11 Aug
Arts & Culture, Jewish World, Latest

Emotional Ethnography: A Q&A with ‘Menashe’ Director Joshua Weinstein

Director Joshua Weinstein’s camerawork credits include The New York Times, PBS, several Coors Light commercials and a few documentaries. Menashe—which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was acquired by A24 for distribution in the U.S. and China—is Weinstein’s first feature fiction film. Set in the isolated ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, the film—entirely in Yiddish—tells the story of a widower struggling for custody of his son within a tradition that demands a mother in every family. Menashe is unique not only because it’s in Yiddish but because its actors are not career actors; they are members of the Hasidic community. The plot itself is based roughly on the experience of Menashe Lustig, who plays the film’s title character. Moment speaks with Joshua Weinstein. What prompted you to make this story a feature fiction...

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27 Feb
Religion

The Age-Old New-Age Approach to Judaism

by Kelley Kidd This morning, I woke up feeling extremely grumpy. Too little sleep the night before combined with looming stress put me in a supremely bad mood from the moment I heard the first screech of my alarm. Somehow, in the midst of my fog of negativity, I realized I didn’t want to feel miserable all day, and there was only so much that coffee could do to help my endorphins—I was going to have to help out a little if I wanted to survive the day. So I grabbed my iPhone and Googled “Jewish morning prayers.” I found a website (ironically, a resource for Christians) that provided me with the Hebrew, transliteration and translation for Modeh Ani, the prayer of thanks said upon waking up, and the Birchot HaShachar, the traditional morning blessings. With...

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30 Dec
Culture, History, Latest

Renewing Galicia

by Gabriel Weinstein My grandfather always chuckled when we spoke about the Galicia region of northwestern Ukraine and southeastern Poland. He’d cackle, “Galicia! We used to make fun of people from there in Rovno .”  His depiction was a bit skewed. He failed to mention Galicia was a cultural incubator that produced Hasidic dynasties, the writer Shai Agnon and modern Yiddish music. My grandfather is not the only person to neglect Galicia’s rich Jewish heritage. According to Yaroslav Hrystak, director of graduate studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University, Ukraine’s Jewish history is “ …like a whole subject that disappeared ”.  Galicia’s once-majestic synagogues and sprawling Jewish cemeteries are now decaying shacks and unkempt meadows. Although Galicia was home to a diverse Jewish culture, the region’s traditional religious leaning was one of its most distinguishing characteristics. Galician...

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