Rereading Leon Uris’s ‘Exodus’
A conversation over the breakfast table with friends started with the question, “What book do you wish you had not read so you could read it for the first time?”
We pushed the concept to...
YIDDISH: An Introduction to the Language, Literature & Culture, Vols. I & II
Now, for a limited time only (until Sept. 30), the CDs that accompany my textbook Yiddish: An Introduction to the Language, Literature & Culture, Vols. I and II will be available at a greatly reduced...
Timeless Chanukah story set in 1912 New York City
My mother Alice was born in 1912, the same year in which is set this timeless Chanukah story originated in the 1950’s by Sydney Taylor and retold today by Emily Jenkins and Paul O....
Rabbi Samuel introduces Philo to the modern world
The 1stCentury Jewish philosopher and religious scholar, Philo, was very familiar with the Torah, commenting here and there on different portions of the Five Books of Moses in writings that were spread over approximately...
Chesler’s memoir insightful into feminist movement
Possibly before, but especially after publication of Women and Madness, which exposed the practice of falsely committing women to insane asylums and the abuse of women within those institutions, author Phyllis Chesler has been among...
‘Nana’: A thorough doc. film of a Holocaust survivor
“Nana,” as many of us know from the time as children we were mouthing our first words, means “grandma” and, in this case, “Nana” refers to Maryla Dyamant Michalowski, z”l, a Holocaust survivor who...
Israeli ‘When the Smoke Clears’ examines PTS
Making the rounds of Jewish film festivals is the Israeli documentary When the Smoke Clears, which recreates the battles in which several IDF soldiers were wounded and then follows each of these soldiers on the road...
Novel probes stress between Jews and Blacks
Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness would have received resounding agreement from Jay Gladstone, the fictional philanthropist, real estate developer, and professional basketball team owner who is the protagonist of this novel. This...
Warner Brothers’ dominates Comic- Con 2018
SAN DIEGO — Because three of the biggest pop culture staples, Marvel, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones, were absent this year, the recently concluded Comic-Con felt much quieter and much less abuzz with...
‘A Funny Thing’ happened at the North Coast Rep
I can just imagine North Coast Rep’s Artistic Director, David Ellenstein, dancing a jig and high fivin’ his reflection in the mirror after landing one of the most synergistic casts to ever perform on...