Related Blog Posts on Arts and Culture and Jewish Music

An Accounting of the Soul?

Rose Eichenbaum
A conversation with Ed Asner, z’l, died on August 29 at the age of 91. This article is adapted from The Actor Within (Wesleyan University Press).

Final Account: Film Review

Wes Hopper
The film, produced by the USC Shoah Foundation, attempts to capture the recollections of an elderly subset of Germans who lived through the Third Reich and will soon no longer be around to give voice to what they witnessed.

A Bittersweet Reunion with the Shtisel Family

Rabbi Sharon G. Forman
Sometimes the acting ends in joy and other times the results are devastating. Ultimately, the writers and actors draw us into their stories so that we cannot deny that art can elicit understanding, peace, and even deep love.

7 Movie Stars Who Have Played Israeli Prime Ministers

Gabe Friedman (JTA)
Just a month after it was announced that the Israeli star Shira Haas would portray Meir in a TV series, The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week that Oscar winner Helen Mirren would portray Israel’s only female prime minister in an upcoming biopic.

Meet the Man Amplifying the Sounds of the Borscht Belt

Andrew Silow-Carroll

Growing up, Aaron Bendich would spend lots of time with his grandfather Max in the North Bronx, in a house “filled to the brim” with records, videotapes, and CDs. Among Max’s collection were recordings of Yiddish songs and other Jewish music.

Fast forward a

Ghetto: A Poem

Samantha (Sami) Silk
the path that we now follow / is the Exodus our ancestors never chose / flooding with pain they died not to swallow / the past spills into the river and flows

What Do Superheroes and Passover Have in Common?

C.E. Harrison
The author of "The (unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah" and "The (unofficial) Muggle Megillah" has delivered another work of art combining fanservice and prescient Jewish learning in "The Superhero Haggadah: A Story of Signs and Marvels."

What Do You Get When You Mix Music, Improv, and Judaism?

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
Comedians Katie Klein and T.J. Shanoff met when they worked for The Second City. Performing for the Union for Reform Judaism was so rewarding for them that they now specialize in creating customized, collaborative, virtual comedy shows for Jewish organizations.