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August 7, 2008

Allosemitism (noun) — Jews as the perpetual ‘other’

How to define what is \”Jewish\” provides endless fodder for debate in post-Holocaust, post-communist Europe. Is there, as the concept of allosemitism implies, a \”certain Jewish something\” that sets Jews apart?

Checklist: What to do when someone dies

Job one: Contact the hospital or mortuary so that you can fill out any paperwork, i.e., death certificate, as soon after the death as possible

An incomplete guide to Jewish funerals and burial

While not everyone is jumping on the \’I gotta be me\’ funeral bandwagon, a funny thing is happening on the way to the mortuary. When it comes to thinking about the end of life, be it in the business of funeral homes or in the minds of Jews everywhere, the world is changing.

Paul Shapiro’s ‘vout’ mishegoss

In 1945, the hippest Hollywood nightlife destination was Billy Berg\’s, on the corner of Vine and DeLongpre. A tall, suave black man named Slim Gaillard, who favored pinstripe suits, held court there. Black entertainers were seldom booked west of Western Avenue in those days, and Gaillard\’s appearances at Berg\’s were, in a very real sense, where Hollywood\’s racial integration began.

Back to School

Parshat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22) In Parshat Devarim we begin a new book, Deuteronomy, the fifth and final volume of the Five Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch. In Hebrew, we call it the Chumash, or the Torah. Christians call it the Old Testament. Each of these names implicitly perceives the Book of Devarim as part and parcel of an integrated package

The soldier in the center ring

As far as he has traveled, from Israel to Southern California, Ben-Binyamin has come an even greater distance in recent years in his transition from the IDF to the circus, a change he refers to as \”extreme.\”

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Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.