L'Chaim Magazine October 2016

OCTOBER 2016

LOOKING AHEAD



NOT YOUR ORDINARY DYBBUK



THE ART OF SHABBAT AT JCC



JEWISH BOOK FAIR AND REVIEW

 INSIDE SENIOR ISSUE

FIDF supports Israeli soldiers through innovative program

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

contents

10

October 2016 • www.lchaimmagazine.com

in this issue...

10 14 20 22

1000 WORDS Not Your Ordinary Dybbuk: SD Repertory Theatre Reimagines a Classic..............

COVER STORY Looking Ahead with FIDF and Ro’im Rachok............................................................................

SENIORS Seniors increasingly surf the web to expand their Jewish horizons.......................

REIMAGINING A CLASSIC

20

Intergenerational bonds bloom: Seniors and students share a campus.............

FOOD Badass Kosher: Fish Tacos, Old Style: Whole Salted Baked Sheepshead Tacos with Guacamole and Jalepeño Mayo.............................................

26 24 30 32 34 06 08

FEATURES Book Review.................................................................................................................................................

Healing the world, one drop of water at a time with Ben-Gurion University......

SENIOR LIVING

Shabbat San Diego..................................................................................................................................

The Art of Shabbat at the JCC........................................................................................................

COLUMNS Torah: Of the Book...................................................................................................................................

Humor: Mazel & Mishagoss................................................................................................................

COVER PHOTO COURTESY FLICKR/IDF

HEALING THE WORLD

CORRECTION: In September 2016 issue, page 10, Photo by Dana Greene.

PUBLISHERS Diane Benaroya & Laurie Miller EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alanna Maya

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO, LLC (858) 776-0550 San Diego, CA 92127

ADVERTISING dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS Daniel Bortz, Stephanie Lewis, Salomon Maya, Mimi Pollack, Sharon Rapoport, Nikki Salvo, Eva Trieger, Deborah Vietor

ADVERTISING & SALES Diane Benaroya (dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com), Sharon Buchsbaum (sharonbux@gmail.com)

ART DEPARTMENT lauriem@lchaimmagazine.com LISTINGS & CALENDAR: calendar@lchaimmagazine.com

EDITORIAL editor@lchaimmagazine.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laurie Miller

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CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS info@lchaimmagazine.com

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” to: publisher@lchaimmagazine.com Published in San Diego, CA • www.lchaimmagazine.com lchaimmagazine

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5

TORAH l BY RABBI DANIEL BORTZ

of

the book Sukkot Season “WE ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED; IF ONE PERSON ON A BOAT DIGS A HOLE UNDER HIS SEAT, THE WHOLE BOAT WILL SINK.”

R

ecently, our youth organization JTEEN - together with Adopt a Family Foundation, brought six teenage soccer players and their coach from the Israeli border town of Sderot to San Diego, to impact our community and enjoy a week of vacation from the tragic reality of trying to avoid being hit by the thousands of rockets raining down on their city from Gaza over the past decade. Two things over the week struck me most, both connected to the central themes of Sukkot.

On the holiday of Sukkot (October 1623), there’s a mitzvah to take four species of plants together: A palm branch (lulav), two willows (aravot), three myrtles (hadassim) and one citron (etrog). We also dwell as often as we can in an outdoor hut, called a Sukkah.

The Sages describe the inner meaning behind these specific plants. The Etrog has a good taste and a good fragrance, which represents a person with both Torah wisdom and good deeds. The hadas has a good fragrance, but lacks a good taste. This represents one who has good deeds but lacks wisdom.

The Lulav is edible, but has no smell. This represents one who has wisdom, but without good deeds. The Aravah has neither taste nor smell, symbolizing a person who lacks both

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

good deeds and wisdom.

And yet we shake all of them together; each is essential for the mitzvah to be complete.

Any one left out invalidates them all, even one who lacks the qualities we admire.

There are Jews who are Sephardi and others Ashkenazi or Yemenite. Some are religiously observant and others not so much, some American or Israeli. But the Jewish community – and all of humankind, is enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and cultures. Instead of coercing all to conform to a particular mold, the four species of Sukkot teach us that in order to achieve true unity, we needn’t ignore our differences, but rather embrace and even celebrate them.

Kabbalah teaches us that the middle path of the human spirit is known as Tiferet – beauty, a combination of kindness on the right and severity/discipline on the left.

True beauty results from the harmonizing of opposites. A painting that’s one color, or a song with one note, lacks complexity and a deep beauty.

The moment our Israeli “family” arrived in San Diego, the unity and brotherhood we all felt together was clear and heartfelt. The Jewish people are all one family. We know the frustration of working hard on a big puzzle, only to find that one piece is missing.

No matter how different we are from each other, the language we speak and the way of life we’re used to, we must remember that each piece in G-d’s world is essential to humankind and serves a purpose. We are all interconnected; if one person on a boat digs a hole under his seat, the whole boat will sink.

The outdoor Sukkah we all sit under also symbolizes this unity. But there’s something more. The Sukkah also symbolizes a trust in a higher power. Outside of our sturdy homes, we sit under the night sky under our makeshift hut, trusting that we will be protected. Our visitors expressed their unwavering trust in G-d, even after witnessing incessant rocket fire and danger.

They exuded hope, determination, and trust, all traits that are at the core of the fabric of the Jewish soul, especially felt in Israel.

May we work on feeling a true sense of unity amongst one another, and place trust in a positive outcome, no matter how dark our surroundings seem. Chag Sameach!

RABBI DANIEL BORTZ IS THE DIRECTOR OF JTEEN SAN DIEGO, JTEENSD.COM. FOR INFORMATION ON CLASSES, CONTACT HIM AT DANIELBORTZ@GMAIL.COM.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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HUMOR l BY STEPHANIE LEWIS

mazel

& mishagoss 10 Famous Jews Share a Table at a Bar Mitzvah!

H

ey, it could happen. Let’s listen in, shall we? (Can you pick out the non-Jew?)

JD SALINGER: My book, The Kvetcher and The Rye?

JERRY SEINFELD: Did you happen to notice there were no yarmulkes, no haftarah, no aliyahs, and not even a mitzvah project?

JERRY SEINFELD: I don’t remember a book like that?

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: And “The Sound of Silence” when it came time for the speech.

NEIL DIAMOND: And no one heard at all, not even the chair! If you know what I mean?

JERRY SEINFELD: They stole my show -- a Bar Mitzvah about nothing.

BARBRA STREISAND: What’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget. Oh look, they’re serving sushi.

JACKIE MASON: Of course. Raw fish has nothing to do with the Japanese. Two Jews asked themselves, “How can we open a restaurant without a kitchen?” It’s a Jewish invention.

blues and make a song …

JACKIE MASON: Song Sung Blue. Feh. Too Jewish.

NEIL DIAMOND: Who you calling Too Jewish? I’ve got three Christmas albums out.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: Jesus loves you more than you will know….wo wo wo BARBRA STREISAND: Both of you? This is something to be proud of? Remember our family roots. Papa can you hear me?

NEIL DIAMOND: Nah, It was a Beautiful Noise. And it’s a sound that I love.

GENE WILDER: Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.

STEPHEN KING: Hey guys, they’re playing Hava Nagila. This gives me an idea for a new Hora movie. Get it? Hora/Horror?

BARBRA STREISAND: What do you know from love?! You don’t bring me flowers anymore. How did that begin?

BILLY CRYSTAL: Darling, you look marvelous! But have you tried this soup? It’s overly spicy. What’s in it?

JACKIE MASON: Never explain jokes. That’s the difference between a Jew and a Gentile. You understand this . . . Mister?!!

NEIL DIAMOND: Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing. But then I know it’s growing strong.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

BARBRA STREISAND: We’re not having fun here. Somewhere….there’s a place for us.

Somewhere … a space for us. Hold my hand and I’ll take you there.

BILLY CRYSTAL: But just remember, men and women can never be friends.

BARBRA STREISAND: Who told you you’re allowed to rain on my parade? Were roses too much money?

NEIL DIAMOND: Money talks, but it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: I am just a poor boy, though my story’s seldom told…

JACKIE MASON: Stop the singing.

Listen, Mister! What do you call an old man complaining while sending back his pastrami in a deli?

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

JERRY SEINFELD: Too spicy? No soup for you!

JACKIE MASON: You call that a portion?

What happened to the sizes here?

JERRY SEINFELD: Shrinkage.

BARBRA STREISAND: Life’s candy and the sun’s a ball of butter. But I thought dessert was supposed to be strawberry tarts. Why are these blue?

GENE WILDER: It happens every time.

They all become Blueberries.

NEIL DIAMOND: Me and you are subject to, the blues now and then. But when you take the

JACKIE MASON: Somewhere that’s not so drafty and the portions are larger.

BARBRA STREISAND: Right. I don’t understand why the host sat us at the same table. Unless…

ALL TOGETHER: People. People who need people … are the luckiest people in the world.

STEPHANIE D. LEWIS WRITES REGULARLY FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST. SHE HAS A HUMOR BLOG, “ONCE UPON YOUR PRIME.” FOLLOW HER @MISSMENOPAUSE.

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9

L’CHAIM l BY NIKKI SALVO

PHOTOS COURTESY SD REPERTORY THEATRE

Salovey’s take on the S. Ansky classic is more provocative than any Dybbuk to come before it, with all characters played by one man: nationallyrenowned actor Ron Campbell.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

L’CHAIM

A THOUSAND

WORDS NOT YOUR ORDINARY DYBBUK

A

ttend the occasion of the year this fall, at The Dybbuk for Hannah and Sam’s Wedding, and allow yourself to be engaged by a fascinating tale of broken vows, a possession and a drunk uncle’s speech at The San Diego Repertory Theatre’s telling of one of the most beloved Jewish plays.

Written and directed by Todd Salovey, running Nov. 23–Dec. 18, at The Lyceum space, The Dybbuk for Hannah and Sam’s Wedding is a love story that is both mystical and romantic. Salovey’s take on the S. Ansky classic is more provocative than any Dybbuk to come before it, featuring an immersive audience experience, live music by Klezmer legend Yale Strom and his band, and all characters played by one man: nationallyrenowned actor Ron Campbell.

Salovey, The REP’s associate artistic director and artistic director of the Lipinsky Family Jewish Arts Festival, is pleased to be able to bring a unique interpretation of the show – two years in the making – to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences alike. He counts the “ancient folk tale” among “one of the most romantic ever written.” He says it is his favorite play and was the first play he produced professionally and for The REP. Powered by his appreciation for his favorite multi-character actor and his favorite Klezmer composer, he decided to put them all together for a brand new take on The Dybbuk.

When searching for a composer and musician for Salovey’s directorial debut of The Dybbuk in 1993, a number of people suggested Yale Strom for the show, he says. It became the collaboration that has informed his much of his work since. “It was the birth of a lot of things,” says Salovey. “It was the birth of my doing work that spoke to the Jewish experience. It was the first time that I had done something that was both spiritual and theatrical, and it was a beautiful

[combination] of music, mysticism and theatricality.” The year after, the Lipinsky Family Jewish Arts Festival was initiated

by Salovey, inspired by his partnership with Strom and their work on that initial production.

His current incarnation of The Dybbuk had to be different than the one that ignited his passion for combining Jewish art and culture and bringing it to the public. “Productions always speak to their own time,” he says.

“That’s what makes theatre very alive.” His intention was to create a production with a “contemporary sensibility,” and, knowing for years he wanted to do the piece again, he pondered how to keep things fresh.

A memory from his brother’s wedding (and other family functions) became the impetus for the direction of this updated version of the story: His mother’s cousin stood up and made a lengthy speech, which referenced the new woman in his life, how he was a changed man due to her, and at a Bar Mitzvah some years later, made another, similar speech with a different woman under his arm. Salovey got to thinking about vows, remarking that people today seem to “value flexibility and mobility over stability.” He points to the view that society is becoming less traditional, people are waiting longer to get married and are less likely to join the synagogue or subscribe to the theatre. With these ideas the framework for the production was constructed.

In Salovey’s new adaptation, eccentric and inebriated Uncle Jerry’s speech is the perfect opportunity to let the young couple and everyone else at the wedding know how impressed he is that the newlyweds have decided to commit, which leads to his impromptu telling of his favorite play, The Dybbuk, to illustrate “...what happens when you don’t honor your vows,” says Salovey.

This notion became a modern way for him to

bring the story to a new audience.

The audience, in fact, are guests at Hannah and Sam’s wedding, and herein lies the interactive experience that makes this production exceptional. The relevance for today’s audience is in the highlighting of a return to the value of commitment.

Themes running through the story depict the importance of “...relationships and the connections that we have,” Salovey says, “with our family and with people. They’re not just here today and gone tomorrow. They are part of the reality that we carry with us.” The concepts of regret, making amends for wrongdoings and coming to terms with broken promises all come up in both the original and this incarnation of The Dybbuk.

There’s no need for costume changes in this new version. Ron Campbell embodies 18 characters and transforms his body, face, voice and posture to portray each one. Salovey points to Campbell’s “artistic mastery” in bringing these characters to life, from a young bride who becomes possessed by a dybbuk, or restless spirit, to a man inhabiting a woman’s body (his most challenging character to play, Campbell says). The props, says Salovey, are things one would find around the table at a Jewish wedding. The character Uncle Jerry uses the items around him to tell the story of The Dybbuk to the wedding guests, and Campbell and Uncle Jerry both use them to introduce, and transform themselves into, these different characters-within-characters.

Salovey calls Campbell’s performance “rough theatrical magic.”

Campbell, who not only acts, but teaches acting at his studio in the Bay Area, calls this Dybbuk “a hell of a love story.” He was attracted to the play, not only for the opportunity to “tell a story” with Salovey, but for the challenges the role presents.

Using a tablecloth that becomes a prayer shawl, moving his chin in a certain way to WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

11

L’CHAIM

Check it out www.sdrep.org

play the young lover, or using his shoulders to portray the dybbuk hunter, Campbell performs a kind of theatre martial arts. In playing multiple characters, he says, an actor must “...find a physical touchstone [that lets] the audience know, immediately, without dialogue, who [he is] at every given moment.”

He has been developing tricks and techniques on how to do just that for some time, he says.

Salovey and Campbell both like to refer to the main character as “everyone’s Uncle Jerry,” because almost everyone has that zany, funny uncle, and this narrator, Campbell says, “... unreliable as he may be, becomes a porthole into this ancient, beautiful Yiddish legend.”

This “ringleader” plucks audience members – involunteers, Campbell calls them – to help tell the story and facilitate a space for the room to receive their reaction. This delicate dance showcases Campbell’s improvisational skills and strong grasp on the script; they are put to good use as he “casts” the audience members in roles and elicits some “controlled heckling” from the crowd to help advance him to the next section.

Within these characters, Campbell is able to present the tale to a contemporary audience, and, when describing this modern version of the show, touches upon how the young bride and groom have made a vow, “a pact, a knot,” he says, “which is way against the manner of the millennials today. Everyone is so non-committal, and our attention spans so brief, that some of the lessons in these ancient 12

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

stories are valuable.” He feels this production will speak to a generation and he is excited to have a chance to bring it to life. He speaks about how, in relationships, everyone has had that “one who got away,” how “we all kind of have a demon inside, we have that devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other,” and how this subject matter will resonate with audiences.

The aforementioned demon is personified in the dybbuk himself, and his possession of the bride lends a “spooky, creepy, fun danger” to the show, says Campbell. Although the character is a “lost wandering soul...who has a right to be there,” Campbell and Salovey hope to scare audiences, and both men cite some similarities to the classic horror movie The Exorcism, however, “...there will be no pea soup flying around.” says Campbell.

“Maybe a little matzo ball soup.”

Combining the comedic, the serious and the spiritual, Salovey and Campbell create a world in which a catharsis is reached, and Campbell commends Salovey for meeting the challenge of creating a character that is “complicated, difficult and likeable” and invites the audience to follow along on the main character’s journey.

“We speak the same language,” says Campbell of his artistic partnership with Salovey, “and our connection to Judaism is strong. I think Todd likes to put himself in the shoes of the audience.” While he’s performing, Campbell tries to stay cognizant

of the “internal implosions” of Jerry and allow the audience to “...track his discoveries.”

The two work together to achieve a “jagged throughline” that mirrors real life and demonstrates the natural flow of emotion, rather than employing deliberate transitions or the display of an actor’s “pyrotechnics.”

Supported by a live band that includes Strom, Campbell’s work intersects with what he calls “the highest level of Klezmer performers,” to open people’s hearts and make them more receptive to the story.

Salovey, too, speaks to the way live music can “cut through to the emotion...to touch [the] heart and involve [the audience] in a very rich way.”

As the show comes to a close, it develops into a vehicle to “remind us of our empathic qualities,” and Campbell’s job in playing Jerry is to “impact audiences in a really subversive way,” by conveying a man who is deeply flawed but is forgiven by the crowd.

“He’s caught by surprise as much as they are.”

By the end of the show, says Campbell, “Jerry has forever changed. And maybe he’s learned a little bit about himself. That’s what I’m trying to do to the audience, too.”

Salovey is hopeful that theatregoers will be moved by this production, the portrayals

by Campbell and the score by Strom and his band. He hopes to “transport the audience to another time and place” through “Hasidic-inspired melodies that seem to have risen from the earth of Eastern Europe and somehow connect the heavens and the Earth.” A celebration of Jewish culture and entertainment, The Dybbuk for Hannah and Sam’s Wedding is sure to be a hit with theatregoers.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.sdrep.org.

NIKKI SALVO IS FREELANCE WRITER WHO HAS HAD HER WORK PUBLISHED IN NUMEROUS LOCAL MAGAZINES. SHE HOLDS A BA IN JOURNALISM FROM SDSU. SHE ALSO WORKS FULL-TIME AT THE CLINIQUE COUNTER AT BLOOMINGDALE’S FASHION VALLEY AND DOES FREELANCE MAKEUP ARTISTRY. SHE LIVES IN THE EAST VILLAGE WITH HER BOYFRIEND AND THEIR ONE-YEAR-OLD SON, JUDE. SHE CAN BE REACHED AT NICHOLE.SALVO@ GMAIL.COM

WISHING EVERYONE WISHING EVERYONE WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY AND A VERY VERY HAPPY HAPPY AND AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR! HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

HEALTHY NEW YEAR! Scott Peters Scott Peters Scott Peters

U.S. Representative U.S. Representative U.S. Representative

As families gather to celebrate new beginnings, we As families gather to celebrate new beginnings, we remember past successes working As families gather to celebrate newtogether. beginnings, we remember past successes working together.

remember past successes working together.

While on on thethe CityCity Council, I was While Council, I washonored honoredtotosupport support construction of eruvs in the College Area, La Jolla While on the City Council, I was honored to support construction of eruvs in the College Area, La Jolla of eruvs in Congress, the College Area, La Jolla andconstruction University City.

In In Congress, I am aastrong and University City.

I am strong and University City.

Congress, Ially am strong supporter of Israel, ourIn greatest ininathe Middle supporter of Israel, our greatestally the Middle supporter of Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East,East, andand have condemned the recent upsurge have condemned the recent upsurgeinin East, and have the recent upsurge in random actsacts of violence against innocent Israeli random ofcondemned violence against innocent Israeli random citizens.acts of violence against innocent Israeli citizens. citizens.

Our partnership with Israel is thefoundation foundationofof OurOur partnership with partnership withIsrael Israelisisthe the foundation of United States security in the Middle East.I Ihave haveand and United States security United States securityininthe theMiddle Middle East.

East. I have and will continue to stand up for Israel’s righttotodefend defend willwill continue to to stand continue standupupfor forIsrael’s Israel’s right right to defend itself and for a continuing andstrong strong relationship itselfitself andand forfor a continuing a continuingand and strong relationship relationship between our two democracies. between ourour two democracies. between two democracies.

Shana Tova!

Shana Tova!

Shana Tova!

www.ScottPeters.com www.ScottPeters.com www.ScottPeters.com Scott Peters forforCongress Congress Paid for Paid for by byScott ScottPeters Petersfor Congress Chesapeake Drive, Drive, Ste 108 9620 Chesapeake 9620 Chesapeake Drive,Ste Ste108 108 Diego, CA CA 92123 92123 San Diego, San Diego, CA 92123

COVER STORYl BY DEBORAH VIETOR

RO’IM RACHOK SEEING INTO THE FUTURE

Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Ro’im Rachok program integrates autistic individuals into compulsory service.

Looking ahead with ingenuity and innovation with FIDF

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

N

ir BenZvi is the Director of the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF) in San Diego.

We discussed an interesting, innovative IDF approach that integrates autistic individuals into the army: the Ro’im Rachok, (Hebrew for “seeing into the future”) program. He said individuals on the autistic spectrum offer analytical strength and provide data and image analysis in many areas for the IDF. Countries such as Iraq pose a large threat to Israel, so highly trained autistic individuals identify the source of nuclear information in order to prevent attacks.

Autistic men and women are selected with the most unique skill sets, possessing highly developed analytical interests regarding data. High level decision

COVER STORY QUALIFIED YOUNG ADULTS ON THE SPECTRUM, INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING FOR SERVICE IN THE IDF OR INTEGRATING INTO THE JOB MARKET ARE TAUGHT PROFESSIONS FOR WHICH THEY WILL HAVE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

making skills are important in terms of the proprietary nature of these positions. Maximum performance is reached, as these individuals remain highly focused and are not distracted easily by minutia or emotions.

The first course of training opened in 2013, deciphering aerial and satellite photographs for the environment and infrastructure. Individuals on the autistic spectrum are visually oriented and many are able to focus on the details the work requires.

The program has been expanded to train individuals in other professions needed in IDF and the civilian job market. Software quality assurance is one area; information sorting and electro optic technologies are other opportunities.

Ro’im Rachok highlights the personal significance of belonging for people on the spectrum. Qualified young adults interested in volunteering for service in the IDF or integrating into the job market are taught professions for which they will have a competitive advantage.

The first three months of the program is held in a civilian framework where participants learn professional and essential work skills. They are assigned to IDF units and work as civilians gaining experience before being drafted as volunteers, subject to IDF approval. Upon completing this portion of the program, they are able to continue working in the same field or further develop their skills in other related or unrelated scientific and academic directions.

Many autistic soldiers who would otherwise be exempt from military service have found a place in Unit 9900, a selective intelligence squad, showcasing their heightened perceptual skills. Autistic volunteers harness their unique skill sets, including an extraordinary capacity for visual thinking and attention to detail. These skills lend themselves well to the highly specialized task of aerial analysis.

An individual we will refer to as “E” sits daily in front of multiple computer screens, scanning highresolution satellite images for suspicious objects or movements. Decoding Israel’s complex and often heavily civilian battlegrounds, he has prevented the loss of soldier’s lives on the ground multiple times,

TAKE NOTE

FIDF GALA DINNER The battlefield becomes more technologically advanced as the IDF continues to cultivate their soldiers, and FIDF is there to support them.

The San Diego Chapter of FIDF will hold their annual gala at the Manchester Hyatt, celebrating IDF soldiers on November 5. Ingenuity meets valor with the heart of Israel at this special occasion.

In attendance will be the mother of an autistic son/soldier, describing their story of excellence and his contribution in the IDF for Israel. Also highlighted will be stories of bravery from those working behind the scenes, allowing Israel not just to survive but also shine as a start-up nation.

“This is an exceptional opportunity for the public,” Judy Clayton, development associate for FIDF San Diego said. “We hope you will join in celebrating this special and unique evening.”

For more information, including tickets for the FIDF Gala dinner, visit www.fidfsd.org.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

15

COVER STORY

according to his officers.

“E” has requested his name to be withheld honoring army protocol. On the autistic spectrum, he describes his job as relaxing, “like a hobby.”

Geraldine Dawson, Director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development relates that in early life, autistic children often compensate for lagging social development.

They develop exceptionally strong perceptual skills, excelling in visually and systematically oriented activities like puzzles or drawings.

“People with autism often talk about thinking in pictures, rather than categorizing information according to language,” she explains. “They tend to think less in a holistic form, they’re integrating lots of pieces into a whole, and they’re much more likely to see the finer details of something.”

For many of the unit’s autistic soldiers, challenges include communicating and socializing with peers. “E” experienced this through high school with a sense of isolation exacerbated by the special aide assigned to him in school.

His biggest setback came from an exemption letter he received from the army while in the 12th grade. In Israel, military service is compulsary for all 18 year olds following high school. Exemptions are issued for a number of reasons, including residence abroad, religious reasons, physical or mental disability. In 2008, the country ended the practice of issuing blanket exemption notices for autistic Israelis and instead, now accepts them on a case by case basis. Often individuals are accepted for secretarial roles or voluntary civil service positions in hospitals or schools. “E” was not interested in these options, deciding instead he would only enlist if he could have a more “typical” soldier experience.

His high school was visited by representatives from Ro’im Rachok, a program assisting students with autism preparing for enlistment in the IDF which literally enables them to see into the future regarding their specialized line of work.

The pre army course consists of three 16

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

phases, beginning with the selection process.

Students undergo tests and interviews ensuring they have the right skills to successfully analyze images, and can adjust to the army’s rigid structure. Of dozens of applicants this year, 12 candidates made the cut.

“Many autistic soldiers who would otherwise be exempt from military service have found a place in Unit 9900, a selective intelligence squad. … These volunteers harness their unique skill sets, including an extraordinary capacity for visual thinking and attention to detail.”

In the second phase, the health profession department at Ono Academic College hosts the satellite image analysis course at its campus in central Israel. Students meet frequently with therapists helping them learn to adjust to new trials and stresses from responsibility of work itself. The program helps them to figure out how to take the bus home from the army base in addition to other valuable life skills During this phase, applicants continue professional training and therapy sessions on an army base in Tel Aviv. Those enlisting

have the option to opt out after the end of each year or complete the required term of service. In Israel, compulsory service for men is three years and for women is two. Unit 9900 is co-ed; Ro’im Rachok has had only one female soldier to date.

In the intelligence fields, military service is a pathway to jobs in Israel’s booming tech sector. Some research suggests autistic individuals out perform neurologically typical children and adults in a wide range of perception tasks such as spotting patterns in a distracting environment. This was noted

by Laurent Mottron, a psychiatry professor at the University of Montreal and was written in a 2011 column in Nature magazine.

Mottron added that most autistic individuals “outperform in auditory tasks, (such as discriminating sound pitches), detecting visual structures and mentally manipulating complex three dimensional shapes.”

As in many other countries, as more information is learned, reported cases of autism have increased greatly in Israel.

Between 2004 and 2011, the number of Israelies on the autistic spectrum increased fivefold with 1,000 new diagnoses per year, according to a survey released by the country’s Social Affairs Ministry.

Unfortunately, autism carries a heavy stigma in Israel, and autistic children are frequently suspended from schools for misbehavior. The Knesset Education Committee found that with no specific educational guidelines for autistic students, some teachers requested they receive stronger medication before being allowed into classes.

To reduce this stigma, Efrat Selanikyo, an occupational therapist at Ono, says she and her colleagues help create a support system, implementing strict and clear guidelines for the training part of the Ro’im Rachok program. A sense of discipline is integrated along with a preparation for reality when things change for them. Selanikyo updates parents on their children’s progress throughout the length of the program.

Organizers of Ro’im Rachok are working on plans to expand beyond Unit 9900.

COVER STORY

Future applicants will have the opportunity to train for additional intelligence units of the IDF. Roles including quality assurance, programming and information will be included. As the program continues, individuals with autism will be integrated into mainstream Israeli society.

Selanikyo further believes that as these individuals continue in civilian work, an enormous influence is created. Ro’im Rachok and “seeing into the future” will take on a meaningful application for those on the autistic spectrum, offering a vital contribution to society while being gainfully employed.

Social stigma will change as neighbors see someone on the autistic spectrum coming home on Friday in uniform.

Neta Geffen is an autistic young man who

has given support and hope for the future of Ro’im Rachok. As a child he struggled with his diagnosis and his parents struggled to find the right framework for him. His mother was told when he was four years old that he would never be accepted into the Israeli army due to his status on the spectrum.

With special visual capabilities, attention to detail and a desire to serve his country and be a party of the community, Geffen was accepted into the army. His parents were overjoyed and actually saw him walking taller once in uniform. He has been supported and honored for his contribution along with other autistic soldiers and will be able to utilize his capabilities in civilian life once he leaves the IDF. Today, Ro’im Rachok soldiers are no

different than the rest of the members of Israel’s military. In many unique ways they contribute to the safety and protection of Israel, just like their peers. Identifying aerial and satellite images, qualifying data and providing this to the commanding officers are only part of the detailed assignments for autistic individuals which are most impressive. The program is an opportunity to dispel many stereotypes and myths about those living on the spectrum, and FIDF is helping these soldiers continue to thrive.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.FIDF.ORG

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SENIORS l BY DEBORAH FRIEDMAN | jns.org

SENIORS

EXPANDING JEWISH HORIZONS SENIORS INCREASINGLY SURF THE WEB TO FIND ANSWERS TO LIFE’S QUESTIONS

W

hen she was in her 30s, Janet Buchwald fell head over heels in love with the Hebrew language.

Three decades later, whenever the 65-year-old Sudbury, Mass., resident itches to expand her Hebrew vocabulary with a tantalizing new verb, or to find an answer to a particularly thorny question for a student, she looks no further than her favorite websites.

At 69, Michael Vigdorchik feels like he’s playing a game of catch-up, something his online resources make possible. “When you grow up in the former Soviet Union, religion comes harder,” says the Ukraine native who now lives in St. Louis. “You have to take it slowly and ask a lot of questions. This I can do at Chabad.org.”

Whenever Charlotte Gottlieb prepares a holiday workshop for the Jewish culture group she runs at her independent living center in Chevy Chase, Md., she typically looks no further than Aish.com. “They always have great stories and holiday traditions that I never heard of,” says Gottlieb, who with three other women ages 85-90 is hard at work 20

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

preparing for her bat mitzvah (eight decades later) this spring. At 93, she is the senior member of the group.

Dr. Elliott Milgram may live in the Israeli coastal town of Nahariya, but thanks to his trusty computer, Milgram’s Torah and Talmud learning comes from all over the Jewish world. Tapping into such sources as Bar-Ilan University, Chabad, Aish, and Yeshivat Har Etzion, Milgram enjoys learning that resonates with his modern Orthodox and Zionist worldview. “These commentaries are part of our Jewish heritage,” says the 80-yearold retired pediatrician. “The online classes and writings help us to understand who we are and why we are here.”

The over-55 demographic, though not born with a keyboard in their hands like their grandchildren, is quickly warming to expanding their Jewish horizons online. In fact, this age bracket represents the fastestgrowing group of Internet users these days, including what used to be an exclusive domain of the young: Facebook.

Chabad.org was early out of the gate. Back

in the 1980s, when the Internet had yet to take hold of the world, Chabad was pioneering the online outreach field. What Chabad.org spokesman Chaim Landa notes was “one of the first pages on the Internet” today serves as what he calls “Judaism’s homepage,” garnering 44 million annual unique visitors.

Among those millions, Landa says that based on the feedback Chabad.org receives, an increasingly large chunk falls in the over60 demographic. One offering that’s popular with seniors is Torah Trainer, which teaches even beginners to chant from the Torah.

“Chabad.org has answered a lot of questions I send in: Why do we eat kosher food?

What does Judaism say about conversion?” says Michael Vigdorchik. “The answers are sometimes a little bit surprising—and always interesting. My wife and I like to discuss them.”

An ever-expanding playing field of Jewish websites continues to push the envelope for Jewish learning with multi-media and creative new services—like Aish.com’s 24-hour live webcam broadcasting from the Western Wall

SENIORS in Jerusalem. Much of this creativity tends to appeal to older users who suddenly find themselves with more discretionary time on their hands.

“The younger people want whatever they can get in 10 minutes, but the seniors tend to watch our longer classes, because they have the time and the patience,” says Shoshie Nissenbaum, women’s program director for Naaleh.com, home to thousands of lectures and ongoing courses from popular Torah teachers like Rebbitzin Tziporah Heller.

Most of Naaleh.com’s 30,000 members are 55 and older, she says.

“The 30-50 audience is pulled in too many directions, but the mature ones love it all, from those who never had a chance to learn and take the beginner’s classes to the advanced learner,” says Heller.

Websites like that of the Aleph Beta Academy (www.alephbeta.org) attract users with eye-catching multimedia content.

Using animated videos, CEO Rabbi David Fohrman employs 15 artists, Internet pros, and others to create animated insights into the Torah and other Jewish texts. Aleph Beta now boasts 4,500 subscribers and 25,000 others who receive the website’s weekly email.

Aleph Beta followers tend to be the over-50 crowd and youngsters who love animation.

“The older followers aren’t digitally native like the kids, so we work at making the site easy to use,” says Fohrman. “Older users are willing to go for a deep dive. They have the attention span and sophistication for longer series and appreciate the bittersweet parts of life, like enjoying red wine and dark chocolate later in life.” One appeal for seniors is that they can show the Aleph Beta “cartoons” to their grandchildren.

Janet Buchwald testifies that online resources have been a boon to her Jewish learning, especially when it comes to the Hebrew language.

“In my 30s, I was seized by a passion to learn Jewishly and discovered there was a voice in there,” she says. In the years that have followed, Buchwald has led High Holiday services, including at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also pinch-hits for the rabbi and cantor at her synagogue in Sudbury when they are away, and tutors bar/bat mitzvah students who have a habit of asking tough questions.

“The Web has everything but you have to really know your source,” she says, “and be very, very careful with what you pass on.”

Her favorite websites include Aish.com, Chabad.org, and the Jewish Virtual Library.

But when she’s not on the job, Buchwald will often direct her browser to another dose of Hebrew. Last week’s new word: tampon (Note: the Hebrew is…tampon, a cognate).

Other Jews turn to their computer, tablet, or even their smartphone to participate in Shabbat and holiday services. When Lynn Wagner lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, she attended Congregation Beth Adam. She has moved to Portland, Ore., but continues to “attend” Beth Adam for Friday night and holiday services as well as on the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of her parents—all online.

“What’s so nice is I can stream it anytime if I am not available at that hour,” says Wagner, 70. “With these services, I feel like I’m still there. And I try not to miss the rabbi’s podcasts. My iPad goes with me everywhere, even to bed.”

Robert Barr, the Beth Adam rabbi who records those podcasts, is quick to point out the power of online Judaism, especially for older Jews.

“Nine years ago, we recognized the changes we were seeing,” he says. “We now have an online congregational rabbi, tens of thousands watching our High Holiday services, and 36,000 on our Facebook page.

We’re reaching and interacting with people from all over.”

Chief among them are older Jews unable to get out for services and others who live in isolated areas, says the rabbi.

“What’s striking is people experience being part of a community,” Barr says.

“They feel strongly connected to something Jewish.”

In fact, Barr recently conducted an online baby naming for a far-flung family, with the proud grandparents tuning in from Florida.

“Technology is getting easier and easier every year,” he says. “[Seniors’] grandchildren set them up and tell them, ‘Grandma, just push this button. Don’t worry. You can’t break it.’”

“All these years we lived without a computer and now it seems like we can’t live without one,” says Charlotte Gottlieb, the 93-year-old Aish.com fan. “For many of our [independent living] center’s residents who knew they were Jewish but grew up without real Yiddishkeit, this is their chance. Now they can finally have it too.”

tech  SENIOR-SPECIFIC The latest gadgets and apps are designed with seniors in mind.

The grandPad

A digital tablet with its own private, curated system. Tap a photo to make a video call or tap a button to send a voice email.

Pillboxie

Uses color coding and simple menus to help older people remember to take their medications.

EyeReader

Turns a smartphone into a magnifying glass.

Silver Surf

Designed for people over 50 to read small print with zoom control.

Jitterbug Touch, by GreatCall A simple smartphone with a brightly colored, easy to use screen.

Suddenly Solo

A lifestyle guide for widowed or divorced men, co-authored by Hal Spielman, 88.

Source: NYTimes.com

...

THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS BY DOING.

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21

SENIORS l BY DEBORAH FINEBLUM | jns.org

SHARING MORE THAN A CAMPUS INTEGRATIONAL BONDS BLOOM WHEN JEWISH SENIORS AND STUDENTS SHARE A CAMPUS

W

hen Shirley H. Gould House resident Marilyn Herbst sees the kids from Katz Hillel Day School of Boca Raton, Fla., walk in the front door, her day significantly improves.

“They’re so sweet and helpful and smart, and they are always smiling,” says Herbst, who won’t reveal her exact age, only saying it’s “over 65.”

Herbst knows that when the students do show up, she and the other residents at the Boca Raton independent living center have something unexpected and fun in store, whether it’s a play, a musical performance, or a lively Bingo game.

“Some of my grandchildren live in another state and the others are busy with college,” she says. “So when the kids come over, it’s just like having my grandchildren around.”

That is exactly what the planners of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s 100-acre campus had in mind when they designed it back in 1989. The day school and the retirement community both call the campus home.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

“Promoting intergenerational Jewish life was and still is a deliberate vision here,” says Matthew C. Levin, the Jewish Federation’s president and CEO. “And it’s not simply living in the same place, but interacting— at holiday time and year-round. Every day, there are natural opportunities to bring the generations together.”

Indeed, the opportunities are abound, with the campus including two U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) apartment buildings for low-income seniors and people with disabilities, an adult day care for those with dementia, and the Sinai Residences of Boca Raton continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The Sinai Residences has room for 450 residents.

Providing these seniors with an endless supply of noisy exuberance, flag ceremonies on Israeli Independence Day, and the occasional sloppy kiss is a cadre of youngsters who spend their weekdays on campus.

Between the preschoolers at the Levis JCC Zale Early Learning Center and the students at two day schools, the campus currently

welcomes a total of 1,500 students daily.

A third school, Boca Raton’s Yeshiva High School, is poised to add its 350 youngsters to the Federation campus when construction on its building is completed.

The same dynamic between seniors and kids is at play about 1,500 miles to the north in Dedham, Mass., a stone’s throw from the Boston area’s Jewish hubs of Newton, Brookline, and Sharon.

In Dedham, dozens of residents at NewBridge on the Charles, a CCRC, give of their time and talents to students at The Rashi School, which shares the same campus. Among the seniors partaking in the intergenerational fun are a retired aerospace engineer who spreads his knowledge of integers and fractions, an art lover who helps out in the school’s art room with classes that include her great-grandchildren, and a retired rabbi who leads the shaking of the Four Species on Sukkot. In addition, students studying immigration and the Holocaust find that many residents are living, breathing history textbooks.

PHOTO COURTESY KATZ HILLEL DAY SCHOOL

SENIORS

SENIORS

KATZ HILLEL DAY SCHOOL’S “NAMES, NOT NUMBERS” PROJECT, IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENTS AND HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN BOCA RATON, FLORIDA.

The learning and the giving flow both ways, says Lynda Bussgang, who manages intergenerational programming at NewBridge for the facility’s parent company, Hebrew SeniorLife. Tech-savvy youngsters come in to teach the seniors how to use computers, in addition to delivering meals and parading through the halls each year in their Purim costumes.

“Since Rashi arrived [on the campus] in 2010, relating to the seniors has been part of the plan here,” Bussgang says.

Intergenerational programs pull together NewBridge’s 600-plus residents with Rashi’s 325 students and hundreds more from offcampus schools they’re involved with.

The push for intergenerational connections is particularly relevant in today’s society, with families tending to be split geographically. Examples of this trend can be found throughout the Jewish world. At Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, Calif., for instance, the High Holidays choir brings together singers from ages 12-85 to lead the congregation in prayer.

“It provides young people with older adults who are not their parents or clergy, but who serve as mentors and role models and form a bond,” says Jonathan Aaron, senior rabbi at the Reform congregation. “Now, when they see them around the synagogue they say, ‘I have a friend who’s 50 years older than me.’”

Repeated exposure to seniors can shape a child in positive ways, says Hadassah Smolarcik, Judaic studies principal at the Katz Hillel Day School on the South Palm Beach County Federation’s campus.

“Kids have so much to learn from people who have experienced life—such as war and survival—including tolerance,” she says.

What’s more, meeting Holocaust survivors has what she calls “the opposite effect on kids than people think. They’re not frightening but inspired. They see that when life throws you challenges, it’s all about how you deal

with it.”

Allaying fears is instrumental in the development of a child, says Sandy Katz, a veteran educator with a Master of Social Work who serves as vice president at New York City’s Jewish Child Care Association.

“When [children] get to relate with people who seem a little different, they learn to easily accept differences; it breaks down the fear,” says Katz. “And even better, a senior isn’t in a rush to do something else like most parents are. They can take the time to tell a story right and really listen to the child.

Child time is more in step with senior time.”

Mira, for one, appreciates that approach to time. An 8th grader at Katz Hillel Day School, her favorite activity is the monthly Bingo game at the Jewish Association of Residential Care’s Living and Learning Center for adults with developmental disabilities.

“It’s such a fun and happy time with the residents….We’re getting to know each other as people and it’s helping me be a more patient person, a lot more patient. After you spend time with them, you get a warm feeling that lasts for two or three days,” she says.

The benefits appear to be just as potent for the seniors involved in intergenerational activities.

“Our residents have so much more to offer than people often give them credit for,” says Hebrew SeniorLife’s CEO, Lou Woolf. “We see them coming back to life again after they move in here.” Woolf’s 87-year-old motherin-law lives in a long-term care facility and provides tutoring for students at The Rashi School each week.

“It’s the most special thing in her life and gives her incredible satisfaction and purpose,” Woolf says. “What we see is that being with younger people makes them feel younger, reminding them that they still have a lot of living and giving to do.”

Helena Levine, head of school at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy on the Federation campus in Boca Raton, says that for seniors who may have been emotionally wounded by being removed from their home environments, “it heals all that when we bring them together with kids and they see each other for the people they really are.”

The intergenerational bonds also help forge Jewish identity and shape the Jewish future, Levine says, recalling one particularly moving moment when a young brother and sister sang several Yiddish songs for seniors.

One Holocaust survivor told the siblings, “Listening to you singing in my mother

tongue assures me that there is a future for our people.”

“We Jews have a belief that we have to care for our family, and since all Jews are part of our family, when you go visit someone Jewish, you know it’s not just another elderly person,” says Rabbi Josh Broide, director of the Deborah & Larry D. Silver Center for Jewish Engagement at the South Palm Beach County Federation. “You know it’s your cousin.”

Shimon Peres, z”l (1923-2016)

PHOTO FROM YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT/ ISRAEL'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

. . .

Quotes from the former president of Israel, a fantastic human being, leader and legend.

“Peace is not the pursuit of war by other means. Peace consists of putting an end to the red ink of past history and starting anew in a different color.”

“Every woman is civilization itself.”

“Sometimes people ask me, ‘What is the greatest achievement you have reached in your lifetime?’

So I reply that there was a great painter named Mordecai Ardon, who was asked which picture was the most beautiful he had ever painted. Ardon replied, ‘The picture I will paint tomorrow.’ That is also my answer.”

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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BOOK REVIEW l BY MIMI POLLACK

LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD KAREN KISER’S NEW BOOK TEACHES THE ART OF DECLUTTERING YOUR LIFE

I

n today’s world, many of us lead very busy lives, and there are many self help books out there to help people find ways to cope.

However, it is nice to find one that gives concise advice on ways to make your life less stressful, healthy and even lighten your footprint on the planet.

Karen Kiser’s new book, “Lighten Your Load” gives precise and helpful information on these subjects. The book is divided into eight chapters and features 35 surprisingly simple ways to free yourself from stress, toxins, and clutter. There are chapters like “Lightening your Cellular, Physical, and Stress Load,” as well as “Your Load on the Planet.”

“I’ve worked with hundreds of women over the years, and I’ve done a lot of listening,” Kiser said. “What comes up over and over is stress.

We’re overworked or overscheduled. We may exercise and eat pretty well, yet still have several pounds that won’t budge. We’re tired. We often don’t sleep well. Something about our lives feels ‘off’. I know all about stress. I used to work 70+ hours a week. I used to think the formula for success and happiness was to just work harder and get more done.”

“However, I don’t do that anymore. I lightened my load. I now teach others to do the same. For the last three years I’ve created group programs to help my Pilates clients detox, declutter and de-stress their lives. I wrote the book to be able to help even more people lighten their load and live lives of joy, radiant health and sustainability, for themselves and for the planet”.

“For best results, I recommend people read through the entire book first, since the strategies in each chapter build on each other. Then feel free to go back and put into action whichever strategies resonate the most”.

For Kiser, the main takeaway of the book is to make just a few simple changes, do them consistently over time, and you will find they can have a massive impact on your health and happiness. She says not to be fooled by ‘simple’ because sometimes it’s the simple things that can really transform your life in a positive way.

Her book is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle editions, and on her website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.KARINKISER.COM.

SD JEWISH BOOK FAIR RETURNS The internationally recognized San Diego Jewish Book Fair celebrates its 22nd year with an intriguing mix of more than 30 leading authors in their fields. This year’s lineup strikes a balance of arts and intellect, ideas and imagination, history and humor, and also will include spirited discussions about cyber wars, politics, the economy and the military. For those seeking a quiet escape from the daily grind, READ-JUVINATION will be a special day focusing on mind, balance and body.

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To launch the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, a preview event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 20, with #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, author of soon-to-be-released, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing. The event will be held at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, in the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Tickets are $32/$27 (JCC members), which includes a copy of Hungry Heart hot off

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

the presses!

The Book Fair will take place at four locations, opening at the JCC in La Jolla. North County events are scheduled at Temple Solel in Cardiff. On November 5, at the Carlsbad Village Theater, the Book Fair will present a special evening with entertainment insider Shep Gordon at 7 p.m.. On November 6, Leichtag Commons, (Leichtag Ranch) in Encinitas will present “Foodies on the Farm.” This multi-chef morning is a foodie’s dream come true. Join us for one

or all three of these creative and culinary stars as they entertain, demonstrate and delight us with old-world Jewish classics and new-age methods. Also, on November 6 closing events will take place at the JCC. A complete list of authors and events, programs, tickets, and prices can be found at www. sdjbf.org, or call the JCC Box Office at (858) 362-1348. The book fair is open to the entire San Diego community.

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BADASS KOSHER l BY MICHAEL GARDINER

FISH TACOS, OLD STYLE

W

hen many think of food and San Diego it is the fish taco that first comes to mind. That’s odd considering that what we know as the fish taco originated south, not north, of the border. The real reason they tend to be associated with San Diego is the fact they were popularized in this country by San Diego native son Ralph Rubio and his Rubio’s Coastal Grill fish taco chain. Columbus may not have discovered America and Ralph Rubio may not have invented fish tacos but it seems they both had good press agents.

I’ve never really been a fan of the beerbattered fried anonymous fish parts that are what passes for fish tacos in the eyes of many.

That, however, is what Rubio supposedly “discovered” when he went to San Felipe over 26

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

a college Spring Break. It is, undoubtedly, what built his empire. Was that, however, the “original” fish taco? Tommy Gomes of San Diego’s Catalina Offshore Products tells a different origin-of-fish-tacos story. Gomes describes Baja fishermen chopping and cooking up the less-marketable parts of their haul beachside with spices and eating them in warm tortillas. True or not, it’s a story with an inherent plausibility. And, of course, healthconscious, outdoorsy Southern Californians could not help but come up with the idea of filling those warmed tortillas with grilled versions of the catch.

For my version of fish tacos I went with an even older approach to the fish: salt baking. Nearly every European country on the Mediterranean claims the technique

WHOLE SALTED BAKED SHEEPSHEAD TACOS WITH GUACAMOLE AND JALAPEÑO MAYO

BADASS KOSHER

of cooking proteins in a salt crust as their own: the Spanish, French and Italians in particular. But the Europeans aren’t the only ones claiming the technique as their own.

The Chinese have been salt baking chicken since Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the North Africans cooked shad in salt back in Medieval times and salt-baked fish may even date back to the Phoenicians.

The first choice I had to make was the fish to use. A trip to Popotla, a Mexican fishing/pirate village just south of Rosarito Beach, yielded a wealth of choices. Kashrut’s limitations on useable fish are minimal: to be kosher it must have both fins and scales. It gets a little more complicated with sturgeon and swordfish, which have scales early in life but lose them later on. Basically, though, if you can easily remove the scales it’s kosher. I chose a gorgeous red and black Sheepshead.

After stuffing the fish with cilantro, onion and lime, I encased it on a baking pan in a crust made of egg whites and Kosher salt. After a half hour bake in a hot oven what emerges is a succulent fish, its juices sealed in by the salt crust. Pairing it with a classic salsa bandera (think pico de gallo salsa), guacamole and a jalapeño mayonnaise that recalls the Rubio’s paradigm brings the Mediterranean-style salt baked fish back to the Baja/San Diego border.

½ Roma tomato, chopped 3 ripe avocados, halved and seeded Juice of 1 lime Extra virgin olive oil

WHOLE SALTED BAKED SHEEPSHEAD TACOS WITH GUACAMOLE AND JALAPENO MAYONAISSE Serves 4

1. MAKE THE SALSA BANDERA. Preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit. Bring water to a boil. Place diced onions in a strainer and plunge into the boiling water for no more than ten seconds. Remove and rinse with cold water. Combine the onions and all of the remaining ingredients in a non reactive bowl. Add salt and sugar to taste and refrigerate for at least one hour. Remove from the refrigerator ten minutes before serving and adjust seasoning.

INGREDIENTS: For the Salted Baked Fish 1 whole 3-4 pound sheepshead (or other whole fish such as red snapper, sea bream or sea bass), cleaned and gutted 6 egg whites 6 cups (about 1 box), kosher salt 1 onion cut in quarter moons 1 bunch fresh cilantro 3 limes cut in thick slices 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil For the Guacamole 1 shallot, chopped Kosher salt

For the Jalapeño Mayonaisse 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 egg plus 1 additional yolk 1 ½ cups of grapeseed or other neutral oil 1 lime, juiced 2 additional tablespoons lime juice ½ cup packed cilantro For the Salsa Bandera 1 cup of water 2 tablespoons of diced onions 2 cups of tomato cut into ½ inch cubes 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 serrano peppers, finely chopped 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, finely chapped 2 tablespoons of brown sugar ¼ cup of San Diego IPA of choice 2 limes, juiced salt For the Garnish and Service Spanish Rice 1 head red cabbage, shredded Fresh cilantro Warmed, good-quality corn tortillas

2. SALT BAKE THE FISH. Meanwhile, line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Either by hand or using a standing mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold in the Kosher salt. Place the cilantro and limes in the fish’s body cavity and set aside.

Place 4 tablespoons of the salt-egg white mixture on the foil-lined backing sheet and place the fish on top of the mixture. Spoon

the remaining mixture over the top and mold it around the fish. Place the fish in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. MAKE THE GUACAMOLE. Combine the shallots and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Process for 10-15 seconds until finely chopped. Add the tomato and process for 30 seconds until the tomatoes have combined with the other ingredients.

Scoop the flesh from the avocados and add to the bowl of the food processor. Along with the lime juice and a half teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Process on pulse until the reach a chunky mashed texture. You can take it to a smooth purée if you like. I, for one, don’t like.

4. MAKE THE JALAPENO MAYONNAISE. Place the garlic and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Pulse the processor until the garlic is pulverized, about 10 or 15 seconds. Add the egg and egg yolk to the bowl of the processor and process until fully integrated, about five seconds. Slowly, almost drip by drip, drizzle in the oil until it is fully incorporated and the sauce fully emulsified. Add in the lime juice and process to fully combine. Remove and reserve for another purpose enough of the sauce to leave only about 2 cups of mayonnaise in the food processor’s bowl. To that, add the remaining ingredients and process to a smooth sauce.

Taste and adjust the flavors (adding more chile pepper if you like or salt to taste).

5. SHRED THE FISH. Remove the fish from the oven. Using large knife, rap the crust on the fish sharply to crack it. Carefully remove the salt from the fish, brushing rather than ripping. Using a fork, remove the flesh of the fish to a metal bowl and roughly shred it.

6. PLATE THE DISH. Serve the fish on a platter, garnished with fresh cilantro. Alongside it serve the warm tortillas and bowls of the guacamole, salsa bandera, jalapeño mayonnaise, shredded cabbage and Spanish rice. Each diner can assemble their own to taste.

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FEATURE STORY

HEALING THE WORLD Ben-Gurion University Institute tackles water shortage, hygiene in developing countraies.

by Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman | JNS.org

Israeli water experts believe by 2050, almost half of the world’s population will live in countries with a chronic water shortage.

W

hat’s causing the shortfall is population growth which leads to a greater demand for food, increased pollution and climate instability, according to Prof. Noam Weisbrod, director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research (ZIWR) in the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

In Israel’s Negev Desert, which has long been plagued with water challenges, a team of 80 scientists and 250 graduate students are working on ways to tackle the problem using cutting-edge science in partnership with academics around the world. ZIWR has become the go-to consultant on water emergencies in Colorado and California, and provides long-term assistance around the world including places like Mongolia and Central Asia.

Weisbrod explained that “not everything can be about novel research,” it’s also about educating a new generation of water experts and scientists, teaching them about the “moral obligation” to leverage a progressive education to help those less fortunate than themselves.

Currently one billion people are living in developing countries facing problems that cannot be solved in the lab. “There is a very 30

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

Israel’s Negev Desert, which has long been plagued by water issues, where a team of 80 scientists and 250 graduate students are working on ways to tackle the problem using cutting-edge science in partnership with academics around the world.

bad correlation between water [challenges] and hunger, disease and poverty,” Weisbrod said.

Seven years ago, he established a yearlong course called “Rural Water Development” to further educate students working on

graduate degrees about such world problems.

In the past few years, Weisbrod has brought student groups to villages in rural areas of Ethiopia, Zambia and Uganda. In each locale, the students work with locals and a cadre of NGOs to identify their water sources

FEATURE STORY

and test the water quality. They also teach children about hygiene issues and educate people about the aquifer’s proper hygienic use. Projects range from drilling wells with local materials to building storage tanks that collect rainwater and installing bio-sand filters to reduce contamination.

“The students research the water challenges of wherever they will be traveling and determine the low-tech solutions they will implement when they get there,” Weisbrod said. Then, they spend 10 days “getting their hands dirty” experiencing the “Rural Water Development” course, the only such course of its kind in Israel.

In Ethiopia, the students drilled boreholes to provide drinking water and installed lowtech water pumps. In Zambia, the students analyzed the water quality and installed filters to improve it, including in HIV clinics and at schools. In Uganda, they built a rain catchment system near school bathrooms, allowing children to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

Roi Ram, a second year master’s student in the hydrology department, traveled to Uganda in 2015. He said the trip opened his eyes to the “gaps between the situation in those countries and the Western world,” which he called unbelievable.

While Feedback from students and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about his course has been positive, Weisbrod said he understands that no matter how good the class project is “in two weeks, we won’t change Africa.” The exposure the students receive does have a long-term impact on them as they move into careers in areas including academia, consulting, and government.

One student, for example, has established a startup that provided cellular phones for improved communication in Zimbabwe.

Of late, ZIWR has been working on fusing its cutting-edge science with low-tech

technologies.

“We are now, just recently checking an option for a project in South Africa where we’ll take water from old mines to develop hydroponics and fish farms,” Weisbrod shared. ZIWR is also researching solar panels that can be installed in rural areas for a reasonable price. Other projects have involved decreasing clogging as a result of waste and treating wastewater.

Professor Emeritus Pedro Berliner is another member of the Blaustein team.

He has spent the last 25 years working on projects of various capacities for third world countries. He estimates that the university spends as much as a few million dollars per year on these projects, and leverages at least 50 percent of its team of scientists and students.

“The point here is that desertification — the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation or inappropriate agricultural techniques — is a real problem in third world countries,” Berliner explained..

His team tackles desertification on two fronts. First, it develops technologies for countries in which there is enough capital to implement sophisticated technologies.

Second, it develops technologies for countries lacking in resources, which probably accounts for more than 50 percent of its work.

In African dry land areas, it’s not a water shortage problem but an inability to capture water for food and other uses. Taking a technology developed for use in the Negev, Berliner’s team established specially prepared plots of land (known as runoff agroforestry), growing trees and crops between them.

This technique helps trap flood water, thus allowing for the production of more food.

The twigs and stems of the trees can also be used for firewood.

Covering the area between the rows with

“Not everything can be about novel research, it’s also about educating a new generation of water experts and scientists, teaching them about the ‘moral obligation’ to leverage a progressive education to help those less fortunate.” plastic mulch and using a trickle irrigation system decreases water loss by up to 40 percent.

“The techniques allows us to produce higher yields using the same amount of water or produce the same amount using less water,” Berliner said.

Berliner believes the projects are not only Israel’s “moral obligation to help others who are not in as privileged position as we are and are in dire need of these techniques to survive,” but there are also political considerations.

Desertification is one of the leading causes of African migration, including to Israel.

“By helping people in these areas,” he said, “we are helping avoid massive migration.”

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FEATURE STORY

BE A PART OF HISTORY THE LARGEST SHABBAT GATHERING IN SAN DIEGO TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 10-12

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

M

ore than 20,000 people in San Diego’s vibrant Jewish community will join more than 2 million Jews from over 1,000 cities in 90 countries around the world to share the experience of a traditional Shabbat (Sabbath) day of rest, and mind-body-spirit rejuvenation. Shabbat San Diego, in conjunction with all local Synagogues, community organizations, religious and public schools and youth groups, is coordinating this monumental event.

Shabbat San Diego’s theme this year is “Shabbat Can Do That” and will be encouraging all individuals of the Jewish faith in San Diego, regardless of their lifestyle, affiliation or non-affiliation, to unplug and experience a complete Shabbat as one family, one coat of many colors. Efforts around the world are being made to insure that all participants savor the feeling of singular global Jewish pride and identity, while promoting the message that all 100,000 San Diego Jewish households are welcome at a local home or Synagogue based Shabbat meal.

Underwritten by The Mizel Family Foundation, Shabbat San Diego events include: Mega Challah Bake in North County and East County: Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Challah is a soft, sweet braided bread loaf that is a central part of all Sabbath and Jewish holiday meals. During the Challah bakes, 3,000 participants will learn to mix the ingredients, braid dough and make

their own bread to take home and bake.

All are welcome. Space is limited to the first 3,000 registrants. Cost is $5 per person ($18 max per family); online reservations are available by signing in at www.ShabbatSD.org.

North County location: San Diego Jewish Academy, 11860 Carmel Creek Rd. in Carmel Valley, 92130. East County location: Tifereth Israel Synagogue Social Hall, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd., San Diego, 92119.

Hosted Shabbat Dinners: Friday, Nov. 11 Following Shabbat services everyone will be invited and welcome to enjoy the tradition of a Shabbat meal, new and old friends, family and neighbors. Everyone is encouraged to choose to participate in a Synagogue or homebased meal, or consider creating your own and inviting friends, family and neighbors.

UNITY HAVDALAH CELEBRATION: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Shabbat San Diego invites all to say good-bye to Shabbat and prepare to begin a new week with a free Havdalah celebration with the famed a cappella group Six 13, taking place at the San Diego Civic Theatre downtown (1100 3rd Ave., San Diego, 92101), starting at 7:30 p.m. All ages are welcome. Sign in with your reservation at www.ShabbatSD.org For more information about Shabbat San Diego, including donation and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.ShabbatSD.org.

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FEATURE STORY l BY MIMI POLLACK

SHABBAT EXPRESSED

IN ART A

new exhibit opened at the Gotthelf Art Gallery in September. The gallery is part of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, and the exhibit will feature different artists’ interpretations on the meaning of Shabbat.

Two of those artists, Rafael [Fallo] Mareyna and Becky Guttin are an interesting father and daughter duo who take the meaning of Shabbat very seriously.

Guttin is a diminutive woman with a large presence. She is an international artist with permanent collections in Israel, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, Austria, India, and various cities in the United States.

A whirlwind of energy and creativity, she sees art where others might not. She is known for collecting all kinds of discarded objects and giving them new life. She works daily in her studio on Miramar Road.

She is also a woman of contradictions, like most good artists. A practicing Jew, she holds Shabbat

“

SHABBAT IS FOR ME THE DAY WHEN MY FAMILY AND SOMETIMES FRIENDS SIT TOGETHER TO HAVE AN EARLY DINNER WHILE TALKING, LAUGHING, AND SHARING.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

NEW SHOW AT GOTTHELF ART GALLERY DEFINES WHAT THE SABBATH MEANS. dinners every Friday. When asked what Shabbat means to her, she replied, “Shabbat is for me the day when my family and sometimes friends sit together to have an early dinner while talking, laughing, and sharing. It’s the day we all know we’ll meet and have a lovely and good time together.”

Family is important to Guttin. She is a devoted mother to her three children and one granddaughter.

She spends a great deal of time with her parents, especially her father, who has his workshop next to hers.

FEATURE STORY

On the other hand, she is also well known in the local bohemian artist world. She sports intricate tattoos on her hands and arms that look like henna. She is a combination of the conservative Mexican Jew and rebel artist, who is also an American citizen.

She inherited her artistic, rebellious, and humorous streak from her father. At 86, Rafael “Fallo” Mareyna is still going strong.

He has a knack for combining good art with good humor. For Mareyna, it is also the rekindling of an old passion.

Mareyna, nicknamed Fallo [pronounced FAYO], was born in the state of Veracruz in 1930. His parents were Polish Jews who arrived in Mexico in 1924. They moved to

Mexico City a few years later.

As a young boy, he attracted his teacher’s attention with his natural ability to draw.

He began to paint with oil and continued his passion for the next 20 years or so, exhibiting in different galleries in Mexico City, Monterrey and he even had a show in New York City while he was in high school.

However, it is difficult to make a living as an artist and as was the social norm for Jews in Mexico at that time, he followed a more traditional path. He married Dora [Dorita] Sorokin, had two children, and needed to provide for his family, so he left art to pursue a more lucrative career.

For almost 30 years, he provided very

well for his family, opening up a successful brokerage firm in 1966, called Bursamex, S.A. He retired in 1992. He did not paint for all those years and his art was put on the back burner.

However, he did live it vicariously through his gifted daughter who delighted him with her various talents growing up, playing the piano and the guitar, and studying ballet. She inherited his love of art and grew up among the artist friends that he socialized with. She was also the conduit for helping her father rekindle his old passion.

In 1998, Rafael and his family moved to La Jolla to begin a new chapter in life, and he began to feel pangs for the art he had left behind. In 2005, his daughter invited him to come and work with her in her workshop.

Not only that, unbeknownst to him and much to his surprise and delight, she had kept all of his old art furniture, including his easel, so he was able to dive right back in.

One can see how Guttin inherited her father’s talent and twinkle. Both possess a Bohemian spirit and a down to earth sense of family and duty with most Shabbat dinners being held every Friday at Guttin’s home. For Mareyna, Shabbat also means a cherished time to celebrate with family and friends and to pay homage to all the Jews before him, and all that they went through. He says he dreams of peace and hopes that his paintings reflect that.

This exhibit is really tailored made for them both!

REVISITING SHABBAT RUNS THROUGH NOVEMBER 23 AT THE GOTTHELF GALLERY, OPEN DAILY (EXCEPT SATURDAYS) FROM 9 A.M. TO 5 P.M. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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OFF THE BEATEN PATH IN THE

WESTERN GALILEE WITH JNF

Last fall, the Mayor of Sandy Springs, GA, Rusty Paul, toured the Western Galilee and made the region the sister city for his Georgia constituents. Paul remarked, “We are linked to an area that, while on its nation’s periphery, gives us a beachhead in an emerging high-tech, medical technology and tourist destination. We hope our citizens who visit Israel will add the Western Galilee to their itinerary. It has ancient sites and modern marvels that are definitely worth a couple of vacation days.”

At the same time, Jewish National Fund (JNF) CEO Russell F. Robinson met with Michal Shiloah-Galnoor, director of Western Galilee Now (WGN), a consortium of local businesses promoting the Western Galilee. The two discussed how to cope with the dwindling numbers of tourists visiting the Western Galilee. The meeting took place during the recent uptick in terrorism, which immediately hurt the region’s lifeline: tourism.

Robinson offered Shiloah-Galnoor an immediate and practical solution: put people on buses and bring them to the Western Galilee.

A few days later, WGN offered the first in a series of tours designed to bring both the general public and specific target groups to the Western Galilee to support the local tourism industry. WGN offered 10 one-day tours to the region with the support of JNF. “This is the most expensive part of any organized tour,” Shiloah-Galnoor explained, “but thanks to JNF, the participating individuals and organizations were able to focus their resources on visiting and shopping at local businesses.”

An additional goal of the tours is to show Israeli and foreign tourists that there are places where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze coexist in peace and harmony with one another. The tours bused visitors to galleries, restaurants, shops, restauranteurs, vintners, and social entrepreneurs.

Local guide Ayelet Bar Meir was the guide for the final tour in the series, titled, “Creators of the Galilee: Art, Culture, and Society.” A busload of Haifa retirees from the Milav Social Club Network joined Bar-Meir for a day of site visits across the Western Galilee.

The coordinator of the Milav group, Luba Fleishker, was excited to offer her members such an interesting and affordable outing.

“People get tired of seeing the same things over and over,” Fleishker said. “Without JNF and WGN, we wouldn’t have known about any of these wonderful places!”

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2016

Other tours explored the varied nuances of Israeli society, with stops at the Booza Ice Cream Parlor in Tarshiha, which is run by an Israeli-Muslim and an Israeli-Jew, and Aya Natural Cosmetics, which creates its products based on 500 years of Druze tradition.

The impact of the tours on small businesses in the region has been tremendous. “It’s not important to me if they buy anything while they are here,” Hasi Naveh, an accomplished textiles artist from Moshav Bustan HaGalil Naveh, said. “I would never be able to reach all of these people individually, and the beauty of WGN is that what I do has a place in the larger context of what’s happening in the Western Galilee.”

Over all, WGN’s Tour Series was a win- win initiative: the tours strengthened and promoted Western Galilee businesses, offered Israeli tourists access to unique and interesting content, and provided excellent exposure for the important work JNF does in Israel. ShiloahGalnoor added, “The slogan for North American supporters reads ‘JNF—Your Voice in Israel,’ but really, I feel like JNF is our voice, the voice of the people of the Western Galilee.”

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