What could possibly shock Hollywood, California, anymore? Robin Garbose is hoping a dose of modesty will do the trick. She is about to stage what is probably the first-ever Hollywood film premiere for a female-only audience. Garbose, a professional director who became religious at the start of her career in Hollywood (she says it happened… Read more »
We’ve made it to the final stretch of the “holiday season” (read: the inclusive euphemism for Christmas and New Year’s Eve). Despite my friend’s insistence that, “no one says Merry Christmas in America” (he’s from England where supposedly everyone says Merry Christmas as if they have a tic, and now lives in New York City),… Read more »
A gut-wrenching blow was recently dealt to the Orthodox feminist cause. The kind of punch to the stomach that makes your insides churn and your whole body shake, leaving you stunned and speechless for a minute as you fathom the damage done to you. But that, after a minute, when you realize you’re okay, makes… Read more »
I’m prone to complaining about the world falling apart, um…most of the time. This has been brought to my attention, and in the spirit of the season, I thought I’d share something that I’m just thrilled about—and very thankful for: this year hasn’t seen the “War Against Christmas” crap of recent years. For this I… Read more »
Look, I love a brilliant analysis as much as the next person, and probably more. But I watched some of the Iowa caucus debates (ugh) and what impressed me the most—far more than anything any of the candidates had to say—was the way the moderator, Carolyn Washburn, editor of The Des Moines Register, handled herself.… Read more »
Emmy award-winning journalist Connie Collins shared some advice her mother gave her with an audience of mostly Jewish women at a book launch party last month: “When you grow up, marry a Jewish man,” she said, “because they don’t drink.” The book being launched was “Jewish Sisters in Sobriety,” and Collins, who has a family… Read more »
I spent 5 days of the last 7 talking about, thinking about, creating, and eating FOOD. How did I accomplish such a luxurious feat? By attending (or, rather, helping to organize and run) Hazon’s 2nd Annual Food Conference: Planting the Seeds for the New Jewish Food Movement. The conference included a mix of hands-on cooking… Read more »
Hanukkah is, of course, the holiday of light, blah blah blah, we all know the story of the miracle of the oil. Except that I’m in a class on ancient texts and history, and having read the pseudepigraphal Maccabbean texts, it appears that the whole story is a little less rosy than I was taught… Read more »
Did you know that more than 80% of Israelis, the majority of whom are secular, light candles every night of Hanukkah? The practice has apparently become, for many, a cultural act, devoid of religio…
