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Shevat/Adar 5780
February 2020
CONTENTS
page 30 FILM FESTIVAL: Israeli Underwater Photog Seeks "Picture of His Life" in Arctic
page 33 FILM FESTIVAL: "G-d of the Piano" Grapples with Impossible Expectations
page 41 FILM FESTIVAL: Golden Age Romantic Comedy Sparks "Love in Suspenders" 8 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
IN THIS ISSUE
page 42 FILM FESTIVAL: Fear and Loathing as a Jewish-Russian Comedian: Michael Idov's "The Humorist"
page 56 FOOD: The First Kosher Bar in the Former Soviet Union Serves up Cocktails and Torah Portions
page 53 FEATURE: JFS Migrant Family Shelter Moves to State-owned Facility 2020 02 SDJT Naked Mole Rat ad Jewish Journal.pdf
MONTHLY COLUMNS
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
12 From the Editor 20 Personal
34 FILM FESTIVAL LISTINGS 37 FILM FESTIVAL: "Mossad!" –The Israeli Spoof with Roots in American Comedy 39 FILM FESTIVAL: "Crescendo" Offers a Story of Understanding Between Israelis and Palestinians 45 FILM FESTIVAL: Coming-of-Age in "Wolkenbruch's Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa" 50 FEATURE: Mission Ukraine 54 CAMPS: Camp Mountain Chai Prepares for 15th Summer
Development and Judaism 22 Israeli Lifestyle 24 Examined Life 26 Religion
1
1/14/20
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AROUND TOWN
18 Our Town 58 Entertainment IN EVERY ISSUE
16 What’s Up Online 60 News 62 Advice
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Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 9
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Emily Bartell, Linda Bennett, Leorah Gavidor, Emily Gould, Judith Fein (Senior Travel Correspondent), Paul Ross (Senior Travel Photographer), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, Sharon Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Marnie Macauley, Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine, Rachael Eden, Sybil Kaplan. ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Jonathan Ableson – Senior 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 ©2019 by San Diego Jewish Journal. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a member of the American Jewish Press Association and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 11
Life Imitates Art
W
elcome to another Film Festival issue. We cast a wide net to include comedies, dramas, romance and documentaries. The film festival always falls in February at the end of the award season. The award season always seems to draw out both strong and mixed emotions from casual film-goers and cinephiles alike. Admittedly, my interaction with award season is merely browsing what gets nominated and seeing what has won the next day like checking the football score. I might watch a segment on the red carpet fashion with my lunch the following day. I don’t subscribe to the hand-wringing panic that cinema is dying or believe that people are only interested in watching films on their phone. I do wonder about the pomp and circumstance around award shows though. They can be hours long and inelegant in passing the baton from one actor to the next. The speeches are usually forgettable and are mostly enjoyable to passionate fans. Something drastic usually must happen to get more than cursory
attention the next day, and even then, you wouldn’t have to watch the whole broadcast to get to that moment. The element that still manages to provide buzz is the awards themselves: what films are getting nominated, what films are not getting nominated and what films end up winning. If your favorite film didn’t win, or worse get nominated, it may be a signal to you that the Hollywood establishment is a bunch of uncreative sycophants. But if your favorite film did win, you may feel a little warmth of pride and vindication. Wherever you may stand on how you characterize the voting parties, most people have an opinion of some kind. There is considerably very little ambivalence. Personally, I’m happy to see “JoJo Rabbit” be nominated for Best Picture and Scarlett Johanson nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Did you know she is Jewish?). And I’ve also found myself lost in the “Joker” hype; even though I haven’t seen the film, I have this opinion. Perhaps we care about the results because we have very little formal scorekeeping for culture. This
From The Editor 12 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
is literally where this established system is in place to award what we thought was valuable and artistic and good. When we talk about representation in film, we’re talking about how what we are seeing on screen can reflect our lives and ourselves. And in this reflection, we find humor, comfort, inspiration. So maybe this is why when our representations are not valued, we bring a little of that with us. Representation is also part of the project of our very own Jewish Film Festival. They are celebrating their 30th year and showing over 30 films in 10 days across San Diego. “Something for everyone” is a bit of an overused phrase, but I feel it applies here. A
Jacqueline Bull
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 13
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let us know what’s on your mind.
Send us your comments: editor@sdjewishjournal.com 5665 Oberlin Dr., Ste 204, San Diego, CA 92121
Please consider our guidelines for Letters to the Editor prior to submitting your comments: The San Diego Jewish Journal welcomes reader responses to articles. Due to space limitations, responses to articles cannot exceed 200 words and will be edited in coordination with the letter’s author and at the discretion of the editor and publishers. For readers who wish to submit multiple letters, we require three issue months to pass between published letters so as to make space for more reader responses. All readers can comment as often as they’d like in the comments section of our website, found at the bottom of every article on sdjewishjournal.com. Magazine articles are republished on the website at the beginning of each issue month.
14 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
On The Cover:
Photo from "Wolkenbruch's Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa." See page 45 for feature. All San Diego Jewish Film Festival photos courtesy of the LFJCC.
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This Jewish Astronomer Is The First Woman To Have An Observatory Named After Her When astronomer Vera Rubin first visited Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, a telescope facility, there was no restroom for her to use. See, in the mid-1960s, women weren’t even allowed inside the observatory, and thus the need for another bathroom was obsolete-that was, until the Jewish scientist became the first woman to observe at the facility. Rubin fashioned a skirt out of paper and stuck it on the door to the men’s bathroom. “There you go, now you have a ladies’ room,” the mother of four said. Best known for discovering evidence of dark matter, this pioneering scientist died in 2016 at age 88. Yet she’s still breaking barriers, posthumously; The National Science Foundation announced this week that the first American national observatory to be named after a woman will honor the Jewish scientist.
500 Rabbis And Jewish Leaders Call For Action Against Climate Change
Beginning in 2022, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, will focus its efforts on studying the solar system, the Milky Way and Rubin’s legacy, dark matter. The facility is located in Chile. Rubin was a trailblazer for female scientists and her legacy continues to close the gender gap in the field of astronomy. At the current rate, it would take 131 years to close the gap, according to a 2018 study. Hopefully Rubin’s observatory paves the way for women to enter the field and continue in her footsteps.
Five hundred rabbis and other Jewish leaders from around the world are calling for climate change action. The letter released earlier this month was signed by rabbis and leaders spanning the denominational spectrum–from Orthodox to Reform and secular–and from countries including the United States, Canada, England, Israel and Brazil, according to a statement. It was organized by activist and Jewish Renewal leader Rabbi Arthur Waskow. He is the founder and director of The Shalom Center, a Jewish group that seeks to “create a world of peace, justice, healing for the earth, and respect for the interconnectedness of all life.”
This Jewish 28-Year-Old Makes A Living Visiting Every Country In The World
The letter calls for a number of actions, including participating in various efforts to help the environment and affect political change, as well as welcoming refugees affected by natural disasters.
Now he’s closing in on a goal inspired by the Prague trip–visiting each of the 193 countries recognized by the United Nations. In just a few months, the 28-year-old will have done it.
“For the first time in the history of Humanity, we are actually moving toward the burning and devastation of the web of life on Earth by human action--the unremitting use of fossil fuels,” it reads. “Our children and grandchildren face deep misery and death unless we act.” 16 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
In 2012, Drew Goldberg spent part of his junior year of college studying abroad in Prague. The trip to the Czech capital was life-changing, literally. Goldberg spent the next five months balancing his studies with traveling, managing to visit more than 20 countries.
He’s managed the feat by making traveling his job. Goldberg, who goes by the name Drew Binsky online, posts daily videos of his travel adventures and earns $5,000 to $30,000 each month through ad revenue and sponsorships. His videos include everything from learning what it’s like to live in North Korea, discussing race in South Africa and talking to Syrians who fled their homes due to war. Finish reading at sdjewishjournal.com.
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Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 17
our TOWN
BY LINDA BENNETT & EMILY BARTELL
Recently, we attended an interesting lecture by Rose Schindler at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. This amazing woman, who recently turned 90, has given so much to the next generation by communicating her life and experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust. In the sold-out crowd were Ruth Braun, Inge Feinswog, Sue Braun, Larry Okmin, Karen Coleman, Ellen Kaplan, Oscar & Olga Worm, Sue & Ed Cherlin, Sue Marder, Shelley Druskin, Ariella Llorens, Isaac Kamahi, Debbie Wiseman, Sheryl Snyder and Chairpersons Sharlene Berman & Roz Allina. On Dec. 26, Tifereth Israel Synagogue Sisterhood held a luncheon at Seacrest Village Retirement Communities where they spent an enjoyable visit with some of the residents, including Cherry Orly, Jane Kavy, Rose Okmin, and Marguerite & Alan Morris. Some of those enjoying this lovely afternoon were Judy & Bill Friedel, Barbara Sperling, Rochelle Rubinstein, Ann Kavy, Rhoda Rose, Annica Udewitz, Phyllis Spital, Anne Heller and Judy Morganstern.
Tifereth Israel's Sisterhood at Seacrest Village.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the 30th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival (Feb. 13–23) with a schedule of over 30 films in 10 days at 5 different venues.
Yom Huledets Sameach to…
Charlotte Marx celebrating her 100th birthday. Doris Cramer celebrating her 98th birthday. Arnold Saltzman celebrating his 83rd birthday. Naomi Ruth Eisman celebrating her 90th birthday.
Mazel Tov to…
Randy Silverstein & Nicholas Stead on the occasion of their marriage. Sue & Dick Braun on their 60th wedding anniversary.
Phyllis Spital and Linda Bennet.
Arnold & Barbara Saltzman on their 56th wedding anniversary. Warren & Karen Kessler on their 50th wedding anniversary. Stan & Adie Mestman on their 50th wedding anniversary. Norm & Roz Hegler on the birth of their granddaughter, Maya, daughter of Max Hegler and Bianca Uribe. Ron & Cathy Marx on the birth of their grandson, Ezra, son of Isaac & Jenny Marx. Madelynn Micon on the birth of her granddaughter, Hannah Grace, daughter of Becky & Chris Randell. Jean & Franklin Gaylis, on the marriage of their daughter, Jackie, to Todd Kirschen. Todd is the son of David & Alyse Kirschen of Orange County. The wedding took place on Oct 27. A
18 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND JUDAISM
THIS WAY TO EDEN by Rachel Eden rachel.s.eden@gmail.com
A Charmed Life
K
atie was told she lived a charmed life. Her parents moved from Russia to the United States when she was six years old with less than five thousand dollars and three suitcases. They were educated, but their English needed work. Katie was the youngest in her family and her American accent was the best. She had a biting sense of humor, was bright and pretty and made friends easily. Katie’s parents wanted her to have a traditional American experience, complete with athletic extracurricular activities and school dances. Katie graduated high school with solid grades, went to a good college and backpacked through Israel and parts of Europe so she could find her own meaningful spiritual path within Judaism. Indeed, Katie lived a charmed life. Katie married rather young and her husband was a successful, happy and supportive spouse. They had three children, aged closely together, and Katie spent her 20s and 30s nurturing their family. Life had nominal frustrations and worries, Katie was wistful about a would-be career that never materialized thanks to her family’s needs, but overall, Katie felt her life was charmed. After Katie’s youngest child was born, she noticed a loss in her energy. She found herself slowing her pace and her motivation to accomplish ran low. At first, Katie rationalized that her experience was similar to her girlfriends'. Mothering young children is exhausting for anyone and her kids were particularly in need of support for various learning challenges and behaviors. However, soon Katie found herself going through the motions of daily living with less gusto. She would invite guests for Shabbat dinner and feel as though she was shrinking at the table.
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She spoke less and let her husband speak more. She began dropping her children off at school each morning with her head down to avoid socializing. Katie lost confidence in living charmed and began to settle for just living. Katie’s husband worried about her initially, but after about a year, his own insecurities emerged. He found himself resentful that she didn’t give him as much attention as he wanted. Marriage counseling didn’t seem to help and he felt frustrated when she began spending more time on the phone with friends and less time on homework with their children. Originally, he came to her with sympathy, but now he came to her with anger. In response, Katie totally shut down and withdrew further despite seeing a good therapist, taking antidepressants and attending yoga daily. She was sure of one thing: Her charmed life had morphed into a failed existence. One night Katie couldn’t sleep. She felt tormented and wanted to do something– anything–to change her life. She took out a pencil and paper to write down her choices. But she froze. She couldn’t think of a single idea to write. She didn’t see an escape route or any strategy she hadn’t already tried that made sense. As Katie stared down at her blank page, she made a decision. Katie decided to surrender to her uncharmed life while stepping into her own power. That was the moment that her uncharmed life shaped her into the woman she needed to become. Katie went to sleep at 4 a.m. that night and woke up two hours later. Her morning appeared the same from the outside. She got her children dressed, fed and in school calm-
ly. Katie forced herself to pause in gratitude for what most would call an unremarkable morning. She felt stronger than she had felt in a long time. When Katie saw her husband later in the day, she recognized that she still felt blocked. Like him, she was drained from trying to work on their marriage and hurt by their interactions. But she decided to be brave. She opened her heart to him and when she offered him a glass of wine that evening after dinner, he felt a different energy from his wife. This was not a woman who was wilting or afraid of losing her marriage. In fact, this was a woman who acknowledged that she had no idea how her marriage would unfold, but she was committed to focusing on the light and moving forward. The following day, Katie called a friend who mentioned that he always needed people to work at his assisted living center. His residents’ activities weren’t organized and seemed uninspired. Katie didn’t see the job as a career that reflected her professional aspirations, but she decided it played to some of her strengths and she could make a positive difference. She agreed to work on a very part-time basis and would start Monday. A few months after that fateful night of staring at a blank page, Katie realized that she was leveraging her life to learn about herself. Katie grew to fall in love with her process and not concern herself with results. She finally understood that self-awareness is a moving target and learning about herself was an exciting priority. Her life revealed unknown layers that Katie bravely faced, one by one. Katie lost interest in living a charmed life and ultimately realized that she was the charm. A
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ISRAELI LIFESTYLE
LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE by Andrea Simantov andreasimantov@gmail.com
The Love We Write How can it be over when it barely had begun? I’d planned for zoos and skating-rinks, I’d planned for years of fun. How can it be over, love? Just stay a little more. There’s so much more to laugh about, adventures to explore. How can it be over when the waiting took so long? Can you come back? When? Soon, perhaps? To home where you belong. I can’t endure this “over”; the ache so hard to bear, You’ll never be beyond my reach, tethered by a prayer.
L
ove stories do not always feature models and actors. In fact, those “stories” are just that: fiction. They are popcorn-and-soda diversions that fill our psyches with unrealistic expectations and dashed dreams. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the stories that do not merit screen-time, tales of simple men and women who live according to previously adopted standards of decency: kindness, faith in a Higher Power, devoted life-partners, better futures for children who will, hopefully, help advance the quality of a warless world. Several months ago, my friend Sharon's daughter Ruthie succumbed to the rare genetic disease that she’d been born with. Adopted by Sharon at birth with Fanconi 22 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
Anemia, the heartbreaking outcome was predetermined; there would be no medical miracles or groundbreaking discoveries that might provide a technicolor, eleventh-hour rescue from the Jaws-of-Death for Ruthie. Both mom and daughter had been active participants in the movement to find a cure for Fanconi Anemia and they’d done a splendid job of chronicling both the struggles and joys that peppered their lives. Anyone in their social and/or Facebook orbit could only be inspired by the magical journey that took them to conferences and expos across the globe. As religious Jews, consideration for Sabbath observance and kosher-dining always played a role in their planning. Difficult? Not certain. Sharon and Ruthie made it work. My husband recently underwent orthopedic surgery for an agonizing sports injury. Nurturing does not come naturally to me, but I gave it my best efforts during his hospitalization. Still, how many times can a testy wife tuck-in the blankets or raise and lower the bed rails? I felt grateful when he slept because it gave me time to walk the halls and observe other patients and their families. Once a yente, always a yente. I admit it. Arabs, Jews, religious, secular, Ashkenazim, Sephardim, French, Russians, English-speakers and Ethiopians–human connectedness played out in each ward, the respective participants all yearning for
happy endings. The hallways of Hadassah Medical Center are alive with prayer, hope, compassion and friendship. And, indeed, love. Apartheid? Please. Don’t even go there, not with this writer. Both patients and staff are amply represented despite what both CNN and Fox proport; camaraderie is rife. This doesn’t mean that political adversaries are dancing at one another’s weddings just because they both had hip-replacement on the same afternoon. It means that within the walls of the medical universe, families are celebrated and respected. That smiles count for everything and turning the television volume higher or lower can bridge divides that the United Nations is incapable of addressing. Moving a walker and offering your extra visitor’s chair to one who is, culturally, the ‘other’ is not only a common courtesy. In the Middle East, it has the potential to bring peace, heal wounds and offer hope. Love cannot be pigeon-holed into a few words or simple definitions. It is best exhibited through acts of giving and then, uh, giving a little more. Because giving of oneself allows for limitless action. Giving without expectation eliminates the fear of disappointment. Man-created and profit-inspired calendar events such as Valentine’s Day become meaningless when we accept the task of giving of ourselves, without conditions. A
Inspire. Encourage. Have Fun.
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“Listening, caring, and, most importantly, being dependable – those are the key ingredients to being a Big Pal. And, as you will quickly discover, this will be one of the most meaningful experiences you will ever have.“ – Bill, Big Pal for 12 years and counting
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EXAMINED LIFE
OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT by Saul Levine, M.D., Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry at UCSD slevine@ucsd.edu
Have You Ever Fallen In Love? Why Isn’t It Simple?
W
hat is This Thing Called Love?” is a beautiful song about the enigma of romantic love, but surely we don’t need a pop love song to tell us what romantic love is all about, do we? After all, most of us have experienced the ecstatic feelings of “falling in love” at some point(s) in our lives, not to mention the sadness which sometimes occurs. “Falling” is an apt word, because in that heady “in love” state, we might lose our emotional balance, just as we might stumble when we suffer the poignant feelings of rejection or lost love. Definitions of romantic love don’t convey those feelings, nor the magic and music, and the poetry of those moments. Not that we humans haven’t tried to translate those feelings into different idioms: The themes of yearning for love, falling in love, the ebbing of love, and bemoaning the loss of love have filled volumes of poetry and prose, operas and plays, films and art, music and architecture. All our bodily senses remind us of past loves: Memories of touching and kissing are embedded in our minds and hearts. We recall shared films or plays, concerts or people, mutual enjoyment of meals, familiar aromas (perfumes, cooking, clothing) and other mindful and visceral memories. We especially remember the love songs of our youth, no matter where and which ethnic group or language we stem from. The love songs we grew up with during our adolescence and decades onwards are particularly riveting and ingrained, never to be forgotten. At my age, songs like “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (sung by Ella Fitzger24 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
ald), “Unchained Melody” (The Righteous Brothers), “Something” (The Beatles), and other evocative songs move me. No doubt some of you are baffled by my choices, as you might be into the current music of Taylor Swift, John Legend, Adele, Beyonce, Adam Levine (no relation) or other singers. Each generation has its own music reaching into our souls, but “my” music might turn you off completely, and I daresay, vice versa. Love songs which captivate young people can sound like noisy cacophony to their parents, whose music is totally boring to their offspring. We first learn about the feelings and bonds of love in infancy and childhood, usually in close interactions with our mothers, fathers, or other loving caretakers. This nurturance is critical in developing the ability to form love attachments. All our senses are involved in this important process: familiar warm faces and sounds of loving voices, tastes and aromas, gentle touches and kisses. These repeated demonstrations of caring are deeply imprinted in infants’ brains and emotions. While we are discussing romantic love, we’re of course familiar with other kinds of love, like parental or sibling, friendship or other close relationships. But romantic love is in a class of its own. When someone is in love, they are in a trance-like state where everyday worries seem to melt away. Attention is focused on “the one” beloved individual who seems like the incarnation of perfection. Romantic feelings actually provoke neuronal activity in specific parts of the brain which literally “light up” in neurological brain imaging scans. (It seems that the old pop song, “You Light Up My Life,” was
ahead of its time!) That magical feeling of falling in love was beautifully described a century ago in Irving Berlin’s classic song, “You’re Just in Love.” Enraptured lovers feel they’ve achieved nirvanas, and dream of lifelong idylls of commitment, caring and companionship. Our need for love commonly evokes deep craving. The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” describes the poignant yearning for a soul mate. Loss of love can also be agonizing: When love mysteriously ebbs from a beloved, one can feel lost and forsaken. A broken heart brings a deep sense of “aloneness” and yearning for the return of the lost love, feelings poignantly conveyed in many love sonnets, operatic arias, in the blues, and country and western songs. Implausibly, in our new technological reality, millions of people now use internet dating websites in a search for “Truly, Madly, Deeply” (Shakespeare) kinds of love. Technology or not, people still crave the romance of “falling in love.” We are social beings, and bonds of affection and intimacy are our very lifeblood, emotional equivalents of oxygen and nourishment. We need love from our first breaths in infancy until our last inspirations of life. Without love our hearts can ache and atrophy. Without love, children don’t develop as well, and adults are prone to depression and even physical illness. Without love, our human essence diminishes. A life without love is lonelier, emptier and bereft of meaning. “A World Without Love” (Lennon-McCartney) is not one we wish to inhabit. A
“Let’s Talk About It” Please join us for a candid conversation about the current climate in women’s reproductive health. How do we nurture an environment of acceptance and empathy?
G U E S T PA N E L I S T S
Rabbi Devorah Marcus Temple Emanu-El Senior Rabbi
Laurie R. Greenberg, MD IGO Medical Group Gynecology, Fertility, Menopause
FACILITATED BY
Alison Reminick, MD University of California, San Diego Director, Psychiatrist
Amy Corton Planned Parenthood Board Member and Volunteer
Emily Einhorn Community Activist, Volunteer, and Philanthropist
ANNUAL COMMUNITY-WIDE EVENT
Women’s Reproductive Health Dispelling Myths and Understanding Facts
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 / 9:30 to 11:30 am Kosher Breakfast Complimentary • Everyone is Welcome • Registration Required
Congregation Beth El 8660 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037
To register or for questions, please call or email: Sarah Schatz (858) 279-2740 / sarah@jcfsandiego.org Jessica Effress JWF Chair (right) Sarah Schatz JCF Manager of Philanthropy and Social Impact (left)
Jewish Community Foundation 4950 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92123 / www.jcfsandiego.org
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RELIGION
POST-POLITICAL by Rabbi Jacob Rupp rabbirupp@gmail.com
Hunkering in the Bunkers
F
rankly, I was horrified. For me, that’s hard to do. The shock came when I was visiting a family who had a TV in their kitchen and had the news on while their kids ate breakfast. Sure, we all want to know the weather, but while these young and impressionable people were having their oatmeal and bananas, splashed across the screen was all the horrific images from all the suffering across the world. It was amazing. It was like walking into the 1950s and seeing everyone smoking like chimneys. It was like, “Whoa! Don’t you know you are destroying your children?! Didn’t you read the surgeon general’s warning?” Call me brainwashed, but it’s pretty wellknown that the cable news stations are hemorrhaging money as all of their former readers go online, and in order to keep eyes glued to the screen, they just broadcast all the worst parts of humanity. A plane crash here, some fear mongering there, a murder here, missiles and rockets there. Here is an earthquake and there is a flood. It’s like ‘C’mon mom, let me eat my breakfast!’ One of the pleasures of the new Disney Plus streaming service is that now that every movie ever is online and free, now we can go back and re-watch those heartwarming childhood movies that so defined our young lives. Like the filthy kidnappers who would keep me up at night in the original “Pete’s Dragon,” or young Jonathan Taylor Thomas (remember that guy?) crying as he tried to prop up his murdered father in "The Lion King." I couldn’t shower or go to the bathroom for months without some panic after watching “Arachnophobia” (I think it was classified as a comedy). And this is coming from the kid whose mom wouldn’t let him watch rated-R movies
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until he was 16! Of course, I could swear like a sailor after watching “Top Gun,” even though that was rated PG and learned how to belittle my father from watching “The Simpsons.” And after I turned 16, forget about it. I think one of my lowest days was when I watched “Pulp Fiction,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Saving Private Ryan” in one day. Therapy much? So, imagine what happens to kids when tragedy isn’t fiction, but it’s real, and it’s on TV, being fed to you with your heart-healthy breakfast! And remember, it’s not like the old days where we’d have to actually wait until the news came out the next day, or the blood would have time to dry before the news crew got there. Now it’s 24/7 with a video shot on an iPhone that captures life in all of its horrid misery. Have a nice day at school, honey! One of the things that used to freak me out about ‘becoming Orthodox’ (whatever that means) is that I never wanted to be labeled as ‘not in the know.’ Of course, it didn’t help that the rabbis we learned from were still making references to baseball in 1964 to show the kids they were still with it! But seriously, I couldn’t understand why anyone chose to live without a television. Don’t you need to know about all the stuff out there in the world? And for complete transparency, all our kids use devices. We aren’t proud of it and are working on it. But for crying out loud, we don’t show them the news. The last thing I’d show them is the news. It’s like the Jews that are always talking about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust and then complain that their kids aren’t interested in going to Hebrew School or Israel. It’s like, why would a person want to have a Jewish identity if that identity is immediately linked to the gas chamber instead of the Passover Seder? Maybe we should take cues from Google
and Instagram as parents and start to curate the content that we show our children. I get it, kids have to know. People have to know. But what is it that we have to know? The world, it appears, is neutral at worse and getting better at best. Poverty over the last fifty years is way down. Medicine is advancing. Thank G-d our grandmothers aren’t getting slaughtered by Cossacks in the snow in Poland (yep, that’s some good old “Fiddler on the Roof” trauma right there–what a nice Jewish movie!). Is there horrible tragedy in the world? Sure. But thank G-d most of our children aren’t living in it. Except that when we bring the TV in, suddenly they are. The mind can’t necessarily separate real trauma from fake trauma (hence why you get stressed out in scary movies or fired up when the training music from Rocky starts). So instead of enjoying the peace, calm, and prosperity that our most blessed age allows us, we transport us and our children to the front lines of the breaking news! Let your children be children. Let them live in a world where they aren’t on edge or in pain. Let your homes be places of peace and calm. Actively create and curate what you children (and you) see because it affects you. We are so numb. I am so numb because of what I see and what I have seen. It’s ok that something can happen out there that you don’t know about. At the end of the day we are fighting for our sanity and the sanity of our children against a bunch of people looking to make a quick buck. Let them make that buck, but not from your wallet, nor at the cost of the hearts and minds of your children. (Don’t tell anyone, but you can find the weather and how the stock markets are doing on your Apple Watch). A
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 27
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Israeli Underwater Photog Seeks “Picture Of His Life” In Arctic BY MICHAEL FOX
T
he ocean, in its vastness, suits Amos Nachoum perfectly. It’s big enough for him to hide. Not from the great white sharks, orcas, manta rays and other large sea creatures he has obsessively sought out and photographed for four decades, but from Nachoum’s traumatic memories of the Yom Kippur War, and from his father’s impossible expectations. “Amos has made a decision to put the war behind him, to put violence behind him, and to use the camera to tell a different story, a beautiful story, about men and nature,” Israeli documentary filmmaker Yonatan Nir said in a phone interview while his family frolicked nearby in the kibbutz pool. “I think, in a way, he’s reframing his life with his camera.” Nachoum’s complicated saga is rendered with gravity and grace in Nir and Dani Menkin’s “Picture of His Life,” which opens the San Diego Jewish Film Festival on Feb. 13. Menkin is scheduled to attend opening night as well as the local premiere of his latest film, “Aulcie,” on Feb. 12. (Both films screen a second time without the director in the house.) “Picture of His Life” is structured around Nachoum’s summer 2015 expedition to the Canadian Arctic, more than 3,000 miles from his Pacific Grove, California home to try and fulfill his ultimate dream of photographing polar bears underwater. (Hence the second meaning of the film’s title.) The epic documentary’s executive producer is Nancy Spielberg, a nice bit of irony given that her brother made a flick called “Jaws” many years ago that spawned a widespread, irrational fear of sharks. Nir and Menkin originally wanted to make a documentary about Nachoum diving in Tonga a decade ago, but that undertaking proved too expensive. Instead they made “Dolphin Boy,” a redemptive portrait of a traumatized young Arab boy healed by
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swimming with dolphins in the Red Sea which earned worldwide acclaim. As it turned out, the extra years were essential, and not just to raise the funds for four Jews (Nachoum, the directors and veteran underwater cinematographer Adam Ravetch) and six Inuits to trek to, and film at, the remote Baker Lake. The filmmakers’ taciturn and enigmatic subject had to reach a point where he was willing to confide his deeply hidden feelings and memories. “He really didn’t talk until we got to the Arctic,” Menkin recalled on the phone from his car in L.A., “and that’s when he started to open up.” Nir added, “Amos needed time to open up and to be able, finally, to let us deep into his soul and to tell it for the first time.” After the Arctic trip, Nachoum gave surprisingly candid interviews to the Israeli press about both his postwar trauma and his father, who had fought in the War of Independence. So his way of dealing with his past continued–and continues–to expand. There’s no question that the process of making “Picture of His Life” contributed to Nachoum’s evolution. Nir and Menkin visit
ed his father in the hospital near the end of his life, capturing a raw, powerful moment. They subsequently showed the footage to Nachoum with the understanding that they would include it in the film only if he gave his consent. Nachoum was touched by the scene, and agreed to its inclusion. He even enacted an onscreen form of reciprocation to complete the circle. “We were able to create this closure, between the father and the son, but only through the film,” Nir says. “It never really happened face to face.” The personal story in “Picture of His Life’ is wrenching, but the environmental component is pretty potent, too. “I see myself as a soldier for Mother Nature.” Nachoum declared in the film, but his desperate, late-career pursuit of the polar bear goes even deeper. “At the end of the day, Amos was looking for his family,” Menkin said. “His family is the universe. It’s Mother Nature. He found his family and lives with it in harmony, and that’s what he wants us to do.” A
FILM FESTIVAL
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FILM FESTIVAL
“G-d Of The Piano”Grapples With Impossible Expectations BY MICHAEL FOX
I
sraeli women, by virtue of their military service going back to the War of Independence, have long been perceived as among the strongest and most liberated women in the world. In fact, they are constrained by a deeply and stubbornly patriarchal society. Writer-director-editor Itay Tal’s tensely claustrophobic debut feature, “G-d of the Piano,” initially appears to be about the demands on classical musicians. The real subject of his riveting yet opaque movie, though, is the pressure on women to conform and comply with the expectations of the men in their lives. “G-d of the Piano” screens in the San Diego Jewish Film Festival following its appearance last month at the New York Jewish Film Festival. The film centers on a pianist, Anat, with the astonishing dedication and focus to continue performing a concert while her water breaks. Although her playing seems top-drawer to us, we are informed that Anat’s talent doesn’t approach her commitment, at least in the eyes of her father, a renowned composer and teacher. In the hospital, Anat resolves that her newborn son will achieve the musical heights that she could not, and exorcise her father’s frustrations. But that plan immediately goes out the window when she and her husband are told their baby is deaf.
Devastated, and shockingly desperate, Anat makes an impulsive and unconscionable decision: She secretly swaps babies. In that instant, and frequently throughout “G-d of the Piano,” Anat’s behavior is mysterious. Beautiful and impassive, she personifies the adage, “Still waters run deep.” The success of the movie depends on our fascination with guessing what she’s thinking. Is Anat driven solely by the need to please her father and, to a lesser degree, her husband? Or is her investment in her son Idam’s musical development propelled by her own thwarted musical ambitions? Anat, in my view, is both scarred and exasperated that men have never bothered to probe beneath her surface. She exists as a vessel for their dreams and needs. But what about her own? Naama Preis’s enigmatic depiction of Anat’s veiled motives won the Best Actress award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Her quietly magnetic performance meshes perfectly with Tal’s precise command and control. He rarely moves the camera, especially indoors, creating compositions that generate tension from the opening frame. As the film progresses, we feel as much as see the rigor and rigidity of the world in which Anat lives. Some viewers will characterize Anat as a
tiger mom. But she’s the one who pays the price of ambition, not the son she raises with high expectations and scarce affection. That said, the most harrowing episode may be a reunion with Anat’s father and uncles, who live abroad and have their own high-powered musical legacies. In any other film, this would be a scene of familial camaraderie. Pressed to give an impromptu performance, Idam turns it into an act of rebellion against his grandfather’s instructions for how to play the piece. Adding to the tension the audience feels, everyone in the room–except Anat, who knows the truth–believes the boy’s gifts derive from his grandfather. Curiously, the filmmaker keeps the question of inherited talent and developed aptitude–nature versus nurture–in the background. Tal is more interested in the theme of deafness. He is reminding us that hearing and listening are not the same thing, and that people without the former–who rely on sign language and are compelled to look at the speaker–can be more than capable of the latter. Ultimately, Tal’s debut is an antidote to the circumscribed world it depicts of rarefied standards of excellence and achievement, and where the power and pleasure of art is rarely and barely acknowledged. “G-d of the Piano” is an unflinching slice of art. A
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FILM FESTIVAL
LISTINGS WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12 7 p.m.; JCC Garfield Theatre “Aulcie”
THURSDAY, FEB. 13 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading Cinemas 14, Joy F. Knapp Presentations “Picture of His Life”
FRIDAY, FEB. 14 11 a.m.; JCC Garfield Theatre “Mrs. G” 1:30 p.m.; JCC Garfield Theatre “Love in Suspenders”
SATURDAY, FEB. 15 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Operative” 7 p.m.; Museum of Photographic Arts “Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny” 7:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Standing Up, Falling Down”
SUNDAY, FEB. 16 11 a.m.; Museum of Photographic Arts “Angelica” 12 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Girl with a Fork in a World of Soup” & “The Home Front” 12:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Spy Behind Home Plate” 1 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Crescendo” 1:30 p.m.; Museum of Photographic Arts “Henri Dauman: Looking Up” 3 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Chasing Portraits” 4 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa” 4:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Other Story” 4:30 p.m.; Museum of Photographic Arts “What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael”
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4:45 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Albanian Code” 5:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Sustainable Nation” 6:45 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “There Are No Lions in Tel Aviv” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Flawless” 7:15 p.m.; Museum of Photographic Arts “Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold Feinstein” 7:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Spider in the Web”
MONDAY, FEB. 17 1 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Henri Dauman: Looking Up” 1:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Angelica” 3:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Mamboniks” 4 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “G-d of the Piano” 4:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Spy Behind Home Plate” 6:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Crescendo” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 "Standing Up, Falling Down” 7:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Dead of Jaffa”
TUESDAY, FEB. 18 1 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “City of Joel” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Samuel Project” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Sustainable Nation” 3:45 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “There Are No Lions in Tel Aviv” 4 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Dead of Jaffa” 4 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “Henri Dauman: Looking Up” 4:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold Feinstein”
6:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Humorist” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Dolce Fine Giornata” 7 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “Picture of His Life” 7:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Mover”
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19 1:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Albanian Code” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Mamboniks” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny” 2:30 p.m; Clairemont Reading 14 “Chasing Portraits” 3:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “King Bibi” 4 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Angelica” 4 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “The Humorist” 4:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Other Story” 6 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Samuel Project” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Samuel Project” 7 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “Dolce Fine Giornata” 7:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Incitement” 7:45 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Those Who Remained”
THURSDAY, FEB. 20 12 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “The Albanian Code” 1:45 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “There Are No Lions in Tel Aviv” 2 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Mrs. G” 2:15 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “The Mamboniks” 3:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Sustainable Nation”
4:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Humorist” 4:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Last Supper” 6:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Love in Suspenders” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Incitement” 7:30 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “The Mover” 4:45 p.m.; La Paloma Theatre “The Dead of Jaffa” 7:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “G-d of the Piano”
FRIDAY, FEB. 21 11 a.m.; JCC Garfield Theater “The Albanian Code” 1:30 p.m.; JCC Garfield Theatre “What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael”
SATURDAY, FEB. 22 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Spider in the Web” 7:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Mossad!”
SUNDAY, FEB. 23 12:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Aulcie” 1 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “City of Joel” 1:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “The Last Supper” 3:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa” 4 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “King Bibi” 4:15 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Flawless” 5 p.m; White Labs, 9495 Candida Street “Brews and Views” 6:30 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Those Who Remained” 7 p.m.; Clairemont Reading 14 “Douze Points”
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 35
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FILM FESTIVAL
“Mossad!”–The Israeli Spoof With Roots In American Comedy BY ALEX WEHRUNG
M
ossad agent Guy Moran carefully evades a series of red lasers slicing through the air in the lair of a shadowy organization that is holding the entire world for ransom. CIA agent Linda Harris follows shortly thereafter, gun drawn. She cautiously creeps forward as the lasers–in actuality, bright red string–snap away in her wake. Such is the rib-tickling ridiculousness that is “Mossad!”, the Israeli spoof-comedy written and directed by Alon Gur Arye, with some creative guidance from the hand of David Zucker, writer and director of “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun.” Alon was already a fan of Zucker’s works, and he got the opportunity to work with the man himself on-set in Israel. Alon described Zucker’s work on-set as being similar to that of a producer; the result of their partnership is a spoof movie that’s equal parts homage, hilarious, stupid and charming. Zucker was convinced to advise on the production of “Mossad!” after seeing “Israeli Intelligence,” one of Alon’s first projects and the short film upon which the feature is based. “The short was like the first thing I‘d ever done … so it was like trying to do something
that had never been done in Israel: make a spoof,” Alon said. “And I wanted something to be the best and the worst, because it’s the only one.” “Israeli Intelligence” has continued to screen in Tel Aviv as a sort of "Rocky Horror"-esque experience; Alon noted that he’s learned the names of several regulars who attend this screening, they’ve shown up so many times (over 100, in a particular man’s case). “Mossad!” is Alon’s second feature film after “Operation Egg.” Making “Mossad!”–which he also considers as Israel’s very first spoof movie–was difficult, he said, because it was produced on a much larger scale than other Israeli films, and filming some scenes, such as the opening helicopter rescue, had something of a learning curve to it as a result. “We’re not making [too many] Sylvester Stallone or Schwarzenegger movies here. Israel is not famous about these kind of films.” The movie involves the comedic escapades of Mossad agent Guy Moran (Tsahi Halevi), who must rescue an American tech magnate and prevent shadowy organization RBG (Really Bad Guys) from detonating explosives in 7 billion cell phones manufactured in the fic-
tional Middle Eastern country of Sugiria. Moran must contend and cooperate with hypercompetent CIA Agent Linda Harris (Efrat Dor), as well as his former partner Aaron (Israeli comedian Tal Friedman), who has been turned into the cyborg Aaron-Man. Meanwhile, Mossad head Haim (Ilan Dar) is trying to stop this threat so he has the time to light the torch to mark the start of Independence Day, much to his wife’s chagrin. Moran is played by Tsahi Halevi, who until now has primarily played the leading man in action movies. Alon called him the Israeli Leslie Nielsen, noting that “Airplane” has been called a comedy movie without any starring comedians, a cue which “Mossad!” adopts. Harris is played by Erfrat Dor, who nails the demeanor of a super-badass agent. As the leading characters, each actor is amusing in their respective roles, as well as how each sort of turn expectations for said roles on their heads for the sake of humor. The film mostly earns its laughs through slapstick comedy, fourth wall-breaking dialogue and other sight gags–one scene has Moran get the upper hand on his pursuers by crawling along the black aspect-ratio bar on Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 37
the bottom of the screen, then emerging back into the picture by climbing up through a basket. “Mossad!” also makes use of several Israeli landmarks to generate laughs; the secret entrance to the Mossad’s underground headquarters is located right behind the Knesset Menorah, and the unpopular Chords Bridge is destroyed in an explosion. Alon called destroying the bridge a community service to which
an appreciative Jerusalem audience applauded. Despite that “Mossad!” is a wholly Israeli film, the humor has resonated with international audiences. “We had [a] screening in the US, and people told us–because we wanted to know how American audiences [are] going to respond to this kind of film–people told us that it’s really funny,” Alon said. “They got it immediately, they knew what we were doing, but they said it’s strange that
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the Mossad agency is stupid, and the CIA girl is smart, because we thought that the CIA are the dumb ones, and the Israeli guy should be the smart guy. “So I think everyone thinks the neighbor’s grass is better.” “Mossad!” will play for one night only at the San Diego Jewish International Film Festival– Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m.–at Clairemont Reading Cinemas 14. A
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FILM FESTIVAL
“Crescendo” Offers A Story Of Understanding Between Israelis And Palestinians BY ALEX WEHRUNG
C
rescendo” is a film of tempered ambition. It knows not to stretch too far into the issues it wants to tackle. The film’s intentions–to offer a story about Palestinian and Israeli youth bonding–are earnest, though it sort of loses itself towards the end by overplaying its own dramatic hand. The movie’s story concerns a joint Palestininan-Israeli orchestra based off of the real-life West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, whose members are from several different parts of the Middle East, including Israel, Palestine and Iran. Its founder said that the orchestra’s purpose wasn’t to miraculously bring peace, but understanding between its members. Two musicians of particular focus in this movie are Layla and Omar. They are both Palestinians living in the West Bank, she a violinist with an open loathing towards Jews, and he a mild-mannered clarinet player who plays at West Bank weddings with his father. The film wastes no time noting the disparity between the living conditions of Israelis and Palestinians; while a redhaired Israeli named Ron practices in the comfort and safety of his apartment, Layla has to practice over the sounds of distant gunfire, before rushing to cut an onion to clear her eyes of the stinging tear gas wafting through her window. This is the film declaring right out the gate that it is not going to try and draw any sort of equivalency between the respective situations of the two groups, but it also makes clear that there is no good side or bad side.
Layla carries an anger over past wrongs; her family and friends have been putting up with Israel intruding into their lives for decades, and on a smaller scale, she has to deal with a brusque Israeli guard at a checkpoint on her way to the orchestra audition. Her and her fellow Palestinians’ pent-up frustration spills over to a boiling point when they are immediately met with condescension and bullying by the Israeli musicians. Cold, bluish coloring and light emphasizes the frigid tension between them all. Or maybe it was just chilly in Austria, where most of the film is set. In the midst of all this sturm and drang is a Romeo and Juliet-esque love story between Omar and an Israeli girl, Shira. Neither carry the prejudices of their respective peoples; they are the only two who don’t get into shouting matches with their opposing groups. After a session where the Israelis and Palestinians are asked to stand on opposite sides of a line and scream at each other for five minutes, an overwhelmed Shira goes off to cry in solitude. The duo inject the story with some heartwarming sweetness and innocence–a bit of light to compensate for the acidic animosity around them. Despite the film’s title, music is not wholly important to the story. The film’s motto, if you don’t notice the hashtag during the opening titles, is #makemusicnotwar. A noble sentiment, but the orchestra is just a plot device that brings these groups of disparate people together. You could make all of these characters sports players instead, and little about
the film’s story would change. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that; just know going in that the story isn’t as much about classical music as it is understanding the reasons for both the physical and emotional divisions between people. Another of the film’s interesting narrative choices, I find, is giving the German conductor, Eduard, a backstory that is more dramatically compelling than the conflict present in this film. We find out that he is the son of Auschwitz-Birkenau doctors responsible for the deaths of thousands, and he has been dealing with that for decades. That’s the sort of story that could make a whole movie by itself, but here, it is exposition the character uses to basically drive home that if Germans and Jews can live peacefully with one another, so can Israelis and Palestinians. What I admire about the film’s end is that, much like real life, it doesn’t provide any clear answers about a path to peace. Though at the same time, I question the wisdom of throwing in a deadly accident at the eleventh hour that smells less of tragedy more than it does a need to succumb to soap-opera drama in what had been until that point an emotionally naturalistic movie. All that being said, “Crescendo” remains an interesting story about finding common ground and bridging the gaps that divide Palestinians and Israelis. If you need a spot of hope and want some heart-warming teen romance thrown in for good measure, look no further. A
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 39
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FILM FESTIVAL
Golden Age Romantic Comedy Sparks "Love In Suspenders" BY MICHAEL FOX
T
he graying of the baby boomer generation has had a side effect we should have anticipated: Septuagenarian romantic comedies. Made for a specific demographic–younger audiences haven’t flocked to a film with older characters since Harold and Maude– Golden Age rom-coms are a decidedly mixed bag. If the leads are movie stars we’ve followed their whole careers, or even if they’re less well-known, seeing them later in life inevitably reminds us of our own mortality. Not the best starting point for generating belly laughs, eh? American viewers likely won’t recognize Israeli actors Nitza Shaul and Yehuda Barkan, the would-be lovers in the genial, slight “Love in Suspenders.” But they will certainly register every one of the time-honored conventions of the romantic-comedy genre. The obligatory cutesy meeting between the two leads occurs in a parking lot outside a strip mall, where dotty but stylish widow Tami backs her car into pot-bellied Benno. Not into his car, mind you, but into him. Tami’s son, a control-freak lawyer, instructs her on the phone to take every conceivable measure to dissuade Benno from suing, including plying him with cash. But Benno isn’t the type to exploit situ-
ations to his advantage, even if he doesn’t have three shekels to rub together. Easygoing and unassuming, he’s just trying to hang on to his dingy apartment–temporarily rendered uninhabitable while the jerry-rigged electricity is fixed–and get through his days with a minimum of tsurris. Between his circumstances and Tami’s insistence, Benno winds up spending the night on the couch at her place, which turns out to be a spiffy apartment in an upscale retirement high-rise. It’s a good location if you want to make a movie on a small budget, but there’s a downside that quickly becomes apparent: The rom-com starts to feel like a sitcom. That unfortunate sensation isn’t alleviated by the introduction of Tami’s pajama-clad husband, whom only she can see and hear. Director Yohanan Weller and writer Elisa Dor are aiming for poignancy rather than easy laughs, but the pedestrian dialogue and ham-fisted staging fail to convey what Tami misses about him beyond familiar company. Interestingly, the couple enjoyed a long career as a performing duo. But Tami shows no sign that she pines to sing for an audience. Regrettably, the film uses her decades of stage experience only passingly to deepen her character or drive the plot. Similarly, the filmmakers are neither in-
dustrious nor creative about developing the attraction between Benno and Tami. We’re supposed to take it on faith–or as a movie-logic imperative–without any basis in shared interests, common enemies or pentup desire. Ah, sex. “Love in Suspenders” features some clumsily executed and distinctly unfunny machinations involving Viagra, but they pay off, surprisingly, with a genuine moment of revelation and warmth. The other obstacles that one expects in a rom-com, namely the suitors’ families, show up more or less as expected. Benno’s daughter is tired of her father’s ongoing financial struggles, while Tami’s son is suspicious that his mother is being conned by the scruffy stranger. The most enlightened character is the youngest, which is standard practice for a sitcom. Tami’s adolescent granddaughter, who regularly drops by for voice lessons, sports a live and let live attitude about Tami’s stimulating affair that, you will not be remotely shocked to learn, is embraced by everyone in due time. Even Tami’s late husband, for those with an incurable sentimental streak. A
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 41
FILM FESTIVAL
Fear And Loathing As A Jewish-Russian Comedian: Michael Idov’s “The Humorist” BY ALEX WEHRUNG
S
omething Michael Idov found particularly interesting, he said in his talk with me, is that his directorial debut “The Humorist” (which he also wrote) is the first Russian film with a Jewish protagonist that is not set during wartime. It was not his original intent to make a film with this particular distinction; rather, the film was inspired both by Michael’s memories of his childhood in Soviet Latvia, and a woeful period of working as a magazine editor in Moscow. The idea for “The Humorist”, Michael said (not Mikhail, as IMDb and Wikipedia both insist on identifying him), began to bloom in 2014, when he visited his home
42 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
country of Latvia for the first time in 20 years and discovered, to his shock, that many of the comedians from his 80s Soviet childhood were still playing at the same venues. “It just kind of spurred me on to think about the lives that these people had. The millenia changed and the Soviet Union fell apart and yet, somehow, they’re still out there telling the same jokes. The idea really struck me, and I tried to imagine what it must have been like for them, then and now.” “It took me a while to sort of gather up my courage and to find the right story to try myself as a director,” Michael said. He shot the entire film in Latvia with a joint Czech
and Latvian crew. Some of the film’s climactic scenes were even shot at the Jurmala dacha (seasonal house) that belonged to Leonid Brezhnev, the fifth leader of the Soviet Union. In “The Humorist”, Jewish-Russian comedian Boris Arkadiev tours Latvia and Russia during 1984, popular with Soviet leadership and the people for performing a routine about a photogenic monkey jumping into a women’s arms. However, he is also a failed novelist, has to have his material approved before he can perform it and could be taken from his home at any time by the KGB at the behest of the state.
Arkadiev’s life is somewhat inspired by Michael’s; as the editor for “GQ Russia”, he endured much superficial glad-handing and meaningless chit-chat. “I found myself sort of struggling to be taken seriously at times. Because people would assume that GQ was just a fashion magazine, or a magazine about expensive watches. So I think I did end up channeling some of that frustration into this notion of a stand-up comedian who believes he’s a serious writer.” The core of Arkadiev’s internal conflict is a sort of sense of impostor syndrome; he feels that he has become famous and popular over the worst parts of himself. He is a heavily flawed character; early on the film, he cheats on his wife by sleeping with a rival comedian’s girlfriend and hits his son when he starts playing anti-Soviet music, venting his frustration over the fact that he is still something of a marionette for the USSR. The film is also emblematic of the experiences of some Russian Jews in the 80s. “Jews [were] seen as this sort of model minority that are welcome as entertainers, but whenever a Jew wants to be taken seriously or as an equal, that’s where the claws come out.” “The reason the Soviet humor was so heavily Jewish as a profession was that it was a refuge for serious novelists who wouldn’t otherwise get into the professional union of Soviet writers. So for aspiring Jewish lit-
erary men and women in Soviet Russia, there were three possible paths: children’s literature, translations (translation work), or humor–where it was kind of more permissible to be Jewish. [This] is also the subtext of why Arkadiev is a stand-up comedian, as opposed to the novelist he wants to be.” “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that nothing has changed since 1984, but certainly some restrictions on free-speech that modern-day writers, directors, comedians have to face … do bring to mind, sort of, the Brezhnev era.” To draw attention to this, Michael included a song by Ivan Timofeevich “FACE” Dryomin–a rapper who has been at odds with the Russian government and turned down a Kremlin offer to produce state-sanctioned music–in the film’s end credits. The battle between freedom of expression and censorship is exemplified through the implicit comparisons between Soviet comedy and American comedy. When Arkadiev performs his monkey routine, he is incorrigibly straight-faced and deadpan, but towards the film’s climax, when he embraces the insult-comedy style of Eddie Murphy and starts going after the wife of his host–a general–he becomes more energetic and animated. “In the film, I am equating American humor with freedom, which is a simple and direct reading, but also happens to be true,” Michael said. “Of course, if we were to dis-
cuss the sort of American humor of the time, including Eddie Murphy’s, in the American context, the picture gets a little more complicated. Because, of course, a lot of it is also horrendously homophobic and racist, et cetera by today’s standards, and misogynistic.” But when it is placed in contrast with Soviet humor of the era, it represents that idea of freedom. Michael’s film career is only just getting started; he recently moved to Los Angeles from Berlin with his wife and daughter (who played Arkadiev’s own daughter in the film). He is writing and directing his English-language film debut, “Aspirations,” in Canada, and is also working on the Amazon Prime series “Deutschland 83”, a thriller about an East German man sent to spy on West Germany for the Stasi. “The Humorist” saw success in Russia, having screened in around 360 theaters, a release Michael called respectable, just not quite on par with that of a blockbuster. The film received a glowing review from “Variety” for its depiction of artistic repression and its symbolic allusion to the Roman Empire during the film’s climax. “The Humorist” will play at Clairemont Reading Cinemas on Feb. 18 and 20, and at the La Paloma Theatre on Feb. 19. The film’s dialogue is in Russian with English subtitles. The film has no MPAA rating, but its content is on par with an R-rated film. A Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 43
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FILM FESTIVAL
Coming-Of-Age In “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey Into The Arms Of A Shiksa” BY JACQUELINE BULL
otti Wolkenbruch is an Orthodox Jew in Switzerland. Addressing the camera, he informs us that the life of Orthodox men in his community is laid out clearly. Birth, bar mitzvah, marriage, child-rearing is shown in farcical montage. In his own world, he is dominated by the forces of, primarily, his overbearing mother and the machinations of their insular community. He trudges down the path laid out for him going on shidduch (arranged meetings for potential marriages) after shidduch, his black suit looking like an oversized costume. He shows discontent for his life like a grumpy teenager, but isn’t compelled to stray too far outside of expectation until a beautiful shiksa classmate catches his eye. And thus starts the central conflict of religion and family versus his own desire and individuality. Motti is stuck. In classic rom-com form, the best friend offers some advice. His friend gives a lesson on cognitive dissonance, and
we see scenes of the different rationalizations Motti tries on to solve this discrepancy. Motti paralyzes himself with this dilemma and had it not been for his shiksa classmate, Laura, choosing a seat next to him and striking up a conversation, the film might have ended right then and there. The film is framed as such that Motti is constantly being acted upon and he says very little and makes precious few choices for himself. Having a main character with very little agency is tricky and I found myself wanting to intervene to snap him out of his trance. We get a couple glimpses into his psyche in the first-person direct-to-camera moments that we get with him and these are so crucial to such a reserved character. Joel Basman (the actor playing Motti) manages to infuse him with a little cheeky charisma in the direct-to-camera moments and a soft vulnerability in the other scenes that you can’t help but root for him to succeed anyway. Both Laura and his mother start out
as fairly one-note characters. His mother reaches absurd heights of hysteria and it seems as though Motti’s dilemma with his crush is not a concern for disappointing his mother, but his fear of her oversized reaction. Laura is painted as a pretty party girl and most of their conversations center around what her existence in his life means for him. As the film goes on, Laura and his mother develop a bit outside of their original molds. As Motti progresses along his journey of coming into his own agency, the other characters find more specificity and their own wants. And in this way, the film is structured as Motti growing out of his extended adolescence. The film is shot beautifully–especially the scenes in Israel and in the neon bar that Laura works as a bartender. And the plot is well-paced and strays outside rom-com norms. “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey” is a stylized and charming film. A
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 45
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| FEATURE |
Mission Ukraine BY SHARON ROSEN LEIB
Claire and David Ellman with Alla Magus, founder and director of AJT, at a conference in Kiev.
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HUMANISTIC JEWISH CLERGY
’m not much of a shopper,” David Ellman said as he displayed a slide of himself pushing a cart at a grocery store in Odessa, Ukraine. He and his wife Claire recently returned from an American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) mission to Ukraine and shared highlights of the trip at a January gathering in their La Jolla home. Part of their experience included marketing for two Jewish women who subsist on meager retirement pensions. The women provided their shopping lists to the Ellmans who were shocked to discover how little the pension money covered. “This is where the JDC comes in and serves as the 911 emergency lifeline for Jews in the Former Soviet Union,” Claire said. The JDC provides homecare and bank cards to Jewish seniors who have no family left to care for them, preventing them from experiencing hunger and neglect. The Ellmans also attended an Active Jewish Teens (AJT) conference in Kiev with 400 participants from Ukraine and surrounding Madrikha Beverly Zarnow countries ranging in age from 12-17. “These kids showed so much 858-549-3088 spirit. They gave us hope for the future of Jewish life,” Claire said. madrikhabeverly@kahalam.org The JDC sponsors AJT and other youth-oriented activities across the Former Soviet Union, inspiring a new generation of Jewish leaders and a renaissance of Jewish culture suppressed under Communism. The Ellmans found the AJT conference particularly meaningful after visiting Babi Yar, the Kiev ravine where the Nazis systematically gunned down 34,000 Jews in 1941. “Seeing the amazing work JDC is doing in Ukraine helped temper its tragic Jewish history,” Claire said. A
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| FEATURE |
Jewish Family Service Migrant Family Shelter Moves to State-owned Facility BY SANDY YOUNG
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ewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) announced that the JFS Migrant Family Shelter has moved into a state-owned facility in Linda Vista. The move comes as JFS’s lease with the County of San Diego to operate the shelter out of a County-owned property concluded at the end of 2019. “As a state that welcomes migrant families into our communities, we have an absolute responsibility to protect the health and safety of those who seek asylum and reside or travel within our borders,” said California Senate President pro Tem Toni G. Atkins. “I am so grateful to Jewish Family Service and other partners in the San Diego Rapid Response Network that continue to step up, and am glad that the state can help provide shelter for our migrant families. We embrace our responsibility and will continue to be part of the solution.” The shelter will continue to provide asylum-seeking families released from federal custody with critical humanitarian aid and transportation assistance to help them reach loved ones or sponsors elsewhere in the U.S. “As we transition into the new space, we first need to thank the many partners, supporters and volunteers who have helped us provide refuge to thousands of asylum-seeking families over the last year,” said JFS CEO Michael Hopkins. “Thank you to the State of California and Governor Gavin Newsom, the County of San Diego and Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Greg Cox, the San Diego Rapid Response Network, and UC San Diego Health.” As a core partner of the San Diego Rapid Response Network–a coalition of human rights, service and faith-based organizations dedicated to supporting immigrants in the San Diego region–JFS has been operating the Migrant Family Shelter since November 2018, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ended its “Safe Release”
policy. “The State of California responded from the beginning to help fund operations of the Jewish Family Service Migrant Family Shelter and is now proud to house the shelter in its new home,” said California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. “Through these collaborative efforts, thousands of migrant families have been kept off San Diego’s streets, ensuring they did not further strain the capacities of service providers working to shelter and assist the region’s ever-growing homeless population.” In a little over one year, the shelter has served over 20,000 asylum seekers–all family units–providing beds, food, clothing, health services, legal aid, and airplane and bus tickets to help families connect with loved ones across the country as they wait to continue their legal process to gain asylum. Families housed at the shelter include at least one to two young children, with average stays of 12 to 48 hours. “The Migrant Family Shelter truly rep-
resents a collaborative effort of us all coming together to do the right thing. Because of this effort, thousands of vulnerable asylum-seeking families have been shown love, compassion and the best of the American spirit,” said County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. “I was proud to partner with Jewish Family Service, Gov. Newsom, state and federal representatives, and many others to address an ongoing humanitarian crisis at our border by opening up a temporary shelter for asylum seekers,” said County Supervisor Greg Cox. “That shelter not only provided a lifeline to families and children, but protected the public’s health and safety in San Diego. I look forward to this new location and our continuing partnership to provide critical services in our region.” Additional funding is needed to maintain daily operation of the shelter and to support cross-country travel expenses of migrant families. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit www.jfssd.org/shelter. A
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| CAMPS |
Camp Mountain Chai Prepares for 15th Summer BY JACQUELINE BULL
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amp Mountain Chai is entering its 15th summer. And according to Dan Baer, Camp Director, “We are making camp more relevant for the modern San Diego family.” With varying school schedules and different demands on their families summer time, there has been an increased demand for more options when it comes to camp. “So we’ve moved from sessions that were 3 sessions options (of 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 2 weeks), to now having four two-week sessions,” Dan said. Kids that before could logistically only attend one session are able to add on a second later in the summer and kids that couldn’t attend because of their school’s start or end date for summer vacation are able to come to camp. “We’ve added basically 200 more campers eligible to come to camp,” Executive Director Buddy Voit said. “People don’t want to send their kids for one 3-week session anymore. They want to go to Yosemite. They want to do all kinds of travel options. We’re giving them the ability to come to camp and still do those other things with their families,” Buddy added. They are also offering 1-week sessions for first time campers which gives parents and
54 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
kids a taste of camp and eases them into the experience. They are already on track for their biggest year yet. This year, the camp was awarded a Yedid Nefesh grant. With the grant, they are able to hire a summer mental health professional to expand on staff and counselor training for the mental, emotional and social health of the campers (MESH). “That’s the way we are building in the support, so the kids can take risks to be themselves, so we have higher-end support that kids don’t always need to see,” Dan said. The safety net is there, but invisible enough to help the campers build confidence in their own independence and problem-solving. 2020 also marks the third year of their service-learning trips for their 11th-grade campers. In its first year, they sent 14 campers to the Dominican Republic and this year, they are sending 33. The slots for registration usually fill up within the first two hours they are opened. When the 11th-graders come back into the U.S, they spend five days back at camp as a homecoming. They can participate in the camp-wide shabbat and reconnect with the familiar faces at camp. When they first
return to camp, they have a debrief session with Buddy and talk about their experience. “The thing that I got most from them was that to them, to a child, each one of them said it was life-changing–it was an incredible experience. It gave them a much different outlook … It was just an incredible opportunity that reset their perspectives on life and where they sit in life … When they talk to the next age group–part of that program is those 11th-graders talk to the 10th-graders at camp–and you know we don’t have to create any brochures, those kids sold it for us because the 10th-graders their mouths drop, you know, ‘I want to do that.’ It is just a great experience,” Buddy said. And the summer following high school graduation is a bridge year to train to be staff for those who can’t stay away. “Now we are starting to see our staff being made up of alumni of the camp, but now that culture of camp is coming full circle as campers become counselors,” Dan said. Dan estimates that the number of their staff that are former campers is about 50% and growing, so the campers are feeling right at home in the culture and familial atmosphere. A
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Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 55
| FOOD |
The First Kosher Bar In The Former Soviet Union Serves Up Cocktails And Torah Lessons BY CNAAN LIPSHIZ, JTA NEWSBY JTA
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s an Orthodox Jew, Aryeh Rov had little interest in this port city’s rich and vibrant bar scene. For one thing, most drinks served in Odessa’s bars are not kosher, limiting his choice to a handful of certified brands. He also usually doesn’t feel “at ease” at a bar. “A person wearing a kippah just stands out in places like that. Certainly an Orthodox Jewish couple,” said Rov, who is 40 and married. But that changed in August, when Rov attended the opening of Kosher Bar, which its owners say is the first kosher-certified drinking establishment in the former Soviet Union. 56 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
“It’s a great addition to evening activities,” said Rov, who now goes there regularly with his wife on date nights and sometimes with friends on other nights. The zigzag-shaped marble counter, which is meant to facilitate eye contact between patrons, has 20 seats, and couches accommodate another 15. All in all, the bar’s 1,300 square feet of floor space has a capacity of about 100 people and features a patio and a dance floor. The music selection is eclectic but Jewish, ranging from the Israeli dance rock group HaDorbanim, whose lyrics about the Tel Aviv nightlife scene are anything but chaste, to the rhythmic lamentations of the Hasidic singer Avraham Fried, who delivers his num-
bers in Hebrew with strong Ashkenazi pronunciation. On Wednesday nights, the bar is usually packed with members of an informal weekly Torah study group that is led in Russian by Eliyahu Hussid, a local rabbi and standup performer. On Thursday nights, patrons enjoy homemade kugel along with some of Kosher Bar’s native cocktails named after Jews with a connection to Odessa or Ukraine. The Sholem Aleichem (tequila, pineapple juice, lemon and syrup) is named after the famed Yiddish writer. There’s also the Meir Dizengoff (a fruity aquamarine concoction based on gin that is served with a frothy top to evoke the Tel Aviv beach) named for that city’s first
mayor. Getting a kosher drink isn’t a problem in Odessa, a city home to about 40,000 Jews and which has six kosher restaurants, each serving alcohol. Many brands of hard liquor– including vodka, gin and whiskey–are either certified kosher or accepted as such by many observant Jews. Cocktails, however, generally require certification by a mashgiach, a rabbi whose job is to make sure the products and facilities used to make food and drink are kosher. But a bar that is 100-percent certified kosher, with its own signature house drinks, had never existed anywhere in the former Soviet Union, according to David Roitman, the Ukrainian-Israeli businessman who opened Kosher Bar with his business partner, Shimshon Korits. There’s a good reason why Roitman’s experiment hasn’t been tried before. To be certified kosher, the bar must import much of its ingredients from Israel, inflating costs. Kosher Bar is significantly more expensive than most other local bars, with house cocktails costing about $8.50–a pricey luxury in a country where the average monthly salary is about $330. Additionally, Kosher Bar is closed on key portions of the weekend because of Shabbat, which diminishes profitability. During the academic spring break period, a crucial time for bars and pubs, Kosher Bar’s observance of
Passover dietary laws means it can serve only some wines. Kosher Bar does not have much of a captive clientele, either–of Odessa’s 40,000 or so Jews, most of them are not observant. The business relies on a mix of local Jews, Israeli and Jewish tourists, and non-Jewish tourists “searching for an authentic experience” in a city where the population was about onethird Jewish before the Holocaust, Roitman said. Roitman also hopes the bar will appeal to non-Jews through a high standard of service. Top Israeli barmen helped train the staff for weeks before the launch. Still, “the financial bottom line is a bit complicated,” Roitman conceded. He declined to say whether the establishment is profitable, saying that will only become apparent later this year. “But we took the risk for the sake of doing it,” said Roitman. Roitman regards Kosher Bar as a pilot for a model he hopes could be implemented across the former Soviet Union, which is home to approximately 500,000 Jews. “This is not just a bar but a community institution. A wholesome place you and your friends can bring your kids after a simcha [celebration],” he said. “I think it can really make a difference.” For now, Roitman says if the bar just covers its own overhead and opening costs, “day-
enu”–the Hebrew word for “that would be enough.” Roitman, 40, immigrated as a child to Israel from Odessa, where his family had lived for at least five generations. He said he regards it as a personal duty to help rebuild the community he left behind. “After the Holocaust, and after Communism, I was the last living person carrying my family’s name,” he said. “If I hadn’t made a Jewish family, it would have been lost to the Jewish people. Some were murdered by the Nazis. Others died as Red Army soldiers. So my coming and opening a bar for the community means a lot.” The owner of several business ventures, Roitman, a 40-year-old father of four living in Jerusalem, can afford to bet some money on a project with limited profitability. Since 2015, his factory in Odessa, David Roitman Luxury Tallit, has been manufacturing some of the world’s priciest Judaica items, including exotic designer yarmulkes made from crocodile, snake and ostrich skins. “When I was living in New York, I just couldn’t believe how some Jews would wear designer suits worth tens of thousands of dollars, and then slap a crumpled rag on their head and called it their kippah,” he said. “I decided we could do better and have been moving forward in leaps, baruch hashem,” he said, using a Hebrew phrase that means “G-d be blessed.” A Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 57
entertainment
| By Eileen Sondak
Allison Spratt Pearce and Joshua David Cavanaugh in “She Loves Me.”
The San Diego Opera is ready to show off its production of “Hansel & Gretel” at the Civic Theater. The whimsical family-oriented opera by Engelbert Humperdinck was based on the Grimms’ fairy tale about two children lured into the woods by an evil witch. This production is a visual delight as well as a musical one–with life-sized puppets to charm audiences of all ages. “Hansel & Gretel” is set to run Feb. 8-16. The Old Globe’s Main Stage is featuring “August Wilson’s Jitney” through Feb. 23. Wilson, an American master and twotime Pulitzer Prize-winner, had a close relationship with the Globe and this exciting work returns under the direction of one of Wilson’s foremost interpreters–Ruben Santiago-Hudson. The plot is about unlicensed cab drivers and their fight to save their business in 1970s Pittsburgh. Wilson’s dramatic thrust and use of language is thrilling, but the play comes with a warning for its strong language. The Globe’s White Theater will unveil a West Coast premiere on Feb. 8. “Hurricane Diane,” a side-splitting new comedy from Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George, deals with the Greek god Dionysus–who returns to the modern world disguised as the butch gardener. If that sounds like a good recipe for an amusing night at the theater, you can see this production through Mar. 8. Be prepared for some strong language along with the laughs. The play has received critical acclaim for its clever observations and humanity. La Jolla Playhouse is taking a fresh look at “Peter Pan’s” Neverland in a new musical, titled “Fly.” The show puts its spotlight on Wendy’s coming-of-age. You’ll still find Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and the crocodile there to delight young audiences. Fortunately, the show has enough substance to appeal to adults as well. “Fly” will soar–with aerial acrobatics and a thrilling percussive score–Feb. 18 through Mar. 29. The San Diego Symphony will start off the month on Feb. 2 with Benjamin Grosvenor performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9. Also on the program is Mendelssohn’s Trumpet Overture and his Fifth Symphony (Reformation). The Family Concert Series continues on Feb. 9 with “Beethoven the Music Genius.” The event includes pre-concert activities for the small-fry set. The Symphony’s Valentine’s Day Concert, 58 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
“Hurricane Diane” at the Old Globe.
“Love Me Tonight” (slated for Feb. 14, of course) will include oldies like “Embraceable You” sung by baritone Norm Lewis. Rob Fisher will conduct this special concert. The orchestra will feature Maestro Rafael Payare conducting a program of Beethoven and Shostakovich on Feb. 21-23. Stefan Jackiw will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on this San Diego debut concert. The Chieftains will perform their “Irish Goodbye” concert on Feb. 25. This promises to be a memorable evening of music, song, and dance on the group’s final journey. Sibelius and Rachmaninoff will be heard in all their glory on Feb. 28-29, when Eun Sun Kim takes to the podium for a three-piece concert. Violinist Nancy Zhou will perform Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 is the composer’s most nostalgically Russian symphony. San Diego Musical Theater starts its 2020 season on Feb. 7 with “She Loves Me,” a musical set in the 1930s. This charming romantic comedy focuses on shop clerks and their attempts to find true love through letter writing. The show will continue through Mar. 8. The San Diego Repertory Theater is winding down its production of “The Humans,” a Tony Award-winning play that has been described as “hauntingly beautiful,” and “relentlessly gripping.” The show will pack up and leave the Lyceum on Feb. 2. North Coast Repertory Theater’s staging of “Bloomsday,” a San Diego premiere by Steven Dietz, will close on Feb. 2. Following on Feb. 19 is “The Outsider,” a political satire directed by David Ellenstein. The show is slated to remain at NCR’s Solana Beach home through Mar. 15. The North Coast Rep will feature “Men are from Mars–Women are from Venus–Live,” starring Ryan Drummond. This hilarious show (which deals with everything from dating to marriage) will be performed Feb. 3–4. Cygnet Theater is offering a Southern California premiere through Feb. 16. “The Great Leap,” directed by Rob Lutfy, deals with an American basketball team that traveled to China for an exhibition game in 1989. The drama goes even deeper than the strained relationship between the two countries and
Another interesting exhibition at the Birch is “Research in Action: 100 Island Challenge,” an exhibit that explores the way reefs are adapting to our rapidly changing planet. Also on display is “Oddities: Hidden Heroes of the Scripps Collection,” a comic book-inspired exhibit that highlights amazing adaptations of ocean species. This time of year, you can enjoy whale watching cruises as well.
“Turtleversary” at the Birch Aquarium.
focuses on two men with a past and one teen with a future. The play is driven by fast-paced dialogue, as it explores the cultural and political risks of speaking up and standing your ground. The Lamb’s Players’ West Coast premiere of “Babette’s Feast’’ continues through Feb. 16. This adaptation of Isak Dinesene’s story (an Academy Award-winning film) deals with a French cook who takes refuge in a rural Norwegian community and finds a wonderful way to show her gratitude. The Lamb’s will follow “Babette’s Feast” with a musical based on Lewis Carroll’s beloved tale, “Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.” “Alice” is an imaginative adaptation of the brilliant story aimed at entertaining everyone in the family. The show will stay on at the Lamb’s Coronado home Feb. 29 through April 12. Moxie Theater is bringing “Red Bike,” penned by Obie Award-winning playwright Caridad Svich, to local audiences through Feb. 16. The play, directed by Lisa Berger, takes us on a dangerous journey through a small town in America. The Museum of Art is showcasing “Bouguereau & America,” a collection that includes 40 canvases depicting modern interpretations of classical subjects by the French artist. The exhibition will remain through March 15. “Abstract Revolution”–on view through Feb. 23–re-evaluates the development of Abstract Expressionism. The newest exhibition at the Museum of Art, “Nick Roth: Fates,” is a three-panel animation and computer programming representing life, destiny and death. The show will continue through March 1. Birch Aquarium is highlighting “Turtleversary,” the fifth anniversary celebration of the arrival of a rescued Loggerhead sea turtle. “Seadragons & Seahorses” is a permanent exhibition. “Hall of Fishes,” which also serves as a working laboratory, is also on view. Birch has an installation on light by scientist Michael Latz, and another exhibition that helps you understand Scripps’ expeditions to discover and protect the planet. “Expedition at Sea” includes a 33-foot long projected triptych and hands-on learning opportunities.
The Reuben Fleet Science Center will be showing a new film, “Cuba,” a fascinating look at the island nation, along with “Turtle Odyssey” (narrated by Russell Crowe), “Superpower Dogs,” (which showcases the bravery and prowess of some of the world’s most remarkable dogs) and “Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation” (which examines the contribution of volcanoes to the wildlife ecosystem and their impact on humans). Also at the Fleet is the “Renegade Science Project,” which escorts visitors through the park for a 90-minute exploration. Its newest exhibition, “Sun, Earth, Universe,” is an interactive exhibit that explores the world of space science and astronomy. The Fleet is offering “Dream, Design, Build”–an exhibition that explores the museum’s collection of interactive engineering activities, and “Taping Shape 2.0,” which uses hundreds of rolls of packing tape to create a world of translucent spaces and tunnels. The Fleet has several other permanent exhibitions, including “Don’t Try This at Home,” “Studio X,” “Block Busters,” and “Origins in Space.” The newest is “It’s Electric,” an interactive show that explores the fundamentals of electricity. The Natural History Museum is captivating audiences with “Escape the Nat”–an escape room experience that dares you to solve puzzles and save the world. The 3-D films include “Hidden Pacific,” “Ocean Oasis,” and “Conquest of the Skies.” “Hidden Gems” is another attraction. “Coast to Cactus in California,” and “Unshelved: Cool Stuff from Storage”–a display of specimens from around the world–are also worth checking out. “Living Lab” (featuring our creepy, crawly neighbors) is on view, along with a photographic exhibit titled “Insects Face to Face.” Both are expected to remain at the Nat through September. San Diego Air and Space Museum is featuring “Space: Our Greatest Adventure.” The New Children’s Museum has a colorful interactive textile environment to amuse the small-fry set. Dubbed Whammock, the intricate installation (designed by artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam) invites kids to climb, play, and have fun. The San Diego History Center is featuring the first exhibition in Balboa Park exploring San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community. The History Museum’s permanent exhibition, “Placed Promises,” chronicles the history of the San Diego region–and the America’s Cup Exhibition, highlights the sailing race held in San Diego three times since 1988. The Museum of Man (open during a seismic retrofit) is showcasing “Cannibals: Myth & Reality” and “PostSecret.” A
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 59
the news San Diego Proposes Spending $900 Million on Home Construction On Jan. 14, the San Diego City Council voted to pass the Resolution of Necessity for Homes for San Diegans, a bond proposed by the San Diego Housing Federation, which would allocate $900 million to build 7,500 homes in San Diego. The passing of this resolution increases the likelihood of it appearing on the Nov. 2020 ballot.
UC San Diego Continues its Holocaust Living Workshop Series The UC San Diego Library announced that it will continue its current season of the Holocaust Living History Workshop series through June 3. The next event will be Feb. 19. Subjects will include how media shapes the social life of trauma, the songs written during the Holocaust that were collected by the Soviets, the role sexuality and sexual violence played during the Holocaust and Gabriella Karin’s personal story of survival. All events will be free and held at the Geisel Library’s Seuss Room from 5 to 7 p.m. The Library held an event on the history and legacy of the town of Terezín (where the Theresienstadt concentration camp was located) on Jan. 22. Workshop events in the series are: “Transmitted Wounds: Media and the Mediation of Trauma” (Feb. 19); “Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II” (April 15); “Sexual Barter in Times of Genocide: Reflections on Sexual Violence, Agency, and Sex Work” (May 6); “Trauma, Memory, and the Art of Survival” (June 3).
Ner Tamid Annual Gala to Honor Marlene and Jerry Markus Ner Tamid’s annual gala, designated this year as the Spring-aPalooza, will be held on March 14 and honor longtime Ner Tamid members Marlene and Jerry Markus. “We were very surprised to be honored,” the Markuses said. “Ner Tamid is like family and we feel like this is our home.”
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“The lack of affordable housing is the largest crisis facing our city and is a key barrier to ending homelessness,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages. “We applaud the San Diego Housing Federation for taking the lead on this effort, which is a necessary component in ensuring there are fewer people sleeping on our streets and more people who have dignified and stable housing.”
San Diego Groups Form Coalition to Tackle Child Poverty Several San Diego community leaders, organizations and nonprofits have banded together to form a joint coalition: “San Diego for Every Child: The Coalition to End Child Poverty.” The coalition’s goal is to cut San Diego’s child poverty by half in time for 2030. The coalition plans on tackling the issue by building a network of supporters to bring about policy change, expand the reach of certain programs and amplify the voices of those affected by poverty, amongst other strategies. “San Diego families are struggling to navigate a confusing network of services and resources, and parents are forced to spend valuable time away from their children while trying to find the right solutions,” said San Diego for Every Child Director Erin Hogeboom. “By thinking inclusively, collaboratively and strategically, we can collectively redirect our combined energies toward amplifying the solutions we know already work and identifying new ways to address the problem.” The Markuses have been married for 61 years and have been deeply involved in Jewish life for their entire lives. For instance, Jerry Markus helped found a Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, while Marlene Markus and her twin sister were among the first girls to have a Bat Mitzvah in Pasadena. The gala will be held March 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Ner Tamid Synagogue, with tickets priced at $150.
Meetings and Events for Jewish Seniors Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 Feb. 7, 11:30 a.m. The Ins and Outs of Medical Cannabis with Torrey Holistics. Cost is $15; free for JCC Members. RSVP in advance. Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein (858) 521-8694 Feb. 9, 10 a.m. Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings
SDJA Students Present Checks to Charities for Tamchui Project San Diego Jewish Academy eighth-grade students presented giant checks, the results of their Tamchui project fundraising, at the San Diego Jewish Academy gym on Jan. 17. The money they raised will go to five local nonprofits: Feeding San Diego, Ride Above Disability, A Bridge for Kids, San Diego G’Mach (San Diego Jewish Gift Closet) and Jewish National Fund. For this project, students made presentations to their school regarding four of these charities (Feeding San Diego was voted in as a recipient after the fact). Afterwards, they ‘donated’ by placing poker chips into several different fish bowls that represented each charity. A total of $7,168 was raised via donations from San Diego Jewish Academy families, faculty and the Chortek and Weisman families.
B’nai B’rith Votes to Send Aid to Australia and Puerto Rico The B’nai B’rith International’s Disaster and Emergency Relief Committee decided to send financial aid to Australia and Puerto Rico. B’nai B’rith International will work with B’nai B’rith Australia/New Zealand and other groups in Puerto Rico to assist each affected area.
Feb. 9, 11 a.m. JFS Balboa Older Adult Center Contact Aviva Saad (858) 550-5998 Feb. 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friendship celebration with entertainment by Robert Hardaway. Cost is $27. On the Go Excursions Contact Mia Elenes (858) 637-3012 Feb. 14, Depart 12 p.m., return 4 p.m. “Love in Suspenders” at JCC Garfield Theatre. Pay $28 by Feb. 4. Feb. 21, Depart 10 a.m., return 2 p.m. “The Albanian Code” at JCC Garfield Theatre. Pay $28 by Feb. 10. North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine (760) 295-2564 Feb. 20, 12:30 p.m.
Australia experienced deadly wildfires that killed at least 25 people and over 500 million animals, while Puerto Rico–still recovering from Hurricane Maria–was struck by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that caused over $110 million in damages and destroyed over 500 homes. B’nai B’rith is now accepting new donations to help both communities recover from these disasters, both in the short and long term. Donations can be made at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/bbi-disaster-relief.
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 61
ADVICE
ASK MARNIE by Marnie Macauley asksadie@aol.com
V-Day Survival Strategies
S
halom my dear San Diegans: February is here, and most Americans will celebrate a decidedly non-Jewish “follyday”–Valentine’s Day. With “apologies” to St. Valentine … do most of us of the Jewish faith care? Yes. Hearts, flowers and loooove have trumped any religious or “saintly” connections. Why in such a classy publication should I clack away? Here’s why: I’d re-string Cupid’s bow and aim it at the idiot who inspired this venal holiday horribilus. Before you accuse me pooing on wooing, I adore sentiment–when it’s real–which is why I loathe love-by-hype and hand grenade. Worse, “V-Day” or “Proving your love” is rigged with more minefields than Angola. Face it, dear readers, unless you’re still in the “sharing sweat socks” stage this love by hype day is one big marketing manip. I saw one ad that read: “Real Men Give Diamonds. It means never having to say Sorry again.” And there we have the problem. 1) “She” walks in with either high rent or false expectations that start with “If he loved me, he’d prove his love by: a) using his charge card to get me a trinket–at Tiffany’s or whisk me off to Tahiti. b) get me something I can stand, or failing that anything.” 2) The Average “he” is shopping-challenged and tends toward the orange Bustier with tassels, Chia pets or anything by Ron Popeil. (For men who don’t fall into this category, please write a book and help your brothers.) And the disappointment may hang on 62 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
like static cling. It’s an annual irritation that wears at a couple like a poppy seed under a molar. She’s thinking, “What horror is he going to come up with to torture (or ignore me) this year!?” And he’s thinking, “Why bother? Nothing I do pleases this ungrateful nag anyway.” If this sounds familiar, the following strategies may turn V-Day from Very Depressing to Victimless or even–Very Delightful!
222667 is holding them for you.” A tip: Only send him to stores named either “’R US” or CITY, for example: FLOWERS ’R US or PERFUME CITY. This way even if they forgot what they came for they won’t get confused. – Appreciate his attempts, no matter how ... strange. Admit it. How many times ladies have our men tried and we acted like we just ate a rotten egg?
Getting It! Your Personal Strategies for Surviving V-Day:
THE MEN’S ROOM –Attempt to please her. The notion she should adore anything from you may work if you’re a pirate choosing the right ruby from your treasure trove. If not, prompt yourself with the strategy of wanting to make her happy. How? –Notice what she has, likes, talks about. Hey, if she has one, she might like two. (Godivas, not heating pads). If you need help, ask her or one of her female cohorts. It need not be expensive, but thoughtful and sentimental. A single rose or a few chocolate strawberries beats a Costco-size box of laundry detergent –Wrap it well. Show you care with bows, and bags that don’t say “Dollar Store.” –Use words! One “I cherish you” is worth diamonds and will soften even the hardest caramels you gave her last year.
LADIES FIRST – Think motive! Ask yourself, even when he bought you that mustache remover was his intention to make me happy? Yes. Get it straight. Separate his intention from his taste. They’re not guilty of lack of love. They’re guilty of lack of taste and being shopping challenged. It goes back to their hunter days when all they “shopped for” were things to fix or kill, which is why today they’re good at buying sump pumps, and semi-automatic weapons. Partner your mate. They’re not mind-readers. a) Tell him what you’d like or get an emissary to tell him. b) Be specific. For example: If you say “I’d like something for my finger” you might get a parakeet. Much better to say: “GLOVE DEPT. THIRD FLOOR ACROSS FROM THE ELEVATOR. GO AT 3. Salesperson
Don’t let the hypesters get you. This is about feeling. Not stuff. Give of yourself
daily and you’ll be shooting those Valentines the other 364 days. And isn’t that what loving supposed to be about? P.S. THE LISTS: GOOD GIFTS Think romantic. On a budget? Go small and elegant! *A collectible she likes *Frame a favorite photo *Poetry/frame *Gift certificates, for example: a spa day, massages *Turning family film into DVDs *A “date” recreating a wonderful memory BAD GIFTS Practical, ugly or what you’d like. *Dishpan hands gifts, e.g.: magic mops and other assorted clean ing items or appliances *“Miracle products” to make her: thinner, less wrinkled, or suck the fat out of moose burgers *What you like, for example, knife sets, hardware, size 2 bustiers *Eau de poo: cheap toilet water *Clothes: unless you know her well, there’s too much room for error here. They may be ugly, ill-fitting, weird or an item only you can play with–or want to *Any type of cubic zirconia jewelry you see on a Shopping Network. Believe me, she’ll know or a dear “friend” will enlighten her. A
SYNAGOGUE LIFE EVENTS Tifereth Israel Sisterhood Goes to the Jewish Film Festival Feb. 14, 1:30 p.m., 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 Join Tifereth Israel for a screening of “Love in Suspenders” at the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival. Visit tiferethisrael.com for more information.
Screening of “The Frisco Kid” with Congregation Beth Am Feb. 15, 6:20 to 9:30 p.m., 5050 Del Mar Heights Road, San Diego, CA 92130 Join Beth Am for a screening of “The Frisco Kid”, starring Gene Wilder as Rabbi Avram Belinski. Attendance is free. Visit betham.com for more information.
“Standing Up, Falling Down” with Congregation Beth El
Feb. 17, 7 to 9 p.m., 4665 Clairemont Drive, San Diego, CA 92117 Join Beth El for a screening of “Standing Up, Falling Down” at the San Diego Jewish International Film Festival. Tickets range from $13.25 to 16.25. Visit cbe.org for more information.
New Member Shabbat at Congregation Beth Israel
Feb. 21, 5:30 to 8 p.m., 9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego, CA 92122 Join Beth Israel for a special evening as the congregation welcomes new members who have joined in the past year. Everyone is invited. Visit cbisd.org for more information.
Havdalah and a Movie with Temple Adat Shalom
FACT:
Our Caregivers really do enjoy looking at pictures of the grandkids. Quality home care for San Diego’s Jewish seniors.
Peace of mind for the familiies who love them.
(760) 942-2695 www.seacrestathome.org
HCO License #374700096
Feb. 22, 7 to 9:30 p.m., 15905 Pomerado Road, Poway, CA 92064 Join Adat Shalom to say farewell to Sabbath and enjoy a movie. Friends and family are welcome. Attendees don’t have to be temple members to join. A donation of $5 per family is suggested. Visit adatshalom.com for more information.
Stars & Stripes Presents: A Historic Evening with Rita B. Ross at Temple Solel
Feb. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., 215 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024 Listen to Rita Ross talk about how she survived the Holocaust, reunited with her father and lived as an ‘outsider’ in the US. Cost is $20-25; RSVP by Feb. 17. Visit templesolel.net 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.
Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 63
EVENTS
Cantor Deborah Davis
Design Decor Production
Custom Wedding Ceremonies
Let us work together to create a wedding ceremony that reflects the joy of your special day.
Mitzvah Event Productions
LYDIA KRASNER 619.548.3485 www.MitzvahEvent.com
As Humanistic Jewish clergy I focus on each couple’s uniqueness and their love for each other. I welcome Jewish, interfaith and same-sex couples. I also perform all life-cycle ceremonies. member of
lydia@mitzvahevent.com
For further information please contact
Deborah Davis • 619.275.1539 www.deborahjdavis.com
The Joyous Music of Tradition and Transition. Let the award-winning
Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble
provide your wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah with lively, authentic music. Tradition has never been so much fun!
JEWISH COMMUNITY Welcoming babies and families to San Diego’s Jewish Community ARE YOU EXPECTING A BABY OR DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS? Shalom Baby is an innovative program designed for San Diego families to celebrate the arrival of their Jewish newborns to affiliated, non-affiliated and inter-married families as a welcome to the San Diego Jewish Community.
To receive your Shalom BaBy BaSkeT and for informaTion conTacT:
For information call Deborah Davis: 858-246-7176
To hear samples, visit our website: secondavenueklezmer.com
Rodeo Ice Cream
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, Mandell Weiss Eastgate City Park, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1348
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Events, Birthday Parties, Bar/Batmitvahs Kosher Ice Cream Available
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Direct Line: (858) 362-1352 E-mail: littlemensches@gmail.com
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www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby/littlemensches
619.981.4704
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Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS 4126 Executive Drive • La Jolla, CA 92037-1348
raulontiveros68@yahoo.com
Rafael James Psychotherapist
Bringing Sensitivity to the Mental Health Needs of the Jewish Community Depression Anxiety Couples Therapy
Call for a free consultation
San Diego .............. Judy Nemzer • 858.362.1352 • shalombaby@lfjcc.org North County......... Vivien Dean • 858.357.7863 • shalombabyncounty@lfjcc.org www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby • www.facebook.com/shalombabypjlibrarysandiego
Family Therapy Older Adult Issues Eating Disorders
8400 Miramar Road, Suite 200 San Diego, CA 92126 858 282 6117 rafaeljames@thepowerofpeace.com www.rafaeljames.com
64 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
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Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 65
TREAT YOUR VALENTINE TO A CONCERT THIS FEBRUARY!
EMILY SKINNER, VOCALS
NORM LEWIS, VOCALS
FRI FEB 14, 8PM
LOVE ME TONIGHT* Rob Fisher, piano | Emily Skinner, vocals | Norm Lewis, vocals Whether you’re single, falling in love for the first time or falling in love again, spend Valentine’s night celebrating Broadway’s greatest love songs sung by Broadway’s shining stars. Get a thrill out of hits like “I Wish I Were in Love Again,” “Love is Here to Stay,” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” “Love and Marriage” and “Embraceable You.”
SAT FEB 15, 8PM
STEVE HACKMAN’S BEETHOVEN VS. COLDPLAY Steve Hackman’s Beethoven vs. Coldplay transforms Ludwig van Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony into an oratorio, weaving the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay into the original Beethoven and pairing them together based on content and context. Three vocalists join the full symphony; many of Coldplay’s most well-known songs are interpolated, including “Fix You,” “Paradise” and “The Scientist.”
STEVE HACKMAN, COMPOSER/CONDUCTOR
Steve Hackman’s Beethoven vs. Coldplay is a Stereo Hideout production, created and arranged by Steve Hackman.
TUE FEB 25, 8PM
THE CHIEFTAINS “THE IRISH GOODBYE”* Six-time Grammy®️ Award winning artists, The Chieftains, have been highly recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music on a contemporary and International scale. Their ability to transcend musical boundaries to blend tradition with modern music has notably hailed them as one of the most renowned and revered musical groups to this day. Come see them perform at what will be a memorable evening of music, song and dance on this final journey! THE CHIEFTAINS
TICKETS & INFORMATION
SANDIEGOSYMPHONY.ORG | 619.235.0804 *The San Diego Symphony orchestra does not appear as part of these concerts.
66 SDJewishJournal.com | February 2020
HANSEL & GRETEL BY ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
February 8, 11, 14, and 16m, 2020 San Diego Civic Theatre
OPENS FEBRUARY 8 Lavish and sweeping music. Larger than life puppetry. A beloved fairy tale. A delight for audiences of all ages.
SDOPERA
LEE AND FRANK GOLDBERG, 19/20 SEASON SPONSORS
Tickets start at $45 sdopera.org | (619) 533-7000 Shevat / Adar 5780 SDJewishJournal.com 67