‘And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat…. And the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him and to let him go for a scapegoat unto…
Arab Leader Praised Bombing A top American Muslim leader who was charged this week for illegally obtaining money from Libya and financing terrorism in the United States and abroad once hailed the 1994 bombing of the Jewish communal center in Argentina, according to the court testimony of a federal agent. “The Jewish community center, it…
In recent years, the traditional custom of tashlich has gained currency in the Jewish New Year. In the ceremony, we toss bread into the water — symbolic of our griefs and grievances — and it’s fun to imagine this bread being tossed in odd corners of the country, from the muddy waters of the Mississippi…
The symbolism of honey is so simple that children ingest it as swiftly as they do its ambrosial sweetness. This, perhaps, explains why it’s so central to Rosh Hashana celebrations. My mother and I dished — about honey — over brunch this Sunday at Whim. (The popular fish restaurant on a tree-lined side street in…
American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community By Samuel Gruber Photography by Paul Rocheleau Edited by Scott J. Tilden Rizzoli International Publications, 240 pages, $50. * * *| For Rachel Wischnitzer’s 1955 book “Synagogue Architecture in the United States: History and Interpretation,” the first and last great survey of the subject, architect Philip…
Israeli-born jazz bassist, pianist, composer and arranger Avishai Cohen performs songs from his recently released album, “Lyla,” his fifth and the first on his new label, Razdaz Recordz. The 11-song collection features Cohen’s International Vamp Band on rhythmically charged tracks, drummer and electronics specialist Mark Guiliana on pop/rock-oriented numbers and vocalists Lola and Jeff Taylor,…
In 1932, Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera were dining with other guests at the Detroit home of Henry Ford, the automotive titan and noted antisemite. (The city had commissioned Rivera to paint a series of murals devoted to the theme of modern industry.) During a lull in conversation, with a characteristic mixture of…
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America By David Von Drehle Atlantic Monthly Press, 340 pages, $26. * * *| March 25, 1911, became a Sabbath like no other. Scores of young immigrant Jewish women who couldn’t afford a day of rest went to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a newfangled high-rise factory on the…
High Holy Days CyberServices: The High Holy Day services of Temple Emanu-El of the City of New York, a Reform congregation, are to be broadcast on the radio (WQXR-FM or 96.3 FM) as well as the Internet (www.emanuelnyc.org) for those who cannot attend services in person. Rosh Hashana Sept. 26, 5:30 p.m., Yom Kippur, Oct….
The Vatican is distancing itself from the comments of two Catholic officials who recently praised the controversial Mel Gibson movie “The Passion.” In a letter sent to the Anti-Defamation League, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the top Vatican liaison to the Jewish community, said that any endorsements of the film from top church leaders represented “purely personal”…
This being the week of Rosh Hashana, I took advantage of the occasion to ask the Israeli scholar Shmuel Gelbart, an expert on Jewish custom and Yiddish usage, a question that has been bothering me. Why is Yiddish the only language in the world whose speakers make a practice of wishing each other a good…
אַנאַ שטערנשיס האָט געזאַמלט הונדערטער בעל־פּהיִקע גבֿית־עדותן פֿון מענער און פֿרױען פֿון פֿאַרשײדענע סאָציאַלע שיכטן.
