The Arts

Book tells how ‘Call the Midwife’ became a TV series

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson  MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The TV series, Call the Midwife, which is based on Jennifer Worth’s book of that name about her own experiences of working as a midwife in the impoverished East End of post-war London, has aroused widespread interest and enthusiasm, first in Britain and subsequently all over the world. […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

2 Jewish composers showcased at La Jolla concert

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California –Works by two Jewish composers were programmed for the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus’ concerts on December 5 and 6.  Ori Talmon’s Nefakh (Volume), underwritten by the Thomas Nee Commissioning Fund, received its world premiere, and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3 concluded the program. The opening work was The

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Young adult cli-fi book hopes to shape values

By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — With the Paris climate talks concluded, and with most climate commentators agreeing that the COP21 ”agreement” still needs some fine-tuning and follow-up, things are looking good for the future of humanity. For Sarah Newman, a 50-something Jewish writer in Cincinnati, this is is also a time to start

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, The World We Share

Photo book of synagogues deeply touching

By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Neil Folberg’s And I Shall Dwell Among Them: Historic Synagogues of the World, Aperture Book Publisher; 1st edition, September, 1995, is a very special treasure. Each of the almost two hundred large color photographs is an individual work of art about Judaism’s places of worship. Folberg brings expertise and

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Theater unites Israeli women in the face of terror

By Toby Klein Greenwald EFRAT, Israel — Raise Your Spirits Theatre, a multi-generational women’s theater company in Gush Etzion, an area that has suffered many terror attacks in recent weeks, is now in production on its 9th biblical musical, SISTERS! The Daughters of Tzelofchad, based on the story in Numbers, Chapter 27. The story of the

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Toby Klein Greenwald

Yeol Eum Son wows Jerusalem audience

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — Set apart from the usual concerts in the framework of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series was one entitled ‘First Prize,’ and dedicated to young musicians ‘from east and west’ who had succeeded in various international competitions. So we bought tickets for a concert with Yeol Eum Son, a young pianist

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

San Diego Men’s Choir scores a hit with ‘Kochi’

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Recently, I encountered four members of the San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir, David G’mach, Steven Markowitz, Albert Shafer and David Zilberberg. They were all beaming with pride because of the many plaudits received by the choir’s second CD, “Kochi.” SoundProfileMagazine gave it a rave review. Wouter Kellerman offered high praise

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

How to interpret, understand the mitzvot

The Weekly Mitzva by Binyamin Tabory, Maggid Books, Jerusalem; ISBN 978-1-59264-435-24 ©2015, $24.95, p. 228 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–A mitzva is a religious commandment. Traditional Judaism expects that each person will, to the best of his or her ability, fulfill in letter and spirit the 613 commandments identified in the Torah, the Five Books of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Helping Portuguese, Brazilians, others find Jewish roots

By Ryan M. Greiss NEW YORK — The Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel has launched a Portuguese-language e-book called “Do You Have Jewish Roots?” offering a practical guide to uncovering one’s Jewish ancestry. The unprecedented 109-page guide is aimed at assisting the millions of people in Brazil, Portugal and elsewhere who may have a long-lost Jewish lineage.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Torah teaches about leadership

Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Maggid Books, Jerusalem;  ISBN 978-1-59264-432-2 ©2015, $18.00, p. 311 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.   WINCHESTER, California — Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in a 1964 ruling on a pornographic film, said, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

TICO features clarinet, dancers in novel concert

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Conductor David Amos, fresh from his recent recording sessions with the London Philharmonic, opened the Nov. 17th TICO concert with a rollicking rendition of Kabalevsky’s Colas Breugnon Overture. This was followed by TICO’s principal clarinet, Joseph Stein, taking center stage, performing the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by Bernhard Crusell,

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts