(JTA) – This upstate New York resort’s lake, bowling alleys and cabins were the setting for Mrs. Maisel’s Catskills summer retreat. Now it can be yours for a mere $6 million. The Scott’s Family Resort in Deposit, which has been operating for 150 years, is on the market. The… Read more »
Tagged Coronavirus
Amid pandemic, Jewish groups get creative for Shavuot festivities
When Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly during a 2015 vacation to Mexico, Sandberg found solace in Jewish tradition. “One of the ways you find strength is to remember what is still good in your life,” Sandberg said. During the coronavirus crisis, actress, scientist and author… Read more »
It is time for Hasidic leaders to embrace the internet
SUFFERN, N.Y. (JTA) — My two children, aged 13 and 15, attend daily Zoom classes from designated corners of our suburban home. Slovenly habits aside, their workspaces are virtual classrooms in which they analyze George Orwell’s work and ponder Talmudic passages in equal measure. Online classes — the ones they… Read more »
I started watching this German rabbi praying alone early in the pandemic, and I couldn’t stop
(JTA) — On a Friday early in the coronavirus crisis, isolated in my apartment and facing the first of what would be many weekends with only Netflix for companionship, I came across a live Facebook video of Rabbi Zsolt Balla praying alone from the pulpit of his synagogue in… Read more »
The millennial rabbis behind @Modern_Ritual use Instagram to make Judaism accessible
This story originally appeared on Alma. Clapping 👏hands 👏emojis, millennial pink table runners, and glittered Shabbat candles fill a colorful grid on Modern Ritual, the Jewish educational Instagram page run by rabbis Rena Singer and Samantha Frank. Rena and Samantha, “Sam,” are challenging stereotypes and calming anxieties around coronavirus… Read more »
13 Jewish facts about ‘Hamilton’ that will make you smile
This story originally appeared on Kveller. In the ultimate COVID-19 silver lining, the Broadway smash “Hamilton“ will soon be available to stream from the comfort of your quarantine couch. Huzzah! Originally set to hit theaters on in October 2021, it was an incredible coup by Disney+ to snag rights… Read more »
Those Jewish camps that are open this summer? This camp doctor and nurse think it’s a bad idea.
DENVER (JTA) — In the summer of 1999, we slept head to head in top bunks at Camp Ramah in Canada. We also shared a viral upper respiratory illness that kept us from participating in the much-anticipated yom bli shemesh (a day without sun) while the rest of our… Read more »
The coronavirus didn’t just upend Broadway — it put all kinds of indie projects in limbo
(JTA) — Emma Seligman is trying to stay optimistic. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 25-year-old came extremely close to fulfilling every film student’s fantasy: having her debut indie film played at coveted festivals and becoming an up-and-coming name to know in the industry. Her film “Shiva Baby” involves both… Read more »
Synagogues demur as Trump demands that states let houses of worship reopen
(JTA) — President Donald Trump wants synagogues and other houses of worship to open their doors — but many Jewish leaders say his pressure won’t affect their timelines. The president went on the offensive Friday, telling governors that he would override them to require houses of worship to be… Read more »
Phoenix Jewish News to host COVID-19 webinar with state Reps. Alma Hernandez and Aaron Lieberman
On Tuesday, May 26 at 2 p.m., state Reps. Hernandez and Aaron Lieberman will speak with Phoenix Jewish News Managing Editor Shannon Levitt in a conversation moderated by JN General Manager Rich Solomon about COVID-19, how it’s affected Phoenix and Arizona, and what’s next as we look ahead to… Read more »
A Jewish camp in Maine is actually opening. Here’s how it plans to keep COVID-19 away.
(JTA) — Here’s a story that would have been unremarkable until just a few months ago: A Jewish camp is planning to open this summer. Camp Modin in Maine has announced that it will open July 9 — two weeks later than originally planned — despite the ongoing COVID-19… Read more »
These 10 Yiddish words will get you through quarantine
This story originally appeared on Kveller. We’ve been self-quarantining for more than 40 days and 40 nights and, quite frankly, we’re running out of steam. Still, we can’t escape all the social media posts and articles (and our mother’s voices in our heads) telling us to make good use of… Read more »
National Jewish community observance of Memorial Day to be live-streamed
On Monday, May 25th at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. in South, JWB Jewish Chaplains Council®, a program of the JCC Association of North America, is spearheading the first-ever National Jewish Community Observance of Memorial Day, a commemoration that will be live-streamed on the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council Facebook… Read more »
Social welfare calls bolster community bonds
As part of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Community Foundation response to the coronavirus pandemic, staff and volunteers have made more than 1,300 social welfare phone calls to members of the community. The project is ongoing. “It started with my desire to reach out to donors of… Read more »
CARES Act suspends federal student loans for six months, through Sept. 30
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27 provides automatic suspension of principal and interest payments on federally held student loans from March 13 through Sept. 30. There is no fee to suspend your loans and you do not need to apply… Read more »
Tucson J virtual programs can help adults, kids stay active and sharp during pandemic
The Tucson Jewish Community Center has been offering a variety of virtual classes and programs at www.tucsonjcc.org to help people stay physically fit, mentally sharp, and spiritually focused while the facility is closed as a preventative measure due to the coronavirus. “You can stay active in your own home! Here… Read more »
UArizona, with state funds, begins COVID-19 antibody tests
The University of Arizona has started analyzing blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Arizonans to determine who has developed antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19. The state of Arizona is providing $3.5 million to test 250,000 health care workers and first responders throughout Arizona. To lay the foundation… Read more »
Our post-pandemic Shabbat meals should include far less meat
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Last year I wrote about how, as we come to terms with the existential threat of climate change, our joyous occasions will shift in both spirit and practice — including the food we eat and how it is produced. The same is true in the… Read more »
Emerging from lockdown, French Jews take stock of community’s ‘enormous losses’
(JTA) — Regulars at the synagogue in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine call its main hallway “the traffic jam.” The term, often uttered with an eye roll, refers to the bottleneck that forms several times a day outside the offices of the popular synagogue, housed in a 1930s Bauhaus… Read more »
Senate legislation would expand COVID-19 projects with Israel to lessen dependence on China
(JTA) — The Senate has introduced legislation to enhance partnerships between American and Israeli companies on COVID-19 projects, thus lessening U.S. dependence on China for life-saving medications and treatments. The bipartisan legislation was introduced on Wednesday as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on a whirlwind eight-hour visit to Israel, criticized… Read more »