Hey CNN! I’m a “New Jew” too!

While doing my usual CNN check at work – to be completely caught up on important news, not celebrity gossip, no way – I was caught by surprise at the homepage. Right there on the front is a picture of the back of somebody’s neck with a tattoo reading “Kosher” and a picture of a pig. The title reads ” ‘New Jews’ stake claim to faith, culture.”

Wonderful, I thought. Another article that will (only) talk about hipster Jews and how cool they are with their tattoos and alternative culture.

But reading through the article, I was actually kind of impressed. A nice spectrum of individuals were mentioned and interviewed, including Ramah California’s own brag-worthy Aaron Bisman of J-Dub records. Yes, we all laughed at his Jew-boy, red-head dreadlocks back in the summer of 2000, but he’s turned his company (and himself) into something really worth talking about (and I can say truthfully, some of their bands are awesome!). We get a little of Heeb magazine, a bit of Jewish punk – but there is Elie Kaunfer, golden boy of traditional, egalitarian communities like Hadar and DC Minyan.

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LitFest Update ‘09: Check out what you may have missed, and don’t miss another moment!

In case you missed it, we’ve been pretty busy with Lit Fest.  So busy that I don’t even have time to type out the full name of the Festival, as we are expecting a full theater of 250 individuals tonight for Melvin Urofsky’s lecture on his new biography Louis D. Brandeis: A Life. Yes, a [...]

Literary Festival Director Interviewed on WTOP

You know you’ve made it in DC when Bob Madigan, WTOP’s Man-About-Town comes to your event. And thanks to our kick-ass Festival Publicist, Bob was there last night at the Opening of the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. Before everything got going, he took a moment to talk with Lili Kalish Gersch, our director of Literary, Music and Dance Programs at the Washington DCJCC.

Lit Fest ‘09 Update: It is Upon Us

After slaving away in our offices for the last number of months, the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival is finally upon us. This coming Sunday, October 18, we kick off 10 days of the best and brightest of this year’s Jewish-related book releases. And in case you have missed our numerous blog [...]

Philip Roth Will Not Be Here Saturday Night. Just His Work.

We’re sorry.

Although really it is the Washington Post’s fault. For some reason they thought that Philip Roth would be attending the Opening Night of the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival, which every year offers dramatic readings of some of the finest Jewish authors. One year we saluted Saul Bellow and Arthur Miller (both had recently passed away, they were not in-attendance either). One year we focused on stories about Jewish Urban Life. Last year we focused on Jewish Humor in Short Stories. This year we are honoring the 50th Anniversary of Roth’s groundbreaking novella Goodbye Columbus with dramatic adaptions from that and some of his other work, performed by four of Washington’s best actors.

Engaging Israel in Our Community: The Arts Programs of the Washington DCJCC

Theater J’s participation in the upcoming J Street Conference is part of a long-established and agency-wide tradition of engaging in conversations about Israeli society through a variety of artistic media, public lectures and policy debates. It is through this legacy of programming that the Washington DCJCC has established itself as a place where conversations about Israel from multiple viewpoints can take place. Because of our expertise in this area, Theater J agreed to participate in the J Street Conference around its discussions of “Culture as a Tool for Change.”

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GLBT Families Come OUT to Decorate the Sukkah With GLOE

by Rachel Antonoff, intern for the Kurlander Program for Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engagement (GLOE)

A sukkah is supposed to be built in a very specific, very open way.

By that, I mean that the sukkah has some regulations for what can and cannot be done, but all with the intention of openness in mind: the walls must be strong enough not to fall over in the wind, with a minimum of three walls, covered with foliage for the roofing which may not be nailed down. The sukkah may not be a permanent fixture—you should put it up for Sukkot and take it down afterward, though the time frame is flexible—and it must be outdoors, so that you can see the stars through the roof, and there ought to be a doorway with no door.

The doorway with no door was always my favorite part of the rules: the sukkah is to be a place where anyone can hear and see what is happening inside and join in without any hesitation. No door means no barrier and no exclusion. And this past Sunday, Gay & Lesbian Outreach and Engagement (GLOE) and Early Childhood, Youth and Families at the 16th Street J opened the sukkah walls to LGBT and Allied families for “Come OUT and Decorate the Sukkah,” a morning filled with fun, games, learning, and nosh.

Lit Fest ‘09 Update: Traditional Jewish Folklore Gets an Image Makeover from author Jonathon Keats

When a small, paperback advanced copy book appeared in the Lit Fest office one day many months ago, I didn’t pay much attention. We get hundreds of books sent to us (upon request or not), and a thin paperback is usually something we ignore. But a second copy of the book came, this time it [...]

Vote For Your Jewish Anti-Hero

There’s been a phenomenon barrelling up and down the tubes of the Jewish internets which plays to the one of the great traditions in our communal life: the giving and receiving of awards. Most prominent of these is the Jewish Community Heroes Campaign organized by our friends at the United Jewish Communities. This is really a great program and you should go and vote before the deadline on October 8.

That said, the more I think about it, the more I think that in addition to celebrating our heroes — the do-gooders and

activists, we should also take a moment to recognize our Jewish anti-heroes. For those unfamiliar with the term let me stress that anti-heroes are not villains. There are no gangsters or bad guys on this list. Every one of them has made important contributions to the arts, culture, politics or society. And yet, they are too obviously flawed to be heroic. Still, to varying degrees (Franz Kafka more than Amy Winehouse) we honor their accomplishments which are inseparable from their flaws.

This is my list. It is arbirtrary and scattershot. You are welcome to suggest your own Jewish Anti-Hero. Unlike the UJC’s campaign, I do not have $25,000 to give to the winner or their designated organization. And while the Jewish Heroes Campaign reminds us that there are many ways to serve our community, it is also a reminder that those outsiders, who sometimes find themselves apart from community, have much to contribute as well.