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Fifty Seven Sixty A JEWISH YEAR FRONTIERS Jewish Star Ever since the first manned space flight left earth, Jews have been pondering the entertaining questions raised by the concept of Jewish life...
...he finds a spiritual message in everyday life...
...If early reviews are any indication, Makor may be for real...
...My father says the true test of a committed Jewish identity is the ability to live wholly in both the secular and the Jewish worlds, and to do that, if s important to keep track of the separate calendars...
...As we read it, the founder of the National .Association for the Advancement of White People played a little too loose with the facts...
...These resources will help you prepare for the holidays as well as life's other, less predictable, changes.—Jeremy Epstein Send your Jewish Web discoveries, with the subject line "Web Wanderings," to Jeremy Epstein at webwandetings@iname.com...
...To prove his thesis, Duke cites none other than .Moment magazine—a cover story in the August 1996 issue, "Is Hollywood Too Jewish...
...The Talmud explains how Jews should celebrate Purim: "A person must drink until he cannot tell the difference between 'Cursed be Haman' and 'Blessed be Mordechai.™ (Talmud, Megfefi 7a...
...Perhaps it's no surprise that Ramon is taking the decision so seriously, considering he hails from a country where simple symbols like hawks and doves have so often been used to divide...
...It took off once the IAF was enlisted to find an astronaut...
...Harbourfront Centre, Premiere Dance Theatre, Toronto, Ontario...
...Duke should take out a subscription...
...Jackson seems to be doing a bit more than simply dabbling at the edges of Judaism: Boteach has given him Torah lessons and Israeli newspaper Kol Hayr reports that Jackson has a mezuzah on his door and is planning to visit Israel soon...
...The Dead Sea Works built two canals in 1979 that shuttle water from the northern to the southern basin and back...
...Makor is reaching out to secular Jews in a creative way," says Justin Hertog, a systems integrator who helps develop Makor's programming...
...Few Jews know as much about change as those who choose to become Jewish, www.convert.org is a great resource for people thinking about converting, complete with advice for their families and friends...
...After the services, Jackson told Rabbi Samuel Intrador it "was the greatest spiritual experience of my life...
...Aidan Quinn is slated to portray the slain Israeli prime minister...
...Water that prior to the peace agreements fed into the Dead Sea from the Jordan River is now diverted to both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority...
...415-399-1809 • March 12 A Jewish/Buddhist Dialogue with Lama Pema Wangdak and Rabbi Steven H. Moskowitz...
...EVAPORATION Dead Sea Dying The Dead Sea is dying...
...In a brutal and violent way, I was suddenly ripped of my innocence...
...According to Duke's creative citation, Medved wrote that Disney was only labeled anti-Semitic because "he spoke out against the pernicious Marxist-Jewish influence in Hollywood...
...But upstairs, Makor has more traditional offerings, such as basic Hebrew class, kabbalah, and Bible study...
...Lea Winerman QUOTE, UNQUOTE For the Record Talk about a misquote...
...That's where Makor comes in...
...I am not his spiritual guru...
...Jackson] is sympathetic to things Jewish...
...They loved [him]," Boteach says...
...212415-5450 Holidays Seventh of Adar February 13 (7 Adar I) The first and last day of Moses' life...
...Community organizations typically host group dinners on Friday night where attendance is lackluster...
...Canada...
...It was a hideous shock for me," he said...
...God says: "I shape light, create darkness, make peace, and create evil...
...Teen TV shows are in, and there's plenty more in the works, including an unusual one from an 18-year-old Californian who will be paid six figures to create and star in a sitcom of his own...
...Rabbi David Gedzelman, Makor's creative and rabbinic director, says the center won't be a passing fad because it has a creative young programming staff that can quickly address changing needs...
...Makor is special because it doesn't force religious events down your throat," says Leah Goldberg, a graduate student in art history and museum studies...
...You can relax, drink a coffee, study—you can do whatever you want with no pressure," says Goldberg...
...why not let an l8-year-old Jew write one," Jarrett Grode told Variety...
...Apparently, the congregation is open to any contribution Jackson might have, as well...
...Although he may not be concerned with the finer points of Jewish law in space, Ramon Col...
...92nd Street Y. New York, New York...
...Shushan Purim March 21 (15 Adar II) According to Megillat Esther (The Story of Esther), most Persian Jews escaped persecution on the 13th of Adar and partied on the 14th...
...In the walled city of Shushan, however, the battle lasted another day and Purim wasn't celebrated until the 15th...
...SL Calendar • February 1-5 "Resistance"—Holocaust theme dances by Allen Kaeja...
...Yet without "in-your-face" Jewish discussion and study, critics wonder if Makor will successfully foster Jewish identity...
...Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates light and shapes darkness, makes peace, and creates all things...
...Offering a bar, concerts, films, Israeli music, and Mediterranean fare on the lower floors, young Jews (and non-Jews) can chill out—no religious strings attached...
...While the scarcity of water continues to be a pressing problem in the Middle East, much of the water loss in this case can be attributed to the peace treaties Israel signed with the Palestinians in 1993 and Jordan in 1994...
...In another case, Medved wrote that Walt Disney "allegedly harbored anti-Semitic attitudes...
...Thousands of New York's swankiest have checked it out since Makor's doors opened in October...
...Organizers say it will, by attracting young Jews to a common place that offers cultural programming for those who want it...
...If not for this system, said Gidon Bromberg, Israel director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, the southern basin would already be completely dry...
...Parents who want to show their kids how Judaism can play a meaningful role in their lives should check out http://www.reyim.org/stories/ This site features the uniquely Jewish stories of Alan Radding from Temple Reyim in Newton, Massachusetts...
...With a little bit more attention to detail, it could become a valuable community resource...
...The teen is postponing college to work on the show, which was inspired by a standup routine he did based on the journal he kept in high school...
...Makor (Hebrew for "source") is the invention of the Partnership for Jewish Life, an organization dedicated to promoting Jewish culture and community...
...Makor, New York City's newest Jewish hangout for 20- and 30-somethings, more closely resembles Starbucks than a community center for Jewish renewal...
...Asked if he knows of Jackson's upcoming plans (and whether they may feature that distinctly Jewish sound), Boteach said, "We have a friendship...
...Although these issues of Jewish life in space have been largely theoretical, the presence of Jewish people in space has been entirely real...
...He is open to spiritual contribution...
...There is a comprehensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on conversion, a guide to books and videos on conversion, and pages on topics such as "why the Jewish people should welcome converts" and "how to tell people about your conversion...
...The focus is relaxation at the end of the work week instead of tradition and religion...
...What he did not know was that his wife Esther was Jewish...
...416-9734000 • February 3-6 National Wilderness Leadership Retreat for Jewish Nature Enthusiasts...
...We have the structure in place to allow us to be fresh [and] to compete with other |venues] in the marketplace," he says...
...I believe that we [the Jewish people] in Israel and throughout the world need to be more unified," he says, "and I would like to use this opportunity to promote that...
...But the key is that it's a nonthreatening atmosphere...
...A quick search on the Web turns up over a dozen articles, from freeze-dried kosher food to the problem of saying thrice-daily prayers in orbit, where the sun rises and sets every 90 minutes...
...Two Hands That Shook the World will trace the history of the Middle East through their lives...
...Hitler was unbelievably charismatic," Bergman told Maria-Pia Boethius for her new book, Honor and Conscience...
...In a chapter called "Who Runs die .Media," Duke writes: "The domination of America's news and entertainment is so obvious that some Jewish media have begun to acknowledge it...
...A Traveling Jewish Theater, San Francisco, California...
...Ben Kingsley, the actor who depicted Oskar Schindler's right-hand man in Schindler's List, is slated to play Arafat...
...It's very easy to use, fun to play with, and helpful to anyone who thinks my dad is right...
...A Travelling Exhibit...
...Esther risked death because she was visiting Ahasuerus's court without an invitation...
...Ramon says he will bring "a symbol of Jewish unity" with him into space, but he is not yet revealing what that symbol will lie...
...And it's in disguise...
...Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Jackson's friend and shul chaperone, tells Moment that the international pop icon is intrigued by Jewish music...
...Or, if not exactly dying, it's losing about 36 inches of its water level each year...
...Purim March 21 (14 Adar II) The word "Purim'' means "lots" and refers to the lottery by which Haman chose the date to kill the Jews of Persia—14 Adar...
...The cable network Showtime hasn't given the film an official green light yet, but casting is already underway...
...That will likely change sometime this year, when Col...
...Shulchan Aruch 695:2...
...It's a subtle, if untested, approach...
...The sea is divided into southern and northern basins...
...But he found a very relaxed atmosphere that was totally different...
...At the current rate of evaporation, the sea may be completely gone in 500 years, according to Amiram Fleischer, director of public relations for the Dead Sea Works, a private company that extracts minerals from the Dead Sea and distributes them worldwide...
...312-922-9012 • February 24-April 2 Snake Talk: Urgent Messages from the Mother, a play by Naomi Newman in collaboration with Martha Boesing...
...In an effort to use Moment to prove his point, Duke apparently overlooked Medved's conclusion as well: that Hollywood images of Jews have little to do with reality...
...Many holidays challenge us to change and to ask difficult questions about the kind of people we want to become...
...If body language is any guide, Jackson seemed especially enamored with "Songs of the Sabbath"—he clapped and sang along with the congregation...
...www.shalomctr.org does not back down from confronting these difficult Jewish questions...
...by film critic .Michael Medved...
...He added that he painted a Jewish house with swastikas and attended a speech by Hitler...
...He was born on 7 Adar and died on that day 120 years later...
...The annual ceremony takes place at Mt...
...Backers, including philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, say traditional methods of fulfilling that mandate (lectures, debates, film festivals, and retreats) often fail to entice Gen X-ers, many of whom favor drinking, moviegoing, eating out, and partying...
...The idea for collaboration between the ISA and NASA first germinated at a 1995 meeting between President Bill Clinton and then-prime minister Shimon Peres...
...They received him warmly...
...I, YHWH, do all these things...
...But recently the 81-yearold elaborated on his affinity for Adolf Hitler, whom he renounced at the end of Worid War II...
...It's a welcome change...
...Spertus Museum, Chicago, Illinois...
...To this day, walled cities, such as Jerusalem, celebrate Purim and recte Megillat Esther on Shushan Purim...
...The Dead Sea Works and all of the hotels are located on the southern basin, which is a fraction of the surface area of the northern...
...This site is simple in its presentation and laudable in its objective...
...I don't know what religion he is," says Boteach...
...He, his wife, and their four children moved to Houston last year so he could begin training...
...888-667-2427 • Through February 6 John Singer SargentPortraits of the Wertheimer Family...
...Instead, King Ahasuerus decided to hang Haman after a complex series of events, including Mordechai's parade on horseback through the streets of Shushan (the Persian capital city), with Haman leading the way...
...Radding tackles important topics, including the meaning of prayer, in very creative ways...
...Those words don't appear in our report...
...Everyone is looking for something new in this city," adds Andrea Roman, a stand-up comic, "(And) Makor is a place where people can hang out, talk, and not worry about whether they are wearing clothes from K-mart...
...i- Childhood is a time when questions and change are constantly encountered...
...Duke quotes Medved thusly: "Jewish writers and directors employ unquestionably flattering depictions of Jews for audiences that react with sympathy and affection" (italics added...
...The center, located in a nondescript, six-story brown-stone on the Upper West Side, is first and foremost a hangout...
...Take Makor's Shabbat programming...
...My friend] didn't want to go because he thought it would be like the Jewish youth group events he hated when he was 14," she says...
...Andrew Wallenstein Andrew Wallenstein's email address is awall@gist.com BLESS YOU This blessing, which is part of the morning prayer Shachartt, is taken from Isaiah 45:7...
...We talked about Jewish music and dancing, and he said he would like to go to synagogue...
...You can search for the dates and times of Jewish holidays in a variety of ways, including month, year, and zip code...
...One nice feature is that you can download a file with candle lighting and havdallah times for most American cities and then import the file into a Palm Pilot, Microsoft Outlook, or Yahoo Calendar...
...They're fun, but I've said at my pitch meetings that if s so obvious a 40year-old Jew is writing them...
...A cable movie about Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat is being developed by a familiar Jewish face: Barbra Streisand...
...The Jewish Museum, New York, New York...
...An extra month (Adar tl) is added to the Hebrew lunar calendar every leap year to bring it into line with the general sobr calendar...
...He also inquired about Shlomo Carlebach, the late Jewish singer-songwriter, who composed the prayers...
...Despite the unmistakable prominence of Jews in the entertainment industry, Hollywood values do not represent Jewish values," he writes...
...Medved wrote: "We may not find the common media stereotype of glib, verbal, insecure, and neurotic Jews to be especially flattering, but the writers and directors who employ that stereotype unquestionably intend for audiences to react with sympathy and affection...
...According to the Hollywood Reporter, her production company, Barwood Films, has been working on the project since 1994, when both leaders decided to consult on the project...
...David Duke, former grand wizard of die Ku Klux Klan and one-time presidential candidate, takes poetic license to the extreme in his new book A/y Awakening...
...The hotels are doing what they can (recycling water and sending laundry to other cities), but 11 of the 13 hotels have spas that contribute to the problem...
...212-423-3271 • Opening February 13 The Nazi Olympics—Berlin 1936...
...To learn more about those traditions and to avoid further confusion, perhaps Mr...
...He called me the next week and asked me what time he should be at shul," Boteach says...
...WEB WANDERINGS Times they are a changin' Change is a constant in the life of a Jew...
...Jackson's interest in Judaism was sparked by a conversation between him and Boteach...
...On one side, you're allowing the tourist to enjoy nature in this most unique area," said Danny Abramovich, marketing manager for the Dead Sea Hotel Association and a tourism ministry consultant, "and on the other side, you have to think, 'What is the outcome?'" —Alexandra J. Wall SHMOOZING Where everybody knows your shem It's the hip new way to promote Jewish culture and community to Generation X-ers...
...Ilan Ramon is aware of the significance of his flight, and is eager to put his newfound platform to good use...
...Ilan Ramon of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) becomes the first Israeli astronaut to participate in a NASA mission...
...It's the healing properties of those minerals, among other things, that attract tourists to the sea in droves...
...I have some ideas," he says, "but I haven't finalized them yet...
...Esther decided—after much pressure from her cousin, Mordechai—that she would ask the king to change his mind...
...And let's not forget the change none of us can avoid—the march of time...
...Sightings • Legendary Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (Fanny and Alexander) never denied he was once a Nazi sympathizer...
...Many Orthodox Jews fast and recite a special prayer, Tikkun for the Seventh of Adar, in honor of Moses' life...
...At least four American astronauts have been Jewish, including Judith Resnick, who died in the Challenger shurde explosion in 1986...
...The winning feature is the rabbi locator service, which offers the names of rabbis across the country, from various denominations, who are willing to help converts through the process...
...I've been searching for a way to make living in both of them as easy as possible, and http://www.radwin.org/hebcal/ is one of the most useful sites I've found...
...Persian Jews fasted and prayed on 13 Adar in preparation for their defense against the Persians who planned to attack the next day...
...And according to Boteach, Jackson plans to return...
...Fifty Seven Sixty A JEWISH YEAR FRONTIERS Jewish Star Ever since the first manned space flight left earth, Jews have been pondering the entertaining questions raised by the concept of Jewish life in outer space...
...The water's high concentration of minerals is also a natural cure for psoriasis and other skin diseases...
...MV THRILLERS Pop Goes the Sabbath Don't be surprised if pop star Michael Jackson's next album sounds vaguely, well— cantorial...
...Just what religion Jackson practices is a subject for media speculation...
...Michael really likes how the service was lively and musical," say Boteach, who has become a celebrity of sorts since the publication of his book Kosher Sex (Random House, 1999...
...I love these teen shows...
...Ramon, 45, was selected from a large field of candidates...
...The King of Pop recently donned a kippah and attended Shabbat services at the Carlebach synagogue in New York City—and was apparently inspired by the lively Hebrew songs, hymns, and prayers...
...Roman says Makor is even starting to break down the skeptics...
...But will they continue to hang jewishly after the hype fades...
...In adapting these words for the prayer book, the rabbis decided not to include the term "evil," which they say includes natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, which are aspects of an evolving, incomplete world...
...The State of Israel instituted public memorial ceremonies on this day for soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces whose whereabouts are unknown...
...the mass media by nature promote priorities at variance with the fundamental teachings of our tradition...
...Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades, Florida...
...Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem...
...We were talking about things—the Bible, Adam and Eve, the dignity of man, and about his new album," Boteach says...
...He has a lot of Jewish influences in his life...
...But Israel, currently one of only eight countries in the world capable of launching its own satellites, has yet to see one of its own citizens in orbit...
...But Makor holds a "Joy of Dessert" program simply attacking Shabbat from a more palatable angle...
...But when he learned of the concentration camps after their liberation, it changed him forever...
...In fact...
...Fast of Esther March 20 (13 Adar II*) About 2,300 years ago, King Ahasuerus of Persia decided to kill his country's Jews upon the recommendation of his advisor Haman...
...Streisand reportedly felt strongly about hiring Palestinian consultants to make sure their side of the story is correct...
...This site includes material on Jewish sexual ethics, eco-Judaism, prayer, a good set of creative divrei Torah (lessons of the Torah) by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, selected passages from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, essays on Jewish community, and interesting sections on words of prayer, words of Torah, and the Jewish life cycle...
Vol. 25 • February 2000 • No. 1
