The Shmooze


A New Yad for the Bar-Mitzvah Set

By Lisa Alcalay Klug

A ceremonial yad, or Torah pointer, is a traditional gift for a bar or bat mitzvah. But a new technological innovation aimed at helping children learn their Torah and Haftarah portions represents a new kind of competition for this classic ritual item.Read More

Vienna Event Misplaces the ‘Hatikvah’

By Nathan Burstein

Talk about “Hope”-less. Organizers of an international fencing competition outside Vienna claim to have misplaced a recording of Israel’s national anthem — nearly preventing the piece, “Hatikvah,” from sounding during an awards ceremony.Read More

Costco Gets Into the Torah Business

By Nathan Burstein

A Seattle-based wholesale giant famed for its gargantuan 10-gallon tubs of mustard and 76-pound containers of detergent is about to start selling Jewish scripture.Read More

Sir Ian Knows What It’s Like

By Nathan Burstein

His years as a closeted gay man gave actor Ian McKellen an understanding, he says, of Jews who hid during the Holocaust.Read More

Prestigious Award for Israeli Choreographer

By Devra Ferst

Dancer, choreographer, innovator — many words have been used to describe Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Israel’s premier modern dance group, the Batsheva Dance Company. But Dance Magazine, in its 2009 award, given at a ceremony November 9 in New York, simply called him the man who “revolutionized international dance.”Read More

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