How a complete set of the Bomberg Talmud found its way into King Henry VIII’s library. On the everlasting allure of the Jewish gangster. Mark Harman offers a new translation of Kafka’s short, short story, “A Message from the Emperor.” Bob Cohen reflects on this year’s Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakow, Poland. The Yardbirds…
“The Klezmatics are the Jewish equivalent of arena rock,” ethnomusicologist Bob Cohen deadpans early in Erik Greenberg Anjou’s documentary “The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground.” “They’re not heavy metal; they’re heavy Yiddish.” It’s a bit of tongue-in-cheek analysis calculated to make us chuckle (picture these mild-mannered, middle-aged folks head-banging in eyeliner and platform heels!) — and…
Meet Avi Yitzhak, Israel’s first Ethiopian fashion designer. Jewish Fiction .net, “the first English-language journal devoted exclusively to the publishing of Jewish fiction,” has launched. Roberto Rodriguez and Abraham Inc. are among several Jewish-y acts included in the Village Voice’s Jazz Consumer Guide. The fourth annual Tel Aviv Dance festival opens today, bringing 12 international…
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. For musicians traveling through Eastern Europe in search of the authentic Gypsy experience, all roads lead to Bob Cohen in Budapest. A fiddler, scholar and gracious host, Cohen could tell you in which Transylvanian town you can still find an old-time band, or just a lone…
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