‘Broken Glass’ Shines at Theater J
Though a broken mirror foretells seven years of bad luck, Theater J’s production of Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass foreshadows nothing but promise from the riveting cast exquisitely directed by Aaron Posner.
Herzog Heirs Win Again in Fight to Recover Nazi-Looted Art
Starting with the German occupation of 1944, the case alleged, the collection was taken away from the family after years of persecution
The Jazz Kibbutz: A Brief History of Israel’s Jazz Scene
Israel’s jazz scene has been around since British mandate times, but really came into its own in the 90s. Thanks to trailblazers like Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, and Avi Lebovich, Israel’s jazz music is now celebrated internationally for its quality as well as its diversity – Israeli jazz is nearly as big a jumble of cultures as Israel itself. “It’s very ‘exotic’ to the American or European ear,” says Barak Weiss, “but it’s still accessible because it’s based on American music.”
Q&A: Aaron Posner Brings ‘Broken Glass’ to DC
“It’s a play that will speak very differently to different people depending on where they are in their lives.”
What ‘Genius’ Gets Right—and Wrong—About the Jewish Einstein
In the popular imagination, Albert Einstein is a benign, whimsical and endearing old man. Yet of course, the real Einstein was more complex—though he was brilliant and had his fanciful quirks, in many ways he was also self-absorbed and careless, obsessive and absent-minded to the point of callousness.
A Historic Synagogue Welcomes the Future at National Pride Shabbat
It’s standing room only for National Pride Young Professionals Shabbat Dinner, located in the non-denominational, non-traditional congregation’s social hall.
What Does Jewish Humor Mean Today?
Michael Krasny wants to tell jokes—but he also wants to explain them. “It’s important to be analytical about humor,” he says.
Interview | Yuval Harari
Born in Haifa to Eastern European immigrants, Harari now lives with his husband in a moshav outside Jerusalem. A vegan deeply distressed by the suffering of domesticated animals, Harari meditates daily (plus a 60-day silent retreat each year). He does this, he says, to understand more fully the nature of human consciousness and “human dissatisfaction.” Moment talks with Harari about the role of technology in politics and the rise of big data, as well as topics Harari does not usually discuss, such as Judaism and Israel.
Palestinian Haute Cuisine Heats Up
“To this day, most Israeli Jews think of Arab food as cheap ‘hummus-chips (french fries)-salad-kebab’—all said as a single word. But it isn’t really Arab food at all.”
Book Review | The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
Bulgaria. How little thought I had ever given to Bulgaria, but here it is in the vivid, fast-paced, fascinating new novel The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova. Author of the best-selling novel The Historian, Kostova is a writer who knows how to keep you in suspense, to frighten and amaze you, all while building characters whose fate will matter to you more and more as she reveals a whole country, its history, its tragedy, its politics, its scenery and its sad beauty.
A Rare Peek Into a Renowned Library’s Vault
The extraordinary works in this exhibition are rarely seen, and this is their first time in America.
Alan Alda and His Scientific Universe
Alan Alda loves to dig to the root of things. He has no patience for jargon, for flimsy logic, for impenetrable lectures. He wants to know: What is time? How do clocks work? What are the processes that govern the universe?