Jennifer Gould\’s new book, \”Vodka,Tears and Lenin\’s Angel,\” recalls her four years in the formerSoviet Union. It could be subtitled, \”Jennifer\’s Romp in the WildEast\” or \”Fear and Loathing in the FSU.\”
Milken, affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, kicks off itsschool year by sending students and faculty on a three-day Shabbaton.Under the majestic oaks of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in SimiValley, participants schmooze and discuss, laugh and pray.
Last year, I experiencedsomething that made me feel more emotion than I can remember everhaving during the Ten Days of Awe, and, unfortunately, the feeling was that ofanger toward other Jews.
Every few years, I fall in love with Judaism fromanother perspective, one that fills me with an urgency I can\’t keepto myself.
For me, there are only two obstacles when pickingHigh Holy Day Ground Zero. Only Content. Only Context.
How close can two people of disparate religiouspractices become? On Shabbat, who knows?
It\’s been 20 years since I last saw my cousin Mel. If weever had a personal conversation, I don\’t recall it. We keep in touchvia our parents, rumor substituting for facts in our extended familylife. Mel\’s father, Ben, died a few years ago; I never even sent himcondolences.
Liss, a veteranscreenwriter with a long list of credits, including theHolocaust-themed TV film \”Hidden in Silence,\” has been to hell andback on an odyssey filled with more risk and drama than a paperbackthriller.
Just one floor beneath the legendary Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, there\’s a large room that, for much of the week, remains locked. The chef has the key. So does the catering manager. But if they ever want to so much as crack open the door, they can\’t do so alone. First, they need the rabbi.
There lurks an almost unbearable irony in the appointment of UCLA Professor Saul Friedlander to an international commission of nine eminent historians that will probe, evaluate and ultimately judge Switzerland\’s role and conduct during World War II and the Holocaust era.
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