February 2023

Film Festival Issue

SAN

You are going to have to make some choices, but you don’t have to make them alone. Changing jobs can be difficult, but

Thursday

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Teen Leadership Board

E v e n t s Check Out List of Events for February

TLB Kick-Off on Zoom! What does it mean to be a 'leader'? And what can you expect to gain from a year with Friendship Circle SD'w Teen Leadership Board.

13-17 year olds

Tu B'Shvat on the Farm

Join Friendship Circle at Coastal Roots Farm for a Tu B'Shvat Celebration! From 11am-3pm at 441 Saxony Rd, Encinitas

Shooting Stars; Princess Party

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Thursday

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Sunday Sunday

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Teens and Young Adults are encouraged to join us in making Jewelry and celebrating our inner Princesses!

At Adat Yeshurin at 10:30am

Men's Club

Men aged 17+ are invited to join Rabbi Yossi at the World Famous San Diego Zoo for a FULL DAY adventure. Pack a sack lunch! RSVP to RabbiYossi@FriendshipCircleSD.org

Friendship Dojo

Move your body and learn new skills in our adaptive karate classes, taught by Sensei Joey.

5pm at Shaolin Kempo Arts.

Teen Leadership Board

Teen Leadership Board will be meeting INPERSON

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PUBLISHERS

Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss

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Jacqueline Bull

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Makayla Hoppe

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Eileen Sondak

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Donna D’Angelo

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Ronnie Weisberg

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Emily Bartell, Linda Bennett, Leorah Gavidor, Emily Gould, Judith Fein (Senior Travel Correspondent), Paul Ross (Senior Travel Photographer), Patricia Goldblatt, Pat Launer, Sharon Rosen Leib, Andrea Simantov, Marnie Macauley, Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Saul Levine, Rachael Eden, Sybil Kaplan.

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COVER “Where Life Begins,” showing at San Diego International Jewish Film Festival.

In the Company of a Good Film

We find ourselves with another Film Fest issue of the San Diego Jewish Journal. As a cold and rainy snap has held the county, it has felt very appropriate to curl up with some films.

Films can of course just be enjoyed in the moment that you are watching them, but it does feel appropriate to talk and share your experience or write about it to engage with what the director and writer is communicating.

Storytelling is such a fundamental part of the human experience and you can learn about a culture from what stories they tell. The common themes in Jewish films that I see are family, identity, loss, history and friendship. And even with some sense of universality, there are always more stories to tell.

Video is certainly the most significant form of media in America, if not the world, now. The exponential opening of all the video media available to all of us is usually talked about cynically. (I’ll admit one downside I experience is I often haven’t even heard of the majority of films that are nominated in the award season, let alone seen). And perhaps this democratization has made the “event picture” less of a figure in our mind, but truthfully I’m not worried about the degradation in our ability to tell a story (or appreciate one). I think good stories find a way to get heard.

This issue we have the full schedule for the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival to plan your screenings, reviews of many of the films featured and even have a deep dive into some Jewish film history in Marnie Macauley’s column. If you screen at home or share the theater with others in the community, I hope you connect to the stories on screen. A

Join us for a night under the stars celebrating community and philanthropy!

Saturday, April 15, 2023

The Rady Shell

at Jacobs Park

Honorary Chairs

Evelyn & Ernest Rady

Chairs

Jerri-Ann & Gary Jacobs

Tammy & Louis Vener www.jfssd.org/gala

Joan & Irwin Jacobs

Marie Raftery & Dr. Bob Rubenstein

Celebrations of Love

by Rabbi Ben Leinow

On the first Monday in February, my 4th grade public school teacher announced that we would make Valentine’s Day cards. She told us that we would give the cards to each other in the class and we would each make cards to give to family members, friends and she suggested that boys and girls should exchange cards with one another. At nine-years-old, I was not into doing things with girls and my family was Orthodox, so I did not understand what the teacher was talking about. My parents, my sister and I had never given or received Valentine’s Day cards or gifts. When my public school teacher found out that I attended an after-school Hebrew class, she insisted that I make a card for my Hebrew school teacher and give it to him as well.

On the afternoon of Valentine’s Day, I gave out cards to my public school teacher and friends. I also gave a beautiful homemade card to my Hebrew school teacher, Dr. Foreman. Dr. Foreman was angry and he bopped me on the head with his ruler (I was used to that). He said it was not appropriate for a Jew to give another Jew a Valentine’s Day card. He also said that Saint Valentine’s Day was Christian not Jewish.

In 1969, 23 years after giving my teacher a Valentine’s Day card I became the Associate Rabbi at Temple Israel of Hollywood. On my first night on the pulpit I looked down from the bimah and there was my teacher, Dr. Foreman, and his wife. When I met with them after the services, he asked me to forgive him for the way he treated me and he said he was happy to see me as a Rabbi of a Temple. I was pleased to see him and I immediately forgave his response to the card and I wished him and his wife “Happy Valentine’s Day”.

A bit of research tells me that it was not until around the 18th century when an expression of love and joy was on the calendar in February. The name Valentine was not always a communal expression of love. Fortunately life changed in the 18th century for couples and families. Little by little, people began to express their love by giving flowers, sending greeting cards called “Valentines” and by offering a happy greeting such as “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Another important change from the past to the present is the practice of giving cards and gifts to friends and family and not just lovers. Also as time

passes, I am assisting an increasing number of same sex couples who find happiness in marriage.

One more bit of information about offering love and affection to friends, relatives and lovers: If anyone were to tell you that Jews do not have a celebration date of love like Valentine’s Day you can tell them they are not properly informed. Just look on a Jewish calendar about six days after Tish B’Av and you will find the celebration of Tu B’Av. On that date Israelis celebrate “Harvest Time in the fields” when they give and send written greetings. Also on that date Israelis go out to dinner, buy flowers in the market place and offer kisses and hugs when they get together. So I predict that Jews who migrate from Israel will bring with them the harvest celebration that proclaims love, proposes marriage, and giving gifts, cards and flowers in the middle of August. A

CONNECT. CONNECT. DISCOVER. DISCOVER. EXPERIENCE. EXPERIENCE.

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Our Town

by Linda Bennett and Emily Bartell

On Dec. 5 we had the absolute pleasure of attending the Jewish Family Service Signature Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency of La Jolla at Aventine. Presenting a very timely topic, “Finding Meaning in Challenging Times,” Rabbi David Wolpe was joined by Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Services, in a thought-provoking conversation. Together they discussed the steps we can all take as individuals and as a community to move forward with strength and hope for a brighter future. Rabbi David Wolpe was named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek and is the Senior Rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. While enjoying a lovely meal and presentation, some of those we ran into were Ruth Braun, Andye & Larry Oster, Ellen Gruer, Nadja Kauder, Sandy & Barbara Rosenthal, Michael Flaster, Barbara Bry, Todd Hyatt, Randy Saverese, Terry Bignell, Sheila Belinsky, Barbara Emdur, Leslye & Scott Lyons, Tammy Vener, Kate Kassar, Rachel & Jeff Schindler, Sheava Wax and Barbara & Arnold Saltzman

Not soon forgotten, Vista Hill Council On Mental Health (VHCMH), recently presented the program “The Journey from Trauma to Healing” with Virtual Guest Speaker, Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD. An active teacher, clinician and researcher for over thirty years, in 2021, he and Oprah Winfrey co-authored “What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing.” Other guests in attendance were Julie Bronstein, Kenneth Morris, Candice Berkman, Ann Mound, Estelle Milch, Marsha Lubick, Jan Goldsmith, Daryl Saks, Marcia Peniche, Shirley Fishman, Phyllis Epstein, Lynne & Norman Lurie, Rachel Peniche and Faith Stagg

Former Rep. Susan A. Davis was honored for her 20+ years of public service. President Joe Biden signed a bill brought forward by Rep. Sara Jacobs that will rename the Rolando Post Office branch to the Susan A. Davis Post Office.

Mazel Tov to Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel on being honored as one of the top female scientists in the world by Research. com, a widely used research portal for scientists based in England. A UCSD Emeritus Psychiatry Professor, Dr. Ancoli-Israel is known for her insights about how sleep disorders can affect aging and how to treat such disorders in people with dementia. Sonia is one of 11 San Diego female scientists to be named on this prestigious list.

Mazel Tov to Robert and Claire Sigal on the birth of a grandson in Jerusalem. Proud parents are Aaron and Limor Sigal and big brother Elye Sigal

Yom Huledets Sameach to...

Amnon Ben Yehuda, celebrating his 93rd birthday. Rose Schindler, celebrating her 93rd birthday. Arnold Saltzman, celebrating his 86th birthday.

CELEBRATING Wedding Anniversaries

with infinite love & happiness, Mazel Tov to…

Susan & George Kaplan, 61 years.

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE

by Andrea Simantov | andreasimantov@gmail.com

The Then That Remains

As a child, my family took vacations. While I don’t know whose idea these two week summer sojourns were, it feels accurate to attribute them to my late father. He’d grown up poor and while he could have played the Abe Lincoln poverty card (“I had to walk nine miles to school and back in Brooklyn with a cooked potato in my pocket.”), he never did. The stories he told were filled with laughter, mischievousness and family gossip.

When he returned home from war to help support his elderly parents, familial devotion did not usurp a need to get out and live a little. Before his enlistment, his world consisted of a post-Ellis Island via Vilna existence. He spoke his first English words at the age of five, having been nursed and raised in Yiddish. But now he’d lived and fought alongside real Americans and recognized that there were other cultures worth exploring. He learned to play tennis on cracked asphalt at a local Jewish community center. He undertook lessons in ballroom dancing and joined a social group of Young Zionists. Dad went to Broadway shows and would forever claim that Paul Robeson was the greatest entertainer ever born.

Americans took vacations and so did we. For years, we frequented the Jewish mountain resorts that boasted Olympic-sized swimming pools, day camps, shuffleboard, night clubs and obscenely sized meals. (Think “Dirty

Dancing” without Patrick Swayze. Ever.) Respective childrens’ dining rooms were monitored by day camp counselors: sullen boys sporting Elvis-coifs and freshman college girls with Lesley Gore hair flips and peddle-pusher slacks. After dinner, we children were shuffled to bed while our tuxedoed and evening-gowned parents danced the ChaCha, Foxtrot and, sometimes, The Twist. The more lavish the resort, the bigger the names that graced the marquee: Don Rickles, Henny Youngman, Phyllis Diller, Norm Cosby, Buddy Hackett, Totie Fields and Rodney Dangerfield were just a few of the entertainers that appeared in those heady, elysium days.

Either the mountains or Daddy changed because we began renting a cabin on the lake along with one or two other families. We ate oatmeal on wraparound porches protected with mosquito netting, toasted marshmallows, collected orange salamanders in jars and leapt off of fishing docks or swinging tires into the ice-cold waters that lay outside the front door. Our palms grew calloused from row-boating. Sometimes we went into town for a sundae or to see a movie, but mostly we stayed. When it rained we read, did jigsaw puzzles and played Monopoly. But the moment the

thunder and lightning abated, we sloshed out again in galoshes and dungarees, anxious to experience more rural magic–necessary to sustain us until our city lives allowed us to return to what felt more and more familiar in the waning days.

The last family vacations I recall were camping trips. My siblings and I slept on wooden pallets in open-sided lean-tos while our parents shared a tent that was more substantial and boasted canvas cots. Once we towed a trailer behind our turquoise Chevy Impala station wagon, the lugged unit morphing into sleeping quarters for four. No other families wanted to come with us on these no-frills holidays. By now, my father had begun to study art and used the days to paint forest landscapes in oil. My most vivid memory were the bugs that got stuck to the canvases as they dried.

I think that my mother missed the Catskill night clubs and elegant ambiance of the earlier years but, by this time, most

of those institutions were either dead or dying. On a recent Friday night, I attempted to share some of these memories with my very Israeli grandchildren, but my personal need to impart the magic and nostalgia felt forced and ultimately meaningless. They couldn’t relate to stories that were beyond their ken. They can love me and appreciate that I want to share my history with them, but to grasp the beauty that accompanies sounds of a crackling fire, the subtly-sweet fragrance of squirming salamanders, or the belly-laughs of newly-American Jews who feel awash with gratitude for the safety and myriad opportunities that accompany hard-earned prosperity?

Not everything translates. Wee-glimpses into happy days allow me to find great comfort in moments that are, perhaps, best left to memories. A

Myra Chack Fleischer

Founder Myra Chack Fleischer

OUR EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT

by Saul Levine, M.D., Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry at UCSD | slevine@ucsd.edu

Embarrassed by My Biases

Do you hold negative stereotypes or biases against certain individuals or groups of people? Do you have preconceived dislikes of people without knowing them personally?

It could simply be their appearance (weight, manner of dress) or manner of speaking (accent, volume), or their social class, race, religion, ethnic group, political persuasion, country of origin, or other attributes. Perhaps you believe that you don’t harbor any negative biases or pejorative stereotypes. If so, dear reader, I must tell you that “You are a better man than I” (Rudyard Kipling, in his classic poem, “If.”) That is, I am embarrassed to say that I have a few.

A few months ago I was made to personally confront my own ingrained biases. I was on a long cross-country road trip which was mostly enjoyable, but long hours of driving through sameness at times proved exhausting. After a particularly challenging day-long drive, we (my wife Ann and our dog Daisy) were worn out when we arrived on a Friday evening at our modest roadside hotel.

As we entered the lobby we noted it was filled with many men, fewer women, young and middle-aged and most of them white. Most of the crowd were wearing red MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) hats. While I think I showed no outward signs of personal discomfort, I reacted internally with some anxiety and, I’m embarrassed to say, a degree of criticism.

The hotel crowd had gathered for a weekend inspirational political meeting and there was an air of camaraderie and joviality in that lobby. But there were also provocative slogans of anger and derision at Biden et al which I felt were also directed at me (my vivid imagination?!). We spent the night and next day there which passed without incident and many MAGA people were polite and particularly drawn to Daisy.

On the second day, as I was about to load the car, I noticed two burly men wearing MAGA hats talking heatedly next to our car, making me somewhat uncomfortable. I greeted them both with no response, but they were involved in their conversation.

I tried to hide my apprehensiveness and continued walking ineptly to the car, carrying three unwieldy heavy suitcases while simultaneously holding onto Daisy’s leash. I was walking backwards on an inclined sidewalk ramp when Daisy suddenly pulled me hard (she had sensed the aroma of rotting food) in the grass below. I lost my balance, tripped and fell hard on the concrete walk.

I was bruised and bonked my head, but I did not lose consciousness and there were no fractures. My glasses had gone flying across the parking lot, as did my hearing aids. I lay there looking up at the sky, worrying about all kinds of things, not the least of which was these two guys peering down at this professorial-looking old man. (Years

ago, George Wallace had derisively called people like me, “pointy-headed intellectuals”!)

And then, these two guys (whom I had feared were my enemies) quickly knelt down to me, searched for bleeding or signs of injury, felt gently but methodically for fractures, checked my motoric abilities and my awareness and sensitivity to pain—thoroughly caring, respectful, methodical and professional.

They also enlisted new bystanders to help retrieve my eyeglasses, hearing aids and cap which had scattered in my fall and care for an unnerved Daisy. Then they literally lifted me up, smiled about my misadventure and reassured me that I would be fine.

It learned that both of my ‘frenemies’ were ex-Marines who had each served two terms in Afghanistan. I was very relieved and so deeply grateful; I even tried to hug them, but they weren’t too keen on that display of affection, and, still smiling, they soon departed.

In addition to my gratitude, I was filled with chagrin and embarrassment: My preconceived anxieties and assumptions were invalid–and clearly the result of my ingrained unfair stereotypes.

Unless people like me (and probably you) understand that we all harbor destructive biases which prevent mutually respectful and constructive dialogues, our wonderful species will never evolve, never mind survive. A

Whatever floats your boat,

Seacrest Village offers:

• A generous variety of life enrichment alternatives featuring fitness, culinary, and cultural programs

• The Ottenstein Fitness Center boasting weights, machines, treadmills, Peloton,© lap and therapy pools

• Daily walk, stretch (standing and seated), and yoga classes (standing and seated)

• Tasty menus inspired by the creativity of our chefs—with the oversight of a dietitian— which contain top-quality ingredients

• The gorgeous Chodorow Synagogue with services every Saturday and High Holy Day Observances

• Meals, cable/internet, and housekeeping included!

by Rabbi Jacob Rupp | rabbirupp@gmail.com

The Only Choice You Get To Make

Are you willing to put down your bags of trash?

“Bags of trash? What are you talking about?” We carry a bag or bags of trash or “nonsense” to justify every bad choice we make in our lives and in our marriage.

I would carry this bag of “trash” towards my wife for not showing up the way I wanted her to and would thereby justify just about anything I wanted to when it came to what I did or how I treated her. I carried a bag of negativity about my jobs to justify why I played small, didn’t express myself, didn’t write, didn’t create because it would be perceived as bad or wrong. I carried a bag of negative thoughts about myself to justify why I hated myself, why I couldn’t get ahead, to ask for business, to put myself out there, etc.

What was in my bag of trash about myself?

Thoughts like “If I were honest, I’d be divorced, abandoned...I’d lose all my money, and all of my friends.” “I am fat.” “I will always be broke.” “I am a failure.”

I mean let’s be honest: who can say they are really out there making it happen?

We make these arbitrary goals and fall short and blame others or circumstances. We get hardened and bitter, each day adding to these bags of trash fiiled with

reasons why we are who we are and why we can’t be any different.

It feels so stifling.

I get it. I see you. I turn to endless books, self-development, podcasts, work, action and movement as some way to justify why I’m not ready yet to put down my bags of trash.

Some turn to drugs, booze, or other things just to avoid looking at the bag of trash they are carrying and to numb the pain. But it’s next to impossible to recognize that all the negative stuff we are carrying around are just bags of trash we are choosing to carry.

At any time, we can just put our bags down. And we have to ask ourselves, are we willing to put down the bags of trash? Can we put them down? Sure. We can do whatever we want. Do we want to put them down? Sure. No one wants to carry

negativity with them. But are we willing? That’s not so easy.

Because when we put down our stuff, when we release and let go all of the bags of negative thoughts, suddenly our justifications are gone.

Our spouses aren’t the problem. Our bodies aren’t ugly. We aren’t imposters, not smart enough, not talented enough. A path opens up where there is no blame, judgment, or failure. A path opens up where we can choose our lives and our responses.

Choice is scary. Choice means we might choose wrong.

But that’s just carrying the old bag with us with the “you’re a failure” BS in it. Choice means I am choosing to treat my wife this way, or my kids this way and it’s not their fault, it’s mine. It means I build my world and whatever is in it.

Am I willing to let that go and accept the radical responsibility? Am I willing to let go of it all and just be there without my silly attempt or need to control?

Are you ready to put down the bag of trash?

I get it, I see why you are holding it. It’s safe and secure. But on the other side, when you let that go, is everything you want. And you can have it if you just let it go.

If you are willing.  A

The negative stuff we are carrying around are just bags of trash we are choosing to carry.

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All ages and backgrounds Read

Jewish Film Festival

7:00 p.m. FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN Narrative

10:00 a.m.

AMEN AMEN AMEN: A STORY FOR OUR TIMES Documentary

1:00 p.m.

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN: LUCIAN FREUD: A SELF PORTRAIT Documentary

1:00 p.m.

4:00 p.m.

WHERE LIFE BEGINS Narrative

4:00 p.m. MORE THAN I DESERVE

7:00 p.m. APRIL 7, 1980 Narrative

7:00 p.m.

HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG Documentary

FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN

ON-SITE | FEB 15 – 26 schedule below David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

ON-DEMAND | FEB 27 – MARCH 3 https://2023sdijff.eventive.org/welcome

OF

FINDING LIGHT Documentary 4:00 p.m.

THE MAN IN THE BASEMENT Narrative

7:00 p.m.

ALL THOSE BEGINNINGS and HE CAN SLEEP ON THE COUCH

GIRL

OF

1:00 p.m.

9TH CIRCUIT COWBOY, THE LONG GOOD FIGHT OF HARRY PREGERSON

FOR

L i m i t e d S p a c e s A v a i l a b l e f o r t h e

C U R R E N T a n d 2 0 2 3 / 2 0 2 4 S c h o o l Y e a r A g e s 1 8 m o n t h s - 5 y e a r s

"

T h e r e i s n o t o n e s i n g l e t h i n g t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e s t h i s p l a c e , b u t r a t h e r i t s m a n y u n i q u e p i e c e s t h a t m a k e i t s w h o l e s o s p e c i a l . T h e w a r m a n d l o v i n g s t a f f h a v e b e e n m y c h i l d r e n ' s c h a m p i o n s - a l w a y s m a k i n g t h e m f e e l u n d e r s t o o d , l o v e d , e n c o u r a g e d a n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , s u c c e s s f u l . " - M e l i s s a C h e r i n D a v i s

Gratifying ‘Alegría’ Plots Women’s Paths, Solo and in Sisterhood

by Michael Fox

You can pick your friends, the old saying goes, but you can’t pick your family. For Alegría, a perquisite of adulthood is distancing from relatives and interacting with them on her terms.

The vital fortysomething protagonist of “Alegría,” screening in the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, has deliberately carved out a self-centered existence in her quiet hometown of Melilla, a small Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa. Alegría (Cecilia Suárez) Facetimes with her kibbutznik daughter and directs the young Muslim woman who cooks and cleans for her, relishing her independence.

Warm colors and inviting interiors, however, signal from the outset that “Alegría” is going to be a story of connection rather than isolation, of love supplanting loneliness and redemption

Women escaping the constraints—and embracing the ties — of family has long been the stuff of melodrama.

But the filmmaker adopts a lighter tone.

trumping regret. In her satisfying and touching feature debut, Spanish director and co-writer Violeta Salama’s generosity extends well beyond Alegría to the young women who enter her orbit.

But none of that is on the table when Alegría gets a call that her Orthodox brother, sister-in-law and niece are coming to Melilla for the latter’s wedding to a local guy. They plan to stay at

Alegría’s place — the house where she and her brother grew up—invading her space and brushing the cobwebs from her dormant Sephardic Jewish identity.

For Alegría has literally sealed off the past, mezuzahs and photos and furniture and menorahs, behind a locked door. Secular to the point of caustic irreverence, Alegría views her assimilation as an emblem of freedom and enlightened coexistence. Bit by bit, though, she will realize that she has denied a core component of her character.

Alegría doesn’t define herself in terms of or in reaction to men and hasn’t for a long time. Yet the tough love, bordering on lack of empathy, that this stalwart feminist evinces for Yael, the bride, and Dunia, her part-time housekeeper, is shocking.

continues on next page >>

Yael is used to obeying her father but is beginning to doubt the merits of transferring that acquiescence to her soon-to-be husband. Dunia’s brother, the head of that household, stands in the way of her dream of studying drawing in Paris.

Women escaping the constraints— and embracing the ties — of family has long been the stuff of melodrama. But the filmmaker adopts a lighter tone with bits of humor that also undercut the seriousness with which the characters take their respective situations.

“I’d cut my foot off before stepping into a synagogue,” Alegría proclaims in a seemingly unambiguous rejection of ritual, tradition and faith. But when she visits the rabbi to reserve the mikveh for the bride and Yael’s mother, their banter suggests that he and Alegría had a youthful romance (while opening the window to a potential future relationship).

The synagogue, therefore, doesn’t represent a religious institution or unhappy family memories to Alegría. It’s just a reminder of who she used to be—or more accurately, who she is.

One of the pleasures of “Alegría” is that it unfolds in a calm, civilized setting that feels like an oasis. No sirens or boom boxes jangle our nerves and the family feudings rarely require the raising of voices.

Salama told an interviewer when she was completing the film in 2021, “To create Alegría’s world, I wanted to steer away from the realism of life in a border town, a major port, instead setting her down in the world of my childhood. I want to share the city as I see it, the city I carry inside me and so I recreated certain moments where the focus is entirely on these seemingly very different women who share the same problems and contradictions.”

To that end, the centerpiece of the film is an overnight outing to Dunia’s grandmother’s house, just over the border in Morocco, where the women cook, dance and toss an impromptu bachelorette party for Yael. They are free to live on their terms, fully self-sufficient, with no men in sight.

“Alegría” offers some passing yet pointed critiques of patriarchal autocracy and the male characters are relegated to the edges of the frame. This is what used to be disparagingly called a “woman’s picture,” because it centers women’s demands — to be who they want to be — and desires — to avail themselves of every opportunity.

The most gratifying aspect, however, is that the movie’s spirit of cooperation and, yes, coexistence ultimately touches every character. A

‘A Radiant Girl’ has a Seemingly Bright Future

by Michael Fox

Bursting with brio, 19-year-old Irene can’t hardly wait for the future. All the world’s a stage to the budding French actress, with so many roles to play and characters (men, that is) to meet.

Jewish writer-director Sandrine Kiberlain opens “A Radiant Girl” with Irene and Jo, her fellow acting student and current crush, rehearsing a scene that keeps us guessing where the text ends and their flirtatious banter begins. Shot and performed in a barebones room in a modern style, it could be happening almost anytime and anywhere.

Even when the camera moves outside and we glimpse classmates in mid-calf skirts and white ankle socks, we can’t be certain of the setting. Kiberlain intentionally erases both context and historical distance, so that the viewer

connects directly with Irene as a universal figure of unusual promise and light.

“A Radiant Girl,” screening in the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, pushes our time-and-date questions to the background — for a while — by immersing us in the breezy demands of an intensely dramatic teenager. Perpetually in motion, Irene (Rebecca Marder, resembling a young Anne Hathaway) can’t even abide a quiet night at home with her father, older brother and bemused grandmother without cajoling them into acting out the scene she’s prepared for the next day’s class.

Then one morning, we — and she — overhear Papa say to Grandmama, “The word ‘Jew” must be stamped in red on our ID.” And now we know when it is and where we are. Even though the film

hasn’t, and won’t, show a single swastika, banner, uniform or Nazi.

If you’re above a certain age, or you’re a parent, you’ve pondered how to make the Holocaust (and history in general) relevant and resonant for young people. It’s a perennial challenge for filmmakers. Kiberlain’s strategy is to eliminate the familiar costumes, cars and sets that place us amidst the Occupation and to keep the beat of a vibrant young woman who fervidly lives in the moment.

Jewish viewers, naturally, will extrapolate certain meanings from specific lines and details in “A Radiant Girl.” The occasionally bratty Irene, who is nonetheless completely devoted to her father, may partly be Kiberlain’s conception of Anne Frank — impetuous, impatient and ecstatic at life’s continues on next page >>

possibilities — as a 19-year-old, eager for love and passion.

At the same time, aided by an anachronistic soundtrack, the movie readily and consciously works as an allegory of other places and times. It’s easy to imagine Irene as a vivacious Iranian teenager in 2023, for example.

Kiberlain, an accomplished actress directing her first feature, doesn’t make her protagonist a hero, or even especially likable. Irene is above all a teenager, restless and fickle and self-absorbed. Her tunnel vision, as much as the growing offscreen threat, gives “A Radiant Girl” its discomfiting undertow.

Stuck as she is on Jo (played by Ben Attal, the son of French-Jewish movie stars Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg), Irene doesn’t tarry in transferring her attentions after he mysteriously stops attending rehearsals and disappears. (Perhaps Jo and his

family fled Paris, but the film offers scant few clues.) Seeing a doctor about her unexplained fainting episodes, Irene makes a transparent play for his young assistant.

The bicycle ride they subsequently share provides the most blissfully free moments in the film. Yet Kiberlain refuses to indulge herself, or to give the viewer a hit of saccharine, by extending the sequence. Like Irene, she keeps moving forward, exploring, seeking experience, seeing what’s next.

“A Radiant Girl” resolutely avoids sentimentality, even in a poignant scene where Irene, her brother and grandmother serenade “My Yiddishe Papa” on his birthday. Nor does the movie amp up the dread of the summer of ‘42, which just makes us more intent on deciphering the facial expressions and body language of Irene’s reticent father (André Marcon).

As the title suggests, Marder — who portrays the young Simone Veil in “Simone: Woman of the Century,” the forthcoming biopic about the beloved French Holocaust survivor and magistrate — gives Irene the incandescence of a 250-watt bulb without a dimmer switch.

She lights up every room, although it’s not her charisma that powers “A Radiant Girl” but her life force — unfiltered, unadulterated excitement that Marder never hides or rations. Consequently, Irene is impossible to ignore. Occasionally annoying, to be sure, but when she exits a room or café, she leaves a void.

As the 19th Century English poet Thomas Haynes Bayly wrote, “What would not I give to wander/Where my old companions dwell?/Absence makes the heart grow fonder; Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!” A

‘He Can Sleep on the Couch’ Tells a Cautionary Tale in 20 Minutes

by Makayla Hoppe

The default image of writer’s block is someone sitting in front of an empty Word document, their fingers pressed to their temples and a furrowed brow. For Mika, the main character of “He Can Sleep on the Couch,” her writer’s block is filled with distractions. While she contemplates her book and its missing ending, Mika mindlessly finishes laundry, cleans the floors and cooks. Mika has taken a vow not to leave the apartment until she finishes her book. It is unclear whether this vow is for discipline, punishment or just to prove a point. It is also unsaid just how long she has been stuck inside.

The 21-minute short film begins with a very obvious allegory for Adam and Eve. The film opens with Mika and her partner Noam sitting naked at the table during lunch. Mika’s life does appear to be Eden: a loving partner, a nice apartment overlooking a gorgeous view of Jerusalem and all the comforts of domestic bliss. Despite all of the good things in

her life, Mika continually struggles with finishing her book. Eventually, she realizes that her life lacks inspiration.

The forbidden fruit comes with the arrival of Itamar, Noam’s brother. Itamar is a well-known actor who has come to stay with Mika and Noam, sleeping on their couch after a breakup. As Mika and Itamar spend more time together, Mika begins to see what she is missing by staying inside. She also begins to see what is lacking in her relationship, and what she has subconsciously been ignoring about Noam.

“He Can Sleep on the Couch” is a great demonstration of relationship dynamics. What starts as a story of two people in love slowly shifts into a love triangle. Although the film is only 21 minutes long, it effectively shows Mika’s relationship with Noam, as well as her new attachment to Itamar.

The film is directed by Ahinoam Capon, who also plays Mika. In the director’s statement, she says, “...Me

and my partner played the couple, [and] the location is our real apartment.” It premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival and was awarded Best Live Action Short Film. Capon graduated with honors from the screenwriting program at Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School in 2019.

Short films are a testament to an artist’s skill because fitting an entire three-act structure in such a short amount of time can be difficult. This film has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end and it doesn’t feel like anything is missing. Capon had a clear vision for tone and story and it was executed well.

“He Can Sleep on the Couch” is a great slice-of-life tale about navigating relationships in young adulthood. The allegories, montages and voice-over narration make this an interesting and stylized film that was enjoyable to watch. A

This film is for mature audiences.

We pride ourselves in pairing the highest quality caregivers with our clients. Our care team will work with you to develop a client-specfic care plan, tailored to meet your needs.

Wodiczko Documentary Salutes

Polish-Jewish Artist’s Subversive Oeuvre

by Michael Fox

Krzysztof Wodiczko, who turns 80 in April, belongs to a shrinking demographic: Artists whose work is informed and influenced by World War II.

Born in Warsaw in 1943 on the eve of the ghetto uprising, Wodiczko doesn’t have conscious memories of life during wartime so much as lingering effects, such as a sensitivity to loud noises. But his lifelong compassion for the casualties of war reflects the internalized experience of being powerless and voiceless.

Maria Niro’s one-hour documentary, “Krzysztof Wodiczko: The Art of Un-War,” screening in the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, works as both an eye-opening introduction for novices and a career–and continent–spanning survey for Wodiczko fans. Gaining power as it goes, the film amasses a breathtaking multitude of buildings, statues and memorials that Wodiczko

On one level, Wodiczko is a conceptual artist; on another, he aspires to on-the-ground change.

has used as his visual and audio canvases. It doesn’t hurt that the still-vibrant Wodiczko, with his stylish scarves, gray ponytail and enigmatic smile, is also something of a rake.

The artist appropriates those publicly funded structures, which exist in plain sight yet are taken for granted, to project messages often comprised of survivors’ testimonies. Wodiczko’s Abraham Lincoln War Veteran Projection in Union Square in Manhattan, which casts

interviews with Vietnam and Iraq War vets on a statue of the 16th President, epitomizes his approach: simultaneously disruptive and disarming, both literal and symbolic, present and fleeting.

Wodiczko’s “un-war” philosophy isn’t as straightforward or simple as “pro-peace” or “antiwar.” His strategy is to expose and undermine what he calls “the culture of war,” that is, the entrenched, implicit acceptance of war in society in general and in us as individuals. On one level, Wodiczko is a conceptual artist; on another, he aspires to on-the-ground change.

Consider the Homeless Vehicle he designed in the late ‘80s after lengthy consultation with unhoused New Yorkers. Now in the collection of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, it was both a functional, practical solution and an eye-catching provocation to urbanites

continues on page 35 >>

FILM REVIEW

For Those About To Rock, We Salute You

by Makayla Hoppe

Paul Stanley once said, “I don’t think that music can ever be dead. I don’t think that bands can be dead, rock can be dead. It just takes somebody to reignite it to the level that it has been at some time in the past.” KISS may not be on the Billboard Hot 100 anymore, but the legacy of classic rock continues. For die-hard fans, Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp was created to let anyone meet their rock ‘n roll heroes and play alongside them. “Rock Camp: The Movie,” directed by Douglas Blush and Renee Barron, follows the creator, campers and rock superstars as they play and create music together.

Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp was developed in 1997 by Dave Fishof, who grew up as a son of a cantor. In the film, Fishof explained that he was the only kid in the synagogue and he learned to speak confidently after being surrounded by groups of adults for so many years. His ability to strike up conversations led him to manage famous sports players. After seeing the success of his peers working in music, Fishof took the leap and began

managing rock stars. His first big success came from reuniting The Monkees in the ‘80s. Fishof later managed Ringo Starr’s solo career. Seeing how much fun everyone had behind the scenes led Fishof to introduce fans to the magic (and madness).

At the time of filming, there were 69 different Rock Camps. Famous names over the years include Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, Joe Perry, Brian Wilson and Eric Clapton. Dozens of other famous musicians have been a part of the camp and many choose to return year after year.

The documentary includes interviews with several of the campers. There is a focus on the day-to-day lives of these people, showing their jobs and families in addition to their passion for music. The people who attend Rock Camp are not looking for a record deal or connections; they have an undying love for rock ‘n roll and want to learn while having fun. The campers interviewed include an accountant, an

IT tech and a father looking to help his autistic son through music.

The film is a quick 90 minutes, and it never feels slow or drawn out. There is a good mix of heartfelt storytelling, history, humor and music. It’s easy for a film like this to feel like an advertisement; Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp is a for-profit business and they are selling a product. However, this opportunity is a true passion project for the fans. You can’t blame a business that provides the adult equivalent of a trip to Disney World.

It’s mentioned in the film that some people use the camp as a way to overcome some form of anxiety. One of the campers is a skilled drummer but wants to take a chance at being a lead singer, something she has never done before. Many shy people who are afraid to get up in front of an audience overcome their fears with the help of their heroes.

It’s not just the fans who benefit from Rock Camp: many musicians talk about

continues on next page >>

how the camp reignited their love for music and reminded them of why they began playing music in the first place. On the surface, it seems like the opportunities are made for the campers, but after seeing interviews with the musicians, it’s apparent that everyone involved benefits from this experience.

The biggest takeaway from the film is that rock music from the ‘60s to the ‘80s didn’t only define a generation, it created a lifeline. The people who lived through this era may be Rock Camp’s target demographic, but watching all ages attend the event reassures us that, somewhere, a 16-year-old is plucking the notes to “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on a beloved electric guitar. The music defies decades and lives on. This era of rock ‘n roll is cemented in music history and its fans will do anything to be a part of it. A

who’d grown accustomed and indifferent to those living on the streets.

Although they didn’t reside in the Warsaw Ghetto, Wodiczko’s Jewish mother and non-Jewish father (a respected orchestra conductor) endured the terrors of racism and displacement. Growing up in Communist Poland after the war, Wodickzo was steeped in the pressure of recognizing and conforming to the prevailing reality.

In the late 1960s, his aptitude for designing electronics dovetailed with his impulse to shake Poles out of their complacency. Wodiczko’s admirers interviewed in the documentary describe his innovative, sound-oriented concoctions as early examples of “wearable tech art” and “interactive design.”

He emigrated to Canada in 1977 and settled in New York in the early ‘80s. But Wodiczko didn’t relinquish his international perspective or his conscience. In 1985, he called out apartheid by projecting a swastika on the South African consulate in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Threading through Niro’s documentary is Wodiczko’s ambitious, long-planned and still-unrealized goal of wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in scaffolding. The proposed installation would allow visitors to access the elevated and largely unseen — invisible in plain sight, if you will — glorifications of war embedded in the enormous Paris memorial. The man does not lack for big ideas.

The impact of public art is hard to measure and open to debate. The vast body of work on display in “Krzysztof Wodiczko: The Art of Un-War” makes a convincing argument that its creator is a major artist.

Just as important but more inspiring, the film also demonstrates that Wodiczko has never lost his humanity. That may be his greatest legacy. A

Anton Chekhov’s beloved masterwork is a rich tapestry of the human condition woven into a humorous and haunting tale. With universal themes of societal upheaval, love, loss, grief, envy, and ambition, THE CHERRY ORCHARD remains as relevant and powerful today as it was when it first premiered in 1903. Serious theatre-lovers will not want to miss this classic tale of heightened human drama

“A delightful musical evening, delivered by sterling performers.” — ENTERTAINMENT TODAY

Local Offerings

BY EILEEN SONDAK

BROADWAY SAN DIEGO

broadwaysd.com

FEB. 24–26: Bluey’s Big Play

This added season event, based on the Emmy Award-winning animated pre-school show, is a great choice for the little ones.

FEB. 28-MAR. 5: Mean Girls

Broadway-San Diego is also presenting “Mean Girls” at the Civic Theater. The record-breaking musical (based on the hit film) is smart and wickedly funny

CYGNET THEATRE

cygnettheatre.com

THRU FEB. 19: El Huracán

Cygnet Theater’s production of “El Huracán,” is a play about two generations of a Florida family and their encounters with hurricanes. The show is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” and it sounds like a fascinating piece –complete with elements of magic and theatrical wizardry.

THE OLD GLOBE THEATRE

theoldglobe.org

THRU FEB 26: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

The Old Globe’s Main Stage genrebusting play, adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman, continues on the Globe’s Main Stage. The cast of chameleon-like actors leads audiences through the mind of da Vinci, as he deals with everything from philosophy and math to love.

FEB. 11-MAR. 12: Under a Baseball Sky

The Globe’s White Theater will unveil a Globe-commissioned world premiere this month. The play deals with baseball’s deep roots in the Mexican American community. This charming new work celebrates communities coming together to find hope, healing, and love. The show, directed by James Vasquez, will show at the Globe’s theater-in-the-round.

SAN DIEGO OPERA

sdopera.org

FEB. 11-19: The Puccino Duo: Suor Angelica and Gianni Schiccki

The San Diego Opera will bring The Puccino Duo: Suor Angelica and Gianni Schiccki to the Civic Theater. Marina Costa Jackson will make her company debut as Suor Angelica and Stephanie Blythe returns after a long absence to sing the title role of Gianni Schiccki. Blythe will make history by performing a role traditionally sung by a baritone. Principal Conductor Yves Abel will lead the orchestra in this double bill.

Mean Girls.

Yves Abel.

LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE

lajollaplayhouse.org

FEB. 19-MAR. 19: The Outsiders

La Jolla Playhouse has a world premiere ready to showcase this month: “The Outsiders,” a musical based on Francis Ford Coppola’s movie. The story has been reimagined as a groundbreaking musical about a fight for survival by a family of ‘havenots” in Tulsa, Oklahoma back in 1967.

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY

ljms.org

La Jolla Music Society has an eclectic mix on hand this month, starting on Feb. 11 with “Kodo,” a special family event at the Balboa Theater, followed on Feb. 16 with Nat Geo Live! Life on the Vertical with Mark Synnott at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall. The Aris Quartet follows at the Concert Hall on Feb. 19, and the “Quartetto di Cremona” moves in on Feb. 24 for a one-night stand. Pianist extraordinaire Pierre-Laurent Aimard performs in the Piano Series on Feb. 26.

SCRIPPS RANCH THEATER

scrippsranchtheatre.org

ONGOING: Lucky Stiff

This off-beat musical mystery will continue its run at Scripps Ranch through Feb. 13. Then, on March 3, “Lucky Stiff” will move to Oceanside for a run through March 19.

NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE

northcoastrep.org

THRU FEB. 12: Blues in the Night

This ode to early jazz and blues standards features a powerful ensemble of singers, and delivers a thrilling evening of American music.

SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART

sdmart.org

THRU FEB. 12: Chapel of the Rocks

The Museum of Art is showcasing “Chapel of the Rocks” by Justin Sterling. It’s the first solo museum show for the New York-based artist and features a chapel built within the museum.

Lisa Ross: “Elegy to a Uyghur Homeland” will be on display through March 5. The exhibition captures the rituals and spiritual traditions as well as everyday life. Through Feb. 12, you can also see 30 large-scale paintings by Sergio Hernandez

Blues in the Night. Photo: Aaron Rumley.

Kodo. Photo: Takashi Okamoto.

Kodo.

Chapel of the Rocks.

La Jolla Playhouse Announces New Directing Fellowship Recipient

Last spring, La Jolla Playhouse introduced its Directing and Stage Management Fellowship Program. Kat Yen is the recipient of the directing fellowship for the 2023/2024 season. The fellowship is part of the Playhouse’s Anti-Racism Action Plan, which helps the theater welcome and represent BIPOC voices. Kat Yen is a TaiwaneseAmerican theater director from NYC. “The Playhouse is deeply committed to playing an active role in supporting the next generation of BIPOC theatremakers. The Directing Fellow position was designed for someone exactly like Kat and we are thrilled to welcome her to the Playhouse family,” said Artistic Director Christopher Ashley.

Jewish National Fund-USA Will Hold Their Annual Legacy Luncheon In San Diego

Jewish National Fund-USA’s yearly Legacy Luncheon will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront on Monday, Feb. 27 at 11:30. Elan S. Carr, the former United States Special Envoy

for Combating Antisemitism, will be the keynote speaker. Carr aided U.S. policy and directed programs to combat antisemitism as a chief advisor to the Secretary of State.

Grand Opening Held for Hillel Center at UC San Diego

On Sunday, Jan. 15, Hillel of San Diego held the grand opening for The Beverly & Joseph Glickman Hillel Center on the UC San Diego campus. The event included a ribbon cutting, reception and speech from Mayor Todd Gloria. After 20 years of legal battles, the center finally opened as a $18.7 million, 6,500-square-foot building on a 1-acre campus. The center will be

San Diego Begins Distributing Organic Waste Bins To City Residents

open for Jewish learning, activities, holiday celebrations and community engagement. “With antisemitism on the rise nationwide, the Hillel Center is a crucial connector to UC San Diego and the region overall, building bridges and fostering a sense of community while enabling students of all backgrounds to connect on multiple levels,” said Mayor Gloria.

San Diego will start rolling out the new green organic waste bins for city residents. Households in the 92102 and 92113 zip codes received their green bins first on Jan. 11. Organic waste includes food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard trimmings; these are collected separately in an attempt to lower methane gas levels in landfills. The Organic Waste Recycling program complies with Senate Bill (SB) 1383 with the hopes that the amount of organic waste will decrease by 75% by 2025. The City will be delivering the green bins until mid-2023. Visit sandiego.gov/OrganicWasteRecycling for more information.

February 2023

Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month

Events Hosted by Ohr Shalom Synagogue

Sunday, February 26, 11:00am* Saturday, March 4, 6:30pm**

Keynote Speaker

Susan Sygall

- A conversation about her

life, travels, and world-wide disability advocacy

Susan Sygall is a disability advocate and MacArthur fellow. She is co-founder and CEO of Mobility International USA, a non-profit organization advancing disability rights and leadership globally through international exchange and development. She will speak to us about her life, her travels throughout the world as a wheel-chair rider, and her international advocacy, especially in the area of training women with disabilities to be leaders and agents of change in the international disability community. Our interview will also highlight Susan’s life-long faith in Judaism and her desire to do more tikkun olam by helping everyone to embrace the concept of disability rights and the possibility to change the world.

Susan is also the author of No Ordinary Days: A Journey of Activism, Globe-Trotting and Unexpected Pleasures.

*This event will be held on Zoom only. ASL interpreters and live captioning will be provided. To RSVP or for more information or if you need further accommodations please contact office@ohrshalom.org.

Documentary Film Screening & Panel Discussion with Filmmaker Laura

Morton

Anxious Nation takes a crucial look into the crisis of anxiety and mental health in America, especially its impact on kids and families. In 2022, the U.S. surgeon general warned of a devastating mental health crisis among adolescents, creating a national emergency, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The film sets out to lift the shroud of shame around mental health, highlighting kids and families, who bravely share their stories, while giving emotional insights into how anxiety shows up in our children’s lives and impacts families. The filmmakers offer deep insights on how we got here and what we can do to harness anxious energy for good. Above all, the film offers hope.

Our expert panel will feature Laura Morton, New York Times best-selling author and the co-director, producer, and writer of Anxious Nation as well as local mental health experts.

**This event will be held in person at Ohr Shalom and on Zoom. ASL interpreters will be available during the panel portion of the event. To RSVP or for more information or if you need further accommodations please contact office@ohrshalom.org.

$5 Ohr Shalom Members $10 Community Members

Co-Sponsor:

Community Partner:

All in-person attendees MUST show ID, proof of vaccination or negative test within 72 hours of attendance. MASKS ARE REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES!

by Micah Siva noshwithmicah.com

Pistachio & Cardamom Challah

Warm up this Valentine’s Day with a lightly spiced, nutty challah! Perfect for a romantic Shabbat date night, or lazy Sunday morning french toast, the combination of cardamom and pistachio is a match made in heaven. I make challah every week and my favorite part of my weekly ritual is getting creative with flavors, add-ins and shapes! Shape this loaf into a circle (as written), or have fun forming it into a heart shape! With a subtle sweetness from the cardamom, this honey-scented loaf is great slathered with a raspberry jam, salted butter, or griddled and topped with ice cream!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) instant yeast

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2/3 cup warm water

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbsp. for greasing

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 3 3/4 cups (450g) bread flour, plus more for shaping

• 1 cup pistachios, chopped

• 2 tsp. cardamom

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

For the egg wash

• 1 large egg, whisked

• 1 tbsp. water

• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

PREPARATION:

1. Combine yeast, honey, and water in a bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast starts to foam or “bloom.” (If the yeast does not bloom, you may need to get fresher yeast.)

2. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract, mixing on low to combine. Replace the paddle for the dough hook.

3. Add flour, cardamom and salt, one cup at a time, mix on low using the dough hook. Knead the dough until smooth and no longer sticky, adding more flour as needed. Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with a clean, damp towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

5. Punch down dough to remove any air bubbles, and transfer to a floured surface.

6. Cut into 6 even pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, approximately 12 inches long. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

7. Lay 3 ropes down vertically, and the other 3 horizontally across. Weave the ropes together and braid the remaining rope, tucking underneath to form a circular loaf.

8. Make the egg wash: whisk together egg and water. Brush with egg wash and top with pistachios (optional).

9. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the tray halfway through and brushing with additional egg wash.

Edward Barkanic - Escondido

Stanley Hoffman - San Diego

Moisey Rozenfeld - La Mesa

Lillian Weiner - San Diego

Gary Frank - La Jolla

Lew Abrams - Haiku, HI

Suzanne Angelucci - La Jolla

Rosa Miller - Chula Vista

Carolyn Schaer - San Diego

Jeffrey Ressler - La Jolla

Cathy Anderson - Coronado

Randee Andrews - Temecula

Harold Wasserman - La Jolla

Abraham Reicher - Vista

Andrew Rinde - San Diego

Nora Marsh - San Diego

Victor Davidovsky - San Diego

Marcia Metzger - San Diego

Ida Shreiber - Carlsbad

Samuel Mason - La Mesa

We Are San Diego’s ONLY All-Jewish Mortuary

Serving the community for over 40 years.

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On behalf of AM Israel Mortuary, We extend our condolences to the families of all those who have recently passed. The families of those listed above would like to inform the community of their passing.

by Marnie Macauley, M.S. | marniemacauley@gmail.com

What  Jewish History Forgot: Change-Makers. The  Jews Behind Early Movie-Making

My dear San Diegans:

I have always loved the often unsung fascinating stories of history, in particular Jewish history; the who is/ was really behind the headlines. The surprising effect is the little-known relationships between the Jewish and secular world. Without Jews, we might be streaming “Leave it to Beaver” — the animated coloring book.

Hooray For Jewish Hollywood.

Who among us hasn’t heard that the film company Dreamworks is the brainchild of Jewish icons Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg? Changing the moviemaking landscape, Dreamworks amassed major awards (and gelt) for its innovations. But, did you know, there wouldn’t be a Spielberg, had he not been preceded by early movie moguls who “created” much of the industry, yet whose names now recede in history.

Overall, Jews have played a major part in inventing, creating companies and running them. Let’s look at a few some of these perhaps forgotten or unknown early industry game-changers whose impact on the world has been monumental.

Today, Hollywood studios are owned by people of all ethnicities, but unarguably, where would a Spielberg, Ron Howard, or Netflix (founder Mark

Randolph — a descendent of Freud) be, had Jews not been at forefront of the “moving picture” industry?

As has often been the case in Jewish history, Jews built empires in areas where they were relegated to specific occupations. As a result, many grew industries where Gentiles were not interested. And so we have the marriage of two venues, looked down upon by Gentiles but open to Jews: vaudeville and the garment industry in the late 1800s. Unlikely? Not at all. To succeed “in moving pictures” you needed to be salesman extraordinaire along loving the creative opportunity. Talented Jewish entrepreneurs had both. Look at the blending in just a few: Hungarian-born Jew, Adolph Zucker, was a fur salesman before founding Paramount Pictures; (Jesse Lasky (a partner at Paramount) played the horn on vaudeville stages; American-born Jew, Marcus Loew also

came from vaudeville before pivoting to movie theaters and production; Carl Laemmle (a German-born Jew) was in the rag trade prior to starting Universal Pictures; and there were many others, like Shmuel Gelbfisz (a Polish-born Jew) who cut his sales teeth selling gloves and became a legend in the film business as Samuel Goldwyn.

Goldwin, like many others, struck gold in the new industry that Gentiles eschewed as “low-class.” Jews were not held back by snobbery. They realized motion pictures were cheap entertainment for Jews and other immigrants and as they were at first silent, relatable to all audiences.

However, bigotry toward the new industry (in fact, studio executives’ Jewish last names were used as antisemitic dog whistles) fueled studio owners’ eagerness to assimilate as Americans.(The head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, actually adopted the Fourth of July as his birthday with the whole studio celebrating lavishly each year).

Early Jewish film entrepreneurs created a vision of the Great Melting Pot where all were included despite differing backgrounds and religions, creating the image of the new “homogenous American.” (Racial differences, however, were still a way off.) This early group of entrepreneurs grew and often cooperated to create massive studios,

Talented Jewish entrepreneurs were salesmen extraordinaires and loved a creative opportunity.

some of which still bear their names, despite being sold, mostly in the 1960’s, with the changing public taste that wanted fewer, high risk-ventures.

This was seen in for example the giant MGM. In 1920, Marcus Loew bought the small Metro Pictures, to provide films to his movies in his Loews theaters, the first North American theater chain (1904). When Metro needed to expand with a huge increased demand, Loew bought out Samuel Goldwyn’s company, Goldwyn Pictures. Enter the controversial Russian-born Louis B. Mayer and the giant studio they formed became, of course, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

These and other Jewish-American founders of major Hollywood created a new “culture.” With enduring popular movies that embraced both American and Jewish values, until future generations would come to accept them, in film, as one and the same. Their films painted portraits about love for family, community, and country, hard work, fairness, standing up courageously in the face of injustice, courage to carve out new towns throughout the country.

And such is also the story of hope, faith, and truth — the Jewish-American way. A

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