San Diego Jewish Journal August 2016 by San Diego Jewish Journal

AUGUST 2016 l TAMUZ â&#x20AC;¢ AV 5776

e u s s I l e a r s I The

Family traditions ignite the food scene HAPPINESS A TO Z What it's like to work in the start-up nation

+ EDUCATION

New focus on Jewish learning @ SDJA Chabad Hebrew Academy goes solar

2 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

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August 14 – September 18 The King of Navarre and his three schoolmates vow to embrace their studies—and not embrace girls—for three whole years. But the instant they take that vow, the Princess of France arrives with her three beautiful attendants, and all bets are off. Shakespeare’s delightful romantic comedy is an unabashed celebration of innocence, idealism, and the sweet folly of young love. Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall makes her Old Globe directing debut with this intoxicating classic under the San Diego stars.

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Sharon Rietkerk and Megan McGinnis. Photo by Liz Lauren, courtesy of Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

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CONTENTS

August 2016

Tamuz/Av 5776

EDUCATION:

Hands of Peace aims to do a remarkably simple thing. The interfaith summer program wants to get teens talking. Natalie Jacobs takes a look at what happens when the conversations get real.

ISRAEL: Can such a young country already have a cuisine? A chef and a documentary filmmaker endeavor to find out.

ISRAEL: Israel may be known as the start-up nation, but that doesn't mean it's just another Silicon Valley in the desert. Read what it's actually like to work in the start-up nation from a San Diegan in the process of making aliyah.

IMMIGRATION: Germany continues to accept the most refugees of any European country, with full support of the Jewish community. Joshua Milstein, also originally from San Diego, sends this report from his current homebase in Berlin.

THEATER: Pat Launer talks with Ben Fankhauser, the young Jewish actor who appears in the Carole King musical "Beautiful," which makes a short stop in San Diego this month.

8 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

DIVORCE-FAMILY LAW Compassionate Yet Aggresive Family Law Experts

MONTHLY COLUMNS 12 The Starting Line 22 Parenting 24 Israeli Lifestyle 26 Aging 28 Spirituality 74 Advice

36 EDUCATION:

AROUND TOWN 18 Our Town 20 The Scene 64 What's Goin' On 70 Synagogue Life

Educate to Career is all about outcomes in education.

IN EVERY ISSUE 14 Mailbag 16 What’s Up Online 66 Diversions 68 News 72 Shabbat Sheet

Chabad Hebrew Academy goes solar, expands STEM curriculum.

37 EDUCATION:

Soille Hebrew Day announces capital campaign for 21st century campus updates

38 EDUCATION:

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Myra Fleischer

44 ISRAEL:

The state of anti-BDS legislation in the U.S.

48 ISRAEL:

A brief look at some of the most curious ideas coming out of Israel today.

50 BOOKS:

An excerpt from "Happiness" on how you can start achieving it.

52 ISRAEL:

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Israeli scholar hosts Brandeis National Committee group for seventh straight year.

32 EDUCATION:

58 FOOD:

A teen participant in this year's March of the Living reflects on the state of Holocaust education in this country.

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

Tori Avey's Israeli Chicken Sofrito.

71 FUNNY PAGES:

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Texting Moses.

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 9

You are going to have to make some choices, but you don’t have to make them alone.

Changing

jobs can be difficult but we are with you every step of the way.

PUBLISHERS • Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss

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(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 ©2016 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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www.lfjcc.org • (858) 362-1115 This offer is good for new members only. Must be age 18 or older. May not be used toward Teen, Public Servant, or Corporate Memberships. Annual membership must be paid in full at time of registration. Discount applies to initial annual membership contract only. Current JCC members call the membership office for special renewal offers. Standard membership rates apply to future renewals. Offer good through August 31, 2016!

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 11

THE STARTING LINE by Natalie Jacobs

EDITOR’S LETTER editor@sdjewishjournal.com

The World’s Enormous Grief

t was Friday, July 8 when it felt like the news cycle was covered end to end in tragedy. Two black men, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minneapolis, had been shot and killed by police officers. Sterling was killed outside of the convenience store that his best friend owned. Castile was killed in the driver’s seat of his car, with his girlfriend beside him and her four-year-old child in the back. The internet was bursting with articles that outlined the number of black men who have been killed by police this year alone – last I checked, the number was 114. The news shifted to even more horror when a sniper killed five cops who were patrolling a peaceful protest in Dallas. Friday, July 8 was a dark day, halfway through a year that feels like it has been filled with more darkness than light. That morning, I logged into Facebook as I usually do, to post the San Diego Jewish Journal’s link for the day. I looked at the newsfeed and was stopped by a bright purple strip with small white writing. “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” – From The Talmud, 303. It has been years since I’ve read religious scripture. The closest I get to the Torah is when I edit our monthly spirituality column. And I’ve never seen the Talmud. The quote was posted by the founding editor of the Dayton Jewish Observer, whom I met at the American Jewish Press Association conference last November. On any other day, I probably would have scrolled right past it. But that first sentence – “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.” – was speaking directly to my thoughts that morning. I had cried when I read all the news I could stomach, because for a while everything just seemed hopeless, like the world was disintegrating

12 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

into a nightmare that we couldn’t remember how to wake up from. It was not even a month since the worst shooting in U.S. history – at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Not that more time between tragedies would lessen the devastation but there does seem to be increased momentum behind the morally bankrupt these days. I felt daunted, paralyzed by the never-ending sadness. That tiny sentence and the instructions that followed – do justly, love mercy, walk humbly – were a reminder that there are things I can do, things that I must do. The minute we feel the world’s grief, we are obligated to it. If there is more grief in this world, then there is more to do. It is one of my hopes that we at the San Diego Jewish Journal are able to use some of these pages to tell stories about the work that our community is doing to be just, show mercy and live humbly, so that not everything we read is about how terrible humans are to each other. In this issue, you will meet teens from San Diego, the West Bank, and two separate neighborhoods inside of Israel who have chosen to connect across barriers, in order to better themselves by understanding the conflict more fully. You will also explore the German Jewish response to the world’s refugee crisis in comparison to the right-wing isolationist ideology spreading across Europe. We’re also inaugurating August as The Israel Issue, where we’ll explore various aspects of the much-talked about and scarcely understood nation. To start us off, we’re taking a look at what it’s like to work in the “start-up nation,” some curious new tech ideas, happiness, and the food, because that’s as controversial as anything else in Israel. And if I may offer one last plea, aim to love each other out there. A

movers&

Shakers

Rabbi Jacob Rupp is taking over operations of San Diego NCSY from Adam Simon, who led the youth organization for 10 years. Simon is moving with his family to Israel. Rabbi Rupp can now be reached at rabbirupp@ncsy.org.

⦿

Wendy Avraham has completed her term as Israel Committee Chair at Congregation Beth El. Clive Walden took over for her in July.

⦿

The estate of San Diego couple Dr. Howard and Lottie Marcus donated $400 million to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. A substantial portion of the funds are earmarked for the university's water research institute.

nt ve ee

fre

THE MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EVENT

UNDERWRITTEN BY THE MIZEL FAMILY FOUNDATION

Join us for beer, burgers, brotherhood, and philanthropy.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 6pm | San Diego Jewish Academy Speaker Bret Stephens, Pulitzer-Prize winning Wall Street Journal columnist

Event Chairs David Bark, Michel Cohen, Jon Schwartz

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

CORRECTIONS In the August issue’s “Our Town” column, Nancy Geist’s age was incorrectly noted. Geist is 82. The SDJJ regrets this error.

MORE WINE Dear Editor: Ms. Beim was correct in finding excellent vintners who produce kosher wines [“In Search of Good Kosher Wine,” July, 2016]. She mentions Flam Blanc, an excellent white that is served at the Waldorf-Astoria in Jerusalem. However, other excellent Israeli winemakers were missing from the article. Castel is a venerable name and produces world-class reds and whites. Yatir is relatively new and has already made a name for its cabernet sauvignon. If one travels to Israel, a small winery, Gush Etzion Vineyards, produces a Gewürztraminer that is a match for California producers. The production of excellent kosher wines is related to many young and well-trained vintners. As is stated in Psalms, “Wine that maketh glad the hear of man.” Harold B. Reisman Carlsbad

The San Diego Jewish Journal is pleased to announce that we have won a 2016 Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Journalism from the American Jewish Press Association. Our submission, Pat Launer’s “The Most Interesting Yiddish Story You’ve Never Heard, ‘The TwentySeventh Man’ premieres at The Old Globe” was awarded second place in the category of Excellence in Writing About the Global Russian-Speaking Jewish Community. The story originally appeared in our February, 2015 issue in advance of the Nathan Englander critically acclaimed play’s run at The Old Globe. We are proud to be honored alongside the biggest names in

Jewish media, including The Forward, JTA, Chabad.org, Hadassah Magazine and the many other Jewish weeklies and monthlies that seek to share engaging and illuminating Jewish stories across the country. The San Diego Jewish Journal strives to be a valued part of Jewish communal life and we appreciate the continued support of our loyal readers.

ON THIS MONTH’S COVER The mosaic of photos on this month's cover represent Israel in a variety of ways, from the food and the people to the desert and the beaches. All photos used were

@SDJEWISHJOURNAL

14 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

SDJJ WINS 2016 ROCKER AWARD

provided courtesy of the film "In Search of Israeli Cuisine" which is featured on page 40 of this issue. The film will also be shown at the San Diego Jewish Film

Festival Kick-Off event later this month. Find all the details and read surprising info about Israel's thriving food scene in the Israel section.

San Diego Jewish Academyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class of 2016

David Aires Erica Ashkenasi Reut Baltinester Tamara Benrey Alexander Bogage Dalia Breziner Salomon Calderon Sara Chitlik Edward Cohen Tali Cohen-Kurzrock David Colton Rachel Danzig

Valeria Delgadillo Tali Edid Natan Elghanian Jeanette Gaistman Roee Gold Shane Goodman Jacob Greenstein Junrong Hu Yaoting Jiang Sigal Kahn Shane Katz Jonah Kohn

Michael Kornberg Abagail Levinson Jaydon Levitt Beining Li Rami Lieberman Jacob Liebermensch Dan Lilienthal Zhuolun Ling Nicole Lombrozo Jessica Memun Zion Michan Daniel Moch

Matthew Pasternack Samuel Pidgeon Hannah Rodriguez Toren Rosenzweig Rachel Rozenfeld Mica Rubin Daniel Saloner Danielle Sharf Isaac Sluzky Samuel Vilenski Nada Wu Mauricio Wulfovich

AUBURN UNIVERSITY STANFORD PENN STATE MIT SD BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY BOSTON COLLEGE BARNARD FORNIA POLYTECHNIC HARVARD UNIVERSITY YALE U

Learn more about SDJA. Schedule a tour today. 858-704-3717 | admissions@sdja.com Visit sdja.com for more information.

what’s up on sdjewishjournal.com

ISRAELI START UP TAKES ANIMALS OUT OF MEAT PRODUCTION PROCESS We found out about this too late to include in the "Curious Tech" page that you'll find in the Israel section of this magazine, but JTA's story on Israeli scientists harvesting animal cells in order to make meat without the animal is well worth a read. To find it on our website, search "SuperMeat."

POKEMON GOES WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG The meteoric rise of the cell phone video game app thing "Pokemon Go" has been the subject of many news stories lately. Some say as people look for distractions from the difficulties of life in the real world, the enhanced capabilities of the virtual world become ever more attractive. While the game is intensely popular right now, some locations, like Auschwitz and the U.S. Holocaust Museum, are asking users to restrain themselves. Read more in our web story.

TERROR, UNCERTAINTY AND THE JEWS OF FRANCE: Revisiting what he defined as uncertainty over French Jewry’s future, Natan Sharansky of the Jewish Agency for Israel said Jews are increasingly feeling uncomfortable in France despite the government’s best efforts to protect them. This was before the horrific attack on Bastille Day in Nice, when more than 80 people were mowed down by someone in a refrigerated truck. It is safe to say that everyone, not just the Jews, are feeling on-edge in France. 16 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

SOME ART TO MARK THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS Kenden Alfond, who goes by the moniker "Jewish Food Hero" on the interwebs, is out with a collaborative art calendar that marks the Jewish holidays of 5777. Just in time for the new year, which we'll start covering in our next issue, the calendar is only available for a limited time. Details are on the website.

Hear about all our web exclusives first: Like us on Facebook.com/ sandiegojewishjournal and follow us on Twitter @sdjewishjournal

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP, L-R: Len Gregory, Pam Ferris, Robert Haimsohn, Robin Israel • Gary and Lisa Levin, Jeffrey Strauss • Lee and Frank Goldberg • Jessica and Devin Chodorow, Ellen Chodorow.

Patron Party

our TOWN

BY LINDA BENNETT AND BETSY BARANOV, PHOTOS BY BOB ROSS PHOTOGRAPHY

The 17th annual Patron Recognition Party of The Seacrest Village Retirement Communities and Seacrest Foundation, better known as the 211 Club, was held July 10 at the beautiful home of Jeffrey and Mayo Strauss. The evening started with cocktails and hor d’oeuvres as we enjoyed the great sounds of The Jazz Tones. The occasion was attended by 115 staunch supporters, including Sandra and Sheldon Weinstein, Nancie and Richard Vann, Susie and Bernie Sosna, Herb and Carolyn Schaer, Barbara and Norman Rozansky, Dina Moskowitz and Jason Gates, Sima and Joseph Oppenheimer, Arlene and Shelly Orlansky, David Abrams and Joyce Singer, Michael Sonduck and David Zelieson, Rabbi Patty Haskell, Merrill and Robert Haimsohn, Sophie and Henry Haimsohn, Len Gregory, Alberta Feurzeig, and Hildegarde Beyor.

Mazel tovs...

Mazel tov to Ron Cohn on being named the 2016 Man of the Year for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society-San Diego Hawaii Chapter! Congrats to Fern Siegel for being the Mental Health Advocate honoree at the Vista Hill Council. Ben Siegel has been named City Manager of San Juan Capistrano. He is the son of Our Town’s Gene and Judy Siegel. Nadav Kempinski, son of Debbie and Sol, was the recipient of The Marla Bennett “Love of Israel Award” at the USY convention at Camp Alonim in Simi Valley. Mazel tov to Renee Feinswog on her newest great-granddaughter Elisheva Diamond born June 17.

Anniversaries...

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to Sharon and Nat Koren! Happy 65th wedding anniversary to Amnon and Lee Ben-Yehuda!

18 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

Support our dog’s Hebrew education! Students Give the Gift of Sight to Israeli Blind Students are urged to help sponsor a puppy, either as a class Tzedakah Project, or as a Mitzvah Project for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah, to assist blind Israeli veterans and civilians in regaining their lives.

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the SCENE

BY NATALIE JACOBS, PHOTOS BY DOUGLAS GATES, LEETAL PHOTO, AND AARON TRUAX

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: Osborn Hurston, Christopher Ashely, Dea Hurston and Ranjit Banadur • Jeff and Sheila Lipinsky • Barbara Bry and Neil Senturia (Photos by Douglas Gates).

REP’s Ruby Reunion Earlier this summer, more than 250 supporters of the San Diego Repertory Theatre gathered to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the REP Ruby Reunion. The evening was also held to honor REP Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse’s creative excellence and to announce the Setting the Stage campaign to raise $7 million over three years.

Federation’s Showcase Federation’s NextGen took over the San Diego Air & Space Museum in June to host their version of a gala fundraising dinner. Featuring comedian Joel Chasnoff and plenty of cocktails, San Diego’s Jewish young adults shared an evening of philanthropy and togetherness.

20 SDJewishJournal.com l July 2016

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: Simone Abelsohn and Amanda Wachter (photo by Aaron Truax) • Loren Casuto and Geoffrey Katz (Photo by Leetal Photo) • Lindsay Rubin and Alexandra Ilko (photo by Leetal Photo).

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MUSINGS FROM MAMA

by Sharon Rosen Leib

PARENTING srleib@me.com

Sexual Assault Prevention 101

ollegiate sexual predators target freshmen girls. Why? Because they tend to be easy marks, unschooled in the perils of the party scene. We must talk to our sons and daughters before they leave home about taking precautions and behaving responsibly and ethically during their college years. Using reason and common sense rather than fear (we don’t want our kids cowering in their dorm rooms), we may guide their still-maturing prefrontal cortexes to make good choices. Here are a few tips for encouraging healthy college years unmarred by the ugly epidemic of campus sexual assault. 1. Encourage your daughters and their friends to watch their drink at all times. Predators may slip a date rape drug like Rohypnol into a drink and offer it to an unsuspecting partygoer. When you’re the new kid on campus it can be hard to differentiate the nice guys from the creeps. I advised my daughters to bring their own red Solo cups to parties to fill themselves. 2. The good ole’ Girl and Boy Scout rules still apply – always use the buddy system. Campus predators, like all sexual predators, try to isolate their victims. When attending parties with friends, keep tabs on each other’s whereabouts. Girls, if you see a friend being lured away, please be heroic and intervene! Your friend may be intoxicated and lack the capacity to consent or may be feeling pressured into doing something she doesn’t want to do. Check in with her. If you sense something wrong, help your friend extricate herself from the situation. 3. Guys, the same goes for you. If you see a friend doing something he shouldn’t be doing, please intervene! For example, if 22 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

a buddy is coercing a girl away from her friends or leading a girl who appears to be inebriated away from the crowd he may be a predator. Tell him what he’s doing is uncool. Be the hero! You may be preventing a girl from being raped, saving the guy from being kicked out of school or even worse, facing criminal charges. 4. Please go to the hip White Housesponsored site itsonus.org to review tips for preventing you and your peers from becoming victims or perpetrators. Take the pledge to commit to helping stop sexual assault. 5. If, G-d forbid, you are sexually assaulted, please report it. I realize that having to relive a trauma isn’t easy. However, repeat offenders commit 90 percent of sexual assaults. By reporting, you will be holding the perpetrator accountable and hopefully preventing him from harming others. Please refer to notalone.gov, the federal government’s compendium of resources and reporting avenues for assault survivors. Projectcallisto.org, launched in 2015, empowers students to report sexual assault by enabling them to create an anonymous, time stamped record. The University of California’s reporting protocol is online at sexualviolence.universityofcalifornia.edu. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (rainn.org) operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline. Please, please reach out for help. 6. NEVER blame the victim. Even if her blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit and she was dancing naked at a frat party, nothing EVER justifies assault or rape. Victims are not responsible for their perpetrators’ actions. They did not “ask for

it” and should not feel shame or be silenced because they were drunk or scantily clad. Combatting sexual assault and campus rape culture is on all of us. Our kids deserve to learn in environments free from coercion, assault and victim shaming. We need to take action to prevent colleges from being hunting grounds with freshman girls the favored prey. A

Alcohol as Date Rape Drug In her book “Girls & Sex,” Peggy Orenstein cites the statistic that 80 percent of campus assaults involve alcohol, making alcohol itself a de facto date rape drug. Even still, the majority of our kids will drink to excess at some point during their college careers – particularly freshman year when they are more vulnerable and less aware of their limits. Acknowledge the reality of campus drinking and urge moderation. But, the fact that a victim was drunk when assaulted should not make her ashamed to report a criminal act.

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 23

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE by Andrea Simantov

ISRAELI LIFESTYLE andreasimantov@gmail.com

Oh Sunday, Sunday

pon assuming the presidency of UN ratified State of Israel in 1948, David Ben Gurion instituted a few absolutes that remain iron-clad even today. One of them was that serious yeshiva students would be exempt from military service so that a nation that had been decimated by the Nazi war machine could rebuild the learning that was the hallmark of European Jewry. Ben Gurion, an avowed secularist, understood that the People of the Book could not remain so if the Torah was allowed to wither into obscurity. Hence, the once proud and stately yeshivot that had prospered in Vilna, Novardok, Ponevezh, Volozhin, Mir and Telz began to pepper the urban landscapes of the fledgling Jewish state in the cities of Bnei Braq, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Tsfat. Rapidly the numbers of talmidim grew to such proportions that what was originally deemed to be a quaint imperative became a cause celebrated among those who today feel there is an institutionalized shirking of national service. This societal clash is not small and erupts with great regularity, especially during our frequent pre-election periods. If the aforementioned conflict does not seem heated enough, rest assured that an even greater dissent lies in the 24 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

hearts of Israelis. Global warming, water desalinization, terrorists lying in wait and an erratic economy are child’s play when juxtaposed to the Sunday workday. Ben Gurion wanted the ash-covered Jewish identity to stand defiant in this period of wound-licking and it made great ethical sense to reclaim the Saturday-Sabbath as a proudly unifying factor in the miraculous aftermath of our survival. We were killed because we were Jews; it made no sense to pretend otherwise, especially insofar as our trying to assimilate did little to fool the bloodthirsty neighbors who assisted in our unsuccessful demise. Jewish pride was a previously unrecognized aspect of our history and in the heady days/years that followed statehood, we greedily glommed onto this foreign-but-empowering redefinition of what it meant to be a Jew. Jews do Jewish. However, for those of us who were born into post-war Jewish homes and came to Israel later in life, this Sunday thing is the pits. Over pots of coffee we bemoan the loss of the precious family day that meant barbecues, breakfast in the diner, lolling on the beach and dinner that culminated with everyone piling into the den to watch “60 Minutes.” Describing American Sundays to Israelis invariably results in their rebutting

with, “But we have all day Friday!” Close but no cigar, I say. While it is true that most offices are closed on Friday and there is a European laziness to mornings filled with cafe brunches and bicycle rides, for those of us who are religiously observant, preparing for the Sabbath does not allow us to completely let go of structure. Even if we prepare all night on Thursday, one eye remains glued to the Friday clock, reminding us of impending traffic jams and the demands that an entire family will place on a small hot-water tank for the pre-candle lighting showers. Regardless of however we try to replicate the ambiance of Sundays in America, Friday is a poor imitation. The newest bill to elicit excitement in the Knesset is a law that will allow six Sundays off a year. Some wax euphoric over this but not me. I’d rather work extra hours during the week, even a half-day on Friday, and replicate the weekends of my youth. With all due respect to David Ben Gurion, his point has been made. Israel is here to stay, our yeshivas are thriving, and the Sabbath is imbued with unity of the spirit and devotion to G-d. Bagels, lox and Costco will not render us extinct. It will only create an aberration called “Sunday.” A

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 25

OLDER, WISER, BETTER by Jon Schwartz

AGING jonaschwartz@hotmail.com

The Elders of San Diego

enturies ago; before the internet, computer, television, radio and newspaper, people learned new information from elders within one’s community. They were revered and leaned upon for their wisdom, insight and advice. These elders were responsible for passing down traditional stories and rituals. Today, as more people live to older age, the idea of the wise elder seems to have all but disappeared. Media, business and government tend to think of our aging society as a burden not a benefit. And Google has nearly entirely replaced the need for wise elders to answer questions and offer advice. No doubt, our current society fetishizes youth and technology. However, behind the scenes, elders are carrying out remarkable work. In the early 2000’s entrepreneur Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel discussed how many more primitive societies looked to their elders for guidance, or to help resolve disputes. They posed the question, in today’s world, could a small, dedicated group of individuals use their collective experience and influence to help tackle some of the most pressing problems facing the world today? Branson and Gabriel took this question to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu who were inspired to start an organization in 2007 called, “The Elders.” The Elders are a group of global leaders working for peace and human rights. They represent an independent voice and are not bound by any institution or government. Today, there are 13 active “Elders” who share a common commitment to peace and universal human rights. They also bring with them a wealth of diverse expertise and experience. They are peacemakers, with decades of experience mediating and resolving conflicts around the world. They are peace builders who have helped postconflict societies to heal wounds and rebuild. 26 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

The Elders are social revolutionaries who transformed their own countries – whether by reducing poverty, improving the status of women, or championing nonviolent struggle. They are pioneering women who have governed their countries, led international institutions and spearheaded movements to empower women. A few examples of the major projects The Elders are currently focused on: • Climate change • Israel/Palestine conflict • Equality for women and girls • Help to build a fairer, stronger and transparent UN system In addition, The Elders weigh in on current events like the recent Brexit vote as well as the attempted coup in Turkey. For more information on this special group, visit: theelders.org. While the idea is great, the problem I see with The Elders is its exclusivity. To be considered an Elder, it seems one would have to be a former President of a country, head of the UN or a Nobel Laureate. Very few people possess this resume. However, there are many elders, throughout the world and here in San Diego who carry the desire and skills required to be a community thought leader. There is a need in our local community to have a group of elders who work together to spread the core Jewish value, tikkun olam. Imagine a group of thoughtful and committed local Jewish elders, who could work together to help improve areas where social justice is needed the most. The potential good is limitless. If those reading this article can think of a distinguished elder member(s) of our Jewish community who would be a good fit for this type of group, please feel free to contact me. If we can get enough names, I would be honored to facilitate the establishment of Jewish Elders San Diego. A

Meetings and Events Jewish War Veterans Post-185 Jerome (858) 521-8694 Aug. 14, 10 a.m. North County Seniors Club @ Oceanside Senior Center Josephine (760) 295-2564 Aug. 18, 12:30 p.m. Veterans Association Post-385 Marc (858) 232-1645 Jewish War Veterans meetings Aug. 14, noon Lawrence Family JCC Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 Aug. 25, 9:15 a.m., Tour of Leichtag Commons JFS UC Older Adult Center Aviva Saad (858) 550-5998 Family Day and Farewell Party On the Go Excursions Jo Kessler, (858) 637-7320 Tall Shipps Spectator Cruise. Reserve by Aug. 22 JFS No. County Inland Center @ Adat Shalom Call (858) 674-1123 Aug. 22, 11 a.m., Monthly celebration with Emma’s Gutbucket Band JFS Coastal Club @ Temple Solel Contact (858) 674-1123 Aug. 9, 11 a.m., Creative writing with a focus on memoirs

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 27

TORAH Rabbi Matthew Earne, Congregation Beth Am

SPIRITUALITY rabbie@betham.com

Do You Speak Yiddish?

ecently I learned a fourth saying Vunder ieber vuner. If you don’t know what it means, do yourself a favor, call your bubbe, or your zeide and ask them. Of course, I also recommend going to synagogue and finding the kind elderly man or woman who sits in the back row and during Kiddush, tell them you just read this quote in the San Diego Jewish Journal and you want to know what it means. In the meantime, I’ll tell you my interpretation. Vunder ieber vuner is an expression of surprise. It is a response to when you hear something you can’t believe, like rain in San Diego, the San Diego Padres winning, or no traffic on the 5 during rush hour. On a deeper level, this quote is a gift from our tradition that reminds us that we live in a world that merits such expressions. In all of our lives there will be times when the impossible will become possible and when it does, we will need words to express how we feel. Vunder ieber vuner. A miraculous recovery from an illness, Vunder ieber vuner! A family member who went astray and suddenly returns, Vunder ieber vuner! A stranger, or someone scorned, displays an act of kindness, Vunder ieber vuner! In Parashat Va’etchanan, G-d’s message to us is to always be mindful of the miracles that exist in our world. Vaetchanan means “and I pleaded.” Who is pleading in this Parsha? Moshe. He pleads to G-d to allow him to see Israel one more time. G-d’s response is described as being wrathful as he states to Moshe “Rav Lach/You have had enough!” Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, known as The Mei HaShiloach, was a Chassidic master from the late 1800s who had particular concern for the souls that rest within us. The Mei HaShiloach understands 28 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

Moshe’s request is less about what he seeks to see, rather it is on his ability to see. The MaHashiloach then inserts an amazing insight on prayer through interpreting G-d’s angered response: “Rav lach, I have given you enough spiritual awakenings that not only you could learn from, but for all generations to learn how to pray to G-d.” For The Mei HaShiloach, prayer is guided by our ability to see. When we see something aspirational we channel our requests in that direction. Elements of Jewish prayer are aspirational, and in order to practice this aspect of prayer we need to have something in our mind’s eye to aspire towards. The Mei HaShiloach introduces us to a Moshe that is thirsting for this type of inspiration. Moshe, the man who partnered with G-d in bringing our people out of Egypt, is confronted with the boundary of the Jordan river and he is left feeling spiritually blind. How do our limitations influence our own faith? What happens to us when we can’t or are told “no”? Do we, like Moshe, respond by losing hope? Perhaps this loss of hope is one reason it is a struggle for so many of us to pray. Recently, after years of running, my knee joints unexpectedly became inflamed. I tried for two months to run through the pain, waiting for a miracle, but alas none came. Overnight, all of the 5Ks, long hikes, and triathlons that I pictured myself doing became unreachable dreams. My doctor counseled rest and said if I wanted to keep exercising it was time to switch to a new path, one which would provide less pressure on my knees, so that they could have time to heal. His suggestion was swimming. So just a few weeks ago, I found myself at La Jolla cove and do you know what I did? I took a swim in the ocean. And when I came out; vunder

ieber vuner! My knee actually felt better. When we struggle to discover sources of inspiration and places to direct our prayer may we find the strength to traverse down new paths. May we explore new waters so that we can say with a full heart, Vunder ieber vuner! A Rabbi Matthew Earne is Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Am. He can be reached at rabbie@betham.com.

 This

month’s Torah portions Aug. 6: Mattot/Massei (Numbers 30:2-36:13) Aug. 13: Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22) Aug. 20: Va’etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11) Aug. 27: Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25)

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7/14/16 11:17 AM

||| EDUCATION ||| San Diego Jewish Academy Introduces

The Advanced Institute for Judaic Studies BY HARRY KATCHER Rabbi Nathan Laufer

an Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) is developing a new initiative for the 2016-17 school year, called The Advanced Institute for Judaic Studies (AIJS). The primary purpose of this initiative is to provide top-tier Judaic education for SDJA’s students. They are also looking to build a school-community connection over Jewish learning and to that end they are bringing Rabbi Nathan Laufer from Israel to SDJA to be the Founding Director of this Institute. Rabbi Laufer is a brilliant scholar, teacher, and author who continues to enrich the lives of the communities in which he lives and serves. He is the president emeritus of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, was the immediate past director of Israel programs at the Tikvah Fund and has held esteemed positions at the Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to name a few. Rabbi Laufer received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University, New York, his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Fordham University School of Law, New York and his leadership education certification from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Under Rabbi Laufer’s direction, the institute will work to raise the level of Jewish scholarship at SDJA and will also serve as a community resource for learning about Judaism in a meaningful and pluralistic manner. The institute will work to transform Jewish life and learning at SDJA by designing and upgrading the Judaic studies curriculum for all grades K-12, teaching leadership – through a Jewish lens – to upper school students, creating tikkun olam projects to become robust and a marker of the SDJA experience, and finally, by leading in a pluralistic manner so that all students – regardless of their specific religious orientation – will feel welcomed and 30 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

invigorated by the richness of Jewish texts, values and traditions. “We envision students attending San Diego Jewish Academy,” says Chaim Heller, head of school, “because they find the highest level of general academics and co-curricular activities (athletics, the arts, etc.) alongside a meaningful and highly-engaging Jewish education, leading to more active Jewish living in our school and in the larger Jewish community.” “In fact,” Heller continues, “we believe the AIJS will inspire both our students and parents to engage in active Jewish living by learning together Jewishly on a regular basis, developing projects that are interactive and engage Israelis and SDJA students in common areas of interest, and by teaching a Jewish leadership course to SDJA parents and future leaders.” Students at SDJA will have the opportunity for Judaic learning that goes beyond what is typically offered in a pluralistic school and they will experience the integration of Judaic Studies and Israel in the general studies curriculum. In addition, SDJA’s faculty will become more Judaically-knowledgeable, leading to a greater Jewish consciousness on campus. “We also believe,” Heller says, “that creating the role of a Chief Jewish Officer at SDJA will be a model for other institutions in San Diego.” The Advanced Institute for Judaic Studies has been a community-supported project. The idea was originally conceived two years ago by Chaim Heller in conversation with the school’s educational consultant Rabbi Jan Katzew from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, and Dr. Ray Fink and Claire Ellman, both of whom have been tireless advocates for Jewish education in San Diego. The AIJS will debut with two courses for the 11th grade sections, both taught by

Rabbi Laufer. The first, will be “Judaism as a Civilization: Connecting the Dots Between Judaism’s Stories, Rituals, Ethics and Land.” “The purpose of this course,” Rabbi Laufer says, “will be to de-construct Judaism into four components: narrative, rituals, ethics, and land, and reveal the invisible lines of connection between them.” The second class will be “The Genesis of Leadership: What the Torah Teaches us about Vision, Values and Leading Change.” In this class students will examine the narrative sections of the five books of the Torah through the lenses of contemporary leadership theory. “In doing so,” Laufer says, “our students will extract the Torah’s leadership lessons to help each of them become a more effective and ethical leader as he/she prepares to go out and meet the challenges of the world.” “Our goal for the AIJS,” Heller says, “is to create original and creative academic programming that has depth and meaning and is consistent with Jewish teachings, in an environment of inquiry and study for its own sake. We anticipate the number of students who will be involved in this project will grow as more families will come to see the institute as a place for significant Jewish learning and growth.” The Advanced Institute for Judaic Studies is the first of three new institutes SDJA will be unveiling for the 2016-17 school year. The Institute for Creative Writing and the Arts (ICWA) and the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking (IIET) will also have soft openings in the fall. A A pluralistic preschool-12th grade school serving the Jewish community, San Diego Jewish Academy’s mission is to further academic excellence, social responsibility, and active Jewish living. For more information about San Diego Jewish Academy, call (858) 704-3717 or visit sdja.com.

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 31

PHOTO COURTESY MARCIA TATZ WOLLNER

||| EDUCATION |||

Holocaust Education:

Beyond the Movies After attending The March of the Living, one local teenage calls for more robust education surrounding the Holocaust LETTER BY EMILY ARKIN, REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION Students from this year’s March of the Living outside of Auschwitz.

hat is the first term that comes into your mind when you think about the Holocaust? Common, acceptable answers are “Hitler,” “Nazis,” “World War Two,” “Jews,” “six million,” “Auschwitz,” “concentration camp,” and “death.” Some may recall a quote or fact from the overplayed, Hollywood, Holocaust movie their world history teacher played instead of lecturing on this unit. When asked to elaborate, the average American teen is often stumped. Other than the basic definition of a few “Key Concepts” from a textbook, the knowledge of this human catastrophe is severely stunted in our youth. Popular Hitler parody accounts on Twitter, however, have a combined 550,000+ followers. Anti-Semitism is far too prominent in high school culture. While we may know a few main facts, it is evident that my generation does not truly understand this tragic point in history. In order to ensure the safety of future generations, it is imperative that students receive a quality education on this event so that nothing similar happens again. More often than not, teachers shy away from personally informing students about the Holocaust in order to spare themselves and their students the emotional weight of such knowledge. My personal education on the 32 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

Holocaust was only a slight improvement. A year of my Jewish education was dedicated to studying the Holocaust in the moviewatching format. While I knew a few more facts and cried to several more Holocaust movies than the average kid my age, the level of understanding was basically the same. In an effort to further my knowledge and fulfill my inherent duty as a Jew, I chose to participate in The March of the Living. This trip took me through multiple concentration camps in Poland, leading up to a ceremonial march from Auschwitz to Birkenau where 10,000 fellow Jews honor the lives of those who perished in the Holocaust. As I traveled through concentration camps and met with multiple survivors, I established an understanding that connected me to the Holocaust in a profoundly personal way. Since my trip, I have struggled to process the things I saw and felt in Poland. Stories and words can never prepare you for what you’ll experience walking into a gas chamber, and no amount of emotional training can prepare you for the pain you’ll experience afterwards. When asked to discuss this tragic point in history, I no longer think of key words or phrases. Now when I think about the Holocaust, I

am overcome by a series of flashbacks. An enormous hallway filled with human hair, the ashes still sitting in the crematoria, the way my hand followed the scratches on the cold gas chamber wall, the trembling of my chest as I wept at the sight of a child’s slipper, standing out in a pile of 180,000 shoes. This all rushes through my mind as I scramble to verbalize the magnitude of this unimaginable massacre. Perhaps the reason we struggle to comprehend the Holocaust is because it is almost impossible to grasp its gravity. I find myself mourning the lives of six million strangers. The Holocaust to me is the ghetto wall of Warsaw, the empty synagogue of Tykocin, the mass grave of children in Kielce, the gas chambers of Auschwitz, and the train tracks of Birkenau. It is the unfinished story of every life that ended prematurely due to terror and unjust hatred. It is one of the most horrific events in history and it is our job as human beings to stand in united opposition of prejudice and all those who would seek to take up the practice of genocide. A Next year’s March of the Living will take place April 19-May 3, 2017. San Diegans interested in participating can contact Marcia Tatz Wollner at Marcia@motlthewest.org.

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www.tiferethisrael.com Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 33

||| EDUCATION |||

emember the opening line to MTV’s wildly popular reality television show, “The Real World,” the one that defined reality tv during its 31 seasons on the air? It went like this: “This is the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped…to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.” The summer program Hands of Peace is kind of like that, except without the cameras, and, presumably, so much drama. But the “getting real” part is definitely the key point of the 19-day cultural immersion. The idea is that a select group of teens from four different sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict gather in one U.S. city – currently either Chicago or San Diego – to live with host families and spend their days engaging in moderated dialogues with each other. “We have the kids in two and a half hour, nearly daily dialogues,” says Scott Silk, a teacher with a background in conflict resolution and law, who was involved in expanding Hands of Peace from Chicago to San Diego in 2014. The dialogues are “facilitated by professional facilitators, usually a Palestinian and an Israeli working together in a given room.” Silk says the moderators guide the teens through conversations that are “both highly organized and also organic,” meaning that they are coordinated in phases, meant to ease the young people into difficult discussions about personal experiences, familial beliefs, and cultural expectations. Hands of Peace also intends for the participants to be friends after all is said and done, so there are lots of outings and events to help establish those bonds. Each summer group consists of teens from the host city (San Diego or Chicago) plus Jewish Israelis, Palestinian Citizens of Israel 34 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

(PCIs), and West Bank Palestinians. “Our goal,” Silk says of the Hands of Peace program, “is to expose them to different narratives of the conflict, to debunk stereotypes, and to develop them as young leaders.” That third part comes in later, when a select few choose to return for a second year of intensive leadership and community organizing training. The first two aspects of the Hands of Peace goal – to expose teenagers to competing narratives about the conflict, and to debunk stereotypes commonly associated with people from “the other side” – that work starts on day one and it doesn’t really stop. “Honestly I was very worried about the dialogues,” recalls Noran, 17, a West Bank Palestinian who participated in Hands of Peace last year in Chicago and came to San Diego for year two of the program this summer. (Hands of Peace asked that the last names of participants be kept out of this article in consideration of participants’ privacy and security.)

“At first it was really, really hard because I have my own history and they have their own history. … For me, I’ve never listened to a story from the other side. … The story has so many faces. So listening to it was like listening to a whole other, new story or history.” Over Skype, Noran says that in her society, everyone has the same history and the same point of view, so they all tell the same story. “It was pretty hard to accept [other people’s stories] because, I don’t know, it’s a whole different reality and you get to a point where you think it’s never going to end because they believe in something and I believe in something. So it was pretty hard to accept it.” She says that at a certain point, though, she felt something in her shift. Ultimately she says she felt that her personality improved through the dialogue process. “It got me to have a lot of thoughts. It got me to be more attached to my community, and it got me to want to be a very active person in my society. I want to see a change and I want to change what’s happening.” For the Middle Eastern participants, Hands of Peace is also about experiencing what it’s like to live in the United States. One participant I spoke with said he and the other Hands of Peace participants would talk about how it was like living an imaginary life. “Life in the U.S. is obviously a great life,” Ehad, 18, says via Skype from an Arab village in Israel, “compared to people who live here, [or] in the West Bank for example. There is a big difference.” As second-year participants, the Israelis, PCIs, and West Bank Palestinians have been meeting throughout the year to work on leadership skills and to learn those community organizing techniques that they’ll be studying in more depth this summer. Ehad remembers one of those meetings specifically, because it

PHOTOS COURTESY HANDS OF PEACE SAN DIEGO

A main goal for Hands of Peace is to create real bonds between participants. To do that, a variety of team-building activities are worked into the 19-day program.

was mysteriously canceled. “It was postponed and we find out it was because the people from the West Bank did not have any…they couldn’t get in here [Israel]. … I don’t know why, they couldn’t get permission to pass the checkpoints to get from there to Israel. It was very sad. We were like how could this happen to people like us, who just want to achieve an understanding of other cultures?” Ehad says it’s ironic that the barriers kept out people who were trying to meet in order to achieve peace. “I get sad sometimes, so yeah I feel actually connected to the Palestinian delegation for example in Hands of Peace, because it’s just a fact that there’s no difference between me and them except I have an Israeli ID and they have a green ID, I think, in the West Bank.” Guga, 17, is a Jewish Israeli who also returned to San Diego this summer. She lives just outside Tel Aviv, a place where, she says, rockets don’t normally land, so the conflict, though just a few miles away, feels distant. “What I felt was that I kind of don’t know that much about actually what I’m living,” she says via Skype when asked about why she was interested in Hands of Peace two years ago. She says at the time she thought she wasn’t living the conflict as much as other people, like those in the south of Israel, or those in the West Bank, that her understanding was more focused on the politics and following the news of Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions on this or that issue. “Many people don’t really understand that there are two sides to the conflict.” She says Jewish Israelis are either thinking about their side, or trying not to think about it at all. “That’s something that I learned in Hands of Peace, not only about the conflict, about

everything – there are two narratives. For the exact same story to happen at the exact same time, two people, it sounds different to them.” She uses Israeli Independence and the Nakbah as one example. “It’s something that suddenly you understand, that everything you were taught is by a specific narrative and by what people want to pass to you and to bring to you. It seems to me as a child that these are the facts, but after I saw this and I understand that it’s not black and white, it’s not ‘these are the facts,’ it’s ‘this is the way we choose to see the situation.’” Where Ehad felt sadness at the seemingly arbitrary distinctions made between him and people who live on the other side of a certain line, Guga came to feel something closer to anger. “I live in this open community but we are all living and saying we’re open and saying we know a lot and know a lot about the conflict but then I understood that I actually don’t know anything.” She says she had never heard about the checkpoints until Hands of Peace. “I can drive an hour and get to the checkpoints, but I’ve never seen them. I’d never heard of somebody that was stopped there or checked or anything like that.” For the Americans in Hands of Peace, the separation between realities and experiences is even greater. There’s an entire world between Israel and the United States. Sophia, 18, from Encinitas, struggled to find her voice through much of last year’s program. “Generally I know people from one nationality who have lived really comfortable lives,” she says. She joined Hands of Peace to expose herself “to different opportunities and different ways of looking at the world.”

Sophia remembers meeting the Middle Eastern delegates on their first day in San Diego. They had all come on the same plane, and had ridden together on the same bus to be picked up by their host families. “When the Israelis and the Palestinians got off the bus together, they were friends,” Sophia recalls. “After meeting each other face to face, whatever imaginary lines that were drawn between them were totally disintegrated.” As the American, Sophia felt like the observer for much of the experience. She came to realize, with the help of a couple Middle Easterners in the group, that she and Americans broadly have important stories to tell too. “I think the role of the American is to be a mediator. It’s to give an unemotional opinion which is really hard to do,” she says. “I struggled with that a lot because as an American you kind of feel like maybe it’s not your place to share because you haven’t experienced the conflict – you’ve just grown up in a really nice neighborhood with nice people around you. So it’s hard to share your opinion because, personally, I felt like I didn’t know enough or hadn’t experienced enough of the world to even share my thoughts about something as horrific as what people are experiencing in the Middle East, but that unemotional perspective is really valuable.” A fresh group of Americans, Jewish Israelis, Palestinian Citizens of Israel, and West Bank Palestinians spent 19 days together this past July. They lived together, shared deeply personal stories, and stopped being politically correct and started getting real. What happens next is for the world to watch and see. A

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 35

||| EDUCATION |||

Chabad Hebrew Academy

Goes Solar Four months in and the benefits to school administration are clear BY BRIE STIMSON

habad Hebrew Academy (CHA) is leading the way for green energy. The Scripps Ranch school installed 446 sun powered solar panels in the parking lot last March, and they are already seeing benefits. The panels generate more than 131,652 watts, according to the head of the school, Rabbi Josef Fradkin. Additionally, the panels leave no carbon footprint and actually create more energy than the school uses each year. “The project is a net zero offset plus five percent,” Fradkin says. “The school is generating excess output above its total annual consumption, saving approximately $169,000 each year.” “Our campus uses a tremendous amount of energy, mainly in the form of electricity through lighting, heating and cooling,” principal Liz Earne says. “Our utility bills before having the solar panels were quite, quite high – more than you might imagine – but for a campus our size, having that solar power certainly helps, not only to offset the costs but to help the environment as well.” The money they’re saving goes to scholarship funds to ensure all families can send their children to a top performing Jewish Day School regardless of income, Fradkin says.

36 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

“The impetus to ‘go solar’ began with CHA’s middle school STEM [science, technology, engineering, math] program,” Fradkin explains. The school raised the money for the solar panels during a 24-hour fundraising campaign last fall. “Funding was initiated by Mr. and Mrs. Barry and Marlene Berelowitz with a large matching donation,” Fradkin says. “The school’s wonderful and supportive donors, alumnus, families, staff and students funded the remaining portion in a 24-hour all or nothing matching gift challenge. The community really pulled together to cross the finish line in a real nail-biter to the last 15 minutes of the challenge.” “It was most meaningful to see students from over 36 years and the many people who the school has impacted come together and make a major difference,” Earne adds. She says the school is happy to take the lead on green energy for other schools in San Diego and even the country. “We are doing it because it’s the right thing to do for our environment and for our school and for our students to understand the importance of energy conservation,” she tells the Jewish Journal. “CHA is a leader among independent and Jewish Day Schools across the country,”

Fradkin says. “CHA enjoys a very strong STEM program focused on Science, Engineering, Math and Technology across age groups. Local rabbis and community leaders ask why it is that the vast majority of CHA students … are passionate about the sciences and choose the subject to speak on at their Bar/Bat Mitzvah.” The panels, put in by Sullivan Solar Power, were installed in a little under six weeks. “Everyone’s very pleased,” Earne says. “It definitely feels like we are moving into the future with these solar panels. It’s certainly the way of the future for energy.” The students followed the installation of the panels, and studied solar energy as they were added to the parking lot structures. During the installation, students took part in the boring and sampling of soils and engineering models. A solar generation kiosk was also installed at the entry of the school administrative building for students to interact and see how much electricity is being generated moment by moment. With the kiosk the students can essentially navigate behind the scenes and look into the components of the panels, its history and output and compare results by the day, week and month, as well as in

real time. The kiosk shows, for example, how many miles a person could drive in a car or how many trees the solar energy saves. “It gives them some visuals and some comparisons of what those energy units represent in terms of real energy use,” Earne explains. Energy conservation is part of the curriculum at the school, “and we were able to incorporate solar energy into the units as the students were watching the solar panels go up, so it really brought the material to life,” Earne says. The students have also worked on other ecology projects, including building a large- scale Aquaponics Kibbutz Ecology system, in which the waste from fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically. The garden has an entire ecosystem of fish and plants. A team of students even developed their own solar panel to provide energy for the Aquaponics system. One small panel provided an excess of electricity for the needs of the rather large application and powered both of the large filters and grow lights the system uses. The school’s solar panels fall into a deeper Jewish mission, Fradkin and Earne say. “Our responsibility to our environment is a crucial part of our Jewish values and responsibility to later generations,” Earne says. “I just think it’s important to raise awareness, in the general community and in the Jewish community about the importance of environmental conservation. It’s certainly a Jewish value to protect the environment so I’m glad we are taking major steps toward that.” The academy’s core mission is the shin. “The base of the Hebrew letter shin,” Fradkin explains, “is our Jewish values and responsibility along with imbuing passion, cross-curricular studies and being a light onto the world.” “Now every time they come into school, they come in and they see the solar panels, and they’re part of our campus and part of our environment,” Earne says. “It’s a constant reminder of the importance of energy conservation and the lessons that are so important for our world at large. The installation, Fradkin says, went surprisingly smoothly and without any glitches. Sullivan came in under budget and ahead of schedule. “We cannot speak highly enough of Dan Sullivan and the professionals on his team,” Fradkin tells the Jewish Journal. “They brought our students into the process through every stage and took a personal pride and care in the project that reflects well on them.” Sullivan installed the support beams that hold up the panels. “And there’s a lot of electrical work once the physical structure was up in order to get the solar panels, not only installed, but then up and running and contributing to our energy supply at the school,” Earne explains. Fradkin and Earne both say the solar panels are part of a broader effort to “green” the campus. “This is part of a larger initiative to bring education to life and to practice what we preach to our student body,” Earne says. In the next year, the school plans to continue the hands-on approach to environmental science by creating a farm-to-table outdoor kitchen adjacent to their community gardens. Students will integrate math, science and engineering to create vegetarian meals and smoothies. “This is all about the students and their future,” Fradkin says. A

Soille Hebrew Day School Embarks on Capital Campaign to Renovate Campus Goal is to create the ideal setting for 21st century learning BY RABBI SIMCHA WEISER

n June, Soille Hebrew Day announced plans to renovate the campus in Kearny Mesa to make it better equipped to showcase its award-winning, 21st century skill-based learning program. What I think is so uplifting for the San Diego Jewish community is the realization that our program of educational excellence is offered in conjunction with inspiring Judaic and Torah study programs which enable Hebrew Day graduates to live fulfilling, meaningful and successful lives. “For 53 years, Hebrew Day has been the San Diego leader in Jewish education,” said Geoffrey Berg, president of Soille’s Board of Directors. The school selected architects Doug Austin and Randy Robbins of AVRP Studios, the team that designed Beth Israel and, more recently, the Urban Discovery Academy in downtown. Hebrew Day’s updated interior and play space will support its already revitalized curriculum with its emphasis on the 4 Cs of 21st Century education – critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Our students are distinguished by their respect for others, their kindness and good character. Our science and math programs routinely win awards, and last year our science teacher Matt Bessler was named San Diego Science Teacher of the Year. Hebrew Day remains the only U.S. Dept. of Education Blue Ribbon School among California Jewish day schools, and enjoys Highest Accreditation from both C.A.I.S. and W.A.S.C. The plans and vision for the campus upgrades were presented publicly at Hebrew Day’s gala on June 5. That evening’s honoree, Mr. Selwyn Isakow, noted in his remarks “Soille Hebrew Day School is not about denominations and divisions, it is about excellence, caring, collaboration, diversity and community. The School provides an ideal framework for leadership and personal, moral and communal responsibility.” The design plans include input from security experts to ensure a safe campus where students can focus on learning, deepening their Jewish identities, gaining leadership skills and experiencing the joy and empowerment of serving others. “It gives every family in San Diego encouragement and confidence in the future of San Diego’s Jewish community to know that this project is moving ahead,” said Philip Silverman, past Board president and current finance chair. A For more info about the capital campaign, please contact Rabbi Weiser at (858) 279-3300. For enrollment contact Beth Licha at blicha@hebrewday.org. Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 37

||| EDUCATION |||

BY CALINE CHITAYAT

any believe the crisis in higher-education stems from low acceptance rates and tremendous tuition fees. However, for Michael R. Havis, founder and president of San Diego-based nonprofit website Educate To Career (ETC), the crisis comes from a lack of outcomes-based education, making it hard for students to make the best possible decisions for their futures. “The conversation has been more about how to pay for college, how to apply to college and how to apply for grants and student loans. Nobody talks about looking at the outcomes after college,” Havis says. In 2008, Havis’ oldest son, Benjamin, was in his senior year at Rancho Buena Vista High School. They attended a college night together, in which five local universities sent representatives to the high school to give information to prospective students. Havis notes that most parents asked the representatives about scholarship opportunities and were given adequate resources to answer their questions. When he asked what kinds of jobs his son could get with a degree from their school, and how much he would earn, the representatives, he says, were unable to answer his questions. Havis figured that he was not the only parent who wanted his child to make an educated decision before committing to a university and he realized that everyone could benefit from more information in this regard. In 2013, Havis founded the ETC site, which provides students and families with free outcome-based education and career planning data to help them make prudent and informed decisions. “Our goal is to see these kids enter the workforce with a job tracked from their degree [and] little or no debt, enabling them to provide for themselves and [their] 38 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

families, becoming contributing members of society.” The website offers numerous free programs and data for students, career counselors and universities. Among their most popular programs is the ETC College Rankings Index, which measures the value and return on investment of one’s college education. ETC works with Job Search Intelligence, a data analytics/labor economics consulting firm, and uses government data derived from national surveys as the basis for its college outcomes information. All salary data used in ETC’s web platform are collected by government agencies from more than 400,000 establishments and educational institutions throughout the U.S. According to Havis, the traditional college ratings systems are really rating the student – not the college. Only 0.6 percent of college students are enrolled in the eight Ivy League Colleges, and only two percent of students are enrolled in the 51 “top-tier” universities. “Top colleges are picking winners, rather than making winners.” Different from other college ranking systems, the ETC College Ratings Index measures the improvement in employability and earnings that a student derives from attending a particular college. Havis notes that admitting more students into college and making college more affordable is not the solution. With 55 percent unemployment and underemployment of recent college graduates, the outcome would not change if every student went to college and education was free – it would simply increase that number. Additionally, of those who graduate, 60 percent of students do not use their degree in their occupation. And, those with student loans are allocating, on average, 32 percent of their income to servicing their

When he asked what kinds of jobs his son could get with a degree from their school, and how much he would earn, the representatives, he says, were unable to answer his questions. loans. Havis believes that students should enter college with an eye toward the future. Quoting Yogi Berra, Havis mentions, “If you don’t know where you are going, you may end up someplace else.” All the focus regarding college and career planning tends to be in the area of getting into the “best” college at the least cost. But really, it’s all about the outcomes, says Havis. The Educate to Career website has been live for just under two years. To date, there have been more than 1.3 million individual worldwide users and more than 2,000 college career centers using the programs with their students. Educate To Career is comprised of Michael Havis, founder and president; Varda Levy, vice president; and Garry G. Garretson, chairman of the board. They have invested more than $300,000 into ETC and are actively looking for corporate sponsors and also welcome individual taxdeductible donations of any amount. Visit educatetocareer.org to browse the data. A

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PHOTOS COURTESY ROGER SHERMAN

||| ISRAEL |||

The Cultural Anthropology of Food Documentary “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” charts a new course around Israel BY NATALIE JACOBS

hen you watch “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” you will think the documentary came about when chef Michael Solomonov decided to go on a journey through the homeland to add new dimension to his Philadelphia-based Israeli restaurant. You would be forgiven for thinking that, as the film follows Solomonov up and down Israel, through home kitchens and hot restaurants, as he shares personal stories about his own Jewish family’s relationship with Israel (he was born there, and his brother died there), not to mention the food he tries along the way. Although Solomonov is the film’s guide and the audience’s taste buds, the film came about when writer/director Roger Sherman took his first trip to Israel six years ago. It was on a press tour of Israeli food with his friend Joan Nathan “the doyen of Jewish cookbooks in America.” “I could not have cared less about visiting Israel,” says Sherman, a food photographer and documentary filmmaker who won a 2013 James Beard Award for his film “The Restaurateur.” “It wasn’t on 40 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

my top 10 list, it wasn’t on my top 20 list. I wanted to go to Paris. Literally, I never even considered going to Israel.” The very idea of a food tour of Israel is a curious one. The country, of course, is very young and as the film points out, it was very poor up until the 1980s. Citizens of poor countries don’t have time for food trends or modern revivals of classic recipes from grandmother’s kitchen. Life in a third world country is about survival, which has always been especially difficult in Israel. When the affluence of the ’80s afforded people travel and leisure, they brought back new understanding of different cultures to Israel. Couple that with the already transient nature of Israel’s population, and a multi-cultural food scene has been bubbling up for the past 30 years. Today, it’s boiling over. “Some say [there are] 150 food traditions [in Israel],” Sherman paraphrases from the film. “Many of them coming from other places, but some have never left. When they’re talking about food

Chef Michael Solomonov’s Boreka Dough Recipe There’s a touching scene in Sherman’s documentary where Chef Solomonov shares memories about his grandmother’s borekas. It’s the cornerstone of what the film is about, not the borekas specifically, but the way Solomonov feels about them, the meaning he’s associated with the dough and the process. It’s about the power of food. In his popular book “Zahav,” named for his Philadelphia restaurant, Solomonov shares his grandmother’s borkea recipe. The Jewish Journal shares that recipe with permission below.

Boreka Dough

Various stills from “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” showcase the variety of food available in the small country. Director Roger Sherman pictured above.

traditions, they’re not saying food from 150 countries, they’re saying the Jewish food of Tripoli is different from the Jewish food in the countryside of Libya. And Libya is a giant country, so how many different traditions of Jewish food came to Israel from Libya?” The central quest of the documentary, as the name suggests, is to define Israeli cuisine. Throughout the film, journalists, chefs, and otherwise food-lovers weigh in on this question. Some believe that Israeli cuisine is anything made in Israel. Others say the country’s newness makes it impossible for Israel to have a cuisine. Yet another points out that there is still debate over what can be considered American cuisine, so there’s no hope in answering the Israeli question anytime soon. But Solomonov and Sherman attempt at it anyway. What they end up with is a patchwork of kitchen table conversations and a brief cultural history of not only the 65-year-old nation but also its neighbors. A handful of the chefs interviewed in the film make the point that Israeli food is Palestinian food. Others refuse the labels altogether. Husam Abbas, the owner and head chef of El Babour in the Arab town of Umm el Fahm says he’s been making the food that’s been native to the land for generations. When Solomon asks how he’d call it – Israeli or Palestinian – Abbas is quick to say “this is Palestinian food. It goes back hundreds of years.” They’re talking over preparation of his famous kibbe, made with ground lamb skewered on cinnamon sticks, grilled over charcoal and then baked under a laffa shell. On a hilltop in Jerusalem, Jewish chef Ezra Kedem discusses his Iraqi/Sryian heritage with gruff matter-of-factness. When Solomonov poses the Israeli/Palestinian food question to him as they prepare a jalapeno-rich batch of shakshuka, Kedem is quick to say food is not political. (Continued on pg. 42.)

Makes 3 pastry sheets (roughly 10 by 15 inches each); 1 sheet makes about 8 borekas 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons kosher salt ¼ cup white vinegar 2 1⁄3 cups seltzer water 3 ¾ sticks (15 ounces) butter; softened Combine the flour, salt, and vinegar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low while adding the seltzer in a slow, steady stream. Continue mixing until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and bottom of the mixer, about 2 minutes. Flour a work surface and knead the dough by hand just until it feels smooth and homogenous, about a minute. Cover with a clean cotton cloth and let rest for 30 minutes. Working with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a rough ¼-inch-thick rectangle with a long side facing you. (It should be at least 20 by 15 inches.) Spread half the butter evenly across the middle third of the dough rectangle. Fold the left third of the dough over the butter, then fold the right third over the left third (they’ll overlap). Fold the top and bottom edges toward the center the same way, forming a square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Flour a work surface. Orient the dough square so that it’s turned 90 degrees from the first time you folded it (that is, with the folded ends on the sides). Roll the chilled dough out to a ¼-inch-thick rectangle (again, about 20 by 15 inches). Spread the rest of the butter evenly across the middle third of the rectangle. Fold the sides over the butter, and fold the top and bottom toward the center, forming a square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Flour a work surface. Orient the dough square so that it’s turned 90 degrees from the last fold and roll the chilled dough out to a ¼-inchthick rectangle. Repeat the folding process, folding the sides into the center and then folding the top and bottom toward the center to make a square. (This time, don’t add more butter.) Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, divide the dough into 3 pieces and freeze for later use; or, roll each piece into a 10-by-15-inch sheet to use in recipes. Make sure to keep the dough cold at all times (except when you’re working with it). Filled borekas can be frozen before baking. In that case, put them directly in a preheated 425˚F oven; don’t thaw them first. Don’t refrigerate baked borekas. They’ll keep at room temperature for 2 days. Reheat in a 325˚F oven for 5 minutes. Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 41

While it’s tough to watch a nearly two-hour long film about food (because food is obviously better when you can taste it), and some of it does start to look the same (they really love their tomatoes over there), what is remarkable about “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” is the sheer volume of cultures it explores. On the Jewish side, the film touches on the clashes between Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisines and it turns out there is a revival of traditional Ashkenazi fair that was once considered bland and boring by most. There’s the kosher vs. non-kosher sectors of Israel, and a look at the Shabbat traditions of secular and religious Jews in the Jewish state. There are the fishermen and women who’ve thrived in Akko and the Kinneret for decades, and the young journalist who recreates her grandmother’s Turkish specialties in her home kitchen. Many of the successful restaurant chefs were trained in France and Italy, and back in Israel they use the techniques they studied to create surprising food fusions using ingredients hyper-local to Israel. Then there’s the cheese maker who ages his creations in an ancient cave, the bread baker who defined Israeli bread from a few miles off the Lebanon border, and the produce farm situated a stone’s throw from Egypt. Exploring Israel through food, whether or not it can be said that Israel yet has its own cuisine, is a fascinating and new journey around the complex country. If someone went around the United States in a similar way, though it would take much longer, it’s likely the same kinds of stories would come up. In fact, Roger Sherman tried to make a film about the U.S.’s own food revolution and the people who were influential in creating nouveau American cuisine in the 1970s, but, he says, he couldn’t get funding. With “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” Sherman may have created the template for a new kind of cultural anthropological documentary. A The San Diego Jewish Film Festival will show “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” at its Festival Kickoff event on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. in the Garfield Theatre at the JCC. For tickets and information, visit sdjff.org.

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||| ISRAEL |||

taking the “B” Out of BDS States aim to beat BDS at its own game BY NATALIE JACOBS AND CALINE CHITAYAT

n the absence of a federal mandate against the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israel, states across the country this year have taken it upon themselves to address the growing movement that many see as an existential threat to the Jewish state. When most people think of BDS, they think of student groups seeking to pressure their campuses to divest from Israel in their endowment funds. But there are also independent companies that are actively boycotting goods and services from Israel. This is where state laws aim to flex their muscles. To date, 14 states have passed “anti-BDS” laws. There are also 10 other states with bills at various levels within legislatures. Though

•

PENDING

•

few mention Israel by name, these laws and bills focus mostly on the “B” in BDS – they seek to punish entities for engaging in boycotts by eliminating them from eligibility to win state government contracts. But concerned citizens beware, simply calling them “antiBDS legislation” and praising state lawmakers for their protection of Israel might be taking things a bit too far. Some of these bills are so narrow in their scope that it’s hard to imagine they’ll do anything but cause more backlog in the government bidding process. Others are wide-reaching enough to cause concern that their negative effects will be felt beyond the BDS campaign.

PASSED ï

Alabama Passed

Bars the state from entering into contracts with entities that boycott “certain persons or entities with whom the state enjoys open trade.”

Arizona Passed

Expressly prohibits state government from investing in or contracting with any company that boycotts Israel.

California Pending

Too convoluted to express briefly. The current version involves contracts larger than $100,000, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the CA Fair Employment and Housing Act, and penalty of perjury. 44 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

Colorado Passed

Georgia Passed

Requires Public Employees Retirement Association to identify companies that have “economic prohibitions against Israel,” notify the company that it has been placed on the list and may be eligible for divestment from PERA.

Prohibits the state from entering into “certain” contracts with an individual or company unless the contract expressly certifies that the company is not engaged in a boycott of Israel and will not engage in such a boycott for the duration of the contract.

Florida Passed

Illinois Passed

State must create and maintain a list of “scrutinized companies” noted for participating in boycotts of Israel. If a company is on the list, it is no longer eligible for state or municipal contracting.

Prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies that participate in BDS.

Indiana Passed

Similar to Colorado, requires public retirement system to divest from businesses that engage in “action or inaction to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel.” Also provides for notice to those businesses.

Iowa Passed

Applies to funds invested by the state treasurer, Board of Regents, Public Employees’ Retirement System and “some other state pension funds.” Prohibits public entity from entering a contract of more than $1,000 with a company that boycotts Israel or “territories controlled by Israel.”

• •

•

New York Passed by Executive Order

Maryland Passed

Ohio Pending

In progress since 2015

Passed in 2014

Massachusetts Pending Drafted

New Jersey Passed

Allows Commissioner to make the blacklist of companies and institutions that participate in BDS targeting Israel. The list will be made public, and companies/institutions will be alerted.

The state formally rejected BDS

Currently only defines boycott and divestment.

Oklahoma Pending

No details currently available

Pennsylvania Pending

A resolution condemning BDS and anti-Semitism.

•

Kansas Pending

•

• •

•

•• ••

•

Rhode Island Passed

Prohibits companies with state government contracts from boycotting Israel.

South Carolina Passed

Tennessee Passed

Condemns BDS.

Texas Pending

Condemns BDS.

Bars state agencies from contracting with businesses that boycott “based on race, color, religion, gender or national origin.” The state has a second bill pending which will condemn student groups engaged in BDS.

Virginia Pending

Condemns BDS.

Wisconsin Pending

No details currently available.

South Dakota Pending

Commends Israel for its positive relationship with the state.

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 45

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||| ISRAEL |||

e all have dreams and most of the time, if we think on them for long enough, they’ll come true. It’s almost really that easy. Except that, while the dream may come true, some of the details change. At least that’s what happened for me with my dream of working at a start-up in Israel, as a digital marketer. The specifics of my dream included time to do my own creative projects, free daily massages, and a gym. While I did become a digital marketer at a start-up in Israel, I quickly realized that not every start-up is Google. There was a period of adjustment after the depressing and slightly shocking realization that the start-up nation isn’t really just Silicon Valley in the desert. But it didn’t last long. What I found here in Israel replaced my expectations with a new understanding that this is what I truly needed, not all the bells and whistles. Word of Mouth Looking back, in the United States I spent hours writing unique cover letters for every job application I submitted. It was always painful when two weeks passed by and I never heard from anyone. Even worse was when my parents would ask about my five-year plan when I couldn’t even find a part time job at a restaurant. My head was spinning in circles. Things changed when I arrived in Israel. I started asking my immediate network, my family, for leads. I kept hearing “I know this guy who works in this start up…I’ll call him and see what he can do.” This repeated with different people across

days and weeks. Getting access to presidents and CEOs of tech companies was only a matter of asking and it didn’t take long before I got invitations to interview. Only a short month later, I found myself working at a new company called TrackingDesk as a content marketing manager. Diving in TrackingDesk is a small company with only three employees, including myself, but it has a lot of promise. When I interviewed, my now-boss, Laurent Malka, told me “you’re going to be the busiest man alive.” I think I’m a close second, since G-d made Earth in only a week. Since day one there were no formalities nor introductions like you would typically see in United States. I had to learn, adapt, and act quickly, pretty much all on my own. It was tough, to the point where I started looking at flights back home. But then I had an “aha” moment. I realized that Israel has only been around for 68 years. Imagine if the first settlers said to themselves “Sorry, I can’t build this house, I need a college degree first.” Do you think Tel Aviv would be the place it is today? Self-starting is a skill and although it’s not a muscle I’ve exercised like the Israelis, I’m willing to learn to make an impact on the world. I knew start-ups were small and that it’s typical for employees to “wear a lot of hats,” as the Americans say. I didn’t expect my job title to fully encompass everything I would do, but it’s now very clear that the title is just a mere suggestion.

Doing so many different things that fall under so many different categories has me worried most of the time – I worry that I’m only mediocre and that I am unqualified. But it’s exhilirating to be constantly learning. Sometimes it does feel like musical chairs with how often I switch roles within this company. And while I find myself working nine and sometimes 10 hours a day, I also feel myself getting smarter. Not everyone’s dream Though I’ve been working in the start-up industry for only a few short months, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. And everywhere I go for work and play, it seems like high tech is the only industry to be in here in Tel Aviv. But why do people really want to be in the tech industry? I mean, it’s great to be build something and we all really feel like we’re contributing to the advancement of humanity, but mostly we’re just sitting in front of a computer all day. That is definitely not for everyone. I constantly ask myself why I’m doing it. For the money? To stay in Israel? To pass time? To innovate? The start-up world has been full of surprises, so I don’t have a definitive answer yet. What I do know is that I enjoy being part of a tradition that starts with intuition, drive, passion, and the belief that everything will fall into place from there. A Stephen Abitbol was born in Canada, grew up in San Diego, went to college in Chicago. He has lived in Colombia, and now Israel.

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 47

||| ISRAEL ||| HomeBiogas Regular old composting is so yesterday. The HomeBiogas system takes food waste – fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat – and converts it to cooking gas and liquid fertilizer right in a person’s backyard. The company, which started with an eye toward developing countries but went for the first-world in an Indiegogo campaign earlier this year, says an average family of four generates four to five pounds of organic waste each day. At that rate, the HomeBiogas system will produce two to three hours of cooking gas. The system costs $995 and they estimate that people make their money back in about three years. The start-up received about 300 orders from the crowdfunding campaign and shipments began to more than 30 countries this month.

SafeBeyond From the department of things swept under the rug comes SafeBeyond. This Israeli start-up wants to make it easy for people to leave a digital time capsule to their loved ones. The company offers “safes” for people to store videos and other digital messages that can be unlocked by loved ones at predetermined times – like birthdays, graduations, weddings. It also handles things like passwords and social media accounts for after you’re gone, because that’s a thing we need to think about now.

Curious Tech It would be impossible to list all the Israeli start-ups that are solving problems you didn’t even know you had. As this is the inaugural Israel issue, the Jewish Journal has selected a tiny number – three – to focus on the more curious developments in the Israeli tech scene. It may not be a coincidence that they’re all a matter of life or death. Tech is very serious business. BY NATALIE JACOBS

BreezoMeter There are thousands of air-monitoring sensors positioned worldwide, collecting data. Until BreezoMeter tapped into each sensor’s computer brain, it’s hard to say exactly where the data was going and who was using it. But now, this Haifa-based start-up is giving all that info to you, the concerned citizen or person with respiratory issues. They say they’re getting real-time data on air quality from around the world. That in and of itself is remarkable, because the world is a very big place, but then they’ve distilled it down into visual bits of user-friendly info that’s meant to help people better manage respiratory health. Let’s say you want to check the air quality around your house before you go for a run, you could use BreezoMeter to do that. Or if you’re in the market for a new place to live, you could search addresses in the app to see information on historic air quality levels in those areas. The company is also hoping to work with cities and municipalities to monitor air quality for them. Their app will constantly evaluate and send alerts to public health officials when air quality drops below safe levels or pollution events occur. Hey Breezo, can we get one for water now, please?

48 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

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||| ISRAEL |||

Happiness A-Z EXCERPT BY HAIM SHAPIRA, INTRO BY NATALIE JACOBS

appiness is one of those words that’s used all the time but it’s easy to wonder what it really means. Can it be measured in smiles? Compliments? Laughter? For its World Happiness Report, the United Nations uses surveys to explore how people feel about their quality of life. The most recent report came out this year and ranks 157 countries. To the extent that the United Nations can define happiness, Israel ranks number 11. For some context, the United States is listed at 13, and Israel’s neighbors all fall well into the bottom half of the rankings: Egypt, 120; Lebanon, 93; Jordan, 80; and Syria, 156. For his part, Israeli academic and best-selling author Haim Shapira takes a deeper look at the subject in his latest book “Happiness and Other Small Things of Absolute Importance.” Here for the San Diego Jewish Journal is an excerpt to further define the elusive state of mind, and to possibly help you arrive at a state of happiness more often. Apparently, being happy would be so Israeli of you.

HAPPINESS: A SUMMARY

A. Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life. B. Different people have different perceptions of happiness. Some of us must go bungee jumping to trigger our rush of joy, while others will find their bliss staying at home; some of us are happy in a concert hall listening to classical music, while the cacophony of children in a playground could be music to the ears of 50 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

others; some people find elation when they solve a complicated equation, while for others a cancelled maths class is a happy childhood memory. And so on. C. There are no universal rules for being happy – the path leading to happiness is very narrow, with room for one person alone. D. Knowledge is a must when you try to solve a differential equation or prepare a truffle pie, but it’s quite useless when you seek happiness. All smokers know that smoking is unhealthy; and what do they do with this knowledge? E. As strange as it may sound, we usually don’t know what will make us happy. F. When you awake in the morning and feel no morning awake in you, the best thing to do is to get right back between the sheets, for just two more hours … or five, or ten. G. It isn’t really hard to do nothing. Many of us can. The hard part is doing nothing without feeling guilty about it. H. It’s really important to know when to act and when to let things just happen. I. Anger is punishing yourself for your own stupidity. J. It’s a scientific fact that people who are easily irritated and lose their tempers live shorter lives; so try to make a habit of getting angry only when there’s a chance that your rage will change something. K. Anyone who has lived on this planet long

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enough knows that pessimism is the natural way to think. It requires no effort, like a rock rolling downhill. It’s much harder to push the rock up the hill; that is, to think positively. L. Ordinary people who live their lives peacefully, whose days gently resemble each other, may one day just stop and wonder: why do they do the things they do, and have been doing for so many years? M. It’s much easier to choose to be a good person than to think good thoughts. N. The more flaws one sees in others, the more flaws one possesses. O. We shouldn’t delude ourselves into believing that we can easily discard unwanted emotions. This idea is hubris par excellence: not everything follows our own will and desire. P. It’s always a good idea to take a break, rest a little, do nothing for an hour or two, and munch on a little something. Q. Modesty and humility are two different things: modesty is often a kind of pride in disguise, while true humility is the rarest and one of the most beautiful of human qualities. R. Delusions of grandeur and an inferiority complex often cohabit in the psyche of the same person. S. A love that’s based on ‘because’ or ‘thanks to’ won’t last long if that love doesn’t include ‘despite of ’ too. T. First love is magical because only when you’re in love for the first time are you certain this is your last time too. U. Time is relative of course: our happy moments tend to be fleeting, while sorrowful moments sometimes take residence inside our house and refuse to move on. V. Many people are very upset whenever death comes up in conversation; but even if we ignore death, death won’t ignore us. All the people who walk down the street with you now, everyone who lives in your town, everyone you ever knew, will one day travel to the Kingdom of Eternal Silence. W. Knowing that death is out there can help us live better and wiser lives, and embrace the things that really matter. We should live our lives so that, when the time comes to leave this world, we don’t feel infinite regret and sorrow for a life wasted, spent in vain. X. So is life all vanity and suffering, or incomprehensible bliss and endless beauty? We all know that it’s both. Y. Good and bad struggle with each other in everyone’s heart. All of us have thoughts we’re ashamed of. All of us have done some things we’re not too proud of. There really is no black and white, only shades of grey.

New JNF Visitor’s Center in Akko to Transform the Western Galilee The new JNF Western Galilee Tourist Information Center was dedicated in the historic city of Akko. It is part of the JNF-USA’s Go North initiative, which aims to attract 300,000 new residents to the Galilee in order to strengthen its economic and social fabric and make people realize that it is an integral part of the country. JNF-USA CEO Russell F. Robinson was the moving force behind the realization of this project. “This is a collective group of people who have taken a leap of leadership to actualize this vision,” Robinson said. “Tourists who visit the center will discover Arab hospitality, boutique wineries, shops, and everything else the Western Galilee has to offer. Tourism isn’t just about the numbers of tourists; it’s about the amount of time they spend, which positively affects the amount of money they spend.” Go North will strengthen the economic and social life of the region and help relieve the congestion in the center of Israel. Tourism is a growth engine for regional development, employment, and population development. A strategic plan to boost tourism includes enhancing and lengthening the visitor experience and creating greater economic opportunities for residents. The Mayor of Akko, Shimon Lankri, noted that his city has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs who live together in harmony and coexistence. “Akko is the tourist capital of the Western Galilee; over a million people visit here every year. Thanks to the new center, I believe we’ll be bringing the second million of tourists to the Western Galilee in the near future. I want to thank JNF-USA for choosing Akko as the site of this important project.” Together with Western Galilee Now (WGN), a consortium of small tourism operators and artisanal businesses that promotes awareness of the region’s boutique wines, beers, food, and produce, along with its cultural diversity, historic traditions, and scenic routes, JNF-USA built the new Tourist Information Center. The center’s goal is to inspire visitors to partake in the wide variety of tourist attractions in and around the Western Galilee and encourage them to stay longer as there is so much to do, see, taste, and enjoy. Michal Shiloah Galnoor, CEO of WGN, noted that tourism is about people, “and this is exactly why we share a common goal with JNF-USA, which is also about people.” For more information about the work JNF-USA is doing, please contact Amy Hart at ahart@jnf.org or 858.824.9178 x988.

Z. Love a man, woman or child. Go see the Dolomites. Kiss in the rain. Write your memoirs. Read a few philosophy books or, better still, revisit some children’s books. Swim with abandon. Insist. Fight. Sing in the shower. Pause to observe the cherry blossom. Learn a foreign language. Get upset. Get angry. Forgive. Get sad. Be happy. Admire. Wonder. Pray. It’s better to regret things we did than be sorry for things we didn’t do, given that sorrow for the latter is infinite. Extracted from: “Happiness and Other Small Things of Absolute Importance” by Haim Shapira © published by Watkins 2016, London, Paperback, £9.99 Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 51

||| ISRAEL |||

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Brandeis National Committee Brings Israeli Scholar for Seventh Straight Year Dr. David Barzilai will again lead a study group this year SUBMITTED BY THE SAN DIEGUITO CHAPTER OF THE BRANDEIS NATIONAL COMMITTEE

he San Dieguito Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee (BNC) will hold its opening meeting/study group showcase brunch on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. at The Green Dragon Tavern in Carlsbad (6115 Paseo Del Norte). Study groups are informal learning sessions led by professional educators or members of BNC; they attract many new members to the nation-wide organization, which is dedicated to raising funds for Brandeis University. At the brunch, each study group leader will briefly describe upcoming topics and activities. Anyone interested is cordially invited, and newcomers are especially welcome to this first event of the year. One of the most popular professional instructors, Dr. David Barzilai, will share his knowledge of Israel for a seventh year. BNC member Lorna King, who organized his study group, explains, “I met Professor Barzilai in my Tai Chi class. The instructor, a mutual friend, said, ‘I would like you to meet a very interesting man.’ When we began to talk, David told me about his extensive knowledge of Jewish history. I was fascinated by some of the things he shared about his involvement with the political workings of Israel and his education at Hebrew University leading to a Ph.D. in philosophy and Jewish thought and history. I eventually asked him whether he would be interested in sharing his knowledge with a Brandeis study group, which I would coordinate, and he agreed to do one six-week course. That was six years ago.” Each year the group asks him to return, and he is delighted to do so.

52 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

Barzilai will present material relating to Israel and its relationship to the world as well as teachings about the country’s history and notable Israelis. He begins each session with current events and always encourages questions and comments. He seems to appreciate the Brandeis group as much as they like him, saying that if ever he writes a book on a topic he prepared for them, he will dedicate it to the members of the study group. Raised and educated in Israel, Dr. Barzilai’s extended family arrived at the port of Haifa from Egypt when he was a child, a few years after the War of Independence. As he tells his story: a bus took the family that same night to the absorption town of Kiryat Gat, in the north of the Negev desert. When they arrived, the place was dark, with no signs of habitation. Only at dawn could they see the landscape of a few aluminum huts, and in one of them they settled – his parents, two grandparents, David, and his sister. At night the walls were freezing cold,

and by day you could burn your finger just by touching them. But the miracle of Israel expressed itself here at that time, and after less than a year, the family moved to a small side-by-side house. His father began working in a bank, and the children started their education in an elementary school, a two minute walk from their home. He goes on to tell how important the school and its mentoring principal were in his life. He received his degrees, Ph.D. in philosophy and Jewish thought, an MA in Jewish history and Holocaust studies, and a BA in Education and Jewish History from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Barzilai is the author of several books on modern Jewish thought and Holocaust studies, and he founded and directed the first Program in Judaic Studies at Virginia Tech. He currently teaches at the University of California San Diego and at San Diego State University. He regularly publishes commentary on Israeli politics and society, and counsels many Israeli leaders who seek

his political advice and analysis. BNC, in addition to Dr. Barzilai’s popular group about Israel, provides a book discussion group, and topics ranging from movies to current events, music, art, and history. The History of the Supreme Court and “Deis Flicks,” films of Jewish interest, often using the Brandeis University-based National Center for Jewish Film, attract many. A few courses are based on DVD lectures, while others are led by members or professional educators including musician David Lewis, Mira Costa College; Rabbi Joshua Burrows of The Jewish Collaborative of San Diego; and author and professor, Stan Schatt. Almost all meet at Seacrest Village, Encinitas, whose residents are encouraged to attend all BNC study groups. A For more information or to reserve a place ($25, by August 17), contact Linda at 760-436-4467.

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 53

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||| IMMIGRATION |||

Many refugees standing in a row in Hamburg on Nov. 3, 2015, waiting for help in front of a tent.

e begin this story in Berlin, the home of a new sort of European Jewish cultural articulation. Berlin has a robust Jewish community, served by several synagogues of various denominations, which claim membership among Jews of many extractions. A number of scenes here – political, academic, literary, musical, yiddishist, gastronomical – have blended so fluidly with the culture of this storied country that the very Jewishness of these communities feels somehow both 54 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

native and exotic at the same time. Berlin’s Jewish community is very public and eager to make its case to Germany that it is as an integral part of the culture here. While the refugee crisis has not gone unnoticed anywhere in Europe, for Germany and for the Jews of Berlin, the crisis and how it is addressed has given rise to a new series of questions about the role of social welfare activism in the public sphere. Germany has taken in more refugees than any other European country, and the

administration of chancellor Angela Merkel has maintained a policy of open borders and uncapped immigration for about a year. In the summer of 2015, when the numbers of refugees climbed dramatically, the German mainstream responded with redoubled embrace of “Willkommenskultur,” or culture of welcome, symbolized by the famous images of locals greeting travelweary arrivals in the Munich central train station with applause, friendly signage, and gifts.

PHOTOS COURTESY JOSHUA MILSTEIN

LEFT: Armin Langer LEFT: Volunteers gather for an information session during a recent Mitzvah Day in Berlin.

For Germany and for the Jews of Berlin, the crisis and how it is addressed has given rise to a new series of questions about the role of social welfare activism in the public sphere. Through the government’s far-reaching response, supplemented by the German mainstream’s embrace of the incoming refugees, Germany has become the centerpiece of European refugee policy. Berlin, as one of Germany’s most visible centers of refugee absorption, is of special importance in the crafting of Germany’s policy, and to its new image as the avantgarde of coordinated humanitarian action. Berlin’s Jews are finding new ways to align themselves with this broader effort. “To use a start-up term, we’re a disruptor,” says William Glucroft. Glucroft is an American transplant to Berlin, and a founder and board member of the Friends of the Fraenkelufer, a Conservative shul on the border between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, two very hip neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. The Friends have established monthly outings to the Wilmersdorf refugee shelter, one of the largest in Berlin. The German government “did a pretty good job spontaneously setting up refugee centers, registering people,” Glucroft says. Unlike in the United States – where responsibility for refugee resettlement is handed down from the State Department to nine independent, often nonprofit,

resettlement agencies across the country – the German government handles all of the registration and resettlement of refugees. The Friends of the Fraenkelufer and their refugee efforts are novel for the country because the Friends are acting on their own accord, as a private group of organized citizens. The Zentralrat, or Central Council on Jews in Germany, told me that they support the Friends’ efforts and assist them with supplies wherever possible, but for the most part, the organization itself is responsible for providing all the resources it needs to go on these monthly outings. For its part, the Zentralrat’s main organizing effort since 2012 has been Mitzvah Tag (Mitzvah Day), a day-long, annual project, inviting German Jews to take part in philanthropic projects surrounding a number of issues. Thousands have heeded the call. During the most recent Mitzvah Tag, last November, a major focus of the nearly 120 projects hosted in 40 German cities concerned refugees. It is estimated that approximately 2,000 German Jews volunteered for mitzvah programs in their cities, many involving food service at shelters, plus music, dancing, and games for kids. The day also included a guided tour

of Berlin put on by the Neue Synagoge, a small, egalitarian, Masorti shul housed in the historic Oranienburgerstrasse Synagoge. Even as the organization works to support recent refugees in Germany, some question the Zentralrat’s commitment to the cause. Last year, Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, gave an interview to the newspaper Die Welt, in which he expressed concern that among the incoming refugee populations there may be populations harboring anti-Jewish sentiments, and with problematic views towards gays and women. “This is just plain nonsense,” says Armin Langer, a 25-year-old rabbinical student from Hungary who founded the SalaamSchalom Initiative, an interfaith group promoting dialogue between Jews and Muslims. He has been an outspoken critic of the Zentralrat’s attitude towards the asylumseekers. “There is not a single study that would prove that anti-Semitism would be higher among refugees than among people already in Germany.” Langer sees contradiction in the Zentralrat’s efforts to align itself with the fight against homophobia and violence against women. He points out that in Zentralrat communities it is uncommon to Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 55

ISTOOCK PHOTO

find openly gay rabbis, teachers, or cantors. “This is just hypocrisy to speak about chauvinism and homophobia among the refugees when the topic is never discussed in a Jewish context. And believe me it is a big problem also in a Jewish context.” Last year, Langer made headlines when, after speaking out publicly against the Zentralrat, and calling Schuster a racist, he was expelled from the Reform rabbinical seminary in Potsdam, and took his case to the media. Controversies aside, there is fairly wide agreement about the Jewish responsibility in acknowledging the plight of refugees. “Weren’t we refugees one upon a time?” asks Glucroft. “It’s important to realize our historical role as the victim, and balance that with our present-day role as a decision maker, [who is] relatively well-off and relatively safe.” Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe... Perhaps the most disturbing response to the crisis has been the electoral gains of far-right parties, some of which have historic ties to mid-century fascist movements, and the nativist sentiments of which, often couched by politicians in an intellectualized clash-ofcultures discourse, is a shock to the system of the European mainstream. The French Front National party, headed by Marine Le 56 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

Pen, came out on top with 28 percent of the vote in the 2015 regional elections. Le Pen recently ousted the party’s founder, her more volubly racist and anti-Jewish father, after he referred to the gas chambers as “a detail” of the Second World War. Troubling victories of the far right are to be seen elsewhere in Europe, for example in Hungary, where the radical nationalist Jobbik party surged in the 2014 elections, or in Sweden, where the antiimmigrant nationalist Sweden Democrats more than doubled their parliamentary wins between 2010 and 2014. In presidential elections last May, Austria very narrowly avoided a victory on the part of the Freedom Party of Austria’s candidate Norbert Hofer (the FPÖ was founded in 1956 by a former SS officer). Though Hofer seemed to win the elections in the first round, he was defeated by less than one percentage point in the runoff elections. In July, the Austrian Supreme Court ruled in favor of the FPÖ, which claimed that the mail-in ballots that determined the outcome of the election had been improperly handled. A do-over will be held in the fall, and an FPÖ victory is very much in the cards. Germany, where an understandable caution is exercised with respect to right wing politics, has been touched by these developments just the same. The rise of a

number of nativist movements with antiimmigrant platforms has been something of an unpleasant surprise. PEGIDA, which stands for “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident,” is one of the most notorious of these movements. It began as a grassroots protest against the perceived threat to European values posed by Muslim immigration. The National Democratic Party (NDP) has never in its 50-year history crossed the electoral threshold of 5 percent to enter the national parliament, but its presence, and its public connection to PEGIDA, has increased the dread attached to its new visibility. The Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), founded as a center-right Euro-skeptic party in 2013, has transformed under new leadership into an ultranationalist movement taking immigration and the defense of what it considers European values as its central prerogative. In last March’s state elections, the AfD received double-digit percentages in three German states. One of its regional parliamentary representatives in the state of Baden-Württemburg was exposed as the author of an apocryphal series of books, in which it was claimed (among other things) that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are “probably not a forgery,” leading to a national stir, and the resignation of a

PHOTO BY JOSHUA MILSTEIN

LEFT: Refugees welcome” graffiti and refugee boat painting in Berlin, Germany on April 30, 2016. RIGHT: Wilmersdorf refugee center.

large faction of the party’s representatives in the state, headed by the party’s national spokesperson, in protest of an unsuccessful attempt to effectively expel the member in question from the party. In all of this, many European Jews perceive cause for anxiety. Some see Muslim immigration as an imminent threat to European Jewry, and have placed themselves in the awkward position of supporting fascist nationalist and pro-European nativist parties, which claim concern for the wellbeing of Jews among their core principles. Some of these parties have also aligned themselves with Israel, and their rhetoric invokes the curious ideological platform of “Judeo-Christian values,” a nominalism meant to convey the impression of a broader coalition against Muslim immigration. Some Jews in Belgium have responded positively to a decadelong campaign by the Belgian Flemish ultranationalist party Vlaams Belang, voting for them in relatively higher numbers than the rest of the population. Lamenting that there were Jews among the voters for the FPÖ in Austria, Pinchas Goldschmidt, the chief rabbi of Moscow and the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, wrote in a May op-ed in the British Daily Mail that “When G-d gave out intelligence, not

everyone stood in line.” The institutional Jewish reaction has been consistent. Though Schuster has expressed concern, most notably in the comment to the Die Welt newspaper that outraged Armin Langer, he remains sympathetic to the plight of new German immigrants and encourages the solidarity of the Jewish community. In March of this year, in an interview with the Jüdische Allgemeine, Schuster said he was disturbed by the gains of the right, and expressed further concern about the proposed proscription on circumcision and ritual slaughter in the party platform of the AfD, directed against Muslims but obviously placing Jews in the same camp. He also said that he is disturbed by Jewish support for right-wing organizations, and that some Jews have been taken in by these parties’ embrace of Israel and flattering talk about Jews, a ploy to position themselves against Muslims. In May, he restated the demand of the Zentralrat, which it has been maintaining for several years, to ban the National Democratic Party. “The NDP wants to do away with our democracy and erect a völkisch state, in which there is no room for minorities,” Schuster said. Germany has no imminent plans to cap immigration, and Berlin expects a

“It’s important to realize our historical role as the victim, and balance that with our present-day role as a decision maker, [who is] relatively well-off and relatively safe.” continuing stream of arrivals. Though anti-immigration sentiments grow louder around them, extra-governmental entities like the Friends of the Fraenkelufer will continue their activities in shelters, faceto-face with refugees. For them, and for other German Jews, the refugee situation is above all an opportunity to make a kiddish hashem, joining in the wider efforts, and blighting mutual stereotyping. It consists, Fraenkelufer’s Glucroft says, of acknowledging that there is a problem, and doing something about it. He, and others, see this as an opportunity to turn a different page. A Joshua Milstein is a San Diego native and a graduate student of modern European and Jewish intellectual history, living and studying in Berlin. The Fraenkelufer Synagogue turns 100 this year. To learn about the synagogue, its activities, and its anniversary party (featuring an exhibition of works by photographer Robert Capa) go to fraenkelufer.wordpress.com. Donate by PayPal to william@fraenkelufer.de.

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 57

||| FOOD |||

Tori Avey is an award-winning food writer, recipe developer, and the creator of the popular cooking website toriavey.com. She writes about food history for PBS Food and Parade.com. Follow Tori on Facebook by searching for “Tori Avey” and on Twitter: @toriavey.

in the kitchen WITH

TORI AVEY IKWTA

ISRAELI CHICKEN SOFRITO

his Israeli Chicken Sofrito is inspired by a Sephardic family recipe from my sister-in-law. The term sofrito comes from the Spanish sofreir meaning “to fry lightly.” In Sephardic cuisine the name typically refers to a stew made from meat or poultry that is braised and cooked over low heat until only a small amount of liquid remains. The slow cooking process results in very tender meat. This version of the dish likely earned the name sofrito because the majority of the ingredients are fried in oil before they are combined and cooked. In Spanish and Italian cuisine, sofrito is a combination of aromatics that are often fried and used in a variety of savory dishes. The Italian version is made with parsley, onion, garlic and tomato lightly cooked in olive oil, while the Spanish version calls for paprika. The common thread between all versions of sofrito seems to be the oil. My sister-in-law’s version of this dish includes chicken consommé powder, a pareve powder that elevates the savory chicken flavor of the dish. I love the flavor of chicken powder, but it’s loaded with sodium. Many brands also use MSG. You can find versions made 58 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

without MSG, but they are very salty. With all of this in mind, I decided to challenge myself to capture that ultra-savory flavor in a natural way that would cut down on the sodium and wouldn’t require chicken powder. After experimenting I found that, as with many recipes, the secret was in the schmaltz. After frying the chicken in olive oil, I reserved the resulting rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) at the bottom of the pot and used it to fry the potatoes and onions, infusing them with all kinds of savory goodness. Using chicken broth for the braising liquid instead of water also helped to pump up the savory flavor. This recipe takes a bit of prep work, but once it’s all in the pot you can rest easy…the cooking will take care of itself. It’s perfect as a Shabbat dinner or a Sunday supper. My favorite part of this dish is the addition of an orange yam/sweet potato and lightly caramelized onions, two sweet flavors which compliment the spices and add depth to this ultra-savory dish. My stepdaughter adores the browned potatoes, which soak up the spiced chicken broth at the end of cooking. This is serious comfort food, a one-pot meal that satisfies.

PHOTOS BY VITO DI STEFANO

ISRAELI CHICKEN SOFRITO 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks 2 medium yellow onions, sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 ½ cups chicken stock 1 ¾ tsp paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare the chicken thighs by sprinkling them with salt (lightly salt if it’s kosher chicken), then generously with black pepper. In a heavy pot with a lid (I prefer an enameled Dutch oven), heat olive oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Oil should coat the entire bottom of the pot. Place 4 of the chicken thighs into the pan, skin side down, and cook undisturbed for about 7-8 minutes until the skin is golden brown (careful, it may splatter a bit!). Do not move the chicken during the initial cooking process; the skin will initially stick to the bottom of the pot, then will loosen as it browns. If the oil begins to smoke a lot, lower the heat a bit and continue to cook. When the skin is brown and crispy, turn and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spatula and set aside. Repeat instructions for the remaining 4 pieces of chicken. Remove chicken from pan and reserve. You should now have plenty of cooking oil/schmaltz in the bottom of your pot. Fry the potato chunks for about 8 minutes, stirring gently 2-3 times during cooking, until potatoes are browned and crisp on the outside. You may need to do this in batches so that the pot is not crowded to ensure even browning. They should be semi-cooked and golden, but not overly soft. Raise heat if needed to

1 ¼ tsp turmeric ½ tsp garlic powder 3 bay leaves You will also need: 6 qt. Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid, slotted spatula Yield: 8 Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes Kosher Key: Meat make sure they brown evenly on all sides. Remove potatoes from the pot with a slotted spatula and reserve. Add sliced onions and ¼ tsp of salt to the oil, stir to coat. Cover the pot and reduce heat to medium. Let the onions cook covered for about 10 minutes. While the onions are cooking covered in the pot, whisk together the chicken stock, paprika, turmeric, garlic powder and bay leaves to create your cooking liquid. Set aside. Uncover the pot and continue to cook the onions over medium high heat, stirring until the onions soften and begin to caramelize. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot as you stir. The longer you cook the onions, the more they will caramelize. At this point, you can drain off the excess fat and schmaltz if you wish to cut calories, or you can keep it in the dish to add flavor. Add chicken and chicken stock blend to the pot with the onions, bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and cook for about 60 minutes until the chicken is very tender (you can cook it even longer for a more tender result if you wish). Add the browned potatoes back to the pot and toss to coat with sauce. Raise heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes or until cooking liquid has reduced and potatoes are tender and soak up some of the cooking liquid. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve sofrito and sauce on a platter in the center of the table. Enjoy! A

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 59

PHOTO COURTESY JFS

Ingredients

||| THEATER |||

Theater Life,

for Ben Fankhauser, is “Beautiful” Young Jewish actor charts his own course to Broadway, and San Diego BY PAT LAUNER

t’s been a wild ride for Ben Fankhauser, who’s traveled pretty far in his 27 years. He spent his first five in Switzerland, his father’s native land. His mother was a Jewish psychologist from Detroit, where the couple met. When his parents divorced, Mom took her two sons and relocated to Cleveland, where her sister and other family members lived. “It was a great arts town,” Ben enthuses. When he was 9 or 10, his mother enrolled him in a summer day camp that specialized in the arts. At the end of the four-week session, the kids put on a show. Ben played Crutchie, the disabled orphan newsboy in “Newsies.” That early role was to be prophetic. Ben made his Broadway debut in “Newsies,” playing Davey, the only parented, educated member of the paperpushing kids’ gang, the behind-the-scenes idea-guy who urges the others to follow their leader and strike for their rights. That early experience was the beginning of Ben’s lifelong love of theater. In 6th grade, he starred in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” As his parents recall it, “I sang my little heart out and everyone loved it. “I fell in love with the camaraderie and community and friendships of the theater.” says Ben, who’s been on the road for nearly a year, in his latest national tour, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (San Diego Civic Theatre, Aug. 2-7). “As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a professional actor.” He could sing from the start, and he had 60 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

L-R: Curt Bouril (Don Kirshner), Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann), Abby Mueller (Carole King) and Becky Gulsvig (Cynthia Weil)

a really good ear for music. Though he only took “about a year” of piano lessons, he taught himself to play gospel, blues, boogiewoogie and of course, show tunes. Even on tour, he’ll sneak off and find a piano to play for himself, or for his singing cast-mates. He has an impressive fanbase which even include dedicated online fan sites. But he has no idea where his talent came from. His parents were in business and heathcare. His older brother works for the State Department. He was told that his great grandparents were involved in Yiddish theater “in the Old Country” (Poland), and that’s good enough for him. On tour and on Broadway He was 18, attending Ithaca College when he landed his first national tour, “Spring Awakening.” While he spent a year playing the sensitive gay teen, Ernst, he took time off from school, but still managed to graduate in three years, with a BFA in Musical Theater.

“In ‘Spring Awakening,’ we felt like rockstars every night,” he has said of being on the road in the Tony Award-winning musical. “People in the audience were screaming. We were in this extremely popular show about sex and coming of age. And we had our fair share of showmances. When you do a show about sex and hormones, it’s destined to happen.” Beyond that, he keeps his private life pretty private. He may or may not have had his heart broken on Broadway, but he certainly did a number on his back. The entire run of “Newsies” was 1,000 performances, most of which Ben was part of, except for the three months he was out with a back injury. “There was a lot of heavy dancing in that show,” he says. “It wore away my disk.” It took him a year to recover, with physical therapy every day. “Performing is pretty athletic,” he asserts.

Being a Jew, playing a Jew Back in Cleveland, Ben had attended Sunday school at Temple Tifereth Israel (Reform), and was bar mitzvahed, consecrated and confirmed. He continued in Hebrew School through high school, even though he was also in his school show choir and “pretty busy with community theater.” It’s difficult to practice Jewish customs

He has an impressive fanbase which even include dedicated online fan sites. But he has no idea where his talent came from.

L-R: Fankhauser and Mueller in character and right at home at the piano.

on tour: “I’m usually working on Shabbat, and the High Holidays,” he laments. “Even fasting on Yom Kippur is hard when you’re touring.” But Ben is thoroughly enjoying playing a Jewish character – Barry Mann (born Imberman), a songwriter who, with his wife, Cynthia Weil, created 98 hits, including “Uptown,” “On Broadway” (with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller),” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Walkin’ in the Rain” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (both with Phil Spector), all of which appear in “Beautiful.” Mann and Weil were best friends of superstar singer-songwriter Carole King. They have referred to themselves as the “Fred and Ethel” to Carole and Gerry’s “Lucy and Desi.” “He’s kind of a stereotypical Jew,” says Ben of Barry Mann, “though he’s not defined by it. Kind of like Woody Allen, a hypochondriac who’s always seeing what’s wrong. But he’s a mensch, an artist, a lover. He’s funny and smart. His personality is a by-product of his passion.”

Ben wrote Mann when he took over the role for the tour in 2015, and Mann, now 77, sent back “a lovely email.” Ben got to meet with Barry and Cynthia in San Francisco when he and his co-star, Becky Gulsvig, who plays Cynthia Weil, were with them for an audience Q and A. “We got to hear their stories,” says Ben. “It was great!” He had done a good deal of his own research on Mann and Weil, still married after 58 years, and on the time period. “There are so many good books about it. It came after the Tin Pan Alley era,” he explains. “And in one building, the Brill Building, a handful of Jewish composers were churning out material for all the hit groups of the day. It was like a Wall Street frenzy. Very competitive.” The Brill Building, located at 1650 Broadway, was just north of Times Square and uptown from the historic Tin Pan Alley neighborhood, situated around W. 28th Street, which had dominated music publishing in the late 19th-early Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 61

PHOTOS BY JOAN MARCUS

He’s a lot more sedentary in “Beautiful,” which is not a hugely physical dance musical like “Newsies.” But he does get to play piano in the show, and he had to learn guitar for the role. “Newsies was the most challenging, physically and vocally,” Ben says. “Those boys are screaming to demand justice. I lost my voice a lot, and I studied with my voice teacher a lot” (Joan Lader, who won the Tony Honors for Excellence award this year). “While I’m on tour, I Skype with her. It’s like physical therapy for your voice. ‘Spring Awakening’ was vocally challenging, too; I had a high solo and very pure singing. “‘Beautiful’ is definitely vocally demanding, but in a different way. I have to do some really high rock ’n roll singing. And I get to do a lot of comedy, too. Barry and Cynthia are the comic relief to Carole and Gerry’s diminishing marriage.” “Touring is really fun,” Ben says. “There are no financial responsibilities. You get a salary and a per diem, so your income feels dispensable. But the downside is, you can’t go home at the end of the week. There’s no downtime to let your true self marinate. You’re an actor 24/7. It’s the cocktail party that never ends. Also, you’re often totally disoriented geographically. Those one-week runs [like San Diego] are tough.” There are about 28 people on this national tour, a “mixed bag,” Ben says, of married’s, engaged’s, singles, those with significant others. “They’re all experienced, so they know to treat each other kindly on tour. We don’t get to choose our friends and family; we have to use our cast for that.” Another downside of being on the road: “no opportunities to get another job.” For this tour, Ben signed a one-year contract, which expires in September. “I’ll probably stay,” he says (contracts are only offered a year at a time). “This tour is scheduled for about two more years. It’s doing really well, and I’m having a blast.”

||| THEATER |||

L-R: Abby Mueller (Carole King), Becky Gulsvig (Cynthia Weil), Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann) and Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin).

20th century. From the late ’50s to the end of the ’60s, 1650 Broadway was the most prestigious address in New York for music business people. In 1962, it contained 165 music businesses, including publishers, printers and promoters, as well as songwriters. This is how Carole King described the Brill Building environment in “The Sociology of Rock,” by Simon Frith (1978): “Every day we squeezed into our respective cubbyholes with just enough room for a piano, a bench, and maybe a chair for the lyricist if you were lucky. You’d sit there and write and you could hear someone in the next cubbyhole composing a song exactly like yours. The pressure in the Brill Building was really terrific – because Donny (Kirshner) would play one songwriter against another. He’d say: ‘We need a new smash hit’ — and we’d all go back and write a song and the next day we’d each audition for Bobby Vee’s producer.” Kirshner, the music producer, song publisher and talent manager known as “the man with the golden ear,” “changed the game,” as Ben puts it. “He hired young composers like Carole and Barry. It was not just the old guys any more.” From Klein to King, the musical queen Before she was Carole King, she was Carol Klein, a precocious, late-1950s Brooklyn girl with passion, talent and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager, and by the time she reached her twenties, she had the husband of her dreams (Gerry Goffin, whom she had met at Queens College) and had a booming career, collaborating with her mate in 62 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2016

He may or may not have had his heart broken on Broadway, but he certainly did a number on his back.

writing powerhouse hits for the hottest rock ’n roll acts of the day (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” recorded by The Shirelles, “Up on the Roof ” for The Drifters, and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” for Aretha Franklin). After her marriage to the serially unfaithful, emotionally unstable Goffin fell apart, she found her own voice, began a stellar solo career, and in 1971, released “Tapestry,” one of the best-selling albums of all time, with more than 25 million copies bought worldwide. “Beautiful,” with a book by Douglas McGrath (all the songs are by King and her colleagues), traces King’s story, from struggling teen to disappointed wife to independent woman to chart-topping music legend. When it premiered on Broadway in 2014, The New York Times said the musical showed the “real, conflicted person within the reluctant star.” The tour, which began in 2015, has been very well received. The L.A. Times said it’s “as rich in poignant emotion as it is in Broadway pizzazz.” One of the most intriguing parts of this production is that the title role is played by Abbie Mueller, the older sister of Jessie Mueller, who won a Tony Award for her heart-rending performance as King on Broadway. “I can’t tell you enough about Abbie,” says Ben. “It’s just astounding that two sisters can be so gifted. Seeing Abbie work is magnificent. She’s one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with. She’s so available and giving. She’s the best at embodying the emotions of the character. She’s really going

through everything Carole went through – a tough life, with one husband who was emotionally abusive and another [of four] who was physically abusive. Carole is such a strong woman. And Abbie is Carole. She’s so captivating, and her voice is astounding. She’s the real deal.” No playing favorites In contemplating his career thus far, Ben says “it would be hard to pick a favorite” from among his touring and Broadway experiences. “I just feel really lucky to be able to do these shows that evoke such a strong response in the audience. ‘Beautiful’ really appeals to Boomers. ‘Newsies’ was visceral for all generations, but especially the young. ‘Spring Awakening’ resonated with teens. Many told me how that show helped them. That’s why I love doing what I do.” “Beautiful,” Ben explains, “is a play with music. It’s not a typical jukebox musical. The characters aren’t expressing themselves through song. They’re working on a song, pitching their songs. It’s the story behind the music. You could say it’s ‘Jersey Boys’ with girl power!”. “These shows,” he continues, “‘Newsies’ and ‘Beautiful’ – are built for entertainment. But the stories feel important. I love this role, and this show. People walk out floating on air.” A The national touring production of “Beautiful,” brought to us by Broadway San Diego, runs at the Civic Theatre, 1100 3rd Ave. at B St., downtown, Aug. 2-7. Tickets ($20-$175) are available at (619) 564-3000 or broadwaysd.com.

CHABAD AT LA COSTA OPEN HOUSE Sunday, August 28th 12-3 PM Honoring local Police and Fire and their families

INTRODUCING Chabad of Encinitas also introducing hebrew school 4 preschool

BARBECUE LUNCH no charge snow cones • cotton candy • shofar factory • crafts and activities • face painting

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KAVOD ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL RESPECT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

Kavod intertwines a uniquely dynamic and interactive learning model with the benefits of dual language. Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 63

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

San Diego Symphony

PHOTO COURTESY LJMS

Summer Pops continues its season, dubbed Bayside Summer Nights, with a full slate of entertainment at the orchestra’s bayside outdoor home. “Sing Along with Broadway” starts the ball rolling on Aug. 5-6, when Broadway veterans join the orchestra for music from the Great White Way. Seth MacFarlane and the Great American Songbook arrives Aug. 12-13, with the star singing swing songs from the 1940s and ’50s. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” will be featured on the big screen with the celebrated John Williams score performed by the Symphony on Aug. 19. Amy Grant returns to the Embarcadero with songs from the ’80s and ’90s on Aug. 20. The inimitable Bernadette Peters is coming this way Aug. 26-27, with Broadway hits including her own interpretations of Stephen Sondheim’s gems. All the Pops performances include a traditional fireworks display.

The Zuckerman Trio at SummerFest Aug. 9.

La Jolla Music Society

The La Jolla Music Society kicks off the 2016 edition of SummerFest this month with a free outdoor concert under the stars on Aug. 3. This family-friendly launch features the contemporary classicists Time for Three, on the lawn at La Jolla Cove. The three-week festival continues though Aug. 24. Highlights include “An Evening with Zukerman Trio” on Aug. 9 at the MCASD Sherwood Auditorium; “Viennese Giants” on Aug. 12; “Bach Cello Suites with Mischa Maisky” on Aug. 19 and 20; and the finale with James Conlon and Gil Shaham on Aug. 26 plus many more. SummerFest also features many free community engagement activities such as open rehearsals, coaching workshops and “Encounters” with in-depth and behind-the-scenes conversations.

64 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

Balboa Park

The 29th Annual International Summer Organ Festival will play every Monday evening through Aug. 29 on the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ in Balboa Park. These free concerts are particularly welcome as Mondays are typically “dark” nights.

Broadway-San Diego

Broadway-San Diego will present “Beautiful, The Carole King Musical” at the Civic Theatre Aug. 2-7. This Tony Award-winning true story of King’s incredible rise to stardom follows the songstress from her songwriting team with husband Gerry Goffin to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. The show will feature a string of her beloved songs, including the title song. For an introduction to one of the Jewish stars in the touring production, flip to pg. 60.

The Old Globe

The Old Globe’s 2016 Shakespeare Festival is in high gear, with the Bard’s charming comedy, “Love’s Labor’s Lost” taking over the alfresco stage Aug. 14. The play makes merry with the fact that the King and his schoolmates vow to give up girls for three years – until the beautiful young ladies show up to throw a monkey wrench into their best laid plans. The Shakespeare comedy will remain on stage through Sept. 18. The Globe’s Main Stage is decked out for “Sense and Sensibility,” a musical based on the classic novel by Jane Austen. The beloved tale centers around three daughters whose prospects for happily-ever-after seem remote after the untimely death of their father. Paul Gordon wrote the book, music, and lyrics for this witty and romantic show. You have until Aug. 14 to check it out. The Globe’s White Theatre is featuring “Meteor Shower,” an adult comedy by Steve Martin. This new comic work is a surprising mix of the offbeat and the absurd, examining modern marriage through the prism of Martin’s unique brand of humor. The show runs through Sept. 11 – and it sounds like another winner!

La Jolla Playhouse

The La Jolla Playhouse has another exciting world premiere on the boards. “Junk: The Golden Age of Debt,” a fast-paced thriller that brings “the deal, the board room, and the takeover” to the fore, will take over the Weiss Theatre through Aug. 21. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar penned this play, which takes place in the ’80s and focuses on an upstart genius determined to re-write the rules. The Playhouse is bringing back The Second City for a hilarious election-themed show, titled “Free Speech (While Supplies Last).” This sharp-edged topical show will continue at the Mandell Weiss Forum through Aug. 21.

North Coast Repertory Theatre

PHOTO BY KEN JACQUES

North Coast Repertory Theatre is staging the Fats Waller musical show, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” through Aug. 7. This rafter-raisin’ musical tribute to the black musicians of the Golden Age of jazz, thrusts audiences into the midst of Harlem’s glory days at the Cotton Club. The toe-tappin’ music runs the gamut from rowdy and raunchy to hilarious – and it all adds up to a rip-roarin’ good time.

San Diego Museum of Art

The San Diego Museum of Art’s exhibition titled “Brush and Ink” – a collection of Asian art – will be ensconced at the museum through Sep. 4. “Brueghel to Canaletto” – another excellent exhibition – features an impressive collection of European masterpieces. Unfortunately, it closes on Aug. 2. The newest show at the art museum, “Quilts and Color from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,” is showcasing classic American quilting patterns. These contemporary quilts are a far cry from the ones Grandma used as bed covers. You can experience these stunning designs through Sept. 4.

Museum of Contemporary Art

Allison Spratt Pearce and Linda Libby in "Gypsy" at Cygnet's Old Town Theatre through Sept. 4

Cygnet Theatre

Cygnet is reviving “Gypsy,” the classic musical, with music by Jule Stune and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The show boasts iconic songs the likes of “Let Me Entertain You” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” It follows the tale of Gypsy Rose Lee and her show-biz hungry Mama Rose through Gypsy’s rise to the top of the burlesque world. The effervescent musical will stay put at Cygnet’s Old Town Theatre through Sept. 4.

San Diego Repertory Theatre

Before San Diego Rep launches its 41st season on Sept. 15, the Amigos Del Rep will bring a new play to the Lyceum Space and it’s free. “King Liz” follows Liz Rico, an elite sports agent who has had to work twice as hard in the industry because she’s one of the only women in the field. Now she wants to take over the agency she helped build, but she has to set a young troubled basketball star straight in order to do it. In other news from the SDRep, fan-favorite Herbert Siguenza has officially started his three-year residency at the downtown theater, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Siguenza wrote the season 41 opener “Manifest Destinitis,” and during the course of his residency, he will write three more plays to premiere at the REP.

Lamb’s Players Theatre

The Lamb’s is celebrating 100 years of great music with “American Rhythm.” The musical journey, conceived by Robert Smyth, will continue at the Lamb’s Coronado home through Aug. 7, and features singers, dancers, and a live band.

The Museum of Contemporary Art will feature “Holdings from the Museum Collection” at its La Jolla location through Sept. 4. “Papel Chicano Dos Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin” will be on exhibition at the downtown facility through Nov. 27, along with “For DeLIMITations: A Survey of the 1821 U.S.-Mexico Border,” “Ruben Ochoa: Watching, Waiting, Commiserating,” and “Moris: Beautiful Landscape 7.”

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center continues with its two popular exhibits “Science Fiction, Science Future” and “Taping Shape,” both of which will be up at the Balboa Park institution through Sept. 5.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum will open a new permanent exhibition on Aug. 20. “Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science” features rare books, art, and historical documents. The NAT is also showcasing “Whales: Giants of the Deep.” This exciting show, offering an up-close look into the world of the whales, will continue through Sept. 5. The NAT also offers “Fossil Mysteries,” “Water: A California Story,” and “Skulls,” and is showing two films.

Timken Museum of Art

The Timken Museum of Art launched a new partnership with the University of San Diego with a joint exhibition of more than 200 art works from a private collection. “Collections in Context: American Art from a Pacific Northwest Collection (1860-1915) features giants, such as Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt and Frederic Remington. The show will be ensconced through Sept. 4.

Birch Aquarium

Birch Aquarium is celebrating sharks with “#ILOVESHARKS,” which includes activities and a shark encounter. This exhibition extends through Aug. 19. Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 65

DIVERSIONS

By Natalie Jacobs

UnREAL The Lifetime surprise hit “UnREAL” returned to the small screen for a second season in June. Actress Shiri Appleby plays Rachel Goldberg, a Jewish “antihero.” The Jewish Telegraph Agency writes that Jewish references are “sprinkled throughout the series,” and, because the show is a fictional take on a reality series made in Hollywood, there are plenty of peripheral characters who are Jewish as well. The show has won critical praise for its unflinching look at the people who make reality tv happen, and it has been used as an example of a new kind of series that is showing women as powerful, capable of making tough calls, and not always likeable. This season, “UnREAL” is taking on issues of race too.

March of the Living Previously in this issue of the SDJJ, you read a letter written by a teenager who attended this year’s March of the Living. Local attendees were asked to write reflections after the trip that thousands take annually to retrace the Death March from Auschwitz to Birkenau in a journey of remembrance. Filmmaker Jessica Sanders took her reflections to film. Following teens from São Paulo, Los Angeles and Berlin on the 60th anniversary of Israel, Sanders explores the emotions that arise when young people are confronted so directly with the Holocaust. The film also tells the story of the survivors’ hope of passing down their history and memory of the Holocaust to the next generation. The film was released in late June and is available on iTunes, Amazon and Video on Demand.

FYI

The new Han Solo is Jewish. It was announced in late July that Jewish actor Alden Ehrenreich, 26, won the role for the "Star Wars" prequel about the early life of one of the series' most beloved characters, reports the Jewish Telegraph Agency. Harrison Ford, now 73, played the character in the original "Star Wars" movies, and in this winter's "The Force Awakens." The prequel in which Ehrenreich stars, is yet untitled and is scheduled to be released in May of 2018.

66 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

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news Israel and U.S. Sign Cyber Defense Deal On June 21, representatives from Israel and the United States signed an agreement for a real-time information-sharing platform to jointly thwart cyber security threats. “If we share information, we can prevent the threat from propagating,” said Eviatar Matania, a signatory of the agreement and Head of Israel’s National Cyber Bureau. Matania noted that the agreement would allow Israel and the U.S. to automatically compile, screen and share security information, all in “near real time.” Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced the information-sharing agreement during his remarks at Cyber Week, the Sixth Annual International Cybersecurity Conference held at Tel Aviv University. There were nearly 5,000 attendees from government, private industry, and academia representing 45 countries at the conference.

Mintz Levin Marks Tenth Anniversary of its San Diego Office

San Diego Teen Awarded $36,000 for Creating Hockey Community Serving Children with Disabilities In early July it was announced that 16-year-old San Diego resident Isaiah Granet is this year’s recipient of the 2016 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. This annual $36,000 grant recognizes teens for their commitment to social good and volunteer service. Granet founded San Diego Chill, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses a one-on-one mentoring model to teach 7- to 13-year-olds with developmental disabilities how to play ice hockey and engage in positive interactions with their peers. Granet’s work has increased his community’s compassion and awareness for children with special needs. In addition to the Diller Award, Granet was also honored with the CNN Heroes: Young Wonder Award, presented by Anderson Cooper in December 2016.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C. is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its San Diego office, which has become the anchor for the law firm’s West Coast presence. The firm has sought to play an active role in the San Diego community at large, through investing in local companies and by volunteering in both legal and non-legal capacities.

San Diego Students Participant in IAC Innovation Hackathon

One decade after opening its doors, Mintz Levin has become embedded in the local economy and active in the civic community, said Managing Member of the San Diego office Eddie Wang Rodriguez in a press release. “Today, Mintz Levin is not only known as a law firm, but as a true community partner firmly invested in and connected to the city, its organizations and residents.”

"At the Israeli-American Council (IAC), we are drawing on Project-Based Learning to develop new educational models that can effectively address many of the issues simultaneously," the group wrote in a press release. Their goal with events like this is to find new ways to make Jewish learning relevant to modern young people.

A talented group of five San Diego attorneys – four of whom were under the age of 40 – established the office in 2006. Today, it has grown to nearly 100 employees with 50-plus attorneys, making it the 10th largest law firm office in San Diego, with intellectual property, corporate, real estate, bankruptcy, litigation and employment law practices.

68 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

Nineteen San Diego teens joined more than 100 participants in the Israeli American Council's first Hackathon this summer. Dubbed Eitanim Innovation Hackathon, the teens were split into groups in order to work on projects to solve the world's water crisis using Israeli technology.

The San Diegans who participated were from Patrick Henry High School, Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego Jewish Academy, La Jolla Country Day, Mount Carmel, and Del Norte. The IAC's Eitanim program will continue to offer unique educational opportunities throughout the year.

DON'T FORGET Jewish Community Day at Petco Park is August 21. The Padres take on the Diamondbacks at 1:40 p.m. Discount tickets are available at padres.com/jewish with the code JCD16.

Jewish Family Service Named Nonprofit of the Year and Given Four-Star Rating

JPro to Host Learning Workshop Aimed at Teams

On June 22, California State Senator Marty Block named Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) “Nonprofit of the Year” for the 39th district. The agency was honored at the first inaugural California Nonprofits Day at the State Capitol. “We are thrilled that the State Assembly has passed a resolution putting the spotlight on nonprofits as an economic power that uses Shana Hazan accepting the Nonprofit of that power for the common good,” said the Year award on behalf of JFS, with CA Jan Masaoka, CEO of CalNonprofits. The State Senator Marty Block. statewide alliance of more than 10,000 organizations was instrumental in establishing Nonprofits Day. “It is a tremendous honor to receive this recognition from Senator Block and the State Assembly on California Nonprofits Day,” said Michael Hopkins, CEO of JFS. “We are proud to be a part of a strong nonprofit network in San Diego working to make a meaningful, measurable and sustainable difference in the lives of our clients and the community we all share.”

On Aug. 10 from 12:30-4 p.m., JPro San Diego will host a strengths-based leadership workshop at Leichtag Commons in Encinitas. Facilitator Steven Beck will lead the interactive workshop designed to give individuals the tools to increase the impact and productivity of their professional teams. The training begins with a “strengths finder assessment” where individuals explore their own strengths. The second half of the session is dedicated to understanding fellow team-members’ strengths in order to better work together. The program is intended for teams of three to five people, and each person must register individually. For more information, contact Jenny Camhi at jenny@leichtag.org. The national JPro Network is also accepting nominations for JPro Awards intended to honor service, professional development, and young leadership. Nominations close Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. To nominate a colleague, visit their website at jpro.org.

Shana Hazan, senior director of resource development, was in Sacramento to accept the award on behalf of Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

SAVE THE DATE

Also this summer, JFS received its ninth consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This designation was given to JFS in recognition of its strong financial health and sound fiscal management. Only one percent of nonprofits nationwide have achieved such consistently high rankings.

The Men's Event returns Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. with journalist Bret Stephens as its keynote speaker. Taking place this year at the San Diego Jewish Academy, the event is free but registration is required. Do so at jewishinsandiego.org/mensevent.

“Attaining a four-star rating verifies that Jewish Family Service of San Diego exceeds industy standards,” said Charity Navigator President and CEO Michael Thatcher, “setting the agency apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”

USIC Continues Water Conversation in San Diego The U.S.-Israel Center on Innovation & Economic Sustainability (USIC) hosted a two-part series on water innovation in the late spring and early summer of 2016. On March 2, in conjunction with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Sustainability Matters at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management, 60 leaders from government, nonprofit and public and private businesses discussed conservation efforts in San Diego and Israel. Using IDE and their recently upand-running Carlsbad desalination plant as an example of local advancement in water-resiliency, Faulconer said it’s important for the city to keep moving forward. The second conference was held June 30. The USIC plans to continue hosting community events to further bring Israel and San Diego together over innovation and the sharing of ideas.

USIC SD Israel water roundtable group photo from March conference at Rady School of Management.

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 69

SYNAGOGUE LIFE SPECIAL SHABBAT SERVICES 18 Shabbat Tables Aug. 5, 6 p.m. 18 Beth Israel members open their homes to fellow congregants for Shabbat dinners. To see if there is still room at one of the tables, visit cbisd.org. Pray at the Park with Tifereth Israel Aug. 12, 6:15 p.m. Lake Murray, 5540 Kiowa Dr. La Mesa, CA 91942; (619) 697-6001 Beach Shabbat Service with Temple Solel Aug. 19, 6 p.m. Moonlight Beach, C Street, Encinitas; (760) 436-0654

EDUCATION Talmud Class on Saving a Life at Temple Beth Shalom Every Sunday, 10-11:45 a.m. 208 Madrona St. Chula Vista, CA 91910; (619) 420-6040 Beit Midrash Class at Congregation Beth Am Every Monday, 6:30-7:30 p.m. 5050 Del Mar Heights Rd; (858) 481-8454; cba@betham.com Kabbalah Class at Chabad of San Marcos Every Thursday, 7 p.m. 649 Sandy Lane, San Marcos, CA 92078; (760) 481-7503 Middle School Program with Orot HaCarmel Beginning Aug. 30; 2 p.m. Powerhouse Park, Del Mar, CA 92014; (858) 633-0181

70 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

SPECIAL EVENTS Hunger Project with Temple Emanu-El. Prepare food and help serve 600-800 hungry San Diegans. First Sunday of the month, 8:30 a.m. 3350 E St, San Diego, CA 92102 Call (619) 286-2555 or email temple@teesd.org for details. Summer BBQ at Chabad of La Costa All-you-can-eat buffet; $18 for adults, $10 for children Aug. 7, 21, 28; 5 p.m. 1980 La Costa Ave. Carlsbad, CA 92009; (760) 943-8891 Women's Connection Prep for High Holidays with Rabbi Susan Freeman of Congregation Beth El Rosh Chodesh in the Community Hall Aug. 31; 5 p.m. 8660 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92037; (858) 452-1734 *Interested in having your event featured? Contact assistant@sdjewishjournal.com. Submissions are due by 15th of the month for the next issue.

||| FUNNY PAGES|||

e are in the Torah when Moses is getting ready to invade Canaan. He has 2 ½ million Israelites to move across the Jordan. How will he communicate with his 601,730 armed fighters? To understand the lesson of Matot, let’s give Moses and the Israelites cell phones and see what we can learn. Here is the scene: Moses is 119 years old, and he looks down at the latest text on his smart phone, which says in Text messages chat: “WAM [Wait A Minute] WWAD [We Want A Do Over].” It goes on to say that the children of Gad and Reuben want to settle on the East side of the Jordan. Moses texts back: “RTFM [Read The Manual – in other words check with the Torah]. You are needed to fight with us to gain the land west of the Jordan.” Then Moses says all kinds of nasty things about Reuben and Gad (which you can pick up by reading Numbers 32 in the Bible). So they get back to Moses with, “DJTC [Don’t Jump To Conclusions]. We are going to do the fight, but we need water and grass for our cattle.” They must have interrupted Moses’ nightly walk (119 year olds take walks) which could have put him in a bad mood. He texts back: “QQ [Quick Question]. What about women and children? They are more important than cattle!” They text back “SC [Stay Cool], they will be LTD [Living The Dream] our small children and wives will live in fortified cities while we FTF [Fight The Fight].” Moses texts back, “SLAP [Sounds Like A Plan]. HTH [Hope This Helps].” The Torah in Parsha Matot reminds us not to jump to conclusions. Moses created a plan. Because the tribes of Reuben and Gad had not been consulted, they came back with a change in the original plan. Eventually Moses listened to their suggestions. All of us at one time or another will think of an idea and believe it is the greatest plan ever. We often get upset because we like our plan so much that we do not listen to other

people’s ideas and needs. We, like Moses in this situation, need to hear the suggestions and improvements which might make the plan work even better than we thought. At that moment we should remember Moses, and be open to suggestion and change because the new way might be better than the old. LOL. A Rabbi Ben Leinow is rabbi at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Carlsbad, serving North Coastal San Diego to contact him, email rabbiben@ bnaitikvahsd.com.

ILLUSTRATION BY BEN GERSHON

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 71

torah FunTishaDEVARIM 5776 b'av After journeying in the desert for 40 years, the Jewish people are about to begin their conquest of the land of Israel. Moshe will not enter Israel with the Jewish people, but he reviewed their 40 year journey since leaving Egypt and spoke about many of the mitzvot from HaShem. Moshe also rebuked the people for many of their sins during the journey. Moshe reminded the people that HaShem swore to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov to give the land to their children. Moshe recounts that he made the people leaders over the 1,000s, 100s, 50s and 10s and the leaders were to be fair and can not take bribes. Moshe spends a lot of time talking about the spies and how the actions of the Jewish people upset HaShem. HaShem helped defeat the kings of the countries Bashan and Emor so the people should not worry or fear the kings in Israel that the Jewish people are told to battle. Moshe states that Yehoshua will replace him after his death.

spot the difference Which one is different? Hint: Things we refrain from on Tisha B'Av

LEARNING

SLEEPING

EATING

ANOINTING

WASHING

DRINKING

CROSSWORD Complete the crossword by translating each Hebrew

WORD FIND

Can you discover the Secret Message? Find and circle the bold, italicized words from the Torah summary in the Word Find. Write the unused Word Find letters in the spaces below to spell the Secret Message. Have Fun!

A B O U

O L

S R

A F

H S U A G

E R D

T M H O S

A V W A

S O G P D E

E R

E S

P A N R O

ACROSS

3 4 5

3. ‫( חכם‬1:15) 5. ‫( נתן‬1:25) 6. ‫( ערים‬1:22) 7. ‫( עם‬2:7)

DOWN 6

1. ‫( מלך‬1:4) 2. ‫( מדבר‬1:1) 4. ‫( ירא‬1:29) 5. ‫( גדול‬1:19)

E R

T M O S H E M O

K H M A N Y W P

E D E

A K

H S O L

F M O E

A N D

Y G E H E

SECRET MESSAGE

________ ___ ___ ____ _____ ___ _____ __ _____

gematria

One of the Miraglim (spies):

‫פ‬ –‫י‬

word into English. Use the parsha reference for help. 1

E W

‫קנ‬ x‫ב‬

‫ה‬ +‫א‬

‫ט‬ –‫ד‬

‫צ‬ ÷‫ט‬ ‫י‬

‫א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת‬ 400 300 200 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

WORD CMRLESAB

NAJROD ______ NVAAL _____

NRAPA _____ ZTHAROEH ________

(scramble)

EOLTF _____ RBOEH _____

Hint: Places mentioned in the beginning of Devarim

CANDLELIGHTING IN JERUSALEM 6:46 P.M. weekly chinuch podcast - OVER 100 posted! parsha + chinuch < 5 minutes www.thefamousabba.com/podcasts

72 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

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THROWING A SIMCHA? WE CATER ANY EVENT! • BAR/BAT MITZVAH PARTIES • WEDDINGS • GRADUATION PARTIES • CORPORATE EVENTS • 30-5,000 PEOPLE • KOSHER PLATTERS • BARUCHA LUNCHEONS

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We invite applications for up to 30 teens to join IAC Eitanim in San Diego. This teen program that meets 10 Sundays from 5-8 p.m. gives teens digital era, entrepreneurial skills equipping them to be leaders and changemakers in American society. IAC Eitanim teaches Zionist values, leadership skills, and most of all, pride in our Jewish heritage and the State of Israel. IAC Eitanim piloted last year in seven cities nationwide. Half of the high school students were American Jews and the other half Israeli-Americans. Projects challenge students to innovate solutions to various real-world challenges through which they hone critical thinking, leadership, and advocacy skills. At the Summer Los Angeles Hackathon, for example, their challenge was to learn everything about how Israel’s water technologies can change the world, and come up with ideas to educate the public, innovate in the field, and integrate these technologies into use in the U.S. Ten groups competed for the best ideas simulating a start-up structure, each led by a student “CEO.” The start-up teams engaged in every step of product development from research to marketing guided by Israeli-American innovators and tech gurus. In San Diego, Guri Stark, CEO of CorTechs Labs, a developer of innovative brain image analysis solutions and Mitch Simon Simon Leadership Alliance, along with local business leader guest speakers will mentor our IAC Eitanim co-hort. Fee $160 until July 29, $180 thereafter. Meeting locations in Carmel Valley, Sorrento Valley, UTC in corporate office centers.

858-578-8891

Minimum 50 people. Food only 03/31/2016 Exp. 09/31/2016

7313 Carroll Road • 92121 www.rotisserieaffair.com

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 73

ASK MARNIE

by Marnie Macauley

ADVICE asksadie@aol.com

LGBT Issues in the Wake of Orlando I believe we Jews have a vested interest in shouting out on behalf of all human beings against the shrill sound, the wafting smell, the ignoble ignorance of persecution and bigotry. This column is dedicated to all the victims and survivors of June 12. BI WAY Marnie: What do you think about gays, lesbians, and bisexuals? I am bisexual and I don’t understand why people judge me on that alone. How can it be “wrong” to be true to how I feel? Usually their only argument is that it is against Jewish teachings. Exactly what passage says “thou shall not be gay”? And do you think that there is a specific age when it is too young to know? I knew when I was younger and no one thought I was old enough, but I’ve grown up and this continues to be who I am. – Judged in San Diego MARNIE SAYS: I’m not sure here whether your inquiry is the Big Litmus test of a columnist who yells “not my job” in the matter of enforcing moral platitudes, or if there’s a personal question in there somewhere. If it’s lurking let’s find it. First, I’m not a Jewish scholar or rabbi. I don’t do Bible readings. You’ll have to look elsewhere for passages. The answer to your age question is a resounding...who knows? I’ve met LGBT-ers who’ve played it “straight” till they were old enough to rollover their IRAs, while others suspected “something” before Pop took off their training wheels. Then there are those who are betwixt and between forever. I believe we are each as unique as cheese curls. So I don’t do “normal.” I can tell you that sexuality isn’t vanilla vs. chocolate. Think rocky road. Onto your real question. “Why does it matter what others think of my life?” We all know there are those who will argue, castigate, label and disenfranchise you wholesale. But, the critical issue is: are you OK with you, despite it? Ask yourself: Do I have a choice about my sexuality? No? Then claim your life, fight for your rights and find dignity in the mission.

74 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

A FINE TIME FOR AN “OUTING” Dear Marnie: I recently learned that the president-elect of an adamantly anti-gay group, is, himself, gay. This group would be appalled if they knew the truth. As a gay person myself, I came across him at a gay bar where he aggressively came on to a friend of mine. Surely this is not what this group promotes. But I’m not sure if I should just standby quietly or do something about this disgrace? – Values in Conflict MARNIE SAYS: I must say, your query gave me pause. I loathe duplicitous swine of any gender; and also “morally-driven” witchhunts. Sexuality is private. It’s personal. It’s my opinion that most “outings” should be limited to frolicking at a park. Unless the lie is in hateful contradiction to a public “mission.” If you act, you’d better have the facts. Can you prove it beyond a doubt? You’ll have to because if you’re wrong it’s called slander. BUT, I believe hypocrisy must be exposed. The compelling aspect of the word in this case implies two things: lying and linking. That is: being a part of the very group you’re targeting for hate. Is the closeted gay director of say, the parks department a hypocrite, unfit to do his job? No. Is the vociferously anti-gay bigshot who backstreets at a leather bar a raging hypocrite? Yes. Armed with the facts, consider going “private.” Confront the man. Tell him what you know. Let him tell you his truth. If, despite absolute evidence, he refuses to step down, would I “out” him – publicly? Again, you bet. As always, consider your moves carefully, friend. Because the business of “outing” is both serious and risky – but at times, necessary, as when hypocrisy breeds hate. SAME SEX CRUSH Dear Marnie: I’m a 37-year-old female and

for eight months now, I’ve had a crush on a 44-year-old female. I’ve written her a letter to let her know how I feel and she said I hurt her feelings, which I didn’t mean to do. This is the first serious crush on a woman I’ve ever had. How can I explain my feelings to her without hurting hers? – Lost in Love MARNIE SAYS: Alas “Lost,” without seeing your actual written “declaration,” I’m a bit lost over the lady’s “hurt feelings.” So I’m forced to hunch, given that this isn’t really about “hurt” feelings anyway. Nor is your question. Your Real Question: “How do I get her to love me back?” Her Real Answer: Whether she got wiggy because she felt “friendship-betrayed,” massively misunderstood, or alternatively “understood” and scared – in intention or sexuality, I can’t say. Either way, it would appear her “hurt” was precisely about your romantic intentions and your assumption she’d return them. In other words, she gave you your answer peanut. Your task then, is to accept it. Whether the object of your affection is hetero, gay, bi, a no is a no is a no. You asked, she answered. If you misspoke, by all means clarify and see if the friendship can be salvaged or should be, given your feelings. Then quit bugging her. It’s not friendly. Consider instead, what’s fueling this “crush.” You’re entering new vistas here and you need: a) to get the deal straight with you, first; b) a road map, if you’re making new choices at this age. Because you see, this whole issue – your sexuality – is very much about you. Focus on you. Check-in with a tuned-in counselor to help clear up any static in your mind and your signals. That requires IDing your journey first and getting the navigation to tools to make it a safe and successful one.A

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Richard Viertel-San Diego, CA 11/20/1934-05/15/2016 Survivors: Wife - Ciriaca Viertel & Daughters - Deborah Viertel & Helen Nelander

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Chandler Landow-San Diego, CA 03/10/1995-05/15/2016 Survivors: Parents - Sherri & Scott Landow & Brothers - Brandon, Austin & Dillan Landow Morris Resnikoff-La Jolla, CA 01/15/193-05/18/2016 Survivors: Wife - Rita Resnikoff, Sons- Adam, Leonard, Joseph & Steven Resnikoff & 6 Grandchildren Samuel Dworkin-Prescott, AZ 05/05/1928-05/18/2016 Survivors: Wife - Marilyn Dworkin Ruth Hoffman-San Diego, CA 01/14/1938-05/19/2016 Survivors: Daughter - Laura Davis & Son- Michael Hoffman

Marvin Galinsky-Sun City , CA 07/10/1937-05/21/2016 Survivors: Daughter- Staci Novelli , Son - Greg Galinsky & 4 Grandchildren Stanley Korn-San Diego, CA 01/04/1923-01/21/2016 Survivors: Sons- Jeffrey & Stuart Korn, 4 Grandchildren & 2 Great Grandchildren

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Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 75

EVENTS

Cantor Deborah Davis 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

LYDIA KRASNER 619.548.3485 www.MitzvahEvent.com

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

member of

lydia@mitzvahevent.com

The Joyous Music of Tradition and Transition. Let the award-winning

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provide your wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah with lively, authentic music. Tradition has never been so much fun! 4805 Mercury St. • Suite L • San Diego, CA 92111

Trusted in the Jewish Community since 1983 Bar/Bat Mitzvahs | Weddings | Photography | Videography | Photo Montage

For information call Deborah Davis: 619-275-1539

To hear samples, visit our website: secondavenueklezmer.com

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Read testimonials at SoulMatesUnlimited.com 76 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

FINANCE

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ISRAELI DANCING WITH DALYA

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

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

Tamuz • Av 5776 | SDJewishJournal.com 77

“TREMENDOUS.” “JAMES SCHAMUS BRINGS THE HAUNTING ESSENCE OF PHILIP ROTH’S NOVEL TO THE SCREEN WITH DELICACY AND RESTRAINT.”

“EXTRAORDINARY. A TIMELESS TALE OF LOST LOVE AND INNOCENCE.”

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BAS ED O N TH E N OVEL BY P H I LI P ROTH WR IT TEN FO R TH E SCR EEN AN D D I R ECTED BY JAM ES SCHAM US

EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS NOW PLAYING IN SELECT CITIES

CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATRES AND SHOW TIMES

BRANCHING OUT OF THE BOX

3.5”W X 5”H

Join us at JNF National Conference September 16-19 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Register at jnf.org/nc Check out local upcoming events on JNF San Diego’s page at facebook.com/JNF.SanDiego

For more information or to get involved contact Amy Hart at ahart@jnf.org or 858.824.9178 x988.

jnf.org • 800.JNF.0099 78 SDJewishJournal.com l August 2016

Become a subscriber! 7- Play Package as low as $30 per show.

Catch every moment of drama, comedy, romance and music with our 7-Play Subscription Package! A.R. Gurney’s The Cocktail Hour

Travels With My Aunt By Graham Greene Adapted by Giles Havergal Directed by David Ellenstein

Directed by Rosina Reynolds

SEPTEMBER 7– OCTOBER 2, 2016

Mix two upper-class New Englanders, their over-privileged adult children and endless cocktails for a delightfully intoxicating evening of comedy. Hysterically funny and heartbreakingly poignant, THE COCKTAIL HOUR is an entertaining family reunion “on the rocks.” Join us for this free-flowing comedy that The New Yorker praised as Gurney’s “best play he has done.”

APRIL 12 – MAY 7, 2017

Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor

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A New York Times Critic’s Pick in 2015, TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT is an engaging journey. Eccentric Aunt Augusta swoops in and shakes up the life of her staid bourgeois nephew and ignites the lust for adventure. Four highly versatile actors tackle more than 20 roles in this life-changing, offbeat odyssey. This is definitely a trip worth taking!

Book & Music by James Valcq Lyrics & Book by Fred Alley Based on a film by Lee David Zlotoff Directed by Jeffrey Moss

Directed by Tom Markus

OCTOBER 19 – NOVEMBER 13, 2016

From the gifted pen of America’s favorite playwright, Neil Simon, comes one of his funniest plays; a love letter to his early career as a writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” As you clutch your sides in laughter at their wildly witty attempts to please their terrifyingly demanding boss, you’ll see why The New York Times hailed LAUGHTER as “one of Simon’s best, most enduring and endearing plays.” SAN DIEGO PREMIERE

MAY 31 – JUNE 25, 2017

Honest and emotional, this heartfelt musical tells the engaging tale of a young woman with an uncertain past. A compelling heartwarming tale of redemption and fortitude. Filled with inspirational melodies, and an emotionally soaring score, this all-American musical serves up an abundance of warmth, spirit and goodwill. Open your heart and visit THE SPITFIRE GRILL.

Marjorie Prime By Jordan Harrison Directed by Matthew Wiener

SAN DIEGO PREMIERE

JANUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 5, 2017

A finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize, MARJORIE PRIME is set in the near future, a time when artificial intelligence has reached new heights, and lifelike robots provide companionship for the lonely. This smart, thought-provoking play about memory is guaranteed to inspire stimulating conversations long after you leave the theatre.

The Illusion By Tony Kushner Freely adapted from Pierre Corneille’s L’Illusion Comique Directed by David Ellenstein

FEBRUARY 22 – MARCH 19, 2017

Legendary playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) displays his brilliance in this wildly inventive tour de force, which celebrates the magic and illusory nature of theatre. Kushner creates his most joyfully theatrical play: a wildly entertaining tale of passion, regret, love, and magic. A wondrous journey filled with laughter and a few tears along the way.

At This Evening’s Performance By Nagle Jackson Directed by Andrew Barnicle

JULY 12 – AUGUST 6, 2017

An uproarious comedy about a bohemian theatre troupe who find themselves performing in an Eastern European police state. However, there is more drama backstage than onstage, with romantic entanglements, political intrigue and a wildly funny climax. It’s a laugh a minute, and you’ll leave the theatre reveling in the merriment.

Call the Box Office

to order your subscription today (858) 481-1055 North Coast Repertory Theatre 987 Lomas Santa Fe Dr., Solana Beach Group Sales: (858) 481-2155, ext. 202 NorthCoastRep.org