Ha Kotel—Rabbi Baruch Lederman inspects an art work
                                                                                                                    depicting the Western Wall at "silent auction" held to
                                                                                                                     benefit Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School.

But, she said, everything changes. She told of hearing a story two weeks ago about an Israeli rabbi who had received a piece of Torah from a former Nazi officer who had torn the parchment from a scroll in a destroyed synagogue for a souvenir.  He picked the parchment from the Torah at random, but now these many years later, he wanted a rabbi to have it so it could be returned to the Jewish people.  The rabbi who received it recognized it immediately as being from Deuteronomy 28, "which describes the Holocaust that will befall the Jewish people if they do not observe the Torah," the rebbetzin said.

The parchment from such an unlikely source was returned to Israel at a time when it faces great threats from Iran.  Was it an accident?  Jungreis asked rhetorically, answering her question with the declaration that it is "time for every Jew to wake up."

"What you are doing, giving children Torah, is meaningful, but it is not enough," she warned as well."

An example of the great insight of Judaism may be found in a morning prayer in which God is thanked for giving wisdom to the rooster.  A wise rooster? she asked. Isn't the rooster one of the vainest of creatures?.  What wisdom is meant?  The rebbetzin,  widow of Rabbi Meshulem HaLevi Jungreis, said the rooster unerringly 

  Hors d'ouevres—Einat Grushkevich, left, and Hanna Camhi take appetizers
  offered by Akberet Teklai at the La Jolla Marriott, and Betty and Herb Shatoff 
  find some other delicacies at a side table.


differentiates the darkness of night from the lightness of day. May it be that humanity can make similar differentiations on a moral level between what is right and what is wrong.

In Washington D.C., said Jungreis, author of several inspirational books that were sold before and after her speech, there was a race at a school catering to the special needs of children with Down's Syndrome.  One of the children in the race fell on his knee, and began to cry.  Instead of continuing to run toward the finish line, a girl stopped and said to her fallen friend, "let me kiss it for you."  Then she and the other competitors helped the boy up and together they ran to the finish line.  How many of us would have stopped racing to help someone in distress? she asked.  How many of us have grasped the Torah lessons teaching us to make proper decisions?

The rooster also has the quality of consistency.  Rain or shine, in health or in illness, it crows to announce the morning.  Jews, too, must be consistent; whether in Israel or in the Diaspora, they must stay Jews, said the rebbetzin.

Furthermore, she taught, the rooster has foresight. He knows the morning will come—even as Moses' sister, Miriam, knew that for the Jews enslaved in Egypt there would be a spiritual morning. Jungreis recounted that at the Red Sea, Miriam played her tambourine in celebration of the Exodus.  Wasn't it amazing that she had a tambourine? Fleeing the Egyptians, why, of all things, would she have packed that?  "She brought it out of the Auschwitz of Egypt because she understood some day the sun will shine and the darkness will fall," the rebbetzin said.

So it was with Rebbetzin Jungreis'  father, who did not take with him jewelry or other objects of material comfort when he was deported to a concentration camp. Instead he snuggled into the camp some tefillin 
                                                                                       Challah covers—Dr. Karl Jacobs studies challah covers
                                                                                                                    made by Soille students for the silent auction.

and a manuscript of Torah scholarship written by Jungreis' great-grandfather.  What was her father thinking?  Jungreis asked. In the camp, she answered, she saw people standing in line to touch her father's tefillin.  And the manuscript somehow survived the war and today is read and studied by scholars.  

Likewise, she said, there was a rabbi who kept preaching and writing in the concentration camps, right up to the end. "As long as I live I have to write and to speak," he explained. "The rest is up to God."

Although he perished, some of his writings survived the war.  A Polish lad found the manuscript and traded it to an American soldier for a bar of chocolate. The soldier, a Gentile, gave it to a Jewish chaplain.  Those writings too are studied today in yeshivot, she said.

"When you give a Torah education to your children, you are preserving the manuscript of our people," she declared.


Honorees—Rabbi Simcha Weiser, right, congratulates Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School honorees who, from right, are, Sarah Rubinstein, Lionel & Kim Kahn, Michael & Etty Sohmer, and Sean & Loretta Levi.  Standing by to present them awards are Audrey Jacobs, Barbara Perlitch and Emily Einhorn.

Four sets of people who, indeed, have been instrumental in giving Torah education to the children were honored during brief ceremonies at the dinner which was held at the Marriott Hotel in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.

These included Sean and Loretta Levi, who were honored in the chozim category for their philanthropy.  "Since coming to Hebrew Day School three years ago, Sean and Loretta Levi have grown to love and appreciate the Torah education their children are receiving," said a citation contained in the printed program for the banquet.  "Each year they not only generously support our scholarship fund, they are also visionary givers who want to help realize the school's potential for future growth."

Lionel and Kim Kahn were cited for leadership: "For the past twelve years, both Lionel and Kim Kahn have demonstrated great leadership in supporting the school at all levels. For the past four years Lionel has served as President of the Board of Governors and Kim has chaired many fundraising and school events.  The Kahns' commitment has raised the bar of parent involvement and has inspired others to follow their lead."

Micheal and Etty Sohmer were honored for volunteerism.  "As soon as Michael and Etty arrived at Soille, they immediately began devoting countless hours to many daily 'nuts and bolts' tasks at the school, including the hot lunch program and improving our school's safety. With their love, attention, and hard work, they make Soille a more safe and nurturing environment.

Preschool teacher Sarah Rubinstein was recognized as an outstanding faculty member:  "For the past ten years, Morah Sarah has lovingly taught our four year olds and skillfully prepared them for Kindergarten.  No matter what challenges life has brought, Morah Sarah has shown extraordinary dedication to our school and our children. She is also the grandmother of six students in our school."

There were some special moments bespeaking Torah education.  Charlene Seidle, a Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School alumna, who today serves as the associate director of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego County announced that an anonymous donor had left a bequest creating a scholarship fund named for Soille's headmaster, Rabbi Simcha Weiser.  Seidle, 28,  said she recently decided to take out a life insurance policy, the benefits of which will be paid to help other students.

In addition to the many items donated and sold at a "silent auction,"  Philip Silverman,  one of the honorees from the previous year, auctioned 
   
   Announces bequest—Charlene Seidle of Jewish Community 
    Foundation, as her JCF colleague Gail Littman looks on, tells
    of  bequest by anonymous donor establishing scholarships in
    honor of Soille's headmaster, Rabbi Simcha Weiser, standing
    in the background.

in traditional fashion a sky box that will accommodate 20 persons at the Padres game on Tuesday, Aug. 15.  Eventually, a $1,500 bid took the prize, worth well over $2,000.  The successful bidders, Sean & Loretta Levi,  promptly re-donated the sky box back to the school,  with the wish that Rabbi Weiser and other members of the staff be taken "out to the ballgame."