Most Recent Posts

Reform Woman Decries Big Aish Deception

David Kelsey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:13:50 -0500

By David Kelsey

Aish HaTorah is the largest ultra-Orthodox "outreach" movement outside of Chabad. But unlike Chabad, Big Aish does not reveal that it is an ultra-Orthodox proselytizing organization. Preferably, Big Aish does not want you to know that it is Orthodox at all. In fact, Big Aish will blatantly lie about it. Via Failed Messiah, jweekly reports, I should have known that a trip advertised on the side of my Facebook page would not be what it seemed, but it just looked so ...

That Noise in the Background

Charlie Bertsch — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:54:54 -0500

By Charlie Bertsch

Maybe you’re in a crowded restaurant, deep in conversation, when you gradually start to realize that there’s a song you like penetrating the din. Or you're browsing at the mall to a piped-in soundtrack that refuses to be consigned to the background. Or you’re sitting at a traffic light on a lovely June night, when the sounds pulsing from a nearby car pique your interest. Whatever the circumstances, the appeal of the music inspires you to search out its source. If it was interesting ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: MJ to Release More Music, Big Bad Dino Found, and Statue of Liberty Open to Visitors

Ashley Tedesco — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:24:24 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: A military helicopter crash has killed 26 Pakistani soldiers after the aircraft faced technical problems on board. Thirteen others are dead in Pakistan after a suspected U.S. drone attack on a Taliban stronghold. For the first time since September 11, 2001, the Statue of Liberty's crown will reopen tomorrow in honor of Independence Day. The death toll in Monday's Italian train derailment has risen to 22. There ...

What Flavor of New Jew Are You?

Patrick Aleph — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

By Patrick Aleph

At a glance, there really aren't that many "movements" in Judaism. Orthodox, reform, reconstructionist and conservative. That's pretty much it. Sure, there are some variations on this, but compared to the Christian world, Jews like to keep it simple. Or do we? I decided to jump into the proverbial rabbit-hole of Jewish Denominationalism and discovered that there are more ways of being Jewish than there ever have been before. Secular-As-Balls: You still don't understand WHY ...

'Yes Men' Say 'No Thanks' to Jerusalem Film Festival

Jewcy Staff — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:00:40 -0500

By Jewcy Staff

For those of you who bought tickets to the Jerusalem Film Festival, you might want to know that the docket now contains one less film. The Yes Men Fix the World, about a group called the Yes Men who "impersonate big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them," will no longer be screened at the Festival. The Yes Men themselves have written this open letter to the festival's organizers in order to explain why they chose to pull their movie from the lineup: Dear Friends at ...

When Is A Mosque Just A Mosque?

Lilit Marcus — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:58:33 -0500

By Lilit Marcus

I've been in Israel for a couple of weeks on a fellowship (more on that to come), and before coming back home to New York I decided to do a quick three day stopover in Istanbul. While friends in Tel Aviv told me Istanbul was a great getaway for a long weekend and the airfare was pretty cheap, I still had some reservations about journeying to a Muslim country. Yes, I'm well aware that Turkey is a pretty secular country, but the reality of being a white Western woman traveling alone makes me a ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Gay Sex in India, No State Funds for Sex in Argentina, and Jackson Memorial Scheduled

Ashley Tedesco — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:46:33 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: India has lifted its ban on gay sex. But only to those 18 and older and living in New Delhi. South Carolina has found that there was no misuse of state funds in Mark Sanford's love affair scandal. Just misuse of better judgment. The Jackson saga goes on, with a raging custody battle, fights over funds, and rumors of drug abuse, but perhaps most importantly, his memorial service will be held at the Staples Center in LA on Tuesday. Vice ...

LimmudNY: Next Year in Somewhere Warm

Lilit Marcus — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:31:55 -0500

By Lilit Marcus

Last year, I wasn't very silent about my unhappiness with the way that the LimmudNY event in upstate New York was handled. The Nevele Grand Resort, where the conference was held, had a long record of inadequate or nonexistent heating during the winter months. True to form, their boiler broke down just before LimmudNY was scheduled to begin, and the freezing hotel set off a chain of events that led to the conference being less than a huge success. Luckily, Limmud seems to have learned from ...

Robo-Goys, Kosher Phones and Other Jewish Technological Innovations

Patrick Aleph — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

By Patrick Aleph

People don't like to think very far into the future. I understand that: I can barely think about next week, let alone a decade from now. But if the Tribe is going to survive, we need to learn to adapt. Judaism came from a pre-modern era. Now, more than ever, we need to find creative ways to use technology to bring the Tribe into the 21st Century...kicking and screaming if we have to. So here are five technological innovations, which I feel will greatly improve Jewish life and further the ...

Monotheism and the Spirits of Nature

Jay Michaelson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:41:31 -0500

By Jay Michaelson

Recently, on a trip to South Korea, I was moved to tears at a rock formation venerated by Korean shamans. The place was so holy that the power of it, the energy of it, was immediately apparent and absolutely obvious. And it moved me to tell a story about irony, idolatry, and nature. Here's the irony: for many monotheists, nature-centered spirituality smacks of paganism, and thus idolatry. But for me, being cut off from nature is idolatry. When I'm surrounded by the noises of ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Jackson Breaks Records, Sanford Tries to Fall in Love, and No More Jewish Repulican Senators

Ashley Tedesco — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:35:20 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order (with a little extra to make up for our mini hiatus since Monday): A Yemenia plane crash over the weekend is thought to have left only one survivor, a 12-year-old girl, who is now sharing her story of the traumatic incident. The South Carolina governor scandal gets stranger as Sanford says that his mistress is his "soulmate," but that he's trying to fall back in love with his wife. Which makes sense because love is definitely ...

Angetevka

Angela Himsel — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:30:24 -0500

By Angela Himsel

From: King David To: Governor Sanford Dear Governor Sanford, Lying here in my crypt in Jerusalem, I heard across the span of 3,000 years that you recently gave me a shout out. You said, "King David...fell mightily. He fell in very significant ways. But then picked up the pieces." It's true, I did fall, but not in the same way that you did. You fell in love. I didn't. I never did. I was too busy fighting and killing. It's not easy founding a kingdom. I ...

Borges and the Jews-Part III

Jo Ellen Green Kaiser — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:04:25 -0500

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser

In Part I of this series, author Ilan Stavans explored Borges' self-identification as a Jew. Part II focused on Borges' infatuation with Kabbalah. Here, Stavans argues that Borges carefully styled himself as a literary son of Jewish precursors. "Each writer creates his precursors"--Borges Borges was the first, and for a while the only, supporter of Kafka in the Hispanic world. In an essay called "Kafka and His Precursors," published in 1951 and included in Other ...

What is British Jewish Politics?

Joel Schalit — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:42:16 -0500

By Joel Schalit

Politics is an inescapable part of human existence. It concerns the way that people organise themselves, in particular how they act within institutions and units of governance. Above all, politics concerns the way humans interact with power. It is therefore self-evident that politics exists in the British Jewish community, but what I want to question is how far the British Jewish community has an acknowledged politics. In much of the British Jewish community, politics is in ‘bad taste’. ...

The Neglected Poetry of Yossel Birstein

Jo Ellen Green Kaiser — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:57:04 -0500

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser

This summer, Zeek has been re-examining the work of Yiddish writer Yossel Birstein. Our summer print issue includes a never-before translated Birstein story; here, we offer Andrew Firestone's discussion of Birstein's only book of poems, written when he was living in Australia, before making aliyah to Israel--Adam Rovner, Zeek Translations Editor I have always loved poetry, so I was delighted when the Jewish Museum of Australia asked me to research and report on the Yiddish poets of ...

Another Crack

Joel Schalit — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:01:34 -0500

By Joel Schalit

I was walking down Carlebach Street when the wailing air raid siren announced the biggest civil drill in Israel’s history. Though I’d timed a morning interview around it, (who wants to pause for two minutes of alarm?), I was otherwise unprepared. Unsure of what to do with myself, I stopped and stood at the edge of a sidewalk café, under the shade of the awning. I was still. I listened. The sound was barely audible, drowned out by the noise of construction and late morning traffic. I ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: US and Germany BFF, Sanford Keeps Apologizing, and Toddler Body Found

Ashley Tedesco — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:01:20 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: President Obama met with German chancellor Angela Merkel today. They talked about global climate change, among other things. Whales may be facing bad news as the head of the International Whaling Commission says he doubts whaling can be regulated internationally within the next 12 months. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is continuing with his trail of apologies, this time to his staff. The FCC has a new chairperson. Julius ...

Al Andalus: Tales of an Imaginary Spain

Andrew Ramer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:44:56 -0500

By Andrew Ramer

"The most important thing in this portion is seldom noticed," Rabbi Solomon ibn Uzair said, as he lay on a pile of cushions beside his lover Joseph. A small scroll of the Torah lay open in front of them, rolled to the beginning of the book of Shemot. Beyond the rabbi's study, in the square below, they could hear the sounds of the market, heavy wooden wheels of carts, and the horses that pulled them, sounding on the hard dry earth of summer. The cacophony of shoppers' ...

Can I Moonwalk During Shiva?

Emily Goldsher — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:02:51 -0500

By Emily Goldsher

Much of the global consciousness today is focused on the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Headlines in New York City publications are declaring "Shock and Grief Over Jackson's Death" and "Jacko has Gone to Neverland" while people dance in the streets, and every bar, restaurant and car blasts the sounds that have spanned Jackson's long and strange career. In Paris, "Michael Jackson: Death of a Planetary Icon" stretches out across Le Monde's front ...

Queer Liturgy

Jo Ellen Green Kaiser — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:30:44 -0500

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser

Why do we pray? What do we pray for? Liturgy raises the most fundamental theological questions, daily, if we pay attention. But we rarely do. We are born into or find a denomination, are born into or find a congregation, and learn its liturgy. Often—too often—the prayers become rote. But not for everyone. Because if you read the texts, actually read them, you will often find a language that is unbearable: an angry, vindictive God; a masculine universe; and an abstract language of ...

The Flaw of Orthodox Kiruv (Outreach) on One Foot

David Kelsey — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:51:15 -0500

By David Kelsey

The flaw of Big Kiruv is ultimately the same one that has ravaged traditional Judaism for centuries. It is why we left in the first place. It is why today, most Jews are not Orthodox, and will never be Orthodox, despite Liberal Jewry's rapid attrition, and the high birthrate of the frum. A difference between the normative Orthodox "ex-Os" and the "baal teshuvahs" (newly ultra-Orthodox) is that the latter are not brought up with this nonsense and do not have the same ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Saying Goodbye to Fawcett and Jackson, FAFSA Made Easy, and Oscars Widen Audience

Ashley Tedesco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:45:55 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: Actress Farrah Fawcett has died after a three-year long battle with cancer. She was 62. The entertainment world lost a second legend hours later when 'King of Pop' Michael Jackson suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 50. The Supreme Court has ruled that Arizona school officials violated a thirteen-year-old girl's constitutional rights when they strip-searched her in the school nurse's office. Why did they do it? She ...

License to Carry: The State of Eruvim in America Today

Ashley Tedesco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:00:01 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

San Francisco now has its first eruv thanks to congregation Adath Israel. Eruvs are important to observant Jews who adhere to the halakhic prohibition against the 39 acts of work on Shabbat, which prevents them from being able to carry anything outside of their homes. The eruv allows those Jews to carry within its boundaries (roughly 20 square blocks), enabling them to wheel strollers, carry purses, and ultimately allow Jewish families to attend Shabbat services together, with the little ones ...

Iran's Hard and Uncertain Road

Howard Schweber — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:18:21 -0500

By Howard Schweber

The courage and determination of the protestors in Iran are inspiring, and the brutality of the regime’s response is revolting. The reminder that, as Fareed Zakaria recently put it, “What you know about Iran is wrong” could not be more timely. All that being said – with absolute heartfelt sincerity – it is worth looking ahead and thinking about what is likely to come next. There are two things to think about here. First, how long can the opposition sustain itself? Four, ...

Unnatural Growth

Moshe Yaroni — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:03:30 -0500

By Moshe Yaroni

"Israel will not freeze settlement construction for natural growth, despite intense pressure from the Obama administration to do so," The Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2009. The argument that “natural growth” is crucial to Israel's well-being is utter nonsense. Here are a few facts. First of all, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the population growth in the settlements is 5.6% annually. That is three-and-a-half times the rate of Jewish population growth in ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: No More Crack, More Political Affairs, and Epic Car Chase

Ashley Tedesco — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:23 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: The UN has reported a decline in the production of cocaine and heroine worldwide. Apparently, the drugs have been replaced by stimulants. Oh boy, another politician has admitted to cheating on his wife. South Carolina governor Sanford had a handful of trysts with an Argentinean woman over the last year. A Baghdad bombing has killed at least 72 people, wounding at least 135 others. It remains unclear who is to blame for the attack. It ...

Angetevka

Angela Himsel — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:27:31 -0500

By Angela Himsel

At my son’s eighth grade graduation ceremony, his class sang a song in which “hallelujah” was repeated so many times that I almost shouted “Hallelujah!” when it was, mercifully, finally over. What made it somewhat bearable was remembering something my friend, Sharon (of blessed memory), once told me during one of our lunch outings at our diner on Broadway. “When you sing hallelujah, there are certain syllables, like ‘la’ ‘la,’ that lift your palate which sends ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: SJP and Matty Broderick Welcome Twins, Jon & Kate Split, and 9 Fatalities Confirmed in Metro Crash

Ashley Tedesco — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:54:06 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: Nine fatalities have been confirmed after the D.C. Metro train crash at the peak of rush hour yesterday. It is the worst accident in the history of the Metro. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton had a little spat with rapper Will.i.am that led to a black eye for Hilton and an even bigger attack--from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, accusing him of "vulgar anti-gay slurs." They called him intolerant of homosexuals. ...

Riot Grrrl Goes Tehran

Joel Schalit — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:14:53 -0500

By Joel Schalit

On January 30th, Unveiled: New Art Form the Middle East opened at London's Saatchi Gallery. A collection of recent works by Arab and Iranian artists, the exhibit documented the extent of social criticism engaged in by photographers, painters and installation artists working in the greater Muslim Levant. From the Arab-Israeli conflict to religion, homosexuality and gender, Unveiled was both inspiring and an educational opportunity for Westerners unused to associating the Middle East with such ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Thanks For Not Smoking, Lightning Strikes, and Seacrest and Lohan to do Reality Show

Ashley Tedesco — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:58:47 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: President Obama is about to sign a landmark anti-smoking bill which will allow the FDA to strictly regulate tobacco products, with bigger warnings, bans on flavoring and "light" products, and a reduction in nicotine. Perhaps these things would have helped Obama in his own struggle to quit smoking. Attacks in Iraq have claimed the lives of at least 27 people, with 77 others injured as car bombings and other attacks continue to ...

All That Is Rock Melts Into Hope

Charlie Bertsch — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:05:41 -0500

By Charlie Bertsch

Fifteen years ago, the alternative music press was fixated on the idea of “post-rock.” Whether that label was applied to artists that featured guitar, bass and drums – like the Chicago band Tortoise, whose excellent new album Beacons of Ancestorship will be released June 23rd – or, more diffusely, to the sort of computer-enabled sounds that inspired the term “electronica,” its popularity indicated that the mainstream music industry was already experiencing a crisis of ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Voodoo in Queens, World Hunger Increases, and Supermodel Pregnant

Ashley Tedesco — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:42:54 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: North Korea has pointed its missiles at Hawaii as tensions between the nation and the U.S. continue to mount. Government officials are working to fortify the islands and ward off attack. The Senate has approved a "cash for clunkers" plan that will subsidize the trade-ins of old gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles, up to $4500. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her husband, football player Tom Brady, are expecting ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: US Apologizes for Slavery, Pilot Dies Mid-Flight, and Obama Serial Fly Swatter

Ashley Tedesco — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:48:07 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: A pilot died in midair on a flight from Brussels to Newark today. The flight landed safely at its destination and passengers were none the wiser. A suicide bombing in Somalia has left 23 dead, including a security minister. The car bomb is just the latest in two months of unrest in the region. President Obama is an executioner, according to PETA. Why? He swatted a fly, of course. They claim he should have shown more compassion. To ...

A Not-So-Sweet Cookie Story

Rabbi Jill Jacobs — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:59:33 -0500

By Rabbi Jill Jacobs

In my childhood, Shabbat never felt complete without Stella D'Oro cookies. For the uninitiated, these are dry cookies whose chief (or only) advantage is that they are parve (dairy free) and therefore can be eaten for dessert after a meat meal. I was especially partial to the Swiss Fudge flavor, which featured a dollop of chewy fudge in the middle of an otherwise-bland cookie-if you nibbled away the outside first, you could enjoy a few bites of pure fudge at the end. I have since stopped ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Man Plays Dead Mother, Teen Gets Surprise Tattooed Face, and Billy Joel Splits From Wife

Ashley Tedesco — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:02:08 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: Autopsies of the bodies found among the Air France wreckage suggest that the jet broke up in midair. A New York man has been accused of impersonating his dead 77-year-old mother for more than six years to collect Social Security and city rent subsidies valued at over $100,000. He even went so far as to dress up as his mother to collect cash in person. This sounds like a bigger problem. Tamil protests in Sri Lanka have ended after 73 ...

Angetevka

Angela Himsel — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:21:46 -0500

By Angela Himsel

"Faith of Our Fathers" is a rousing hymn that never fails to inspire even the weakest of voices to roar. I well remember singing it in church with my family, the words and the swelling music eliciting from deep in my soul a feeling of passionate faith: Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy whene'er we hear that glorious word! Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till ...

The First Basket

Lilit Marcus — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:17:40 -0500

By Lilit Marcus

While you may not associate Jews with basketball skills, it might surprise you to discover that the very first basket in professional basketball was sunk not by a 6'5" phenom but by a Jewish kid. That mythical basket, as well as the story of Jews and their connection to the sport of basketball, is told in the new documentary The First Basket. Here are a couple of clips. See if you can spot Friend of Jewcy and Yeshiva University professor Jeffrey ...

The Sacrifice of Isaac ('s Foreskin)

Sam Apple — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:36:32 -0500

By Sam Apple

The following is an excerpt from Sam Apple's new book American Parent: My Strange and Surprising Modern Adventures in Babyland. Thirty minutes before the start of my son Isaac's circumcision, I had almost everything I thought we needed for a successful event: whiteﬁsh salad, bagels, regular and low-fat cream cheese, orange juice, coffee, and topical anesthetic for Isaac's penis. The only thing I did not have was a wife. Despite being in favor of circumcising Isaac, Jennifer had decided ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: More Human Traffickers, Passenger Overboard, and Palin and Letterman BFF Again

Ashley Tedesco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:05:19 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: The Iranian election saga went into day four as thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran today. These demonstrations are the biggest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" is out from the U.S. government and it's put more than 4 dozen nations on its watchlist for not doing enough to combat human trafficking. Seventeen nations are up for sanctions and 52 are on the ...

Seir Cafe

Jo Ellen Green Kaiser — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:22:18 -0500

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser

1. Jake I look up again at the sign, and it seems this must be the right place. It says Seir Cafe, in bold letters, broken neon lights filling up the antique-looking script, and I think of my family, think of how they didn't even want me to come here to see you, and I'm thinking maybe I ought to turn around and get in my car and speed home. But then I see you sitting in the corner of the restaurant, and even though I haven't seen you in twenty years, I know it's you, because even though ...

Everywhere But There

Joel Schalit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:12:14 -0500

By Joel Schalit

The only consolation about Benjamin Netanyahu's second government is that two months into office it appears to be the most universally disliked in Israel's 61-year history. Whether at home or abroad, no one, it seems, has anything good to say about it. Following Bibi's predecessor Ehud Olmert, that's an impressive achievement. On the eve of the Prime Minister's long-awaited speech about his approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, US President Barack Obama was already hotly rumored to ...

The Holocaust... Not Just for Jews

Bradford Pilcher — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:33:58 -0500

By Bradford Pilcher

“The Holocaust is a uniquely Jewish event.” So sayeth Assemblyman Dov Hikind, representative of Brooklyn. You might not be aware that Nazi Germany, in addition to murdering six million Jews, also managed to snuff out the lives of some five million other undesirable groups: gays, Roma (gypsies), and Jehovah’s Witnesses just to name a few. If you weren’t aware of that, it’s probably due in large part to the efforts of people like Dov Hikind. The occasion for Hikind’s remarks is a ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Ohio Repels College Grads, Cat Killer Nabbed, and Canadian Government Overthrow

Ashley Tedesco — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:15:33 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: At least three of the hostages abducted in Yemen last week have been killed. They disappeared while picnicking on Friday. Reports say as many as nine could have been killed. In an interesting report, more than half of students in Ohio colleges are planning to leave the state after graduation. Canada's opposition government, the Liberal party, is prepared to bring down the minority conservative government. We reported last ...

Noah vs Cousin Moishe, Part III

Jewcy Staff — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:17:25 -0500

By Jewcy Staff

This is the third installment in the saga of Noah, a secular Jew who is happily engaged to a non-Jewish woman, and his baal teshuvah cousin Moishe. Moishe emailed Noah to express his displeasure with Noah's choice of a bride, and Noah wrote back basically telling his cousin to go play in traffic.. Now, Moishe has emailed his own mother ("Mother") and Noah's mom Rachel, hoping to pull them into his battle for Noah's eternal soul.As before, not a single word or misspelled word has been ...

The Noise of Middle Age

Charlie Bertsch — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:13:00 -0500

By Charlie Bertsch

Advance word on Sonic Youth’s latest record The Eternal was mixed. Some listeners praised it for picking up where its predecessor Rather Ripped left off, disciplining the band’s tendency for extended improvisation in single-length, propulsive tracks that pay sufficient tribute to rock’s traditional verse-chorus-verse structure without sounding too pop. Some, noting the same continuity, lamented the band’s aesthetic retrenchment, as if the experiments with form that made their ...

Borges and the Jews-Part II

Jo Ellen Green Kaiser — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:12:59 -0500

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser

In Part I of this series, author Ilan Stavans explored Borges' self-identification as a Jew. This next section focuses on Borges' infatuation with Kabbalah. I feel a contentment in defeat. -J.L.B., "Deutches Requiem" I said that Borges was a rara avis. The intelligentsia in Latin America, particularly the left-leaning one, has never been particularly interested in things Jewish. (It isn't overtly anti-Semitic either, although since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 that ...

Unkosher Sex: Ultra-Religious Go Online in Search of Extramarital Affairs

Monica Rozenfeld — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:18:11 -0500

By Monica Rozenfeld

What does it mean to religiously attend church, temple or synagogue, live in a community where G-d’s laws are first and foremost, and then deliberately go on the internet in order to break one of the most sacred of commandments: Thou shall not commit adultery? It is no surprise that the internet has become an electronic meeting place for married men and women looking to have affairs; it may come as a shock, however, to learn that the web is also the hub for a growing number of ultra ...

Jewcy Zeitgeist: Serial Cat Killer, Chaz Bono Gender Reassigned, and DTV switch

Ashley Tedesco — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:13:30 -0500

By Ashley Tedesco

Here are today's top stories in no particular order: A suicide bombing in a mosque in Pakistan has left 10 dead, including a moderate Muslim cleric who denounced suicide attacks. A serial cat killer is on the loose in Miami, having already claimed the lives of at least 18 cats. The gutted bodies have been left on front lawns. Miami residents are being urged to keep their felines indoors. Chastity Bono, child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono, is about to undergo a sex change, ...

Building a Bulletproof Vest of Brotherhood

Neshama Carlebach — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:29:08 -0500

By Neshama Carlebach

The news of the shooting at the United States Holocaust Museum yesterday reached me as I was en route to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York to rehearse for that evening's program -- Freedom Songs -- a celebration of the shared African-American and Jewish musical heritage. I was honored to be sharing the bill with Joshua Nelson, an African-American Jew known as the Jewish Prince of Gospel Music. As my own musical journey had recently led me to a collaboration with the soulful ...

Parashah Behalotecha: Constructive Kvetching

Hayley Siegel — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:31:41 -0500

By Hayley Siegel

One of my favorite SNL characters is "Debbie Downer," who was played by Rachel Dratch during her tenure on the show. Debbie Downer, for those unfamiliar with the skits, always ruined people's birthdays and happy celebrations by bringing up bad news or scary statistics. Looking into this week's parashah, Behalotecha, we witness the entire tribe in full "Debbie Downer" mode, kvetching with the strength of Olympic athletes to Moses about of all things -- the lack of diversity ...