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Saturday, May 17 Tifereth Israel Synagogue—Dizengoff Night
Sunday, May 18 Community Israel Independence Celebration
Wednesday, May 28 JFS~Ellen Saks lecture on mental illness
Tuesday, June 3 Guardians Golf & Tennis Tournament
Friday-Saturday, June 6-7 JFS~Judaism on the Wild Side
Sunday, June 8 Temple Solel~Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Gay clergy issue prompts some Canadian congregations to leave United Synagogue
By Rabbi Dow Marmur
 TORONTO—Conservative Judaism has always seemed uncomfortably wedged between Reform, with which it shares a largely modernist outlook, and the halakhic ways of Orthodoxy.
Exponents of Reform usually see themselves as being in the same camp as their Conservative counterparts. Often, especially in Israel, they want to make common cause with them. In matters of biblical criticism, contemporary thought and the stress on historic development in Judaism both movements are on the same page. Yes, there’re liturgical differences, but as Reform services are becoming more traditional and the new Conservative prayer books more innovative, the gap is narrowing.
Orthodox Jews, by contrast, find little in common with their Conservative counterparts despite the latter’s protestations to the contrary. They want to keep their distance. They, too, see Reform and Conservative Jews as being in the same camp as well as in the same socio-economic class, competing for the allegiance of the same suburban Jews. While many Conservative rabbis I know crave Orthodox recognition, their Orthodox colleagues usually give them the cold shoulder, or worse.
It’s very noticeable in Canada. Its Jewry is considered to be more traditional across the denominational divide. There seems to be a fear of radical innovation in Conservative congregations. Thus to this day no woman rabbi, even if ordained by a Conservative Rabbinic Seminary, serves a Conservative synagogue in Toronto, where more than half of Canada’s 350,000 Jews live.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, it seems, is the decision by the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary to accept openly gay and lesbian candidates for the rabbinate. Showing their discomfort with the ordination of women some years ago, several prominent Conservative rabbis in Canada are active members of the Union for Traditional Judaism that stands outside the Conservative movement. However, the congregations they served remained inside.
Now four large Conservative congregations in Toronto, in all but one case encouraged by their rabbis, have done what the once Conservative congregation in Montreal, Shaar Hashomayim, did several years ago. They have left the United Synagogue, the lay Conservative body.
Though they hope it won’t happen the likelihood is that in the future the congregations that have left may have to look for rabbis trained in Orthodox yeshivot. For it can only be a matter of time before Conservative rabbis will be strongly discouraged by the powers that be from serving non-affiliated congregations.
The Toronto rabbis say they left for ideological reasons. Their lay leaders insist they’ve seceded because they don’t get value for money. The rabbis may harbor the vain hope that they can fill the vacuum created by the move to the right in what was once modern Orthodoxy. The lay leaders seem to have more mundane and parochial objectives.
Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg, the distinguished exponent of modern Judaism, is cited as having said that it doesn’t matter which denomination you belong to – as long as you’re ashamed of it. I’ve tried to live by that principle and, for all my criticism of aspects of the Reform movement, I see myself as a loyal and happy member of it.
I had hoped that my Conservative colleagues in Canada would live by the same principle. I’m convinced that they’d do much more good for Judaism inside the proverbial tent than trying to aim at it from outside.
It may have been more effective to try to “outfrum” Conservative Judaism by acting as a corrective on the inside than to being vulnerable to the pull of full-blown Orthodoxy.
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Nancy Harrison
cruise & tour specialist
(619) 265-0808
 
THE JEWISH CITIZEN
SDJA 10th grader breaks CIF seasonal strike out record, besting even David Wells' mark
By Donald H. Harrison
 SAN DIEGO--Michael Fagan, a 10th grader, set a new San Diego County California Interscholastic Federation record for most strike outs in a season by whiffing David Mayne of San Pasqual Academy at precisely 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, in a home game at San Diego Jewish Academy.
That brought Fagan’s season strikeout total to 171, one more than Ron Scagliotti, who had held the record for 46 years after setting it in 1962 at Monte Vista High. It was also nine strike outs better than David Wells—yes, that Perfect-Game Throwing, Major League pitcher David Wells—whose best high school season for strikeouts was in 1982 at Point Loma High School.
However, Fagan, who started the game with a season total of 165 strikeouts, did not stop there. Fagan continued pitching until he had compiled a record of 175 season strikeouts, and then rotated from the pitcher’s mound to shortstop for the final innings of the game. SDJA’s Lions won their 15th game of the regular season by a margin of 18-2 and carry into the CIF playoffs a season record of 15-6-0 overall and 12-1-0 in Citrus League play.
 Why did Coach Glenn Doshay take out the ace pitcher when every additional strike recorded would make Fagan’s new season record an even loftier target for future high school pitchers?
Doshay responded that with the score already 18-2, it simply didn’t seem sporting to continue using Fagan against the San Pasqual Academy Dragons.
There were other acts of good sportsmanship that the Lions exhibited both during and after the game. When Jack deTar belted a man-on home run early in the game, Fagan was the first of his teammates to line up at the plate to high five-him in congratulations. In an interview following the game, the modest Fagan almost seemed more anxious to talk about his teammate’s mighty swat than his own record.
 “Jack deTar was in the zone,” he enthused. “He hit a home run, a triple, a single today. That home run was the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit at this field. As soon as it was hit, with the wind here, I knew that was out! It was such a big hit, the school was up only 1-0 at that point, so the hit was huge!”
Asked about the way he moved fast balls from one side of the plate to the other to strike out San Pasqual’s David Mayne and establish the record, Fagan {at right} responded that “yes the location was good” and that catcher Zachary Hoffman “was really able to catch them and make sure everything was right there.”
Fagan is a team player through and through.
Hoffman is a graduating senior, who plans to spend all next year in Israel to begin studies at Hebrew University that he hopes eventually will lead him into the rabbinate. So, unlike most of SDJA’s senior class, he decided not to go on the school’s current five-week trip to Poland and Israel prior to graduation, and therefore was on hand for Wednesday’s game.
A self-confessed weak hitter, who often is replaced offensively by a designated hitter, Hoffman received the “game ball” after the game from coach Doshay and athletic director Charlie Wund in appreciation of his overall career at San Diego Jewish Academy.
If the ceremonials were low-key given Fagan’s incredible feat, perhaps it was because “balance,” “focus,” and “modesty,” are the words that everyone seems to use when they describe the business-like way Fagan goes about his duties on the mound. He is, by the way, also one of the strongest hitters on the team, surpassed in statistics only by deTar.
With this game the one in which setting the seasonal strike out record was a distinct possibility, Fagan later conceded “I was definitely a little more nervous than in the past, but I just tried to tell myself that it is just another game—that it is not that many (strike outs) and that I can do it.”
That might have been quite the understatement given the fact that the “past” included a seven-inning game against Midway Baptist in which all 21 outs were by his strike outs, although he also walked four batters. That outing on March 11 also put the 10th grader in the CIF record book in a tie for most strikeouts in a single game. The last to accomplish that feat was Victory High School Student Terry O’Dell in 1987.
When Fagan surpassed the 170 seasonal strike out mark, a relatively small turnout of fans was in the stands to clap in appreciation—the problem perhaps with after-school games. Nearby Fagan’s father, Bruce, the team’s scorekeeper, and mother, Jan, heaved sighs of relief when the record was set.
“It’s been a good week for him; he just turned 16, he got his driver’s license, and then he does this. He took his AP Calculus Test last week, and takes his Economics exam tomorrow,” the pitcher’s mother said. “This is really nice, breaking the record. He has put a lot of work into this. His coaches have been great. It’s a wonderful feeling for him.”
With a 4.4 grade point average including Advanced Placement classes, young Fagan seems headed for college on academic merit, let alone with a possible athletic scholarship. “I think he will play in college and do well in college,” said his mother, “but I don’t know what he will do after that. We will take it one day at a time.”
 Interviewed before the game, Fagan’s father {at right} noted that Michael has a regimen of daily exercise that includes throwing the ball long distances each day, as well as resistance training in which he utilizes various devices to build strength in his shoulders, forearms, triceps, biceps and back.
“Michael only grew into let’s say ‘teenage adulthood’ in the last year; before then, he was very small compared to most athletes,” his father said. “Because of that he didn’t throw hard, and therefore the only way you could succeed, even starting at age nine or ten, was to be accurate, to throw strikes, so he did.”
One of Michael’s early coaches “would set up a string in the back yard, and he would try to hit the string from 55 feet away,” recalled the father, who is owner of the Solid Rock Gyms around San Diego County. “What was interesting about that exercise was that he would be glad to throw 50 pitches to hit the string—it was a major achievement.”
When his son in his previous outing surpassed the high school record of Major League Great David Wells, Bruce Fagan was excited: “I remember watching Wells’ perfect game with the Yankees. Wells is an unbelievable character, and is also left handed (like Michael) and a guy I would like Michael to learn how to throw a curve ball from.”
 Among those on hand to watch Michael set the record was Poway High School pitching coach Dominick Johnson {at left}, who privately works with Michael. He said that one of the reason the 10th grader is so successful is that “he has the ability to throw multiple pitches over the plate, has a good arm and good velocity.” Also, said Johnson, young Fagan “is smart, he doesn’t let one pitch affect the next pitch, and he is aggressive.”
Johnson said that Fagan has good command of the breaking ball, fast ball, and that he has a fine change up.”
SDJA coach Glenn Doshay, who in private life is an investor and part owner of the San Diego Padres, suggested that Michael has “what they call in baseball jargon ‘command.’ He throws hard, but not overpoweringly hard. He has four good pitches”-- adding the slider to Johnson’s list— “and he makes everyone of them count. And he’s got incredible fortitude out there. I have been coaching baseball or a very long time, and he is up there in that top echelon of eight to ten kids who I have coached over 30 years.”
Doshay also teaches Economics at the school and notes that Fagan “is a very smart kid—he applies himself in class, and he is humble.”
 
Athletic Director Charlie Wund said that Fagan, along with Ali Adelman, who also set CIF pitching records in women’s softball, and soccer player Sean Callahan, who leads the State of California in goals scored, all point to the fact that at SDJA, students can combine high academics with a first-class sports program.
“We have the ability to allow kids to grow and achieve the goals they want for themselves,” he said.
SDJA’s Upper School Principal, Jeff Davis, said students like Fagan are “setting the pace in establishing a new tradition at SDJA of athletic excellence, and we are incredibly proud of him putting this remarkable record into the books.”
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#260, Sara
Sara, you of Scripture name,
You'll equal ancient Sara's fame.
You'll use your gift of special traits
To earn a place with hist'ry's greats.
Your mother, father, sister, too,
Will take delight in all you do.
One day you'll count awards you've won,
But now it's time for play and fun.
Sara, you of Scripture name,
You'll equal ancient Sara's fame.
The brightness shining from your eyes
Predicts a future Nobel prize
In science, art, or higher math.
But now relax; enjoy a bath.
Or simply let your dreams flow free.
Don't worry what some day you'll be,
For you were born of Sara's line.
Your life is sure to turn out fine.
Sara, you of Scripture name,
You'll equal ancient Sara's fame.
You'll use your gift of special traits
To earn a place with hist'ry's greats.
Sara, you of Scripture name,
You'll equal ancient Sara's fame.
 #267, Makhtesh Ramon
A storm strikes Makhtesh Ramon,
With bullets of wind-driven rain
And lances of lightning attacking
The innocent, docile terrain.
The Negev, surprised and out-powered,
Succumbs without voicing complaint,
Allowing the storming invasion
To rampage devoid of restraint.
As water assaults the wadis,
Dislodging both boulder and sand,
The Negev, with quiet acceptance,
Retains a firm hold on the land.
Then shortly, with storm force expended,
All traces of rain quickly gone,
The Negev, surviving through eons,
Lives on at Makhtesh Ramon.
Lives on at Makhtesh Ramon.
 #248, At The Jerusalem Wall
(Spoken)
Oh, golden stones at sacred site,
You testify to former might,
When God gave grace to Temple wall
Before the painful Temple fall.
Now milling pilgrims crowd your feet
In hope that they and God will meet,
That He will heed their urgent prayer,
And grant the wish that brings them there.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
But God is slightly deaf of ear,
Selecting what He wants to hear.
Thus prayers put forth by common Jew
Run risk that they may not get through.
Still, you who worry need not fear.
Within the crowd quick help is near.
Just look around; take careful note;
You'll see some men who wear black coat.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
Before you pray hang back a bit.
Soon one of them will make the hit.
"Haver, I'll say your prayer for you--
Invest one shekel, maybe two."
And so you face a ticklish choice:
To use your own or rented voice.
If you desire the inside track,
It's best you pay the man in black.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
Doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi, doi.
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ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
Robinson-Rose House
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Old Temple Beth Israel |
Lawrence Family JCC |
Editor's Note: We are reprinting news articles that the Southwestern Jewish Press ran in 1950. If you have historical topics about the San Diego Jewish community you would like us to explore, please e-mail your suggestions to editor Don Harrison at sdheritage@cox.net
Klutznick and Harrison to Deliver Keynote Addresses; Dore Shary To Be Honored
From Southwestern Jewish Press, August 4, 1950, pages 1 and 2
When the Bnai Brith District No. 4 Convention opens in San Diego this Saturday evening, some 1,000 men and women will be registered as delegates and alternates to attend this 87th Men’s Annual and 29th women’s Annual District No. 4 Grand Lodge Bnai Brith Convention.
Under the direction of Grand Presidents David Goldman and Frieda Lavine, the Convention promises to be one of the finest ever held. The San Diego Convention Commission, under the capable chairmanship of Edward A. Breitbard, the general chairman for the Convention, has completed plans for all phases of the conclave, so that whether working or playing, the delegates, alternates and visitors are promised a fine five days.
The keynote address will be made by Philip M. Klutznick, Past Grant President of District No. 6 and former assistant administrator of the National Housing Agency.
The appearance of Mr. Klutznick, a colorful and dynamic figure in national affairs, will afford the membership of B’nai B’rith the long awaited opportunity of listening to this forceful leader. Mr. Klutznick, who served on the Executive Board of the Supreme Lodge, also served as head of the Supreme Council of AZA. He is a product of B’nai B’rith, of whom the Order is justly proud.
Saturday evening, August 5th, in the Recital Hall in Balboa Park, will be the joint opening session when Mr. Klutznick will speak. In addition, there will be welcoming addresses from state and local officials. Following this, the guests will adjourn to the Balboa Park Club where refreshments will be served and there will be dancing from 9:30 to 1:00 p.m. There is no charge Saturday evening, and all local B’nai B’rith members are cordially invited.
Sunday morning the business of the convention will get under way with the final registration at the U.S. Grant Hotel for the men and the San Diego Hotel for the women; after which the next four days will be occupied with discussions and decisions on the many and far-flung projects of B’nai B’rith.
One of the most important pieces of business that will be transacted on Wednesday afternoon will be the election of officers to District No. 4 for both men and women. According to recognized precedent, Maxwell M. willens of Stockton will be elevated to the Presidency for the men and Mrs. Adolph (Bertha Kadesh) of Los Angeles will be elevated to the presidency for the women.
B’nai B’rith Women in convention here will be honored by having Mrs. Beatrice A. Harrison, National Director of the Women’s Department of the Anti-Defamation League, as their guest speaker. A past president of the Rebecca Gratz Chapter in Philadelphia, Mrs. Harrison began her efforts in behalf of ADL in 1943. When District No.3 decided to have a professional ADL office and one was established in New York City, Mrs. Harrison was appointed as Director and asked to come to New York.
Commuting every day from Philadelphia to New York for more than three years now, Mrs. Harrison has initiated many new programs for the B’nai B’rith women. Presently, she is in charge of Civil Rights activities for the Program Division of ADL. Mrs. Harrison is a member of the Research Speakers Committee of the United Nations and the International Platform Association. District No. 4 B’nai B’rith Women in convention eagerly await Mrs. Harrison’s message.
The delegates and alternates will relax Monday evening on a two-hour boat ride around San Diego Bay. A luscious chicken dinner will be served on board and strolling musicians will add to the enchantment of the evening. This boat ride is included in the registration fee. Guests wishing to attend just this affair can purchase tickets at the hotels from committee members for $3.50 per person.
The final banquet that will wind up this convention will be held on Wednesday evening, August 9th in the Balboa Park Club in Balboa Park. For the first time in its history, District No. 4 will make an award for “Service to Humanity” during the past year. This award will be made to Mr. Dore Schary, nationally famous movie producer.
Mr. Schary, long noted for his outstanding work in the field of motion picture production, was one of the first men to tackle the problem of race discrimination and his efforts through his field of work have had remarkable results. He will also be commended for his outstanding contributions in terms of time and money to the many Jewish, civic and local projects of his community.
The Convention Commission is happy to announce that top-notch entertainment has been secured for the banquet. The nationally famous top comedy team of Patti Moore and Ben Lessee will be present to entertain guests. Their repertoire includes many hilarious situations and the guests are assured an evening that will be one to long remember.
The registration fee includes this Banquet which will have a very fine dinner, but local members of B’nai B’rith may purchase individual tickets if they desire for $7.50 per person.
Visitors are welcome at the business sessions, both of the men’s and women’s, and it is hoped that San Diego B’nai B’rith will take advantage of this momentous happening in our midst to learn all they can about the important workings of this great Service Organization and to take part in the social functions that are a part of the Convention.
Headquarters for the men will be the U.S. Grant Hotel and for the women headquarters will be the San Diego Hotel. Some of the local committee will be on hand at all times at both places to answer any questions and to assist in any way possible to make this one of the best conventions ever held by District No. 4.
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SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Donald H. Harrison in Chula Vista, California: XLNC-1, TICO helping tore-popularize and internationalize classical music
Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem: Intolerable situation on the Gaza border
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
Judy Lash Balint in Jerusalem: Pollard, Jewish identity and the drosh — subjects on a Jerusalem evening stroll
Donald H. Harrison is San Diego: Leftover matzah is no cocktail cracker
Sheila Orysiek in San Diego: City Ballet tilts and wins with Don Quixote
Fred Reiss in Winchester, California: Book examines biblical interpretations
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
Shoshana Bryen in Washington DC: Europe is fatigued by moral issues like the Holocaust, Israel's existence
Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: Chabad Jewish Center, St. Therese Catholic Church share history, but not theology
Sheila Orysiek in San Diego: A 'New Look' is something I don’t need
Gary Rotto in San Diego: Here's how consumers can help eliminate Americans' dependence on foreign oil
Eileen Wingard in San Diego: Felder portrays Beethoven the man and Beethoven the musician at Old Globe
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
Shoshana Bryen in Washington DC: Naqba, or catastrophe, is propaganda; truth is Palestinians' self-imposed victimhood
Ulla Hadar in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel: Mortar kills Kfar Aza man in his garden
Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: Jewish-named places in San Diego's news
Rabbi Baruch Lederman in San Diego: The Rosh Yehsiva's love for his talmadim
Sigal Shalev Peres in Hazeva, Israel: A Yom Ha'atzma'ut party to remember
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal in San Diego: Some guidelines for synagogue dress
Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem: Olmert inquiry focuses on dealings with American fundraiser Moshe Talansky
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
Shoshana Bryen in Washington DC: Israel at 60 continues to bend over backwards to accommodate neighbors
Cynthia Citron in Hollywood: Credit Sweetest Swing in Baseball with RBI
Ulla Hadar in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel: Austria's president tells Israeli delegation of his sympathy for Sha'ar Hanegev residents
Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: Hebrew Day takes virtual tour of Israel
Sheila Orysiek in San Diego: Chapter Seven in the serialization of her novel, Reluctant Martyr
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C.: King Abdullah points out Rice's folly
Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: SDJA students, faculty join worldwide quest to be largest group singing at the same time
Rabbi Dow Marmur in Toronto, Canada: Oh, Canada: Do you honestly think that Jerusalem is not a real part of Israel?
Sheila Orysiek in San Diego: The day that Israel became a nation
Cheryl Rattner-Price in La Jolla, California: JCC features work of 8 women artists
Hal Wingard in San Diego: His song, "Noah"
San Diego Jewish World staff in San Diego: Jay Winheld, CPA and Jewish volunteer, dies at 71.
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History: What was the Jewish community news in 1950? Who were the newsmakers? Our archives answer these questions in daily installments
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