The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Finding Rachel’s Idols
Each Thursday, The Arty Semite features excerpts and reviews of the best contemporary Jewish poetry. This week Jake Marmer introduces “The Household Gods” by Richard Chess. The story of Abraham smashing the idols and questioning his father about their potency is probably the most famous midrash out there. This week’s shul-goers, listening to Parshat Veyetzei,…
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Books 30 Days, 30 Texts: ‘A Tale of Love and Darkness’
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Elise Bernhardt writes about “A Tale of Love…
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Puff Daddy Protégé Prays at the Western Wall
Moses Levi wasn’t always an Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem. Just last year, the 32-year-old Belize born rapper finished serving a nearly 10-year prison sentence for a 1999 shooting incident that took place in a New York City bar and involved Sean Combs, then known as Puff Daddy — his former mentor — and Jennifer…
The Latest
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‘Tis the Season to Be Classical: Unmissable December Concerts
While Hanukkah preparations and aftermath can overshadow every other human activity in December, ‘tis also the season for classical concerts, especially although by no means exclusively, in the New York area. These can include much Yiddishkayt, despite the seeming omnipresence of Handel’s “Messiah.” Mahler-lovers will not want to miss the much-loved British conductor Sir Colin…
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An Unexpected Paradise
The journey to paradise is not without its optical illusions. What is enchanting can be hollow, what seems trite may be the doorway to magnificence, and what does not appear worth understanding could contain all of the answers. When engaged in an active dialogue with the world, what was an arid wasteland can become a…
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Bringing Cantorial Music Back to Its Birthplace
“For me, this was not about a film. This was about our using our gifts as cantors to create dialogue,” said Cantor Nathan Lam of “100 Voices: A Journey Home,” which will be shown in a one-night event in over 75 theaters nationwide on November 11. The feature-length documentary chronicles the journey in June 2009…
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No Chuppah in the Future for Rachel Weisz and fiancé Aronofsky
Say it ain’t so. British born actress Rachel Weisz and her director fiancé, Darren Aronofsky, a Brooklyn native, have called off their five-year engagement. The Jewish Chronicle reports that the couple, who were together for nine years and have a 4-year-old son, Henry, separated earlier this year but kept quiet about their break up. However,…
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Books Searching for Osama
On Monday, Lavie Tidhar wrote about Jewish vampires and Hebrew punks. His new novel, “An Occupation of Angels,” is now available. His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog series. For more information on the series, please visit: It…
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Going for Guinness: Israeli Claims ‘Smallest Wedding Proposal’ Ever
It was a marriage proposal for the record books — or at least that’s what the engaged couple is hoping. An Israeli physics student is seeking a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records after popping the question to his girlfriend, in what the pair claim is the “smallest wedding proposal” in history. Rather…
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Israeli Scholar Translates Talmud Into Hebrew, Completing 45-Year Project
Like Israelites wandering a desert, a good Talmudic translation apparently can’t be rushed. After more than four decades of work, Israeli Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz finally released a new Hebrew translation of the Talmud this week, a project he’s worked on since the Johnson administration. Begun in 1965, the work is intended to make the Talmud…
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Books 30 Days, 30 Texts: ‘Letters to a Buddhist Jew’
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Monica Rozenfeld writes about “”Letters to a Buddhist…
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