Orthodox Rap Star Nissim Brings Judaism to Hip Hop
“Rabbis were telling me that if I have a gift like that, I shouldn’t sit on it. But I felt that rap was going to lead me away from my spirituality.”
The Lost Magic of the Wooden Pickle Barrel
Blond and rather slender for its type, a pickle barrel stands by the takeout counter of the famous Washington, DC delicatessen Wagshal’s. Lined with plastic, it may satisfy a certain nostalgia but amounts to no more than a storage unit on the bulk-bin grocery aisle—a pale iteration of the big-bellied, oak casks I remember from my childhood.
Visual Moment | A Forgotten Ottoman Way Station
The Ottomans ruled what is now Israel for 400 years, and during that time they made some iconic contributions to the man-made landscape. Sultan Suleiman I (a.k.a. Suleiman the Magnificent) completed the current walls of Jerusalem’s Old City in 1541. The Jaffa Clocktower, finished in 1903, was built to celebrate the silver jubilee of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Over time, innumerable Ottoman buildings have been lost, replaced by those of British or Israeli design, just as they in turn had replaced those of the Crusaders, Mamluks, Byzantines, Romans, Hasmoneans, Greeks, ancient Israelites, Babylonians, Assyrians and Philistines.
Jewish Word | Golem
Although such comparisons remain rare, for Jews and non-Jews the golem serves as a concept uniquely suited to expressing the fears and insecurities of the modern era. As Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote in 1984, “The golem story appears less obsolete today than it seemed one hundred years ago. After all, what are the computers and robots of our times if not golems?”
Who’s Afraid of Dorit Rabinyan?
Israeli novelist Dorit Rabinyan was enjoying a peaceful afternoon at home on December 30, 2015, when a phone call from an old friend, Haaretz journalist Or Kashti, changed her life. “I have something to tell you,” he said. “It may be the biggest story I will ever break.” “Good for you!” replied Rabinyan. “No,” said Kashti quietly, “it is very good for you.”
Talking Politics with the Israeli Settler Leader Turned Diplomat
Dani Dayan has an unusual background for an Israeli diplomat. The Argentinian-born secular Israeli and successful tech entrepreneur was Israel’s chief advocate for the settlers from 2007 to 2013 as chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Top Ten | What to Watch on the Web
As the medium matured—and the number of web series grew—a subgenre of Jewish web series appeared, which now includes a mix of serial storytelling, comedy and documentary. Here are some of our favorite Jewish web series available today.
The Thermometer Interview: David Hirsh
Spotlight: United Kingdom. Temperature: 80 degrees and climbing.
July/August 2017 | Table of Contents
Culture
Who’s Afraid of Dorit Rabinyan?
The Israeli author became a literary superstar when Israel’s Education Minister called her novel depicting a Palestinian-Israeli romance a threat to Jewish...
Will the Gulf Crisis Blow up the Middle East?
The news last month that four Arab states had cut ties with Qatar, sparking a possible regional crisis, surprised many Americans who know little about this part of the Middle East or America’s interests there.
Sheldon Adelson: Playing To Win
Sheldon Adelson’s newspaper, Israel Hayom, changed the course of Israeli politics and moved the country further right.
Will the hard-charging casino magnate have the same luck in Las Vegas?
Ask the Rabbis | What Is the Jewish Relationship to Time?
INDEPENDENT: Time is an invitation. Both words share the same root: z’mahn. It is written: “The life of man is like a breath exhaling; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalms 144:4).