Creative Judaica Takes Different Path

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 28, 2005

Walk into any Judaica store looking for a Kiddush cup, candlesticks or spice boxes and you’ll find yourself confronted with a plethora of silver and wood and an abundance of carved or engraved Jewish symbols from Stars of David to Lions of Judah.

Painter and sculptor Tobi Kahn tries to break that mold with his innovative ceremonial objects which eschew kitsch and present Judaica in an entirely new light.

The Nation and The World

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 28, 2005

The Nation and The World.

A Hoppin’ Seder

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 21, 2005

Q. Why do we have a haggadah on Passover? A. So we can seder [say the] right words.

It's a terrible joke, but it suggests why seders have gone from righteous to rote, from dynamic to deadly boring. Everything is too much by the book, the haggadah, to be exact, in the worst possible way, says David Arnow, in "Creating Lively Passover Seders: A Sourcebook of Engaging Tales, Texts & Activities." (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004, www.livelyseders.com).

Arnow says that seders are supposed to be living, vibrant, creative -- with room for spontaneous discussion and new ideas that reinvent what freedom means to the current generation, which gathers to commemorate a liberation that occurred thousands of years ago.

Secular Fans Hip to Religious Rapper

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 7, 2005

He's into rap, hip-hop, reggae -- and religion. He's not a Christian rocker; he's a Chasidic reggae/hip-hop musician.

Matisyahu is the artist formerly known as Mathew Miller -- until he found God, Lubavitch-style, almost five years ago.

Circuit

By Kelly Hartog
Published on March 3, 2005

Circuit.

Briefs

By Kelly Hartog
Published on March 3, 2005

Briefs.

The King of Israeli Hip-Hop

By Kelly Hartog
Published on February 24, 2005

With angry lyrics that court controversy, two multiplatinum albums and a third on the way, his own clothing line, record label, legions of fans and glittering religious jewelry, Subliminal could easily be mistaken for a Jewish P.Diddy.

Death Spotlights Old Circumcision Rite

By Kelly Hartog
Published on February 17, 2005

The death of one infant boy from herpes and the infection of two others has focused attention on an ancient practice that is still used in some ultra-Orthodox communities as they circumcise babies.

Angelenos Make Aliyah Dream Reality

By Kelly Hartog
Published on January 13, 2005

It's 4 p.m. "Erev Christmas," and 21-year-old Adam Bodenstein is still rushing around his home in the Pico-Robertson area. He has yet to take a shower before Shabbat comes. In four days time, the Modern Orthodox UC Berkley graduate, who grew up in a Conservative household, will board a flight at New York's JFK Airport that will take him to his new home -- Israel.

But this is no ordinary El Al flight. This is Nefesh B'Nefesh's (NBN) eighth flight (and first-ever winter flight) in three years.