Category
January 22, 1998
Singles
I had hoped that it would be an \”empowering\”experience, going to the movies alone on New Year\’s Eve. And I really wanted it to be. But when I sat alone in a dark theater at midnight, sipping my Diet Coke and munchinggreasy popcorn, I didn\’t feel as Erica Jong as I had hoped.
Torah Portion
The Nazis took my uncle Henry at the beginning ofthe war. He survived more than five years as a slave. Young andstrong, he was a carpenter, and they needed carpenters. At first,they moved him from camp to camp, including a stay at Pleshow, whereSchindler\’s people were kept. And, finally, Auschwitz. A slavelaborer, he built parts of the camp. When the Allies advanced, he wastaken on the infamous Death March from Poland into Germany. He wasliberated from Buchenwald by the U.S. Army in 1945.
Conflicting Stories
During World War II, did an anti-Semitic Swiss government split up Jewish refugee families, require the men to perform back breaking work in forced labor camps, and treat Jews markedly worse than Christian refugees?
Spectator
The Skirball Cultural Center is continuing its \”Vaudeville: Jewish Performers in Early Sound Film\” series with screenings of the Marx Brothers, Eddie Cantor, and Burns and Allen, among others.
Baby Sitters No More
The first thing that struck me as President Clinton unveiled his $21.7 billion child-care proposal last week was that it was hardly noticed in our community at all. With the possible exception of increased child-care tax exemptions, the nation\’s first preschool package won\’t touch the Jewish community to any extent.\nLet the Christian Coalition insist that women still belong solely at home. Our own community resolved the problem early, and did it well.
Marco Polo Redux
The affinity of Jews to Chinese food reaches its apotheosis in John Krich\’s \”Won Ton Lust: Adventures in Search of the World\’s Best Chinese Restaurant\” (Kodansha, $24). It\’s no outrageous stereotype to state that, as a people, American Jews seem to need a good Chinese meal to kick-start us into the week. It\’s nothing to be ashamed of;neither is it anything to take lightly.\n
Dear Deborah
Dear Deborah, I don\’t understand, and I\’m feeling hurt. I was dating someone who, when she became upset, would say things that not only didn\’t express how she felt but were verbally abusive. How can I work with someone who glibly says, \”I never have any fun with you?\”
The Chief of Staff
Abraham Joshua Heschel said that he prayed for one thing: the gift of wonder. He prayed for astonishment, for the capacity to be surprised. As he wrote, \”I try not to be stale. I try to remain young. I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendouslysurprised at life and at ideas. This is to me the supreme Chassidic imperative.\”
New Articles
“Screams Before Silence”
Remembering Ken Holtzman, Outstanding Jewish Pitcher for the Cubs and A’s.
Why Are Presidential Statements About Jews So Weak?
UCLA Hillel on Pro-Palestinian Encampment: Jewish Students “Feeling the Intensity of the Situation”
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.