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prayers & passages WITH GRATITUDE
My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. Some of you may find it strange that a Jewish rabbicantor feels this way, but I do. While I love Passover and Chanukkah and other Jewish holidays, Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart. For many years, when we all lived in San Diego, my husband Dan, daughter, Emma and now son-in-law Tyler, and I had a tradition of participating in the annual “Run for the Hungry” which raised much-needed funds for local food banks. We followed the annual run (well, Emma and Tyler ran; Dan and I walked) with cooking our own family Thanksgiving dinner at home. In early years, I would watch old beloved TV shows during my hours in the kitchen. After Emma & Tyler adopted a vegan diet in more recent years, she took the lead in food prep while I served as her sous-chef.
What really made the difference was not our actual meals (though they were all quite delicious), as much as the immense gratitude I felt for the blessings God had bestowed upon our family. Also, I was profoundly aware that while we were fortunate enough to be able to go to our own home to prepare whatever quantity of food we wanted, we had
spent the morning raising money to help feed those in need.
Expressing gratitude is very much central to Judaism, so it is not a great leap for us to appreciate Thanksgiving. For example, upon awakening and before we even get out of bed, we say this prayer:
“I am thankful before You, living and enduring Sovereign, for you have mercifully restored my soul within me. Great is Your faithfulness.”
Based on a verse found in Deuteronomy (10:12), the rabbis decreed in the Talmud (Menachot 43b) that Jews should say 100 blessings a day. Traditional Jews who pray 3 times every day (Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma’ariv, with Musaf on Shabbat and holidays) meet most of this requirement by saying all the prayers in these services, since nearly all of the prayers conclude with a blessing to God (“Baruch Atah Adonai…”).
For those of us who may not recite these prayers as often, saying 100 blessings per day takes more considerable effort. However, we still have a myriad of opportunities over the course of any day to express our gratitude to the Divine. There are blessings to be said before and after eating various types of food.
There are also blessings we say when lighting candles on Shabbat, holidays, donning a tallit, washing our hands, affixing a mezuzah to a doorpost, smelling something pleasant (trees, flowers, oils, fruit), seeing or hearing wonders of nature (thunder, lightning, first blossom of trees in the Spring, rainbows— something I see all the time living in Hawai’i!), after recovering from an illness or returning from a long journey. There is also the Shehecheyanu blessing, which is recited when we do something for the very first time or after having not experienced this wonder for at least a year.
We do not need to get caught up in the number 100 to live a life of gratitude for the blessings God has bestowed upon us. What we can do is cultivate a sense of wonder and appreciation each and every time we have an opportunity to do so. With all the challenges in our lives every single day, finding those moments to say “Thank You” to God may bring us a sense of peace even if it is only for that moment in time.
Happy Thanksgiving and may your life be filled with blessings and gratitude.
The Vaknin kids playing in the family bomb shelter in Netivot, nine miles from the Gaza Strip. PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY
1000 WORDS
HELPING ISRAEL'S CHILDREN THROUGH THIS WAR
Bracha Vaknin is counting her blessings. And not just her seven children but the fact that during the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, some 20 security guards in Netivot gathered at the entrance to town and shot the terrorists who had every intention of making its inhabitants their next victims.
This is no small matter since the 50,000 men, women and children who call Netivot home live a mere nine kilometers from the Gaza border.
But as grateful as they are, that day and the year since have not left the Vaknin family untouched.
“After so many rounds of rockets and having to run into the shelter, you learn to see the underlying symptoms in each child,” says Vaknin, who moved to Israel from the Boston area in 2009. “The ones who can’t sleep at night or are afraid of the dark or start wetting the bed again or jump at the sound of a book dropping.”
And even when some time elapses and the kids begin to relax, says their mom, “when the sirens are back after a few days of quiet, it means the trauma never gets a chance to fully heal.”
Not to mention the trauma thousands of Israel’s children are experiencing: the loss of a parent or one who’s injured or serving as a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces on a yo-yo schedule of home to military duty to home to military duty.
“Everyone needs tools they can put into practice to help them parent their unsettled families,” says Eydl Reznik, a trauma recovery coach and director of Torah Parent Coach organization, which provides counseling and courses to parents. With her partner, psychologist Ilana Trachtman, Reznik is finding these services in great demand,
especially in her home city of Safed, which has been under increasing attack since the war heated up in the north.
Parents in the Upper Galilee city are facing security threats along with such other war-related problems as job losses (hotels, restaurants, the city’s famed art quarter and even food stores have been hit hard).
“These things, plus the siren when you least expect it, break a family’s routine, and everyone gets less sleep,” says Reznik. “Kids can read their parents well so: If they stay calm and reassure their children that those are our soldiers protecting us in those planes, the boom is the Iron Dome protecting us, God is protecting us and the siren is telling us we need to be in a safe place now, the kids are more likely to feel safe. We’re seeing that a loving family and community are powerful antidotes to PTSD.”
In fact, the saferoom or bomb shelter can be a place of fun—from art to music to Legos to bubble blowing and even the occasional pillow fight, suggests Reznik.
An easy, cost-free technique is also proving helpful to many of Israel’s kids. “Leading your child through a simple tapping [aka Emotional Freedom Techniques] routine begins by acknowledging the feelings that could otherwise become trapped and then helping them release their fears,” says Emily Barr, an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner in Pardes Hanna, halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa.
When kids wake up to a loud siren and have to jump out of bed or, even harder, are missing their fathers who are away or are evacuees living in a hotel, these stresses, unless they’re expressed and released, can build up in the body, adds Barr. “So, the sooner you help them
“After so many rounds of rockets and having to run into the shelter, you learn to see the underlying symptoms in each child.”
deal with their feelings, the better. What’s amazing is that a simple thing like tapping can help do that.”
One thing Barr has noticed is that children in more religious families “tend to be more comforted by reassurances that even though the soldiers are protecting us, the bigger truth is that it’s God who’s protecting us.”
Another approach that’s been shown to work in times of stress is the art of the counterbalance, says Julian Ford, a clinical psychologist, professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut’s medical school and coauthor of Hijacked by Your Brain: How to Free Yourself When Stress Takes Over.
Finding themselves in a panic-inducing situation, after doing whatever is required to make sure everyone is safe, parents often discover lectures and pep talks just don’t work, he says. “That’s when it’s a good idea to gently shift the conversation to help the child focus on something they love to do, be it music or soccer, a favorite book, playing with their dog or even a video game.”
That shift provides a counterbalance to the stressor,” says Ford. “You’re not pretending everything is fine, but by asking how they learned to make that move in their last soccer game or what the book is about, it helps normalize things by patiently and slowly adding a reminder of the other, happier parts of their life.”
Ford has seen this tactic work well even with tough-acting teens. “Over time, by zeroing in on what they love in their lives, the parent can open their child’s eyes to be able to see beyond this scary situation.”
That can nurture the development of an important lifelong skill: resiliency.
The first time Ford witnessed Israeli resiliency at close range was during a visit two decades ago.
“It was the Second Intifada and the young IDF soldiers we met displayed such a strong sense of duty—they were not going to let anything stop them,” he recalls. “Just the fact that there is this nation is amazing, considering all the adversities the Jewish people and Israelis have gone through and continue to go through.”
Still, despite Israeli resiliency and parents’ best efforts, sometimes more is needed. So how to recognize when a child could benefit from some professional help?
Reznik says parents need to be alert to such signs as prolonged insomnia, a change in eating habits, meltdowns, curling up and staring into space, failure in school, violent outbursts and excessive crying or clinginess. “These tell us that their fight-flight-freeze response is overactivated,” she adds. “And they haven’t developed the ability to recalibrate themselves yet.”
For the Vaknin family, there’s been an unexpected blessing from living so close to Gaza. “We’ve had rockets for years, so we’ve had a chance to build our skills and our resilience,” she says. “I’m calmer and that helps my kids deal with it. But now my heart is with the people in the north. All we want is our kids to live in peace.”
Would she ever consider leaving? “I can’t,” she says with a sigh. “This is my home and these are my people, my elderly neighbors, my community.” Besides, Vaknin has developed a foolproof way of taking the sting out of a visit to the bomb shelter. “I just tell the kids, ‘As soon as we get out, we’re going to bake something yummy.”
DAVID BENGURION'S LEGACY
In a Post-October 7 World
David Ben-Gurion in the Negev desert.
David Ben-Gurion, the man largely known for declaring Israel’s independence at an art museum in Tel Aviv, also declared that “the future of Israel lies in the Negev” and that “the people of Israel will be tested in the Negev.” More than one year on from the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks, the words of Israel’s founding prime minister are proving more prescient than ever.
Understanding Israel’s future requires a look into its past. But 1948 should not be the only foundational year in modern Israeli history that we inextricably associate with Ben-Gurion. The other is 1953, when he resigned from the prime minister’s office and moved to his retirement home in the Negev desert kibbutz of Sde Boker.
Sde Boker—not Tel Aviv or Jerusalem—is where Ben-Gurion began implementing his blueprint for Israel’s future. It is where he worked to make the desert bloom by revitalizing the towns surrounding the kibbutz.
“The desert provides us with the best opportunity to begin again,” he wrote. “This is a vital element of our renaissance in Israel. For it is in mastering nature that man learns to control himself…The trees at Sde Boker speak to me differently than do the trees planted elsewhere. Not only because I participated in their planting and in their maintenance, but also because they are a gift of man to nature and a gift of the Jews to the compost of their culture.”
Today, David Ben-Gurion’s vision is carried out on a broader scale at the academic institution bearing his name, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), where world-leading research enables Israel to fulfill its promise as a “Migdal Or” (beacon of light) by helping solve humanity’s biggest challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, cybersecurity, AI, robotics, global health, marine biology, and more. In fact, BGU’s water research is what inspired former San Diego residents Dr. Howard and Lottie Marcus to make the largest-ever philanthropic gift in Israeli history, $500 million in 2016.
Then on October 7th, 2023, the people of Israel were tested in the Negev — just as Ben-Gurion predicted.
Eighty percent of the Israelis killed in the October 7th attacks were from the Negev, while close to 3,000 were treated at Soroka University Medical Center (BGU’s teaching hospital) and Barzilai Medical Center, and 200,000 Negev residents were displaced from their homes. The atrocities disproportionately impacted the BGU community compared to other universities in Israel, with 115 people killed (including fallen soldiers,
More than one year on from the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks, the words of Israel’s founding prime minister are proving more prescient than ever.
faculty, students, and first-degree family members), 42 students wounded, three students missing or kidnapped (and one hostage who was rescued, Noa Argamani); to 162 students, faculty, and staff evacuated from their homes; more than 7,000 community members called to IDF reserve duty; 35 bereaved students; and 44 survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre.
And yet, BGU is simultaneously rising to the challenges of this moment by spearheading Israel’s rebuilding and recovery. In massive numbers, BGU community members volunteered in hospitals, aided families of IDF soldiers, and organized logistical operations to circulate food and supplies. On a parallel track, Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU) is galvanizing American supporters of the University into action through its leading role in “Way Forward”—BGU’s landmark $1 billion global fundraising campaign to strengthen the future of Israel through the South, with the University as the region’s anchor institution and engine for growth.
“On October 6th, it was already evident that the future of Israel is in the South and that Ben-Gurion University would drive that future. On October 7th, BGU’s community was disproportionately affected by the attacks. In the days that followed, the University began demonstrating just how vital it is to the remarkable resilience of the entire nation,” said Doug Seserman, CEO of A4BGU.
All of which brings us to December 8th, 2024—A4BGU’s
third annual “Ben-Gurion Day in the USA,” with this year’s observance focusing on resilience and unity in the face of adversity amid the ongoing aftermath of October 7th, rooted in the increasingly relevant legacy of David Ben-Gurion.
Ben-Gurion Day has long been a national day of commemoration in Israel, honoring the founding prime minister’s vision and legacy. A4BGU is once again bringing this important day across the Atlantic, inviting American Jews to join in honoring Ben-Gurion’s spirit of resilience, unity, and hope in the face of challenges.
For San Diegans who already have an affinity for southern Israel due to the local Jewish Federation’s longtime sister-city relationship with Sha’ar HaNegev, A4BGU’s observance provides a new touchpoint for cultivating that region-to-region connection. Ben-Gurion Day in the USA 2024 features an engaging webinar hosted in partnership with the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, focusing on Ben-Gurion’s teachings on resilience. The webinar will feature rarely seen archival documents that highlight his leadership during Israel’s early years, and discussions on how his philosophy remains relevant in today’s context. Experts will offer reflections on the lasting impact of Ben-Gurion’s vision for Israel’s future.
Additionally, organizational partners across the U.S.— including approximately 75 synagogues, 25 day schools, 10
JCCs, and five Jewish Federations—are participating in BenGurion Day in the USA by engaging with A4BGU’s Program in a Box, a free resource designed to help communities reflect on Ben-Gurion’s legacy. The box includes educational tools, posters, and a lesson plan that will guide participants through meaningful discussions about resilience and Israel’s role on the global stage.
Seserman believes that Americans who have a special place in their heart for George Washington also stand poised to find one for Israel’s founding father.
“Americans are familiar with both fact and fiction about George Washington. However, many American Jews know much less about David Ben-Gurion,” Seserman said. “Ironically, in their times, they both faced similar challenges—formidable enemies, internal rivalries, immigration, economic woes, and many other issues that continue to impact our two great nations. Both Washington and Ben-Gurion assumed the mantle of leadership during challenging times to help form new, independent democracies. Today, we continue to benefit from both their vision and the structures they helped conceive for the benefit of their people.”
He added, “Particularly in this time of uncertainty, their legacies offer much to celebrate. And their memory gives us hope for the future of the United States and Israel.”
A bust of David Ben-Gurion on the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) campus. Photos courtesy of Americans for BenGurion University (A4BGU).
ONE POT PESTO PARGIOT & PTITIM
BY ERIN GRUNSTEIN-HALPERN @ERIN.EATS.MTL
Enjoy this one-pot Israeli couscous and pargiot (boneless chicken thighs) dish, blended with mushrooms and fragrant pesto. It’s a simple, hearty meal that brings together tender chicken, savory couscous, and vibrant herbs, all in one pot for easy prep and minimal clean up. Perfect for a cozy family dinner or weeknight treat!
2. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken cubes in a single layer, in batches, on both sides. Remove from pan. Do not clean out the pan.
3. Sauté shallots over medium heat until softened and add mushrooms to the pan. Sauté until liquid from mushrooms evaporates.
4. Add garlic to the pan and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour Israeli couscous, 1 1/4 cup water and chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.
6. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid is absorbed.
7. Remove from heat and mix in pesto. Enjoy!
To make the pesto:
Blend the following in a food processor (I make a big batch and freeze in portions):
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup packed basil leaves
This Israeli couscous dish is a perfect weeknight treat.
1-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp nuts (ie. pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts…) 1/2 tsp salt (omit if nuts are salted)
Freshly ground pepper
Recipe Developer Erin Grunstein-Halpern lives in Montreal, Canada with her husband and 4 children. She is a pediatric physical therapist. As a newly married woman, Erin developed a love for being creative in the kitchen and eventually started sharing recipes on her Instagram page, @erin.eats.mtl.
She knows how busy life can be and her goal is to share easy and healthy(ish) recipes for the busy family. While sharing recipes, Erin gained a love of food photography as well and now she develops recipes with accompanying photographs for different companies. Erin’s goal is to bring families and friends together around the table, and she believes that a shared love for food and tradition are the key ingredients to making this happen.
THIS RECIPE WAS SUBMITTED BY SHARSHERET: THE JEWISH BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCER COMMUNITY, FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SHARSHERET, VISIT SHARSHERET.ORG.
Whose Loudest Voice?
By Varda Levy
The air is crisp and cool. Halloween just passed and Thanksgiving whispers its approach, yet America’s stores are decked with boughs of holly. ’Tis the season, and I am mulling over a very short story by Grace Paley, titled “The Loudest Voice.” The story has become a source of quiet assurance in the annual Christmas bash now descending upon us.
In it, a young, irrepressible Shirley Abramowitz is gifted a schoolchild’s dream; she is to be the voice of Jesus Christ in the school pantomime depicting the Christmas story. She is chosen for the role because of her particularly loud, clear voice.
Shirley’s world is a Jewish neighborhood sometime in the beginning of the twentieth century, and the reactions to the school’s program are mixed. There are those, such as the Rabbi’s wife, who react with disgust, but many others brag about the import of the role assigned to their child in the play. This immigrant neighborhood, already beginning to assimilate into American society, eagerly places its aspirations and dreams upon the shoulders of its offsprings. Consequently, a rabbi’s wife with strawberry blond hair, a relic of the past, is dismissed when attempting to undermine these kids’ chance for theatrical glory.
The dichotomy is crystallized in Shirley’s parents whose reactions to the play conflict. Father sees no harm; history belongs to everyone, and the performance may teach Shirley to speak up so she wouldn’t end up between the kitchen and the shop. However, Mother is indignant. She views this play, enacted in a predominantly Jewish school, as a “creeping pogrom” reminiscent of European persecutions she thought left behind. A subtle attack is launched upon Jewish heritage, while parents, so eager to see their children finally participate, finally belong, head the Ticket Committee.
Tickets they buy, and to watch the play they come, all parents, willing and not, to hear Christ’s voice narrating the events of his birth, life, and death while they are enacted upon the stage. And as one follows the progress of the play, it becomes clear that Shirley’s is not the only loud voice in the story. The voice of Christ, coupled by myriad cultural nuances, is making its entrance into a non-Christian immigrant world.
There follows a disturbing question: Who will prevail? Will a predominantly Christian society silence the cultural riches of the Jewish immigrant? Is Christ’s voice the loudest indeed?
’Tis the season, and I am mulling over a very short story by Grace Paley, titled “The Loudest Voice.”
The story has become a source of quiet assurance in the annual Christmas bash now descending upon us.
The story’s answer is assuringly negative. Not Christ’s but Shirley’s voice is unquestionably loudest, not only for its physical magnitude, but, most importantly, for its spiritual stamina.
To begin with, the story is written in retrospect by a Shirley who narrates an incident of her youth. It is clear the adult narrator is keenly aware of the incongruity within the stage production. The chosen details of her narrative underline the comic irony of the play. One has to chuckle at Marty, Shirley’s classmate, who greets his twelve disciples “wearing his father’s prayer shawl” or at the disciples identified as “half of the boys in fourth grade.” Thus the comedy strips the performance of its potential cultural impact. In addition, the narrator’s skill in recreating the sounds and dynamics of her youth prove she is still tuned to that environment. At the story’s end, in bed for her night’s sleep, while her parents converse in the kitchen, Shirley yells in Yiddish, demanding quiet. Her father brushes her off, slamming the kitchen door. There is intense intimacy in the good natured familial banter, much like the opening confrontation with the grocer who has no patience with the gregarious child dipping her fingers in the pickle barrels.
The reader realizes that Shirley has been and still is an integral part of the world she recreates. Her narration projects a sense of origin, an awareness of Jewish rootedness. And these are the ingredients sustaining her voice, rendering it loudest. No alien intrusion can compromise this girl’s identity. She is too much at home with herself. She prevails!
TEST YOUR JEWISH IQTM
1. When David and Goliath were trash-talking each other before their fight, what words did David use?
____ a. You are a son of a dog who lies with his mother … ____ b. Am I a dog that you come after me with sticks … ____ c. I will remove your head from upon you … ____ d. Prepare to meet your Maker you worshipper of wood and stone …
2. Which Israeli prime minister ordered the attack that destroyed Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, preventing Saddam Hussein from producing nuclear weapons?
____ a. Yitzhak Rabin ____ b. Menachem Begin ____ c. Yitzhak Shamir ____ d. Shimon Peres
3. For what reason was Moses’s sister Miriam stricken with tzaraas and quarantined for seven days, her skin having turned white as snow?
____ a. She worshipped the Golden Calf ____ b. She was unfaithful to her husband ____ c. She spoke against Moses regarding Moses’s wife ____ d. She collected firewood on Shabbat
4. What is the meaning of this Yiddish saying, “Di liebe is zees, nor zi iz gut mit broyt”? ____ a. You can live with this, if that is what your money buys. ____ b. Life is sweet, if it is not ruled by your gut. ____ c. Like leaves on trees, life can end with one breath. ____ d. Love is sweet, but it’s good with bread.
5. With the death of the last great Amora, Ravina ben Huna, the Babylonian Talmud was considered closed, meaning generally nothing further was added, in about which year?
____ a. 175 B.C.E. ____ b. 175 C.E. ____ c. 475 C.E. ____ d. 875 C.E.
6. Which of these was not one of the ten plagues in Egypt? ____ a. Burning fever ____ b. Darkness ____ c. Hail ____ d. Lice
7. Which Jew said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”? ____ a. Sholem Aleichem (Solomon Rabinovich) ____ b. Marc Chagall ____ c. George Gershwin ____ d. Albert Einstein
8. Who was the Jewish French captain falsely accused of treason and sentenced to lifetime imprisonment on Devil’s Island? ____ a. Emile Zola ____ b. Alfred Dreyfus ____ c. Count Esterhazy ____ d. Marcel Marceau
9. Which of these is not punishable by execution, according to the Torah? ____ a. Bigamy for men ____ b. Adultery for men or women ____ c. Sodomy for men ____ d. Bestiality for men or women
10. Which Israeli company is the world’s largest producer of generic drugs?
____ a. Teva Pharmaceuticals ____ b. Novartis’s Sandoz ____ c. Viatris ____ d. Sun Pharma
This November, as we approach Giving Tuesday and the season of gratitude, we at Kindness Initiative and kindnessG’MACH are inspired more than ever to continue building a community rooted in generosity, resilience, and hope. We were founded on a simple yet profound mission: to support individuals and families facing life’s toughest moments by offering essential resources, guidance, and care. From comprehensive case management to providing vital items like furniture, clothing, and household essentials, our mission is to be there when our community needs us most.
For our dedicated team, every act of kindness is an opportunity to make a lasting impact. As one of our case managers shared, “Every day, I’m grateful for the chance to help someone get back on their feet. When a family secures housing or a person regains transportation to work, it reminds me why we’re here. I’m thankful for the chance to serve, knowing that any of us could need that same hand up.”
Our case managers and volunteers work tirelessly to lift up community members like Anna, who came to us during a time of extreme financial hardship. After her car was repossessed, she faced losing her job and, with it, her ability to provide for her children. Thanks to the Kindness Initiative, we helped Anna recover her vehicle, giving her the stability she needed to maintain her job and rebuild her life. “It’s hard to put into words how much it means,” Anna shares. “Without that support, I don’t know where we’d be.”
This impact is only possible because of the generosity of supporters like you. Each donation to Kindness Initiative and kindnessG’MACH
has a tangible effect on someone’s life, proving that small acts of kindness create lasting change. One of our donors said it best: “I give because I know it goes to real people who just need a chance. Knowing my support can directly help a fellow member of our Jewish community is a gift to me, too. It’s gratitude in action.”
Gratitude is at the heart of everything we do. With the opening of our new distribution center, we’ll be able to reach even more people, expanding our support to those who need a little extra help to thrive. This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in this mission. Whether through a donation, volunteering your time, or sharing our story, your involvement matters. Together, we can bring light into the lives of those who need it most, inspiring hope for a brighter future.
As we enter this season of giving and gratitude, we’re deeply thankful for the opportunity to make a difference. Kindness Initiative and kindnessG’MACH will continue to be here, lifting up our community, one kind act at a time.
ANSWERS TO TEST YOUR JEWISH IQ
1. c. “I will remove your head from upon you, and I shall offer the carcass of the Philistine camp this day to the fowl of the heavens and to the beast of earth! (1 Samuel 17:46)” Then David charged at Goliath, loading his sling as he ran.
2. b. Although Begin figured that his attack on Iraq’s reactor would cause him to lose his upcoming election to Shimon Peres, he thought Peres would not have the fortitude to destroy the reactor. And although U.S. Vice President Bush condemned Israel’s action, along with most of the rest of the world, President Reagan is said to have remarked privately, “Good shooting.”
3. c. Miriam spoke against Moses regarding Moses’s wife (Num. 12:1-15). Millions of Jews waited to resume their journey until Miriam was brought in from quarantine.
4. d. Love is sweet, but it’s good with bread, meaning you can’t live on love alone. Compare this to “Man does not live on bread alone.”
5. c. 475 C.E., after about three centuries of development.
6. a. Burning fever. Darkness was #9; hail was #7; lice was #3.
7. d. This is considered by some to be Einstein’s most famous quote.
8. b. Even though the case against Dreyfus collapsed following the publication of Emil Zola’s famous letter, J’accuse, Dreyfus was still branded a traitor and his name disgraced as a result of antisemitism.
9. a. Even when Rabbeinu Gershom outlawed polygamy for men around 1000 C.E., the punishment was excommunication, not execution.
10. a. About 200 million people across six continents use a Teva product every day. Teva means “nature” in Hebrew.
“My son lives and breathes tennis. He couldn’t play for a while because of the war situation. When he got here and played again, his eyes were filled with happiness,” Shiran Tzuberi from Acre said.
Fifty children from communities in northern Israel—Acre, Nahariya and the Druze town of Sajur—arrived at the Israel Tennis and Education Center (ITEC) branch in Beersheva for a three-day tennis camp titled “Home Away From Home.” They participated in tennis training sessions, and leisure activities, and mingled with peers from the south.
“We are grateful to our dedicated donors, whose unwavering support makes this possible. They genuinely care about creating safe spaces where kids can feel supported and valued,” Ilan Allali, ITEC Foundation’s CEO, said.
“Mental health is a cornerstone of everything we do, and our programs are designed not only to teach tennis skills but also to nurture resilience, confidence and hope. Together, we are building a brighter future for these children,” he added.
The kids traversed most of the country by bus with their coaches and stayed at the Leonardo Hotel in Beersheva. In addition to tennis sessions, they took part in activities such as going to the theater, bowling and video games. The group included Jewish, Druze, Muslim and Christian children.
“Twelve years ago, during the IDF’s ‘Operation Pillar of Defense,’ when the situation in the south was bad, we sent about 100 kids from
Beersheva to Haifa. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The kids enjoyed normal life, while their friends were in bomb shelters,” Yaniv Sakira, the manager of the Beersheva tennis center, said.
“Now the situation in the north has worsened, and the tennis centers there are closed. I told the ITEC management that we would be happy to have those kids over and do something special for them,” he continued.
“Sure, they still get air-raid alarms on their phones. You can’t run from it. But when they are active, whether it’s playing tennis or watching a movie, it clears their heads a bit. This is what we try to do—give them a feeling of safety for three days,” Sakira added.
To promote resilience, the program includes mental coaching sessions.
“It’s very challenging to keep them focused and in a relaxed mood for an extended period. Our sessions are about 45 minutes long. It’s difficult for them to sit and concentrate throughout the course,” said Asaf Barel, a mental health coach, who leads sessions at eight tennis centers.
“The kids keep a lot of their feelings inside. You have to be very patient and compassionate. We can sometimes see a switch in their emotions within a split second. They can go from being calm to very upset,” he said.
“There’s a lot of conflict at home as well. Some kids used to sleep in
"Mental health is a cornerstone of everything we do, and our programs are designed not only to teach tennis skills but also to nurture resilience, confidence and hope. Together, we are building a brighter future for these children.”
their own rooms and now the whole family has been sleeping together for months,” he added.
In one exercise, the children had to pop balloons to win a prize, and inside each balloon were questions relating to their state of mind and feelings about the situation.
“They were eager to pop the balloons and answer questions to get the prize. They were very cooperative and shared their thoughts,” Barel said.
“Sometimes, I ask them how many times they think they can jump on one leg. Most of the time, they underestimate themselves and we show them that the ceiling, if there is one, is higher than they think,” he continued.
“It’s all about building confidence and believing in themselves. They are under a lot of stress and they don’t show it. I think in a few years all the stress will start popping out and I don’t know that we are ready for it,” he added.
Coach Ronen Morali led a tennis training session with kids from Sajur and Beersheva when we arrived at the camp.
“What I like about kids from the periphery is how warm they are, even though they are closed off and very stressed because of what they’ve experienced in the past two months. In the beginning, they were tense but now they are more relaxed,” Morali said after the session.
“Tennis is the best way to give the kids the kind of peace and quiet they need. It’s a sport that teaches you how to synergize and communicate with your opponent. Communication right now is one of the biggest challenges in Israel,” he said.
“People don’t communicate, they fight against each other. Tennis is a great tool for kids to learn how to listen and respect one another,” he added.
Alam Ibrahim, the Druze manager of ITEC’s Sajur branch, accompanied 12 Muslim, Christian and Druze children from his town, including his daughter, eight-year-old Tia Ibrahim.
“We wanted to take these kids away from the alarms, the shelling and the atmosphere of war, enhance their resilience and share with
them on the tennis field,” Ibrahim said.
“While the cultures are different, we know how to unite the kids through sport, especially on the tennis field. Our vision does not differentiate between skin or hair color. We are all together. It warms the heart to see a religious Jewish kid play with an Arab girl, there is hope in that,” he said.
Ibrahim spoke of the tragedy that struck the Druze town of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights in July when a Hezbollah missile hit a soccer field, killing 12 children.
“Some of the children that were murdered played tennis with us. Twelve worlds ended because terrorists decided to shoot a missile. We are all in the same boat. We are in a rough sea, we either gather together and bring the ship to safer waters or we lose hope,” Ibrahim said.
Lilo Tzarfati, COO of ITEC, stressed the challenge of getting children out of their houses and into a bus.
“The biggest fear for the parents is the safety of their children. We ensure their security for everything from the bus to the tennis training sessions and the hotel stay. The kids for us are the priority,” Tzarfati said.
“What drives us is how to raise the next generation and strengthen the values we want to instill in the children. The last crisis was COVID. We had to train kids remotely or come to their neighborhood. Now it’s the war, it pushes us to reinvent ourselves every time,” he added.
Oshrat Cohen from Acre, the mother of 13-year-old Yair, accompanied her son on the trip.
“I was afraid to send my kid alone so far from home during the complex situation we are in. Right now, the problem is only in the north, but we can’t know how it will develop,” Cohen said
“Kids need to get respite from a war routine to a sane routine; meet other children in person and not through Zoom—while doing what they love, playing tennis,” she continued. “In these times, we need to do more of this and those who made these training camps possible have all my respect. We don’t take it for granted. Everyone is giving what they can to make our children’s lives better.”
A YEAR ON ON LIFE IN ISRAEL
BY DARYA SHORT
This time last year, every time I planned to write an update, something war-related interrupted me and then I wondered if it should be added to the update or not, another siren and bomb shelter run, the list of abductees grew as more information came to light, the forensics revealed more abominable finds, the ever-growing number of our soldiers were being lost in a war they never asked to be in, there was an announcement of a hostage being found alive and freed by our forces, and there was the incredulity of worldwide ignorance and shunning of truth, and the surge in blatant and overt antisemitism.
That has changed only slightly, but life has also continued. I was in Jerusalem for a day of professional development; training underground below the Old City of Jerusalem. In the words of our lecturer, it provided a bit of “escapism” from the realities. I found myself distracted at times because even though I was safely underground in ruins that have been found still intact, still standing after 2500 years, my Red Alert App was clearly stating the fact that at home, I would still be hearing booms, and the news told me of homes being hit indiscriminately by heavy-duty rockets from every direction. Nevertheless, it was good to meet with my colleagues and friends. It did feel a tiny bit ‘normal’ for a brief time.
People have asked how we are, and even a year later, it’s hard to
put it into just one word. “Okay” doesn’t ring true, and neither does “fine” but maybe you’ll get a glimpse of what it’s like for me from this “Did you know when you’re in a war…?” list.
Did you know that actively staying alive is exhausting?
Did you know that adrenaline takes a while to wear off?
Did you know that while you’re making sure you’re safe you are simultaneously wondering how everyone else is coping whether it’s your daughter and grandchildren, neighbours in your building, and the safety of the hostages?
Did you know that even when you’re trying to deeply inhale, it feels like you aren’t breathing enough? Same with exhaling.
Did you know that you can grieve for people you’ve never met and love strangers for how they’re selflessly giving of themselves?
Did you know that it’s possible to take a shower in stages?
Did you know that you can experience all the emotions in every minute of every day?
Did you know that you can appear to be completely functional on 3-4 hours of sleep a night, but you know you’re not even fooling yourself?
Did you know that you can ache for every mother who has lost a child or has no idea where her child is, that you can be in anguish for every abducted soul whose parents, siblings, children, grandchildren,
spouses, friends, and loved ones don’t know if they’re dead or alive or what kind of lives they will have after they’re freed, if/when that happens?
Did you know that splashed tears that have dried on spectacle lenses don’t come off with a microfibre cloth?
This hideous war, also being called by some the 2nd War of Independence one year on, truth be told this exhausting conflict is well into its third millennium. It might seem like what’s happening now is something new, but we have been dealing with a blood-thirsty foe that has taken on all shapes, forms, and identities since our Nation was formed and we came to live on this Soil over 3000 years ago.
Various Canaanite groups, Philistines that came from across the Aegean, ancient Persians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Abbasids, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mameluks, and then the Turks again in the form of the Ottoman Empire have all tried to rid this Land of the Jews. Under the British Mandate, we were on the receiving end of an ugly and unfair share of slaughters as the Empire with their greedy aspirations led them to cave to pressure as they courted the wealthy oil-rich neighbours who had previously shown little to no interest in this territory.
The hate for our people has not been confined to this piece of real estate, mind you. We have been expelled from Biblical times to the present from Assyria, Babylon, Rome, Egypt, Minorca, Spain, Medina, Mainz, Spain (again), Morocco, Bavaria, France, Majorca, Naples, England, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Nuremberg, and I’m not even at the 17th century yet. Did you know that in 1862, Ulysses S. Grant expelled Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky?
The 1880s saw the start of the pogroms in Russia, and in 1917 the Ottomans expelled Jews from Jaffa before their empire crumbled and new borders were drawn up by the British and French. The British were even preventing us from coming back. My own maternal grandparents were in a DP Camp in Cyprus before fighting their way back to develop the barren land and cultivate life and growth where there was nothing.
I won’t go into all the details of the Holocaust from 1933 when we were expelled in our millions from Germany, Austria, Poland, Siberia, Verona, Florence, Pisa, et al. and those who didn’t get away were rounded up and killed in a barbaric genocide.
Between 1947 and 1972 we were either brutally killed or driven from the Arab lands in North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, about 600,000 of those who were expelled were able to return home to Israel, and it appears we are still returning to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, today because of the rise in antisemitism around the world. The attacks on us because we’re Jewish have not ceased.
You’ve only heard about the fact that we put up protection barriers, but the reasons for that are not remembered. The number of homicide bombings decreased by 92% after we started screening our enemies when they were allowed in.
They got creative and started using vehicles to ram into pedestrians waiting for the bus, and little children on their way to school. One of their tactics is stabbing, but also gunning down civilians in private cars.
Not to mention the rockets…
Basically, we are hated not only for who we are but also for where we live.
Marching for the return of the hostages in Holon
And here, today in our precious Homeland, the ones who hate us are still trying to erase us; launching arsenal from every border; with promises that they will keep trying. The attacks have been coming from within Samaria and Judea, home to our people from the time of our Patriarchs. RPGs, ATG rockets and missiles have been flying at us from all directions, including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and Yemen. The projectiles from that far away take so long to get here, they are neutralised before they are a danger to us, but they want their vitriolic Islamic Resistance voice to be heard too.
It must be noted that in that mix we have rival groups and factions who hate each other (and kill each other) but are united in their shared goal which is to eliminate the world of Israel; the People and the Place from the River to the Sea.
Our son in Reserves was allowed home. It was for less than 24 hours, but still. It involved him travelling from his base, getting home, ordering take-out of his choice, getting his hair cut and beard trimmed, visiting us, getting big hugs, and enjoying a family evening together, returning to his home, and then back to base early the next morning. I sent him off with brownies. The few hours we had together were really special. He let us know how he was coping with the 16hour shifts and told us about the amazing donations that have been brought in for the troops in abundance. The closest McDonald’s donated burgers to them a few times. The staff of that branch are mostly not Jewish. Win for co-existence!!
One of his friends from a very specific unit that goes into combat zones to retrieve victims saw all the atrocities of the massacre and it affected him so badly, that he was evacuated out of the country because of severe PTSD.
I think that we all have some degree of PTSD. We’re quite jumpy with outside noises, very aware of any car door banging, any distant booming, being very aware of our family and friends in other parts
What has not changed since that fateful day is that we are still so grateful to everybody for messages of support, care, concern, generosity of heart, and allround solidarity.
of the country still under fire, and I still avoid looking at footage of the horrors of that day. I did get a glimpse of something on a link someone sent without a warning and all this time later, I still can’t get it out of my mind. It’s just horrific and I can’t imagine how it must be for those who not only survived it but those who saw the aftermath. We continue to meet our neighbours because of forced bomb shelter visits, but with the successful work of our defence forces destroying rocket launching sites in Gaza, that has come down to almost zero. Now, our bomb shelter gatherings are because of the Houthis in Yemen, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
What has not changed since that fateful day is that we are still so grateful to everybody for messages of support, care, concern, generosity of heart, and all-round solidarity.
Rocket shrapnel in our street
NEWS TO KNOW NOW
WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT
HADASSAH NATIONAL PRESIDENT CAROL ANN SCHWARTZ TO VISIT SAN DIEGO AREA WITH SURVIVOR OF HAMAS ATTACK
Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is proud to announce that National President Carol Ann Schwartz will visit the San Diego area in December. She will be accompanied by Michal Elon, a Hadassah-trained nurse and mother of ten, who was shot three times by Hamas terrorists during an ambush at the Zikim army base on October 7.
On that fateful morning, while spending Simchat Torah with her husband and family, Michal sprang into action, treating a critically wounded soldier before being shot by a terrorist infiltrator. After being evacuated for medical care, she was transferred to Hadassah Hospital for specialized surgery and continues her treatment as an outpatient at the Gandel Rehabilitation Center.
The visit will include events in Temecula on December 12, North County on December 13, and a special community gathering on December 15 in Del Mar. Schwartz and Elon will share their experiences, insights, and the vital work being done by Hadassah in response to the recent violence.
This visit is an opportunity for the community to hear firsthand accounts of resilience and healing from Michal Elon, whose bravery
and commitment to saving lives exemplify the spirit of Hadassah.
“Hadassah stands strong in our commitment to healing and hope,” said Carol Ann Schwartz. “We look forward to sharing these powerful stories and connecting with our community in San Diego.”
All community members are invited to attend these events. For more information and to RSVP, contact Hadassah San Diego at hadassahsandiegopresident@gmail.com.
FINDING GIFTS THE CHEERFUL WAY
In 2023, Ben Revzin, a San Diego local realized that giving gifts is fun, but finding good gifts is difficult. There are too many options, online searches help but are not customized to the recipient. Ben teamed up with a couple of developers to create Cheerful, a free iPhone app that creates personal gift guides for anyone in your life based on their interests, and your budget. It also makes shopping for those gifts a breeze, by providing direct links to the retailers.
Let’s say this Chanukkah you want to find a gift (or seven!) for your spouse. Type in their specific interests into Cheerful; “red wine,” “San Diego Padres” or “reading on the beach, and bam! In less than 90 seconds, the app comes up with a curated list of gifts and a link so you can purchase the item.
Cheerful doesn’t require you to make an account or input your personal information to use it. It just works. The gift ideas process in real-time. Since its launch, the app has provided over 250,000 gift ideas for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. Visit ImCheerful.com to download.
SAN DIEGO JEWISH ACADEMY HOLDS “PRODUCTS GALLERY WALK” TO SHOWCASE HIGH SCHOOL AND 3RD GRADE COLLABORATIVE PROJECT
San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) held a Product Gallery Walk in October to showcase a unique project collaboration between high schoolers and 3rd graders. While the 3rd graders created narratives about their favorite animal in their CKLA literacy unit, high schoolers designed animal-themed board games and toys as they learned about the “Rapid Design Cycle” in their year-long Ideas to Products course. The third-graders served as the high schoolers’ “clients,” offering realtime feedback and suggestions as the high schoolers created prototype games and toys relevant to their third grade audience.
“This was a really fun project and event,” said 12th grader Sophi W. “It was a cool way to learn about product design and working with the third graders helped me understand what it’s like to design a product for someone very different from myself.”
The gallery event showcased the prototypes that highlighted the foundational entrepreneurial concepts the high schoolers learned about alongside the third grade literacy projects.
SDJA.com
Michal Elon.
mazel & mishagoss
DIVINE DAILY DIRECTIVES
My friend swears God sends signs through wondrous ways, and I should pay better attention to my surroundings for mysterious spiritual guidance. She didn’t specify it would come via the modern digital/tech world, but indeed that’s where I found it.
WALKING WONDERS: I tried to cross the street at a busy intersection while debating if it was a good time to call my husband to ask for another puppy. As I contemplated what kind of mood he might be in, I mused aloud, “Should I call now or later?” Immediately the light turned red and an emphatic male robotic voice reiterated over and over again, “Wait! Wait! Wait! . . . Wait!” Of course I should wait. A much better plan would be to give him the new puppy as a Chanukah present! Wow! God is incredibly wise, speaking thru the universe like this.
CAR CODES: Inside my Mustang, I caught a glimpse of my mousy brown hair in the rear-view mirror and for the umpteenth time contemplated, “Should I dye it blonde or go with auburn highlights?” Without missing a beat, my GPS lady profoundly advised, “Take the Highlighted route.” Problem solved! I reached into a bag of Trader Joe’s produce, wondering which kind of fruit I felt like snacking on. To my surprise, as I started to connect my cellphone to my
Bluetooth, it instantly blurted out, “Ready to Pair!” Yes, a nice ripe Bartlett pear sounded great! As I pulled into the parking lot of my next destination, I wondered if I’d ever get to a place in my writing career where I would finally achieve real success? “You have arrived!” exclaimed the GPS lady enthusiastically. “That’s wonderful!” I flushed with excitement. (If only my publisher saw it that way and sent me on a lavish book tour.)
CHECK-OUT CHARMS: Using the self-check kiosk in Target, I felt extra embarrassed about the swollen, puffy skin under my eyes (particularly with my insomnia!) but after swiping my credit card (and entering “0” into the keyboard indicating I brought my own recycled totes to carry purchases) the machine complimented my complexion by saying, “Zero bags!” Seriously?! I wondered what other amazing communication I’d receive while waiting in the long line to pay for my items at TJ Max. I always have a knack for picking the chattiest employee ringing up the merchandise, or a customer doing a complicated return. How would I know which one to go to? To my great surprise, a seductive computerized voice announced over the P.A. system, “Cashier Number 3, please!” Amazing. I made a mental note to set-up this Checkstand Lady Voice with The Crosswalk Man Voice. It would be a match made in digital heaven.
MAYTAG MARVELS: As I piled dirty towels into the front-loading machine in my laundry room, my nagging thoughts reminded me I needed exercise. I pictured my gym waiting for me with a stationary bike. I didn’t feel up for any activity too vigorous, so it was a big relief when the panel on my washer lit up and told me “Gentle Cycle.” Yay! I just hope it doesn’t switch over to “Spin Cycle” because they charge extra to take that class. However, the next thing I knew a friend expressed appreciation for a gift I’d sent her by texting me, “TY!” And that could only mean one thing… “Take Yoga.” So it was settled! The next morning, I tuned back into my Digital Universe of Guidance, but nothing worked. No messages anywhere! Except while typing this column for L’Chaim magazine, my computer said, “Status: Draft!” which might’ve meant the U.S. military was inducting young men into the army, but most likely just meant my article was saved as a Word.doc. Ho-hum. It was then I realized “Appliance Reliance” was not a good thing, so now I channel my own “Inner Navigational System” which I technically refer to as M.O.M—“My Own Mind.”
STEPHANIE D. GITTLEMAN WILL INJECT HUMOR INTO ANYTHING YOU HIRE HER TO WRITE. EMAIL HER AT THEQUOTEGAL@YAHOO.COM.
