Category
January 12, 2006
Spectator – A Poet’s Slam-Dunk
With a gift for diction, Kadosh explores the cultural absurdities and political hypocrisies of America, dedicating one spoken-word poem to SUVs, and another to the cheese at the heart of America.
‘Thin’ Exposes Hefty Secrets and Lies
The filmmaker, who is also Jewish, relates to her subjects because she was once obsessed with the scale.
Two Dark Tales Illuminated at Sundance
Martin Scorsese has famously influenced a whole generation of American filmmakers, from Abel Ferrara and Quentin Tarantino to Rob Weiss and Nick Gomez. But his influence is not limited to filmmakers in this country.
Bye Bye Diaspora, Hello ‘New Jews’
The authors propose a new map with \”multiple homelands\” that displaces Israel from \”the center of the Jewish universe.\” They point out that since the mid-19th century, most Jewish religious innovation has originated in the United States, rather than in Europe or Israel. As of 2003, more people emigrated from Israel to Russia than vice versa, and New York is the communal and philanthropic center of Jewish life. Ultimately, the authors find, contemporary Jews are at home wherever they live. \”New Jews,\” they argue, \”connect emotionally and culturally with multiple places and traverse routes across national boundaries but are nonetheless rooted in a specific place they call home.\”
Post-Bar Mitzvah Stress Disorder
Post-Bar Mitzvah Stress Disorder (PBMSD) usually follows a case of Pre-Bar Mitzvah Stress Disorder. This is characterized by speed-dialing your caterer several times daily until you actually hear him chewing antacids while you speak; zipping around so frantically from errand to errand that you have no time to eat anything other than large brownies in the car (perversely, this still causes weight gain), and bursting into tears with no warning because your little boy is no longer a little boy but a newly minted teen who has the audacity to catapult into puberty before your very eyes.
Bonding Over Torah
Generally taught once a year, with 10 to 20 girls enrolled per class, the program affords mothers and daughters special time together. It also introduces the girls to peers from other schools, allowing them to view bat mitzvah as a more universal experience.
Advice From an Insider
Flashing lights blind me. I am deafened by the pounding music. I feel lost among the moving bodies. Where am I? At the scene of yet another sensory-overloaded bar mitzvah party.
Taking — and Giving — Stock
Move over fountain pens. If the Blue and White Fund has its way, the trend in bar and bat mitzvah gift giving might be instruments of the financial kind.
New Articles
Talmudic Grappling is Alive and Well at Milken Conference
Artist Chari Pere Creates Cartoonmentary on Miscarriage
100th Anniversary: The U.S. Immigration Law That Doomed Europe’s Jews
Chef Katie Chin: Heritage, Chinese Cooking and Chocolate-Raspberry Wontons
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