Kosher Korner: Banana Split
Early one Saturday morning, during the summer before my bubbe started fourth grade, her father woke her up to attend a sit-in at the lunch counter at the local Woolworth’s Department store. They were supporting the students participating in the…
The Jewish Museum in Munich: an attempt to reconcile identities in conflict
Munich. For many Jews, the first name associations may be the 1972 Olympics, or the destruction of the main synagogue during Kristallnacht, or the concentration camp Dachau. However, a city that once was a hotbed for anti-Semitic activity is now…
When Americans cannot compete, we all lose
Home to the second largest Jewish community, with some 5.2 million Jews, the United States’ political climate is undermining the ability of its citizens to trust their government. Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics, opined in his blog Economics and…
Breed Street Shul: an attempt to unify the old and new, Jewish and Latino
Los Angeles represents a cross-section of cultures, an amalgamation of different peoples populating and repopulating the same expanse of land. But what happens when one group moves on, leaving behind only the structural remnants of the rich life it led?…
LA 2013 mayoral candidates Garcetti, Greuel, James, Perry, and Pleitez are off and talking
Playing to their audience, they cracked Jewish jokes, made Jewish references, and emphasized connections to Israel and Judaism. The mayoral candidates for Los Angeles’ March 2013 election who were invited to speak at the January 3rd “debate” at Beth Jacob…
Celebrating 40 years of Ha’Am
Black and white with small, cramped lettering running down the side of the page. It hits a break and disappears in the white expanse of empty space. Larger font, then a sea of sentences swimming together. A photo, maybe. Gray,…
Kosher Korner: Latkes and applesauce
“So put on your yarmulke, here comes Hanukkah,” and what is more funukkah than eating massive quantities of fried carbohydrates? Although most Jewish people claim that their mothers make the best latkes, they cannot possibly compare to my mom’s. Every…
Why go kosher?
I find myself keeping kosher for the first time. Do I believe in the strict guidelines? No. But in respecting my roommate’s lifestyle, I have reevaluated my own stance on Kashrut. Here is how I make sense of it: It…
Got kosher (meat)?
Assuming you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, how do you get your meat? The store, the restaurant, The Shack at Hillel…it all comes in a crisp, clean package or steaming and savory on a plate. But farmers don’t raise vacuum-sealed…