEFESTIVAL.COM.

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“Pray for the love of Jerusalem.

Those who love her will find serenity.”

May we be counted among those who pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and may serenity embrace Israel and all her people.

L’Shana Tova! Warmest Wishes for a Happy, Healthy & Peaceful New Year.

Sandy Roseman, Richard Prager and Families, and the Law Offices of Charles S. Roseman and Associates Providing quality legal representation throughout California for over 50 years 1761 Hotel Circle S., Ste. 250 · San Diego, CA 92108

P: (619) 544-1500 F: (619)239-6411

Csroseman@rosemanlaw.com • Csroseman@adrservices.com 26 26 L’CHAIM L’CHAIMSAN SANDIEGO DIEGOMAGAZINE MAGAZINE• •SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER2022 2022

- Psalm 122:6

• Meditation/Arbitration Services • Adr Services, Inc. • Personal Injury Law • Product Liability Law • Professional Malpractice Law • ADA/Personal Injury Law • Civil Rights Law • Elder Abuse Law • Insurance Law • Wrongful Termination Law • Discrimination Law • Business/Contract Law

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• Fight anti-semitism • Support our military overseas • Comradeship • Support Naval Hospital San Diego & Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and much more...

CDR Marc Poland, USN Ret (858) 232-1645 Meet 2nd Sunday of the month 11am Veterans Association North County (VANC) 1617 Missions Ave, Oceanside, CA 92058 JWV is the oldest congressionally commissioned veterans organization in America

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FEATURE STORY

Junkyard Memory

Cats, the beloved musical comes to San Diego

BY SALOMON MAYA The company of the 2021-2022 national tour of CATS. PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY, MURPHYMADE.

I

magine the world of musical theatre without some of its iconic songs. Ponder what Cabaret would sound like without Liza Minnelli’s version of the titular theme. Consider Les Mis without “One Day More,” Phantom without “The Music of the Night,” or Fiddler on the Roof missing Tevye’s question of “If I Were a Rich Man?” Ask yourself what your memory of these renown musicals would be without their heart, their soul… their memory.

When playing “Memory” in 1980, Andrew Lloyd Webber asked his composer father if the song sounded like anything he’d ever heard before. With a sly smile, Lloyd Webber Senior allegedly said “Memory” sounded “like a million dollars!”

Cats is one of the most successful shows in Broadway history amassing seven Tony Awards®, including Best Musical. “Memory” has been recorded by over 150 artists worldwide with one of its most 28

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2022

recognizable covers done by American singer, songwriter, actress and director Barbra Streisand for her 1981 album.

Forty-one years after Streisand’s recording as well as Elaine Paige’s original, "Cats" makes its San Diego stop at the Civic Theatre from September 27 through October 2. Taking the “Memory” mantel as Grizabella for this tour is Tayler Harris. Recently, L’CHAIM Magazine had a chance to sit down and chat with Tayler.

“I’m excited to step back into the swing of being in the junkyard!”

Tayler exclaimed. The junkyard? “It’s a thing we say when doing a show in a junkyard.”

When asked how she felt about stepping on stage for such an iconic role as Grizabella, “now that I am to embark of year two of stepping into this, it’s still doesn’t feel real. It’s a transformative year and new chapter in my life and am so grateful for the opportunity.” With a

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reflective pause, Tyler continued, “sometimes I’m still in shock that I wake up and go, ‘this is my job, this is what I’m doing, I’ve worked really hard for this,' but I am the current human being in the U.S. who’s getting to play this role full time and it’s amazing, it’s been so much fun.”

Ostracized and lonely, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Cats characters.

Tyler relishes to continue her relationship with her character. “To continue to get to know Grizabella, and further recognize what Grizabella means to me and what Grizabella means now to human beings who look like me who have the opportunity to come see the show.”

Harris doesn’t shy away from the characters' long memory and acknowledges that the shoes she’s filling feel mighty big. Attached to huge names on and off the stage, as mentioned before, Streisand and Page, but also Jennifer Hudson’s turn at Grizabella in the 2019 film adaptation. When asked if she has taken snippets of prior performances of “Memory,”

Tyler answered, “for me as a performer, it’s definitely a Tyler Harris exclusive, but with any role that you do you’re forced to do so much research on how it’s sung but then also taking every note and translating that note and what it means to you.”

Grizabella’s shoes may be huge but they’re also plentiful. It’s easy to just look at the powerhouses that have played her, but Harris focused on one actress who dawned the paws before her. “Lillias White… she was the first black woman to play the role in the nineties.

I just sometimes like to just do my best to channel my inner Lillias White as much as I can just to honor that, because she is someone that I look up to in the industry for sure.”

Yet not everything is just work for our generations Grizabella. When asked if she sings karaoke, Tyler laughed and told us a little trick she plays on unsuspecting patrons when she goes up to sing. “I have a bit of a method to my madness now. My go-to karaoke song is “It’s All Coming Back to Me” by Celine Dion. But usually what I do,

ADL HALF PAGE

I haven’t done it in a while, I kind of start off like singing my song pretty terribly and like very generically. I kind of just start off honestly sounding quite bad, and when I get to the first chorus, I just totally change my demeanor and just start singing like nobody’s business but the song. And people are just kind of sitting there like, what is happening?

This is the same person, and my friends are just sitting there shaking their head like, Oh my gosh, of course she did this again.”

Cats isn’t just a musical, it’s the foundation for the everlasting light of inspiration seen in almost every Broadway fan. Because, before Hamilton took his shot, before Dear Even Hansen broke his arm, before we took a ride down to Hadestown…there was a lonely junkyard cat, with a haunting and melancholic yet meaningful memory.

CATS COMES TO BROADWAY SAN DIEGO SEPT. 27-OCT. 2. FOR TICKETS OR MORE, VISIT BRAODWAYSD.COM.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time of celebration and reflection for the Jewish community.

As we reflect on the past year, we are grateful for and inspired by your passion for our mission and work.

Thank you for your support. We wish you and yours peace, happiness and health at this special time and throughout the year.

Sincerely, The ADL San Diego Team (858) 565-6896

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