Tel Aviv – When it comes to diets, cookies and cake are off the menu. But researchers from Tel Aviv University have found that dessert, as part of a balanced 600-calorie breakfast that also includes proteins and carbohydrates, can help dieters to lose more weight – and keep it off in the long run. The…
When Purim approaches, it is time to forget your troubles and let the fun begin! For young children Purim carnivals are the highlight with games, costumes and prizes. The tradition of costumes is based upon the way Esther concealed her Jewish identity from the king while living in the palace. Costumes of King Achashverosh, Queen…
“That was an amazing wedding!” I still hear it when friends gather, and it’s been over 35 years since David and I got married. The food, the dancing and, to be honest, the abundant alcohol brought out the party animal in everyone, from Grandma Rose to the mah-jongg mavens. But I can’t take the credit….
While taking a walk on a brisk autumn morning, in the neighborhood of Northwest 23rd and Savier, a rack of clothing in the window of a quaint gray house caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, I saw some amazingly beautiful fabrics in rust and taupe embellished with specks of gold and fashioned into interesting and…
The following is excerpted from an address given by Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker on Feb. 9 at the start of a Vancouver to Olympia week-long march by clergy in support of marriage equality. Dunsker is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, a Reform congregation in Vancouver, WA.
In late winter, Tu B’Shevat events pop up like the first crocuses in Jewish communities everywhere, and Portland is no exception. On Feb. 12, about 30 people gathered at the Kenton Community Garden to celebrate the holiday, known as the “Birthday of the Trees.” Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and Moishe House,…
From the hilltop battlements of stately Kaiserburg Castle, it’s possible to gaze down upon the home of late medieval artist Albrecht Dürer, circa 1420, in a neighborhood that resembles a storybook village. At the Tucher Mansion, a Renaissance museum with original furnishings and tapestries, an actress dressed in period costume conducts tours playing the role…
Eleanor Roosevelt once remarked that women are like tea bags because “we don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.” To a large extent, Israeli women, like Israeli society as a whole, have been in hot water since the founding of modern Israel. Since the Jewish people’s return to our historic homeland,…
I’ve had to make lots of adjustments living in Israel. Not the least of them is coping with native eating customs. One such common custom is the act of sharing and schmearing. Don’t you just know I have something to say about this? When I refer to schmear, I am not referring to the time-honored…
Four Israeli films screened this year at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Three were documentaries and one – Barbie Blues – was chosen for a new section, the Short Film Category. The Law in These Parts and 5 Broken Cameras, two documentaries about Israeli occupation in the West Bank won awards…
