This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
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The Lessons They Didn’t Teach Me on Birthright
On the morning of November 25, 2014, broken windows lined St. Louis’s South Grand Boulevard. The previous night, the thriving commercial stretch next to Tower Grove Park had become a site for protests over the decision of a grand jury not to indict the white Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson for the August 9…
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In Globe’s ‘Merchant of Venice,’ Shylock is The Victim
Last Saturday, roughly halfway through the first act of the Globe Theatre’s “The Merchant of Venice” at this year’s Lincoln Center Festival, your correspondent could be found, much to her astonishment, on the stage. She was there at the behest of Launcelot, played by Stefan Adegbola, Shylock’s comically rebellious servant. Indulging an internal debate over…
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In the Case of Shylock V. Antonio, Judge Ginsburg Presides
Vengeful. Bloodthirsty. Merciless. Jewish. William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” is practically synonymous with Shylock, the moneylending Jew who demands a pound of flesh from his Christian nemesis Antonio (the actual merchant of the title). But Shakespeare’s romantic-comedy-meets-courtroom-drama it is also full of thorny legal issues. Was there ever a demand for payment prior to…
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Keith Sachs Would Rather Be Collecting Art in Philadelphia
Clad in a glen plaid blazer and paisley tie, Keith Sachs, the white-haired Philadelphia art collector, pointed to a Dan Flavin sculpture from his collection. “The Diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum),” consists of a white fluorescent bulb installed diagonally on the wall. “He needed some money, because he was getting married at…
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How ‘Golem’ Appropriated a Jewish Myth for the Smartphone Era
I was excited for the London theater company 1927’s new play “Golem,” written and directed by Suzanne Andrade, which plays at the Lincoln Center Festival through July 31st. Really, I was. From Pete Hamill’s “Snow in August” to Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” every representation of the golem – in Jewish…
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Recipes Exploring ‘The Book of Lost Recipes’
It’s telling that the first thing you notice when you open “The Book of Lost Recipes: The Best Signature Dishes From Historic Restaurants Rediscovered,” by Jaya Saxena (Page Street Publishing Co.), is that it’s dedicated not only to the author’s parents, but also to someone named Matt (whom we can only presume is her partner)…
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The Secret Jewish History of Lollapalooza
In the league of “be careful what you wish for,” near the top must rank the Lollapalooza Festival, originally conceived by cofounder Perry Farrell in 1991 as the farewell tour for his band, Jane’s Addiction. Farrell signed on some of his favorite bands for a six-week traveling festival, with a diverse musical lineup including Living…
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Can Tel Aviv ‘Library of Stuff’ Ease Israel’s Epic Clutter?
Talya Galam had a problem familiar to many in Tel Aviv: she wanted to have people over but had nowhere to seat them. Her cramped apartment in South Tel Aviv’s Yad Eliyahu neighborhood was too small for a regular dining table. So Galam bought a folding table. But by solving one problem, she created another…
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Forward Looking Back
1916 100 Years Ago Torah Scrolls Cut Up and Returned The congregants of the Ahavas Achim Synagogue in New Bedford, Massachusetts, are roiling with fury. Anger reached a peak with the discovery of six desecrated Torah scrolls. Because the scrolls were cut up and then returned to their places in the ark, it is suspected…
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Books Amazon is Opening Brick and Mortar Bookstores; Our Sages Would Approve
At a pivotal moment in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Hans Castorp is seen lugging around heavy, expensive, newly purchased books. When his cousin Joachim wonders why Hans doesn’t simply borrow books from the local library, Hans explains that there is no substitute for the purchased book: Hans “loved to mark [his books] and underline…
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Remembering Broadway Theater Impresario James Nederlander
James M. Nederlander, the American Jewish theater impresario who died on July 25 at age 94, was more than just a producer and theater owner in New York and Chicago. Growing up in Detroit, Nederlander, known in the theatrical world as Jimmy, honed his showbiz smarts by studying such star performers as Ed Wynn (born…
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