mast
 
Volume 3, Number 185
 
"There's a Jewish story everywhere"
 


Tuesday-Wednesday, September 21-22, 2009

San Diego County & California news of Jewish interest

Temple Adat Shalom to hold Jewish Food Festival Oct. 25 ... Read more

New UJF CEO shares New Year thoughts with San Diegans ... Read more

Workshops, hikes to be focus of 3rd annual women's weekend ... Read more

San Diego Jewish Book Fair expands to North County ... Read more

Soille S.D. Hebrew Day School stresses judging others favorably ... Read more

 

Jewish genes -- is there something in our DNA? ... Read more

Mayor of San Diego partnership region awarded for governance ... Read more

Jewish public officials

Filner backs bill to support Polish Jewish Museum in Warsaw ... Read more

DA Dumanis charges local attorney with stealing from clients ... Read more


Items about future events can also be found on our interactive Jewish community calendar. From the master calendar page, click on any specific date to find listings for Jewish-interest activities for that day. Make the calendar your personal planning resource!


Temple Adat Shalom to hold Jewish Food Festival Oct. 25


POWAY, California (Press Release)—Temple Adat Shalom proudly presents the first-ever San Diego Jewish Food Festival on Oct. 25 2009 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Admission at the door is $3.00 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Pre-registration and discounted tickets are available on-line at www.adatshalom.com for $2.00 per person plus $2.00 worth of free food. The festival will be held at 15905 Pomerado Rd, Poway, CA. This event will bring thousands of people from the San Diego community together for a day of enjoying delicious Jewish cuisine, fabulous music and entertainment, Israeli & Judaic art and plenty of activities for children.

The event will showcase various Jewish delicacies from around the world including New York corned beef on rye, meat stuffed cabbage rolls with rice, baked chicken wings with kasha & varnitchkes, gefilite fish, matzo ball soup, potato knishes, challah bread, bagels, halavah, cheese blintz with jelly, noodle pudding, potato pancakes, leek and cheese matzo pie, sweet fruit bread and much more.

The entertainment lineup will include a comedy set, Israeli Folk Dancing, an adult choir and a concert featuring the band Yad b’yad. There will be synagogue tours throughout the day and a shuk (market) featuring beautiful items from Israel.

“The day will be filled with fun activities, unique performances and most of all a festive celebration featuring some of the world’s more exquisite Jewish food,” said Hannah Cohen, Festival chair.

To learn more about the first-ever San Diego Jewish Food Festival or to pre-register, visit www.adatshalom.com or call 858-451-1200.

Preceding provided by Temple Adat Shalom


Workshops, hikes to be focus of 3rd annual women's weekend

SAN DIEGO—Camp Mountain Chai sponsors its third annual women's weekend October 23-25 at the rustic hideaway in Angelus Oaks, California.

A San Diego-based Jewish camp with offices in the same building as the United Jewish Federation at 4950 Murphy Canyon Road, Camp Mountain Chai offers summer camping for youth and diverse programming, including the women's weekend, over the rest of the year.

The weekend, which costs $225 per person including transportation from the Lawrence Family JCC, will include Shabbat services, social activities, exercise, yoga, and nature walks, kosher cuisine, singing, Israeli dancing, and a variety of workshops.

These will include Torah study with Rabbi Lenore Bohm, who will discuss Parashat Noach, giving attention to such questions as how Noach differed from Abraham, what were the sins that prompted God to destroy the world, and what is the cautionary tale of the Tower of Babel.

Rabbi Bohm also will lead a discussion about eco-kashrut based on the teachings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi who advocated "organizing our daily choices (food and beyond) so that we can actively engage in ecologically responsible living."

Maxine Weseley will lead a workshop on communications to "promote even better relationships with our loved ones, students and colleagues." Weseley will utilize dialogue, Jewish anecdotes and Biblical quotes.

Ellen Fox will conduct a discussion "All About Friendship," asking "what qualities do we look for in a friend" How many friends do we need? How are our friendships different now than they were in previous stages of our lives?

Cheryl Rattner-Price will conduct a workshop in beginner converational Hebrew. She says participants will be able to enjoy some basic conversation "even if you don't know glida from g'veret or chalav from challa. (ice cream from Mrs. or milk from challa)

Louise Chandler will lead a discussion of the book God in the Wilderness by Rabbi Jamie Korngold, "Perhaps you have some term that you are comfortable with such as Oneness, or Sprit, or Unknown, or Source, or I Don't Know, that feels better than God," advises Chandler. "All of that is ok. We are going to talk about some of the ideas Rabbi Korngold brought up in her book, and see if they might apply to you, or maybe you will disagree."

Liat Hoffman will lead a workshop using "music as a medium to explore our emotional and spiritual selves, and to wash away the dust of our everyday lives. It will be an organic mixture of learning new songs, singing songs we already know, and creating our own, orginal songs. If you have an instrument please bring it."

Besides the workshops, there will be specialized hikes.

The entire group will make a moderate hike as a community to the creek where "together we'll experience how nature can open our hearts and remind us of all the small miracles that abound in every moment."

Diana Lerner and Wanda Refealy will lead an easy hike to the Medicine Wheel, an hour long up hill, down hill walk through the pine forst.

Adam Lybarger will lead a more challenging hike from the camp to Slushy Meadows at the edge of the San Gorgonio Wilderness area, where several streams meet forming the headwaters for the Santa Ana River. It will take approximately 90 minutes.

For more information call (858) 449-1330, or visit the camp's website at www.campmountainchai.com


Soille S.D. Hebrew Day School stresses judging others favorably

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)--The Talmud states: Anyone who judges other favorably, he/she is judged favorably. (Shab 127)

As we the Jewish People, universally and individually, prepare to 'pass before Hashem as sheep passing before their shepherd to be inspected' faculty and staff at Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School pray that in teaching our precious children to judge others favorably, we will merit a Sweet New Year of health and happiness, able to enjoy the progress of our children and see their growing impact on the world.

Our students, school wide, during this Jewish month of Elul have focused on the character traits involved in judging others favorably and giving others the benefit of the doubt.

They have discussed how our inner character so often colors our responses and judgments of others, and how we can do a better job of being more charitable when we think of and talk with others. We have learned that this attribute (Middah, in Hebrew) also helps us to make others feel more included in our social circles, and promotes harmony amongst all of our classmates and friends.

Our teachers, and many of our parents, have commented that they can see more positive interactions by their child, both at school and at home. We feel that our Middot Matter @ Hebrew Day program is off to a wonderful start, and we look forward to building on this initial success throughout the school year. Next week we will be focusing on EMET - Being truthful, and becoming young men and women of greater integrity.

Preceding provided by Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School


Mayor of San Diego partnership region awarded for governance

KIBBUTZ MEFALSIM, Israel—Alon Schuster, mayor since 2002 of the Sha'ar Hanegev municipality including 10 kibbutzim, a moshav and Ibim Student Village, has been honored by Israel's Movement for Quality Government for "strengthening Israeli society during the most difficult time of security threats and peace time."

The award, conferred upon Schuster earlier this month in a ceremony in Caesarea, cited the mayor for putting the Zionist ideal into action by "sacrificing the private for the collective."

Sha'ar Hanegev municipality is a partnership region for the United Jewish Federation of San Diego. The latter currently is engaged in a fundraising effort to help the municipality build a rocket-proof high school able to withstand Kassam missile attacks from nearby Gaza.

Others honorees or "noblemen" selected this year by the Movement for Quality Government included retired judges Vadrimus Ziller and Micha Lindinstraus; Dr. Yaron Zeliha, a former treasury accountant, former government minister Rabbi Michael Melchior,journalists Dr. Elana Dayan and Kalman Livskind, volunteer Arel Karni and the movement "After-Youth Leading Change."

Preceding provided by Sha'ar Hanegev municipality via our correspondent Ulla Hadar

Jewish Public Officials

Filner backs bill to support Polish Jewish Museum in Warsaw


WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Congressman Bob Filner (Democrat, San Diego) is proudly announcing his co-sponsorship of H.R. 1590, the Museum of Polish Jews Act.  This bill will help support the development of the permanent collection of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

“The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will commemorate the three million Polish Jews who died in World War II,” said Congressman Filner. “It will serve as a living center for education and culture dedicated to preserving the lasting legacy of 1,000 years of Jewish life in Poland.”

In 1996, a group of people conceived the idea for a museum dedicated to the culture, art, and history of Poland’s Jews.  A year later, the city of Warsaw donated land, adjacent to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument, for this Museum.

In June of this year, ground was broken for the Museum’s construction. The Government of Poland and City of Warsaw have each agreed to provide 40,000,000 Polish zlotys (approximately $12,500,000) for the Museum. A number of private corporations, individuals, and foreign governments have also agreed to contribute.

Preceding provided by Congressman Bob Filner


DA Dumanis charges local attorney with stealing from clients


SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis announced on Monday that long-time San Diego civil attorney David Ronquillo, 64, has been charged with five felony counts stemming from allegations that he stole money from his clients. Ronquillo was arrested by District Attorney Investigators at his Escondido home on Friday and appeared at an arraignment today in Superior Court where he pleaded not guilty.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the State Bar of California and the District Attorney’s Office. Ronquillo is charged with two counts of embezzlement, two counts of grand theft and one count of financial elder abuse. If convicted of all counts, Ronquillo faces up to five years, eight months in state prison. His bail was set at $50,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 2nd.

The charges stem from allegations that Ronquillo stole clients’ money over a five-year period beginning in 2000. The investigation confirmed allegations leveled against Ronquillo in his dealings with two clients, both of whom complained to the State Bar about the money they had lost due to Ronquillo’s handling of their settlements. The loss to the victims is more than $100,000.

More victims are being sought by the District Attorney’s Office. Clients of Ronquillo’s Amerimex Law Center at 952 Postal Way, Suite 12 in Vista, CA who may have been defrauded, should contact District Attorney Investigator Dan Schmitt at (619) 531-3607.

Ronquillo’s current business address is 7863 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA. Further information may be obtained on the State Bar’s website at www.calbar.org.


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New UJF CEO shares New Year thoughts with San Diegans

By Steven Morris
Chief Executive Officer, United Jewish Federation of San Diego County

SAN DIEGO-- Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish year and begins a period of serious introspection for Jews around the world. It is a time when we contemplate past, present, and future actions. It is a time when Jews around the world come together in the spirit of renewal. We take stock of our lives and reflect on the ways in which we can resolve to do better in the coming year.

It is appropriate that during this season of renewal, we start a new and exciting chapter in the history of the United
Jewish Federation. I have been in San Diego a little over one month and as I get to know the professional staff, lay
leadership, donors, and community better, I am finding an overwhelming sense of commitment, enthusiasm and
passion about the important work that we do. I am inspired and excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Your Federation has had a critical role in building and sustaining this community for 75 years. In partnership with
others, it has helped to sustain a vibrant Jewish community in which its members can live a rich Jewish life. I look
forward to being a part of my new Jewish community and to working as a team to build a stronger, more effective
organization. One that delivers on our mission of building a vibrant and inclusive local Jewish community, and
enhancing the well being of Jews in San Diego, Israel, and throughout the world.

The High Holy Days are a time for family, tradition, and community. May you and your families find strength and
forgiveness during this holiday season. May you begin to look ahead with hope and encouragement. And may you
embrace the traditions that enrich our lives, as individuals and as a community.

Savor the sweetness of the apples and honey, ask for forgiveness from those you have wronged, take time to reflect
on the past and look forward to the future, and count your blessings especially your family, your friends, and this great
community.

I invite you to join with us in this coming year as we work together to build a brighter future.

A final note: Celebrate Our Jewish Community Heroes
Do you know someone who exemplifies tikkun olam and inspires others through their commitment to community
service? This is your chance to recognize individuals in our community who truly make a difference. Go to Jewish
Community Heroes
and nominate someone today (as today is the deadline). The UJC/The Jewish Federations of North American sponsored campaign ends on October 8, 2009 – so there is time to nominate your local hero. Let’s make San Diego proud. Nominate and vote today! L’shanah Tovah

Preceding provided by United Jewish Federation



San Diego Jewish Book Fair expands to North County

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release)– San Diego’s internationally recognized Jewish Book Fair celebrates its 15th year with special new programming, a week of events in North County, running on October 19-20, 2009 and November 1-4, 2009. North County events, sponsored by the Leichtag Family Foundation, will be held at Temple Solel in Cardiff. The Book Fair is presented with the continuing support of the Viterbi Family Foundation, and the U.S. Trust Bank of American Private Wealth Management. Family Day is supported by Target, the U.S. Trust Bank of American Private Wealth Management, Dr. Andrew and Erna Viterbi, Sempra Energy and the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs Youth Endowment Fund.

“Our San Diego Jewish Book Fair is recognized by the national Jewish Book Council as one of the best book fairs in the country,” said Book Fair Co-Chair Linda Daniels of Del Mar. “We are so excited to have funding from the Leichtag Family Foundation for seven events in North County this year, including a mini-Family Day on Sunday, November 1. We are grateful to the Foundation, as well as to Temple Solel in Cardiff for opening their doors to us.”

North County Presentations Chair Bobbi Krueger added, “Everyone who comes to our book fair is thrilled they made the effort. Authors who attend have such a positive experience that they call us and ask if they can return when their next book is published. We know that our expansion into North County will be extremely well received. In fact, four of our North County author/speakers are ‘returnees’ – they’ve been guests at previous San Diego Jewish Book Fairs and are looking forward to speaking to a new North San Diego County audience.”

Jackie Semha Gmach, Book Fair Director and Jewish Community Center Program Director, comments, “This year Cardiff – next year Vista and Escondido! We have had excellent response to our Traveling Holocaust Exhibits (Inside Anne Frank’s House and DAVKA) in North County and are very grateful to the Vista Library for being our host. We hope that we can continue to offer exciting programming all over San Diego County. Proceeds from the Book Fair, as well as our generous sponsors, are making that possible.”

The 15th Annual San Diego Jewish Book Fair opens its entire program and launches its brand new North County series on Monday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m. Guest speaker Rabbi Harold Kushner is one of our times’ most revered spiritual leaders. His insights on handling difficult issues have inspired people of all faiths and backgrounds. From his first best seller, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, to his most recent release, Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World, Kushner has helped readers battle life’s difficult moments using their true inner strengths. In today’s troubling times, fear is unavoidable – fear of unemployment, aging, illness, terror, natural disaster, and more. Kushner draws on religious and secular teachings, as well as true stories of people facing their fears, to show how we can improve ourselves, enhance our lives, and even better the world around us. Kushner’s warmth, wisdom and healing voice guide us in connecting with our emotions and in rethinking our values

The North County Jewish Book Fair’s author/speaker on the hot topic of the Middle East will be David Makovsky, fellow at the renowned Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Makovsky will be speaking on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. about his new book (co-written with well-known Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross), Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East. Makovsky and Ross address the question: Why has the US consistently failed to achieve its goals in the Middle East? They say we have been working under false assumptions about the nature and motivation of Middle East leaders and their countries. The authors debunk numerous fallacies: that peace in Israel is the key to all the Middle East’s problems; that peace and democracy require regime change; and that Iran’s leadership is immune from diplomatic/economic pressure. This primer on what we should and should not do is a road map toward America’s regained respect in the world as well as long-term multi-pronged solutions to the region’s troubles.

In North County, there will be two speakers discussing the history of Jewish life in the 20th century. Author Bryan Mark Rigg discusses the history of Jewish life in the 20th century on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. Historical scholar, military officer, and admired professor, Rigg devoted years of research to uncovering the true history of the nearly 150,000 Wermacht soldiers of Jewish descent. He appeared at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair several years ago to discuss his book Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military and held the audience spellbound with his story. Now, he comes to North County to share the personal stories of twenty-one of these men who fought for a country that stole their civil rights and exterminated their relatives. The constant tension in their lives and their crises of conscience in horrific times are shocking and disturbing, yet fascinating. Rigg’s book Lives of Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers: Untold Tales of Men of Jewish Descent Who Fought for the Third Reich will be available for sale at both the North County and La Jolla bookstores.

On Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 P.M., Kati Marton will speak on her book entitled Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America. A well-respected international investigative journalist, Kati Marton has wowed SDJBF audiences with the thrilling story of The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World. Now she shares her family’s gut-wrenching personal journey from Cold War Budapest - where they were Enemies of the People - to sanctuary in the USA. The shocking details she uncovers – from her nanny who spied for the secret police, to her “friends” who informed on her family, to her parents’ brutal incarceration – are told with raw and genuine emotion. Her moving presentation will stir the hearts of all of us – especially those of us who have been fortunate enough to have never lived under such circumstances.

Monday evening’s program, November 2 at 7:30 p.m., provides a change of pace with Robert K. Tanenbaum, attorney-at-law and author of Capture. With over 23 million copies in print, author Tanenbaum, a trial lawyer who has never lost a case, is also a legal thriller master. In Book 21 of the NYC District Attorney Butch Karp and his crime-fighter wife Marlene Ciampi series, Tanenbaum again hooks us with straight-from-the-headlines adventure. While prosecuting a Broadway producer who has killed an actress, Karp and Ciampi battle a terrorist group aiming to topple the US government. When daughter Lucy joins the counter-terrorists, domestic drama meets domestic terrorism, and we’ll be rapt in multiple plotlines until the breathtaking conclusion. This evening will be a thrilling ride – Tanenbaum has never lost an audience – in his writing or in person.

Family Day in La Jolla and in North County—Parents and children are invited to join the Book-a-Palooza Family Day at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla on Sunday, November 8 for a full afternoon of fun with the arts, beginning with a noon lunchtime sing-a-long with Peter Yarrow, the “Peter” of Peter, Paul and Mary who is now well known for his Operation Respect anti-bullying program. There will also be a “mini” Family Day at Temple Solel in Cardiff on Sunday November 1, 2009 featuring Ellen Frankel, renowned author of Jewish literature for children and families.

Frankel will be speaking twice to students, and also their parents. From 9–9:45 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., she will have a discussion session with children in grades 4-6 about How the World Began and Other Hard Questions in the Bible. She will encourage the children to ask the hardest questions they can think of – questions about origins, Divine justice, moral justice, the fate of the Jewish people, and the role of Israel among the nations. Then she will share Biblical stories that address those questions and discuss possible answers with the students.

From 9:50 –10:45 a.m., Frankel will meet with parents to discuss Why Jewish Kids Should Know Their Bible. The Jewish Publication Society has recently released Ellen Frankel’s new JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible, so she is well-qualified to answer such questions as: What is a children’s Bible? Why does one need a children’s Bible? Is the Bible good for Jewish children? How can parents who don’t regard the Bible as divine or even “true” share these stories with their children?

Presentation by Rancho Santa Fe Author— Of special interest to North County residents will be a presentation by Rancho Santa Fe resident Gayle Slate on Wednesday November 11 at 2 p.m. at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. Slate will share her personal memoir Dana’s Legacy: From Heartbreak to Healing. Says Slate: “Being told I’d given birth to a daughter with cerebral palsy was the worst moment of my life – but also the moment my real life’s work began.” Slate faced head-on the challenge of her first child Dana – who had cerebral palsy and died at age 14 ½. After Dana’s death, Slate became a family therapist and the founder of Kids Included Together. Her inspirational story provides hope to families in pain and provides practical advice for transforming tragedy into opportunity and triumph.


Jewish genes -- is there something in our DNA?

POWAY, California (Press Release)—Dr. Stephen Baird, professor emeritus of Pathology at UCSD School of Medicine, will discuss Jewish law as related to DNA at 2 p.m., Sunday, October 18, at Temple Adat Shalom, 15905 Pomerado Road, Poway.

Among questions he will address are: "Genetically speaking, how are Jews defined? Is there a Jewish gene?"
Admission is free. All are welcome.

Preceding provided by Temple Adat Shalom


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