By Donald H. Harrison

B Professor Lawrence Baron passes on information that the history department of San Diego State University is staging a mini-film festival September through December with professors discussing four movies that illustrate the late 50's and 1960's.  Which ones would you choose?  The history department's choices were The Graduate; Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb; Star Trek; and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 

E Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad of La Costa passes on some information about the Hebrew month of Elul, which leads into the High Holiday of Rosh Hashanah. "There are some special customs to keep in mind during this month," he says. "We blow the shofar each day of the month, we give extra Tzedakah during this month, many get their Mezuzos and Tefilin checked, and we begin blessing each other Kesiva viChasima Tovah, (you should be written and sealed for a good year)." Another piece of interesting  information from Rabbi Eilfort requires an understanding that the Hebrew letter alef, which we typically write as an "A" can also be written in some circumstances as an "E," and the letter vav which we sometimes write as a "V" in other circumstances can be written as an "O" or a "U." So, if we look at a famous phrase from the Song of Songs (6:3)—Ani l'dodi v'dodi li ("I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"), the Hebrew initials of that phrase spell the month "Elul." 

L Rabbi Baruch Lederer of Congregation Kehillas Torah retold a story in his newsletter of Domingo. the guard at a kosher meat plant in Argentina, who could lock the gates as soon as Sammy Braun, the owner, left.  But one evening, as Braun was leaving, Domingo said they must not lock the gates yet as Rabbi Breitowitz still was inside.  There were over 200 people working at the plant; perhaps Domingo simply had missed the rabbi's exit.  Domingo insisted he had not, and so he and Braun went inside to search the premises.  They found Rabbi Breitowitz trapped inside a meat freezer, and dragged the shivering man to warmth and safety. When Braun asked Domingo how he knew that Breitowitz hadn't left the plant, Domingo's reply contained a lesson that Rabbi Lederer says we all can profit from: "'Every morning when that rabbi comes in, he greets me and says hello. He makes me feel like a person. And every single night when he leaves he tells me, 'Have a pleasant evening.'  He never misses a night - and to tell you the truth, I wait for his kind words. Dozens and dozens of workers pass me every day - morning and night, and they don't say a word to me. To them I am a nothing. To him, I am a somebody.  I knew he came in this morning and I was sure he hadn't left yet, because I was waiting for his friendly good-bye for the evening!"

P Earlier in this column we reported that Yoni and Sigal Peres, frequent visitors to San Diego, had a second baby girl.  Now we can report that her name is Eden. Someday, when she's out back playing in the vegetable patch, knowing them, they'll say, "she's in the garden of Eden."  

R Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal of Tifereth Israel Synagogue was discussing this week's parsha, Ki Tavo, in his newsletter, but the financial appeals that most synagogues make to their congregants on the High Holidays also crossed his mind in retelling this tale: "Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Maizel, the Rabbi of Lodz, Poland, once approached one of the wealthy members of his community and asked for a contribution to tzedakah. 'I am unable to help you,' answered the man. 'I have had a bad year. One of my new ventures has collapsed, and all of my businesses are suffering. Life for me is now very difficult and bitter.  I wish I could help, but I simply do not have the funds.' He went on for several more minutes in the same vein. Shortly thereafter the man’s fortune changed. His investments began to pay out handsomely and his stores were full of customers. Hearing of his improved finances, Rabbi Maizel approached him and asked how things were going. This time the man did not give a speech. He responded quietly. 'So, so,' he said.   Rabbi Maizel said, “Now I understand what the midrash means when it says concerning parshat Ki Tavo: ‘A person speaks of his deficiencies loudly, but of his successes quietly.’..."

S Dan Standler has been designated by Gail and Okoronkwo Umeham as the 388th honoree of the Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History.  The San Carlos-area resident is an active member of Tifereth Israel Synagogue and is lauded by the Umehams as one of the "most considerate men" they have had the pleasure of knowing.  "He's always doing very helpful things for people without them ever asking," Gail said.