The sweetest time of year is upon us, quite literally: It’s Rosh Hashanah. And while I know most families have their standard holiday dishes they make year after year, sometimes it’s nice to swap in a new appetizer, alternating main dish or quick but delicious new dessert to serve.… Read more »
Arts and Culture
HIGH HOLIDAY FEATURES: New children’s books: A magical shoebox and animals from everywhere
From an African warthog to swinging orangutans, animals from all corners of the planet are featured in two stories among a new crop of children’s books at the Jewish New Year that also includes a lyrical poem of the biblical story of Creation and a magical story about an… Read more »
Torah scroll makes its way from Iowa to Paraguay, telling story about modern Judaism
One family after another hurried through Erin Jones-Avni’s front door, anxious to get their first glimpse of the new arrival — to admire its ornate silver breastplate and touch its satiny mantle. “People just kept coming, and they’d make a beeline for the Torah,” she told JTA from her… Read more »
‘Crossing Delancey,’ now 30 years old, was the ultimate Jewish rom-com
The movies, at least in contemporary times, don’t have enough great stories of outwardly Jewish love. That’s one of the many reasons why “Crossing Delancey,” the classic 1988 romantic comedy that arrived in theaters 30 years ago this week, remains a cinematic treat worth revisiting.… Read more »
Unique museum tells story of Polish family murdered for hiding Jews during Holocaust
MARKOWA, Poland — Memorial plaques bearing the names of Poles killed for rescuing Jews line the pathway leading to a small, austere structure built into a hillside in this rural village in southeastern Poland. In the center courtyard, a large slab is inscribed to the memory of Jewish victims… Read more »
Ben Kingsley carried a photo of Elie Wiesel with him while filming ‘Operation Finale’
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Ask Ben Kingsley about why he was keen to portray Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in the new film “Operation Finale” and he describes the traumatic childhood incident in which he first learned about the Holocaust. The 74-year-old British actor was then in grammar school and… Read more »
This Seattle singer wrote an entire folk rock album on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(JTA) — In 2014, early on in a three-year stint spent living in Israel, songwriter Ben Fisher took a vacation to Japan. Sitting in a hotel room in Tokyo, he spontaneously wrote a song about the founding of Tel Aviv — in about 15 minutes. The story goes that… Read more »
Hadassah, Loft to show film on women’s ambulance corps
Like many heavily Orthodox sections of Brooklyn, Borough Park has been served for decades by an all-male volunteer ambulance corps called Hatzalah. The corps caters to a religious Jewish community with particular needs and customs — including one custom that can increase the tension for some patients in already… Read more »
Jewish History Museum’s new interactive core exhibit prioritizes local voices
The Jewish History Museum, open by appointment only during the summer, will reopen Friday, Aug. 31, with a new core exhibition, “Meanings Not Yet Imagined.” “Meanings Not Yet Imagined” is the final stage of a curatorial project that began with the installation of the Holocaust History Center’s “Intimate Histories”… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El plans eclectic fall concerts
Three concerts at Temple Emanu-El this fall offer a mix of jazz, classical and what can only be described as “an instrument petting zoo.” “First, we’re bringing in two really genre-bending jazz bands on Aug. 25,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, choir director at Temple Emanu-El. The headliner is Resurrecting Id,… Read more »
Jewish artists to present ‘Simcha’ at the J
Thirteen members of the Tucson Jewish Artists will present a group show, “Simcha,” in the Fine Art Gallery at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Aug. 26-Oct. 3. The group, which numbers around 25 visual artists, meets several times a year under the auspices of the Tucson Jewish concierge.… Read more »
‘Accidental book’ at center of annual brunch
Esther Becker will present the annual Women’s Academy of Jewish Studies women’s book brunch on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. She found this year’s book by a happy accident. “Several weeks ago in Jerusalem, Rabbi and I were searching for a specific bookshop with the… Read more »
Fall Arts Preview: Advertising Directory
ARIZONA REPERTORY THEATRE www.theatre.arizona.edu • 621-1162 Arizona Repertory Theatre is a unique theatre company within the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television. ART presents six productions each season with over 100 performances from September through May. Modeled after professional theatre companies, ART consists of students from… Read more »
Why Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’ is a cautionary tale for 21st-century Jews
Spoilers for “BlacKkKlansman” below. NEW YORK (JTA) — In 1965, two young Jewish men, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were murdered along with black activist James Chaney by Ku Klux Klansmen in a Southern horror memorialized in the 1988 film “Mississippi Burning.” My own Jew-adjacent summer camp showed the film to… Read more »
Europe is going bananas over this Israeli guy’s avocados
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Last year, Ron Simpson was still managing talent for a living. But within just a few months Simpson, a 34-year-old Jewish marketing professional and producer from Amsterdam with no experience in running a restaurant, launched an international chain of eateries with a partner. It is so… Read more »
Does ‘Three Identical Strangers’ play fair with its audience?
NEW YORK (JTA) — A critical consensus has formed around the hit documentary film “Three Identical Strangers,” which can be summarized in the title of one of its glowing reviews: “‘Three Identical Strangers’ Is as Unnerving as It Is Thrilling.” This story of three triplets, reunited as teenagers after… Read more »
Gender nonbinary activist Kate Bornstein seeks to shatter stereotypes in Broadway’s ‘Straight White Men’
(JTA) — The Hayes Theater in New York, currently home to the Broadway show “Straight White Men,” has just opened its doors, and Kate Bornstein is already patrolling the orchestra seating area. There’s an unusual cacophony of rap music and flashing lights in the theater during the preshow. As… Read more »
Blueberry Honey Cake Recipe
(The Nosher via JTA) – Rosh Hashanah has a way of sneaking up on you, and it’s a bittersweet feeling when it does. Bitter because it means the summer is over, but sweet because the Jewish New Year is a sweet and delicious time of year to spend with… Read more »
How an Orthodox cantor snagged a role on ‘Orange Is the New Black’
NEW YORK (JTA) — Cantor Philip Sherman gives me a call after having finished two circumcisions before noon on Tuesday. That’s a light day, he explains. On Thursday, he will be performing circumcisions for four baby boys; on Friday, he’ll do five. Sherman, 62, is a mohel (in… Read more »
Chocolate Babka Challah, the ultimate sweet loaf
(The Nosher via JTA) – There’s nothing more comforting than a slice of babka and a glass of milk to break a long fast on. In my family, it’s pretty much all we eat. But I don’t always make babka, and I do always make challah, especially during the… Read more »