Bioethicist Peter Singer has received death threats for his views on incendiary topics such as infanticide and animals rights. Singer — an Australian Jew who is considered to be one of the most influential living philosophers — will lecture about how art depicts animals on May 24 at the Getty Center, in conjunction with the Getty Museum exhibition, \”Oudry\’s Painted Menagerie.\”
Shysters chase ambulances; critics chase influences. How to characterize this Chandler-Babel stew? Let\’s try the Hollywood idiom. \”The Yiddish Policeman\’s Union\” is Woody Allen meets Cornel Woolrich. No, better, deeper: S.J. Perelman meets Y.L. Peretz meets Harry Turtledove. Martin Amis meets Stanley Elkin who is chatting with Sholom Aleichem about Jorge Luis Borges.
Jews have participated regularly in RenFaire — which recreates with the greatest possible accuracy English life during the Renaissance — and actors like Luskin are now finding greater freedom to express their cultural identity in the roles they play. The main stumbling block to date had been that Jews were exiled from England 300 years before the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The trade mission storyline allows this Ottoman tribe of 35 performers to slip its Jewish characters into the formerly Judenrein shire. In keeping with its historical recreation, Oojahm features a detailed history that includes Jewish-Muslim coexistence and cooperation.
Community briefs.
In the past decade, as Jewish leaders grapple with how assimilation and intermarriage have affected the numbers of Jews, many Jewish organizations, temples and synagogues are increasing efforts to reach out to teach Judaism — both to secular and unaffiliated Jews, as well as to interfaith families.
Rikud is the largest and longest-running Israeli folk dance camp in the United States, and it takes place every year on Memorial Day weekend at Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu. More than 300 dancers from around the world pack into the beachside summer-camp facility for three days of non-stop dancing.
Shavuot begins exactly seven weeks after Passover and brings with it centuries of food traditions. Because some say milk and cheese symbolize the purity of the Torah, it is the festival when dairy foods are normally served. The holiday also celebrates the spring harvest, a time when a new crop of fresh vegetables and fruits begin to appear.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.