San Diego Jewish World~July 14

My daughter's front-row seat to Israeli history

SAN DIEGO—There is still a slight chance, okay very slight, that my daughter Sandi Masori can actually go to tomorrow's inauguration of Shimon Peres as president of Israel. Most likely, she'll watch it on television, notwithstanding some strings being pulled for her. But, either way, she and her husband, Shahar, and sons Shor and Sky have had front row seats to Israeli history. Shor, 6, might well remember it. Sky, 4 months, will be told all about it.

For the last week or so, Sandi and the children have been houseguests of Shor's and Sky's godparents, veterinarian Yonatan Peres, middle child of the President-elect, and his wife Sigal. Shor and one supposes, Sky, have been having a wonderful time getting to know the Peres' two daughters Maya and Eden. They all have been visiting sights and friends in Israel. Yoni plans to write some stories about Israel from time to time for San Diego Jewish World, and as he is a rabid sports fan, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them will deal with Israeli sports. I've asked Sandi to write a story about the inauguration if she goes.

The reason chances aren't too high that Sandi will go is that only 950 guests were invited to the ceremony to be held at the Knesset. Foreign leaders weren't invited, so that the Israeli character of the proceedings could be emphasized. The extended Peres family itself received only a limited number of tickets. As the President-elect and wife Sonya have two other children as well as grandchildren, and relatives of other descriptions, the family allotment from Israel's Acting President Dalia Itzik barely covers the clan, much less visiting family friends from the U.S. So it's very much touch and go. Yoni has been calling around to other invitees to suggest that in the event someone can't go, he certainly could use a spare ticket. Like an inauguration in Washington D.C., such a ceremony in Israel is the kind of event where people like to be seen. Sandi is not unlike an airline passenger on standby with a long line ahead of her; nevertheless, the suspense is killing me.

You might say that Yoni's and Sandi's friendship began here in San Diego, thanks to a slip-up in scheduling. In 1998, Yoni was teaching surgery at the veterinary school at Hebrew University and was on a fundraising speaking tour of the United States. I received a telephone call asking whether I'd be interested in meeting and interviewing him. I decided to follow him around to several public events. After the first one, Yoni looked around and whoever was supposed to drive him to the second event wasn't there. "I'm going to be covering you all day," I volunteered. "You're welcome to come in my car." He agreed and along the way, we talked about our families. I told him that Sandi was establishing dual U.S-Israeli citizenship, that she was working as a balloon artist in Israel, and also that she recently had appeared on the Dudu Topaz Show there.

"I saw her," he exclaimed, describing her balloons and noting that her Hebrew still needed work. "Give me her phone number and I will tell her I met you." I did and he did, and before long he took on the role of mentor and confidant to Sandi. "What are you doing for Passover?" he asked her. "Not much," she said. "Then come for seder with my family." After she accepted, she realized what that meant. She phoned from Israel to say how nervous she was at the prospect of meeting Shimon Peres. Why? I countered, pointing out that she had been exposed to politicians her whole life. I even took a picture once of then-Gov. Jerry Brown kissing her when she was two years old. "Politicians, yes," she responded. "But I've never been with a Nobel Peace Prize winner before!" She had a point there. (Jump to continuation)

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A Dead Sea Scrolls lecture reunites San Diego family with an old friend, Prof. Shalom Paul

By Eileen Wingard

SAN DIEGO—Speaking without notes, Professor Shalom Paul of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem delivered an inspiring lecture on "The Ever-Alive Dead Sea Scrolls." His was the first in a series that will span the entire six-month Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. As Chairman of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, Professor Paul was a fitting choice for the July 9 inaugural address. He has spoken at all previous exhibits in North America.

He lauded the San Diego Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit and curator Dr. Risa Levitt Kohn for her outstanding work. In addition to the creative displays and illuminating information, the exhibit marks the first time that scrolls from Israel and Jordan are displayed together.

Professor Paul structured his lecture like a four-movement symphony. First, he spoke about the discovery and study of the scrolls. Paul described the Bedouin goat-herd’s monumental discovery when he threw a pebble into the cave, breaking a tall pot that housed a scroll. The lecturer told of the Hebrew University’s Archeology Professor Eliezer Sukenik’s authentication of the scrolls hours before the first shots were fired in Israel’s war of independence. And Paul related the coincidence, six years later, of Sukenik’s son, Archeologist Yigal Yadin, being in New York and reading a for-sale ad in the Wall Street Journal for three of the scrolls. Through a proxy, Yadin was
able to purchase those scrolls for Israel.

Paul also explained the many techniques used to reassemble scroll fragments. Through examining the language in which a fragment is written (Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek); understanding the context of the writing; analyzing the scribe’s handwriting; establishing, through carbon dating, the time it was written; and identifying, through DNA testing, the animal from which the parchment derived; the Dead Sea Scroll scholars are able to piece together the challenging puzzles.

In the second section of his talk, Paul focused on the inhabitants of Qumran. From written documents by the group’s contemporaries such as the historian Josephus, and through archeological evidence such as the system of cisterns and the size of their communal buildings, Paul concludes that they could not have numbered more than 150. He speculates that they were extremely pious and pure. Their water system included three ritual baths. Paul believes that the people were of priestly descent, pushed aside by the Maccabbean ascension to the priesthood at the temple in Jerusalem. (Jump to continuation)

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Research on 1,800 women with breast cancer
shows little differences in survival rates

HAIFA (Press Release)—The survival rate of women with a genetic mutation that leads to breast cancer is as good as that of women who are not carriers of this mutation.

This was the result of research conducted by the Community Medicine and Epidemiology Department of the National Israel Cancer Control Center of the Clalit Health Services in Carmel Medical Center and the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine.

The research team was headed by Prof. Gad Rennert and worked in cooperation with Prof. Steven Narod of the University of Toronto in Canada. The comprehensive research, which included 1,800 women with breast cancer, found that women who carry genetic mutations that cause breast cancer should be related to differently from non-carriers with breast cancer. The result of the research, which was financed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published this week in the leading medical journal “New England Journal of Medicine.”

“The research’s main finding is that, contrary to expectations, there is no difference in the survival rate between women who carry the genetic mutations and those who do not,” says Prof.Rennert. “This is despite the fact that women carriers with the disease have clinical characteristics that are more severe, including a lack of estrogen receptors in the tumor and tumors that are generally of a lower level of differentiation. These characteristics are generally connected with lower survival rates. It was found that, contrary to what is commonly accepted, the size of the tumor does not affect survival in non-carrier women and there was an indication that chemotherapy in women carriers is of far greater benefit than for non-carriers, with a difference in possible risk of death difference of up to 50%. This research, for the first time, demonstrates the frequency of genetic mutations unique to Jews, both Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi. It was found that the mutation also occurs in about 7% of Jewish women of Iraqi origin and is concentrated in one gene – BRCA1. In women with BRCA1, the cancer was detected at a better stage than in the general population. However, women with the mutation in the BRCA2 gene had a much lower rate of cancer detection in the disease’s first stage. Women carriers were f ound to have a much lower rate of positive estrogen receptors (24% as opposed to 65% among non-carriers).” The presence of estrogen receptors is very important in determining a woman’s fitness for hormone treatments.

To date, two genes have been discovered with mutations that significantly increase the risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer. Among Ashkenazi Jews and those of Iraqi origin, it was found that these mutations are responsible for about 10% of the overall cases of breast cancer. The research reveals that it is very important to individually evaluate women carriers with respect to surgery and oncology in order to ensure a higher survival rate. “For women with a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, especially if there are a number of cases in the family or the disease appeared at a young age, it is recommend to get appropriate counseling,” says Prof. Rennert.

“Following counseling and genetic screening of the genes involved in this syndrome, we can tailor a treatment package which will significantly reduce the chances of getting cancer and will increase the possibility of early detection.”

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For Hebrew U students, it will be G-mail for life

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Hebrew University students will now be able to use their university e-mail accounts for life – with the help of Gmail. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is the first academic institution in Israel to join other institutions around the world that are collaborating with Google and adopting Gmail as an e-mail system for its students.

University email addresses will accompany the 24,000 students currently studying on campus once they complete their studies, thus enabling the university to keep in touch with them after graduation. In the future, 100,000 graduates are expected to join the system. All users will retain the university domain name '@huji.ac.il' in their e-mail address, while enjoying the benefits that Gmail has to offer.

Every student will receive a username and password from the university enabling them to choose from several interface languages.

''We are happy about the cooperation with Google and expect that the move to Gmail will improve the management of communication between the university and the students,'' said Elhanan Hacohen, Vice President and Director-General of the Hebrew University. ''The students will enjoy all the advantages of large storage space, a popular interface, advanced e-mail search options, increased spam protection and other applications with the address of the Hebrew University, which they will be able to use after graduating.''

Riki Drori, director of marketing at Google Israel, said, ''We are excited about this joint cooperation with an institution like the Hebrew University and identify with its vision of utilizing technology for the empowerment of its students' lives and as a basis for building a long-term network system for its alumni.''

The preceding story was provided by Hebrew University

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No accident that Shinar tapped as head of road safety

BEER SHEVA, Israel (Press Release)—Prof. David Shinar from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been appointed the new Chief Scientist of Israel’s National Road Safety Authority as of August 1.

The Road Safety Authority is responsible for the coordination of all government activities to increase highway traffic safety. In confirming the appointment, Director-General of the Authority Lior Carmel commented that “this is a man who has researched driver and pedestrian behavior and the cause of road accidents for more than 30 years. He is one of the top researchers in Israel and the world in the area of human factors in road accidents.”

He added that “the appointment reflects a huge leap in the level of our activities” and demonstrates the Authority’s desire to “recruit the best people for road safety.” The appointment was announced by Minister of Transportation Shaul Mofaz on the recommendation of the director of the board of the Road Safety Authority Dr. Yoav Sarne.

Shinar, a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management and incumbent of the George Shrut Chair in Human Performance Management, is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He earned his doctorate in Psychology and Engineering from the Ohio State University. At BGU, he established a driver behavior research program that includes a laboratory with a full size state-of-the-art driving simulator and an eye movements tracking system. Several of his past graduate students are now faculty members at the university and are involved in expanding this line of research.

Shinar is a member of the executive board of the International Council for Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, an honorary fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of America and a recipient of the Society’s A.R. Lauer Award for his contributions to highway traffic safety.

Upon hearing of his appointment, Shinar said that his goal in this new position will be to “promote science-based and knowledge-based decisions and activities.” Toward this end, he will “assume responsibility for the management and development of relevant databases; the planning of long-term and short term research to identify causes of and countermeasures to road accidents and injuries; and the provision of scientific evaluations of safety activities.” In addition he hopes to institute evaluation research as a standard component of most of the Authority’s activities in order to assess their benefits and relative efficiency in improving highway safety.

Boxer and Feinstein back legislation to name
U.S. post office branch for singer Buck Owens

WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release) – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both California Democrats, introduced legislation on Friday, July 13, to honor country western legend Buck Owens by designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 118 Minner Avenue in Bakersfield, California, as the “Buck Owens Post Office.”

Owens was one of the pioneers of the so-called Bakersfield Sound, which brought a fresh California tone to country music. In 1950, Buck moved his young family to Bakersfield, California, where he began to make his mark on country music as a performer, a songwriter, and recording artist. His 20 number-one hits are a testament to his place among the greatest artists in country music history.

Boxer said, “I was fortunate to have met Buck ten years ago when I was invited to Bakersfield to present one of his special red, white, and blue guitars to a promising music student named William Villatoro. I still vividly remember how the young man was deeply moved and inspired by Buck’s generous gesture. Although he is no longer with us, Buck leaves behind a wonderful legacy of artistry and love of music. I am proud to introduce this legislation in his honor.”

Feinstein said, “This post office will serve as a fitting tribute to Buck’s contributions to country music and to Bakersfield. I am delighted to join my colleague, Senator Boxer, in co-sponsoring this legislation.”

The preceding story was provided by the office of Senator Barbara Boxer

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Senator Sanders will oppose nomination of
Dr. Holsinger as next U.S. surgeon general

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)—Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont) announced Thursday, July 12, that he would vote against confirmation of President Bush's nominee for surgeon general because he is unconvinced that Dr. James W. Holsinger would withstand pressure from White House political operatives who muzzled the last surgeon general.

Sanders, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced his decision after a confirmation hearing. Holsinger was questioned about his independence in light of revelations earlier this week that Dr. Richard Carmona, whose term expired in July, was silenced by the Bush administration on embryonic stem cell research, mental health care, smoking and other health issues. He also was ordered to insert President Bush’s name at least three times on each page of his speeches, a demand Sanders called “outrageous.”

Sanders said: “At a time when the administration muzzled the previous surgeon general, censored his remarks, controlled his travel, and – unbelievably – told him how many times in a page he had to mention President Bush, we need a surgeon general who is prepared to stand up to an extremely ideological administration and resist that pressure. We need a surgeon general who will stand up for the scientific and medical needs of the American people. While I was impressed by his intelligence and with some of his positions on issues, I simply do not believe that Dr. Holsinger is the right person for this important position at this moment in American history.”

The preceding story was provided by the office of Senator Bernie Sanders
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Far better to be a 'coach' than to be a 'rescuer'

LA JOLLA—When your kids or grandkids can’t get it right the first time, do you do it for them? When your husband procrastinates with the dishes, do you go ahead and wash them? When your wife does not understand how to program the VCR, do you take over? When people around you have problems for which they could find solutions with some research, do you take it upon yourself to resolve the problem? If you answered yes to these questions, you are a rescuer.

This column also appears in the current issue of the La Jolla Light

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Jews in the News
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Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are, if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net and we'll acknowledge your tip at the end of the column. To see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.

*Hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen's exhibit of a 13-foot tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde is going on exhibit Aug. 29 at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Bloomberg News story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Notwithstanding legislative progress by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (Democrats, California), reported here yesterday, the proposed subway under Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, faces a tremendous obstacle: it would cost an estimated $5 billion. The story by Ari Bloomekatz and Steve Hymon is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (Democrat, Michigan) is co-author of a bill similar to one passed by the House of Representatives to mandate a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Republican Senators Richard Lugar of Indiana and John Warner of Virginia want President Bush to submit a plan by the end of the year for troop withdrawal. What impact the Republican measure may have on support for the Democratic measure is a question Capitol Hill reporters now are trying to assess. The story by Noam N. Levey and Julian E. Barnes is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Ed Mirvish, the discount store operator who became a major force in theatre in Toronto, Canada, has died at age 92. An obituary by Reuters is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. We also provide a link to a 1999 feature on "Honest Ed," written for the late San Diego Jewish-Press Heritage by Donald H. Harrison, editor and publisher of San Diego Jewish World.

*U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, (Democrat, California) says the White House has acted inappropriately in refusing to turn over requested documents to various committees of Congress, including his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The latest instance was a refusal to turn over documents concerning the friendly fire death in Afghanistan of Pat Tillman, who volunteered for duty after 9/11 and gave up an NFL contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Associated Press story by Scott Lindlaw is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Click the ad above to go to the "I'm there for you baby" website

SUNROAD—Aaron Feldman, owner of Sunroad Enterprises, is the subject of a pair of negative commentary in today's letter section of the San Diego Union-Tribune. But in the same column the architecture of the top two stories that have been ordered torn down from his building near Montgomery Field have received praise.

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By Debra Kain

LA JOLLA (Press Release)—Scientists have only recently begun to speculate that what’s referred to as “junk” DNA – the 96 percent of the human genome that doesn’t encode for proteins and previously seemed to have no useful purpose – is present in the genome for an important reason. But it wasn’t clear what the reason was. Now, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered one important function of so-called junk DNA.

Genes, which make up about four percent of the genome, encode for proteins, “the building blocks of life.” An international collaboration of scientists led by Michael G. Rosenfeld, M.D., Howard Hughes Medical Investigator and UCSD professor of medicine, found that some of the remaining 96 percent of genomic material might be important in the formation of boundaries that help properly organize these building blocks. Their work will be published in the July 13 issue of the journal Science.

“Some of the ‘junk’ DNA might be considered ‘punctuation marks’ – commas and periods that help make sense of the coding portion of the genome,” said first author Victoria Lunyak, Ph.D., assistant research scientist at UCSD.

In mice, as in humans, only about 4 percent of the genome encodes for protein function; the remainder, or “junk” DNA, represents repetitive and non-coding sequences. The research team studied a repeated genomic sequence called SINE B2, which is located on the growth hormone gene locus, the gene related to the aging process and longevity. The scientists were surprised to find that SINE B2 sequence is critical to formation of the functional domain boundaries for this locus.

Functional domains are stretches of DNA within the genome that contain all the regulatory signals and other information necessary to activate or repress a particular gene. Each domain is an entity unto itself that is defined, or bracketed, by a boundary, much as words in a sentence are bracketed by punctuation marks. The researchers’ data suggest that repeated genomic sequences might be a widely used strategy used in mammals to organize functional domains.

“Without boundary elements, the coding portion of the genome is like a long, run-on sequence of words without punctuation,” said Rosenfeld.

Decoding the information written in “junk” DNA could open new areas of medical research, particularly in the area of gene therapy. Scientists may find that transferring encoding genes into a patient, without also transferring the surrounding genomic sequences which give structure or meaning to these genes, would render gene therapy ineffective.

Contributors to the paper include Lluis Montoliu, Rosa Roy and Angel Garcia-Díaz of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología in Madrid, Spain; Christopher K. Glass, M.D., Ph.D., UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Esperanza Núñez, Gratien G. Prefontaine, Bong-Gun Ju, Kenneth A. Ohgi, Kasey Hutt, Xiaoyan Zhu and Yun Yung, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Medicine, UCSD School of Medicine; and Thorsten Cramer, Division of Endocrinology, UCSD Department of Medicine.

The research was funded in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

The preceding story was provided by the University of California at San Diego

Unless otherwise indicated, source for these stories is today's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully provide the links below. We do not apply halacha to determine if a player is Jewish; rather, if he or she has a Jewish parent or has converted to the faith, we count him or her as a member of our community.

Green and Schoeneweis fare better than rest of the Mets

ON THE BASEBALL FIELD—Friday was a good day for Shawn Green and Scott Schoeneweis, if not for their New York Mets, as both turned in fine performances during the Mets' 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Green went 2-4 as a batter, and augmented his offensive contribution with his 7th stolen base of the season. His batting average is now .275 Reliever Schoeneweis pitched just one inning, but he retired the side with no runs and no hits. His ERA is 5.09 ... Kevin Youkilis hit his 23rd double, and participated defensively in two double plays, but his Boston Red Sox were defeated 6-5 by the Toronto Blue Jays. With his .324 batting average, Youkilis has slipped to 8th position in the roster of the American League's top batters (The stats on the league leaders can be found below the summaries of the Los Angeles Angeles/ Texas Rangers game in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.)... Los Angeles Dodger Mike Lieberthal got some time behind the plate as a relief catcher for Russell Martin, but none at the plate as a batter during a game in which the Dodgers bombed the San Francisco Giants 9-1.

OFF THE BASEBALL FIELD—New York Yankee Jason Giambi complied yesterday with Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's order that he meet with former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to discuss steroid use in the league. Following the meeting neither of the principals nor Selig had any comment. ...We told you yesterday that Florida Marlins owner David Samson had expressed incredulity over a report that the Seattle Mariners might pay as much as $100 million for a five year contract extension to Ichiro Suzuki. Well it turned out it was only $90 million; will that make Samson feel any better?

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Avenue Q: 'Sesame Street' for grown-ups

SAN DIEGO—If you are stubborn like yours truly and decided to wait for Avenue Q to come to our fair city rather than going to someone else’s fair city to see it, wait no longer. It recently opened downtown at the beautiful Spreckels Theatre on Broadway and plays through Aug. 5th. The Globe is producing the West Coast premiere of this Tony Award winning musical as an addition to it’s summer series.

“The Globe’s relationship with the Spreckles dates back to 1978 when the Spreckles graciously hosted the Globe’s 1978-’79 winter season following the devastating fire in The Old Globe Theatre”.

Years ago, I used to see plays there as well as the old Fox Theatre (now home to Symphony Hall) which were brought in as part of The Playgoers Series, a precursor to Broadway/San Diego. For Louis Spisto, executive director of The Old Globe producing Avenue Q at the Spreckles rather in its own space made sense since Q is a show for downtown audiences as well as for the Globe’s. And it’s a happy reunion for both the Globe and Spreckels owner Jacqie Littlefield.

Avenue Q with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez, book by Jeff Whitty and based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, a friend confided to me, is an equal opportunity offender: Jews, Blacks, Gays, Republicans, big companies, bosses are all fair game. “Everybody’s a Little Bit Racist” goes one of the songs in a parody to the above mentioned groups. But I get ahead of myself.

Picture an episode of Sesame Street for adults. That’s right, an adult puppet show (puppets are conceived and designed by Rick Lyon) that is a take off of the popular kids anthem, "Sesame Street." There are ten character puppets and four puppeteers, all worth their weight in gold and all either from the Broadway or Wynn cast in Vegas.

The setup is pretty simple, Princeton (Robert McClure), a recent college graduate can find neither work nor an affordable place in which to live. His city could be any big city. Princeton begins looking for an apartment on ‘Avenue A’ and the best he can afford is on Avenue Q, a low rent, cleverly designed tenement neighborhood (Anna Louizos) where like folks, who are out of work, looking for work or in low paying jobs just getting by, live.

And you guessed it. Here we have the cross section of Americana: Gary Coleman (Carla Renata) is the Black super; Rod, a conservative, closet gay, Republican investment banker and Nicky, who is between jobs, a slob and gay, are roommates; Brian (Cole Porter) is a wannabe comedian and Christmas Eve (Angela Ai) are the interracial couple; Kate Monster (Kelli Sawyer) is an assistant kindergarden teacher), and Lucy (Kelli Sawyer) is a ‘girl gone wild’ entertainer (read slut). Other puppets shown are Trekki Monster and a pair of good news, bad news bears. And of course, Rod.

There are a few ‘what to do’ and ‘how to’ questions hanging out to dry that move the story along. For instance, “What is their purpose?” and “What do they do now that we are grown up and need to fend for themselves?” From the opening song, “Can’t pay the bills yet/ ‘cause I don’t have the skills yet” to “It Sucks to be Me” to “The Internet is for Porn” to the little ‘how to’ videos that drop down from time to time, to first time sex (with the puppets of course and…somewhat graphic, I might add.), to love and rejection to coming out, are all on the line

A biggie was the Jewish wedding between Christmas Tree and Brian with the Black preacher officiating under the Chuppa. Christmas Tree had a white gown with flashing lights under her organdy skirt, as in Christmas Tree. And the message? Even a Jew and a non Jew can get married under the Chuppa with the bride wearing a Christmas tree for a gown. And, of course, everyone wore a yarmulke.

Fun? Yes! Add to the entertainment, the excitement of theatre downtown and some great acting, and puppetry and a good time was had by all. Christian Anderson who played several of the puppets is outstanding as is Kelli Sawyer who is both Lucy and Kate Monster. There were a few weaker links in the character and actor playing Brian (Cole Porter). He just didn’t seem to gel with the others and his counterpart, Angela Ai as Christmas Tree was a little off in both Japanese and Korean accents and it was difficult understanding her.. Director Jason Moore, choreographer Ken Robertson, lighting designer Howell Binkley and Mirena Rada, costume designer all deserve Bravos!

From San Diego the tour continues to San Francisco, Los Angeles and zig zags back and forth across the country landing in Milwaukee in February.

Front Row Seat...
(Continued from above)

Sandi went to the seder at Shimon and Sonya Peres' home, where to her relief they had Haggadot in English and Hebrew. When it was her turn to read, Sandi, of course, read in English, and Shimon Peres playfully congratulated her on her facility in that language. The story is similar to one told on these pages yesterday by Dov Burt Levy. After dinner, Sandi made balloon hats, swords, cartoon characters, and other creations for the Peres grandchildren—one of whom walked over to the illustrious grandfather and stuffed a balloon hat on his head. "Wow! What a photo for my brochure!" Sandi enthused. The former Prime Minister and future President wagged his finger at her, "No, no," he cautioned. Can't say I blame him.

Anyway, after that, there were other occasions of social interaction with Shimon Peres not only for Sandi, but for the rest of our family. However, we cannot claim to be friends of his. Honestly I doubt if he would remember us at all unless Yoni first whispered in his ear. He meets so many people, impressing each one with his graciousness. My apolitical daughter describes the relationship aptly: "For other people, Yoni is the son of Shimon, but for me Shimon is the father of Yoni."

When Sandi married Shahar Masori here in San Diego in January of 2000, Yoni served as a member of the wedding party, and eight days after Shor was born in 2001, Yoni was the sandak at Shor's brit milah. We figured that as a veterinarian, Yoni would not be squeamish, but he said later he almost fainted. A case of emotional projection, no doubt. Rabbi Moishe Leider did a wonderful job as the mohel. One of our treasured photos is a picture of Shor as a tyke sitting on Shimon Peres' lap during his first visit to Israel.

Yoni went from the Hebrew University to chief veterinarian of the Israel Guide Dog Center and now owns his own veterinary hospital at the Hayarok Agricultural School, north of Tel Aviv. For many years he has had a miniature pinscher by name of "Tempo," whom he adopted after someone brought the little dog to Hebrew University to be "put down" because its fourth leg dragged behind him. Other than that deformity, Tempo was perfectly healthy and Yoni couldn't bear the idea of euthanizing him. Now Tempo rides with Yoni almost everywhere. One time my wife Nancy was looking after Tempo in Israel, and took him with her wherever she went. She reported to us that Tempo really loves to shop!

When Yoni was courting Sigal Shalev, then employed at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, there was a time when he thought that he would lose her. Greatly depressed, he drove down here from Los Angeles, not knowing what to do or to think. Not having yet met Sigal, I gave Yoni the dumb advice that surely there were other women to date. I didn't realize then how deeply he loved her. Now, neither he nor Sigal will ever let me forget my ill-chosen words of advice. If anyone in similar circumstances should come to you, please don't make my mistake. Just shut up and listen!

Notwithstanding the faux pas, I was still on good enough grounds with Yoni and Sigal that I got to attend the henna for Sigal before their wedding, and later to be in attendance at their wedding. During the time leading up to the ceremony, I also did some touring of Israel with Yoni and Sigal, even as Sandi, Shor and Sky are doing now. Shahar gets to fly in and out of Israel for his job, so he is able to join the fun on layovers.

Now, we're waiting the next chapter of the story. Like millions of well-wishers around the world, Nancy and I also want to wish Shimon Peres a mazal tov on becoming the president of Israel. We also want to congratulate Israel's Knesset on having elected a man of such unparalleled decency and standing.

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Scrolls Lecture...
(Continued from above)

The third section of Paul’s lecture dealt with the scroll discoveries’ impact on our knowledge of Judaism. Although most of Qumran’s Hebrew Bible scrolls have the same wording as today’s Hebrew Bible, there are some significant differences. Paul gave two examples. In Genesis 46:27, our Hebrew Bible states that the number of people from Canaan who entered Egypt with Jacob was 70 (three score and ten). In the Qumran scroll, the number is 75. In today’s Hebrew Bible, there are 150 psalms. In the Qumran scrolls, there are 151 psalms. Paul concluded that these discrepancies indicate that the Jewish Torah was not yet canonized at that time.

The final section of Paul’s lecture was about the relationship of the scrolls to Christianity. Although evidence indicates that these scrolls were written before the New Testament, it is interesting that scrolls other than those of the Hebrew Bible contained concepts that permeate Christianity. One of the scrolls refers to a "son of light." There are references to the duality of "good and evil." There is also mention of predetermination. These are all concepts which were not part of Rabbinic Judaism.

The lecture was a clear and ardently delivered presentation which served as an excellent preview for those who had not yet seen the exhibit and a marvelous summary for those of us who had experienced the remarkable display. The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit is another testament to the high degree of culture in San Diego and the great esteem San Diego is held in the world of letters.

A Personal Note About Our Friendship With Professor Shalom Paul—During the brief question and answer period, my daughter Harriet posed a question. She came to visit from Portland in time to attend the lecture of her former professor. Paul was one of her teachers when she was studying at the Hebrew University during her junior year abroad from Amherst College.

We had an opportunity to chat with Shalom Paul before the lecture, recalling that our families have had connections for many years. When my sister Zina Schiff was studying violin at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, his parents befriended Zina and our mother Rose. Once, while doing reserve duty in the Negev, Shalom Paul heard on the radio that Zina was scheduled to solo with the Haifa Orchestra. He drove north clear across the country to arrive in Haifa in time to
hear her performance.

The compelling lecturer was a frequent speaker at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute when my eldest daughter Myla worked there. And when Shalom Paul’s son Ben Zion first came to Southern California to study, he stayed at our place for several weeks.

Attending Shalom Paul’s remarkable lecture served as a welcome reunion with an outstanding speaker and scholar whom we have been privileged to know as a dear friend.

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