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Be'chol Lashon Newsletter: January 2011
New category! Children’s books: Click here to view a selection of Children's Books
There is still space at Camp Be'chol Lashon, a new overnight Jewish camp for children from racially and ethnically diverse Jewish families and all those who want to be part of a global Jewish community. Generous camperships are available.
Every 23 July for the past 58 years Egypt, my country of birth, has celebrated its "July revolution" that overthrew King Farouk and ended the monarchy and British occupation once and for all. It was no revolution: it was a coup staged by young army officers.
In China, notions of Jewish business acumen lead to a publishing boom—and stereotyping. Jewish visitors to China often receive a snap greeting when they reveal their religion: “Very smart, very clever, and very good at business,” the Chinese person says.
During Civil War, Grant blamed Jews for black market cotton trade; order was only in effect for a few weeks but a blemish in Jewish US history.“The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade… are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.”
The idea of black Jews in America is more widely accepted than in years past, dovetailing with the nation's overall increasingly diverse demographic mosaic. But challenges exist in the integration of the black Judaic experience into a skeptical or disbelieving public.
Early Sunday morning Friedman, who composed "Mi Shebeirach," a popular version of the Jewish prayer for healing, was unable to find healing herself. Friedman died after years of suffering from an undisclosed illness at age 59.  Ladino! By Yehudah Mirsky, Jewish Ideas Daily, January 13, 2011 Long overshadowed by its Yiddish cousin, Ladino—the "other" modern Jewish language, also known as Judeo-Spanish—has increasingly benefited from new waves of scholarly and cultural retrieval.
On a balmy tropical evening in early December, a few hundred families, mostly of Moroccan descent, gathered to inaugurate the first phase of what eventually will be a grand, two-story marble shul located in a wealthy Caracas neighborhood.
It’s not often Havana’s largest synagogue hosts a bar mitzvah. In a country once home to as many as 15,000 Jews, Cuba’s Jewish population is now down to an estimated 1,300. But with strong-willed leaders and financial assistance largely from Jews in North and South America, Havana’s Jewish community is hanging on.
In addition to possibly shedding light on Israel’s distant past, the story of the Bnei Menashe also touches deeply on questions of Jewish identity.
Tu B’Shvat begins on January 20th this year. Throughout the world Jews eat foods on Tu B'Shvat that are characteristic of the land of Israel...any fruit or nut that comes from a tree can be enjoyed as part of the holiday celebration Here is a recipe for a traditional Spanish (Galician) almond cake.
Erez Safar, a producer and DJ who performs under the name Diwon, is enchanted by music and sounds from the Sephardic world. [His CD] includes songs by well-known musicians Matisyahu, Yasmin Levy, and Galeet Dardashti, who team up for a reggaeton-meets-Middle East pop track in French and Hebrew.
The voices that come alive in “Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Diaspora” beat down the tiresome impulse to prove history relevant.They tell stories that reveal how besieged societies strain to hold on to their traditions and to civilized life.
Whether you're taking your first step toward conversion, studying to become an adult bat mitzvah or are knee-deep in Jewish learning, the IKAR of Judaism will propel and inspire you on your journey. We welcome your participation in the Be'chol Lashon Newsletter! Please send us information about events in your community or articles of interest that relate to Jewish diversity. E-mail Esther Fishman. Submissions are subject to editing for content, clarity and style. Special thanks to all the contributors who make the newsletter interesting and informative. |
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Recipe: The Jewish Palate: Spanish twist on the Festival of Trees
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