Arts and Culture

(JTA) — When Gabrielle Birkner and Rebecca Soffer met in 2007, the two Jewish journalists found they had much more in common than their professions. Through a mutual friend, they joined what became known as Women With Dead Parents, a monthly dinner gathering in New York City for women… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — Twinkle, twinkle, kochavim (stars), Shining in the shamayim (sky). When I say Shema tonight, Everything will be all right. Years ago, my oldest child brought this song home from preschool. It made me wonder: What exactly was the message they were trying to convey to… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Let’s face it: There’s just something wonderfully soothing about seeing a steaming bowl of matzah ball soup with its pillowy-plump dumplings swimming in a bath of golden broth. This healing vegetarian matzah ball soup delivers all the “ah” of its traditional cousin with precisely… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — When Rabbi Angela Buchdahl announced how her synagogue would respond to the #MeToo moment, she singled out a man. But he wasn’t one of her congregants, synagogue clergy or staff members. He was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, perhaps the most prominent 20th-century composer of American Jewish… Read more »

The line is from a remarkably poignant scene in the 2004 film “Garden State,” in which Zach Braff’s character explains to his love interest, played by Natalie Portman, a few things that most non-Orthodox American Jews know about large suburban synagogues. “The Jews I know,” Braff continues, “they go… Read more »

WHIPPANY, N.J. (New Jersey Jewish News via JTA) — If Bea Slater had ever been a shrinking violet, her sudden celebrity might be uncomfortable. At 90, the great-grandmother has her image plastered on billboards and bus shelters up and down Manhattan and in Brooklyn. There’s even one on the roof above… Read more »

The art gallery at Beth Shalom Temple Center is presenting an exhibit by award-winning Tucson artist Lynn Rae Lowe, “Ancient and Contemporary Symbolism of the Hebrew Alphabet,” through March 4. Lowe uses a variety of materials, two- and three-dimensional methods and the techniques of 20th century master artists to… Read more »

Works by Tucson artist Andy Burgess will be on display at the Tucson Museum of Art beginning next month. The exhibit, “Mid-Century Perspectives: Paintings by Andy Burgess and Objects of Modern Design,” will run through April 22. Burgess, who grew up in a Jewish family in North London’s Golders… Read more »

At the age of 90, Henry Koffler, Ph.D., former University of Arizona president, embarked on a new career. Becoming an artist represented something good coming out of emergency surgery followed by a long recovery. That was five years ago. His exhibit, “95!,” celebrating his age and artwork, is now… Read more »

A passion for history that began with her father’s stories of his childhood in pre-war Poland has led Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett to play a large part in piecing together the scattered, thousand-year history of the Polish Jews. Now she is bringing this history to Tucson. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, chief curator of the core… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — I’m pretty good at having uncomfortable conversations. I’m a therapist. I’ve been talking with people for years about consent, misogyny and patriarchy. My great-grandmother, who immigrated from Eastern Europe to New York City and managed to become her high school’s valedictorian, marched for women’s suffrage… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — You might say I am a tad obsessed with harissa these days. Harissa roasted chicken. Harissa Bloody Mary. And now these harissa lamb meatballs. Sorry, not sorry. To take a step back for just a second, harissa is a North African condiment made from… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — With the Academy Awards on the horizon, there is no shortage of high-quality films to see in theaters and on the small screen. Getting a jump on the festivities, here are five of the best Jewish-themed ones to watch this awards season, from Oscar contenders to… Read more »

SKOKIE, Ill. (JTA) — In an otherwise darkened theater, viewers gasped when they saw what appeared to be a seated 83-year-old man wearing a light green button-down shirt and khaki pants. Aaron Elster of Chicago seemed to be answering questions about his unbelievable escape from the Sokolov ghetto in… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — “The Nazis were bad people who didn’t like Jews,” I heard myself saying to my 3-year-old. I immediately questioned this rather disappointing explanation. Bad people? What does that mean? Haven’t my wife and I always told our child that people aren’t “bad” or “good,” even… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Saffron rice with pine nuts is made all over the Middle East. Sometimes it is spiced with a little ground coriander, cinnamon and cumin, or flaked almonds are used instead of the pine nuts. This saffron rice is often served for Rosh Hashanah as… Read more »

BROOKLINE, Mass. (JTA) — When Maxim Shrayer traveled to Moscow for a five-day visit at the end of October 2016, his itinerary included a trip to the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. Shrayer, who emigrated from Russia to the U.S. with his refusenik activist parents 30 years ago, is… Read more »

BERKELEY, California (JTA) — In the middle of a traditional Friday night service in this artists’ district in the crunchy mecca of Berkeley, California, a group of 40 worshippers paused their prayers to gather around a group of “found objects:” an empty picture frame, fake flowers, a doorknob. Each… Read more »

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation is going more local for this year’s fundraiser.  On Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m., Hillel will hold “A Night at La Cage Hillel” at the Stevie Eller Dance Theater building on the university campus. The event is crucial to supporting Hillel’s work… Read more »

In May, the Arizona Theatre Company announced the arrival of David Ivers, the new artistic director who took over the reins from David Ira Goldstein after Goldstein’s 25-year stint leading ATC. Ivers suggested “Outside Mullingar” for the 2017/18 transition season and will make his ATC directorial debut with the… Read more »