Subway Evangelism
by Laura Berger
May 19, 2009
His appearance is haggard. His hair is overgrown and tangled, his clothes are torn, and his front two teeth are missing. He shouts at the commuters who mostly rush by without even glancing at the older man standing by the subway turnstiles. But at second glance, he isn’t angry. He’s shouting about Jesus, and inviting people to come and talk to him about Christ’s love.
Features
A Day in Zichron Ya'acov
June 22, 2009
A photo essay by Daniel E. Levenson
Located between Tel Aviv and Haifa, the town of Zichron Ya’acov sits a short distance from the Mediterranean Sea and feels a world away from its bustling industrial neighbor to the north and the busy metropolis to its south.
Diaspora Museum Offers a View of Jewish Life Outside of Israel
by Daniel E. Levenson
June 11, 2009
JERUSALEM -The narrow alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem, the magnificent views from the mountaintop city of Tzvat, the ruins of an ancient synagogue in the Golan – all of these things tell a piece of the story of the Jewish people.
Wedding Party: This is one of several exhibits devoted to key moments in the Jewish life cycle, depicting a wedding party standing beneath a chuppah, or traditional Jewish wedding canopy.
Jerusalem Graffiti: Urban Images
A photo essay by Daniel E. Levenson
May 30, 2009
Editorial
Expanding the Options
by Daniel E. Levenson
June 15, 2009
JERUSALEM- When it comes to Jewish learning in this city, there is certainly no shortage of programs and opportunities, with options running from full-time learning at a yeshiva to weekly shiurim and one-time lectures. Jerusalem is a city alive with the love of learning Jewish texts, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of these opportunities are organized by or affiliated with Orthodox Jewish institutions, which may be unappealing or even off-putting for Jews who affiliate with a more liberal stream of Judaism. Since I arrived in Israel in early January of this year, I have been looking for places that offer learning opportunities in a less-Orthodox environment, which is why I was excited to recently discover the Anita Saltz International Education Center, located in the center for the World Union for Progressive Judaism, here in Jerusalem.
Arts & Letters
A (Rather Disturbing, but Definitely Funny) Look Inside the Israeli Government
November 8, 2008
Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson
In Shut Up, I’m Talking, And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in The Israeli Government (Free Press, New York, 2008), author Gregory Levey, has written a hilarious, if at times slightly disturbing, memoir about his experiences working as an English-language speech writer for the Israeli government. While it may not be the most politically deep or lyrical of prose, Levey has written a very engaging and highly-readable memoir about the ups and downs of working for the Israeli government, first as a speechwriter at the Israeli mission to the United Nations in New York and then as a speechwriter in the offices of Israeli Prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.
Fiction
Closing Doors
by Linda J. Goldberg
May 19, 2009
At last, the sun shone through the blue gray sky. Bessie fastened her glasses squarely onto her nose and remembered the phone call from her son Harry. “Come next week for the High Holidays. We all want you to come.” Bessie pictured Harry’s dark bushy eyebrows frowning as she said, “I’ll let you know.”
We all want you to come reverberated in her ears as she remembered the days when she entertained the family for the holidays. She spent the week setting the table with her Israeli hand-woven red tablecloth, her mother’s Russian wine glasses, and her grandmother’s silver candlesticks. For almost fifty years her husband Sam had reminded her to “Clean my Pa’s brass samovar so we can use it for tea.”
The Parade
by Martin Lindauer
Shmuel crowed with obvious pride. "Our boy is the first in the family to graduate from college--and the first to be an officer of the United States Army of America."
"And a Jewish officer, too," Ruchel beamed.
"Our boy is a real American," Shmuel said with matching fervor.
A son with a Lieutenant’s commission in the Army of their adopted country was well worth the five-hour bus trip from Brooklyn to Fort Evans, Massachusetts. Ruchel and Shmuel, impressed by the official invitations to attend officer’s boot camp graduation, stamped with the engraved seals of the United States Army and the Department of Defense, sent off their acceptance letter the day the announcement was received.
Poetry
Bialystok Impasse
-Lois Barr
We Go To Work For Unsettled Sums
Baal Teshuvas at the Mikvah
-Yehoshua November
As Long as We Can Put Nutmeg in Our Coffee: An Ode to the Holy Land
-KJ Hannah Greenberg
Swimming to Jerusalem
Dream Visit
for Maury Schwartz
-Howard Schwartz
The New/Old Land
-KJ Hannah Greenberg
The Samovar
-Rita A. Harvey
Isaac
-Courtney Druz
Fooling the Angel of Death
- Myra Sklarew
Survivor
Bat Mitzvah - Portion Noah
-Walter Hess
You and Me
-Daniel E. Levenson
Jewish Boston
Jewish Vocational Services Holds Annual Spring Gala
The 5th Annual JVS Spring Gala: Creating Pathways to Success was held on April 28, 2009 at the InterContinental Hotel, Boston.
Richard Chacon, Exec Director of MA Office for Refugees & Immigrants, Jerry Rubin ( JVS President & CEO), Jacques Kitembo (JVS All-Star client), City Council President Mike Ross
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Isabella Freedman Center Offers a Variety of Options for Exploring Jewish Ideas
by Daniel E. Levenson
May 11, 2009
There are few places in the northeastern United States with the diversity and depth of programming that the Isabella Freedman Center has to offer. Located in Falls Village, Connecticut, the center has evolved over the last century into a place where people can come to explore nearly every aspect of Jewish identity, from Torah study sessions with some of today’s leading thinkers, to developing a practice in Jewish meditation, to exploring the intersection of Jewish value and environmentalism. This last issue is one in which the Center has emerged as a leader, with the founding of the Teva Learning Center in 1994, which for the past 15 years has engaged with students from day schools, as well as congregations and community groups, to, according to the program website, immerse “… participants in the natural world and providing structured activities which sensitize them to nature's rhythms, we help them develop a more meaningful relationship with nature and their own Jewish practices.”
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DANIEL E. LEVENSON Editor in Chief |
At the root of faith is a question or many questions perhaps, about the nature of the universe and the meaning of life. Read More |
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