When I walked into the small, ramshackle gymnasium that is our humble synagogue on Shabbat morning this past week, pictures of the 14 children from the congregation who would be starting first grade on Monday decorated the walls. It must have been one of their parents who thought to surround the photos with quotes from […]
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A Jewish comedian confronted Rep. Ritchie Torres over his staunch support for Israel in a tense and emotionally charged interview published on Thursday. “Do you feel in your heart that what you’re saying is right?” Adam Friedland asked Torres after the New York Democratic congressman rejected the idea that Israel is intentionally killing civilians in […]
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The Library of Congress has awarded Geraldine Brooks, a Jewish author whose best-selling novels are often inspired by Jewish history, its prestigious 2025 Prize for American Fiction. Brooks, a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel “March,” which reimagines “Little Women” from the father’s perspective, […]
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Returning to Chicago from an artist residency in Maine, Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-González surveyed the local Jewish museum scene and found it wanting. “When I came back to Chicago, I wanted to get involved with the ‘Jewish Museum of Chicago,’ and, you know, lo and behold, it doesn’t exist,” said Chalfin-Piney-González, who uses they/them pronouns. “I found that […]
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The last thing one might expect from Jeff Ross — the perennially raunchy, abrasive insult comedian known as a “one-man verbal assault unit” — is a poignant and hilarious Broadway show that, at times, feels like the most Jewish production on the Great White Way since “Fiddler on the Roof.” Ross is best known as […]
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Irish rap group Kneecap has cancelled its October tour of the United States amid an ongoing firestorm over the band’s pro-Palestinian advocacy that has landed one member in legal trouble. In an announcement on X, the group cited the ongoing legal battle of band member Mo Chara, who is currently facing a terrorism charge in […]
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Shavuot came early — or late, to be precise — this year for the lily pads at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden But on Thursday, the lily pads got their fill of the food mostly closely associated with the Jewish holiday. In fact, they were positively straining under the weight of cheesecakes from Junior’s, the Downtown […]
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Sasha Vasilyuk was surprised to be named a finalist for the 2025 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, wondering if the judges were going to honor an author whose “last name isn’t Jewish, and whose main character avoided being Jewish.” Nevertheless, her debut novel, “Your Presence Is Mandatory,” won the $100,000 prize for a story […]
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As a rabbi with a love of fashion, Loehmann’s — the iconic off-price retailer — has always held a special place in my heart. That’s why my Jewish self was giddy upon hearing of its pop-up reopening in Deer Park, just five minutes from my hometown on Long Island. After rearranging my schedule to be […]
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What exactly is “Slam Frank,” the purported hip-hop musical that reimagines the Holocaust’s most famous victim as a pansexual Latinx girl today? Is it a real show with real actors and real songs constructing a real story for real audiences? Or is it an elaborate social media prank designed to pillory the left and rage-bait […]
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