Oakland artist Ava Sakaya Rosen creates Torah-inspired tarot deck By Maya Mirsky Dec 3, 2021 A forest fire, racing up a mountain. A tortoise, deep inside the earth. A dark sea, rough on the surface and still beneath it. These images, carved on blocks and printed by artist Ava Sayaka Rosen, are part of a deck of cards that is simultaneously an art piece, a spiritual tool and a call… Read More
Music Hallelujah! It’s time for a Hanukkah-themed Leonard Cohen sing-along Have you missed the unique joy of singing with others during these isolating pandemic times? If so, you may want to warm up your vocal chords in… By Andrew Esensten Dec 1, 2021
Music Adam Sandler’s ‘Chanukah Song’ gets hip-hop remix on streets of NYC Two leading Jewish hip-hop artists have adapted Adam Sandler’s 1995 breakout hit, “The Chanukah Song,” for the present moment. Nissim Black and Kosha… By Philissa Cramer, JTA Dec 1, 2021
First Person How Stephen Sondheim helped me find my gay Jewish sensibility If I had to identify my first self-actualizing gay experience, it would be back in high school in the mid-1970s. A friend and I nervously got in the car… By Rabbi Irwin Keller Nov 30, 2021
Books Mel Brooks' new memoir is short on the laughs This piece first appeared at the Forward. Mel Brooks’ memoir begins with a promise. In a preface, the 95-year-old actor-writer-director vows an intimate… By PJ Grisar, Forward Nov 30, 2021
Theater The last and greatest gift Stephen Sondheim gave us This piece first appeared at the Forward and is reprinted with permission. The thing about Stephen Sondheim is that there is almost nothing meaningful to… By Talya Zax, Forward Nov 29, 2021
Sports Meet Greg Joseph, the NFL’s only Jewish kicker The only Jewish kicker in the NFL for years now, Greg Joseph is used to how mentally taxing the position can be. On Sunday, he found himself in another… By Emily Burack, JTA Nov 23, 2021
Books Stanford alum shares family's story, from Holocaust to basketball fame As a graduate student at Stanford University from 2015 to 2017, Dan Grunfeld paid regular visits to his Romanian-born grandmother, Lily, in Burlingame.… By Andrew Esensten Nov 23, 2021
Theater Sweden’s national theater stages its first ever Yiddish production Actors in a recent production of “Waiting for Godot” at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm performed neither in the classic play’s original English… By Katarzyna Andersz, JTA Nov 22, 2021