Elisha Wiesel Remembers His Father
“Whenever I want to hear my father’s voice, I can pick up a book from my bedside and I can hear him speak.”
14
Sep
08
Sep
David Irving Sticks to His Script
Sixteen years later, the original “cast members” look back at the famous trial that debunked Holocaust revisionism—and changed their lives.
17
Sep
Ruth Wisse: Education of a Jewish Conservative
There are few more outspoken proponents of conservative ideas in North American Jewry today than Ruth Wisse: pioneer of the academic study of modern Jewish literature, longtime professor of Yiddish and Yiddish literature at McGill and Harvard, essayist, political commentator and author of a dozen books. In works such as If I Am Not for Myself: The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews, Wisse argues that Jews must stop blaming themselves for the hatred, past and present, of Judaism and Jews.
03
Sep
Author Interview // Jennifer Weiner
What makes great literature? Do Jeffrey Eugenides and Stephen King write beach reads or books worthy of the canon—or both? And where do women writers fit in? One of the biggest advocates for breaking down barriers between popular and critically revered books is a writer whose trademark is creating quirky Jewish women who worry about their weight and eventually find true love—and themselves in the process.
28
Jul
Edward Hirsch — Poet Laureate of Grief
As Hurricane Irene descended on New York City in 2011, acclaimed poet Edward Hirsch received a text message from his only son Gabriel that he would be home in an hour. That was the last time he would hear from him.
04
May
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “The Notorious RBG”
Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second woman to join the Supreme Court, after Sandra Day O’Connor, and the first Jewish woman.
28
May
Book Q&A: Naomi Schaefer Riley
Naomi Schaefer Riley, a former Wall Street Journal editor and writer, is the author most recently of 'Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage Is Transforming America. She also is the author of God on the Quad and The Faculty Lounges, and the co-editor of Acculturated. She lives in the New York suburbs.
Q: What inspired you to write 'Til Faith Do Us Part?
A: I’ve been a religion reporter for 15 years now. I was very familiar, from growing up , with Jewish questions about intermarriage, but I was surprised in doing my research that other religious communities were facing—not as head-on—the same questions about intermarriage. Not necessarily demographic questions, but finding that interfaith marriages were more common. Religious leaders are facing questions about how to counsel and perform .
Q: How did you...
21
May
Meet the Maharats: Questions for Ruth Balinsky Friedman
In June the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat, the first institution to train Orthodox women as spiritual leaders and halakhic authorities, will graduate. The three graduates who have spent the past four years studying Jewish law and ritual as well as pastoral counseling and leadership training will earn the title Maharat (Manhiga Hilchatit Ruchanit Toranit) and become spiritual leaders for the Orthodox community.
I spoke with one of the soon-to-be Maharat, Ruth Balinsky Friedman, last week at the Drisha Institute for Jewish education in New York City. After graduation Friedman will join the staff of Congregation Ohev Sholom —The National Synagogue in Washington, DC.
Did you always see yourself in a pastoral role?
My father is a rabbi, so one of most obvious career paths was right in front of me but I just never thought of spiritual...
03
May
Glenn Frankel on “The Searchers”
Glenn Frankel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who spent many years as a Washington Post reporter and editor, now serves as director of the School of Journalism and G.B. Dealey Regents Professor in Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. His new book is titled The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. It focuses on the making of the movie The Searchers, starring John Wayne, and the real-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker, on which The Searchers was partly based. He also is the author of Beyond the Promised Land: Jews and Arabs on the Hard Road to a New Israel, and Rivonia's Children: Three Families and the Cost of Conscience in White South Africa.
Q: What first intrigued you about The Searchers, and why did you decide it would make a good subject for a...
24
Apr
The Bond Between Greenberg and Robinson
With the timely release of the new DVD of my film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg upon the heels of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, I want to share some thoughts on how Jackie Robinson’s heroic story impacted the making of my documentary about the iconic Jewish baseball player.
It’s downright shameful how politically incorrect the playing field was in those days. It’s not surprising, as baseball was America’s favorite pastime and back then racial hatred was woven into the fabric of this country. For all of us, Robinson will always be the courageous pioneer who integrated baseball with tremendous dignity.
As Jews, we should also remember how Hank Greenberg, too, played in a hostile environment. Among the stories in the film is the revelation from fellow Tiger, catcher Birdie Tebbetts, about the anti-Semitism that...