San Diego Jewish Journal September by San Diego Jewish Journal

October 2017 • Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778

SOL LIZERBRAM

is The New JNF President

ANNE FRANK comes to

the Moxie Theatre

The Jewish Community Foundation Looks Back on 50 years of Giving

For 50 years, the Foundation has engaged, educated and inspired givers throughout our Community. Please join us as we honor our past board chairs, celebrate the community and share our vision for the future. Anniversary Celebration Brunch Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:00 AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1:30 PM (Event details provided upon RSVP)

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Join Our Anniversary Celebration!

Celebrating Israel 6TH Annual

SATURDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 2, 2017 Register Online www.standwithus.com/iheartisrael17 Keynote Speaker

Dore Gold Foreign Policy Expert

Personal Journey

Yahya Mahamid Muslim Zionist

Entertainment

Dietary laws observed.

For more information, contact Sara Miller at saram@standwithus.com. 4 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

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‘Israel X factor’ finalists

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 7

October 2017

Cover:

Tishrei/Cheshvan 5778

Sol Lizerbram, who’s been involved with Jewish National Fund for 35 years, has just stepped into the role of president. He took some time to tell us how he’s feeling.

Seniors:

The Glenner Centers are pioneering new ways to care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. 8 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Technology:

OneTable Shabbat is making it easier than ever to connect with like-minded people who want to meet up for a good meal, interesting conversation and celebrate faith on a Friday night.

Charitable Giving:

The Jewish Community Foundation is turning 50, and they’re ready to celebrate a halfcentury of giving.

DIVORCE-FAMILY LAW Compassionate Yet Aggresive Family Law Experts

• Divorce • Child Custody • Mediation “Hire ThemSupport • Colla Spousal Support • Child Before Your SpousePartnership Does” tive Practice • Domestic •D solution • Divorce • Child Custody • M • Divorce • Child Custody diation • •Spousal • Child Suppo Mediation •Support Spousal Support • Child Support • Collaborative Practice Collaborative Practice • Domestic Partne • Domestic Partnership • Dissolution • Dissolution • Divorce • Child Custody Mediation • Spousal Support • Child Su

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

38 CHARITABLE GIVING:

Around Town 18 Our Town 20 The Scene 68 What's Goin On 73 Synagogue Life

One contributor takes us through the world of Orthodox dating in the first of a three-part series.

In Every Issue 14 Mailbag 16 What’s Up Online 70 News 72 Diversions

60 THEATER:

JCF reflects on a half-century of giving.

2755 Jefferson Street, Suite 200 Carlsbad, CA 92008 www.frfamilylaw.com

Myra Fleischer

47 SENIORS:

Family history is told at a monthly Cousins’ lunch.

54 FEATURE:

58 COVER:

Sol Lizerbram on being the new JNF president. Anne Frank ‘s story is back in San Diego at the Moxie Theatre.

64 FOOD:

Old Fashioned Oat Nut Apple Crisp.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 72 DIVERSIONS: 38 CHARITABLE GIVING: “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Foodies on the Farm, a new CEO and other changes at JCC this fall.

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 9

www.sdjewishjournal.com October 2017 • Tishrei/Cheshvan 5778 PUBLISHERS • Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Brie Stimson CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Derek Berghaus ASSISTANT EDITOR • Jaqueline Bull ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Eileen Sondak OFFICE MANAGER • Jonathan Ableson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tori Avey, Betsy Baranov, Linda Bennett, Eva Beim, Judith Fein (Senior Travel Correspondent), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, Sharon Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Marnie Macauley, Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Ronnie Weisberg – Senior Account Executive Jonathan Ableson – Senior Account Executive Alan Moss – Palm Springs SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL (858) 638-9818 • fax: (858) 638-9801 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204 • San Diego, CA 92121 EDITORIAL: editor@sdjewishjournal.com ADVERTISING: marke@sdjewishjournal.com CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS: jableson@sdjewishjournal.com ART DEPARTMENT: art@sdjewishjournal.com LISTINGS & CALENDAR: assistant@sdjewishjournal.com

Another Listing by Lisa Lisa is representing the Seller

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SDJJ is published monthly by San Diego Jewish Journal, LLC. Subscription rate is $24 for one year (12 issues). Send subscription requests to SDJJ, 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204, San Diego, CA 92121. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a free and open forum for the expression of opinions. The opinions expressed herein are solely the opinion of the author and in no way reflect the opinions of the publishers, staff or advertisers. The San Diego Jewish Journal is not responsible for the accuracy of any and all information within advertisements. The San Diego Jewish Journal reserves the right to edit all submitted materials, including press releases, letters to the editor, articles and calendar listings for brevity and clarity. The Journal is not legally responsible for the accuracy of calendar or directory listings, nor is it responsible for possible postponements, cancellations or changes in venue. Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Journal become the physical property of the publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such material. All contents ©2017 by San Diego Jewish Journal. The San Diego Jewish Journal is a member of the American Jewish Press Association and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Featuring

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 11

THE STARTING LINE by Brie Stimson

EDITOR’S LETTER editor@sdjewishjournal.com

Blown Away

his year has been a whirlwind. Both personally and in the world as a whole it’s been a little crazy. Perhaps it seems that way to me because I’ve been following the news more closely than I used to. Perhaps it’s because with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and every other hub of narcissism, we know everything that happens in the world the instant it happens. Imagine if people had tweeted during World War II or Lincoln’s assassination or the French Revolution. Everything probably would have seemed more intense. (I cannot believe Marie Antoinette is wearing that dress!! #don’tlethereatcake #badpouf #guillotine) Nevertheless, I still contend 2017 was a humdinger. First, there was about every natural disaster known to man, and each one seems to have been the worst of its kind that’s ever existed. As I write this, Florida and the Caribbean are just beginning to recover from Hurricane Irma’s Category 5 winds. The eerie images of packed freeways, deserted city streets and sold out flights splashed across CNN, MSNBC and Fox News remind me of scenes from a movie where people are trying to escape the aliens – except this is real. To me, last year’s “I want to hide under the covers forever” election set up this year with a bad taste in America’s collective mouth. Whether you love President Trump or you can’t stand him, you probably went into this year feeling a bit sore about some-

12 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

thing. Trump’s now been in office for 10 months, and boy is there a lot to unpack. Not much major legislation has happened yet (most notably health care repeal’s spectacular failure in the Senate), but that doesn’t mean the administration hasn’t gotten anything done. Conservative judge Neil Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court, border apprehensions and deportations are up and he has rolled back several Obama-era policies, including the Paris Climate Agreement, allowing transgender people to serve openly in the military and most recently he decided to end DACA. I also see “now hiring” signs in just about every shop I go into, which likely means the economy is doing well. Outside of politics, the world’s still crazy. Aside from Irma, Houston has just started to take stock of the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Lidia battered the Baja peninsula a couple of weeks ago and Hurricanes Katia and Jose are waiting in the wings of the Atlantic. The La Tuna fire in LA and the other brush fires in Southern California (as well as other parts of the U.S.) have once again ravaged our land. Not to mention the 8.1-magnitude earthquake that’s killed nearly 100 people in southern Mexico. It wouldn’t take much for the overly imaginative to think the world is ending. If locusts descend from the sky I’m going to get worried – although I’m pretty sure that may have already happened somewhere this

There was about every natural disaster known to man [this year], and each one seems to have been the worst of its kind that’s ever existed. year. Yes, some of this is “normal,” but some of this is just bonkers. Finally, in my own personal life, this year has been one of change. I became an aunt for the first time last January, and now my brother, his wife, baby Leah and dachshund Ellie are planning to leave sunny San Diego for the intrigue of Washington, D.C. after being my only family in Southern California for the last six years. And lastly, my promotion from assistant editor to editor was somewhat of a surprise, a welcome surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. And as I stare at the emails on my computer and think about the months ahead (fall and winter are my favorite time of year), I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. A

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 13

we’re listening let us know what’s on your mind Labels Speaking of labels I would label your editorial very predictable and self-serving. We don't need another Jew condemning the president of the United States that supports Israel 100 percent. Maybe you would rather support Mike Pence or Bernie Sanders but neither will be a predictable friend of Israel! -PierreRod, San Diego Dear Editor, This is a poem that I wrote shortly after my 89th birthday. My children thought this might be of interest to your readers.

Send us your comments: editor@sdjewishjournal.com 5665 Oberlin Dr., Ste 204, San Diego, CA 92121

Please consider our guidelines for Letters to the Editor prior to submitting your comments: The San Diego Jewish Journal welcomes reader responses to articles. Due to space limitations, responses to articles cannot exceed 200 words and will be edited in coordination with the letter’s author and at the discretion of the editor and publishers. For readers who wish to submit multiple letters, we require three issue months to pass between published letters so as to make space for more reader responses. All readers can comment as often as they’d like in the comments section of our website, found at the bottom of every articleon sdjewishjournal.com. Magazine articles are republished on the website at the beginning of each issue month.

14 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

My Day This is an answer to what you say when you are asked what did you do today? I get up in the morning and try not to think of me. I start my day by saying the Mode Ani. I go in the kitchen and before the re-

@SDJEWISHJOURNAL

frigerator I raid, I quickly put on my hearing aid. Usually at this time Sue will appear, What she says I want to hear. Then I eat my oatmeal that I like to make, Together with five pills that I must take. Then after my shower before deciding what to wear, Sue covers my bruises with Arnicare. Before I forget I have to mention, That my feet also need attention. Once I am in the car and for one of my trips, I am off to Cardiac Treatment Center at Scripps. At this point, there is no sense in saying “OYE VEY,” Because I still have to take 4 pills at the end of the day. So getting old can keep you quite busy You have to be strong. You can’t be a SISSY. -Renee Feinswog, La Jolla

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 15

what’s up on sdjewishjournal.com

JEWISH COMMUNITY PULLS TOGETHER DURING SERIES OF NATURAL DISASTERS With Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Irma battering Florida and the Caribbean, not to mention Katia, Jose or the 8.1-magnitude earthquake in southern Mexico, Jewish communities across the country have taken the lead to help get people out of harm’s way and bring in those who were displaced. Jews fleeing Irma in Florida took refuge in Atlanta’s synagogues and Jewish groups from all over the country donated money or flew to Houston and Florida to volunteer with rescues and cleanup.

THE VIETNAM WAR

JEWISH COMMUNITY RAISES VOICES AGAINST HATE Almost immediately following the violent weekend in Charlottesville, most major San Diego Jewish organizations pulled together an event to “stand up to hate” and to arm San Diegans with information about how to combat hate speech and violent extremism. The event included Congressman Scott Peters and local rabbis from across the religious spectrum. 16 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Ken Burns’ new PBS documentary “The Vietnam War” took him and co-director Lynn Novick 10 years to make. The crew interviewed nearly 80 veterans both in the U.S. and Vietnam, as well as those who opposed the war and other witnesses. They made use of an archive of 25,000 historical photos and video. The 18-hour series, which debuted on PBS on September 17, is spread out into 10 parts. Check KPBS’ website, KPBS.org, to see when it’s showing.

Visit Celebrate San Diego! The History & Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community and experience the struggles, triumphs, contributions, and vivid legacy of San Diego’s Jewish community. The San Diego History Center is open daily 10:00am–5:00pm. We offer private tours of the exhibition for you and your group. To schedule call: (619) 232-6203 x163. For more information, visit: sandiegohistory.org/exhibition/jewish-history In the heart of Balboa Park 1649 El Prado, Suite 3, San Diego, CA sandiegohistory.org

Unearthing your family’s unique story is like solving a puzzle. Whether you have been researching your family’s history for years or you are just getting ready to start, we have a special program to guide your efforts. The San Diego History Center and San Diego Genealogical Society present the third-annual Genealogy Day on Saturday, October 21, from 8:00am–12:30pm, at the History Center in Balboa Park Participants will enjoy breakout sessions for both beginning and advanced researchers, continental breakfast, and access to the experts! For more information visit: sandiegohistory.org/genealogy

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School Jewish Learning For Successful Living

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Soille Hebrew Day School - an Orthodox school serving the entire Jewish community! 858-279-3300  info@HebrewDay.org  www.HebrewDay.org  3630 Afton Rd., San Diego, CA 92123 Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 17

our TOWN BY LINDA BENNETT AND EMILY BARTELL

Jewish Film Festival Kick-off Party What a great response for the 28th Annual Jewish Film Festival Kick-off Party! The film festival will run February 8-18, 2018. The evening’s entertainment included the San Diego premiere of, “A Classy Broad”, directed by Anne Gousaud. Some of the folks enjoying the evening’s entertainment were, Sandy & Barbara Rosenthal, Olga Worm, Al Jacobs, Shelley Sonabend Temkim, Bob Silverman and Andye Ladmer, Tammy & Louie Vener, Lois Bloom, Andie Oster, Susan & David Kabakoff, Nancy Martin, Barbara Goldman and Howard Katz, Renee Feinswog, Barbara & Bill Sperling, Renee Zoffel, Robin Rubin, Barry & Bonnie Graff, Judy Feldman, Bonnie & Ellis Diamond, Edie Kornberg, and Eli & Susie Meltzer. And of course….28th Annual Jewish Film Festival Chairwoman, Christina Fink.

Birthdays ... Happy 69th Anniversary to Lee and Jerry Levy…. Happy 65th Anniversary to Lee and Frank Goldberg…. Happy 60th Anniversary to Evie and Larry Soloman…. Happy 50th Anniversary to Gail and Mark Braverman…. Happy 50th Anniversary to Renée and Harvey Luchans …. Happy 50th Anniversary to Lynne and Norman Lurie….

Mazel tovs... Mazel Tov to Ben Prager on becoming a Bar Mitzvah at Congregation Beth Israel. Proud parents are Adrienne and Richard Prager. Mazel Tov to Aidin Weissler on becoming a Bar Mitzvah at Congregation Ohr Shalom. Proud parents are Tamar and Joel Weissler. Mazel Tov to David and Vicky Mendel on the announcement of the marriage of their son, Noah, to Kelly Hoffman. Mazel Tov to San Diego native, Dana Jacobs, on her recent marriage to Don Katz of New York. Dana is the daughter of the Ken Jacobs, and Tina Jacobs, of blessed memory. Mazel Tov to Sheryl and Ron Gross, on the marriage of their daughter, Laura, to Josh Kline. Hearty Mazel Tov to Paul and Penny Arenson, on the marriage of their daughter, Aliza, to David Schnayer. David is the son of Noel and Steve Schnayer of Laguna Hills.

Seacrest Foundation Annual Golf & Tennis Benefit On July 24th, the Seacrest Foundation held its Annual Golf & Tennis Benefit at the beautiful Del Mar Country Club. The event was an all day affair, including lunch, dinner, and an auction. Among those enjoying the activities of the day were Charles Wax, Larry & Cindy Bloch, Todd Allen, Earl Altshuler, Gary Pollak, Devin & Jessica Chodorow, Herb & Carolyn Schaer, James Haimsohn, Jeremy Cohn, Rick Slaughter, Marty & Lois Erlich, Kay Weiss, Susan Kabakoff, Ann & Steve Kavy, Danny & Marshall Wax, Alana & Jared Ziman, Gayle & Rich Ingardia, Larry Weitzen, Ellen Chodorow, Shirley Pidgeon, and Eric Weitzen. Everyone in attendance enjoyed an energized day of activities with their friends. and families. TOP: Dan Peled and Cathie Skilnner. MIDDLE: Center for Jewish Culture Staff, Danielle Cohen, Jodi Rudick, and Shannon Merrill. BOTTOM: Leslie Oster, Sandra Silverstein, and Michele Kipnis.

18 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

the BY BRIE STIMSON, DAVID PRADEL PHOTOGRAPHY

JCompany young artists pose for a photo at the youth theater company's 25th anniversary celebration. JCo stars pictured: Katie Ditter, Sarah Shapiro, Marina Hall, Lily Johnson, Ellie Levine, Ella Hall.

JCompany Youth Theatre's 25th Jubilee anniversary celebration

Guests filled the Galleria of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus for JCompany Youth Theatre's 25th Jubilee anniversary celebration on September 9! JCo had a full house of family and young artists from throughout its 25-year history. JCompany's 25th season will open October 20th with "Disney's The Lion King."

Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center Marketing Director, Dan Shapiro and Teen Director, Ethan Roseman appear as a special surprise for the JCompany kids in original costumes from JCo's Disney's 101 Dalmatians.

LEFT: JCompany wall of programs. RIGHT: Joey Landwehr,

20 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

MUSINGS FROM MAMA by Sharon Rosen Leib

PARENTING srleib@me.com

When in Doubt, Go to the Funeral

ttending a funeral is hard work because it demands we confront the death of someone who mattered in our lives. At funerals, we share raw emotions and cry in public, thus exposing our vulnerabilities. When the deceased’s loved ones reveal painful personal truths, ramble or break down during their eulogies, we experience social discomfort. On the plus side, listening to anecdotes that help us laugh through our tears temporarily lightens the grief load. Experiencing this range of emotions together bonds us into a community of mourners. At Jewish funerals, graveside burial rituals jolt us into facing our own mortality. When we watch the deceased’s casket lowered into the chasm, we feel the end of physical presence. When we pick up the shovel to perform the mitzvah of helping bury the dead, we feel the earth’s weight upon us. When we hear the shoveled earth rain down on the casket, we feel the ancient refrain reverberate - from dust to dust. Considering these painfully unpleasant sensory experiences, why attend the funeral of an old friend we haven’t seen in years? I faced this dilemma when I learned that a dear friend from college days died last month. Mike was a mensch – a good listener, compassionate, honest, hardworking, self-effacing, smart and well-liked. He was definitely one of the sweetest guys I knew at Berkeley. Diagnosed with cancer as a 19-year-old sophomore, Mike never lamented, “Why me?” Yet being a sensitive, vulnerable, English major kind of guy, he shared his worries about the treatments he faced with people close to him. Fortunately, his chemo/ radiation regimen worked. He married his college sweetheart Shelley (one of my wonderful sorority sisters) and they had two bright, handsome, healthy sons. As their boys grew, Mike’s cancer recurred multiple times - weaving its toxic way into the fabric of their lives. He managed to vanquish it

22 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

time and again until at 55, his body gave out. Although I hadn’t seen Mike or Shelley for many years, I wanted to honor his memory and support Shelley. But I had multiple worries/insecurities regarding the funeral: 1) Would Shelley still recognize me? 2) Would I feel awkward and voyeuristic being there? 3) Could I handle schlepping up to Los Angeles the Friday of Labor Day weekend and coping with the traffic, heat and crowds? My thoughtful, emotionally intelligent husband said, “You should go and grieve with your old friends. Shelley will appreciate you being there. Just take the train.” So I tamped down my neuroses and went. The chapel at Eden Memorial Park in the San Fernando Valley overflowed with mourners as the temperature soared to over 100 degrees. We all schvitzed, cried and blew through boxes of Kleenex during the eulogies that movingly captured Mike’s beautiful essence. Shelley held the post-funeral reception at the family home. As she greeted the guests crowding in, she saw me and gasped. “I can’t believe you came all the way from San Diego after so many years! ” Her eyes lit up and we hugged each other tight. Knowing that my presence brought her cheer made my doubts about attending embarrassingly self-indulgent. Thank G-d I’d mustered the courage to get over myself and make it there. Showing up for a funeral is one of life’s essential mitzvahs. It demonstrates love and support. It proves the dead person’s life mattered and touched others. It helps bring closure. It enables us to bear witness to the totality of a life. Ultimately, it’s always the right thing to do. So when in doubt, please go. A

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 23

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE by Andrea Simantov

ISRAELI LIFESTYLE andreasimantov@gmail.com

Mom’s Home

om, age 87, was coming to visit me in Israel, and her physical challenges were daunting. No longer able to stand for long periods or walk more than short distances (bedroom to kitchen, curbside to supermarket entrance), I acquired from the holy folks at Yad Sarah a wheelchair, walker and shower stool. Although I’d checked the arrival time before falling into a restless sleep, the plane arrived 90 minutes early. I found her sitting on a plastic chair in the arrivals terminal, looking smaller than I’d remembered. The best part of the journey had been sharing seating space with a haredi Talmud-student named Yossi who wasn’t hungry and gave her all of his food. My mother lives for the minutiae in the lives of others and Yossi was a talker. Four meals later, Irma was ecstatic. She wanted to visit him in yeshiva but I said ‘No.’ The first few days were rough as we repeated historical dance-steps that mothers and daughters have performed since the beginning of time. She made non-helpful suggestions making my teeth scrape and I was uncontrollably mocking, critical and arrogantly silent. Within 48 hours we both sensed that this forced-visit had been 24 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

a huge mistake. My personal sense of despair weighed heavily as I cursed a long line of self-help writers who had fooled me into thinking that closure and peace-making were available to the non-Oprahs among us. They’d lied. Leaving her home to run a few errands, I pulled to the side of the road with a bag of potato chips and tried to emotionally access the lofty Torah lessons I’d spent decades absorbing: honoring one’s parents, benefit of the doubt, welcoming guests, withholding judgment, creation in G-d’s image, practicing unconditional love and more. All this chesbon nefesh (personal reflection) succeeded in doing was to reinforce my core belief that I was a miserable person. And then she fell. She’d gotten up too rapidly from a seemingly closed recliner when the bottom sprang-out and knocked her down. I came running and found her on the bare floor, legs splayed and eyes filled with terror. She hadn’t injured anything but the soles of her sneakers could not gain traction on the marble. I knew I could maneuver her to a better position where she could pull herself up to the bed but she would have none of it. The skinny soon-to-be-asoldier living upstairs helped me pull mom

up and sit her on the bed. The entire operation took 2.3 seconds and she was effusive in her thanks. I hid in the bathroom to cry, surprised and confused by the unexpected spate of emotions. And although our respective histories remained in place, those twisted exercises called Resentment and Blame had lost their appeal. Mom and I became friends. Armed with a bucket-list of places to see, I happily shlepped this 87-year-old geezer to Maale Adumim, Psagot, Bet El, Tel Aviv, Palmachim, Yad Binyamim and Gush Etzion. Staying up late we giggled, ate things we shouldn’t, shared secrets, stories and revealing agonies that we’d kept hidden from one another. On the day of her departure she gleefully announced, “When I come back next year, I think I’ll visit the grandchildren in South Africa first and then come to Israel for the end of the summer.” G-d had given us time and we hadn’t squandered the gift. Wishing her long and vibrant years ahead, I feel humbled that the legacy she will leave behind after 120 years will be rich with laughter, kindness and caring about others. A

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 25

OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT by Saul Levine

EXAMINED LIFE slevine@ucsd.edu

Who Is, And Who Is Not, A “Mensch”? (Virtuous Person)

ou surely know the meaning of the word “mensch," (a virtuous person) and may well have used it yourself. You might have said, “He’s (she’s) a real mensch,” when you referred to someone with considerable respect. (Or perhaps you said, “A mensch, he’s not!”) The word obviously derives from the original Yiddish, where it simply meant “a person,” and as time went on it evolved to mean a “special” kind of individual. More recently, it has become part of the English lexicon in newspapers, books and conversations, especially in cities with sizeable Jewish populations. A mensch describes someone who is a person of virtue, or, as an Aussie friend said, “a really decent bloke.” A mensch has personality traits which most of us consider admirable. These traits usually refer to a person who is kind, respectful and trustworthy. In the same vein, we could add that a real mensch is honest, compassionate, tolerant, generous, responsible and humble. This is admittedly a lengthy list of laudable personality characteristics, and a cynic might say that this is a fantasied description of a “perfect human being.” Perhaps saint-like figures in different religions, but certainly not human beings! And in truth I have yet to meet such a real-life, real-time, perpetual and pure paragon of virtue. So, does the very fact that we designate 26 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

someone with the word mensch imply that there are very few people who deserve this appellation? I beg to differ: Although a mensch may be an evolved human being, the virtues listed are in fact not rare. Indeed, most of us show some of these very attributes at different times in our lives, and we aspire to be the kinds of people who "inhabit" these virtues. After all, who doesn't want to be considered by others (or themselves) as decent or responsible or generous? No doubt, many of you readers of this column are indeed “mensch’n.“ But being a mensch also entails the absence of other much less salutary characteristics. For example, an individual who lies frequently, or is a braggart, or treats others with contempt, would not merit the description of a mensch. Similarly, someone who has shown himself to be crude, or dishonest or bigoted would not deserve that appellation. Neither would a person who is egotistical, boastful or bullying, or who is baleful, threatening or belligerent. Such an abrasive personality is a poor role model for children, and he/she tends to offend and repel us. This kind of individual spreads a “viral” social toxin by way of a phenomenon called “social contagion.” When these unsavory behaviors are present in an individual, we sense the negative energy emanating from him, which can actually affect us viscerally, making us feel uncomfortable or anxious.

We might feel distaste and even dislike for that person, but the object of our annoyance may remain oblivious, or worse, could not care less. Paradoxically, it is we who get upset. We want to retreat from engaging with people like that, and avoid their company if we possibly can. If any of these negative behaviors are a significant part of an individual's "portfolio" of personality traits, he/she would immediately be disqualified from "menschlichkeit" (ie, not deserving the "title" of mensch). You and I know that nobody is perfect, and that we are all complex mixtures of strengths and frailties, virtues and faults. But in a world where incivility has become commonplace in political, media and everyday discourse, a person in whom “menschlich” positive traits far outweigh the negative ones, can strike us as a worthy, benevolent soul. This kind of individual is “takeh a mensch” (really a worthy person). He/she contributes to and enhances all whom he/she “touches” in his/her relationships and activities, and leaves a “Positive Emotional Footprint.” There are few paths quite as important as this for us to follow. Relevant Question: Can you think of a person who accurately fits the “not-a-mensch” description above? If so, that individual would undoubtedly be a “false-mensch,” an ”alt-mensch,” or an “anti-mensch.”A

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 27

POST-POLITICAL by Rabbi Jacob Rupp

RELIGION rabbirupp@gmail.com

Is the Future Someone Else’s Problem

hat should our experts do to ensure the future of the Jewish people? What can we do to engage the youth, the teens, the millennials, the baby boomers, the elderly as they become increasingly disenfranchised with Judaism? As we consider the challenges facing the Jewish people, many people ring their hands and ask what can be done, looking expectantly to the ‘Jewish professionals’ to do the work. The problem is–it’s not working. In history, there was never a class of ‘Jewish professionals’ who had some crystal ball to fix whatever problems faced us. Let’s be clear; the Jewish people in every generation have always had the sages whose role it was to dedicate their lives to in-depth knowledge of the Torah. They could tell us what to do in a given situation, or what we needed to work on, but Jewish engagement, per se, wasn’t their issue. And if there’s no historical precedent to Jewish professionals, was there ever such a thing as a ‘lay person?’ A Jewish person that didn’t have to lead? The joke of two Jews three opinions isn’t a joke at all–we are a fiercely independent people by nature, and all of us carry within a unique soul with a unique mission that demands us to become a master. At the core of the “Jewish disengagement” issue, in my mind, is a lack of understanding of what leadership is from a Jewish sense, and as a result, the misunderstanding that even someone who isn’t a Jewish leader by title or profession is still called upon to lead. Our great leaders and motivators were men and women of faith and fire, oftentimes ridiculed and laughed at while they were alive, hardly having any platform other than the ones they created for themselves. Even 28 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

our great leader Moses was not universally loved; his message was too controversial, he was too powerful, too on fire that the people in his generation looked at him skeptically at times, and found plenty of fault with him. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn’t have a cushy pension or a nice corner office. They worked on themselves and their relationship with G-d their entire lives, at times at the risk of their lives. That’s the legacy they left us; to toil. No app in the world will help you with this. We suffer from the disengagement because we think there are ‘professionals’ out there to do the job for us. The bad news is that the professionals might know organizational skills, or modern techniques to scale-which might help grow a product, but it sure doesn’t create one. We can’t think of Judaism as something to scale. In each generation, in every person, it has to be created fresh. As a coach, there is a fundamental concept that I tell clients and I tell myself. There is no shortage of tools to help people get to their goals. But if they don’t have goals, don’t have desires, aren’t willing to work, then there’s no place to start. As a people, as we consider the massive problems (read: opportunities) facing the Jewish people, it’s time to stop looking towards the leaders and start looking towards yourself. G-d promised the Jewish people would be eternal. No Holocaust or high rate of assimilation will change that. What issue calls to you as important? Is it education? Helping needy families? Israel? It has to stop being about the issue, and start being about you. What does Judaism mean to YOU? Where can YOU find YOUR inspiration? Whose job is it to in-

No app in the world will help you with this. spire you? And once you’ve found your answers (through much toil and energy) how can YOU spread it to your tribe? This isn’t a message for the leaders or the people or anyone in between, other than me. I have changed my ideas so many times in my life. I've been inspired and not. I’ve thought I had the answers, then I didn’t. But as I get older, the thing I realize is that it's okay to change. It’s okay to be immersed in the struggle instead of removed. The last thing I should do is teach topics I don’t find compelling. It’s okay if things don’t always flow. What drives me crazy is the hand wringing of so many people in my many spheres of community that are concerned with the future while they themselves are detached from real fire in their own Jewish expression, however or whatever that might mean to them. If you find your fire, it will spread. If you don’t have your fire, in my estimation, you shouldn’t worry about anyone else–as we always must start with yourself. Of course, this isn’t new–in Deuteronomy it says that real clarity only happens if you pursue it like you pursue great financial wealth–with a hunger and an understanding for its importance. And once you set yourself on fire with a desire to become spiritually “real and alive” you will find the world around you isn’t disengaged; they are engaged and inspired by you. A

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CHARITABLE GIVING

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JCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New CEO Brings 20 Years of Experience BY, BRIE STIMSON

30 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

imes are changing at the Lawrence Family JCC. The annual book fair is moving from November to the spring, the Foodies on the Farm cooking event is getting more prominence this month and possibly most notably, the community center has a new CEO. One of the best regarded JCCs in the country, the Lawrence Family JCC has both the largest Jewish Day Camp in California and the largest Jewish preschool in San Diego. Those facts, among other accomplishments of our JCC, helped to bring new CEO Betzy Lynch all the way from Birmingham, Alabama. “I’ve spent almost my entire professional career working in Jewish community centers,” Betzy explained to me over the phone, making time for an interview between all of her other appointments. She’d been on the job for less than a month at the time of our speaking, and she already loves it. Lynch started her career in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1998 as the assistant health and physical education director before moving on to be program director at the JCC in Youngstown, Ohio. She then worked as the assistant executive director of the Jewish community center in Memphis, Tennessee. She was in Tennessee for nearly ten years when she was hired as the executive director of the JCC in Birmingham. Five years later, she’s ready to get started in San Diego. “Everything’s been fantastic,” she said of her first few weeks in San Diego. “Obviously a lot of my responsibilities of being the CEO here are similar to my responsibilities of being the executive director at the JCC in Birmingham where I was prior to this, but ... every community has its unique nuances, its special challenges and this JCC is a lot bigger in terms of size and focus than where I was, so I’m really excited by the challenge of that.” Betzy says for her, the most important part of any JCC is their impact on Jewish life, but that’s not the reason she got involved initially. “I really wanted to have a career in sports and recreation, and I grew up at a JCC my whole life and never really

thought about it as a potential career path,” she explained. She completed her masters at Indiana State in exercise science and physical education, and among other possibilities was given the opportunity to work at a YMCA. “I thought to myself ‘why in the world would I do that when I could go and work at a JCC?’ And so that’s where my path started, but also that might have been where it ended,” she told me. “But I was really into the other side, meaning the professional side of what it is to work in an amazing community that is the movement of Jewish community centers. I really found my path and I always say this job chose me, I didn’t necessarily choose it.” She says her goal is to make the JCC as inclusive as possible, no matter what path brings people to their doorstep. The center has a significant influence over the quality

Betzy said one of her main goals as a manager is to provide a level of mentorship and excitement about the job for her staff in the hope of keeping them working in the Jewish world, whether it’s at a JCC or another Jewish institution. Jewish community centers across the country are known for their exceptional early childhood education programs, and “ours happens to be one of the best of the best here in San Diego,” Betzy told me. The JCC provides support beyond education, Betzy explained, providing support to the whole family “through a Jewish lens so that whether you’re Jewish or a faith other than Jewish you’re getting an authentic Jewish experience which gives a rich diversity to your children’s experience.” Betzy is the mother to an 11-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter, both of whom attend the San Di-

“The importance of our providing that bridge and giving an authentic Jewish experience to people of all faiths, really helps to bring a level of understanding and diversity that’s unique to the JCC that isn’t really the same function as any other Jewish institution.” of members’ Jewish experience, which Betzy says she is passionate about enriching, and she wants everyone to feel welcome. “Everybody has a place at the JCC,” she told me. “People who come from any kind of Jewish background, whether ... they were born Jewish but didn’t identify with anything religiously or somebody who’s incredibly observant,” the doors are open to everyone. “And even more than that, patricularly in the culture we’re living in today, the importance of our providing that bridge and giving an authentic Jewish experience to people of all faiths, really helps to bring a level of understanding and diversity that’s unique to the JCC that isn’t really the same function as any other Jewish institution.”

ego Jewish Academy. For Betzy, the move is big change both culturally and professionally. “I mean who wouldn’t love San Diego?” she laughed, remarking on our city’s beauty and famously pleasant weather. “We’ve lived in a very small Jewish community where the resources and choices of what Jewish [culture] is available and Jewish life is limited, and so the fact that my children could attend a school that can go all the way through ... high school, was really important to us and absolutely added to the factors of us wanting to choose it.” Betzy said she’s lived in every part of the country, but was really touched by the way San Diegans welcome diversity and encourage peoElul 5777 • Tishrei 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 31

ple to be who they are. “The way people embrace is so very different than the way I’ve seen it anywhere else,” she said. Betzy said she’s thankful her children were able to understand about the Civil Rights movement at such a young age from living in the Deep South, but “now in juxtaposition to that to experience diversity the way that they are going to now really will give them a rich experience of what it is to deal with people in life, and I’m so thankful for that.” Coming from a community in Birmingham with only 7,000 Jews, Betsy sees

little more of a festival feel than just a series of author lectures,” she explained. Foodies on the Farm at Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas is the bridge program to remind people that book fair is moving, and the program is back this year with plenty of tastings, cooking demonstrations, classes and custom-created bites to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. The all-day event takes place on November 5 this year, and, according to organizers, it will be bigger and better than ever. Paula Shoyer, author of “The Healthy

CEO Betzy Lynch of the JCC talks with the kids

San Diego as an embarrassment of riches. She still feels our Jewish community is a bit “hidden” though, and plans to do a lot of listening to figure out how to get people more involved. Book Fair, as mentioned, will be moving from November to the spring and will be getting an upgrade, Betzy promises. Now called Bookfest, which will feel more like a literary festival with different types of experiences rather than just lectures. “I think that what we’re really looking for is to create experiences beyond events, meaning things that people can touch and feel and learn something from rather than just sort of the lecture component, which maybe gives it a 32 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Jewish Kitchen: Fresh Contemporary Recipes for Every Occasion”, will be teaching a class with no margarine, powdered stocks and very little frying. Healthy Jewish cooking is on trend right now, and with classics like Israeli Herb and Almond Salad and Schnitzel with nut crust, no one’s going to be missing the salt or sugar. A graduate of the Ritz Escoffier pastry program in Paris, Shoyer’s 60-page book is full of traditional Sephardic and Ashkenazi recipes – made without the guilt. Shoyer will teach her class Sunday morning. TV producer Peter Geller will demonstrate recipes from his book inspired by his mother. A debilitating stroke took away his

mother’s ability to cook, and his book “My Mother’s Kitchen: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and the Meaning of Life” was his way of reconnecting with her and saving her favorite recipes for generations to come. Emily’s Paster’s new book “The Joys of Jewish Preserving: Modern Recipes with Traditional Roots, for Jams, Pickles, Fruit Butters, and More – For Holidays and Every Day,” pays homage to a thousands year-old tradition. Other demonstrations include fast meals, different ways to make matzo and happy hour dishes. Nature lovers can also enjoy free tours of the Encinitas farm and the beauty of the Butterfly Farms Vivarium, the largest native butterfly hZouse in Southern California. The vivarium’s mission is to conserve native butterflies and their habitat through education. The farm’s one-hour walking tour covers 20 acres of mixed gardens, orchards, food forest, animal pastures, vineyard, greenhouses, barns and farmhouses. The community garden donates more than 50 percent of its food to those in the community who lack access to fresh food through pay-what-youcan farmstands, pop-up markets and direct donations. A whole day of culinary fun is $140, or $115 for JCC members. Political junkies should also note that Carl Bernstein, the renowned Washington Post journalist who, along with Bob Woodward, broke the Watergate scandal and helped take down Nixon’s presidency, will be speaking on the abuse of presidential power on Saturday, November, 11 at 7 p.m. JCompany, JCC’s youth theater group, is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and are currently in rehearsals for “The Lion King.” Performances start on October 20. Lynch said she wants one of her main focuses to be finding new ways to engage people and bring them into the JCC community. She told me there is a strong connection with the address on Executive Drive, but beyond the physical building she wants the JCC to be out in the community. “We have this amazing facility and we need to make use of it whenever we can, but we also need to be doing things in every corner of the community. Especially because San Diego County is so expansive, [it’s important] that we’re doing that in every portion of the community so that we’re connecting people to each other and connecting them to Jewish life.” A

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Alfred, the 100-year-old bridge player BY, JACQUELINE BULL

Alfred Nade at Seacrest

lfred Nadel is turning 100 years old on October 8. He was born in 1917 and lived in New York and later San Diego his whole life. He is known to other Seacrest residents and staff as the guy who plays bridge every day. He agreed to be interviewed about bridge, his life and any wisdom he has accrued in his century on earth.

them and that made me think about moving. And then the riots in New York in ‘69 decided it for me. So I came out here and played golf, got bored and bought a telephone answering service in Escondido. I had that for a number of years. And then I finally retired in 1981 or something like that. And then I have been retired since.

Where did you grow up?

What instrument did you play?

New York City. Most of my life was spent in New York City. We moved here in 1969.

What brought you to San Diego? My daughter lives in the Bay Area and my son lives in Phoenix. I came to San Diego to play golf, I liked it and decided San Diego was halfway in between. What is there not to like about San Diego?

Tell me about your life. As a youngster I was a musician. I used to play with various dance bands around the country then I became a CPA, then I bought out one of my clients, and I manufactured hand carved picture frames and sold to museums and art galleries and then I imported works of art. And then my people grew old and retired and I couldn’t replace

Saxophone, flute, clarinet. As I child, I played piano and violin, too. And I played golf and tennis until I was 94 and then my wife died and I sort of gave it up and then I really retired.

I hear you play bridge every single day. It keeps the brain going. I enjoy it. I will put it that way. It is better than sitting here watching the tube. I learned to play bridge when I was a child. My mother and aunts used to play auction bridge and if they needed a fourth, they had me play. It is something you learn over a period of time. You have to absorb it. It is a whole language, just the bidding is a language. And the play of the hands is something you have to learn and have some native ability-put it that way. That is about it. Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 35

“Laugh and the world laughs with you. And we have to laugh everyday. Other than that I don’t know what the hell I can tell you.” They say there are more books written about bridge than any other card game, next to chess. There is no doubt about that. You could study bridge all your life and not know everything. I go to the Escondido bridge club. There are about I would say 100,150 people who play, some play on and off, a few people everyday, like I play. We know each other. It is good social life, too. No complaints.

her sister Eva Gabor. I knew everyone. My place in Manhattan was on 54th street and 7th Avenue which was in the heart of the entertainment world. My place was next to the Gotham Health Club that was a famous athletic club that all the celebrities in New York used to congregate. My place being next door to them, I got to know those people. I wouldn’t say close friends, but friendly. It was a good life as I say. I enjoyed it.

Do they have any tournaments?

What was Ginger Rogers like?

There is a bridge organization that actually covers the whole world. Members compete with each other. It is a competition. You don’t play for money, you play for status and that’s it. The more you win, the higher your status and that is about it.

She was more beautiful that you could imagine. In person she was more gorgeous than being on a screen. The movie picture couldn’t show her beauty. We were acquaintances as I said we had lunch in the Warwick Hotel, which was on the corner there. We used to talk.

Where do you rank?

So you got to know these people through your business?

I would say at the upper three quarters. It is a lot of fun is all I can say.

What else do you do with your time? I sleep a lot, [laughs]. At my stage of life there is nothing much I can do. Physically I’m nowhere near what I want to do physically. I accept it.

Well playing tennis until 94 is pretty good. I drove my car until I was 99. My daughter took my car keys away [laughs]. Unfortunately, I outlived all my peers. That is a bad feeling. My friends are all gone. My sister is still alive, she lives in Florida. My daughter lives in the Bay Area, my son lives in England. He retired many years ago, he married an English girl and they moved there. I see my daughter, every couple of months she comes down and visits. I think for my 100th birthday, they are all coming down. They are going to have a party for me at the bridge club and my family will have a party of our own.

Do you have any wisdom to share? I tell you, my wife took good care of me [laughs]. And for that, I’m grateful. No complaints. Why not? Laugh and the world laughs with you. And we have to laugh everyday. Other than that I don’t know what the hell I can tell you.

So you manufactured picture frames? I manufactured picture frames and sold to museums and art galleries and I got to know a lot of the artists personally. A lot of the movie stars were my customers. Well I knew all, probably all the big female and male movie stars. They were all my customers practically. Jane Fonda lived down the block from me. Silvia Sidney lived down the block. I used to have lunch with Ginger Rogers. I knew Gsa Gsa Gabor and 36 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

All of those movie people used to collect art. They had to have their art collection framed. My place was known as the place so they used to come to my place. We were friendly. It brings back a lot of memories.

Then you moved to San Diego? I lived in Fletcher Hills at the time. And my neighbors were my children’s age. The best thing that happened to me was that I moved up to Oaks North, the senior community in Rancho Bernardo. The camaraderie and the social life became wonderful. Everyone worked together and did things together. And we were young enough to do the things. We played tennis, we played golf, we went to dinners together, we had a real social life. I’m talking about maybe 25, 30 people at a group. We were always a group. We were very, very friendly. And that lasted a long time. When my kids left for college, my wife and I did a lot of traveling. We traveled practically all over the world. We played golf. My wife was a good bridge player, too.

Your wife was a bridge player as well? She was a beautiful woman, she was very talented, I don’t know why she bothered with me [laughs]. I was very happy. We were married for 69 years when she died. We were both 25 when we got married. I was three months older than her. I really miss her. We played bridge and my son moved to England with the family so we used to go to England, two, three times a year. And then from England we would take off and go places. The more I think about things, I did a helluva lot of things [laughs]. I would start all over again. Oh well. The man upstairs won't let me though [laughs]. A

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CHARITABLE GIVING

JCF 50th Anniversary

Reflecting on a legacy of giving The Jewish Community Foundation is turning 50 BY JACQUELINE BULL

he Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Members of the Foundation are taking time to reflect on the last 50 years and look out into the next 50, capping off the celebration with a gala. During its lifetime, JCF has grown to be the second largest community foundation in San Diego and has distributed more than a staggering 1 billion dollars. There are many ways to describe what JCF does or how it works. JCF describes what they do as “partnering with generations of donors to achieve philanthropic goals.” Another way to look at it would be to say they provide an infrastructure for helping people get that absolute most out of their charitable dollars. They know and vet all of the best nonprofit organizations around the world and how to make the biggest impact for their donors. Marjory Kaplan, former long-time President and CEO of JCF, and Elaine Galinson, current 50th Anniversary Committee Chair and Foundation Board Member took some time to talk with the San Diego Jewish Journal and reflect on memories, highpoints, and some successes of their time with the Foundation. 38 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

“It fills me with pride to know that I’m involved with an organization that is doing something that has such an impact that is done in a reliable, honest and good way. It makes me feel like I’m abiding by my Jewish instruction Tikkun Olam, heal the world in whatever small way I can.” -Elaine Galinson

Successes “Basically in this year we will be looking back and reflecting on the successes over the last 50 years, but we are also going to be looking forward and making plans for the future. We will be recognizing and acknowledging all the people who were involved in the last 50 years and share the excitement we have for the programs that are coming up in the future under the leadership of Beth Sirull,” Elaine Galinson said. See the May 2017 issue of the San Diego Jewish Journal, for an interview with the new CEO and President of JCF, Beth Sirull. Presently, they are helping victims of the recent natural disasters.“Right now we are helping out in Texas with the victims of Hurricane Harvey,” Elaine began. Elaine explained that when she called the Foundation about giving to the Hurricane Harvey victims from her own fund, a staff member informed her that she would be getting an email in a minute. “When there is a national emergency or an emergency in Israel or an emergency within our own community, these emails go out to all the holders of funds suggesting that these are the ways that you might want to be involved,” she said. Being a part of a trusted organization, the

Honoring our Past Board Chairs Carl Esenoff* 1967-1972 1974-1979

Jerome Katzin* 1988-1990

Jack Schuster 2000-2002

Emily Einhorn 2010-2012

Victor Schulman* 1973

Rodney Stone 1990-1993

Andrew Viterbi 2002-2004

Jeff Silberman 2012-2014

Herbert Solomon 1980-1982

Shearn Platt* 1993-1996

Edgar Berner 2004-2006

Jane Scher 2014-2016

Stanley Foster* 1983-1985

Lawrence Sherman 1996-1998

Sheila Potiker* 2006-2008

Sydney Selati 2016-2017

Nessim Tiano 1986-1988

Pauline Foster* 1998-2000

Murray Galinson* 2008-2010

Leo Spiegel Current *Of Blessed Memory

jc fsa n die g o . o r g/ 50-years

Foundation can take care of everything so that each individual donor is not spending time researching and vetting organizations. And giving as a part of the community, the impact can go further. Elaine, like many other members of the board, uses the Foundation to advise their personal philanthropy as well. “I have a broad range of philanthropic interests. The Foundation donor advised funds allows me to give to that broad range. The staffing help from the community foundation is invaluable. It saves me a lot of time. It is the best possible way for any philanthropist to give donations,” she said. Memories Marjory Kaplan was the President and CEO of JCF for over twenty years. She shared some nice memories and highlights at her time with JCF and is very excited and hope-

858-279-2740

ful for their future. Marjory is tremendously sweet and kind on the phone. She diverts attention back to the current staff every so often and adds that she is so confident in them and their ability to move forward. She explains that she has allowed the new team to create their own legacy, though she still keeps up with JCF through friends in the community and reminders of her time there continue to pop up. The senior transportation program (run by the Jewish Family Service) that was put into place under her watch is one example of such reminders, “We were instrumental in providing the initial funding for the On-theGo program that is still going so strong. I see the buses around the community [laughs]. I just got a note from my synagogue that if anyone needs a ride to high holy services, On-the-Go is available.” During her time at the Foundation, one

of the programs that garnered a lot of buzz and one that she is especially proud of is the Endowment Leadership Institute (ELI). “This was something we started 14-15 years ago to help our Jewish day schools and synagogues and all these organizations to develop endowments. It is so important for sustaining your financial health. We partnered with practically the whole Jewish community and it just took off,” Marjory said. ELI works with organizations to help them build an infrastructure for receiving endowments. The program then allows people to create a posthumous legacy to support the local organizations that are important to them. The program has since been replicated in other parts of the country and is a big point of pride for Marjory and the JCF. Like many good leaders, she remarks on the quality and care of the people she spent Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 39

Honoring our Past Board Chairs

ISRAEL For 50 years, the Foundation has built our community through generous philanthropy and innovative programs. Please join us as we celebrate this anniversary and share our vision for the future. many years working with and when talking about the Foundation, she often reiterates how proud she is of the team, their creativity and conscious collaboration. “We built such a wonderful workplace culture,” she said. She sums that up as “the powerful combination of discipline and kindness.” “We were great at discipline, follow-up, customer service, thinking things through, and measuring our work, with an overlay of being extremely kind and aware of who we were serving and how we could welcome everyone. Customer service, whether it was one of our colleagues in the community, a temporary employee at the front desk, the maintenance crew or a major donor, we were very aware of how important it was to be extremely kind. And that still lives today,” she said. Her assertions of the quality of the people are echoed by their winning of the first ever Excellence in Governance Award from the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Leadership Institute. “The quality and commitment of the board and committee,” she said and pauses, “It was astounding. It is considered to be one of the strongest boards in the city. One of the things that contributed to the award was that they were impressed by the level and number of quality volunteers we had on committees and our board. It was an honor to bring in the creativity and energy of so many talented people in the community. Things were very dynamic and they knew that their voice was very important,” Marjory said. Looking back, so many names of initiatives and programs come up. One high point in particular the former President stops at is the creation of the Jewish Teen Foundation, “I think [the creation of ] the Teen Foundation is a really good memory We only had three people on staff at the time [chuckles]. These young people are so 40 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Carl Esenoff* 1967-1972 1974-1979

Jerome Katzin* 1988-1990

Jack Schuster 2000-2002

Victor Schulman* 1973

Rodney Stone 1990-1993

Andrew Viterbi 2002-2004

Herbert Solomon 1980-1982

Shearn Platt* 1993-1996

Edgar Berner 2004-2006

Stanley Foster* 1983-1985

Lawrence Sherman 1996-1998

Sheila Potiker* 2006-2008

Pauline Foster* 1998-2000

Murray Galinson* 2008-2010

Nessim Tiano

cool and so naturally generous we had to get 1986-1988 a good group together. That was very memorable, because we just did it. The teens could not have been nicer. A lot of them have grown into wonderful young philanthropists,” Marjory said. The program starts with adults from the community nominating teens to the Foundation. They learn about the community needs and start thinking through the lens of philanthropy. They receive proposals from different nonprofits, make site visits and decide how the money is to be granted. “It is a way of exposing these teenagers to philanthropy and how you need to look into, examine and think carefully where your money is going. It has been very successful,” Elaine Galinson said. The program was started by Marjory with the help of volunteer leaders in the community who were very successful in their careers (they later became de facto grandfathers to the program). Marjory recalls a poignant moment in particular when they came in to talk to the kids, “They would come in and say ‘You can make all the money that you want and you can provide for your family and that is all important and get a good education, but never ever forget how important the community is and what your role is,’” she said. Looking into the future of the JCF with the new president, Marjory is nothing but hopeful. “Oh I think they are on it. Beth Sirull and her new leadership are focusing on the younger generation and the new wave of philanthropy. I think they are really right on the mark,” she said. Honoring the past 50 years and peeking into the next 50 for the Jewish Community Foundation culminates in a daytime gala. The 50th Anniversary Celebration Brunch is on Sunday, November 12 at 11 a.m. For more information visit jcfsandiego.org/50-years.

“One of my favorite stories is 2008 and jwhen c fsa nd i the e g o .orecession r g /5 0 - ye a rs hit 8 5 in 8 -279-2740 everybody was pretty nervous. We called every donor just to see how they were doing and what was going on. They were so grateful, ‘Tell me what is going on the community. Tell me who is suffering the most.’ A lot of people met with us and rearranged their giving. They wanted to know about their favorite organizations and what was going on. Many others wanted to get their ducks in order and prepare their estate plan-that is what happens when rough times hit. Our donors ended up granting away so much that our assets dipped tremendously. So many people in the community said ‘Good for you rather than holding your funds, you are encouraging granting.' It was such a great time, a tough time, and it really tests you, and I feel like that we really weathered it with so much good fortune and a great community to work with.” -Marjory Kaplan

*Of Ble

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Share the joy and celebration that surrounds the holiday that concludes our High Holy Day season. With music provided by Tifereth Israel’s Ad Hoc Polyphonic Klezmer Orchestra we’ll dance and sing throughout our hakafot (Torah processions). Together, we’ll rejoice and celebrate the conclusion of the reading of the Torah. The festivities ar for all ages and not to be missed.

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Have you ever seen a Torah opened all the way?

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Cousin's Lunch

One of San Diego’s First Jewish Families “Cousins’ Lunch” is a time for these relatives to meet and connect outside the holidays BY JACQUELINE BULL

anukkah and major holidays or even Saturday night dinners are often associated with family time and being reunited with the extended family, but what about weekday lunch? One San Diego family has just that association in what they have come to refer to as “Cousins’ Lunch,” a weekday gathering where a group of cousins and their spouses (and sometimes their children or grandchildren) catch up once a month over lunch. Typically these gatherings are 15-20 people strong and at a different restaurant each month. “There are nine cousins. The rest of us all live here. We have lived here our whole lives. We always have a Hanukkah party every year and decided that once a year was not enough. Several years ago we started to do monthly cousins’ lunches just so we can keep in touch,“ Carol Fox, one of the original nine cousins, said. At this particular lunch, they have a 15-month-old grandchild in attendance as well as an103-year-old uncle. The cousins themselves range from 68 to 83 years old, and with a few exceptions they were all born and remain in San Diego. “We like to stay connected. This is something you know is going to happen. It is fun to be together. We have a good time. We really laugh a lot. We have some real comedians in this crowd,” Carol said. “We enjoy just getting together and keeping in touch with everybody,” Roz Freedman, wife of one of the cousins, added. How it all got started As is with all family histories, where to call the beginning of the story is really a matter of opinion. The consensus with this family on where it all starts is one of two events 1) when Grandma Rose and Grandpa Morris

Pictured is 7 out of the 8 original cousins and their spouses.

came to the US from Minsk, Russia or 2) when Uncle Irvine was the first from the family of immigrants in New York decided to move to San Diego. Irvine Shulman was divorced and (as the story goes) looking for a new life and turned to San Diego. Within 10 years the whole family was there. The cousins’ lunch was started by the children of what I have come to refer to as the original four. The great-grandparents of the cousins Rose and Morris Freedman had four children Mack, Jerome, Ruth and Edith. Like many family histories, there is a little bit of conflicting information on some of the specifics. There is some disagreement on how Morris died. One cousin said he fell off the roof while repairing it, one said he had a heart attack and then fell off the roof, another says he was hit by a truck, another says

it was his brother who was hit by a truck. There is consensus that Grandma Rose raised their four parents herself. Ties to early San Diego Jewish History “The Jewish Community here was very small until the 1980s. It really was a small community for many, many years,” Robert Berton, a second cousin by marriage said. And during the small community phase, these cousins’ extended family were part of the very fabric of the early San Diego Jewish life. All the original four siblings were immersed in San Diego Jewish life in some form or another and the full resume of the extended family is quite impressive. The beginnings of this community was chronicled by a now-out-of-press paper called the Southwestern Jewish Press. The cousins’ relatives’ names dotted the pages for many Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 47

Photo from the Southwestern Jewish Press (1951). Carol Fox, one of the original cousins.

years. And their early involvement is felt even today in many of the organizations that are the backbone of the San Diego Jewish community. Ruth, one of the original four siblings, is credited with being among the first group that formed the Jewish Community Center. Ruth also served as the administrative secretary for 16 years. Ruth and her sister Edith were also a part of the Women’s League of the Jewish Community Center that the Southwestern Jewish Press indicates was “formed to assist the Jewish Community Center with its activities.” The brothers pop up as contributors to many fundraising causes for the community. Jerry Freedman was also president of the Lasker Lodge chapter of B’nai Brith; B’nai Brith being one of the oldest Jewish service organizations in the world. All of the siblings and Rose have numerous “trustees” and “members of the boards” titles. Their relatives all have left a mark on early San Diego Jewish life, and notably out of their relatives is Victor Shulman, son of the Irvine who first to set out to San Diego, the Shulman’s being the first cousins of the original four. Victor Shulman, like his dad, was also 48 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

An annual meeting of the United Jewish Fund with Victor Shulman (center) as president.

involved in the furniture business and did very well for himself. Looking thru his various [accomplishments] through the years, it seems every spare second of his was spent in the forming of one Jewish organization or another. He was a president of the Jewish Community Foundation in 1972 and the second vice president of the San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged, which is now Seacrest Village. He was the head of the United Jewish Fund for many years. Possibly the most significant connection Victor Shulman and the original four siblings have to early San Diego Jewish life is their part in the large collaborative effort in the formation of the (none other than the) Jewish Community Center. The United Jewish Fund, and many other organizations that some of the original four siblings were incidentally involved, collaborated on a project that would become the Jewish Community Center. A newspaper clipping from the Southwestern Jewish Press reads, “With the appointment of Louis Steinman, Nathan Schiller, and David Block by Victor Schulman, president of the United Jewish Fund, to the Joint Committee of the Jewish Community Center, the first step has been tak-

en in beginning to specifically answer the question of whether a Jewish community center is needed in San Diego. Made up of Lasker Lodge, B'nai Brith Center Committee, a subcommittee of the Jewish Community Center Association, and the recently appointed United Jewish Fund Committee, the joint group will meet to discuss plans for the possible erection of a building and the method of financing such a project.” (January 19, 1951—"Group Set to Study Center Need," Southwestern Jewish Press). Lasker Lodge was involved in this project the year Jerome Freedman was president, so this was certainly a family affair. The family’s accolades continue into the cousins’ generation by continuing with the organizations their parents and uncles and aunts put worth. Cousin Carol Fox is on the board at Seacrest. Robert Berton was a president of the Jewish Community Center and a president of Beth Israel. Who would expect a group of cousins meeting for lunch would uncover ties to the beginning of the San Diego Jewish community? The rarity that they were in San Diego since the early 1900s was not a wasted opportunity for them to grow deep and wide roots. This family epitomizes the San Diego Jewish legacy and their early impact is still felt today.

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SENIORS

JFS

Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

Better Should Really Be Better:

Making Health Care Accessible to All BY MICHAEL HOPKINS

annah,* a 90-year-old San Diego resident, has outlived her savings and gets by “hand to mouth” every day. Her meals often consist of just crackers or cereal. Not too long ago, Hannah walked through her kitchen to get a glass of milk – fell – and broke several bones. Thanks to Medi-Cal and Medicare, which she relies on 100 percent, she was able to get the care she needed, including immediate emergency room treatment, necessary hospitalization and intensive rehab to get her mobile again. Under the health care proposals that have been before Congress, Hannah would not have been completely covered. As a result, she may not have sought medical treatment, or due to the high cost of

52 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

receiving treatment, she would’ve had to choose between medical care or her medications, food, or rent. This is just one of dozens of stories Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) hears each week as low-income San Diegans turn to the agency for support and navigation when they experience a medical crisis. The majority of JFS’s clients qualify for Medi-Cal, and many of the most vulnerable populations in San Diego rely on this safety-net service to live. In its most recently proposed form, the Better Care Reconciliation Act’s name is a misnomer – it would have made care much worse, not better, and would have put many lives at risk – including pregnant women, children and older adults. Under the narrowly defeated Senate health care bill proposal, California would have faced a $24 billion cut to Medi-Cal, resulting in limited access to health care services for an expansive number of Californians. These proposed cuts would have had a very real impact on individuals and families – causing many San Diegans to return to a day where critical medical expenses forced them to make the impossible choice between personal bankruptcy or forgoing lifesaving treatment due to a lack of coverage. As well, Medicaid (or Medi-Cal as it’s called in California) currently covers more than 60 percent of nursing home spending and half of all births in the U.S. It is deeply concerning to think about the low-income Americans who won’t be able to meet their health care needs when private care and insurance are beyond their means. JFS, along with dozens of other social service providers in San Diego and across the U.S., rely on public-private partnerships with government agencies, philanthropists, and the business community to serve 20,000 individuals and families who turn to the nonprofit for help each year. In JFS’s Serving Older Holocaust Survivors (SOS) program, for example, all 160 of the clients are below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level and are on Medi-Cal and Medicare. Research shows that Holocaust survivors have a higher incidence of cancer than other seniors. As the savings of survivors and other seniors dwindle and they face increasingly critical health care concerns, more are turning to JFS for help. JFS’s ability to empower individuals to overcome adversity would be severely hampered if the proposed cuts to Medi-Cal are signed into law. Without this health coverage, many families will experience extreme financial hardship, and ultimately go without the cost-saving preventative care they need to avoid more expensive treatment in the future. In any proposal, Congress should make certain they are answering the original question: How do we fix health care? The answer should not make millions and millions of Americans even more vulnerable than they are right now. On behalf of the clients Jewish Family Service sees every day, Congress must consider the story of Hannah and the many millions like her. This is too important to get wrong. A *Name changed for client privacy. Michael Hopkins is CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Diego, a nonprofit that helps thousands of San Diegans each year become self-supporting and build better lives. For more information, visit www.jfssd.org.

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FEATURE

Finding Mr. Right

Finding Mr. Right:

A Journey through Orthodox Jewish Dating BY RACHEL EDEN

Part 1 of 3: The Ground Rules

lind dates are like a choreographed dance. She Googles him. He reads her Tweets. She makes the call. He makes sure to miss it. Twice. On second thought, maybe a blind date is like a ping pong match. He cracks a joke. She tries to crack a smile. He pulls out her seat. She pulls out her iPhone. He pays. She pays. They go dutch. Perhaps we should do away with the metaphors. Blind dates are brutal honesty in action. A perfect storm of expectations, hopes, dreams, good steaks and great manicures. The irony of The Blind Date is that when you’re an Orthodox Jewish single, your eyes are wide open. You’ve read his/her shidduch profile (dating resume). You’ve called his/her mentor, friend, old roommate, last employer, and uncle’s sister-in-law’s cousin from Israel. You know what kind of guy or gal you’re about to meet from different perspectives. You know his or her education, work experience, income bracket, weight, height, anger management issues, debts, addictions, marital history, number of children, outlook on life, attitude toward spirituality and community. On paper, if you do it right, you’ll know Bachelor(ette) #1 intimately on paper like an FBI agent profiling a serial killer. For me, this is the biggest bonus of dating in the chareidi (ultra-Orthodox) world. It’s an actual mitzvah (commandment) to share pertinent information about a shidduch (possible match) to the inquiring caller as this is critical to building a successful marriage. I need to know if this guy has a gambling problem. He needs to know about 54 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

my feelings toward chocolate (my one true love). This brings me to Ground Rule #1: Do Your Research. The research phase requires precision and a magnifying glass. The more you research, the clearer your picture of the marital candidate. It’s not a full picture, of course, but it’s a really good start. While this might strike some as more apt for a doctoral dissertation, contrast it with the non-Orthodox approach. Often, courtship begins with an attraction, follows with some level of emotional investment and the experience of physical touch, and concludes with a commitment. Along the way a lot can be missed. I know many singles who needed to break things off with a partner because one wanted to marry and/or have children while the other didn’t, or there was too wide a gap in faith and religious practice, or one had a different expectation of what a partner should provide. Within the Orthodox Jewish dating world, this preliminary intellectual exploration is the norm. Before my perception of this individual is colored by my feelings toward him or our physical chemistry, I need to know that this match actually makes sense. We are building a home together so we need to have similar values and vision for how that home runs. This leads me to Ground Rule #2: Date Him ‘til You Hate Him. I know this one sounds harsh but hear me out. Consider that you’ve already done the hard work of checking out your date’s references, IQ, and psychiatric history. You finally go out on a date. I’ll use myself as an example. One evening before a blind date, not unlike any oth-

er, I went to my favorite hair salon and then bought a new outfit. I left work a little early to give myself time to prepare mentally and physically. We spoke on the phone briefly to set up our date and create some basis for banter. Despite the thick Brooklyn accent, I decided to see if he was The One. I was living in midtown Manhattan at the time, so I had to take a long elevator down to my lobby to meet the lucky fella. The buildup was almost too much to bear. Finally, our eyes locked. Oh no. Hair gel. Gobs of it. Also, the loud smacking of chewing gum and the strong smell of a toxic amount of cologne. My instinctive Run! directive was overcome by a good measure of common sense. Keep an open mind. This guy is more than hair and an accent. The evening unfolded uneventfully. I did check my watch here and there. His edges softened a little when he talked about his family but he didn’t seem too interested in hearing about mine. He was chivalrous, opening doors and insisting to pay. He was embarrassing when he spoke impolitely to the waiter. I filed away my observations, watching these small signs of big traits carefully. There were many moments when I saw something decent in him. We went out again. I didn’t rush to stop seeing him, despite our lack of conversation, because I wanted to give my full hishtadlut (effort). I wanted to date him until I was entirely certain he was not for me. A To Be Continued in the November issue: Finding Mr. Right: A Journey through Orthodox Jewish Dating, Part Two: Of Kissing Toads.

FEATURE

Sharing Shabbat Where East Meets West

Friday Night Alight:

Sharing Shabbat Where East Meets West BY HEATHER RAY

Sharon Metz, PJ Jacobowitz, and Ryan Perrino smile as they say hamotzi and attendees join in a circular embrace

s a 30-something always eager to find new ways to meet like-minded people and celebrate her Jewish heritage, I jumped at booking a seat at a OneTable Shabbat dinner for an upcoming Friday night. When my friend and active Jewish community liaison, Simone Abelsohn (“Simone”), enthusiastically offered to host a dinner, I knew the evening would be one I would both excitedly anticipate and fondly remember. Going into the meal, I looked forward to spending time in the comfort of Simone’s welcoming North Park home, conversing with friends I made at other local events for Jewish twenties and thirties, and hoping to make new connections and expand my circle of Jewish peers. What

I experienced was all of that plus thoughtful insight on the meaning of being members of the fabric of modern society. In a recent statement from OneTable, the self-described Shabbat grassroots movement website and application proclaimed, “These dinners are dedicated to celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusion in the face of fear, division and hate. To engaging in constructive dialogue with diverse perspectives. To addressing deep, painful divides in our communities. To considering the role we must play in strengthening civil discourse and society.” This notion reinforces the importance of coming together to celebrate shared values while seeking to understand, accept and

perhaps even embrace staunch differences in opinion. OneTable makes enjoying Shabbat simple, easy, and most of all, inspired and fun. The platform is user-friendly, and individuals choose to sign up either with an email address or through a Facebook account. Simone reported the superb helpfulness of staff from OneTable in assisting her with hosting her first event on September 8, 2017; Jordan of OneTable followed up with Simone via phone and email and provided everything from a $150 Whole Foods gift card toward the meal to menu ideas that included pizza under the stars to a traditional sit-down meal, to the home-cooked buffet-style dinner with Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 55

Even the host was meeting some of her guests for the first time as they walked through her front door

potluck additions we enjoyed while lounging on Simone’s couch and around her cozy communal table. My favorite dish was Simone’s perfectly roasted potatoes, but no one left hungry after a feast of hummus, guacamole (a California staple), Israeli salads, veggies, brisket, salmon, dessert, and of course, challah and wine. OneTable is a recent addition to the growing trend of bringing people together for Shabbat and offers the option of private or open-invitation dinners. Simone was excited to host for OneTable and learn about the process and platform because she is also the Program Coordinator for Shabbat San Diego, which will be offering its next set of home-hosted meals on October 26, 27, and 28, 2017. NextGen Shabbat Connections and Moishe House also feature Shabbat dinners for Jews in their twenties and thirties, and many who are familiar with these programs or Shabbat San Diego are eager to find ways to partner and expand the reach of Shabbat celebration throughout the community. Other regions are already showing a strong following, from New York to the Bay Area to Atlanta. The dinner I attended at Simone’s home was open-invitation, so even the host was meeting some of her guests for the first time as they walked through her front door. To me, that is the true essence of our beautiful culture – it is a forum for bringing people together, unwinding, enjoying good company, eating delicious food, and exchanging interesting ideas. We were 22 attendees in all, ranging from several San Diego natives to numerous East Coast transplants hailing from Boston to Long Island to Washington, D.C., some coming, some going, and some staying the entire evening. As I have often found when bringing a group of Jews together, we were also a well-rounded bunch of writers, real-estate gurus, fitness enthusiasts, business people, volunteers or employees of non-profit organizations, attorneys, students, scientists and healthcare professionals. Amidst laughter and discourse, topics of conversation ran the gamut from pop culture 56 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

icons to world religions to the ever-prevalent current headlines about hurricanes battering the United States. We shared stories of visiting Israel, joked about the draw Jews have to free but amazing food on Shabbat, and realized some of us had been high school rivals and others college classmates who were just meeting for the first time, years later and thousands of miles away from their alma mater. As people in their twenties and thirties often do, we discussed the challenges of finding our way as professionals, changing careers, and genuinely working to determine where our lives are going or will soon take us. At dinner, I was also sentimentally reminded of the time in my late twenties when I had felt alone and directionless while living in New York City. A bold and probably overconfident fresh college graduate when I first arrived in Manhattan, I thought I had the answers and knew better about, well, almost everything. The more people had pressed Judaism on me as a teen and then as a young adult, the more I shied away from it, so I felt liberated when I was finally out on my own. After a dose of reality and learning how difficult it was to make my way in the world, I was starved for meaningful relationships. My parents had just delicately informed me that a rabbi from the San Diego synagogue I attended growing up had relocated to the Big Apple to lead a large congregation on the Upper East Side, blocks away from my new apartment. I had also recently spoken with a jubilant and resoundingly optimistic friend of another faith, who, when asked the secret to her happiness, responded, “I have a relationship with G-d.” It was then that I took pause and decided to give my people, my community, and my faith a chance. The woman who cautiously walked into the Upper East Side temple one Friday night walked out not only pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the evening had been but also hopeful about her future. Thereafter, I became a regular guest at Shabbat services and discovered a new world of events designed just for Jews in their twenties and thirties. Over the next several years,

I developed a meaningful friendship with the junior rabbi of that congregation, often turning to him as a counselor, and I will never forget the goofy smile on his face when I was looking to make a big change in my life and revealed, “relationships are the most important thing to me in the world.” He beamed, “That’s what I believe, too. That is what Judaism is – we experience G-d through our relationships with other people.” That was my aha moment in which I realized Judaism was the defining concept that had shaped me throughout life. I have always carried that feeling with me from that day forward and have truly come to take pride and joy in the incredible culture, history, community and faith of my people. Embracing Judaism on my own was paramount to the importance it now plays in my identity, the integrity with which I conduct myself, and the necessity of sharing its traditions with others, whether Jews or inquisitive participants of other faiths. Sharon Metz, one of the lovely and vibrant guests, at the OneTable dinner with me, echoed the same feeling. Originally from Bethesda, Maryland, Sharon went to college in Boston, Massachusetts and lived in Washington, D.C. for nine years before relocating to San Diego last year. She shined as she hugged a handful of people who had become close friends in a short time. “Reconnecting with the Jewish community has made me feel at home in San Diego. I felt lost when I moved here, not knowing anyone, trying to find my way around, and now I’ve found a family and a community,” Sharon grinned. I could not agree more. This community is my community and yours, too. And that is the very objective OneTable sought to fulfill when the application and website was created. Mission accomplished. L’chaim: Here’s to many more Shabbat dinners with best friends, mouthwatering eats, memorable conversation, and meaningful connections! A For more information or to attend or host a OneTable Shabbat dinner in your area, please visit www.onetable.org.

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Tishrei â&#x20AC;˘ Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 57

SENIORS

JNF

Mr. President: Sol Lizerbram Steps Into The JNF Spotlight Sol and Lauren Lizerbram with kids.

he night felt like a reunion of old friends. Dr. Sol Lizerbram was being recognized as the next national president of Jewish National Fund (JNF), but the camaraderie and the casual atmosphere was more akin to a high school gym than the Hilton by the Bay. Maybe it was the quintessentially Southern California vibe that so seamlessly colors everything we celebrate. Maybe it was the palm trees swaying in the breeze as partygoers sipped champagne and chardonnay while looking across the calm waters toward Coronado. Maybe it was JNF leadership giving Lizerbram’s wife, Lauren, an actual prom queen-style tiara as a first lady accessory. Maybe it was Lizerbram’s grandchildren happily running around on the grass. The West Coast vibe is new for JNF – Lizerbram will be the first national JNF president in history from this side of the Mississippi. I spoke to Lizerbram about his new role a week before the event at his beautiful home tucked away in the hills above the Del Mar racetrack. “Well, it’s very exciting,” he told me sitting casually in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt in his luxurious, high-ceilinged living room. With 58 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

BY BRIE STIMSON

Lauren sitting and taking notes across from him, the couple has nothing approaching pretension about them. Lizerbram certainly could get away with a little self-importance, but his friendliness and casual way would more likely make one mistake him for the guy who fixes your brakes or enlists in the Army. Perhaps that’s what makes him (and his first lady) so perfect to lead JNF’s billion-dollar effort to help those less fortunate and others in need. The fund has grown a lot in the last 116 years from its roots (pardon the pun) in tree planting. Today JNF has many international projects, including the indoor recreation center that is also a bomb shelter in Sderot, Israel; Special in Uniform, a program that helps disabled Israeli teens serve in the Israeli Defense Forces; and a project to help people move into the Negev area of Israel. “What I’d like to do is continue the goals that were set by Russell [F.] Robinson, our CEO, and Ronald [S.] Lauder, our chairman, to continue our Billion-Dollar Road Map, which we started a few years ago,” Lizerbram told me. “We’re almost half way there, so it’s a very exciting time for ... JNF.” Lizerbram said he’s seen a lot of changes at JNF in his 35 years with the organization –

all of them positive. “Obviously 11[6] years ago there was tree planting, which it still is, and forestry is a very important part, but it’s expanded enormously to much bigger projects,” Lizerbram explained. He said while cities in central Israel like Tel Aviv are heavily populated and extremely expensive, the Negev in the south comprises 60 percent of the land but only eight percent of the population. “[Tel Aviv has] prices compared to Manhattan, and it’s very difficult for families to buy a house and bring up a family,” Lizerbram explained, “So we’ve been very active in housing development and creating an environment in the desert that would attract families.” The plan includes building playgrounds, medical facilities, amphitheaters, etc. so that businesses will move down there and they can interest employees. JNF’s Housing Development Fund helps families buy houses in the Negev and the Galilee. “Now the dream is really coming to fruition where a lot of the families are moving down there, and they are buying houses and raising their family.” He said businesses and agriculture are already moving there too. JNF also has several projects that help the physically and mentally challenged, including Special in Uniform. “It’s a really incredi-

PHOTO BY LANI CONKLIN

Sol and Lauren Lizerbram, Russell Robinson and Kim Miller.

ble program,” he said. Following high school graduation all Israelis are brought into the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), except those with mental or physical disabilities. “They get a letter essentially informing them that they will not be able to participate [in the IDF],” he told me. JNF’s Special in Uniform finds a way to integrate those with challenges into the IDF, giving them jobs that another soldier would have to do, which relieves them to focus on other areas. “They could give them a job [of procurement] or working in the kitchen,” Lizerbram explained. “They train them and they have an official graduation, they get an official ID, they’re part of the IDF. There’s a uniform, there’s a ceremony once they’re inducted … and for them and their family … to witness them being part of the IDF is like a dream for them, and they’re so proud to be involved.” Lizerbram said Special in Uniform, a program the JNF wasn’t doing until several years ago, has been part of their development as an organization. JNF’s scope has also expanded to include Alexander Muss High School in Israel for study abroad students and also preserving historic sites. “It’s a very wide portfolio,” he said of the JNF’s operations. “We

have hundreds of projects going on at the same time.” Lizerbram sees being the first president of any major Jewish organization to live on the West Coast as a sign of JNF’s leadership. “There’s some, believe it or not, some organizations that actually have in their charter that you have to live within a certain number of miles from New York to be president, so this just shows the progressiveness [of JNF],” he told me. He said he hopes his being from California will help further the growth of the organization and create a heavier focus on our side of the country. “We have a good presence here, but I’m hoping that because the president is based out of the West Coast that there will be even a greater growth in JNF.” The new president said his job will be to first work with the professional staff locally and nationally and research and evaluate new opportunities for JNF. After being evaluated by Lizerbram and the professional staff, prospective projects are then brought to the national board. “So it’s a very-hands on type of role that I’ll be playing,” he explained. He said he doesn’t think that being from the West Coast will necessarily bring a different perspective to the role, but rather expand

it. “I think that there’s a general blueprint of what JNF is going to do, and I’ll be participating in that,” he explained. “So I think being from the West Coast won’t necessarily change the direction of this big plan that JNF has in place.” Lizerbram told me he was first introduced to JNF through Larry Lawrence, of the Lawrence Family JCC. Lawrence, who also owned the Hotel Del Coronado at the time, “asked if I would get involved in this great organization called ... Jewish National Fund,” Lizerbram told me. “I knew about it. Everybody knew about the Blue Boxes and my bubbe had a Blue Box in her house and Fridays we’d put a few coins in.” Lizerbram said he and Lauren didn’t know much about JNF, but they thought it was a great mission so they got involved on a local basis. Eventually that led to a national board position, “then over the years that culminated with being asked to be president.” Subgroups within JNF like JNFuture (22-40-year-olds) and the women’s campaign also have their own projects. “They’re the future leaders,” Lizerbram said of JNFuture. “We teach them leadership skills, and it’s really exciting.” The group has their own .A

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 59

THEATER

Diary of Anne Frank

Revisiting an icon:

“The Diary of Anne Frank” at Moxie Theatre Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp 73 years ago. BY PAT LAUNER

ou’d think that, over that extended period, everything that was to be known about the now-famous 15 year-old diarist would have been uncovered. But you’d be wrong. Every year, there are new insights about Anne Frank, who wrote about her two years (1942-1944) sequestered in a small, cramped Annex, behind a movable bookcase, above her father’s workplace, crowded 60 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

in with seven other people in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. The reason for the Frank family’s arrest remains unclear. Were they betrayed? By whom? A slew of investigations have revealed no definitive answer. Then, just last year, the issue was revisited by historian Gertjan Broek of the Anne Frank House. He found that it took at least two hours for the Nazi officers to search the

house and apprehend the Annex inhabitants. This, says Broek, implies that they could not have been looking for hidden Jews; that would have taken much less time. Broek learned that the investigators who arrested the Franks were not assigned to hunt down Jews, but were dispatched to root out “economic violations.” Anne herself referred to the increasing difficulty the family’s helpers had in obtaining illegal ration cards.

PHOTO BY AENNIFER EVE THORN

Some of them had already been arrested. The family, thinks Broek, was more likely discovered inadvertently during the investigation into ration card fraud. It’s still possible, he concedes, that there was also a betrayal. Another recent finding questions the date of Anne’s death. It was believed that, if she and her sister Margot, both ravaged by typhus, could have held on a few more weeks, they would have lived until their camp was liberated by British troops on April 15, 1945. But new data suggests that they probably died in February, not March, much earlier than the liberation. It seems likely that research will continue, given Anne’s lasting significance in global popular culture. She remains a figure of resistance and courage in the face of unthinkable horror. Her beloved father, Otto Frank, the only Annex inhabitant who survived, later discovered that the red plaid diary that he’d given Anne for her 13th birthday in 1942, had been saved by those who had protected the family. Moved by Anne’s concern with her legacy and aspiration of becoming an author (“I want to go on living even after my death,” she wrote), Otto had the book published as “The Diary of a Young Girl” in 1947 (1952 in English, with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt). It has since been translated into more than 60 languages. As time went on in the Annex, Anne edited her book. Otto later made additional changes, deleting the parts about Anne’s budding sexuality, and her fraught relationship with her mother. After Otto died in 1980, some of his edits were restored. There are now several versions of the diary in print. Today, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, opened to the public in 1960, is visited by nearly a million people a year. It’s a chilling experience climbing up to that attic, walking in that space, trying to conceive of what life must have been like there for eight disparate people who often didn’t get along. Fifty years after her death, Anne Frank was listed among Time Magazine’s Most Important People of the 20th Century. Her diary, revered as much for her emotional/psychological insight as for her stellar writing, inspired a ballet, a choral work and several plays and films. The most popular of the dramatic works

is “The Diary of Anne Frank,” adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, which premiered in New York in 1955, and won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Re-Directing Anne Frank Six years ago, actor/director Kym Pappas helmed a gut-wrenching production of the play at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista. One of the staff members of Moxie Theatre saw that show, and never forgot it. When the drama was chosen for the Moxie season, Pappas was approached. “I’d never considered directing the play again,” says Pappas. who was among the founding members of ion theater and is now co-artistic director of InnerMission Productions. “That first production was part of an intern program for high school students that I’ve run for 11 years. Interns served as actors (among some very high-profile adult performers) and designers. “Of course,” Kym continues, “it’s a necessary story to tell. But I wasn’t sure it was my story to tell. I wasn’t sure, not being Jewish, it was my place.” She could be considered an ‘honorary Jew,’ though. Her stepfather, who raised her, was Jewish. Her unofficially ‘adopted mom’ is Marilyn Veljeznjak, who was a high school drama teacher Kym assisted. Kym had a very abusive childhood. Marilyn and her Jewish family helped save her. “I call Marilyn and her husband ‘my other parents.’ We’ve been through a lot together. They are my closest connection.” But her awful early years shaped her. “My whole foundation and structure were built on that. It definitely made me more sensitive, and aware of other people’s pain. My experiences propelled me into theater. For a while onstage, I could escape my life and be someone else.” Years later, Marilyn was the first to suggest to Kym that she would be an outstanding director. Kym remains grateful. “She was the first one who saw that in me.”

Katelyn Katz as Anne Frank

Fifteen years ago, when Marilyn welcomed Kym into her family, she was included in all family occasions, including the Jewish holidays. This year, Marilyn helped with the Hebrew, the songs and the holidays written into the play. Kym and her cast have been invited to meet with the Religious Committee at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. “I wanted to be sure that everything in this production was right and historical,” asserts Kym. “I’ve never directed a play twice,” she confesses. “In my heart and head, this play looks and feels a very specific way to me. I didn’t know if I could see things differently. “As soon as the audition process began, those fears disappeared,” Kym says. “There’s a reason this play came back into my life. I feel excited and very, very lucky to get to be in the room again with this play. Especially right now, when the world is crazy.” (We spoke not long after the appalling display of racism and anti-Semitism in Charlottesville, VA). “I keep thinking,” says Kym, “‘What has gotten us to this point?’ I look around and I say, ‘Wait! Haven’t we been paying attention? Haven’t we learned anything?’ It’s terrifying. Hard to believe, to fathom, that this is happening right now.” Years ago, she recalls, when she was in high school, she was exposed to plays that “made us ask questions.” Plays like “To Kill a Mock-

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 61

ingbird.” “I grew up in Imperial Beach,” Kym says. “There was a large group of white supremacists there. Before opening night, they papered the school with hundreds of little papers with swastikas on them. We had a police presence on campus throughout the run of the show. “This heightened our awareness. And that memory, from 1996, reaffirms how necessary it is to get people in a room and get to their hearts with this play. “For me,” Kym says, “theater is the way I’ve been given to effect any kind of change. Right now especially, we need to be reminded. We need this story. We need to honor these people. And once again I ask, ‘How did the world turn their backs on this for so long?’” “Anne” comes to Moxie Kym, who continues to appear onstage, is considered to be ‘an actor’s director.’ She’s thrilled with the “amazing cast and brilliant team of designers” for this production. Anne is being played by 15 year-old Jewish actor Katelyn Katz. Three years ago, she was electrifying as Scout in the New Village Arts production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” “She’s feisty, energetic, and pretty magical in the role,” says Kym. The rest of the cast features local favorites, including Eddie Yaroch (Otto Frank), Wendy Waddell (Mrs. Frank) and Jonathan Sachs (Mr. Van Daan). As for the Nazi officers who make the arrest near the end of the play, Kym was definitive about wanting them to be played by young men of high school age or slightly older. “So many of those Nazis were so young,” she says. “Those beliefs were instilled at a very young age.” When the actors came together for the first time, Kym asked each of them why it was important to them to tell this story. “There were a lot of tears, and a lot of passion, in that discussion.” Every actor, she says, “brings their own background and history to the table. I know that, through this collaborative process, they’ll teach me something about the story. “Each of those six million people had a life, a story. Who were they? What could they have done for the world? All of us lost collectively when we lost those people.” Kym’s awareness has heightened since she last directed “The Diary of Anne Frank.” “My initial connection to current events was about the worldwide refugee crisis. Now, it’s this other horrible thing that’s happening, this kind of hate. We’re seeing it on our own streets right now. We cannot let this happen again.” Those words echo the precept most Jews live by: Never again. A 62 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

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Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 63

FOOD

Old Fashioned Oat Nut Apple Crisp from Tori Avey

in the kitchen WITH TORI AVEY Tori Avey is an award-winning food writer, recipe developer, and the creator of the popular cooking website toriavey.com.

IKWTA

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

n 1801 Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman, began his barefoot westward trek from Massachusetts. At age 23 he set out for western Pennsylvania to stake his claim on the land by planting apple seedlings. In popular culture Johnny is often depicted as a tall, eccentric man in threadbare clothes and a soup pot hat, wandering and leaving behind a trail of apple trees. He is said to have never owned a home and preferred to sleep outdoors. While there may be some truth to his eccentricities, there was also an economic strategy to his method. He would begin by planting nurseries, then return a few years later to sell off the orchards, which helped him to establish a claim to land along the frontier. Johnny considered himself a missionary, and would often preach in the areas where he was planting, spreading the word of his Swedenborg faith (inspired by Swedish scientist and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg). Johnny started seedling nurseries in areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and parts of what is now considered West Virginia. He also planted and sold apple seeds. By the time of his death circa 1845 (the exact year is a common topic of dispute), Johnny had covered a 10,000-square-mile area. Many of his original apple trees can still be found growing in the orchards he planted. Johnny’s apple trees were grown from seeds (rather than grafted), and produced a tart fruit, only suitable for making applejack and hard cider. This Old Fashioned Oat Nut Apple Crisp is sweetly spiced, the opposite of tart. I love to imagine Johnny, wearing his soup pot hat and sitting down to a warm serving of apple crisp topped with rich vanilla ice cream. With apple season now in full swing, it’s a great time to find affordable, quality fruit at your local grocery store or farmer’s market. I prefer to use green apples in the filling because they hold up so well when baked. I also use minute tapioca to thicken and soak up the excess liquid that collects in the bottom of the baking dish. This is optional, but I do recommend it for best results. The hearty, crunchy topping is made with a mixture of oats and nuts. You can easily make this recipe gluten free by omitting the flour and using gluten free certified oats. This old fashioned dessert is very easy to make and extremely satisfying.

64 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Old Fashioned Oat Nut Apple Crisp

OLD FASHIONED OAT NUT APPLE CRISP INGREDIENTS: 2 1/2 lbs. green apples (6-7 medium or 5 large), peeled and cut into wedges 3 tbsp white sugar 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp brown sugar, divided 1 tsp cinnamon, divided 1/4 tsp allspice 1/8 tsp nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves 1 tbsp minute tapioca (optional, but recommended) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup rolled oats (for gluten free use certified GF rolled oats) 1 cup shelled walnuts or pecans (or a mix), whole or chopped 1/4 cup all purpose flour (to make gluten free, you may omit) 1/8 tsp salt 5 tbsp chilled unsalted butter (or non hydrogenated margarine) cut into chunks Nonstick cooking oil spray You will also need: large mixing bowl, 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish or 9” pie dish Total Time: 1 hour 20 min Servings: 8-10 Kosher Key: Dairy or Pareve – use margarine for pareve

PHOTOS BY TORI AVEY

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the apple slices in a large mixing bowl. Add 3 tbsp white sugar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, minute tapioca and vanilla. Stir the apples with the spices, tapioca and vanilla until they are fully and evenly coated. Let the apples stand for 15 minutes. Note: the tapioca is a thickener; you can make the crumble without it, but juices will collect at the bottom of the baking dish and the texture won’t be as nice. If you are skipping the tapioca there is no need to wait 15 minutes, you may proceed with the recipe. Meanwhile, fit your food processor with a blade attachment. Add the oats, nuts, remaining ½ cup brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, flour, salt and butter chunks. Pulse the ingredients together until the butter is broken up and coarse crumbles form. If you don’t have a food processor, you may cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives. In this case, use chopped nuts rather than whole. Spray your baking dish with nonstick oil. Pour in the spiced apples along with any excess liquid from the bowl. Spread the apples out into an even layer in the dish. Cover the top of the apple layer with an even layer of the oat mixture, making sure all of the apples are covered. Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees F for 1 hour until the apples are baked through, the top is nicely browned and the edges are bubbly. Let the crisp stand for at least 10 minutes after you bake it to allow the juices to settle before serving.A

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 65

ASK MARNIE

by Marnie Macauley

ADVICE asksadie@aol.com

COMING OF “AGE”

y darling San Dieganas: As my Birthday approaches bringing me to an age my 10-year-old nephew can’t count up to, my mulching brain has been in high gear (read: I’m awake). So in really getting with our senior theme, I thought, “Wait, with the advice. I’m it.” And so I give you a few of my quirky observations. It started when strange agencies and people began calling and sending me truly scary forms. I now have an “Alter C” box. It contains 15 offers for burial insurance “so my loved ones aren’t burdened with my bones,” 27 medical supplement plans that cover dementia plus rotten prostates, 32 “youthenizing” adverts that will truss up my turkey neck, not to mention the 17 coupons for discreet adult diapers. Whoa! What chutzpah sending this to a “27-year-old” who happens to walk … a little slow … and to the right? I needed this shot of reality? I picked up my hands and looked at them. And I saw my grandmother’s. Remember the cereal commercial that made us “pull an inch” from our waist to test for fat? It also tests for age. Suddenly I could pull an inch from my hand, which already resembled a relief map of Mongolia. So I started reading those mags that say look in a mirror and applaud yourself naked. I ordered an applause machine on eBay. It laughed. I was now unofficially “an old lady.” Or was I? I started asking strangers: “So tell me, you’re a butcher (they know body parts) … how old do I look? No, really, it’s OK.” Forget beauty. Let’s say I wasn’t winning any Miss Congeniality awards. Could I blame them? It’s one of those, “Am I getting fatter?” loser questions. Who, including me, doesn’t hate hearing “How old do I look? No really. It’s OK.” Here are the 66 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

results. Some people … 1. got my right age within a year! No good. I told my deli-man: “May your customers complain your tongue tastes slimy!” Afraid I might’ve over-reacted, I kindly suggested he visit a retina specialist. 2. pegged me as less than five years younger. I negotiated with the determination of a Middle Eastern potentate. “In the dark, if my hair didn’t resemble fusilli, or I actually used my exercise bike for more than a clothes rack, oh, and had a touch of Botox around my eyes, mouth and neck, would I look 10 years younger?” When they collapsed from my heel in their backs, they finally admitted that Bar Rafaeli and I could’ve worn twin Pampers (though they may have meant for different reasons). Now was that so difficult? 3. bored me with the aphorism: “Age is just a number.” Right. And so is 2001. If they made me feel shallower than I already did I’d add: “It’s nice that you can make lemonade from lemons because everything happens for a reason and it’s all good.” 4. asked: “Well, how old do you want to look? Oy, a smart one. I’d simply hug the offender and say, “About your age.” (Assuming they were under 40.) 5. said: “You look great for your age!” Whoa! Even if they knew my age, that was like saying, “for a fat person, you actually look healthy.” For such a question there’s only one good answer. “Marn … no one at any age ever looked or could look younger than you do.” But there were still those hands. And the bags, wrinkles, and assorted things hanging from me that I could see even without my 40 pairs of 350 diopter glasses. Instead of sheep, I dreamt of operations to tighten, lop and plump up the right places. Then, I accidentally turned on one of those

“reality” shows about billion dollar housewives. Should you ever become a self-absorbed harpy over a little age, this stuff is the ultimate intervention. By the first commercial, I tossed the mirrors and taped my mouth shut in shame. It wasn’t pretty. With lips the size of melons, surprised eyebrows (“why am I on the top of her head?”) and hair that resembled long yellow shredded wheat … they looked older. A conundrum I tell you, a conundrum. So I made two lists – the proverbial “pro” and “con” of aging. Cons of Coming of “Age” Forgetting: I was never good at names. Now I don’t even try. I use un-PC descriptions: “the blond one,” “the short one,” “the zaftig one.” I also lose the occasional word: “Darling would you pick up … that thing … you know. The thing you wash with. Not dishes or laundry. Your hands. It comes in bars.” Losing stuff: Keys, money, glasses, a piano? Gone. Obviously stolen by an anti-ager or dybbuk. Oh wait … I hid them so I wouldn’t lose them. Now where did I hide them? Losing touch: Michael Douglas, Dustin Hoffman, Tony Curtis, I knew. But what is a Kardashian? The closest I can come is a type of heart attack common in old Jewish men from Russia. And the “digital age?” They’ve revived “Guess Who?” I’m saying: “Guess who … died?” Skin Things: True, my family may not have been gorgeous, but oh, our skin? To die for. Now, I may die from it. What do doctors know? When I ask them what’s this stuff that puffs, itches, hangs on my face and body, they say: “Who knows? A rash.” I now am the Queen of Creams. I’m still “rashing.” Sight and sound: Somewhere along the line I lost the ability to actually see and hear basic things. Like alarms. Thank God for EBay. I now have 50 glasses of every diaptor and

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5740 Lake Murray Blvd, La Mesa, CA (619) 940-1211 a hole in my head from a cochlear implant (which EBay doesn’t sell). Youthenizing: I am now a research genius about creams, pills, sprays, and masks that can take 20 years off my age in three weeks! Yes, I too can look like Cindy Crawford – at $150 a bottle. Yak butter, Emu cream, retinol, Ginkgo Biloba, snake venom, “Stay Young Forever” kits (recommended by someone who once served Dr. Oz an alfalfa sprout) are all over my bathroom. Mostly because you can’t open or close them with those cheap clasps. Enough kvetching. There are things about aging that are nothing short of … magical (not to mention manipulative). Pros of Coming of “Age” Opening a mouth: From calling everyone “Darling,” to telling the real truth (“Yes, you’ve gained a ton!”) to boring people with anecdotes from my checkerboard past, I can now get away with it! Yes! I’ve either earned their respect or they think I have a small arterial flow problem. Shlep-nishting: At my age I should schlep? Anything? “Mamala, I left a glass of soda there – on the table, you’ll bring it to me so I shouldn’t, oy, have to get up?” Strange

younger people help me put gas in my car and load it with groceries. True, once or twice I’ve been robbed a little, but it evens out. Perks: Not only can I get discount diapers … but a sharp senior can get everything half off – usually on a Wednesday. (TIP: After a certain age, keep Wednesdays for SBs (Senior Bargains)). Even if they don’t have such a policy, you get. At the bakery, they give samples. At my age, let’s say I now bring home enough samples to feed Haifa. Napping: I love taking a nap. I always did. When you’re 35, you’re lazy or maybe it’s anemia. At my age, no one questions. I get up at 9. Write for an hour. Yawn. “Oy am I exhausted. Maybe I’ll take a little nap – till dinner.” And yet everyone still thinks I’m a workaholic. “Look! I finished two articles today!” (I do count notes to myself.) Driving: I hate driving. I have a split brain. One smart, the other “garnish” (nothing’s up there). I can’t even set the Global thingy. As soon as someone gives me directions, my mind goes into a rendition of the Jeopardy! song. When I was young, others found this annoying. Now, they’re grateful not to see me behind a wheel. “Yes, of course we’ll send an Uber to get you!” Finally!

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Marriage Questions: In my twenties I was in the hospital with a blood clot. Bubbe called daily. Not to find out how I was, but to ask in her deeply Yiddish hecsent: “So mamala, did you meet a doctor yet?” Needless to say, when I got out, instead of ‘Welcome Home,’ she was sitting Shiva for me. Today, as a widow, no one would dare ask that question, except the yenta who watches the cookies during Sisterhood meetings. But most important, as you age, you can become you. Now it’s true, you become more you. If you were annoying at 35, at 60… people will run from you. If you were a mensch at 35, at 60, you’ll be a bigger mensch, but more. You’ve learned a little something to share. You’ve done an accounting and accepted regret, joy, the roller coaster ride, the grief, the love, the stupidity, the marvel of simply living. You’ve learned, hopefully, to worry only when you have something to worry about. You’re OK with you, even with a few flaws. I never again ask “How old do I look.” Mama Nature gave us those wrinkles, age spots, and veins, for a reason. I’ve decided they mean we’ve lived, sometimes despite impossible odds. And those hands? They show our journey and just how hard we’ve tried. Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 67

? GOIN '?ON ?? WHAT'S BY EILEEN SONDAK

San Diego Symphony

The San Diego Symphony will launch its season on Oct. 6 with “The Hero’s Life,” conducted by Edo de Waart and featuring Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano. Thibaudet will perform as the guest artist for the Symphony’s Opus Gala on Oct. 7 as well. That spectacular fundraiser will start with a reception, followed by the performance and a lively after party – and this annual event is always an audience favorite. The Symphony’s Family Concert Series will begin on Oct. 15 with “Symphonic Tales. “Romance, Mystery, Marsalis,” slated for Oct. 27 – 29, with Nicola Benedetti on violin. The three-piece program will feature Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto. The Symphony’s Film Series starts on Oct. 28, with “Ratatouille.” The entire season at Symphony Hall will include 11 guest conductors, 14 works new to the San Diego Symphony, and well-known soloists the likes of Pinchas Zukerman, in addition to a world premiere concerto by Adam Schoenberg, commissioned by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. Sounds like a winning season!

San Diego Opera

The San Diego Opera will kick off its season on Oct. 14 with Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance.” The comic operetta features Greer Grimsley as the Pirate King, and will keep audiences at the Civic Theater laughing through Oct. 22.

La Jolla Playhouse

The La Jolla Playhouse is ready to close its world premiere production of the black comedy, “Wild Goose Dreams,” on Oct. 1. The Playhouse will present its Without Walls Festival Oct. 19 - 22. The eclectic line-up will include works by New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego artists.

Old Globe Theatre

The Globe’s Main Stage production of “Benny & Joon,” a brand new musical based on a ‘90s romantic comedy musical, is still going strong. The season-opening show -- peopled by unforgettable characters and boasting a charming and tuneful score -- will remain at the Globe through Oct. 22. The Globe’s White Theater is staging “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey,” a solo work written and performed by James Lecesne. This play about a brash New Bryce Pinkham and Hannah Elless. Jersey detective eager for a challenging case, will stick around in the Globe’s theater-in-the-round setting through Oct. 29. 68 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Noelle Marion and Phil Johnson

North Coast Rep

North Coast Repertory Theater will end its run of Neil Simon’s “Red Hot Lovers” on Oct. 1, but on Oct. 18, NCR will bring to life John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, “Of Mice and Men.” The seething drama about an unlikely friendship and the illusionary nature of dreams will stay on through Nov. 12. San Diego Rep San Diego Repertory Theater will pull down the curtain on “Roz & Ray” (a two-character, history-based play set in San Diego) on Oct. 1. Following on Oct. 19, is Robert Askins’ “Hand to God.” An innocent-looking puppet in an angst-ridden church youth group forms the basis of this black comedy, directed by Sam Woodhouse. It was a smash on Broadway, but be prepared for explicit language. The show will be ensconced on the Lyceum Stage through Nov. 12.

Cygnet Theatre

Cygnet Theater is ready to unveil the San Diego premiere of “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” a musical play about an unemployed Elvis impersonator who takes on another flamboyant character as a drag queen. The crowd-pleasing comedy, written by Matthew Lopez and directed by Sean Murray, will take over the Old Town Theater Oct. 11 through Nov. 12.

Lamb’s Players Theatre

The Lamb’s Players will revive the down-home musical “Smoke on the Mountain” Oct. 6 through Nov. 19. The show abounds with blue grass, gospel, and traditional songs.

San Diego Musical Theatre

San Diego Musical Theatre will continue to show off its production of “Billy Elliot” (a co-production with the California Ballet Company) through Oct. 8. The musical – about a young boy who stumbles into dance in a coal-mining town in England – is being performed at the Spreckels Theatre.

Welk Theater

Welk Theater is featuring a contemporary piece composed by Kander and Ebb. “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is one of the rare musicals Welk presents that is not suitable for the 17 and under crowd, but it’s a great choice for mature audiences – with a Tony Award to prove it. The dramatic musical will be ensconced at Welk’s Escondido home through Oct. 22.

Coronado Playhouse

Coronado Playhouse is performing “Little Shop of Horrors” through Oct. 15. This delightfully silly sci-fi spoof has clever rock songs Reuben Fleet Science Center to propel the offbeat plot. The Reuben Fleet Science Center will be showing three films: “Dream Big: Engineering our World,” a first-of-its-kind film that will transJCompany form the way we think about engineering; “Islands of the Lemurs,” JCompany Youth Theatre will stage “The Lion King” Oct. 20 through an up-close-and-personal look at some fascinating creatures; and “A Nov. 5 at the JCC in La Jolla. This musical masterpiece, directed by Beautiful Planet,” an astronaut’s view of Earth. Joey Landwehr, should be a hit with the whole family. The Fleet has two special exhibitions: “Dream, Design, Build” and “Game Master.” “Dream…” explores the Fleet’s collection of interSan Diego Chorus active engineering activities (and will remain on permanent display), San Diego Chorus will present its 66th annual show, “A World of Har- and “Game Master” showcases the world’s best video game designmony,” on Oct. 7 at the Lincoln Performing Arts Center. The event ers, with more than 100 playable games. The exhibition will stay on includes performers from Sweden and New Zealand. through Jan. 15, 2018. The museum has several other permanent exhibitions, including “Don’t Try This at Home,” “Tinkering Studio,” City Ballet “Block Busters,” and “Origins in Space.” City Ballet will hold a fundraiser celebrating its 25th anniversary on Oct. 7 at the Hotel Del Coronado. The “Silver Jubilee Gala” will Natural History Museum include a cocktail reception, dinner and wine pairing, a season preview The Natural History Museum is featuring “Extraordinary Ideas from performance by the City Ballet dancers, and dancing to live music. Ordinary people: A History of Citizen Science.” Among the items on view in this exhibition are rare books, art and historical documents. San Diego Museum of Art The San Diego Museum of Art has opened its vaults to show off a trea- “Ultimate Dinosaurs” features dinosaurs from the Southern Hemisure trove of artwork usually kept under lock and key. “Visible Vaults,” sphere. They include many we have never seen or heard of before, a collection of 300 pieces, including works by Andy Warhol, Rodin, based on new groundbreaking research. Also on display is “Animals: Machines in Motion,” an exhibition Toulouse-Lautrec and other great artists, will be on view through Nov. that explores plants and animals as machines built for survival. Check 12 of next year. out two films: “Whales 3D” and “A Reef Reborn.” The Nat also offers Also on display at the Art Museum is “Brenda Biondo: Play,” an “Fossil Mysteries,” “Water: A California Story,” and “Skulls.” exhibition of 25 photographs focusing on children’s playgrounds. The show will run through Jan. 10, 2018. “Reflections on Monet,” a smallscale exhibition that includes the famous Water Lily painting and one piece on loan from the John and Toni Bloomberg Collection, will stay put through Jan. 21. The newest exhibition at the Art Museum is “Modern Masters from Latin America: The Perez Simon Collection.” This show (opening Oct. 21) features 1,000 works by seminal figures, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Fernando Botero. These artworks will be on view through March 11, 2018.

Museum of Contemporary Art

Mingei Mingei International Museum is showcasing “Kanban: Traditional Shop Signs of Japan,” an exhibition that features a variety of forms and mediums, through Oct. 8. Joining that show is “Homage to the Horse and Other Steeds,” an exhibition of objects celebrating the nobility and power of horses from all over the world. This exhibition is slated to stay on through Nov. 12. Mingei’s newest exhibition, “Arline Fisch: One of a Kind,” a retrospective view of jewelry and other art forms designed by this San Diego resident, will be on display through Jan. 7, 2018.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla is closed for renovation and expansion, but the downtown facility is featuring “Dimensions of San Diego History Center Black: A Collaboration with the San Diego African American Museum The San Diego History Center is celebrating “The History & Heritage of the San Diego Jewish Community” in its current exhibition. of Art.” The show is ensconced through next January. Also on display is “Irving Gill: New Architecture for a Great Country,” and “Art and Heritage: Maurice Braun, Belle Baranceanu, and Harry Birch Aquarium Birch Aquarium is featuring “Hall of Fishes,” which is unlike any other Sternberg.” The museum’s permanent exhibition, “Placed Promises,” exhibition in the history of the aquarium. It also serves as a working lab- chronicles the history of the San Diego region – and its newest exhibioratory. Birch also has an installation on light by scientist Michael Latz, tion, the America’s Cup Exhibition, highlights the sailing race held in and an exhibition that helps you understand Scripps’ expeditions to dis- San Diego three times since 1988. cover and protect the planet. “Expedition at Sea” immerses you in the experience of life and work aboard the Sally Ride research vessel. It includes a 33-foot long projected triptych and hands-on learning opportunities.

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 69

news Barons Market expands into Poway Barons Market, a family-owned grocery store, has announced that it is moving its latest headquarters to Poway. The previous headquarters and distribution center was located in Point Loma and now the company has expanded and outgrown the prior space. Barons Market first opened in 1993 and now has seven stores across Southern California with plans for an eighth store next year.

Connecting across the National Museum for American Jewish History world for parents of Launches Online/Mobile Project children with special needs The National Museum for American Jewish History in Philadelphia just launched Re:colIsrael’s Athena Fund had a long history of establishing programs for teachers of special needs students and their parents. They have previously run an “iPad for Every Special Education Teacher” program and recently a charity auction of over 50 artworks from Israeli artists to benefit special education teachers. They have now launched a new international Facebook group (in English) for parents of children with special needs to connect, share experiences and support each other.

lection, an online and mobile experience where people can collect, preserve and share personal stories that help illustrate Jewish life in America. Re:collection is a collaboration with Oakland-based technology company Enwoven. Users can upload content, contribute to community projects, interact with people and connect with the museum. Ira Saligman, a longtime member of the museum’s board of trustees who was passionate about families preserving their history for future generations, first conceived the program. The public can sign up for free at recollection.nmajh.org to read or add content.

Feeding Israel’s kids Israeli nonprofit Nevet provides breakfast daily for thousands of children in Israeli schools. They currently serve daily school breakfasts to 8,000 children and have 13,500 more on their waiting list. These daily breakfasts serve as a consistent nutritional basis for disadvantaged children. Nevet has started a social media campaign to encourage donating to their cause with a short video. The video features American Jewish kids sharing their favorite preschool breakfasts to share how healthy breakfasts can make a huge difference in a child’s life and academic achievements. To watch the video to learn more visit nevet.org.

70 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

Jewish Overnight Camp for Young Adults “is coming to Simi Valley Trybal Gatherings is an overnight “camp” for jewish adults in their 20s and 30s; it is a series of four-day getaways to engage in Jewish experiences that are comfortable and meaningful. The gatherings feature traditional camp activities like ropes courses, color war and informal Shabbat experiences. The camp is also open to non-Jewish individuals who are curious about the Jewish community. Trybal Gatherings is coming to Camp Alonim which spans 3000 acres 45 minutes outside of LA October 6-9.

MEETINGS AND EVENTS FOR JEWISH SENIORS Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein at (858) 521-8694 Oct. 8, 10 a.m. On the Go Excursions Contact Jo Kessler (858) 637-7320 Oct. 8, 10:30am. Enjoy the La Jolla Art + Wine Festival with the works of over 150 established artists and a wine and beer garden featuring premier wineries and breweries. Bus returns at 2:30 p.m. Cost is $8.

Shabbat San Diego Anticipates 20,000 Participants Shabbat San Diego will celebrate its fourth year of inspirational activities from October 26 through the 28th. The International Unity Shabbat will connect San Diego Jews to more than 2 million people from 90 countries around the world. Michelle Lyons, this year’s San Diego co-chair, says they anticipate 20,000 people to come out. More than 130 organizations, including synagogues, schools and community organizations, will participate.

Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings Oct. 8, 11 a.m. Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 Oct. 9, 12:30 p.m. Lunch & concert in the Sukkah with Cara Freedman. Cost is $15 for general public, $10 for members. JFS Balboa Ave. Older Adult Center Contact Aviva Saad (858) 550-5998 Oct. 10, 10 a.m. The Jewish Family Service of Balboa Avenue is having a Sukkot celebration. North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine at (760) 295-2564 Oct. 15, 12:30 p.m.

Scientific partnership between Israel and the US Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Northwestern University (NU) are teaming up for the sake of water research. The team will take an interdisciplinary approach and will include hydrologists, soil scientists, geologists, chemists, microbiologists and engineers. This scientific partnership will “investigate environmental challenges and develop solutions for water-related problems”. Water scarcity is an issue that threatens Israel and the Middle East. BGU and NU have a background in research efforts to address water systems sustainability and efficiency.

JFS College Avenue Center at Temple Emanu-El Contact Elissa Landsman (858) 637-3273 Oct. 27, 12:30. The Jewish Family Service is offering a special musical event. The aptly named “The Singing Grandpas” will perform.

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 71

Curb Your Enthusiasm Returns

retty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. That’s how fans of HBO’s offbeat and hilarious “Curb Your Enthusiasm” have to be feeling right now. The show, which first aired in the year 2000, is now back after a five-year hiatus. The comedy is loosely based on the life of Seinfeld creator, and man troubled by life, Larry David. Larry, who is an executive producer on the show, writes a story outline of each episode, which is then improvised by the cast. Larry’s humor on the show is always politically incorrect. In the season eight finale he tells his girlfriend’s young son that Hitler “didn’t really care for Jews. He thought they were a bit much.” This was, of course, after the child asked why he was doodling a little mustache and swastika on a picture in a magazine. “I just like to see what people look like with Hitler mustaches,” he responds after another (adult) character angrily confronts him about what he’s doing. After asking Larry what a swastika is, the child later innocently stitches the offensive symbol onto a pillow sham he gives as a gift. The show, which is not for the easily offended, has dealt with sexism, racism, the disabled, Larry’s antisocial behavior and his obsessive compulsiveness. His character is mostly reviled by others on the show and has even been called a “self-loathing Jew” for whistling Wagner. The show, for those who haven’t been initiated, takes off where Seinfeld left off, ramping up the comedic boundaries the sitcom pushed at the network further at HBO. While fictional, the show mirrors Larry’s life in many ways, even 72 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

‘

including his actual divorce from his wife Laurie in 2007 into the plot. It’s clear Larry’s character, who moved back to New York in 2011 after several decades in LA, hasn’t learned any social graces in the last 17 years. The season eight finale leaves Larry and roommate Leon in Paris, after Larry moved there temporarily to avoid playing mini golf with Michael J. Fox and a group of sick children. Joining David for the ninth season are returning cast members Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, and a slew of guest stars, including Bryan Cranston, Nick Offerman and Carrie Brownstein. In an interview with ABC, Garlin said the season nine storyline is “rather insane,” and “people are gonna go ‘I can’t believe they’re doing this.’” But, he said the show is coming back with “all the things about it people love.” The specifics of the plot are being kept under wraps, although a hacker leaked several episodes of the new season last summer. One of HBO’s season nine promos refers to David as the “hero we need” for speaking out and continually fighting for justice – code for Larry yelling at people for doing things like tasting too many samples at a yogurt shop, parking outside of the lines or setting down a drink without a coaster. Another trailer for the new season shows Larry triumphantly wearing Roman garb. As the music swells we read “He left. He did nothing. He returned.” And Larry and the rest of the cast will return to HBO October 1 at 10 p.m. A

SYNAGOGUE LIFE SUKKOT Campfire Shabbat at Beth Am Oct. 6, 7 p.m., 5050 Del Mar Heights Road, San Diego, CA, 92130 Musical service lead by Rabbi David Kornberg and Ephron Rosenzweig. Go to betham.com for more information. Rabbi Solomon Installation Blessing & Sukkot Picnic with Beth Israel Oct. 6, 6:15 p.m., 9001 Towne Centre Dr, San Diego, CA 92122 Service in the sanctuary followed by a bring-your-own picnic Sukkot dinner under the stars. Go to cbisd.org for more information. Sukkot Under the Stars & Our Annual Pizza-in-the-Hut at Temple Etz Rimon Oct. 6, 6:15 p.m., 2020 Chestnut Ave, Carlsbad, CA 92008 Bring your favorite apple dessert and join in the special Shabbat services. Go to templeetzrimon.org for more information. Shakes in the Shack with Chabad Coastal Hebrew School Oct. 8, 10 a.m., 7740 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA, 92009 A kid-friendly Sukkos dance party with games and create your own milkshake station. Got to chabadatlacosta.com for more information. Sisterhood Succulents & Sangria in the Sukkah with Temple Solel Oct. 10, 7 p.m., 3575 Manchester Ave, Cardiff, CA, 92007 Celebrate Sukkot with lovely company, succulents and sangria. Go to templesolel.net for more information.

EVENTS Cafe Society with Temple Adat Shalom Oct. 12, 7 p.m., 15905 Pomerado Rd, Poway, CA 92064 Woody Allen’s tribute to the 1930’s high society night club life in New York and the glamour of Hollywood. Got to adatshalom.com for more information. Lunch N Learn with Chabad of Downtown Oct. 18, 12 p.m., 308 G Street, San Diego, CA, 92101 Learn about the weekly Torah portion on your lunch break. Go to chabaddowntown.com for more information. Havdalah Nights Movie Night: The Last Blintz with Temple Solel Oct. 21, 7 p.m., 3575 Manchester Ave, Cardiff, CA, 92007 The Last Blintz is a documentary following a multi-generational family business, The Polish Tea Room, coming to an end. Go to templesolel.net for more information. *Interested in having your event featured? Contact assistant@sdjewishjournal.com. Submissions are due by 15th of the month for the next issue.

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 73

Cantor Deborah Davis

EVENTS

Custom Wedding Ceremonies

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Let us work together to create a wedding ceremony that reflects the joy of your special day.

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As Humanistic Jewish clergy I focus on each couple’s uniqueness and their love for each other. I welcome Jewish, interfaith and same-sex couples. I also perform all life-cycle ceremonies. For further information please contact

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Deborah Davis • 619.275.1539 member of

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The Joyous Music of Tradition and Transition.

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JEWISH COMMUNITY

Let the award-winning

Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble

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Direct Line: (858) 362-1352 E-mail: littlemensches@gmail.com www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby/littlemensches l

Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS 4126 Executive Drive • La Jolla, CA 92037-1348

For information call Deborah Davis: 619-275-1539

To hear samples, visit our website: secondavenueklezmer.com

Welcoming babies and families to San Diego’s Jewish Community ARE YOU EXPECTING A BABY OR DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS?

Fabrics for Fashion and Home

Visit our Giant Store & Warehouse 907 Plaza Blvd. • National City

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Shalom Baby is an innovative program designed for San Diego families to celebrate the arrival of their Jewish newborns to affiliated, non-affiliated and inter-married families as a welcome to the San Diego Jewish Community.

To receive your Shalom BaBy BaSkeT and for informaTion conTacT: San Diego .............. Judy Nemzer • 858.362.1352 • shalombaby@lfjcc.org North County......... Vivien Dean • 858.357.7863 • shalombabyncounty@lfjcc.org www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby • www.facebook.com/shalombabypjlibrarysandiego Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, Mandell Weiss Eastgate City Park, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1348

HEALTH

FINANCE

RESTAURANTS

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SENIOR SERVICES Promoting an Independent Lifestyle for Older Adults

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REAL ESTATE

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raulontiveros68@gmail.com www.coldwellbankerroyalrealty.com

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 75

CAROL BURNETT

AN EVENING OF LAUGHTER AND REFLECTION WHERE THE AUDIENCE ASKS THE QUESTIONS

OCTOBER 18 – NOVEMBER 12 Directed by Richard Baird John Steinbeck’s classic drama novella‑turned play OF MICE AND MEN electrified audiences in 1937. The story of George and Lenny remains just as relevant and continues to be part of our country’s collective imagination — a tale of friendship that is sustained by illusory dreams. This is must‑see theatre you cannot afford to miss.

john denver tribute NOVEMBER 6 & 7, 7:30PM

Join acclaimed performer Jim Curry for this tribute to the music of one of the most beloved singer/songwriters ever to grace the stage.

elijah rock “Gershwin for my soul” DECEMBER 4, 7:30PM

Triple threat entertainer Elijah Rock pays homage to the songs and lyrics of George and Ira Gershwin with a contemporary twist.

FROM BERLIN TO BROOKS: CELEBRATING BROADWAY!

DECEMBER 16 & 17, 2017

An evening of Broadway’s greatest songs by some of America’s most successful Jewish songwriters — Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Mel Brooks; including some of the most enduring holiday songs of all time!

(858) 481-1055 NorthCoastRep.org Group Sales: (858) 481‑2155, ext. 202 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach

76 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

DECEMBER 11 JACOBS MUSIC CENTER’S COPLEY SYMPHONY HALL Ticketmaster.com Box Office 619-235-0804

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SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY OBITUARIES ALL SERVICES ALREADY HELD

Pauline Ettlinger-Encinitas , CA 04/04/1923-07/01/2017 Survivors: Nephew-Bradd Milove Martin Farfel-Rancho Santa Fe, CA 01/30/1936-07/05/2017 Survivors: Wife-Barbara Farfel, Daughter-Randee Charney & Son-Howard Farfel Sara Kurtz-San Diego, CA 07/29/1932-07/05/2017 Survivors: Daughters- Debra Cohen, Jan Lapon & Lizbeth Patrick, Son-Andrew Kurtz, 13 Grandchildren & 9 Great Grandchildren Miriam Martin-San Diego, CA 05/03/1944-07/05/2017 Survivors: Granddaughter-Brandi Locke Fred Goldblatt-Chula Vista, CA 12/16/1928-07/07/2017 Survivors: Daughters-Marla Picarro & Barbara Taylor , SonBarry Goldblatt & 3 Grandchildren

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Roberta Gordon-San Diego, CA 03/21/1933-07/08/2017 Survivors: Daughters-Ruth Deerfield, Caron Deerfield & Jennifer Landry Benjamin Berkowitz-La Jolla, CA 12/06/1928-07/09/2017 Survivors: Wife-Sue Berkowitz, Daughter-Ivy Berkowitz , Son- Eugene Berkowitz , 2 Grandchildren & 2 Grandchildren

5/24/17 8:53 A

Harry Gold-San Diego, CA 11/03/1937-07/17/2017 Survivors: Wife-Devree Gold, Daughters-Caryn Cover & Nancy Capprarelli, Son-Dan Gold & 6 Grandchildren

Jeffrey Charo-San Diego, CA 07/14/1950 -07/24/2017 Survivors: Wife-Ellen Charo, Daughter-Lindsey Charo, Sons-Jason & Jarrett Charo & 2 Grandchildren

Betty Siegel-San Diego, CA 09/18/1922-07/19/2017 Survivors: Daughter-Esther Cauble & Son- Clifford Siegel & 1 Granddaughter

Edwin Laser-San Diego, CA 09/07/1936-07/24/2017 Survivors: Wife-Valerie Laser & Son- Greg Laser

Irving Rosen-San Diego, CA 01/27/1925-07/09/2017 Survivors: Wife-Gertrude Rosen, Daughter-Sherrie Dixon, SonSteven Rosen & 6 Grandchildren

Selma Rosenberg-San Diego, CA 10/13/1920-07/19/2017 Survivors: Daughters-Kerron & Linda Rosenberg & Son- James Rosenberg

Jack Epstein-San Diego, CA 03/27/1927-07/25/2017 Survivors: Wife-Jenny Epstein, Daughter-Annette Epstein, Sons-Alan & Mark Epstein & 2 Grandchildren

Linda Kokel-San Diego, CA 03/04/1945-07/13/2017 Survivors: Daughters-Michelle Kokel & Suzanne Mackzum , SonDavid Kokel, & 4 Grandchildren

Yakov Povolotskiy-Oceanside, CA 06/20/1935-07/22/2017 Survivors: Wife-Yevgenia Povolotskaya, Daughter-Diana Povolotskaya & Son-Yakov Povolotskiy

Enriqueta Woloski-Bonita, CA 07/19/1939-07/29/2017 Survivors: Daughters-Clara Jachimowicz, Judith Jones & Sharon Michelson. & Son-Leon Woloski

Miriam Schatz-San Diego, CA 12/23/1946-07/21/2017 Survivors: Husband-David Schatz

Miguel Michelson-Chula Vista, CA 11/05/1949-07/30/2017 Survivors: Daughter-Raquel Michelson, & Son-Rubin Michelson

Marc Lewkowicz-San Diego, CA 09/20/1947-07/16/2017 Survivors: Wife-Sharon Grodner, Daughters-Allison & Rachel Grodner & Son- Dan Grodner

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 77

FIDF_SDGALA_halfpgad_7.625x5_PRINT.pdf

8/16/17

2:40 PM

CMY

BECOME A SPONSOR OF

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Adapted by Wendy Kesselman from the original stage play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

Playing | Nov 11- Dec 17 Don't miss your opportunity to be a part of sharing Anne's story as she confronts the horror of her time with honesty, determination, and a message of hope. Now booking groups, seeking sponsors, and reaching out to schools for the production of this powerful and timely classic. Become a Sponsor. Contact our Development Programs Manager | elizabeth@moxietheatre.com (858) 598 - 7620 | moxietheatre.com | 6663 El Cajon Blv. Ste. N, San Diego 92115

78 SDJewishJournal.com l October 2017

ily u n m F Fa dly n ie Fr !

An Unforgettable Hilarious Bluegrass Gospel Celebration!

AYERS PRODUCTION! “A FANTASTIC LAMB'S PL INE ANYONE, IT'S HARD TO IMAG OW BETTER.” ANYWHERE DOING THIS SH -JEFF SMITH, SAN DIEGO

READER

The Great Depression is coming to an end, and the Sanders Family Singers are back on the road again. Of course the bus just broke down, the twins are ﬁghting again, Uncle Stanley’s fresh out of prison, and sister June still can’t really sing. But after this night, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church will never be the same. By Connie Ray • directed by Kerry Meads • musical direction by Jon Lorenz THRU NOV 19 Tues-Sun

GILBERT & SULLIVAN Young pirate-intraining Frederic can’t wait for his 21st birthday, the day his erroneous pirate apprenticeship ends…or does it? A swashbuckling fun and fan favorite about love and loyalty! Add zany laughs, patter songs, and catchy tunes and you’ve got Gilbert and Sullivan’s familyfriendly operetta with a rare opera ending—nobody dies!

OCTOBER 14 / 17 / 20 / 22M SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE Tickets start at $48 Special kid’s pricing!

sdopera.org/SDJJ

(619) 533-7000 Tickets also available at

1142 ORANGE AVE • CORONADO

LAMBSPLAYERS.ORG

619.437.6000

PHOTO: KINGMOND YOUNG

Tishrei • Cheshvan 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 79