The Arts

‘Sol’s Journey’ Contains Good Advice for American Jews

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin PIKESVILLE, Maryland — I have been reading and reviewing the inspiring, fascinating books by the brilliant writer Rabbi Dr. Charles H. Freundlich for over ten years and have enjoyed them all. Sol’s Journey, his eleventh fiction book since he started writing them at age eighty, is no exception. It is […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Justin Baldoni

Justin Baldoni (January 24, 1984) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Rafael Solano on the CW telenovela Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) and for starring in and directing the romantic drama film It Ends with Us (2024). He has also directed Five Feet Apart (2019) and Clouds (2020). [Wikipedia]

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Novel Explores an Immigrant Jewish Family’s Life in Louisville Before World War II

This novel is a collection of sequential short stories about the Toplansky family, whose patriarch Shlomo immigrated in 1920 from Bialystok, Poland, to Louisville, Kentucky. He changed his first name to Sol and eked a living from his tailoring shop supplemented by singing and gambling.  He served as the chazzan at the Orthodox synagogue. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Biography: Giacomo Meyerbeer, Opera Impresario

Meyerbeer’s vast fortune and the great success of his operas, as well as his observance of the laws of the Jewish religion, set him apart from many musicians. He was a sponsor of many young composers, including Wagner, who “thanked” him with an antisemitic article, “Jewry in Music.” [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Paul Stanley

Paul Stanley (January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss from the band’s inception in 1973 to their retirement in 2023. He was the writer or co-writer of many of the band’s most popular songs. [Wikipedia]

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Jewish Celebrities, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Biblical Imagery Brightens Poet’s Bleak Account of Life in the Arizona Desert

Poet Allisa Cherry is entranced by Hebrew Scriptures, turning to them to express her anguish over the tragic lives of the members of a Mormon family. A grandmother had a double mastectomy; a father died of radiation poisoning caused by nuclear testing in the desert; a brother died in a car accident before he was 20; and a wife, caught in a loveless marriage, divorces her ne’er-do-well husband. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Katey Sagal

Katey Sagal (January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on Married… with Children (1987–1997), Leela on Futurama (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005), Gemma Teller Morrow on the FX series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2011, and Louise Goldufski-Conner on The Conners (2018–present). [Wikipedia]

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Jewish Celebrities, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Some Highlights of the Upcoming San Diego International Jewish Film Festival

The 35th annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival will take place in-person from Jan. 27 through Feb. 8 and will continue virtually.  Film enthusiasts can attend in-person screenings at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, while virtual film screenings are available on demand beginning on Feb. 9 and will remain available through Feb 11. [Hoa Quach, Times of San Diego]

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San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Times of San Diego

Kol Tefillah Band Specializes in Music for Praying and Reflecting

Something ignited when Debbie Mishek, M.D., traveled to Congregation Beth Am in Los Angeles to attend a presentation about Kol Tefillah (The Voice of Prayer) a few years ago.  The program was about “reimagining Jewish prayer and making it more relevant and more inspiring,” the developmental pediatrician recalled.  “There is something about music and prayer that is so spiritual.  I access my spirituality through music.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Frances Perkins, Nation’s First ‘Madam Secretary’ Tried to Help European Jewish Refugees

Struggling against American xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism in the 1930s, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins—the first woman to serve in a President’s Cabinet – sought in several ways to spare German Jewish refugees from annihilation by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Good Deeds, Even Little Ones, Change the World for the Better

In a big city, a little girl notices that a swing has become unhooked on one side so that it hangs limply.  Another swing has some off both hooks and is lying on the ground. She wants to fix them. With the help of her grandmother, she rehooks the swings. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Back to the Future’ Transports Broadway San Diego Audiences

Sometimes a play transports you back in time to another era, and this is especially true for Broadway San Diego’s Back to the Future.  The play is literally about time travel, and those who were around in 1985 when the movie starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd came out will especially feel nostalgic.  [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

OpEd: Media Often Slants Its Coverage of Israel and Gaza

The Times and other publications frequently ignore important stories out of Israel or possible antisemitic acts in America. That leaves readers in various coverage areas ignorant of events. We are talking about regions with large Jewish populations that care about these matters. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA