Washington Jewish Music Festival Sound Byte: The Afro-Semitic Experience

A lot of lip service gets paid to the historic alliance between African-Americans and Jews. The actual experience of that history is a lot more complicated. All it takes is something like the recent media circus surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright to remind us that tensions below the surface can come gurgling to the surface with [...]

In Case You Were Expecting to see J.D. Salinger…

This post was an April Fools joke. I think it was pretty obvious, but people have believed more ridiculous stuff they’ve read on the internet. So just in case you didn’t notice there was no such date as April 31–there will be no reading by JD Salinger at the 16th Street J…this week anyway.

Yom HaShoah–Making Memory Meaningful

This week marks Yom HaShoah, the day set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust. It is around this time every year that I receive an email from some well-meaning friend or acquaintance that goes something along the lines of, “keep forwarding this email remembering the six million until it has reached six million [...]

This Week at the 16th Street J

With Passover in the rear-view mirror this week, things can start getting back to, ahem, regular. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Here’s just a sample of what’s available this week at the Washington DCJCC:
Monday, April 28
7:30pm–The Screening Room presents: The Last Fighters. This documentary film follows the lives of the last six surviving members of the Warsaw [...]

Shabbat Surfing–Can I Get a Pizza Yet?

Answer: Not yet. Sunday night. But relax, it could be worse, you could be stuck in a city known for its amazing pastries during Passover. Perhaps we should consider making it shorter?
While we’re on the topic, ever wonder which imaginary animals are kosher? Looking forward to a little Aigi Kampoi (fish-tailed goat) the next time [...]

DC’s Big Read–The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The DC Public Library is participating in the National Program The Big Read by encouraging everyone in DC to read The Great Gatsby and holding a series of events and discussions between now and May 24. There was some chatter on other blogs about the choice of this particular novel, but moving past that for [...]

Bacon Nation–Getting Uncomfortably Close

As part of our continuing effort to keep the public updated on the rise of bacon as the balsamic vinegar of the aughts, I bring you the following:
On my way home from Pesach I stopped at a high-end Whole Foods (is there another kind?) that had a special section devoted entirely to chocolate and confections. [...]

Regina Spektor Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg for the 2008 Washington Jewish Music Festival

I had in my hands for a short little while today the final printer’s proof of the program for the 2008 Washington Jewish Music Festival. It is going to be awesome. The hard copy won’t be back for a couple of days, but you can check out the program on-line here.
The Festival’s opening day is [...]

Good For the Jews in NoVa

Just in case Israeli film isn’t your cup of tea, may we recommend our dear friend Rob Tannenbaum performing tonight at Jammin’ Java with his duo Good For the Jews. If you’re not familiar with their brand of humor, I think the poster says it all…

Chametz on Screen–Completely Kosher: Hit Israeli Film “Noodle”

We won’t go into the reasons here, but pasta is one of the foods commonly forbidden during Passover. However, as with so much else in Jewish culture, I will argue that these laws do not apply to Chinese food. Or Israeli movies. Or Israeli movies in which large quantities of Chinese food gets consumed.
In that [...]