The first Hebrew printing of the popular novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” sold out in a day. The 50,000 copies of the book by British author E.L. James, which went on sale Sunday, were sold out by Monday morning, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. The book, the first of a trilogy and initially published…
There was an unusual event in Haifa the other day. Muhammad Sharif Odeh, the leader of the Israeli community of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, announced the 25th anniversary of an Ahmadiyya-sponsored translation into Yiddish of selections from the Quran. Called by Haifa’s Jewish mayor, Yona Yahav, the “Reform Jews of Islam,” the Ahmadiyyas, who…
Deciding on a preschool is a big step for any parent. More than just teaching the ABCs, preschool is a place where children learn how to take turns, follow directions and figure out the world around them. Also, as parents, we want to make sure we find a safe, supportive environment for our little ones….
Forward reader Marvin Karp, inspired by my July 29 column about the word “macabre” and its possible connection with the Hebrew verb kavar, to bury (a connection that, as I observed, etymologists dismiss in favor of “Maccabee”), writes: “I have always sensed a connection between kavar and Italian cavare, to draw out, and scavare, to…
Henry Sapoznik, director of the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture at the University of Wisconsin, has taken me to task for writing in my July 27 column that the song “Yoshke Fort Avek” was written by the Yiddish performer Aaron Lebedeff during the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. Lebedeff, Mr. Sapoznik writes, had nothing to do with…
Sabbath morning services at the synagogues of black congregations are unique because of their African-American cultural elements. But they are by no means uniform. ?We distinctly avoid trying to standardize our services,? Rabbi Yeshurun ben Levy of Beth Shalom Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Brooklyn said. ?Every community can follow its own preferences.? Read the Forward?s…
I spent the summer before college holed up in my room in front of my laptop watching strange cartoon letters take shape and trying to replicate them on my own. I was teaching myself Hebrew. I’d just been to Israel twice and had become deeply embarrassed that I could not understand a language that was…
Cheryl Krushat writes: “We are about to adopt a female puppy, to whom my son would like to teach Hebrew commands. My son was given the impression that Israeli search and rescue dog handlers he met while he was in the U.S. Army gave commands in one gender form, regardless of the dog’s sex —…
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