August 2019

Page 1

August 2019

Tammuz • Av 5779

Israel & Education Issue

SDJA, BETH MONTESSORI AND SOILLE HEBREW DAY SCHOOL

The Jewish Story Of Girona, Spain MASA ISRAEL JOURNEY


2 for 1

on all entrees with purchase of 2 beverages. Not combined with any other offer. Expries 9/30/19

SALVATORE ERCOLANO

him, Sal decided to open the successful Zagat Award-winning restaurants Bella Luna and Paper Moon.

West End Bar & Kitchen Is Del Mar's Newest Contemparary Bistro

Finding the right buildings, negotiating leases, developing menus and hiring the right partners soon became Sal’s forte. Since then, Salvatore has been a consummate restaurateur, establishing Villa Capri in Carmel Valley, a small chain of Come On In! Cafes throughout Sorrento Valley, Seasalt Seafood Bistro in Del Mar, Torrey Club Café in La Jolla and just recently opened West End Bar & Kitchen. In total, Sal has opened over 20 restaurants in San Diego!

2334 Carmel Valley Road, Del Mar, CA 92014.

858-259-5878

westenddelmar.com

Born in the Italian Island of Capri, Sal emanates all the charm of his homeland. Sal began his restaurant career at the age of 18, when he worked with his family-owned business. He landed in New York at 22 and served several years as manager of the infamous Mezza Luna in Manhattan. With this success, Sal was contracted to open an authentic Italian restaurant Va Bene from nuts to bolts in the trendy Lan Kwai Fong in Central Hong Kong where bars, restaurants and clubs attracted expats. He put Hong Kong’s Va Bene on the map by attracting celebrities, the rich and famous, executive expats and travelers alike. The experience and process of developing and opening a successful restaurant stirred a love and desire that does will not leave Sal! A year later, he bumped into an old NY colleague who told Sal about a new hot spot called the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. Sal hopped on a plane and came to visit the Gaslamp. At the time, there were only three restaurants on 5th Avenue. Sal, however, immediately saw the draw and potential especially with the new Convention Center down the road. With his HKG buzz still running through

2 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

Remarkably, Salvatore has the same energy and excitement today as he did 25 years ago opening his first restaurant in San Diego! Sal is passionate about wine, food and people. In fact, the most common comment about Sal is that he truly loves people and sharing with his customers and friends–whether it's a funny story, a glass of wine or a picture of his kid’s recent successes. His best partner has been his wife Carmen who stepped into the business 15 years ago and handles the catering. Over the years, Sal’s passion for wine and his talent for creating sold-out back-to-back Wine Dinners has become his latest quests. Sal has always nurtured relationships directly with wineries from Napa to France, Italy and Mexico. With the added personal wine representative sharing the in-depth history of each pour, Sal personally works his chefs to pair the dinner with each wine. Sal’s wine dinner followers have surpassed all his expectations. In part, the customers also love Sal’s show! "Finding balance is always planned. You have to love the restaurant business to keep your customers interested and coming back. I love this business!”


Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 3


4 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019


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Tammuz / Av 5779

August 2019

CONTENTS

page 30 EDUCATION: SDJA has cut its cost of tuition.

page 32 ISRAEL: A personal account of a Masa journey.

page 40 THEATER: "33 1/3: House of Dreams" pays homage to early rock 'n roll. 8 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

page x IN THIS ISSUE

page 37 FEATURE: LFJCC is celebrating the Sephardic community with a festival.

page 49 EDUCATION: Beth Montessori reflects on 15 years as a Jewish preschool.


page 54 TRAVEL: Explore the secretsof Jewish Girona. MONTHLY COLUMNS

12 From the Editor 22 Personal

Development and Judaism 24 Israeli Lifestyle 26 Examined Life 28 Religion AROUND TOWN

18 Our Town 20 The Scene 70 What's Goin On IN EVERY ISSUE

16 What’s Up Online 68 Diversions

72 News 74 Advice 75 Synagogue Life

in San Diego!

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 35 OP ED: When the courts lose their neutrality 44 OP ED: Modern therapy for an ancient land 46 FEATURE: Aviva Kempner Releases Documentary About Jewish Catcher and Spy Moe Berg 58 ISRAEL: Top five real reason some American Jews might not make Aliyah 61 FEATURE: The Temple Mount Sifting Project Inaugurates New Sifting Site

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 9


You choices, totohave have toto make some Youare aregoing goingto haveto make some choices, make some choices, You are going but alone. have totomake make them them alone. but you don’t butyou youdon’t don’thave haveto make them alone.

Changing jobs can be with you every Changing jobs can bebe with youyou every stepstep ofthe the way. difficult but we are with you every step of difficult butbut wewe areare step of the way. Changing jobs can difficult with every of the way. Changing jobs can be difficult but we are with you every step ofway. the way.

12531

•• Retirement Plans Retirement Plans Retirement Plans Retirement Plans High Bluff Dr Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92130 •• Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability 858-523-7936 Insurance ••www.LiberLincolnWMG.com Investment Strategies Investment Strategies Investment Strategies Investment Strategies

Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice President- Investments CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com 858-532-7904 858-532-7904 858-532-7904 Don.Lincoln@wfadvisors.com

Jeffrey Jeffrey RR Liber, Liber, CFP® CFP®

Consultant Jeffrey RR Liber, CFP® Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Investments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Financial Managing DirectorManaging DirectorInvestments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina Grimmer Gina Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Grimmer Gina Grimmer Alissa Alissa W W addell addell Alissa Alissa W W addell addell Managin ggaddell Director-Inves tments Managin Director-Inves tments CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 Alissa Alissa W W addell CA Insurance LicLic #0C28496 Alissa Alissa W W addell addell CA Insurance #O178195 Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Grimmer CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Grimmer Gina Grimmer Financial Consultant AVP AVP -­‐ R -­‐ R egistered egistered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate Consultant AVP AVP -­‐ R -­‐ R egistered egistered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate Financial Gina AVP AVP -­‐-­‐ R -­‐R egistered egistered CCC lient lient AAA ssociate ssociate AVP AVP -­‐ R R egistered egistered C lient lient A ssociate ssociate jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 om Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA CA i nsurance i nsurance L ic L ic # 0I18483 # 0I18483 gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA CA i nsurance i nsurance L ic L ic # 0I18483 # 0I18483 Financial Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Consultant Financial Consultant CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CAFinancial Insurance Lic #O178195 CA i nsurance L ic # 0I18483 CA i nsurance L ic # 0I18483 CA i nsurance L ic # 0I18483 CA i nsurance L ic # 0I18483 Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Consultant Financial Consultant jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com Registered Registered Client ClientAssociate Associate

gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA CA Lic #O178195 Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Insurance CA LicInsurance Insurance #O178195 LicAssociate #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0178195 CA Insurance Lic #0178195 Registered Client Registered Client Associate Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil CA insurance Lic CA insurance Lic #O178195 #O178195 Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA insurance CA insurance Lic #O178195 #O178195 Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Lic Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Client Associate

August 2019 • Tammuz / Av 5779

•• Retirement Plans Retirement Plans Retirement Plans Retirement Plans 12531 High Bluff Dr Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92130 •• Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability Insurance Life/Disability 858-523-7936 Mark Edelstein and Dr. Mark Moss PUBLISHERS • Insurance •• www.LiberLincolnWMG.com Investment Strategies Investment Strategies Investment Strategies Investment Strategies

Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Jeffrey RLiber, Liber, CFP® Jeffrey Jeffrey RR Liber, CFP® Liber, CFP® Jeffrey RRR R Jeffrey Liber, Jeffrey Jeffrey CFP® Liber, CFP® Jeffrey RR Liber, Liber, Jeffrey CFP® R CFP® Jeffrey Jeffrey R R iber, iber, CCFP® FP® Jeffrey Jeffrey LR iber, iber, CCFP® FP® Jeffrey CFP Managin Director-Inves Jeffrey Liber, CFP tments Managin gLiber, Director-Inves tments Jeffrey Jeffrey RRRRR iber, CCCCFP® CFP® FP® Jeffrey Jeffrey LR LL iber, L Liber, LgLLiber, iber, FP® CFP® FP® Managin g Director-Inves tments Managin g Director-Inves tments Managin g Director-Inves tments Managin g Director-Inves tments Managin g Director-Inves tments Managing Managing D D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments nvestments Managin g Director-Inves tments Managing Managing D D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ Investments nvestments nvestments Managing Managing D D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ IIIInvestments Managing Managing D D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments nvestments CA Lic CA Insurance Insurance LicIII#0C28496 #0C28496 Managin Managin g Director-Inves tments tments Managing Managingg Director-Inves Managin g Director-Inves tments tments Director-Investments Managing Director-Investments Director-Inves Jeffrey RRLic Liber, CFP® CFP® CA CA IJeffrey IInsurance LLLic ic Lic ic #0C28496 0C28496 CA CA Insurance Insurance nsurance ic Lic ic ##0C28496 0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance #0C28496 Jeffrey RR Liber, CA #0C28496 Jeffrey Liber, CFP® CA CA #0C28496 CA Insurance Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance LLic #0C28496 0C28496 CA IInsurance nsurance LLiber, ##Lic 0C28496 CA nsurance LLic ic #0C28496 0C28496 CA IInsurance nsurance ##CFP® jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Lic Insurance #0C28496 Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Insurance Lic Insurance #0C28496 Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance #0C28496 Managing DirectorInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Managing Directorjeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Managing Director- Investments Investments jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Grimmer jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Jeffrey RRLiber, CFP® Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance LicLic #0C28496 Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer

Changing jobs can be difficult but we are with you every step of way. Changing jobs can bebe difficult butbut wewe areare with youyou every stepstep of the the way. Changing jobs can difficult with every of way. Changing jobs can be difficult but we are with you every step of the the way.

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You some choices, Youare aregoing goingtotohave havetotomake make some choices, but alone. butyou youdon’t don’thave havetotomake makethem them alone. www.sdjewishjournal.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Jacqueline Bull ASSISTANT EDITOR • Alex Wehrung ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Eileen Sondak R Liber, CFP® CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Derek Jeffrey Berghaus OFFICE MANAGER • JonathanManaging Ableson Director- Investments CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 SENIOR CONSULTANT • Ronnie Weisberg Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com 858-532-7904 858-532-7904 858-532-7904

12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff 12531 Dr, Suite Bluff 400 Dr, Suite 12531 High Bluff 12531 Dr, Suite Bluff 400 Dr, Suite 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff 12531 Dr,High High Suite Bluff 400 Dr,400 Suite 400 400 12531 High Bluff 12531 Dr,High High Suite Bluff 400 Dr,400 Suite 400 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 Diego, 92130 Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA San 92130 Diego, CA San CA San 92130 Diego, San H Diego, CA San 92130 Diego, 92130 San Diego, Diego, 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Diego, iego, CA 992130 92130 2130 San San D D iego, iego, CA A 992130 92130 2130 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 12531 High 12531 High 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 Emily Bartell, Linda Bennett, Leorah Gavidor, 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com 858-­‐ 5San 7Diego, 7WMG.com 904 www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 858-­‐ 858-­‐ 55 23-­‐ 7WMG.com 904 CAWMG.com 92130 San Diego, CAWMG.com 92130 858-­‐ 23-­‐ 7904 904 858-­‐ 55 23-­‐ 7WMG.com 904 858-­‐ 555523-­‐ 23-­‐ 7WMG.com 7WMG.com 904 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San 92130 San 92130 www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com 858-­‐ 23-­‐ 858-­‐ 23-­‐ 7 904 858-­‐ 523-­‐ 23-­‐ 7904 904 858-­‐ 23-­‐ 7 904 www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln www.LiberLincoln WMG.com Emily Gould, Judith Fein (Senior Travel Correspondent), 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 12531 High Bluff Drive, 12531 High Bluff Drive, 12531 High BluffCIMA® Drive, STE STE 400 400 12531 High BluffCIMA® Drive, STE STE 400 400 Don Lincoln, CFP®, Don Lincoln, CFP®, Jeffrey Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RR Liber, Liber, CFP® CFP® www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RRLiber, Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey Liber, CFP® 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr, Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr,CIMA® Suite 400 12531 High Bluff Dr,CIMA® Suite 400 Paul Ross (Senior Travel Photographer), Patricia Goldblatt, www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com www.liberlincolnwmg.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey R CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey R Liber, CFP® San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 San Diego, CA 92130 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, Don Lincoln, CFP®, Jeffrey R Liber, Jeffrey CFP® R Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey R Liber, Jeffrey CFP® R Liber, CFP® Don Don L incoln, L incoln, C C FP®, FP®, C IMA® C IMA® Don Don L incoln, L incoln, C C FP®, FP®, C IMA® C IMA® Jeffrey CFP Managin 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ILic Managin ggD Director-Inves tments Senior Senior V ice ice President-­‐ resident-­‐ nvestments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior President-Investments Launer, Sharon Andrea Simantov, Senior Senior VVCA V ice ice PPSenior President-­‐ resident-­‐ IInvestments nvestments Managing Managing D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments IInvestments Senior Senior VCA V ice ice PSenior President-­‐ resident-­‐ ILic IInvestments Senior Senior VV V ice ice President-­‐ President-­‐ resident-­‐ Investments nvestments Investments nvestments Managing Managing D irector-­‐ irector-­‐ nvestments nvestments Senior Senior VCA V ice ice President-­‐ PVice resident-­‐ Investments nvestments nvestments CA Lic CA Insurance Insurance LicII#0C28496 #0C28496 Insurance Lic #0821851 Insurance #0821851 CA #0821851 Insurance Lic #0821851 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 Managin g Director-Inves Managin Director-Inves tments tments Managin g Director-Inves Managin g Director-Inves tments tments Managing Director-Investments Managing Director-Investments Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments President-Investments Senior President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 858-523-7913 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RRLic Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA CA IIInsurance Insurance LLLLic Lic #ic #0821851 CA CA nsurance nsurance ic ic 0821851 0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic CA Lic CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RR Liber, Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® CA #0C28496 CA #0C28496 CA Insurance Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA IInsurance LLic ic ##0821851 0821851 CA IInsurance LLic ic #0C28496 0C28496 CA IInsurance Lic ic #0821851 CA ###0821851 CA IInsurance nsurance LLiber, #Lic 0C28496 CA IInsurance LLic ##0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance nsurance Lic #0821851 0821851 CA nsurance LLic ic ##0C28496 0C28496 CA nsurance LInsurance ic #0821851 0821851 CA Insurance CA IInsurance nsurance Lic ic #CFP® CA nsurance don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Marnie Macauley, Rupp, Saul Levine, www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com www.LiberLincoln WMG.com CA Lic Insurance #0C28496 #0C28496 CA Insurance Insurance Lic Insurance #0C28496 Lic#0C28496 #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance #0821851 CA Insurance #0821851 Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments Rabbi Jacob Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Michelle Hasten don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Patty Dutra Patty Dutra Grimmer don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Gina jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com

don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RRLiber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Rachael Eden, Sybil Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey.Liber@wfadvisors.com Don.Lincoln@wfadvisors.com Don.Lincoln@wfadvisors.com Don.Lincoln@wfadvisors.com Don.Lincoln@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 #0821851 Kaplan. Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Senior Client Associate Senior Client Associate Senior Client Associate Financial Consultant Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey RR Liber, CFP® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Don Lincoln, CFP®, CIMA® Jeffrey Liber, CFP® Investments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorSenior Vice PresidentInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments Managing DirectorInvestments Senior Vice PresidentInvestments don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Gina Gina Grimmer Gina Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Grimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer CA Insurance License #0I83194 Managin g Director-Inves tments Managin g Director-Inves tments Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer Gina Gina G G rimmer rimmer CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Alissa Alissa W W addell addell CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 Alissa Alissa W W addell addell Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 Senior Vice President-Investments Senior Vice President-Investments CA Insurance Lic #O178195 Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Gina CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Registered Registered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Patty Dutra Patty Dutra Financial Consultant Registered Registered C C lient lient A A ssociate ssociate Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Patty Dutra Patty Dutra Financial Consultant Registered Registered CCC lient lient AAA ssociate ssociate Registered Registered CCC lient lient AAA ssociate ssociate Registered Registered C lient lient A ssociate ssociate Registered Registered C lient lient A ssociate ssociate AVP AVP -­‐-­‐ R -­‐R egistered egistered CCC lient lient AAA ssociate ssociate AVP AVP -­‐ R R egistered egistered C lient lient A ssociate ssociate don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0C28496 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 CA Insurance Lic #0821851 ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 Michelle.Hasten@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA CA iiinsurance insurance LLLLic Lic #Insurance #0178195 zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com CA CA nsurance nsurance ic ic 0178195 #0178195 0178195 gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Senior Registered Client Associate Financial Consultant Financial Consultant CA Insurance Lic CA Lic CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Lic #0G75099 #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 #0G75099 CA Insurance #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CAFinancial Insurance Lic #O178195 CA CA iinsurance LLic ic ##Gil #Associate 0178195 CA CA iinsurance iinsurance LLic Lic ic #Gil 0178195 #0178195 Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil CA CA insurance insurance nsurance Lic ic #0178195 #0178195 0178195 CA CA nsurance nsurance LInsurance ic #Associate #0178195 0178195 Yesenia Yesenia CA iinsurance Lic ic #0I18483 CA iGina LLic #Lic CA nsurance L#O178195 ic #0I18483 0I18483 CA insurance nsurance #0I18483 Gina Grimmer Grimmer Consultant Financial Consultant Senior Client Associate Senior Client Senior Client Senior Client Associate don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com don.lincoln@wfadvisors.com jeffrey.liber@wfadvisors.com CA CA Insurance Insurance Lic Lic #0821851 #0821851

CA CA Insurance Insurance Lic Lic #0C28496 #0C28496

CA CA Insurance Insurance Lic Lic #0821851 #0821851

Yesenia Yesenia Gil Gil Gina Gina Grimmer Grimmer zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com CA alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com alissa.waddell@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Client Associate Registered Client Associate Registered Client Associate zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com CA Lic CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Lic Insurance #O178195 Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 #0G75099 CA Insurance LicInsurance #0G75099 CA Insurance Insurance CA Lic Insurance #O178195 Lic#0178195 #O178195 CA Insurance Lic

Yesenia Yesenia Gil Gil zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com

eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Jonathan Ableson – SeniorEugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Account Executive Client Associate Client Associate zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com CA Lic CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 #0G75099 CA Insurance LicInsurance #0G75099 CA Insurance LicAssociate #0178195 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 858-523-7904 Client Client Associate Client Associate Associate Client Associate Registered Client Registered Client Associate Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish FluentGil in Spanish FluentGil in Spanish Yesenia Yesenia CA insurance Lic Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil CA insurance Lic #O178195 #O178195 Gina Grimmer Gina Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Gina Grimmer zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Fluent Spanish Fluent in Spanish Alan Moss – Palm Springs Fluent in in Spanish Fluent in Spanish CA insurance Lic #O178195 CA insurance Lic #O178195 Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Patty.Dutra@wfadvisors.com Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Gina.Grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Client Associate Associate

Client Associate Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Registered Client eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Registered ClientAssociate Associate eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Senior Registered Financial Consultant Senior Registered Client Client Associate Associate Financial Consultant Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Client Associate Investment Investment and andInsurance InsuranceProducts: Products offered !NOT FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee

Registered Client eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Registered ClientAssociate Associate eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Client Associate Client Associate

MAY Value MAYLose Lose Value Fluent in Spanish Fluent inand Spanish Investment Insurance Investment and InsuranceProducts: Products: NOT NOTFDIC FDICInsured Insured NO NOBank BankGuarantee Guarantee MAY MAYLose LoseValue Value Wells Fargo Wells FargoAdvisors Advisorsis isaatrade tradename nameused usedby byWells WellsFargo FargoClearing ClearingServices, Services,LLC, LLC,Member MemberFINRA/SIPC FINRA/SIPC yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo Advisors is trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade nameused used byAll Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Services, LLC Rights reserved 1016-02995 (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995 Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC Wells Fargo Advisors isClearing aa trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved (c)2016 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC AllRights Rightsreserved reserved1016-02995 1016-02995 (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All 1016-02995 (c)2016 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995

MAY Value MAYLose Lose Value Fluent in Spanish Fluent inand Spanish Investment Insurance Investment and InsuranceProducts: Products: NOT NOTFDIC FDICInsured Insured NO NOBank BankGuarantee Guarantee MAY MAYLose LoseValue Value Wells Fargo Wells FargoAdvisors Advisorsis isaatrade tradename nameused usedby byWells WellsFargo FargoClearing ClearingServices, Services,LLC, LLC,Member MemberFINRA/SIPC FINRA/SIPC yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Wells Fargo Advisors is trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade nameused used byAll Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Services, LLC Rights reserved 1016-02995 (c) 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995 Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC Wells Fargo Advisors isClearing aa trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved (c)2016 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC AllRights Rightsreserved reserved1016-02995 1016-02995 (c) Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All 1016-02995 (c)2016 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC All Rights reserved 1016-02995

Investment Investment and and Insurance Insurance Products: Products offered !NOT FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT Bank Guarantee FDIC in Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee Fluent Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish CA #0178195 Fluent in Spanish CAinsurance insurance Lic #0178195 Investment Investment and and Insurance Insurance Products: Products !NOT through Insured affiliates: !NO Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee Investment Investment and and Insurance Insurance Products: Productsoffered offered !NOTFDIC FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT !NOT Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance LicLic #O178195

Client Associate Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Senior Registered Senior Registered Client Client Associate Associate

yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com

Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish CA #0178195 Fluent inInsurance Spanish CAinsurance insurance Lic #0178195 Investment Investment and and Insurance Products: Products !NOT through Insured affiliates: !NO Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee Investment Investment and and Insurance Insurance Products: Productsoffered offered !NOTFDIC FDIC through Insured affiliates: !NO!NOT !NOT Bank Guarantee FDIC Insured !MAY !NO Lose Bank Value Guarantee CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance Lic #O178195 CA Insurance Lic #0G75099 CA Insurance LicLic #O178195

!MAY Lose Value !MAY Lose Value Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish !MAY Lose Value !MAY Lose Value Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish !MAY Lose Value !MAY Lose Value yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Yesenia Yesenia Gil Yesenia Yesenia Gil eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com Yesenia Gil Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Gil Yesenia Gil eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com eugenia.grimmer@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Zeebah Aleshi Zeebah Aleshi Michelle Hasten Michelle Hasten Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, non-bank Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC,Member MemberSIPC, SIPC,isisaaregistered registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separate non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&& zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com zeebah.aleshi@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com gina.grimmer@wfadvisors.com SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL Wells Fargo LLC, non-bank Wells Fargo LLC, SIPC, non-bank Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC,Member MemberSIPC, SIPC,isisaaregistered registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separate non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&& Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC,Member Member SIPC,isisaaregistered registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separate non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&& Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent inAdvisors, Spanish Fluent inAdvisors, Spanish Fluent in Fluent in Fluent in Spanish Spanish Fluent in Spanish Spanish yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Company. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Company. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC,Member MemberSIPC, SIPC,isisaaregistered registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separatenon-bank non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&&Company. Company. Company. Wells Fargo LLC, Member SIPC, isisaaregistered Company. Wells Fargo LLC, Member SIPC, isisaaregistered Client Associate Client Associate Associate Client Associate Wells FargoAdvisors, Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC,Associate registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separatenon-bank non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&&Company. Company. Client Company. Company. Wells FargoAdvisors, Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC,Associate registeredbroker-dealer broker-dealerand andaaseparate separatenon-bank non-bankaffiliate affiliateof ofWells WellsFargo Fargo&&Company. Company. Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Senior Registered Client Senior Registered Client Senior Client Associate Senior Client Associate ©2009 ©2009 Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors, Advisors, LLC. LLC. All All rights rights reserved. reserved. 88580 88580 –v1 –v1 -0312-2590 -0312-2590 (e7460) (e7460) ©2009 ©2009 Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors, Advisors, LLC. LLC. All All rights rights reserved. reserved. 88580 88580 –v1 –v1 -0312-2590 -0312-2590 (e7460) (e7460) a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, FargoSIPC. Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Wells 638-9801 Member SIPC. ©2009 ©2009 Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors, Advisors, LLC. LLC. All All rights rights reserved. reserved. 88580 88580 –v1 –v1 -0312-2590 -0312-2590 (e7460) (e7460) ©2009 ©2009 Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors, Advisors, LLC. LLC. All All rights rights reserved. reserved. 88580 88580 –v1 –v1 -0312-2590 -0312-2590 (e7460) (e7460) Member ©2009 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. 88580 –v1 -0312-2590 (e7460) ©2009 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. 88580 –v1 -0312-2590 (e7460) ©2009 ©2009 Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors, Advisors, LLC. LLC. All All rights rights reserved. reserved. 88580 88580 –v1 –v1 -0312-2590 -0312-2590 (e7460) (e7460) yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com (858) 638-9818 • fax: (858) Fluent Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in in Spanish Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Fluent in Spanish Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil Yesenia Gil CA CA CA Insurance Insurance Lic Lic #0675099 #0183194 CA Insurance Insurance Lic Lic #0675099 #0183194 5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 204 • NO San Diego, CANO 92121 Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate Client Associate yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Investment offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured NO Guarantee Investment offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured Guarantee Investmentand Insurance Products offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured MAY NOBank Bank Guarantee Investmentand Insurance Products offered through affiliates: NOT FDIC Insured MAY NOBank Bank Guarantee Zeebah.Aleshi@wfadvisors.com Zeebah.Aleshi@wfadvisors.com Michelle.Hasten@wfadvisors.com Michelle.Hasten@wfadvisors.com Investment Insurance Products: NOT FDIC NO Bank Guarantee Lose Value Investment Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Bank Guarantee Lose Value Investment andInsurance InsuranceProducts Products: NOT FDICInsured Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value yesenia.gil@wfadvisors.com Investment andInsurance InsuranceProducts Products: NOT FDICInsured Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value

Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Advisors Advisors isis aa trade trade name name used used by by Wells Wells Fargo Fargo Clearing Clearing Services, Services, LLC, LLC, Member Member SIPC. SIPC.

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Our Windows and Doors

S

pending time at schools or talking with people that work in them never fails to re-inspire me. Tapping into human curiosity for yourself or kindling it in someone else is about as wholesome as it gets. I’ve long believed that those who spend their energies helping others are the happiest and this month, I had that bias affirmed. Education is often compared to a window or a door–an opening into another world or a different perspective. And this implies a transformation from where one starts into where one might go. Unfortunately, when we stop looking for those windows or those doors, we can forget they exist. Something I always resented was the idea that there were types of people or only certain spheres that people could be knowledgeable about. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “Oh I’m not a math person.” There is this idea that if you liked linguistics or poetry that you couldn’t possibly like, be interested in or be “good at” math. Or if you were an engineer that there was no way you could enjoy Shake-

speare or art history. And as a writing tutor an idea that I bumped up against was how formative some of the early experiences with teachers in determining what they thought they were capable of. I heard many stories of students who were resigned to be “bad at writing” because of a few comments or a few too many red marks on an essay. It is so easy for a positive interaction to lead to a blossoming of an interest, and unfortunately, it is just as easy for an early negative experience to dash someone’s confidence–especially subconsciously; I’m sure we can all recall a teacher or maybe even a parent for either scenario. And we start accruing experiences that color our judgement of what we can be. I don’t believe that there are “math people” and “writing people” and I don’t think the “right brain vs left brain” has any more merit than a horoscope. People are nuanced and so are their passions, interests and talents. My father, a metallurgist, also loves the Opera, reads widely and enjoys watching sports. My mother who is a talented seam-

From The Editor 12 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

stress and stained glass artist is also a great tennis player. It is very easy to fall into our own narratives about who people must be based off one career or hobby and it is just as easy to let our own stories of ourselves dictate what we’ll attempt. Education and learning can remind us that there is always more out there to know and surprise us. Opening ourselves up to learning also opens ourselves up to be learning that we’re wrong; being willing to take off our old shoes in favor of better fitting ones takes courage. The beauty in that is we’re rewarded for our trouble. I hope in this issue, you find some of that spark that so inspired me this month. Stay curious!

Jacqueline Bull


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The Jewish reporter who brought the 1969 moon landing into America’s living rooms In the 1960s, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn were household names, idolized as god-like figures by a public enraptured by NASA’s forays into space. There was also Jules Bergman, who almost attained the same fame despite never actually going into space. The charismatic television reporter covered all of NASA’s 54 manned space flights during his lifetime. One of those was Apollo 11, which, 50 years ago, on July 20, 1969, became the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.

The Jews getting arrested at ICE centers are just getting started If you’re going to physically block an entrance to an ICE detention center, the handbook says, don’t act nice about it. Do chant in Yiddish. Do sing Hebrew prayers. “Defiant, angry, urgent, Jewish,” reads the #NeverAgainIsNow Action Toolkit, a sixpage Google Doc meant for Jews planning to protest at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. “The goal is to actually make it impossible for ICE and/or the Democratic Establishment to do business as usual. Find the chokepoint and shut it down– we are not f**king around here.” This is the digital handbook for a protest movement called Never Again Action that was born two weeks ago and is growing fast. The movement’s first action was to protest at an ICE detention center in New Jersey, where 36 people were arrested. Two days later, 18 people each were arrested in similar actions in Boston and Washington, D.C. In Boston and New Jersey, the protesters were arrested at the entrance to the detention centers. In Washington, they were arrested in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building.

16 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

A longtime science editor for ABC News, Bergman was the first network correspondent assigned to cover space full time. That made him “almost as much of a celebrity as the astronauts he covered,” The New York Times wrote in his obituary in 1987. Bergman, who grew up in New York City, took the subject so seriously that he spent almost as much time as the first astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. He said he wanted to give viewers "not an ivory-tower discussion of science, but an on-the-spot report of discoveries, which are changing the lives of human beings daily.”

Rabbinical Council of America condemns racism at ‘highest levels of government’ The Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America said it “condemns the most recent outburst of racist rhetoric in the highest levels of government,” an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s call on four Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to unspecified countries. “Whether statements that question the loyalty of American Jews when the safety and security of Israel is at stake or rallies that call upon descendants of immigrants to return to countries they never knew, we see these pronouncements as dangerous to the core values of our faith and the foundations of American society,” the statement said. “The lack of civil discourse, the racist and xenophobic chants at political rallies, and rise of fringe hate groups all demand that we take a stand for goodness and respect,” RCA Vice President Rabbi Binyamin Blau said in the statement. At a rally Wednesday night in North Carolina, Trump supporters chanted “send her back” repeatedly when Trump attacked Omar.


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our TOWN

BY LINDA BENNETT & EMILY BARTELL, PHOTOS BY VINCENT ANDRUNAS OF SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

On Shavuot, we enjoyed a lovely learning experience at Temple Emanu-El. Distinguished Scholar and “daughter” of Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Andrea Weiss, led us in an enjoyable evening of study. The evening began with Havdalah, followed by study, singing, and great community building. Among those enjoying the evening were parents Marty & Ruth Weiss; sister Laura Weiss; Barbara Pollack & Ron Reff; Mickey & Ron Zeichick; Bobbi Cohen; Carrie Colona; Sunny & Frank Borkat; Jean Seager; Roni Breite; Dave Wertlieb; and Lawrence & Marilyn Ponseggi. The JCC Patron Party, Rock & Dine Under the Stars, was truly a beautiful event! Bravo to event Chairs Susan & Jim Morris and Lindsey & Aaron Hurvitz! This year’s event, held at Humphreys Concerts By the Bay, featured entertainment by Steve Augeri, former lead vocalist of the rock band Journey. Some of those seen “under the stars” were Rusti Bartell, Roxi & Fred Link, Jean & Franklin Gaylis, Jon & Mary Epsten, Adam Jacobs, Laurie & Mark Spiegler, Sandy Levinson, Michael Levinson, Nancy & Matt Browar, Sharon & David Wax, Mike & Bobbi Rossman, and Monica & Ron Perlman. Celebrating its 26th Anniversary, the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival was, as usual, spectacular! So many wonderful programs! Of note, we attended the 10th Annual Women of Valor and Klezmer Summit: Blueish: Jews and the Blues. This year’s Klezmer Summit was an all-star music celebration looking at the relationship Jews have with African-American Blues music. Featuring Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi, special guests included Tomcat Courtney, Sue Palmer, and Robin Henkel. Some of those we ran into during the festival were Judy Adler, Stephen Halpern, Bonnie Brook, Addy Hale & Arnold Tubis, JerriAnn Jacobs, Sharon Winer, Steve Kader, Eileen Apfel, Shlomo & Leslie Caspi, Barbara Bry, Allison & Robert Price, and many others.

Aaron and Lindsey Hurvitz, Betzy and Spencer Lynch, Susan and Jim Morris.

Jeff Glazer and Lisa Braun Glazer, Irwin and Joan Jacobs, Sylvia and David Geffen.

Mazel Tov to…

Doris & Irv Goldfarb, celebrating their 70th Wedding Anniversary. Ernest & Evelyn Rady, celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Harold & Shirley Pidgeon, celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Harriet & Alan Shumacher, celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Mark & Marilyn Treger, celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Susan Hitchcock & Steven Johns on the occasion

18 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019 18 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

Michael and Melissa Bartell, Rusti Bartell, Jo Bartell, Morgan and Geoff Hill.

of their May marriage. Steven is the son of Marilyn Johns. They will be residing in Leucadia.

Yom Huledets Sameach to…

Sivia Mann, celebrating her 95th birthday. A


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the SCENE

BY EILEEN SONDAK | PHOTOS BY RYAN SONDAK AND BOB ROSS

Mary Powell, Steve Crandall, & Kristi Pieper.

Jon & Merridee Book.

Patrons of the Prado Gala

This year’s Patrons of the Prado gala–held in the Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park on July 13–was inspired by the rich jewel tones, pungent cuisine, and steamy exoticism of Morocco. As a result, the formal affair was a sumptuous feast for all the senses. The evocative décor featured a tented Casbah with flowing draperies and posh Moroccan furnishings, and made the perfect backdrop for the party.

20 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

Nancie & Marc Geller.

Christina Jordan, Patti Judd & Eliza Friedman. Nancie Geller, Christina Jordan, and Lynne Doyle cochaired the lavish event, and philanthropists Don and Karen Cohn were honorary chairs. Harvey and Sheryl White were given an honorary award during the festive event. The large guest list included Reid Abrams, Toni Bloomberg, Julie Bronstein, Jennifer and Robert Hoffman, Reena Horowitz, Matthew and Iris Strauss, Joe and Linda Satz, and Andrea and Joseph Schmidt.


The Seacrest Foundation “Guardians Golf, Tennis, Pickleball and Spa Day The Seacrest Foundation presented a “Guardians Golf, Tennis, Pickleball and Spa Day” at two separate venues–The Rancho Valencia Spa, and the Del Mar Country Club. The exciting day began early in the morning, and included golf, tennis, and pickleball tournaments, a barbeque lunch, and an award ceremony. Supporters enjoyed a cocktail reception and lavish buffet dinner at the Del Mar Country Club to cap off the daylong event. Among the many generous silent auction donors contributing to the event were Bed, Bath & Beyond, Casa de Bandini, D.Z. Akin’s Restaurant, Gepetto’s, Nine-Ten Restaurant, the San Diego Opera, and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. All the participants received pullover jackets, and Seacrest Village earned money to fund fitness equipment for their residents. It was a win-win day for all! A Mary Epsten, Committee Member.

2019 Tennis Group.

2019 Inaugural Pickleball Tournament Winner: Sharon Wax.

Nolan Bellisario, Mark Siebert, Michael Rubano, and Patrick Dempsey of The William Gumpert Foundation. Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 21


PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND JUDAISM

THIS WAY TO EDEN by Rachel Eden rachel.s.eden@gmail.com

An Unpopular Vote: The Case for Shame

L

et’s face it: These days, shame gets a bum rap. A friend of mine recently posted an Al-Anon reflection on her social media page entitled ‘Letting Go of Shame’: “Today, I will attack and conquer the shame in my life.” If that’s not a war cry on shame, I don’t know what is. Destroying shame may indeed be the modern day superfood of the personal development world. Thought leaders like John Bradshaw and Brene Brown discuss shame’s toxicity and offer remedies in the form of empathy and vulnerability. Judaism also promotes a moderate amount of vulnerability. It is only in an environment of vulnerability that we can be humble (the trait personified by Moses himself ) or authentic (honesty was our patriarch Jacob’s primary feature). As for empathy, the Talmud in Yevamot famously mentions that King David distinguished three markings of a Jew, two of which are the prerequisites of empathy: mercy and kindness. We cannot show mercy or kindness without extending favorable judgement upon others, refraining from gossip, or visiting the sick. Half of the Torah’s commandments revolve around the treatment of people and empathy is the trait that powers those deeds. King David says that someone who lacks one of the three traits is unfit to be a Jew– harsh words indeed. If mercy and kindness are the first two, what is the third? Inconsistent with a 2019 outlook, the third distinguishing feature of a Jew is a ‘bayshan,’ a shamefaced person. How can it be that a religion that prides itself on offering a paradigm for self-actualization and personal improvement so enthusiastically embrace the trait of shame? Brene Brown characterizes shame as identifying with the wrongdoing we’ve committed. Brown differentiates guilt which, she 22 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

We cannot show mercy or kindness without extending favorable judgement upon others, refraining from gossip, or visiting the sick. Half of the Torah’s commandments revolve around the treatment of people and empathy is the trait that powers those deeds. explains as a positive trait, is identifying an act as wrong and goes hand-in-hand with regret. In truth, regret or guilt is a superficial version of shame; regret and guilt imply that someone has reflected and decided they should not have done what they did. Shame is far deeper. Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, Education Director of Neve College for Women, shares that shame sounds like, “I could have died” or “I just wanted to hide.” Essentially, the person is saying that s/he cannot exist on the same plane as his/ her actions. In other words, on the stratum that the action exists, I don’t exist. My behavior may reflect some superficial side of me but not the real me. To be shame-faced is to know that we are far better than our incorrect choices, and more, that we cannot bear the thought of being associated with that choice. Remarkably, a person who can think in terms of this level of repentance has the status of a completely righteous person.

Toxic shame is a function of social perception whereas Jewish shame is a solitary endeavor. Toxic shame is the result of a poor self-image; Jewish shame is an outgrowth of a healthy self-image. If anyone can speak about years of public ridicule and battling with shame, it’s Monica Lewinsky. In her March 2015 TED Talk, aptly titled, “The Price of Shame” (watched nearly 15 million times) Lewinsky opens up about her decade of silence, her dishonorable mention in forty rap songs, and her deep regret for falling in love with her boss at the tender age of 22. In fact, she asks the audience for a raise of hands, who among them has regrets for taking a wrong turn at 22. Most of the crowd’s hands shot up. At 41 years old, Monica Lewinsky gave her first public speech at a Forbes 30 under 30 event. There, she was flattered to encounter a 27-year-old man who attempted to ask her for a date. His pickup line? “I could make you feel 22 again.” She realized that night that she may be one of a very rare breed who never wants to revisit 22. The truth is, taking wrong turns isn’t limited by age or stage of life. We can choose actions out of alignment with our true selves at any age. One of the most difficult tasks when approaching shame is separating the shame of social perception from solitary shame. Lewinsky says that in her 40s, not a day goes by without being reminded of her mistake. With this level of public shame, I cannot fathom that it’s possible to regret anything internally–let alone experience healthy shame. The more we pile shame onto another person, the less we support him/her in rehabilitation. As for ourselves, we must work to quiet the voices around us, in favor of quiet, humble, and authentic growth through the shockingly healthy pursuit of shame. A


Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 23


ISRAELI LIFESTYLE

LIVING ON THE FRONT PAGE by Andrea Simantov andreasimantov@gmail.com

Whoopee Cushions & Wisdom

I

t was a typical Grandma Morning in Johannesburg. It was the third consecutive day of my visit and, in the guest room of my daughter’s home, I was hiding. Buried beneath quilts is the way I begin my day in a home of four little boys who love to make their grandma scream. Love keeps even the stalest jokes fresh; I waited to step on rubber snakes, get doused with a squirting ring and discover a Whoopee Cushion under my pillow. Thankfully, the flatulence-mechanism had become waterlogged soon after delivery and the grossness-factor notably diminished. Still, I groan on cue each time I ‘accidentally’ press on the device. What is the exacted price for all of this joy? Granny’s scrambled eggs with ketchup. Pancakes. Food coloring in the bathtub. Dressing them for school. Fingernail trimming and tickly foot massages. But the most valuable service during the annual sojourn is called ‘Reading.’ On call 24/7, I make my way through Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein. Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. Maurice Sendak and Aesop. Short stories, fairy-tales, nursery rhymes and poems. Books with fuzzy tailed animals and some with pop-up paintings of caterpillars, zebras and school buildings with bell-towers. 24 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

Reading builds trust and leads to the unleashing of imagination and dreams. With continents separating us, I can’t take kiddie-time for granted. How precious is this time? Precious enough to cry as I write. After I’d first come on aliyah, I read aloud in the community library. My aching heart sought the familiar, my American-yesterday. Thus, I respectfully embraced the English language and honored the gift of having been born to the language. As many Israeli school children struggled with this linguistic key to better army assignments, educational advancement and career opportunities, I came to appreciate the privilege of being American-born. My efforts were rewarded by virtue that my children are all fluent in both tongues. And although Hebrew proficiency was, for me, sacrificed on the altar of helicopter parenting, my regrets are few. While one family is staying in Johannesburg for the foreseeable future, another daughter is coming home to Israel with her husband and children. All of the cousins are very close–best friends–and I cautiously asked the bedfull of boys to share how they felt about their soon-to-be-leaving cousins. “We’ll miss them SO much, Grandma! But we have an invisible string. Mommy says that we only have to tug on it a little bit

and we can feel them.” I couldn’t breathe. Smacked in the face with such wisdom, health and love had me gasping for oxygen. Was the mother they quoted indeed my little girl? “I like that. Can I have an invisible string?” Chortle. Guffaw. Thigh-slapping. “You’re so silly, Grandma! You already have one! We pull on it all the time! Don’t you feel it everyday?!?” Some say that Heaven holds a special place for those who choose to become observant. As a cherished pet is tethered to his owner with rope, when the rope breaks, the pet runs away. Upon return, however, the string becomes knotted, shortening the distance between him and his Creator. This is the special relationship that G-d has with those who disconnect with the profane in pursuit of holiness. Connection via love, history, values and aspirations is readily available in the quiet moments when nothing disturbs the quiet except the muted beating of one’s own heart. These invisible strings connect not only people, but Heaven to man. How do I know? Some little boys told me. A


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EXAMINED LIFE

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

The Character of Our Leaders: Important or Irrelevant?

D

o you think that–policies aside–the leader of a democratic country should be a person of decency and integrity, an upstanding citizen, a Mensch? Need he/she be ethical, respectful and knowledgeable, an inspiring role model whom youth (and their parents) might wish to emulate? Should he be more committed to the country and its citizens than to himself? In an ideal world I would wish to answer "Yes” to these questions. Some might think I’m visualizing an impossible dream, and sadly, in the “real world,” they may well be right: It would indeed be difficult to find a political leader who embody all those qualities. To further complicate matters, we know that being a model human being doesn’t necessarily guarantee exceptional leadership abilities, and that a leader who is an indecent scoundrel might accomplish some positive developments for his/her country. Personal misbehaviors or malfeasances, usually sexual, drug-related, violent or fraudulent in nature occur in many careers in the public eye, like sports, business, entertainment or law. When idolized celebrities and heroes are exposed and humiliated, they suddenly fall from grace. Their exposure is inevitably followed by public gossip, media censuring or erasure from careers. Their virtual condemnation in the court of public opinion can even lead to actual conviction in courts of law. I make no excuses for their personal faults or egregious behaviors, and if warranted they should indeed be punished. But the truth is, they “signed on” to be extraordinarily talented at their craft, art form, sport or profession. They served our needs for stars, they entertained and even thrilled us, and we in turn adored them for their outstanding successes. 26 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

But elected officials and political leaders are in a different category, and must be held to a higher standard of personal behavior. They did sign on by seeking public offices with inherent civic responsibilities. But they did not “sign on” to be the upstanding role models we’d like them to be, which partly explains our disappointment and derision when they fail that test. But elected officials and political leaders are in a different category, and must be held to a higher standard of personal behavior. They did sign on by seeking public offices with inherent civic responsibilities. Citizens expect their leaders to merit their respect and want to feel that they have their welfare at heart and are decent individuals. That many are found wanting is not a partisan issue, as leaders with personal failings come from both the Left and the Right sides of the political spectrum. President Trump is adored by his base and severely criticized by others. It’s clear, however, that much of the invective directed at him is regarding his personal incivilities and

social behaviors. These characteristics are on vivid display 24/7 in his public appearances, speeches, interviews, behaviors and of course, his tweets. (I am not here discussing his policies or his psychological status, both widely discussed in the media.) He has talked about grabbing women inappropriately and disparaged their appearances and abilities. He has demeaned his critics and misrepresented facts or accomplishments. He’s made sympathetic remarks about violent racists and neo-Nazis, mocked a physically challenged reporter and insulted the father of a fallen soldier. He’s encouraged violence against the media and hecklers in his rallies, and espoused populist nationalism. He disdains reading or learning about history, diplomacy, or science. And yet: He remains buoyant and popular with his fervent base which adores his angry authoritarian monologues. The more they hear of his misdeeds and witness his delight in disparaging his “enemies,” the more they are drawn to him. Aggressive outbursts by leaders are common in many regimes on the Left and Right. We are now seeing similar angry populism voiced by autocrats currently in power or rising “heirs-apparent” in many other countries. Authoritarian personalities inevitably provoke conflicting opinions, intensely praised by supporters and berated by detractors. When people observe the same media excerpts, their takeaways differ dramatically, depending on their affinity or revulsion for the leader. They can observe identical clips but have vehemently opposed ideas about what they saw and heard. The classic film “Rashomon” by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa vividly showed people who experienced the same events recalled very different accounts of what they saw and experienced.


Perceptions are subject to manipulation and intense beliefs can overcome visible facts. My research on true-believing members of cults showed that zealous adulation of a beguiling leader can radically distort perceptions, skew cognitions and sway emotions. It is no mere coincidence that messianic cult leaders and demagogues both attract people who are dissatisfied with their lives and searching for answers. When people burdened by seemingly insurmountable pressures and financial difficulties live in the midst of ostentatious wealth, and when they feel insecure with rapid technological and social changes, they are understandably intensely frustrated. And when there is no relief in sight and they envision their dire situations only worsening, they become demoralized, despairing and desperate. They are then particularly vulnerable to the charismatic words of a magnetic leader who voices his deep sympathies and gives credibility to their misery and rage. He/she captures their roiling energy, borne of frustration and empathetically “plays it back” to them. The charismatic leader shows his audiences that he totally “gets” their concerns, and he shares their roiling agitation and anger. There are always the “others” at home and abroad whom he/she blames for their suffering, and he/she promises to punish or expel them, and to lead his/her followers onto the clear path to a better life and personal happiness. These promises feel like “manna from heaven,” incredibly generous gifts bestowed on them by a truly visionary leader. I now ask you: Which personal characteristics of a leader are more likely to appeal to intensely frustrated and threatened citizens: Integrity-Civility-Reason-Benevolence, or Anger-Aggression-Authoritarianism-Nativism? And more personally, which kind of leader is important to you and your children? A

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Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 27


RELIGION

POST-POLITICAL by Rabbi Jacob Rupp rabbirupp@gmail.com

The Art and Science of Leaving

I

look one last time as the sun dips below the horizon, the sky still streaked with the blue and pink hues. The air has cooled down now and dusk is fast approaching. I inhale deeply and consider the beauty of this place. After nearly four years, our time in San Diego is drawing to an end. The rabbis teach us that the different journeys that the Jews underwent through the forty years in the desert are symbolic of the different journeys we make as a people and as individuals throughout our lives. There are moments of great joy and sadness, trial and tribulation, frustration and tranquility. Perhaps both the most sobering or hopeful idea (depending on where you are in life) is that ‘this too will pass.’ One of the most difficult parts of moving through life is when we feel ourselves deeply rooted to a certain place or certain lifestyle. The more we are where we are, the more traumatic the move. It is for this reason why moving is infinitely more difficult for children than for adults. Children, based on their more self-centered method of viewing the world, see every part of the world as revolving around them. Losing part of that is, in many ways, tragic. How can there be life outside of my comfort zone? As nice as it would be to say it is less difficult as adults, few would argue that moving, leaving, transitioning, or whatever we call it, is really tough. Leaving the friends, the familiar places, the house we once called home gives us this very transitory and unsettling feeling of not being rooted. I recall this first feeling vividly the first time I traveled outside of America. Thinking for a minute that my driver’s license didn’t apply anymore, or that 9-1-1 didn’t connect me to emergency services threw me for a loop. If I lost something, how could I find it? The truth is though few things are more

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human than moving. Especially as Jews, who have moved so many times to so many places, and been forced to live such transitory lives over our collective history, moving actually keeps us rooted in reality. As much as we think our environment makes us, or our identity shapes us, that which we leave behind really isn’t us. We live in a very temporary world that is causing us to move all the time. The Torah speaks about the appearance of the luchos, the tablets, right before Moshe smashes them, to teach us that the knowledge that something is about to end creates the ability for us to see its beauty. When we get used to something, it’s hard to be present. When we fear losing something, suddenly our zest and fascination returns. So when we feel bored by life, perhaps we’ve lulled ourselves into a sense of familiarity. We understand the tragedy of never telling those that are closest to us how much we love them until it is too late. Or the fact that we really enjoyed a job until we don’t have it anymore. But leaving a person, a time in your life, or a place and having this realization simply means that you weren’t really conscious of it the entire time. Nothing in our lives is permanent. We are on the path forward. As a nation, each exile, each location we land on is one step closer to Israel and Jerusalem. And when we recognize that we are just visiting, colors become brighter, and we can appreciate the experience as it is; not what we expect or need it or want it to be. This method of living allows us to be here now; to live in the moment, and to appreciate the great blessings in our lives. And the twinge of sadness we experience as we start to leave a place only serves to remind us that we need to be more cognizant the next time, because we’ll miss where we are going too when we have to leave.

One of the most difficult parts of moving through life is when we feel ourselves deeply rooted to a certain place or certain lifestyle. The more we are where we are, the more traumatic the move. Moving into seeing our lives as a transition is also deeply therapeutic; the only thing constant is change and growth. The possibilities of who we are, what we can become, and what we can contribute are truly endless, and the freedom of breaking free and starting fresh is ever present. What does all this mean for me? Well, I am thrilled for me and my family that we are moving to the great tundra of Minneapolis. My wife said she never heard of anyone leaving the perfect weather of San Diego for the Midwest. Well, now she’s heard of us. It is our great hope to leave an impact in the new city and to enjoy it as much as we enjoyed San Diego. With G-d's help I will continue to write for SDJJ, as no matter what, I will always be a California boy–with my shorts and sandals just waiting for me. Oh, and what is this thing people call a “winter coat?” A


Be a Thread in Our Tapestry Sunday, August 25th, 1:00 p.m. Come and get to know us! Like a tapestry, we are an intricate combination of individuals. Each offering a distinct vision rooted in their own experience. Together, we thrive as a diverse, complex, strong, and beautiful design.

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Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 29


EDUCATION

San Diego Jewish Academy’s Open Door Program Cuts Cost of Tuition BY ALEX WEHRUNG

S

an Diego Jewish Academy’s Open Door program seeks to alleviate the cost of tuition by halving it for prospective students who qualify for attendance. According to Head of School Chaim Heller, qualifying means “If they’re able to handle a pretty rigorous academic program, and they want to be part of a Jewish day-school community, and we accept them.” The program is not need or merit-based. (“It’s that easy.”) Open Door is funded through the academy’s ‘Our Family is One’ initiative, which raised $15 million over the course of 18 months. According to the school’s website, the campaign is “designed to increase the academic excellence of the school while opening our doors even wider so that more Jewish families can attend.” Open Door also has an anonymous family benefactor that has committed themselves to funding the program, in the case that they are needed. For now, Open Door is only offered to students entering kindergarten or ninth grade, but the half-priced tuition lasts for four years, in order to give families sending their children to SDJA a sense of financial security–that the rug won’t be suddenly pulled out from under them by a tuition increase. After the program was announced in October 2018, the academy experienced a record number of prospective students touring the campus, the most since the early 2000s, according to Chaim. “Times are changing in the Jewish day school world, the private school world, the dependant school world, and we needed to find a way to change with it,” Chaim

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said. “Increasingly, our families were struggling to come to our school because of financial pressures. Particularly here in San Diego, middle-class families really struggle to also pay for Jewish day-school tuition, even when it’s something they really, really want. And I’ll see families making harder lifestyle choices ... Similarly, in today’s world, people are less comfortable asking for tuition assistance, or financial aid.” “So we said to ourselves, ‘What can we do to change the value proposition of the Academy?’ And we said, ‘You know, we’re not sitting here alone. We’re part of a larger community; let’s take a look and see, to what extent, that there’s a desire on the part of the community to come to San Diego Jewish Academy.’” The academy hired Fisheye Research, a market research company based in Santa Monica, to see what SDJA could do to increase attendance. “They were recommended to us by two different people who’ve been very successful with them,” Chaim said. “They did both quantitative and qualitative research. We gave them the names of all the families over the past five to ten years that have applied to the school and came, applied to the school and didn’t come, applied to the school and accepted, but then decided not to come, as well as families that left the school.” “And they conducted a significant number of interviews, and we worked with them very closely, we were able to map out–geographically–where these families were, we were able to find other families that we knew of that were Jewish families [poten-

tially] interested in our school, and they conducted well over a hundred interviews with individual families, individual people. Then they came back to us with results they believed, that they stand behind, which indicate[d] that the single biggest factor by far about why people weren’t coming to San Diego Jewish Academy was the tuition.” “We also did research with the California Association of Independent Schools. One of their researchers helped us by determining what would be price points in the San Diego area that would entice families–not necessarily Jewish families–to come to a[n] independent school. And their data exactly lined up with Fisheye Marketing’s data. When you have all that data saying that there is a price point which you can really run a school, if you put the tuition at that price point, the parents are willing to give the money, above and beyond. But they wanted that lower price point, and what we found as a result was...we’ve had quite a few applicants, people who’ve known about the school for years, all of a sudden deciding, ‘You know what? I’ll take a tour.’ And then once you take a tour, we have you.” “We’re trying to change the calculus for families on whether or not they can afford a Jewish day school. And we put some money aside to see...to really try something pretty bold, which is to cut tuition by 50 percent and see if we can make it up. See if people will come to the school.” The response to applying the Open Door program to kindergarten and ninth grade, Chaim said, has been overwhelming. “We’re going to have three robust-sized kindergar-


ten classes next year, where we’ve struggled to have two in the past. We’re going to have over 50 students entering our ninth grade, roughly a third of them are brand-new students or coming from other public schools, into us. And we’re having a very high retention rate. Parents aren’t looking at the ‘what-am-I-going-to-be-giving-up by-sending-my-children-to-a-Jewish-day-school’ equation, and with tuition cut in half, we’re finding that our retention rate for families is in the high 90 percent, year over year. So we’re gonna have a hundred new kids in the school next year, it’s gonna grow our size significantly. The kids who are coming are really happy about the school–there’s a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of excitement.” “Financially, we’re able to make it work. We’ve put some money aside. And we also have some families who are willing to contribute the delta between what they would pay and what they’re being asked to pay. And so far, in running it 11 months, the program has been a tremendous success. So in the fall, we anticipate having a hundred new kids; we anticipate having classes that will be full in many of our grades, and we’re guaranteeing this program for four years. So if a child comes in at ninth grade, there’s no bait-and-switch, the family can get a 50 percent credit, 50 percent tuition break for the full four years of the child going into high school.” “We still have more people touring, specifically for [kindergarten and ninth grade]. So we may end up with a lot more students; if we hit a certain number of students, and a certain number of families are willing to

support the program, this program will pay for itself, actually. In the event that it doesn’t, we have put some money in reserve to enable us to continue with it, and see if we can turn the whole trajectory of Jewish day-school education around.” Regarding what sets San Diego Jewish Academy apart from other private and independent schools, Chaim said, “The uniqueness of our program that we see is: one, you get a lot of individualized attention here. We’re a school that has a very strong connection between adults and students. We really hope our students think about what they’re doing; make thoughtful, informed decisions. [We] help them through their academics and find ways that the academics are meaningful and successful for them.” Students can get help from their teachers before, during and after class, and seniors have what’s called the POD period (last period of the day) where they can visit all their teachers during office hours to ask for help, ask questions, or receive more challenging coursework. The Our Family is One campaign was instrumental in starting up the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking, which was added to the academy last year under the supervision of founding director Kwaku Aning. “Kwaku has really helped us come up with some very exciting and different kinds of projects,” Chaim said. “And one of them is–and that’s one of the reasons why I was in Israel, just returning a few days ago–we’re going to be working with schools in Israel on developing virtual-reality classrooms. Both they and we will teach

in a closed environment, using the latest 3D equipment which is being donated to us by a research firm in Israel.” “We’re going to be using the Oculus materials through their donation. And there’s also a third software program coming to help us and what we’re going to be doing is we’re going to be creating international connections with communities here and in Israel and in the Arab world, actually. Where students are going to meet other students, learn about their stories, and gradually, talk about issues of meaning and content. It’s a way for our students to be more involved in the world.” The virtual reality technology, in short, will allow students from different corners of the globe to interact with one another in a classroom setting, as well as sit in on foreign classes. “When you’re in San Diego, you’re ten hours away from Israel, you’re seven hours away from London, it’s kind of hard to have face-to-face conversations. But this idea of having asynchronous meetings through virtual reality is something that ... I presented this to different groups in Israel, at three different schools that are absolutely on board with this project, that have two non-profit organizations that we’d very much like to have support us, plus the equipment-provider is very excited about what we’re going to be doing.” “We’re not your grandmother’s Jewish academy. Things are really changing. And I think if people come to the academy, they’re going to be amazed.” A

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 31


My Masa Journey in Israel BY EMILY GOULD

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raduating from college is an exciting time to celebrate an accomplishment and finally move on from sixteen years of schooling. Many graduates are faced with the crippling anxiety of what to do next. We’re all so focused on getting past our FINAL final exams that no one talks about the post-graduation limbo which you abruptly fall into. School is over! But now what? I found myself in just this situation during Spring 2017; no longer sure of what sort of career I wanted to pursue, I decided to prolong this inevitable job juncture and run away to a foreign country. Incidentally, I opened up my email one morning to find an offer from Masa, an Israeli company–whose name means journey in Hebrew–that offers year-long English teaching fellowships (and internships) in Israel. Bingo. Opportunity knocked, and I answered the door. Several months later I found myself boarding a sixteen-hour flight to Tel Aviv. It wasn’t until we paused for a lay-

32 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

over in Toronto and I met a few other participants that I realized I really hadn’t put enough thought into this decision; I wondered if I’d made the right choice to live in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language, had no real desire to pursue a career in teaching, and knew no one. In hindsight, it’s clear that we all had these thoughts. Everyone was nervous, weird, and jet-lagged. The first week was a blur of navigating a new city, trying (and failing) to speak Hebrew to shopkeepers, and deciding who to be friends with. These were challenges I was entirely unprepared for. However, once we settled into the swing of things, the first month was arguably the most fun of our entire lives: spending long days at the beach, exploring Bat Yam, Yafo, and Tel Aviv, and eating more shawarma than I ever thought was possible. To our chagrin, the long holiday came to an end when teaching began. Now we had to spend long days at school working hard to communicate with children who didn’t speak English and were not

invested in learning–or so we thought. I remember that first day walking into Herzl School so clearly; a large banner saying “Welcome Masa Teaching Fellows!” greeted us at the entry, my host teacher had made us leis with name tags and goodie bags, and throngs of students ran up to hug us and tried their best to speak English with us. This feeling of essentially being local celebrities did not fade for the entire length of the program; the kids never tired of us (nor we of them), parents and school staff invited us to Shabbat dinners, and even people on the streets of our small town knew us as “the Americans.” What a contrast this love for each other and the Israelis was to the pain of having to leave Israel in June. I’ve never been more emotional than when I attended the 6th graders' graduation to middle school, had my last day as a teaching fellow, said goodbye to roommates one-byone, and was the last to leave our apartment–our home for the past year. Despite all of these endings, we’ve


managed to keep in contact with most everyone: staff from Masa and school, students we taught and their families, and our friends from the program and Israel. This has proved especially difficult as almost none of us live in the same state or even country. However, our dedication to remaining in contact has proved a true testament to the bonds we forged in Israel. Arriving back in San Diego, I found myself back at a similar crossroads as I had the previous year with what to do with my life. However, this time I felt more properly equipped to handle the situation. Before returning home from my Masa journey, I met Jane Fantel (Director of Israel Connections at the San Diego Jewish Federation) to tell her about the MITF program and what exactly it was all about. Because the San Diego Jewish Federation is a donor for these types of Masa programs, it was important to me that she understood how impactful the program was not only for the students that we were teaching, but also for us, the teaching fellows. The professional skills in and out of the classroom, as well as the confidence and life experience that one gains from living in a foreign country, were truly invaluable and unexpected assets. I also talked with Miri Ketayi (Director of the Israel and Overseas Advisory Board at the San Diego Jewish Federation), and she is hopeful that the MITF programs will soon include fellows living in Sha’ar Hanegev–San Diego’s sister region, as “the Jewish Federation strongly believes in the importance of building meaningful relationships between the San Diego Jewish community and Israel.” She said that the Federation “achieve[s] this goal by sending San Diegans to Israel, and creating a strong partnership with Sha’ar Hanegev.” Ketayi also hopes that having an MITF cohort in Sha’ar Hanegev will encourage more San Diegans to teach there, and thereby strengthen the bonds between the two cities. Since being back in Southern California, the members of the Jewish Federation have been extremely kind and welcoming to me; they have helped me further the skills that I learned from Masa and MITF by providing me with unique networking opportunities and maintaining my connection to Israel. On top of that, the experience of working in the classroom with Israeli children allowed me to discover that I am truly passionate about teaching, and am now pursuing it as a career. While in Israel, Masa made sure to prepare us for the future by having seminars on career development, geopolitics, and even offering TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certifications. I’m eternally grateful for the many practical and business-related skills things that Masa taught me. However, I’m even more grateful for the friendships, self-confidence, and perspective that living in Israel brought me. This fall, there are hundreds of new Masa participants, 25 of them from San Diego. Speaking from personal experience, I know that people will get out of the program what they put into it; I and many of the people on my program went far out of our comfort zones to meet new people, live in a new country, speak a new language, and learn a new set of skills. I hope that this coming year brings participants as much joy as it brought me, and that they learn from their students, the citizens, and the culture overall to find out what they are truly passionate about. A

2019-2020

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 33


27TH SEASON

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San Diego Center for Jewish Culture


| OP ED |

When the Courts Lose Their Neutrality BY SHERWIN POMERANTZ

P

erhaps the greatest threat to democracy is the erosion of trust in the legal system as a result of efforts by the political leadership to undermine that trust and, thereby, delegitimize the legal system itself. After all, if the courts themselves cannot be trusted to do their job without political interference or if they choose not to do the work which has been entrusted to them, then the very foundations of democracy will crumble. During the past week two incidents, one in Israel and one in the U.S., should raise red flags for those of us living in either country. In the U.S. the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that federal courts are powerless to hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering, the practice in which the party that controls the state legislature draws voting maps to help elect its candidates. The drafters of the Constitution, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority, understood that politics would play a role in drawing election districts when they gave the task to state legislatures. Judges, the chief justice said, are not entitled to second-guess lawmakers’ judgments. “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” the chief justice wrote. Partisan gerrymandering is almost as old as the nation and both parties have used it. But in recent years, as Republicans captured state legislatures around the country, they have been the primary beneficiaries. Aided by sophisticated software, they have drawn oddly shaped voting districts to favor their party’s candidates. Should Democrats capture state legislatures in the next election, the ruling would allow them to employ the same tactics. In an impassioned dissent delivered from the bench, Justice Elena Kagan said American democracy will suffer thanks to the court’s ruling in the two consolidated cases decided Thursday. “The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government,” she

said. “Part of the court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections.” In her dissent, Justice Kagan said the court had abdicated one of its most crucial responsibilities. “The only way to understand the majority’s opinion,” she wrote, “is as follows: In the face of grievous harm to democratic governance and flagrant infringements on individuals’ rights–in the face of escalating partisan manipulation whose compatibility with this nation’s values and law no one defends–the majority declines to provide any remedy. For the first time in this nation’s history, the majority declares that it can do nothing about an acknowledged constitutional violation because it has searched high and low and cannot find a workable legal standard to apply.” Bottom line? No American citizen who feels his or her vote has been nullified by partisan gerrymandering no longer has any recourse via the courts. In Israel, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Sunday warned against efforts to “delegitimize” Israel’s legal system, which he said could cause a “real erosion” of the legal principles on which the country was founded. “This feeling comes from a number of simultaneous processes, which have in common the attempt to significantly weaken the institutions whose role is to guard and defend the legal security,” he said, decrying efforts to “delegitimize” the legal system. Mandelblit said those efforts were not aimed at affecting a specific change to how the legal system operates or to alter the relations between the branches of government, but rather represented a “real erosion” of the legal principles that have served the country since its founding. “The processes about which I’m talking–of personal and systemic delegitimization, of initiatives to weaken the legal system–have become so conspicuous and tangible that many in the Israeli public understood that the central ele-

ment of the country’s national resilience may be significantly weakened,” he said. Mandelblit added that while criticism of the legal system was legitimate, he would resist any attempts to undermine its standing or the rule of law. The attorney general did not spell out what these attempts at delegitimization were, but his comments came as allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s have been pushing for legislation that would allow the Knesset to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court. The passage of such legislation would mark what has been called the greatest constitutional change in Israeli history, with vast potential impact on the checks and balances at the heart of Israeli democracy, denying the courts the capacity to protect Israeli minorities and uphold core human rights. The danger is clear. In a democracy once the courts lose their neutrality and become complicit in responding to the wishes of the head of state (as in Israel as described above) or a party in power (as in the U.S. case cited) rather than standing on the established principles of democratic societies, the system itself becomes suspect. And, of course, if the population loses trust in the legal system, the very fabric of society begins to deteriorate and, ultimately, disintegrate into fascism and totalitarianism. Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became head of the abolitionist movement in American in the 1800s, said: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” A lesson needing to be learned yet again. A Sherwin Pomerantz has been living in Jerusalem for 35 years, is president of Atid EDI Ltd, a business development consulting firm and is a former National President of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel. A

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 35



Sephardic Festival Underwriter Party.

| FEATURE |

Lawrence Family JCC to Put on Inaugural Sephardic Festival BY ALEX WEHRUNG

D

espite the small size of the San Diego Sephardic community–at least, compared to the Ashkenazi and South African communities–its members are quite diverse, hailing from many different countries. Leslie Caspi, a board member with the Lawrence Family JCC, said, “We have people from many, many different countries across the world, who are ... considered from the Sephardic countries. From Egypt to Morocco to Greece to Turkey to Iraq to Iran and others.” “In terms of Sephardim, we settle from our own countries sometimes to other places ... We were in these countries for thousands of years, right? Before the Inquisition,” said Jackie Gmach, a volunteer at the Lawrence Family JCC. “Some of us–like the Jews from Morocco–and we have a number of them here, settled first in France. And finally, decided to come to America for whatever personal reasons, or political reasons ... And settle in San Diego.” To celebrate Sephardic Jewish culture, the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center

will be holding an inaugural Sephardic Festival on September 14 and 15. There will be a Sephardic Havdalah, then a premiere of the short-form documentary “Our San Diego Voices.” This will be followed by a screening of “Three Mothers,” then there will be a dessert reception. The next day will feature a Shuk (a Hebrew term for ‘marketplace’), allowing participants to experience Sephardi food and games, with the Alhambra Sephardic Music Ensemble performing afterwards. The festival was Leslie’s brain-child, along with one other person on the JLearn committee of the JCC. She serves as the chair of the committee, which she put together. “It’s a great committee, we work extremely well together,” she said. “They’re extremely creative in coming up with great ideas. ” When asked about how the festival came together, Leslie explained her inspiration: “I have probably one percent Sephardic in my background, but I’ve always been fascinated by the history of the Jews in Spain, in Portugal, and a few years ago, my husband and I took a trip there, and we were able to follow–

in many cases–the footsteps of the Sephardic Jews. Another thing is, at one point, we belonged to Ohr Shalom, and on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, for the Haftorah, one of the members sings that Torah in the Sephardic tune, which is very different from the Ashkenazi tune, it’s very very beautiful and it was fascinating to me. I really feel that ... you know, I mean, Sephardic Jews eat rice on Passover, they have some other traditions as well, and I think it can only enrich our lives to know the full spectrum of Jewish traditions and practices, not just one element of the culture, one part of the culture.” The festival has been in the planning stages for just over a year at this point. To attract potential sponsors for the event, Lee and David Amos held an underwriter party on June 30th. “We had Sephardic food,” Leslie said, “different kinds of food, we had entertainment, there were two players, one was an oud, the [other] instrument was ... kind of a drum. With the musician giving the background of the oud, which is basically ... which you really do see in all the different Sephardic entertainTammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 37


ment, at the weddings and the bar mitzvahs, that sort of thing.” An oud is a pear-shaped lute, with a short neck. Regarding how Sephardi traditions and culture will be taught at the festival, Leslie said, “They’re not all gonna be taught at the festival. We’re beginning a road of ... we’re gonna try to add different kinds of ways of teaching the community more Sephardic by different ways. First beginning with the festival, there are films that portray the Sephardic traditions going back fifty sixty years, and some from Israel as well.” On the first day of the festival, student filmmaker Julia Elihu will be premiering her film “Our San Diego Voices”, which features interviews from over a dozen people in San Diego’s Sephardi community. “About most of them, I think all of them, except for one of them, was born in these other countries, and it’s talking about the traditions of their families,” Leslie said. “There are a lot of Sephardic Jews who marry Ashkenazi Jews, they almost call it mixed marriage, so they kind of become a melting pot of the Jewish community and melding our traditions together, not wanting to lose the traditions of each other, so this way, by talking about it in the film and having it in actual life, we preserve these traditions from history.” “Three Mothers” will feature right afterwards; the film chronicles 60 years in the lives of a set of Sephardic triplet sisters, who initially grow up in comfort and privilege, only for their lives to take a turn for the worse. As for why this film in particular is being screened, Leslie said, “We wanted to show ... it’s still a feature film, but we wanted to make sure that there were Sephardic traditions in there, or a slice of life from that community. So it does show a very close-knit family and how they deal with life. It’s a really good film.” The next day, September 15th, the Shuk will be opened up to participants. “[It] will have many different activities. We’ll have food for sale, we will have hamsa-making, we’ll have backgammon being played, with all different kinds of activities for all families,” Leslie said. The Shuk and its activities will be completely free. Following the Shuk will be a performance of Judeo-Spanish music by the Alhambra Sephardic Music Ensemble. The group, based in New York and founded in 1981, has toured all over the world and won the first prize in a New-York-based Jewish performing arts competition. Leslie admits she is not sure what the future will hold for the Sephardic Festival, only that there are many more parts of Sephardic culture that it can highlight. “Each year we could do a different version of this, and expand on the classrooms and the offerings and the music ... you know, I think there’s going to be a possible music class, but that might not be this year. We’re talking about having a short film series as well. So there’s different ways to go about looking at this and how to expand it, and this is our first one. So we’ll see what happens; hopefully, the community will check it out." Regarding expansion, Jackie said, “We will. First of all, we are expanding it over there. This is an introduction, let’s put it this way.” “San Diego is a new city, which greeted us very, very nicely, and has allowed us–and when I say us, again, it’s because I’m a Sephardi Jew–I call myself a Marrano Jew, even, because I need to give to San Diego what I could give to San Diego as an educator, and we’ve seen San Diego in a beautiful light–As a beautiful family.” “But we are together, we are one. On my side, if I could put it in my own word, I really think that this festival is important, and it’s a premiere, it’ll keep going every year. It’s a way of educating people.”A

38 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

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| THEATER |

“33 1/3: HOUSE OF DREAMS” BY PAT LAUNER

S

hiny vinyl. Remember the excitement of bringing home a new album and racing it onto your phonograph? “33 1/3 – House of Dreams” pays homage to those feelings–and to the early days of rock ‘n roll. The title has several layers of meaning. 33 1/3 was the rpm (revolutions per minute = speed of rotation) of 12” records (as opposed to 45 rpm, the small ones, or the old 78s). The House of Dreams was the legendary Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles. 33 1/3 is also the number of years that Gold Star, and its two founders, Stan Ross and David S. Gold, were in business (1950-1984).

40 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

The world premiere musical was created by another two NJBs (Nice Jewish Boys): San Diegans Jonathan Rosenberg and Brad Ross. Brad is the son of Gold Star founder Stan Ross, the studio’s charismatic lead engineer and hit-maker. The name of their company was derived from their names: Gold (for David Gold) and Star for STAn Ross. Brad grew up with the stories, but he wasn’t alive during the studio’s heyday in the late 1950s and ‘60s. But Sonny and Cher were at his brother’s bar mitzvah in 1966, at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, where, four years later, he later became a bar mitzvah. Jon, a long-time music lover and aficionado, grew up in a Conservative kosher home in

the Bronx, and lived next door to his grandparents, who spoke only Yiddish. He moved west at age 21, and is a member of Adat Shalom in Poway.

A Death Leads to the Birth of a Musical When Brad’s father died in 2011, at age 82, he thought, “He knew a lot of famous people, and he was relatively famous himself. I wanted to do a legacy project, to learn more about him and Gold Star. My intention was just to document the story.” Then, he spoke to his long-time dental patient, Jonathan. “I’ve gone to Mission Trails Dentistry since 1989,” says Jonathan. “Brad sponsored my son’s t-ball team–they were ‘Dr. Ross’s


Tooth-Fixers’. He knew I was interested in music. So, when I wrote the musical, ‘Long Way to Midnight’ (which broke attendance records at the San Diego International Fringe Festival in 2014), I invited him and his wife.” Besides being a teacher and Ph.D. psychologist, Jonathan was, for years, an entertainment writer and radio personality. He was also lead singer/songwriter in a rock band, The Jackals (1999-2010), that often covered classic rock. “I’m a little bit older than Brad,” says Jonathan, “so I knew all the songs recorded in the early to mid-‘60s that he wasn’t familiar with. I thought they were all recorded in New York. I didn’t realize that Phil Spector did his most famous ‘Wall of Sound’ recordings at Gold Star. But I knew that the music business in L.A. in the 1950s was almost all Jewish. Jews owned the independent recording companies and wrote most of the songs.” “It wasn’t until I told Jon about my father’s death,” says Brad, “that the idea crystallized about interviewing people who had recorded at Gold Star.”

The co-creators started the interviews in 2013, and they’re still at it. When they mentioned the name Stan Ross, doors opened to them. They have hours and hours of audio interviews and video footage. Some quotes– from the likes of Herb Alpert (Tijuana Brass), Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Bill Medley (The Righteous Brothers) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield)–made their way into the new musical. For the rest, a documentary is in the works. “To be able to speak to these artists was a fantasy come true for me,” says Jonathan. “I never got to meet Stan, but I did meet his wife, Vera. One of the benefits for me was meeting Brad’s family.” Many others who used the studio for writing music or recording demos are no longer around for interviews. Frank Loesser wrote “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “The Most Happy Fella” there. Marlon Brando did a demo of “Luck Be A Lady” for Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls” at Gold Star. Phil Spector recorded the Teddy Bears singing “To Know Him is To Love Him” (a line taken from his father’s tombstone). Reportedly, Spector felt a con-

nection to Stan, since both had attended Fairfax High School (at different times). “We knew about all that great music, and now we had stories to go with it,” says Brad. “We came to realize that we had a show. I’d never written before, but I just had to start this. The concept was that Stan was reflecting on his life. We see him fresh out of high school, going to work for Electro-vox, an independent recording studio. He recorded radio shows, made 33 1/3 disks. He recorded work by Jack Benny and Burns and Allen.” At Fairfax High, Stan had written a music column in the school paper. A guidance counselor told him about the job at Electro-Vox and that’s where he learned the trade. “They realized he was a gifted engineer, a fast learner with a good ear,” says Brad. “When he was 20 years old, he decided to open his own studio. Stan Rosenthal (later Ross) met with David Goldstein (later, Gold), a friend of a friend who was mechanically inclined and could fix anything.” They opened their studio,

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 41


ironically, in an old dental building. “Gold Star was modeled after Electro-Vox,” says Brad, “so the songwriters who were used to working with Stan would feel comfortable.” “He was a charismatic, mensch-y guy,” says Jonathan. “He made everyone feel like they could be a star.” “And it was all colorblind,” adds Brad. “They’d do anything to help anyone who had a great song.” “They’d do anything to make a buck,” says Jonathan. “They recorded commercials, like Speedy Alka-Seltzer, jingles for Radio Shack and radio stations. They even recorded Reagan and Nixon. Also novelty songs, surf music, jazz, Hispanic, rockabilly, even a George Carlin comedy album and two by William Shatner. They did it all. “The biggest studios were tied up with the Big Acts: Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra,” Brad continues. “But many artists would rent the room and an engineer for a demo and sound effects. Gold Star got paid by the hour, and never saw any more money for the hits than they did for the duds. Toward the end of their run, Gold Star bought mixing boards, but before that, they custom-made everything. They were innovators, pioneers. Their famous echo chamber was part of the Wall of Sound. That put them on the map. After that, West coast music blew up. Then all these independent studios started popping up. By the end of the ‘60s, the center of music had moved from New York and Detroit to L.A. The sound Gold Star was producing lured many acts, including Motown.” “Mark Bell, from the Ramones,” reports Jonathan, “said that when he walked into Gold Star, it felt like hallowed ground. Everyone wanted the Gold Star magic. In the mid-‘60s, everyone recorded there, using studio musicians. By the end of the ‘60s, bands began playing

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their own instruments instead. But Gold Star hung in until the ‘80s.”

Tweaks and Changes The new musical took on two high-profile, veteran musical-makers, who have made valuable contributions: choreographer Javier Velasco and musical director/arranger Steve Gunderson. “That was a fantastic addition,” says Jonathan. “Their wisdom, experience and pedigree, and their long-time relationship with the San Diego Rep, were integral to this production. They both had an impressive understanding of rock ‘n roll.” Since 2017, the show has had six readings or workshops. Over time, the premise of the plot has changed. “Our script was considered a rockumentary, but it needed more,” says Jonathan. “Now, it’s not just the music–though there are 30 songs. It has humor, love and family.” The Rep is including this in their Xchange Xperience program, which has helped create large-scale summer productions. So, “33 1/3” is produced in partnership with the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SDSCPA), a unique experience for a select group of public arts high school students who participate in every aspect of the production. This allows for a huge cast (26) and an 18-piece orchestra. The talented singing/ dancing/musical students are joined by nine professional adult actors. “It’s gonna be huge,” says Jonathan. “The sound will be so full it will blow the roof off the Rep. The sound is very important to this show. The audience will hear the evolution of the sound at Gold Star. The story reveals conflicts now: the different ideas Stan and Dave had about how to run a business, and where the business should go. Stan was the ‘feeling’ guy with great ears. Dave was the technical, bottom-line guy. And where do

their wives come in? How does a workaholic like Stan balance work and a relationship? There was conflict about what the studio was in 1960 and how to stay relevant in a changing world, and stay in business as older men. The country and its music were changing fast.” “The songs in the show are all interconnected because of Gold Star,” says Brad. “This is like the Who’s Who and the soundtrack of our lives. It explores the creation of the music and how these songs came about.” “We’re showing the creative process of the music field,” says Jonathan. “But the insights could also apply in other areas, such as art.” The show features 30 songs from 30 different artists, including classics like “Summertime Blues,” “La Bamba,” “Good Vibrations,” “Be My Baby,” “Unchained Melody,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “ This Guy’s in Love with You,” and even “In a Gadda da Vida.” As Brad recalls, “My father said ‘I was just trying to make a living. But you know what? We made some music history.’ They did, and our musical is a way for us to honor Stan and Dave and Gold Star. But their story is our story. Everyone involved is doing this from the heart, just like Stan and Dave were. This is something special. The music stands the test of time. It’s all still relevant today.” “The show is entertaining,” adds Jonathan. “There’s a lot to enjoy, but there are serious moments, too. If I see people’s heads bobbing, I’ll feel we succeeded.” A “33 1/3 – HOUSE OF DREAMS” runs at the San Diego Repertory Theatre in Horton Plaza, August 1-25 Tickets and information: 619-544-1000; sdrep.org


Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 43


| OP ED |

Modern Therapy for an Ancient Land BY RABBI JACOB RUPP

“T

hose who don’t know history are bound to repeat it.” One of the greatest challenges we face is the collective forgetting and rewriting of Jewish history, and (or perhaps because of ) an overall misunderstanding of the basic fundamentals of our ideology. Even to suggest that there is a common “ideology” that unifies the Jews screams of fundamentalism and short sightedness to our modern ears, but perhaps this concept also is a product of modernity instead of rooted in reality. Does history matter? Well, potentially it does. Understanding why and how things are the way they are helps us to appreciate the current situation and be able to create effective changes should we not be happy with the status quo. Learning history could be considered like going to therapy for the masses; through examining what happened to us we understand why we do what we do, and how to change if we so desire. Before we wander down memory lane, perhaps we can take another lesson from the therapeutic world; don’t judge what comes up. Oftentimes the threat of judgement and shame forces us to hide our reality and not admit to the truth. Also, when we consider the road ahead we tend to fear taking the next step–the person who needs to lose 60 lbs may find it ‘pointless’ to get started today because the task is too great. We need both non-judgement and a willingness to take the next step instead of get overwhelmed by the enormity of the process.

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Rabbi Avraham Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel. A brilliant and creative soul, he was often misunderstood and marginalized by

Does history matter? Well, potentially it does. Understanding why and how things are the way they are helps us to appreciate the current situation and be able to create effective changes should we not be happy with the status quo. both the left wing secular movement and the right wing ultra-orthodox alike. Much of secular Zionism was about building the land: physically creating a homeland for the Jewish people. The ultra-orthodox focused not on the physical land but the spiritual potential that existed there. R’ Kook saw beauty in both–and envisioned an Israel that wouldn’t be divided but unified where every per-

son could fully express themselves. Judaism is a lifestyle of balance. We live in two worlds; a spiritual world and a physical one. We work six days and rest on Shabbat. Nurturing balance is a very important thing–it doesn’t mean dropping one thing for another, but rather seeing where we are out of alignment. When Israel was founded, there were many who felt it was a fresh start: a new country for a new Jew that would be able to exist in peace like everyone else. The many decades since have borne out that the fate of Israel, and the Jewish people, is not and will not ever be like the other nations in the world. Despite being small in number and new to the world scene, Israel has prospered beyond our wildest dreams–the land has grown and bloomed, and is now home to the majority of the Jewish world. On the other hand, this is despite the ongoing heart ache and violence that accompany our existence in the land. While this may seem new, it isn’t. Despite the best attempts of Pharoah to make our lives miserable in Egypt, we multiplied and expanded rapidly. The pressure of the nations of the world doesn’t ever seem to spell the same threat to our existential existence that it might to other nations. Thus, alongside with diplomacy and supporting the info structure and defense forces of our country, we should see if we could also balance out our focus. Our tradition explains that both times we were exiled from the Land of Israel, despite the Babylonians and


Romans defeating us in battle, it was only after G-d had allowed them to gain the upper hand. Why would G-d do such a thing? Israel is a place that sustains its inhabitants in peace as long as they are (as Rashi says in Genesis) moral and upright people. And thus both times we were exiled, our tradition expounds on exactly which breaches we committed that enabled our destruction. Some of the sins? Baseless hatred. A lack of appreciation of being Jewish. Various terrible sins like murder and immorality. But like any good therapist, G-d allows us to recognize that we got to where we are because of what we did and how we acted. We weren’t pawns of history–we are active creators of our own reality. Now, I am not suggesting that we change our lives in a moment. Or to give up or forsake the important work we and our leaders are doing on behalf of the Jewish people or the state of Israel. But perhaps we could look at a more traditional way of relating to our lack of peace in the world; it reflects a distance, a lack of awareness perhaps of our relationship with G-d and our national purpose. Said more clearly, some who dictate policy are largely unaware of the fundamentals of Judaism and the Torah. Many others are not living the kinds of lives that we attempt to lead. Perhaps we can all admit that we sometimes don’t strive as much as we should to be better people. Is there any example of a peoples’ ability to remain in their homeland to be an extension of their character? Well, Israel for one. But in general, behind the collapse of any great nation is a waning interest in the moral and philosophical values that underlie that society. Eventually, a nation state will become complacent, bloated, and lose their way. Physical destruction follows the moral one. Now the Jews have been promised to be an eternal nation; so, we shouldn’t be concerned that we will be obliterated from the face of the earth. Not because other nations haven’t tried–as we say in the Haggadah that attempts to annihilate us arise in every generation, but G-d saves us. We don’t need to support Israel or Judaism for Jewish continuity. But perhaps we should consider striving for an ideal called being a Jew. What does it mean? What are we expected to do? And while I am certainly no prophet, I can’t see how policy makers, and Jews in general who care about the Jewish future and the land of Israel, shouldn’t consider that their own Jewish growth and moral conduct isn’t important as part of a national effort to be better, greater, more compassionate and more connected. Rather than looking outside and creating hypothetical solutions to esoteric problems, perhaps we should try to make the spirituality of the Jewish people as top notch and cutting edge as the physical achievements of the land of Israel. That just like we are leaders in medicine, technology, defense, etc, we should also strive to be leaders in connecting to the fundamental moral principles of the religion. After all, we are called by G-d a “Nation of Priests” who are responsible for demonstrating to the world morality and decency, and the fact that we can cure cancer or innovate cutting-edge water desalinization techniques should be the cherry on top. But again, it’s a question of balance. Is Israel balanced? Let’s start by looking at ourselves. A

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| FEATURE |

Aviva Kempner Releases Documentary About Jewish Catcher and Spy Moe Berg BY ALEX WEHRUNG

W

hen you picture a retired sports player, you probably don’t think of someone who ends up spying for his country. “The Spy Behind Home Plate,” (directed by Aviva Kempner) is a documentary film that tells some of the life story of Jewish baseball player, trained lawyer and OSS spy Moe Berg. The film screened at the Ken Theater, with Aviva present to do a Q&A session with the audience during its late June shows. As the film chronicles in its beginning, Berg grew up in Harlem, New York. As a child, he cultivated a love for baseball while playing under a pseudonym–something that the film’s featured interviewees attribute as a burgeoning moment of his spy-like talents. Berg graduated from Princeton during a time in which Ivy League school’s admissions process was affected by anti-Semitism, and received a law degree. However, he never practiced law and was reluctant to speak about that part of his life. He later went on to be a major-league pitcher, playing for both the White and Red Sox. Berg even had a successful stint on the radio quiz show “Information, Please.” Among his other eccentric traits, Berg was also known for reading entire stacks of newspapers, as well as carrying around handheld cameras with him–an oddity for the time. Berg was also a polyglot, a trait that caused several publications to nickname him “Pro-

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fessor.” He’d graduated magna cum laude in linguistics, and reputedly knew Spanish, German, Italian, Sanskrit, Latin and more; depending on the source, he spoke anywhere between seven to twelve languages. “And he can’t hit in any of them,” said Senators outfielder Dave Harris. According to the documentary, Berg learned some rudimentary Japanese while en route to Japan via boat in the 30s. These linguistic talents made him desirable in the eyes of the newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS)–the United States spy organization that preceded the CIA–who sent him on various missions throughout the European theatre of World War II, mostly pertaining to gathering knowledge from the various scientists (such as Werner Heisenberg) working to develop atomic weaponry for the Axis. Allegedly, footage he gathered of Tokyo in the 30s was also used for intelligence purposes. Just a few years ago, businessman William Levine invited filmmaker Aviva Kempner to tell Berg’s story–one that she had known about for years–after seeing her documentary “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” another film about a Jewish baseball player; by this time, Kempner was a veteran of documentary filmmaking. Making this film fulfilled what she refers to as her modus operandi: to spread the stories of relatively unknown Jewish heroes, as well as those who fought against the Nazis. These two

personal goals stem from her background; Kempner’s mother, Helen Ciesla, survived the Holocaust and her father, Harold Kempner, had been an officer in the U.S. Army. The filmmaker finds something of a personal connection between her and Berg: like him, she trained as a lawyer, but failed the Washington D.C. bar exam (an instance she jokingly ‘thanks’ for setting her on the path to becoming a filmmaker) and reads many newspapers every day, though she doesn’t keep them piled around like Berg did. “The Spy Behind Home Plate” mostly relies on a combination of newly filmed and archived interviews. Forty-four original interviews were conducted for the film, including the likes of Moe Berg’s cousin Irwin, “The Catcher Was a Spy” author Nicholas Dawidoff and Jochen Heisenberg, son of Werner. Some other interview subjects included members of the Society of American Baseball Researchers (or SABR), who attended the film’s screening at the organization’s headquarters. “The Spy Behind Home Plate” also makes use of some archival footage from ESPN’s now-defunct “SportsCentury” program. Aviva thought that the most interesting interview subject she recorded for the film was “Irwin, his cousin, [who] knew a lot about the family because he was close to Sam. Because Sam lived longer than Moe did and was his executor, his legal executor.”


The archival interview material is pulled from “The Best Gloveman in the League,” an unfinished documentary about Berg that was filmed between 1987 and 1991. Aviva discovered the film’s existence by mere happenstance; a cinematographer on “Hank Greenburg” had worked on the unfinished film that had been directed by Neil Goldstein and Jerry Feldman. Until now, “Gloveman’s” clips had been ‘languishing’ in Princeton’s archives. Of the eighteen interviewees used from this unreleased film, the standout is Sam Berg, Moe’s brother, purely for the fact that he was the only member of Moe’s immediate family to be interviewed. Sam Berg also served in World War II, during which time he did not see Moe for four years. After the war ended, Moe lived with Sam for 17 years, always unemployed. When asked what he did for a living, Moe would raise a finger to his lips in a ‘Shh!’ gesture. Sam eventually drew up official eviction papers on his brother, who moved in with their sister. Moe Berg lived with Ethel Berg until he died in 1972 at the age of 70, and she later accepted the Medal of Freedom on his posthumous behalf. This part of Berg’s life does not receive a focus in the film. The film makes up for this omission by

weaving together segments of other films and television shows to give the story of the war and Berg more visual context. For instance, a segment of “Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond” is shown when the film talks about how Ian Fleming (British naval intelligence officer and the creator of James Bond) recommended Berg for spy service. In addition, footage from the 1947 film “The Beginning or the End” is used to flesh out interviewees’ discussions regarding the Manhattan Project, and how Berg was tangentially related to it via his interactions with Axis atomic scientists. Aviva attributed the use of these clips to eliminating the need to film original reenactments of the events of the war. Aviva hopes to release a DVD of the film packed with more interview material this coming holiday season. She has already screened the film in Chicago, Detroit and Washington D.C., with more screenings to come. “It’s going to another screen in New York ... it’s just all over the country. So I’m very excited. It will take the story everywhere.” A

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Celebrating Life at Seacrest Village Retirement CommunitiesLocal Senior Housing and Healthcare Organization Celebrates 75th Anniversary This month, Seacrest Village, a local nonprofit senior housing and healthcare organization, is celebrating its 75th Anniversary as a thriving home, a committed community partner, and a vital resource for the region. Through wide-ranging and progressive care options and delivery systems, this multi-level community encourages and supports a life of dignity and choice. Seacrest works with over 400 clients daily, offering continuing commitment to the highest standards in independent and assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and post-acute rehab, home care, and soon home health. The community was founded in 1944 as the San Diego Hebrew Homes by a group of extraordinary women dedicated to community service. Known as the Jolly 16, these visionaries purchased a house on Fourth Ave in San Diego to provide a home for ten elderly members of the community. Over the next 75 years, the organization enjoyed tremendous growth, from expanding to a home on 54th St for 30 seniors in 1955 to opening 98 independent living apartments in Encinitas in 1989 with the addition of a healthcare center in 1990. With later development of assisted living and memory care, what is now known

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as Seacrest Village RePresident & CEO Pam Ferris (R) thanks Annemarie Clisby (L), Executive Assistant tirement Communities to the Mayor of Encinitas, for a special is a leader in the senior proclamation presentation from the city housing and healthcare honoring Seacrest Village’s 75th Anniversary. industry. “With every decision made since our inception, we did our best to follow the vision of the Jolly 16 because they laid the brilliant foundation for the trajectory of our organization,” said Pam Ferris, President and Chief Executive Officer. “They knew how important it was to carve out a spot for our seniors, a place where they could live out their days with dignity and grace.” As part of the 75th Anniversary celebration, over 300 residents, families, and staff gathered on Thursday, July 25th to commemorate Seacrest Village’s rich history and ongoing success. Additionally, a proclamation from the Mayor of Encinitas was presented in recognition of the organization’s important contributions to the community. For more information, please visit: www.seacrestvillage.org


EDUCATION

‘B’ is for Balance

Beth Montessori reflecting on 15 years as a Jewish preschool BY JACQUELINE BULL

B

eth Montessori is entering its 15th year as the only Jewish preschool to fully follow the Montessori practice in San Diego. Cecilia “Ceci” Krongold, co-founder and Executive Director of Beth Montessori agreed to reflect on the school and the Montessori philosophy. “To be able to put Montessori into a nutshell is that there is a lot of freedom given to the children to follow their individual needs, but the biggest misconception is that there is just that freedom. Most people don’t realize is that there is actually a lot of structure that allows that freedom to work in a peaceful and non-chaotic manner. “So it is finding that balance between freedom and discipline, but at the end of the day, the focus is on the child and making sure that the child’s individual needs are being met,” she said. The example that Ceci provided was being able to cater to both especially physically active children and children that are more shy or introverted. For a child with a lot of energy, the structure of the classroom

awards them the freedom to be comfortable in their body by being able to get up, move around, carry things, and not be punished or have a negative association with being active in a classroom. The active child could have that need met while also engaging in the curriculum, developing and learning. The same classroom would also be able to cater to a quiet or more introverted child and allow them social situations for them to open up and become more comfortable. This classroom set-up also allows for children to work together and help each other learn. And according to Ceci, children learn best from each other. “In our preschool, we mix three year-olds all the way through six yearolds in the same classroom. And the whole philosophy around that is that the younger children learn by watching the older children and the older children get to take on a mentoring role of helping the younger children, so it creates a really beautiful dynamic where everybody kind of works together–a lot of collaboration, a sense of community. So that kind of helps

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 49


balance out these individual differences,” Ceci said. Another aspect of their day-to-day is the integration of Jewish cultures and traditions into the school day. They include the Jewish holidays in their circle time with stories, songs and activities. The children bake and take home challah every week. And they have a “very strong symbiotic relationship” with Congregation Beth El where they do communal Shabbats with Beth Montessori families with a service and potluck. “And then of course we have Shabbat which is definitely everybody’s favorite day of the week. We have someone who comes in with a guitar and drums to sing Shabbat songs with them ... We have a couple little traditions that we do on Shabbat. For example, children come dressed in a white shirt every Friday and they bring a single flower that they use to create a communal bouquet in their Shabbat table. But the neat thing [is that] in the morning when the children are physically getting dressed, with their white shirt and picking out their flower, they already know that it is a different day from the rest of the week. It sets the tone for it being a special day. It definitely is a big part of our Jewish experience,” she said. Nearing the fifteen year milestone, Ceci explained that she is most proud of the warm and inviting environment they have created within the school that has kept true to the Montessori philosophy and being able to work with a passionate staff. She also credits the partnership and friendship between her and co-founder and co-director Lina Wolf as a big component of the school. (“We complement each other really well ... I couldn’t imagine doing this without her.”) “We’re very happy with how far we’ve come, where we’re going, where we’re at and we just feel very fulfilled with the work that we’re doing; I think that that’s the bottom line. We love what we do and I always tell people how fortunate I feel in the mornings to wake up and love my job because that truly is a blessing ... The secret ingredient to the school is that everybody truly puts their heart into what they do.”A

50 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

Brandeis National Committee San Dieguito Chapter Brandeis enriches lives and keeps minds active through study groups, provides lifelong friendships, fun events, and taking part in community service activities - all while supporting Brandeis University. This year begins with an Opening Meeting lunch Wednesday, August 28th.Join a study group - informal learning sessions – such as book and movie discussions, music, medicine, travel, current events, and many social groups. • Meet a visiting Brandeis professor at University on Wheels. • Attend a Book and Author Luncheon. • Enjoy various social and cultural events. • Participate in social action/community service activities. Brandeis National Committee San Dieguito Chapter For information: 760-436-4467 See our website: http://blogs.brandeis.edu/bncsandieguito/


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EDUCATION

Instilling the Joy of Jewish Service with Soille Hebrew Day School BY JACQUELINE BULL

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abbi Simcha Weiser has been the head of school for Soille Hebrew Day School since 1981 and it seems the mission has largely stayed the same: connect young people with Judaism and their Jewish identity and inspire them to enter the world with responsibility and purpose. He said that parents can get caught up in the idea of choosing between having a child that is really strong academically or having one that is good-hearted and kind. “Feeling that you are a capable person and within you are important qualities that will really help other people; that is very very important and very critical to kids being capable, feeling themselves capable, [and] seeing themselves as capable,” he said. He sees a change in a student’s during their time at the school where they move toward seeing themselves as a young adult that can contribute to the world; and this improves their self esteem “in the healthiest way possible.” “There are ten teachers who work very hard to build the knowledge base of Judaism to connect the kids to the Torah itself (which of course is all about the history and legacy of the Jewish people) and then also to give them experiences of working in the community and doing for the community from the vantage point of being a Jewish person inspired by the kindness of Abraham, the generosity that the Jewish people are known for, and the responsibility the Jewish people have to the world to be a light onto the nations. That’s not

just a slogan for kids in our school, that is a responsibility that they grow into from preschool, though elementary school, through middle school, through community service, from doing a lot of really important good things in the community,” he said. The school has a day of service when the entire middle school leaves the campus. Kids head out to several different locations, like the food pantry or Seacrest Village, and get hands-on experience volunteering in the community. “They [come] back to school at the end of the day feeling, ‘Wow, I’ve made a difference in the San Diego community. And as a young developing Jewish person, I’ve exercised my responsibility to contribute to the world today,’” he said. “Let’s say you have a kid who is in the middle school and he goes to the Jewish Family Services’ food bank to volunteer and to give back to the community … By volunteering at Jewish Family Service, we are emphasizing the Jewish role within our hearts. As Jewish people, we need to be concerned for others. I think that is an important distinction for us to make in the minds and hearts of our children, that being kind is part and parcel of being Jewish just as is being concerned about the welfare of the state of Israel,” he said. This culminates in an end-of-year Israel trip that all of the graduates go on together as a class. “[They] spend ten days touring and visiting places that they’ve learned about in the Torah that are familiar to them … Kids

have an attachment to Jewish learning and knowledge and source material that makes these places so much more meaningful,” he said. For this year’s Israel trip there was considerable thought on how to design the trip and what the students would see and do together. And according to Rabbi Weiser, the feedback this year was the best ever so far, so they are going to continue to build on that. “We got the kids more involved in projects while they were in Israel in terms of being of service to specific communities, to honoring the service of soldiers when they were there, in terms of actually being involved in a food distribution center there where they volunteer for half a day packing Shabbat baskets for needy families and knowing that they were going to be distributed to families that otherwise might go hungry over Shabbat.” “Parents are amazed at how proud it makes the child feel about themselves. You really see children turning into young adults who feel as though, ‘I have something important to give the world.’ That is at the heart of what we want to see in our students,” he said. “It is really what the world is looking for now. You know even at work people don’t close the door and sit in a quiet room with a pencil and paper and work things out. They work in groups, you need social skills, you need advocacy skills, you need listening skills,” he said.A

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 53


| TRAVEL |

The Secrets of Jewish Girona Part 1 BY JUDITH FEIN The multi-colored riverfront homes of the Girona’s barri vell (old city).

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or more than two decades, I have been visiting with and writing about the descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who were expelled from their countries or converted to Roman Catholicism as a result of pogroms and waves of persecution in the late l4th and l5th centuries. Many of the converts sincerely embraced their new religion, while large numbers of others were Catholic in public, but kept up their forbidden Jewish practices in secret. In every case, I found the stories of the conversos or anusim to be gripping and fascinating, but the two months I just spent in Girona and nearby towns in Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, differed in many ways. Most significantly, Girona was the place Jews were expelled from; in most other instances, I was in places that both unconverted Jews and conversos had fled to. And unlike other cities where all that remains are stone ruins of former Jewish life, Girona has a current, quasi-mystical Jewish identity and reality that roils below the surface and expresses itself in secret ways. At first, I was going to write about the history of the Jews of Girona, and their thriving medieval community with its own governance (called aljama) and their brilliant kabbalists and philosophers (the most famous is Moses ben Nahman, who is better known as Nachmanides or Ramban). But all of you are savvy, and can easily find

54 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

this history on and offline. Instead, I’d like to take you with me to discover what there is to see, and what’s going on right now in the labyrinthine streets of the Girona Call, or Jewish section, and elsewhere in Catalonia. Most of all, I want you to meet some of the people I was privileged to encounter and spend time with. As you walk along the Carrer de la Força, the narrow, cobbled main street of the Call, you pass stone buildings that were once Jewish family homes. At the beginning of the l4th century, Jews comprised 10 percent of the city’s population. The male members of some of the prestigious families earned their livelihoods as silversmiths, doctors, moneylenders, or judicial and administrative officials. Others were tailors, shoemakers, bookbinders, illustrators, and thimble makers. The women were employed as pearl workers, haberdashers, silk makers, wet nurses and maids. If you look up, you will notice windows and entryways that are plastered over and sealed. Persecution of Jews began in the late l300’s, and by 1418, as the ugly mushroom of anti-Semitism continued to spread through Girona, medieval Jews were forbidden to have windows and doors open up to the main street below because Catholic people had to pass through on their way to the cathedral. According to some versions, this was to protect the Jews from attacks by

their Catholic neighbors; others say it was because the neighbors had to be shielded from prying Jewish eyes. After the forced expulsion of unconverted Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492, the Call, with its history and mysteries, its people and stories, loves and losses, festivals and fasts, prosperity and panic at persecution, went silent. Today, as you stroll along the busy, bustling Call with visitors of all religions heading to the Jewish museum, library, bookstores, shops and restaurants in the barri vell (historic quarter), you may see someone ahead of you with a thick shock of white hair. His name is Josep Tarrés and, at age 90, the poet, cultural activist, and visionary has lost none of his passion. He grew up in the Call, and, in his words, “Nobody cared or even spoke about it.” In 1975, with hard work and love, he pioneered the restoration and revitalization of the Call. With his wife Pia Crozet, a well-known French sculptor, he opened an important center of Jewish history and culture, and he wanted to establish the Call as the epicenter of Jewish mystical and kallabalistic learning. Things went in another direction, and today Josep goes largely unthanked and unrecognized. If you see him, thank him, because without him you might not be visiting the fascinating sites from Girona’s Jewish past. “Are you Jewish?” I asked Josep.


PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOS PAUL ROSS

Verge’s annual Easter passion play.

“Almost all Catalonians are,” he said mysteriously. And then he mentioned that his relative was the organist at the church. I wondered if his ancestors were conversos who, at peril of losing their lives, had to keep up a Catholic identity in public, and if the commitment to Girona’s Jews was something encoded in his genes. On Good Friday evening, Josep, walking at a brisk pace, led my husband Paul and me through narrow streets and up stone staircases. We arrived at the cathedral and he excitedly pointed out the surrounding marvels of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, as though he were seeing them for the first time. We climbed up to the roof of his friend’s house, which was opposite the steep front steps of the cathedral. Across from where we stood, half the city seemed to be playing Roman soldiers, dressed as penitents, or parading with their cofradias, or brotherhoods. Afterwards, we went into Josep’s friend’s ancient house below, with its dramatic décor and priceless art collection. Josep walked next to me, pointing out stone architectural features and whispering, “those are Jewish because they have no figures in them.” “How do you know that?” I asked. “Because I come from conversos,” he answered. “That’s why I brought the Jewish section back to life.” At the Jewish History Museum of Girona, with its world-famous collection of medieval Jewish tombstones and memorabilia from Nachmanides and the kabbalists, almost none of the staff are Jewish, and neither are the department heads, who are medievalists and historians. I spent time

talking to Sílvia Planas i Marcé, the director of the museum and Nachmanides Institute. She said that as early as the year 898 C.E. there were about “Twenty-five Jewish families, who lived around the cathedral. The Count of Girona wanted to develop the area economically and invited Jews in. They had been living in the countryside and they were merchants and moneylenders and artisans who could improve the economy; also, the more people in Girona, the more taxes could be collected. In the 11th-13th centuries Girona was so important as a center of Kaballah and Jewish philosophy and spirituality that it was known as the Mother City of Israel.” I was so taken by her intimate knowledge of and respect for Jewish culture that I asked her, “Do you think your ancestors were Jews who lived here?” She shrugged and nodded, “Maybe so. Who knows?” In fact, people today do not know. The knowledge was hidden during the Inquisition, and lost over time. But I wondered if she, like Josep, carried it in her genetic memory? In the town of Besalú, which is famous for its magnificent early medieval Romanesque bridge, the first documentation of a Jewish presence dates to the 12th century, but it is possible they were there as early as the 9th century. It was a good place for commerce and money lending, and Jews, who made up 20 percent of the population of 1000, were given permission to build a one-room school. Stones still remain from the base of the medieval synagogue, and they indicate a separate entrance for men and women, a prayer room for men, and a

balcony where women probably used to sit. Under the synagogue, steps lead down to a 12th century mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, one of only three in Europe from that early period. The vaulted stone ceiling and walls are original, but after the Jews left in 1415 (when Besalú Jews had 15 days to sell their properties and move into a ghetto) and then in 1435, the mikvah was abandoned and the river took over and it was filled with water and mud. In 1965, the ritual bath lay hidden underneath a textile factory. When they made a hole in the floor for a turbine, a hammer fell into the hole, and a member of the Romanesque society saw white stone under the ground. They dug out the mud and earth and thought that maybe they had uncovered an ancient mikvah. Rabbis from Marseille and Perpignan, France, came and measured everything, and sent their findings to a Paris rabbi who validated that the ritual bath had indeed been found after more than 500 years! While in Besalú, you may find out about two famous Jewish doctors: Bendit des Logar and Abraham des Castlar. According to my guide, “the king had a Christian doctor, but always wanted a Jewish doctor.” They were part of a vigorous intellectual and cultural Jewish presence before their tragic persecution. I wanted to find out the source of bitter anti-Semitism that scorched the Jewish medieval presence. It was in place before the plague or Black Death broke out in 1348, when the Jews of Catalonia, as elsewhere, were erroneously blamed for spreading the

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 55


The dance of death is performed during the passion play.

plague and poisoning the wells. A horrible massacre of Jews took place in Barcelona at that time. I wondered how those fires of hatred were fed. I found one answer in Verges, the ancient town where many thousands of visitors converge during Easter and wait for hours to see the famous Dance of Death. Before the Dance, where skeletal figures dance hauntingly through the maze-like streets after midnight, the story of the last days of Jesus is presented as a huge, dramatic, gripping two-hour spectacle that dates from the Middle Ages and features the participation of a large swath of the local population. In the play, the Jewish priests in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem wear talitot or prayer shawls, and Hebrew writing forms part of the stage set. I was pleasantly surprised until the story unfolded. The Temple priests were depicted as an envious, cruel cabal of Jews who were threatened by Jesus’s popularity, and called for his death. Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect, didn’t really want Jesus to be crucified, but the priests demanded it. And when he was crucified, the priests were laughing and happy because they had triumphed. There it was, in front of me: the anti-Semitic propaganda that could be understood by illiterate as well as literate attendees in the Middle Ages. It whipped up hatred for the Jews and led to pogroms, attacks, murder and massacres. In many places, like Girona, it was dangerous to be a Jew. In 1391 there was a massive slaughter of Jews in the Girona Call. The ruins of the Gironella Tower are a chilling reminder of the fear and horror the Jews experienced: some were hidden by Catholic friends, but others fled the attack and took refuge there in deplorable conditions. This frightening reality impacted my vis-

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it to the deep, deep, culturally-rich, sophisticated city of Girona and formed the backdrop for my visit to Rosa Maria Labayen in the Call. In her multi-story house, with its sprawling warren of rooms and staircases and gothic windows, we saw a graceful sculpture of the Hebrew letter “shin” by Pia Crozet and at least two menorahs. Of the 14 mezuzah holes (where mezuzahs were inserted into the stone doorposts to the right of the front door) found in the Call, nine of them are in her home, which is made of adjoining ancient houses. In the courtyard of her house on the main floor, a well dated to 1496 (four years after the Expulsion) has five mezuzahs hidden inside its walls. According to Rosa Maria, her garden with its Tree of Life was once the synagogue. Rosa Maria is 96, beautiful and has almost transparent skin. “I am Christian,” she said at least three times during the several hours we spent together. “My path in life is numbers and letters. I am interested in practical kaballah, but I am not Jewish or interested in Jewish things. I am Christian.” She talked poetically and with intensity about the sephirot, or emanations, which are manifestations of G-d in the created world. She spoke about numerology and kaballalistic beliefs, and told me never to wear my purple fleece shirt again, as the color had bad connotations. She mentioned that there is an old mikvah under her house, and spoke about the rays from Jupiter and that light is important to Jews; it is knowledge of the sacred. “I made a vase of the broken pieces of my life,” she offered, “and I made another one for people who want or need it. I don’t believe in religion. The teachings of Jesus are not the Catholic religion.” “Do you ever go to church?” I asked her. “Absolutely not!” she replied.

A Madonna figure conceals a Mezuzah.

When I left her house, passing by the “shin” sculpture and menorahs again, I wondered why she insisted so strongly that she wasn’t Jewish and was not interested in Jewish things. Was it possible that she, like the others, was descended from denial based on extreme danger if there was any evidence that conversos still held Jewish beliefs and observed Jewish practices? I had stumbled into a world of Jewish secrets and mysteries, and no one I met was more secretive or mysterious or had more provocative information than a man named Gerard Serrat. Stay tuned, Part 2 will be in the September issue. A For more information, or to visit the area: en.costabrava.org and girona.cat/call/eng/ index.php or Spain.info. Judith Fein is a former resident of San Diego, and an award winning travel journalist, speaker, and author. Her website is GlobalAdventure.us.


Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 57


Top Five Real Reasons Some American Jews Might Not Make Aliyah BY MARNIE MACAULEY

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irnbaum, 76, who lived in an elite condo in Florida felt the death was near, so he asked his sons to take him to the Holy Land, to die and be buried in Jerusalem. His sons did as he asked, brought him to Jerusalem, put him in a hospital and waited. However, within three weeks, Birnbaum was in the pink. The doctor told him his blood pressure, heart? Perfect. When his sons came to visit, he told his sons ... “Quick! Take me back to Florida!” His sons were puzzled. “But papa, why? You said you want to die in the Holy Land and be buried in Jerusalem!’ Said Birnbaum. “To die it’s okay, but to live here...!” So, the old joke goes in America. Despite huge pro-Israel and U.S. Zionist groups, many stop short of making the ultimate commitment to live in the land G-d gave us so we may re-unite, grow, and prosper as our prophets predicted. There are many superb personal and religious reasons to make Aliyah. So why aren’t we all there? After discussing and debating with Jewish friends some of their reasons made sense (a fear of not knowing the language, for example) while others were so “creative” I had to share. The following is a poll I took. Only the names, places, and a few examples were changed to protect the respondents should they visit Israel.

58 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

Note: Each respondent made a case in language Alan Dershowitz would envy. As a reporter, I felt it my duty to clarify, interpret. Doris and Alvin Shlickstein: Dateline: July, Scarsdale, New York. “Darling. As you know, we are major supporters of Israel! Ask the rabbi, who we see faithfully on Yom Kippur and Pesach. In every major Israeli war, we’re committed to purchasing bonds, contributing to non-profits, and sent Yad Vashem a refurbished water fountain from Alvin’s office. The trees alone we’ve planted should by now be a forest. We’re also part of a Facebook group that sponsors needed R&R for the IDF that includes beach towels. Not just any beach towels but organic 100% pile-woven, combed cotton– from Egypt. In fact, if my Alvin left Wall Street, we couldn’t afford to do such mitzvahs!” SHORT VERSION: “I gave enough already.” SHORT VERSION: “–and we never heard of SKYPE.” Dr. Mendel Horowitz, D.O. specializing in thigh implants. Dateline: July, Las Vegas, Nevada. “I would go in a second to our beloved homeland! However, after spending four years in the Icelandic Medical School (the Mississippi campus), and received advanced certificates in thigh enhancement, my family and I feel G-d wouldn’t want me to have wasted all

that education, especially as the Israelis would probably make me take additional classes to set up a practice. Another deep concern is failing to service my on-going patients who deeply depend upon my skills to enhance their well-being.” SHORT VERSION: “With a score of 457 on my SATs, the Israelis will put me in a Jerusalem middle school for the Yiddishe kop-challenged.” SHORT VERSION: “... and chances are Israeli ladies aren’t lining up for fatter thighs.” Yitz Kleinman, retired businessman: Dateline: July, Miami, Florida. “For years I told my late wife, may she rest in peace, ‘Let’s go home–to Israel.’ This was during the Vietnam War when I paid some fortune to an agricultural college in Minnesota to keep our Myron out of the meshuggas. Myron, his children and grandchildren moved back in with me three years ago. If it was just me, I’d go in a second, but with the kids, my late wife–may she rest in peace–would make such a tumult up there, I can’t do it to her.” SHORT VERSION: “It’s dangerous there! What am I crazy? I could be having tea, and BOOM!” SHORT VERSION: “... and the Israeli government will put my grandson, Lance, in the army. The boy’s mother wouldn’t let him use a butter knife until he was 12.”


245 Regents Road #M408 - La Jolla Rebecca and Morris Feinberger. Dateline: July, Greenwich,

Rare Penthouse Unit, ceilings, approx. 1370 Connecticut. “It’s always been anhigh impossible dream and first on our bucket list. The problem now? We bought a house, 5200 q. ft.,square 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, and Optional Room ( a feet, in Connecticut, which was also on our bucket list– when the marketExtra was up. 4th Gorgeous. Backsplash. A yard fob with rd Bedroom.) floor security trees, and the antiques we got? Don’t ask. Listen, my Morris worked hard forand it! Anyway, with the crumbling house market New Carpet Paint, Remodeled Kitchen with we’re losing (also, don’t ask). So, we discussed it and decided to ranite &come stainless appliances waitcounter-tops until the prices not only back up in Greenwich, but go higher, as we couldn’t duplicate in Tel Aviv for the same price Gated, 2 on pools, or moveResort-like my big antiques mycommunity grand-bubbe broughtwith here when the run from Russia.” Penthouse abanas, hot-tubs, gym, 24-seat theater, community SHORT VERSION: “Give up my stuff to live worse for more gelt? oom,I ask yoga you is room, this Jewish?& sports room. SHORT VERSION: “... and it wouldspots be a sin tonext give up to my legacy 2 side-by-side parking elevator. ... the treasures my ancestors brought over while they were running location from the Czar?!”close to UCSD, UTC, Beaches. Great Ms. Ruth Mandelbaum, Jewish macher in her community Fabulous rental opportunity! where she’s adored for her intelligence. She also has a spot on

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the Jewish Weekend radio station, JCRP in Cincinnati. Dateline:

SeeJuly,more details at allwww.LisaOrlansky.com! Cincinnati, Ohio. “We have a duty to consider Aliyah! I have three cousins who made the monumental sacrifice and Offered went. However, my highest duty is toat: provide comfort and in-

Just Sold Lisa represented the Seller

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sight to my local community in Cincinnati. Some of my proverbs are on t-shirts on my website. For example: ‘HOSPITALITY IS A FORM OF JEWISH WORSHIP. ALWAYS SERVE CAKE,’ ‘IF YOU’RE WISE IN WORDS, THE DEEDS WILL TAKE 9245 Regents Road #M408 - La Jolla CARE OF THEMSELVES’ and of course from the late, great Ellie Wiezel: ‘INDIFFERENCE TO ME IS ANOTHER WAY • Rare Penthouse Unit, high ceilings, approx. 1370 sq. ft., 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, and Optional Room ( a OF SAYING DON’T GET INVOLVED.” I’m self-publishing 3rd Bedroom.) Extra 4th floor security fob this Fall in time for the Holidays. The timing is the real problem. • New Carpet and Paint, Remodeled Kitchen with ‘TIME ISN’T WHAT YOU MAKE IT, IT’S HOW YOU USE granite counter-tops & stainless appliances IT.’ That will be in the book too.” • Gated, Resort-like community with 2 pools, SHORT VERSION: “I know nothing.”

Call for details. Lisa represents Buyers R E ALT O R ®

cabanas, hot-tubs, gym, 24-seat theater, community and Sellers throughout room, yoga room, & sports room. (858)243-3317 San Diego County! need Lisa@LisaOrlansky.com • 2 side-by-side parking spots next to elevator. www.LisaOrlansky.com • Great location close to UCSD, UTC, Beaches. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. 2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal • Fabulous rental opportunity! Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are REALTO R ®

SHORT VERSION: "... and in Israel everyone’s smart. Oy. I the competition? A

©

registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. CaDRE#01333258.

See more details at www.LisaOrlansky.com!

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county recordsOffered and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the at: information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered Tammuz service marks Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. • Avowned 5779bySDJewishJournal.com 59 CalRE#00616212

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60 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019


| FEATURE |

The Temple Mount Sifting Project Inaugurates New Sifting Site

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he Temple Mount is one of the holiest sites in the world, and it holds just as much historical importance as it does religious. Contained within the Mount are priceless artifacts whose origins can be traced back thousands of years. These artifacts have found themselves under threat, necessitating the Temple Mount Sifting Project and its small army of volunteers to preserve them. “The Temple Mount Sifting Project’s finds constitute the first-ever archaeological data originating from below the Temple Mount’s surface,” said archaeologist Gaby Barkay. “The Temple Mount was never excavated because of politics ... now, the finds are carefully sorted and studied in the project’s archaeological laboratory. Once the processing

PHOTO BY JOHANNA AUSTIN AZUKA

BY SYBIL KAPLAN AND ALEX WEHRUNG

and analysis are finished, this data will help to provide fresh insights into the archaeological and historical research of the Temple Mount.” The Temple is a religious site that holds special significance to followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to the Talmud and Chronicles, it is from where G-d took dust to create Adam and Abraham almost sacrificed his son, Isaac; in Christianity, Jesus criticized the money-changers at the Second Temple constructed on the Mount; in Islam–wherein the Mount is known as Haram al-Sharif, or ‘Noble Sanctuary’–the Mount was the site of Muhammad’s ascension upon the completion of his journey from Mecca.

In the first century, the mount was desecrated by the Romans and was not repaired until 638 CE, when Jerusalem was conquered by Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab in the early days of the Islamic Empire. In 691 CE, a replacement for the Second Temple (which itself was a replacement for Solomon’s Temple) was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and called ‘Dome of the Rock’. In 1099, the First Crusaders converted the Dome into the Christian Templum Domini, only for Saladin to reconquer the site in 1187 and re-convert it back to a Muslim place of worship. It became known to Muslims as the third most important site, after Mecca and Medina. When Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, supervision of the Temple Mount was given to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, an organization that manages the Islamic buildings that are within proximity of the Mount. The Israeli government upholds the body’s decisions and provides it with security. Once it gained custody of the Mount, the Waqf forbade archaeological excavation of the site, deeming such activity to be desecration. In 1996, the Waqf and the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement converted the underground vaults–known as Solomon’s Stables–into the El-Marwani Mosque in order to accommodate more worshippers on Ramadan. Three years later, the Israeli government approved the Waqf ’s plan to add an emergency exit, but the Waqf instead excaTammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 61


vated two archways and dumped several tons of dirt into the Kidron Valley. When archaeologists Barkay and Zachi Dvira of Bar-Ilan University became aware of the construction, they decided to offer a hands-on archaeological experience to those interested, sifting debris from the Temple Mount in which over 200,000 volunteers would eventually participate. In 2004, the debris was transferred to the Emek Tzurim National Park, where the wet-sifting technique was developed in the same year (a technique that is now standard at most excavation sites) and used to find artifacts. The initiative has rescued over 500,000 ancient artifacts. In 2014–when the Project added permanent bathrooms for its volunteers, a greenhouse and a new office for its staff–the Project announced that half of the dumped debris had been sifted through, estimating that it would take another decade to get through the rest of it. But in 2017, the project–which had been at Emek Tzurim for 15 years–was temporarily shut down due to a lack of funds and administrative problems. At that time, about 70% of the debris removed from the Mount had been sifted. However, the project needed NIS 8 million (approximately $2,225,000 dollars) over the next two years to resume sifting the remaining 30% of the debris and to continue scientific research and publication efforts. Despite several promises for help, the Project never received funding from the Israeli government. The Project then moved to its current location, which is sandwiched between Augusta Victoria Hospital and the Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus, at the HaMasu’ot Lookout. It is administered by the Keren L’Pituach Kehilati Yehudi B’Reches Har Hazeitim (Mount of Olives Ridge Jewish Communal Development Foundation), a project of the American Friends of Beit Orot. The site has a large building, the main floor of which is arranged for the sifting. “This was the site of a bitter battle during the Six-Day War, a part of Israeli pocket which included Mount Scopus,” Barkay explained. “This site is more accessible, more efficient, safer because it is not surrounded by any residential area, and there is lots of parking. The public buses, which serve the Hebrew University, are also nearby.” On June 2, 2019, the project was officially rebooted. Upon the inauguration of the new site, the archaeologists also prepared a special one-day exhibition showcasing 300 artifacts including coins, weapons and architectural ruins. The exhibit was only available for one 62 SDJewishJournal.com August 2019

day due to improper facilities that couldn't safeguard the finds in a museum-like fashion. The archaeological process itself of uncovering finds from the dumped Earth, when boiled down, is a two-step endeavour. The first stage of sifting is dry-sifting. The Project takes a heap of Earth with a label identifying which part of the Mount it came from. The soil is then dry-sifted and then separated into individual buckets. The second stage is the wet-sifting, where the buckets are filled with water to wet the soil and dislodge clumps of dirt from stone and artifacts. After that, volunteers or staff sift through the contents with spray taps. Once they find something of interest, the find is then sorted into one of six categories– glass, pottery, bones, special stones, plaster and special finds. Special finds, like coins, are immediately labeled and set aside on the archaeologist’s table for later scrutiny. Once the sifting is done, an archaeologist-on-staff checks in with the volunteers, examines their findings and tells them how the objects compare to those sitting in a glass display case at the archaeologists’ table. At the end of the day, all the finds are sorted, labeled and cleaned to be re-examined later, and relevant information regarding the finds is stored in the Project’s statistical database. The artifacts that the Project has uncovered have been mainly dated to the First Temple Period, the Second Temple period, late Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Islamic periods and the Middle Ages. There are some finds from earlier periods, but they are scarce. Some examples of these finds include fragments of stone vessels, approximately 6,000 ancient coins, various pieces of jewelry, a rich assortment of beads, terracotta figurines, arrowheads and other weaponry, weights, items of clothing, game pieces and dice, bone and shell inlays, furniture decorations, ornaments, bone tools, etc. There are also fragments of elaborate architecture; among them are pillars, architraves, mosaic floors, opus sectile tiles, colored wall plaster (fresco), and glazed wall tiles. “The many coins that were found in the rubble testify to the rich past of the Temple Mount,” Barkay said. “The first coin recovered in the sifting work was very exciting due to its symbolic nature. It was minted during the First Revolt against the Romans that preceded the destruction of the Second Temple. It bore the phrase ‘For the Freedom of Zion.’ The name ‘Zion’ was the name of the Temple Mount in ancient times. The find was particularly meaningful, inasmuch as it was in rubble from the Temple Mount which

was one of the focal points of the fighting.” The historical significance of the finds doesn’t end there. According to the Smithsonian Museum’s account of the excavations, Barkay has postulated that the fragments of terra-cotta figurines from between the 8th to 6th centuries BCE might support the Biblical account of King Josiah’s reforms against idolatry. “A very interesting Muslim artifact dating to the 18th century that was found is a seal of the prominent Muslim Qadi (Judge), who also served as the Jerusalem deputy Mufti,” Dvira wrote in a blog post for The Times of Israel. “His name was Sheick ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Tamimi. The current Waqf administrator, Sheick Mohammed Azzam al-khatib alTamimi, the current director of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, is from the same family, and may be one of his descendants.” Other findings challenge enduring beliefs about the mount, such as ancient Christians using the mount as a dumping site. But the unearthed artifacts from Byzantine-era Israel support a different conclusion: that public buildings were constructed on the Mount. The work the project has been doing is finally coming into the limelight. On Jerusalem Day, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Zeev Elkin brought an uncovered, 2,700-year-old artifact to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office for the Israeli Prime Minister to inspect: the Immer Bulla. The inscription on the artifact read, “Belonging to Ga’alyahu son of Immer.” This is believed to be in reference to a priestly family identified in the Book of Jeremiah. A For more information visit tmsifting.org/en.


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You can’t have smARTs without the arts Parents have different approaches to education, but all want similar outcomes: children who are intellectually curious, engaged with their world, and ready to succeed. There is great debate about how to achieve this, but educators overwhelmingly agree that arts integration at school is one of the most effective ways to support children in reaching their academic potential. Research consistently shows that academic performance and test scores increase when young people are exposed to the arts. High achievers tend to have exposure to and engagement with the arts. A report by the Arts Education Partnership revealed that schoolchildren exposed to drama, music, and dance are often more proficient at reading, writing, and math. The report examined over 62 studies from 100 researchers studying the impact of various art forms. Researchers determined that students who received more arts education did better on standardized tests, improved their social skills, and were more motivated than those who had reduced

64 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

or no access. Additionally, the arts can positively impact cognitive function. In a four-year study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers, students taking music training were found to have changes in their brain structures helping them transfer their motor skills to similar areas. Another study found students motivated to practice a specific art form improved their IQ scores. Other studies reported similar findings on the arts’ impacts on the brain, showing that sustained arts education can be a significant aspect of social and intellectual development. The science supports what we have known for decades: You can’t have smarts without the arts. To find out how parents can bring more arts programming to their children’s schools, please visit artsforlearningsd.org. Follow us on Facebook @ArtsForLearningSD.


Deconstructed Nicoise Salad INGREDIENTS:

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with Lianne Goldsmith www.kitchenperiperi.com Summer in California allows us to enjoy balmy brunches, lavish long lunches and delectable dinners al fresco. Coming to live in California from South Africa in 1988, I was fortunate to meet a group of new wonderful friends who have become my Los Angeles family over the years. Each friend came with their life experiences, loads of advice and of course a good recipe or two! My darling friend Tessa bakes the most spectacular scones, (a recipe for our next installment) as well as this scrumptious simple and always impressive Deconstructed Nicoise Salad and we have enjoyed it over the years together with endless hours of conversation in our summery backyard.

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Dressing 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 lemon, juiced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salad 1 pound small red new potatoes, scrubbed and halved 8 large eggs 1/2 pound French green beans, stems trimmed 2 pounds fresh sushi-quality tuna 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pint teardrop or cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup nicoise olives (if you prefer you can use Kalamata olives) 16 anchovy fillets 16 caper berries with stems (I adore Caper berries, you can use capers if you prefer) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper TO MAKE THE DRESSING: Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Screw the cap on the jar and shake the vinaigrette vigorously to emulsify. Set the dressing aside while preparing the salad so the flavors can marry. TO PREPARE THE COMPONENTS: • Simmer the potatoes for 20-25 minutes until they are fork tender. • Meanwhile, boil the eggs. If you want to save space, place a steamer basket or

colander on top of the simmering water. Put the green beans in the steamer and cover with a lid. Steam the beans for 5 minutes until crisp-tender. • Drain out the water and put the potatoes, eggs, and green beans in a colander; rinse briefly under cold water. • Peel the shells off the eggs and cut them in 1/2 lengthwise. • Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rub the tuna on all sides with olive oil and a bit of the vinaigrette; season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. (If you enjoy a little spice, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper with paprika to the rub) • Lay the tuna in the hot pan and sear for approximately 2 minutes on each side; as the tuna cooks, the red meat will become whiter. Transfer the tuna to a cutting board and slice. TO ASSEMBLE THE SALAD: This salad looks beautiful when arranged creatively on a platter with all the elements keeping their individual integrity. • Combine the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, anchovies and capers in a large mixing bowl. • Take the vinaigrette and give it another good shake to recombine. • Drizzle the salad with enough vinaigrette to fully moisten and toss gently to coat; season with salt and pepper. • Add the eggs and drizzle the remaining salad dressing over the eggs. Grab a glass of prosecco and enjoy this feast with friends and family.

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 65


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| DIVERSIONS |

The new Netflix show ‘Family Business’ is a French-Jewish version of ‘Breaking Bad’ VIA JTA NEWS

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ne fan’s recent description on Twitter of the new Netflix series “Family Business” isn’t too far off: a “French ‘Breaking Bad’ but with weed.” The French series, which debuted last week, is a wacky comedy about a Parisian Jewish family, the Hazans, that turns its failed kosher meat shop into a marijuana factory. And while it lacks the macabre violence of “Breaking Bad,” the two shows do share a reliance on witty dialogue and strong acting. Boasting a solid 7.3 score on IMDB, the series has wide appeal likely in large part to how it mixes race and family relations with fart jokes and surrealist scenes. (One features the Hazans narrowly avoiding arrest by telling police that the weed-stuffed dead pig in their kosher meat truck has been genetically engineered to receive rabbinical approval.) For Jewish viewers in particular, the series has multiple hidden layers of meaning, and offers astute observations about Judaism’s ability to adapt and survive even when all seems lost–in France and beyond. The decline of the Hazan family’s meat shop in the Marais district, for instance, echoes the real-life departure of Jews and their businesses from the area that once was the beating heart of French Jewry. Previously full of kosher restaurants, butcher shops and other Jewish-owned small businesses, the Marais

68 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

has changed radically since the 1980s, becoming a bar hub and mecca for boutique fashion shoppers. Instead of selling and packing up, the Hazans decide to stay and adapt, largely thanks to a web of lies and manipulations spun by the show’s main character, Joseph, a failed, smoothtalking startup entrepreneur played by the French-Jewish comedian Jonathan Cohen. The daring plan, which involves growing $3 million worth of dope in time for planned legalization, is also partly born out of crisis in Joseph’s family. His Sephardic father is not adjusting well to the recent loss of Joseph’s Ashkenazi mother. The fusion of Sephardic and Ashkenazi ancestry is celebrated in the family’s diet, which insiders will recognize both as an accurate reflection of reality in many French Jewish households and a tribute to one of the French Jewish community’s greatest achievements: its ability to transcend the Ashkenazi-Sephardic divide. In one scene, in which the Hazans find themselves serving food to an entire police precinct inside their illegal growth lab, the family dishes out typically Eastern European foods alongside North African mloukhiya stew. In another, Joseph’s father, Gerard, the Sephardic one, asks his Ashkenazi mother-in-law to cook kishke–or as he calls it “that awful stink of a dish”–to cam-


ouflage the scent of budding marijuana plants from the cops working next door. The family’s trademark product–the parallel of Walter White’s blue ice in AMC’s “Breaking Bad”–is called “pastraweed,” a mashup of pastrami and weed. Yiddish phrases like “bubbeleh” pepper the dialogue, along with North African Jewish slang like “ya rab” and “miskin.” The show’s intro features klezmer music. Another inside joke is about one of French Jewry’s legendary figures, singer Enrico Macias, who at 81 delivers a hilarious and self-deprecating portrayal of himself as a cheap, slightly clueless and ultimately kindhearted geezer. Between the lines, the show’s creator, Igor Gotesman, also used the family biography to build a sort of microcosm of French Jewry–from the liberal elements represented in Joseph’s lesbian sister, Aure, to the conservative ones, represented by Gerard. The Jewish identity of the characters is omnipresent, especially in shots that include mezuzahs, menorahs and even the hamsa symbol, which dangles from the rearview mirror of the Hazans’ delivery truck. The attention to symbols is appropriate in a community where thousands of members insist on wearing Jewish jewelry and yarmulkes even though it exposes them to anti-Semitic attacks. This aspect of reality, however–a rising anti-Semitism in the country that has led to the departure of about 30,000 French Jews to Israel over the past five years–is almost entirely missing from the series. There’s a single reference to the community’s

security situation, and even then it’s in a scene where police blow up an important suitcase left by mistake by one of the main characters in front of the meat shop. The series’ writers also didn’t seem to make much of an effort to explain why the Hazans–a well-to-do middle-class family with a country estate and children who attended universities–are very close to a blue-collar Muslim family in which one of the sons is an Uber driver and another is a drug dealer. Joseph lives with a Muslim woman from that family, and her brother is one of Joseph’s best friends. Such relationships certainly exist in France. But they are rare, born out of unusual circumstances that the series does not attempt to explain and often strained in ways that it shies away from exploring. Perhaps such treatment is too much to expect from a goofy summertime crime comedy. But in a country whose society is currently tearing at the seams over issues of race and class, “Family Business” ignores such issues at the expense of its relevance both to France’s Jews and the zeitgeist. Still, “Family Business” has its meaningful moments. In one of the final scenes, Gerard, the family’s grumpy patriarch, offers Joseph a rare compliment that seems to encapsulate one of the main themes of Jewish history. “I’m proud of you,” he tells Joseph. “You fall, time and time again. And each time you fall, you rise up again.” A

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what’s goin’on?

| By Eileen Sondak

“33 1/3” at San Diego Repertory Theater. The La Jolla Playhouse is ready to unveil “The Coast Starlight,” a clever new play about six travelers aboard a train heading up the coast of California. The group discovers a need for invention and reinvention when life goes off the rails. The Playhouse will keep this train on track from Aug. 20 through Sept. 15–delivering an entertaining message of hope, before “The Coast Starlight” comes to the end of the line.

“The Tale of Despereaux” at The Old Globe. tight bureaucratic husband-promises to delight local audiences through Aug. 25. This is shaping up as a banner month for the Globe. North Coast Repertory Theater is introducing a world premiere by the creators of “Guys and Dolls.” Aptly titled, “Another Roll of the Dice,” the new musical will try to capture the same magic as the original, by using three classic stories by Damon Runyon and intertwining some classic Frank Loesser songs. The show is turning up the heat at Solana Beach through Aug. 4. “Tenderly,” the Rosemary Clooney Musical, will take over at North Coast Rep for a limited engagement Aug. 15-25. The show is based on the life of this American legend.

The San Diego Symphony’s Pops season at the Embarcadero Marina continues Aug. 1-2 with “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” in concert (and on the big screen), followed on Aug 3 by “The B-52s Plus Very Special Guest Berlin.” “Beethoven by the Bay” arrives Aug. 4, followed on Aug. 8 by “A Nancy Wilson Tribute.” “The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely San Diego Repertory Theater will start off the month and its 44th Hearts Club Band” is slated for Aug. 9-10, and on Aug. 22 season on Aug. 1 with “33 1/3–House of Dreams,” a world pre“Miles Davis: Miles Ahead +19” is headed this way. miere musical that tells the inside story of Gold Star Recording “Some Enchanted Evening: The Broadway Hits of Rodgers, Studios–the birthplace of many of the music world’s greatest Hammerstein, & Hart” are on tap for Aug. 16-17, followed hits. The show (co-written by Jonathan Rosenberg and Brad on Aug. 18 by “Blues Traveler.” “Singin’ in the Rain” in con- Ross) will continue at the Rep’s downtown theater through cert (and on the big screen) is slated for Aug. 23, followed Aug. 25, with a cast that includes professionals and students on Aug. 24 by “Chaka Khan with Macy Gray.” “The O’Jays from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Plus The Commodores” follows on Aug. 25, and the season Cygnet Theater is keeping it lively with the raucous hit musicomes to a rollicking close Aug. 30-Sept. 1 with the annual cal comedy “Rock of Ages.” The show–ensconced at the Old 1812 Tchaikovsky Spectacular. Fireworks are included with Town Theater through Aug. 25–takes audiences back to the all the concerts. 1980s era of big bands, big hair, and big egos. The Old Globe’s summer Shakespeare season is gearing up for one of the Bard’s most romantic plays-“Romeo and Juliet.” The tragic tale of these beloved star-crossed lovers will play out on the outdoor Festival Stage Aug. 11 through Sept. 15. The Globe’s own Barry Edelstein is directing the iconic work. The Globe’s new musical, “The Tale of Despereaux” (based on the animated film) will continue to beguile and amuse audiences of all ages through Aug. 11. Bring the youngsters along to follow the adventures of a courageous mouse on his quest to becoming a knight. The production abounds with stunning stage effects and beautiful music, and its message of optimism is sure to make it a family favorite. Legendary comedian Steve Martin is showing off another hilarious work at the Globe this month. “The Underpants”–a riotously funny farce, featuring a bored new bride and her up-

70 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

The Lamb’s Players continues to perform “Mixtape”–a sentimental journey through the music, dance, and fashions of the 1980s. The spirited and immensely popular musical has been extended through Sept. 1. The La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest will begin its inaugural season under the direction of Inon Barnatan on Aug. 2 at its new home–The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. The Festival will continue with works by Mozart, Beethoven, and others, along with a visit from Mark Morris Dance Group, through Aug. 23. San Diego Junior Theater will tackle “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at its home in Balboa Park. The show will run Aug. 2-11.


The La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest.

“Rock of Ages” at The Cygnet Theater.

The Timken Museum is hosting artist-in-residence Roman de exhibition, “Sun, Earth, Universe,” is an interactive exhibit that Salvo through Aug. 25. During that time, visitors will be able to explores the world of space science and astronomy. “Pause/ watch the artist create a new sculpture, titled “Electric Picnic.” Play,” is an immersive experience for mind and body that uses The Museum of Art is highlighting “Art and Empire: The Golden science in a completely new way. Age of Spain,” a collection of more than 100 works by leading artists from Spain and its territories. Among the masters on display (through Sept. 2) are Velazquez, Rubens, and El Greco. This month the museum will unveil two new exhibitions. “Black Life: Images of Resistance & Resilience in Southern California” will show off 40 modern prints Aug. 24 through Dec. 1. “Abstract Revolution”–coming this way Aug. 31 through Feb. 23 of 2020–will re-evaluate the development of Abstract Expressionism. The Museum of Contemporary Art’s downtown location will feature “Marnie Weber: Songs that Never Die and Other Stories,” a collection of sculptures and photographs by an artist from Los Angeles’ post-punk scene. The exhibition will be on view through Nov. 3. Birch Aquarium is highlighting a permanent exhibition, “Seadragons & Seahorses. Hall of Fishes,” which also serves as a working laboratory, is also on view. Birch has an installation on light by scientist Michael Latz, and another exhibition that helps you understand Scripps’ expeditions to discover and protect the planet. “Expedition at Sea” includes a 33-foot long projected triptych and hands-on learning opportunities. Another interesting exhibition at the Birch is “Research in Action: 100 Island Challenge,” an exhibit that explores the way reefs are adapting to our rapidly changing planet. Also on display is “Oddities: Hidden Heroes of the Scripps Collection,” a comic book-inspired exhibit that highlights amazing adaptations of ocean species. The Reuben Fleet Science Center will be showing a new film, “Turtle Odyssey” (narrated by Russell Crowe) along with “Superpower Dogs,” (which showcases the bravery and prowess of some of the world’s most remarkable dogs) and “Volcanoes” (which examines the contribution of volcanoes to the wildlife ecosystem and their impact on humans). Also at the Fleet is the “Renegade Science Project,” which escorts visitors through the park for a 90-minute exploration. Its newest

The Fleet is offering “Dream, Design, Build”-an exhibition that explores the museum’s collection of interactive engineering activities, and “Taping Shape 2.0,” which uses hundreds of rolls of packing tape to create a world of translucent spaces and tunnels. The Fleet has several other permanent exhibitions, including “Don’t Try This at Home,” “Studio X”, “Block Busters,” and “Origins in Space.” The newest is “It’s Electric,” an interactive show that explores the fundamentals of electricity. The Natural History Museum is captivating audiences with “Escape the Nat”–an escape room experience that dares you to solve puzzles and save the world. “The Backyard”–a gallery for the 5-and-under set–and “Backyard Wilderness” (a 3-D film) are also on view. Hidden Gems” is another attraction, along with “National Geographic: 50 Greatest Wildlife Photographs,” the newest photographic exhibition at the NAT. “Coast to Cactus in California,” and “Unshelved: Cool Stuff from Storage”-a display of specimens from around the worldare also worth checking out. The Nat’s 3-D films include “Ocean Oasis,” the newest film, “Conquest of the Skies,” which deals with flying animals, along with “Flight of the Butterflies.” The museum also offers “Fossil Mysteries,” “Water: A California Story,” and “Skulls.” The New Children’s Museum has a colorful new interactive textile environment to amuse the small-fry set. Dubbed Whammock, the intricate installation (designed by artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam) invites kids to climb, play, and have fun. The San Diego History Center is featuring the first exhibition in Balboa Park exploring San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community. The History Museum’s permanent exhibition, “Placed Promises,” chronicles the history of the San Diego region–and the America’s Cup Exhibition, highlights the sailing race held in San Diego three times since 1988. The Museum of Man (open during a seismic retrofit) is showcasing “Cannibals: Myth & Reality” and “PostSecret.” A

Tammuz / Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 71


the news StandWithUs Launches New Center to Combat Anti-Semitism StandWithUs, the organization dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and educating about Israel, announced the launch of its new Center for Combating Anti-Semitism (CCA) on July 15. “What we are endeavoring to do is kind of a four-fold approach to anti-Semitism, which is identifying anti-Semitism, defining it, exposing it and then taking the necessary and appropriate actions when you see it,” said CCA Director and Counsel for Litigation Strategy Carly Gammill, who has ten years of experience in litigation and First Amendment law. The CCA will produce educational materials to assist readers on how to understand and confront anti-Semitism in their communities and other institutions.

Jewish Family Services Receives Light of Pride Award San Diego LGBTQ Pride bestowed the 2019 Light of Pride Award— given to religious, spiritual and service organizations recognized for their work in supporting the San Diego LGBTQ community—to Jewish Family Services of San Diego. “Our committee selected JFS as this year’s Light of Pride Award for the nonprofit’s service to the Jewish, LGBTQ, immigrant communities and beyond in our region,” said Fernando Lopez, executive director of San Diego Pride. “Nothing can undo the hate, death or violence our communities have endured, but we can stand shoulder to shoulder, because we are stronger when we stand together.”

San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture Invests $11.4 Million in 159 Arts and Culture Nonprofits The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture has announced that it will award $11.4 million across 159 different artistic and cultural non-profits. The awards are part of the city’s annual practice of providing financial awards to nonprofits in exchange for arts and culture services, such as performances, exhibits, festivals, etc. provided to residents and visitors of San Diego. “The organizations awarded contracts represent the incredible diversity of arts and culture in San Diego,” said Commission Chair Janet Poutré. “From small, all-volunteer organizations producing neighborhood events to internationally known theaters employing hundreds of artists, the arts and culture ecosystem in San Diego is thriving.”

72 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

“Jewish Family Service is guided by the belief that each human being matters and that we all do better, when we all do better,” said JFS COO Dana Toppel.

Jewish Community Foundation Helps Facilitate Donation of $1.2 Million for Philanthropy The Jewish Community Foundation facilitated the donation of $1.2 million in grant money to over 19 San Diego organizations, on behalf of the Cushman Foundation. This donation was made in accordance with the “Making a Difference for San Diego” initiative. The recipients included the Eric Paredes Save a Life Foundation, Hannah’s House, Home Start, Interfaith Shelter Network, Just in Time for Foster Youth, Leap to Success, Musicians for Education, San Diego Dental Health Foundation, San Diego Police Officers Association, Sharp Healthcare Foundation, Tender Loving Canines Assistance Dogs, Urban Street Angels, VIP NeuroRehabilitation Center, and Workshops for Warriors.


Meetings and Events for Jewish Seniors Jewish War Veterans of San Diego, Post-185 Contact Jerome Klein (858) 521-8694 Aug. 11, 10 a.m. Veterans Association of North County, Post-385 Contact Marsha Schjolberg (760) 492-7443 Jewish War Veterans meetings Aug. 11, 11 a.m.

New Principal Conductor Announced for San Diego Opera Maestro Yves Abel has been announced as the Principal Conductor for the San Diego Opera. He will begin conducting in the 20202021 season with a double-bill opera, followed by a French opera in the 2021-2022 season, and a third opera in the 2022-2023 season. Abel made his debut with the Company in 2013 and has gone on to perform at numerous opera houses. “Mo. Abel has demonstrated strong artistic leadership during his numerous appearances with San Diego Opera, as well as great rapport with our singers, musicians, and artistic staff,” said San Diego Opera General Director David Bennett. “It is a great joy and honor for me to be asked to become Principal Conductor of the San Diego Opera,” said Abel. “It’s been an absolute pleasure collaborating with the international casts of singers, and the ever classy San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Chorus. I look forward to working closely with David Bennett, the excellent board, and the devoted people behind the scenes, to bring world class Opera to the people of San Diego!”

Tickets for “Arts & Ideas” Now on Sale Tickets for the second season of “Arts & Ideas” at the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture are now officially on sale on the center’s website. The season will kick off on July 23, 2019 and end June 8, 2020. The season will feature a variety of shows that will put “new spins on old traditions, daring artistry, the chance to think deeply, to laugh and to dance.” All the shows will take place at the Lawrence Family JCC, with the majority being hosted at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre. Anyone interested in the shows can find more info at sdcjc.com, where they can also purchase tickets and season subscriptions.

Lawrence Family JCC Contact Melanie Rubin (858) 362-1141 Aug. 15, 1:30 p.m. Mark Sibelstein will give a talk about the state of the Middle-East after his return from Israel. Cost is $10; JCC Member Price: $8; RSVP by August 9. Aug. 28, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn the story of Lou de Beer, a recipient of the Coronado Avenue of Heroes Award, as part of the continuing ‘Eyewitness to History’ series. Cost is $6; JCC Member Price: $4. RSVP by Aug. 21. On the Go Excursions Contact Jo Kessler (858) 637-7325 Aug. 18, Depart 1:00 p.m., Return 4:30 p.m. House of Dreams tells the story of the legendary Gold Star Recording Studios, its co-founder, lead engineer, and hit maker, Stan Ross. Cost is $70; payment due Aug. 1. North County Jewish Seniors Club at the Oceanside Senior Center Contact Josephine (760) 295-2564 Aug. 18, 12:30 p.m. JFS College Avenue Center Adventure Shuttles Contact Mia (858) 637-7320 Aug. 22 Moon Light Serenade Orchestra—Rock & Disco Cost is $8; payment due Aug. 12.

Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 73


ADVICE

ASK MARNIE by Marnie Macauley asksadie@aol.com

Marnie Takes On Bullying

S

halom my dear San Diegans: We Jews have long valued education as an essential part of our religion, culture, and more, a major tool of survival. We Jews have also not had it easy. Teaching and learning are tough enough, especially when you’re constantly running at a moment’s notice, with bullies on our backs. You’d think those days are (mostly) thankfully behind us. They’re not. Not a day goes by when we don’t hear a news story about bullying in our schools. In this education issue, let’s look at the problem–and what we can do.

When Your Child Is Being Bullied The start of school should fill children with anticipation at renewing old friendships and moving up on the social chain, yet too many are filled instead with dread. As we once again gear up to get our broods ready, I’ve chosen to add another “sheet” to the prep lists: What to do when your child is being bullied. Bullying. The news is filled with it. From heinous so-called “hazing” incidents to deliberate, unrelenting verbal and physical torment in schools, playgrounds, on the bus and in the neighborhood, it seems we’ve become a nation filled with bullies–and victims. It’s estimated that one out of four children are bullied. My son is a sensitive 12-year-old whose interests are music and chess. Last September he entered middle school where the emphasis is cutthroat sports. He’s not a natural athlete and he’s been teased mercilessly. We’re thinking of changing schools, but my husband believes our son should learn to handle it. My daughter is 13 and overweight. She has been called everything from PigFace to

74 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

Chubbette. She comes home crying every night. My 10-year-old suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome (a condition that makes him socially inappropriate). His peers consider him a “wacko” and tease him all the time.

Getting It! Strategies When Your Child Is A Victim I recently heard one dad remark, “When it happened to me, I took the bully by the horns–and socked some respect into him! Handling bullies is part of growing up.” The man had a point, I thought, recalling my childhood nemesis–Rosemary. One step on “her” side of the street and I risked having my curls fried by her band of evil viperettes, “The Avalons.” (To this day, I get a rapid eye tick whenever they show Beach Blanket Bingo.) The truth is, almost all of us have argued, teased, manipulated, gossiped, even backstabbed–from time to time. But most humans are capable of empathy, shame and compassion. We have the skills (and the guilts) to fight, play and live fair. The chronic bully can’t. He’s the guy who gets a power rush singling out the skinny kid at the locker for special “punishment.” Or the girl who bribes or blackmails her “clique,” then wields her social position like an executioner’s sword. Tactics range from rejection, name-calling, to physical intimidation.

If Your Child Is a Victim: DON’TS Don’t accept it as normal. Bullying is abuse. Like the stalker or the batterer, bullies, even at the youngest ages, rob their prey of joy, confidence and the gifts of safety and freedom. The effects are daunting. Some ex-victims switch roles later and model their tormenters, creating new victims. Young bullies may “ma-

ture” into swine who feed on the shredded egos of their victims and become adults lacking in empathy, character and the skills to live outside a cellblock. Don’t call the bully’s parents and hurl accusations. You may inflame the situation. Don’t storm the school in fury. Losing control will only compromise your story. Plus, you need their story (they may be unaware) and cooperation. Don’t rush to change schools. Ultimately, this may be a solution. But you need more of the 411 and a considered strategy before uprooting a child.

DO’S Do help your child tell the story. Like the battered mate, many kids are scared or reluctant to reveal their torment. If you suspect bullying, create an encouraging place for him to unburden. Do show that you’re on his side. Period. He deserves to feel safe. Do remove blame. Tell your child it’s not his fault. Bullies pick their targets for many reasons (jealousy, prejudice, appearance, size, intelligence) or none. Do plan strategies together for handling bullies on-the-spot and over the long haul. When in line of fire, he might ignore the bully, face up to the tormentor by saying, “What’s this about? Did I hurt you in some way?” Or, he/she can leave the scene. Do involve the school. Find out if the school has a bullying policy and program in place. Many have special interventions programs, involving peers and buddies, along with discussions of bullying including role-playing to give the bully a hands-on taste of his tactics. Insist the school partner you and your child.


Most important, Do encourage confidence in your child! Provide ways he can make new friends and strengthen existing ones. For example, he can join clubs he enjoys, and other school and after-school activities. A class in self-defense or other athletic pursuits is a great confidence booster, as is anything that celebrates individuality such as piano, chess, art, ventriloquism! Celebrate differences, but also help him “fit in,” socially more comfortably. Some kids are bully magnets by the way they walk, talk, dress. While I’m the original Miss Individuality, are there simple things the child can do to become less of a target? Children with disorders, such as Asperger’s, frequently have difficulty in social situations. You want to support more appropriate behavior, while celebrating his special gifts. Parents, teachers, and communities need to work together on policies and that get kids talking, feeling, and caring. Most of all, they need to add a “C” to the three “R’s.” I believe that creaky old word is “character.” A

SYNAGOGUE LIFE EVENTS Chula Vista Lemon Festival with Temple Beth Shalom

Aug. 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Avenue Village, Chula Vista, CA 91910 The event will celebrate Chula Vista’s heritage as the Lemon Capital of the World. Temple Beth Shalom will have a booth. Visit thirdavenuevillage.com/lemon-festival for more information.

Screen on the Green with Congregation Beth El

Aug. 15, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Botanical Garden Lawn, 1549 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 Join Congregation Beth El for a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound.” Movie starts at 8 p.m. Visit cbe.org for more information.

Beach Shabbat with Congregation Beth El

Aug. 16, 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Playa Pacifica on Mission Bay, San Diego, CA 92109 Join us at Playa Pacifica on Mission Bay for informal prayer and the fun of welcoming Shabbat with family and friends relaxing on the shore. Visit cbe.org for more information.

HIN 24 HOURS.

Movie Night at Ohr Shalom Synagogue

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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

ALWAYS COOKED FRESH ON-SITE! • Rotisserie Free Range Chicken • Kosher Slow-Cooked Brisket • Whole Rotisserie Lamb • Grilled Salmon & Mahi Mahi • Choice cut Roast Beef • Rotisserie Marinated Turkey • Shabbat Luncheons

Aug. 22, 7 p.m., Ohr Shalom Synagogue, 2512 Third Ave, San Diego, CA 92103 Join Ohr Shalom Synagogue for a screening of “Some Like it Hot.” Visit ohrshalom.org for more information.

13th Annual Shabbabeque with Congregation Beth Israel Aug. 23, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Centre Drive San Diego, CA 92122 Music, food, friends and fun for all ages! No fee, but please RSVP at cbisd.org/programs/shabbabeque2019 with choice of a meat or veggie dinner. Visit cbisd.org for more information.

Member Appreciation and Open House at Tifereth Israel Synagogue

Aug. 25, 1 p.m., 6660 Cowles Mountain Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92119 This is an opportunity to welcome and introduce others to TIS. Call (619) 697-6001 to make a reservation. Visit tiferethisrael. com for more information.

858-578-8891

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*Interested in having your event featured?

Contact assistant@sdjewishjournal.com. Submissions are due by 15th of the month for the next issue. Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 75


EVENTS

Cantor Deborah Davis

Design Decor Production

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Let us work together to create a wedding ceremony that reflects the joy of your special day.

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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!

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

Deborah Davis • 619.275.1539 www.deborahjdavis.com

JEWISH COMMUNITY

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To hear samples, visit our website: secondavenueklezmer.com

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

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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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76 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019


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Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 77


AUGUST 1 - 25, 2019 THE HIT MUSICAL ABOUT THE BIRTHPLACE OF SOME OF THE GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME

“The acting, the singing, the costumes, the dance moves, everything brought you back in time. It did not take more than a second after the show ended for every audience member to be on their feet in a roaring standing ovation!” Alyssa Ballard, Coronado Times

“CRITIC’S CHOICE!”

San Diego Union-Tribune

“BEST BET! KSDS

“CRITIC”S PICK!” San Diego Reader

Let's DAnce

THE FOUR VOICES THAT CHANGED HISTORY!

By Jonathan Rosenberg and Brad Ross Directed and Choreographed by Javier Velasco Musical Direction and Arrangements by Steve Gunderson In association with R&R Productions, LLC – Brad Ross, Jonathan Rosenberg, Michael Kruke, 33 1/3 HOD SD, LLC – Jerri-Ann & Gary Jacobs, Ramesh Narasimhan, George Weisz and The San Diego School for Creative and Performing Arts

LAMB’S AT THE AVO PLAYHOUSE IN VISTA EXTENDED!! “CRITIC’S

TICKETS STARTING AT $25!

In December of 1956 Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis all met at Sun Records in Memphis. It’s a fascinating look at how their music would change the world.

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1142 ORANGE AVE • CORONADO

LAMBSPLAYERS.ORG

619.544.1000 | SDREP.ORG | Lyceum Theatre | Horton Plaza 78 SDJewishJournal.com | August 2019

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6/19/19 2:32 PM

619.437.6000


T g o i ck BU ing ets Y fa ar NO st e W ... !

“A TONGUE-IN-CHEEK GUILTY PLEASURE” - SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

SAN DIEGO PREMIERE

AUGUST 15–25, 2019 Based on the life of Rosemary Clooney Written by JANET YATES VOGT and MARK FRIEDMAN Directed by MICHAEL MAROTTA Featuring RACHEL SORSA as Rosemary Clooney

Nothin’ bu

t a good tim

Based on the life of Rosemary Clooney, this exhilarating and inspiring musical biography offers a fresh, personal and poignant picture of the woman whose unparalleled talent and unbridled personality made her a legend. We learn both the story of her successes on film, radio and TV, as well as her personal struggles. The show features many of her signature hits, including “Hey There (you with the stars in your eyes),” “Tenderly,” and “Come On-A My House.” Indulge yourself in a musical that will leave you cheering at her triumphant comeback and singing these unforgettable songs.

e

ROCK

OF AGES Book by Chris D’Arienzo Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp

July 2 – August 25

(858) 481-1055 | NorthCoastRep.org Tickets: 619.337.1525 www.cygnettheatre.org

GROUP SALES: (858) 481-2155, ext. 202

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Tammuz • Av 5779 SDJewishJournal.com 7/15/19 79 2:21 PM


Season 38 ANNOUNCING

NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE | 2019–2020

The Homecoming

By Peter Shaffer Directed by Richard Baird

By Harold Pinter Directed by David Ellenstein

APR 8 – MAY 3, 2020

With the glorious music of Mozart as a backdrop, Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award winning tale of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri starts our season on a rousing note. Told with humor, intrigue and theatricality, AMADEUS explores two men — one consumed with jealousy and the other blissfully unaware of his extraordinary gifts. This audience favorite will enrich your understanding of a musical genius and your appreciation of a master playwright.

The Sunshine Boys OCT 23 – NOV 17, 2019

By Neil Simon Directed by Jeffrey Moss The late Neil Simon continues to reign as America’s favorite playwright. THE SUNSHINE BOYS showcases his brilliant ear for sidesplitting dialogue and his sharp eye for physical comedy. Yet, beneath the raucous laughter are two vulnerable people struggling to make sense of their lives. Simon’s memorable characters are endearing and profoundly touching. You won’t want to miss this beloved comedy.

Bloomsday

JAN 8 – FEB 2, 2020

By Steven Dietz Directed by Andrew Barnicle If you’ve ever wished you could go back and have a second chance at a decision you made back in your 20s, this winsome tale will linger with you. Filled with humor, this emotional story captures the intensity of experiences as an older couple retraces their steps to discover their younger selves. BLOOMSDAY gives us a funny, touching and stark look at what it is to be in love no matter what stage of life you’re in.

WEST COAST PREMIERE

Buy 7 shows for the price of 6 with our 7-play subscription package!

Amadeus

SEP 4 – 29, 2019

SAN DIEGO PREMIERE

Become a subscriber!

The Outsider

FEB 19 – MAR 15, 2020

Often regarded as Harold Pinter’s most enduring play, this masterwork of family warfare is set in an all-male household that relies on fantasy and one-upmanship for its very existence. This toxic, but familiar pattern is disrupted when a long-absent son returns with his new wife. Her presence ignites an explosive situation, one that is vicious, funny and unsettling. Tony Award winner for Best Play. Suitable for mature audiences only.

WEST COAST PREMIERE

Human Error

MAY 27 – JUN 21, 2020 By Eric Pfeffinger Directed by Jane Page

Full of warmth, heart and outrageous humor, two couples — one liberal, the other, conservative — are forced to meet and establish a relationship with binding implications due to a medical mix-up. It’s an uncharted journey for these unlikely friends, one that is brimming with surprises and self-revelation along the way. You won’t want to miss this engaging and hilarious West Coast Premiere.

Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits JUL 8 - AUG 9, 2020

Created and Written by  Gerard Alessandrini Directed by William Selby Celebrate Broadway’s unforgettable musical legends! Experience Broadway’s greatest satirist in this hilarious, loving, and endlessly entertaining tribute to some of the theatre’s most cherished stars and songwriters. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’S GREATEST HITS parodies Broadway musicals including Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler and many others, with wit, charm, and hysterical lyrics. This world-renowned show will be a hit among seasoned theatregoers and newcomers alike. This musical is your one-stop ticket to non-stop laughs!

By Paul Slade Smith Directed by David Ellenstein THE OUTSIDER is a razor-sharp, hilarious satire of modern American politics and an inspirational tribute to democracy. Overflowing with clever plot twists portraying the contemporary political climate, Paul Slade Smith’s (Unnecessary Farce) play is a fun-house mirror, held up to reflect our often confounding governmental system. If you’re overwhelmed by today’s headlines, this thoroughly non-partisan laugh-fest is just what you need.

Call the Box Office to order your Subscription today (858) 481-1055  |  northcoastrep.org Group Sales: (858) 481-2155, ext. 202 Shows subject to change.


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