Beshert | The Phone Number in His Wallet
It was early September 1956. I was living in a Greenwich Village basement apartment, when I got a phone call from one Dick Lavine from...
Ten Musicals by Jewish Composers to Watch In Times of Quarantines
Enough of medical warnings. If you want to relax and keep happy at home, watching musicals is just the thing. Here are some selections by our favorite Jewish composers and lyricists, many of which are available to stream online; the songs also might be found on Spotify, Apple Music or other music streaming services.
Remembering a Show That Flopped
The backward tale, coupled with having young, inexperienced performers play the roles of older adults, just wasn’t believable to audiences, and the show flopped after 16 performances.
The Best Books on World War I
On the anniversary of the United States’ entrance into the war, here are some of the books marking the beginnings, the events of the Great War itself and some books on special areas of interest.
A Jewish Timeline of World War I
April 6, 1917 is the official date for America’s entry into World War I, and over the next 19 months, some 250,000 Jews served in the American armed forces. Through this timeline, explore some of their stories.
The Books That Predicted the Presidential Election
In his victory speech in 2008, President Obama said, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer.” This November, in a New Yorker article titled “It Happened Here,” editor David Remnick recalled Obama’s quote: “A very different answer arrived this Election Day,” he writes. “America is indeed a place where all things are possible: that is its greatest promise and, perhaps, its gravest peril.”
Jewish Routes // Greater Hartford
Just outside of Hartford proper, Jewish families have intermingled with new immigrants over the years to form an unusually cohesive community in the suburbs of Greater Hartford.
Jewish Routes // Vermont
The Jewish presence in Vermont can be traced back to land speculators in the 1760s, but a more substantial group, primarily German-speaking, started settling in the state in the 1840s
Jewish Routes // Chicago
Today, with nearly 300,000 Jews, the Chicago metropolitan area is home to the third-largest Jewish population in the United States. But to many Chicagoan Jews, it has the feel of a small town.
Film Watch // Three Minutes in Poland
A teenager with a big smile grins at the camera. Another waves his hand and keeps moving to stay in the picture. A bearded man is helped down the stairs of a building as groups of young and old crowd the streets of a small town, all anxious to be a part of this remarkable movie.
Talk of the Table // Cheesecake: A Dairy Tale
While cheesecake has long been popular among Jews with a sweet tooth, the creamy, rich indulgence is now as American as apple pie, a symbol of how thoroughly Jews have integrated into American life. As cookbook author Joan Nathan says, “Jews like cheesecake because they like to eat good rich dishes, even if they shouldn’t”—but then again, who doesn’t?
The Holocaust Through the Eyes of Women
For the first four decades after the Holocaust, most memoirs and historical studies viewed life in the camps through male eyes. But since the early...