0817 LChaim by L'Chaim San Diego Magazine

AUGUST 2017

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RANDOM RANTS l BY SALOMON MAYA

comic relief Not My Country "...COUNTRY MUSIC. I JUST CAN'T STAND IT."

t normally commences in the garage. After fastening our two-year old into his car seat, my wife and I jump into our SUV. As soon as I pull the car out of said garage, the satellite signal kicks in and I hear it, like nails scraping a new chalkboard, the sound pierces my tympanic membranes; leading me to a ravenous click of buttons on the car’s infotainment system. My wife sits next to me, knowing exactly what this seizure-like flaying of my fingers means. It means that she has left the last radio station on Country Music. I don’t like using the word hate often. In a world filled with so much of it, I prefer to utilize antonyms like adoration, admiration, and of course love. But I HATE … H.A.T.E. country music. I just can’t stand it. And I know I might get some hate mail on this, but bring it on. I’m ready to fight my stance. Look, I’m a writer. I adore words and the power they hold. A properly constructed lyric woven together with perfectly conducted music is the very definition of art. However, we now currently stand on the precipice of an era of shitty lyrics. Dear God, forgive me for even typing those consonants and vowels together. It’s just garbage! Lyrical diarrhea. Ladies and Gentlemen of the L’CHAIM jury, I present to you the following evidence: 4

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

“My hump, my hump, my lovely lady lumps.” Black Eyed Peas – My Humps (2005) “Chicka chicka dee, do me like a banshee, low brow is how swimming in the sound of bow wow wow” Red Hot Chili Peppers – Suck My Kiss (1991) “Oh babe, I wanna put my log in your fireplace.” KISS – Burn Bitch Burn (1984) “Girl you look just like my car, I wanna wax it.” R. Kelly – You Remind Me Of Something (1995) “Girl you make me feel real good, we can do it til we both wake up.” Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up (1991) Have you had enough? No? Okay, you asked for it … “Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy” Kid Rock – Bawitdaba (1999) “Me not working hard? Yea, right! Picture that with a Kodak, and, better yet, go to Times Square, take a picture of me with a Kodak.” Pitbull – Give me Everything (2011) But nothing above can be as bad as some Country Music lyrics: “Shake it for the birds, shake it for the bees, shake it for the catfish swimming down deep in the creek for the crickets and the critters and the squirrels” Luke Bryan – Country Girl (2011)

PETA objects to these lyrics. “I heard he’s got a Prius, ‘cause he’s into bein’ green, my buddies said he saw ya’ll, eatin’ that sushi stuff, baby that don’t sound like you, that don’t sound like love, sounds like it sucks.” Justin Moore – Bait a Hook (2011) What’s wrong with sushi? It’s amazing! “I ain’t much for mowin’ thick grass. I’m too slow for workin’ too fast. I don’t do windows so honey don’t ask, but I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer.” Billy Currington – Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer (2010) Well at least Billy’s got his marital priorities. “When you see a priceless French painting, I see a drunk, naked girl” Brad Paisley – I’m Still a Guy (2008) I rest my case. Please. John, Paul, Ringo, George; bring me back from this lyrical hell: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. - The Beatles - The End (1969). Ah … perfection. SALOMON MAYA IS A LOCAL ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SALOMAYA OR EMAIL HIM AT SALOMONM@LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM.

contents

August 2017 • www.lchaimmagazine.com

in this issue... A THOUSAND WORDS Israel’s diversity high on new leader’s

agenda for North American campus program .......................................................................

COVER STORY

Paint and Prestige: Shelly Berman Ahern brings her unique brand of charity to La Jolla Wine and Food Festival.......................................... EDUCATION

DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS

16 20 22 26 28 30 34 04 06 08 37

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School honors........................................................................... Hillel at CSU San Marcos.....................................................................................................................

The Story of Hebrew, a Book Review by Curt Leviant..................................................... Are biased textbooks turning young Americans against Israel?............................. FOOD

DIY Beed Pastrami.................................................................................................................................... FEATURES Isaac Artenstein: Telling Frontier Jewish Stories.................................................................. OUR TRIBE CJC’s Five Minute Play Festival, Jew-Jew ( 2nd place) winner...................................... COLUMNS My Comic Relief......................................................................................................................................... Torah: Of the Book................................................................................................................................... JewishMom.com........................................................................................................................................

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

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

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

BEEF PASTRAMI

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

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

EDITORIAL editor@lchaimmagazine.com ADVERTISING dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS info@lchaimmagazine.com

ON THE COVER: Photo by Lani Conklin, Black Moon Images; Fashion by Kendra from Mia Brazilla; Painting/Art by Josh Serafin, Serafin Gallery, The La Jolla Louvre

CONTRIBUTORS Daniel Bortz, Alex Idov, Stephanie Lewis, Salomon Maya, Mimi Pollack, Sharon Rapoport, Nikki Salvo, Emma Sasson, Eva Trieger, Deborah Vietor, Chana Jenny Weisberg

LA JOLLA ART AND WINE FEST

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: www.lchaimmagazine.com/shop Copyright 2017 L’Chaim San Diego LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” to: publisher@lchaimmagazine.com ©

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TORAH l BY RABBI DANIEL BORTZ

the book Honing our Craft

n the night of August 22, the special Hebrew month of Elul, the month preceding the high holidays, begins. In the late 18th century there lived a notable Hassid named Shmuel Munkis. Whenever the high holidays would near on the calendar, Shmuel would prepare to travel to his beloved teacher for the inspiration needed to properly approach these special days. However, this year there was a little problem: Shmuel had no money. Any poor villager who wanted to travel a great distance knew he had but one option: travel by foot, even in the freezing Russian winter. Undeterred, Shmuel set off for the town of his Rabbi. As he trudged along the side of the road under torrents of snow, a wagon pulled up beside him. The driver called out to Shmuel and asked him his destination. Seeing as they were heading in the same path, he told Shmuel to hop on. Lucky as he was to find a ride, he was still forced to sit in the back of the wagon under the open sky, surrounded by the driver’s barrels of liquor. Freezing, he turned to the driver and asked if it would be okay if he took a small drink from one of the barrels. As he sipped from his cup, Shmuel finally began to feel warmth entering his body. After reaching his destination, Shmuel ran straight into the synagogue and called his friends over to sit with him.

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

He explained: “I learned something on my way here. I realized that a person can be surrounded by potential warmth. But if he doesn’t internalize that warmth, he will remain cold.” The most essential things in life are often the most accessible. Take the air we breathe for example. It’s everywhere and it’s free. Yet the more accessible something is, the more we take it for granted. We often take for granted those who are most important to us, such as our family and our spouse. Because they’re always around, we tend to forget how important they are. We see this in our spiritual lives as well. According to Jewish law, next to Yom Kippur, it’s surprising to discover that Shabbat is considered the holiest day of the year. Because we have it every week, however, it’s easy to miss out on its unique spiritual power. Air may be plentiful, but to enjoy the benefits of the oxygen around us, one must actually breathe it in. Without this simple action, life doesn’t begin. In our lives we are given special moments of potential inspiration and wisdom, waiting to be internalized. The months of Elul and Tishrei are times when unique spiritual opportunities are at our fingertips. God is always close by, but the usual obstacles that challenge our feelings of connection are temporarily lifted at this time. The additional prayers and other traditions of these two months provide

additional opportunities to connect with the Divine. As in the story of Shmuel Munkis and the barrels of liquor, to fully appreciate the moment, we have to drink it in. We can be surrounded by wonderful practices and prayers, witness a moving scene at the Western Wall in Jerusalem or hear inspiring words of wisdom. But if we don’t identify with it, connecting strongly with the message of that moment, then we can’t internalize its warmth. Spiritual connectivity needs constant internalization to affect our conscious reality. Emunah, or faith, stems from the word amon, meaning craftsman. Like a craftsman who continually labors day and night, it takes continual awareness and work to internalize spiritual ideas. Now’s the time to “hone our craft,” but we shouldn’t stop after the holidays. Moments of inspiration are fleeting and infatuation doesn’t last. Relationships are nurtured through consistent effort and care. Then we will start to feel how our soul and its connection above is as accessible as the air we breathe and as sweet and invigorating as a warm drink on a cold winter’s night. RABBI DANIEL BORTZ IS THE DIRECTOR OF JTEEN SAN DIEGO, JTEENSD.COM. TO WATCH HIS UNIQUE VIDEOS, VISIT RABBIBORTZ.COM.

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FAMILY l BY CHANA JENNY WEISBERG

jewish

mom.com How My Israeli Children are Different from Me

hen I was growing up in Baltimore, I learned which neighborhoods were safe and which neighborhoods were dangerous. Which places I could go to, and which places I should carefully avoid. And since I moved to Israel 24 years ago, I’ve been doing the same thing. When I heard that 2 Israeli police officers had been shot to death and, later, there was rioting in and surrounding the Old City, I shook my head with concern and decided to nix the outing I had been planning to daven this week at the Kotel. When I heard that 3 members of the Solomon family celebrating the Shalom Zachar of a newborn baby boy, were murdered by an Arab terrorist around the corner from my daughter’s high school in Neve Tsuf, I got more scared and started keeping our doors and windows locked at all times. Looking out for Number One, just like when I was growing up. But my kids and kids around Israel have been responding differently to the recent tragedies here… Yesterday, my bat mitzvah girl’s summer camp cancelled their planned outing to the Jerusalem Forest and took all the girls to the Kotel instead. Another daughter’s youth group decided to move the location of the scavenger hunt they had planned from downtown Jerusalem to the Old City. And it’s not just my kids. Yesterday, several high school girls approached me and my daughter when we were in a store and handed us a slip of paper 8

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

they had prepared with a psalm, urging us to read it for the safety and security of Am Yisrael. Then this morning at the light-rail station, some elementary school girls handed me a toffee attached to a note that read, “The Race to a Million Blessings: Say a blessing over this toffee for the elevation of the souls of the Solomon family victims HY”D.” Seeing how my kids and their peers are reacting to current events has made me realize that when I get scared, I do what I did when I was growing up. I look out for Number One. I stay away from the Old City, I lock my doors, I nervously check out the Arab passengers standing beside me on the light rail (that man’s too old to pull out a knife, that woman’s with her baby, so there’s no way she’s about to start stabbing people with a pair of scissors.) And these Israeli kids, in their own way, are also looking out of Number One. But their Number One, I’m realizing, is different than mine. For them, their Number One is Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. The Jewish people and the Land of Israel. And praying for Hashem’s protection and mercy upon them. A year and a half ago there was a terror attack next to the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, and the young father of a large family was brutally murdered while walking home from work. That Friday night, my then 15-yearold daughter informed me after candlelighting that she and her friends were going to daven at a minyan next to Jaffa Gate that night. And I told her: “You can’t go to Jaffa

Gate! There was just a terror attack there yesterday!” “Eema,” she responded slowly, as if speaking to someone who didn’t fully understand her language, “of course I know there was a terror attack there. That’s why we’re going there!” I recently heard a French-born father of 11 Israeli children speaking about what it’s like moving to Israel. And this what he said: “Moving to Israel is like climbing a very high mountain. You are climbing and climbing, you are breathing hard and sweating from the steep climb. And then you achieve the impossible – you reach the top. And when you get there, you sit down to catch your breath, and you turn around and find your children sitting there, at the peak. ‘How did you possibly make the climb up here? It was so steep and high and difficult!’ you ask them. And your children answer you, ‘We didn’t have to climb at all. We were born here.’” 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 NON-MOM 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.

L’CHAIM l BY ADAM ABRAMS | jns.org

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

L’CHAIM

A THOUSAND

WORDS

ISRAEL'S DIVERSITY HIGH ON NEW LEADER'S AGENDA FOR NORTH AMERICAN CAMPUS PROGRAM

he new leader of a pro-Israel program working on more than 120 North American college campuses is seeking to raise awareness about the Jewish state’s diversity. “Israel is often stereotyped, but every Israeli is unique and together, they are a diverse people,” said Michelle Rojas-Tal, the newly appointed director of the Israel Fellows program, a joint initiative of The Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel International. “As someone who grew up in an interfaith family in inner-city New York, I genuinely relate to Israelis and the Israeli story. As a Jew, I am inspired to help other young people appreciate and build the connections they have to Israel.” With an eye on promoting positive connections to Israel, the Israel Fellows program deploys a network of 75 Israeli young professionals who work at campus Hillel branches, supporting pro-Israel student groups, educating students about the Jewish state, and striving to protect campuses from anti-Israel activity and associated anti-Semitism. The fellows — who come from Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Indian, European and central Asian backgrounds — build pro-Israel coalitions with diverse allies. Born to a Jewish mother and a Hispanic father, Rojas-Tal is an internationally acclaimed presenter and speaker, and has spent the last decade as diaspora education

director for the pro-Israel group StandWithUs International. In 2013, she was chosen as one of The Jerusalem Post’s six “women to watch” in global Jewish leadership circles. Yahal Porat will serve alongside Rojas-Tal as the program’s new assistant director. In her position with StandWithUs, RojasTal has advocated for Israel in South Africa, Australia, North America and Europe, where she said she has “taught and learned from so many people.” “The Israeli people are my motivation,” Rojas-Tal said. “I wasn’t taught to love Israel as a child. I fell in love with Israel as a young adult at Hillel when I learned about Israel as a real and complex place.” Rojas-Tal said her first priority in the new position is “to empower the 75 Israel Fellows,” who cultivate relationships with more than 17,000 students and recruit thousands of young Jews to participate in Birthright Israel trips as well as other immersive programs involving travel to Israel. The fellows serve up to three years in North America. Israel Fellows aim to organize campus events in which students from different cultures can discover shared values, fostering a climate of mutual respect. For instance, Shachar Levi, an Israel Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, said in 2016 that he brought together Indian students celebrating Diwali and Jewish students celebrating Hanukkah around the same time, marking the festival of

Michelle Rojas-Tal, the newly appointed director of the Israel Fellows program, a joint initiative of The Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel International.

lights for both cultures. Levi also organized a “Pride Shabbat” in which Jewish students connected with the LGBT community; an immigration-themed Passover held together with a Hispanic student group; and a block party in which 5,000-7,000 students learned about the IDF as well as Israeli culture, politics, minority rights, food and music. “I want to receive the call from an Israel WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

L’CHAIM

Check it out hillel.org /jewish/ hillel-israel/jewishagency-israel-fellows

An event organized by Rebecca Avera (pictured in front at right), the Israel Fellow at Stanford University. PHOTO COURTESY REBECCA AVERA

Each Israel Fellow “has a unique Israeli story to tell,” said Rojas-Tal, who proceeded to quote the Jewish sage Hillel’s “If not now, when?” 12

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

Fellow full of excitement because she brought a new student to a Hillel event, and that student was inspired to connect with an Israeli NGO,” Rojas-Tal said. “I want to open an email and read that an Israel Fellow registered a student for Birthright who then came back to campus and organized an educational program about Israel with another student group on campus.” Natan Sharansky, chairman of The Jewish Agency, called the Israel Fellows program “one of our flagship initiatives.” “It was created with the goal of encouraging Jewish students to create meaningful and lasting ties with Israel and strengthen their Jewish identity,” he said. “I am excited to welcome this incoming leadership and look forward to seeing them grow the program

even further.” “Israel education and engagement are part of Hillel’s core mission and vision, and Israel Fellows bring the country’s people and society to life every day for Jewish students,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Hillel International. Each Israel Fellow “has a unique Israeli story to tell,” said Rojas-Tal, who proceeded to quote the Jewish sage Hillel’s “If not now, when?” “The Israel Fellows are Israel’s now,” she said. “I want to help them share their stories to help American Jews build lasting connections to Israel.”

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La Jolla Art & Wine Fest Celebrates Nine Years

PAINT & PRESTIGE

COVER STORY l BY DEBORAH VIETOR

herry Berman Ahern, Founder of the ninth annual La Jolla Art & Wine Festival, (LJAWF), created the festival because she saw a need for a myriad of educational programs to continue in La Jolla Schools. In addition, she had a passion for returning art to the La Jolla community. The LJAWF has been favorably compared to the Sausalito and Laguna Beach Art Festivals and with community support has grown exponentially over the years. Ahern’s dedication of service and love of seniors dates back to when she was merely 10 years old. She, along with a group of kids from her neighborhood, performed regularly at the Hebrew Home for the Aged, lifting the spirits of many seniors. Ahern’s grandma Alice lived at the home until she passed away. Ahern attended school in San Diego and matriculated at San Diego State University, where she majored in political science. As a young adult, she volunteered for several fundraisers and this has continued as a passion throughout her life. In 1989, Ahern fell in love with the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. Involved with the Center for 10 years, she assisted in raising millions of dollars for the cause. She, along with a committee created a fundraiser called the Fling, which is held each year in June. In 1998, ever the activist, Ahern realized a need to assist La Jolla Elementary School where her children attended. La Jolla schools fall within the San Diego Unified School District.

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

COVER STORY With huge state budget cuts over the years, the elementary schools were without physical education, art, music, a school nurse, a library or a librarian. The higher the state testing scores a school receives, the smaller their annual budget becomes. So, with La Jolla holding the highest test scores in the district, Ahern, along with others sought out to fill an enormous need. She has served on the foundation of the school for 25 years, Friends of La Jolla. Additional credits adding to Ahern’s impressive charitable resume include: The 10 Leadership Award, Mother of the Year for the City of Hope, Volunteer of the Year for Kiwanis in La Jolla and Woman of Dedication for the Salvation Army; where Ahern sits on the board acting as Auxillary Liaison for the Door of Hope in Kearny Mesa. Ahern is also heavily involved with the Diabetes Research Connection, and the La Jolla Community Foundation. She served on the board of the La Jolla Community Center for eight years. She will chair the San Diego Opera Gala, held April 7, 2018 at the US Grant Hotel. The event honors English fashion designer, Grande Dame Zandra Rhodes. Ahern is also currently on the host committee for the upcoming Brewer’s Cup held at the Del Mar Race Track, November 3-4 of this year. “It’s important to know that without the amazingly talented people I work with, volunteering so much of their time, none of this would be possible,” she said. “I’m grateful and appreciate every one of them. My life is so much richer being involved with so many wonderful charities.” Ahern’s positive energy could fill the amphitheater. She has always been about Tikkun Olam, (Healing the World). Her and passion is contagious and like a magical magnet, draws volunteers from San Diego county-wide to participate in the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival, with her love of community exceeded only by love and generosity for family and friends. The free La Jolla Art & Wine Festival, Saturday October 7 and Sunday October 8, combines the best parts of the chic coastal town of La Jolla for a weekend of fine art, delectable wines, craft beers, scrumptious food, and live music. Just steps from the beautiful Pacific Ocean on Girard Avenue, visitors can bask in the beautiful San Diego sun while meandering through over 150 handpicked artist booths. This juried art show boasts a collection of highly-esteemed and internationally recognized talent as well as new artists to discover. The dynamic and innovative selection of artists represent a variety of mediums such as painting, sculpture, jewelry design, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media and photography. Along with 30 participating wineries and breweries and non-stop live music, you are sure to enjoy yourself at this event. Families flock to the festival, not only for much needed quality time, but to ignite creativity and inspire the young and young at heart. The Geppetto’s Children’s Art Center + Lab returns in 2017, offering an expanded selection of exciting attractions for the whole family. From building a car, to building models, face painting, and dozens of other activities, the fun is endless and sure to create and inspire budding artists. Adults can also get hands-on with interactive art projects, or learn the art and science of fermentation form one of San Diego’s top homebrewers. Finally, come to the LJAWF with an appetite! From Greek food to crepes to Maine lobster and everything in between – this is more than your typical festival food, so be prepared to indulge in something delicious at this world class food court! All profits raised benefit underfunded programs such as art, music, science, physical education, technology, and on-site medical care at La Jolla public elementary and middle schools. To date, the program has raised $900,000 annually for the schools through sponsorship, booth sales and donations. A true mensch, Ahern continues to include her family, friends and community in the spirit of volunteering to make the world a better place for everyone and is a member of Temple Beth El Synagogue in La Jolla. Women, children, education, and the arts continue as a theme of passion and creativity exuded throughout the years for Ahern.

Shelly Berman Ahern

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT LJAWF.COM OR CALL MCFARLANE PROMOTIONS, INC. AT (619) 233-5008. FOR SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION REGARDING THE LA JOLLA ART & WINE FESTIVAL, EMAIL INFO@LAJOLLAARTANDWINEFESTIVAL.COM. TO BECOME INVOLVED IN CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH SHERRY AHERN, PLEASE E-MAIL: SHERRY@AHERNSEEDS.COM. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

EDUCATION

BY DONALD H. HARRISON

JEWISH VALUES FROM THE START

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School’s annual gala event honors Emily Einhorn

eter Pan, whose silhouette along with those of other storybook characters provided a backdrop at the New Children’s Museum for speakers at the Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School gala dinner, famously declared that he wanted never to grow up. That being impossible, speakers who extolled community philanthropist and honoree Emily Einhorn suggested on Sunday evening, June 4, that an even better alternative is to grow up practicing true

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

Jewish values. Detroit banking executive and civic leader Gary Torgow, who chairs Michigan’s Civil Rights Commission and is a long-time president of Yeshiva Beth Yehuda, shared three inspirational stories illustrating those values during a keynote speech to more than 300 attendees of the dinner chaired by Kimber Wrasch. The first story concerned an Orthodox Jewish family who before leaving on a

vacation hired an Irish maid, circa 1920, and told her that they would be back December 25th. The maid, never before exposed to Jews, realized that they wouldn’t be home in time to decorate their house for Christmas, so with the little money she had, she purchased a tree and Christmas lights for the house, and had them all waiting in glorious display upon the family’s return. Another person, suggested Torgow, might have been embarrassed, or even have

disciplined the maid for putting up symbols so inappropriate to a Jewish home, but the patriarch of this family instead complimented the maid for her generosity of spirit, and all the work she had put into the decorations, and gave her a $50 bonus, which was a large sum in those days. Then he explained that as beautiful the decorations were, they did not belong to the Jewish holidays, so had them — with thanks — removed. Torgow said the story had been told to him by the man who then was the editor of the Detroit Free Press, whose mother had been that maid. The editor grew up with a love for the Jewish people, borne from the kindness with which his mom had been treated. Clearly how we treat others can have an unimagined lasting impact. A second story told by Torgow concerned a Shabbat dinner at which his own Orthodox family’s guests included the then-governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, and her husband Daniel Mulhern. It was supposed to be a private affair, without publicity, but Mulhern was so impressed by the peace and sanctity of Shabbat observance that he wrote an extensive article about it in his Everyday Leadership blog. Mulhern wrote: "For 24 hours beginning on sundown Friday, there’s no cars, cell phones, TV, VCRs, X-Box, PDAs, you get it. Instead, they remember G-d who did some awesome work before He rested on the seventh day. And they savor – or kvell in – the gift of family. The supper-service began with a beautiful prayer of tribute to the women of the family. At another point the fathers stood and blessed each of their sons, with a Hebrew blessing the dads read while pressing their lips to their son’s heads. Five baby-to-toddler grandchildren were passed about, or padded around, throughout the meal. Jennifer and I

reflected on our way home how this central experience of Shabbat in the Torgow family combines with the technology black-out to produce a highly counter-cultural experience: Their adult children tend to stay near home. Three of the four adult Torgow children wheeled their children home that evening in strollers. While many of us celebrated our Thanksgiving weekend as a once-a-year family gathering, bookended by snarling air and road traffic; these folks experience the family gathering every week."

“I thought ‘Wow, this place is really different.’ You could tell that they had the right values,” Einhorn said of her first time visiting [Soille]. As great an effect that Shabbat observance had on non-Jewish guests, suggested Torgow, so too can Shabbat outreach to unaffiliated Jews produce profound results. In his third instructive story of the evening, Torgow told of a young man who had gone to Hebrew school tuition free, and later became a business success. Wanting to repay the kindness that had been done for him in his early life, he called the principal of his alma mater — a man whom he had never met —

and asked that a nursery school student be designated whose education he could fully support through 12th grade graduation. He didn’t know the boy’s secular name, but did ask his Hebrew name so that he could include him in his prayers, just as he included the Hebrew names of his own children. Throughout the boy’s schooling, his benefactor prayed for his success. One day his daughter came home and introduced the young man she wanted to marry. It was the very same young man. In fact, that young man did become a member of his family. Teaching our children about acts of loving kindness and the keeping of the Shabbat were central themes of the talk by Torgow, who recently was designated by the Israeli government to head the “Mosaic United” program for which Israel has allocated $50 million to help strengthen deserving Jewish communities in the Diaspora. According to Selwyn Isakow, who introduced Torgow and has been the driving force behind the Shabbat San Diego program, Israel has recognized that if Jewish communities in the Diaspora become weakened and diminished, this ultimately will have an adverse effect on Israel as well. Honoree Einhorn was showered with compliments by speakers for her leadership in the San Diego Jewish community including service on such boards as the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, 2-2-2 San Diego, the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education and the Leichtag Foundation. Einhorn and her husband Dan sent both their children, Max and Estee, to Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School after the honoree had spent some time observing the Orthodox school. In an article written for the evening’s program by Sherry Saavedra, Einhorn disclosed that what had sold her on Soille was an unscripted incident when some girls WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

EDUCATION

were walking in the hallway and one of them dropped her pencil box, scattering its contents across the floor. Instead of laughing at her, or simply leaving her behind, the other girls kneeled to the floor with her and as a team helped her retrieve her possessions. “I thought ‘Wow, this place is really different.’ You could tell that they had the right values,” Einhorn told the writer. Among those paying tribute to Einhorn were her children Max and Estee, today adults living in San Francisco and New York. Max noted that his mother typically deflects compliments, “but mom you deserve every compliment you receive.” Einhorn did not grow up in an Orthodox family, and describes herself as a non-Orthodox Jew who supports the Orthodox institution because of the values it teaches. About Max, who won and then donated to charity a $36,000 award from the Helen Diller Family Foundation’s Teen Tikkun Olam Award for exceptional philanthropy, Einhorn commented that under Soille San Diego Hebrew Day’s tutelage, “he became a person who was so sweet and humble, respectful of elders and kind to young children. I think the school influenced him a lot because he was around a culture and a community that really valued those things.” Daughter Estee said of Einhorn that whereas so many people in the community relied on her leadership, she nevertheless continued to be a devoted mother, attending every soccer match and school play. “As I grow older, I know how difficult it is to allocate your time, and I wonder if there are two of you,” said Estee. Einhorn recalled in the printed program that while in high school, Estee “founded a group that mentored kids at a Chula Vista domestic violence shelter by helping them with school work and teaching English to those in need.” Both Max and Estee received their undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Max in finance and Estee in urban studies. Before calling her up to receive an art work from Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School in appreciation of her many accomplishments, the school’s headmaster, Rabbi Simcha Weiser, related that there is a Jewish tradition that when people die, they will be asked at the pearly gates, “Did you think about the big picture?” He added: “Emily Einhorn did not find a community to belong to, Emily Einhorn built a community.” As her son Max had anticipated, his mother’s short speech was largely consumed by thanking others, in particular Rabbi Weister whom she complimented for the “boundless wisdom that he imparts.” She said Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School has a commitment to deep thinking, and wound up her talk with a compliment to her husband Dan, who had grown up in a more traditional Jewish home than hers. “Dan,” she said, “we are in this as one soul. May we continue to go from strength to strength.” HARRISON IS EDITOR OF SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD, SDJEWISHWORLD.COM. HE MAY BE CONTACTED AT DONALD.HARRISON@SDJEWISHWORLD.COM.

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

MENSCHES OF SAN DIEGO

LILLIAN ELBAZ I've been inspired by dance my entire life. Studying and training in the art of dance is a way to express myself. It's enabled me to connect to my roots, my community and myself. I was born and raised in Israel, with an American mother and a French father. I moved to San Diego in 2012, and am always looking for new ways to connect my two passions – Dance and Israel. So, I created a unique program called ‘TNUA’, which means "movement" in Hebrew. 'TNUA' is part of my dance company called “Art of Movement” that I founded. ‘TNUA’, fiscally sponsored by Startup18, is a program dedicated to sharing Israeli culture through movement, music, theater, and the Hebrew language. The emphasis is to connect our children to their Jewish and Israeli identity. The TNUA Israeli dance troupe performs on Israeli holidays and related events year round. We love dancing together with children of the 'Friendship Circle' who are in the special needs demographic. In addition, TNUA brings movement and Hebrew immersion to Jewish pre-schools, schools and synagogues. Our overseas program also brings popular Israeli plays for our local children, and we run vacation camps throughout the year! To learn more visit lchaimmagazine.com/chaifiveprojects and search social media for the hashtag #MENSCHESOFSANDIEGO

Join Our Temple Etz Rimon Family

Open House

Sunday, August 27, 2017 1:30pm-4pm

Meet Rabbi Karen Sherman Enjoy food, festivities, music and fun for all ages!

TEMPLE ETZ RIMON A Reform Synagogue in the Heart of Coastal North County

2020 Chestnut Avenue • Carlsbad, CA • 92008 760.929.9503 • templeetzrimon.org

K-7th Religious School & B’nai Mitzvah Preparation for Busy Families in North County!

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EDUCATION

HILLEL AT CAL STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN MARCOS

ucked away in the suburbs of North County San Diego is an unknown gem of the California State University system: CSU San Marcos. Founded in 1989 as a satellite campus for SDSU, the need for a new university was realized and CSUSM became its own campus now boasting an undergraduate population of 14,000 students. Thanks in part to the Leichtag Foundation, Hillel of San Diego was able to expand its services to the Jewish students of North County in December 2010. In just seven years, CSUSM Hillel has become a well-known and respected presence on campus and has helped hundreds of Jewish students build a vibrant Jewish home away from home. Hillel offers regular programs for Jewish students to mingle such as Tuesday Bagels and biweekly Shabbat Dinners as well as the opportunity to travel on Birthright with other students in San Diego County. Senior Leah Baker said Hillel has improved Jewish life for her on campus, “I was really shy when I first came to college. Hillel is there to help Jewish students develop and maintain their Jewish identity while away from home. I was able to meet other college students who were Jewish at a university with not too many Jews. I also had many opportunities to get involved with the community around North County. You don’t need to know everything about being Jewish, it’s a non-judgmental environment where you can go to learn and everyone is always learning together.” In addition, Hillel engages and educates the CSUSM student body annually such as building a sukkah on campus and bringing in a Holocaust survivor to speak on Yom HaShoah. It is a home away from home for Jewish students, said graduate Miranda Kalman, "I did not have this 'Jewish experience' when I was growing up. I

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE

learned more about myself and my Jewish identity than I will ever learn anywhere else. My college experience wouldn’t have been the same and this social without a Hillel there for me.” For the past four years, CSUSM Hillel students have traveled on Alternative Spring Break trips to experience Tikkun Olam firsthand. Hillel of San Diego is engaging students at UC San Diego, SDSU, CSUSM its newest campus, USD; to ensure that they make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel. A trivia night fundraiser, benefitting Hillel at CSUSM, will be held September 14 at URGE. To learn more, contact the Lori Bolotin Director of Development, Amy Hart at ahart@hillelsd.org. For more information on CSUSM Hillel, contact Director, Wendy McCreary at wendy@hillelsd.org.

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Our entire congregational family wishes you a sweet and joyous New Year! We would love to share the entire Holy Day season with you, or to welcome you at any of the following special events open to all! Erev Rosh Hashanah Wed. Sept. 20 • 7:30pm

Erev Shabbat Shuvah Fri. Sept. 22 • 7:00pm

Traditional Rosh Hashanah Thurs. Sept. 21 • 8:30am

Kol Nidre Fri. Sept. 29 • 7:30pm

Contemporary Rosh Hashanah Teen Service Yom Kippur Sat. Sept. 30 • 10:00am Thurs. Sept. 21 • 11:30am Children’s Rosh Hashanah Thurs. Sept. 21 • 2:30pm

Yom Kippur Sat. Sept. 30 • 10:00am

Tashlich Services (Lake Poway) Thurs. Sept. 21 • 4:00pm

Children’s Yom Kippur Sat. Sept. 30 • 1:00pm

2nd Day Rosh Hashanah Fri. Sept. 22 • 10:00am

Adult Discussion Sat. Sept. 30 • 2:00pm N’ilah Afternoon Yom Kippur Sat. Sept. 30 • 3:30pm

For more information and the complete High Holy Day Schedule, please call 858.451.1200, or visit us online at

www.adatshalom.com. Temple Adat Shalom 15905 Pomerado Rd. Poway

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EDUCATION

A BOOK REVIEW BY CURT LEVIANT

THE STORY

OF HEBREW

By Lewis Glinert, Princeton University Press

et’s say it at the outset: this book is a gem. Every page of The Story of Hebrew is packed with information about the language from its beginnings through post1948 Israel. In addition to this longitudinal approach, Lewis Glinert, a professor of Hebrew and linguistics at Dartmouth University, also approaches his subject laterally, focusing on various lands where Jewish/Hebrew life and culture thrived, like early Palestine, Babylonia, North Africa, Spain, Europe and Russia, the United States

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

and Israel. The author shows us how living under Greek and Roman domination affected Hebrew and how vocabulary from those occupiers seeped into the language. Two examples, the first mine, the second Glinert’s: the simple word for shoemaker in Hebrew, “sandlar,” which comes from the Latin “sandalrius;” and “sanhedrin,” the Jewish High Court, which stems from the Greek “synedrion.” Jews did not shy away from these foreign influences; their Hebrew

language embraced them. Glinert also traces the changes in the use of the language from Biblical times through the Mishna (before and after 200 CE), where the Hebrew of that period was more direct and seemingly more colloquial, as can be seen by comparing a text from the Mishna with any chapter in the Bible. During the next two or three hundred years written Hebrew then moved on from the Hebrew-only Mishna to the two-language Talmud, with its mix of mostly Aramaic and much less Hebrew. (In

The Story of Hebrew is a superb book, meticulously researched and beautifully written. Two of my favorites among the many text-enhancing illustrations and photographs are a photo of a page from one of Sir Isaac Newton’s notebooks where he has a phrase in Hebrew written in his neat printed script; and a page from Kafka’s Hebrew notebook with two columns of nicely calligrapher Hebrew words on one side with their German translation (in longhand) on the other. all of this, of course we only have written texts to go by.) With sacred books passing from generation to generation orally, correct pronunciation might be lost or distorted. Along came the Masoretes (from the Hebrew word, masorah, tradition), who by the year 1000 had created an above and below the letters signs that ingeniously indicated pronunciation, melody, accent and phrasing. Jews also contributed to scientific learning by writing about medicine in Hebrew. I am sure it will surprise many readers, as it did me, that in Italy’s first medical school, in Salerno, founded in the 9th century, the languages of instruction were Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Arabic. And in southern France, in Arles, Narbonne and Montpelier, the official language of instruction in these medical schools was Hebrew. Religious attitude also influenced how Hebrew was used. Glinert delves into this divide by showing that during the 11th and 12th century in Ashkenaz (in northern

France and the Rhineland) the accent was on liturgy and Torah scholarship – the works of Rashi, for instance; while in Sepharad (Spain) and Italy secular Hebrew poetry flourished, influenced by Arabic poetry – exemplified by Yehuda Halevi and other poets. The author devotes two remarkable chapters to the interaction of Christians with of Hebrew. In one of these unholy splits, two of the noted translators of the Bible from Hebrew, the church father Jerome (4th century) and the German Martin Luther (1534), respected Hebrew but disparaged Jews and Judaism. In his notorious 1542 book, On the Jews and Their Lies, Luther asserts that “Jews should be expelled before they poison more wells and ritually abuse more children.” A better relationship ensued with English translators. William Tyndale was the first to render the Five Books of Moses (1530) into English directly from the Hebrew; and in so doing he defied a Bishop’s ban on a translation other than the Latin Vulgate. Tyndale’s translation led to the classic 1611 King James version of the complete Bible, whose English rhythms, cadences, and even sentence structure enormously affected English. As Glinert elegantly puts it: those two translations would “inject a Hebraic quality into the syntax and phraseology of English literary usage without parallel in any other European culture.” The author further adds that echoes of this biblical English can be seen from Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Hebrew also made its mark in the early history of the United States. The Pilgrims saw themselves as the New Israelites, giving their towns name like New Canaan and Salem. Even their Thanksgiving was a belated Sukkot to celebrate a bountiful harvest. And Hebrew was at one time ensconced as a mandatory subject in the Ivy League colleges. I recently read that at graduation ceremonies students would deliver orations in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and university presidents, like Ezra

Stiles of Yale, would also occasionally give their commencement talks in Hebrew. Glinert writes that the door to modernity in Europe was opened in 1780 by two books published on different sides of Europe. One, in Germany, was Moses Mendelssohn’s Biur, the first volume of his translation of the Torah into German; the other, in a small town in the Ukraine, was a book in Hebrew about Hasidic thought. Slowly, from the advent of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement, through newspapers, magazines and books, modern Hebrew was being reshaped, culminating with Jews resettling Palestine in the late 19th century, along with Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s call, at the turn of the 20th century, for Jews to speak only Hebrew. Glinert shows us how the thrust for Hebraization continued once the British got the Mandate for Palestine in 1922 from the League of Nations. They recognized Hebrew as the language of instructions for public schools, broadcasting, the courts and civil regulations. With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 and mass immigration, Hebrew – which throughout the centuries had always been read, studied and written, and only occasionally spoken — reached its efflorescence. The Story of Hebrew is a superb book, meticulously researched and beautifully written. Two of my favorites among the many text-enhancing illustrations and photographs are a photo of a page from one of Sir Isaac Newton’s notebooks where he has a phrase in Hebrew written in his neat printed script; and a page from Kafka’s Hebrew notebook with two columns of nicely calligrapher Hebrew words on one side with their German translation (in longhand) on the other. Read this marvelous study — perhaps, if you don’t know Hebrew, it will inspire you to learn it and become part of a more than 3000-year tradition of transmission. AMONG CURT LEVIANT’S NOVELS ARE THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED AND CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED, KING OF YIDDISH AND KAFKA’S SON. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

An Act of Murder A hardliner judge with little mercy has a moral dilemma when his wife is diagnosed with an incurable and painful illness. Sunday, August 20 1:30 - 3:30 PM Mission Valley Library, 2123 Fenton Pkwy. A film in our Right-to-Die Film Series. Stay after for a discussion and refreshments.

Free and open to the public. CHOICE, DIGNITY & CONTROL AT THE END OF LIFE

619.233.4418 www.hemlocksocietysandiego.org A non-profit tax-exempt 501 c3 independent organization

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

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EDUCATION

BY RAFAEL MEDOFF | jns.org

“Israeli Apartheid Week,” an annual global anti-Israel showcase, in May 2010 on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles. According to the Brand Israel Group, only 54 percent of U.S. college students lean more toward Israel than the Palestinians, down from 73 percent in 2010. PHOTO CREDIT: AMCHA INITIATIVE

ARE BIASED TEXTBOOKS Turning young Americans against Israel

nti-Israel bias in the textbooks used by many American high schools may be to blame for the decrease in sympathy for Israel among young adults. According to the Brand Israel Group, only 54 percent of U.S. college students lean more toward Israel than the Palestinians, down from 73 percent in 2010. The decrease was even sharper among Jewish college students, dropping from 84 percent to 57 percent. “The problem starts in high school,” Dr. Sandra Alfonsi, longtime director of Hadassah’s “Curriculum Watch” division, said. “There’s no doubt the lack of sympathy for Israel on college campuses today is at least partly the result of several generations of teenagers being educated with textbooks that are slanted against Israel.” 26

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

‘UNABASHED PROPAGANDIZING’

One of the most controversial texts used in high schools around the country is the Arab World Studies Notebook, a 540-page volume authored by Audrey Parks Shabbas. She heads Arab World and Islamic Resources and School Services, a curriculum publisher that seeks to promote a positive image of Arabs and Muslims in U.S. schools. After parents in Anchorage, Alaska, complained to their local board of education in 2004 about the book’s slant against Israel, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) prepared a 30-page analysis of the text. The AJC found it to be riddled with “overt bias and unabashed propagandizing,” such as depicting Israel as the aggressor in every Arab-Israeli war and praising Muslim conquerors throughout the ages for their

“gentle treatment of civilian populations.” As a result, the Anchorage Board of Education removed the Notebook from the local high school curriculum. School authorities in Tulsa, Okla., have also withdrawn the text. Shabbas has claimed the Notebook has been distributed to more than 10,000 teachers, and “if each notebook teaches 250 students a year over 10 years, then you’ve reached 25 million students.” “The most important statistic is the number of workshops that Shabbas has given to instruct teachers in how to use the book,” Curriculum Watch’s Alfonsi said. “She has conducted hundreds of such three-day teacher-training sessions.” Shabbas’s website names 211 schools where she ran teacher workshops from 2000-2006. Other years are

not listed. Shabbas did not respond to requests for comment. DISPUTE IN MASSACHUSETTS

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) recently published a 108-page monograph, “Indoctrinating Our Youth,” which describes how high schools in the Boston suburb of Newton have been using biased texts such as the Arab World Studies Notebook and inviting anti-Israel speakers to address their students. The controversy began in 2011, when a Newton South High School parent complained about a passage from the Notebook accusing Israel of torturing and murdering hundreds of Palestinian women. Other parents soon joined the protests. Matt Hills, vice chair of the Newton School Committee, dismissed the critics as “McCarthyesque.” In early 2012, Newton Superintendent of Schools David Fleishman said the Notebook had been removed from the curriculum because it was “outdated.” But an investigation by Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT), a Boston-based activist group, found that the Notebook was still being used in Newton as late as the 20132014 school year. The dispute has been complicated by the refusal of Newton school authorities to identify which Israel-related materials were being used by teachers. Many school districts around the country list their curriculum materials on their websites. APT President Charles Jacobs said his group “will continue to build support for a policy of transparency, so that parents and citizens can know what is being taught to Newton’s students.” In response to a request for copies of the materials, Joel Stembridge, principal of Newton South High School, said the requester would need to pay $3,643 to cover photocopying expenses. Eventually, Freedom of Information Act requests were filed by Judicial Watch and others, including JNS.org and APT. Judicial Watch’s request forced the release of nearly 500 pages of material. Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a member of the nine-person School Committee, attended committee meetings on the textbooks issue but did not actively participate in the discussions, according to community members. The mayor, who is now a

candidate for the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts governor, did not respond to requests for comment. Several mainstream Jewish organizations in Boston, including the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, initially denied that biased materials were being used in the schools. They also criticized APT for organizing protests against the Newton school authorities. Later, the New England ADL changed its position, agreeing that the Arab World Studies Notebook and another anti-Israel text, “A Muslim Primer,” should not have been used in schools. The CAMERA monograph reports that as a result of the controversy, “there has been some change in the selection of materials” by Newton officials and “more careful vetting of them.” Yet some of the supplemental materials that Newton teachers use “continue to favor fringe perspectives,” according to the study. Steven Stotsky, the monograph’s author, said the situation “remains unresolved,” pointing out that Newton North High School hosted another anti-Israel speaker in June. Since no curriculum materials have been shown to the parents since 2015, “we don’t know” if any of the anti-Israel books are still being used, Stotsky said. CONTROVERSIES COUNTRY

AROUND

THE

Other texts have been at the center of similar controversies elsewhere around the U.S. in recent years. Parents in Tennessee’s Williamson County complained to school authorities in 2013 over a textbook called “The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography.” In a section on the reasons for the rise of terrorism, the book asks: “If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?” The protests, which were led by Christian pro-Israel activist Laurie Cardoza-Moore and supported by the Jewish Federation of Nashville, prompted the Tennessee state legislature to take steps to ensure greater parental involvement in the selection of textbooks. Further, the book’s publisher, Pearson Education, removed the suicide bomber passage from subsequent editions. But

Cardoza-Moore said her campaign was “only a partial victory, because ‘The Cultural Landscape’ contains other biased statements about Israel that were not removed.” In Georgia’s Sumter County, Campbell Middle School parent Hal Medlin complained in 2011 about a class assignment featuring a fictitious letter from a Saudi woman who defended Islamic sharia law and her husband’s polygamy, on the grounds that she was being “cared for” by her husband. Conservative activist Pamela Geller, who joined the protests against the Campbell Middle School assignment, said the letter was “an outrageous whitewash of the subjugation of women by Islam.” The curriculum unit also included a document in which a pro-Palestinian activist suggested terrorist attacks against Israeli Jews are “understandable.” In neighboring Henry County, school authorities responded to complaints about the text by withdrawing it from the curriculum. Sumter County officials took no such action, but Sharon Coletti — president of the InspirEd curriculum developer, which had prepared the controversial materials for Georgia public schools — said that “the topics of women’s rights and the West Bank have largely been dropped [from statewide curricula], so we removed” the texts. Parents at a high school in Pittsburgh complained to Curriculum Watch’s Alfonsi in 2007 about a teacher’s use of “Habibi,” a young adult novel by Naomi Shihab Nye. Alfonsi found that the book has a “strongly pro-Palestinian slant, including extreme accusations about ‘Israeli oppression.’” The fact that it was being used in an Advancement Placement English class “meant that it was indoctrinating some of the brightest kids in the school,” she said. As a result of Alfonsi’s discussions with school officials, “Habibi” was dropped from the class’s curriculum. “The problem is that for every school that removes an anti-Israel text, there are a hundred more that are continuing to use it,” Alfonsi said, adding, “When I began this work 20 years ago, we were reviewing curriculum materials used for the 6th to 12th grades. Now we are seeing anti-Israel in bias in texts going all the way down to the 4th grade. I’m concerned that many in the Jewish community still do not recognize how serious this problem is.”

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FOOD

KOSHEROLOGY DIY BEEF PASTRAMI *TAKES ABOUT 7-8 DAYS STORY & PHOTOS BY ALEX THE KOSHEROLOGIST KOSHEROLOGY.COM

Making your own corned beef pastrami is fun, easy, and quick (minus the brining/waiting time, that is) and is a great way to ensure that you are enjoying top quality beef pastrami that you can boast you prepared like a true culinary genius (even though you don’t have to be one).

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

FOOD

fter a successful attempt at making my own corned beef brisket from scratch (brining/pickling it myself), I decided to try again, this time taking it one step further to make awesome homemade pastrami. Making your own corned beef pastrami is fun (well, I think of it as such), easy, and quick (minus the brining/ waiting time, that is) and is a great way to ensure that you are enjoying top quality beef pastrami that you can boast you prepared like a true culinary genius (even though you don’t have to be one). The process of making corned beef and pastrami begins with the same process: brining/corning the meat. After the brining process has finished (which in this case is about 5-6 days), you can boil up the brisket and call it corned beef; or you can encrust it in a peppercoriander-mustard seed rub and cook it up and call it pastrami. While traditional pastrami is prepared by smoking it on a grill or in a smoker, my recipe takes a shortcut and calls to prepare the brisket in the oven, adding smoked paprika to the spice blend to lend it’s smokiness. I prepared this pastrami using both a 1st and 2nd cut brisket- note that 2nd cut will have more marbled fat. Brining the brisket gives the beef that unique authentic corned beef/pastrami flavor, as well as the trademark bright pink color (thanks to the curing salts). To make the brine for corned beef and pastrami, you need to acquire nitrate curing salts or Morton’s Tender Quick. Morton’s Tender Quick is easier for the home cook to purchase and is specially crafted for home cooking (we don’t really need to be messing around with nitrates, nitrites, etc. etc.). YOU WILL NEED: 5-6 lb brisket For the dry brine cure 5 TBS. Morton’s Tender Quick 2 TBS light brown sugar 1 TBS. ground black pepper 1 tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp. ground bay leaves 1 tsp. ground allspice 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Mix together all of the spices and Morton’s Tender Quick. 2. Rinse the brisket and pat it dry. 3. Thoroughly rub the spice mixture into all sides of the brisket and place in a large, sealed zip-lock bag. 4. Place in the refrigerator and allow to cure for 5 days per inch of meat thickness (about 5-6 days for a 5-6 lb. brisket). If you want to make a traditional corned-beef after the brining/curing period has ended, you can prepare the brisket by covering it with water and bringing it to a boil, lowering the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until tender (about 3-4 hours). But we’re going an extra step and making pastrami! For the pastrami spice blend 2 TBS. coriander seeds 2 TBS. yellow mustard seeds 2 TBS. dark brown sugar 1 TBS. smoked paprika 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 2 TBS. ground black pepper INSTRUCTIONS 1. Toast the coriander and mustard seeds in a frying pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the seeds are fragrant and lightly browned-about 3-5 minutes. 2. Allow to cool and transfer to a food processor or blender. Add the brown sugar, paprika, garlic, and cloves and pulse until the seeds are well ground and all the spices are well blended. Add the pepper and stir well. 3. Remove the brisket from the fridge and thoroughly rub the pastrami spice mixture into all sides of the brisket. 4. Return to the refrigerator overnight to allow the pastrami spice to impart it’s flavor.

5. When ready to cook the pastrami, preheat oven to 240°F. 6. Generously grease a large piece of heavyduty aluminum foil with cooking oil spray (such as PAM) and wrap the foil tightly around the pepper-encrusted pastrami. Tightly wrap the pastrami in 5 more layers of aluminum foil (these do not have to be greased-FYI) and place in the oven to slowroast for 5 hours. 7. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Return the pastrami- still wrapped in all of the foil- to the refrigerator and allow to rest overnight. 8. After it’s overnight “beauty rest”, remove the pastrami from all 6 of it’s foil wrappings and place in a large roasting dish (such as Pyrex). Preheat oven to 400°F and place the pastrami in for 15 minutes, uncovered, to allow the crust to be “sealed on”. Return to the refrigerator to allow to cool. When completely cooled, remove the pastrami and slice into very thin strips. That’s all folks! It’s that easy! BORN AND BRED IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH, ALEX ‘THE KOSHEROLOGIST’ IDOV, WAS RAISED ON COLLARD GREENS STEWED WITH SMOKED TURKEY LEG (IN PLACE OF HAM HOCKS), BLACKEYED-PEAS, AND BRUNSWICK STEW. HE BOASTS BEING A 4TH GENERATION JEWISH SOUTHERNER, WITH ONE OF HIS GREAT-GRANDMOTHER’S BORN IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA IN 1888. HIS OTHER GREAT-GRANDPARENTS HAILED FROM RUSSIA, POLAND, AND FRANCEINSPIRING MUCH OF HIS COOKING WITH THE CUISINES OF HIS HERITAGE. ALEX’S CULINARY REPERTOIRE GOES BEYOND TRADITIONAL JEWISH AND SOUTHERN FARE, AS HE REVISITS AND REINVENTS THE CUISINES OF HIS ANCESTORS. ALEX HOLDS A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN CULINARY SUSTAINABILITY AND HOSPITALITY FROM THE KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY MICHAEL A. LEVEN SCHOOL OF CULINARY SUSTAINABILITY AND HOSPITALITY AND WORKS AS A FREELANCE FOOD WRITER. FIND MORE RECIPES AT KOSHEROLOGY.COM WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURE STORY

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

FEATURE STORY

ISAAC ARTENSTEIN TELLING FRONTIER JEWISH STORIES

by Mimi Pollack

ilmmaker Isaac Artenstein likes to tell good stories, especially unknown ones, and if those stories inform and entertain others, even better. He feels that the Jews of the Southwest have an untold story as the narrative has been mostly about the Anglo westward expansion; whereas, other immigrants are also part of the history. He wants to show one of the missing pieces of the puzzle. To that end, he is working on a fourpart series of documentaries called Frontier Jews, which covers Jews of the Southwest, including New Mexico, San Diego, Arizona [Tucson], and El Paso. The documentary on New Mexico, Challah Rising in the Desert has just been completed and the one on San Diego, To the Ends of the Earth, is near completion. Artenstein was born in San Diego and grew up as a child of the border. He went to elementary school in Tijuana and high school in Chula Vista. Fluent in both English and Spanish, he moves comfortably between both worlds. In addition, with an Ashkenazi father and Sephardic mother, he was also exposed to the different aspects of Judaism, all of which served him well while making the documentaries. Early in life, Artenstein told his stories by painting. “I can remember drawing and painting since I was very young,” he said. This love of art led to photography and later to filmmaking. He studied painting and photography at UCLA and filmmaking at the California Institute of the Arts, where he got his degree. He uses his artistic eye as a filmmaker.

After years of people asking him where he was from and not understanding that Artensteins could be Mexican, he decided to make a documentary on the Jews of Tijuana. He started by interviewing his own family and went on to interview other families and individuals who were all part of Tijuana’s history. The documentary, Tijuana Jews came out in 2005 and was well received and shown at many Jewish film festivals. At the Tucson film festival, he was given a book, Pioneer Jews by Harriet and Fred Rochlin, which piqued his interest in learning more about the story of these Jews. He spent the next ten years fundraising to accomplish his goal. “As I traveled and interviewed people in Tucson, El Paso, and New Mexico, I realized that the stories were very similar to those of the pioneer Jews in San Diego whose lives were centered in Old Town. At the same time, each place had something unique,” he said of the process. In preparing for each documentary, he likes to interview a wide array of people to find a dramatic structure and a theme. Although he is making a documentary, he feels it is still storytelling. He knows that the visual, lighting, mood, and music are important for each documentary, so he surrounds himself with talented people. “For Challah Rising in the Desert, Sergio [Ulloa, my director of photography] and I realized that the New Mexico landscape was also a character in our film as it is so diverse and beautiful. [The composers] worked on very different music for each documentary, too.”

The first documentary in the series, Challah Rising in the Desert, explores the history of the Jews in New Mexico. The braided challah represents the five strands or waves of settlements that have come, including the “converso” Jews escaping the Spanish inquisition 400 hundred years ago; the German-Jewish pioneers of the Santa Fe trail in the 1800s; the scientists who came in the 1940s to Los Alamos; the counterculture youth of the 1960s; and the Jews of today. It also shows the special influence New Mexico has had on its Jewish community. Only there will you find bakers who mix green chilies into the challah dough or Rabbis who wear tallit’s with Navajo designs. The San Diego-focused documentary, To the Ends of the Earth came about from a collaboration between Artenstein and Bill Lawrence, the Executive Director of the San Diego History Center, for the History and Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community exhibit, which is running until May 2018. Artenstein was commissioned to produce a series of standalone video capsules for the exhibit. He interviewed various people in the community about their personal Jewish story and family’s history in San Diego. Although the videos are separate works, the collaboration was the catalyst for the documentary, which he began shooting concurrently while working on the History Center’s films. In his research, Artenstein was particularly intrigued by a detailed diary written by Victoria Jacobs, a Jewish teenager who lived in the area we now call Old Town. At that WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURE STORY

time, Jews were well integrated in the fabric and society of San Diego. There was even an alley parallel with San Diego Ave. and Juan St. called “El Callejon de los Judios” or “The Alley of the Jews.” It provided easy access for all the Jewish merchants in Old Town. However, after the railroad was built and more Anglos arrived in San Diego, the climate toward the Jews began to change. The insiders became the outsiders. By the 1940s and 1950s, there were restrictive covenants in certain areas of town where Blacks, Mexicans, and Jews were not allowed to live. La Jolla was one of them. Although these covenants were illegal, they still existed. This changed with the opening of UCSD in 1960. The head of the Scripps Institute of 32

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE

Oceanography, Roger Revelle, served as a point-man for the UC Board of Regents. He made it clear that if UCSD was going to open in La Jolla, he wanted all the professors to be able to live nearby. The 1960s and the opening of UCSD brought in brought a new renaissance of influential Jews to San Diego, such as virologist Jonas Salk, electronic engineers Irwin Jacobs and Andrew Viterbi, and poet Jerome Rothenberg. This renaissance was scientific, entrepreneurial, and cultural; Jews had become insiders again. Artenstein interviewed diverse people for his documentary, including Jewish historian Joellyn Zollman, publisher Don Harrison of San Diego Jewish World, actor/writer

Salomon Maya, Jonas Salk’s son Peter, and Congresswoman Susan Davis. He learned from Zollman that 20% of the Jewish community in San Diego is foreign born and there are Jews from Mexico, South Africa, Israel, and Russia in our community. His documentary seeks to tell their stories. Challah Rising in the Desert will go to general distribution in September. To the Ends of the Earth will be completed by the end of the summer, and Artenstein plans to submit the film for consideration to the next San Diego Jewish Film Festival. His goal is to complete all four documentaries for Frontier Jews by the end of 2018.

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OUR TRIBE

Five Minutes of Reflection:

elected from over 50 national and international entries, the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture’s (SDCJC), Straight From The Page, a staged reading series, presents a 5 Minute Play Festival each year. This year, the festival showcased a variety of original plays written by 10 talented playwrights. The plays speak to Jewish identity, heritage, cultural experiences and values. CHAI FIVE is sponsoring the publication of the top three winners, beginning in our June/July issue with the Third Place winner, Atar Hadari’s I Begin to Rehearse My Death. This month, we feature the second-place winner, Harry Katcher’s Jew-Jew. He is a native of San Diego and lives in Ramona with his wife and two boys.

JEW-JEW

By Harry Katcher Narrator: So, it’s been a while since I’ve had to confront my proclivity toward avoiding what I call the “J Word.” You see, I refer to myself, not as a Jew, but as being Jewish. There’s a subtle difference. Why do I make the distinction? I blame my mother. When I was young and my friends would go to church and invite me along, I asked her why I couldn’t go, and she just stared at me and said simply, “Because you’re a Jew.” Well that was a bit harsh, but that was that. On hindsight it would’ve been nice if she smiled sweetly and said, “Because dear, we’re Jewish, now eat your hamentashen.” So, I’ve avoided the “Jew” in favor of the “Jewish” for a while now. Why am I so interested in Israel? Because I’m Jewish. Why don’t I have a Christmas tree? Because I’m Jewish. Why do I keep accidentally calling my wife, “mom”? Because… well, my therapist says we’ll get to that next week. Then, recently, and quite unexpectedly, at my neighbor’s New Year’s Eve party, the J word – my old nemesis - made an appearance. My neighbor’s 81-year old mother had me in a corner and was reliving the good ol’ days. She was born in Ukraine and her family immigrated to Germany. I listened intently – as I had never thought about people moving into Germany. She talked glowingly of her childhood, proudly throwing out several German words like “vunderbare schule and” “vunderbar” – which kept me amused as 34

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

TRIBE

OUR

Part Two of a Three-Part Series published by ChaiFive Projects

THE COMMUNITY PLACE

it sounded like Wonderbra. I excused myself for a quick trip to the bathroom and I’m guessing that someone then approached her – as a courtesy – and told her I was Jewish. When I returned she just stood there, looking terrified. Then she blurted out, “I know three Rabbis who are Jews!” I wasn’t sure how to respond to her, so I said, “All the Rabbis I know are Jews, too!” I felt bad for her. I could imagine her meeting an African-American and blurting out, “I voted for Obama!” or “I used to watch The Jeffersons.” Eventually, I told her it was nice meeting her and then excused myself. I then ran into my friend, Nick, who is black, and suggested he introduce himself to the sweet old lady in the corner. A few weeks later, the J-word followed me to another party – a friend’s Super Bowl party. That’s where I met Dave. Dave: So, Susan tells me you work for a private Jewish school. How’s that? Harry: It’s… fine I guess. Pretty much like any other school I imagine. Everyone is very nice. Students and teachers. And the moms, well, I’m used to them.

OUR TRIBE

Dave: Are you a Jew?

average, but for my people, a C is a Jewish F.

Narrator: Yikes! I mean, Oy! There it was, out of the blue, the J word. It’s baaaaaack. I thought, should I say, “Yes, I’m a Jew” or “Yes, I’m Jewish”? It really shouldn’t have mattered which way I responded, so I accidently said, “Yes, I’m a Jewish.” Dave didn’t seem to notice as he was “sizing me up.”

Narrator: Did I just say “my people”? As in “Let my people go”? Oy gevalt! Now I’m Charlton Heston talking to Pharaoh! I was getting the impression Dave wasn’t so much interested in learning about my school as he was getting a kick out of talking to an actual Jew! Right there; Live and in person! Just then Dave’s friend, Linda, joined us.

Dave: Huh. That’s funny. You don’t seem Jewish. I mean, you don’t come off as a… Jew Jew. Narrator: A Jew Jew?! What the Hell was that?! I’ve heard of Jujubees, and when you lose your mojo, it’s referred to as bad juju, but those were all Ju’s with a “u” not an “ew.” Dave: You know, I’ve seen Jews on TV wearing black hats or those beanies and they have curls and whiskers and stuff. Harry: Oh… THOSE Jews! Yes, the ones with the black hats are called orthodox and the ones with the whiskers are called grandmothers. And as for the beanies, those are kippot or yarmulkes. We wear those as a sign of respect to God and in return he places our bald spots right under where those go. Dave: Are the kids at your school smart? I’ve heard that Jews place a high priority on education and their kids are smart. And they end up as doctors, lawyers and accountants. Harry: Well, we do encourage our students to do their best. In public schools a C is

accountant. I’m a husband, a father, a son… And I’m a Jew.

Check the next issue of L'CHAIM Magazine to read the first-place winner of the Five Minute Play Festival, and to keep up with all that's happening in your community.

Dave: We were just talking about the Jewish school where Harry works. Harry’s a Jew. Narrator: You’re damn right I’m a Jew! I’m not a “Jew Jew”, but I am a Jew. Linda: I’ve never met a Jew. You’re my first. I’ve only heard they’re good with money and the men have large penises. Narrator: I was aghast! I wanted to tell her not to fall victim to stereotypes. To let her know that people are people regardless of their spiritual beliefs, but what came out was… “Yes. That is correct.” So, that’s what it boils down to. People hear stereotypes, for better or worse, and to them, that’s that. The Chinese are good at math, the French are lovers, the English are intelligent, and Southerners, well… they aren’t very s-m-a-r-t. And the Jews, well, I think Linda summed that up nicely. But people, real people, intelligent people hear something, see something and that’s their reality. And that’s a shame because I’m more than a stereotype. I’m not a doctor or a lawyer or an

Want to know what's happening in your community? Have something you want to share? We at L'CHAIM want to help you strengthen your ties to your community by publishing your lifecycle events in our magazine AT NO CHARGE. As a community, we share in each other's joys and sorrows and are always here to support one another. This service is brought to you by Chai Five Projects. Please submit your lifecycle events to info@lchaimmagazine.com Visit lchaimmagazine.com/ chai5projects for more info. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

SEARCHING FOR TOMORROW'S WATER EXPERTS TODAY

hat does being a hero mean to you? It may be an individual who, in the face of danger, is able to overcome adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery, or strength. And, they may appear in a variety of situations—cultural, folk, literary, military, and more. While Israeli heroes traditionally tend to be military commanders or veterans who have fought or sacrificed their lives for Israel’s survival, there are others, with brilliant minds, who have devoted their life’s work toward developing groundbreaking technologies that have changed the course of Israel’s and the world’s history. The person described here is an Israeli national hero whose name, personality, and actions are engraved in the nation’s consciousness and who is a source of patriotic pride. A most important water initiative of Jewish National Fund’s is the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition, also known as the “Junior Nobel Prize for Water Research.” The highest prize in water research for young people, this competition entices a new generation of scientists to work in the field of water. Less than a decade ago, JNF began sponsoring the competition to encourage Israeli students to discover new and creative ways to improve water development. Its success has allowed Israel to be a world leader in solving the global water crisis for generations to come. One of those young people is Emily Elhacham. At age 15, Emily began her journey in developing nano-detectors that warn of water pollution. Her desire to find a solution to this problem was triggered by the need to find an alternative to the existing method—one that was time consuming and left population centers that rely on water reservoirs at risk. For her work, Emily was awarded the Israel Chemistry Society prize and was the runner-up— amongst teenagers from 29 countries—at the Stockholm Water Prize. By age 16, she was selected to participate in MIT’s Young Researchers Program and was a visiting scholar at Caltech. Today, Emily is completing her masters at Tel Aviv University and is working on new developments in nano-technology. Recently, she was featured in Israeli Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. Emily is a true Israeli hero. Among the world’s nations, Israel is a hero. It has successfully 36

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

absorbed millions of immigrants and built a new national home for people from over 80 countries; invented groundbreaking technologies and agricultural innovations; and despite lacking natural resources, has been able to develop, produce, and supply water to over 12 million people. Through it all, Jewish National Fund has been a key player in Israel’s development—especially in water solutions—and that is why JNF is also a hero. As a trailblazer, JNF is willing to defy all expectations, no matter how challenging they may be. With JNF, we do, we lead, we build, and we innovate—together. TALIA TZOUR AVNER IS KKL-JNF’S CHIEF ISRAEL EMISSARY. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JNF’S NATIONAL WATER TASK FORCE OR TO JOIN, PLEASE CONTACT HER AT TTZOUR@JNF.ORG. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JNF IN SAN DIEGO, PLEASE CONTACT JAMES KIMMEY AT JKIMMEY@JNF.ORG.

BY STEPHANIE LEWIS l HUMOR

mazel

& mishagoss Jewish Game Shows

n 1980-something my family auditioned for The Family Feud, but didn’t make the cut. We thought the idea was having relatives argue with each other to see who was the least dysfunctional. I immediately realized my nutty clan would only be cast on Jewish shows because they’d cater to our innate neurotic tendencies. Here are some ideas for game shows I want us to compete on: JEOPARDY BECOMES “JEWPARDY” Forget the original format where contestants respond in the form of a question after they buzz in. In this version, maven yentas shout out their answers willy-nilly. And nobody’s even asking questions. The game ends with audience vote: which one of these well-meaning Know-It-Alls has the most chutzpah? WHEEL OF FORTUNE BECOMES “SPIEL OF FORTUNE” Jewish children make creative pitches to parents for larger allowances. This replaced another wheel spinning show, (which the networks promptly cancelled) called, “Wheel of Farshtunken” LET’S MAKE A DEAL BECOMES “LET’S BAKE A MEAL!” The challenge? It’s Friday night (NO daylight savings time!) and all kitchen appliances shut off at sundown. Contestants On your mark … Get set….Go! Make something warm and edible for dinner, plus breakfast and

lunch tomorrow using zero electricity, while earning bonus Shabbat candles by braiding the most challahs. THE PRICE IS RIGHT BECOMES “THE ADVICE IS RIGHT!” Mothers compete for their kids to listen to them. The first Imma with a child enrolled in medical school wins. Bob Barker is now “Bob Babka” but he’s not kissing female contestants anymore, thank goodness. FAMILY FEUD BECOMES “FAMILY INTRUDE!” The point of this game show is selfexplanatory, but rather then ringing bells before speaking, teammates slam miniature doors in each other’s faces symbolizing, “Mind your own business!” THE DATING GAME REMAINS “THE DATING GAME” But, before you hum “Matchmaker, matchmaker” as the theme song, you should know this show has bupkis to do with finding besherts. Instead, “Dating” refers to the expiration dates stamped on products, more commonly known as the “Sell by” or “Use by” or “Discard by” date; which all Jews know is totally meaningless and just the manufacturer’s ploy to get us to buy more of their stuff. Contestants with green bread are eliminated in first round. TO TELL THE TRUTH BECOMES “TO KVELL THE TOOTH”

Bragging rights for mothers of dentists. BEAT THE CLOCK BECOMES “DEPLETE THE CLOCK” Contestants potschke around while getting ready for a big simcha until they’re fashionably late, blaming it on “Jewish Standard Time” jokes. Not to be confused with Receipt & Schlock, which involves saving sales-slips for years so you can bring items back past return dates, (because they’re meaningless too!) citing shoddy workmanship, and cheap imports from Germany. ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? BECOMES “ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A BAR MITZVAH BOY?” The answer is no because he figured out a way to become a man, yet still have his parents completely support him for five more years. NAME THAT TUNE BECOMES “NAME THAT TONE” The host of the show reprimands, “Last I checked, I was the matriarch of this family – and I don’t like the tone of your voice, young lady.” Contestants must guess what that tone sounds like AND the age of the adult being scolded. STEPHANIE D. LEWIS, A REGULAR HUFFINGTON POST HUMOR WRITER, WILL MAKE ANYTHING YOU WANT FUNNY. REACH HER AT THEQUOTEGAL@YAHOO. COM. WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

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