Category: Culture

((JR)) — The film and TV world recently lost two Jewish actors who were not household names but were acclaimed for a pair of signature villainous roles. Last month, Mark Margolis passed away following a career on stage and screen that spanned over 60 years. He studied with and was later the personal assistant of […]

(New York Jewish Week) — When a small group of people convened next to an inconspicuous plaque steps from the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal earlier this week, they weren’t there to catch a boat leaving the island. Instead, they had come to the southern tip of Manhattan to celebrate a ship […]

((JR)) — Sandy Koufax’s decision to sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur is well-documented. But in a lesser-known dramatic tale just over 30 years earlier, fellow Jewish Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg faced a dilemma of his own as the High Holidays approached. Picture the scene: […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The table at the center of the room, set for 16, was festooned with a rainbow tablecloth and sparkles, and surrounded by about a dozen college-age guests. At its head were two chairs decorated with rainbow necklaces and flags and set for the guests of honor: Both place settings came […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The graffiti scrawled on public bathroom walls may not seem like the highest form of art. But for Jewish comedian and musician Caitlin Cook, a particular phrase she saw on a bathroom stall became the catalyst for a decade of creative inventiveness.  “Since writing on bathroom walls is neither for […]

((JR)) — A historic wartime photography partnership from the 1940s — often credited as the first to capture many of the horrors of the Holocaust — is getting the Hollywood treatment. Kate Winslet stars in “Lee” as model-turned-wartime-photojournalist Lee Miller, who often worked alongside David E. Scherman, a Jewish photographer portrayed in the film by […]

(New York Jewish Week) — In the 1960s, a drag queen named Flawless Sabrina arrived in New York City during a time when drag performances were not only stigmatized in mainstream society, but within LGBTQ circles as well.  But Flawless Sabrina had a plan: Her welcoming demeanor — which she described as a “bar mitzvah […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan ((JR)) — Rabbi Akiva’s daughter was destined for death on her wedding day, at least according to the star-gazers. So the early Jewish sage seemed resigned to his daughter’s fate. But on the wedding day, Rabbi Akiva’s daughter offered a poor old man her portion of the wedding feast. That night, before going […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The corner of Ludlow and Rivington streets in New York City is now officially known as Beastie Boys Square. The co-naming of this Lower East Side street corner — where the shop featured on the Jewish rappers’ second album, “Paul’s Boutique,” once stood — was the result of a 10-year […]

((JR)) — Those who are Jewish, or Phish fans — or both — have likely noticed at one point: Jews really seem to love Phish. There are many possible reasons for this, starting with the fact that the genre-bending jam band has many ardent fans of all stripes, having sold millions of albums and played to […]