The Arts

Havdalah from the porch of a celebrated cantor

Shavua tov! Shavua Tov!  A good week!  A good week! In Voorhees, New Jersey, Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro and her daughter Rebecca have often led Havdalah services by Zoom from their porch since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic  This last Saturday night, May 16, was no different. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

The enchantment of ‘Rhythms of Tof Miriam’

For over twenty-five years Marla Leigh Goldstein has been a proponent of the frame drum in the world music community, and she brings to us, from the land of Israel, her superb debut album The Rhythms of Tof Miriam, released on May 15th. The title track, seen above, is available as a music video on YouTube, so make sure to whet your musical appetite with the resonant frame drum beats of Marla Leigh, accompanied by the highest order of musicianship of the ensemble (oud, mandol, ney, kamancheh, and cello), before delving into the full album, available on a variety of musical platforms, including Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music. [Omer Zalmanowitz]

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Comedy album review: ‘Drinking at the Kids Table’

Comedian Billy DeVore, who co-hosts the Cincinnati Reds’ focused podcast “The New Nasty Boys,” has come out with his debut album: Drinking at the Kids Table. Loud, self-deprecating and rather crude, DeVore cracks wise about being overweight (Having a gym membership just means he can watch Sports Center in another building.) rescuing cats, and the challenges of married life. His wife Alicia views him not so much as a pet project like “This Old House” but more like “Extreme Home Makeover.” [Eric George Tauber}

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Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Rescue brought Iranian Jewish children to U.S.

Escape From Iran: The Exodus of Persian Jewry During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Sholem Ber Hecht, G&D Media ©2020, ISBN 978-1-7225-0294-2, p. 217, plus twelve pages of pictures, an appendix and index, $19.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Nebuchadnezzar, in the latter part of sixth century BCE, brought the vanquished Jews of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD

AJC rabbi fights international anti-Semitism

Rabbi Andrew Baker, an official with both the American Jewish Committee and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), says because of the coronavirus pandemic, there probably will be a drop in anti-Semitic incidents in 2020.  However, this is because potential targets, such as synagogues and Jewish schools, have been closed during the pandemic.  When re-opened, he said, they may become targets again. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

FDR not as portrayed in ‘Plot Against America’

In HBO’s recent adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Plot Against America, American Jews are coerced by President Charles Lindbergh to move to rural parts of the country so they will become “Americanized” and shed their Jewish ways. In real life, however, it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who wanted to do just that. [Rafael Medoff, Ph.D]

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Music review: Moshav Kumzits: The Light of Rabbi Shimon

Chag Sameach! Happy Holiday! This week’s Lag BaOmer was a day on fire. This is historically the day to signal triumph over oppression, and to drive away a deadly plague. A Lag BaOmer Kumzits, a Yiddish loanword, is a traditional musical gathering, usually by a campfire, meaning come (kum) sit (zit). So come sit, and enjoy Moshav Band’s Lag BaOmer Facebook watch party: [Omer Zalmanowitz]

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Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

How the English language evolved

The author of this book takes the reader through the various periods of British – and American – history, describing who conquered whom and when, and the effect this had on the growth and development of the English language. He starts with the Biblical legend of the Tower of Babel and posits the idea that there may indeed once have been a universal language, now lost in the mists of time, but paralleling the tale that once upon a time all people could speak the same language and understand one another. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, USA

Protecting workers in San Diego County’s food chain

In a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Charlene Seidle, executive vice president of the Leichtag Foundation, interviewed three panelists who help to make certain that the health and rights of workers in the food industry are recognized as an important priority for our society. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Celebrating safely at a drive-thru circus

But how do you celebrate such a festive occasion when the plague of our own era demands that we distance ourselves from one another and avoid gatherings? Make it a drive-through. Welcome to the Lag Ba’Omer Drive Thru Circus Experience. Chabad Hebrew Academy located along Pomerado Road in Scripps Ranch set up multiple stages in their parking lot. Festival patrons slowly drove through in their cars. They were greeted by arches of red and yellow balloons (representing flames) Chasidic music, stilt-walkers, unicyclists, acrobats, jugglers, hula hoops, puppets and clowns. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast