The Cervantes Institute has been sponsoring Ladino readings and seminars at its branches in Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Bucharest and Sofia. Now Urrutia says the institute will create a Ladino Department with a Judeo-Spanish archive at its headquarters in Madrid. And Ladino will be the focus of a new Cervantes Institute in Salonika, which will be located next to the city\’s Sephardic Museum.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) want a few good men like Zach Taylor (photo). Actually, the IDF wants a lot of them. Taylor is a 20-year-old volunteer from North Hollywood serving in an Israeli infantry battalion of Torah-observant and predominantly ultra-Orthodox soldiers.\n
In Israel, where service in the armed forces is every man\’s — and most women\’s — duty, the majority of Israelis, from secular to Modern Orthodox, have long scorned the ultra-Orthodox \”black hats\” for avoiding military service by studying in yeshivas. Now, a battalion of ultra-religious young men, known as Nahal Haredi, is seeking to change this image by combining Torah study with the bearing of arms.
Yeshiva Boys Choir/Composed and produced by Eli Gerstner/YBC Remix by Shay Barak
On Monday morning, when the Simon Wiesenthal Center observes Yom HaShoah, commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, a place of honor will be reserved for the daughter of the late Khaled Abdelwahab. Abdelwahab is the first Arab to be nominated for official recognition by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations, and his story adds a new dimension to the 6 million stories of horror — and occasionally nobility — rising from the ashes of the Holocaust. His acts also shed light on the little-known fates of Jews in the Arab countries of North Africa during World War II.
Members of the Moveable Minyan, a Westside lay-led, egalitarian congregation, freed themselves from enslavement to matzah on Sunday by answering the seder\’s \”fifth\” question: What can you do with matzah aside from eating it? Their idea: Build a matzah pyramid.
If you recall, a couple of weeks ago I asked you if there were Passover experiences that really moved you. Well, all I can say is I\’m glad I asked.\n
Subliminal and Israeli hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari:\”Adon Olam, Ad Matai? — God Almighty, how much longer?\”
Breaking matzoh clean
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