ebookanoid.com I went to the bookstore to buy a book for a friend today. I had to weave through people, ask employees to look for a copy of the book in the back room, and then wait in line. Read More »

Last week I was editing my students’ first ever five paragraph essays. They were charged with the task of writing a persuasive essay using a topic of their choice. One essay stood out to me for two reasons. First of all, it was by far the best-written essay of the bunch. Secondly, his topic was why Christmas is the best holiday of the year. Read More »

JPS author and Brandeis professor, Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler has done the unexpected. Along with Vanderbilt professor, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine , Brettler edited the newest biblical sensation The Jewish Annotated New Testament . Entirely edited and annotated by Jews, the book includes essays from 50 Jewish scholars. Read More »

thirteen.org I want to thank PBS for airing the Woody Allen documentary on television this week. The documentary is three hours in length and part of PBS’ American Masters series. Often I find myself rambling at holiday meals. Read More »

Steven Spielberg created The Shoah Foundation in 1994 after he made Schindler’s List . The Foundation gathers and preserves interviews with Holocaust survivors. At this point, they have over 50,000 video interviews, in 32 languages, with survivors from 56 countries. Read More »

Sunday the 13 th marks the second annual Global Day of Jewish Learning. This year’s Day of Learning is focusing on the Sh’ma . Over on the day’s official website , there are tabs for basic “about” information, big questions, and of course, events around the globe. Read More »

digitalhistory.uh.edu Nextbook Press just introduced a wonderful interactive version of Emma Lazarus’ “The New Colossus.” The tool provides background on allusions and does an excellent job of marrying technology to a sonnet written in 1883. When I clicked on “huddled masses,” a blip about Lazarus’ work with Russian immigrants appeared. Read More »

I wrote a paper for an Irish Literature class last year on Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot . The paper was long and winding, but in no way tied to Judaism. Little did I know an article in today’s Forward would bring me back to my som of confusing paper. Read More »

To my extreme delight, last week’s New Yorker published an article celebrating the 50 th anniversary of the publication of The Phantom Tollbooth , written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, both Jews. Read More »

jewishiphonecommunity.org So you’re looking for Sukkot festivities in the Philadelphia area? Here are a few goings on about town: – Philly.com announced on Wednesday that Occupy Philadelphia would soon have a sukkah. – If you’re looking for a less politically charged sukkah, check out http: //www.localsukkah.org/ to find one near you. Read More »

The Philadelphia Jewish Voice ’s blog posted a really great piece on the interactive online activity (for lack of a better word) called “Spent “. “Spent” allows participants to make financial decisions that millions of people are forced to make on a daily basis, but are often overlooked by others. I know that I do so every day. Read More »

Rosh Hashanah has me thinking about food. Tablet Magazine has some seriously tasty-sounding Persian holiday dishes, while The Jew and The Carrot went Turkish . Though I am a budding young culinary student (of my mother and the Joy of Cooking), I’m not quite at complex holiday meals yet. What I can share with you is my love and knowledge of honey. Read More »

To celebrate JPS’ newly announced collaboration with the University of Nebraska Press, I want to provide readers with a round-up of Jewish places and resources in Nebraska. Though the Press is in Lincoln, there’s a thriving Jewish community in Omaha, so I’m going to include those guys too. Read More »

David Brooks wrote a little piece called, “The Haimish Line” for Monday’s Times . Tablet posted a comical reactionary piece on Tuesday, outlining guidelines for how to go about figuring out what is and what is not haimish. Brooks defines haimish as “a Yiddish word that suggests warmth, domesticity and unpretentious conviviality. Read More »

Jewcy wrote about H.P. Lovecraft in celebration of his 120 th birthday. Though the man was an incredible racist , Jewcy found him worthy of celebrating. I must admit that I too find him worthy of celebrating. Read More »

chicagocarless.com I recently began my training period for an AmeriCorps program. I was originally thinking that I would need to explain AmeriCorps to readers, however I now realize that Jews are awfully familiar with AmeriCorps. My fellow members amount to 230, the largest group in the program’s history in this city. Read More »

I’m always intrigued by top 100 lists. You know the sort- top novels, films, soundtracks, etc. Sure, I read them for the lists themselves, but I enjoy reading the comments even more. Everyone wants to share an anecdote, provide their own version of the list, or (my favorite) contest and scream about one thing or another that is wrong with the list. Read More »

ronaldmetellus.blogspot.com Pickles have always been my favorite food.  I can eat them every single day- by the jar, on a sandwich, next to a sandwich, you get the point.  I even purchased pickle band-aids  so that when I injure myself, I can patch the wound with something I love. Read More »

Next Monday, July 25 th , TeenNick will start broadcasting classic (yes, classic) television series from the 1990s.  Even if you weren’t a kid in the `90s, you were probably a television viewer, so we can all revel in the joy which `90s Nickelodeon will inevitably bring next week. Read More »

So you love the Harry Potter series and you saw/are going to see the final movie as soon as possible?  Great!  Here are some links to articles discussing Harry Potter and Judaism. gawker.com -  Time magazine likens Jews to wizards, and non-Jews to muggles. Read More »