Cultural Jewish Life Archives

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Cultural Jewish Life

These homemade hanukiyahs are perfect

December 13, 2017Jacob Plitman

by Jacob Plitman Banner credit: Alex Foley LIKE OUR COUSINS the Elves, we Jews are a crafty, clever and resourceful people. Marooned as many of us are within a Christian-hegemonic superpower, we reach for what is at hand — ritually, by turning a minor holiday about the Jewish Taliban into a major celebration, and literally, by turning […]

All About Khanike-Hanukkah-Chanukah

December 10, 2017Lawrence Bush

A RESOURCE FROM JEWISH CURRENTS’ SCHAPPES CENTER FOR CULTURAL JEWISH LIFE (Sponsored, in part, by the Kurz Family Foundation. Illustration [above] from Richard Codor and Lawrence Bush’s Babushkin’s Catalogue of Jewish Inventions.) KHANIKE (that’s the YIVO-style transliteration of the Yiddish pronunciation for Hanukkah, which we use to honor Yiddish culture) is one of the […]

The Dreydl, by Sholem Aleichem

December 9, 2017Curt Leviant

Translated from the Yiddish by Curt Leviant A RESOURCE FROM JEWISH CURRENTS’ SCHAPPES CENTER FOR CULTURAL JEWISH LIFE. Sponsored, in part, by the Kurz Family Foundation. BENNY POLKOVOY was my best pal. I liked him more than any of my friends in kheder or in town. I adored Benny because he was the best looking, […]

A Yom Kippur Story by Sholem Aleichem

September 26, 2017Curt Leviant

THE YOM KIPPUR CANTOR — SOMEONE TO ENVY Translated from the Yiddish by Curt Leviant IN ALL of Kasrilevke’s history, there was no finer funeral than Reb Melekh the Cantor’s. Reb Melekeh was a pauper, the poorest of the poor, just like the rest of the people in the shtetl of Kasrilevke. He was given […]

Three Jewish Calendars: A Story by Sholem Aleichem

September 15, 2017Curt Leviant

Translated from the Yiddish by Curt Leviant YOU WANT TO KNOW why a Jew like me, a father of children, handles contraband filth like French postcards? I’ve got Tolmatshov and Tolmatshov alone to thank for it, may he fry in hell! But since this all happened so long ago, and since Tolmatshov is gone and […]

Secularism and Our Heritage: The Origins of Pesakh

April 9, 2017admin

by Max Rosenfeld Published in Spring, 1967, in Jewish Currents THE TRADITIONAL explanation for the holiday of Pesakh is to be found in the twelfth chapter of Exodus: “Tell all the congregations of Israel,” God said to Moses, “that on the tenth day of this month, every household must sacrifice a lamb,” and if the […]

The Passover Eve Vagabonds, by Sholem Aleichem

April 5, 2017Curt Leviant

Translated from the Yiddish by Curt Leviant 1. Kicked out of Paradise “THANK GOD Purim’s over and done with. Now we can start planning for Passover.” That’s what Mama said the morning after Purim as she carefully inspected the four corners of the parlor like a chicken about to lay an egg. There, a few […]

A Simple, Highly Participatory Seder

April 4, 2017Lawrence Bush

by Lawrence Bush MY FAMILY and Passover intimates have consistently observed the Festival of Matse by turning the hagode text into a participatory event. We assign the holiday themes to individuals at least a couple of weeks in advance. These might include: Springtime • Four Questions • Slavery • Afikomen (hidden matse) • Burning Bush […]

Sholem Aleichem’s “Shalakhmones”

March 9, 2017Curt Leviant

A CLASSIC STORY FOR PURIM Translated from the Yiddish, and with an afterword, by Curt Leviant WEARING a silk kerchief and a plain apron -– a combination of holiday and weekday attire –- Mama stood by the table, practically at her wit’s end. It was no trifle, you know, receiving almost a hundred shalakhmones, the […]

Does Purim Have an Ethical Foundation?

March 5, 2017Reba Carmel

by Rabbi Reba Carmel MEGILLAH 7b of the Babylonian Talmud ascribes the following to Rava: “One is to drink on Purim until he is unable to distinguish between blessed be Mordechai and cursed is Haman.” The following story is then recounted: Rabbah and Rav Zeirah made a Purim feast together. They got drunk and Rabbah […]

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All About Khanike-Hanukkah-Chanukah

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The Dreydl, by Sholem Aleichem

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A Yom Kippur Story by Sholem Aleichem

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Three Jewish Calendars: A Story by Sholem Aleichem

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Secularism and Our Heritage: The Origins of Pesakh

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Cultural Jewish Life

The Passover Eve Vagabonds, by Sholem Aleichem

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Cultural Jewish Life

A Simple, Highly Participatory Seder

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Sholem Aleichem’s “Shalakhmones”

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Cultural Jewish Life

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Does Purim Have an Ethical Foundation?

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