Supporting Israeli Art

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on May 3, 2013

Sotheby’s: Steinhardt Collection ‘most valuable’ Judaica auction ever

Published on May 1, 2013

An auction of the 500-piece Judaica collection owned by philanthropist Michael Steinhardt was the “most valuable auction of Judaica ever held,” Sotheby’s said.

On Chanukah, Hamsas, for love and tzedakah

Published on December 6, 2012

Meeting Rachelle Tratt, a yoga teacher with a warm smile and huge blue eyes, it’s hard to imagine that she was ever anything but the strong, spirited healer she is today. But Tratt, who grew up Modern Orthodox in the Catskill Mountains, has seen her fair share of tragedy.

The appraisal

By Rob Eshman
Published on September 27, 2012

Last April, just inside the entrance to the “Salute to Israel” Festival at Rancho Park, the National Council of Jewish Women set up a large tented area where it sold all sorts of secondhand items from its thrift stores: clothes, Judaica, kitchenware, art.

Crafting a memorable Passover with unique ritual objects

Published on March 27, 2012

To prepare for their first Passover seders, Zoe Scheffy, Lesley Frost and Joanna Brichetto drew on their creative instincts: Scheffy pulled out her knitting needles; Frost gathered scraps of felt, braided ribbon and tacky glue; and Brichetto rounded up household items, her kids' plastic frogs and Beanie Babies.

Handy Hazzan is Hanukkah Hazzan - Making Dreydls Out of Clay Today!

By Cantor Harris Shore, The Handy Hazzan
Published on December 16, 2011

VideoJew’s VideoGuide to L.A. #3—Jewish Los Angeles

Published on October 16, 2008

Dining, shopping, living, praying -- VideoJew Jay Firestone shows you how it's done Los Angeles-style.

Meet the multitalented, endlessly energetic Zane Buzby

By Jane Ulman
Published on November 22, 2007

There are not enough hours in the day for Zane Buzby.

Try these vegetarian delights— fit for a Persian queen

By Judy Zeidler
Published on March 1, 2007

New ‘Encyclopedia Judaica’ goes from Aachen to Zyrardow

By Peter Ephross
Published on October 26, 2006

The new "Encyclopaedia Judaica" is to be published Dec. 8 by Macmillan Reference USA and Israel's Keter Publishing. The 22 volumes contain more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life.

Sondheim Knows How to Book ‘Em

By Robert David Jaffee
Published on February 16, 2006

Harry Sondheim, a retired criminal prosecutor for the L.A. County D.A.'s office, was traveling in Holland when he simply noticed an artifact that appealed to him. "They had a museum, Der Weg, which means the Weighing House. They had an artist named Bicart. I bought some postcards with depictions of Jewish ceremonies on them. You can't buy those postcards any longer."

Ex-Communist ‘Burb Makes Menorahs

By Carolyn Slutsky
Published on December 2, 2004

All the menorahs made at the factory have seven branches, a departure from the nine-armed versions most American Jews light to celebrate Chanukah.

Dr. Louis Shub

Published on March 20, 2003

Dr. Louis Shub is credited with building the UJ's library from a modest collection to one of the largest collections of Judaica on the West Coast, distinguished for its holdings in Jewish history, the Middle East and Israel, rabbinical literature and Hebrew fiction and literature.

Art of the Scalpel

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on November 14, 2002

Archie Granot is very careful and precise when making incisions with his scalpel -- yet he knows he'll never be sued if he makes a mistake.

An End to Denial

By Julie Wiener
Published on September 6, 2001

The Borough Park section of Brooklyn is one of America's most visibly Jewish neighborhoods.

On several residential blocks of one- and two-family brick homes, almost every front door has a mezuzah. Modestly dressed women push strollers, while girls in dresses and boys in tzitzit and kippot play on the sidewalks. Sixteenth Avenue, one of the main drags, is lined with religious study centers and yeshivot, small synagogues and Judaica stores.

And in the middle of it all is an agency that runs a treatment program for Orthodox Jewish pedophiles.

Jewish Art Makeover

By Julie Wiener
Published on September 6, 2001

A women's tefillin set with a beaded velvet box and blue satin straps.

A silver "Kiddush" cup in which ceremonial wine passes through a delicately crafted silver net formed from the Hebrew word for "blessed."

A sukkah with brightly painted walls made of the long, plastic

strips found in industrial-sized refrigerators -- and furnished with stools and a mirrored table symbolizing the self-reflection expected during the High Holy Days.

Education Briefs

By Tom Tugend
Published on February 24, 2000

A highlight of the annual religious school educators conference sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education is always the presentation of the Lainer Awards. These cash awards, established in 1989, go to talented educators who help perpetuate Jewish traditions and values in a religious school setting. Most of the winners have an in-depth knowledge of Judaica, and have committed much of their professional lives to Jewish institutions.

Double Duty

By Beverly Gray
Published on February 24, 2000

A highlight of the annual religious school educators conference sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education is always the presentation of the Lainer Awards. These cash awards, established in 1989, go to talented educators who help perpetuate Jewish traditions and values in a religious school setting. Most of the winners have an in-depth knowledge of Judaica, and have committed much of their professional lives to Jewish institutions.
Such is the case of Neal

The Power of Israel

By Sarah Tuttle
Published on November 26, 1998

My name is Sarah -- actually, it used to be Sarah, but that was before I went to Israel and experienced the best summer of my life. A summer that changed me forever.