San Diego Jewish Journal May 2017

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4/11/17 2:35 PM

JCC PATRON PARTY May 20, 2017 Direct from Chicago

will join us to

wine & dine roast, toast, and boast

Mike Cohen Executive Director of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS retiring after 45+ years of extraordinary service to our community

RSVP BY MAY 5 at WWW.LFJCC.ORG/PATRONPARTY or (858) 362-1355 / paigep@lfjcc.org

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 7

CONTENTS May 2017

31

COVER STORY: Michael Cohen looks back on 45 years of JCC history – personal and professional – ahead of his retirement from the community organization.

Iyar/Sivan 5777

46

COVER STORY: Beth Sirull settles into her new role as CEO of Jewish Community Foundation and shares details on what's to come for the financial nonprofit.

35

SENIORS: With the election of Donald Trump, a group of Seacrest seniors got their groove back.

Sharon Rosen Leib spent a day with them.

51 62

CHARITABLE GIVING:

Can professional development help keep young Jewish professionals working in the San Diego Jewish community?

Organizers with the local JPRO chapter think so.

8 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

THEATER: Teen actors are taking on tough topics for the next J*Company production. Pat Launer takes a look at the history of "Ragtime" and what to expect in La Jolla.

OPERA’S GREATEST MOMENTS

60

Around Town 18 Our Town 20 The Scene 66 What's Goin' On 73 Synagogue Life In Every Issue 14 Mailbag 16 What’s Up Online 68 News 70 Diversions ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 39 SENIORS:

JFS's On the Go receives 2-years' worth of funding from SANDAG.

42 SENIORS:

Meet seniors on all sides of the homelessness problem.

44 SENIORS:

Hal Linden gets familiar with technology and San Diego in his new indie feature.

54 CHARITABLE GIVING: The Leichtag Foundation has a new philanthropy project that involves groups of friends gathering to support what they love.

56 YOM HAATZMAUT: Israel Fest is back, with a few changes.

58 HEALTH:

Why Torah study and health don't have to be at odds.

60 FOOD:

Apple date rose tarts and magic moments from home and abroad.

64 THEATER:

Showtimes for the 24th annual Lipinsky Arts Fest on stages around San Diego.

72 SYNAGOGUE:

Congregation Beth Israel honors generations of leaders at annual gala.

Jean Will Presents...

Opera's Greatest Moments Sunday, June 25th • 4:00pm

Concert Hall | California Center For The Arts, Escondido Ticket Prices: $25-$35. Students: $10.

Dine Under the Stars with Performers, Tickets: $55-$60.

Group Discounts Available | Free Parking Artists: Monica Abrego, Gregorio Gonzales, Jorge Lopez-Yañez, Zande Svede, The Center Chorale, The North Coast Singers

SUNDAY,

Conductor: Enrico DECEMBER 7 Lopez-Yañez Artistic Director: Ruth Weber

340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025 Buy tickets at the Center ticket office, or call 800-988-4253 The ticket office is open Tues-sat: 12-6pm, and Sun:12-5pm

20th ANNIVERSARY

MONTHLY COLUMNS 12 Editor's Letter 22 Parenting 24 Israeli Lifestyle 26 Examined Life 28 Religion 76 Advice

CALIFORNIA

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ARTS ESCONDIDO

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 9

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

www.sdjewishjournal.com May 2017 • Iyar/Sivan 5777 PUBLISHERS • Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Natalie Jacobs CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Derek Berghaus ASSISTANT EDITOR • Brie Stimson ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Eileen Sondak OFFICE MANAGER • Jonathan Ableson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tori Avey, Betsy Baranov, Linda Bennett, Eva Beim, Judith Fein (Senior Travel Correspondent), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, Sharon Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Marnie Macauley, Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Ronnie Weisberg-Senior Account Executive Jonathan Ableson-Account Executive Alan Moss (Palm Springs) SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL (858) 638-9818 • fax: (858) 638-9801 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204 • San Diego, CA 92121 EDITORIAL: editor@sdjewishjournal.com ADVERTISING: marke@sdjewishjournal.com CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS: jableson@sdjewishjournal.com ART DEPARTMENT: art@sdjewishjournal.com LISTINGS & CALENDAR: assistant@sdjewishjournal.com SDJJ is published monthly by San Diego Jewish Journal, LLC. Subscription rate is $24 for one year (12 issues). Send subscription requests to SDJJ, 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204, San Diego, CA 92121. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a free and open forum for the expression of opinions. The opinions expressed herein are solely the opinion of the author and in no way reflect the opinions of the publishers, staff or advertisers. The San Diego Jewish Journal is not responsible for the accuracy of any and all information within advertisements. The San Diego Jewish Journal reserves the right to edit all submitted materials, including press releases, letters to the editor, articles and calendar listings for brevity and clarity. The Journal is not legally responsible for the accuracy of calendar or directory listings, nor is it responsible for possible postponements, cancellations or changes in venue. Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Journal become the physical property of the publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such material. All contents ©2017 by San Diego Jewish Journal. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a member of the American Jewish Press Association and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

#SDJewishJournal

10 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

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THE STARTING LINE by Natalie Jacobs

EDITOR’S LETTER editor@sdjewishjournal.com

Convergence

W

ith every May issue, I start out feeling like we’re tackling two totally different topics, and I’m always surprised to come to the end of production and realize how interconnected the themes are. Seniors and Charitable Giving do have some obvious superficial commonalities – namely the fact that most philanthropists are older adults. But this particular point in history makes covering these two topics like driving north on the 805 and the 5 at the same time – we know they’re going to converge, there will be a lot of traffic and then new lanes will be built after years of painful construction delays. With this issue, we’re mostly talking about the convergence and the new construction. We’re considering the traffic and delays inevitable.

Here’s where the merging starts – in my interview with Jewish Community Foundation’s new CEO Beth Sirull, she mentions a staggering fact that in the next 10 years, $4 trillion of wealth will be transferred from one generation to the next. We know the population is getting older – the favored statistic is that also in the next 10 years, 10,000 Americans per day will turn 65 – but rarely do we talk about wealth transfer in that conversation, and definitely not in terms of charitable giving.

And then there’s the pending power transfer, as our cover stars Sirull and Michael Cohen showcase. Cohen retires from the Jewish Community Center on June 1 after 45 years with the organization. The

12 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

changes in San Diego Jewish community leadership are not unique to San Diego. It is estimated that 75-90 percent of Jewish nonprofit CEOs plan to retire in the next 5-7 years. And here’s where the new construction metaphor takes hold. The local chapter of the Jewish Professional Network (JPRO) wants to incentivize young leaders to stick with Jewish communal work by providing opportunities for professional development and a safe space to vent frustrations that are to-be-expected from working within cashstrapped organizations with big dreams.

You’ll meet a few of the young professionals involved in that project in our feature story.

There’s also literal construction, as Father Joe’s Villages embarks on a major plan to provide housing for 2,000 of San Diego’s homeless, a good percentage of whom are seniors themselves. They’re looking to raise about $33 million in private funds to offset the costs of that giant undertaking. Brie Stimson went for a serve-along with Congregation Beth Israel to their Sunday morning breakfast session at the East Village center and met one older adult who has been helped by existing affordable housing on 15th and Commercial. Stimson also spoke with a retired Beth Israel congregant who has been volunteering there nearly every Sunday for the past 19 years. Hearing him speak about his commitment to giving back is a reminder that charitable giving definitely doesn’t have to include money.

Entirely unrelated – we have a new mon-

Like driving north on the 805 and the 5 at the same time – we know they’re going to converge, there will be a lot of traffic and then new lanes will be built after years of painful construction delays. htly columnist! Rabbi Jacob Rupp has been published in our pages occasionally for the past year, but now you can catch him and his “Post-Political” perspective on Judaism in every issue. He starts off with a bang on pg. 28. A

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we’re listening let us know what’s on your mind

Send us your comments:

editor@sdjewishjournal.com 5665 Oberlin Dr., Ste 204, San Diego, CA 92121

@SDJEWISHJOURNAL

14 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

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what’s up on sdjewishjournal.com HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE IN MANY FORMS San Diego marked Holocaust Remembance Day in different ways throughout the end of April. Jewish Federation held its annual Remembrance Ceremony at the JCC on April 23. For its part, The Old Globe hosted a staged reading of "Anda's Love" by Joshua Sobol, the most prominent living Israeli playwright. Read Brie Stimson's experience watching the powerful staging on our website now.

TRUMP TO HOST ABBAS AT WHITE HOUSE It was confirmed by unnamed D.C. and Palestinian officials in mid-April that Abbas has accepted Trump's invitation to the White House and will arrive on May 3. If this changes, the new info will be up on our website.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY BONNIE DUMANIS ANNOUNCES LAST DAY IN OFFICE Just a few months after announcing that she will not seek reelection in 2018, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced that she will step down from her post effective July 7. She's weighing a bid for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, but we used the announcement as an opportunity to look back at our 2015 interview with the DA and remembered that she said she might some day consider becoming a rabbi. You can remind yourself of that convo on our website.

16 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

APRIL: THE MONTH IN GAFFES For one week in April, it seemed no person or company could do anything right. First there was a culturally insensitive and tone deaf ad from Pepsi, followed closely by the United Airlines video of a passenger being assaulted by security for refusing to give up his seat. And then, during Passover, White House Spokesman Sean Spicer attempted to compare Syria's Assad to Hitler, while also seeming to forget key facts of history. JTA's editor has an analysis that goes beyond the mistake to explore what these kinds of errors and the country's reponse might mean for the long run.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 17

our TOWN

BY LINDA BENNET AND BETSY BARANOV PHOTOS COURTESY JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE

Heart and Soul Gala

Jewish Family Service held its annual Heart and Soul Gala at the Hyatt Regency, La Jolla in early April. Honorees were Ed Carnot and Louis Vener, Barbara and Matthew Loonin and The National Charity League - San Dieguito Chapter. Among the 600 or so enjoying the lovely evening were Linda and Lou Levy, Chris and Emily Jennewein, Kimberly Carnot, Pamela Carnot, Howard Ernest, Tammy Vener, Lorraine and Stephen Enoch, Linda and Dennis Glaser, Gayle and George Wise, Sophie Vener, Rachel Peniche, Hayden and Tanya Katzenellenbogen, Jon and Tammy Schwartz, Myrna Cohen, Robert Smith, Ron and Joyce Rabens, Jim and Gail Malkus, Rabbi Yael Ridberg, Rabbi Jonathon Stein, Chanan Fradkin, Kate and Jon Kassar, Rabbi Len Rosenthal, JFS chair Meg Goldstein and chair-elect Marie Raftery. Marcia Foster Hazan gave a special tribute to her late mother Pauline Foster, who was very active and charitable in our community.

Birthdays...

Happy birthday to Murray Wallach, 97, who lives at Seacrest Villages!

Happy birthday to Cantor Sheldon Merel!

Happy 89th birthday to Renee Feinswog!

Happy 80th birthday to Larry Rifkin!

18 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: JFS Board Chair Meg Goldstein, Honorees Edward Carnot and Louis Vener, and Retiring JFS CFO Guin Kerstetter • Marie Raftery and Dr. Robert Rubenstein • Ben Schulman and Jan Davis • Robert and Marcia Malkus • Audrey Barrett, Suzi Cohen, Jami Stahl, Tamar Caspi and Gail Faber.

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BY NATALIE JACOBS, PHOTOS COURTESY JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

JCF Legacy Donor Event In late March, the Jewish Community Foundation hosted an exclusive Legacy Donor event at the San Diego History Center. Guests were treated to private viewings of the Center's brand new “History and Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community” exhibition, along with a special sneak preview of a forthcoming film on Tijuana’s Jewish heritage. The crowd mingled in the Center foyer and enjoyed appetizers between presentations from donors and JCF leadership, including its new CEO Beth Sirull.

20 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: Shari and Fred Schenk • Debbi Cushman Parrish and Franny Krasner Lebovits • Jeremy Pearl, Marjory Kaplan and Michael Sonduck • Sol Kempinski and Franklin Felber.

“Most of you were spared the hell we endured, but none of us should be spared the obligation to remember ... and to act. That is why I share my story with thousands of children each year at the Museum of Tolerance.”

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MUSINGS FROM MAMA

by Sharon Rosen Leib

PARENTING srleib@me.com

Family Politics

W

e’ve been a unified American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) family until now.

AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying organization, aims to empower activists across the racial, religious and political spectrum to engage politically and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship (per their website).

I joined AIPAC in 1991 as a member of its San Francisco Young Leadership Council. Having lived in Israel from 1984-85, I felt committed to supporting the country however I could from California. I enjoyed raising awareness of issues facing Israel and lobbying for the United States government’s bipartisan endorsement of the Jewish homeland.

My husband encouraged my efforts with his sound political advice and financial contributions. He became more involved in AIPAC after making his first trip to Israel for our Middle Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in 2008.

As his involvement grew, mine diminished.

I was too overwhelmed by raising the kids and caring for dying parents to make Israel advocacy a high priority.

During those years, I watched AIPAC grow into a lobbying powerhouse and Israel mature into a prosperous first-world country and I became uncomfortable with AIPAC’s single-issue political focus. I wouldn’t vote for a racist, anti-abortion candidate just because he or she supported Israel. On the other hand, when my leftie, Berkeley-in-the60s aunt assailed AIPAC as a tool of rightwing Republicans, I defended its mission as a bi-partisan, pro-Israel organization.

AIPAC supports whoever happens to be Israel’s Prime Minister – whether progressive Shimon Peres (a personal favorite who I met in 1985) or hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu (a not-so-favorite who has wielded power too long under the grandiose assumption he’s the only leader capable of saving Israel).

AIPAC also works with whomever assumes the United States presidency. Unfortunately, that now means Trump and his alt-right

22 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

cronies. The toxic brew of Trump and Netanyahu makes AIPAC’s strict politics-blind policy tough to stomach.

Middle Daughter, a 21-year-old college senior, dedicated herself to AIPAC the past four years, attending two AIPAC Policy Conferences and a leadership program for college students in Washington, D.C. However, when AIPAC failed to speak out after Trump appointed Steve Bannon his chief strategist, daughter jumped ship. She felt that Bannon’s xenophobic, white-nationalist ideology made him “too morally corrupt to even try and negotiate with.”

Her disappointment led her to join J Street, “the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people” (per their website). J Street advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Her defection did not sit well with my husband. He considers J Street too critical of Israel in light of Palestinian intransigence to the peace process. I have my own reservations about J Street being too knee-jerk liberal. But prompted by Middle Daughter’s new allegiance, I attended a luncheon featuring senior J Street Advisor Alan Elsner to hear him out. I was impressed by his big tent approach to the AIPAC-versus-J-Street divide.

“I’d rather people belong to either AIPAC or J Street than nothing at all. This means they care enough about Israel to belong to an organization that speaks to their principles,” Elsner said.

I agree. I’m glad Middle Daughter found a home where she’s comfortable expressing her passion for Israel.

My husband isn’t buying what J Street is selling. And I respect that. Just as I respect our daughter’s right to buck the family party line and join the group. We’re raising our daughters to be independent and critical thinkers. And wherever the pro-Israel activism chips may fall, I’m proud of that. A

New Releases “Hank Greenberg in 1938” Fresh off a stellar season in which he became only the 13th player ever to hit 40 or more home runs in a season, Greenberg became one of the most hated players in the league, because he was Jewish.

Journalist Ron Kaplan chronicles that 1938 season, from both the diamond and the streets of Europe.

“The Wisdom of Not Knowing” You hear the term “uncertainty” a lot these days, mostly in regards to the stock market and financial planning, but is uncertainty increasing in our relationships?

Licensed marriage, family and child therapist Estelle Frankel explores.

“City of Secrets” This noir moral thriller about the Jewish underground resistance movement in post-World War II Jerusalem follows a Latvian Jew who was the only member of his family to survive the concentration camps. By Stewart O’Nan, this small novel asks a big question – how far is too far for revenge?

THANK YOU

Thank you to the community for your incredible investment in the mission of Jewish Family Service.

With a generous matching gift from Evelyn & Ernest Rady, the Heart & Soul Gala raised more than $1.1 million which will bring hope, security, and help to thousands of San Diegans in search of better lives. Together, we are building a stronger, healthier, more resilient San Diego.

Celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the

2017 Mitzvah Honorees

THANK YOU TO OUR

PATRONS

AND UNDERWRITERS

PRESENTING UNDERWRITERS Anonymous Charitable Adult Rides & Services, Inc.* DINNER UNDERWRITERS Joan & Irwin Jacobs Marie G. Raftery & Dr. Robert A. Rubenstein U.S. Bank HEART OF THE FAMILY

Barbara & Mathew Loonin Louis Vener, Edward Carnot

Barbara Barsky Jamie, Bryce and Tyler Carr Pamela & Edward Carnot Cohn Family Foundation Gary & Lisa Levine | Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.* Barbara & Mathew Loonin Sarah z”l & Nessim Tiano UC San Diego Erna z”l & Andrew Viterbi HEART OF GOLD

National Charity League - San Dieguito Chapter GALA CHAIRS Kira Finkenberg, Danielle Sicklick & Loretta H. Adams GALA HONORARY CHAIRS Evelyn & Ernest Rady

View Tribute Videos & Gala Photos www.jfssd.org/gala

Barbara Bloom • Marc Channick | Delphi Private Advisors • City National Bank Elaine Chortek • Copart • Judy Feldman* • Diane & Elliot Feuerstein Alberta Feurzeig • Kira Finkenberg • Marcia Foster Hazan Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego • Dori & Charles Kaufman Sandra & Arthur Levinson • Jennifer & Jay Levitt • Sylvia & Jaime Liwerant Marcia & Robert Malkus • Ellen Marks • Jori Potiker • The San Diego Foundation Hon. Lynn Schenk • Susan Shmalo • Marcie Sinclair & Andy Ratner Karen & Jeffrey Silberman • Audrey Viterbi Smargon & Daniel Smargon Elyse K. Sollender • Karin & Tony Toranto • UDW • Tamora & Louis Vener Waxie Sanitary Supply* • Sylvia Wechter GALA PATRONS

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 23

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE by Andrea Simantov

ISRAELI LIFESTYLE andreasimantov@gmail.com

Precious Giving

O

ne of my most respected teachers frequently intoned, “If you can say ‘Yes,’ say ‘Yes.’ But if you cannot say ‘yes,’ you are obligated to say ‘No.’” This lesson has profoundly altered my life.

In the years prior to the aforementioned epiphany, I’d been crazed with a desire to be liked, valued and emulated. Frequently saying “yes” to strangers, I consequently assumed burdens that would impact relationships with those closest to me. Among my more dramatic and public “Yes” projects were installing a chandelier in the waiting room of our community ritual-bath (no, I’m not a licensed electrician), taking the 86-year-old aunt of a co-worker to an elder-friendly dentist, scouting-out disability-suitable housing for a woman in synagogue and garbing many daughters-of-dysfunctional-parents who were struggling to keep their children out of foster care. These chesed projects were, at times, all-consuming but helped convince me that G-d was reserving a front-row seat for me in Heaven.

Do the staccato plaints of a husband/ mother/father/son/daughter merit the same air-time as public benevolence? It became painfully apparent to me in later years that nurturing a family requires vigilance and, in fact, the precious familial relationships we 24 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

inherit over time are created with wisdom in order to provide hands-on training for interacting with those on the outside. Kindness to strangers but disdain for those closest to us is not the spiritual order of social-behavior. We are given families to practice on; not to hurt our own while saving our more appealing public personas for the outside. It is an uncomfortable-for-me observation that altruism can teeter upon the slippery slope of self-righteousness if not occasionally revisited.

Much of Israeli society relies on the kindness of strangers and with the exception of our now-famous hi-tech industry, the hefty lion’s share of the GNP is tied to nonprofit philanthropy. And until a year ago, every job I held in the Jewish State involved raising funds to help the indigent and disabled of Eretz Yisroel.

I have dear friends and acquaintances who continue this holy work day-in and day-out and I stand in awe of their steadfast dedication. Many house gifts that I both receive and give have cards and/or stamps denoting the name of the benevolent organization that received support from the sale of some beautifully wrapped candy dish or fragrant soap; I’ve yet to encounter a coffee-shop, lingerie boutique or nail salon where the payment

counter is not crowded with “kupot tzedaka” for one’s loose change. The question of whether or not one volunteers in Israel is moot; where or for whom one volunteers is always the question.

But still...

There is something very empowering about not racing out to pack food cartons for the destitute when a husband has had a demeaning experience at work and needs to talk, or sit with a glass of scotch and say nothing. Or, from the corner of his eye, observe you tackle a basket of random socks to find him a matching pair or three. A child who was rejected from the choir or didn’t make the cut for Science Club will hardly find solace in knowing that mommy is manning an annual blood-drive or collecting blankets for lone soldiers. A child in pain might prefer to heal with a trip with mom to the shuk or a bicycle ride around the walls of the Old City.

Tzedaka does not mean “charity.” The root of the word means “right” and by not involving oneself in the act of repairing the world through “righteousness,” he is simply wrong. And to paraphrase a well-worn axiom, “Tzedaka begins at home.” A

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OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT by Saul Levine

EXAMINED LIFE slevine@ucsd.edu

America: Exclusionary Wall or Welcoming Bridge?

P

resident Trump is intent on building his promised wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. The city of San Diego will soon be the “beneficiary” of models of this 2,000 mile behemoth, each 30 feet in height and width.

Mr. Trump’s rationale for the project has been that illegal immigrant Mexicans are “pouring” over the border, including many “murderers, criminals and rapists” who are causing mayhem here. His other crucial selling point was that it wasn’t going to cost us a dime, since “Mexico is going to pay for it.” (Estimated costs vary between $25-200 billion, that’s with a “B”).

Here are some other facts to consider: 1.) Many fewer Mexicans than at any time in the past decade now come into the U.S., and more have been returning south of the border; 2.) There have been 20 percent fewer arrests of illegal border crossers over the last five years; 3.) The estimated six million illegal Mexican immigrants here are most often members of intact families, working at jobs which Americans don’t want, and are long-term law-abiding, contributing members of society; 4.) There have been no terrorist acts perpetrated by Mexican illegal immigrants (as opposed to our own native-born citizens).

Illegal immigration is not a singularly American problem: We’ve all seen disturbing images of fleeing migrants and refugees,

26 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

men, women and children, on perilous, often fatal, journeys to foreign lands, crossing dangerous terrain and seas, often victimized by mercenaries and criminals.

There have been vehement demonstrations in different countries against the influx of immigrants and refugees. There are about 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States and huge numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa coming through porous borders in Europe.

We understand the strong feelings aroused. The specter of many illegal immigrants threatens some citizens who want to protect their way of life and fear more crimes, overwhelmed social services and escalating costs. These fears are fanned by inflammatory warnings uttered by politicians who purposefully play to insecurities. When people are overly fearful, they lose sight of facts and objectivity, and are vulnerable to any manner of schemes.

There is no doubt that taking in thousands of immigrants presents social and fiscal challenges, and governments have to protect their citizens from criminal or dangerous people coming in. This is precisely why we have safeguards, screening and vetting by our Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is doing a remarkable job of protecting us, despite unrelenting criticism.

Over the centuries millions of refugees have fled abject poverty or violence and overcome incredible hardships to reach new lands. The vast majority have been in search

of better and safer lives for themselves and their children. “A better way of life” has been the clarion call to the desperate of the world, and developed countries have always served as their magnetic beacon.

Most of us are descendants of immigrants, either recent or long past. We know that leaving one’s homeland and being thrust into a new way of life can be daunting. Yet still they come.

Border walls seen throughout the world have seldom been effective. This proposed wall has been criticized by many experts as a futile and flagrant expense. Of more concern are the fears and animosities in usually altruistic Americans that have been fueled by callow politicians. The message they are sending to Mexico, the world, and especially to us – is that America is selfish, exclusionary and xenophobic.

This is not what America is about. Rather than an exclusionary wall, we should be building a welcoming bridge. Our own forebears were immigrants and refugees from around the world, and they enhanced and enriched our society. We should seize the opportunity to reawaken our quintessentially American openness. Our generosity of spirit and innovative “can-do” actions have been hallmarks of our country. This enhances us personally, reminding us of our worth as individuals and of our humanity as a nation. It ensures that we shall continue to leave a positive emotional footprint on the world. A

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The Behavioral Health Committee of Jewish Family Service of San Diego Invites You to Our Annual Luncheon in Support of Behavioral Health Awareness

Living with Bipolar Disorder: A personal story of recovery and hope

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 27

POST-POLITICAL by Rabbi Jacob Rupp

RELIGION rabbirupp@gmail.com

Judaism Has a Politics Problem

A

s a child I always thought that to be a good Jew meant to be politically active. I was a proud Democrat, fighting for the poor and the oppressed. My mom had been a hippie, my grandparents proud liberal idealists. My father, whom I grew to disdain, was a Rush Limbaugh Republican. When my parents divorced, my father left and I was free to explore Conservative values without his face on them.

In college, I became the poster boy of the pro-Israel movement on campus. My Jewish identity was my fraternity and staring down the pro-Palestinian students who intimidated us. When my youthful rebellion began and I started questioning my left-leaning upbringing, I encountered something far more than curiosity; I found I was considered heretical, rather than simply politically different.

Fast forward to today where I have all but removed myself from politics. Yes I have an opinion, and yes I think we should have a perspective on world events. But as a rabbi and a Jew I believe Jewish identity is not, cannot be, our politics.

Recent generations of Jews were raised in institutions that, in order to stay relevant, had to peddle political content and wrap Jewish concepts like tikkun olam and tzedaka around the headlines in the newspaper. While this approach might temporarily prop up a rabbi or synagogue, it leads to profound disengagement in the long run. Why hear the rabbi talk or go to synagogue? It’s easier to turn on Fox or CNN. Or if you are younger, to disengage totally in favor of Snapchat and Instagram.

There are three profound problems with

28 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

infusing Jewish connection and identity with politics.

1.) Our political scene of the past decade or so has become so divisive that rather than disagreeing with our neighbor’s politics, we judge their character.

2.) When we build a movement around support for a human-made platform like a political party, oftentimes we think that Judaism, a Divine system, errs when it differs from whatever the current political environment is.

3.) Our Jewish identity is so weak these days that any opportunity to speak to a Jewish person should focus on what it means to be a Jew rather than how they should vote.

When I became more “Orthodox” it was really hard for my friends and family to accept that I wasn’t judging them. Sure, we disagree on the fundamentals of life and religion, but it is an intellectual argument.

Families don’t need to see eye to eye, in fact our strength is when we don’t. But today if we hear the guy in shul votes differently than us, suddenly he’s evil incarnate. Against that backdrop, we learn to hide our beliefs, lest someone judge us. Rather than promoting dialogue, politics in religion promotes superficiality and disconnection.

Secondly, politicians are human. When we become so enamored of a certain leader or his policies, we easily lose sight of the fact that Judaism is timeless; its values and ethical obligations will at times align and at other times collide with current policy and morality. But this is backwards. We should take a “pick and choose” approach to our political ideologies, not to our Torah.

And what does it mean to be Jewish, any-

way? At a huge social gathering of close to 1,000 Jewish men, I was broken-hearted when the keynote speaker launched into an intellectual discussion of the fine points of Israeli and American policy. It’s not that he wasn’t interesting; he was. It certainly isn’t that I don’t think Israel is crucial to American Jews; I am a proud Zionist. But what a wasted opportunity. There was a reason that when Moses spoke to the Jews he spoke about eternal concepts of right and wrong, of taking responsibility, reward and punishment, the profound love G-d has for the Jewish people and how to survive through adversity. He didn’t turn to his views on the headlines of the day. There are some things more profound than current events, like the meaning of life.

The Judaism that inspired our ancestors could actually be far more inspirational and relevant to us than politics. As it says in Proverbs, “The candle of G-d is the soul of man.” If we are looking for big meaning, big purpose, big impact, we need to turn inward. We are built in the image of G-d.

What does that mean? How can I actualize my potential? That is what our religion has focused on and what makes it still relevant. Empires will rise and fall. There have been times we have been blessed to live in our homeland in peace, and times when we haven’t. The big issues that our religion should focus on is what kind of people should we be, what legacy we will leave, what kind of future we will build for our kids. I can turn to social media or cable news if I’m looking for anything less. A

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COVER STORY

Continuity and Change Through the Ages Michael Cohen and 45 years of JCC history

BY NATALIE JACOBS

A

sking Michael Cohen to talk about the highlights of his 45-year career at San Diego’s Jewish Community Center is like asking Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road. Prepared with a list of handwritten notes, Cohen saunters down the metaphorical memory lane that stretches nearly five decades through what many consider to be the heart of Jewish communal life here.

It was November 1, 1971 when a 20-yearold Cohen started at the JCC on 54th Street.

He was hired as physical education assistant tasked with setting up the leagues for “bitty” basketball, men’s volleyball and afternoon floor hockey.

“And I handed out towels in the basket room,” Cohen admits from his corner office at the La Jolla location.

The J had been in its own building on 54th Street since 1958, after 13 years in a leased space on the same street. Michael Cohen grew up in San Diego, attended Madison High School in Clairemont and was in his second year at San Diego State with the goal of becoming a teacher and coach at the high school level.

One of the first things he says he noticed about the JCC was its intergenerational na-

ture. He would see mothers drop off their kids at the preschool and stick around to take a jazzercise class or use the gym. He’d see fathers come in at night for the 30-and-over basketball league.

And during lunch, LEFT: Cohen with Melanie Rubin, Seniors Director, preparing latkes for the seniors he’d see grandparHanukkah celebration; RIGHT: Cohen with granddaughter Amelia and daughter Laura. ents at the senior program. that once he graduated he’d continue work“There was this whole continuity,” Cohen ing for a JCC, though it could be anywhere says. “So I went back and talked to my high in the country. school basketball coach and said ‘What do “I could do this for two years,” Cohen reyou love about your job?’ He said ‘What I members thinking. “Obviously it was a great love is working with the kids and the families opportunity.”

– the unfortunate thing is after three years, After graduating and securing his spot at they graduate and we don’t see them.’” the San Diego JCC, Cohen began working That didn’t seem to be an issue at the JCC. his way through the ranks of the sports and Shortly after that realization, Cohen received fitness department. Four years there and he a Morton Mandel Scholarship through the moved to the administrative side of operaJewish Community Centers Association that tions. It was around the same time when San covered his last two years of schooling and Diego Jewish leaders noticed a migration of his position at the JCC, with the expectation the local Jewish population from the center

1945

1958

Nov. 1, 1971

1976

1983

JCC is founded in the College area of San Diego

San Diego JCC completes new building construction on 54th Street

Michael Cohen starts as Physical Education Assistant

Search begins for new space in the Golden Triangle/La Jolla

Construction begins at La Jolla site with a lead gift from M. Larry Lawrence. Mandell Weiss Eastgate City Park, Friedenberg Pool and Albert A. Hutler Tennis Center open.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 31

ABOVE: Cohen at the 2013 Golf Tournament with Board members Geri Anne and Gary Jacobs and Todd Allen; BELOW: Cohen with Jack Berghaus, one of the most consistent and longtime members of the JCC gym.

MIDDILE: Myrna and Mike at their son's law school graduation; BOTTOM: 2014 Membership BBQ with Larry Katz, former JCC Board President and current Board member.

city to the northern coast.

Cohen recalls that in 1976, Ed Robins, who was the JCC’s executive director at the time, and the Board began looking for property on the west side of the city.

Through a tip from the director of the Jackie Robinson YMCA who suggested that the JCC look into land owned by the city and permitted for parks and recreation, Cohen says, Robins found the plot where the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center lives today, in what is considered the financial center of San Diego. At the time Robins secured the deal with the city, there was only the UTC mall and La Jolla Country Day School in the area. The JCC leases the land from the city but owns the buildings it has erected throughout the years.

“We weren’t in the financial situation to buy outright property,” Cohen explains, “so we were able to negotiate with the city. It was an incredible deal. You don’t get many opportunities.”

Construction at what was then called the Emily Lawrence Branch started in 1983 with the Friedenberg pool, the Mandell Weiss Eastgate park and the Albert A. Hutler tennis center. Then in 1986 came the Jacobs Family Gymnasium. In 1987, Michael Cohen was brought over from 54th Street to be branch director of the La Jolla location. He took over as Executive Director from Harry Stern in 1991 at a time that Cohen describes as financially challenging.

The JCC owed $1.3 million on the construction loan and was $500,000 short on operations. Despite his life in athletics, Cohen remembers this as his first real introduction to teamwork. In close collaboration with Ken Poland, who was the board president at the time, Cohen says the J was able to balance its budget within three years of his taking the helm, bringing the debt down to what he

considered a manageable $300,000.

“Nothing really is accomplished around here without a lot of people and a lot of support and committed volunteers, Board members, presidents, as well as great professional staff.”

At the time of the budget balancing, the Board, led by Joan and Irwin Jacobs, began working to raise funds for continued expansion of the Center. With their eldest son Gary as President at the time, the philanthropic family helped raise $16 million to expand from 26,000 square feet to what Cohen calls a “state of the art” 100,000 square feet that became the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center Jacobs Family Campus.

“As Joan [Jacobs] said while we were going through that process,” Cohen recalls, “we had the opportunity to really go out and educate the community on the value of a JCC.” What is that value? For Cohen, who ended up dedicating his entire professional life to the space, it’s about having a location where a diverse community can gather.

“Anything is possible in social, cultural and recreational activities. If you work with a strong Board and staff, miracles can happen and we got to witness a lot of cool things.”

Cohen is the San Diego JCC’s sixth executive director. In his tenure in that role, which will total 26 years by the time he retires on June 1, he has seen a tremendous expansion of what the JCC is and does.

“When we started, there was like 60 kids and we were in trailers. Then we expanded to serving over 300 families in the Nierman Preschool,” Cohen offers as one example.

“The camp was about 300 kids and now we’ve reached a high of 750 kids. The other growth areas have been in cultural arts, like with J*Company. Not every child is into playing baseball or soccer, basketball, tennis, what have you.”

PHOTOS COURTESY JCC

1986

1987

1991

1994

1996-2000

Jacobs Family Gymnasium opens

Michael Cohen arrives as Branch Director at La Jolla location

Michael Cohen becomes JCC Executive Director

Budget balances, from more than $1 million in debt

Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Capital Campaign Co-Chairs, along with their son Gary Jacobs – JCC President at the time – raise $16 million for the expansion and renovation of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus.

32 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

Also under his tenure, there was the creation of the annual Jewish Book Fair and Jewish Film Festival, Jewish education programs for children and adults, and an inclusion program for kids with special needs.

With every milestone, Cohen is sure to note that there was always a collective “we” at work. He credits his understanding of this notion to his mentor Ed Robins.

“He really taught me working with lay leaders, committees, and having strong professional staff so you can really create incredible activities.”

I met with Michael Cohen shortly after it came out that the JCC was cutting its budget and laying off some employees. To make up for around a $400,000 deficit, they laid off three people, out of 186 full and part-time employees.

“We’re seeing some reductions in some funding so we have to make those adjustments,” Cohen says.

He says this is the third such cut-back since 1991 when he started as executive director, noting that in 2008 shortly after they hosted the massive Maccabee Games they had to cut nine employees from an initial list of 27. But in between tough times, Cohen was able to reinstate the JCC’s employee retirement program, with support from the Leichtag Foundation and key donors Joan and Irwin Jacobs, David and Sharon Wax “and so many people stepping up to support.”

“I really want to keep quality staff and I want to attract outstanding professionals,” he says. “If you don’t have a retirement program, that’s kind of challenging.”

This year has also been a challenging one on the safety front, with record numbers of bomb threats issued to San Diego and many other JCCs across the country. None had any merit, and since I spoke with Michael Cohen a suspect (a teenage Israeli) has been charged.

But people feel that increased security is necessary at gathering places like the JCC and synagogues. For his part, Cohen says safety is their number one priority.

“We train our staff on a regular basis and we are always on alert and prepared. Training is a key element in all of that. We work very closely with the San Diego Police Department, Homeland Security. We’ve worked

chael was still in the sports department. “[Ed] goes ‘You gotta go meet Myrna, you gotta go up and say hi,’” Michael recalls with a devious smile. “There she is on a three-foot ladder doing a collage for the seniors and our eyes lock and she falls off the ladder.”

Three years later, the two married. Their three children, now 35, 32 and 25, grew up at the JCC through the preschool, J*Company

“He really taught me working with lay leaders, committees, and having strong professional staff so you can really create incredible activities.” closely of late with the FBI. The Anti-Defamation League has been incredible.”

For context, Cohen says that SDPD reports there were 600 bomb threats in San Diego County last year with 100 directed at public schools and none were credible.

“This is an attempt to disrupt the operation of the JCC not only here but in other communities and it’s not going to happen,” he says frankly.

Twenty years ago, the Center had no security. Now, a retired Oceanside police officer heads a security division, guards are armed and the Center is spending up to $400,000 a year on these efforts.

Cohen’s initial attraction to the JCC – the “continuity” that he experienced as a 20-yearold watching multiple generations of San Diego’s Jewish families gather within its walls – foretold a great deal about the path his personal life would follow as he advanced there professionally.

“The biggest highlight of my life is that I met my wife, Myrna, here at the JCC,” he says, saving the best for last.

As the story goes, Ed Robins had hired Mryna as the senior adult director when Mi-

April, 2000

2008

2012

Dedication of the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre, Glickman-Galinson Early Childhood Education, Potiker Family Arts & Culture, Qualcomm Sports, Fitness and Aquatics Complexes, Viterbi Family Galleria and Nierman Preschool open

LFJCC hosts the JCC Maccabi Games and renovates the pool and park

JCC security team expands

and sports teams. They had their first jobs at the J. “Now,” Michael says, “the coolest thing for me is to walk downstairs to the Nierman preschool and see my three grandchildren.”

Michael Cohen’s life and work will be honored at this year’s JCC Patron Party on May 20 through a “roast, toast and boast” with help from the comedians at The Second City.

Associate Executive Director Anna Koslowski will take over operations from June 1 until August 18 when the new executive director Betzy Lynch arrives from Birmingham, Alabama.

“I’ve had the honor and privilege to work with this incredible staff but also all these lay leaders and all the past presidents,” Cohen says, approaching the end of the road.

“They have such tremendous knowledge. I never knew all the answers and I had to always go to them. I always felt, as Ed [Robins] taught me, if you share, people care. I say being transparent and oversharing is important because things that you can do, solve, resolve or create all comes from that dynamic relationship between the professional and the lay leader. I can’t emphasize that enough.” A

May 20, 2017

June 1, 2017

JCC Patron Party honoring Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen retires

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 33

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BY SHARON ROSEN LEIB

“M

y kids were worried. My youngest daughter told me, ‘Mom, you’ve lost your fire,’” says Dee Rudolph, an 86-year-old resident of Seacrest Village, a Jewish retirement community in Encinitas. That changed last November. Donald Trump’s election reignited Rudolph’s internal spark.

“I was drifting and couldn’t see a pur-

pose for my existence. Then along came Trump. He’s been a G-dsend for comedians and for me. I got so angry I had to do something,” she says. “Trump stands for fear and hate and knows how to stoke division. He is ruled by ego and I don’t like him having the nuclear codes.”

Rudolph doesn’t drive and, like many other Seacrest residents, occasionally relies

on a walker to get around. These physical limitations made it difficult for Rudolph and her feminist Seacrest compatriots to attend the San Diego Women’s March, one of several that happened around the country on January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration. So she and her friend Alice Morawetz, 88, decided to plan a Women’s March at Seacrest.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 35

PHOTOS BY JOSHUA SHERMAN

Dee Rudolph poses near a kitchen table with her #Indivisible sign, signaling a revived sense of purpose for the octogenarian.

“He’s toast [next year],” she said while dashing off a postcard urging [Congressman Darrell Issa] to investigate the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

“About 40 of us, including a 103-yearold, marched with walkers, wheelchairs and canes around the building. Everyone had a lot of fun,” Rudolph recalls. Their activism landed them on San Diego’s NBC news affiliate that night and propelled them to local celebrity status.

Joshua Sherman, 32, Cultural Programs Manager at the Leichtag Foundation (a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring vibrant Jewish life in coastal North San Diego County headquartered just up the street from Seacrest), saw the elderly Jewish activists on the news. Inspired by the Seacrest marchers’ resolve, Sherman and a friend hatched a plan to partner younger activists with the older women to help them continue their political engagement.

“We thought it would be great to include them in the next Women’s March action step of postcard writing,” Sherman says.

So he reached out to Rudolph. She embraced the idea of continuing her comrades’ activism via communal postcard writing sessions.

Sherman and the Leichtag Foundation 36 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

provided the necessary materials – pens, postcards and address labels – and drummed up 10 volunteers on Facebook for the initial postcard-writing session on February 7. Local public news organization KPBS got wind of the event and broadcast coverage on both radio and television.

The first session was such a success that two more followed.

“Our future plan is to meet about once a month to write and vent. Any more than that and we might burnout,” Rudolph says.

“I’m so thrilled with the wonderful and loving volunteers who come to help us. A lot of the ladies are interested in participating but worried they can’t write legibly anymore,” she says.

The volunteers – ranging in age from 13 to 75 – bring postage stamps and help the women affix them to postcards. They also make sure the women address and sign the cards properly.

The volunteers enjoy getting to know Seacrest’s feisty activists while they collaborate to produce a steady stream of Washington, D.C.-bound postcards.

“The volunteers all leave smiling and totally recharged,” says Sheman, who takes great pleasure seeing his vision of multigenerational activism come to fruition.

“I love listening to all the laughter when the women come up with funny things to write Trump,” says Debbie Kramer, 60, who volunteered and helped pen dozens of protest postcards at Seacrest.

“Seniors are my favorites. This is my second time here and I genuinely feel better about the state of the world after speaking to these women and hearing their stories,” says volunteer Mariah Christenson, 38.

Jenell Coker, Seacrest’s Director of Independent Living and Life Enrichment, said Seacrest as an institution doesn’t get involved in politics. However, she encourages Seacrest residents to remain engaged.

“The staff here makes room and offers support for all activities. I told the women this is their home and they could plan their own political activism,” Coker says.

She assisted Rudolph by putting together a notebook with the names of Seacrest women who wanted to be involved. Coker said if

ants to move w e sh at th te ro w an om w rly de el ne O to Seacrest so she can join them. some of the residents demonstrated interest in forming a Republican Club she’d help with that as well.

“I support our residents in any activities that keep them active and give them purpose to live longer, happier lives,” she says.

So far, none of Seacrest’s conservative residents have taken steps to form their own political action committee.

According to Coker, Seacrest’s residents have done well at respecting each other’s political views.

“We had a little bit of blowback from the conservative residents when one of the more zealous activists passed out flyers about a postcard-writing event at dinner,” she remembers. Since then, residents have agreed not to discuss politics at the dinner table.

Rudolph remains mindful of the fact that a minority of Seacrest’s residents voted for Trump and don’t embrace the postcard-writing sessions. But she and her sister activists remain unbowed in their commitment to hold the President and his political cronies accountable. They’ve expanded their postcard writing to include missives to California’s Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris as well as their Congressman Darrell Issa. Rudolph didn’t mince words about Issa, a Republican who narrowly won reelection.

“He’s toast [next year],” she said while dashing off a postcard urging him to investigate the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

Rudolph never considered herself a political activist until now. She grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Butte, Montana, the daughter of a Polish immigrant mother and a Russian immigrant father. Her parents owned and ran a men’s clothing store.

Newton Rudolph, a nice Jewish boy from Butte, first laid eyes on Dee when she was 9 and he was 13. When Newt left Butte to

serve in the military, he told 15-year-old Dee he’d marry her after he returned. He kept his word. Shortly after Dee turned 18, she and Newt got married and settled down in Butte.

Dee gave birth to her first child, a boy named George, shortly before her 21st birthday. Three more children followed. Newt died suddenly, just months before their 50th wedding anniversary, when Dee was 68.

“I was so lucky to marry young and have 50 years with the love of my life. I was in shock for a year after he died,” she says.

Her daughter Connie, who lives in Bozeman, Montana, helped Dee pack up, sell the family home and move to a smaller home near her in Bozeman.

Five years ago, Dee decided she couldn’t take another winter in Montana. She has osteoporosis and was scared of falling and seriously injuring herself. Dee also longed to be near her youngest daughter Romi and her two young grandchildren who live in San Diego. She looked at several San Diego retirement homes that left her cold. When she opened the door to Seacrest she says she fell in love with the ambiance and atmosphere.

“I only had one Jewish girlfriend my whole life in Butte. Being at Seacrest has been such a revelation for me because now I’m with my own people. I don’t have to worry if a Yiddish word pops out of my mouth,” Rudolph says.

The Women’s March and ensuing activism have proven to be blessings for Rudolph and those who have joined in.

“The best part is the people we’ve met and the camaraderie we’ve developed. We’ve forged new friendships. I’m so proud of the Seacrest ladies because they are intelligent and willing to join the grassroots efforts,” Rudolph says.

She enjoys planning the postcard-writing events with Leichtag’s Sherman who she describes as “one of the most wonderful young men I’ve ever known.”

Rudolph and the other Seacrest activists have a growing legion of admirers. They’ve received 25 pieces of fan mail. One elderly woman wrote that she wants to move to Seacrest so she can join them. Women from around the country sent photos of their January 21st Marches to demonstrate solidarity. At the second postcard-writing event, a young female fan delivered a bouquet of flowers and a roll of postcard stamps with a note addressed to “My Favorite Activist Sisters.”

“They’ve inspired so many people. We think of people in their 80s and 90s as being frail, but these women are still really vibrant and active,” says Coker.

While enjoying their late-in-life fame, the Seacrest activists take greater pleasure in making their voices heard.

“We’re old ladies but we like to be part of the world too,” Rudolph says.

Her enthusiasm has launched hundreds of postcards into the corridors of power and is sure to inspire many more as the Trump era progresses. Rudolph’s four children and seven grandchildren are proud of her activism and leadership skills. They’re also thrilled by her renewed sense of purpose.

“This is my crowning glory. I’ve never had so much recognition and feedback before,” Rudolph says.

She hopes other seniors will get involved however they can.

“Please organize your own group and do something. It’s better than sitting on your fanny.” A

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 37

38 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

SENIORS

New Grant for JFS On the Go Senior Rides Program Aims to Expand Transportation Options As San Diego’s senior population balloons, new supports are needed

BY NATALIE JACOBS

PHOTO COURTESY JFS

B

y 2030, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) estimates that the number of seniors in the county will more than double. In a small preview of the changes this will precipitate throughout the region, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has been experiencing explosive growth in its Access program, the service that operates smaller busses and offers discounted rates for people with disabilities and, increasingly, seniors. Unfortunately for the city’s public transportation agency, ridership among all other demographics is falling, making it more difficult to operate the expensive Access program. MTS is reportedly evaluating Access in an attempt to make up for the greater costs of its special trips. At the same time, the agency is exploring new routes to tighten up the system and fight ridership shortfalls.

With those two factors converging quickly, it may be increasingly difficult for San Diego’s aging population to get around a city of disconnected neighborhoods that relies heavily on freeways for traffic flow. Keeping an eye on this, Jewish Family Service’s On the Go program has been helping to fill the gaps of senior transportation since 2003. On the Go operates a system of volunteer drivers who take seniors to appointments or on errands, while also offering group shuttles to various events around town and recent expansion to help coordinate Uber and Lyft rides for their users. The program reports it has done “close to 300,000 rides” from more than 400 volunteer drivers in its 14 years.

Recognizing that programs like On the Go can help pick up where public transportation leaves off, SANDAG has granted both local and federal funds to the nonprofit for the last 10 years. Most recently, JFS received $1.8 million from a combination of local money via the TransNet Senior Mini-Grant program, which is funded by SANDAG’s local sales tax measure, and federal money divvied up through a wonky Section 5310 Grant Award.

The TransNet tax has come under local scrutiny after the independent online news source Voice of San Diego uncovered evidence of incorrect forecasting on the part of SANDAG planners. By Voice of San Diego’s calculations, the original TransNet tax hike from 2004 will likely come in $5 billion short of its promises. The investigation also found that the $18 billion in transportation funding promised in this past November’s proposed Measure A tax hike was also miscalculated but stayed on the ballot anyway. Measure A did not receive the two-thirds support it required to pass, but the false forecasting has created a firestorm for SANDAG, reaching up to

JFS's On the Go has been a recipient of SANDAG grants for the last 10 years.

Sacramento as local lawmakers attempt to force reform. SANDAG also recently announced it has hired a lawfirm to conduct an independent investigation into who knew what when.

It is unclear how grant programs like the Senior Mini-Grant – which has also awarded funds to the cities of La Mesa, Oceanside and Vista, along with other nonprofits with shuttle services like ACT, Alpha Project, ElderHelp, FACT and Travelers Aid Society – would be effected by funding shortfalls. The most recent grant cycle of the TransNet award covers fiscal year 2018-19. In its statement on the latest $1.8 million, JFS notes that this provides two years of funding for the region’s largest senior transportation program.

Through SANDAG, Jewish Family Service and its On the Go transportation program has been awarded almost $1.7 million in federal funds and more than $3.1 million in TransNet Senior MiniGrant funding over the past 10 years. A

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 39

Sa n

2017

sF

Di

eg o Je h Art w is

The 24th Annual Lipinsky Family

Minor Fall / Major Lift

San Diego Jewish Arts Festival

MAY 21 - JULY 9, 2017 ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Todd Salovey

Hershey Felder and Friends

“The Stories of Sholem Aleichem and More”

ONE NIGHT ONLY! JUNE 19, 7:30PM ON THE LYCEUM STAGE

Special Festival “sneak peek” by celebrated performer and writer Hershey Felder. Before Fiddler on the Roof became a classic, Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem came from Ukraine to New York. He was so surprised and befuddled that he immediately returned home. Hershey Felder, with virtuoso friends, perform an evening of music by Felder featuring selections from a new work about Sholem Aleichem. Felder’s recent hits include Our Great Tchaikovsky, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, and Maestro Bernstein.

Lyceum Events

jfest

e s ti val

A T h e 24 t h

ual Lipinsky

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nn

JUNE 3 AT 8:45PM ON THE LYCEUM STAGE Produced by Malashock Dance & Art Of Élan Choreography by John Malashock Music Performed by Now Ensemble (New York) Commissioned Score by Judd Greenstein Other Music Compositions by Greenstein, Mark Dancigers, David Crowell And Patrick Burke

A bi-coastal collaboration of live music and dance, featuring all-new choreography by John Malashock, co-produced with Art of Élan. Five exquisite new dance works with music by four different composers, including a score by Judd Greenstein, of New Amsterdam Records and Composer-in-Residence with NOW Ensemble.

Tickets: $15 - $50 sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

Alexander Gourevich: The Crying Call of the Clarinet

The 16th Annual Klezmer Summit

Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi Present: Tower of Babel - A Klezmer, Roma, Balkan Brass Party

A Klezmer, Roma and Balkan Brass Party. Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi welcome special guests and high energy brass.

This concert will thrill, with a driving dance beat and beautiful melancholic Middle Eastern improvisations. Opening this brass party is San Diego’s popular brass band, EUPHORIA.

North County Events

Tickets $55-$180 | sdrep.org / 619-544-1000

MAY 21 AT 2PM AT THE ENCINITAS LIBRARY Gourevich kicks off the Festival with a timeless program of Jewish, Yiddish and Israeli songs that touch the heart and stir the soul. In his unique performance style, the verge between clarinet and human voice disappears.

His heartfelt “My Yiddische Mama” brings tears, and his klezmer dances bring you to your feet.

JUNE 12, 7:30PM ON THE LYCEUM STAGE

Tickets $18 | sdrep.org / 619-544-1000

619.544.1000 | SDREP.ORG

Tickets: Free! bit.ly/1EqwxGF 760.753.7376

Asimov: The Last Question

Imagination Dead Imagine

“Women Together Sing Out”

“Challah Rising in the Desert” (The Jews of New Mexico)

JUNE 5 AT 7PM IN THE LYCEUM SPACE

JUNE 7 & 8 AT 7:30PM IN THE LYCEUM SPACE

JUNE 14 AT 7:30PM IN THE LYCEUM SPACE

JULY 6 AT 7:30PM IN THE LYCEUM SPACE

Written by and Starring Herbert Siguenza

Text by Samuel Beckett Music and Concept by Michael Roth A new music theatre piece by celebrated theatre composer Michael Roth featuring the words of Samuel Beckett. The three part program premieres one of Beckett’s most eloquent hidden masterpieces, a stirring journey of the mind and soul.

A string quartet musically responds to the voices that lure them into a world where imagination might be dead – or is it?

Jewish, Latin and African American music of change, empowerment and belief. Folk, jazz and klezmer songs express the conviction of a more just and compassionate world starring Elizabeth Schwartz of Hot Pstromi, gospel singer Lisa Payton and jazz diva Coral MacFarland Thuet.

By Director Isaac Artenstein Produced by Paula Amar Schwartz with Cinewest Productions

Tickets: $12 sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

Tickets: $18 sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

Tickets: $12 sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

8th Annual Women of Valor

The Wandering Feast

A world premiere staged reading about the world and life of celebrated author Isaac Asimov. Herbert Siguenza writes and portrays the late biochemist, prolific science fiction writer and humanist, Isaac Asimov in a revealing interview about politics, religion, faith, technology and the environment. Siguenza’s REP hits include A Weekend with Pablo Picasso, Manifest Destinitis, El Henry and Steal Heaven.

Andrew Viterbi:

JUNE 18 AT 2PM AT THE ENCINITAS LIBRARY

By Rebecca Myers, Sarah Price-Keating, Leah Salovey, Todd Salovey, and Ali Viterbi Directed By Todd Salovey And Ali Viterbi

Based on the Memoire by Yale Strom Adapted by Todd Salovey and Yale Strom Directed by Todd Salovey Music Composed and Performed by Yale Strom

Women of Valor 2017 honorees are: Joyce Axelrod, Councilperson Barbara Bry, Rose Schindler, Pauline Sonboleh, Malka Weiser and Marcia Tatz-Wollner. The Festival once again honors six inspirational women and tells their stories with live music, poetry and vivid imagery.

Opening Performance is May 25 at 7:30pm in the Lyceum Space. Benefiting Chesed Home, Torah High School, and Project Sarah.

Tickets: May 25, $18.

May 28, free. sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

In 1981, 23-year-old Yale Strom embarked on a trek through remnants of Europe’s Jewish communities. He meets musicians, singers, synagogue caretakers and butchers, Jewish and Roma.

With live music, images and vivid stories, a world premiere staged reading of a lifechanging musical journey.

Tickets: Free! bit.ly/1EqwxGF 760.753.7376

Tickets: $25 patron seats, $15 general seating sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

La Jolla Events Reflections of an Educator, Researcher and Entrepreneur

MAY 28 AT 2PM AT THE ENCINITAS LIBRARY

A new film where braided Challah bread represents five waves of settlement of New Mexico’s Jewish community from the Conversos escaping the Spanish Inquisition 400 years ago, to the German Jewish pioneers of the Santa Fe Trail in the 1800s, to the engineers, and scientists of the 1940s-60s at Los Alamos.

Special Benefit screening with the filmmakers.

MAY 23 AT 7:30PM CONGREGATION BETH EL In his new memoir, acclaimed electrical engineer and philanthropist Andrew Viterbi examines his life in America as an immigrant child, his success as a scientist and businessman and the principles that inspired his most decisive choices. The evening includes readings from his memoir and a conversation with Dr. Andrew Viterbi, his granddaughter Ali Viterbi and professor Dr. Brian Keating.

Tickets: $18 sdrep.org | 619.544.1000

For Honor

JULY 9 AT 7:30PM AT LAWRENCE FAMILY JCC, DAVID & DOROTHEA GARFIELD THEATRE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CJC OF THE LAWRENCE FAMILY JCC Written and Directed by Lee Sankowich

They held the German army off for twenty-seven days, longer than France or Poland.

They were young people with dreams, romances, passions, ambitions and a zest for life.

They were innocent victims of unimaginable circumstances.

This staged reading with music is a moving tribute to the young heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Tickets: $36 patron seats, $20 Regular price, $18 for JCC Members sdcjc.org / 858.362.1348

SENIORS

San Diego’s Homelessness Problem:

Where Do Seniors Fit? Spending a morning at Father Joe’s Villages with Congregation Beth Israel volunteers and the people they serve

BY BRIE STIMSON

O

llie Gummer has been getting meals at Father Joe’s Villages for the last five years. The senior has neuropathy of the feet, sciatica and two degenerative discs in her spine – all a product of years of standing as a security guard.

“They just all came at one time … when I just turned 62 … The doctor says it comes from all the standing and the walking that I did,” Gummer tells me while eating her breakfast at Father Joe’s one Sunday morning in April.

Gummer has received no benefits or retirement from her job, and she had to stop working at 62 when her health started to deteriorate. While her health care used to only give her partial benefits, she now has Obamacare (Medicaid and Care First).

“Basically it’s going pretty good right now, hopefully it stays,” she says referring to the Affordable Care Act’s perilous future in Congress. Gummer says her health care helps cover her medicines, doctor visits and provided her with a walker.

Gummer now lives in an apartment built

by Father Joe’s Villages, just a block from where we met over breakfast, but she struggled with homelessness 17 years ago.

“I lived on the street,” she tells me. “[It was] horrible, horrible.”

She says she often felt her life was in danger on the streets.

“At that time I had a problem with drugs and alcohol, and I lost everything and I ended up on the street for like a month, and it was scary trying to sleep at night, and when you do go to sleep you’ve got to get up at 6 o’clock, roll up everything so you can be up off the street, the sidewalk, whatever.”

42 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

Ron Newell has been volunteering at Father Joe’s Villages with a group from Congregation Beth Israel for 19 years.

“If I’m well and in town, I’m here,” he says matter-of-factly. His late wife, who was a receptionist at Beth Israel, started volunteering before him, and after she passed, he decided to give it a try in her memory. He was hooked.

Newell sits with me at one of the cafeteria-style tables near the kitchen. His latex glove-covered hands and dingy apron belie the success he’s had in his career.

“I started out in my wife’s memory,” he remembers. “It was kind of a negative period, but I was able to do something that felt good. I went home physically tired, it wasn’t something that I was used to doing, but mentally it elevated me.”

As Newell and I speak, activity swarms around us. Father Joe’s breakfast clients file in for trays of hot food while volunteers rush around to make people comfortable and put out metaphorical fires. Four people didn’t show up to volunteer that Sunday, leaving the group short, so now everybody scrambles to pick up the slack.

Beth Israel has sent a delegation to volunteer at Father Joe’s every Sunday morning for the last 31 years. As the loud room buzzes around us Newell takes me back to the 1980s when the partnership started.

“Thirty-one years ago [Father Joe] went around to the Jewish congregations with this pitch: ‘I know you guys celebrate your Sabbath at sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. How about taking over one of my dining rooms Sunday mornings?’” Newell explains. “So Beth Israel, being the biggest

congregation in town, said sure.”

The Hunger Project, as it’s called, was founded by Beth Israel member Joan Kutner. To this day volunteers still adhere to what they call Joan’s rule: “Please greet everyone you serve with a smile and ‘Good Morning.’ You just may be the first person who has greeted them warmly in days, and you just might be getting their new week off to a better start.”

Newell says, “Joan Kutner prepared food at the temple during the week, had the key, unlocked the door, turned on the lights around seven in the morning and did the whole thing.”

Now someone else prepares the food and the volunteers just show up, he says.

“While someone prepared the food they worked with the kids on their homework if they were school age. They ran Bingo for the ones that weren’t old enough. Our goal besides feeding everyone was to break the poverty cycle.”

Newell says Kutner got people to donate notebooks, backpacks and other school supplies, and if people didn’t show up for a couple of weeks to get food, she would go to their home during the week to check in on them to make sure they were all right.

Now in its 67th year, Father Joe’s is the oldest and largest homeless provider in the region. They offer some form of housing, from shelters to transitional beds to rapid rehousing as well as affordable housing and permanent supportive housing, to nearly 2,000 people every day. They also have a fully qualified health clinic.

“A portion of our population has mental health challenges and of course many

of those whom we serve have health issues in general from high incidence of blood sugar from diabetes, as well as high blood pressure, and that comes from living on the streets and not eating well and being [malnourished],” Deacon Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, says. “And so the fact that we have doctors here who are able to assess an individual not only … the physical aspects, but also as their mental wellbeing is concerned has been a G-dsend for us.”

The center operates as a clinical site for UC San Diego’s medical program.

Vargas says that although they placed 826 people in long-term housing last year, there is still a lot more to be done. Of approximately 9,100 people who are considered homeless in San Diego, 5,600 of them are actually living on the streets.

“We can provide shelters and we do, we’ve been doing it for a long time, but there aren’t enough front doors, I call them, there [isn’t] enough permanent housing in order to really help them break that cycle of homelessness,” Vargas explains.

Ollie Gummer calls her studio on 15th and Commercial “gorgeous.” As well as being on the Patient and Family Advisory Board at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, “they just conned me into being tenant rep in my apartment over there,” she laughs, meaning she reports problems on her floor.

Her struggles living on the street “blessed” her to go to a shelter, and after getting addiction help at the YWCA, she left California for Texas, for a “geographical cure to get away from everything.” She returned in 2005, started coming to Father Joe’s and six years later in 2011 she moved into her apartment downtown.

She is now waiting on her Section 8 federal housing choice voucher.

“That would lower my rent,” she tells me.

Right now Gummer pays just under $400 a month, but with housing assistance she could get her rent lowered, and she hopes

“Please greet everyone you serve with a smile and ‘Good Morning.’ You just may be the first person who has greeted them warmly in days.” get it started is they’re getting old motels and revamping them into apartments so they can get them off the streets. I think it’s going to work outstanding once they get it started.”

Vargas says two things make San Diego’s rental market different from most others.

There is a low availability of affordable housing coupled with generally only about a two percent rental vacancy.

“What we need is affordable housing,” he says.

In March, Father Joe’s announced the initiative Gummer mentioned. It’s called “Turning the Key” and would increase permanent housing by 2,000 units over the next four to five years. The price tag, according to Vargas, is $531 million, $409 million of which is already available from existing public funds.

“That’s going to be through a combination of new construction on sites that we have … and we’ll be building on those sites, and that’ll equate to

760 units of the 2,000,” he explains. “Then we also will go out and acquire and refurbish old motels that basically need a shot in the arm, they need a facelift, they’re in areas that I hope the community would welcome us so that we could refurbish them and we can convert them into studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms so we can accommodate families as well.”

Vargas says that will account for 1,240 units bringing the total to 2,000.

“We hope that will take off the streets, out of shelters anywhere from 2,500 to 2,800 individuals, which is a big number,” he says.

“There’s still a lot more out there, but this is a huge endeavor.”

For his part, Ron Newell says he’ll keep volunteering as long as he’s physically able.

“At least once or twice when I was standing there putting something on the tray each Sunday a little thought will flip through my mind, but for the grace of G-d I could be on the other side of this counter. And so I have done well workwise, retirement is time to give back.”

Gummer can appreciate Newell’s thinking. Her father was a preacher, and she says she’s always been a spiritual person.

“I got help,” she says of her struggles.

“But the main help I got was from my man up above … That support has helped me greatly … Right now things are starting to happen … Things are looking like it’s happening for me.” A As part of its "Turning the Key" housing initiative, Father Joe's Villages plans to build this affordable housing complex at 14th and Commercial downtown.

Total estimated cost for this complex is $145 million.

RENDERING COURTESY FATHER JOE'S

Ollie Gummer, from an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune in March.

she might be able to afford a one bedroom apartment. As much as she loves her studio, “I’m thinking I’m starting to grow out of it,” she says. “I need a bigger closet,” she laughs.

“If you don’t have a housing subsidy,” she says, it’s impossible for people in her financial situation to afford an apartment. “That’s why there is so much homelessness here. It’s because of how high the rents are … The rents [have] just skyrocketed.”

Gummer says she’s seen the blueprints for Father Joe’s bold permanent housing expansion plan.

“Now they’re trying to get things organized, especially Father Joe’s is getting ready to build some housing here for the homeless … Basically what they’re doing right now to

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 43

PHOTOS BY CATHARINE KAUFMAN

SENIORS

A Silver Fox Helps Unlock San Diego’s Movie-Making Potential On location with Hal Linden and “The Samuel Project”

BY CATHARINE L. KAUFMAN

H

al Linden, our national treasure in theater and both big and little screens, is limbering up on the movie set of “The Samuel Project” in an old-timey kitchen while waiting for the director’s cue of “Action!” It is easy to recognize the Barney Miller character in the still actorly octogenarian, under the tousled white hair and scruffy beard. He adjusts his dangling suspenders and sleeveless white t-shirt while he prepares to shoot scene 47 in his co-starring role as Samuel Bergman in the independent film, which is being shot in San Diego.

Undeterred by his age and still sharp as a tack, Hal Linden filmed “The Samuel Project” early this year between performances of “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” at The Old Globe.

The film aims to blend old and new world sensibilities and values while also flipping the script on a biblical story. Eli, a teenage misfit serendipitously reconnects with his Holocaust-survivor grandfather, Samuel, and decides to weave the latter’s story into an animated art project with which he hopes to win a college scholarship and thus open the door to his lifelong dream.

Director and co-writer Mark Fusco and producer Steve Weinberger talk about the intentional name reversal of the biblical proph44 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

et Samuel and his teacher, the High Priest Eli (in the Old Testament Book of Shiloh).

“It is Eli’s story,” Fusco points out, explaining that the character’s names are no accident.

“The boy was the one who reached out and reunited with his grandfather, seeking the elder’s help in achieving his artistic goal.”

Weinberger adds that the biblical reversal “merges the themes of mutual enlightenment occurring when the two protagonists learn from each other’s generations-bridging wisdom. While Samuel teaches Eli about traditional Jewish values and culture, Eli is sharing his contemporary world view and technological savvy about digital communication, animation and social media.”

In other words, the reunion was bashert – a Yiddish term for intended or destiny, particularly when finding one’s soulmate – in this case referring to the beloved bond developing between grandfather and grandson, instead of the traditional romantic one.

Hal Linden’s Jewish background informs much of his performance. Having anglicized his name from Harold Lipshitz, he and his wife of 52 years (who has since passed away) went on to raise a large, happy family, which has now expanded to eight grandchildren, allowing him to easily assimilate into his role of Grandpa Samuel.

“I have a terrific relationship with all my grandchildren,” says Linden. “Some are outgoing and loving, some are serious and respectful. I have eight different relationships with each different grandchild.”

Growing up in the Bronx, Linden was cheated out of a long-lasting mentorship of an ancestral generation as he only knew one grandparent, who died when Hal was only 8. Still, that relationship, though short-lived, afforded him another frame of reference for his current grandfatherly role. Linden vividly remembers the precious time he spent with his grandpa on the train as they commuted to Hal’s music lessons. When asked for more

memories he’s accessing to perform this role, the actor gets reflective and Gestaltish.

“You are the product of the sum total of your experiences,” he says thoughtfully. “You draw on all those experiences for all your acting roles. Real life, imagination, but even the latter is colored by your experiences.”

The formative years of Linden’s life shaped his value systems, and cemented his devotion to Judaism. His Lithuanian father, along with seven siblings (leaving behind his mother and eldest sister) escaped a czarist regime during the first decade of the 20th century. Some of the siblings immigrated to America, including Linden’s father, others to South Africa, while the mother and sister presumably perished in the Holocaust. Linden became acutely aware of the seriousness of the Jewish persecution during the war.

“The defining moment” in the teen’s life that made him follow in his father’s Zionist footsteps was the behavior of the British following World War II. Despite Lord Balfour’s vision and hope that Palestine would become the Jewish homeland, the British strictly limited the immigration of Displaced Persons who had survived the Holocaust into the mandated territory. For more than 20 years Linden has been a spokesperson for the Jewish National Fund. The sum total of all of this makes Hal Linden a natural in the Jewish role of Samuel Bergman, “a grandfather who has learned that the only way he can communicate with his grandson is through the youth’s art.

“Sometimes art is more eloquent than words, and can bridge gaps that words can’t,” says Linden.

The seasoned actor who humbly confesses, “the older I get, the more I am aware of what I don’t know,” is hopeful that “The Samuel Project” will be a success. “If it works,” jokes Linden, “this might be the first Holocaust comedy.”

Since there are so many variables that need to meld together to create a hit, Linden acknowledges he can only do his level best to authentically portray his character.

Holding up his own end as Linden’s co-star is Ryan Ochoa, a San Diego native playing the role of aspiring artist and alienated teenager, Eli Bergman. This marks an important transitional role for the 21-year-old who is maturing out of the juvenile parts of his past that include Chuck Chambers in Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom “iCarly,” Lanny on Disney’s “Pair of Kings,” and an array of characters in Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey.

“Hal set the bar high from day one,” says

the emerging actor, who is honored to be cast opposite Linden. Despite the 65-year age gap, the actors seem to have several threads that bond them in their roles, such as their eclectic acting experiences and family backgrounds.

When asked on what level they found particular commonality, Ochoa mentions Linden’s openness to contemporary music, like the “hip-hop hype” that he and his three brothers compose for their band called “The Ochoa Boyz.”

It is a mix of dance and rap, “so different from the music Hal knows, but still lets us connect in an interesting and fun way.”

Hal and Ryan also share a Jewish bloodline, although one that has been diluted in the latter’s case. Ryan considers himself a “mutt” – a unique blend of Mexican, Italian, Irish, Pilipino, and Russian Jewish ancestries.

The young actor inherited the Jewish DNA

– it’s filmed in San Diego, marking the filmmaker’s first foray shooting south of the 405.

Although only 120 miles from Hollywood, our serene town by the sea has not been a magnet for film activity, which in turn makes it difficult to gather an experienced crew.

“However, on this particular project, the crew found me,” says Deverett. “The producers, Steve Weinberger and Rebecca Reyes needed help with financing and distribution for ‘The Samuel Project,’ heard about my background, and approached me for assistance.”

Deverett liked the project, and agreed to come on board to help make and sell the movie. Weinberger and Reyes had already assembled a talented cast and crew, and Deverett was thrilled to discover that filmmakers of this caliber existed in our piece of paradise.

He then started rattling off the many perks for choosing San Diego over Los Angeles as a production venue, including its friendly and welcoming atmosphere, reduced congestion, greater ease of accessing locations, and a less competitive environment for equipment, crew, and other services – all enticing to independent producers and smaller productions.

LEFT PAGE: San Diego native Ryan Ochoa co-stars opposite “Now that I have Hal Linden in a forthcoming indie flick filmed in San Diego. discovered the filmRIGHT PAGE: Producer Steve Weinberger and Executive making culture of Producer Jeff Deverett on set at San Diego Jewish Academy.

San Diego, I am excited about the prospect of shooting from his great-grandfather, giving him a con- many more independent feature films here,” duit into the psyche, culture, and idiosyncrat- says Deverett. “We are going to make San ic behaviors of that branch of his family tree. Diego a premiere destination for filmmakers “When our relatives gather for holidays from around the world.”

For now, watch for the promos of “The and celebrations,” Ochoa says, “we eat a lot of Mexican and Jewish food, and share both Samuel Project” this fall. Spoiler Alert: Like cultures, stories and memories,” which has most Jewish themes, this movie has a healthy allowed him to immerse into the role of Eli dose of guilt, suffering, humor, and – of with a certain degree of credibility. “I want to course – food; and while I was told that the be a pro,” he continues, “and create the best ending is sweet, I have a feeling it won’t be product for all of us. It’s a team effort that too schmaltzy. A Hal and I share.”

Catharine Kaufman is a nationally syndicated Head coach of the team, intrepid filmmak- food columnist who writes under the moniker er and executive producer of “The Samuel of “The Kitchen Shrink,” and also a journalist, Project,” Jeff Deverett has a reputation for author, and recovering attorney. making movies with inspiring messages. This one fits his M.O. on all counts except one Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 45

COVER STORY

Three weeks into her role as CEO of San Diego’s Jewish Community Foundation, Beth Sirull sat down with the San Diego Jewish Journal to talk about where she came from, what she’s looking forward to accomplishing here, and the Jewish values that underline her passion for the new job. This conversation has been edited for space.

SDJJ: What attracted you to this position at JCF? BETH SIRULL: A couple things. On a personal level I was really at a place in life where I wanted a new challenge and a new adventure.

I wanted to lead one more organization to a new great place. And I have a really strong Jewish identity. I’ve never worked in the Jewish community before but I was very attracted to that.

The Foundation has a 50-year history that is remarkable, not just in the numbers. We have facilitated over a billion dollars in grants, most of which have stayed in San Diego and a good chunk of which have stayed in the San Diego Jewish community. And that’s a remarkable foundation on which to have the opportunity to build new and to take to the next level. That was really attractive.

Again also on a personal level, I think my own expression of Jewish identity is evolving and this is a new way for me to express my commitment to the Jewish community.

One of the other things that attracted me is that because our donors are interested in every cause imaginable, I get to be engaged in hunger, education, Jewish things, issues in the developing world, social justice. There’s no social issue that we don’t touch and that’s very appealing. You feel like you’re making a difference in a big fat way in the world.

SDJJ: What were you up to in the year between heading Pacific Community Ventures and coming to JCF? SIRULL: The plan was intentionally to take some time off. I had been at PCV for 10 years and I had been the CEO for six of them and I just needed a break. So I hired my successor and on-boarded her. I was planning to take six months off and then I figured it would take me six months to figure out what I was going to do next, and then my father-in-law and my mom died pretty close together so I did some family stuff. Then last summer I was like ok, I’m ready, it’s time. So I really started looking July or August in 2016 and it took a little under six months because I had this offer end of December, early January.

46 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

Links in the Chain INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY NATALIE JACOBS

SDJJ: Was there any concern about reentry?

SIRULL: Not really. I was really ready. It was 18 months and it was time. I’m an active, engaged, busy, get-a-lot-done kind of person. I did need a break. Six of those months I really did nothing. I baked challah – I perfected my challah. I was home for my son’s junior year of high school and it was really perfect.

SDJJ: So your son is a senior now? Did he stay in the Bay Area?

SIRULL: He’s in Oakland with my husband and he graduates June 11. So I’m going back and forth right now for most weekends. Then he’ll graduate and go do his thing. Then my husband and I will get serious about figuring out where we’re going to live. It will settle down into a more normal existence over the summer.

SDJJ: So how have your first three weeks been?

SIRULL: Awesome. I’m really happy to be here. I feel like it’s a good fit – every member of the staff is vibrant and lovely and dedicated, fun, warm. Our donors, our Board and some other people in the community that I’ve met so far are very welcoming. I’m mostly meeting people and listening, hearing from the staff what’s working, what they’d like to do and what their hopes and dreams are, hearing from the board about where they’d like to see the Foundation in the next few years.

Increasingly with younger donors, they’re interested in values-aligned investing, they’re interested in putting money into a company whose business plan does good in the world, so we’re looking at innovative ways to do that.

SDJJ: Is that something that you’re bringing to JCF or has that been in the works?

SIRULL: The Jewish values pool has been in the works for a while, but I do think that part of why I was hired was my knowledge of impact investing and socially responsible investing and ways to engage people in social enterprise.

We’re trying to give our donors more ways to be impactful because in the end, our mission is to engage people and inspire people to be as impactful with their giving as they possibly can be on the causes that they care about.

SDJJ: I know JCF is marking a big anniversary this year. Do you all know how you’re celebrating it?

SDJJ: What do you consider your main responsibility at JCF? SIRULL: I’ve been joking with people that my job, as any CEO’s job, is to hire the right people, set a direction and some goals and a vision and then to get out of their way so they can do their job. The core objective over the next few years is to engage with the next generation, which is true of Jewish Community Foundations around the country – donors are getting older and younger donors are not tending to come to Jewish Community Foundations, so we’re looking to be innovative in the kinds of products and services that we offer to engage younger philanthropists. Some of that has to do with impact investing, social enterprise and what’s called venture philanthropy – capitalizing on some of the trends in philanthropy and social change that would appeal to the 20s, 30s, 40s and early 50s.

SDJJ: Is that a change in how you talk about what you do or is that an actual change in what you offer?

SIRULL: It’s a little bit of both. We’re introducing this summer a Jewish values investment pool. It has the same financial risk-return characteristics as a mainstream portfolio but it has a little more of Israel in it, it takes into account environmental issues. So it has mutual funds and equity stocks of companies that are particularly socially responsible. It’s a values-aligned way to invest your money.

That’s a change, it’s a shift in what we’ve done.

SIRULL: We’ll be having an event in November. This is a 50th anniversary year and we’ll be having lots of programs throughout the year, culminating and highlighting a signature event of appreciation and honoring our past presidents. The entire community will be invited and included and we look forward to everybody joining us – celebrating our past, inspiring our future.

SDJJ: You mentioned a focus on engaging the next generation. What’s the target age for that?

SIRULL: It’s actually a couple generations. We have the teen foundation. Then there are Gen X-ers 35-50. Then there are Millennials who may not have made their fortunes yet, but everybody can give and everybody can be impactful with their giving.

The other piece of that is that over the next 10 years in the United States there are $4 trillion of wealth that will be inherited from one generation to the next. That’s a lot of philanthropic capacity. The parents have been very philanthropic and if we don’t engage the younger generation that’s inheriting this money, we will not have the vibrant San Diego that we have now.

One of the main opportunities that we have too is to engage with the generation of donors who are going to be involved in that wealth transfer to ensure that they include charitable planning as part of their transfer. Not only considering their heirs which is super important but to consider adding some charitable enterprises locally, internationally, Jewishly, wherever they choose.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 47

PHOTOS COURTESY JCF

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In her first public appearance as head of JCF, Beth Sirull welcomed legacy donors to an exclusive event at the San Diego History Center.

SDJJ: What do you think has been the biggest shift in philanthropy in the last 50 years?

SIRULL: Statistically, the trends in philanthropy are that people want to be more involved in the organizations where they make donations. They want to see the impact of what they give. And increasingly in younger generations they want to see new ideas – a new approach to solving hunger or engaging young Jews with Judaism, or domestic violence. You’re talking about people who have grown up in an incredibly innovative time.

SDJJ: What do you see as society’s most pressing problem today?

SIRULL: If we go beyond the obvious things like hunger and global poverty, for me, the biggest issue facing American society is civic divisiveness and the lack of dialogue across communities – civically, economically and socially there is a certain segregation and isolation that has occurred in the United States in the last generation. We’re very isolated and we only talk to people we agree with. In my mind, there is a lack of civic discourse and a lack of a commitment to consensus.

The most pressing issue Jewishly, we see a declining rate of identifying as Jewish. Not just synagogue affiliation. For me, part of the appeal of being in this Jewish community and in this position, I want every Jew on the planet to identify Jewishly and to care about being Jewish. How they express that Jewish identity, as far as I’m concerned, it’s completely up to them. But it pains me when I see people who don’t care.

When my son was born 17 and a half years ago, my husband and I made a commitment that the links in the chain of Jewish life that were six thousand years old would not break on our watch. G-d willing we achieved that.

Taking this job for me was enlarging and making that commitment to that chain, to the links in that chain that they would not break on my watch, not just with my kid but globally. This is my opportunity to really work to insure that the links don’t break. A

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CHARITABLE GIVING

Why Jewish Organizations Have a Retention Problem A N D

H O W

T O

S O L V E

I T

BY NATALIE JACOBS

PHOTO BY AARON TRUAX

T

here are an estimated 10,000 Jewish organizations operating in the United States and Canada that employ about 80,000 people. This is according to JPRO, the Jewish professional network that has 15 local chapters throughout North America, including a two-year-old group in San Diego. Their goal is to create professional development and networking opportunities for professionals working in the Jewish nonprofit sector.

“If we can help people who are early in their career expand the diversity of their network, it would be helpful for all kinds of things that would buoy the sector,” says Ilana Aisen, JPRO’s freshly minted executive director from her homebase in Toronto, Canada. She says the scale of the sector, when looked at from the lens of North America broadly, offers opportunities to invest in professional development that isn’t usually seen at individual nonprofits.

“It’s hard to invest in professional development one synagogue at a time,” Aisen says, “but if you add it all up and there are 500 or 1,000 people employed in that community, all of a sudden you can do great stuff.”

As with all sectors, the nonprofit workforce is aging. The Jewish Funders Network estimates that 75-90 percent of Jewish nonprofit CEOs plan to retire in the next 5-7 years.

Look to other stories in just this magazine alone – San Diego’s Jewish organizations are already experiencing this. Aside from the top positions, research on the nonprofit sector as a whole (not just Jewish) from the National Center for Charitable Statistics finds that 80,000 new senior managers may be needed at nonprofits imminently.

Foreseeing these workforce shifts, San Diego Jewish organizations got interested in starting up a local JPRO chapter. Marjory Ka-

plan, then CEO of Jewish Community Foundation, and Michael Sonduck, who will retire from Jewish Federation of San Diego next year, tapped Kara Jennings to spearhead the

TOP L-R: Jenny Camhi, Michael Sonduck, Kara Jennings.

BOTTOM L-R: Mara Hochberg-Miller, Dana Levin.

effort as part of her role as senior development manager at Federation.

Since then, the group has tried different ways to engage young Jewish professionals in San Diego. First it was breakfast events aimed at networking, but now it’s more about sharing job openings through the nationwide JPRO network, and offering opportunities for professional development. The idea is to give Jewish communal workers more reasons to stay in Jewish communal work.

“People feel that in order to grow in their careers they need to get out of this sector and go to another nonprofit and then come back.” That creates a pipeline problem, says Jennings, née Liederman, for senior level positions. “So the idea is how do you keep things competitive within our sector so that we have the next generation of leadership?”

That problem is called attrition and it can come from a variety of factors. A main one,

offers Jennings, is burnout.

“You are wearing many different hats in the nonprofit world and you have to carry out things that are great,” but are sometimes at a scale larger than the staff and resources available, she says.

Jennings herself has worked backward from the attrition trend. She started her career in personal banking in Chicago where she says she learned how to have tough conversations about money, which is helpful for her current job as a fundraiser. But in nonprofits, the emphasis is on long-term relationship building.

The scope for large gifts, in her case, is three to five years.

“When you keep having attrition and you keep having employees coming in and out, you’re not getting that three- to five-year relationship-building that you need in order to, sometimes, get a really large gift,” she says.

“That hurts the organization as well.”

For nonprofit fundraisers, there is the Association of Fundraising Professionals that offers networking and professional development.

But Jennings says that membership is costly and events come at a steep price too. JPRO San Diego, by contrast, costs very little, often nothing at all. Their ability to do that comes from tzedakah on the other end – professionals from outside the Jewish communal sector donate their time to workshops for the group.

One highlight for Jennings was an event with Pat Libby, creator of the nonprofit MBA program at the University of San Diego.

“She’s Jewish,” Jennings says, “[and] she wanted to give back to the community and share all the things that she teaches people at a master’s level.”

JPRO San Diego also hosted the CEO of Scripps Hospital to talk about how he flipped the organizational and management structure Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 51

of his hospital from vertical to a horizontal system that has proven to empower individual managers and create operational efficiencies within the hospital.

“Our end goal,” says Jennings, “is to make sure that the Jewish community is benefitted by having strong Jewish professionals who stay here.”

Glenda Sacks Jaffe is a local Jewish professional who bucks the attrition trend too. She has been with Hillel of San Diego for 10 years, after spending 11 years with Federation. In that time, she says she’s experienced a shift in what it means to work for a Jewish nonprofit.

“Now there’s a feeling of being a Jewish professional versus I just work for a Jewish organization. ... I don’t know if it’s just my perception or if it’s real, but I feel that there’s more pride and more recognition.”

Even with her years working within the Jewish community, she is energized by her involvement in JPRO. Meeting people from other organizations, she says, “makes you feel proud of what you do.”

Sacks Jaffe is a regular at JPRO events, which are now happening quarterly, and a few months ago the group gave her an extra

That problem is called attrition and it can come from a variety of factors. A main one, offers Jennings, is burnout. opportunity to participate in an education course offered through the Shalom Hartman Institute. It’s a text study program led by Rabbi Philip Graubart, formerly of Congregation Beth El, about Israel. For Sacks Jaffe, who is in the throes of launching a new Hillel at USD, it’s an invaluable learning experience. Her job puts her at what many consider the frontlines of anti-Semitism today. Learning about Israel in this way, she says, helps her to answer questions from Hillel donors who insist the group should be doing more to combat anti-Israel efforts on college campuses, and the students who find themselves in dorms and study groups with people who are spreading controversial ideologies but still need to be interacted with on a daily basis.

“It’s a very delicate balance of our opinion and that of the students of that year,” she says of the challenges her organization faces.

“That’s why the more knowledgeable we are, the better we can represent the organization publicly.”

This aligns with what Aisen is focusing on for the JPRO group at large. She says there’s an interest in a range of education topics from

“Judaism 101” to opportunities for deeper Jewish learning.

“I’m hearing from a passionate and large minority of people who say ‘I want opportunities to deepen my Jewish learning. I sometimes feel a bit of a fraud because I’m supposed to be leading Jewish learning and I don’t feel knowledgeable enough.’”

While Jewish nonprofits focus time and money on serving their constituents, opportunities to invest in their employees are often left off the table.

For Sacks Jaffe, professional development is important “so that you can do your job better.”

Spend any time with the Jewish organizations in San Diego and you’ll likely hear that they’re already good at breaking down “siloes” and collaborating on all sorts of programs and initiatives. Jennings sees JPRO as “a microcosm of what’s happening with the CEOs throughout all the agencies.

“It’s just inspiring to work here,” she continues. “It’s not competitive, it’s [about] how do we make everything better and be more efficient?” A

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CHARITABLE GIVING

How to Make Giving More Social Leichtag begins giving circles initiative

BY BRIE STIMSON

I

t may have been a bit premature to start asking Jessica Kort about her giving circles initiative at Leichtag a month into her new job there. But the Journal was curious, as that term has been floating around the philanthropic world for some time, and it’s interesting that the Foundation is putting a leg in with Kort’s hire. The idea is to bring people together around a shared interest in chartiable causes to amplify efforts.

“Giving circles are not new, certainly,” Kort explains. “We have a number of more established institutionalized giving circles in San Diego – one in the Jewish community we know about is the Jewish Women’s Foundation and we’re just thinking that it would be a real opportunity to give folks … grassroots gathering spaces to give back together with the support of Leichtag Foundation.”

The Foundation convened several focus groups just over three years ago to find out what the local Jewish community wanted to see happening through the organization’s grants but also at its physical space in Encinitas, where the Hub houses a co-working space for Jewish professionals and the Coastal Roots Farm is a hotbed of environmental experimentation.

“A lot of the sentiments were around seeking connectedness, finding concrete ways to build social networks really in terms of a place – a specific location – as well as just sort of how to meet people around the region. They also expressed a deep passion for where they live and wanting to give back to the community, finding ways to get involved, raise our voices together and truly 54 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

make an impact,” Kort explains.

The Foundation, through this new initiative, plans to train people in how to run giving circles, helping to facilitate the conversation around what the circle should focus their efforts on, how to research and understand the nonprofit sector and local community needs.

“That’s essentially what we’re hoping to do and give a lot more people an opportunity to … see the power of giving a modest amount as an individual, but as a collective how much more impact that really can make in a community.”

A giving circle, for the uninitiated, is a group of people who come together to pool their money for a collective cause. It may be a group that assembles based on their common interest in a cause, or it could be a group (a book club, a women’s group) that already meets and decides together on what to support financially.

“They can see their individual giving amplified or multiplied through a circle,” Kort explains. “[It] gives an immediate gratification. Maybe as an individual they commit to $100 a year, but maybe there are a dozen of them so all of a sudden they see it become $1,200 that they get to give away to nonprofits and that is very empowering and a learning experience in and of itself.”

Kort says she has a passion for collaboration and in her new job at Leichtag she is working to compile resources and local information for a toolkit the giving circles can use.

“I’m doing outreach to find people who

are interested in this opportunity and who want to learn more about it, who want to start an experience with their group of friends, whether it’s a one time gathering or maybe ‘my friends want to try this for a year’ or really start something a bit larger so that’s really my goal here,” she says. “It’s actually a really awesome opportunity, I think, to be able to network with our community and see what they care about and help them really channel their resources to lift up the solutions to those problems that they’re seeing in the community.”

The goal of the giving circles is two parts: first it helps the nonprofits and the groups who benefit from the nonprofits, of course, but the circles are also intended to be a way of connecting people to others in their community, helping them see more impact from their charitable giving and to be more in tune with what is happening in the community as a whole.

“Our existing four initiatives,” Kort adds, “are supporting self-sufficiency efforts, giving people tools to break the cycle of poverty especially in North County here, and the specific focus has been around accessing healthy food, advocacy around the food system and job development preparedness.”

To start, Kort is looking at existing groups like sports teams or friends who meet regularly for dinner dates or book clubs. Individuals are also welcome to get involved.

“We can work with any[one],” says Kort.

“We’re ready.” A

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 55

YOM HAATZMAUT

Changes to Israel Fest Seek to Keep Community Safe and Entertained for Ages to Come

This year's Israel Fest, like last year's pictured here, will be at the San Diego Jewish Academy.

56 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

ment. Chapman says planning usually takes a full year. The funds for Israel Fest are allocated in Federation’s annual budgets and they’ve never had to ask for public donations before, but to preempt any strain in future years, they will be suggesting donations for the first time this year.

“Because this is the single largest event for the Jewish community,” Chapman explains. “It’s the Federation’s investment in our community, but we do need a little bit of help making sure we can keep it going for years to come, so any dollars that we raise will help offset the costs.”

Another first this year is that registration is required – mainly for security reasons. People can register online or in person on the day of the festival.

“I think we tend to come together en masse more during times of crisis and this is a time to celebrate, so we want to remind ourselves that we have a lot to be thankful for and we have a lot to be happy for.”

Catch Israel Fest at the San Diego Jewish Academy on May 21 from 2:30-6:30 p.m. Register at jewishinsandiego.org.A

Don’t miss the county’s only celebration of Israel Independence Day

BY BRIE STIMSON PHOTOS COURTESY FEDERATION

“I

t’s Israel. We have to celebrate Israel,” says Melissa Chapman, chief development officer at Federation.

“It’s so inherently a part of who we are as a Jewish community and this is our one time of year to really do that together publicly ... all centered around Yom Haatzmaut.”

Chapman says the event will be similar in scale to 2016, which is relevant because in 2015, Federation opted out of the festival because it had become too expensive in its prior format. Last year, the Israel Fest Committee streamlined efforts and now they’re ready to keep the good times rolling.

Shanee Zamir, a popular soprano in Israel who sings both classical and pop songs, will headline. Other performances will include youth groups and Israeli dancing. Also similar to last year, there will be a kid zone and booths set up to showcase community organizations.

There will also be a ton of food, Chapman says.

The festival, which expects to draw 2,000 people this year, is a significant financial undertaking and time commit-

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 57

HEALTH

Making the Jewish Case

FOR EXERCISE Examining the false choice between studying Torah and working out

BY RABBI JACOB RUPP

I

was so overweight at some points in my life that it was difficult to breathe. “Don’t think about it like a size up, think about it as a suit that fits,” a Nordstrom salesperson once said to me. Yeah, well, even that suit didn’t fit – I ripped the seat when I wore it to my wedding.

Let’s face it, Jews are rarely associated with physical fitness (despite the interesting fact that a ton of gyms across the country are owned by Jews).

Eating (read: overeating) were hallmarks of my personal Jewish experience. I recall the tables of my youth stacked high with food. I also remember inhaling five bagels at a time with a slice of cheesecake and washing it down with a glass of Eggnog. At my heaviest, I was a size 44, 265 lbs. I’m 5’5”.

Running the mile in middle school and high school was akin to death. Thinking that I could ever be attractive to a girl was an intellectual paradox. I was the fun fat guy, and I tried to live it, embrace it. Win them with my personality. Then as a sophomore in high school I found the gym. I loved lifting weights. It was the one “sport” I felt I was good at. And like everything in my life, eventually I went to the extreme.

While studying in Israel, I became a closet health nut. I felt Judaism and health/heavy exercise didn’t coincide. Working out was the Greek, superficial world view. Worst was when Jews opted to spend time at the gym instead of studying. As a neophyte of Orthodox Judaism, the gym sounded sinful. The choice seemed to be: reject the body and health in 58 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

order to focus entirely on spirituality.

Over the course of my life I lost 100 lbs. By the time I hit my lowest weight I was already a rabbi. With the weight gone, all the effort I had invested in the gym started to pay off. I was so proud of how I looked. I was the ripped rabbi. I had become a coach to help others lose weight. But I felt bad telling my clients I was a rabbi because in a way, I felt I wasn’t being true to my Jewish roots by being invested in health. And I would never tell

told his students he was going to perform a mitzvah, and then went to the bathhouse to cleanse himself. When his students asked him if bathing himself was a mitzvah he said of course! If a king would build a statue in the public square, someone would be appointed to keep it clean. All the moreso we, built in G-d’s image, have a responsibility to keep ourselves clean and healthy. R’ Moshe Feinstein, a great contemporary legal authority, wrote that despite the prohibition of caus-

Not only is it required for spirituality (in that you have to be alive to perform mitzvot) but it is itself a mitzvah if done for the right purposes. my Orthodox community how much time I put in at the gym, how I loved bodybuilding, and how I didn’t just work out for health, I worked out to look good.

The more I studied, the more I saw that health and keeping oneself healthy was not only not bad, it was required. Maimonides writes that having a healthy body and being emotionally balanced is itself enough to be considered righteous, and become capable of elevated thinking. Countless sources in the Bible tell us to protect our lives, and to keep away from danger. Our bodies are actually the vessel for which we can serve G-d.

I learned being physically healthy is a spiritual activity. Not only is it required for spirituality (in that you have to be alive to perform mitzvot) but it is itself a mitzvah if done for the right purposes. The Talmud relates a famous episode in which Rabbi Hillel

ing yourself pain, it is permissible to suffer through the initial stages of a diet because of the long term effects, not only on one’s health, but one’s mental state as well as feeling and looking better.

As Jews we definitely don’t worship the body for the sake of its beauty. Rather, we are built in G-d’s image and as such must keep our bodies healthy. This means a healthy diet, eating the right amounts and kinds of food, and regular exercise.

On the flip side, the current culture that is obsessed with a certain kind of body creates other body-image issues that also don’t line up with Judaism. As Maimonides speaks about, people have to draw a balance. They must be healthy. Doing this for the sake of being the best version of ourselves is a massive step towards actualizing ourselves not just as people but as Jews. A

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FOOD Tori Avey is an award-winning food writer, recipe developer, and the creator of the popular cooking website toriavey.com.

She writes about food history for PBS Food and Parade.com. Follow Tori on Facebook by searching for “Tori Avey” and on Twitter: @toriavey.

in the kitchen WITH

TORI AVEY

PHOTOS BY TORI AVEY

IKWTA

60 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

APPLE DATE ROSE TARTS FILLING INGREDIENTS

¾ cup dates, pitted (about 12-13 dates) 6 tbsp hot water 1 ½ tbsp rosewater Heaping ¼ tsp cardamom ¼ tsp cinnamon Dash of salt

APPLE ROSE INGREDIENTS 2 fuji apples, or any colorful red-toned apple for baking 2 ½ cups apple juice ½ lemon, juiced Flour (for rolling out pastry) 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (choose a non-dairy pastry to keep this recipe dairy free) Powdered sugar (for garnish)

You will also need: muffin tin, nonstick cooking spray, blender, microwave safe bowl, rolling pin Yield: 6 tarts Total Time: 90 minutes Kosher Key: Pareve

INSTRUCTIONS:

Before getting started, be sure that you have thawed your puff pastry (it takes about 40 minutes at room temperature).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin lightly with nonstick spray and set aside.

To make the date filling: start by softening the dates in 6 tbsp of hot water for about 10 minutes.

Once the dates have softened, place them in a blender along with the soaking water and remaining filling ingredients.

Blend on low until you reach a jam-like consistency. Remove from blender and place in a bowl. Set aside.

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl combine the apple juice and lemon juice.

Cut the apples in half lengthwise (do not peel). Remove the core by carefully carving it out with a knife.

Place the flat side of the cut apple halves down, with the stem end facing to the side.

Slice the apple halves into very thin slices. Immediately transfer the slices to the bowl of apple and lemon juice to avoid any browning.

When you are finished slicing the apples, place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high for 3-5 minutes, or until the apple slices are soft enough to bend and roll without breaking. Alternatively you can cook them on the stovetop.

Lightly dust your countertop or flat sur-

face with a thin layer of flour, then roll out the puff pastry until you have a rectangle approximately 12x9 inches in size. Cut the dough into 6 even strips, about 2 inches wide and 9 inches long.

Spread a thin layer of the date filling – a scant tablespoon’s worth – on each strip of dough.

Drain the apple slices. Arrange the slices side-by-side with the flat edge against the filling on each strip of dough. The slices should overlap and peek out over the top edge of the dough just slightly.

Fold up the bottom edge of the dough, leaving the small parts of the apple slices that hang over the edge uncovered. Starting at one end, carefully roll the dough, making sure the apple slices are kept in place. You may need to gently tuck the slices down into the dough as you roll.

Once you reach the end of the roll, seal the edge gently by pressing with your fingers.

Place the final product into your lightly greased muffin tin. Repeat for the remaining roses. Cover with tin foil or parchment and bake for about 45 minutes, or until they are completely cooked through the center (you will need to check the very center to make sure it is not doughy).

Sprinkle the tops of the roses with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm or store in an airtight container once cool.

These can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but are best served fresh. A Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 61

Child Actors Learn About Bigotry in a Big Way J*Company takes on “Ragtime, School Edition” with diverse cast and homework

W

BY PAT LAUNER

W

hat’s the best way to teach young people about bigotry, intolerance and racism? According to J*Company artistic director Joey Landwehr, musical theater does the trick.

As he approached the 25th anniversary of the youth theater company in residence at the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla, Landwehr thought that “Ragtime, School Edition” would be a perfect vehicle for life lessons. There’s an educational component to every J*Company production, and this one provides especially fertile ground for learning.

62 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

Based on the superb, award-winning 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, “Ragtime” brilliantly combines fictional and historical characters to present a sharp-edged microcosm of America. Doctorow focused on three parallel groups in early 20th century New York.

We meet wealthy WASP suburbanites in New Rochelle, specifically, Mother and her family, whose quiet complacence is severely jolted by interacting with an African American in Harlem: the imaginative, innovative ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. And then there are the Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh who, having

brought his young daughter from Latvia, tries to make a better life using his artistic skills.

How their lives intertwine is the beauty (and tragedy) of the story, which also features Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington and anarchist Emma Goldman.

It’s a rich, complex, heartbreaking and ultimately heart-warming tale, in which racist utterances and acts result in violence and death; and kindness and compassion lead to unexpected alliances and blended families.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1998

PHOTOS BY AARON HUNIU PHOTOGRAPHY

THEATER

BACK ROW, L-R: Zoe Goldstein, Micah Goold; FRONT ROW: Brendan Dallaire, Adira Rosen, Katie Ditter, Mikel Lemoine, Natasha Segui.

and ran for two years, garnering 13 Tony nominations and winning four awards, including Best Original Score (by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens) and Best Book (by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally).

The 1981 film was a poor, misguided shadow of the novel, but the musical beautifully captures the book’s essence – and its many Jewish characters (the Bronx-born Doctorow himself, who died in 2015, was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants) from Goldman to Houdini to the fictional Tateh.

The staunchly anti-Semitic Henry Ford also makes an appearance. And racist Irish firemen set off a horrible sequence of events that turns Coalhouse from a loving music-maker to an angry, vengeful criminal.

The School Edition, according to Landwehr, is “not much different from the original. A little truncated for time, with a decrease in some of the dance numbers. But it’s not dumbed down at all. All the content and scenes are included. It’s as intense as the original.”

As part of his educational approach to the piece, Joey made it clear from the outset that the rehearsal hall was to be a “safe space.”

“In this room,” he told his cast of 53 (small by J*Company standards), “we are tolerant of every race. We are slinging racial slurs and derogatory terms in this show, but they’re not directed toward any actor. Even though you’re calling people horrible, slanderous names, they need to know you love them.”

Joey has a highly diverse cast to work with.

He had to initiate “significant outreach to schools in different areas” to fill the needs of the production. Still, not enough African Americans came out for auditions, so there are “lots of different colors” in the group, he admits, including Asian and Latino students.

Joey has required the cast to research the

historical characters and participate in breakout discussions about the details of the lives of Jewish immigrants, Harlem residents and the rich white folks who kept their distance from those unlike themselves.

Every performer had to create an intricate, 12-page report on their character.

“They need to imagine everything from their favorite color to the kind of shoes they wear,” explains Joey. “They have to research either the real historical figure, or what a fictional character would be like in that period.”

His character analysis questions require the students to investigate or imagine, about the person’s posture habits and hobbies, favorite sayings, state of health, educational and family background, religious beliefs and harbored secrets.

For his production, Joey has slightly re-conceptualized the piece, approaching it as a group of players who happen to be putting on the musical “Ragtime.”

“Everyone is always onstage,” he explains.

“They separate into the disparate groups as the show starts and come back together at the end. We’re not making any dialogue changes.

Just making it approachable and safe.

“In the very beginning,” Joey continues, “before the overture, you see them all in halflight, so you don’t know what race they are.

When we shed light, the audience sees the details and is likely to immediately make a judgment call. But if you break us down into electrons and protons, we’re all exactly the same.

“People are scared sometimes to challenge kids in this way,” Joey asserts. “But if you build it, they’ll step up to the plate. They grab the gauntlet and take up the challenge.”

This is one of the J*Company productions for older students, ages 10-19. Most in this cast are older than 13.

It’s a rich, complex, heartbreaking and ultimately heartwarming tale, in which racist utterances and acts result in violence and death; and kindness and compassion lead to unexpected alliances and blended families.

“I feel it’s part of my job to make sure they understand the history,” says Joey. “That Emma Goldman was fighting for women’s rights and workers’ rights. That Houdini was one of the most famous immigrants in America in 1906. That Booker T. Washington was talking about civil rights and African American equality long before Martin Luther King.”

Joey sometimes takes certain risks in casting. This time, Tateh is being played as Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 63

what’s called a “pants role” or “trousers role.”

That means that a female is playing a male character.

“It’s not what I was thinking,” says Joey. “I try not to pre-cast. And if Adira Rosen hadn’t auditioned, it would never have crossed my mind. But her acting is supreme. She will bring such beauty to that role.”

Mother will be played by Zoe Goldstein. Mother’s life repeatedly intersects with Tateh’s, and, says Joey, “the two young women already have a beautiful kinship and friendship.”

Coalhouse is portrayed by Mikel Lemoine, whose parents each have a Jewish mother and an African American father. Having appeared in many previous J*Company shows, he is, according to Joey, “a stunning performer.”

And Coalhouse’s main squeeze, Sarah, is enacted by Natasha Segui, who Joey says has “the best voice I’ve heard in 11 years.”

Part of the outreach and education component at the J*Company is a Random Acts of Culture night, a program implemented two years ago. This is a free Thursday performance for underserved populations.

And on May 20, Joey is taking the entire cast to Southeast San Diego, to perform a concert version of the show at O’Farrell Charter School in Encanto.

Joey has loved this musical since he first saw it on Broadway. And he’s been wanting to direct it since he took over the job at J*Company in 2006.

“In some ways,” he says, “this is the perfect time for this show, because of what’s happening in our nation right now. It’s important for us to remember that if we don’t understand and appreciate our history, we’re doomed to repeat it. ‘Ragtime’ does that brilliantly.

“In some ways, this show paints a version of America we don’t like to think about. But it paints without ripping America apart.

From the very first chords, the hairs on your skin rise.

“We are slinging racial slurs and derogatory terms in this show, but they’re not directed toward any actor.

Even though you’re calling people horrible, slanderous names, they need to know you love them.”

“One of my favorite parts of the show is how it all comes together at the end,” Landwehr continues. “This is the real America; an immigrant makes it big. A wealthy woman adopts an African American child and marries a Jewish immigrant. It doesn’t matter who you were. You can choose to create your own family, your own America.

He says that from this show, students are learning that it’s important to support every minority, and that theater arts has always

been on the vanguard of that effort.

“We’re the first ones to reach over the divide – and we should be. Arts are the catalyst. Politicians keep cutting the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts], but we’re still here. We have a voice, and we need to use it.”

This summer, J*Company continues its third year of the Raw Reading series, onenight concert-style performances of big musicals.

They’ll start with Stephen Sondheim’s marvelous and complex “Sunday in the Park with George” (June 22), then offer the annual Mystery Flavor (“the kids don’t know what they’re auditioning for”) on July 13. That show will be followed by “Tick, Tick…

Boom!” by Jonathan Larson (creator of “Rent”).

This year’s Alumni Parent Show will be “Chess,” written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, (8/6). This one-night-only presentation will feature former J*Company students and alums and the parents of participants past and present. The whole production is put together in just 48 hours; the other Raw Readings have only one week of prep time.

For J*Company’s 25th anniversary season, Joey says he’s “pulling out all the stops.” His huge undertakings, beginning in the fall, include “The Lion King,” Les Miz,” “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” and, for the older students, “Hairspray.”

It’s going to be quite a year. But right now, all the focus is on the magnificent, deep, thought-provoking “Ragtime.”

“If this show doesn’t touch you,” says beloved director Joey Landwehr, “you just don’t have a soul.” A “Ragtime, School Edition” runs at the Lawrence Family JCC Garfield Theatre in La Jolla May 12-21. Tickets and information at (858) 362-1348 or lfjcc.org.

SD Rep Announces 24th Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival Lineup

T

his year’s Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival runs May 21 through July 9. Increasingly, this festival has become a fertile work space for Jewish artists to experiment with new projects. The San Diego Jewish Journal and theater writer Pat Launer will explore that legacy in next month’s Arts Issue. But since the performances start in late May, here is a run-down of the lineup for planning purposes. Tickets are available through sdcjc.org unless otherwise noted.

“The Clarion Call of the Clarinet”

Alexander Gourevish May 21, 2 p.m. at the Encinitas Library Klezmer program of Jewish, Yiddish and Israeli songs.

Free and open to the public.

64 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

“Andrew Viterbi: Reflections of an Educator, Researcher and Entrepreneur”

May 23, 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth El Dr. Andrew Viterbi in conversation with his granddaughter Ali Viterbi and phsyics progessor Dr. Brian Keating. Cost is $18.

“Women of Valor”

Written by Rebecca Myers, Sarah Price-Keating, Leah Salovey, Todd Salovey and Ali Viterbi May 25, 7:30 p.m. in the Lyceum Space and May 28, 2 p.m. at the Encinitas Library Honoring Pauline Sonboleh, Joyce Axelrod, Councilperson Barbara Bry, Rose Schindler and Marcia Tatz-Wollner. Cost for performance in the Lyceum Space is $18; performance at Encinitas Library is free.

“Minor Fall, Major Lift”

Produced by Malashock Dance and Art of Elan June 3, 8:45 p.m. on the Lyceum Stage Bi-coastal collaboration of live music and dance featuring new choreography from John Malashock. Cost is $50 preffered seating, $35 general admission, $15 for students.

“Asimov: The Last Question”

Written by and starring Herbert Siguenza June 5, 7 p.m. in the Lyceum Space World premiere staged reading exploring the ideas of author Isaac Asimov. Cost is $12.

“Imagination Dead Imagine”

Text by Sameul Beckett, music and concept by Michael Roth June 7 and 8, 7:30 p.m. in the Lyceum Space An evening of musical theater with a celebrated composer. Cost is $18.

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Elizabeth Schwartz, Lisa Payton and Coral MacFarland Thuet June 14, 7:30 p.m. in the Lyceum Space An evening of Jewish, Latin and African American music about belief, change and empowerment. Cost is $12.

“The Wandering Feast”

Based on the memoir by Yale Strom, adapted by Todd Salovey and Yale Strom With live music, photos, video and stories, this world premiere staged reading explores Yale Strom’s personal journey from aspiring lawyer to celebrated klezmer musician. Free and open to the public.

“The Stories of Sholem Aleichem and More”

Hershey Felder and friends June 19, 7:30 p.m. on the Lyceum Stage A special Festival “sneak peek” at a brand new work from wildly popular performer, pianist and writer Hershey Felder. Tickets are $55, VIP is $180 and includes post-show reception with Felder.

“Challah Rising in the Desert”

By Isaac Artenstein July 6, 7:30 p.m. in the Lyceum Space From the filmmaker of “Tijuana Jews” comes a history of New Mexico’s unique Jewish community. Tickets are $15-25.

“For Honor”

Written and directed by Lee Sankowich July 9, 7:30 p.m. at the JCC, David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre World premiere staged reading of a docudrama about young heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Cost is $18 for jCC members and $20 for nonmembers. Purchase at sdcjc.org.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 65

? GOIN '?ON ??

WHAT'S

“Escape to Margaritaville” is a new musical with songs by Jimmy Buffett.

The show starts on May 9.

been labeled as “cabaret punk.” If you’re ready to immerse yourself in a world of Victorian steam-punk nightmares, you can head over to the Old Town Theatre May 18 through June 18. Rob Lutfy is directing this wildly eccentric musical.

PHOTO COURTESY ROUSTABOUTS

PHOTO COURTESY LJP

BY EILEEN SONDAK

La Jolla Playhouse

The La Jolla Playhouse will present the world premiere of a new muRuff Yeager and Kate Rose Reynolds in the world premiere of Will sical with songs by Jimmy Buffett. Aptly titled “Escape to MargariCooper’s “Margin of Error” running through May 7. taville,” the show is about a bartender/singer and his adventures in paradise. Buffett’s classic hits will be joined by some new songs writ- Roustabouts Theatre Company ten especially for the show. The musical will inhabit the Playhouse The Roustabouts Theatre Company launched its first season with the from May 9 through June 25. before going on to other stops (includ- world premiere of Will Cooper’s “Margin of Error.” This high voltage drama abounds with twists and turns to keep audiences enthralled. You ing its final destination, Broadway, in 2018). can see the show at the Lyceum Theatre through May 7.

Broadway-San Diego

Broadway-San Diego is ready to unwrap the touring production of “Jersey Boys,” a musical sensation that had its roots in La Jolla. This Tony Award-winning musical is about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons – one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most successful groups. The show will be ensconced at the Civic Theatre May 9-14.

The Old Globe Theatre

The Old Globe will deliver the West Coast premiere of “The Old Man and the Old Moon” on May 13. The plot of this clever work involves time and the tides, and is described as a “fable on which mythologies and religions are founded.” This fusion of theatrics and music will remain on the Globe’s Main Stage through June 18.

Meanwhile, the Globe’s White Stage continues to showcase “Skeleton Crew” through May 7. The play, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, takes place in 2008 in an auto plant in Detroit. The dramatic work explores a moral dilemma and has been described as “in the tradition of Arthur Miller” – high praise indeed!

Next on tap for the White Theatre is “The Imaginary Invalid,” a Moliere farce adapted by the Fiasco Theatre. This madcap romp (based on an enduring masterpiece) will keep audiences rolling in the aisles May 27 through June 25.

Lamb’s Players Theatre

The Lamb’s Players is presenting “Silent Sky” through May 28. The fascinating show, penned by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Robert Smyth, takes its inspiration from an early 20th century female astronomer who succeeded in the world of science, despite societal limitations and few opportunities for women in the field.

North Coast Repertory Theatre

North Coast Repertory Theatre is highlighting “Travels with My Aunt,” adapted from a story by Graham Greene. David Ellenstein directs this critically-acclaimed play about an eccentric aunt and her bourgeois nephew. Four actors take on more than 20 roles in this offbeat adventure, and it sounds like a trip worth taking. You can come along for the ride until May 7.

Next, NCR will follow that adventure with “The Spitfire Grill,” a musical that tells a heartfelt story of redemption and fortitude. The soaring score abounds with inspirational melodies, as the narrative unfolds in this all-American musical. You can tune into its charms May 31 through June 25.

Moxie Theatre

Moxie Theatre is ready to unmask a dark comedy about four tough women who lived and died during the French Revolution. WritCygnet Theatre is offering the West Coast regional premiere of ten by Lauren Gunderson, “The Revolutionists” will be on stage at “Shock Headed Peter,” a musical that is both silly and sinister, and has Moxie May 21 through June 18.

Cygnet Theatre

66 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

City Ballet

City Ballet will dance Elizabeth Wistrich’s one-act version of “Carmen” and Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” (a mix of fleet-footed athleticism and ethereal elegance) the weekend of May 12-14. The program will be performed with live music from the City Ballet Orchestra.

Malashock Dance

Malashock Dance will hold its First Annual Spring Gala – Art of Dance – on May 13 at The Abbey. The fundraising event, designed to explore art, dance, and community impact, will include a cocktail hour, and performances by the crackerjack modern dance troupe.

Museum of Contemporary Art

The downtown facility continues showing off “Jennifer Steinkamp: Madame Curie” – a digital video animation inspired by the artist’s research into atomic energy – through Aug. 27. “Dimensions of Black: A Collaboration with the San Diego African American Museum of Art” is on view downtown through next January.

Birch Aquarium

Birch Aquarium is featuring a new installation on light by scientist Michael Latz. You can also enjoy an exhibition that helps you understand Scripps’ expeditions to discover and protect the planet. “Expedition at Sea” immerses you in the experience by highlighting the sights and sounds of life and work aboard the Sally Ride research vessel.

San Diego Symphony It includes a 33-foot long projected triptych and hands-on learning The San Diego Symphony will perform Mahler’s “Symphony No. 3” opportunities.

May 5-7. Maestro Jahja Ling will conduct the orchestra, with mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford performing with the women of the San Fleet Science Center Diego Master Chorale and St. Paul’s Cathedral Choristers. Matthias The Fleet has two special exhibitions. “Sherlock Holmes and the Pintscher will be on the podium May 12-13 for “Spring and Summer,” Clocktower Mystery” is an interactive murder mystery that tests your a concert featuring works by Webern, Bartok, and Schumann. Pianist powers of observation and deductive reasoning, and “So Moved: The Art & Science of Motion” is a hands-on exhibit that explores moveKirill Gerstein will perform Bartok’s “Piano Concerto No. 3.”

Charles Dutoit will conduct a program that includes works by Rav- ment as presented by San Diego artists.

The newest IMAX film is “Dream Big: Engineering our World” el, Beethoven, and Stravinsky, along with Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 3” (performed by violinist Simone Porter May 19-21. Chucho – a first-of-its-kind film that will transform the way we think about Valdes, considered the pre-eminent Cuban jazz pianist in the world, engineering. “National Parks Adventure,” narrated by Robert Redwill perform at Symphony Hall May 21. “Brahms with Bronfman” is ford, takes us to the most stunning spots in the country, and “Extreme set for May 24, when the pianist will tackle the famous “Piano Quintet Weather” shows us something we rarely experience first-hand in San Diego. in F Minor.”

Jahja Ling will perform his final concerts with the San Diego Symphony May 26-28. The program will include Sibelius’ “Symphony TheNat No. 2 and Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2,” with Yefrim Bronfman The Natural History Museum is featuring “Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science.” Among the items on on the keyboard. view in this exhibition are rare books, art, and historical documents.

“Ultimate Dinosaurs” features dinosaurs from the Southern HemiLa Jolla Music Society La Jolla Music Society is featuring pianist Jeremy Denk at Sherwood sphere. They include many we have never seen or heard of before, Auditorium on May 12 to complete its 48th season. Denk’s program, based on new groundbreaking research.

“Medieval to Modern,” spans the history of Western music, with works by Bach, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Cage and other giants of the Mingei International Museum Mingei International Museum is showcasing fiber necklaces and other music world. jewelry by Sandy Swirnoff, through June 4. The exhibition includes

30 necklaces. Its newest exhibition, “Kanban: Traditional Shop Signs of Japan,” features a variety of forms and mediums.

San Diego Museum of Art The San Diego Museum of Art has two interesting exhibitions: “Richard Deacon: What You See is What You Get” and “Modern Japan: Timken Museum Prints from the Taisho Era.” The Deacon show is the first major The Timken Museum is featuring “Witness to War,” an exhibition survey of the artist’s work and includes 40 pieces. It will be on view highlighting the works of Goya, Bellows and Callot. This show, on through July 25. The Japanese exhibit encompasses work from 1912- view through May 28, puts the spotlight on the battlefield – from the 26 and includes some very rare prints. You have until Aug. 13 to check 17th through the 20th centuries. Timken has 30 notable Russian Icons on display. They include 12 never before exhibited. them out.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 67

news PHOTO COURTESY JEWISH FEDERATION FACEBOOK

San Diego Welcomes New Yiddish Arts Organization The Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) opened in San Diego last month with an event organized by a Jana Mazurkiewicz, a doctoral candidate in Yiddish theater at the University of Michigan. The association, founded here, is dedicated to promoting Yiddish language and culture through academic and artistic events.

“My organization’s goal is to make Yiddish culture hip, modern and interesting in order to bridge various generations over food, arts and scholarship,” Mazurkiewicz says in an online video about YAANA.

New San Diego Resident Seeks to Start Jewish Motorcycle Club

After the inaugural event, which featured a vegetarian dinner and Klezmer music, they screened a Yiddish movie called “Wooden Wars, or Anyone Can Be Jewish These Days.”

For information on future events go their website at sites.google.com/view/yaaana.

Steve Marion-Walker has recently settled in Encinitas from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was a member of the Northern California Jewish motorcycle club “Ridin’ Chai.” Marion-Walker now is seeking to start a San Diego chapter of the club.

“The motorcycle group is more of a social club, with motorcycles as the reason to get together,” Marion-Walker explained over email. “In Northern California we usually met to drink coffee, discuss politics, motorcycles and Jewish life. ...

It’s all about friendship and comaraderie.”

Marion-Walker needs at least five Jewish bikers to sign on in order to start the chapter, which is run in association with the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance. At press time, he had two Jewish bikers who had signed on. For more information, contact Steve Marion-Walker at steve@marion-walker.com or (415) 462-5548.

PHOTO BY LEETAL PHOTO

Comedian Joel Chasnoff headlined last year’s Showcase event with his special brand of Jewish comedy.

Save the Date for Showcase 2017 San Diego’s Federation will again host its NextGen gala, Showcase. The organization is currently looking for table captains, but few other details have been announced. Scheduled for June 10, contact Carly Ezell at carlye@jewishfedreationsandiego.org for details.

UCLA Receives Grant to Expand Jewish Music Archive The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is building on their archive of Jewish music thanks to a $1.5 million gift from the Lowell Milken Family Foundation. The gift establishes the Lowell Milken Fund for Jewish Music and will encompass recordings, scores and historical materials that represent the last 350 years of Jewish music in America. The archive, founded in 1990, includes 600 recordings by 200 composers and more than 800 hours of video.

“There has never been a concerted effort to significantly research or study American Jewish music,” Academic Director of the Fund Mark Kligman said. “With the establishment of this fund, Jewish music—and its history and development—will be given the attention it deserves as an integral part of the American music experience.”

The fund will also be used to contribute American Jewish music to university programs as well as concerts and symposia. American Culture and the Jewish Experience in Music, the Fund’s inaugural program, will be held in November.

68 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

PHOTO COURTESY ADOPT A FAMILY FOUNDATION

Meetings and Events Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein at (858) 521-8694 May 14, 10 a.m.

North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine at (760) 295-2564 May 18, 12:30 p.m.

Olivia Okovita, Veronique Benchimol, Carine Chitayat, Denis Charbit and Lia Charbit.

Adopt a Family Foundation Celebrates Successful Gala in Downtown

Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings May 14, 11 a.m.

Adopt a Family Foundation is celebrating a successful gala held at the Don Room of El Cortez, Downtown San Diego, on March 26. The evening was attended by more than 200 guests who came to support Israel and its victims of terror.

Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 May 18 and 25, 2 p.m.

Passwords and security on internet/ phones, $24.

The guests heard from Denis Charbit, professor and political scientist at Israel’s Open University and current visiting scholar at University of California, Irvine, speak about the phenomena of suicide attacks and their impact on Israeli society. Avi Bakal then gave an impassioned testimony of his beloved brother who died in a terror attack in January 2016. Liel Kolet, international singer and song writer provided the entertainment for the evening. Dan Cohen, CBS News 8 morning anchor, served as emcee.

JFS Balboa Ave. Older Adult Center Contact Aviva Saad (858) 550-5998 May 10, 10 a.m.

Mother’s day celebration.

The proceeds from the event will sponsor multiple projects that support victims of terror and children suffering from PTSD in Israel. For more information visit adoptafamilyfoundation.org.

United Way Hosts First Fundraiser for Childhood Education United Way’s first “Changing the Odds Community Breakfast” to support childhood education in underserved communities will take place on May 10 at the San Diego Convention Center. Liz Murray, author and Harvard graduate, will speak about how she overcame homelessness to achieve her academic goals. Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Sheriff Bill Gore and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis are a few of the local leaders who plan to be at the event. Videos made by two scholarship-winning students will be shown at the event. Tickets are $75. For tickets go to uwsd.org/breakfast.

On the Go Excursions Contact Jo Kessler (858) 637-7320 May 14, noon.

“Ragtime” performance by J*Company at the JCC La Jolla.

JFS No. County Inland Center at Adat Shalom Contact (858) 674-1123 May 22, 11 a.m.

Karaoke party and hot kosher lunch.

JFS College Avenue Center at Temple Emanu-El Contact Elissa Landsman (858) 637-3273 May 12, noon.

Mother’s day celebration with Classic Divas variety show.

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 69

“It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety”

BY NATALIE JACOBS

T

he opening scene of “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” is a dizzying display of what it’s like to have a panic attack. Thoughts shift from bad to worse, the room spins, and it’s hard to tell up from down. In the film, you can get through it because you know it will end soon (the simulation lasts a few seconds longer than this viewer thought was necessary, but maybe that’s the point). In real life, if you suffer from anxiety, there’s no telling when normalcy will prevail.

“It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” was directed and produced by Susan Polis Schutz who has been sporting blue hair since emerging from a deep “blue” depression in the late 90s. The film is a collaboration between local public broadcasting affiliate KPBS and American Public Television and premieres in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. This is Polis Schutz’s second documentary from KPBS, her first “Anyone and Everyone” explores how different families from various cultural and religious backgrounds deal with the news when a child comes out as gay.

Similarly, “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” asks a wide cross section of people who experience different aspects of this vast disorder to talk about their struggles and successes with the daily task of living with a mental illness. As “Anyone and Everyone” was precipitated by Polis Schutz’s own experinece as a mother when her son came out as gay, “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” may also come from the filmmaker’s desire to explore how other people handle something that she herself has experienced. As the intro scene suggests, the film focuses mostly on what it feels like to have anxiety, rather than the causes in any given person or any extensive history of the disorder as a whole.

“As an anxiety sufferer you are always thinking ahead to what’s next,” says Terri Jury the first time we meet her in the film.

70 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

A former Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, Terri talks about her fear of death and how that has caused her to request many unnecessary and, in some cases, potentially dangerous, procedures to test for everything from M.S. to stroke to cancer.

Terri is one of several San Diegans who are featured in the film.

A mix between reality television and self-help manual, “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” focuses on the often painful first-person memories of anxiety sufferers and offers some ways that they’ve been able to overcome the most debilitating aspects of their illness.

“OCD forces you to focus on the one-percent possibility that your world will be destroyed,” says Lori Daniels about her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which includes an anxiety component.

Schutz follows Daniels over a five-year period, from a peak point in her OCD where she wears latex gloves to the point when her illness is so under control that she’s able to give the filmmaker a hug.

Daniels hints that she didn’t always have OCD, but what caused her to develop the mental illness as an adult is left unmentioned, a disappointing omission.

In the opening scene, Schutz points out that 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders. While the film won’t answer all of your questions about what anxiety is and how it can manifest, “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” offers a deeply personal look into the lives of people you may never think suffered from a mental illness. In turn, mental illness may become a slightly less taboo topic. A “It’s ‘Just’ Anxiety” will run on Public Broadcasting Stations throughout the month. Check local listings for showtimes.

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 71

SYNAGOGUE

Congregation Beth Israel Puts on its Party Shoes Third annual fundraiser promises to be a good time for a good cause

BY BRIE STIMSON

C

ongregation Beth Israel, one of the historic centers of Jewish life in San Diego, is hosting its annaul fundraiser, this time dubbed “Eat, Pray, Sing” at the beginning of May. “Our Senior Rabbi Michael Burke likes to cook so ‘eat’ kind of is related to him, and our cantor obviously likes to sing so that kind of related to her and we are a synagogue so the pray part and Havdalah kind of tied in,” the congregation’s Development Director Meg Mandel explains of their annual fundraiser’s theme.

The congregation is celebrating two of their rabbis and their executive director for a combined 40 years of service at the temple. The annual fundraiser is in its third consecutive year, raising money to support their mission – to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for anyone who seeks a connection to Judaism “and we try to keep our doors open to all,” she says.

At more than 150 years old, the historic Reform congregation strives for inclusivity.

“We really aspire to help build connections for people in the Jewish community,” Mandel tells the Jewish Journal. “We have both spiritual enrichment and worship, lifelong learning, inclusivity and outreach.

72 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

We are really open to interfaith couples and families and we welcome members of every age, race, sexual orientation, background, lifestyle, situation, level of observance.

That’s very important to us.”

While the fundraiser does not target a specific program this year, “It supports the temple over all,” Mandel explains.

The synagogue strives to be seen as a caring congregation.

“We really try to acknowledge and engage our members at all stages of their lives and be compassionate during times of need and also to be available to help celebrate the happy things,” she adds. “We’ve got a big social action component.”

The event, on May 6, will feature the rousing music of Dueling Pianos, catering

by Guiseppe with an offering of signature cocktails, wine, beer, dinner and a dessert reception and a silent auction.

“I think first of all it’s going to be a very, very fun event,” Mandel says. “Our entertainment this year is interactive so I think that’s going to be really fun. The food … [is] going to be really delicious and Dan Cohen from CBS News 8 is the emcee for the evening.”

Rabbi Burke and Executive Director Les-

“We really try to acknowledge and engage our members at all stages of their lives and be compassionate during times of need and also to be available to help celebrate the happy things as well.” ley Mills have been at the temple for 10 years, while Rabbi Cantor Arlene Bernstein is celebrating 20 years with the congregation.

“It’s going to be really fun and we’re really thrilled to be honoring three such amazing people because they’ve been so important to our community,” Mandel says.

The event is open to the public. Tickets start at $90 and can be purchased at cbisd. org/programs/eatpraysing. A

PHOTO L-R: Rabbi Michael Berk, Cantor Rabbi Arlene Bernstein and Executive Director Lesley Mills.

SYNAGOGUE LIFE EDUCATION Twice Blessed – Experience of a Transgender Rabbi at Temple Isaiah May 7, 4 p.m.

332 West Alejo Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262 Rabbi Becky Silverstein will present. Call (760) 325-2281 for more information.

Survival of a Nation: Israel Through the Lens of the Six-Day War, Class with Chabad of East County May 9, 7 p.m.

7255 Navajo Road San Diego, CA 92119 The first class of a six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Go to jewishec.com for more information.

Family and Bnei Mitzvah Learners’ Shabbat at Ner Tamid May 20, 9:30 a.m.

12348 Casa Avenida, Poway, CA 92064 The rabbi will lead 6th and 7th graders in chanting Torah, teens in chanting Haftarah and other students will also help lead services. Call (858) 513-8330 for more information.

COMMUNITY A Night in Jerusalem Gala at Beth El May 6, 5:30 p.m.

8660 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 Celebrate Congregation Beth El’s 60th Anniversary by honoring six remarkable people who have made immeasurable contributions to the life of our Beth El community: Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Gloria and Rod Stone and Erna z”l and Andrew Viterbi. Call (858) 452-1734 for more information.

Temple Etz Rimon Sisterhood presents Lunafest, films about women’ issues May 10, 5:30 p.m.; Carlsbad Library (Dove), 1775 Dove Lane Featuring seven films. Find details on the films at lunafest.org. Cost is $18 in advance and $20 at the door. Call (760) 295-0606 or (760) 753-2102 for details and tickets.

Trip to the San Diego History Center with Kahal Am May 10, 10:30 a.m.

1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 The center has a new exhibition on the history of the San Diego Jewish community going back to the 19th century. Call (858) 549-3088 for more information.

Men’s Club 2nd Annual BBQ & Brew, Cornhole Too! at Beth Am May 21, 4 p.m.

5050 Del Mar Heights Road, San Diego, CA, 92130 There will be kosher food, craft brews and classic video games at the North County synagogue. Email dklaristenfeld@betham.com for more information.

*Interested in having your event featured?

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

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 73

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 75

ASK MARNIE

by Marnie Macauley

ADVICE asksadie@aol.com

Those Platinum Years One word: “Medicare.” Ok, a few more: “I’m starting to look like my mother.” It happens in an eye blink – one day you’re 25 ½ and the next, you’re buying yak placenta on Ebay and listening to one-hour infomercials about how to laser off the top layer of your upper lip. Aging ain’t always fun, but there are some ways we can all do it better. Let’s take a look.

MAMA CAN YOU HEAR ME? Dear Marnie: My mother is a widow, 84, lives alone 500 miles from me, has enough money to live on, and is alert and able to manage her finances. But she often tells me “Old age is hell.” I usually say, “It beats the alternative.” I make suggestions on how she can improve her life – like having one specific place for her house keys, or using a cane. But for her, it’s always “me against the world,” and she hates all my ideas. Any ideas on how to help her have a more positive outlook?

– Muted by Mama MARNIE SAYS: You’re marvelous. (Hey, somebody’s gotta say it.) You’ve refused to fall prey to the foulest form of living – misery. Great for you for having the courage to want more, expect more and challenge these old songs and dances. The only thing left is...quit thinking you can make mama give up her “sour” cream.

Assuming she’s been checked out by a pro for mental issues and she’s fine, I’d bet my yak youthenizer that mama’s been sending you similar messages since you were gumming Zwieback. Think on it.

Mama’s made it to 84 and she’s still kvetching! The lady may be harboring enough secret steel to repair the Parker Truss bridge.

Until you, and she, become un-done.

She’s not going to break into a chorus of “What a Wonderful World” at this stage. So 76 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

you’re the one who needs to change – your reactions and your expectations. For example: “It’s better than the alternative,” you say. OK, true. But mamala, in protecting you, you’re not hearing her. Replace it with: “Sounds AWFUL, ma. Just TERRIBLE for you!” Chances are, she’ll go from kvetching to Mother Courage. (Or something in-between.) Add, “Now, tell me exactly how I can help you?” Boom. *That said…keep an eye out. If her physical or mental condition deteriorates, you must step in with the right doctors and plan.

You see, you’ve made marvelous progress challenging negative beliefs and refusing to sucker-punch your own life with them.

Once you truly get who Ma is – and her real condition, now, and as it changes, without chewing your insides when she starts up, you can trust yourself to be the compassionate, savvy soul you are. You’ll not only accept what you can’t do – but offer what you can, without fearing you’ll be swallowed up into the abyss. This sort of wise loving is the legacy of you that you want to remember.

DON’T “DISCOUNT” FRIENDSHIP Dear Marnie: Recently, my wife and I invited a lovely couple to a nice buffet dinner as a thank you for a number of favors they had done for us. We’re all on a budget but we can afford a few dinners out a month.

Our age range is late fifties to middle sixties.

The restaurant offered a discount for seniors over 65. When the check came I asked for

the discount, but our friend (the woman) refused to verify her age (65), which cost us extra on the $70 bill. I was annoyed. When I told my wife, she just shrugged. What I would like to know is, who’s right?

– Money Matters MARNIE SAYS: My friend, while I understand your vexation, the question isn’t “who’s right?” The question is what is being “right” going to do for you? Let’s look.

Yes, it would have been thoughtful (OK, cheaper) had Medicare Lady been a mega-mensch, copped to her age and saved you a few bucks. She didn’t. Ask yourself why.

A.) She wanted to stick you with a bigger bill. B.) She has issues with her age. Serious enough to cost you more.

See? You were looking at her choice through your intention, not hers. Yours was to save a few bucks. Hers was to save (a wrinkle-free?) face.

Put it into perspective – the difference for you is probably under $10. Yes, that’s real money. But is the relationship worth that much? Also yes.

My hunch is you know this lady well enough to have realized asking her to pull a Medicare card might make her seriously greps. So let’s get to your true intention.

The object of your lovely gesture was to treat these people!

Now quit stewing about what’s “right” and get those priorities right – making these good people feel good. A

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SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY OBITUARIES ALL SERVICES ALREADY HELD

Nonna Britva - San Diego, CA 02/20/1932 - 01/31/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Irina Britva Esfir Cherktov-San Diego, CA 05/27/1923 - 02/03/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Anna Privorotskiy, 4 Grandchildren & 7 Great-Grandchildren Ira Lerner - San Diego, CA 01/26/1945 - 02/02/2017 Survivors: Wife - Susy Lerner & Sons - Sam & Steve Lerner Harold Shapiro - Encinitas, CA 04/15/1930 - 02/06/2017 Survivors: Wife - Shirley Shapiro, Daughter- Myrice Goldberg, & Sons- Dr. Warren & Bradley Shapiro Annabel Porshin - San Diego , CA 09/19/1919 - 02/06/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Jan Nielsen & Marsha Porshin & 1 Grandchild Sidney Cohen - Escondido, CA 11/29/1913 - 02/07/2017 Survivors: Daughters - Sheila Talansky, Aaby Morala & Myrna Kleinstein , 7 Grandchildren & 7 Great-Grandchildren

Arrangements by Am Israel Mortuary Leslie Sanders - La Mesa, CA 02/06/1925 - 02/10/2017 Survivors: Sons- Jeff & Ronald Sanders & 4 Gradnchildren Robin Bronstein - Hargraves -Oceanside, CA 09/05/1961 - 02/10/2017 Survivors: Husband - Clayton Hargraves Dr. Joel Moskowitz - La Jolla, CA 06/18/1932 - 02/11/2017 Survivors: Wife - Arlene Moskowitz Meri Lyuber - San Diego, CA 07/10/1932 -02/11/2017 Survivors: Son - Gennadiy Lyuber Sidney Sandler - San Diego, CA 09/27/1922 - 02/12/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Sherril Schiffman, Son- David Sandler, 7 Grandchildren & 3 GreatGrandchildren Stanley Rubin - San Diego, CA 04/05/1928 - 02/12/2017 Survivors: Sons - Stuart, Michael & Mark Rubin, 10 Grandchildren & 10 Great-Grandchildren

Victoria Saven - Encinitas, CA 10/14/1927 - 02/15/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Jennifer Cunio, Sons- Alan & Brian Saven, 8 Grandchildren & 6 GreatGrandchildren Tsilya Krasnova - San Diego, CA 10/30/1928 - 02/12/2017 Survivors: Daughter - Elena Krasnova & 2 Grandchildren Bernice Gale - San Diego, CA 10/02/1925 - 02/17/2017 Survivors: Daughters- Sharon Mann & Donna Gans, 4 Grandchildren & 5 GreatGrandchildren Stanislav Korol - San Diego, CA 03/31/1938 - 02/21/2017 Survivors: Wife - Elina Korol & Sons - Eugene & Victor Korol David Hamburg - San Diego , CA 12/31/1921 - 02/21/2017 Survivors: Wife - Lila Worth, Daughter - Janet Schwartz & SonDr. Allan Hamburg

John Bloomberg - La Jolla, CA 10/20/1935 - 02/22/2017 Survivors: Wife - Toni Bllomberg Lucille Silber - La Jolla , CA 12/23/1922-02/24/2017 Survivors: Daughters - Michelle Cohen & Gail Silber & Son Sheldon Silber Martin Berger - La Jolla, CA 08/28/1927 - 02/24/2017 Survivors: Wife - Arlene Berger, Daughter - Elizabeth Berger, Son Andrew Berger & 3 Grandchildren Steven Selwyn - San Diego, CA 09/24/1948 - 02/25/2017 Survivors: Mother - Bernice Selwyn Betty Margalith - Cardiff by the Sea , CA 09/14/1928 - 02/25/2017 Survivors: Husband - Sandy Margalith , Daughter - Abby Margalith ,Son- Ethan Margalith, 3 Grandchildren & 1 GreatGrandchild

Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 77

The Jerusalem Post

“A FUN, ENGAGING COMEDY...

NOA KOLER IS A REAL GEM IN THE LEAD ROLE.”

“CHARMING, HUMOROUS AND ENJOYABLE.” “WITTY AND SHARP

IN ITS OBSERVATIONS ON LOVE, COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.” WINNER 3 OPHIR AWARDS (ISRAELI ACADEMY AWARDS) INCLUDING

BEST ACTRESS BEST SCREENPLAY

30 DAYS. 1 WEDDING. NO GROOM. ALL SHE NEEDS IS A LITTLE FAITH.

5 1 N O S A E S TLY N E R E F F I D S G SEE THIN The Effect Gamma Rays on

(L’avor et Ha’kir)

of

Man

FROM RAMA BURSHTEIN, THE DIRECTOR OF ‘FILL THE VOID’

Moon

M arigolds -in-the-

book book by

by GEORGE GEORGE S. S. KAUFMAN KAUFMAN and and MORRIE MORRIE RYSKIND RYSKIND music music and and lyrics lyrics by

by BERT BERT KALMAR KALMAR and and HARRY HARRY RUBY RUBY

by

by PAUL PAUL ZINDEL ZINDEL

directed directed by

by SEAN SEAN MURRAY MURRAY music music direction direction by

by TERRY TERRY O’DONNELL O’DONNELL

directed directed by

by ROB ROB LUTFY LUTFY

IN THEATERS MAY 26 JUL JUL55--AUG AUG13 13

AUG AUG30 30--SEP SEP24 24

THE THEWEDDING THEATRE PLAN

SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL – BW SCHOOL 3.6”W X 4.9”H @ NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE

A hristmas arol

CC

adaptation adaptation and and lyrics lyrics by

by SEAN SEAN MURRAY MURRAY original original score score by

by BILLY BILLY THOMPSON THOMPSON based based on on the the story story by

by CHARLES CHARLES DICKENS DICKENS

by

by MATTHEW MATTHEW LOPEZ LOPEZ directed directed by

by SEAN SEAN MURRAY MURRAY

by KATE HENNIG directed by ROB LUTFY

directed directed by

by SEAN SEAN MURRAY MURRAY

SUMMER THEATRE CAMP

OCT OCT1111--NOV NOV1212

NOV NOV29 29--DEC DEC24 24

JAN JAN1717--FEB FEB1111

Ages 4 – 8

One-Week, Half-Day (morning) The Very Hungry Caterpillar June 19 – June 23 Where The Wild Things Are July 10 – July 14 One Fish Two Fish July 24 – July 28

Ages 6 – 12

Two-Week, Full-Day Disney’s The Lion King Kids Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Kids

Ages 12 – 19

the

music and lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM book by HUGH WHEELER

June 19 – June 30 July 10 – July 21 July 24 – August 4

NorthCoastRep.org/TheatreSchool More details on the website. Questons? Contact Benjamin Cole, (858) 481-2155, ext. 216. Register for camps on the website or by calling the Box Office, (858) 481-1055.

78 SDJewishJournal.com l May 2017

a nd

June 19 – June 30 July 10 – July 21 July 24 – August 4

Two-Week, Full-Day

Hamlet Revenge of The Space Pandas Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr

The

by NATHAN ALAN DAVIS

directed by SEAN MURRAY

directed by ROB LUTFY

MAR MAR77--APR APR22 22

MAY MAY16 16--JUN JUN10 10

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Iyar • Sivan 5777 | SDJewishJournal.com 79