For Gwyneth Paltrow winning her first Oscar earlier this year for \”Shakespeare in Love\” was a dream come true. But for the beautiful 27-year-old superstar it was also something of a nightmare.
One of the items I smuggled out of Auschwitz, when the Nazis moved me into Camp Number Eight — a quarantine camp, for those suspected of carrying typhus — was my spoon.
The catastrophic earthquake and tsunami is south Asia resulted in worldwide shock and then an outpouring of aid.
Debbie Tenzer was having lunch with several girlfriends when the conversation got heated. \”We all had such different views on where the country was headed.
\”As a board member… they gave me an aliyah, and after I said the blessing, one of the gabbais, [Sid Burke] said, as a joke, \’Soraya, have you ever been bat mitzvahed?\’ I said, \’No,\’ and he said, \’Now you have.\’\”
These people are among the tens of thousands of Jews who, instead of going to Israel, caught the wave of freedom that swept the former Soviet Union after the fall of communism and rode it into the land they always associated with Hitler and death camps.
For many Jewish parents, who associate the holiday with demons, death and wickedness, as well as with Christianity, Halloween is problematic.
The idea for our lead story on Jewish influence, \”East Coast vs. West Coast\” (see Tom Tugend\’s story), originated with our publisher, Stanley Hirsh.
Joshua Hammer\’s book is called \”Chosen by God: A Brother\’s Journey\” (Hyperion Press), and while the titular journey refers to his brother, it may very well apply to Hammer himself.
This column is directed to a real-life young woman I\’ll call Heather, who\’s enrolled in the conversion program at the University of Judaism.
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