BUDAPEST (JTA) – Architecture and built heritage can be powerful symbols. Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most famous and familiar buildings in the world, visited by an astonishing 30,000 people a day, or 13 million people a year. It is embedded in global collective consciousness and immortalized around the… Read more »
Arts and Culture
Mixed Roasted Vegetables with Tahini Sauce: A colorful dish inspired by spring
This article originally appeared on The Nosher. A colorful spring-inspired platter of roasted vegetables is the perfect side dish for your seder dinner or any time you are entertaining a crowd. For this particular mix, I chose a whole head of cauliflower, smaller cauliflower florets in purple and yellow, shallots,… Read more »
Jennifer Lopez to perform in Israel for the first time
(JTA) — This time, don’t be fooled by the rocks that she’s got — Jennifer Lopez is set to perform in Israel for the first time. Concert promoters confirmed the rumor Wednesday. Lopez, 49, will play at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park on Aug. 1. The pop star and actress… Read more »
6 quirky Passover traditions to inspire your seder
(JTA) — There are several do’s and don’ts when it comes to the Passover seder: what we may or may not eat, and the story we are obliged to tell. Within these guidelines, how do 21st-century American Jews manage to keep Passover engaging and alive? Some find the secret to… Read more »
All the Jews who made the Time 100 most influential people list
(JTA) — One week after winning election to a fifth term as Israel’s head of state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. Other Jewish people on the list include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg; Jennifer Hyman, whose $1 billion company… Read more »
Myla Goldberg’s new novel portrays illegal abortions in an incredibly honest way
This article originally appeared on Kveller. Author Myla Goldberg is back with “Feast Your Eyes,” a beautiful and compelling novel about a female photographer who grapples with being a mom and an artist. The novel is structured as catalog notes from an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern… Read more »
From 1600s Europe to a lesbian feminist seder, these 4 Haggadahs are a trip through Jewish history
NEW YORK (JTA) — From graphic novel Haggadahs to a Donald Trump-themed one, if you’re looking for a certain kind of guide to the Passover seder, chances are it’s out there. Recent years have seen a proliferation of political, environmental, family-friendly, or just plain irreverent Haggadahs, but the urge to… Read more »
This Yiddish romance novel was a smash hit in 1877. It was just translated into English for the first time.
BOSTON (JTA) — Hot off the Jewish press in Vilna in 1877, a dramatic Yiddish romance novel became a surprising success, selling out its first 10,000 copies in Jewish communities across Poland and Russia. It’s not hard to see why. Set in the mid-19th century in the outskirts of… Read more »
This cartoon matzah character is huge in Holland — and not just among Jews
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Anywhere else in Europe, a muscular cartoon character named Max the Matzah would have amounted to little more than an inside Jewish joke. But in the Netherlands, where matzah for many non-Jews is a household item year-round, Max became an unlikely hit with the general population.… Read more »
The Passover kitniyot argument isn’t worth a hill of beans
(JTA) — Israel held elections under the cloud of its leader’s possible indictment. The world’s far right and its far left have found common cause in their hatred of the Jews. There is a measles outbreak among the Orthodox. And friends want to kvetch about kitniyot. Every year around… Read more »
Teens, seniors will launch life stories book at reception
Tracing Roots 2.0 paired Tucson’s Jewish teens with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging to build meaningful relationships. The program encourages participants to learn together, share their stories, trace their ancestry and bring memories to life through technology and personal interaction. Tucson Hebrew High students met regularly… Read more »
Repertory choir to bring its rich sound back to Emanu-El
Arizona Repertory Singers will present a concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, April 28, “Psalms of David and Songs of Solomon.” “The Arizona Repertory Singers are one of this city’s choral treasures,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, music director at Temple Emanu-El. “They always bring a beautiful, rich sound to the… Read more »
‘Nearing Ninety,’ Viorst still writing with the same sass
As a mother of three active boys, bestselling author Judith Viorst never had the luxury of waiting for the muse to strike. “I just put my tushy on the chair and wrote” when the kids were napping or at preschool, she told the AJP recently. “If every once in… Read more »
Pesach-friendly rainbow cookies infuse color, flavor into holiday
(The Nosher via JTA) – I love rainbow cookies. Love. And they are a serious obsession for my entire family. So when I made this recipe Passover-friendly last year, it was a wonderful, delicious game-changer for our Passover celebrations. Simply replace the regular flour with 1/2 cup matzah cake… Read more »
Montoya to moderate local leaders forum on immigration
Immigration 2019 is the focus for the annual local leaders forum, presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and the Jewish History Museum. The event will be held Friday, April 12, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718… Read more »
‘Sesame Street’ seder leads new kids’ books
Four questions. Four cups of wine. Four types of children. At Passover, the number four figures prominently in the rituals of the seder, the ceremonial holiday meal that can be mesmerizing and mystifying. Four new delightful and brightly illustrated books for young kids will enliven — and help explain… Read more »
Want something decadent? Try this Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Prunes recipe
This article originally appeared on The Nosher. Braised short ribs are a decadent and delicious alternative to brisket for Passover, or anytime you want to serve up a very special meal. They are so tender from cooking low and slow, they literally fall off the bone. Adding dried fruit to… Read more »
What I wish people knew about Yiddishists
This article originally appeared on Alma. My name is Rokhl and I’m a Yiddishist. I’ve been a Yiddishist my entire adult life, pretty much since I took my first Yiddish class in college. Being visibly (or audibly) Yiddish in public means I’ve heard every possible comment about my linguistic… Read more »
An indigenous and Jewish photographer wants to tell her people’s story before it’s too late
(JTA) — At the age of 20, Kali Spitzer left her home in Victoria, British Columbia, to travel north and immerse herself in the culture of her father, who is a member of the Kaska Dena, a First Nations people native to Canada. For around seven months, she lived… Read more »
A former Jewish punk rocker wrote an acclaimed novel about Holocaust memory
(JTA) — At first glance, Bram Presser looks more like a punk rocker than a sensitive novelist. He has two big lip piercings, a few scraggly dreadlocks and a quirky beard only under his chin line. And, yes, Presser, 43, was the lead singer and songwriter of Yidcore, an… Read more »