January 2018

JANUARY 2018 • Tevet • Shevat 5778

The Women’s Issue

JFS Celebrates

An Interview With The Inimitable

SIMONE ABELSOHN

100 YEARS

and The “Jolly 16” Women Who Started it All

E DUCATION

We Check in With Jewish Schools Around San Diego County

2 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

— THE NEW YORK TIMES

W E PR ST EM C O IE A R ST E

SA PR N EM DI E IE G R O E

“A winning production”

“charming and funny” — THE NEW YORK TIMES

JANUARY 10 – FEBRUARY 11, 2018

FEBRUARY 21 – MARCH 18, 2018

Stampeding elephants! Runaway trains! Unbridled humor!

Join fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg in the original “Great Race,” circling the globe alive with danger, romance, and comic surprises at every turn. In the hilariously theatrical style of The 39 Steps, five actors portray 42 characters in a thrilling race against time. Grab your family, your passport and book passage now for this outrageously funny adventure.

Through a swirl of nearly missed connections, THIS RANDOM WORLD follows a series of intersecting lives: A mother determined to maintain her independence, a daughter longing for adventure, two sisters seeking common ground, and an internet prank gone awry. Warmly humorous and lyrically bittersweet, this play investigates what it is to love, to lose, and be touched by the serendipity of life.

Adapted by Mark Brown | From the novel by Jules Verne Directed by Allison Bibicoff

By Steven Dietz Directed by David Ellenstein

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HARPOON THE MOSSAD'S COVERT WAR AGAINST TERRORISM’S MONEY MASTERS

Harpoon tells the story of Mossad director Meir Dagan and his campaign of targeting — and draining — the finances of organizations that fund attacks against Israel. A riveting and informative lecture & book signing with attorney and author Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018 7 PM

San Diego Jewish Academy 11860 Carmel Creek Road, San Diego

MEET THE AUTHOR Nitsana Darshan-Leitner is an Israel activist and human rights attorney. As the president of Shurat HaDin — Israel Law Center, she has represented hundreds of terror victims in lawsuits worldwide.

REGISTER AT: nitsana.eventbrite.com Please bring ID for security purposes.

This event was underwritten by a generous grant from Doctor Bob and The Shillman Foundation.

4 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

THE COLLECTIVE POWER OF JEWISH WOMEN

JANUARY 21 •11:00AM MANCHESTER GRAND HYATT

FEATURING

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Couvert: $50 • Dietary Laws Observed Co-Chairs: Britney Ewing • Kira Finkenberg • Lori Polin

REGISTER & learn more: jewishinsandiego.org/OPTIONS

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 5

Charitable Planning B R O U G H T T O YO U BY:

H

ere are some tips to consider throughout the year from five professional advisors who have recently completed the Trusted Charitable Advisor Program at the Jewish Community Foundation.

#1

Open a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). Donate highly-appreciated investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds) to it. This may enable a larger gift (and a larger tax deduction) than simply writing a check, since the donor would avoid paying the capital gains taxes from selling appreciated investments and then contributing the after-tax proceeds. When you establish a DAF, you can take an immediate tax deduction and then take your time in identifying the charities you want to receive your donations.

- Dean Kernus, CFP®, CPA, AIF®

#4

#2

Are you required to take mandatory distributions from your IRA? Consider using the Qualified Charitable Deduction to lower your taxable income. Retirees over the age of 70 1/2 have the option of donating up to $100,000 of that distribution to charity. By donating your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to charity, it will be excluded from your adjusted gross income on your tax return.

- Janet Acheatel, CFP®, CDFA

#3

Give to charity. With or without new tax laws, whether or not you are subject to Alternative Minimum Tax, your charitable deductions remain deductible - as long as you itemize deductions. To get more bang for your buck, consider donating appreciated shares of stock or mutual funds. Your donation will be deductible at fair market value and you won’t have to pay tax on the gain!

- Sheryl Rowling, CPA, PFS

Review your estate plan to think about whether your trustees/fiduciaries are up to the job. If you have named your children in your estate plan, it is a good idea to schedule a meeting with your children and estate planning attorney to discuss the plan in detail.

- Daniel J. Wilson, Attorney

#5

Short of cash? Use your credit card. You can deduct contributions in the year you make them.

If you charge your gift to a credit card before the end of the year, it will count for that year, even if you don’t pay the credit card bill until the following calendar/tax year.

- Jeff Platt, JD, CFA, CFP®

The Jewish Community Foundation offers the Trusted Charitable Advisor (TCA) program to advance charitable planning and to further strengthen our partnership with the San Diego professional advisor community. For more information and to see the full list of Trusted Charitable Advisors, please visit www.jcfsandiego.org/TCA

6 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

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Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 7

January 2018

EDUCATION:

Tevet/Shevat 5778

42

The San Diego French-American School in La Jolla is training future leaders with a foundation in language, cultural diversity and a little je ne sais quoi.

WOMEN: Our contributor Rachel Eden

describes three days at an empowering Jewish women’s retreat.

54 THEATER: “The Color of Light” is a

story written by a Jew about the friendship between an atheist and a nun that created an architectural masterpiece.

8 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

52

50

INSPIRATION: Amanda Benjamin, a

New Yorker who just got on the kidney donor list, still works fulltime and continues to make her family laugh.

SDJA MONTHLY COLUMNS 12 The Starting Line 22 Parenting 24 Israeli Lifestyle 26 Examined Life 28 Religion 66 Advice Around Town 18 Our Town 20 The Scene 68 What's Goin On 73 Synagogue Life In Every Issue 14 Mailbag 16 What’s up Online 70 News 72 Diversions ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 32 Education

San Diego Jewish Academy presents their student body of work

35 Feature

Jewish Family Service honors their century of service and prepares for the next 100 years

38 Women

32

Simone Abelsohn is a force for good that can’t be stopped

42 Education

San Diego French-American School students are bilingual and multitalented

48 Education

Vista’s Garden Preschool is love enveloped with a side of cookies

50 Women

We introduce Amanda Benjamin, a woman who’s not going to let kidney disease get in her way

54 Theater

Vantage Theatre will stage Jesse Kornbluth’s “The Color of Light” about Matisse’s devoted friendship with a nun

58 Review

Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla boasts an eclectic menu, delectable desserts and a view that can’t be outdone

62 Torah

Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort tells The Tale of Four Portions

65 Food

Baker Yael Aires makes Bernice’s Babke

2018 Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 9

You some choices, Youare aregoing goingtotohave havetotomake make some choices, choices,

but alone. alone. butyou youdon’t don’thave havetotomake makethem them alone.

Changing can bebe with youyou every stepstep of the the way.way. difficult butbut wewe areare with you every step of Changingjobs jobs can difficult with every of way. the • Retirement Plans Retirement Plans • Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability Insurance

• Investment Strategies Investment Strategies

www.sdjewishjournal.com January 2018 • Tevet/Shevat 5778

PUBLISHERS • Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Brie Stimson CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Derek Berghaus ASSISTANT EDITOR • Jacqueline Bull ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Eileen Sondak OFFICE MANAGER • Jonathan Ableson

858-532-7904 858-532-7904

Jeffrey R Liber, CFP®

Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® Jeffrey RR R Jeffrey R Liber, Jeffrey CFP® CFP® tments Jeffrey Jeffrey R LL Liber, iber, iber, iber, CCFP® FP® Managin giber, Director-Inves Jeffrey Jeffrey RRR LLLiber, CCFP® CFP® FP® Managin gDDirector-Inves Director-Inves tments g Director-Inves tments Managin ggD tments Managing Managing D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments nvestments Managing Managing D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments IInvestments CA Insurance Lic II#0C28496 Managing Managin Director-Inves tments tments Director-Inves Managin Jeffrey RLic Liber, CFP® CA CA IInsurance nsurance nsurance ic Lic ic ##0C28496 0C28496 CA Lic #0C28496 Jeffrey R Liber, CA CA Insurance #0C28496 CA IInsurance LLic #0C28496 0C28496 CA IInsurance nsurance LLic ##CFP® 0C28496 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance CA Lic Insurance #0C28496 Lic #0C28496 Managing DirectorInvestments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Managing Director- Investments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance #0C28496 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® CA Insurance LicLic #0C28496 Gina Grimmer

R Liber, CFP® Investments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Jeffrey Managing Directorjeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina Grimmer Gina Gina Grimmer Financial Consultant Grimmer Alissa Alissa W W addell addell Managin gaddell Director-Inves tments CA W Insurance Lic #0C28496 Alissa Alissa W addell Financial Consultant Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer CA Insurance Lic #O178195 Financial Consultant Financial Consultant AVP AVP -­‐

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R egistered egistered C lient lient AA A ssociate ssociate AVP AVP -­‐ R -­‐ R egistered egistered CCC lient lient A ssociate ssociate jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA CA i nsurance i nsurance L ic L ic # 0I18483 # 0I18483 Financial Consultant Consultant CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CAFinancial Insurance Lic #O178195 CA insurance Lic #0I18483 CA insurance Lic #0I18483 Gina Grimmer jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina Grimmer alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com Registered Client Associate

gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance CA LicInsurance #O178195 LicAssociate #O178195 Registered Client Yesenia Gil CA insurance Lic #O178195 Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA insurance Yesenia Gil Lic #O178195 gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff 12531 Dr,High Suite Bluff 400 Dr,400 Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 Diego, CA 92130 Diego, CA 92130 San H Diego, CA San 92130 Diego, 12531 12531 H igh igh BSan luff DD D rive, rive, SSTE STE 44400 00 San Diego, CA 92130 12531 12531 HSan High igh BBluff Bluff luff D rive, rive, STE TE 4CA 00 00 92130 Tori Avey, Emily Bartell, Linda Bennett, Eva Beim, Judith Fein San Diego, CA 92130 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 San San D Diego, iego, CCCA A 9858-523-7913 2130 12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400 San San D Diego, iego, CA A 992130 92130 2130 12531 High Bluff Drive, 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 (Senior Travel Correspondent), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, www.LiberLincoln WMG.com 858-­‐ 5 23-­‐ 7 904 www.LiberLincoln WMG.com San Diego, CA 92130 858-­‐ 5 23-­‐ 7 904 858-­‐ 5523-­‐ 7WMG.com San Diego, CA 92130WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com 858-­‐ 23-­‐ 7904 904 www.LiberLincoln 858-523-7904 Sharon Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Marnie Macauley, 858-523-7904 12531 High Bluff Drive, STE 400 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® www.liberlincolnwmg.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® 12531 High Bluff Dr, CIMA® Suite 400 www.liberlincolnwmg.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine San Diego, CA 92130 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don CFP®, CIMA® Don Don LLincoln, Lincoln, incoln, CCC FP®, FP®, CCIMA® CCFP®, IMA® Senior Vice Don Don LLincoln, incoln, C FP®, FP®, IMA® CPresident-Investments IMA® San Diego, CA 92130 Vice President-Investments Senior Senior VVCA V ice ice PSenior President-­‐ resident-­‐ IInvestments IInvestments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior President-Investments Senior Senior V ice ice President-­‐ PVice resident-­‐ nvestments nvestments Insurance Lic #0821851 858-523-7904 Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA CA IInsurance IInsurance LL858-523-7913 ic Lic ##0821851 #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA Insurance LicLic #0821851 CA Insurance #0821851 CA nsurance Lic ic #0821851 0821851 CA nsurance don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice President- Investments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com CAInsurance Insurance Lic#0821851 #0821851 don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA Lic Zeebah Aleshi

Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Zeebah Aleshi

Zeebah AleshiClient Associate Senior Registered Zeebah Aleshi Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Registered Associate Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah CA CAleshi Insurance Lic Client #0G75099 Registered Client Associate Registered Registered C lient lient AAA ssociate ssociate Senior Registered Client Associate Registered Registered CSenior C lient lient A ssociate ssociate don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CAzeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA CA iinsurance iinsurance LLic Lic #Gil #0178195 Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Associate CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance LicClient #0G75099 CA CA nsurance nsurance Lic ic #0178195 #0178195 0178195 Yesenia don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Yesenia Gil zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com CALicInsurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance #0G75099 Client Associate FluentGil inzeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com Spanish Yesenia Zeebah zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com Fluent inAleshi Spanish

Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Registered Client Associate eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Yesenia Gil Gil Yesenia yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Investment Investment and andInsurance Insurance Products: Products offered ! NOT FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT BankFluent Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee in Spanish Fluent in Spanish CA Associate insurance Lic #0178195 Investment Investment and and Insurance Insurance Products: Products offered ! NOT FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT BankCA Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance !MAY Lose ValueLic #O178195 Client Associate Client Associate Fluent in Spanish !MAY Lose Value yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Yesenia GilWells Yesenia Gil eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Fluent inAdvisors, Spanish Fluent in Spanish yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Company.

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

Company.

Client Associate Client Associate ©2009 ©2009Wells WellsFargo FargoAdvisors, Advisors,LLC. LLC.All Allrights rightsreserved. reserved.88580 88580–v1 –v1-0312-2590 -0312-2590(e7460) (e7460) yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com ©2009 WellsFargo FargoAdvisors, Advisors,LLC. LLC.All Allrights rightsreserved. reserved.88580 88580–v1 –v1-0312-2590 -0312-2590(e7460) (e7460) ©2009 Wells yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com

Fluent in Spanish YeseniainGilSpanish Fluent Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Investment and Insurance offered through affiliates:NO NOT FDIC Insured Investment InsuranceProducts Products: NOT FDIC Insured Bank Guarantee

NO Bank MAY LoseGuarantee Value MAY Lose Value Fluent inand Spanish Investment Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo Advisors is tradename nameused used byAll Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) 2016 Wells FargoisClearing Services, LLC Rights reserved 1016-02995 Wells Fargo Advisors aa trade by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services,LLC LLCAll AllRights Rights reserved reserved 1016-02995 (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, 1016-02995

Ronnie Weisberg – Senior Account Executive Jonathan Ableson – Senior Account Executive Alan Moss – Palm Springs

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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 ©2018 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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10 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

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SanDiegoJewishJournal

Many thanks to all those who supported the University of San Diego’s 2017 Founders Gala.

The event was attended by a record-topping 600 guests and raised an unprecedented net revenue of $1.3 million. Proceeds supported the Founders Endowed Scholarship Fund and established a new, endowed scholarship fund dedicated to USD student veterans.

You

THANK PRESENTING SPONSOR

LEGACY SPONSORS

HERITAGE SPONSORS

TRADITION SPONSORS

PREMIER TABLE SPONSORS Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield LLP Richard Kelley / NBC 7 San Diego KFMB CBS-8 | Sempra Energy US Foods

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 11

FROM THEEDITOR’S EDITOR LETTER

THE STARTING LINE

by Brie Stimson

editor@sdjewishjournal.com

#MeToo

T

he #MeToo movement has been a strange moment for our country and an even stranger moment for women.

And when I say strange I don’t mean it in a derogatory sense. I mean it seems strange because all of this bad behavior that’s finally getting a voice has been going on for, well, forever.

I remember the first time I saw the MeToo hashtag. I was at work and had Twitter on one of my computers. A woman I worked with at a previous job wrote a tweet about how she had been assaulted by three coworkers at different times in her career.

She wrote #MeToo at the end of her tweet.

I didn’t realize this was the beginning of a movement at the time, and I didn’t really understand what the hashtag meant, but I admired her for being so honest. I was also shocked that had happened to her. I had known her for a long time and had never heard that. In the weeks since then I have heard many friends' #MeToo stories, which we had never really talked about until now.

I briefly thought about tweeting about my worst #MeToo, which friends and family have known about for years, but as a private person letting myself be vulnerable to the judgment of the world (whether people believe me, whether they think my assault was bad enough to mention, whether I was “asking for it” because I was wearing a skirt or something, etc.) over what happened to me when I was 20 years old isn’t something

12 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

When people ask why didn’t she come forward until now?’ or ‘this happened 30 years ago, why didn’t she say something then?’ it seems like such a bizarre, uninformed question to me. We are finally in a climate where there is more support for women to come forward – and I still can’t bring myself to speak about it in a tweet, a Facebook post or even in a column.

I felt like going through.

The respect I have for these women who choose to risk their anonymity, normalcy of life, reputation and even possible litigation (the president has said he will sue his accusers) to finally tell the truth about what happened to them in the face of what has been, until now, a system skewed against them, is impossible to put into words.

When people ask ‘why didn’t she come forward until now?’ or ‘this happened 30 years ago, why didn’t she say something then?’ it seems like such a bizarre, uninformed question to me. We are finally in a climate where there is more support for women to come forward – and I still can’t bring myself to speak about it in a tweet, a Facebook post or even in a column. Thankfully I have never been raped or had any other violent sexual act perpetrated against me, but I am a woman, and as a woman I have faced harassment and at times assault since the time men first started noticing me.

I was 13 the first time a man who told me he was 22 asked me out through AOL’s Instant Messenger. He knew my age. Luckily, at this time, my mother had instilled a fear of strange men in me, so I instantly deleted my AOL account, stayed offline for like a year and cried a lot about how creepy it felt.

I remember crying a lot the first time I realized a man was looking up my skirt when I was 16. I felt violated. Somehow, after that, harassment became part of the landscape to

a point where I would say most women deal with a certain level of it every day and just see it as a part of life. I think we’ve all been groped on the subway and shrugged it off.

As I set about to write this month’s column, I figured it was time for me to finally write about the #MeToo moment we’re having in this country. Of course, my first thought was ‘what qualifies me? Because I’m a woman?’ I thought skeptically. But the more I thought about it I realized that yes, it is because I am a woman I am qualified to talk about it. Frankly, I think men are qualified to talk about it as well. This is a human issue and we should all support each other to make sure none of us is suffering in silence.

I hope there are more and more men who support women in speaking out. There are many men who still believe it’s a woman’s fault because she agreed to go on the date or she benefited professionally from a superior’s desire for her, but it’s time for the Old Boys Club to end.

Women are in the workplace. We can vote, drive, be the breadwinner, serve on the frontlines in the military and do anything else you can think of.

We’re not going back to the way it used to be and men are just going to have to find a way to interact with women professionally because if the #MeToo movement has anything to say about it – we’re not going to take it anymore. A

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@SANDIEGOJEWISHJOURNAL

we’re listening let us know what’s on your mind

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

Please consider our guidelines for Letters to the Editor prior to submitting your comments: The San Diego Jewish Journal welcomes reader responses to articles. Due to space limitations, responses to articles cannot exceed 200 words and will be edited in coordination with the letter’s author and at the discretion of the editor and publishers.

For readers who wish to submit multiple letters, we require three issue months to pass between published letters so as to make space for more reader responses.

All readers can comment as often as they’d like in the comments section of our website, found at the bottom of every articleon sdjewishjournal. comMagazine articles are republished on the website at the beginning of each issue month.

14 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

CORRECTIONS In “Modern Masters: The Perez Simon Collection Returns” in the Dec. 2017 issue of the magazine the article said the collection had nearly 300 works. In fact, the collection has nearly 100 works.

In the What’s up Online section of the Dec. 2017 issue a photo of Elaine Feuer-Barton from the Anti-Defamation League board was erroneously referred to as SDJJ columnist Sharon Rosen Leib.

In “It Takes a Community: New Village Arts Pulls Back The Curtain” in the Dec. 2017 issue Executive Artistic Director Kristianne Kurner’s name was misspelled as Kristy Ann. SDJJ regrets these errors.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 15

what’s up on sdjewishjournal.com Golden Globes 2018 “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lew Day-Lewis, Ansel Elgort and Alison Brie are among the Jewish nominees up for an award.

“It’s About Time”

The San Diego Symphony is readying for a month-long festival that explores rhythm and sound. The festival is curated by con conductor and percussionist Steven Schick. The festival runs from Jan. 11 to Feb.11. Performances include “The Rite of Spring at The Music Box,” “The Roosts of Rhythm” and “Percussion Lovefest” just to name a few.

Embassy Move Last month, President Trump announced he plans to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move will likely not happen before 2019.

When women rabbis say '#MeToo,' communities must pay attention The conversation about sexual harassment and sexual assault in our society comes at a time when the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the professional organization of Reform rabbis, stands ready to launch the Task Force on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate. This need became evident in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, the publication of "The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate" and a study we undertook on rabbinic professional satisfaction.

Although women have been Reform rabbis for 45 years, it is painfully obvious that these issues are still a fact of everyday life. Read the full JTA story on our website.

16 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

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our TOWN

OUR TOWN BY LINDA BENNETT. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHELLE BERKOWITZ

Temple Emanu-El and Beth Israel Install New Rabbis Simchas abound, all around in our town…

On December 8th, Rabbi Benj Fried was installed as Rabbi Educator for Temple Emanu-El in Del Cerro. Presiding over the installation was Rabbi Dr. William Cutter, Emeritus Professor at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Looking on with pride were Rabbi Emeritus Martin S Lawson, Senior Rabbi Devorah Marcus, and Rabbi Benj Fried’s family. Some of the onlookers in attendance for this solemn occasion were: Sandy & Barbara Rosenthal, Perri Wittgrove, Nancy Geist, Jim & Andrea Lewis, Beverly & Gary Steres, Warren Treisman, Hannah & Joe Fox, Gail & Mark Braverman, Phil & Arlene Bresnick, Mary Epsten, Susan & Michael Schwartz, Lauretta Frank, BJ Brose & Stacey Kassendorf, Nancy Marcus, Jeff Schindler, Randy Friedman, Marilyn Braun, Ilene Silvers, Bob Rubinstein & Marie Raftery, Michael Bennett, Dolores Dickstein and Linda & Paul Globerson.

How wonderful to attend the installation of Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel at Congregation Beth Israel on December 15th. With Rabbi Berk, Rabbi/Cantor Bernstein, and Rabbi Solomon looking on, Rabbi Jonathan Stein officiated the installation.

Participating in the evening’s festivities were the Adult and Youth Choirs of Congregation Beth Israel. Parents, Joanne & Ken Gimbel, in-laws Andy & Sonia Israel, and wife, Sarah took in this momentous occasion with great pride. Some in attendance were: Herb & Marsha Lubick, Joanie & Steve Gross, April Fink, Jim & Gail Malkus, Nelly & Paul Dean, Karen Coleman, Don & Beth Greenberg, Kim Carnot, Marcia & Len Fram, Lynn Lasher, Steven Earle (15), Ellie Krantz (18), Joyce & Bob Blumberg, Fred & Roxi Link, Barry & Bonnie Graf, Ashley & Josh Kagan, Ruthie Warburg, Alec Schiller, Allison & Robert Price, Marilyn Ziering and Esther Lilith Meisarosh Mazurkiewicz (7 months old).

Mazel Tov to….

Greg and Jade Gaylis, on the birth of their son, Ashton James, who arrived on November 12th in Atlanta, Georgia. Proud grandparents, Franklin and Jean Gaylis are overjoyed, as is Aunt Jackie Gaylis.

TOP: Rabbi Jonathan Stein offering the installation blessing to Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel. MIDDLE: Lighting the Chanukiyah with teachers and students from the Beth Israel preschool and religious school. BOTTOM: Rabbi-Cantor Arlene Bernstein, Rabbi Alyson Solomon, Senior Rabbi Michael Berk, President Gary Hirschfeld, and Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel lead the congregation.

18 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

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the

BY EILEEN SONDAK | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALON DAVID PHOTOGRAPHY.

A Capella group KIPPALIVE, the most popular finalists in Israel's "X Factor" flew in from Israel and regaled the crowd at StandWithUs' 6th "I Love Israel" gala.

StandWithUs San Diego Board President Micha "Mitch" Danzig, esq., with left, daughter Rebecca and right, niece Hannah.

L-R: Wendy Avraham; SWU CEO Roz Rothstein; keynote speaker Dore Gold; Sharona Benami; dinner co-sponsor Jenny Josephson, Nina Brodsky and Sara Miller, executive director StandWithUs San Diego.

StandWithUs Festival of Lights Gala

"I Love Israel" dinner co-chairs (left to right) Jaime Feder and Natalie Josephson stand proudly next to StandWithUs.

20 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

The San Diego Jewish Community came out in force to support the “I Love Israel� 6th Annual StandWithUs San Diego Festival of Lights Gala Dinner, held at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina. The successful event attracted more than 500 guests and included a cocktail reception, delicious kosher dinner, entertainment, and inspiring speakers.

The program started with a welcome by Ron Krudo, followed by the National Anthems sung by Kippalive and Jonathan Valverde. The talented singing group entertained during dinner as well, earning well-deserved kudos from the delighted guests.

The evening also featured StandWithUs co-founder Roz Rothstein, who gave the large crowd a global review and reminder of the important work the organization carries on, including their efforts on behalf of Israel and in combatting anti-Semitism on college campuses. Rothstein also praised our own hard-working Sara Miller, who has taken the local chapter to new heights this year.

The keynote address was a conversation between Ambassador Dore Gold and Charles Wax. The event ended with another dynamic performance by Kippalive.

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Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 21

PARENTING

MUSINGS FROM MAMA

by Sharon Rosen Leib

srleib@me.com

“Most of all, I’m grateful to you my dear readers. I appreciate that you stuck with me even when I veered into self-indulgence and self-righteousness. I love the kind words and kudos you’ve shared with me. I’ve also enjoyed the pissed-off letters to the editor challenging my assumptions because they demonstrated you were engaged.”

New Year, New Endeavors

W

hen I first began writing this column in May 2004, my three daughters were 10, eight and four. I was in fullon Mom mode. Now those “girls” are 23, 22 and 18 – independent, smart and resourceful young women. They no longer require the massive daily dose of time and energy I put into raising them. They’ve all flown the coop, leaving my husband and me to mind the hen house.

When my late mother achieved empty nest status she merrily crowed, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Yet shortly after I gave birth to Oldest Daughter, Mom pronounced, “You’ll never have another worry-free day in your life!” I remember thinking 'Thanks for the words of encouragement.' Mom’s sentiments struck me as contradictory. Now I comprehend her cognitive dissonance. As a Jewish mother with inbred anxiety, she constantly worried about my siblings and my wellbeing. Yet, once we all left home, she felt liberated from the in-your-face demands of monitoring the whereabouts of three kids.

She embraced her freedom as we did ours, by flying away from the confines of home – a win-win on all sides.

I’m not saying our kids no longer need us, because they do. We are the sturdy backboards they bounce everything from ideas 22 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

to anger against; the savings and loans that bail them out of financial distress; and the sympathetic care givers ministering to their mental and physical illnesses.

As they age, we bear responsibility for enabling them to survive and thrive without us. We too must demonstrate healthy independence and take responsibility for our own happiness. As they fly, so must we. We must broaden our role from being hands-on parents driving carpools, coaching soccer and stocking the fridge to being mature fonts of wisdom demonstrating how to face aging with courage, vigor and renewed purpose.

Contemplating all these bird metaphors and life stages made me realize the time has come to relinquish this page to a new parenting voice. Way back when I first pitched this column, I envisioned it as experiential rather than advice oriented. I feel fortunate that a succession of bright young editors allowed me to fulfill this vision. They gave me the space to tell stories about my family life (although my daughters didn’t always appreciate being the subjects) and climb up on my soapbox to advocate for favorite causes (like gun control). The SDJJ’s publishers Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss have been wonderfully supportive and open-minded,

allowing me to push the boundaries of nice Jewish mamadom by writing about controversial topics that offended some subscribers.

Most of all, I’m grateful to you my dear readers. I appreciate that you stuck with me even when I veered into self-indulgence and self-righteousness. I love the kind words and kudos you’ve shared with me. I’ve also enjoyed the pissed-off letters to the editor challenging my assumptions because they demonstrated you were engaged.

These won’t be my final words on the SDJJ’s pages. I’ll still be a contributing writer pitching book reviews, travel and news stories. I just feel compelled to move in new directions and broaden my journalistic/writing horizons.

Here’s to 2018 – a secular year representing Chai (life) according to Kabbalah numerology. So please join me in squeezing the most juice from 2018 by seeking new challenges and striving to be our best selves/ role models for our kids.

P.S. I’ll miss you all and this page. But this proud Jewish mama will continue musing in different forms. You can always keep up with my work by googling Sharon Rosen Leib. A

Don’t miss the premiere of

“To the Ends of the Earth: A Portrait of Jewish San Diego”

ABOUT THE FILM: To the Ends of the Earth, a co-production of Cinewest Productions and the San Diego History Center is based on over 50 interviews conducted by local filmmaker, Isaac Artenstein, including descendants of early Jewish pioneers, scientists, entrepreneurs, academics as well as avant-garde artists, rabbis, and surfers. It creates a living portrait of a vibrant and culturally-dynamic community that has thrived in this region for over 150 years.

This film is the companion to the exhibition Celebrate San Diego: The History & Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community, which is currently on exhibit at the History Center in Balboa Park until

at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival!

May 2018. The film and exhibition bring the rare voices of pioneering San Diego Jews, as well as those of today, into one immersive experience based on a theme of determination, innovation, and ingenuity.

The film incorporates rare historical photographs and film to create a vibrant cinematic interplay between the natural and cultural landscapes of our region. It is enhanced by a musical score written and performed by local jazz virtuoso, Allan Phillips, with original performances by

FEBRUARY 13 AT 8PM Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18

FEBRUARY 14 AT 5PM

violinist and composer, Yael Strom. Interviews conducted for this documentary will become part of the permanent Oral History Archive of the San Diego History Center.

Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18 sandiegohistory.org

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 23

ISRAELI LIFESTYLE

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE

by Andrea Simantov

andreasimantov@gmail.com

As wacky as this may sound, I’m grateful because as a child I sang into my hairbrush-microphone in front of the mirror, imagining myself on the Tonight Show ' with Johnny Carson.

Tabloid Leadership

I

've given some thought, recently, to the naming, blaming and shaming of people in the frontpage worlds of performance arts, publishing and business who may have abused their relative positions by sexually subjugating others. More shocking than the tawdriness of the tales is the arrogance that lead some to believe that they are important enough to wield abuse and call it ‘Tuesday.’ In my humble opinion, ‘celebrities’ are obliged to exercise responsibility with, perhaps, a tablespoon or two of gratitude.

I do not want rock stars or actors telling me who to vote for or what to march against.

Many years ago when I began writing for the Jerusalem Post, the Letters to the Editor page printed a stinging missive from a reader, accusing me of demeaning women, being anti-feminist and a general embarrassment to Orthodox Judaism. She finished with a suggestion that “Andrea can take her lace bustiers and fishnets and get the heck out of Jerusalem.” I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about and, admittedly cried. Someone didn’t like me! I asked the editor if I was getting fired. “Are you kidding? There is no

24 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

such thing as ‘bad publicity.’ Everyone will be reading your column from now on!”

I host an internet radio show on Israel News Talk Radio called “Pull Up a Chair” with Andrea Simantov. The engineers have informed me that the audience is comprised of many Israel-loving Christians. Each week the audience grows exponentially and in addition to reaching folks in Belgium, France, Iceland, Canada, the U.S. and Wales, the chat room receives occasional thumbs-up icons from Pakistan and Kuwait. There seem to be several gay florists in LA who enjoy tuning in as well. Point being, for many of these listeners, I am the representative Jew and Israeli and they count on me to share a perspective that may not be available in their home countries. Before I go on the air each week, I take a few moments and pray, solemnly reflecting on the awesome task that awaits. The engineer counts down three, two, one and the music starts. It is an honor.

My stalwart producer warned me that, in time, I would receive comments from a mystery listener who writes to everyone using various untraceable return addresses.

Last week he crawled out from under his rock and ripped into me. He had listened to every word of every show and twisted my comments into painful untruths. It was hard to decipher exactly what his complaint is/ was, but I felt rattled and vulnerable.

As wacky as this may sound, I’m grateful because as a child I sang into my hairbrush-microphone in front of the mirror, imagining myself on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Even today I know I could be a great addition to Ellen DeGeneres’ line-up or give a most brilliant TED talk.

I fantasized about making an impact on the world via the performing arts or writing.

The little girl with the scabby knees lives in the Middle East and not only does she have a front-row seat on the unfolding history of the world; she gets to write and talk about it.

Someone has a bone to pick with me? This is the price.

Being mindful of our interactions with others in both very public and very private arenas might receive less ‘ink’ but, hopefully, garner less ‘stink.’ I can live with that. A

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Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 25

EXAMINED LIFE

OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT

by Saul Levine

slevine@ucsd.edu

American Tragedy

“M

y thoughts and prayers are for the victims of today’s tragic shooting."

Whenever we hear these pious-sounding words, our hearts sink, we are saddened, angry and confused.

Columbine. Newtown. Sandy Hook. Orlando. Charleston. Las Vegas. Texas. Rancho Tehama, California. The killings continue, and each time it is déjà vu, that sick “we’ve been here before” feeling, perhaps only a few days ago.

Those words are usually uttered by politicians, some of whom are genuinely shocked, some dutiful, others insincere. Their statements might include other words like “unspeakable, "unforgivable," "disordered," "evil" "violent," "terrorist" or "lone wolf."

Whatever the lyrics, however, this dirge-like melody is uniquely an American Tragedy.

This creative, generous and powerful democracy is again grievously assaulted and thrown into shock. Yet another horrific mass shooting is perpetrated by an avowed hater, armed with assault weapons easily purchased from a gun store.

The scenario is familiar: The killer might be self-directed or recruited via internet messages, or he may be psychotic or psychopathic. He could be native-born or immigrant, Christian or Muslim, Caucasian or a minority, inspired by inner demons or outer ideologies. This is relevant information, but two other features of these travesties stand out: First, the willful act is perpetrated by a

26 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

malevolent and unrepentant hater of "other" people.

Second, he had woefully easy access to lethal weapons.

The murder rate here per capita is astoundingly greater than any other developed nation. The interpretation of the Second Amendment is often more akin to fundamentalist conviction or passion than to reasoning and rationale. The NRA and its acolytes seemingly carry the day.

After a recent tragic shooting, President Trump tweeted that he too was sending his “thoughts and prayers” to the families of victims. He later tweeted, "This is not a gun problem, it is a mental health problem."

As a psychiatrist, I’m pleased that he is aware of the needs for availability and access to better mental health services. (His planned fiscal cuts, however, will further decimate even what we have).

To pretend (calling it as it is) that gun control is useless in this country is disingenuous, perhaps duplicitous, and flies in the face of overwhelmingly persuasive scientific data (real facts.) Americans comprise 4.4 percent of the world’s population, yet own more than 40 percent of private guns.

Studies in many other countries repeatedly show that reducing the number of guns dramatically reduces gun death rates. Yet many Americans simply deny reality: They don’t believe or don’t care.

We in fact know how to mitigate this national tragedy: We can and must institute stringent gun control measures, and we can and must improve our mental health and social services. Politicians’ “Thoughts and Prayers” are not nearly enough.

Epilogue: Better gun control and mental health provisions will help significantly, but they will not prevent all acts stemming from hateful hearts and minds.

Despite being an inspiringly intelligent and benevolent species, we seem to harbor a fatal flaw: Our destructive urges inevitably come back to haunt us. We humans have to confront the challenge of our darker sides, our propensities to aggression, hate and violence.

We have to find ways to diminish our toxic social emanations, our pervasive incivility and aggression. We need international efforts to improve our relationships, so as to achieve positive emotional footprints. This is as crucial to our survival as a species as our carbon footprint.

The overriding goals for humanity have

To pretend (calling it as it is) that gun control is useless in this country is disingenuous, perhaps duplicitous, and flies in the face of overwhelmingly persuasive scientific data (real facts.)

Americans comprise 4.4 percent of the world’s population, yet own more than 40 percent of private guns. Studies in many other countries repeatedly show that reducing the number of guns dramatically reduces gun death rates. Yet many Americans simply deny reality: They don’t believe or don’t care. to appeal to the benevolent parts of our natures, so that we might move to a world of caring individuals and communities. If we fail in this vital endeavor, even if global warming is resolved, we might still face the end of homo sapiens. A

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Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 27

RELIGION

POST-POLITICAL

by Rabbi Jacob Rupp

rabbirupp@gmail.com

The Soft Underbelly of Jewish Education

W

hat are the two things to focus on when educating oneself or someone else who is above the age of Bar or Bat Mitzvah?

If these two pillars are done well, the student’s Judaism becomes a crucial part of his or her life, and if not, he or she continues to grow the numbers of Jews who are completely out of touch with their heritage.

Before discussing topics, it is crucial to understand the transmission methodology—i.e. how we are getting the message across. Imagine one of the massive ‘Stratotanker’ aircraft that refuel fighter jets on long missions. No matter how crucial the mission, without fuel, the fighter jet won’t get there. And no matter how much fuel the tanker has, without the right pipe, the right mechanism of transmission, the fuel is useless.

In the same way, we can just ‘spray Jet fuel’ at our students and hope it works.

The messenger is crucial. At the core of every good teacher, there must be a genuine love/care for the student. Naturally, this is challenging. How can you love someone that bothers you? How can you love someone you are just meeting for the first time?

Over my career I’ve had to address this multiple times. For some, it could be as 28 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

simple as focusing on the good the student has, or creatively overlooking the parts of their personality or their lifestyle choices that are problematic and connecting with their inner potential. While it hurts me when I hear my students curse, or I become aware of choices they make that I feel are below them, I rarely talk to them about it.

I don’t want to be seen as an advisory; rather I’d like to be seen as someone that gets them, accepts them and loves them, and I will address the negative behavior in a general discussion so it is clear they know I disapprove, or when they bring it up to me.

So often we spend time putting up boundaries that if we want to get to our students, we need to love them and make them feel safe so the boundaries don’t come up. It doesn’t mean not having standards, or educating them as to how they should behave, but it has to be handled in a way where they don’t feel accused or judged.

Creating a feeling of love for strangers is not complicated from a Jewish perspective. Our tradition teaches that the Jewish people are one family, and each one of us, existing today despite all our historical challenges, is a miracle. The mystics teach that each soul that interacts with one another a) was specifically selected for the interaction and b) likely had bonded before.

The Rebbe of Satmar famously mentioned post-Holocaust that many of the children that the survivors had post the war were the reincarnated souls of the parents that had perished.

With that in mind, as educators we look at our students at least as long lost relatives, and at most as ‘spiritual soul mates’ that in previous lives may have been our teachers, parents, students, or friends. This concept should be enough to create the necessary bonds of love and trust to make us properly able to give over effectively the lesson.

And what lesson is so crucial? For the post Bar Mitzvah crowd it is two pillars: a) the philosophic truth of Judaism and b) the relevance of Judaism.

Dr. Dovid Lieberman, a well-known best selling author and psychologist says the foundation and fundamental underpinning of mental health is being inline with truth. Judaism thrives on truth. Our religion doesn’t require a suspension of belief or avoiding questions. It is a history and a solid philosophical argument. Our students (and us) need to know that Judaism is true, not just because our parents say so, or because we’ve always done it, or because

So often we spend time putting up boundaries that if we want to get to our students, we need to love them and make them feel safe so the boundaries don’t come up.

the Bible says so—look for empirical evidence, ask people who proclaim its true, in short, get involved. If it's not true, why do it?

The second necessary pillar for Jewish education was from Rabbi Y.Y. Rubenstien, a prolific author and speaker who says the foundation of all of his work is to demonstrate and articulate how living a Jewish life fundamentally is more enjoyable and creates a better life; i.e. how its practice is relevant today.

In the same way that we don’t study old science, or use outdated technology, if we as teachers can’t create a relevant case for the fact that Judaism is relevant in 2017, why in the world would be expect our students (or ourselves) to want to do it? And dare I say it's not just because Jews are a cool group or do cool things—because I don’t need to be Jewish to have an identity nor do I have to be Jewish to do good things in the world. We need to craft a message of exclusivity; what unique things about being Jewish make our lives better today?

What is relevant about our religion.

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Tevet •• Shevat Shevat 5778 5778 || SDJewishJournal.com SDJewishJournal.com 29 29 Tevet

POLITICS

BY GIL SERY

Vote Your Conscience

BY GIL SERY

H

appy New Year! It’s January! It’s time for a fresh new start; time to change the things that weren’t working last year. After all, that’s what New Year’s resolutions are about, right? Okay, enough clichés. Speaking of clichés, voting based on party affiliation is also cliché.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President. His election is a prime example of what happens when you have two unlikeable candidates from the two major political parties. The result is a deeply divided nation.

George Washington, in his farewell speech in 1796, tried to warn us, but we didn’t listen. He said "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion." Now, 221 years later, we have a hyperpartisan Congress that would rather do right by their party (and their campaign donors) than by their constituents. Some Congressmen even refused to hold town halls when they returned to their districts, knowing that their constituents were mad at them for their choices.

So how do we as an electorate fix this hyperpartisan mess, and do better in future elections? The answer is simple: vote for

30 SDJewishJournal.com | JANUARY 2018

the person, not the party. When my voter information guide comes in the mail, I take a few hours and read it cover to cover. I understand that not everyone has that kind of time, but at least read both sides of every argument. Keep an open mind, and don’t let the media’s biased coverage or those one-sided election mailers sway you. Educate yourself on all the propositions that affect you. Then do the same with all the candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

As a permanent mail ballot voter, I get my ballot in the mail before Election Day. This allows me to research every name on the ballot, even if I have never seen an ad or mailer of theirs, and even if they did not appear in the Voter Information Guide. I go to their website, read their stances on the issues, and vote accordingly. Why? Isn’t that throwing my vote away? No, I don’t think so.

If we’re going to change Congress, to paraphrase MJ, we need to start with the person in the mirror. Then, try and recruit others to also vote for the person, not the party. By opening up your options, even if those candidates are not included in the debates, you’re opening up possibilities for new ideas. By voting for the person, instead of the party, you are taking a stand.

You are voting for someone, instead of against the lesser of two evils.

There’s an inspirational quote that goes "if you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done." So if you want better representation in government, don’t

just vote blindly for the party you usually vote for; do your research! Educate yourself on ALL the potential candidates, not just the frontrunners. Vote for the person you’d most like to see in office.

Realize that a third party is only in the minority until enough people decide to vote for it. Then, it becomes the new majority party. The more voters who vote for third parties, the closer we get to having a new major party. With a new party, come new perspectives. With new perspectives, come new Congressional members, and new laws, until there’s a revolution in government and the voters finally take back a people-centric government.

It all starts with being willing to vote for a third party. In the four years since the 2012 election, the Libertarian Party more than tripled the share of the votes it got in the 2016 election, from 0.99% in 2012 to 3.28% in 2016. It’s happening! It’s possible to have more options than just Republicans and Democrats; we as an electorate just have to want it badly enough. "Millenials do," a recent study by NBC News & GenForward found that 71% of Millenials think a third party is necessary.

We have to look at all our options, not just the main two, and we all have to vote.

If, after doing your research on all the candidates, the person you like most of all is a Democrat or Republican, then by all means vote for them. At least you’ve given all the candidates a shot to earn your vote regardless of party affiliation…that’s all any (fair-minded) politician can ask. A

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sdja.com Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 31

FEATURE

SDJA

Advocates, Innovators and Leaders

San Diego Jewish Academy’s Student Body of Work

F

or 38 years, San Diego Jewish Academy has maintained a legacy of nurturing Jewish values and Jewish life in generations of students, while preparing them to be advocates, innovators and leaders in their communities to affect change all over the world.

Each and every year, we find new and innovative ways to improve our programming, our campus and the overall SDJA experience to ensure that our children are receiving the best education possible.

As we approach 2018, we’d like to share all that is new and exciting at the Academy.

After months-long research about current best practices in preschool outdoor space, we are nearing completion of our stateof-the-art outdoor play and learning environment. With natural elements replicating our natural San Diego environment, our outdoor play and learning environment will soon provide sand, mountain climbing, water play, tricycle traffic lanes on the outskirts, as well as areas for preschoolers to explore on their own.

32 SDJewishJournal.com JANUARY 2018

Our Shabbat programming will now be on a developmentally appropriate performance stage and there will soon be unique play elements that will challenge and engage our children.

In the SDJA lower school, our STEAM program has initiated “Mission Innovation.” This annual regional competition, for third through sixth graders, enables students from many schools to gather, compete, have fun and appreciate how much our world revolves around creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Our competitions move from school to school, all under the leadership of Irene Lerner, our hardworking STEAM director.

Our Judaic studies program in the upper school has been redesigned to enable students to design their own pathways through Jewish life and learning. Leading this initiative is our “CJO,” (Chief Jewish Officer,) Rabbi Phil Graubart, who in addition to teaching students, teachers and parents, also leads a drop-in class of Jewish learning on Friday mornings, open to the entire

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SDJA

LEFT: High school science class.

RIGHT: L-R Ella Bitton and Shelley Moses.

community. To learn more about this class, or to sign up, please call: (858) 704-3700.

We have launched a new Hebrew program for our students - iHebrew

by Ulpan-Or from Israel. This program is innovative, interactive and research-based and was developed using 21st-century technology from Israel. This program is successfully used in many Jewish day schools around the world. iHebrew utilizes a different approach to teach Hebrew in that it is an experiential conversational program that builds a child’s skills for a twoway communication in Hebrew. We are truly excited about working with Ulpan-Or to offer our students this engaging and powerful new Hebrew learning experience.

Also this year, we’ve welcomed Executive Chef Giselle Wellman to the SDJA family. Chef Wellman brings her passion for culinary education and food sustainability to SDJA, incorporating fresh produce from our campus garden, working with and supporting local farmers and educating our students on the importance of nutrition and sustainability. Her background includes working with top chefs such as Jean Georges, Thomas Keller and Mario Batali. She also became the youngest female executive chef in Los Angeles at the age of 26, and was a participant on Bravo’s hit television show “Top Chef ” in 2015.

Finally, there could be no more significant culmination to a student’s education at the academy than their trip to Poland and Israel. Each year, our high school seniors embark on a month-long trip that shapes their understanding of what it means to be an informed learner, listener and leader, and thrusts them into their unique role as inheritors and designers of the Jewish future. Generations of students have come back from this trip inspired and with a life-changing perspective about their Jewish identity. Our seniors will be holding a play at the annual Alexander Viterbi Arts Festival held in Shaar Hanegev on April 25th - 26th as a fundraiser to ensure that each and every student is afforded the opportunity to go on this important trip.

At the Academy, we emphasize the importance of and our commitment to helping others. Students learn that each individual working to do something good can lead to a community collectively making a difference in the world in which we live. In addition to our senior trip fundraiser, our community has also been raising money to support those affected by the natural disasters these past few months. We would like to thank everyone who supported this incredible effort. Together, we can repair the world one small step at a time. A To learn more about San Diego Jewish Academy education please visit www.sdja.com or call (858) 704-3717.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 33

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JFS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

“If There’s Magic Here...”

JFS Prepares for Their Next Century of Service

BY BRIE STIMSON

This 1973 photo shows the senior drop in center at Beth Jacob

F

or being 100 years old, Jewish Family Service is looking pretty good. The agency was started by the combined efforts of four women’s organizations in 1918, and for decades it was strictly run by volunteers. “From 1918 to 1936, there were four women’s clubs that was a group that formed,” board chair Marie Raftery told me. “The Jolly Sewing Circle and the Hebrew Sisterhood and the Junior Charity League and the Ladies Hebrew Aid Society.”

From the very beginning immigrants and refugees has been one of their core causes.

“The story that is often told is that in 1918 a group of women went down to the border because it was right after World War I when Jews were trying to get into this country,” CEO Michael Hopkins explained.

FEATURE

“They thought that coming in from Tijuana would possibly be an easier way to get into the country. They were stuck on the other side of the border in Mexico, and the women went down there to provide food, water and shelter.”

Rose Neumann is considered the founder of JFS and was the president from 1919 until 1946. “A lot of the stories around Rose Neumann ... was that she didn’t take no as an answer,” Michael said.

“And so she sort of prided herself on breaking the rules. She sort of prided herself on doing whatever was required to help people, recognizing that a lot of the individuals that were falling through the cracks and falling on tough times, the system wasn’t working for them. So she kind of went out of her way.” At the time, people told Rose “that Mexico wasn’t their concern, you know, that she shouldn’t be going to Mexico ... that it was out of this country ... but in the name of helping somebody she didn’t really know boundaries.”

Michael says that is a spirit they try to keep alive today. “Whatever it takes to go that extra mile and help somebody – and literally back then it was that extra mile,” he said.

Immigration is still at the core of JFS’ work. Most recently, after President Trump revoked DACA, which allowed undocumented people brought into the U.S. as children the ability to work, study and live in the country without fear of deportation, JFS immediately set to work to help as many as they could of the approximately 800,000 people whose future in this country was suddenly unclear. JFS had been working with Dreamers (as they are called) for years, helping them to apply for DACA status and making sure their paperwork was correct. After Trump’s September revocation, they held DACA renewal workshops and counseled Dreamers on their options.

Michael says many of the same services JFS offered in 1918 they are still providing today. “Providing food, emergency shelter, helping people find jobs, welcoming refugees, those were things that were central to the agency 100 years ago, and they still are today,” he said. “One hundred years ago, I don’t think anyone in the Jewish community spoke of domestic violence, I don’t think anyone in the Jewish community spoke of addiction. Homelessness was not a central issue in our community in San Diego, so some things have changed, but many of the same compelling needs that existed then exist today. The question is as we kind of go through our hundredth year what will stay the same? What will be core to our agency and what will continue to ... evolve.”

Michael said he remembers a search committee asking him about six years ago where he thought the agency would be in five years.

“I actually reframed the question, and I said I’d like to talk about where I see the agency as we turn 100 and as we approach our next 100,” he said. “So for me, it’s not actually about the moment or being 100, it’s about being prepared ... for the next century of service.”

Michael said before the 1980s JFS primarily served the Jewish community, but at that time they began to serve the whole community more broadly. They began resettling refugees and leveraging money that allowed them to grow. “A lot of the funding for our older adult programs, senior meals, transportation, comes out of the Older Americans Act, so in the 80s we began to take advantage Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 35

Seniors participating in JFS' On the Go program

of funding opportunities that allowed us to expand the mission,” he said. “The evolution was that ... until the 50s we were led by volunteers and apparently in the mid-50s we became professionalized where the agency had its first director.”

The agency was formed by women’s groups and every executive until Michael has been a woman.

They decided to give him a chance, Marie quipped.

The agency has always been focused on women. “We always understood that in serving women ... that often meant that children were the beneficiaries of the service,” Michael explained. Seventy-five percent of their clients are women. They have a girls give back program, a ladies leadership program, and they provide low interest loans for people with damaged credit that is almost exclusively a clientele of single mothers.

“When you help women, you help the entire family because many times it’s women who are the caretakers,” Marie told me. “So if you’re helping women you’re not just helping them you’re helping the entire family.”

Their December gala honored all the women who have made the agency what it is today “because we feel in honoring the organization ... we have [to] honor our women as well,” Marie said.

Michael recently spoke to 150 JFS employees about his vision for the agency’s future. “I commented that I wanted to lead JFS in a way where we were respectful and as well-regarded as a 100-year-old organization, and at the same time I wanted to function like we were a startup. And so this balance between kind of the sage who has the wisdom of 100 years of serving our community, but at the same time ... the energy and the passion and the creativity and the appetite for innovation that startups have.”

“In some ways the work we do today combines both of those nuggets. On one hand we have been distributing food for a really long time, but I would tell you the way we distribute it at our Corner Pantry is considered best in class. Clients get to pick out their own food. They’re not just given a bag. There’s a point system geared toward more nutritious food. In addition to food, there’s diapers and toiletries and pet food, and in addition to all of that, unlike most food distributions, there’s case management available. Because our real goal is to not have individuals come week after week, month after month for food, but eventually to create some self-sufficiency in their lives.”

The agency also has many volunteers who give their time to the BIGPals program, working in administration, giving holiday gifts for Embrace-A-Family, helping in the food pantry or driving the Foodmobile or for “On The Go,” which helps seniors get to personal or medical appointments. Their objective with seniors is to help them stay independent in their homes. “Other than the airport we’ll drive a senior wherever they need to go,” Michael explained. “And with low income families we provide a low-interest car loan. So transporation is an issue for both. I would say the common thread for the most part is that it’s folks who are struggling financially.”

As they start to navigate the next 100 years, they are realizing policy has to become a part of what they do.

“For a long time it was good enough for nonprofits to do good work,” Michael began. “I think particularly over the last five years we’ve learned that we also have to get involved in policy conversations ... Our experience has been that when we’ve met with elected officials they actually want to know what we’re saying and they want to know why it is that we think these situations are occurring.”

They are also doing their part to make a safe space for homeless families to sleep. Every night 150 to 200 people (mostly families who don’t want to be separated at a shelter) come to spend the night in the their car in the JFS parking lot. “As we leave, people are parking in the parking lot so as we go home every night we are reminded about why we do this work,” Marie told me. Marie has a fulltime job aside from her volunteer work on the board. “The only other thing that would make me commit as I have is the feeling of making a difference,” she said. “It’s small, just a little bit, but feeling that we’re making a difference.”

Before I left, Marie read a letter to me from a member of the board, which she calls her “if only” letter.

“If only my family had known about Jewish Family Service, my family could have had a better life,” she read. “My brother could have had a BIGPal to help him grow up, maybe my mother wouldn’t have grown so isolated and unhappy in her later years. What a difference it would have made.”

“I just don’t want anyone to have to say “if only” in the future,” she said, turning to me. “I just want us to be there.” A

ON THE COVER: Jolly 16. This photograph was taken in the 1950s at a celebration to honor the Jolly 16 and honor their accomplishments in creating Federated Jewish Charities in the beginning of JFS’s history.FROM L TO R FRONT ROW: Rose Neumann, Julia Steinman, Mary Kantor, Ida Lipinsky, Julia Neumann, Eve Chenkin, Freda Nestor. BACK ROW: Julia Kaufman, Glieka Brenner, Bernice Esenoff, Sylvia Bard, Julia Klaskin, Sally Ratner, Rose Glickman, Sadie Berenson, Rose Gordon.

36 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

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Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 37

WOMEN

Simone Abelsohn

Keep Shabbat However You Want A conversation with Simone Abelsohn, one of the rising stars of the San Diego Jewish community

BY JACQUELINE BULL

W

2017 Pauline and Stanley Foster Young Leadership Award.

S

imone Abelsohn is a busy woman.

She has an impressive resume of volunteer work and community involvement, but her main projects are being the program coordinator for Shabbat San Diego and the chair of Federation’s Next Gen. Simone met me at her favorite kosher coffee shop before heading into work. Not only would she not let me pay for her coffee, she insisted that she buy for the two of us. I would come to realize if kindness, drive and love for one’s community had a physical manifestation, it would be Simone.

“I always say that my Federation story is that I grew up in single family homes.

I had both a mom and a dad; they were divorced. They really wanted to send me to 38 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

Janese Cassel, Kira Finkenberg and Simone Abelsohn at the 2017 FIDF Awards Gala.

a private school. And so I was a scholarship child at San Diego Jewish Academy. Some of the funds came from the federation and various people in SAJAC helped my family through the [South African] immigration process. And growing up my mom always made sure I remembered ‘You’re there on scholarship.’ She always made sure I was appreciative and that I understood the blessing I was being given,” Simone said.

She was involved in various Jewish organizations through high school and college and then became a teacher at a Jewish school. She later quit teaching and went into real estate. She explains that at that time she felt she was missing a Jewish connection in her life. One day, a friend got her involved in Next Gen and she just took off from there.

One of her main involvements, Shabbat San Diego, was inspired by the Shabbos Project in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bringing the idea to San Diego, they wanted to keep the original spirit of connecting with family and friends and as a community, but have an emphasis on inclusivity to make it more welcoming to people who don’t normally keep an Orthodox Shabbat.

This emphasis on community made the project a huge success in San Diego and become the example for other Jewish communities around the world to follow.

This welcoming spirit starts from Simone and radiates out to all corners of the organization and what they are trying to accomplish. They’ve expanded their reach from just the one weekend in October, to working with San Diego Jewish organiza-

tions and synagogues year round.

Simone explains that however people want to observe, taking an active interest in the Jewish community here is what they are trying to achieve. “You don’t have to keep Halachic Shabbat. If you don’t usually light Shabbat candles, and you do, we’re going to count you in as part of the project.

If you don’t usually bake challah and you come to our challah bake, we’re going to count you in as part of the project. If you don’t normally spend five minutes on a Saturday to think ‘it’s Shabbat’ and ‘what does that mean to me?’ and you do this one time a year, we’re going to count you as part of the project. It can be whatever it is.”

Their belief is that showing how Shabbat doesn’t have to be the same for everyone encourages people to participate in their own way. “We’re hoping through this and showing that yes, Shabbat can be a Halachic Shabbat for 26 hours, Shabbat can also be a hike, Shabbat can also be a yoga class...

Whatever it is that you want to make it, that is what Shabbat can be.”

And through people participating in the

Shabbat, coming together, it illustrates the value of being a part of a community. “We want to show them that there is a strength and a core of a community. Not one of them is alone...That is something I’m personally passionate about being that child from a single-family household, it was the community that helped raise me. It was people at SAJAC that helped, it was people at the Federation that helped, it was Mike Hessel, the principal of the San Diego Jewish Academy that helped, it was my dad’s best friend, Barry, that helped. I feel like I’m a product of what the Shabbat project is trying to create, so I feel so passionate and blessed to be able to be such a huge part of it,” Simone said.

She adds, “Our community has such devoted and generous people with their time, finances, ideas, creativity [and] knowledge.

It is nice to be the one helping them coordinate that.”

She explains that the project considers the concept of l’dor l’dor or generation to generation is a commitment to the future.

Simone said, “I feel like our Jewish com-

munity is something that needs to exist...I kind of love the challenge of figuring out what is the best way for it to exist? And what will work for the next generation.

And what can be forever lasting. And what do we need to say goodbye to. What needs to go?’”

“I have a vision of us being more connected. I have a vision of us being stronger.

I have a vision of us blurring the lines more between all of our differences. Whether you are Reform, or Orthodox, or Conservative... or married with children, or single, or aging, I have a vision of all of those lines being merged and us being a strong core community. How to actually get there? I think we are on the right track with Shabbat San Diego, but you don’t really know until you try.”

And through maintaining a strong center, “I would love to somehow have that strong core community that we attract people...If we could truly build a happy inclusive community, we are going to attract everybody,” Simone said. A

“I feel like our Jewish community is something that needs to exist...

I kind of love the challenge of figuring out what is the best way for it to exist? And what will work for the next generation.

And what can be forever lasting.”

Simone Abelsohn accepting Board Chairs Awards 2017 at the volunteers appreciation party wiith Brian Tauber (Federation Chair).

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 39

DANCE

Malashock

Not Walking Into The Sunset Malashock Dance celebrates 30 years

BY JACQUELINE BULL his past December, Malashock Dance company celebrated their 30th anniversary of being an influential member of the San Diego arts community.

Founder and artistic director John Malashock took some time to take a call after returning from a trip in Chicago where he was restaging “The Pearl Fishers,” an opera production that originated in San Diego.

We talked briefly on the arts scene in Chicago and San Diego and their relative merits, “I think there is a lot of very strong work being done here. A lot of really good quality artists,” John Malashock said. John and other artists in San Diego have to navigate working in an arts community that is not as widely recognized as say the beaches and tacos. “For me it is a little bit of a double-edged thing, you do have to work a little harder to get noticed ... On the other hand, it allows you to just do the work you want to do perhaps with more freedom than when you are in a fishbowl.”

During a time of reflection, a show that he remarks as a highlight of Malashock was “Minor Fall/Major Lift.” The show was a collaboration with Art of Élan and featured original music composed by Judd Greenstein. “There was something very special about this concert. The blend [of ] variety [and] music, the quality of the [NOW Ensemble] musicians playing–phenomenal music, and then being able to work with Judd on a brand new piece.

[The] work delved into our Jewish roots, with a piece called ‘The Jewish Pope.’ It was something of a storytelling narrative piece. I think it really intrigued people.”

40 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

Reaching the 30th anniversary milestone, John explains that many people are asking him to comment and reflect on the organization’s history. “At this juncture, I’m looking back at a rather substantial body of work and period of time that I’ve been working. I tend to be a pretty forward-looking person and I’m driven by what’s coming up – what I’m working on. And I feel like I still have plenty of work to do. I’m not looking at walking off into the sunset or anything.”

He adds that he is proud that they have become a multi-faceted organization with the professional company, educational arm, outreach programs and working in different schools in the area. “It is nice to see it having blossomed that way,” John said.

In the near future, he has been working on a project with composer Yale Strom that he hopes to bring to fruition in the next couple of years. “It is sort of a dance-based musical based on the life and work of Marc Chagall,” he said. He considers it a bigger endeavor than some of the other shows. “It has really stretched me. Sometimes the work I’m doing I consider purely in the artistic realm.

Something like this has to have a foot in both the artistic and the entertainment realm. It is fun working that way.”

And what keeps him coming back into the studio after all these years, still inspired to create new work? John offers, “Part of what feeds me, inspires me, is seeing how dance combines with other art forms.” He has worked and collaborated with musicians, visual artists, writers, video artists, and essentially “mixed it up a lot” in his career. “Dance

“At this juncture, I’m looking back at a rather substantial body of work and period of time that I’ve been working.

I tend to be a pretty forward-looking person and I’m driven by what’s coming up – what I’m working on. And I feel like I still have plenty of work to do.” in itself is a collaborative process. There is a certain chemistry to that,” he adds.

The chemistry of collaboration, variety in the work and always having an eye on the next production are all things he credits to nurturing his passion. He explains, “Each time I’m making a new piece it is going to be a different experience.”

“It’s weird, as an artist, you don’t think in terms of it being a regular job, ‘Okay, at some point I’m just done.’ That is not the motivation,” John said, “I still have the desire and the need to create work.”

The company will perform a 30th anniversary concert March 15-25 at the Lyceum Theater. A

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EDUCATION

French American School

The San Diego French-American School Translates Their World

BY LEORAH GAVIDOR

M

any nationalities come together to learn at the San Diego French-American School, on Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, where pre-K through middle school students enjoy a thoroughly bilingual education. Head of School Mark Rosenblum, a French speaker who also happens to be Jewish, said that the most unique aspect of the education students receive at SDFAS is “academic and cultural fluency in French and English combined with character development that stresses empathy, integrity, rigor, excellence, open-mindedness and global citizenship.”

During preschool and elementary school, the majority of instruction in all subjects takes place in French. In middle school it transitions to half French, half-English, and Spanish as a third language is added in fifth grade.

Teachers from such far-flung francophone locales as Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Reunion Island, Quebec, France, Belgium, and Switzerland bring their different French accents and cultures to the students. Rosenblum, who came to SDFAS in August 2017 from the French-American School of New York in Westchester County, said that the curriculum is a well-balanced combination of standards from California state and the French ministry of national education.

Of course, a French education would not be complete without cooking—students practice making chocolate mousse, crepes and pastries. This academic year preschoolers created art inspired by Klee, Mondrian, Dubuffet, Van Gogh and other artists,

42 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

which was on display at La Jolla Library.

Middle schoolers held a mock trial in both French and English, and tried out their Spanish skills at a Mexican food restaurant in Chula Vista. The value of global citizenship imbues all activities at the school.

“Our students’ education at SDFAS opens doors around the world. It is not only the language, but the rigorous education and having an open mind to people of other nations, cultures, religions or those who speak different languages. This is the unique opportunity our bilingual education offers to our students,” said Rosenblum.

SDFAS develops student leadership and team-building skills with an active Humanitarian Club, a Junior Model United Nations Club, and an athletics program complemented by a new sports field completed in 2017. Students participate in a robotics and coding course, as well as in art, world music and theater programs. The theater group benefits from visits by French-American actor Jean-Marc Barr (Le Grand Bleu), who went to high school in San Diego and is the patron of the annual Festival of Film at SDFAS. Other visitors to the school include famous French explorer Jean-Louis Etienne, a scientist who collaborates with Scripps Institution of Oceanography on Arctic research.

Etienne talked with students and educators about his work on climate change and ocean temperatures.

SDFAS graduates who return to the school to meet prospective students and families talk about how a bilingual educa-

tion prepared them for high school and beyond by teaching them how to be organized, juggle various subjects, manage their time and think critically.

“A growing body of research confirms that bilingual children have more powerful brains, better executive function, an easier time transitioning from one activity to another, better focus, less distractibility, and greater capacities in language as well as in math and science. Our students learn the skills of global citizenship: creativity and innovation, collaboration and team work, fluency in multiple languages, facility in multiple cultures, intellectual rigor, and self discipline,” said Rosenblum.

The head of school also shared that students from SDFAS have gone on to attend many kinds of colleges for higher education, including Harvard, La Sorbonne, Berkeley and Oxford.

“They have studied abroad in countries in Europe, Latin America, South America, and around the world. They are lawyers who’ve worked in England, scientists who’ve worked in France, business people who’ve worked in Italy, political scientists who are in Washington DC…and the list goes on,” Rosenblum said of his students’ worldly accomplishments.

San Diego French-American School was founded in 1988 by André and Chandra Bordes in Clairemont Mesa. The current location opened in 2006. The school motto is “Multilingual. Multitalented. World ready.”A

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TRAVEL

Bayreuth

Expect the Unexpected in Jewish Bayreuth Richard Wagner, Anti-Semitism and Resilient Faith

BY JUDITH FEIN

Festspielhaus 44 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

PHOTOS BY PAUL ROSS

L

et's get this out of the way. I hate to gossip and I didn't know the famous 19th century composer Richard Wagner personally, but by most accounts, he was a pretty awful human being. He milked his friends like cash cows, carried on with their wives, lived high on the hog and was foppish in dress, having his benefactors pay for his pink and green silks and magnificent lodgings. He was also a rabid anti-Semite, and the only one in his entourage more anti-Semitic was his second wife, Cosima, the daughter of Franz Liszt.

A few months ago, my husband and I flew to Bayreuth, Germany, where we had tickets to the much-sought-after Ring Cycle

by Wagner (it usually takes an average of l0 years to score a ticket). The elaborate, fournight musical theatre event takes place at the 1876 opera house that Wagner built specifically for performances of the Ring and it attracts a very cultured, sophisticated global audience.

We heard that Jews are some of the most avid Wagner fans, but the ones we met said they find Wagner’s anti-Semitism troubling.

Like me, they ask themselves how such a musical and theatrical genius could have been such a vile person? Maybe the works he created embodied the beauty, grace, and humanity that eluded him in life. Or perhaps there is no answer.

Until recently, Wagner fans and Wagner Society members made light of his anti-Semitism. From my personal experience, they deflected questions, or lightheartedly cited a few Jews he worked with, and if there were a big Wagner rug, the issue was swept under it.

But the day we arrived, I was shocked to find out that things have changed. We climbed the verdant hill to the famous Festspielhaus where the festival performances were first held under the watchful eye and direction of Wagner himself.

Below the theatre, in a large, two-tiered garden, is a very explicit exhibit about Wagner’s anti-Semitism. It features prominent metal panels with pictures of Jews who were not allowed to sing, play music, or direct in the Wagner theater in Bayreuth, and tragic stories about what eventually happened to them. Some escaped, some died in concentration camps, and all of them were barred from practicing their craft. In some instances they weren't even Jewish, but were married to Jews, or they were one fourth Jewish, but it didn't make a difference. Wagner considered Jews to be evil and anti-cultural and the Germans the bringers of light and culture.

Bayreuth Market Square.

Even more damning than the Wagner panels are the ones about Cosima. She established stringent rules after Wagner died, not allowing anyone of any Jewish persuasion to have anything to do with the opera except if he or she were a big star. Some members of Wagner’s family became friendly with Hitler and the Nazis and turned the festival into a Nazi showcase, which Hitler, an ardent Wagner fan, attended. It’s even suggested that the Wagner family’s writings and anti-Semitism helped to influence Hitler to discover the final solution to eliminate the Jews.

The exhibit was supposed to be temporary, but there has been such support that it is now permanent, so you can see it any time you visit Bayreuth.

I was overcome with a sense of how courageous the city of Bayreuth and the Wagner festival are for doing this. Imagine if the Mall in Washington D.C., had an extensive exhibit about our slave-owning presidents, or innocent blacks who were murdered, or the decimation of Native Americans.

But the exhibit was not the only unexpected find in Bayreuth; the other occurred when we met Felix Gothart, the affable, knowledgeable leader of the Bayreuth Jewish community. He’s a tall, fit, gray-haired man, who was sporting a kippah, jeans, a black jacket with a brown V-neck sweater underneath, and black shades. He said the community has about 500 members, most of which arrived from Russia after the fall of Communism in l991.

He proudly stated his Jewish creds: his grandfather was the leader of the Mizrahi (religious Zionist) party in Poland, and his mother was a distant relation to a Ger (Hasidic dynasty) rabbi. Both parents participated in the Warsaw uprising, and were survivors of concentration and death camps.

After World War II, Gothart continued, “About 350 DP’s (displaced persons) came here, and in the surrounding areas there were kibbutzim."

Gothart’s father started a kibbutz, and also brought back Jewish activity after the war. By 1946 they were praying in the synagogue, which miraculously survived the war. The Nazis were afraid to burn down the famous 1748 Baroque opera house that is next door.

In 1759 the opera house was sold to a Jewish family, who opened an adjacent synagogue there in 1760. When the German army refused to surrender at the end of the war, the American Air Force bombed most of the city, except for the synagogue and opera house.

“So,” Gothart explained, “some people say the Opera House [now a UNESCO World Heritage site] protected the Synagogue and at the end of the war the Synagogue protected the Opera House. Today it’s the oldest working synagogue in Germany that’s still used as a synagogue.”

So who were the early Jews who lived in Bayreuth? In the l8th century, Princess Wilhemina of Prussia (she was the older sister of Frederick the Great) was married Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 45

to the margrave (a nobleman) of the Brandenburg-Bayreuth region. The provincial area, at the time, was the boonies, and the multi-talented Wilhemina undertook the construction of massive baroque buildings and park projects to shmaltz it up and give it some cultural heft. She was both a composer and musician, and the crown jewel of her city makeover was the splendid baroque opera house, which was inaugurated in 1748.

According to Gothart, the first recorded Jewish presence in Bayreuth goes back to the mid l3th century, and during successive centuries there were periods of banning and grave restrictions on the Jews, and periods of relative calm. The Jewish community has archives that date from 1760 until l933. And then, tragically, it stopped. During Kristallnacht, Jewish buildings suffered terrible destruction and pillaging, and during the war a high percentage of the Jewish population was exterminated. And besides the miracle that the synagogue survived, Gothart recounted another miracle: the Nazis occupied Bayreuth, stole 28 Torahs and religious items, smashed the inside of the synagogue by hand, crept all over the roof and inside the synagogue, but never discovered the geniza.

Inside the synagogue, on the ground floor, Felix proudly pointed out a “Shabbos elevator for older people to get upstairs. They don’t have to touch any buttons. It was developed in Jerusalem. And Hashem was looking out for us. In opera times, the nobles sat upstairs and the stage and regular folks were downstairs, so we didn’t have to change that. The upstairs is for women and the downstairs is a small, modern sanctuary. It’s better to have a small synagogue that is full than a large one that is empty. But just in case, we have walls that expand so the room can be larger.”

The largest thing, to me, is Gothart’s vision for and leadership of the community. “Different rabbis came here from Israel, America, and Russia to present different kinds of Judaism to the Russians, who know very little about the religion,” he explained. He works as a volunteer, and says G-d helps him (in addition to his work in construction). He led us outside to the mikvah (ritual bath), explaining that he wanted rainwater for it. They dug down 70 meters and knew there was water, but how would they get it up? They ruled out a pump, made a hole to try to create pressure, and then dug another hole that was so perfect the water came up on its own.

The remodeled synagogue keeps much of what is old, and incorporates it into a sleek, modern design aesthetic. And Gothart’s vision does not stop outside of the synagogue.

46 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

Felix Gothart at the ark.

He walked us across the street to an l8th century building that was given to the Jewish community by the government with the stipulation that they have to restore it. The work has already begun, and when it opens it will have a cultural part (a museum, performance space, and small coffee shop), rooms where visitors can stay, a summer school/yeshiva for kids and students, and a space for students that will include a Skype connection for rabbis in other places to give talks. And how is Gothart raising the money? “Hashem will help. Without Hashem, we can’t do it.”

With obvious pride, Gothart said they are already celebrating Shabbat in the future cultural center, and the Russians have learned how to prepare the food. “They love doing the cooking…especially the older people. It is glatt kosher. And it’s like a family. Sometimes there are problems, but I tell them we have to keep together. When there are small problems, they go to the secretary of the community. For big problems, they come to me.”

We left the building and Gothart drove us to the Jewish cemetery, about l0 minutes away. It was like entering an enchanted forest of the dead carpeted in green plants, silent, atmospheric. Three stones stand as witnesses to those who died in both world wars, with the addition of an evocative, mystical quote from Ezekiel: “I blow my spirit into you, and you will be alive.”

The cemetery, which dates back to l786, is closed to the public, and Gothart said he only takes people there once a year, on November 9, to commemorate Kristallnacht.

“The Nazis started removing headstones

here, and then stopped. No one knows why.

There are about l,000 stones.” He very simply, and movingly, explained that, “All the clearing and cleaning in the cemetery is done by hand. There are no machines inside the walls. Once a year, a machine comes outside the wall and takes what we have cleaned up in the cemetery. They reduce it to mulch, which is then returned to the cemetery. So nothing is removed. This place belongs to the dead. I don’t want people to come here to disturb them.”

The wall of the cemetery is made of commemorative stones for those who died in camps. “There are no headstones for them,” Gothart said, “because there are no bodies.

The dead here have no descendants.”

In the old part of the cemetery, all the tombstones are similar, with no difference between rich and poor. Over time, the stones of the wealthy became more elaborate but now they are going back to the old way, where all are equal in death.

We walked past one headstone that Felix pointed out; it belongs to Josef Rubinstein.

He was a great admirer of Wagner, and wrote to him to explain that he came from a wealthy Jewish family, was a pianist, transcribed musical scores, and wanted to work for the master. Not one to turn down the lure of someone independently wealthy who could work for him for free, the master agreed. Rubinstein became Wagner’s personal pianist and transcriber and, by some accounts, was treated poorly. Yet, when Rubenstein heard that Wagner had died, he killed himself. And, inexplicably, Cosima had his body brought to the Jewish cemetery.

“How is that possible, when she and Wagner were so anti-Semitic?” I asked Gothart.

He wasn’t sure about Cosima, but he believed “Wagner was jealous of Jewish composers.

He thought he was a genius and got no recognition, but they did.”

Before leaving the cemetery, we had to wash our hands in rainwater, which was kept in a plastic barrel. As Gothart poured the water over my hands with a plastic watering can, I inquired of him, “Why are you doing all of this for the Jewish community?”

“It’s like when you light a candle. The flame always goes up. By doing good things you hope, bit by bit, to go up, up, nearer to Hashem. Humans are not perfect, but what Hashem gave us is.”

Santa Fe-based Judith Fein, a former resident of San Diego, is an award-winning international travel journalist, author and speaker. Her website is: www.GlobalAdventure.us. A

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EDUCATION

Garden Preschool

“Home Away From Home” The Garden Preschool is love enveloped with a side of cookies

BY BRIE STIMSON

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alking into the Garden Preschool in Vista feels like walking into a family reunion – where the family members get to see each other every day. Parents and kids, teachers and siblings and grandparents run around the courtyard and inside the classrooms talking and hugging, laughing and nurturing – and that’s just a first impression.

The nearly-four-year-old-school was the brainchild of Director Nechama Greenberg, who is married to the rabbi of Chabad Jewish Center of Oceanside/Vista.

“From when I was a little kid everybody said to me you’re going to be the one that’s gonna work in preschool ... You’re so good with little kids,” Nechama told me while we interviewed inside the front entrance to the synagogue as she fittingly kept one eye on a sick child waiting for her father to pick her up.

When Nechama was about 15, her sister, her brother-in-law (who was a rabbi) and their two children moved to Long Island, and they would stay with a woman who had trip-

48 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

lets before they bought their house. Nechama would often stay with them.

“And so the whole Shabbos I would sit and I would play with the children and I would do children’s services for [my sister] and I would really work a lot with the children so they always said to me you’re going to be with preschool,” she explained.

After high school she worked with a Chabad rabbi in Alaska. “They had an incredible teacher ... so much patience so much kindness ... and it was just an incredible vibe ... and that was like my first internship,” she said. “I did the Judaic studies, but she ran the preschool and we worked side by side, I was her assistant and it was really an incredible experience. So when I came back to New York, I was very excited to work in preschool.”

Her sister had a preschool, so she went to work for her for a couple of years, moving from assistant teacher to teacher. After she gave birth to her first daughter, she finished the year and her family moved to San Diego.

Once they moved to Oceanside, they began running a congregation out of their house,

and Nechama started teaching Hebrew School and camp. “It’s very natural, it’s very easy for me to teach preschool, but teaching older children was a little bit more difficult, but I found a love for that over the years,” she said.

They bought the building in Vista about five years ago, and Nechama decided it was time to open a preschool. “When we were working with my Hebrew School children and my camp children ... I realized there was really a strong need also for a preschool so that the children have a stronger foundation day in and day out,” she said.

They built the preschool as part of the Chabad building and planted a garden for the children to tend. “Being nurturing is extremely important,” she said. One of the parents told her the morning of our interview, "you’re so nurturing, it’s so different from everywhere else,” she told me blushing. Her philosophy? “It should be a home away from home for them.” The school started originally with just five children, one being hers. In the last three and a half years, the number has

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARDEN PRESCHOOL

Nechama with the students in the garden

grown to 24.

I briefly met with two young parents in one of the classrooms before my interview with Nechama. Milana Dunlop and Dara Murdy met and became friends through the preschool. They explained to me that the relatively small size of the preschool was a plus for them because everyone knows everyone and it feels like family.

“What really attracted me to this school was the garden outside and the outdoor environment and also the Jewish culture and tradition that my son will get here as opposed to a traditional non-religious school,” Milana, whose two-year-old son Max attends the school, said. “It’s a way for us to be involved with the Jewish community and make new friends and celebrate old traditions and new and bring that aspect of Jewish culture back into our lives.”

Dara was brought up Jewish, but her husband is not. She said she doesn’t practice much, but she wants her son, Ethan, to have a foundation of Jewish values.

“Because of all the community work that

Nechama puts together that involves all of the community, I’ve gotten to meet a lot of the parents of fellow preschool students and I’ve learned a lot of the families that send their children here are not Jewish at all,” she explained. “Not only do they send their child here, but they also come to the community events. They enjoy just that sense of togetherness and that intimacy. That, to me, speaks volumes.”

Indeed, Nechama celebrates the differences in her children’s backgrounds.

“Another very special aspect of our preschool is that we’re very diverse, and so we have children from all walks of life, and everybody’s blended and everybody’s included,” she told me. “Although we have a lot of families that are not necessarily Jewish, everybody embraces and everybody accepts.”

“In Judaism we’re very accepting and we of course believe in being good and kind people and so we’re a very diverse preschool and we have children from all walks of life. So not all of our children are Jewish and they all embrace the fact that we’re a Jewish preschool,

but we embrace them for who they are as well.”

Back in the preschool courtyard the children were getting ready for their nap. I had a chance to talk with Sebastian, one of the elder statesmen at the school. He told me some important information: like the fact that he likes playing with balls and bikes and this week in Ms. Marla’s class he’s the bell ringer. I asked him what he likes the most about his teachers. “I like cuddling them!” he beamed. And that seems to be a communal feeling.

I last spoke with lead teacher Marla Elliott, who has more than 30 years of preschool experience. “She is love enveloped is how I describe her,” Marla said of Nechama without a hint of schmaltz.

And as I left the preschool, Nechama ran out to give me a hug and told me not to leave because she had forgotten to give me a plate of food. Despite my protests that my interviewees are not obligated to feed me, I was given a full plate of goodies.

Love enveloped – with a side of cookies. A

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 49

WOMEN

Wonder Women

Wonder Woman or Bionic Woman?

Amanda Benjamin Refuses to Let Kidney Disease Get in Her Way

W

BY BRIE STIMSON

A

manda Benjamin appreciates the sympathy, but really she doesn’t have time. She had a double mastectomy last year, open-heart surgery, was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2008 and continues to work fulltime.

“I refuse to let anything get in my way,” Amanda tells me over the phone from her home in Rockland County, New York. “I’m going to do this and I’m going to kick butt. I just get up every day and just say 'no, I’m not giving up today because I know I can do this'... This is not stopping me from living my life. I am determined to live my life the way it should be.”

Amanda was first diagnosed with a heart condition she’d had since birth when she was 16. She had no further problems until she was diagnosed with kidney disease in her 20s and started dialysis three times a week last February.

She is now working with a Brooklyn-based Orthodox group called Renewal that helps gets donors for people who need kidneys. The group is working on their third transplant at Sharp Healthcare right now. With Renewal, Amanda and her family have posted ads on Facebook, in the newspaper and they hope to do an event for her at the San Diego Jewish Academy where Amanda’s niece and nephew go to school.

Amanda, who is on the list at Sharp and is working with the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and Mt. Sinai in New York, hopes to eventually move to California.

Amanda Benjamin and her mother Marla.

50 SDJewishJournal.com l December 2017

“My family, for me, is more out in California with my sister, my niece, my nephew, my brother-in-law,” she says. “My support system is much stronger than it is here. Unfortunately, it’s just my mother out here with me. And with this disease I’m also anemic and this disease is very harsh on my body. I hate being cold and being out there recently for Thanksgiving it just really opened up my eyes to really wanting to be out there fulltime. The only thing really holding me here in New York is my job. And I wouldn’t say it’s a career right now. It’s just a job.” Amanda works in the e-commerce department of a toy company in New York. She’s been there five years.

While she continues to work fulltime, the disease does take its toll, often causing swelling, nausea and blood clots. “Sunday I was going grocery shopping, I felt perfectly fine, but in the middle of it I started to get very extremely tired to the point where I had the grocery cart holding me up,” she tells me. “Every day is different.

So there are days that are good and there are days that I just pull through ... Today was difficult. I got sick this morning, but still went to work and I felt sick all day, but I want to see can I make it through the day?”

She says there are times she feels entitled to feel sorry for herself – but they’re rare. “I got into my car Sunday night,” she tells me, “and it took me forever to load the groceries in the car and once I got in I had a moment and I just broke down crying because it’s frustrating that you don’t have control when this is going to happen.

I was like perfectly fine and then half way through ... there I am just exhausted and there’s nothing you can do. I just had a moment and I just broke down crying because it’s just devastating to know that it does this to you.”

Right now, Amanda is in the process of changing the type of dialysis she receives “so I could be more independent and not rely on others,” she said. Instead of being driven to a center for three and a half hours three days a week and getting two huge needles in her arm, the less invasive dialysis would be done at home every day while she sleeps. She could also have her supplies sent anywhere in the world.

Getting on the donor list hasn’t made her life any easier. “Looking for a kidney is frustrating,” she admits. She says Sharp is the fourth facility she’s been involved with, and getting an appointment can take months and sometimes you don’t even get a call back. Often, she says, facilities keep asking her to come back, which can involve a significant amount of time off work when the hospital is out of state. “I send my stuff so in advance, I am so detail oriented with my documents, and when you get there nobody’s even looked at them,” she laments. “I tell them all these things, hoping to avoid another

visit and nobody takes the time so that’s frustrating as well.”

Wait times, early appointments and red tape add to the hassle.

“Every facility is different,” she says. “You can’t just send [the same] paperwork to another facility.” She says Mt. Sinai in New York City was the most difficult, asking her to return multiple times to the city. “It’s very draining because it’s all day,” she says.

If she does get a kidney from a donor in San Diego, she says she plans to stay. “If I get one out there I don’t want to come back,” she tells me. “Just send my stuff ... I’m like it’s meant to be. I’m not coming back. Everything happens for a reason. And I told my boss that. I told her ... ‘if I get one out there I’m not coming back, just to let you know.’ And she’s like ‘I don’t blame you.’”

Her decision to have a double mastectomy last year was one of the most difficult – and emotional. “The emotional part of it was being on the table,” she tells me with clear emotion in her voice. “And the breast surgeon, she was amazing, and she – I still get emotional about it, and it’s a part of you that represents you as a woman and you have to make a decision – she’s holding my hand on the table, and I think that’s the most emotional part of it, she said everything is going to be fine and then that was it.” Amanda says it was an extremely intense surgery, but she never hesitated or regretted it. “As I tell people, it’s one less fight I’ll have to handle.” Amanda tested positive for the BRCA1 gene, which put her at higher risk for breast cancer; under normal circumstances a doctor could monitor a patient for breast cancer, but she was unable to get an MRI because of her kidney disease.

She says through it all she’s constantly making jokes to lighten things up. For example, when she met with her plastic surgeon for her breast reconstruction she asked him, “‘can you make it so I don’t have to wear a bra anymore’, and he goes ‘yes’ and I said ‘you’re my man, where do I sign up? can you make them perky?’ ... When I discuss it with them I kind of make it not so serious, not so sad. I beat that part of it. It didn’t get to me.”

The most rewarding thing for Amanda is when people tell her she inspired them. “They say ‘I wish I could be as strong as you.’ They go ‘you are like Wonder Woman or Bionic Woman, not sure which one,’” she laughs.

“Knowing that you made a difference for someone else makes it worth it.” A Anyone interested in reaching out to Amanda regarding kidney donation can email her confidentially at her Renewal assigned email: R18220@renewal.org.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 51

WOMEN

Jewish Women's Retreat

W

This Way To Eden A Most Incredible Jewish Women’s Retreat

BY RACHEL EDEN

I

emerged from the Redemption Retreat a new woman. It was as if I had indulged in a luxurious spa - despite the bunk beds and cold tile! My facial muscles were so relaxed; I had a breakthrough and transformed a threatening competitor into a true friend while triumphing over my own internal lower voice. My worldview melted away to produce a more authentic picture of what I loved and where I was headed. It was as if I had lived a life with limited oxygen up until that point and could finally breathe deeply for the first time. My biggest worry was: How can I hold on to this incredible feeling?

Spending three days with 60 women at the Redemption Retreat was like nothing I had experienced before. What kind of woman puts her whole life on hold – job, family, obligations – for three whole days? Was it an act of pure self-indulgence or insanity? As it turned out, these women were responsible, intelligent, successful, happy and grounded.

They were Jewish, non-observant women who made the decision to put everything on hold in order to take stock of themselves and their lives, so they could make decisions with mindfulness and clarity.

Consider a Fortune 100 company sending out its top executives and investors for a three-day conference to evaluate business affairs and strategize new and better approaches. Assuming the conference actually facilitated creativity and innovation, the de52 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

cision to invest time and money into such an experience would surely be rewarded with an increase in sales and revenues. In a world where Corporate America is being disrupted by Uber, Amazon, and Airbnb, we may want to consider what puts us (as individuals) out of business? What inhibits our success in personal and professional endeavors? What virtual reality are we creating that is skewing our perception of who we interact with and how we spend our resources?

Whether the crossroads is a difficult decision, a weighty concern, or just balancing all that life brings our way, the retreat I attended carved out the time and opportunity for discovery and revelation. I was invited to attend as a coach, but I was very much treated like a participant and I allowed myself to benefit from all of the wisdom around me.

Generally, my moments of insight come in bursts in the shower, during a long drive alone, or while cooking. Something opens up for me when no one else is around and my body is on autopilot. Suddenly, my mind is free to wander where it chooses. There are no other voices but my own and no distractions. The retreat offered me amplified versions of those moments – glimpses of my own inner wisdom and intuition – with a three-pronged approach.

The first aspect that was in stark contrast with my regular life was the luxury of time.

I didn’t have to rush anywhere or busy my-

self with professional or personal demands. I never realized how free my mind would feel when not busied and burdened with commitments of time.

The second aspect that made the Redemption Retreat so impactful was the connection to other women. These women were so invested in growing and discussing how to live life more mindfully. The atmosphere was intentionally set up to be open, non-judgmental and positive.

The third and last aspect that made the Redemption Retreat special was the wisdom. Workshops were modeled so that the participants could work alone or in pairs examining how to best act and react to our unique life circumstances. From a place of gratitude, we tackled what was getting in the way of progressing at work, building a happy home, or maintaining extraordinary relationships with family and friends.

With these three supportive pieces of time, connection and inspiration, I was able to tap into an expanded part of myself. I left the Redemption Retreat wondering how I could take some of the magic home with me and have tried to carve out more of these three crucial supports in my daily life. I have processed it, written about it, and coached others using the same strategies and found it’s made all the difference in continuing to live a thinking, inspired life. A

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 53

THEATER

The Color of Light

WRITER JESSE KORNBLUTH

EXPLORES “THE COLOR OF LIGHT”

BY PAT LAUNER

A

Jew, an atheist and a nun. Sounds like the start of a joke. But it’s serious artistic business.

The Jew is prolific New York-based writer Jesse Kornbluth. The atheist is post-impressionist painter Henri Matisse. And the nun… well, that’s the story of Jesse’s first play, “The Color of Light,” having its world premiere in San Diego at Vantage Theatre.

In his long and impressive career, Jesse, a Magna cum Laude graduate of Harvard, has written books about Andy Warhol, Michael Milken, Michael Jordan, Kelsey Grammer and Twyla Tharp. He’s been a contributing editor at magazines such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest and the L.A. Times. He’s written screenplays for Paul Newman, Robert DeNiro, Griffin Dunne, ABC, Warner Brothers and PBS.

54 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

He’s founded cultural/intellectual websites (bookreporter.com, HeadButler.com).

But this latest project he considers bashert.

“This play was handed to me,” he insists.

“I channeled it. Everything about it was bashert.”

He didn’t set out to write a play. But one night, as he was surfing the web, he happened upon a mention of the Chapelle du Rosaire, the chapel that Matisse designed in Vence, France.

“Decades ago,” he says, “on a trip to Provence, I’d made a pilgrimage to the chapel, and like everyone who experiences it, I was flattened by its alternately raw and subtle beauty. But I knew nothing of the story of its creation.”

“I knew a lot about Matisse’s art,” continues the fast-talking, funny, quintessential

New Yorker (who was born in Boston and lived all over the country before settling into New York), “but I’d never thought to ask the key question about the chapel: ‘How did this atheist come to create a place of worship for Catholics?’

“The answer,” he continues, “was: a woman. But not in the way you may be thinking.”

Jesse spent years researching Matisse and his time in the south of France.

“It’s amazing,” he marvels. “A Jew writing a play about an atheist who made a Catholic chapel against the opposition of the head of the Catholic church there.”

The plot starts in 1942, when a 72 yearold Matisse, divorced and ailing, was living in Nice, having left Paris because of the German occupation. He had just undergone an operation for intestinal cancer, and was recu-

PHOTOS BY MARTI KRANZBERG

VANTAGE O.P Haddock in "The Color of Light"

perating. His only companion and helper was his officious Russian assistant, Lydia. He was an inveterate insomniac, so he really needed a night nurse.

A young, 21-year-old nursing student, Monique Bourgeois, answered the ad. After she was hired, she and Matisse talked all night – for 15 nights.

“They had a deep soul connection,” Jesse explains. “He came to love her like a daughter. But when he learned that she was going to become a nun, he was enraged. They parted on bad terms.”

Five years later, they were both living in Vence, a medieval village in southeastern France.

“By this time,” says Jesse, “she’s a nun, now known as Sister Jacques-Marie. They’re friends again. Her convent prayed in a chapel that was once a garage. When it rained, the roof leaked. She asked Matisse to design a stained glass window so the nuns could raise money and repair the chapel. He offered to design a new chapel instead. And to pay for it.”

He spent years working on the design, mostly confined to bed or a wheelchair. But before the chapel was consecrated, he died (in 1954, at age 84). He called the Chapelle du Rosaire the “masterpiece” of his life. Some regard it as one of the great religious structures of the 20th century.

“In his third act,” Jesse marvels, “he creates his masterpiece. And he develops a deep, romantic soul connection. Who wouldn’t want

that?”

Similarly inspired, says Jesse, “God gave me my marching orders. As Matisse said, ‘Do I believe in God? Yes – when I work!’”

And when Jesse picks his head up from the work, he sends it out to big-name actors that he knows on a first-name basis, thinking, “This play has a destiny to be in a big theater.”

But he didn’t want to wait for all the Hollywood or New York bureaucracy. He wanted the play to be produced sooner than later.

Last year (another part of the bashert story), when he was in La Jolla for his mother’s 100th birthday, he had breakfast with Dori Salois and Robert Salerno, who run Vantage Theatre, she as producer, he as artistic director.

“I trusted them,” says Jesse. “I knew they did good work, inventive work. I like winwin situations. They’ll have the premiere, and I’ll get to see the play on its feet.”

“This is an emotional evening,” he continues, “I’ve known Dori, on and off, for more than 30 years. I know she has enormous emotional depth. And she knew I was not just a slick New Yorker. When Dori and Robert suggested changes, I made them. They wanted smart stuff.

“I’m really delighted about this, and I’ll be there for the opening. I told my 15-year-old daughter, ‘you’re my red carpet date.’ And she, dripping with her usual irony said, ‘again?’

We’re gonna have a red carpet for sure. I’ll pay for it. My ambition is a home run rising as it

VANTAGE Cecily Keppel as Monique, who later becomes Sister JacquesMarie, and Bobbie Helland as Lydia, Matisse's manager of all things, in “The Color of Light."

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 55

clears the fence.”

Jesse sounds hyperbolic, but he actually delivers on what he says. He’s also something of a workaholic. He’s knows everyone (the names he drops are pretty remarkable, and his literary knowledge is, too). He’s always got a zillion projects in the works or in the wings, and even in conversation, a zillion ideas tumbling out simultaneously.

“My last words,” he vows, "when the Angel of Death comes to get me, will be ‘wait a second. I need to hit send.’”

Ties to La Jolla Behind the scenes of this production, there’s a complex series of interrelations that converge in La Jolla.

Jesse’s brother, and his brother’s wife’s family are “an old La Jolla family.” His brother’s children went to Bishop’s School with Dori and Robert’s children (one daughter from each family remain best friends). Dori met Jesse’s brother when he was a med student and she was a nurse, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in Manhattan. Robert’s mother, a physician, taught Jesse’s brother at medical school.

“So, we have a semi-family connection with Jesse,” says Dori. “And he once saw a Vantage production. He knew what Robert does visually with plays. He pushes the envelope, and I lick it and seal it,” she quips, explaining their director/producer relationship.

“When Jesse sent us the play,” Dori continues, “I loved it, and thought it belongs on Broadway, or in a major regional theater. I jokingly said, ‘We’d be a great incubator for the play.’ And Jesse agreed. We were already selling tickets in November.”

“It’s a really, really good story,” she says, “and it fits all aspects of our mission: big ideas, great visual potential, and an Aha! moment.”

The production will include many images of Matisse’s work. And above the Tenth Avenue mainstage theater space, there will be a local artists’ exhibition in the 3rd floor gallery.

Prior to performances, Vantage will host talks 56 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

“’How did this atheist come to create a place of worship for Catholics?’ “ The answer,” he continues, “was: a woman. But not in the way you may be thinking.’” about Matisse, the religious life and other relevant topics. After the performance, audiences are invited up to the rooftop to admire the city view.

Another bashert element of the production was casting O.P. Hadlock as Matisse. A busy local actor, director and designer, he himself is an artist, and was able to create sketches and even replicate the famous Matisse cutouts that were the master’s preferred means of creating art in the later years of his life when he had limited mobility and could no longer paint.

“We’re thrilled with our cast,” crows Dori, who does some acting of her own around town.

“As we worked with Jesse on the play,” Robert says, “I started to fall in love with it. It’s a good story, with really important ideas: about art vs. religion, and the power of love to overcome obstacles. Of course, we’re talking platonic love here. In the second act, Picasso appears; he was younger and a great admirer of Matisse. When he heard about his illness, he came to see his friend. Picasso is played by James Steinberg, and he really kind of looks like him.”

To create a painterly visual backdrop with dozens of images and 6-10 projectors going at once, Robert had to secure the rights to many of Matisse’s paintings. He’s been in frequent contact with Matisse’s great grandson, Georges (“very gracious, very nice. We invited him to come see the production”).

He also had to contact the Baltimore museum (“they were exceedingly nice, and

waived the copyright fee”) and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (“not so much”), and museums elsewhere in the U.S., as well as Europe and Russia.

The look of the piece will change from the first act to the second, says Robert, "because Matisse’s artwork changed. He used a long bamboo pole with a piece of charcoal on the end to create sketches for the chapel and other pieces.”

Robert, a physician who practiced obstetrics/gynecology for 20 years, believes in “utilizing whatever technology seems appropriate, to enhance and fortify what’s happening onstage. In order to achieve the impossible, you have to attempt the absurd,” he says, paraphrasing a quote variously attributed to writer Miguel de Cervantes, physicist Albert Einstein, artist M.C. Escher and the 19th century Spanish Basque essayist/philosopher Miguel de Unamuno (the actual source).

Surprisingly, Robert has no technical or art background, but he has always been fascinated with art. When he was in college, he dabbled in writing, music and filmmaking, returning to the arts after he retired from his medical practice. All his work with Vantage, a 30-year-old company that he and Dori took over in 1999, has been complex and highly visual.

“This evening,” Dori promises, “will offer theater, art and a roof view – a full artful experience.”

“This story is so personal to these people,” says Jesse, “but it’s about really big things. I feel like I’m doing a mitzvah for the world. I just happen to be the agent of it. Because I didn’t become a Rabbi, as the rabbi at my Bar mitzvah said I should, this is my rabbinical offering, my Yom Kippur sermon.”

Vantage Theatre’s world premiere production of “THE COLOR OF LIGHT” will be presented at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center, downtown, Jan. 11-Feb. 3. A Tickets and information: 619-940-6813; vantagetickets@gmail.com.

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FEATURE

Restaurant Review

A Restaurant With a View

BY EILEEN SONDAK

N

ine-Ten is not just a number. It’s the name of one of the finest restaurants in La Jolla – and all of San Diego, for that matter.

This highly acclaimed dining destination has earned a coveted Zagat rating, and boasts an award-winning chef, Jason Knibb -- an early champion of farm-fresh local artisan ingredients. Knibb trained with Wolfgang Puck and other master chefs, before putting Nine-Ten on the culinary map.

Located in the Grande Colonial Hotel, NineTen has been a magnet for food connoisseurs for 16 years. But the restaurant isn’t about to rest on its laurels. It just underwent a $300,000 renovation that includes a revitalized dining room and bar, updated sidewalk patio area, and spectacular ocean-view terrace. The sophisticated ambiance now has a modern vibe that makes it even more attractive to discriminating diners. Impeccable service and valet parking are just frosting on the cake.

The contemporary California cuisine is always evolving at NineTen. As Chef Knibb explained, “I find the most culinary pleasure in blending an eclectic mix of classic techniques with modern styles inspired by the ethnic diversities of San Diego.” As a result, traditional dishes show up on the menu with “a simple, elegant twist.”

The appetizer menu is huge (there are 11 to choose from), and each dish has Chef Knibb’s signature on it. Take the roasted carrots and carrot falafel ($15) for example. This is not like any falafel you’ve ever tasted, and the roasted carrots are sublime. It ranks as one of the top 10 appetizers in contemporary cuisine. Chef Knibb features Hudson Valley foie gras ($25) among the spectacular starters at this upscale eatery, so take advantage if you’re a fan of this elegant classic.

Even salads get the royal treatment at Nine-Ten. Try the roasted vegetable salad ($15) and enjoy a garden of freshly roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, radishes, fennel, and carrots, topped with hazelnut crumbs and dressed with black truffle vinaigrette. You may have had pear and Belgium endive salad ($15) at other restaurants, but Chef Knibb prepares his with a special “twist” – Asian pear, Bucheron cheese, dried cranberries, pecan and champagne vinaigrette.

If you need further incentives to make your next special occasion dinner at Nine-Ten, check out the

58 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

entrée list. It includes mouthwatering wild Coho salmon with a savory Castelvetrano olive relish ($37), Baja striped bass with Manila clams and maitake mushrooms ($36), a fabulous 10 oz. New York steak with spring onions and a confit of crispy baby potatoes ($39) and roasted Colorado lamb loin with roasted eggplant ($37).

Need I say more?

The chef has a cheese course to tempt you after dinner, and it’s well worth indulging in at least one cheese selection ($7). You can share four varieties with the table for $20.

The desserts are exquisite, thanks to the artistry of pastry chef Jose Alonzo III. Among the delicious treats is halfbaked chocolate cake with caramel sauce ($10), banana crunch bar ($11), coconut flan with pineapple jelly – paired with strawberry sorbet ($11), Greek yogurt panna cotta with compressed apples and grape sorbet ($11) and an assortment of seasonal sorbets (all made in-house, along with the ice cream). You can sample three silky sorbets for $8.

Nine-Ten serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily (a menu brunch on Sunday), and it goes without saying that the restaurant features a well-balanced and extensive wine list. Reservations are recommended. A

Steven Gaines

FEATURE

“One of These Things First” An Interview With author Steven Gaines

BY BRIE STIMSON

W

riter Steven Gaines spoke to the San Diego Jewish Journal about his new memoir “One of These Things First” about his childhood in Brooklyn, his teenage suicide attempt, his time at a luxury psychiatric hospital and curative therapy to try to become heterosexual. The interview has been edited for space.

San Diego Jewish Journal: Can you tell me a bit about your writing career?

Steven Gaines: I went to NYU Film School and when I got out of film school I was prepared to do absolutely nothing in the world, and I got a job actually moving furniture, and every night I went to this famous bar ... It’s what Lenny Bruce would have called a character bar.

There were all sorts of interesting people. One night a guy came in, a tall guy with curly blond hair and he said his name was Marjoe – a combination of Mary and Joseph – and he had been a child evangelist. When he was five or six years old his parents had ordained him, they were Pentecostes, and I said "that’s a book" – and he said to me "well if you can sell it you can write it." So we made a deal, and I’d never written anything before, and I wrote a book proposal and long story short … Harper and Roe bought it and the movie “Marjoe” ... won the Oscar in 1973, and so I suddenly had a writing career.

This is the most important thing I’ve ever written, this book that we’re talking about today.

SDJJ: Why did you decide to write it? Why was it time?

SG: I think it was time because time was running out. I’m going to be 71 ... and I wanted all these years to write this story and I never really quite knew how.

At one point the book was twice as long going until I’m 26 and going through curative therapy to become heterosexual, but we cut that out and I ended it when I was 15. So I always wanted to do it and the time was passing.

SDJJ: You speak very candidly about your teenage suicide attempt in the book.

SG: I feel fine about it. Other people obviously don’t. People said to me “oh, you’re so brave.” Here’s the thing ... There’s a lot of suicide of gay kids going around ... I’d rather get this story out. I’ve lived through so much. I came out when I was 26 years old.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 59

“If I could tell my childhood self one thing it would be don’t torment yourself.”

SDJJ: So how do you think of yourself today?

SG: I’d say I’m a man, I’m a Jew, I’m a writer. I’m gay. It’s down there in my life ... I have none of the stereotypical gay things … Having psychiatric problems, I mean, I don’t know anybody who isn’t on anti-depressants.

I was distraught about a lot of things when I was a little boy and I realized I was gay. One thing was I loved being Jewish, I loved my religion. I loved the culture. My father’s father was president of a very small Orthodox synagogue on 32nd Street, and it was really part of my world, and I discovered not only was I nature’s mistake, I thought I was some sort of a horrible thing, and I had a horrible future, but I couldn’t turn to my beloved grandfather, grandmother, I couldn’t turn to G-d. I couldn’t because I knew G-d didn’t want me. I was just an aberration, I was unholy. And I was afraid to go to synagogue. I was afraid of everything.

Yet this book is very funny, and it sounds so tragic. … Somehow all of this is told humorously. And I think the small miracle this book has been for people is that they find it hysterically funny, and no one leaves this book with a sad feeling.

SDJJ: How do you feel about your Judaism now?

SG: A really great thing happened to me. First of all you know there are all these gay synagogues and everything, but I didn’t want to go to any … As I said I’m not gay, gay, gay about everything. But I was in a trendy new restaurant that opened up [in Long Island] and a man came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said to me, “why don’t I see you in synagogue?” and I said, “who are you?” and he said, “ the rabbi. I’m David Gelfand.” But that was really all it took. I was curious and I went to synagogue and there were some other gay people there. And it was completely open.

Nobody gave a damn … I said "David, if I decide to get married will you marry me," and he said, "only if you marry a Jew"... So I’m back.

SDJJ: Tell me about your time at Payne Whitney?

SG: What happened to me at the psychiatric hospital was remarkable. It was like a hotel. Everybody was wealthy and successful and came from – there were architects, a Broadway producer took me under his arm, and there were a lot of society people, magazine editors, fashion people, book editors … It wasn’t ugly. It wasn’t terrible ...

I became really fond of it. I didn’t want to go [leave]. To me it was like the Catskill Mountains – except no Jews.

There was a young psychiatrist named Wayne Myers and he offered me hope. He saw how tormented I was about being a homo (which is what it was called then) what I’d done to myself and how it was so unacceptable to me that he said he would help me find a cure and it could be cured.

When I was discharged from the hospital, I went into full analysis with him for at least ten years, three, four times a week.

He was a great, great man and great psychoanalyst and he deeply, deeply regretted trying to change me. I know because he told me ... Even though there was probably some harm done to me, the value he gave me was really important.

One of the things you had to do to cure your homosexuality was to sleep with women. Supposedly the more women I slept with the more I would like it. It’s an acquired taste, heterosexuality is like scotch ... I did that and I dated some wonderful, wonderful young women …but I really approached it more like a tourist than a native. I felt like a Jew in the Vatican. I knew the Sistine Chapel was supposed to be beautiful, but I just didn’t quite get the resurrection. … and I felt like a cad … There was a certain point where I had to say… this is your life and you have to make the best of it. A 60 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

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TORAH

The Tale of Four Parshiyot

A Word W of Torah The Tale of Four Parshiyot (Portions)

RABBI YERUCHEM EILFORT CHABAD AT LA COSTA

62 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

ell, the secular calendar has again turned, and the world ushers in a new year. It is interesting to compare and contrast how the Jewish people mark the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and how the rest of the world celebrates. While we spend numerous hours in the synagogue in a deeply contemplative, indeed meditative state, the rest of the world ‘whoops it up’ on their new year. Goodness knows we Jews are not averse to some celebrating, but we also know when it is time to do some serious soul-searching, and we view the New Year as precisely that time.

But this article is not about New Year’s Day, but instead it is about the four extraordinary Torah portions (known in Hebrew as ‘parshiyot’) that come out during this month (which corresponds to this issue of the Jewish Journal). The portions are ‘Shemot’ (Exodus, or literally ‘Names’), ‘Va’Eira’ (‘And I Appeared’), ‘Bo’ (‘Come’), and ‘Beshalach’ (‘When He Sent Out’).

In the course of this month we will read how the Jewish people descend from their vaunted and honored position to become lowly and oppressed slaves to how they are ultimately redeemed from Egyptian bondage in an ‘explosion’ of divine intervention and miracles. It is perhaps the original riches to rags to riches story. Maybe we can find a clue as to this theme in the four names of the portions previously mentioned. Why consider the names? Aren’t names simply superficial so why spend time analyzing them? Actually, we are taught by the Rabbis, of blessed memory, that there is great significance in the names of the portions and that the portions’ names are in some measure indicative of the portions’ contents.

‘Shemot,’ as previously indicated literally means ‘names.’ Interestingly we call the Book, second of the Five Books of Moses,

In the course of this month we will read how the Jewish people descend from their vaunted and honored position to become lowly and oppressed slaves to how they are ultimately redeemed from Egyptian bondage in an ‘explosion’ of divine intervention and miracles. It is perhaps the original riches to rags to riches story. by the name Exodus. Why? Because the over-arching theme of the Book is the exodus from Egypt. The birth of the Jewish Nation, which led to the Giving of the Torah by the Holy One to our ancestors some 3,300+ years ago in the Wilderness of Sinai. So what does ‘Names’ have to do with ‘Exodus’? Our commentaries tell us that, in fact, there is a very strong connection. The Jewish people were under enormous physical and spiritual pressure while in Egypt. Not only did Pharaoh seek to oppress the Jews physically, he sought to destroy them spiritually as well. Sadly, his efforts were not entirely fruitless. Many Jews succumbed to the pressures and broke either physically, or spiritually, or both. But, then

again, many Jews held firm. They held fast to their Jewish identities. How do we know this? We know this because they kept their Jewish NAMES. So the name of the portion is clueing us in on what got the Jews out of that particularly horrific pickle.

When the Book of Exodus and this portion begin, it begins by speaking about the Children of Israel. Keep that in mind.

The second portion is called ‘Va’eira’, and I appeared. Previously Moshe (Moses) had been commanded to approach Pharaoh and demand he set the people free so that they could serve G-d. Pharaoh did not only refuse, but he did so with gusto! He decreed that henceforth the Jews would be compelled to not only build cities, but that they must self-produce the bricks that would be used, all while not diminishing their production. Moshe didn’t understand how the Jewish people’s situation could get worse by following G-d’s commandments, and asked G-d. He replied by comparing Moshe, and his complaint, to the Patriarchs, who did not complain despite some severe tests. “Wait and see what will happen,” G-d responded.

When this portion begins it is G-d addressing Moses. Keep that in mind.

The next portion is that of ‘Bo’. The Almighty commanded Moshe, ‘Come to Pharaoh’ and (again) demand that the Children of Israel be freed from Egyptian servitude.

At this point in the narrative the tide had definitely turned. Seven of the 10 Plagues had occurred, and the time for the actual Exodus had arrived. But at the beginning of the portion Pharaoh was still (or at least seemed to be) in charge. Interestingly, the Torah says ‘Come to Pharaoh.’ That indicates that the Divine Presence was there, in Pharaoh’s Court. “Do not fear,” declared the Almighty, “For I am here too, protecting you and overseeing all that happens!” There is nowhere bereft of G-d’s Presence, for our faith informs us that He is Omnipresent.

G-d can even be found in Pharaoh’s Court.

When this portion begins it is again G-d and Moshe communicating. Keep that in mind.

Finally, the fourth portion we will address is ‘BeShalach’ (When He Sent Out). This portion begins with Pharaoh saying ‘UNCLE!’ ‘I quit!’ ‘I can’t take it anymore! ‘Get lost!’ etc. etc. etc. And out the Jews went.

Men, women, children all departed, and they did so swiftly. They took all of their possessions with them, and even were able to collect on all of their heretofore unpaid wages that the Egyptians had denied them.

The Jews left with their heads held high

and their arms outstretched in victory. The whole world trembled at this triumph, for they all saw the once mighty Egyptian empire brought to its collective knees by a small nation with no military training. The whole world heard and the whole world understood that there was (and is) a G-d in the world; a true Commander-in-Chief who controls everything. It was a moment that changed the world forever. The Exodus became even more miraculous and complete when the Jews successfully navigated the Sea of Reeds in an awesome display of the miraculous.

When this portion begins, it is about Pharaoh’s actions. Keep that in mind.

Now, let us examine what each portion begins with and with whom it deals. 1. Children of Israel. 2. G-d and Moses. 3. G-d and Moses. 4. Pharaoh.

What can we learn from this? It seems to me that we can understand from these parties how we are to conduct ourselves and bring about redemption in our time.

First things first. We must remain true to who we are! Just as the Jews in the days of Egypt maintained their heritage and despite horrific pressure and oppression remained

Jewish, as evidenced by how they held onto their Jewish names. (As an aside, if you don’t know yours you are welcome to contact me or your local Rabbi and we will happily assist you in getting one!)

When the Jewish people remain true to our Jewish identity, we merit revelations of the Almighty. Furthermore, we merit the leadership of Moshe, who was known as the Faithful Shepherd of our people. He lovingly related to each of us according to our particular needs and recognizing that each of us has unique gifts. Without every one of us doing his/her part, the Divine Plan is incomplete.

Finally, when we have reached such a vaunted level even Pharaoh, the very symbol of oppression and human-generated evil, comes to be an active participant in our redemption. And that is perhaps the biggest miracle of them all! Tic. Tac. Toe! May G-d bless all of us with a month of redemption and may we merit the immediate arrival of our Righteous Moshiach!

Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is Director of Chabad at La Costa. Rabbi Eilfort welcomes readers’ comments and questions to RabbiE@ChabadatLaCosta.com A Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 63

Y

DIRECTED BY JOEY LANDWEHR

JCC BOX OFFICE: (858) 362-1348 • www.jcompanysd.org THANK YOU TO OUR SEASON SPONSORS:

Melissa Garfield Bartell & Michael Bartell Monica Handler Penner & Amnon Gires and Family David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre • Potiker Family Arts & Culture Complex Viterbi Family Galleria • Foster-Ratner Performing Arts Education Center SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center • JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1348

64 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

FOOD

Introducing Yael Aires deserts BIO: I was born South Africa. In 1990, I emigrated to San Diego in 2012 and started My Private Pantry.

Baking biscotti, granola and desserts made to order, I am happiest on my own and baking up a storm in my kitchen.

MY PRIVATE PANTRY

with Yael Aires

I grew up in a house where my mom did all the cooking and baking. She taught me to bake and cook, and at first I had to do everything by hand, the old fashioned way. Slowly I was allowed to use the electric hand beater and then later the stand mixer as well as other electrical appliances. I especially loved watching her bake everything so carefully and with such love. She always told me that baking is a science! You have to follow the recipe exactly and you can’t bake in a hurry!

Cooking is much more forgiving!

She can be found at www.myprivatepantry.com, Facebook and Instagram.

yaelaires@gmail.com

Babke is a traditional Jewish cake with cinnamon and sugar. It is often baked with chocolate swirls, but seeing as I am more of a purist when it comes to baked goods, I stick to my mother’s recipe which only has the cinnamon and sugar.

BERNICE’S BABKE 3 Eggs 1 Cup sugar Pinch salt 1/4 Lb. Butter

3 Cup Flour 3 Tsp. Baking Powder 1 Cup Milk Cinnamon/sugar. Sultanas

EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS Stand mixer or electric handbeater Measuring spoons/cups Bundt or loaf tin

PHOTOS BY YAEL AIRES

INSTRUCTIONS

BERNICE’S

BABKE

Beat eggs well Add sugar slowly Add salt Sift flour and BP together Warm up milk with butter. Allow butter to melt and then cool down a little.

Add to egg mixture while warm.

Lastly add dry ingredients.

Place 1/2 mixture in tin which has been greased and floured.

Sprinkle cinnamon/ sugar mixture and a handful of sultanas.

Top with balance of mixture and dot with 1oz. butter.

Bake @ 375o for 40/45 minutes This Babke can be made dairy free/parev using margarine and dairy free milk.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 65

ADVISE

ASK MARNIE

by Marnie Macauley

editor@sdjewishjournal.com

Class is in Session

S

halom, San Diegans: I love this issue.

When I was in high school most “girls” were told by mama and papa to “become a teacher, mamala. This way you can be home early, have summers off and raise five kinder.” While teaching is a noble profession, it stood as a lone option in many homes back then. Fortunately, while ma was thinking “get married already – and teach,” my darling late father was saying, “You have a brain! Go. Get whatever education you wish in order to be the best you can be!” You see, he grew up with a widowed mom on a farm in Canada, who raised five children alone, worked many jobs, ran the local Jewish Girls Club, and tended chickens. He pre-dated liberation and prized talent, passion and education. As a result, I did go go go… and smashed a few glass ceilings in the trying. Yes, things have changed.

The world has changed, yet there are still some shards of that ceiling left. Let’s look.

WHEN IS A CHILD NOT A CHILD? Dear MARNIE: I recently turned 22. I am attending college and working just under full-time. For the past year I have been paying all my college expenses, with the exception of the current semester, which was an early Hanukkah gift from my mother. I live at home, but otherwise take care of my expenses. I would not be able to afford rent now if I were to move out. I constantly feel guilty, as though I should be independent and living on my own; but then, I would not be able to do as much with school. If my parents were to pay for my college, that would help; but I 66 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

Get out there!

Get close! Answer phones at a gallery!

Hang your works on a park fence next to the glass blowers on a Sunday! Draw!

Paint! Mingle! Talk!

Show your stuff! Job hunt! think the reason they don’t want to is because I dropped out at a different school and now they feel I’ve forfeited the opportunity. What do you think? Am I too old to be living at home? Should my parents be obligated to help me pay for school? (I am not eligible for grant money and I do not want to get buried in student loans). — Stuck Student MARNIE SAYS: Mamala, you’re doing the D.A.D.S. – Delayed Adolescence DoubleSpeak. (Don’t get mad. I adore you.) Delayed adolescence is a bigger trend then Reality TV (and way more “real”). These days “kids” are staying home, coming home, bringing their offspring home till they’re 40. (OK, I’m exaggerating – a little.) There are many reasons; however, this phenomenon has lumbered us with a grab bag of problems. You have several.

Let’s sort.

GETTING IT! YOUR PERSONAL STRATEGY: D.A.D.S.: “I feel guilty” vs. “Should my parents be obligated?” Boom. DoubleSpeak.

The adult “you” knows they aren’t “obligated” to give you room, board, much less a free semester. You feel guilty, which has moved you to superb action. You’re responsible. The twirl? You don’t want to be that responsible.

Get the conflict straight with you first.

Make a plan. Get inspired! List your ideas and selling points— even the queasy-making ones. There are cheaper schools, student loans (within reason, although they make me quake). Or how about a personal loan at a small interest rate which you’ll pay back way sooner as you’ll finish school way faster.

Lay it out with the folks. When you crunch the numbers — figures, timing, move-out savings — your plan may make financial and emotional sense to all. If not, go to a backup

plan.

Finally, you may want to address that hurt you’re carrying. Your inner voice is crying, “I’m trying! But all my folks see is my one Big Mistake.” Discuss your hurt — later.

Scared? Of course you are, but most people give dreidels for Hanukkah. It’s my guess that any mom who’d gift you with a free semester – will lend you an ear.

“ART” AND SOUL Dear MARNIE: I have been working as a legal assistant for about 10 years. I’ve been taking art classes for about three, but have been working in art since I was 10 years old. I would really like a profession where I’m doing something creative, but don’t have enough experience to be hired in that field. Also, working in legal pays very well. Art doesn’t unless you’re famous. Any suggestions? — F. Facha MARNIE SAYS: You bet! You’re also talking to a writer. But sweetie, as long as you see your art as a sideline to pushing legal briefs, you are doomed to doodling on napkins in Denny’s. Okay — fine... if safe is what you want. If, however, you choose creative, you’ll need the courage of three lionesses — and a strong affinity for Hamburger Helper. You see there’s a difference between “desire” and true ambition.

GETTING IT! YOUR PERSONAL STRATEGY: Expand your vision. Stop thinking like a nine-to-fiver, okay? Art has no hours! And you don’t need to be Rauschenberg to make a buck.

Art is everywhere, mamala. Matchbook covers, magazines, CDs! It’s in galleries and museums, yes, but hey, what about those parks! What are you doing with your evenings and weekends, Facha— knitting chickens?

Get out there! Get close! Answer phones at a gallery! Hang your works on a park fence next to the glass blowers on a Sunday! Draw!

Paint! Mingle! Talk! Show your stuff! Job hunt!

Hungry? Okay. Can you do “legal” parttime, at home, after hours? Honey, in this cosmos we have more clerks than creators.

We need you artists, angel. We need you!

So, what are you waiting for? Yes, there is a risk. But your choice is to bury your art beneath your briefs or breathe life into your art.

Seize the day, so that at the end of it, you can say at least you were there – even if for just one brief moment.

As John Greenleaf Whittier said: “Of all sad words of tongue or pen/The saddest are these: It might have been.” A

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 67

dance. The program includes two classics: “Arden Court” and “Cloven Kingdom,” and Steven Schick will accompany the Men’s Quartet. The Rolston String Quartet will round out the month on Jan. 21 at TSRI.

La Jolla Playhouse

The La Jolla Playhouse will host a week-long engagement of Mike Birbiglia’s latest solo piece, “The New One” – a humorous and highly relatable one-man show. This special offering will take over the Potiker Theater Jan. 9 – 14.

? GOIN '?ON ??

WHAT'S

BY EILEEN SONDAK

Broadway-San Diego

Broadway-San Diego will light up the New Year with one of the hottest shows ever to conquer Broadway – “Hamilton.” This mammoth blockbuster will move into the Civic Theater on Jan. 3 for an extended stay through Jan. 28. If you can still snare seats for this multi-awardwinning musical about our founding fathers, you’ll count yourself among the lucky ones. This groundbreaking show mixes hip-hop and history to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton and his tragic death in a duel with his one-time friend Aaron Burr.

The Capitol Steps – an acclaimed political musical satire troupe – will perform a new show at the Spreckels Theater Jan. 11. “Orange is the new Barack” promises to provide laugh therapy, so keep that in mind.

Coronado Playhouse

Coronado Playhouse is unveiling “The Addams Family,” a musical comedy delight that appeals to the whole family. The show will be ensconced at the Playhouse Jan. 19 through Feb. 25.

Cygnet Theatre

Cygnet Theatre will showcase the West Coast premiere of “The Last Wife” Jan. 17 through Feb. 11 at its Old Town home. The play is an amusing and powerful contemporary examination of the relationship of Henry VIII and his last wife, Katherine Parr.

This window into the sexual politics of the day involves Henry’s children in the palace intrigue – and it sounds fascinating.

JCompany

JCompany Youth Group is ready to take on “Les Miserables” Jan. 12 – 28. This challenging masterpiece is an epic tale that requires strong voices and emotional power. Kudos to artistic director Joey Landwehr for giving his young thespians this magnificent piece on which to hone their skills. Don’t miss it!

La Jolla Music Society

La Jolla Music Society will present Igor Levit on Jan. 7, as part of its Piano Series at the Auditorium at TSRI, followed on Jan. 13 by SDYS Chamber Orchestra at Jacobs Qualcomm Hall. This special event will highlight Celino Romero on the guitar. The legendary Paul Taylor Dance Company is headed to the Spreckels Theater on Jan. 20 – which should be a treat for aficionados of modern 68 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

The cast of Smoke on The Mountain at Lamb’s

Lamb’s Players Theatre

The Lamb’s Players is bringing back its successful staging of Smoke on the Mountain for a three-week run Jan. 11 – 28.

North Coast Rep

North Coast Repertory Theater will feature the madcap adventure, “Around the World in 80 Days,” adapted by Mark Brown from the novel by Jules Verne. The high-voltage comedy follows its hero in a great race – circling the globe amidst stampeding elephants, runaway trains, and all manner of comic obstacles. Five actors portray all 42 characters in this humorous race against time. The show will ride roughshod over NCR’s Solana Beach theater Jan.10 through Feb. 4.

The Old Globe

It’s a brand new season for the Old Globe, and the Main Stage starts off strong with a classic comedy by Oscar Wilde. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is rich in clever wordplay and hilarious situations that keep audiences in stitches. The show opens Jan. 27 and runs through March 4.

If brilliant whimsy, flighty ingenues, scheming bachelors, and British dowagers are your cup of tea, “Earnest” is a must-see. It has been called “the most perfect comedy in the English language,” and it’s hard to dispute that claim.

The Globe will host “Plays by Young Writers” at its White Theater Jan. 18 – 27, sponsored by the Lipinsky Family Fund. Now in its 33rd season, the project will feature four full productions and two staged readings.

Birch Aquarium

Birch Aquarium is featuring “Hall of Fishes,” which is unlike any other exhibition in the history of the aquarium. It also serves as a working laboratory. Birch also has an installation on light by scientist Michael Latz, and an exhibition that helps you understand Scripps’ expeditions to discover 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. The newest exhibition at the Birch is “Research in Action: 100 Island Challenge,” an exhibit that explores the way reefs are adapting to our rapidly changing planet.

Mingei International Museum

San Diego Symphony

San Diego Symphony

The San Diego Symphony will launch the “It’s About Time” Festival from Jan. 11 through Feb. 11, with 25 events hosted by 13 of San Diego’s top performing organizations. The Jacobs Masterworks series continues Jan. 13 – 14 with a program that includes works

by Berlioz, Roberto Sierra, and Prokofiev. “Percussion: A Listener’s Guide” follows on Jan. 16, with Steven Schick and four percussionists from the San Diego Symphony taking audiences on a tour of rhythm. Jader Bignamini will conduct a concert titled “Places in Time” Jan. 20 – 21. The program features Italian rhythms, including Rossini’s beloved Overture to William Tell.

“Stories in Time” (Jan. 26 & 28) will feature Schick conducting a four-piece program that highlights percussionist Alyun Huang and the orchestra’s percussion section. Among the interesting mix is Ravel’s Suite from Mother Goose and Bartok’s Suite from Miraculous Mandarin. “The Roots of Rhythm” is slated for Jan. 27. John Santos, one of the foremost exponents of Afro-Latin music, will survey the “root system” of jazz. The festival will move outdoors for a performance of John Luther Adams’ “Inuksuit” Jan. 27 at the Mexican border.

San Diego Opera

The San Diego Opera will continue its season Jan. 26 – 28 at the Lyceum Theater with a new production of “Maria de Buenos Aires.”

San Diego Rep

San Diego Repertory Theater’s Lyceum Stage continues to showcase “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin.” Felder has been a favorite on San Diego stages for years, performing unforgettable one-man shows about famous composers. This time, Felder set his sights on the iconic American songwriter of “God Bless America,” White Christmas,” and a litany of other enduring hits. This limited engagement will end on Jan. 7.

Vantage Theatre

Vantage Theatre will stage a new play, “The Color of Light.” The show, by Jesse Kornbluth, focuses on the life of artist Matisse. You can see this artistic achievement Jan. 11 through Feb. 13.

Mingei International Museum is showcasing “Kantha -- Recycled and Embroidered Textiles of Bengal,” through March 25. “Arline Fisch: One of a Kind,” a retrospective view of jewelry and other artforms designed by this San Diego resident, will close on Jan. 7. Also on exhibit is “Art of the Americas – Meso-American, Pre-Columbian Art from Mingei’s Permanent Collection.” That show will stick around through Feb. 18. “Weaving a Path – Navajo Women and the Feminine Ethos” will be on display through May 28. The exhibition includes rugs and blankets.

San Diego History Center

The San Diego History Center is celebrating “The History & Heritage of the San Diego Jewish Community” in its current exhibition.

Also on display is “Irving Gill: New Architecture for a Great Country,” and “Art and Heritage: Maurice Braun, Belle Baranceanu, and Harry Sternberg.” The History Center is featuring the African-American Fine Art Exhibition, “Legacy in Black.” This show – esconced through April 15 -- will turn the spotlight on the work of eight African-American artists.

The History Museum’s permanent exhibition, “Placed Promises,” chronicles the history of the San Diego region – and the America’s Cup Exhibition, highlights the sailing race held in San Diego three times since 1988.

San Diego Museum of Art

The Museum of Art has opened its vaults to show off a treasure trove of artwork usually kept under lock and Oswaldo Guayasamin’s Ciudad de Quito on key. “Visible Vaults,” a display at SDMA collection of 300 pieces, including works by Andy Warhol, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec and other great artists, will be on view through Nov. 12.

Also on display at the Art Museum is “Brenda Biondo: Play,” an exhibition of 25 photographs focusing on children’s playgrounds. The show will run through Jan. 10. “Reflections on Monet,” a small-scale exhibition that includes the famous Water Lily painting and one piece on loan from the Bloomberg Collection, will stay put until Jan. 21.

The newest exhibition at the Art Museum is “Modern Masters from Latin America: The Perez Simon Collection.” This show features 100 works by seminal figures, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Fernando Botero. These striking artworks will be on view through March 11.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 69

the news The Women’s March The march heard around the world the day after President Trump’s inauguration last January is back again this month. Last year’s march attracted an estimated 40,000 people who basically shut down several downtown streets as they walked together in defiance of the new administration. Women’s March San Diego will start on Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. in Waterfront Park.

Barons Market now offering North Park’s Nomad Bagels The California grocer has teamed up with the beloved North Park Nomad Donuts to expand their grab-and-go offers to breakfast. This small business collaboration between two Southern California companies helps people shop and eat local. Nomad Donuts uses small-batch ingredients and local farmers and Baron’s Market prides itself on being family-owned.

Craig Schloss

Past JCC President returning to Labor and Employment Law Craig Schloss, a past president of the La Jolla JCC, is now part of Cozen O’Connor law firm. Schloss remains on the JCC Board and Executive committee and is also the incoming chair of the San Diego chapter of the Labor and Employer Relations Association (LERA). He has been recognized as employment litigator with experience trying cases on discrimination, sexual harassment lawsuits and wage and hour class actions.

70 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

Birthright Israel Opens Eligibility to 26-32-Year-Olds Birthright Israel announced a new age category for the first time since the beginning of the organization in 1999. 2017 was their most successful year with 48,000 participants. Birthright Israel has commented that their emphasis on programming for their participants is what has brought about this change. Summer registration begins on Jan 30.

Hillel International Global Assembly to meet in Denver The largest international Jewish campus organization is meeting for the Hillel International Global Assembly (HIGA). The assembly is in its fourth year and they are also putting on an International Global Leadership conference for the first time. Both gatherings will highlight innovation and successes from Hillels to share ideas that can be implemented at their home campus. This year’s programming will include “Empowering and Supporting Students in the Face of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israel Bias,” among many others.

Rabbi Rav Aharon Shteinman, zt”l Passes Away at Age 104 The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) mourns the death of influential Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, zt”l. Rav Shteinman passed away Dec. 12 at the age of 104. The RCA considers him one of the most respected interpreters of Jewish law, a great leader and moderating voice in the Israeli Haredi community.

MEETINGS AND EVENTS FOR JEWISH SENIORS JFS College Avenue Center at Temple Emanu-El Contact Elissa Landsman (858) 637-3273 Jan. 12, 12:30p.m. Break out the formal wear and dancing shoes for the Winter Formal. There will be live music performed by The Vidals, dancing, and refreshments.

Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein at (858) 521-8694 Jan. 13, 10 a.m.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Researchers Develop Software to Capture Hyperspectral Images Hyperspectral cameras can see and process information at different light wavelengths beyond what the naked human eye can see. This technology seeks to capture the entire electromagnetic spectrum. These cameras are used in many industries including surveillance, medical imaging, mining, aerospace and agriculture. This software was developed by BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of BGU. BGN Technologies has patented the technology and is working with the researchers to commercialize it.

Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings Jan. 13, 11 a.m.

On the Go Excursions Contact Jo Kessler (858) 637-7320 Jan. 14, 12pm. Enjoy a matinee of Les Miserables as put on by J*Company at the La Jolla JCC. The show is epic, uplifting and full of emotional music and narrative. Cost is $38 and the registration date is Jan. 4.

North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine at (760) 295-2564 Jan. 18, 12:30 p.m.

Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 Jan. 29, 11:30 a.m. It Happened One January: Take a Trip Down Memory Lane with the History Lady. Cost is $10.

University on Wheels and ‘The American Musical’ University on Wheels (UOW) is an annual outreach program provided by Brandeis University. This year UOW will be held in San Diego at the The Crossings at the Carlsbad Golf Course on Jan. 8 at 11 a.m. For the event, Professor Ryan McKittrick will present “The American Musical From The 19th Century to ‘Hamilton.’” Professor McKittrick will use scenes from famous film adaptations and clips from recent productions to accompany his presentation.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 71

Josh Gad honors his Holocaust survivor grandparents with role in ‘Marshall’

BY KURT SCHLEIER VIA JTA NEWS

A

ctor Josh Gad may be best known for voicing Olaf in the animated Disney hit “Frozen” and originating the role of Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Tony Award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon.”

But in a manner he describes as “almost kismet,” a chance meeting with producer Paula Wagner two years ago as he was leaving a Los Angeles restaurant provided Gad with the opportunity to sink his teeth into what is likely the most meaningful role of his career to date.

In the film “Marshall” — a biopic about Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice — Gad plays Samuel Friedman, the real-life Jewish attorney who helped a young Marshall defend a black man accused of raping a wealthy white woman in WASPy Connecticut in 1940.

The movie debuted in theaters on Oct. 13 and has received high praise, particularly for Gad’s nuanced performance.

For Gad, the role was not just a chance to show off his acting chops. It also was an opportunity to honor his grandparents, who survived the Holocaust.

“The stories of my grandparents surviving the camp makes the chance to play this hero who had to deal with anti-Semitism — though obviously in a much less sinister environment — personal, ” he told JTA. “I wish my grandparents were alive to see this very personal part of my journey.”

The film is set long before Marshall became the grandfatherly, rational voice on an increasingly divided mid-20th century Supreme Court, and a dozen years before he won the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, which established that “separate but equal” public schools were unconstitutional.

Marshall (played by Chadwick Boseman), at the time the head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is sent to Connecticut to defend Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), a chauffeur accused of raping his Greenwich socialite boss, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson). Friedman, a local attorney, is tricked into filing a petition to allow Marshall to practice in the state.

Friedman doesn’t want to do even that. At the time, the film shows, Bridgeport was as racist and anti-Semitic as any southern city, and the young white lawyer was concerned about his practice.

“I got a reputation to think of,” he tells Marshall.

When the motion is surprisingly rejected by the judge, Friedman is as-

72 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

signed the case. Marshall is allowed to sit at the defense table, but not speak.

That works for him, since in Friedman, he has what Marshall wants: “I need ‘, someone who’ll do what I say.”

Gad, 36, comes across as intelligent and quick-witted, ready to engage on the topics of history and creative license.

“I don’t mean to ruin the surprise, but in reality, Alexander Hamilton was not a Latino who sings rap,” he quipped. “We’ve taken some creative liberties to tell a story that is compelling about an African-American man and a Jewish man who team up to defend a black man at a time when both were under enormous pressure to stay away from the case.”

“Marshall” director Reginald Hudlin told Hadassah magazine that his film “is a celebration of the alliance between black and Jewish attorneys in the civil rights movement. The constitution says all men are created equal, but it was the brilliant work of people like Marshall and Friedman who made it a reality.”

Gad grew up in Hollywood, Florida, the son of immigrants: His mother was born in Germany and his father is an Afghan Jew. Gad believes his father is likely a direct descendant of the original Tribe of Gad, one of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

“He came from a very religious family that was on a nomadic journey searching for a home,” he said. “They went through India before finally settling in Afghanistan.”

While he “went through the checklist of Jewish education” — Hebrew school and a bar mitzvah — Gad considers himself largely secular today.

For Gad, current events, combined with working on “Marshall,” reinforced that there is still much social justice work to be done.

“Unfortunately, the problems of racism and anti-Semitism are as relevant today as they were in the 1940s,” he said. “Trying to overcome anti-Semitism, fighting people who want to reverse the progress we’ve made in civil rights the last 50 years is important to me.

“It would be easier to ignore it and just talk about a new project I have coming up than to stand up for what is right. I come from a family that almost lost its entire family. I had to speak up.” “Marshall” comes out on DVD on Jan. 9. A

SYNAGOGUE LIFE

EVENTS TRIBE Shabbat & Potluck with Beth Israel Jan. 5, 6 p.m., Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Centre Dr., San Diego, CA, 92122 A yoga Shabbat in the Foster Family Chapel. After the service, there will be a vegetarian potluck dinner. Visit cbisd.org for more information.

Tapestry, A Night of Jewish Learning at the La Jolla JCC Jan. 6, 7 p.m., Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Dr., La Jolla, CA, 92037 This community Havdalah with many presentations on judaism ranging from Abraham to Zionism. Visit sdcjc. org for more information. Registration ranges from $40-$55.

Beth El Babies, Kids Eat Clean Workshop Jan. 7, 10 a.m., Beth El, 8660 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA, 92037 Learn how to prepare healthy snacks and encourage your kids to get involved and enjoy the snacks. This hands-on workshop will lead recipes to repeat at home. The cost is $8 per family; visit cbe.org for more information.

Brotherhood: Burgers, Beers and Bros with Temple Solel Jan. 11, 6pm. Temple Solel, 3575 Manchester Ave, Cardiff, CA 92007 This is Temple Solel’s Brotherhood Inaugural 2018 event. Join the Rabbi and the Temple for burgers, beers, and conversation. Visit templesolel.net for more information.

Pajama Palooza with Tifereth Israel Jan. 20, 5:30 p.m., Tifereth Israel, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd, San Diego, CA

Bring the family for dinner and a movie. There will be veggie corn dogs and treats during “Ratatouille.” Everyone is invited to come in pajamas and bring pillows and blankets.

Succulent Planting with Chabad of East County Jan. 31, 7 p.m., Chabad of East County, 7624 Rowena St, San Diego, CA, 92119 The Jewish Women’s Circle will be having a succulent planting to honor and observe Tu’B’Shevat or “The New Year for Trees.” RSVP on jewishrec.com or call 858-254-8254. *Interested in having your event featured?

Contact assistant@sdjewishjournal.com. Submissions are due by 15th of the month for the next issue.

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 73

Cantor Deborah Davis

EVENTS

Custom Wedding Ceremonies

Design Decor Production

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

Mitzvah Event Productions

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

LYDIA KRASNER 619.548.3485 www.MitzvahEvent.com

Deborah Davis • 619.275.1539 member of

lydia@mitzvahevent.com

The Joyous Music of Tradition and Transition.

Let the award-winning

Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble

provide your wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah with lively, authentic music. Tradition has never been so much fun!

www.deborahjdavis.com

JEWISH COMMUNITY Welcoming babies and families to San Diego’s Jewish Community ARE YOU EXPECTING A BABY OR DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS? Shalom Baby is an innovative program designed for San Diego families to celebrate the arrival of their Jewish newborns to affiliated, non-affiliated and inter-married families as a welcome to the San Diego Jewish Community.

TO RECEIVE YOUR SHALOM BABY BASKET AND FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: 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

For information call Deborah Davis: 619-275-1539

To hear samples, visit our website: secondavenueklezmer.com

Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, Mandell Weiss Eastgate City Park, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1348

JUDY NEMZER Shalom Baby/PJ Library Coordinator l

Direct Line: (858) 362-1352 E-mail: littlemensches@gmail.com

Fabrics for Fashion and Home

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

619- 477- 3749

www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby/littlemensches l

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

9 locations in SD County Family Owned and Operated since 1953

HEALTH

ADVERTISING/GRAPHICS

derek berghaus advertising C 858-598-7304 w www.dbdesign.com @ derek.berghaus@yahoo.com | logos | brochures | sell sheets | catalogs | websites | | printing | video production | digital publications | | magazines | newsletters | social media | 74 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

FINANCE

RESTAURANTS

KORNFELD AND LEVY

IN 24 HOURS.

Certified Public Accountants 2067 First Ave., San Diego, CA 92101 Bankers Hill

Serving Cuban-American Food Est. 1976

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p: 619.563.8000 f: 619.704.0206 gkornfeld@kornfeldandlevy.com

Open Daily: - 10pm Open Daily: 11am 8 am–10 pm PALM SPRINGS (760) 325-2127

Gary Kornfeld Certified Public Accountant

1596 N. Palm Canyon Drive • Palm Springs, CA 92262

ALWAYS COOKED FRESH ON-SITE!

THROWING A SIMCHA? WE CATER ANY EVENT!

• Rotisserie Free Range Chicken • Kosher Slow-Cooked Brisket • Whole Rotisserie Lamb • Grilled Salmon & Mahi Mahi • Choice cut Roast Beef • Rotisserie Marinated Turkey • Shabbat Luncheons

• BAR/BAT MITZVAH PARTIES • WEDDINGS • GRADUATION PARTIES • CORPORATE EVENTS • 30-5,000 PEOPLE • KOSHER PLATTERS • BARUCHA LUNCHEONS

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Minimum 50 people. Food only 03/31/2016 Exp. 01/31/2018

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Promoting an Independent Lifestyle for Older Adults

Assistance, Companionship and Socialization for Older Adults

Ronnie Diamond Concierge Services

Call Ronnie for a FREE Consultation and one FREE hour of service

858.531.7694

Coldwell Banker Royal Realty

Raul Ontiveros REALTOR Bre: 01498610

861 Anchorage Place Chula Vista, CA 91914

619 981 4704

raulontiveros68@gmail.com www.coldwellbankerroyalrealty.com

lorrondi@san.rr.com Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 75

And as a 2018 SEASON MEMBER get up to 50% OFF! Call the box office or go online

30th Anniversary Production March 17—25, 2018 The Lyceum Theater

CAMPING WITH

HENRY&TOM

February 16 – March 25

by Mark St. Germain, author of FREUD’S LAST SESSION

Every summer Thomas Edison & Henry Ford would go camping together. In 1921 they took the president of the United States along with them. Then all hell broke lose.

Funny and suspenseful, this wild adventure is also astonishingly relevant today. toda

Robert Smyth

Fran Gercke

Manny Fernandes

Tues-Sun / Youth & Active Military HALF OFF 1142 ORANGE AVE • CORONADO

LAMBSPLAYERS.ORG 76 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

619.437.6000

www.MalashockDance.org

TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE AM ISRAEL MORTUARY We Are San Diego’s ONLY All-Jewish Mortuary Serving the community for over 38 years.

Michael S. Duffy, D.O.Medical Director 858-263-9700 At Pacific Bay Recovery, we specialize in compassionate treatment and personalized rehabilitation for individuals struggling from substance abuse disorders and/or chronic pain. With our assistance, you can take back your life!

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Proudly Serving Jewish Families For Over 38 Years.

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Affiliated or Unaffiliated with a Synagogue.

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We can assist with At-need or Pre-need funeral planning. Purchasing cemetery plots or burial arrangements anywhere.

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We are here to help, call or email with any questions.

(619) 583-8850

6316 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego For a list of currents services and additional info:

www.amisraelmortuary.com Members of the JFDA- Jewish funeral directors of America, KAVOD - (Independent/Family owned Jewish funeral directors) Consumer Affairs Funeral and Cemetery division

www.pacificbayrecovery.com Serving Southern California

1501 Fifth Ave., Ste. 201, San Diego, Ca. 92101

Lic # 370136AP.

CA, Lic. #FD-1320

SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY OBITUARIES

fic Bay Recovery_0417_.25.indd 1

ALL SERVICES ALREADY HELD Katherine Gersten - Chula Vista , CA 07/20/1961-09/02/2017 Survivors: Sons - Yair & Jack Gersten Ruth Goorevitch - Cardiff by the Sea, CA 04/22/1929 -10/31/2016 Survivors: Daughters - Charlotte Goldstein, Carol Wadlinger & Barbara Cook &4 Grandchildren Theresa Forman - El Cajon, CA 10/05/1924 - 11/04/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Beverley Turchin, Son- David Klein, 3 Grandchildren & 4 Great- Grandchildren Golda Schwartz - Charlotte, NC 05/05/1919 - 11/04/2016 Survivors: Daughter- Eileen Schwartz Evelyn Grossman - La Mesa, CA 08/07/1931 -11/06/2016 Survivors: Daughters - Judie Lincer & Keren Sackville, Son -Marc Grossman, 10 Grandchildren & 4 Greatgrandchildren Newton Sacks - San Diego , CA 03/27/1918 - 11/04/2016 Survivors: Daughters - Susan Schiffer & Sharon Sacks, Son - Edward Sacks, 2Grandchildren & 1 Great-Grandchild

5/24/17 8:53 AM Arrangements

by Am Israel Mortuary

Daniel Salomon - San Diego, CA 01/27/1953 - 11/10/2016 Survivors: Wife- Lauren Salomon, & Daughter - Rennie Alexander Sylvia Roseman - San Diego, CA 02/15/1925 - 11/10/2016 Survivors: Son- Mark Roseman Henry Braunstein - Vista, CA 09/07/1925 - 11/12/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Florence Harper, Son - Gary Braunstein, 2 Grandchildren & 2- Great-Grandchildren Harry Friedlander - Del Mar, CA 05/24/1921 - 11/12/2016 Survivors: Son - Martin Friedlander Abraham Horstein - San Diego, CA 03/10/1918 - 11/12/2016 Survivors: Daughters - Harriet Wolpoff & Alma Geiger, 4- Grandchildren & 5- Great-Grandchildren Audree Karp - Poway, CA 12/01/1924 - 11/13/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Sharyl Ciancio Leonard Cohen - Carlsbad, CA 01/18/1925 - 11/14/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Edith Lazowick, Sons - Mitchell & Bob Cohen & 3 Grandchildren

Claudia Sanders - San Diego, CA 04/19/1948 - 11/15/2016 Survivors: Son - Kevin Sanders Doris Green - San Diego, CA 03/18/1930 - 11/16/2016 Survivors: Husband - Joseph Green, Daughters - Jaren & Ericka Green, Sons - Adam & Mathew Green & 2 Grandchildren Samuel Rothstein - San Diego, CA 01/11/1929 - 11/17/2016 Survivors: Wife - Laura Rothstein & Daughter - Rebecca Rothstein Kenneth Breman - La Mesa , CA 11/30/1933 - 11/16/2016 Survivors: Daughter- Michelle Olson & Sons - David & Phil Breman Theodore Cashuk - San Diego , CA 10/19/1935 - 11/18/2016 Survivors: Wife - Ella Cashuk , Daughter - Jill Palhegyi , & Sons- Richard Prager, Ronald & Joe Cashuk Stephen Cohen - Del Mar, CA 11/30/1948 - 11/19/2016 Survivors: Mother - Rosalin Cohen, Wife - Adele Cohen & Daughter- Nicole Cohen

Ida Levine - Encinitas , CA 04/13/1914 - 11/19/2016 Survivors: Sons - Martin & Leon Granowitz, 4 Grandchildren & 2- Great-Grandchildren Betsy Gerber Keller - San Diego, CA 01/29/1948- 11/19/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Tamara Keller Tillett Rita Weiner - San Diego, CA 03/29/1915 - 11/20/2016 Survivors: Son- Dr. Michael Weiner David Cohen - San Diego, CA 04/26/1949 - 11/20/2016 Survivors: Son - Jack Cohen Irwin Newberg - Solana Beach, CA 05/04/1919 - 11/20/2016 Survivors: Wife - Edna Newberg & Daughters- Sheila Grieco & Pamela Vinocur Erika Zelenski - Philadelphia , PA 03/29/1921 - 11/20/2016 Survivors: Daughter in Law Tamara Zelenski Betty Sherr-Lias - San Diego , CA 08/25/1931 - 11/27/2016 `Survivors: Sons- Bob & Harry Sherr

Tevet • Shevat 5778 | SDJewishJournal.com 77

Katherine Parr...The Queenmaker Fighting the patriarchy since 1543.

West Coast Premiere

by KATE HENNIG by

JAN 17 - FEB 11 music and lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM

Coming this Spring

MAR 7 - APR 22

book by HUGH WHEELER

Book Tickets Now “SUMPTUOUS AND TRIUMPHANT”

- San Diego Union-Tribune

CYGNETTHEATRE.ORG • 619.337.1525 78 SDJewishJournal.com l JANUARY 2018

“The most perfect comedy in the English language.”

The Daily Telegraph

Oscar Wilde Maria Aitken

By Directed by

January 27 – March 4

Tickets start at $30

(619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623) TheOldGlobe.org

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW! (858) 362-1348 • www.sdjff.org PRESENTED BY San Diego Center for Jewish Culture Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS EDWARDS MIRA MESA STADIUM 18 JOY F. KNAPP PRESENTATIONS North County Presentations Sponsored by

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