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Live stream of the 2012 Rabbinical Assembly Convention (May 6-9)

By JTA Staff · May 3, 2012

Tune in to watch a live stream of the 2012 Rabbinical Assembly Convention in Atlanta, featuring Vice President Joe Biden, Congressman John Lewis, former-Israeli journalist Yair Lapid and Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks.

Click here for the live stream

SCHEDULE AFTER THE JUMP

Israeli para-Athlete Moran Samuel wins gold, saves the day with her own rendition of ‘Hatikvah’

By Uri Fintzy · May 3, 2012

Israeli para-athlete Moran Samuel won an international rowing competition in Gavirate, Italy. The organizers weren't expecting her to win, so they hadn't bothered to secure a recording of the Israeli national anthem, "Hatkivah." When Samuel found out there would be no anthem played when she was on the podium, she asked for the mic and started singing herself.Read More >>>

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Beinart vs. Gordis

By Ami Eden · May 3, 2012

Last year JTA tried to put together a Peter Beinart-Daniel Gordis debate at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federation of North America, but we were only able to land one of them.

Back then it would have been cool. But, now, with Beinart kicking things up a notch with his new book, Gordis taking some harsh shots and Beinart firing back, it's epic.

So kudos to our friends over at Tablet for managing to put these two high-profile pontificators in the ring, at a debate Wednesday night. [UPDATE: Oops. The event was co-sponsored by The Current, Columbia's journal of contemporary politics, culture and Jewish affairs.] 

Dan Klein has the write-up.

You also can watch the full video after the jump:Read More >>>

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The $64,000 Tzipi Livni question

By Ami Eden · May 1, 2012

 Tzipi Livni has resigned.

And don't try telling her she made a mistake by not bringing Kadima into the coalition:

Livni said that although she was leaving the Knesset, she was not going to absent herself from public life. In a swipe at current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she said in her speech that she was "not sorry for refusing to sell out the government to the haredi Orthodox in order to form a government."

OK, so she's not sorry. But I'm still wondering how things would have played out differently. Sounds like an alternate history novel for Ron Kampeas!

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Mad Men recap (’At the Codfish Ball’): Abe moves in with Peggy and her ham

By Ami Eden · May 1, 2012

Admit it. Between this post and this post you probably figured I had squeezed every last drop of Jewce out of last week's episode, “Far Away Places.” But I actually decided to leave something out -- Ginsberg’s pathetically transparent declaration that he loves the clams at Howard Johonson’s.

I say pathetically transparent because Don saw right through it, quipping that Ginsberg had never been to a HoJo's. I could have gone on and on about the greater meaning behind the Jewish guy’s trying to fit in by professing his love for a signature treif dish at the All-American family rest stop/restaurant (is there any other kind?). And there is something to that, though I think the exchange was less about longing for forbidden foods and more about wanting to claim a piece of the middle class fantasy that the firm formerly known as Sterling Cooper is in the business of selling.

Well, wouldn't you know it, this week, in “At the Codfish Ball,” the kosher plot thickens. Early on, we find Peggy at work, eating Chinese with Ginsberg and her Jewish boyfriend, Abe. But, at that point, it’s actually Stan (not Jewish) who comes off as the big shrimp lover.

No, the big kosher/treif moment worth breaking down comes later, when Peggy’s mom arrives at Peggy's apartment for dinner and she starts making chitchat with Abe.Read More >>>

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Jack Black sings ‘Chad Gadya,’ calls it original heavy metal song

By Uri Fintzy · April 30, 2012

Jack Black really cares about his children's education. Although he is a self-proclaimed atheist, Black doesn't mind using his Jewish background to get his kids into Hebrew school. Black told Conan how he showed off his wide knowledge of the Passover "Chaggadah" (Black's pronunciation) and the famous song "Chad Gadya," of which he even sang a snippet. Black said he likes how dark the song is, calling it the "original heavy metal song," and testifying how he enjoyed the drawings of the Angel of Death in the Haggadah as a boy. He also described "Chad Gadya" as "very Black Sabbath." Jack Black? Sabbath? Black Sabbath? Get it? Watch it here, I think he deserves to have his kids in a Hebrew school with this rendition. 

Crossposted from 6nobacon.com.

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Ha’aretz: Johan Galtung, so-called ‘father of peace studies,’ flirts with Mossad blood libel

By Ami Eden · April 30, 2012

 Here's one of those stories that makes you say hmmm... maybe that crazy uncle warning about everyone really being an anti-Semite isn't so crazy.

From Ha'aretz:

Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist nicknamed the “father of peace studies,” made anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli remarks while lecturing at the University of Oslo, in an article published afterward in the Norwegian press and in an interview with Haaretz that followed.

Among other statements, Galtung claimed that a possible connection exists between the terrorist responsible for the massacre of children in Norway last summer, and the Mossad. “The Jews control worldwide communication, and divert it in order to benefit of Israel,” wrote Galtung in an email exchange with Haaretz.

It's hard to say it gets worse, but it certainly doesn't get much better.

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Detroit Tiger arrested for anti-Semitic remarks (what would Hank Greenberg say?)

By Ami Eden · April 27, 2012

 Actually, forget what he'd say. Good thing for Delmon Young that The Hebrew Hammer isn't around to show us what he would do!

Click here for the story.

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Don’t toss today’s WSJ—it’s holy! (or not)

By Ben Sales · April 27, 2012

Jews looking to get in the mood for Shabbat services this week found help in an unlikely place on Friday: the front page of The Wall Street Journal, which featured an article on every synagogue-goer’s greatest fear: dropping the Torah scroll during hagbah, the Torah-lifting ritual.

But some of the paper’s more religious readers may have spent Friday worrying about another problem. The story ran with a photo of a Torah scroll open to the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus, and if you look closely at the blurry text, you can make out God’s name.

Throwing God’s name in the trash is a no-no, so does that mean religious Jews must keep Friday’s WSJ forever, bury it, or place it in a genizah?

We interviewed a few rabbis about the issue and the consensus is: No.

“It was not put there for any purpose of kedusha, of holiness,” said Rabbi Allen Schwartz of New York’s Orthodox Congregation Ohab Zedek. Schwartz explained that in order to require placement in a genizah, God’s name “has to be four clear letters” --meaning that blurriness disqualifies the Journal picture. He added that variations on the four-letter Tetragrammaton such as a single hey or yod also don’t require burial.

In a rare case of Jewish interdenominational agreement, Rabbi Kenneth Kanter, the director of the rabbinical school at the Reform Hebrew Union College, seconded Schwartz’s opinion.

“We see pages of Torah or other sacred books reproduced in so many ways on TV or in the print media,” he said. “Jewish law would urge us to treat Torah scrolls with respect. Sometimes they are reproduced upside-down, which is certainly for me a bigger problem.”

So, have your way with Friday’s paper. Crumple it up, use it to clean up your pet’s mess, or wrap some fish in it.

But don’t throw it out! In New York City, where the Journal is published, local law requires all paper to be recycled.

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The LifeCyclist is back: Tell us about your weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and other Jewish moments

By Ami Eden · April 27, 2012

The true JTA aficionados may recall that more than a year ago we launched The LifeCyclist, a blog dedicated to Jewish rituals and ceremonies, including weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs. We had to put things on hold because Sue Fishkoff, who was supposed to keep the wheels peddling, ended up becoming editor of the J, the Bay Area’s Jewish weekly (and a JTA client). 

Don’t worry -- The LifeCyclist is back. This time as a regular column. Sometimes will be looking at trends, often we’ll focus in on one family’s celebration.

We’re kicking things off this week with a piece by Suzanne Kurtz, about the inspirational bar mitzvah of the son of the late film critic Joel Siegel. Before dying of cancer in 2007, Siegel requested that his son, Dylan, become a bar mitzvah. This month his request was honored, with a service featuring an original play, a grandmother’s secret brisket recipe and a vanilla Torah cake just like the one served at Siegel’s own big day.

Click here to read the full story.Suzanne is also working on a story about the use of electronic invitations in lieu of traditional paper for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or Wedding. If you’ve sent or received one, and are happy talking about it, drop an email to LifeCyclist@jta.org. And also drop us a note if you know of an event or trend that we should be writing about. We’re looking for stories that will help shine a light on the ways that individuals and families are marking the most Jewish moments of their lives.

Thanks for your help.

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