- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Opposition continues despite new Boy Scout policy
In 2001, Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) overwhelmingly decided to end its sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 1300 to protest the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) policy banning openly gay…
Jews should get offended
If there’s one thing the Palestinians are great at, it’s saying no. For years now, many peace-loving Jewish heads have been bruised from banging against the brick wall of Palestinian rejectionism.
NSA and JEW
If you ever needed a sign that Jews feel fully integrated and accepted by society, consider this: Not one major Jewish group made a peep over the revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.
- HOLLYWOOD
“Curb” star Jeff Garlin spends two days in jail following parking lot confrontation
Actor Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") was released from a Van Nuys jail yesterday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) website. An incident…
‘Man of Steel’ screenwriter David S. Goyer on Superman and religion
“People are always so quick to point out the Christ allegory in “The Man of Steel” but Superman has always struck me as a combination of Old Testament and New…
Superman is a Jewish Fantasy
This past week my wife surprised me with tickets to the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” for my birthday. So late Saturday night, we sat in a packed movie…
- LIFE & CULTURE
Archie Comics feature film in the works
Archie comics lovers, rejoice!
Israel’s SodaStream inks deal with KitchenAid
The Israeli company SodaStream agreed to develop a home system for making carbonated drinks for KitchenAid appliances.
Barbra Streisand receives Honorary Doctorate from The Hebrew University
Barbra Streisand, after receiving an honorary doctorate from The Hebrew University, stands in front of the plaque of the Institute of Jewish Studies Building, established in 1984 in honor of…
- BLOGS
Summer Peaches Are Here
I always figured peaches were a super sugary fruit as they are so darn good. But it is not so. Peaches: are often less than 100 calories, making them a…
The Power of Language: Cultivating Positive Emotions
Language affects the heart. When we’re surrounded by others who speak negatively, it can really affect our mood and disposition. Are we aware of how much negative language there is…
Attention Forward: We Aren’t That Radical
It has been said that most of us believe newspaper reporting to be generally accurate, until we read an article on a subject with which we are intimately familiar. It…
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Yiddish yesterday, today and tomorrow. Interview with Thomas Soxberger
Philip Roth — still (a)roused
Joyce fans celebrate Bloomsday in Westwood
More than 100 James Joyce enthusiasts, performance artists and Irish descendants gathered at Westwood’s Hammer Museum on June 16 to celebrate Bloomsday. Taken from the name of Leopold Bloom, the assimilated Jewish protagonist in Joyce’s monumental book, “Ulysses,” the event celebrates the life of the Irish writer and relives the events of the day the tale is set: June 16, 1904.
Leaving the an insular, Hasidic world
“Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots” by 25-year-old Deborah Feldman (Simon & Schuster: $23.00) is painfully good. Through a narrative voice that is almost hypnotic, she puts you immediately in the center of her chaotic world. Flashes of adult wisdom seem almost to compete with her childlike sense of bafflement, and we watch this young author struggle fearlessly to find herself on the page. She is unlike so many other authors who have left Orthodoxy and written about it; her heart is not hardened by hatred, and her spirit is wounded but intact. She is in search of a better life, and this fine book chronicles her departure from the Satmar Hasidic sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Eclectic Fare Reflects L.A.’s Vibrant Lit Scene
Author tours are not what the used to be, and bookstore closings are reducing the number of venues where you can meet writers face to face. But the offerings for this fall season turn out to be remarkably rich, diverse and likely to prove memorable — an encouraging sign of the sheer vigor of the literary scene in Southern California.
Moroccan murder mystery weaves web of deception
From the opening passage of “The Honored Dead: A Story of Friendship, Murder, and the Search for Truth in the Arab World” by Joseph Braude (Spiegel & Grau: $26), we suddenly find ourselves in an atmospheric scene right out of “Casablanca” — an empty alleyway in the storied Moroccan city, a morning mist, a warehouse where the deep silence is suddenly broken by a squad of soldiers and detectives, and the sight of a mutilated corpse.
The Story of the Storyteller
‘Jerusalem’ — ancient symbol, modern struggles
Blood has been spilled yet again in the streets of Jerusalem in recent days, and so there is a certain urgency that inevitably attaches itself to “Jerusalem, Jerusalem:
Jewish ‘Neighborhood’ Chronicler Wins Zócalo Book Prize
How well do you know your neighbors?
Jewish Children’s Book Awards: Winning literature tackles complex issues
After taking a look at the latest award winning literature for Jewish youth, one could easily conclude that the time has come to put aside K’Tonton and All of a Kind Family, and get real. Many of the winners and honor books recently awarded either the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award (by the Association of Jewish Libraries) or the National Jewish Book Award (from the Jewish Book Council) tackle subjects unheard of in Jewish children’s literature when author Sydney Taylor was alive.
Religion’s power in the face of death
Contemporary Bible scholars tend to look at religion as the object of study rather than the source of inspiration, or so we might conclude from their writings. But something quite different can happen when they are confronted with the kind of life experiences for which religion has always served as a balm.
Poetic Master of Biblical Translation Receives Award
Robert Alter is the 2009 recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award, a lifetime achievement award named after my late father and given each year by the Los Angeles Times. It will be my honor to hand the award to Alter, a role I have been asked to perform on a few memorable occasions over the years. But never before have I discharged my duties with a greater sense of pleasure, admiration and enthusiasm. Alter is, as I once wrote in a review of his work in the L.A. Times, “one of the living masters of biblical criticism and translation.”
In which the writer discovers Nextbook’s new read on culture
"A man should live, if only to satisfy his curiosity." The Yiddish proverb, tacked to the wall of my study, came to mind when curiosity -- and the assignment to entertain my visiting young grandsons -- led me to the Nextbook festival. It's a personal embarrassment, or the fault of the organization's anti-promotional attitude, that I had never heard of Nextbook, or as its logo has it: nextbook>.
Calendar Girls picks and clicks for April 12- 18
Calendar Girls picks and clicks for April 12- 18
Calendar Girls picks, clicks and kicks for February 16 - 22
Calendar Girls picks, clicks and kicks for February 16 - 22
A different attic’s holocaust secrets
Joseph Hollander left the untold story of his life packed up in a suitcase, waiting to be found.
Briefs
News briefs.
Home and Jerusalem
The two greatest Jewish inventions of the 20th century are, to my mind at least, Hollywood and Israel. Jews founded Hollywood to help the world escape reality; they founded Israel to help Jews escape the world.
A Different Israel
Israel beyond the headlines, a country that has produced a world-class literature.
Guide to Torah fleshes out flat characters in stories
Etshalom's book cannot replace a study partner; no single book can do that. I'm sure that Etshalom would agree with me on this point, but his book is not meant to do that. Etshalom's book is meant as a sort of introductory field guide to Torah.
Posters by Czech Students Bring Back Lost ‘Neighbors’
The Czech nation, in its many incarnations, has figured prominently in Jewish lore and literature. It has spawned the Golem and Franz Kafka, to say nothing of the recent Maurice Sendak and Tony Kushner collaboration, "Brundibar," a play that was staged by the Berkeley and Yale repertory theaters and that took its story of children who vanquish a monstrous adult, a stand-in for Hitler or fascism in general, from an opera written in the Terezin ghetto at the time of the Holocaust.
Play’s Gay Theme Reflects Background of Creator
"We have always existed, even though we've been hidden from history. The friends we met in childhood, it turns out they were gay. We gravitate to one another." So speaks playwright Zsa Zsa Gershick when asked why her four principal characters are all gay or sexually experimental in her play, "Bluebonnet Court," at the Hudson Mainstage Theater.
Life vs. Death
Phillip Roth's "Everyman," (Houghton Mifflin) is a short, and in some respects, slight work. Clocking in at around 200 pages, it recounts the life of one man through his medical history. As an organizing principle, this one's as valid as any, even if in this instance, it doesn't necessarily yield the most compelling, multidimensional portrait.
Eluding Death Gives Life to Roth Novel
Eluding death is the central issue of life for Philip Roth's nameless leading character in his newest novel, "Everyman" (Houghton Mifflin). A thrice-married and divorced retired advertising executive, Roth's lonely everyman wants to keep on with the messy business of his life -- "he didn't want the end to come a minute earlier than it had to" -- even as friends get sick and die around him, and his own body's failings persist. "Old age," Roth writes, "isn't a battle, it's a massacre."
The ‘Chosen’ Ones Across the Street
It has long been a cliché that Los Angeles does not respect the culture of the book. It is true that this town famously eviscerated Faulkner and Fitzgerald, that Hollywood suits to this day treat screenwriters the way Henry VIII treated his wives. Yet, it is also true that Los Angeles has spawned unique brands of literature, such as the hard-boiled detective story.
7 Days in The Arts
Hollywood Fight Club's current production "A Lively ... and Deathly Evening With Woody Allen" brings to the stage three written works by the Neurotic One. Woody Allen's "God," "Death Knocks" and "Mr. Big" all deal with existential dilemmas as only Allen can.
Jewish school spirit can be found in abundance on the USC campus this weekend. The Jewish Student Film Festival has coordinated a weekend of Jewish activities, which culminates in today's film fest. Friday evening, attend Shabbat services at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion followed by Shabbat dinner at USC Hillel; Saturday, attend "Jewzika: A Night of Jewish Musicians" featuring Dov Kogen and the Hidden, SoCalled and the Moshav Band.
Nathan Takes a Bite Out of Boring Fare
"I never think of food as something that's stationary," Nathan said on a recent book tour stop in Los Angeles. "Things change, neighborhoods change, food changes, we get new ingredients, people get ideas. And when you come to a country you adapt what you knew to that country."
Beware of Formerly Observant Writers
In Shalom Auslander's recent collection of short stories, "Beware of God," God appears as many, many things, except for the Almighty, All-Knowing, Omniscient powerful Being He has traditionally been for the last however many-thousand years (depending on which religion you ask).
7 Days in The Arts
7 days in the Arts
Tommywood - A Well-Lit Place
How does one create a literary community in Los Angeles?
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
Calendar
Congregation Hashalom: Shabbaton with Rabbi Chaim Kramer begins Fri., Mar. 11. Melave Malka tonight at 9 p.m. features a performance by the Moshav Band. $10-15 (for meals, with R.S.V.P. by March 8). 1110 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 652-0860.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
7 Days in the Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
Literary Journeys
The most memorable books I've read recently have been, ironically enough, three memoirs that stand out for their sensitivity, intelligence and literary quality.
7 Days In Arts
7 days in the Arts, around Los Angeles.
Jewish Writing: A Renaissance Awaits
In fact, it could be said that in America today, we have a new definition of a Jewish writer: A Jewish writer is one who is asked to participate in a panel during which she will be asked the question, "Do you consider yourself a Jewish writer?"
Q & A With Jonathan Kirsch
With best-selling books like "The Harlot by the Side of the Road" and "Moses: A Life," Jonathan Kirsch has been pioneering an unusual genre that combines themes religious, historical and literary, written with a Jewish sensibility.
Real Life Peter Pan
When the 4-year-olds at B'nai David-Judea congregation got cholent on their knees while crawling under the kiddush table searching for buried treasure one Shabbat morning, there was no doubt who was to blame: David Steinberg, whose wild yarns have become a Shabbat morning staple since Steinberg got recruited for the storytelling job when he was transitioning the first of his three sons into a group about five years ago.
Sleep, Interrupted
I remember, as a child, trying in vain to stay up to see the ball fall on New Year's Eve.
New Writers Lack Roth Shock Value
It's official. American Jews are now the People of the Book Festival.
Nowadays, literature in general -- and Jewish literature in particular -- have become much more public entertainments.
Jewish Wizard Takes Flight in New Potter Book
Dr. Raymond Jones, a professor of English at the University of Alberta, who teaches literature courses in "Harry Potter," said that is was highly probable that Anthony is Jewish.
Dr. Louis Shub
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.
Spinning a Jewish Web
Sylvia Rouss, who teaches at Stephen S. Wise Temple, is the author of the popular "Sammy Spider" series, which are widely used in Jewish schools around the country.
The Nachas of Books
Until recently, it seemed you could find Yiddish books only in obscure libraries or in the attic of the house of someone's grandparents.
Still Got ‘Game’
Like Budd Schulberg's "What Makes Sammy Run?" Phillip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint" and other milestones of Jewish American literature, Will Eisner's "Name of the Game" explores the depths of Jewish self-loathing and assimilation. But what separates "Name" -- a tale chronicling two immigrant families that merge through marriage for social advancement and then suffer destructive consequences -- from the others, is that Eisner's work is a comic book.
Anxiety about Jewish Literature
As long as the Jewish people lives, it will generate a living culture, and as long as that culture values the written word, Jews will write books.
A New L.A. Shtibl
Community Briefs.
People of the Book Festival
Jewish books are hot these days.
Mitzvah Day
Imagine the possibility of having restricted access to your own religion and culture without even realizing it, whether you attend synagogue and study sessions faithfully or not. Such a phenomenon actually exists, and it's doing its disturbing work in our own Jewish community. I am referring to the inability to read and interpret the Hebrew language - the original mode of communication of the Torah, rabbis, biblical scholars and personas, and thousands of years of Judaism. I call this disability Hebrew/Jewish illiteracy.
Moral Quandaries
Bernhard Schlink is not what you would expect in a German judge and professor of constitutional law. He is a tall, sparse man of 55, dressed in an open-necked shirt and devoid of the traditional Teutonic self-importance bestowed by rank and title.
My Brother’s Keeper
My brother, who at 70 is younger than me by two years, has a world-class collection of the mysteries of Agatha Christie and a complete set of the novels of Anthony Trollope. They are being joined, gradually, by the Greek historians and Galsworthy's Forsythe Saga.
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