Leonard Cohen’s Final Testament: ‘Thanks for the Dance’
Leonard Cohen blended the sacred and the profane in his own search for a deeper meaning—finding truth in the Torah, yes, but also in sex, travel and the simple thrill of artistic creation.
Beshert | Open Book Finds Editor
The truth is, we are an odd couple, Gidon and I. He is from the Czech Republic, I am from California, I like cats, him...
Anti-Semitic Graffiti Reported at DC Synagogue
Sixth & I, the historic Washington, DC synagogue and culture center, was vandalized on Friday less than two months after a similar incident at the...
The Ticking Political Clocks Shaping the U.S.-Israel Relationship
With just under a year to go, Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would really like to fit in another one or two major moves—a grand peace plan, greenlighting Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley or the signing of a mutual defense treaty between the two countries.
Who Is the ‘Greatest Threat’ to American Jews?
The title of “biggest threat” to American Jews is hard to define or measure. And more importantly, it’s political. Most liberals would agree that anti-Semitism has reached new records under Trump and that the president’s response to the phenomenon has been less than adequate.
The Lost Jews of Disney+
Jewishness is both unrelated to the Disney archive and, thanks to Walt Disney’s long-rumored yet long-denied anti-Semitism, inseparable from it.
All You Need to Know About Netanyahu’s Indictment
What happened today?
For the first time in Israel’s history, a sitting prime minister has been indicted on criminal charges. The most serious charge is of...
Beshert | The Dime of His Life
He was incredibly picky. The photo album he made in the 1940s shows him dashingly handsome, in and out of New York City, in and out of baggy suits, Navy uniforms and bathing shorts, with girlfriends, pre-kiss, post-kiss. One annotation reads something like: “She had thoughts of marriage but he didn’t.” In his 30s, with two degrees and military service behind him, he was still in search of the perfect Jewish wife. This physicist, with a remarkably unique mind, drove his Kaiser to Manhattan from New Jersey on weekends to find her.
The Colmar Treasure: Bringing Jewish Life Into Medieval Art
Until recently, the Met Cloisters, situated at the top of a peaceful hill in Fort Tryon Park in the middle of Manhattan’s bustling Washington Heights—a...
Candidate Spotlight: Pete Buttigieg
This is a scenario some are now looking at, as Pete Buttigieg, even younger and less experienced than Obama was at the time, is having his moment. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana is surging in Iowa, the first state to vote in February. He is now polling at 25 percent, leaving Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders in a tight three-way race for second place.
Does “Jojo Rabbit” Have Anything New to Say About Fascism?
Jojo Rabbit, which is shaping up to be easily the most divisive film of the awards season, shows us the Third Reich through the eyes of a child.
Beshert | ‘SHELLY!!!’ (Who Knew?)
It turns out that Uncle Leon and Amy’s cousin Sheldon had grown up together and were best friends. Beshert!