The erudite professor of philology and expert in Norse languages wrote books about dragons and trolls and elves and wizards. The devout Roman Catholic purged any mention of Christianity from the 500,000 pages of his epic, \”The Lord of the Rings,\” series.
Stiller says he was drawn to the family-oriented radio series, \”One People, Many Stories\” — in which celebrities read Jewish tales by authors such as Sheldon Oberman and Isaac Bashevis Singer — because the literature connect him to his own family stories.
\nMany know author Walter Mosley as the creator of the popular Central L.A.-set Easy Rawlins detective series of which the book \”Devil in a Blue Dress,\” became a film starring Denzel Washington. But what is not as well-known is Mosley\’s Jewish background on his mother\’s side.
Enjoyable, unique experience, totally different type of job, mostly outdoors, great fun, good pay. Santas needed. Holiday spirit a must.
They are round, shiny and popular. But CDs don\’t melt like chocolate coins — and they have fewer calories. To give the gelt without the guilt, try the gift of music.
The historical foundations of Chanukah are well documented, in the Apocrypha\’s First and Second Books of the Maccabees and \”The Jewish War\” and \”Jewish Antiquities,\” written by the Jewish historian, Josephus, in the first century of the common era. As these sources relate, in the year 167 B.C.E. the king of Syria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, decreed that only pagan gods could be worshiped in the temples, and the practice of Jewish rituals, including circumcision and Sabbath observance, was outlawed under penalty of death. Although many Jews, looking to assimilate into Hellenic society, acceded to Antiochus\’ decrees, an elderly priest named Mattathias and his five sons (the middle son would become known as Judah Maccabee or \”Judah the Hammer\”) bitterly opposed them and, after raising a rebel army, headed to the hills.
Journal readers who were upset when a prominent local rabbi proposed that the biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt wasn\’t literally true, should be forewarned of possible apoplexy while watching the History Channel\’s \”Digging for the Truth: Archaeology and the Bible.\”
The Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission, created by the voter-approved reforms to the city charter, recently held its first public hearing to receive community input with regard to boundary changes.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.