Jenna Weissman Joselit, the Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of History at the George Washington University, is a distinguished historian of the American Jewish experience and a former columnist for the Forward.
Jenna Weissman Joselit
By Jenna Weissman Joselit
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The Schmooze Being There
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree The recent revelation that iTunes has created an app that seems to substitute for confession underscores the power of technology to redefine the very notion of ritual practice. So, too, has “Tweet Your Prayers,” in which electronic kvitlakh, or personal petitions, can be sent to the kotel, the Western…
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The Schmooze Holy Land as Theme Park
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree Word from on high is that the Walt Disney Company is planning to open a theme park in Israel. Talk about bringing coals to Newcastle! For years, religiously-minded Americans had created facsimiles of the Holy Land on American soil. As early as 1881, a “miniature representation in relief and…
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Culture Facts and Figures
Since the early 20th century, the American Jewish community has placed its faith in numbers — in data and statistics. Where words and images could be manipulated, numbers, it seemed, were unassailable and steadfast. They told the truth. They held society accountable. Little wonder, then, that so many American Jews were dismayed by the recent…
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The Schmooze Striking the Right Note
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree I’ve been meaning for quite some time now to write about the Judaica Sound Archives, an online treasure trove of American Jewry’s musicological patrimony, but I couldn’t quite find the right note to strike. In the wake of the sudden and untimely passing of Debbie Friedman, whose musical contributions…
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The Schmooze Getting to the Bottom of Show Business
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree Much has been written of late about the ways in which celebrated American musicals such as “Oklahoma” or “South Pacific” carry considerable Jewish freight. While most audiences come away humming rather than thinking, the American musical, many scholars suggest, is actually where American Jewish playwrights, lyricists, choreographers and designers…
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Culture A Comprehensive Guide To Consumption
These days, information about this and that may be just a click away, but if Gil Marks’s Encyclopedia of Jewish Food is any indication, some of us continue to place a premium on discovering things the old-fashioned way: by leafing through the pages of a book awash in, well, encyclopedic detail. Years ago, encyclopedias were…
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The Schmooze Tied in Knots
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree The recent announcement of the impending nuptials of David Lauren, son of the celebrated fashion designer Ralph Lauren, and Lauren Bush, George W’s niece — and, I hasten to add, a former Princeton student of mine — has set tongues wagging. Following on the heels of a slew of…
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The Schmooze Fundraising With Flowers
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree I don’t know about you, but these days, when my mailbox bulges with solicitations from just about every non-profit organization known to man, I can’t help but wonder whether there might be another way to go about it. The history of fundraising, after all, is the history of innovation….
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