Nica Rothschild and Thelonius Monk, from 'The Jazz Baroness’ Hannah Rothschild never quite solves the mystery that comprises the heart of “The Jazz Baroness.” But her seductive documentary about the profound friendship between her British great-aunt Nica and bebop pianist extraordinaire Thelonius Monk provides so many bits of pleasure along the way that we don’t particularly mind. Made… Read more »
Dr. Robert Levin and his wife, Faye, are all smiles following Alabama's victory in the BCS championship game, Jan. 9, 2012. (Courtesy Dr. Robert Levin) NEW YORK (JTA) — After the University of Alabama won the Bowl Championship Series football crown by dominating top-ranked Louisiana State University, much of the attention and credit has gone to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. But what about Robert Levin? Pediatrician by day, Levin has been Alabama’s band announcer —… Read more »
NEW YORK (N.Y. Jewish Week) — In the fall of 2010, Sukkot became a national topic of conversation when Reboot, the Jewish cultural organization, engineered an architectural competition around the temporary shelters used to celebrate the holiday. “Sukkah City,” as it was called, will have a slightly different sensibility… Read more »
Steven I. Weiss interview with Republican primary candidate Newt Gingrich on The Jewish Channel stirred a media buzz and some criticism from GOP rivals over Gingrich's remarks, Dec. 9, 2011. (The Jewish Channel) NEW YORK (JTA) — It is a strange irony: Jews have been successful in the television business — but Jewish TV, not so much. It’s not for lack of trying. Right now, no fewer than three Jewish-focused national cable channels are trying to carve out a viable niche within… Read more »
NEW YORK (N.Y. Jewish Week) — If you were to take a cultural tour of New York today, you’d think Sigmund Freud were as relevant to society now as Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. Everywhere you’d turn, from Broadway to the movies, you’d find the father of psychoanalysis holding… Read more »
(JUF News) — “Jewish Jordan” — that’s the nickname Sports Illustrated gave Tamir Goodman when he was merely 17 years old and a high school junior at the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore. Ranked among the best 25 high school basketball players in America, Goodman seemed set to become the… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A man arrives at an airport for a flight, and as he goes through security the agent asks some questions. Did anyone help him pack his suitcase? What is the purpose of his trip? Is anyone accompanying him? During the conversation, the agent enters answers… Read more »
The Tucson chapter of Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual book sale at the Foothills Mall from Jan. 13 to 22. The sale will feature more than 50,000 books, including collectibles and first editions. “Someone said it takes a village,” says Meg Sivitz, Brandeis book sale chair, “but… Read more »
It’s not just the free popcorn that draws hundreds of moviegoers to the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run for its 21st year at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Jan. 12-22. It’s the lineup of films, from dramas to comedies to animated shorts, with themes that are… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum will hold the grand opening of its fourth annual ketubah exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will be on display Jan. 4 through Feb. 5 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Fridays from… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — As if the Jewish world doesn’t have enough problems with Iran on the brink of starting a nuclear war and the radical Muslim Brotherhood making gains in Egypt’s phased elections. This week we were rocked by another close shave with disaster: “Chasidic reggae superstar” Matisyahu… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — The Six-Day War in 1967 was a brilliant military victory, a turning point in Israel’s history. Similar glory by Americans on the battlefield no doubt would have led to the production of a half-dozen films with John Wayne single-handedly wiping out the Arab armies. Yet… Read more »
BOULDER, Colo. (JTA) — When Matisyahu, the 32-year-old Chasidic reggae superstar, appeared onstage for the first time since shaving his trademark beard, no one in the audience at the Boulder Theater seemed surprised. The news of his shaving had been widely discussed since the star tweeted a photo of… Read more »
Matisyahu posted pictures of himself on Twitter after shaving his signature beard, Dec. 13, 2011. (Photo via Twitter) NEW YORK (JTA) — The world’s most famous Chasidic Jew has shaved his beard. With a declaration Tuesday morning that he was “reclaiming” himself, Jewish music star Matisyahu — a.k.a. Matthew Miller — shaved his signature beard and wrote, “No more Chassidic reggae superstar.” The musician posted two photos of his newly… Read more »
Tucson artist Lynn Rae Lowe in her Metal Arts Village studio (Sheila Wilensky) Judaism is a profound part of life for Tucson metal artist Lynn Rae Lowe, who is known for her award-winning chanukiot and other Judaica. But it wasn’t always so. Men like her father who returned from World War II wanted to assimilate into American society. “They didn’t want to… Read more »
Madeline Dreyfus Heineman Berger, founder of the Temple of Music and Art David Ira Goldstein has been artistic director of the Arizona Theatre Company for 20 years. But the ATC’s Jewish legacy in Tucson goes back much further — all the way to the founding of the ATC’s Tucson home, the Temple of Music and Art, by Madeline Dreyfus Heineman Berger,… Read more »
Steve Solomon Steve Solomon, star and creator of one of the longest running one-man comedy shows in history, “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy,” presents a new show next month at the Invisible Theatre. In “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m Home for the Holidays:… Read more »
An innovative figure emerged in my youth who inspired me in a way that was so different from many others — a rabbi with a guitar and amazing stories who reached into the inner depths of my soul. It was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who became known as the “sweet… Read more »
A new kosher cookbook, “Havurah Cooks! A Collection of Recipes by Sun City Vistoso Havurah Club” was conceived by board members Ester Leutenberg and Bebe Lewis as a way to fight “activity fatigue” in the club, which was founded in 1993 and now boasts some 160 members. The club’s… Read more »
Neshama Carlebach Neshama Carlebach sings so that people can feel. “I want people to feel — that’s when healing begins,” says Carlebach, 37, the daughter of the legendary Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who also used music to teach and inspire, recording more than 25 albums. Carlebach will take the concert stage at… Read more »
