Новости за 26.07.2018

More often than not, winners of the Eurovision song contest step off the stage and become nothing more than the answers to trivia questions some years down the line. Not Netta: In the months since her triumph, she’s grown so popular in Europe that even we Americans, traditionally a haughty bunch when it comes to other nations’ music, are now ready to listen. This week, Netta visited the United States, kicking off her American tour by performing on the Today show:

Another superhero is heading to TV, and if her origin story is respected, she’ll be Jewish!

Israelis are fiercely proud of their history and culture, which makes the current wine industry there all the more odd. 

Today is the 15th of Av, sometimes called the Jewish Valentine’s Day. It’s a poor comparison: Far from a mere excuse to charge outrageous prices for a dozen long-stem roses, Tu B’Av has deep rabbinic roots, and was hailed by Shimon ben Gamliel, the president of the Sanhedrin himself, as second only to Yom Kippur in its significance. And what a day it used to be! As inter-tribal marriage was frowned upon in the biblical period, for a host of complex reasons, Tu B’Av was the one day a year that the twelve tribes could mingle. Читать дальше...

This week on Unorthodox: Is it OK to say JAP? We were lucky to be joined by Odd Mom Out‘s Jill Kargman, Broadway legend Tovah Feldshuh, and Jewish Women’s Archive director Judith Rosenbaum at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan last week for a lively discussion and debate about the Jewish American Princess stereotype–its origins, implications, and cultural staying power. We also screened a short film we made about the JAP stereotype, which you can watch here, and heard from audience members about what the phrase means to them. Читать дальше...

Tu B’Av, the 15th of the Jewish month of Av, celebrated this year beginning on the night of July 26, has always been a bit of a mystery. A vineyard festival often called the Jewish Valentine’s Day, it foreshadows the High Holidays as a day of repentance-free joy. In the Talmud, Shimon ben Gamliel said it was the day when “the maidens of Israel would go out and dance in the vineyards. The men would go there, and the maidens would say: ‘Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you will select.’” This ancient Jewish love holiday... Читать дальше...

Some of those who shaped our views on the world after World War II have disappeared in recent weeks and months. I believe I have known all of them, admittedly some better than others. Today’s media reports the demise of Pierre Hassner. How to define him? He was one of the most profound and original thinkers on world politics in our time. Whereas many in this field became more and more specialized and narrow, Pierre went in the opposite direction. He was, while he lived, among the most intelligent commentators of global affairs. Читать дальше...