Beshert |“A Fiddler on the Roof. Sounds Crazy, No?”

Twenty years ago, I fell in love with The Fiddler. You know who I mean, right? That ubiquitous guy on the roof? The memory of our first encounter is so vivid that I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing the moment I recognized him.  It happened on a Saturday morning in Nice, France. My husband, Richard, and I were on a long-delayed vacation. We had spent most of Friday at the Marc Chagall Biblical Message Museum. I went in expecting to see flowers and birds and flying lovers, paintings that would be easy on the eyes and even easier on the brain. But what I actually found inside were soul-stirring images of Abraham welcoming three strangers, Jacob wrestling with the Angel, and Moses parting the Red Sea. On my way out,...

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Ten Musicals by Jewish Composers to Watch In Times of Quarantines

Enough of medical warnings. If you want to relax and keep happy at home, watching musicals is just the thing. Here are some selections by our favorite Jewish composers and lyricists, many of which are available to stream online; the songs also might be found on Spotify, Apple Music or other music streaming services.

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A Gleeful Take on Religion

By Lisa Krysiak This week’s episode of Glee was in stark contrast from last week’s hilariously over-the-top ode to Britney Spears. It delved into the difficult topic of religion, exploring three different categories of religious belief through its characters. The first category, exemplified by Kurt and Sue, is people who reject religion based on their dissatisfaction with an imperfect world.  When Kurt’s father has a heart attack, his Glee club mates offer to pray for him, but Kurt resents God for the difficulties he faces for being gay.  He denounces religion and asserts that he doesn’t believe in God, “when he makes me gay, and then has his followers going around telling me it's something that I chose. As if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their life."  He rejects their offers of...

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