Independence Day in Israel, April 16 this year, means the usual parties, fireworks, traffic jams and community festivals, but more than anything else … the heralding of “barbecue season!” If you think you know what a barbecue is, think again! Here in Israel, it’s not the beloved BBQ I knew from back home in New…
The solo performance phenomenon – in which an artist is both creator and performer – rides on the back of storytelling. Great solo performance is a combination of meaningful content, skillful use of space, and charismatic, dynamic storytelling. Unlike TV, radio or writing, solo performance is face to face, eye to eye and heart to…
Visit an Odessa café filled with intelligentsia or watch a shtetl family recite Sabbath prayers. At Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, interactive exhibits combine audio and video to recreate history. Conceived by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the designers of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Europe’s largest museum devoted to Jewish history and culture opened…
When former Soviet dissident and current Jewish Agency Chair Natan Sharansky spoke in Portland last June, he called American universities the most important battlefield for today’s Jews. “I wrote an article, Traveling to Occupied Territories, where occupied territories meant American universities,” he said. “I understood how dangerous and successful our enemies are and the power…
Clearing clutter and cleaning house is a Passover ritual. The Jewish version of spring cleaning started a long time ago, when the Jews had to leave Egypt on the run and without lots of stuff. Today, however, life is messy, and it’s so easy to keep collect- ing more and more clutter. But does more…
Ah, the joys of Passover preparation. For anyone celebrating this holiday with some semblance of observance, the arrange- ments required to ready the house often seem like an additional plague. As I scan my brain for early recollections, I can feel the backaches coming on. Not to speak of the aching feet and steel-wooled hands….
If you asked 100 Jewish Portlanders what it means to be a Jewish Portlander, how many different answers would you get? The optimist might say 100, the cynic, 150. Videographer Ken Klein made no assumptions when he started his quest. Motivated at first by anger, then by curiosity, he roamed the community speaking to Jews…
I am often asked by friends, colleagues or others who detect my American accent (one doesn’t have to be too discerning to do so) why I chose to leave the U.S. and make aliyah. The question is generally a bit on the cynical side and goes something like, “What was so bad in America that…
Following a rendition of “Yerushalaim Shel Zahav” toward the end of his final jazz piano performance of 2012 at Rose Schnitzer Manor on Nov. 30, George Fendel delivered a piece of good news to resident Sheldon Petcher and the enthralled audience of three dozen residents, caregivers,and staff. His next concert will not only take place…
What’s an outfit without the right accessories? With Kendra Scott’s online and in-store interactive DIY jewelry experience, the tables have turned, leading people to question what outfit should go with their jewelry. After launching her business in Austin, TX, in 2002 with just $500, Kendra Scott has created a global multimillion-dollar brand sold at renowned…
