L'Chaim Magazine 0219

FEBRUARY 2019

FOR THE LOVE OF OPERA

HONORING LEE AND FRANK GOLDBERG PLUS SENIORS:

aging gr ac e f u l ly

ENTERTAINMENT

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contents

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February 2019 • www.lchaimmagazine.com

COVER STORY San Diego Opera Lover's Ball honors Lee and Frank Goldberg..........................................

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Who knew? Hebrew could be the basis for many English and European words....

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SENIORS Step By Step: Staying Active.....................................................................................................................

Frances Lobman: Small but Mighty.......................................................................................................

FOOD It’s tea time: Bring a bit of Downton Abbey home......................................................................

Fitness Studio in Poway Focuses on Fusion of Cardio, Pilates..........................................

Mystery and Intrigue at North Coast Rep with Gabriel...........................................................

San Diego International Jewish Film Festival................................................................................

A Permanent Image comes to Point Loma Playhouse...........................................................

COLUMNS

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35 37

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

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

Daniel Bortz, Donald H. Harrison, Steve Horn, Stephanie Lewis, Salomon Maya, Mimi Pollack, Sharon Rapoport, Eva Trieger, Deborah Vietor, Chana Jenny Weisberg

ADVERTISING & SALES Diane Benaroya (dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com), Sharon Buchsbaum (sharonbux@gmail.com) L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

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MYSTERY & INTRIGUE

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laurie Miller CONTRIBUTORS

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

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JewishMom.com........................................

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alanna Maya

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Guest: Michael Jeser......................................

PUBLISHERS Diane Benaroya & Laurie Miller

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FEATURES Soul Mates Unlimited: 25 Years of Matchmaking Success....................................................

ARTS & CULTURE

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GUEST COLUMN l BY MICHAEL JESER

my two shekels Our Resolutions to You

I

f you are anything like me, or like millions of others around the world, you recently made “New Year’s Resolutions” to use in 2019. While many Jews make resolutions to become better versions of ourselves around Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we get another bite of the proverbial apple and get to make amended or new resolutions this time of year. Ancient Jewish wisdom offers some sage advice for helping us accomplish these goals. A Jewish life, “anchored in the rhythms of the year, can help us set benchmarks and assess our progress. The flow of the year is literally built on the tides of renewal.”

It seems to me that making resolutions is the easy part. The hard part, though, is sticking to them. Is it uncommon for us to find ourselves reconsidering our commitments within months or even days of having made them? I know that has happened to me on more than one occasion.

So, while I personally resolve to be a healthier, more patient, kinder person, I simply don’t know yet whether I will have the determination to make all of the necessary adjustments to make that a reality. And, yet, I am excited about the prospect of jogging more, getting to the gym, being sweeter to my wife, and putting my phone down when with my family at home. Personally, I expect this to be the best year yet.

This year, however, I am trying something different. In addition to my personal resolutions, I also want to declare a number of organizational resolutions on behalf of 6

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

the Jewish Federation — resolutions and commitments I am making to you, our donors, our partners, and to members of this Jewish community. I expect you to hold me to these resolutions just as I expect to hold myself and my team to realizing these commitments.

better to the hopes and dreams, concerns, feelings, and opinions that you want to share with us. As you interact with the Federation, we expect that you will feel heard and respected as valued members of this community.

RESOLUTION 1

We resolve to do a better job helping you see, feel, and know of the tremendous impact your philanthropic support and involvement has. We want to do a better job making it clear how YOU are enriching our Jewish community as well as Jewish communities around the world so that YOU feel connected to the impact you make possible.

We resolve to provide you with the opportunity to feel proud about your involvement with Jewish life in San Diego.

Yes, we know you want to do good. But we also want you to feel good about doing good. Ultimately, we hope you will come away from your engagement with Federation with a deep and lasting sense of pride about what you are doing. That is a win-win for the community and for those in need.

RESOLUTION 2

We resolve to be an even greater source of inspiration behind the notion that together, we can do so much more than we can do alone. This notion celebrates the value of UNITY and the potential our collective impact can make as we come together for the good of the entire community. Federation has long believed in this, but we hope you will feel even more inspired this year by our collective potential to help Jews in need and build community.

RESOLUTION 3

We resolve to be more open to and to listen

RESOLUTION 4

RESOLUTION 5

We resolve to help you feel connected to the community in whatever ways are most meaningful and relevant to you! If you are passionate about caring for others, about the future of the Jewish community, or about belonging to a global Jewish family around the world, we hope you will feel a greater sense of belonging and connection through your involvement with Federation.

'MY TWO SHEKELS' IS THE TITLE FOR STORIES AND REFLECTIONS FROM FEDERATION’S PRESIDENT AND CEO, MICHAEL JESER, ABOUT HIS OWN JEWISH JOURNEYS, FEDERATION’S IMPACT, AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE. IT HAS BEEN REPRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION.

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TORAH l BY RABBI DANIEL BORTZ

of

the book Happiness is No Laughing Matter

"WE’D LOVE TO BE HAPPY ALL THE TIME, BUT IT CAN BE SO ELUSIVE."

“When the (Hebrew) month of Adar begins, we should increase in joy” (Taanit 29a).

February 6 begins two months of Adar, as this year is a Jewish leap year. Adar and its holiday of Purim is intimately connected with joy. Being happy is a crucial aspect of spiritual service and Jewish living, as King David sang in Psalm 100: “Serve G-d in joy!”

We can all agree that we’d love to be happy all the time, but it can be so elusive.

A friend of mine made an interesting observation to me. One day recently, he was sitting outside and everything ostensibly seemed perfect. Nothing to complain about — life was good! Yet he felt sad. It hit him then that we may not be running on “emotional neutral,” but can be predisposed to feeling down unless we do something proactively to feel good.

Our minds are like lenses of glasses.

If negative, the glasses are smudgy and everything we see - no matter how beautiful will seem dirty. Accomplishments we’ve had are diminished and our self-worth and the value we see in ourselves others are lessened in our mind’s eye.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

There are definitely outliers who exude genuinely happy energy around the clock (my Mother Hélène being one — if you know, you know), but many of us often wake up on the wrong side of bed. It’s crucial that we not live our lives on neutral and just coast, expecting to feel happy and positive through an external surprise. Life can be like an escalator slowly descending that we need to work hard every day to move upward to reach higher levels. We must proactively flood our minds with wisdom and fill our time with activities that elevate our minds and hearts and those around us.

I think our lives need to be lived with an inner - outer approach. Yes, external success and reward is awesome, and it gives you a momentary high and dopamine boost. But the bedrock foundation of your happiness needs to be working on your inner world, and that inner world needs constant support, encouragement, love, direction, connection, and inspiration.

A good reminder of feeding your happiness receptors is “DOSE” — Dopamine (make attainable goals and meet them every day),

Oxytocin (physical touch/give a hug), Seratonin (Get out in the sun/smile/listen to your favorite music), Endorphins (exercise/ movement).

Feed your soul. Connect with good people that elevate your spirit as often as you can. Be aware of how blessed you are, despite the bad things. And when all else fails and the day just seems bleak, use the “five second rule” and at five jump in the air, dance, look to the sky with a wide smile, or do some body shift to reset and start fresh. Do something for someone else.

Every moment is a precious gift. To enjoy these moments, we need to continually grow and care for our inner worlds. We need each other in order to succeed at this difficult mission that is life. Reach out to me and let me know if any of these suggestions help you. Wishing you increased happiness and fulfillment in this Adar and your life ahead!

DANIEL BORTZ, THE MILLENNIAL RABBI, IS THE FOUNDER OF JTEEN AND SOUL X. CONNECT AT: RABBIBORTZ.COM.

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L’CHAIM | ARIEL BEN SOLOMON | jns.org

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

L’CHAIM

WHO

KNEW? HEBREW COULD BE THE BASIS FOR MANY ENGLISH AND EUROPEAN WORDS

E

nglish and European words such as alphabet, earth, loco and habitat could come from Hebrew, according to an independent Israeli linguistics researcher who has written a number of unpublished dictionaries, articles and books.

Modern works on the subject are lacking, and one Israeli — Tony Daccre Barat, 73, born in Romania and now living in Akko, Israel — has studied linguistics on his own as a hobby for the past four decades.

In 1951, he immigrated to Israel with his family and served in the army, studied political science at Haifa University, and later studied linguistics for one year in Paris.

Barat noticed during his studies in Paris that nobody was making the links from European languages to Hebrew, and that there was no desire to do so. “Hebrew is a much older language as well, so it makes sense the roots of words go back before Latin or Greek,” he theorized.

In 1990, Barat returned to Romania and started a consulting company with his wife, assisting Israeli investors.

“Modern scholarship does not deal at all with the etymology of European or world languages from Hebrew,” said Barat. “It seems crazy at first, as Hebrew is written from right to left. But if you look more closely, similarities can be discovered.”

Scholarship exists on the connection between Hebrew and European languages, noted Barat, adding that he has around 1,500 books in his personal library that touch on the subject, often indirectly.

EXAMPLES OF HEBREW AS BASIS OF EUROPEAN WORDS

Barat has many theories regarding the Hebrew roots of certain European language words.

Take the word “earth” in English, which in Hebrew is eretz, or the word more

associated with land, adama. In Arabic, it is ard, German erde, and in Romanian tara.

The ending of these words can have differing pronunciations whether ending with a “se,” “te” or “de” sound. If you experiment with the different ending accent on these words, they sound quite similar.

Or the word “phrase” (which is the same in French), which Barat concludes comes from the Hebrew three-letter root paras or faras from the word ‫לפרש‬, meaning to interpret.

In Spanish, the word is frase, in Romanian fraza as well, and the same sound in Russia (фраза). The Online Etymology Dictionary says the word comes from the Greek frasi (φράση), but Barat infers it originates in Hebrew.

The word "loco" in Spanish means “crazy,” “distraught” or “deranged,” and according to dictionaries it comes from the Andalusian Arabic "lawqa", signifying a foolish person.

Barat theorizes that it comes from the Hebrew word laka (‫)לקה‬, meaning to be defective, to become ill or to receive lashes.

In Aramaic (a Semitic language that replaced Hebrew for local Jews and which was displaced by Arabic in the seventhcentury C.E.), laka means to be stricken with a disease. The Hebrew word likui means suffering from a deficiency.

Another is the word habitat, which Barat thinks comes from the Hebrew word for house, bayit (‫ )בית‬or ha-bayit. The Online Etymology Dictionary puts it as originating in 1762 as a Latin term on English flora and fauna, literally “it inhabits.”

Also, “the word alphabet comes from Hebrew,” claims Barat, noting that it is credited to having a Greek origin. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and bet is the second and the equivalent to the English “b.” The letter “d” in English is usually attributed to the Greek delta, “but

I think it refers to the fourth Hebrew letter daled.”

Asked if there is any way to prove the origins of words beyond theorizing one way or the other, Barat responded: “It is not about proving it, just connecting words that are close. Nobody really knows definitively where many words originate.”

ACADEMICS REMAIN SKEPTICAL, BUT ...

Professor Gerald Leonard Cohen, an expert in etymology at the department of arts, languages and philosophy at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, told JNS that Barat’s arguments would receive sharp criticism from academics, who would point out the weaknesses in his suggestions.

For example, Barat claims that the word “alphabet” comes from Hebrew, but actually, “it derives from Phoenician. The Greeks had considerable contact with the Phoenicians, and the Phoenician language was very similar to Hebrew.”

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Phoenicians were merchant traders that by the second-millennium BCE “had colonies in the Levant, North Africa, Anatolia and Cyprus.”

“Their alphabet became the basis of the Greek alphabet,” it stated.

Cohen noted that “the Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians, making several changes along the way.” For instance, the Phoenician language did not have letters for vowels, and so Greek needed to develop them. And aleph bet (alphabet) wound up as alphabēt-os in Greek.

But on a positive note, continued Cohen, “amid all the fanciful suggestions, Barat may have wound up spotting a few items that really are worth pursuing, and perhaps other scholars will develop them into polished, scholarly articles.”

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COVER STORY l BY EVA TRIEGER Frank and Lee Goldberg.

FOR THE LOVE OF OPERA The San Diego Opera Lover's Ball 12

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

COVER STORY

A

s my Polish Yiddish-speaking Nana used to say, “When ten men say you’re drunk, go home and sleep it off.” Allow me to translate: If a number of people say the same thing, it must be true. Public consensus is that San Diego deserves its own opera house. With this maxim in mind, the San Diego Opera is elated to announce “The San Diego Opera Lover’s Ball” gala event, which will be held Saturday, February 23.

This year’s honorees are Lee and Frank Goldberg, who have contributed generously, and have lovingly fostered the growth and development, not only of the San Diego Opera, but many other community institutions as well, including Seacrest Village, UC Moores Cancer Center, UCSD, San Diego State University and Words Alive.

Goldberg’s largess has brought opera superstars to our town, including the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills to name just a few.

Since the tumultuous period of 2014-2015, thanks to the Board, the company has made a wonderful comeback. Both of the Goldbergs concur that the new regime has done a terrific job.

Lee pointed out how the Detour Series has made opera accessible to everyone. This incredible program brings the art to people of all ages, and with less expensive tickets, a wider audience can be included.

Additionally, Lee told me, “Everyone can enjoy the opera, no matter what language it is performed in, thanks to projected lyrics overhead.” (I was surprised to learn that even if the opera is performed in English, subtitles assist the audience.)

“Everyone can enjoy the opera, no matter what language it is performed in," Lee said.

I was surprised to learn that the Goldbergs were not born with librettos in hand, nor were either of them nursed to the strains of Mozart or Wagner, but were introduced to opera by friends, after a pre-opera dinner at the Westgate Hotel. They found themselves enthralled by the voices, costumes and scenery. While Lee claims Madame Butterfly as her favorite, Frank appreciates all of them equally. The philanthropic couple has been married 66 years, and have shared their enthusiasm and love of this art form with their three children and six grandchildren. Both told me, in a phone interview, that they are thrilled and humbled to be selected as this year’s Gala guests of honor.

Since their initial foray into the world of opera, the Goldbergs have enjoyed opera in Europe and New York City, and feel that San Diego’s Opera has developed and risen to great heights. In 1992, Lee became President of the San Diego Opera Board of Directors. As Producer’s Circle members, the

While the Goldbergs would love to see San Diego Opera have its own dedicated facility, they are grateful that the Civic Center graciously houses the performances at present. The acoustics are great, and the seating plan allows for fantastic visibility, they said. Lee said that we are lucky the center is available.

This dynamic and dedicated couple credit the General Director David Bennett and the Gala’s Chair, Sarah B Marsh-Rebelo, with the Opera’s success.

Over a recent phone call, Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo shared her exuberant, infectious passion for San Diego Opera. The published poet, yogi and gemologist, has been a long time Opera board member, as well as close friend to the Goldbergs. This year MarshRebelo will chair the “refined, elegant affair” that will celebrate this “art form that transcends generations, connecting children to parents and to grandparents through their love of the human voice.”

Marsh-Rebelo’s first opera experience took place WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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COVER STORY

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo

at the age of 10, during her childhood in England. At the Royal Festival Hall, this impressionable, empathic spirit was introduced to the magical and transformative world of opera. Owing to her mother’s indoctrination of poetry, classical music, literature and theater, the pump was primed, and opera was the culmination of all things beautiful. While she told me she prefers to sing in the shower, a place that is “acoustically sensitive and allows my voice to sound wonderful” she also believes that atrophy is not a given. “If you use your voice, it is astounding what can happen,” MarshRebelo says.

This tone of inspiration and optimism seem to be a trademark of Marsh-Rebelo’s.

The Gala Chair was quick to point out that San Diego Opera is honored and overjoyed to receive support from individuals and corporations. It is also heartwarming to see that San Diego Opera lovers extend beyond our southern border, and many of our neighbors from Mexico are attending the performances as well as serving on the Board.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

Marsh-Rebelo offers kudos to General Director David Bennett, whom she describes as “courageous” for bringing not only the tried and true operas, but modern masterpieces to San Diego audiences. Bennett introduces topics that “share the nuances of human behavior.” In March of 2019, audiences will be invited to Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, a story that examines hopes and resentments in a family, as they try to resolve their differences.

The Board, benefactors and Bennett are all working to create a dedicated, worldclass opera of which San Diego can be proud. The San Diego Opera Lover’s Ball is a celebration of possibility and enchantment.

There is a music and dance between the staff and leadership and with a Spanish flair, the U.S. Grant Hotel will be transformed for the night. The room will be decorated in colors informed by Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso.

Beautiful floral arrangements designed and donated by Green Florals will grace each table. The US Grant Executive Chef, Mark Kropezynski has created an impressive

menu that will follow a cocktail hour in the Palm Court. Hors d’oeuvres will be passed, accompanying a silent auction. The auction proceeds will go towards the Company’s Programming and Community engagement projects. Additional entertainment will be provided by Encore Event Entertainment.

The elegant, sophisticated event promises to be an extraordinary night with a focused and community-conscious purpose. The San Diego Opera’s mission statement is “to deliver exceptional vocal performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community engagement and the transformative power of live performance.”

So as the premium wines and champagne flow, remember my bubbie’s words. “If ten men say you’re drunk, go home and sleep it off.”

SAN DIEGO OPERA DESERVES A HOME OF ITS OWN. TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT WWW.SDOPERA.ORG/OPERA-BALL.

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SENIORS

Step

by Step Walk toward a healthier year

BY PAUL DOWNEY caption

T

here are countless benefits to exercise, no matter what age. For older adults, many studies point to the importance of exercise for the mind and the body. Exercise has been proven to help prevent dementia and keep the mind sharp. Being active is a moodlifter for people of all ages, but specific studies on elderly patients show that consistent exercise can reduce depression.

For those with arthritis, it may be hard to get up and start moving, but regular activity can help alleviate stiffness and keep your joints lubricated. About 12 million seniors – 1 in 4 – live with diabetes, and exercise has been proven helpful in maintaining a healthy body weight and regulating blood glucose levels. Lifelong exercise contributes to cardiovascular and muscle health, too. A recent study from Ball State University shows that seniors who participated in regular exercise for the past five decades have the cardiovascular health of somebody 30 years younger.

It's clear exercise is important, but unfortunately, in populations age 75 and older, one in three men and one in two women engage in no physical activity. Federal guidelines recommend two hours and 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week, and that may seem like a lot, but as the saying goes: slow and steady wins the race.

Walking is a low-impact, safe method to get your heart pumping daily. It can be hard to start a new routine, especially if you feel achy or tired, but a little exercise every day is better than none at all. Plus, our temperate San Diego winters are the perfect season for daytime walks, providing you with a healthy dose of vitamin D while remaining cool enough to keep you from overheating or getting too much sun.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

It can be daunting to start a new exercise routine, but here are some suggestions of how to put one foot in front of the other – and have fun doing it: Find a friend. Walking is easier, and safer, with a friend. Setting a walking date can keep you accountable and socially engaged.

Visit the mall. Many shopping centers open early to allow walkers to take advantage of the indoor square footage. Visit during shopping hours to browse and people watch and get some steps in. Most malls have plenty of public seating, providing a respite when you need a break.

Join a local health club. If you are unsure of how to start, a local health club is a wonderful option. Professionals can help keep you safe by creating a walking or exercise program to suit your needs.

And, most treadmills have handrails to help stabilize yourself while you walk. Medicare offers free gym classes through Silver and Fit programs. Google it and find out where in your zip they are offered.

Go grocery shopping. You may not even realize it but running errands can really rack up the steps! From the car to the store, and from aisle to aisle, running an errand daily is a simple way to get exercise as well as get out and about. Use a shopping cart to help stabilize yourself as you walk – and remember to wear good walking shoes.

Volunteer. Finding a volunteer activity can keep you social and physically active. Volunteering as a local museum docent can give you a chance to help visitors. Here at Serving Seniors we have volunteer opportunities help serve seniors meals, assist in the computer lab or fitness room, and of course leadership positions on our board.

Take some laps in the house. If you are housebound, there are ways to still get some daily walking in. Set a timer to remind yourself to get up every thirty minutes and take a lap from room to room. Or, every time you use the restroom, touch each of the four walls of your house before returning to your seat. Small activities can make a big difference in your cardiovascular health, and before long you’ll have more stamina to walk further.

FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES, PAUL DOWNEY HAS BEEN A NATIONAL ADVOCATE FOR LOW-INCOME SENIORS, AS WELL AS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SERVING SENIORS, A NONPROFIT AGENCY DEDICATED FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS TO INCREASING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR SAN DIEGO SENIORS LIVING IN POVERTY. LEARN MORE AT WWW.SERVINGSENIORS.ORG.

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SENIORS

Frances Lobman:

Small

but Mighty

By Eva Trieger

PHOTO BY LITTLE FANG

Frances Lobman

F

rances Lobman is proof positive that great things come in diminutive packaging. Hailing from Staten Island, Frances arrived on the La Jolla scene by way of New Jersey and Paris.

One has only to meet this visionary and purposeful woman to see that she is passionate about giving back to her community and improving the world.

A consummate educator, Lobman has taught or supervised all grade levels including college. She has written curriculum, and served in the roles of educational administrator, supervisor, principal, director and superintendent! A lifelong lover of languages, Frances taught French, English and eventually ESL. As if this weren’t enough hats, Frances gave birth to two sons, Jeff and Jack.

Her first teaching job placed her in a special needs district, and the innovative and sensitive teacher responded by teaching reading from meaningful sources instead of insulting teens with See Spot Run. Frances shared a cute story about her initial meeting with the representatives from Arad, Union County, New Jersey’s Federation’s “twin” city in Israel. As the reps entered her office she overheard 18

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

them speaking in Hebrew, pondering if their car would be okay where they’d parked. Without hesitation, Lobman answered them in English, revealing her comprehension of Hebrew. Did I mention that this polyglot speaks not only French, but also some German, Spanish and Hebrew? (Her dream job was to become a simultaneous translator at the UN, but apparently, the Universe had other plans for her!)

The United Jewish Federation was delighted to latch onto this dynamo, and invited her to co-lead a diverse group of teachers for a trip to Germany, Poland and Israel to help implement a newly-created Holocaust Education curriculum.

But all of this was just a warm-up for the second act which began with retirement in 2001, when Frances moved into the “shtetl,” a stone’s throw from the University, JCC, grocery stores and a movie theater. She quickly found a home at Congregation Adat Yeshurun, and through the La Jolla Newcomers, met a number of people with whom she has remained good friends. Soon after, a burgeoning Yeshiva was seeking a secular headmaster. They turned to Lobman for recommendations, and she complied. SCY (Southern California Yeshiva) High now serves the communities of Adat Yeshurun and Beth Jacob. Lobman sat on the SCY High Board, and continues to mentor the students with whom she has formed lasting friendships.

The San Diego Jewish Film Festival benefitted from Lobman’s volunteerism as she aided with film selections and the attendant events and responsibilities. Always active and curious, Lobman has taken advantage of the cultural and recreational offerings of the JCC, including music appreciation and weekly Pilates classes.

This constant thrum of giving back is at the core of everything Frances Lobman does. She is a passionate and steadfast supporter of all things Israel and all things kid-oriented. To this end, she currently serves as a Board member for JNF where she is involved in two very exciting projects. The Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) is a pluralistic study-abroad program for high schoolers. Lobman’s real passion is the Gaza Envelope Task Force (GETF) which provides counseling, and much needed support to those battling PTSD in the Gaza Strip. With a limited budget the committee tackles issues faced by terror victims, including those in the Sha’ar HaNegev and Eshkol Regional Council areas as well as Sderot.

Do not be fooled by Frances Lobman’s quiet composure. Just below the surface there beats a heart bigger than Texas and filled with the desire to change the world. As the French would say, she is formidable; in Yiddish, Frances is pure mensch!

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FOOD | ETHEL G. HOFMAN | JNS.ORG

IT'S TEA TIME:

Bring a Bit of 'Downton Abbey' Home

T

he majesty of afternoon tea. No need to shell out megabucks in a fancy hotel for this refined pastime. Tea time is one of the simplest ways to entertain.

It can be casual or swanky, and the guest list can range from family, friends and neighbors to members of a volunteer group or book club. It’s a wonderful way to get together on a winter evening (think rain, snow and ice outside, warm and cozy inside.) Pull out that rarely used wedding china, cake stand, flowered ceramic serving tray or whatever else is hidden in the cupboards. This is your opportunity to get a little extravagant with what you already have around the house.

Think Downton Abbey tea right at home.

Teatime can be anytime in 21st Century living, based on the tradition set by the Duchess of Bedford in the 19th century, who

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

decided it was much too long between lunch and dinner to go without a snack. So she ordered a light repast of Lapsong tea, scones and cakes to hold her over.

The “meal,” by the way, is not confined to adult entertaining. When it’s an early school closing or days off for the kids and they want something productive to do, let them try their hand at this basic style of cooking. Then they get to eat their creations in a civilized fashion. They can make elegant-looking peanut-butter-and-jelly, egg- and tuna-salad sandwiches, pressing the bread for a thin, crustless finale, just as British royal Princess Charlotte might do. And kids love to pat out the sticky dough for scones. Scones, the real British variety, are moist and spongy inside, and crunchy-crisp on the outside. Made with inexpensive ingredients — flour, butter

and sour milk — they could be mixed and baked in minutes, and were served in both farmhouses and mansions.

The triangular Petticoat Tails, or fouringredient shortbread cookies, are said to resemble the long, frilly underskirts of 16thcentury ladies. In the Shetland Isles where I grew up, a round shortbread cake was broken over a bride’s head as she entered her new home. The rich, buttery, cookie-inspired one Scottish chef called “shortbread” became the “jewel in the crown” of Scottish baking.

As for tea, the dry, aromatic leaves were scarce, expensive and highly taxed. British housekeepers kept it in a locked box, attaching the key to one’s belt so that it could be doled out as needed. Sandwiches, scones, shortbread and that precious tea — an elegant, easy, but necessary afternoon revival.

FOOD

Tea time is one of the simplest ways to entertain.

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES (DAIRY)

Makes 20 Tips: • Buy a thinly sliced loaf, at only about 40 calories per slice • Use a serrated knife to cut off crusts • Make sandwiches 4 hours or so ahead of time. Cover loosely with a damp paper towel to prevent drying out and refrigerate.

Ingredients: 20 thin slices of white or brown bread Vegetable cream cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced Directions 1. Pile 10 slices bread on a cutting board.

Remove crusts.

2. Place five slices flat on the board and spread thinly with cream cheese. Top with a layer of cucumber slices, then cover with remaining bread slices.

3. Press down with your hand. Cut each sandwich into two triangles. Repeat with remaining bread. Arrange on serving platter.

4. May garnish with sliced cucumber (optional).

FARMHOUSE SCONES (DAIRY)

PETTICOAT TAILS (DAIRY)

Makes 8-10

Makes 16-20

Tips: • No self-rising flour? Substitute 2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus 4 teaspoons baking powder.

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Discard foil after baking.

• Butter should be cold, not soft.

• For sour milk, pour in 2 teaspoons white vinegar to 1 cup milk. Let stand 15 minutes. Do not stir.

• Use thin latex gloves on hands to rub butter into flour. No need to wash the food processor.

Tips: • Use salted butter, softened • Add flour gradually, ½ cup at a time • Chopped crystallized ginger or currants may be added • No need to sift flour • Orange extract may be used instead of almond flavoring

Ingredients 2 cups self-rising flour 3-4 tablespoons butter 3/4 to 1 cup sour milk Directions 1. Place rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle lightly with about 1 tablespoon flour.

3. In medium bowl, rub butter into flour to consistency of coarse crumbs. If using plain flour, stir in baking powder.

4. Make a well in center. Add enough sour milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn onto a well-floured board. Pat into a round circle about ¾-inch thick. Use a little more flour, if needed. Cut into rounds with a fluted 2-inch cookie cutter. Place on prepared cookie sheet.

5. Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes until well-risen and golden. Remove to towel-lined basket. Cover with towel.

Best served immediately or within 2 to 3 hours of making.

6. Leftovers may be split, toasted and spread with preserves.

Ingredients 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened and cut into pieces 1 teaspoon almond flavoring 2 cups all-purpose flour Cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle (optional) Directions 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a jellyroll pan or Pyrex baking dish, approximately 11×14 inches, with nonstick baking spray.

3. In a medium mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat sugar and butter until well-blended, about 1 minute. Add the flavoring, then the flour, about 1/2 cup at a time.

4. Beat well until the flour is completely blended before adding the next 1/2 cup flour. Mixture will be stiff.

5. If using ginger or currants, work into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon.

Press into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar (optional). Prick all over with a fork. Bake in preheated oven, 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden and edges are slightly browned.

6. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles.

7. Cool completely before storing in airtight container at room temperature.

May be frozen.

ETHEL G. HOFMAN IS A WIDELY SYNDICATED AMERICAN JEWISH FOOD AND TRAVEL COLUMNIST, AUTHOR AND CULINARY CONSULTANT. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

21

Feature Story

MAKE ME A MATCH

by Deb Vietor



Soul Mates Unlimited© Celebrates 10 Years of Helping People Find Love

J

ust in time for Valentine’s Day, Judith Gottesman is celebrating her 10th anniversary as a professional matchmaker and dating coach. She holds an MSW from Yeshiva University and a BA in Psychology from U.C. Berkeley. The successful owner of Soul Mates Unlimited©, with a personalized approach to finding love for Jewish singles, she provides date coaching to anyone, anywhere.

Gottesman is a matchmaker for the West Coast Jewish community, with clients across the United States, including some in Israel.

Once a geriatric social worker, Gottesman noticed her married clients were always happier than single ones, and she realized that helping people find love was the most important work she could do. After years of matchmaking informally for the “Mitzvah,” she started Soul Mates Unlimited© in February 2009.

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

“My goal is to help find love in any way I can. Everybody who wants love should have love,” she shared.

Gottesman has a unique business model, resulting in countless successful matches over the years. Every client that has married through working with Gottesman met their soulmate on their first match. Working with clients via e-mail and over the phone, she purposely charges much lower fees than others in order to make matchmaking affordable for the average person. Her services include free unlimited date coaching, with date coaching offered as a separate service. She prefers clients who are serious about finding love, charging men and women equally, tailoring to their needs and tastes. She believes in transparency, posting all fees on her website.

Clients pay the majority of the matchmaking fee following a successful match.

Gottesman provides an hour long in

depth interview, establishing criteria for a match. She attends to all dating details for compatibility, especially the three big ones: Values, lifestyle and long term goals.

Her date coaching includes the basics; like how to dress for a date, and how to communicate. She advises clients when to call, text, or e-mail, at times recommending whether to continue seeing someone.

“If you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything. I am my client’s personal cheerleader so they get back out there and are open to love,” she shared.

Clients hire Gottesman much as one would hire a life coach, personal trainer, or any other professional for optimum results.

She has been interviewed by the New York Times, Fox News, many Jewish publications and NPR, among other radio programs. Her video blog, “Dating Tips and Horror Stories,” is informative, insightful and entertaining.

Gottesman has written two books on finding your soul mate and dating advice, coming out soon.

A sample testimonial says, “With Judith, it is not a “numbers game.” So, you are not going to have large quantities of dates and your time wasted time and time again, with people that are nothing close to what you are looking for. You have to be patient, but it is worth the wait.” S.R. in Carlsbad.

Gottesman matches clients from their 20’s to well into their to their 90s! Many young singles on dating apps attend singles events and ask her to supplement their search with a more personal approach. Others are busy professionals or single parents, utilizing online dating, wasting time on random dates.

Some retirees may be new to the dating world after long marriages, wary of dating sites, especially benefitting from the date coaching service. Gottesman has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and received the 2015 & 2016 Best Businesses of San Diego Award in the Matchmaking category.

CONTACT JUDITH GOTTESMAN, MSW OF SOUL MATES UNLIMITED™ TO HELP YOU ON YOUR ROAD TO LOVE. VISIT WWW.SOULMATESUNLIMITED.COM AND WWW.MYDATINGCOACH.CO OR CALL (510) 418-8813.

Wooden Wars focuses on the lives of four young Catholics from modern Poland, each of whom changes forever when they discover that they might have Jewish roots. e play asks us to reeect: is Yiddish truly the key to understanding Polish Jewish past?

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

23

Feature Story

GETTIN' FIT

by Steve Horn



A

Fitness Studio in Poway Focuses on Fusion of Cardio, Pilates

new Jewish-owned fitness studio, Studio40, has hit the town in the epicenter of downtown Poway.

Owned by Glace Ziperovich, the studio will blend a form of exercise called the Lagree Method, which fuses Pilates with other forms of physical fitness such as strength training and cardio. It will be the first studio of its sort in Poway.

Ziperovich, whose family lives in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, grew up in Brazil and has a Sephardic Jewish background. Today, her family attends services at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway.

Ziperovich moved to the U.S. 21 years ago and found her tribe, explained Ziperovich. “I connected with many Jews who made me feel welcomed and linked again with my heritage and I married within the faith,” she says.

Coming to San Diego has reinvigorated Ziperovich’s connection to the faith, she 24

said, and she has offered her son a Jewish upbringing, as well.

Sebastian Lagree, the French-American inventor of a device called the Megaformer, which sits at the center of the fitness method, serves as the namesake of Lagree Method. He created it due to his own experience fending off exercise obsession, hoping to craft a workout regime which keeps people healthy and able to achieve fitness within a reasonable and sustainable time commitment window.

“The Megaformer is a spring-based resistance machine adjustable to all levels of fitness and fuses key elements of Pilates providing a high-intensity, low-impact workout, adaptable for men and women of all ages, body shapes and fitness levels,” said Ziperovich of the equipment.

Taking a Lagree class for the first time with a friend, and then trying it again under the tutelage of Lagree in Los Angeles, Ziperovich

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

says she got hooked. And from there, the rest is history.

“I immediately fell in love with the method. It was exactly what I was looking for,” she explained. “Celebrities in LA are obsessed with the method and I hope to get the community excited about the method as well.”

Classes at Studio40 will last, as its name implies, 40 minutes. Attendees can expect to walk away feeling like they got a solid workout, while also craving more, Ziperovich detailed.

“The workout strengthens the body, tones and elongates the muscles, improves endurance, jump-starts metabolism, increases flexibility and postural alignment, and restores the body’s natural balance,” she said. “Studio40’s goal is to help your mind and body reconnect with your spirit, so you can live a life that inspires you to be the absolute best version of yourself. I believe strong mind leads to a strong body! The body achieves what the mind believes.”

The gates will open for the first time this month for Studio40, on an appointmentsonly basis.

“I want to create a place where everyone feels comfortable, encouraged, welcomed and most of all feel good in small group size,” Ziperovich said of what she hopes patrons can expect at Studio40. “I envision highlycapable, charismatic instructors to lead the classes to motivate every client to reach their full potential.”

STUDIO 40 IS LOCATED AT 13557 POWAY ROAD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL INFO@STUDIO40.FIT OR VISIT WWW.STUDIO40.FIT

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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A RTS & ENT ERTAIN MENT

MYSTERY & INTRIGUE AT NORTH COAST REP THEATRE THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF GABRIEL, DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS RUNS FROM FEBRUARY 10-MARCH 7.

BY DEBORAH VIETOR

M

oira Buffini, an award winning, British playwright has brought us a treasure through the revival of her 1997 play, Gabriel. She has created a visceral, intimate feeling onstage, based on complex characters, including a quixotic 10 year old girl, women protecting their lives and families during 1943 WWII, with a Nazi officer thrown into the mix. Our collective consciousness enters the mysterious and somewhat ethereal island of Guernsey, part of the Archipelago in the English Channel.

Gabriel presents more questions than answers.

Characters within the story move like poetry, limited only by time and space, on an island with a few British farmers, occupied by Nazi’s, and a family holding many secrets in a small, yet comfortable farmhouse.

Jeanne Becquet’s husband has been killed in the war, with her son Miles presumed dead

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

in action. Her daughter-in-law Lily is Jewish, her existence presenting danger to herself and those around her. Jeanne’s daughter Estelle, meaning star, although only 10 is precocious and questions their reality, replacing it with mystical dreams. Although the women argue, often at odds with one another, a codependency forms as well.

A theme of loneliness, grief, fear and at times desperation prevails, along with a story of passion unfolding, conveying the will to survive.

Sinister Major Von Pfunz, is a poetic yet ideologically German officer, holding the key to this family’s survival. The audience need not be fooled as he inhabits this family’s space, vacillating between a seemingly protective figure, both ominous and mercurial at the same time. His intense attraction to Jeanne, is powerful, yet she needs to be mindful, as she has gone swimming in this dangerous

pond once before. Repulsed by what he stands for, Jeanne relies on him to protect her family living in a state of perpetual anxiety.

The housekeeper, Margaret Lake serves as a backdrop of stability and reminds them of the life they once had while they lived in a large, fine home on the island which is now Nazi occupied. She flits around, attempting to keep everything under control in an often unmanageable situation.

The sense of loss is profound, exhibited by brothers, husbands and sons, all fallen soldiers. These women derived protection and a sense of security from their men for years.

How will they cope under circumstances where they have no control? Their lives are forever changed, with Nazi soldiers banging on their door, reminding them often of their helplessness. The stage becomes a metaphor for their feelings of entrapment. One begins to feel a sense of inertia until the unforeseen

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

Jessica John, Richard Baird & Catalina Zelles in Gabriel at North Coast Rep.

A RTS & E NTE RTA IN ME NT

occurs.

A handsome, yet unconscious man washes up on shore, brought home by Lily and Estelle. The sense of ambiguity is extraordinary as all wonder who or what he represents. Once conscious, he speaks both English and German fluently, yet appears to know nothing of the war. Major Von Pfunz believes him to be a missing German SS leader while others feel he may be an officer of the Royal Air Force. Estelle names him for the angel Gabriel, believing he may be sent from G-d as a messenger to heal and save them. With no identification or memory, could he be an ethereal being fallen from the sky? Each of them falls in love with him in their own way, while placing an imprint on him he may not be able to live up to.

Gabriel might well create a dichotomy, shifting the paradigm within the heavily charged group dynamic as there has been a sense of inertia prior to his arrival.

Will infighting and competition shift to compassion and concern? Is Gabriel the answer to their prayers, or does he seal their fate?

Any explanation seems plausible, as once Gabriel regains consciousness, he seems to know nothing of the war, of Germany or England, yet speaks both languages fluently.

Was he an angel, sent with a message from G-d for balance, truth and peace? Or was he merely created from the mystical mind of a precocious 10 year old girl, living in a metaphysical world, seeking some meaning and completion in their now complex lives?

Each of the women in the play imprint their own reality and interpretation onto Gabriel, at times with unexpected consequences, potentially not always positive. Confused by their changing identities during these frightening times of war, Gabriel represents lightness and hope.

Christopher Williams has been the Associate Artistic Director of the NCRT since 2016 and part of about 25 mainstage

shows since 2003 as actor, director, assistant director or stage manager. He believes in a collaborative interaction between the actors, resulting in a deliverance of a powerful, believable performance.

David Ellenstein, Artistic Director of the NCRT and Williams met years ago in Phoenix. They share an ideology regarding collaboration. Williams refers to him as “A dear friend, brilliant artist and mentor.”

"[Gabriel] has strong, deeply layered characters and a wonderfully crafted mystery of hopes and desires, with the characters under extreme pressure."

“I have learned many skills in my 20 plus years of experience from amazing artists, learning at an early age to just say “yes” when an opportunity came along, then figuring out how to do it,” he says.

Williams produced the WWII film, Walking With the Enemy, starring Jonas Armstrong and Ben Kingsley. He also played Nathan in the original off-Broadway production of Bock and Harnick musical

Rothschild and Sons.

He was the Founding Artistic Director of the Oceanside Theatre Company, running the managerial side. Over the years, he has acted for the York Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre, and Southwest Shakespeare Company. Williams believes theatre presents an opportunity for creating extraordinary moments.

“From the moment I read it, I wanted to direct it,” Williams says of Gabriel’s draw, and his admiration of Moira Buffini’s work.

“It has strong, deeply layered characters and a wonderfully crafted mystery of hopes and desires, with the characters under extreme pressure. In several moments, it’s literally about life or death, light and darkness. I could hear the boards creaking, feel the chill in the air, see the grime on the floor boards.”

Currently researching the island and what the people experienced during the Nazi occupation, Williams hopes to help inform the intentions of the characters and the world we create on stage.

“Gabriel, Hebrew for ‘G-d is my strength,’ is the messenger of G-d,” Williams says. “He is recognized in multiple religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Estelle, the little girl names this mysterious, handsome man, who washes up on the beach. He is here to shine the light on the darkness. But who is he really? His memory only consists of the feeling of falling and bright light, adding to the angelic theme. Has Estelle actually conjured him? Is he here with a message from G-d? He stokes the needs and desires of each of the women in the play. He becomes a conduit, in a manner of speaking.”

NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE IS LOCATED AT 987 LOMAS SANTA FE, SUITE D, SOLANA BEACH 92075. FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE BOX OFFICE AT (858) 481-1055 OR EMAIL BOXOFFICE@NORTHCOASTREP.ORG.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

27

A RTS & ENT ERTAIN MENT

THE POWER OF FILM SAN DIEGO JEWISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS MONTH

T

he San Diego Center for Jewish Culture (CJC) will host the 29th annual San Diego Jewish International Film Festival this month, beginning Thursday, Feb. 7 and running through Sunday, Feb. 17. The 11-day festival will feature award-winning films, panel discussions and more as it showcases a selection of the best contemporary Jewishrelated films across multiple genres, including a wide range of Israeli films.

A total of 32 feature films will be screened in four locations across San Diego County this year, including documentary and narrative films, and a variety of movies incorporating themes like social activism, romance, religion, LGBTQ+ issues, IsraeliArab relations, history, ethics, current events, comedy and the arts. Special guests, filmmakers and scholars, will be on hand to participate in Q&A’s, and meet and greet throughout the festival. A new venue at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is reserved for the festival’s most artistic films.

New this year is the SDIJFF Mobile App, which will allow attendees to customize their festival schedule, find theatre locations, vote for the Audience Choice Award, learn about guest speakers and stay up to date on events.

“The film festival is an opportunity to share our rich heritage, culture and values

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

with all of San Diego County,” Christina Fink, film festival chairperson said in a press release prior to the event. “As we approach the 30th anniversary, we’re excited to be able to continue producing an event that offers award-winning films that promote awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of Jewish people while also making the festival more accessible to younger generations through the new mobile app.”

An evocative documentary about the power of pen and paper, the San Diego premiere of Who Will Write Our History, produced by Nancy Spielberg and Roberta Grossman, is this year’s centerpiece film. It tells the story of a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum, known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, the clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper. The movie will be screened Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Reading Cinemas Town Square.

Special guest Roberta Grossman will receive the Directors Award for the film following the screening.

The popular Brews & Views event, an evening show of five short films returns this year and will be held at Project Bar & Grill in Hillcrest, Sunday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.

FOR SHOWTIMES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH FILM, INCLUDING SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES, VISIT WWW.SDJFF.ORG. TICKETS RANGE FROM $13.25-$18, WITH FESTIVAL PASSES, SENIOR, STUDENT AND GROUP RATES AVAILABLE. TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT WWW.SDCJC.ORD/SDJFF/ CURRENT OR CALL (858) 362-1348.

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL LOCATIONS

Clairemont Reading Cinemas 14 In memory of JOY F. KNAPP, beloved aunt of Erika and Daniel Sollender and Griffin and Jonah Schulman (858) 274-9994 Museum Of Photographic Arts (619) 238-7559 David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre at The JCC (858) 362-1348 Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18 (760) 471-3734 Project Bar & Grill (619) 795-7890

PHOTO BY SIMON WEEKES

Behind the scenes filming Who Will Write Our History.

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29

A RTS & ENT ERTAIN MENT Sandra Ruiz and Salomon Maya star in A Permanent Image.

A SAN DIEGO PREMIERE POINT LOMA PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS SAMUEL D HUNTER'S A PERMANENT IMAGE.

BY ALANNA MAYA

T

heater should evoke a wide range of emotions. From joy, to pain and sadness, to some that can cause an audience to squirm in their seats — these feelings are what make great theater. This month, San Diego audiences have the chance to experience truly great theater at the Point Loma Playhouse, when James P. Darvas directs Samuel D. Hunter’s A Permanent Image.

Called a “fusion between realism and the absurd,” A Permanent Image is a “tense exploration of the distance families put between themselves and what it takes to bring them back together,” according to the theater’s website. In fact, this play takes place on Christmas Eve, when siblings return Bo (Salomon Maya) and Ally (Sandra Ruiz) to their childhood home in Idaho for the funeral of their father (Daniel Jaquez). Their Mother Carol (Anna Sandor) has painted the whole house white. Through home videos played live on stage, the audience comes to find out more about the family, the father, and the tense relationship between individuals mourning loss together.

“There is no other circumstance changes you as much as losing a parent, and I never realized that [until] I lost my father about nine years ago, and so, when I read this play six years ago, the writer captures it so

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

beautifully, that I knew I had to direct it,” Darvas said. “Just, the sense that everything has changed, the people you’ve known your whole life suddenly change, there is a shift in power — especially when the patriarch passes. [There is also] sibling rivalry related to who is going to step up and take care of the other parent, is captured so splendidly.”

While some might call a play about the death of a parent sad or heavy, A Permanent Image is delightfully witty and at times downright hilarious. Siblings Bo and Ally bicker back and forth, while their mother drinks again and again, singing Christmas carols to break up their arguing. Throughout the evening, the children learn more about their father and the life their parents had before and after they moved away. While death is certainly a central theme to the work, Darvas says it’s much more about what is left behind.

“When I am working with the actors, I tell them that they can do anything but one emotion. It is absolutely impossible to portray this either angry or sad or hurt,” he said. “It has to be a paint pallet that has just been held vertically and all those colors just run down together and that is how you get this beautiful, funny, poignant, truthful interpretation of Mr. Hunter’s work.”

While three actors are physically on stage,

through the use of multimedia, a fourth actor — the father — is represented via “home movies” or scenes shot prior to the full production. It’s an element that presents a unique challenge, Darvas said.

“When the children come home, their mother has painted their house completely white — the walls, candlesticks, magazines, the couches — it’s one of her ways of dealing with grief, but then when you see the videos with Martin, you see what the house looked like prior to her doing that, so it is a bit of a challenge to build a fully realized set and then paint over it, but it is really a powerful way to show where this family has come from.”

A Permanent Image will make you laugh, cry and undoubtedly spark numerous conversations during rides home from the theater ... a true sign of great theater.

A PERMANENT IMAGE PLAYS AT THE POINT LOMA PLAYHOUSE AT THE POINT LOMA ASSEMBLY HALL, 3035 TALBOT ST. IN POINT LOMA FEBRUARY 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 AND MAR 1,2,3. SHOWTIMES ARE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. AND SUNDAY AT 2:30P.M. TICKETS ARE $15– $20. TO LEARN MORE OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS, (619) 800-5497 OR VISIT WWW.POINTLOMAPLAYHOUSE.COM.

A RTS & ENT ERTAIN MENT

STORYTELLING FOURTH GRADE STUDENT INTERVIEWS HERSHEY FELDER.

BY SPENCER MATORIN

I

n his first journalistic endeavor, Spencer Matorin, a fourth grade student at Ashley Falls Elementary School in the Del Mar Union School District; the son of Dr. Robert Matorin and photojournalist Dana Greene; and the grandson of former Heritage Newspaper Co-Publisher & Columnist, Norman Greene; and big brother to William; interviewed one of the world’s most talented pianist-actors of our time, Hershey Felder.

Spencer Matorin: What inspired you to play piano?

Hershey Felder: When I was three years old, I was constantly banging on the piano and someone told my parents that instead of all that noise, I should be taking lessons. I was about 6 years old when I really started to play the piano. In my 20’s I knew that I wanted to be an actor and a musician. Music is my way of storytelling.

SM: Besides classical music what is your favorite type of music?

HF: It is important to play all types of music.

When I am not working, I always try to learn new music. I tend to listen to classical music the most. When developing a new show, I try to listen to the many ways different performers play the same composition.

SM: How do you learn about the person you are portraying?

HF: First of all, I study [their] music. That is very important. Then after that, I learn about the composer [as a person]. I try as much as possible to and understand the composer’s character, where the music comes from so I have context as to how he actually composed this music. I think it is so very important to understand the character of the man. But it takes a long time to learn these things.

SM: Sometimes I get nervous before a piano recital. Hershey, how do you prepare for your shows?

HF: I think you just have to know that being nervous is part of what happens and that sometimes you just get nervous and you just have to calm down and take a deep breath and not be nervous. I know it’s easier to say then to do it, but that’s really the way it works. You have to try and not be nervous.

And I think that’s the best way to work.

SM: I am excited to see your upcoming show about Beethoven. How did you prepare for the role as Beethoven the man?

HF: Well by reading so much about him and reading his own letters and that made a big difference.

SM: Did you go to the Beethoven house to read those letters?

HF: I did. I went to all the places he lived.

I went to Germany and I went to Vienna, mostly Vienna because that’s where he lived most of his life.

SM: What surprised you about Beethoven’s life?

HF: His life was more difficult than I could have ever imagined, you know. I mean I knew the basics of his life, but he had a very hard life because he was a lonely man. It is amazing for a lonely man to create such beautiful music and it was very touching to understand how difficult it was for him personally and how lonely he was, yet at the same time, he created all this beautiful music.

SM: Sometimes I become impatient with myself when I am having a difficult time learning a new piece. What advice do you have for young people learning to play piano?

HF: Patience is a virtue. Keep working at it...you will surprise yourself that one day, suddenly all the work will pay off, and all of it becomes much easier. Then, you remember that, as you engage in your next study and find the same impatience.

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31

OUR TRIBE

SAN DIEGO JEWISH ACADEMY

TRIBE

OUR

TIKKUN OLAM

THE COMMUNITY PLACE

I

n a beautiful and emotional Kabbalat Shabbat program last month, the San Diego Jewish Academy students presented the proceeds of their Hanukkah charitable project, or Tamchui, to five nonprofit organizations: Friendship Circle, Cake4Kids, Canine Companions for Independence, Lev Lavel (a girls’ orphanage in Netanyahu, Israel) and Make-A-Wish San Diego.

“The Tamchui project was a chance for the entire school, from kindergartners to high school seniors – and all the parents and teachers — to participate in a school-wide social action project,” Rabbi Philip Graubart said. “It was a fun, instructive, and fully participatory way for all of us to learn about Tikkun Olam, the Jewish imperative to make a better world.

“The idea was simple. We created a communal charity fund (the literal meaning of the Aramaic word “Tamchui”) and we selected 32

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

a number of non-profits to receive the money. Our eighth grade students chose one of the non-profits and our parent committee chose the other four. Representatives from each of the non-profits came and presented their work to all the students. Also, the eighth graders went classroom to classroom pitching their favorite charity from among the group. And the entire study body voted. At the assembly, we gave out the money, according to the vote, each charity receiving whatever percentage they got in the vote.”

LEARN MORE AT WWW.SDJA.COM.

OUR TRIBE

TRIBE

OUR

FOOD & A FRIENDLY FACE

THE COMMUNITY PLACE

VOLUNTEER JFS FOODMOBILE WHAT IS CHAIFIVE? Chai Five sponsored Spencer’s story. Chai Five is part of L’CHAIM, but not supported by advertisers.

Instead, Chai Five depends on donations to run stories by aspiring writers and photos by young photographers.

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ant to brighten someone’s day? Jewish Family Service of San Diego’s Foodmobile program relies on volunteer drivers to deliver hot, nutritious meals to homebound seniors. Drivers offer a vital community service – delivering much needed nutrition, as well as a meaningful community connection, to vulnerable older adults throughout San Diego.

“I was worried about my mom,” said one client. “After the loss of my dad, she seemed to lose her energy and wasn’t eating right. I made a call to JFS and scheduled meal delivery. She’s gained back five pounds and looks forward to seeing her new friend, the Foodmobile driver.”

According to JFS CEO Michael Hopkins, this hands-on volunteer opportunity offers a great way to make a difference.

“No one should have to face hunger, but unfortunately, roughly one in six San Diegans live in food insecure homes,” he said. “We work every day to help individuals and their families to live healthy, independent lives. The Foodmobile program is a huge component of this. Five days a week, our caring volunteer drivers deliver ready-to-eat comfort food and also conduct a wellness check to report back on issues or concerns.”

All across the county, residents depend on JFS’s Foodmobile program. When older or disabled adults can no longer cook or get out, JFS volunteers appear with a smile and a warm meal. With community support, JFS prepares nearly 7,000 meals per month for clients throughout San Diego County. Drivers deliver food every Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and provide frozen meals for weekend and holidays.

Volunteers must have a car and a valid California driver’s license. JFS provides onsite training – and the program is also perfect for corporate teams.

Chai Five gives a voice to our local Jewish population to share their perspective of Jewish life. Chai Five does this through free submissions celebrating local Mensches, JPIX, and Our Tribe which offers free life cycle event announcements.

Please see www.lchaimmagazine.com/ chaifiveprojects/

This page is brought to you

by Chai Five Projects. Please submit your lifecycle events to info@lchaimmagazine.com Visit lchaimmagazine.com/ chaifiveprojects for more info.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, TO VOLUNTEER OR GET HELP, VISIT JFSSD.ORG/ FOODMOBILE OR CALL 858-637-3050.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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OUR TRIBE

FOUR NEW WAYS IN SAN DIEGO

TRIBE

OUR

DO JEWISH MUSIC

THE COMMUNITY PLACE

as part of the JCC’s Family Day from 5:30-7 p.m. featuring Rick, a local Jewish teen band and SLBC participants. Learn more and register: tarbuton.org/songleader-boot-camp-san-diego/ I LOVE ISRAELI ROCK — SHIROCK

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an you imagine the shabbat table or the medura/campfire without Jewish music? Jewish music is a huge draw, perhaps second only to exceptional Jewish food, and programs with Jewish music appeal not only to listeners, but to many who play, sing, or sometimes take the lead. Nearly one-third of San Diego’s more than 30 indie Jewish experiences involve Jewish music. Not just a concert, but an activity where you can contribute to, sing, or play Jewish music.

While most are for adults at least two focus on teens. The Teen Songleader Fellowship and Hazamir San Diego give teens an opportunity to lead using their musical skills in Jewish settings.

SONG LEADER BOOT CAMP — A DAY OF JEWISH MUSIC

Rick Recht began his Song Leader Boot Camps (SLBC) to inspire anyone who can hum, sing and/or play an instrument to create magic Jewish moments and he will offer a regional SLBC in San Diego March 31, at the Hive in Encinitas, San Diego’s coworking space which focuses on professional growth and Jewish cultural events.

Rick is the spokesman for the PJ Library, founder of Jewish Rock Radio, and offers concerts and workshops nationwide and in Mexico too. San Diego’s regional SLBC is for adults and teens. Leveraging a wide repertoire of music, you will expand your knowledge of classic and contemporary Jewish music with local friends and musicians.

Bring your voice, your instrument, your energy. The workshop runs from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and is rich in Jewish music and singing.

Teens can apply for the Teen Song Leader Fellowship which includes discounted SLBC registration, two meetings with Hilly, as their mentor, and an internship where they can use their new skills. *Teens may participate in SLBC without participating in the Fellowship.

The SLBC experience will continue with a free concert and Havdalah 34

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

Israeli music is magic, it unifies, can be peacemaking, bridges generations, Israel and the diaspora, and enriches Jewish identity and Israel connection.

Shirock was founded and is led by local music lovers and musicians Amir Tsuri, Ronit Yerushalmi and Noa Scott. Audiences are encouraged to make song suggestions and the audience rocks the room singing with them making it less concert and more a rockinfused sing along. The talented tribe offers Shirock under the umbrella of RocXan Diego. They shared, “RocXanDiego believes that rock is more than a music genre, it’s a being, a way of life of rebellious against conformity, authenticity and conviction. We dedicate ourselves to serve the local community in San Diego and various groups and organizations in order to advance the knowledge and appreciation of Israel culture through rock music.” February’s Shirock sold out in two days, so watch for the next one on their Facebook. And learn more at tarbuton.org/2019/01/21/shirock/.

I SING WITH MY TRIBE — TWO NEW JEWISH CHOIRS

Cheri Weiss founded the San Diego Jewish Community Choir. If you enjoy singing Jewish music, no need for experience, just join in rehearsals held three Wednesdays per month. Rehearsals begin with a brief voice lesson. Cantor Cheri Weiss teaches voice lessons at Palomar College and in her private studio. Learn more at tarbuton. org/2018/09/10/san-diego-jewish-community-choir/.

Recruiting now and planning to open with the 2019-2020 school year is Aviva Angel’s initiative to open Hazamir San Diego, a chapter of Hazamir, the International Teen Choir that offers college credit and includes a unique joint performance with other chapters in NYC at Lincoln Center or the Met. Aviva tapped local artist, and accomplished music educator, Becky Baird to direct the choir. Aviva commented, “We want our kids to learn incredible Jewish music, but this program has great motivators such as opportunities to travel to NYC, Israel, be a part of a select Chamber program, and college credits too. All that and they have a blast as well.” Songs are primarily in Hebrew, but teens don’t need to speak Hebrew or read music to participate. The choir is open to all Jewish teens in San Diego. Learn more at tarbuton.org/2018/12/23/hazamir-teen-choir/.

TARBUTON SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT JEWISH AND ISRAELI COMMUNITY BUILDERS CREATING NEW ENTRY POINTS FOR JEWISH LIFE IN SAN DIEGO. BROWSE THESE AND 30+ JEWISH EXPERIENCES: TARBUTON.ORG/SAN-DIEGO-JEWISHEXPERIENCES/.

FAMILY | BY CHANA JENNY WEISBERG

jewish

mom.com My Mortifying Erev Shabbat

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his past Friday night, one of our guests was a rabbanit, the wife of a well-known rabbi, who is also the granddaughter of one of the greatest rabbis of the previous generation.

Before she came, I was a little nervous that I should do everything exactly right.

Unfortunately, despite my nervousness, when I was scheduling my Friday I did not take into account that my 4 older daughters wouldn’t, for various reasons, be around to help with the pre-Shabbat clean-up.

And that’s how it happened that this past Friday, candle-lighting time arrived, and both of my sinks were still full of dishes, my counters were still covered with measuring cups and lemon peels and spilled sugar, and my floors still looked like they hadn’t been swept in days, even though my cleaning lady had washed them just a few hours before.

The good news is that I live in Jerusalem, so candle-lighting time is 40 minutes not 18 minutes before Shabbat. Which usually would make me feel better, except for the fact that standing next to me was the rabbanit, the granddaughter of one of the greatest rabbis of the previous generation.

Maybe, as she stood there, I was breaking all sorts of laws that she knew at the age of 3, and that I don’t even know exist!

So, everyone pitched in to get the kitchen ready quickly for Shabbat. One guest tackled the other sink of dishes, another swept the floors, one of my children wiped down the counters, and the rabbanit played with my mischievous 4-year-old so I could actually get the cleaning done.

As I stood there, washing dishes at the dairy sink, candle-lighting time already far behind me, I felt embarrassed. Mortified, actually.

But I worked hard to remain calm, to be nice to my children and my guests. To focus on how Hashem saw me, managing relatively well despite this pressured and humiliating situation, rather than how the rabbanit saw me.

I will not tell you how close to Shabbat I finally lit candles. Suffice it to say that my guest’s distinguished grandfather would be turning in his grave if he knew.

And then I took a deep breath and went to sit with the rabbanit in the living room. And she turned out to be, quite possibly, one of

the most down-to-earth people I have ever met. Zero pretense, zero arrogance. Totally lovely and a pleasure to be around.

But despite that, since Friday night, in my heart I have felt the slight sting of humiliation. Like when you swim in the Dead Sea right after shaving your legs.

Anyway, the reason I’m sharing all this with you is because at my therapeutic writing class today with Yocheved Rottenberg, she gave us the following exercise to do: Imagine that a detective came into our home for 20 minutes and had to write a report about what he saw. What would he write?

And I imagined that my detective came into my home as I was rushing to clean up my kitchen before Shabbat, mortified beyond words.

And I wrote down his report– about the messy kitchen, the woman (me) washing dishes, and then lighting some candles, and then sitting and smiling with another woman in the living room.

Suddenly, seeing it all through that detective’s eyes, without all the emotion I’d pumped into the situation, it all seemed suddenly not so bad after all. Silly even.

I heard an amazing metaphor from Rebbetzin Yitty Neustadt in honor of Tu B’Shvat.

A Jewish family is a tree. Your children are the branches, your husband is the trunk, and you, JewishMOM, are the roots.

If that mother isn’t filling herself up emotionally, spiritually, physically, then, like the roots of a tree during a drought, the entire tree will dry up.

And a Jewish mother is also like the roots of a tree because the work we do is so often unseen. Taking place underground, so to speak.

Behind our locked front doors. Or locked away, struggles hidden within our hearts, as I experienced this past mortifying Friday and through the detective’s wise eyes at the writing class today.

CHANA JENNY WEISBERG, THE CREATOR OF JEWISHMOM.COM, IS A STAY-HOME MOTHER OF 8 CHILDREN LIVING IN JERUSALEM WITH HER HUSBAND, RABBI JOSHUA WEISBERG. ORIGINALLY FROM BALTIMORE, CHANA JENNY HAS DEVOTED HER NONMOM TIME OVER THE PAST DECADE TO PROVIDING INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT FOR OTHER JEWISH MOMS THROUGH HER POPULAR BOOKS EXPECTING MIRACLES AND ONE BABY STEP AT A TIME. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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ISRAEL: A MODEL OF INCLUSIVITY

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ebruary is Jewish Disability, Awareness, Acceptance, & Inclusion Month. Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) with its work in Israel is leading the way to make sure people with special needs are not left behind and that Israel sets a high precedent for the rest of world. Motivated by the desire to create a just and equitable society, JNF-USA is demonstrating how its socially inclusive work in Israel can become a model for a brighter future for the world to follow.

It all began with the ALEH Negev Nahalat-Eran Rehabilitation Village, a response to the growing concern of parents of people with severe cognitive and physical disabilities, and how to build a life for those who cannot take care of themselves. ALEH Negev has become a world-renowned community for people with special needs. Its newest initiative, the Max Paul International Volunteer Program, spreads the lessons learned from years of experience by inviting volunteers to work and live alongside the resident at ALEH Negev. “The volunteers come from all over the world to help make change in the way our society relates to its most vulnerable members,” said Michal Shani,

the program’s director, “They learn the values of Tikun Olam and compassion, as well as experiencing Israeli culture. The program helps to create a better understanding of how ALEH Negev demonstrates accepting our differences, as a model for other countries around the world.”

However, the importance of providing inclusion and acceptance transcends all types of disabilities and special needs. Until recently, people with higher functioning cognitive disabilities were unable to serve in the IDF, further exacerbating their common experience of being shut out of mainstream society. Now, Special in Uniform, a JNF-USA partner, offers people with disabilities an unprecedented opportunity to participate in this important Israeli rite of passage, enabling them to be on equal footing with their peers.

On her first visit to Israel in 2017, deaf actress Marlee Matlin had the opportunity to meet with soldiers from Special in Uniform at Tel Nof Air Force Base and was instantly moved and inspired by the level of inclusivity in the Israeli military. “Special in Uniform gives those individuals [with special needs] the same opportunity to fulfill their potential,” said Matlin, “and to be accepted into society regardless of the barriers that they face. Could you ever imagine that in the United States? This is something I hope we can look forward to here.”

Change is taking root in Israel. Because of JNF and its partners, Israelis are beginning to understand that people with disabilities are an integral part of society. This message of inclusivity and equality is spilling over into all sectors in Israel and the world, gradually creating a more caring and inclusive society that can truly be a light unto the nations.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JNF-USA’S WORK WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS, VISIT JNF.ORG.

 FOR THE LOVE OF ISRAEL

Patrick Dodd, Laurie Dodd, Joanna Zeiger, Brunch CoChair Karen Zeiger, Brunch Co-Chair Dr. Robert Zeiger 36

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

In a record-breaking show of support, 450 people gathered for the Jewish National Fund 8th Annual Love of Israel Brunch. The event was chaired by Karen & Dr. Robert Zeiger. Guests were treated to a keynote address by The New York Times Op-Ed & Staff Writer Bari Weiss.

BY STEPHANIE LEWIS | HUMOR

mazel

& mishagoss Uncovered from "Fiddler on the Roof": Lazar Wolf's Diary!

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oncealed in a butcher shop, (underneath a pile of chicken gizzards) a small tattered, gravy stained journal (containing handwritten pages authenticated by experts who study old, heavily bearded male characters who’ve been cheated out of marriage) has been released to the general public and may serve to rewrite history, as we know it.

Tzeitel!) who is totally into marrying me due to her large appetite. Like Tevye says, “With a butcher, surely my daughter will never know hunger.” And won’t she be a lucky bride? I’m handsome and tall -- that is from side to side!

ENTRY 3: Things are going downhill today

to Anatevka to make a fresh start as a bachelor butcher after an E coli scare ruined me in the last town. Already my luck has changed here with Tevye’s eldest daughter —Tzeitel.

She comes in my shop every Thursday and bats her eyes alluringly at me over the turkey giblets. Wow. What a looker! Who cares if she’s only the daughter of a poor milkman with no dowry? Whatever Yente brings, she’ll take! Right? Of course, right!

after my hangover. It seems Yente insists I pay a hefty shidduch fee. And I discovered Tevye only wants me as his machatunim when he has something to slaughter. He thinks you can have a fine conversation with me, if you talk about kidneys and livers. To add insult to injury — he always wanted a son, but he wanted one a little younger than himself.

Hmmph! But the real reason I need to back out of this wedding is because the entire village is buzzing about Tzeitel wanting to have my baby. Oy! What was I thinking letting her flirt with me? I’m too old for all that stroller, diaper, and spit-up mishagoss.

ENTRY 2: Tonight, after a hilarious mix-up

ENTRY 4: Wonder of wonder, miracle of

ENTRY 1: Dear Diary, Last month I moved

when Tevye thought I wanted to buy his little milk cow to keep me company, (I guess you had to be there!) we shook hands and drank on our agreement. But more importantly we sang “To Life!” which served to seal the deal. We raised a glass and sipped a few (thousand!) drops of Schnapps and danced in circles until we bumped into the others in our village who make a much bigger circle. But we don’t bother them and so far … they don’t bother us. Life has a way of confusing us, blessing and bruising us. But nothing matters anymore except for my Tzeitel, (not the Tzar’s

miracles! I’ve got it! The answer to all my engagement woes is staring me in the face sure as my butcher’s apron, sewn by that poor skinny tailor, Motel Kamzoil. That’s right.

I’ve thought of an ingenious way to palm off Tevye’s firstborn daughter onto the tailor!

It’ll be a perfect fit, like a glove, made to measure! Plus, they’ve played together since they were children. From such children come other children. It’s a foolproof idea and I’ll tell you more tomorrow because right now everyone is crowding around me fighting over shank bones. Nothing makes a butcher

more popular than Passover! Try finding a roasted lamb leg in Costco.

ENTRY 5: Dear Diary, so here’s my plan to

extricate myself from marriage. My dearly departed wife Fruma Sarah, (who by the way owes me big time for all the pearls I’ve bought her) pays a visit on Tevye and scares him during a bad dream. Hmmm, what can she say to him? I know! She’ll threaten if Tzeitel marries Lazar Wolf, she’ll pity us both. She’ll give it three weeks and when three weeks are up, she’ll come to her by night and take her by the throat and … oooohhh this is just too good to keep to myself! Think of all the situations people can manipulate just by having their deceased relatives come back from the other side issuing ominous warnings. Utterly delicious!

ENTRIES 6-9: (Torn and missing when the

constable forced folks out of their homes!)

ENTRY 10: My plan worked. And guess

what Diary? Yente and I are engaged! We’re the same age and with the way she talks and the way I hear, it’s a perfect match! Plus I’m hanging up my butcher knife forever because we’ve started a new online matchmaking business called Jdate. I wonder if it will be successful??

STEPHANIE D. LEWIS WRITES FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST COMEDY SECTION AS WELL AS PENNING HER PERSONAL HUMOR BLOG, ONCEUPONYOURPRIME.COM. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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Temple

Emanu-El

Where you’ll find...

A Home A Family Where you’ll find...

A Warmth to Tradition

Temple

Emanu-El

ASpirituality Home through music and prayer  Jewish Educational Opportunities for A Family everyone, from toddlers to adults A Warmth to Tradition  Nationally Recognized Social Action  Programs Spirituality through music and prayer Preschool, Torah School, Youth Groupsfor  Jewish Educational Opportunities Adult Education, Sisterhood, Social Action

everyone, from toddlers to adults  Nationally Recognized Social Action Programs Preschool, Torah School, Youth Groups Adult Education, Sisterhood, Social Action

Devorah Marcus, Senior Rabbi Benj Fried, Rabbi Educator Shiri Haines, Execuuve Director 6299 Capri Drive San Diego, CA 92120 (619) 286-2555 teesd.org temple@teesd.org 38

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2019

Devorah Marcus, Senior Rabbi

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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