Archive for category Link Roundup

Sukkot in Philly

Posted by Rachel Broder in Link Roundup on October 12, 2011

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.

- Take a look at the event page for a special sustainability Shabbat at the Moishe House in Philly this Friday.

- Indulge in some really unique etrog beer, brewed by David Cohen of Tel Aviv’s Dancing Camel Brewing Company.

- Enjoy fruits and vegetables harvested in the Philadelphia area! The Philadelphia Jewish Voice’s blog has some really tasty sounding suggestions.

- If nothing suggested strikes you as interesting or worthy, look through Jewish Philly’s master calendar to find more Sukkot festivities in your area.

Wishing everyone a chag sameach!

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Jewish Nebraska

Posted by Rachel Broder in Link Roundup on September 20, 2011

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. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Nebraska is home to about 7,200 Jews (2005), most of which live in Omaha. Omaha has 4 shuls and Lincoln has 2.

-       Wikipedia has a handy history of the Jews in Omaha

-       The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society provides great factual and resourceful information

-       Federation has branches in Omaha and Lincoln

-       Both Omaha and Lincoln have great community centers

-       Lincoln has two beautiful synagogues: South Street Temple and Congregation Tifereth Israel

-       Kosher Delight is an online magazine about Jewish and kosher Nebraska

-       Check out the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Hillel

-       UNP has a really wonderful blog so start following for updates!

JPS’ partnership with UNP has opened my eyes to the Jewish community of Nebraska, and I hope you will take advantage of the above links to do a little research yourself. If you’re familiar with Jewish Nebraska and have any suggestions as to where readers can find more information, please leave a comment for us!

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A Taste of Independence

Posted by Rachel Broder in Link Roundup on May 5, 2011

Growing up, Yom Ha’atzmaut meant festival of delicious food for my brother and me.  We would go to a gathering in Bucks County (outside of Philadelphia) with our parents, and proceed to stuff our faces with Israeli salad and sweets.  The joke in my house on holidays is that the vat of Israeli salad – made by my excellent chef of a mother – is only for me.  In honor of my extreme love for Israeli food, here’s a smattering of food blogs focusing on Israeli foods to make you drool!

-  Cafe Liz is Liz Steinburg of Tel Aviv transforming known and unknown recipes into sumptuous Kosher and vegetarian meals.  The most recent post is what really caught my eye: pasta fonduta with labaneh and zaatar.  She takes a traditional Northern Italian pasta dish and adds an Israeli twist.  My affection for Italian/Jewish food stems from Roman Jewish artichokes, and I see no reason not to expand to Italian/Israeli foods.

-  Over at Baroness Tapuzina Michelle Nordell outlines components to an Israeli breakfast at home.  She really got me with her recipe for kuku, a Persian omelet with saffron.

-  Chocolate and Zucchini is Clotilde Dusoulier’s delicious blog of mostly organic foods.  Her hummus recipe is not completely unique, but nevertheless tantalizing.  My mother makes an edamame hummus that knocks my socks off.  Also, if you’re in the Philadelphia area, Zahav makes possibly the smoothest hummus I’ve ever had.  And if I haven’t talked enough about hummus, I also suggest you read a hilarious little blurb on Sabra hummus over at Jewcy.

-  Irene Sharon Hodes writes about food and wine.  In an April post, she celebrated Golan Heights Winery, the winery that won this year’s best wine producer in the world award.  If you’re really interested in Israeli wine, Avi of Hakerem- The Israeli Wine Blog writes really detailed posts on the Israeli wine world.

-  Today’s post from The Jew and The Carrot highlights the rise of Israeli microbreweries (yum).  The Jew and The Carrot is one of my favorite food blogs (my mother would know- I email her recipes from the blog all the time), but the coolest thing I’ve come across recently is their post on Israeli food tours.

-  Israeli Kitchen is a wonderful blog not only for recipe ideas and reports on produce in Israel, but also for the beautiful photos included in each post.

May your celebration of Israeli Independence Day on May 9th be absolutely delectable!

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Ways to Remember the Terrible Things

Posted by Rachel Broder in Link Roundup on April 28, 2011

www.tbieugene.org

This Sunday, May 1st (the 27th of Nisan), marks the observance of Yom HaShoah.  In 1953 the Knesset decided on the 27th of Nisan- a compromise between traditional Jews who wanted the date to be in Iyar, and Zionists who wanted the date closer to the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (the 15th of Nisan). 

Depending on where you live, and what you’re interested in, there are a bunch of options across the country to observe Yom HaShoah:

- The Museum of Tolerance in LA has a slew of events over the next week including a family event on Sunday with speakers, The Butterfly Project, and more.  On Monday they are opening a brand new exhibit called, “Besa: Albanian Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II.”  Throughout the week the museum will have film screenings and presentations.  Check out their site for upcoming events, some family-friendly and others for a bit more mature of an audience.

- Speaking of The Butterfly Project (which you should really check out if you haven’t already clicked on the link above!), the Holocaust Museum Houston has a bunch of really wonderful exhibits, but also a relatively new one called, “Whoever Saves a Life … Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust,” which focuses on those who chose to help.

- If you’re in the New York area, stop by the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Sunday for an observance and a chance to talk with survivors.  On Wednesday the museum is hosting “Voices of the Holocaust,” a commemorative concert featuring Paul Schoenfield’s Ghetto Songs, which sets to music the poetry of Mordechai Gebertig.

 - The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC is running an exhibit called, “The Holocaust” through June.  It spans three floors, with over 900 artifacts, and is divided into three parts: “Nazi Assault,” “Final Solution,” and “Last Chapter.”  The museum is also hosting a bunch of really great traveling exhibits, including: “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings,” “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933 – 1945,” and “Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race.” 

If you’re planning to spend the day in your house, consider reading a book on the Holocaust.  Or, even better, think about sharing a book on the Holocaust with your child (or someone else’s child).  Not to toot our own horn, but JPS publishes Eve Bunting’s Terrible Things, a really excellent allegorical book for kids and adults.

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Jewish Books Technological (r)Evolution!

Posted by Rachel Broder in Jewish Innovation, Link Roundup on April 11, 2011

The Jewish book publishing community is not only rich with texts, but also tech (ha!).  This blog post is dedicated to celebrating the fantastic rise of technology within Jewish book publishing.  Happy clicking!

http://www.shalomshirts.com

  • Preparing to chant Torah?  Make sure to check out URJ’S Torah and Haftarah MP3s. URJ also offers free downloads of blessings for before and after the readings.  Call me crazy, but the blessing after the Haftarah has always been my favorite to chant.
  • CCAR has eBooks for both eReaders and smaller handheld devices.  You can purchase entire books, individual chapters, or the Responsa Collection as an annual subscription.
  • Have you always wanted to insert photos of your family in your Passover Haggadah?  Behrman House has created a customizable Haggadah in which you can include photos and clippings for or from your Seder.  Behrman House also has really neat podcasts with authors and a free webinar explaining how to use your synagogue website to create a community.
  • Artscroll has come out with their A Daily Dose of Torah Series in eBook form.  They also have a series of audio lectures from rabbis and other popular personalities.
  • Kar-ben’s eBook collection is viewable through the Lerner Publishing Group site which also has a groovy eSource program that provides digital and printable supplemental resources for their books.

Of course, JPS has also been hard at work building our own eBook store. Don’t forget to check it out!

Do you have a favorite tech resource in the Jewish book world that I forgot?  Let us know!

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Baseball Season Has Arrived!

Posted by Rachel Broder in Link Roundup on March 31, 2011

It’s opening week for the MLB and I’m wearing my red sweater.  Each spring brings the beautiful promise of baseball season and I have to admit that I’m quite excited.  The Phillies have put together a dream team, and though Chase Utley is injured and the always daunting question of “can they actually pull this off” lingers, I am hopeful.  Now, Phillies fans are some of the most superstitious people you’ll ever meet, and my Zayde would be so unhappy with the following statement, but oh boy do I feel good about this season.

Do you have baseball fever?  Have you just washed all of your t-shirts for your team, cursed the guy traded in the off season and threw his shirt on the floor (this one’s for you Jayson Werth), and then started making plans for your viewing of the opening game?  Are you rehearsing your jeers for the first home game you attend this season?  If you’re me, it’s not until May 5th that I get to eat delicious Citizens Bank soft serve ice cream and blend into a sea of red to yell at Jayson Werth. 

If you’re itching for extra baseball this spring season, look no further:

Happy baseball season!  Go Phils!

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Prepare For Purim!

Posted by Rachel Feltman in Link Roundup on March 8, 2011

After a long drag without any good reasons to party, Purim is just a few weeks away! Purim, considered to be a particularly gleeful Jewish holiday, is a festival in celebration of the actions of Esther, the queen who saved Persian Jews from genocide.

Planning ahead? Here are some Purim-related recipes, resources, and entertainment to get you started.

  • If you’re looking for a film about Esther, you’ve got a lot to choose from. There’s the classic Esther and The King as well as the newer, flashier rendition, One Night With The King. Fair warning: The latter takes a lot of poetic license and gets more than a little cheesy at times. For lighter fare, I suggest For Your Consideration, a film by Christopher Guest. This one is a double dip for Purim and Oscar season, telling the fictional tale of the cast of an indie movie called Home For Purim. When the actors stumble across an online review of the unfinished film that suggests several Oscar nominations are in order, hilarity ensues. Lastly, a childhood favorite of mine: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen, a VeggieTales film. VeggieTales is known for their Christian Biblical stories, but this Jewish tale is well represented!
  • Not to sing our own praises, or anything, but JPS happens to publish a pretty fantastic book on Esther and the Purim story. Megillat Esther, a graphic novel by JT Waldman, is available as a paperback or e-book. If you like graphic novels as much as I do, I highly recommend it. If you’ve never read a graphic novel…well, what better place to start?
  • Three-cornered hats. Delicious, delicious three-cornered hats. What would Purim be without them? Hamantashen (Oy! How do you spell it? It’s Channukah all over again) are one of many treats you can make to fulfill Purim’s requirement to eat, drink, and be merry. Speaking of Channukah, though, did you know that there’s a Latke vs Hamantash debate held annually? It sounds like a blast.

So, how are you celebrating Purim this year? Comment with any cool resources you know!

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A List of Lists to End All Lists!

Posted by Rachel Feltman in Link Roundup on January 1, 2011

I have a thing for ranked lists. All that categorization does something great for my repressed OCD. The one downside to all those ‘top ten’ sites is the typical subject matter. Sure, I care what your top ten favorite B-Horror movie monsters are, but sometimes I find myself looking for heftier topics.

Here’s a few classy lists from some of my favorite Jewish sites and publications:

Any good sources of lists I missed? Let me know. I’m a little bit addicted.

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It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…To Be Online!

Posted by Rachel Feltman in Link Roundup on December 15, 2010

Unfortunately, this is not what Boston looks like right now.

It’s officially winter, and I’ve got the numb toes to prove it. Given the nature of the internet, I understand that not everyone reading is in such a place that they understand my pain…but I digress. The temperatures are plummeting, the days are about as short as they’re going to get. Can I interest you in the internet?

Well, that’s all I’ve got. Time for me to stand outside waiting for the forecasted flurries. By that, I mean it’s time for me to study for finals. Stay warm, entertained, and well fed!

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But How Do You Spell It?

Posted by Rachel Feltman in Link Roundup on December 1, 2010

The Holidays are finally upon us. I hope you had a wonderful first evening of Hanukkah. Since the fun is far from over, here’s a quick link round-up of Hanukkah fun.

  • Let’s start with The Leevees, my favorite Hanukkah band. There are so many to pick from, as I’m sure you’re well aware. The Leevees have an album exclusively about Hanukkah available for your listening pleasure this week. My personal favorite addresses a troubling question for us all to ponder: How do you spell ‘Channukkahh’? It’s an issue I’ve had to struggle with since early childhood. Between you and me, I think the ‘C’ looks nice in there. Apparentally, none of the ‘experts’ agree. If you’d like music that’s a bit more old school, there’s always Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song.
  • My family is really big on the old joke about Jewish holidays: They tried to kill us, they didn’t succeed, let’s eat! Anyway, I think Jewish food is the great unifier when it comes to celebrating the holidays. I don’t think I know anyone even remotely Jewish who doesn’t enjoy a good latke (and most of my friends who aren’t Jewish tend to bug me to make them).Here’s a Hanukkah recipe round-up from The Huffington Post. Delicious! I won’t have access to a kitchen until school is over, so I probably won’t be eating Latkes until the Christmas cookies are already in the oven. Oh my goodness,Tablet has fritters. Anyone want to tell me where I can find this stuff in Boston? It’s an emergency.

    A Macababy's gotta do what a Macababy's gotta do.

  • Want to brush up on what exactly we’re celebrating? Well, you should probably just go with The Rugrats version, but Judaism 101 has a good FAQ page too.

Food, music, and background. I would say that you’re pretty much good to go.

Happy Hanukkah! Have a fantastic week.

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