Lynda Caspe: Biblical Reliefs and Cityscapes
Lynda Caspe’s current exhibition at the Derfner Museum is an extraordinary event. In this show of 12 bronze relief sculptures and 14 cityscape paintings we have the opportunity to see the full scope of her last six years of work that, as least with the sculptures, marked a radical change in subject matter and technique.
The Memory Alive
The most uplifting aspect of the film was the footage from the displaced persons camps.
Unconditional Love
Unconditional love is a concept that sets the bar of human conduct and forgiveness at a dizzying height, challenging the very fabric of human credulity.
In Search Of South African Jewish Art
I went to the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town with high hopes of seeing how South African Jews uniquely approached the fine arts and Jewish ritual objects.
Pesach Special: Young Musicians
I have a feeling that you’re going to hear about these two a lot in the future. They both grew up in very musical homes and music has been part of their lives since they were born.
The Purim Playlist (Part II)
This is one of the greatest holidays in the year for musicians, perhaps the busiest, and so there are many songs and performances of Purim songs.
Purim Party Playlist (Part I)
In our column we’re going to have some oldies together with some contemporary music. I’m not only going to suggest Purim songs, but also other upbeat songs that will cause you to hold hamantaschen in one hand, a good bottle of wine (or whiskey) in the other hand, and start dancing! Hora!
Shtar Hatana’im Or Shtar Hatno’im?
The song is about a “shtar tena’im – an engagement contract between a chatan and kallah, a groom and a bride. And we’re going to talk about this song and explain it. What a beautiful song!
Israel’s Right And Left Reflected In Its Music
Interesting fact: Go on Google or Wikipedia and search for the famous picture of Sadat and Begin in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem when he came to visit Israel. Look closely at his tie and see the pattern. What symbol is repeating on his tie? (Hint: Swastika.)
Better, And Better, And Better
The narrator then prays to Hashem that he’ll lead him in the right way, so everyone will see that the tefillot are get accepted. He then asks Hashem to allow him to always smile, to be healthy, and sing.
Exhibition Review: Jewish Artists Take On Jew-Hate
Many of the artworks here naturally reference the Holocaust as the summation of antisemitism.
New Album Celebrates The Iraqi-Jewish Experience
My goal is to express myself in an authentic way and I think there are a lot of people this message will resonate with.
A ‘Legend of Destruction’ for Our Time
A new film about the fall of the Second Temple reminds us that our disputes must never be allowed to deteriorate into a rift resulting in destruction.
Simcha Leiner – ‘Kol HaKavod’
It’s Leiner’s fourth solo album, and it’s packed with what has made him a household name in the Jewish music world. Perhaps the album’s most unique aspect, though, is its production.
Jewish Identity Through Film – A Series of Screenings And Discussions
Movies engender experiences that have a stronger staying power than lectures, not to mention classes in Hebrew.
Two New Documentaries Bring Holocaust Survivors To The Big Screen
Gradually, a picture emerged of survivors who had each experienced a different horror, but who all shared the pain of living with the memory.
The Last of the Unjust
Neither helpless victims nor able to escape the killer’s clutches, the leaders had to make impossible choices on a daily basis in a never-ending dance with the devil.
The Twelve Tribes At The Bialystoker Home
A quiet monument to the courage and determination of hundreds of thousands of Jews sits vulnerable on the Lower East Side of New York City at 228 East Broadway. This location was the former home of the Bialystoker Center, built in 1931.
Zaslavsky’s Jews
Jewish artists do the darndest things. The Chassidic Art Institute, expertly directed by Zev Markowitz, is currently showing the works of Venyamin Zaslavsky, a Ukrainian Jewish artist who has devoted the last 20 years to depictions of pious Jewish life in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
Fine Judaica Auction
Judaica Auctions and the exhibition that precede them at Kestenbaum & Company are always a cornucopia of aesthetic delights. The sheer variety and overall quality of the ceremonial objects and works of art make the exhibition and catalogue a museum-like experience. The current exhibition is no exception.
Steinhardt Judaica Collection at Sotheby’s Monday
An exquisite collection, across generations.
Dutch Stolen Art Committee Dismisses Katz Family’s 188 Claims
A panel of experts advised the Dutch government to return only one painting out of 189 claimed by relatives of a Holocaust-era art collector.
It’s a Thin Line: The Eruv and Jewish Community in New York and Beyond
Jewish law prohibits carrying an object from a private domain to a public domain (or vice versa) or within a public domain on the Sabbath. One who intentionally carries, knowing the prohibition on the Sabbath is libel to the death penalty by a Jewish court. The creation of an eruv establishes, where possible, an extended private domain in which such carrying is permissible.
The Color of Prophecy
The rather large grasshoppers all have different human faces. The trees have human bodies with branches sprouting out of their heads. The animals in the Peaceable Kingdom garden seated at Isaiah’s feet are painted purple, pink, blue and red. Welcome to the visionary world of Nahum HaLevi’s Latter Prophets.
Borders: The Eruv In Contemporary Jewish Art – Shaping Community: Poetics and Politics of...
For most observant Jews, the eruv is invisible. Each week we prepare for Shabbos: ready our food, conclude our mundane affairs, shower, dress and put the house keys in our pocket and check the web that the local eruv is up. Unless there has been a storm or other physical disaster, we can assume everything is okay. Just like the Shabbos calm that descends for 25 hours, the eruv operates for us in the background: essential but unnoticed.
Chagall Redux
Chagall’s reputation needs no burnishing and yet refinements are always welcome. Indeed the Nassau County Museum of Art has mounted a wonderfully extensive survey of Chagall’s works with a unique emphasis on his 1957 Bible series of hand-colored etchings that significantly casts many aspects of his work as uniquely Jewish. Amid the complexity of Chagall’s entire oeuvre, this is deeply significant in the exhibition history of non-Jewish institutions.
Holzman’s Torah For The Eyes
Earlier this year I was presenting my survey of Jewish art, “A Jewish Art Primer,” in a West Hartford, Connecticut synagogue and during the intermission a local artist, David Holzman, introduced himself to me. He relayed his rich and fascinating artistic background and then produced a portfolio of 8 black and white prints that he generously gave to me as a gift. As a tantalizing glimpse into recent work, they are truly amazing and I would like to share them with you.
The Very Best of Israel on the Silver Screen
Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story is a documentary about the life of a true Israeli hero. But the film is not a mere recounting of the famous Entebbe Raid, it is an honest retrospective of the life of the young, academic, passionate and poetic son, brother, friend, boyfriend, and husband Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu. And it shows a side of Israel that a 'Hasbara' campaign can't capture.
Jewish Medals At TEFAF
It’s virtually impossible to ignore the financial aspects of TEFAF Maastricht, the annual arts and antiques fair in the historic city about two hours south of Amsterdam. More than 250 dealers from nearly 20 countries sell their wares—which span from Greek and Roman antiquities to contemporary sculptures—in the halls of the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre, whose corridors are adorned by nearly 65,000 tulips.
Bird’s Head Haggadah Revealed – The Medieval Haggadah: Art, Narrative & Religious Imagination
Bird’s Head Haggadah Revealed
The Medieval Haggadah: Art, Narrative & Religious Imagination
By Marc Michael Epstein, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2011