JJ Editor's Daily Picks
"After five years of war with the Islamic State, the biggest problem for the winners is coping with the losers. The aftermath has produced one of the world’s most perplexing postwar challenges..."
"What do we mean when we say that the “soul of the city” is under threat? Often, it’s really about politics, nostalgia, and the fear of community change."
"...the pendulum of history never stops moving. Indeed, one of the few constants of history is unceasing change. While we seem to be heading in one direction, we must remember that there will surely be pauses, turns, and reversals."
""Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé," premiered early Wednesday and it was the fulfillment of all the ancestors' hopes and dreams. Beyoncé also dropped "Homecoming: The Live Album.""
"Seven in 10 adults ages 18 to 34 received financial support from their parents in the last year, including more than half of those in their early 30s. Almost three in five millennials said they couldn’t afford their lifestyles without the support."
"Social media influencers have helped turn public lands into tourist-infested swamps. And one cantankerous man is fighting back."
"One particular myth that attached itself to Ledger was that his death was somehow a result of immersing himself in the character of the Joker."
"In 2018, for the second year in a row, American publishers released fewer translated titles: 609 books were published, down from 650 in 2017 and the industry high in 2016 of 666."
"Egg freezing had become so routine among my single peers that when I hit 35, I never thought twice. Here’s what I wish I had known."
"When it comes to Passover cuisine, most home cooks know to avoid wheat, oats, rye, and other forbidden ingredients. But what consumers might not realize is just how much cotton they eat during the holiday."
"A masked figure looms over your recumbent body, wielding power tools and sharp metal instruments, doing things to your mouth you cannot see."
"Passover is a holiday that commemorates the Jewish people escaping slavery in Egypt. It is often referred to as the “festival of freedom.” My Passover in prison was at a place called the Wallkill Correctional Facility..."
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How can anyone not be madly in love with freedom? Freedom is the very opposite of being imprisoned — and what’s worse than that? Freedom...
I’ve spent much of my life rebelling against order. My dad wanted me to go into the security of advertising, so I went into the...
The Passover seder is the most celebrated Jewish ritual in the world for the same reason “Avengers: Endgame” sold a record number of pre-sale tickets...
Good stories begin with the words, “Once upon a time.” They take place in a single point in history, a moment that is remembered and...
One day you wake up after years of being painfully trapped in an untenable situation and realize you can’t take it anymore. Your friends have...
Passover begins the evening of Friday, April 19. Thousands of Jews throughout the world will gather around their tables to share a seder, the ceremonial...
As we celebrate Passover and reflect upon our redemption story, we can only imagine what kind of message this story must have had for the...
While enjoying a seder at a friend’s house, I watched a father tell his 5-year-old daughter the story of Passover. “The Jews were slaves in...
Five weeks before the holiday, my wife uttered those three words that frighten the heck out of me every year: “Pesach is coming!” Those words...
Seder in the Warsaw Ghetto A seder in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. The imperative to remember is a significant part of Passover. In the...
Interviewing Ayat Abou Shmeiss isn’t always easy. She’s reluctant to speak about herself or elaborate on her achievements. She’d much prefer to speak about other...
We don’t expect our politicians to be completely truthful on a good day. When coalitions are formed, their members do nothing but lie. So as...
With Passover upon us, there are a lot of topics swirling through our collective minds: the Mueller report, terror in New Zealand, the ongoing occurrences...
With Passover upon us, it is a good time to reflect upon and appreciate the incredible power of what is perhaps the most ancient and...
(In the early 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted an experiment with preschoolers to explore the connection between delayed gratification and future success: One marshmallow now...
One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist “An Aramean was destroying my father, and he went down to Egypt and he sojourned there...
It’s a busy time in the Jewish world. Israelis had perhaps the most controversial and significant elections in their history, launched lunar lander Beresheet into...
Something amazing has happened on the third floor of Chabad House at UCLA in Westwood. It’s been magically transformed into the five different sets that...
Israel Bonds Women’s Division of Los Angeles honored three Israel Bonds investors for their commitment to the Jewish state during its annual Golda Meir Luncheon...
In 1943-44, at Terézin, a hybrid ghetto/concentration camp in the Czech Republic, 150 Jewish prisoners, led by a remarkable conductor, sang Verdi’s “Requiem” as a...
Themes of love, loss, the AIDS crisis and family bonds blend together in the musical “Falsettos,” about a gay man, his ex-wife, their young son...
As I read Ed Elhaderi’s powerful memoir — “Nomadic Soul: My Journey From the Libyan Sahara to a Jewish Life in Los Angeles” — I...
The Dead Sea is dying. Because of drought and rising temperatures caused by global warming, its waters are receding and its shores are pockmarked by...
Writer-director Jeff Lipsky knows that some audiences may view him as an apologist for Nazis. Indeed, in his film “The Last,” the central character, Claire...
“My first thought on waking up is: ‘What are the bastards hiding?’ ” So observed Bob Woodward of The Washington Post, who exposed the Watergate...
About 50 students in Santa Monica City College’s (SMC) cosmetology program are gathered in a campus classroom. Some are hair stylists in training, others are...
On a recent Saturday afternoon, about two dozen adults, most of them congregants of Valley Beth Shalom, gathered in a lounge at the Encino synagogue...
Jewish Veg, the Maryland-based nonprofit that advocates for Jews to embrace veganism, held its first Los Angeles event on April 14: a vegan seder at...
What does the United States’ much-anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan say and when will it be released? While he was tight-lipped about what it entails, Jason...
When Rabbi Daniel Bouskila was a child, his teacher asked him to share something from his family’s seder. Bouskila sang “Chad Gadya,” in Judeo-Arabic, the...
“The Hamilton Haggadah” debuted two years ago, but much like the success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning phenomenon “Hamilton: An American Musical,” the haggadah ripped from...
In early April, BimBam, the pioneering and award-winning Jewish digital storytelling site best known for its animated videos depicting weekly Torah portions, announced it was...
“We are here to learn something about the distinctive insights and perhaps the helpful wisdom that Judaism, Christianity and Islam can bring to this crucial...
Like any great quest, there are ups and downs, and if the heroes are lucky, they learn something. Such was the case for the Israeli...
Should rabbis wade into the political fray with their congregants? That was the burning question at an April 10 forum at the American Jewish University...
Founders of seven Israeli startups attended a reception at SPACES in Santa Monica earlier this month, part of Fusion Labs L.A.’s spring session. Some were...
Hen Mazzig, a progressive, gay Israeli activist came to California to talk to locals about his family history and his identity. About 20 people came...
Anyone who has spent time in a therapist’s office has wondered: “What is my therapist thinking?” An even more unsettling question is: “What is my...
FRI APRIL 19 Pico Night of Freedom Rabbi Yonah Bookstein and Rebbetzin Rachel Bookstein hold an inspiring first-night seder for young professionals and the community....
SUN APRIL 21 “Bar Mitzvah Boys" The humorous and sweet West Coast Jewish Theatre production, “Bar Mitzvah Boy,” follows a non-observant man in his 60s...
In last week’s Jewish Journal, I showed how to make placemats for Passover depicting the parting of the Red Sea. The follow-up to that craft...
Bernard Joseph Barton died March 22 at 78. Survived by son Tom (Dima) Trujillo; sister Carole Cox. Mount Sinai Marial Beren died March 17 at 88....
Jordan B. Gorfinkel is a Jewish cartoonist with an impressive resume. He worked as a DC Comics editor for several years, contributing to “Batman” and...
The Obligation of Jews For Jews, the recital of the event that brought the birth of their nation — the Exodus from Egypt — has...
