Pamela Rafalow Grossman
By Pamela Rafalow Grossman
-
Life âThe Womenâs Balconyâ Explores Tensions Among Observant Jews In Jerusalem
Details of conflicts between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East have filled the news, of course, for many grief-filled years. Less prominently discussed outside of Israel are conflicts between communities of Jews in Israel â for example, over methods of and approaches to religious observance. Emil Ben-Shimonâs dramatic comedy âThe Womenâs Balconyâ exploresâŠ
-
Life Five Reasons to Love Rama Burshteinâs âThe Wedding Planâ
Itâs spring, and your calendar might be filling with wedding invitations. Or maybe youâre planning your own wedding, and/or discovering that you dislike weddings and the myriad pressures they can bring. Whatever youâre feeling about wedding ceremonies, or romantic love altogether, Israeli director Rama Burshteinâs poignant, funny, and beautifully heartfelt second feature, âThe Wedding Plan,ââŠ
-
Life The Joys Of Seder At The Diner
A stapled Haggadah started it all. In spring of 2010, I attended a Seder where the Haggadah was unbound, its pages stapled together. It had been crafted by three Reform temples, as its front page stated, and released in April of 1974; and its language was a poignant reflection of its era. âOur ancestors sufferedâŠ
-
Life Getting âThe Last Laughâ In The Face Of Tragedy
Director Ferne Pearlstein began to consider her most recent documentary, The Last Laugh, 26 years before the film had its world premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. This lengthy gestation period can be attributed, to some extent, to the documentaryâs not-so-user-friendly focus: The role of humor during and regarding the Holocaust. But Pearlsteinâs dedicationâŠ
-
Life Jewish Womenâs Group Celebrates 80 Years of Friendship
In 1936, 12 young Jewish girls in Hillside, NJ, faced a dilemma. At ages 7 and 8, they were interested in joining their local Brownie troopâbut they and their families felt less than comfortable with troopâs choice of a local church as a meeting place when secular spaces were available. Worse, having faced some anti-SemiticâŠ
-
Life Q&A â Filmmaker Reveals How to Survive a Monster of a Jewish Mother
Many of us have, shall we say, challenges in our family relationships â and memories from childhood that are more brutal than blissful. Most of us work out these sorrows and struggles in journals, in therapy, or perhaps over wine with trusted loved ones. Gayle Kirschenbaum took a road thatâs surely less traveled. In theâŠ
-
The Schmooze Idina Menzel Works to Create A Generation of Confident, Nonconformist Girls
As the days lengthen and the weather warms, Idina Menzel â star of stage (an Obie winner for âRentâ and a Tony winner for âWickedâ) and screen (on TV in âGleeâ and, of course, a worldwide cartoon mega-smash on film in âFrozenâ) â is thinking about summer camp. At the Tribeca Film Festival in NewâŠ
-
Life Donât Go Gaga Over Ivanka â a Nice Jewish Daughter Doesnât Atone for the Sins of the Father
I have one thing in common with Donald Trump. We both think highly of his daughter, Ivanka. Granted, I have not had any thoughts of dating her, like her father has. But Iâm more than willing to admit she seems terrific: smart, gracious, and hard-working, even though by birth she wouldnât have to do muchâŠ
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News The great tent conspiracy theory: Are âoutside agitatorsâ supplying protestersâ tents?
- 2
Opinion I teach Israel studies at NYU. We are importing the worst of Israel and Palestine to our campuses
- 3
Opinion Yes, antisemitism is rising. But pro-Palestinian protests arenât the real threat to our campuses
- 4
Theater Hidden in this picture, the murder of 1.1 million Jews
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Marjorie Taylor Greene says she opposed antisemitism bill because it rejects âGospelâ that âthe Jewsâ handed Jesus to executioners
-
Film & TV Just how accurate is the Peacock series âThe Tattooist of Auschwitz?â
-
Opinion Iâm a UCLA professor. Why didnât the administration stop last nightâs egregious violence?
-
Opinion Violence at UCLA will only produce more violence. A remarkable Palestinian peace activist showed me an alternate way
Engage
-
Catch Up on Yiddish Events
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
