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Even though my mother warned me about it over and over again, I still didn’t expect to feel vulnerable about my Jewish identity in Europe. Chalk it up to an adolescent lack of judgment or cold hard denial: For whatever reason, I just wasn’t expecting that the identity I treated so casually — even mockingly — in the States would become a heavy burden in Germany.
But when the world spun me around and dropped me on my ass, I realized that suddenly in Europe, being Jewish was my primary identity. It wasn’t something I had control over. I just…was.
It’s kind of like growing up: no matter how cliché, you end up embodying the smart-ass in high school, the liberal arts major in college, the naive intern just after graduation, and the unprofessional colleague thereafter. You don’t have control over these things. The identities choose you, and you have to embrace them in order to move on to the next one. You grapple, you poke, you test, and after what seems like forever, your old problems go away and you find new ones to grapple with.
But it’s a sad state of affairs when you’re stuck battling it out with something as fundamental as your identity. It seems everyone around you has normal-people problems, like where to shop for the cheapest groceries, and you’re wondering who the hell you are and why you’re here. You suddenly understand why people don’t leave their comfort zones and why it’s nice being a bit sheltered. You wish life could be monotonous and boring again.
That’s how I felt when I was consumed by my Jewish identity in Berlin. I hadn’t expected to have these feelings; in fact, I had been planning to prove my mother wrong. Instead, I spent my first summer here nearly paralyzed.
Nothing was what it seemed to be. Everything seemed to lie to me. I couldn’t trust that the park outside my apartment was just a park, and not a place where there was some huge massacre. I know that sounds crazy, like I was a Jewish refugee from the 1940s. But I really felt it. It wasn’t a choice, it was just what happened. The past became the present.
Usually, when the disconnect between your thoughts and the reality around you (for example, a bunch of screaming kids running around, and gay guys holding hands, and everyone enjoying life) is this huge, you try to escape. Maybe you do drugs, or just go home. But I was a stubborn 22-year-old. It seems masochistic in retrospect, but I forced myself to stay.
I didn’t have any breakthrough moments where I realized how to cope. I wanted a secret perspective on life that would make things easier. I would think, maybe if I just treated my identity more lightly, I could handle things playfully. Maybe if I thought of myself as part of a Jewish renewal, it would make everything worth it.
But I was constantly plunging into another dimension. I would have to Google the train station near my house to see if it was where some of the deportations occurred. I wondered if the people living in the fashionable district of Mitte ever wondered what happened to the Jewish occupants of their buildings. I was consumed by rage when I saw children playing hide-and-seek in the giant Holocaust memorial downtown.
The idea of moving on seemed like a monumental task. How was I to compress the 50-plus years Germany has had to grapple with the war into a few weeks? The thought came to me that I would have to meet tons of nice German people, and that that would help. I would have to heal myself by exposing myself to the GOOD in this country.
As much as I wanted an ending that wrapped up my struggle in a tidy bow, I didn’t get one.  What I got was a slow, gradual ease of tension. It wasn’t dramatic. It was a long, hard slog.
I’m better, now. Really. The me of just a year ago seems like someone I barely know. But that’s not to say I don’t get upset. I’m not affected as much by history anymore, but if I see a swastika scrawled on a bathroom door, I’m instantly plunged into the same agonizing swirl of vulnerability, doubt and pessimism. Because it represents now. It represents the bigotry, fear, prejudice and hate that can’t be rectified by a new Holocaust memorial, because it represents something more ingrained.
I’m not going to get thrown for a loop because the beach I’m at is near the Wannsee villa, where Hitler ordered the execution of all the Jews in the entire world. I’m not going to let Hitler fuck with me like that. Dude is dead. But if I see a swastika scratched into a piece of wood, I’m going to flip a shit. Because that means that the work is far from over, that his ideas are still around, that it could happen again. 
You don’t want to feel completely normal because the world around you isn’t. You don’t want to take anything for granted. But, at the same time, you don’t want to be plunged into doubt and paranoia. In that state, you can’t help anyone, much less yourself. I won’t pretend I’ve found the perfect perspective, but I’m glad I’m glad I went through this, fought all of this.
And yes, Mom, you were right.

Eve Ensler is best known as the playwright behind The Vagina Monologues, but the feminist icon is a prolific writer who has penned or edited almost a dozen books. On May 18, she’ll be speaking at Benaroya Hall in Seattle to promote her new memoir, In the Body of the World. The memoir covers her diagnosis and battle with uterine cancer in 2010 and her work with City of Joy, a program that empowers Congolese women to take back control of their bodies, lives and communities.

Jew-ish: Tell us about your speaking engagement. What do you plan to talk about?
Eve Ensler: I’m here to talk about my new book, In the Body of the World, which I’ll be reading from. The book is really a journey. For many years I’ve been trying to get back to my body after being exiled as a young girl as a result of violence. The journey is really about how the work in the Congo and being diagnosed with uterine cancer and opening the City of Joy became a catalytic series of events which really allowed me, pushed me, forced me back into my body. This is really a journey about how coming into your body is how we come into the world, and how when we’re in ourselves, we’re connected to everything. And how when we’re disassociated, we’re not.

Jew-ish: How has being Jewish influenced your work?
Eve Ensler: I’m actually a practicing Buddhist, [but] I grew up in a Jewish community. Jewish culture informed me. I think being a social activist is rooted in traditions in Judaism. I look at the history of theater and humor and telling stories and it’s definitely rooted in that tradition. I think I also [have] a real preoccupation with injustice and being an outsider. The notion of exile in general is deeply connected, not to mention genocide and all the other things I’ve been obsessed with throughout my life — violence in particular.

Jew-ish: Your work in the Congo has been very successful. Are you planning to do similar work in other countries?
Eve Ensler: We’re doing events now in 140 countries. We have definite projects in various countries: Kenya, Congo, Afghanistan, various places around the globe. Congo is our biggest project and it’s growing substantially every day. We’re really giving it five years to make it right, and for the women in Congo to discover what they need to discover. Then we’ll see if it is something that can be replicated. But we need to discover that.

Jew-ish: Are you seeing progress with the overall culture in the Congo?
Eve Ensler: We are definitely seeing progress with our women. They are just miraculous, and their transformation has been profound. We’ve graduated three classes, with 90 women in each class, to go back into their communities healed and trained with specific skills — agricultural skills, computer skills, literacy skills — who are real leaders. We’re seeing profound things beginning to happen in their communities, whether it’s the opening of cooperatives or fighting back against the government, demanding their rights, or changing things in their families. Great things are happening. Has the Congo changed? No. Eastern Congo is worse than it’s ever been, and many of the people we work with are under great security threats. We need to continue to act.

Jew-ish: So much of this memoir is about coming back into your body, which is different than taking control over it. How do you explain the difference between those two things?
Eve Ensler: As a result of trauma, I was very disassociated with my body. I didn’t live in it, and I didn’t feel it or cherish it or connect to it. I think what’s happened is I’ve come back into my body. It’s not so much controlling it, but inhabiting it. I feel so deeply connected to the people around me and to the earth in a way that I never felt before. I don’t feel driven in the way I was driven before. I don’t feel like I have to prove myself the way I proved myself before. I feel like before, I treated my body like a machine. It was there to serve my every demand and command, without paying attention to it and without honoring it. That has changed.

Jew-ish: If you don’t feel as driven now as you did before, what is still pushing you forward to make these changes for other women?
Eve Ensler: The sense that it’s what we need to do. There’s a drivenness that comes from one’s own being and sense of unworthiness and a sense of disassociation that if you just keep pushing and fighting and pushing and fighting, eventually you’ll connect to yourself. What I do now is passionately and deeply worry about the state of humanity, and what we’re doing to the earth and what we’re doing to each other. It’s not coming from that “me” place; it’s coming from a much more connected place.

Jew-ish: You’ve compared the rape of women to the rape of the earth. You’re obviously still very passionate about environmentalism.
Eve Ensler: There was a moment in my memoir when I had a very severe infection in my gut and I was very ill, and it was actually the moment of the BP spill in the [Gulf of Mexico]. I was watching the video of the gushing oil, and I couldn’t distinguish what was going on inside me from what was going on in the gulf. I’ve always been hugely concerned about what we’re doing to the earth, but now, it’s from a much more embodied and connected place. I don’t think we can think about fighting violence against women unless we’re fighting to honor the earth. I think it’s impossible, and I think people get it — it’s not that complicated. A lot of the motions and the verbs and the way we approach the earth is so much the same as what we do to women’s bodies — occupying it and drilling it and fracking it.

Jew-ish: What do you hope audiences take away from reading your memoir and seeing you speak?
Eve Ensler: They should look at this as a wake-up call. You don’t have to get catastrophic cancer to wake up. We don’t have to destroy everything so that the earth is uninhabitable for people — we can actually wake up before that. I hope this book is a way for people to return to their bodies, and to really be inside themselves so they can feel what’s happening to the people and the earth and life around them.

Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert, traditionally made from cream and milk set with gelatin, which isn’t vegetarian. The gelatin is what makes it different from flan (set with eggs) or pudding (set with starch and sometimes eggs).
The best panna cotta is ultra-creamy and just barely set — it should have a distinct wiggle to it. So the challenge in making a vegetarian panna cotta is to replace the gelatin with something that doesn’t make a brittle, crumbly, or over-firm gel. Agar, derived from seaweed, can make a good panna cotta if you are careful to use the bare minimum amount.
Agar is relatively easy to find. The brand I like best is Telephone — it comes in little packets that you can find at Asian groceries or on Amazon.com. I find this brand to be completely flavorless, and the thickening strength is very reliable. If you try other brands, or agar flakes etc., you may have to experiment to find the equivalent amount.
Whenever you use agar it’s important to disperse it before hydrating. The best technique is to whisk it in with sugar or another powdered ingredient, disperse it into a vortex of liquid in the blender, and only then do you heat it. If you try to heat it, which causes the powder to hydrate, before fully dispersing it, you’ll have a clumpy mess on your hands.
With panna cotta you have the choice of serving it in ramekins or unmolding it. Obviously ramekins are the safest choice, but if you want to unmold, it’s best to use metal or silicone molds to aid in the release. Dipping the base of the mold in hot water for a few seconds before drying and inverting on a plate may aid in release.

Caramelized Banana and Buttermilk Panna Cotta
For the bourbon brown sugar syrup
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
6 Tbs. good-quality bourbon (Maker’s Mark or better)
Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Strain and reserve in refrigerator.
For the caramelized banana and buttermilk panna cotta
3 overripe bananas, peeled (430 grams peeled weight)
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. Telephone brand agar agar powder (check if you need kosher, but other brands’ strength may vary)
Gather 8 ramekins, pudding cups, or whatever you want to serve the panna cotta in onto a baking sheet that will fit in your refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 400º. Put bananas on a parchment line baking sheet and roast until very well browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes, mashing with a fork a couple of times throughout to expose more surface area.
Put bananas, buttermilk, cream, vanilla, salt, and brown sugar in a blender and blend on high speed for 2 minutes.
Whisk together white sugar and agar in a small bowl. With the blender on medium speed, remove the top and sprinkle the sugar-agar mix into the vortex. Put the cover back on and blend on high speed for 2 more minutes.
Strain the mixture through your finest sieve into a saucepan. Heat at medium, whisking frequently until it comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat and transfer to the ramekins. Place on baking sheet and cover with tin foil. Refrigerate at least two hours.
To serve, unmold if desired by dipping the ramekin base in hot water then drying and inverting onto a plate. Otherwise, you can serve directly in the ramekins. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the bourbon brown sugar syrup on each portion.
Makes 6-8 servings.

What do you do when the person you love turns out to be vastly different than the person you thought he was? This is the question Northwest art lovers, Jewish and not, have been asking themselves in the months since ceramics artist Charles Krafft was exposed by The Stranger as a sympathizer of white nationalist and Holocaust denial ideologies.
Krafft creates ceramic plates, objects, and figurines in the Delft style, but with an edge: A flowery AK-47, a plate decorated with the crashed Pan-Am plane, and — perhaps most famous — the Hitler teapot. Until now, Krafft’s Nazi-related art had been interpreted as wonderfully ironic. Jewish collectors bought his work. 
Around the same time that story broke, Delila Simon, executive director of the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, stopped by JTNews with a recently acquired painting. The framed oil depicts a pawnbroker with a trimmed white beard and a conniving grin, tipping a scale away from a soldier. A donor, assuming it to be a work of European anti-Semitica, donated it to the Holocaust Center.
This is not the first piece of art the Holocaust Center has received. Paintings, posters, postcards and artifacts have for years appeared at the center’s doorstep. Recently, they received a briefcase full of Nazi propaganda a new homebuyer found in the house. At an estate sale, they picked up a box full of painstakingly preserved Nazi propaganda magazines saved by a German immigrant who turned out to be a pilot for the Luftwaffe.
Other items, like a postcard for Germany’s 1937 “The Eternal Jew” exhibit and a massive poster advertising a world Jewish conspiracy, are picked up by travelers who, for whatever reason, are interested in propaganda.
So what’s to be done with it? And should our local Jewish community be concerned with revelations of Nazi sympathies and Holocaust denial in our midst?
“I think the Charles Krafft incident heightens our awareness into the subject of anti-Semitism, and how we as a community need to be ever vigilant and never assume that something isn’t anti-Semitic because we don’t want it to be,” Simon told JTNews. “We see cases of anti-Semitism happening throughout our own region. And it makes our work that much more important.”
Simon cited a phone call from concerned parents in nearby Federal Way whose son was acting violently and had joined an Aryan group. In some parts of the state people don’t know what a Jew is.
“We use [the propaganda and art] as a case study to show future generations what it looks like when a country and its laws can marginalize its people, and how that manifests itself first as something as simple as paintings, to eventually the ultimate extermination of a people, and how a society as a whole tolerated what was subtle in the beginning. And how that occurs today,” Simon said.
In light of this, a question looms large: What should be done with Charles Krafft’s Hitler teapot, Ahmadinejad hot water bottle, and swastika windmills?
Krafft, who has been long considered by admirers as a “provocateur” and encyclopedic in historical knowledge, skirts around his artistic intentions. In an email correspondence he avoided that topic, instead adjuring me to “do my homework,” which would have involved watching several Holocaust revisionism YouTube videos and blog posts. He denies the Holocaust denier title, but appreciates “revisionist research that includes the study of the holocaust as a psy ops,” according to a comment he left on a blog. In a short documentary film produced for the Seattle Channel around 2007, he says, “I know exactly what I’m doing, and any good artist knows exactly what buttons they’re going to be pushing, or they wouldn’t be artists. So I take full responsibility for the imagery I use.”
While the revelation of Krafft’s affiliations stunned the art world, the general response has been to shrug off this fringe outlier. There is an assumed separation between art and artist.
Akiva Kenny Segan, a Seattle-based artist and human rights educator whose “Under the Wings of G-d” series portrays Holocaust victims with angel wings, is understandably disturbed by Krafft’s views.
“I find it troubling that people are willing to divorce a famous art person’s politics…from whatever their works is, even if their work doesn’t reflect it directly,” Segan said. “If this guy is a professed anti-Semite or racist…and his work was continuing to be popular, I would find it troubling.”
But as an artist, Segan finds it difficult to answer the question of intentionality versus interpretation. When an artist puts his or her work out for public view, “it’s out of their hands,” he said. “It’s up for grabs in terms of what people are going to make of it.”
On that note, Segan dismisses Krafft’s work as boring.
“In terms of creativity I don’t find it exciting at all,” he said. “It’s just kitschy to me.”
According to Mark Mulder, a museology master’s student at the University of Washington and the collections assistant intern at the Holocaust Center, whatever Krafft’s intentions were, the exposure of his views changes the game.
“It’s easy to see Hitler’s head on a skunk body as being kitschy, as being ironic, a way of showing absurdity,” he said. But when the artist is revealed as a Holocaust revisionist, the pieces are “not as ironic as they once appeared.”
Mulder, like Segan and many others, squirms when asked what museums and art collectors should do with the art of offensive artists. He says he’s not sure if it’s the responsibility of museums to say he’s a Holocaust denier.
“It’s contested argument,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any one answer.”
“How should the Jew react to this so-called gentleman’s beliefs? That’s a difficult question to answer,” said Michael Ehrenthal of Moriah Judaica in New York. “Ultimately, it depends [on] each one’s personal belief and opinion.”
Ehrenthal’s father’s collection of anti-Semitica is on display at the Wolfson Museum of Jewish Art at Hechal Shlomo in Jerusalem. His catalog, “The Jew in Anti-Semitic Art,” includes benign Jewish figurines and vicious Nazi propaganda, as well a porcelain ashtray with a Jew beckoning a naked little boy, captioned “The Yiddish Clipper.” This souvenir is marked “Niagara Falls, N.Y.” and dates to around 1900. Decorative plates, a porcelain tobacco jar in the shape of a Jew’s head, and (conversely) a chamber pot with Hitler’s face populate the collection.
Is Charles Krafft’s so-called Disasterware really as unique as everyone thinks, then? And should we be outraged?
“This is really nothing new under the sun,” said Ehrenthal. “We Jews have experienced this over the centuries.”
But Ehrenthal separates it from anti-Semitica. “Mr. Krafft has not exhibited or shown anything that is anti-Semitic other than personal beliefs,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have a good criticism regarding his artwork, at least up until now, unless he comes up with some thing anti-Semitic.”
Segan hopes Krafft will come around to education, especially “if he were amenable to folks like me.”
But should a rendering of Charles Manson’s swastika-engraved head show up at the Holocaust Center’s door someday, they will just have to keep educating about the dangers of propaganda.
“Propaganda can be a powerful tool to show institutional bigotry, brainwashing,” said Mulder. “It can start conversations about how the public was okay with acts that were committed.”

Film

Melting Away
Sunday @ 7:15 p.m.
Closing night film at the Transgender Film Festival. In case you missed it at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, “Melting Away” tells the story of Assaf, a cross-dressing teen who comes back home as Anna to care for his dying father. “Winner of the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature at the 2013 Seattle and Boston Jewish film festivals, this groundbreaking drama explores the depths of family ties and the meaning of forgiveness.” - Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Followed by an after-party at the Wildrose.
At Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle.

Art

The Art of Akiva Segan: Under the Wings of G-d and SightSeeing with Dignity
Through May 21
These two powerful series explore the Shoah (Holocaust) and human rights, respectively. The drawings and mosaics include victims whose names we know and those whose names are lost to us. Many of Akiva’s subjects are depicted with metaphoric bird’s wings providing a visual format accessible to people of all ages and ethnic, national, religious and racial backgrounds, especially children and youth.
The exhibit is open for viewing when Hillel is open, Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle

Food

An Evening with Michael Pollan
Monday @ 8 p.m.
“Rabbi” Michael Pollan, Jewish foodie guru and best-selling author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” will speak about his new book, “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.” In his latest work, Pollan explores his own kitchen and learns how to harness the elements — earth, air, wind, and fire — to transform basic things into delicious foods. Pollan aims to reclaim cooking as a way to make the American food system more sustainable and healthier, and to lead to more fulfilling and nourishing lives.
At Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle. Tickets are $24-$52 for regular seating, $125 for prime seating (includes private reception with Michael Pollan), and available through the box office, online at http://www.benaroyahall.org or by, calling 206-215-4747.

Shabbatica

Diez de Mayo
Friday @ 7 p.m.
Why should Cinco de Mayo be just one day? Why not let the fun last a whole week and come to Jconnect’s special Diez (10) de Mayo Shabbat celebration. Drinks and schmoozing at 7 with Cuba Libra, Sangria and more thematic drinks. Afterwards, enjoy a dinner with meat and vegetarian options. $12 (or pay what you can afford). RSVP online.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle.

Social

Welcome to Seattle Happy Hour
Thursday @ 5 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Welcome to Seattle! Jconnect wants to make sure that the city feels like home. They look forward to meeting you, whether you are here for the summer as an intern, starting grad school, moving to Seattle for a new job, or anything in between! The Seattle Freeze doesn’t have to be true. Appetizers are on Jconnect, and your first drink as well if you are new to Jconnect and Seattle!
RSVP to Elise Peizner at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At the Lookout, 757 Bellevue Ave. E, Seattle.

Gemilut Chassidim

Mother’s Day Sing-Along and Fundraiser
Sunday @ 12-9 p.m.
Visit Peaks Frozen Custard in North Seattle anytime on Mother’s Day, and a percentage of the price of your frozen deliciousness will go to the Seattle Jewish Chorale. From 2-4 p.m., Chorale members and friends will lead a “kumsitz,” an informal sing-along of popular favorites, including songs that honor mothers.
At Peaks Frozen Custard, 1026 NE 65th St., Seattle.

Teen Feed
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
Teen Feed is a program that provides meals to homeless youth and connects them with case workers to offer additional support services. Each second Sunday of the month, volunteers make and serve the meal at Hillel UW. If you’d like to help with this project, please RSVP and come “serve.” Cooking and serving shift starts at 5; cleaning and serving crew can arrive around 6:45.

Your Weekend Drink

To prepare for Shavuot, when dairy is typically consumed in huge amounts, how about a cheesecake cocktail?

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Bamidbar
Candlelighting is at 8:15 p.m.
Shavuot starts Tuesday night and ends Thursday night.
Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Rock Shabbat - Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Shabbat Kesher - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Jazzy Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
Saturday: Exploratory Minyan @ 9:45 a.m. (RSVP for location)
Saturday: Cheese-making demonstration @ 4 p.m. Out of the Box! @ 4 p.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Learners’ Minyan @ 10:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:50 p.m. early / 8:25 p.m. late
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Pirke Avot with Rivy Kletenik @ 6 p.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m. early / 7:55 p.m. late
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative
Kavana
Saturday: Family Shabbat @ 10 a.m. (RSVP for location)

Thinking about the Holocaust often comes from a Central and Eastern European focus, with recognition of the existence, established lives, and the eventual destruction of much of Sephardic Jewry further out on the periphery. Now those boundaries are expanding, thanks, in part, to a symposium at the University of Washington.
“Sephardic Jewry and the Holocaust: The Future of the Field” brought together the university’s new Sephardic Studies Initiative, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C., international scholarly authorities, and Seattle’s Jewish community for two days of talks in the Allen Library April 28-30. Support also came from the Hanauer Outreach Fund of the Department of History at the University of Washington and Jack M. Karako, in memory of Rosina Karako-Smeraldi. Leah Wolfson, senior program officer in university studies at the USHMM for Advanced Holocaust Studies and symposium co-convener, said she approached the UW with the idea for the symposium after Devin Naar was appointed assistant professor of Jewish studies and history and put in charge of the Sephardic Studies Initiative.
“This symposium was also an opportunity for the Center and the Museum to engage with the Pacific Northwest,” Wolfson told JTNews. “Given the strength of the Sephardic community here and the recent appointment of Dr. Devin Naar in the Jewish Studies Program and history department at the University of Washington, Seattle was a logical choice to convene this type of an endeavor.”
The symposium was scheduled for spring 2013 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Jewish community’s deportations from Salonika (now Thessaloniki, Greece) to Auschwitz. Eighty percent of the community perished.
Enthusiastic public support greeted the symposium. Sunday night’s keynote lecture, given by Stanford professor of Jewish history and culture Aron Rodrigue, sold out. Rodrigue’s talk, “Sephardim, Memory and the Holocaust” delved into the constructed memory of life on the Island of Rhodes among the remnant of the Rhodes Jewish community, of which 151 of about 2,000 people survived.
Recounting the history and travails of Jews from Rhodes, Rodrigue praised “the memory of Rhodes Jewry and how it lives in a diasporic space.” Rhodes Jews immigrated to Africa, North America, Latin America and Europe, settling into new communities, but they always retained their connection to their “chico Yerushalayim,” their little Jerusalem, said Rodrigue.
A local Rhodesli, retired Seattle pediatrician Sam Tarica, was moved by the lecture. “My uncle Jacob survived with my father’s help and ended up in the Belgian Congo. My father and mother escaped the Nazis, but all of our relatives [except for Jacob] were lost. It was so distressing to know they had the longest and farthest deportation of any group,” he said.
Regarding the symposium’s purpose — shedding light on the Sephardic Holocaust experience and parsing out the future of the field — Naar said, “I think that it is crucial to emphasize that not only did we attempt to find a place for the varied experiences of Sephardic and North
African Jews within the standard narratives of the Holocaust, but more importantly, we initiated a discussion about how the very nature of our understandings of the Holocaust change when viewed from the Mediterranean.
“With the added dimension of European colonialism, the North African cases broaden the standard geographical scope of the Holocaust considerably, and introduce questions about
Muslim majority contexts,” Naar continued. “Together with the experiences of Jews in the Balkans and Greece, we can begin to develop a previously unexplored Mediterranean lens through which to view experiences of occupation, dispossession, persecution, resistance, and extermination that enrich and also challenge the more familiar narratives focused on Eastern Europe.”
The enhanced learning offered by the symposium offered an extended benefit for local organizations. “The symposium offered the Holocaust Center a wonderful opportunity to learn about the latest research in the area of Sephardic studies, allowing us to share that knowledge and perspective with educators and students throughout the Pacific Northwest,” said Dee Simon, executive director of the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.
At the end of the symposium, University of California at Irvine professor of history Marc Baer reiterated this idea of dissemination and education. “We also need to consider our audience,” he said. “While we have a built-in audience of Sephardic Jews because this is their history, we should address ourselves to a wider audience, because the stories we are telling have great significance for others, too. In all of our research, the question of what it means to be a Sephardic Jew also challenges what it means to be French, Spanish, German, Greek, or Turkish, and demonstrates how national identity changes over time.”

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about my trials and travails with chocolate macarons. While I felt like I’d been put through the wringer trying to make that recipe work, I came away confident that the next time around, with the right recipe, I’d be basking in my chocolate macaron mastery.

So you’re wondering if I’m living the macaron good life or if I’ve gone through more failed baking experiences. You’re wondering if I learned anything, if I have any helpful tips to impart or lively stories to tell.  And the answer is, while almost two years have elapsed, I cannot speak to any of the above.

I’ve cooked and baked extensively between then and now. There’s been brisket and risotto, chicken fingers and caramelized white chocolate cakes. But it seems that, deliberately or not, I’ve avoided the chocolate macarons altogether.

Granted, there are an infinite number of other recipes I can make: there’s no reason to spend time hung up on one. On the other hand, I really wanted to master those macarons. So why didn’t I? 

The only answer I can suggest is fear. Fear of failing, again. Fear of feeling like I have no baking ability whatsoever. Fear of feeling like I can talk a great foodie talk, but I can’t walk the walk when it gets down to it. It’s a little embarrassing to admit it, but I, a grown woman, an accomplished and knowledgeable cook and baker, allowed myself to be intimidated by a palm-sized baked good.

I don’t think it hit me until, at a road cycling class, our instructor began by announcing, “Living in fear is no way to live. You’ve got to face your fears head on. When I’m afraid of something, I think of it as my next challenge.” And so it goes that as I prepared to conquer my fear of descending Seattle hills on my road bike, I knew that I had to conquer chocolate macarons as well. 

For better or worse, a chocolate macaron, or a steep hill, for that matter, is not going to care when I walk away from it in fear, and it’s certainly never going to call me out on it. In the grand scheme of things, whether I confront my macaron issues or not is probably just between me and the universe. But I owe it to the people and things that actually matter — and to myself — to not walk away from them. Because, ironically, it seems that the things we tend to walk away from in fear are the things we want the most.

After so much time has passed, I don’t know that, even if I get the macarons right, they’ll really be as great as I’ve imagined them to be. But they could also actually be really wonderful. Either way, I owe it — to the macarons and to myself — to give them a fair shot. So I’m going to do some research to gather the information I need, bake my heart out, and report back with what I learn, good and bad. 

No matter what, I’m done with going through life afraid of chocolate macarons. Wish me luck.

Did you know Wyatt Earp was buried in a Jewish cemetery?
This question was all it took for Ann Kirschner to tug at a loose string in the tightly knit fabric of codified history, unraveling an alternative narrative of the American frontier and opening a window onto Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp, the Jewish common-law wife of legendary Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp.
The result of Kirschner’s research is “The Lady at the OK Corral,” a biography of a woman who never wanted a biography. Kirschner was in Seattle to talk about Josephine at Town Hall last month.
“Here was this woman that I never heard about, never read about, and the fact that she was Jewish and married to the man who was arguably the best-known lawman of the American frontier — wow, that was pretty irresistible,” Kirschner told JTNews.
Josephine Marcus Earp lived an exciting life by all accounts, let alone as a daughter of poor Jewish immigrants between the years of 1860 and 1940. Having moved from New York to San Francisco by steamer with her family around 1870, in 1878 she took off for Arizona Territory to become an actress, only to return home a year later with her tail between her legs. But soon she was back on the road to Arizona, this time to marry her suitor, the persistent divorcee and lawman of Tombstone, Johnny Behan.
It didn’t take long for Josephine’s common-law marriage to Behan to go south; meanwhile, the dirty town of Tombstone was succumbing to chaos, with Wyatt Earp competing with Behan for leadership. Tensions mounted until October 26, 1881, the day of the infamous gunfight between Wyatt Earp and his brothers, and Johnny Behan’s cowboy faction. What is lesser known, however, is that Josephine Sarah Marcus may have been at the apex of a love triangle between Johnny Behan and Wyatt Earp.
It’s a Jewish parent’s worst nightmare. Your rebellious daughter comes back home to live with you, only to be whisked away by the nationally known, infamous, gun-wielding goy she’s in love with. For Josephine (and probably many other Jewish girls throughout history) it must have been unbearably romantic.
These are the scrappy pieces of history Kirschner chased around the country, hot on the tail of an elusive woman who never held a permanent address once in her adult life.
Not only that, but Josephine deliberately covered her tracks.
“She had a lot of skeletons in her closet,” said Kirschner. “She was a willing accomplice to the suppression of her own story.”
So many skeletons, in fact, that Josephine put a curse on anyone who dared to tell her story and fought throughout her life to suppress books and films that would expose the unsavory details. Josephine, Wyatt Earp’s fourth common-law wife, was particularly intent to silence the story of Mattie Blaylock, his third wife, the former prostitute he left who became addicted to opiates and eventually took her own life.
But so far, Kirschner has not been crushed by any falling pianos.
“I think Josephine would turn that curse to a blessing,” she said. “I think she would feel that I tried to follow the truth and tell the intimate stories about her life without trying to whitewash it in any way.”
But just because Josephine’s role in history, like many other women’s, disappeared, does not necessarily mean she should become a heroine.
“She’s a complicated figure,” said Kirschner. “I guess most biographers have a love-hate relationship with their subjects.”
But Josephine is a hero to Kirschner in some ways. “She was an artist of reinventing herself,” she said. “I love that about her. I love her love of the unconventional. I also admire her fierce love and loyalty for her husband, and the incredible modern and smart way that way she understood celebrity, and how to control the legacy of Wyatt Earp.”
Now, the answer to the question you’ve been waiting for: How did the non-Jewish Wyatt Earp’s cremated remains end up in the Marcus’ Jewish family plot in the Jewish Hills of Eternity Memorial Park?
It’s a question Kirschner gets at every talk. “The answer, I think, is just California,” she said. Josephine’s remains are also cremated and rest beside Wyatt’s and near her parents and brother.
A Wild West, indeed.
Kirschner’s visit to Seattle coincided with an event related to her first book, the opening of “Sala’s Gift” on stage at Seattle Pacific University. Before undergoing open-heart surgery, Kirschner’s mother, a survivor of seven Nazi slave labor camps, handed her a box with a diary and 350 letters she’d received during her imprisonment. (Indeed, the Germans were organized enough to enslave a population without letting mail service slide.)
Kirschner says the letters were a way for her mother to save the lives of family and friends, most of whom were killed. “It was an act of resistance on her part, and also an act of tremendous spirituality and faith.”
Kirschner is proud of the stage adaptation, another venue for education.
“These letters were extraordinary,” said Kirschner. “But like Josephine, my mother didn’t think her story was particularly relevant or important. And she had other reasons for keeping silent. She thought that the letters might harm us, that they might make her children frightened, that we might be intolerant ourselves.”
Like the thrilling nuggets of history Kirschner obtained in her research, including a box of recorded interviews from 1960 with people who remembered Josephine clearly, the box of letters was a gift for posterity.
“[They’re] a time capsule,” she said, “a bridge back to the past.”

Four years ago, filmmaker Adam Zucker traveled to Poland for the first time to research a new phenomenon: Young Poles rediscovering their Jewish heritage, long lost in the trauma of the Holocaust.
“I met a number of young Jewish people that really wanted to be Jewish and didn’t know what that meant,” said Zucker. He opted to focus his film, The Return, on four young Polish women coming to terms with their newly discovered Jewishness. He is now fundraising through Kickstarter to ensure that the film can be screened for audiences throughout the United States.
A single mother when filming began, Maria was the only person featured in the film who had known all along that she was Jewish. Zucker emphasized that such experiences are rare in Poland, where most people were raised in Catholic or secular homes after the Holocaust.
“Most of us have to learn Judaism from the very beginning,” says Kasia, who is also featured in the film. When Zucker originally met Kasia in 2009, she was heavily involved with a Jewish youth group in Krakow. She eventually moved to Warsaw, where the smaller Jewish community caused her to struggle with her identity as a Jew. Kasia has since developed a relationship with Israel, traveling back and forth to do research for her doctoral dissertation and gradually building a life there.
Tusia is unique among the women in that she moved to the United States as a teenager and splits her time between New York and Warsaw. “Her living in both places allowed her to question the social responsibility of being a Jew in Poland in a different way,” said Zucker, adding that Tusia doesn’t have the same “sense of necessity” to identify as Jewish when she is in the United States. Tusia herself says in the film, “once you decide to be a Jew in Poland, it’s your full-time responsibility.”
A surprising addition to Zucker’s film is Katka, a Slovakian woman who has no Jewish heritage herself, but became interested in the culture when she began dating a Polish man who had recently discovered that he was Jewish. Her struggle to identify with a culture that was not her own is documented in The Return, as Zucker follows her through her initial exploration of Judaism and her eventual conversion to the religion.
The move toward rebuilding Poland’s Jewish community began just over two decades ago when people like the four women featured in The Return began to question their family histories. Zucker said it was common for him to meet people for whom entire portions of their family tree were essentially non-existent — unusual in a country like Poland, where large extended families are the norm. Additionally, he said most people who suspected a Jewish heritage noticed that their families practiced traditions that seemed otherwise out of place, like wearing hats in the house or lighting candles — traditions that their Catholic peers did not practice.
The women Zucker focuses on — the “characters” of The Return — are what make this story truly compelling. “That questioning of identity in Poland was really fascinating to me,” said Zucker, adding that working with these women over the course of four years allowed him “to capture a lot of progression and a lot of change in terms of their Jewish identity [and] their sense of self.”
Zucker is continuing to fundraise for The Return, which is currently in post-production and is slated to be screened in major cities throughout the United States in Spring 2014. To contribute to The Return and support a screening in Seattle, you can visit Adam Zucker’s Kickstarter page. The Kickstarter closes at 7 PM PST on Sunday, May 5. To donate after the Kickstarter deadline, visit the Hartley Film Foundation’s page for The Return.

Film

No Place on Earth
Opens Friday and runs through May 8.
No Place on Earth brings to light the untold story of thirty-eight Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in caves for eighteen months, the longest-recorded sustained underground survival. Building upon interviews with former cave inhabitants, as well as with Chris Nicola, the caving enthusiast who unearthed the story, documentary filmmaker Janet Tobias filmed a present-day return visit to Verteba and Priest’s Grotto caves in western Ukraine. Complete with dramatic reenactments, No Place on Earth is an extraordinary testament to ingenuity, willpower and endurance against all odds. -Landmark
Read our story here!

Comedy

Saturday @ 8 p.m.
An Evening with Stephen Tobolowsky
You know him from “Groundhog Day” and, contrastingly, the head of the KKK in “Mississippi Burning.” The character actor, funny man, and now acclaimed storyteller will be at Temple B’nai Torah to share tales of rattlesnakes, raccoons, and Hollywood executives from his memoir, “The Dangerous Animals Club.” Rave reviews all around. “I LOVE THIS!” – Sarah Silverman. Read our interview with Stephen here!
At Temple B’nai Torah, 15727 NE 4th St., Bellevue. Tickets are selling out!

Theater

The Trial
Through May 5
Josef K. wakes up one morning and finds out he has turned into a bug and he has no idea why — no, wait, wrong story. He wakes up and finds out he’s been arrested and he has no idea why. He is left to ponder what he’s done wrong, a task that leaves him to face his relationships, ego, insecurity, paranoia, and his own humanity. Kafka brilliance adapted for the stage. Performed at INScape, the old INS building, for an eerie effect.
Read our interview with artistic director Darragh Kennan here!
At INScape, 815 Seattle Blvd.

Art

The Art of Akiva Segan: Under the Wings of G-d and SightSeeing with Dignity
Through May 21
These two powerful series explore the Shoah (Holocaust) and human rights, respectively. The drawings and mosaics include victims whose names we know and those whose names are lost to us. Many of Akiva’s subjects are depicted with metaphoric bird’s wings providing a visual format accessible to people of all ages and ethnic, national, religious and racial backgrounds, especially children and youth.
The exhibit is open for viewing when Hillel is open, Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle

Music

Mike Silverman
Friday @ 9:30 p.m.
We don’t know for a fact that he’s Jewish, but he sure sounds and looks the part. But who cares? The guy plays an “electric cowboy boot” and a magic pipe as part of his “funky, Zappa-influenced weirdness” (Seattle Weekly).
At the Tractor, 5213 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle

Shabbatica

Betayavon!
Thursday @ 7 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Young adults (20s and 30s) are welcome to learn, cook, take home and enjoy unique Shabbat dinners. This is not your Bubbie’s cooking! Want to host Shabbat dinner but lacking the cooking know-how? Here’s your chance to learn! $18 gets you food to take home and share, an HNT Shabbat kit, and priceless knowledge.
At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Shabbat Around the Sound
Friday @ 7 p.m.
Join Jconnectors for delicious Shabbat dinners at homes all over Seattle. Each dinner will be coordinated by volunteer hosts, so there will probably be a house to have Shabbat no matter where you live. Interested participants should complete our online form and then expect to receive an email from their assigned host to coordinate the food. Invitations will include the host’s name and directions to their home. This is a pluralistic event, open to everyone regardless of their Jewish background and knowledge.
To sign up contact Elise at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

First Saturday Limmud
Saturday @ 10:30 a.m.
Join TDHS’ The Tribe for prayer, bagels and discussion. Services at 10:30 a.m., bagel brunch and discussion: “Knock, knock. Who’s there? A Jew” at Eltana at noon.
At Temple De Hirsch Sinai, 1441 16th Ave. Seattle and Eltana on Capitol Hill. For info and to sign up contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Social

J-Tech Meetup
Thursday @ 5:30 p.m. - TODAY!
How does a venture capitalist identify the next big idea? This J-Tech meetup will feature Dan Levitan, co-founder and partner of one of Seattle’s leading venture capital firms, Maveron. From eBay to Groupon to Shutterfly, Dan and Maveron have recognized promising business ideas that are now household names across the country. J-Tech is a great opportunity to meet local thought leaders like Dan, as well as network and socialize with fellow Jewish tech professionals.
Please RSVP to attend. We will be using the $5 ticket fee to purchase snacks and beverages. We will be checking RSVPs at the door. We prefer you RSVP and pay online at http://www.meetup.com/Jewish-Tech-Meetup , but if you want to pay cash on site, please email Shayna at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At The Easy, 511 Boren Ave., Seattle.

Deli Night
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
Loads of succulent deli meats and foods at this fundraiser for Temple De Hirsch Sinai. Members of The Tribe (TDHS’ Tribe, that is) get in 1/2 off.
At TDHS, 1441 16th Ave., Seattle.

Israel at 65 Celebration
Sunday @ 1 p.m.
Join the Seattle community for a celebration of Israel’s 65th Anniversary! Learn culture and traditions and have a blast on a 24-foot rock climbing wall and inflatable surf rider. Make chocolate in Natzrat Illit, write notes to put in the Kotel in Jerusalem, crush grapes in Rishon Lezion, make bath salts in Yam Hamelach, work out IDF-style in Ktziot, make herbal tea and pita bread in a Bedouin tent in the Negev, and more.
At 3:10 p.m. enjoy a concert of Israeli music with singing sensation Meshi Kleinstein, accompanied by Avi Avliav. Admission is free. Israeli food will be available for purchase.
At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Justice

Break the Cycle of Human Trafficking with Urmi Basu
New Light, founded and run by Urmi Basu, provides care and support for over 1000 women and children in the sex trades in Calcutta, India, including women engaged in sex work, street children and young adults, trafficked young girls and victims of HIV/AIDS. New Light’s mission is to promote gender equality and end the violence and abuse of women and children. Urmi’s work is inspiring - don’t miss her! And look for our story coming soon!
At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Your Weekend Drink

In honor of the Kentucky Derby, here’s a “perfect mint julep” recipe. It’s perfect because it calls for four cups of bourbon. But we don’t recommend drinking the whole pitcher.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Behar-Behukotai
Candlelighting is at 8:06 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Shabbat Classic - Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Shabbat Unplugged - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Primetime Writers Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Chappy Hour @ 5:30 p.m. Nashir @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Minyan @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:40 p.m. early / 8:15 p.m. late
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Pirke Avot with Rivy Kletenik @ 6 p.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:20 p.m. early / 7:45 p.m. late
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Hey - it’s that guy! Stephen Tobolowsky has appeared in zillions of films and sitcoms (you know him as Ned Ryerson from Groundhog Day, and maybe as Sammy Jankis from Memento, Sandy Ryerson on Glee or Stu Beggs on Californication) but yet somehow the character actor goes through life recognized as “that guy that looks familiar.” Tobolowsky is in Seattle this weekend to talk about his new book of personal stories, “The Dangerous Animals Club.” He talked to Jew-ish about what he’s up to, and surprisingly, a lot about Judaism.

Jew-ish: Tell me about “The Dangerous Animals Club.”
Stephen Tobolowsky: “The Dangerous Animals Club” is a collection of stories that are all true, and they all happened to me. If I were to characterize what the entire book is about, they’re stories that are about the beginnings of things. Stories like first love, first heartbreak, first agent, first job, first dog. The Dangerous Animals Club itself was the first club I was in. So it’s our entry point into life, both the happy parts and the sad parts.
The first major loss — when I lost my mother — that story’s in there too. Most of the stories are funny. A few of them are not. I usually see most things in life as funny. It’s just kind of a barometer of who I am.

Jew-ish: Jewishness seems to factor into your work quite a bit. How does it function in the book?
ST: It’s funny. I gave the book to my Hebrew teacher to read, and she said, “You know, Stephen, this is a very Jewish book.”
We grew up in a very strange part of Texas, and there were only three Jewish families. Growing up I was always a stranger in a strange land. You grow up being like, “why couldn’t I just be like everybody else?” Our family was not particularly religious. We didn’t celebrate the Sabbath, we didn’t celebrate Hanukkah because I think Dad didn’t want to buy presents for eight days. Heaven help us, we never had any wine. But we were a very ethical family. I think that was what my Hebrew teacher was telling me. We followed Jewish values even though we weren’t educated in them that well.

Jew-ish: How about in your life today?
ST: When I came out to Los Angeles, I kept telling Mom, “I’m going to find a synagogue.” [Years later] I was working on a sitcom and the producers were Jewish. And they said, “Well, we’re going to work on Rosh Hashanah. Does that bother any of you?” Richard Kind says, “Oh, you don’t have to worry, the only Jews here are me and Tobolowsky, and we’re the best kind of Jews that there are. You know, the Jews in name only.”
Everybody was laughing, and it hurt me when he said that, but there was truth. I guess what hurt so much was that it was a barb of truth. It had been over a decade since I had been in a synagogue, maybe two.
I remember I woke up the next morning at, like, dawn, and I just couldn’t sleep all night. I had just done a movie with Larry Miller, and he was telling me about the synagogue he went to, which was one of those tiny hole-in-the-wall synagogues, just like a little house. I went over there first thing in the morning, and there was an old man sweeping up in front of the place. And I said, “Excuse me, could I have a ticket for Rosh Hashanah?” And he says, “We don’t have any tickets.” I said, “Please, I just need one. I just need one.” And he says, “There aren’t any. I’d give you one, but there aren’t any.” I said, “I’ll stand. You have to understand. I have to go this year.” He says, “There’s nothing. I wish I could help you, but there’s nothing.” I said, “Well, do you know when the guy who’s in charge of stuff? And he says, “Well, I’m the rabbi! I’m the one who’s in charge.”
And I said, “Please, please.” He said, “Well, tonight is Friday night. Why don’t you come to synagogue tonight and see if you like it, and then we’ll see if there’s any room for you on Rosh Hashanah.”
And I thought, Oh damn, I just got shnonkered! I called up my wife, Ann, and said I’m going to be home late. I said, “I got shnookered by this old man, and I’m gonna go to services.”
I was sitting in the back of this tiny little room, and the rabbi comes out and says we’re going to start with a prayer about how happy we are when brothers are united. And I had never heard the song before. Everyone sang along, and I pulled a prayer book out of the back and tried to look reverent, try to appear inconspicuous.
The rabbi goes “Stop, stop, stop! Now is not the time to be in prayers. Now is the time just to sing with joy. Sing with joy and we’ll do our prayers later.” It was obvious that I had no clue what was going on.
The rabbi does not look at me, he just says “You know, there may be some of us who haven’t been in a synagogue for a very long time. And maybe they don’t know the songs anymore; maybe they don’t know Hebrew anymore. Well, guess what, I know Hebrew very well, so I’ll do the Hebrew for you, and all you have to do is sing ‘la la la’ and be happy.” And I thought, This guy is for me! So I told the guys on the TV show that I was going to go to Rosh Hashanah. They were going to have to come up with other plans.
I ended up going every Friday night and every Saturday morning for the next 10 years. By the end of that 10 years, Larry and I were helping him with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.

Jew-ish: Wow.
ST: You gotta have exodus at some point in your life before you’re able to come back. I began to see the wisdom in Judaism that I’d never really seen before. I didn’t understand how profound it is on so many levels. Of course, my generation is one that was very taken in the 60s with Buddhism and counter culture and all this kind of stuff. It was all there in the Torah before. The genius of the Torah — you cannot go too deep. However that came about was such a miracle, such a blessing for everybody. To have this book of wisdom that’s available for people to look at.
So I go to minyan when I can in the morning when I’m not working. I go to services Saturday when I’m not working. My wife and I, our goal is to have a real Shabbat once a month. If it’s possible. With no electronics, no nothing, no TV, where you just read, stay with your family. Just try — once! But it’s so hard because showbiz does not recognize such things. You work all the time. It’s difficult to maintain that.
This is really humiliating: I’m going to read from the Torah for the first time in my life on Shavuos. Heaven help me. Heaven help everyone. It’s terrifying.

Jew-ish: You had a near-death experience yourself, when you were thrown from a horse and broke your neck. How did that impact your faith?
ST: I’ve had in my life an unfortunate experience with the miraculous. The doctor told me I had a “fatal injury.” I felt like it was a miracle to be alive. And from that experience I understood what the Talmud talks about when it talks about the afflictions of love. Sometimes a curse is not a curse. Sometimes a curse happens to be a blessing that enables you to see your life through new eyes.
I think is what I want my stories to do. That’s what I’ve found Judaism’s done for me. I’m very appreciative of all the giants in our faith that have laid their ideas down…great minds throughout history that have embraced this idea of how to see your life through new eyes. The key to rejuvenation is all right there. That’s why I love it and embrace it.

Jew-ish: Any other projects in the works?
ST: I’m working on a second book called “My Adventures with God,” which is a series of stories about people and their relationship to things. I always saw life as two kinds of people: People who are good at algebra and people who are good at geometry. People who are good at algebra are good at finding x. To be good at geometry, you have to know the answer before you start the problem and get to the end in the fewest steps possible. That ain’t me. People’s relationship to faith is more like calculus, and most of us have dropped out of math by the time we get to that point in the book. Calculus is learning the shape of a curve. The change of trajectory, the change of minimum force, and as you go through life it all changes very much. When you’re a child religion means one thing to you, and when you start a family it means something else, and when you encounter death and near death in your own life it develops and changes again. So this book is a series of stories that starts when I was a little kid. My first exposure to God and Judaism and the Torah when I was 5 going to religious school, and the first time I broke the 10 commandments and knew it, and wanted to break them. We all have that desire to just implode on ourselves.

It’s hard to imagine, with the abundance of Holocaust literature and films, that stories of mind-blowing value still remain largely untold. In 1942 Ukraine, 38 men, women and children slid deep into the earth to spend 511 days hiding from the Nazis and their neighbors in pitch-black caves. Though they all emerged from the cave, their story, for the most part, remained until recently underground.
When adventure-seeking spelunker Chris Nicola traveled to Ukraine in the ’90s to trace his ancestry, he heard rumors of Jews who hid in the caves during the war. Indeed, deep inside Priest’s Grotto he came across a shoe, a comb, and an antique key and buttons. Nicola began the intensive process of locating the cave dwellers, whose fates no one in that part of Ukraine knew anything about. Eventually, back in North America, he found 14 of the survivors. So he began to tell their story.
That story is coming to the screen. Part reenactment, part documentary, “No Place on Earth,” opens May 3 at the Varsity Theater in Seattle.
When the Gestapo circled the village of Korolowka and rounded up the Jews to send to the camps or to dig their own graves before killing them, Esther Stermer knew that her family would submit to neither. Instead, she, her husband and their six children, along with four other families, fled about five miles away and slid through a narrow passage into Verteba cave. Verteba is exceptional among caves, carbon dating back to 5,000 BCE for probable use as a burial grounds (roughly 3,600 years before Moses’ birth, for perspective). Finding it unsuitable for life due to poor ventilation and lack of water (not to mention a Gestapo invasion), the group moved to nearby Priest’s Grotto, the 11th longest cave in the world and so complex that even experienced cavers take the fatal risk of getting lost.
“No Place on Earth” tells the harrowing story of what may be the longest-ever human underground existence, and follows Sam and Saul Stermer and Sonia and Sima Dodyk back to Ukraine to enter the caves that protected them 71 years ago.
In a phone conversation with JTNews, director Janet Tobias said a former colleague brought her the story, which was featured in National Geographic in 2004 and in Nicola’s book, “The Secret of Priest’s Grotto.” Though she was cautious at first to venture into Holocaust filmmaking territory, the Stermers won her over with their story.
“They had such pride in telling it,” she said. “They had such spirit in telling it. I thought, ‘I just need to do this.’”
Once the Stermers decided they could trust Tobias with their story, the production crew was tasked with a number of challenges, namely, transporting four elderly people down into a dangerous cave, normally accessed by a 100-foot-long rusty pipe. They built steps inside the cave and kept an ambulance on call. And then there was the gear.
“That was all very, very complicated,” said Tobias.
But the results made it worth it.
“For each of them, it was watching a person go back in time,” Tobias reflected. “Watching them remember things that happened to them at that age was really profound.”
In a Manichean twist, “I’d always thought of this as a story where light and dark were switched,” said Tobias. While the dark place was safe, “the scary place was outside…the second you popped your head out of the cave you could be dead.”
Tobias recalls being in the cave with the Stermers when Saul told Sam to turn out their light. Encased in darkness, Sam said, “Now I feel good; now I recognize where I am.”
“They loved the cave,” said Tobias. “It’s like a second mother to them.”
The group’s survival is credited to their skills and resources, said Tobias, from Esther’s “Golda Meir-like” leadership to others’ engineering skills, wits, connections with the outside world for food, and bravery.
Tobias hopes educators will use the film in the classroom.
“The way you stop genocide is one person at a time,” she said. “It is the younger generation’s opportunity and responsibility.” Kids, she continued, should see “how crazy brave and wonderful young people can be.”
On the film’s website, Nicola is quoted as saying, “I learned the Holocaust isn’t one story of how 6 million people perished; it’s 6 million individual stories.” From “Defiance” to “In Darkness” to “Inglourious Basterds,” tales of resistance and survival are joining the vast library of Holocaust stories focused on persecution and senseless acts of inhumanity. 
“They came out, and they had an intact family, and no one had an intact family,” said Tobias. “So they view their experience with incredible pride. It was a story of triumph, not defeat.”
When the film screened at the Toronto Film Festival, the survivors in attendance received a standing ovation.
“How incredibly right and deserved,” Tobias thought at the time.
“They’ve kept their humanity and spirit,” she said. “I have a 92-year-old who laughs on the phone. It’s about as good as it gets.”

Christopher Huh is not Jewish. He has no European heritage and he’s not even old enough to drive.
But like thousands of other non-Jewish young people over the last 70 years, Huh, a 14-year-old Korean-American, became deeply affected by the historical account of the Holocaust.
As he sat in his 7th-grade class at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, Md. and absorbed the overwhelming information from his teacher, he knew that sitting idly by while the rest of his peers appeared unaffected was not an option. So he went home, started digging deeper into the stories and the wealth of information on the Holocaust, and began to draw. His story developed into “Keeping My Hope,” a complex and beautiful narrative about an individual’s struggle in Poland during the war.
The 170-page graphic novel gives readers a meticulous account of Ari Kolodiejski and his family, as their small town in Poland transforms from a carefree village to a ghetto. Huh chooses to tell the story through the eyes of a grandfather passing on his tragic experience to his grandchildren.
“When I first decided to write the book, I thought the best way for people to learn was through a grandpa’s point-of-view,” says Huh. “I always liked it when I get to listen to my grandparents talk.”
Through his research, Huh decided to set his story in Poland, as it had the biggest Jewish population before World War II broke out. The detail that Huh puts into painting an accurate picture of pre-war Poland and then each stage of the war’s progression draws the reader in completely.
“I thought that this book should not only be a good story, but also be an opportunity for people to learn. Every little detail, I thought, should be something that spoke out,” says Huh. From towns to battles, from names to actual events and people, Huh wanted to be sure that everything in his novel was historically accurate.
“It was painstakingly difficult, but it was worth it,” he said. “I also asked my teacher, who is fluent in German, to double-check my translation.”
Huh read other Holocaust-related novels, such as “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Elie Wiesel’s “Night,” and Hans Peter Richter’s “Friedrich,” becoming well versed in the genre. Before launching into his own graphic novel, his teacher introduced him to Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” the award-winning and most recognized Holocaust graphic novel. With all of this research under his belt, Huh set out to shape his own story to share with the world.
From his home in Maryland to as far as Israel, the community response to Huh’s self-published work has been incredible. Huh even received a letter from Elie Wiesel this month, praising his effort.
“Many people love the fact that I published this,” says Huh. “My schoolmates and teachers support me, along with my family, of course.”
As the story evolves, Huh goes into vivid detail as to Ari’s experience not only living in the ghetto, but also his transportation to and years living in Auschwitz. “The most important message in my book is that racism and prejudice are humanity’s greatest enemies and that we should always be aware of that,” says Huh. “It is explained on page 91, in the first speech bubble when Ari shows his number to his grandchildren.”
Through writing and illustrating “Keeping My Hope,” Huh has discovered his passion for both writing and drawing and plans to continue both in future.
You can find out more about “Keeping My Hope” and Christopher Huh at keepingmyhope.com. The graphic novel is available for purchase through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Music

An Afternoon with Charles Fox
Sunday @ 2 p.m.
At the piano, composer Charles Fox will share how he came to write his award-winning music. Fox wrote some of TV’s most memorable themes, including “Happy Days” and “The Love Boat,” as well as “Killing Me Softly,” popularized years later by the Fugees. He will also give his personal insight into “100 Voices: A Journey Home,” which explores Jewish cultural history in Poland.
At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Theater

Letters to Sala
Thursday-Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.
It’s Ann Kirschner week in Seattle. After speaking about her latest work, “Lady at the OK Corral” tonight, Kirschner will see her first book, “Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story” go up on stage. In its Northwest premier, Seattle Pacific University’s Theatre Department will dramatize the content of over 300 letters received, hidden, and saved by Kirschner’s mother, Sala Garncarz, during her imprisonment in forced labor camps during the war.
At Seattle Pacific University’s McKinley Hall, main stage. Tickets are $12, $10 for students and seniors, and available through or by calling 206-281-2959. A matinee will take place on April 27 at 2 p.m.
Additionally, an exhibition of letters, photographs, and documents from the Sala Garncarz Kirschner Collection will be on display in Kreider Gallery in SPU’s McKinley Hall through April 30. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

The Trial
Through April 28 - sold out - new performances added on May 2-May 5
Josef K. wakes up one morning and finds out he has turned into a bug and he has no idea why — no, wait, wrong story. He wakes up and finds out he’s been arrested and he has no idea why. He is left to ponder what he’s done wrong, a task that leaves him to face his relationships, ego, insecurity, paranoia, and his own humanity. Kafka brilliance adapted for the stage. Performed at INScape, the old INS building, for an eerie effect.
Read our interview with artistic director Darragh Kennan here!
At INScape, 815 Seattle Blvd.

The Whipping Man
Through April 27
Can loyalty and freedom coexist? A Jewish Confederate soldier returns from war to his house in shambles. Two former slaves greet him, one who stayed and one who is returning. As they observe Passover and remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and secrets threaten the freedom of all three men. - Taproot Theatre
Read our article about the play here!

Art

The Art of Akiva Segan: Under the Wings of G-d and SightSeeing with Dignity
Through May 21
These two powerful series explore the Shoah (Holocaust) and human rights, respectively. The drawings and mosaics include victims whose names we know and those whose names are lost to us. Many of Akiva’s subjects are depicted with metaphoric bird’s wings providing a visual format accessible to people of all ages and ethnic, national, religious and racial backgrounds, especially children and youth.
The exhibit is open for viewing when Hillel is open, Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE

Social

Jews in Shoes
Saturday @ 10:30 a.m.
Join Jconnectors for a beautiful walk around Green Lake, followed by brunch at Blue Star Cafe and Pub.
Meet at Starbucks, 7100 E Green Lake Drive N. Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more info.

Betayavon!
Thursday @ 7 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Want to host Shabbat dinner but lacking the cooking know-how? Here’s your chance to learn! In this new hands-on cooking experience you’ll prepare a Shabbat meal for four, receive an HNT Shabbat kit, pack up your delicious kosher meal, delight three friends the next night with the awesome meal you just made for Shabbat dinner. Tonight: Moroccan cuisine! Space is limited and filling up!
At Herzl, 3700 E Mercer Way

Spirituality

Mussar with Shira Bell
Thursday @ 7 p.m. - TONIGHT!

We sense within ourselves the potential to be loving, patient, compassionate beings. At the same time, it is often difficult to manifest these virtues in our everyday lives; as we go to school, negotiate traffic jams, and struggle to find meaning in our stressful world. Mussar, a centuries old Jewish practice of spiritual self-examination, helps us translate Jewish values into practical everyday living - providing guidance in cultivating good habits, character refinement, and guiding us on our journey toward holiness. You’ll learn a context for holding problems you confront in your life more lightly, and specific tools for manifesting your finest self.
Presenter: Shirah Bell, Ph.D., a Certified Spiritual Director, is a senior teacher in The Mussar Institute and collaborates with Dr. Alan Morinis, founder of TMI and author of contemporary Mussar works. She directs TMI’s basic offering, Everyday Holiness and leads local Mussar classes, as well as mentoring individuals in Mussar and Spirituality.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE

Lag B’Omer

Lag B’Omer is the 33 day of the counting of the Omer, a day of celebration and barbecue during a period of semi-mourning leading up to Shavuot (which starts May 14, btw). It starts Saturday night.

Bonfire-show-jam
The klez fusion band, The Debaucherauntes, is teaming up with The Mongrel Jews to host a bonfire party to be remembered this year. They’ll be doing a set of their own material each leading up into sunset, breaking for Havdallah and some talk about the holiday, and leading a jam of their favorite selection of Jewy, klez, and bonfire classics until they kick us out of the park.
Not down with instruments on Shabbos? Come at sunset for Havdallah and the jam. Don’t know much about Jew stuff? It’s cool; come sing around their bonfire anyway. Their tunes are pretty easy to pick up if you don’t already know them.

HNT Lag B’Omer BBQ Picnic and Color War
Sunday @ 11 a.m.
With relay races, music, BBQ, traditional bonfire with marshmallow roasting and ruach. $10 adult, $5 child under 13.
At Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, 3700 E Mercer Way

Israelis in Seattle Picnic
Sunday @ 12 p.m.
It’s technically a Yom Haatzmaut picnic, but we’ll include it here. Picnic with friends, inflatables (?), games for all ages, Israeli dancing, crafts, an amazing raffle and more.
At Newcastle Beach Park, Bellevue.

Capitol Hill Minyan Lag B’Omer Picnic
Sunday @ 1 p.m.
Annual Lag B’Omer picnic and barbeque. Burgers and dogs, good news and grog, and fun for the kids. Open to the entire community. Free, donations accepted. At Volunteer Park, 1249 15th Ave. E (at E Galer), Seattle.

Lag’B'Omer Cookout with Jconnect
Sunday @ 2 p.m.
Burgers and dogs at Gasworks Park.
2101 N. Northlake Way

West Seattle TLC Barbecue and Celebration
Sunday @ 4 p.m.
Softball tournament, bonfire, marshmallows, and more.
At Camp Long ELC, West Seattle

Lag B’Omer Picnic - Chabad
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
Annual BBQ party. Hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks, chips, s’mores, and music. RSVP online. At Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle.

Your Weekend Drink

Beer! In honor of Lag B’Omer and the grain harvest, enjoy a frosty brewski around your bonfire. 

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Emor
Candlelighting is at 7:55 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: 4th Shabbat - Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Rock Shabbat and Potluck - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat Service @ 6:15 p.m. New Members Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m. Edwin L. Bierman Scholar in Residence Program with Prof. Amy Kalmanofsky Friday Dinner and Program
Saturday: Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m. Talk at 1:15: Naomi and Ruth as as model for Israel and God. Talk at 7:30 p.m.: “The Joseph Story: I am Looking for my brothers.”

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m. Shabbat Dinner Circle @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Minyan @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:35 / 8:05 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Pirke Avot with Rivy Kletenik @ 6 p.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:10 p.m. / 7:35 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m. Israel Shabbaton with Rabbi Daniel Bouskila

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

The story of Sala Garncarz is full of heartbreak, horror, injustice, and, somehow, hope. Through the five years she spent in Nazi slave labor camps, Sala kept a diary and collected hundreds of letters she received while in the camps. For 50 years she kept the letters a secret.
But in 1991 she revealed the collection to her daughter, Ann Kirschner. From this moment grew a book, and now a play, “Letters to Sala,” which is experiencing its Northwest premier this week at Seattle Pacific University.
“My mother was one of those Holocaust survivors who never talked about her experiences at all,” Ann said. “In 1991 she was having open heart surgery, and right before the surgery she brought me this box, and said, ‘Here I want you to have this.’ And inside the box was what turned out to be 350 letters, which she had received while she was in not one camp, but seven different Nazi slave labor camps, as well as a diary that she had kept very early in her period as a slave laborer.”
(Indeed, the Germans were organized enough to enslave a population without letting mail service slide.)
After a family kerfuffle over what should be done with the letters — Ann thought they belonged to history, while her daughters thought they should remain private — Ann succeeded in her argument and proceeded to write “Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story.” She donated the one-of-a-kind collection to the Dorot Jewish Division of the New York Public Library.
“Letters to Sala” bounces between Sala’s experiences during the war and modern-day New York City, where she reveals the collection to Ann, and Ann’s dispute with her daughters over the letters’ fate.
There are ideas in “Letters to Sala” that are intriguing, like the question of which types of artifacts are better served within the community, as opposed to kept private within a family, or the reality of what exactly it cost Sala to hide her letters while in the camps.
Ann says the letters were a way for her mother to save the lives of family and friends, most of whom were killed. “Nobody was going to take her letters. She would have died for them,” she said. “It was an act of resistance on her part, and also an act of tremendous spirituality and faith.”
Ann is happy with playwright Arlene Hutton’s adaptation of the book for the stage. “This is a wonderful way for history to find different audiences,” she said. SPU’s status as a Christian college makes the story all the more important. How many more non-Jewish people, who may not have a personal relationship to this dark period of history, will now be touched by and connected to a survivor’s incredible tale?
While the production’s set design is strong, and the use of projection provides some of the strongest moments in the show (like when Sala and romantic interest Harry pose for a photo in a camp and the real-life photo of Sala and Harry is projected above them), ultimately the play’s subject matter is the reason why it struggles and sags at times. It is a play about letters. And with letters frequently being used as substitutes for live dialogue — an especially unavoidable convention when the play itself is based on letters — why write a play when the actual artifacts and book seem to be most effective?
Perhaps Arlene Hutton’s thought was not “Why?” but “Why not?” With that in mind, it is easier to observe the ways in which the play does succeed. It shares an inspirational Holocaust story with audiences who may have otherwise never known about it, it keeps Sala’s legacy alive, and it reminds us that — in one of the play’s stronger bits of dialogue — “We will tell ourselves to endure. After all, Jews are used to it.”

If you happen to be a mother, you get it. “Mom jeans” aren’t really so funny anymore. Especially now, when you pee your pants when you sneeze. Seattleite Laurie Levy decided there wasn’t enough comedy about being a mom, so, in the style of the Vagina Monologues, she put together the Mama-logues. This year’s performances include Moms who Drink and Swear, Rants from Mommyland and Haiku Mama. Try not to spit your beer out laughing (but we can’t guarantee you won’t pee your pants).

Jew-ish: How did this project originate?
Laurie Levy: A few years ago, David Sedaris published Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, and I didn’t think it was particularly funny. Knowing that comedy is better out loud, I thought I would invite a few friends over to read it out loud. You know, have some wine and laugh. It was pretty close to Mother’s Day so then I thought, well, why not invite more people, read the Sedaris and a bunch of other mom-related things and pass a hat for a mom-related nonprofit. The time line was too short to bring it together, but the idea keep coming back. I thought, well, if we are going to invite a few people, we could invite a lot of people and really generate some awareness and income for what became our two beneficiaries, Open Arms Perinatal Services and WestSide Baby. I spent about 10 months working on the first production (just as long as a human gestation, coincidentally) and had a blast! The show is modeled loosely on the structure of The Vagina Monologues, which I had performed in a few years prior. Sue Peiser, who had produced that show, was invaluable in sharing her experience of putting together a show. The title was coined by my friend Eric Gibbs.

Jew-ish: Is it an annual event?
LL: It is! We are in our second year and hope to keep doing it as long as interest remains.

Jew-ish: Describe some of the types of motherhood represented in the piece.
LL: We have pieces by a physically challenged mom, pieces about single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, divorced moms, lesbian parenting, postpartum depression, being a very young/old mother, moms on state aid and adoption… Last year we had a piece about why someone did not want to be a mom.

Jew-ish: What has been your favorite part of the process?
LL: I have been exposed to so many writers that I wouldn’t otherwise have found. I always ask people what they are reading on the “mommy blogs” — it is a rich environment out there. We aren’t violating copyright with our use of the pieces. I ask all of the authors for permission, and they have been so generous and supportive of the project.
It is also really fun to see what the other actors do with a piece. When I select one, I hear a particular voice in my head. Sometimes the actors find something completely different and new than what I had envisioned in the piece, and it brings it to life in a new way.

Jew-ish: What will both parents and non-parents enjoy about the show?
LL: What is amazing is that it isn’t all dire and overly serious. The show definitely has poignant moments — we are talking about motherhood, right? But the humor is what moves it all forward and unites all the pieces. It is really, really funny. I think anyone who attends, mom or not, will find something to relate to because we have all had a mother. The show really helps build compassion and understanding for motherhood.

Growing up in a family of academics, Dr. Sarah Stroup became fascinated with antiquity at an early age. Now a professor at the University of Washington, Stroup has managed turned her passion for Classics — specifically, how ancient Jewry fits into Greco-Roman history — into a full-time career.
As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, Stroup began to question why there was no study of Jews within the field of Classics, particularly since there were known interactions between the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Complicating the issue is the fact that the field of Jewish studies looks at the relationships between Jews, Greeks, and Romans, but usually only in a negative context.
“When we think of the Jews in Rome, we think of the destruction of the Second Temple,” says Stroup. “But what I see, looking at all the complexities of the ancient world, is a more hopeful image than what we have now.” Stroup hopes to bring those complexities to light through her lecture series at Temple Beth Am, which culminates with a final talk on Wednesday, April 24 on the multicultural history of the Israeli port city of Dor.
Dor has special meaning to Stroup, who leads a six-week-long excavation there each summer. The site has evidence of approximately 1,200 years of multicultural occupation, and was a hub of politics and commerce in its heyday. Stroup especially values the trip for its ability to turn her students into fellow researchers for a summer, and to give those students — many of whom are not Jewish and have never traveled outside of the United States — a chance to experience Israel firsthand.
Stroup was invited to speak at Temple Beth Am by a committee formed with the goal of expanding the synagogue’s already flourishing adult education program. Mark Wener, who will chair the committee to select next year’s speaker, was in full support of having Stroup participate as this year’s series speaker.
“Professor Stroup has spoken at the temple in the past,” said Wener, adding that “[she] has more interest in Jewish history and multiculturalism in a cultural context.” Wener also pointed out that the goals of the adult education program are not necessarily to provide a place for religious learning, since that is provided through religious services, but to create a sense of community and belonging for members of the synagogue and the local Jewish community.
Wener called the lectures a “valuable contribution” and said that he hopes Beth Am can sustain the series as their rabbis, who have been huge proponents of the adult education program, prepare to move on to new positions in California later in the year. Wener suggested that next year’s lectures may be left open for visiting rabbinic candidates to speak as part of their interview process, emphasizing that hosting an educational forum in addition to leading religious services would allow candidates to showcase multiple skills.
In her earlier lectures, Stroup addressed Greco-Roman influence on the Passover seder, and relationships between Jews and their Roman counterparts. Her final lecture, titled “How Did They Greet Alexander? Tel Dor: a Case Study for Ancient Multiculturalism,” will be given at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24 at Temple Beth Am. For more information or to register to attend, click here.

Music

Sparks of Glory: Another Sunrise
Saturday @ 2 p.m. and Sunday @ 4 p.m.
In conjunction with Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition, “Morality Tales: American Art and Social Protest, 1935-45,” Music of Remembrance will perform Jake Heggie’s “Another Sunrise,” a tribute to Krystyna Zywulska. Zywulska walked out of the Warsaw Ghetto in broad daylight, joined the Polish resistance, and later, when imprisoned in Auschwitz, wrote satirical poems that turned into anthems of resistance. MOR will also perform “Duo” by Erwin Schulhoff, who perished in a camp.
On Saturday at the Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., Seattle, and on Sunday at The Commons, 402 Bjune Dr., Bainbridge Island. Free.

The Souls’ Journey CD release party
Sunday @ 4 p.m.
Celebrate the release of Rabbi Olivier BenHaim’s CD, “The Souls’ Journey: Meditation & Kabbalah.” A successful Kickstarter project, the CD is a six-stage meditation that unfolds the Kabbalistic levels of the soul as a ways to awakening. Rabbi Olivier will lead a learning session and meditation from the CD. CDs will be available for purchase.
At Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle.

Theater

Letters to Sala
Thursday-Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.
It’s Ann Kirschner week in Seattle. After speaking about her latest work, “Lady at the OK Corral” tonight, Kirschner will see her first book, “Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story” go up on stage. In its Northwest premier, Seattle Pacific University’s Theatre Department will dramatize the content of over 300 letters received, hidden, and saved by Kirschner’s mother, Sala Garncarz, during her imprisonment in forced labor camps during the war.
At Seattle Pacific University’s McKinley Hall, main stage. Tickets are $12, $10 for students and seniors, and available through or by calling 206-281-2959. A matinee will take place on April 27 at 2 p.m.
Additionally, an exhibition of letters, photographs, and documents from the Sala Garncarz Kirschner Collection will be on display in Kreider Gallery in SPU’s McKinley Hall through April 30. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

The Trial
Through April 28 - sold out - new performances added on May 2-May 5
Josef K. wakes up one morning and finds out he has turned into a bug and he has no idea why — no, wait, wrong story. He wakes up and finds out he’s been arrested and he has no idea why. He is left to ponder what he’s done wrong, a task that leaves him to face his relationships, ego, insecurity, paranoia, and his own humanity. Kafka brilliance adapted for the stage. Performed at INScape, the old INS building, for an eerie effect.
Read our interview with artistic director Darragh Kennan here!
At INScape, 815 Seattle Blvd.

The Whipping Man
Through April 27
Can loyalty and freedom coexist? A Jewish Confederate soldier returns from war to his house in shambles. Two former slaves greet him, one who stayed and one who is returning. As they observe Passover and remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and secrets threaten the freedom of all three men. - Taproot Theatre
Read our article about the play here!

Talks

Lady at the OK Corral
Thursday @ 6 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Did you have any idea that the infamous lawman Wyatt Earp was common-law married to a romance-seeking runaway daughter of Jewish immigrants? And that he’s actually buried in her family’s Jewish plot? That, and a whole lot more. Proves that wherever you go, there really is someone Jewish. Ann Kirschner talks about this little-known story that became a fascinating book.
At Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. Co-sponsored by Washington State Jewish Historical Society.

Social

J-Pro Happy Hour
Thursday @ 6:30 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Featuring Brian Shultz, a director in Microsoft’s corporate development group, where he advises internal executives and executes investment and M&A transactions, and leads outreach initiatives with the investor and entrepreneur community. Brian also serves as the managing director of FounderDating Seattle.
Schmooze with other Jewish young professionals. Don’t forget your business cards.
At Eastlake Bar and Grill, 2947 Eastlake Ave E

Shabbatica

Rabbi Binyamin Biber-Secular Jewish Circle Shabbaton
Friday-Sunday
Rabbi Binyamin Biber, one of only a dozen Humanistic rabbis in the U.S., will lead a Shabbaton with the Secular Jewish Circle this weekend. At a secular Shabbat service Friday night at 6:30, Biber will speak on “Spirituality: Deepening the Experience of Our Jewishness.” On Saturday night at 7:30, he’ll address “Pursuing Justice: Secular Humanist Approaches to Tikkun Olam.” On Sunday at 10 a.m., he will present on “Humanistic Jewish Parenting: Identity and Development in a Multicultural Society.”
In the Wallingford, Seattle area. Call Judi at 206-356-1814 for more information and the location.

Shabbaton with Nigel Savage at Herzl-Ner Tamid
Friday-Sunday
Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation welcomes scholar-in-residence Nigel Savage, founder of Jewish environmental organization Hazon, to lead a Shabbaton on “Jews, Food and Contemporary Life.” Savage will lead multiple discussions and study sessions, including “The Jewish Omnivore’s Dilemma” on Friday night, “Why Be Jewish if I Can Just be a Good Person?” on Saturday afternoon, and “Eco Judaism and the Art of Bicycle Riding” Sunday morning, followed by an Earth Day bike ride.

Shabbaton with Rabbi Bouskila
Saturday various times
The celebration of Israel’s Independence continues at Ezra Bessaroth. “Israel, A Sephardic Perspective” with Rabbi Daniel Bouskila of the Sephardic Educational Center. Highlights include four lectures by Rabbi Bouskila and a complimentary Kiddush luncheon. Schedule: 1) Sermon: “Sephardic Zionism, is there a Difference?”. 2) After the Kiddush: “Rav Uziel & Rav Kook: Two perspectives on religious Zionism”. 3) 6 p.m.: “Purim Jews Vs. Pesach Jews: Two paradigms of contemporary Judaism”. 4) Seudah: “The hope; A spiritual reading of Hatikva”.

What Are We Celebrating? Yom Haatzmaut talk with Chen Mazzig
Saturday @ 1:15
StandWithUs NW shaliach Chen Mazzig will talk on “Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as an Arab Jew.” Chen will talk about his IDF service, helping to build Palestinian civil society, and serving as a gay man.
At Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE

Your Weekend Drink

Try an April Rain this weekend. Doesn’t really need an explanation, does it?

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
Candlelighting is at 7:46 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Shabbat Unplugged - Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Family Kabbalat Shabbat Service @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 10 a.m. Shacharit Outdoors @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m. Dvar Torah by Chen Mazzig around 11:15. Post-kiddush talk with Mazzig at 1:15.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m. Shabbaton with Nigel Savage
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m. Talks all day with Savage, see website for details.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:25 / 7:55 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Pirke Avot with Rivy Kletenik @ 6 p.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:10 p.m. / 7:25 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m. Israel Shabbaton with Rabbi Daniel Bouskila

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Sabich was a popular Shabbat food for Iraqi Jews, and when they immigrated to Israel and set up a community in Ramat Gan, the sandwich came with them. It has since gained widespread popularity.
There is something about the creaminess of the egg and the fried goodness of the eggplant that work really well together, and then the garnishes of Israeli salad (tomatoes, cucumbers with a bit of lemon juice), hummus, onions, pickles, parsley, and amba (pickled mango) give your mouth the full workout of sweet, spicy, sour, herbacious, smooth and crispy.
If you can’t find amba, mix together diced fresh mango with minced preserved lemon and a Sriracha-type hot sauce to taste.
Vegetarian; vegan if you omit the egg. Gluten-free if you omit the pita and serve as a salad.

Makes 4 sandwiches
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 English cucumber, finely diced
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/4” or so thick
Vegetable oil for pan-frying
Kosher salt
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced
Hummus (store bought or your own)
Prepared tahini (store bought or your own)
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves
1/2 small white onion minced
1/2-cup pickle, cut into small slices or cubes
Amba or hot sauce of your choice
4 pieces pita bread
Make a simple salad with the tomatoes, cucumber, and lemon juice, with salt to taste.
Fry the eggplant in batches until thoroughly tender and browned; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
While the eggplant is frying, put the eggs, tahini, parsley, onion, pickle, and amba in bowls.
Toast or grill the pita bread. Let everyone build a sandwich with as much or as little of each ingredient as they please.

Daniel Offer remembers the day in December 1947 when he and his schoolmates were excused from class and summoned to the auditorium.
“The principal called all us seniors in the auditorium and said they’re discontinuing the senior class,” remembers Offer.
But summer vacation was not about to begin early. With the Palestine partition plan just announced and Israel’s independence about to become a reality, the certainty of war loomed large. Offer got in line and waited for his assignment.
Offer, a Jerusalemite, learned he would be heading south to the Negev to fight the expected Egyptian forces with the Palmach, the “strike forces,” one of pre-state Israel’s military units. He was the only one from his class assigned to the desert region.
“The Negev was like a foreign land to me,” he recalls.
Born in Berlin in 1931, Offer and his family emigrated to Palestine in 1936. While they were assimilated Germans who didn’t identify as Zionists, Offer’s parents realized soon after Hitler’s rise to power that their future would be elsewhere. His father, a professor of pediatrics, was ousted from his post along with other Jewish professors. According to Offer, his parents said, “If he can do that, he can do anything. We better get the hell out of here.”
Offer has fond memories of life in Israel, even though it got off to a rough start.
“I remember the first day I went to kindergarten, my mother dressed me in lederhosen,” he says. “Everybody laughed and laughed at me. That was not a very good beginning.”
Despite the embarrassing moments associated with integration into a new society, “it was a very happy life,” he says.
His mother loved their new country. His father, although he later returned to Germany and remarried the daughter of a preeminent anti-Hitler military figure, was instrumental in obtaining reparations from Germany for Israel.
By the time Offer received his orders to join the Palmach, he was a proud member of the burgeoning state.
“I believed it was my duty to fight,” he said. “I had zero problems about joining the army. I was very proud of what we did accomplish in ’48.”
As expected, on May 15, 1948, six Arab armies attacked Israel from nearly every direction. Initially equipped with a 20-pound Canadian rifle, Offer, who says, “I was not a big guy, I’m still not a big guy,” served as a scout and a member of the submachine gun unit.
“Oh, I was very scared,” he says. “At that time I was sure that I wouldn’t survive the war. My best friend was killed in the war in ’48. I saw people get killed. Not many, but enough to scare me. I was amazed and surprised that I wasn’t killed.”
Though roughly 600,000 Jews in Palestine were surrounded by 30 million Arabs, Offer remembers Winston Churchill saying that one Jewish soldier could take care of 50 Arab soldiers, and the Jews would win the war.
“And that’s what happened,” he says.
In the Negev, Offer did not see the more traumatic battles, such as those around Jerusalem. He remembers his unit releasing imprisoned Egyptian soldiers from an old British police station after a ceasefire.
“They all waved to us,” he recalls with a laugh. “It was funny. We waved to them, too. They had no interest in continuing to fight.”
The Palmach’s biggest battle in the south was for Beer Sheva, an Arab-dominated area originally slated in the partition plan for Arab control.
“Beer Sheva was only a small town, and the Arabs all ran away,” says Offer. “At that time, there was nothing there. We didn’t have to fight very hard.”
From there, they headed down to Eilat for the final battle of the war, only to find that region largely abandoned as well. Offer remembers one of his friends stripping down and diving into the Red Sea.
After being sent to Haifa to recover from Hepatitis C, Offer trained in first aid and served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 to 1950. Following his medical ambition (there were no medical schools in Israel at the time), he moved to the United States to pursue a degree at the University of Rochester and medical school at the University of Chicago. He spent his career at Northwestern University specializing in adolescent psychiatry.
As for his decision to stay in American, Offer reflects on his success: Eighteen books, 200 articles.
“I don’t think I could have done that in Israel,” he says. “We stand in a crossroads. Some people go right, some people go left. For me I think it was the right thing to do.”
At 81, Offer still returns to Israel every other year to visit his brother. He continues to admire the country and the people.
“Whatever happens, [Israelis] don’t feel sorry for themselves. They’re terrific hopers. They hope very well,” he says. “I really appreciate that. I look at how comfortable Americans have it, and how they complain and are critical. I’m always amazed, and I think to myself, ‘What if the Japanese had conquered part of the U.S., the West Coast — what would have happened?’”
Offer and his wife, Marjorie, relocated to Mercer Island to be near their daughter and her family. They have another daughter in Palo Alto, Calif., and a son in London.
With the 65th anniversary of Israel’s independence coming up on April 16, Offer says, “I think a lot about the state, what it was then when I was a soldier, and what it has become. I’m very proud of it.
“I think it has done a lot of good for the Jewish people,” he adds. “You can be very proud that there’s an Israel.”

Yom Ha Zikaron, the Israeli day of remembrance, and Yom Haatzmaut, Israeli independence day, occur on Monday and Tuesday, April 15 and 16, respectively.

Film

Papirosen
Friday @ 8 p.m.
A home movie that subtly reconfigures the genre, Papirosen (named after the popular Yiddish song) mines Gaston Solnicki’s decade-long chronicle of his well-off Buenos Aires family, revealing a portrait of present-day dysfunction while also conjuring the haunting weight of history…Through the alternation of past and present, memorial and incidental, Solnicki chips away at a forlorn essence of his family that, in spite of class privilege, can be traced to the extermination of Jews during the Holocaust. One can direct a film, but not a family (the director seems to be lamenting) and Papirosen uncovers heartbreak, deeply affecting but hardly sentimental, in the folds of the ordinary. - Northwest Film Forum
Opening night happy hour Friday at 6 p.m. at Cine Independiente. The film is part of NWFF’s Viva Argentina! series.
At Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave.

Theater

The Trial
Through April 28
Josef K. wakes up one morning and finds out he has turned into a bug and he has no idea why — no, wait, wrong story. He wakes up and finds out he’s been arrested and he has no idea why. He is left to ponder what he’s done wrong, a task that leaves him to face his relationships, ego, insecurity, paranoia, and his own humanity. Kafka brilliance adapted for the stage. Performed at INScape, the old INS building, for an eerie effect.
Read our interview with artistic director Darragh Kennan here!
At INScape, 815 Seattle Blvd.

The Whipping Man
Through April 27
Can loyalty and freedom coexist? A Jewish Confederate soldier returns from war to his house in shambles. Two former slaves greet him, one who stayed and one who is returning. As they observe Passover and remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and secrets threaten the freedom of all three men. - Taproot Theatre
Read our article about the play here!

Jews on the Move

Prenatal Yoga
Thursday @ 7 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Prenatal Yoga is a wonderful way to stay active during your pregnancy, while preparing your body for labor and delivery. This class, through Jconnect, combines breathing exercises, movement, meditation, relaxation and education about childbirth and your changing body, to help you discover your inner wisdom as a woman and prepare you to birth with confidence and peace.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE

Gemilut Hasidim

Teen Feed
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
Teen Feed is a program that provides meals to homeless youth and connects them with case workers to offer additional support services. Each second Sunday of the month, volunteers make and serve the meal at Hillel UW. If you’d like to help with this project, please RSVP. Cooking and serving shift starts at 5:00pm, cleaning and serving crew can arrive around 6:45pm.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE

Talks

When the Water Runs Out: Allocating Scarce Resources in a Desperate World with Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the executive director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. RSVP appreciated. Free.
At Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE

Shabbatica

Betayavon for Young Adults
Thursday @ 7 p.m. - TONIGHT!
Want to host Shabbat dinner but lack the cooking know-how? Learn how to prepare an ethnic Shabbat meal for four, and receive an HNT Shabbat kit. April 11: Italian; April 25: Moroccan; May 2: Indian.
At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3800 E Mercer Way.

Top Chef Shabbat
Friday @ 7 p.m.
For Jconnect’s Second Friday Shabbat, Chef Aaron Strauss will be taking over the Hillel UW kitchen and preparing an amazing meal full of fresh, local, and delicious ingredients. The menu includes: Roasted salmon with sumac and dill aioli; farro with beets; spinach salad with shaved red onion, lemon thyme vinaigrette…and more. Drinks start pouring at 7, services at 7:30, dinner following. $12 (or what you can afford). RSVP online so they can plan accordingly.
At Hillel UW, 4745 NE 17th St. NE

Your Weekend Drink

Celebrate Yom Haatzmaut with this twist on the summery Israeli classic, lemon-mint-arak-ade.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Tazria-Metzora
Candlelighting is at 7:36 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Rock Shabbat - Seattle @ 6 p.m. Shabbat Kesher - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Yom Ha’atzmaut Israeli-Inspired Shabbat - Jazzy Kabbalat Shabbat Service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Learners’ Minyan @ 10:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 / 7:45 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m. / 7:20 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Judaism’s death knell is constantly clanging. The pundits cry: Will your grandchildren be Jewish? If intermarriage continues at this rate, there will be no more Jews in a few generations!
While these concerns are generally accepted and go unchallenged, the argument still strikes us young, progressive types as parochial, tribal, even racist. How, in this day and age, can you suggest that someone marry and procreate with a particular type of person? Especially when the predominant American Jewish values have been to fight for others’ rights and assimilate into American society?
While there are good spiritual reasons for staying “in the tribe,” most arguments come down to the same vapid point: Stay Jewish so that you stay Jewish.
This type of thinking taken to an extreme — blend in as an American, but be Jewish because that’s just what we do, marry Jewish and raise your kids Jewish, I don’t care if it means nothing, it’s just what we do — contributed to two interfaith marriages in my life: My parents’ and my husband’s parents’.
My husband and I are statistical anomalies. To our parents’ consternation, we live a Shabbat- and kosher-observant life within a traditional Jewish community. Shared Jewish values are at the center of our marriage; the other things — my vegetarian/feminist/environmentalist tendencies, his longtime love of blaring rap music — continue to reconcile with time. Without much effort, my husband began eating vegetables and taking out the compost, and I developed an appreciation for KRS One.
But for a large segment of Americans, with Jews representing the biggest numbers, religion is the sub-value taken into lesser consideration when falling in love with a person of another religious group. Love, commonalities, and other shared interests come first. And while intermarriage is largely accepted as something good for society — tolerance! — one expert’s research backs up the pundits (and your grandparents). According to Naomi Schaefer Riley, the bottom line is that intermarriage leads, in many cases, to marital dissatisfaction.
Riley’s kind of a downer, but she’s refreshing, too. A Harvard grad and former Wall Street Journal editor, her books and articles deal with higher education, religion, and relationships and often take a counter-cultural and brutally honest approach (just read Yes, he will cheat again and A too-forgiving God).
Over the phone last week, Riley talked to me about her new book, ’Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America. She’ll be at Town Hall talking about it this Wednesday night.
“Among the findings that I thought were surprising, one was the fact that more than half of interfaith couples didn’t talk about faith before having children,” she said. Even though couples nowadays spend years getting to know one another, living together and making sure all the parts fit before plunging into marriage, Riley was shocked to find that “more than half didn’t talk about what religion they were going to raise their children.”
Case in point: My parents dated during college and waited five years after marrying to have a child. They hoped I would be raised on the values of peace, and, as my mother remembers thinking, “love and peanut butter.”
While I do love peanut butter, when my Jewish mother found me setting up a nativity scene with my paternal grandmother one winter’s day, she had a change of heart. And while we continued to have a Christmas tree and Easter dinners with my father’s family, my father watched as the women in his life took on a Jewish identity.
They’re still married, as are my in-laws, but it hasn’t always been an easy ride.
“The vast majority of interfaith and same-faith couples didn’t argue about religion,” said Riley. “Religion affects all theses other things that we do argue about all the time,” namely, money, time, and children. Are you going to send the kids to Catholic school or Jewish camp, or both? Can anyone even afford to do that? And heaven forbid you send them to both murderously boring CCD and Hebrew school.
Loaded with interviews, studies, and expert opinions, Riley’s book is credible despite being counter-cultural.
“I was surprised at the kind of tension in peoples’ marriage they revealed to me,” she said. In one interview with an anti-organized-religion Jewish husband and a Catholic wife, the woman revealed that she had gone along with her husband’s desires, but now, with two children ages 7 and 9, she regretted not baptizing them or bringing them to church. “She was genuinely saddened by this,” said Riley. “Did she not think this far in advance?”
According to Riley’s research, people who marry later (30s-40s) tend to value religion less. Jews marry out of the faith in greatest numbers, Mormons the least. Evangelical-non-evangelical marriages are more likely to end in divorce. And the more observant party tends to be the less happy one.
But all is not lost. Interfaith marriages can be successful. “Being honest with yourself about raising your kids, not just a vague ‘I want them to be Jewish’” is a necessary conversation, she said. “A quarter of same-faith marriage started off interfaith,” she added. “People convert for their spouses.”
And, from one angle, the high rate of Jewish intermarriage isn’t necessarily bad. “People marry Jews because they like them,” said Riley. “You can talk about anti-Semitism, but Americans like Jews.” (Mormons, unfortunately, are less liked.)
And while Jews are generally encouraged to leave home, study, travel, join service programs and explore the world outside of a Jewish context, groups like the Mormons pluck their youth and send them into missionary work. Marriages tend to be younger.
“It’s a much longer version of Birthright Israel,” said Riley. Parents tell the kids, “Now you need to own your faith,” at a time when other Americans are choosing to be more secular and experimental. “A lot of what the Mormon Church does is very smart in a sociological way,” she added.
Now here’s the curve ball: Riley herself is in an interfaith, interracial marriage. A Conservative Jew, she’s married to a man who was raised a Jehovah’s Witness. But it works: He brings no faith into the marriage, so she rules the roost on that level. And critically, they talked about it before the kids were born.
“Talking about it early on is very important,” she said. “I told him I want to send our kids to Jewish day school on our first date.”
And they’re still together, happily ever after. It may not be the end of Judaism after all.

“Bubby’s Kitchen” is opening in Kirkland, but it’s not a restaurant. It’s a one-woman musical presentation created and performed by Shira Ginsburg, a cantor, mezzo-soprano, and proud granddaughter of “Bubby” Judith Ginsburg. The one-run show plays at the Kirkland Performance Center on April 21 to benefit the Hadassah women’s Zionist organization.
Shira Ginsburg grew up “in a family of Holocaust survivors and resistance fighters.” But that didn’t necessarily make life difficult. She has fond family memories, such as those of her Bubby Judith serving up generous amounts of food, conversation, and advice around the kitchen table. She later transformed these memories into “Bubby’s Kitchen.”
Ginsburg identifies herself as a “second-and-a-half generation Holocaust survivor in an extraordinarily tight-knit family. My father was the only son. There were three daughters,” she said. “I grew up part of a large family and one of 10 grandchildren. [My grandparents’] story was a very big part of my life.”
As a teenager in war-torn Europe, Judith (then Yudis) Ginsburg survived the Nazi occupation of her hometown of Lida, Poland. Her family did not. She lived in the forest, became a member of the Bielski partisans — the group characterized in the film “Defiance” — and fought with the Jewish resistance. After the war, Ginsburg married another partisan fighter and lived in a displaced-persons camp.
In 1949, they emigrated to the U.S. with two children who had been born in the camp. The older child was Shira’s father. The family lived in Troy, N.Y. and owned a dairy farm, where they raised what were eventually four children.
Ginsburg’s pride in her grandmother’s survival and love for the family’s kitchen-table conversations were enhanced by a talent for being comfortable in front of an audience.
“I performed at [age] 4 with my aunt in her high school production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’” she said.
Ginsburg graduated from Syracuse University’s Drama and Musical Theatre program. After stints as an actress, singer and songwriter, she entered Hebrew Union College’s cantorial program. In 2009, she presented the 75-minute “Bubby’s Kitchen” as her cantorial thesis. The show premiered in New York City and has been traveling ever since. Performances have been staged in Jewish Community Centers and synagogues around the East Coast and Florida.
While the story is very Jewish, the performance has “a universal message of being raised in a family, lessons in life learned around the kitchen table,” Ginsburg said. It “resonates with people from any culture.”
The Seattle chapter of Hadassah booked Ginsburg for the benefit performance, with proceeds supporting Hadassah Hospital’s pediatric oncology department in Jerusalem. The Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center is a sponsor as well.
“Seattle Chapter of Hadassah is thrilled to bring Shira’s ‘Bubby’s Kitchen’ to Seattle for her West Coast debut,” said event chair Karen Ovetz. “We have heard great things about the performance from our friends on the East Coast and want to share this fabulous piece of history and song with our community in Seattle.”
On stage, Ginsburg demonstrates her vocal range, her emotional connection, and solid Yiddish chops; a video clip on her website, bubbyskitchen.com, shows her performance of “Shtil Di Nacht.”
She sings “Yiddish opera, musical theatre, chazzanut [cantorial singing], more contemporary,” she said. “It’s fun — a big range — and challenging.”
Ginsburg’s enthusiasm exists even over the telephone. She lives in New York, where she serves as cantor at East End Temple Congregation El Emet, but she spoke with us from Florida, where she observed Passover with her Bubby, now in her 80s, and the extended Ginsburg clan.
“My energy is awesome around the show. I am the most proud of [it] in my life,” Shira Ginsburg said. “[It’s] a legacy to my grandparents…Every time I perform [I feel] a powerful impact on myself and others.”

The “Jew in the Box” is not here.  “Today is Shabbat, I’ll be back on Sunday,” reads a notice taped near where he usually sits. I consider sitting down on the purple chaise and fielding questions myself. “Oh my favorite young Jewish actress? Lena Dunham, of course!” I’d say. Then whomever had asked me the question would gab with me about how dark the series has become. “Such a shonda,” I’d lament. “But the girl’s got some real chutzpah.”
Of course, that’s not how it would really go down in Deutschland. First off, a German person would probably be like “What is a Lena Dunham?” (“Girls” hasn’t really taken off here). Then they’d want to get my take on Netanyahu and the new Israeli government. “Is there really going to be a war with Iran?” is the question I’ve been asked the most in the three years I’ve lived here, usually in such an earnest way that I can’t help but try to formulate some kind of response.
But, really, how the hell am I supposed to know? This is the problem: I cannot speak on behalf of all Jews, much less the current Israeli government. It’s not like I’m Bibi’s bestie. This is why having a real-life spokesJew fielding any and all questions from a glassed-in podium is so important: he’s doing the dirty work. Now I won’t have to be anyone’s “first Jew.” I can be the second! What a relief.
The truth is that, when you get over the outrageousness of their executions, the ideas behind the Jewish Museum Berlin’s exhibition “The Whole Truth: Everything You Wanted to Know About Jews” are pretty progressive. Many outraged journalists have been quoting Stephen Kramer, General Secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who told the AP: “Why don’t they give him [the Jew in the box] a banana and a glass of water, turn up the heat and make the Jew feel really cozy in his glass box?” But Kramer doesn’t get it. Never mind the fact that this is an exhibition curated by Jewish German people or that the glass box is actually a podium surrounded by glass on two sides.  The whole point of it is to symbolize what it’s like being the perennial spokesJew in Germany. It is, indeed, like living in a fishbowl.
The rest of the exhibit isn’t bad, either. At “The Whole Truth,” visitors not only can ask a real-life Jewish person any question under the sun (from “what do I bring to a Shabbat dinner?” to “What is that rectangular box next to my Jewish neighbor’s door?”) but they can also find answers to some of the most common questions recorded in the Jewish Museum’s guestbook. These questions range from “Are all Jews religious?” to “Can you make jokes about the Holocaust?”
To answer the second question, the Museum hands the mic to Sarah Silverman. The episode of the Sarah Silverman Show where Sarah opens a hyper-capitalistic Holocaust memorial (featuring tigers, a bikini-clad “sexy Hitler” and a giant golden nose shpritzing water) is playing on repeat. “Auschwitz? I’ll have you saying Wowschwitz,” Silverman deadpans to the camera. Two German teens laugh, but the 40-something man who watches the video after them does not.
It’s a bizarre sight, especially when you think about the context in which the video is playing. According to polls, 45 percent of Germans think Jews still “talk to much about what happened to them during the Holocaust.” In the time I’ve spent in Germany, the anti-Semitism I’ve experienced the most has been from Germans who were sick of talking about the Holocaust, or those who’ve tried to convince me that the Jews were the ones who wouldn’t let it go. Is it good that Germans can now laugh along with Silverman at the culture of memorialization?
In another room, visitors are encouraged to drop plastic coins in three of five semi-translucent pillars, each one representing a positive Jewish attribute: do visitors think Jews are “business savvy?” What about “kind to animals?” “Beautiful?” “Influential?” “Intelligent?”
If Germany were a country that had mostly rid itself of anti-Semitism, I would probably have felt more comfortable seeing how many people see Jews as “business-savvy,” but given that a good 16 percent of Germans think Jews have “too much power in Germany,” it doesn’t really seem like a compliment.
No, this isn’t the United States. There isn’t a whole ton of awareness here about how far Jewish stereotypes are from reality. But that’s why this exhibition is so important: It holds a mirror to society at large and encourages the public to look at their misconceptions with a bit of humor. While it may not seem especially politically correct to have a spokesJew sitting on a bench near the exit, the metaphor you’re searching for isn’t “Eichmann in Jerusalem” but Larry David at a Christmas party. Because that’s what it’s like being a Jew in Germany almost every day.
If you really want to get freaked out, just imagine a country where the only dialogue related to Jews is about responsibility for the Holocaust, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and how to combat anti-Semitism in the far right wing. That’s scary, because it misses all the messiness and wonder of contemporary Jewish life. If you have to be outrageous to change the conversation, maybe it’s a sign that the conversation has veered somewhere very, very limiting. Hopefully, this little exhibition will widen the scope of what Germans talk about when they talk about Jewish people.

Art

Jewish Renewal Service and Art Show
Saturday @ 10 a.m.
Congregation Eitz Or, a Jewish Renewal community, welcomes UW students, family, and friends to a Shabbat service led by Reb Arik Labowitz. Service: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. followed by a vegetarian/dairy potluck. After lunch, Eitz Or member and artist Akiva Kenny Segan will present on “Under Wings of G-d,” featuring mosaics/drawings of Holocaust victims and works from his current exhibit, “Sight-Seeing with Dignity.”

Akiva Kenny Segan at UW Hillel
Sunday @ 1:30 p.m.
Hillel UW is proud to present a special exhibit of works from “Under the Wings of G-d” and “Sight-seeing with Dignity” by Seattle artist Akiva Kenny Segan. These powerful series explore the Shoah (Holocaust) and human rights, respectively. The drawings and mosaics include victims whose names we know and those whose names are lost to us.
Opening reception at 3 p.m. with refreshments, dessert, and words from Rabbi James Mirel (TBT), Andy Berkbigler (Shorecrest High School) and rev. Brooke Rolston (retired campus minister at UW).
Akiva will lead tours of his artwork at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
The show will hang through May 21.

TV

Finding Kalman
Sunday @ 4 p.m.
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, KCTS-TV will air the documentary about one photo, of a boy who perished in the Holocaust, and the family that used art and memories to give life to that boy once again. This film is part of the non-profit Memory Project, which uses art and media to encourage remembrance of the Holocaust.

Film

Gatekeepers
Ongoing @ 4:45, 9:30
Six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, talk on-screen about their successes and failures, and why they came to believe that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the best solution to the ongoing conflict.
At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Theater

The Trial
Opens Friday @ 8 p.m. and runs through April 28
Josef K. wakes up one morning and finds out he has turned into a bug and he has no idea why — no, wait, wrong story. He wakes up and finds out he’s been arrested and he has no idea why. He is left to ponder what he’s done wrong, a task that leaves him to face his relationships, ego, insecurity, paranoia, and his own humanity. Kafka brilliance adapted for the stage. Performed at INScape, the old INS building, for an eerie effect.
Read our interview with artistic director Darragh Kennan here!
At INScape, 815 Seattle Blvd.

The Whipping Man
Through April 27
Can loyalty and freedom coexist? A Jewish Confederate soldier returns from war to his house in shambles. Two former slaves greet him, one who stayed and one who is returning. As they observe Passover and remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and secrets threaten the freedom of all three men. - Taproot Theatre
Read our article about the play here!

Music

Bonia Shur Tribute Concert
Friday @ 8 p.m.
Temple Beth Am’s choir will pay tribute to the legendary creative force that was Bonia Shur. Shur was tapped to succeed Temple De Hirsch’s legendary longtime music director Samuel Goldfarb, who retired in 1968. His dramatically different approach to the job, both musically and personally, left powerful impressions on congregants and community members. – Gigi Yellen Cohn
This is the first known tribute to Shur’s legendary career since his passing last fall.
At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle.

Comedy

Steve Hofstetter
Thursday @ 8 p.m. – TONIGHT!
Steve Hofstetter’s a funny guy. The New Yorker-turned-Los Angeleno has shown up on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, a Barbara Walters special, and, most excitingly, JDate. Among other high-profile places. More than 11 million people have viewed his comedy on YouTube — that’s even more views than the Maccabeats got. He’s everywhere, and that includes right here, in Seattle, at El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E, Seattle. Tickets cost $20.

Shabbatica

First Saturday Limud
Saturday @ 12 p.m.
“Jews Can’t Jump? A Look At Jews and Athletics.” Another fun Tribe prayer and study session.
Service at TDHS at 10:30 a.m. Discussion at Eltana Bagels at noon.

Social

Girls Wine Tasting
Sunday @ 1 p.m.
Meet up for a little wine and some girl talk with TDHS’ The Tribe.
At Patterson Cellars, Woodinville.

Yom HaShoah

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer - TONIGHT!
Thursday @ 7:30 p.m.
Jeannie Smith, the daughter of Polish rescuer Irene Gut Opdyke, will be speaking about her mother’s memoir, “In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer.” Opdyke was 17 when the Nazis invaded her native Poland. She spent the next few years hiding in forests, living under a false identity, imprisoned by Russian soldiers who abused her, and forced to serve in the German army. Yet despite all this she risked her life to smuggle food to the Jewish ghetto and eventually help prisoners escape to the woods. When caught hiding Jews in the German villa she worked in, Opdyke went to even further lengths to save them. She was honored by the Israeli Holocaust Commission as a Righteous Among the Nations.
Sponsored by Congregation Kol Shalom and the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center. Free; donations welcome.
At Congregation Kol Shalom, 9010 Miller Rd., Bainbridge Island. For more information contact Janice A. Hill at 206-842-9010.

Holocaust Remembrance Day Programs

Sunday @ 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
The Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center is holding two community events in honor of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. At 10:30, a memorial service led by Rabbi James Mirel, Rivy Kletenik, and Julie Mirel will take place for Holocaust victims and their families at the Stroum Jewish Community Center’s Holocaust memorial, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. At 2:30 a public lecture, “Liberator and Liberated: A Liberator of Buchenwald and a Survivor of Buchenwald Share Their Stories,” will feature Leo Hymas and Robbie Waisman sharing their stories of survival, compassion, and hope. The lecture will take place at the University of Washington’s Kane Hall.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Kathleen Bergin at 206-774-2201 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Coming up…

Lisa Loeb
Tuesday @ 7:30 p.m.
’90s singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb has added mom of two, children’s author, and glasses designer (duh!) to her repertoire. She’ll be performing at Kirkland Performance Center in support of her new album “No Fairy Tale,” which she describes as a “poppy, punky, rock album.” The evening will include nostalgia from a decade not so far gone as well as new music.
All seats cost $28 and are available at http://www.kpcenter.org At Ki.rkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The Parsha is Shemini
Candlelighting is at 7:26 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Classic Shabbat Services - Seattle @ 6 p.m. Shabbat Unplugged - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Kinder Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7:35 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m. (early) and 7:05 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative
Kavana
Friday: Coffee Shop Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Contact for address.

Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue
1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle
Friday: Meditative Shabbat Service @ 7:30 p.m.

“No one conceived of the notion there would ever be vibrant Jewish life in the Soviet Union,” said Asher Ostrin. “Now they’ve disproved it big time.”
Ostrin has worked with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee since 1986, first serving as the director of the Vienna office and the country director for Yugoslavia, then, since 1991, as director of the former Soviet Union department. He visited Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation over the weekend of March 8.
Ostrin, an ordained Conservative rabbi, is an old friend and former classmate of Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum. Over a Shabbat in March, he gave two lectures about his experiences working with diaspora Jewish communities, particularly in the former Soviet Union.
“The fight for Soviet Jewry was really a seminal event for an entire generation,” Ostrin said. Getting Jews out of the Soviet Union in the 1970s and ’80s was an effort, in part, to halt the Soviet agenda of assimilation, a concept taken for granted as final and irreversible.
“There was no real notion that anything was left behind. This was four generations of this all-powerful system doing everything it could to erase any vestige of anything Jewish,” said Ostrin. “It was the end of the chapter, of the book.”
Except it wasn’t. In his almost three decades of working with Eastern European Jewish communities, Ostrin has been struck by the unprecedented return to Judaism by younger generations.
“There’s never been a case in Jewish history where an entire community has completely disconnected from their Jewish background [and come back],” he said.
Today, the JDC supports Jews in over 600 locations in Russia alone, providing assistance to needy families, elderly, and victims of emergencies, and supporting Jewish community centers in the revitalization of Jewish life. Jews who came of age in the 1990s have reclaimed their heritage en masse, gathering at Hillels for parties and holidays, often defying their parents’ and grandparents’ legitimate paranoia.
As for why this is happening, “I’ve never found an explanation that was satisfying for me,” Ostrin said. “The Soviets were so thorough in their efforts to undermine — they wouldn’t stop at anything.
“The Nazis come in, you’re going to be killed by the Nazis. If you survive the Nazis then it’s the writers’ plot and the doctors’ plot. If the Nazis don’t get you, the communists will get you. If the communists don’t get you, then somebody else is going to get you. And then all of a sudden when it opens up, and your children are singing ‘Shalom Aleichem’ on Friday morning…I gave up trying to figure out why.”
Ostrin shared the story of a couple, recently made aware their Jewish roots, sent to lead a Passover seder in a northern Ukrainian town with a population of about 700 Jews. Expecting around 100-200 attendees, they rented space in an art school — a building formerly used for the Communist party headquarters. The hammer and sickle emblem remained above the door.
The room quickly reached capacity, and soon 500-600 people were there hoping to partake. When the leader, only 23 years old, reached the cup of Elijah, he proceeded to explain the connection between Elijah, the messiah, and Passover.
An older man, decorated with medals, stood up and told the leader he’d enjoyed himself until the talk about the messiah.
“What kind of nonsense is that?” Ostrin recounted. “It’s ideology. We’re finished with all that stuff. Why do you even bring it up?”
The young leader, Ostrin said, didn’t miss a beat.
“He says, ‘You know, you’re right,’” recounts Ostrin. “‘I can’t empirically prove there’s a messiah.’ And he says, ‘I want to ask you a question. If you and I had taken a stroll down the main street in this town 10 years ago, and we walked past this building, the Communist Party headquarters, and I would have said to you, you see this Communist Party headquarters? Ten years from now there’s going to be a seder, and hundreds of Jews are going to show up. You tell me what’s more implausible: That there’s going to be a messiah, or a seder?’”
Ostrin said that what he’s seen in his time defies academic or ethnographic predictions, even natural law.
“All the stuff that you read in the books, and all the theories, it’s all great, but it’s what’s going to happen on the ground that’s going to prove [the reality],” he said.
When things get tough, Ostrin said he remembers the story of the Passover seder.
“In essence, that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “The empirical evidence all would point to the end of Soviet Jewry. But [it’s] the opposite.”

New Century Theatre Company invites you to their production Franz Kafka’s The Trial, which opens on April 5 and will run through April 28 at the INScape Arts Building in South Seattle. We spoke with Darragh Kennan, the company’s artistic director who will also be leading the cast as Josef K., to discuss the play and NCTC’s goals for the production.

Jew-ish: What is The Trial about?
Darragh Kennan: The basic plot is that Josef K., who is Kafka’s everyman, wakes up one morning and realizes he’s been placed under arrest. He doesn’t know why he’s been arrested, and he spends the length of the play trying to find out what he had done that caused him to be arrested. It deals with his own relationships, his ego, his insecurity, what becomes his paranoia, and his humanity. He’s trying to figure out what he can take back and what he’s at the mercy of. [Kenneth Albers’ adaptation] is exciting, it’s sexy, and it’s really funny in a dark way. And ultimately, it’s poignant. It reflects our own humanity. People will be able to look at the play and think, “What am I abdicating right now in my life? What am I not taking ownership over? What am I taking for granted? What am I fighting for?” All these bigger questions of why we’re here on this planet.

Jew-ish: What made NCTC choose to produce The Trial at INScape, which used to be the INS building?
DK: We looked around for a place to do it, and this really unique situation with this great theater company called Satori Group [came up]. They were just moving into their new space [in] the old INS building. I thought, “That’s just too good to be true,” in terms of Kafka. The room that we’re performing our play in is the room where people used to be sworn in as US citizens. And the story of The Trial, with personal freedom and isolation and identity and government bureaucracy — it was a great fit for us.

Jew-ish: How did you translate the ambiguity and dreaminess of the story to the stage?
DK: There’s so much in terms of ambiguity. People might be spying on him, or it might be in his head. There might be a friend in the room, or that person might be working for the government. It questions everything. So I think it’s engaging and electric and dangerous at all times, and it’s very active. I don’t think of it as “dreamy” in terms of the pursuit and the forward momentum of the play.

Jew-ish: NCTC’s motto is “where risk and craft collide.” What risks are you taking with this production?
DK: I think it’s risky to do Kafka. But more risky than that is to not hide behind anything in our production. It’s going to be in a tiny room, and you’re going to be surrounded by people in a tiny rectangle. It’s a very little set. In order to have a moving evening of theater, we have to put ourselves out there. Emotionally, it’s risky. It’s vulnerable and raw to try and create truth in a tiny space like that where the audience is right there with you. And the craft is putting our experience to work and really calling each other out when we feel something is phony and not authentic in a storytelling sense. It’s theatrically risky, too. It’s about doing things that challenge the audience’s imagination in a theatrical way.

Jew-ish: Tell us about New Century Theatre Company’s background.
DK: [NCTC] got started in 2007. We’re unusual because we’re mid-level career professionals — we’re not young twenty-somethings getting started right out of college. There’d been a loss of theaters that were in the mid-range in terms of professional theaters in town. The Empty Space had closed, and Tacoma Actors [Guild] had closed. There were the big professional theaters like Seattle Repertory Theatre, Fifth Avenue Theatre, and ACT, but there wasn’t really a middle ground. There wasn’t a way for young actors to take the next step before they bridged the gap into the bigger houses. There was a need, we thought, to keep people in town — a lot of people had been leaving. We also thought we could do theater that was more centered on acting and storytelling, and not doing other people’s thinking for them. People could come to a show of ours and it would be a very theatrical experience, with a very small, stripped-down set and just actors in a room telling stories. That was exciting to us. We’re trying to blend dangerous theatricality with human stories.

Jew-ish: What do you hope the audience takes away from The Trial?
DK: We don’t do our audience’s thinking for them. I don’t necessarily expect people to explore moral and ethical issues, but we as a company look for plays that have that potential. For this show, I would love it if the audience could think about where they abdicate responsibility in their lives, or where they make choices that are almost passing the buck. But if they can see themselves in any way, and think about something in their life, then that’s a home run for me. I don’t necessarily need them to have the exact same response, nor do I want that. And I don’t want to tell them what the response needs to be. I just want to set it up in such a way that humanity is what’s in front of them. And if we do it right, they’ll see themselves in that humanity.

When he was growing up, Hen Mazzig’s mother would often tell him she hoped she wouldn’t have to send him to the army, because Israel would have reached peace with its neighbors, rendering the military unnecessary.
“Unfortunately, this day seems to be far,” Mazzig said.
When he told that story to a group of students at a local university, the class cheered him.
“I talked about how I crave that one day there can be two states and one day we can have peace with the Palestinians,” he said.
Mazzig was a guest at the class, which featured a woman recently returned from the West Bank. This woman had worked with the International Solidarity Movement, the same group with which Rachel Corrie, who was killed under an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza a decade ago, was involved.
Mazzig, 23, is the shaliach, or community liaison, for Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs Northwest. StandWithUs’ five-month program brings Israelis recently released from their military service to Washington State to talk with schools and community groups about Israel.
At this particular meeting, Mazzig said, what had begun as a one-sided talk by the woman about apartheid walls and occupation became more of a dialogue.
“She changed her mind,” he said. “It got to a point that the professor started to ask me questions rather than her.”
These are the types of events where Mazzig said he feels most proud.
“It’s not when I’m getting people to love Israel, or start a group for Israel,” he said. “It’s just when people get to see the other side.”
Encounters such as these are not the norm. Most of Mazzig’s time is spent speaking before large, mostly receptive groups — he goes to synagogues and high schools throughout the state, and even some churches — to talk about Israel and its diverse identity as a country.
Much of what he discusses inevitably turns toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he sees much of his job to dispel what he believes are “misunderstandings of people about the conflict and the misinformation that is out there,” he said.

Hen Mazzig

This is similar to Mazzig’s military service in the COGAT unit, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. He served as a liaison officer for international organizations that included the Red Cross, United Nations and USAID for the unit that manages humanitarian issues in the West Bank and Gaza. That work includes building schools and clinics, repairing roads, and building solid-waste sites.
“This is the unit that was basically responsible for Palestinians that are not involved in the conflict— the civilians — to ensure that they won’t get affected [by] the conflict, or at least minimize the effect from the conflict as much as we can,” he said.
While he said he received plenty of pushback from angry Palestinians, “the people that knew us and knew what COGAT is doing,” he said, “were really welcoming and really supportive to us.”
After he left the army in May 2012, but before he begins his university career in London this fall, where he is deciding between majors in law or international relations, Mazzig was trying to figure out what to do with himself. When he saw the StandWithUs shaliach opportunity arise, he jumped at it and they bit.
It’s a volunteer position — he receives home hospitality, use of a car donated by a community members, and a small stipend for expenses.
Last year’s shaliach spoke to 9,000 people in the community, said Rob Jacobs, StandWithUs Northwest’s executive director. Jacobs hopes Mazzig will be able to reach even more.
“It’s been very effective because once somebody is in the community for a long enough period of time, we’re able to get them out more broadly,” he said.
Mazzig said he has enjoyed most of his encounters thus far.
“What I like the most about StandWithUs is their purpose is education,” he said. “They want to have an open discussion.”
As Mazzig documented in an article reprinted in JTNews — along with a response piece from Jewish Voice for Peace — not everybody is interested in that open discussion. As someone who strongly supports peace, he had a rude awakening at a screening of the film “5 Broken Cameras,” by Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat when he and other Israelis in the room were shouted down and confronted violently.
“I was shocked by the people there. I was really shocked,” he said. “I came there thinking Jewish Voice for Peace would be a better experience.”
That he saw an American organization such as Jewish Voice for peace, which sponsored the film with a Palestinian group, stifling others’ opinions was an experience far different from what he would expect in his home country.
“Even in Israel, there are a lot of left-wing organizations that people tend to think that [we] Israelis are opposing them,” he said. “Not at all. This organization just proved that Israel is what it is: That it’s a democracy.”

Film

Young Frankenstein
Friday and Saturday @ midnight
Call Frau Blucher — neigh! — because this Mel Brooks classic spoof of Mary Shelley’s 19th-century science experiment gone terribly wrong is showing for two midnights only. Starring Gene Wilder as Freddy Frankenstein (-steen, not -stein!) and Marty Feldman as Igor, this might just be the most Jewish movie ever made.
At the Egyptian, 801 E Pine St., Seattle.

The Little Fugitive
Opens Friday and runs through Thursday, April 4 @ 7 and 9 p.m.
A “charming adventure that chronicles 1950s New York in perfect detail,” “The Little Fugitive” follows 7-year-old Joey through the magical lens of Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, Jewish-American photographers best known for this gorgeous 1953 film.

Gatekeepers
Ongoing @ 2:20, 4:45, 7:15, 9:30
Six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, talk on-screen about their successes and failures, and why they came to believe that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the best solution to the ongoing conflict.
At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Theater

The Whipping Man
Can loyalty and freedom coexist? A Jewish Confederate soldier returns from war to his house in shambles. Two former slaves greet him, one who stayed and one who is returning. As they observe Passover and remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and secrets threaten the freedom of all three men. - Taproot Theatre
Read our article about the play here!

The Bushwick Book Club presents the Bible
Thursday @ 8 p.m.
The Bushwick Book Club, “not your run-of-the-mill book club,” converts classic books into musicals, and on March 28 they’re taking on the book of books, the Hebrew Bible. Featuring the Seattle Jazz Composers Ensemble and the Seattle Men’s and Women’s Chorus — and the work of a slew of songwriters — the cast will perform original music inspired by popular stories from the Tanach.
At Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle. Tickets are $15 ($20 at the door). For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thebushwickbookclubseattle.com.

Crossing Delancey
Saturday @ 7 p.m. “Isabelle “Izzy” is a single young Jewish woman working in an upscale Manhattan bookstore who longs to be part of the intellectual literary scene. But her roots are on the Lower East Side where her old-fashioned grandmother (her “Bubbie”) and a matchmaker are trying to fix her up with Sam, a quiet young man who runs a pickle store in the neighborhood. The conflict is resolved with a generous dose of humor, affection, and wisdom.” – Seattle Jewish Theater Company  
At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle.

Happy Hour

Jconnect’s Passover Happy Hour
Thursday @ 5 p.m.
Four glasses not enough? Or want to drink with someone other than your grandmother? Join Jconnect for a Passover-friendly happy hour with Passover-friendly snacks.
At The Easy, 511 Boren Ave. N (basement), Seattle.

Passover

Hillel Lunches
Friday 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Don’t miss this Seattle institution. Join Jews from around Seattle for a delicious Passover lunch at Hillel, with all your favorites — matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, and some out-of-this-world chocolate cake. $18/$8 for students.
At Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle.

Your Weekend Drink

Clear your sinuses with this Passover-inspired horseradish Bloody Mary from Tablet.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

Shabbat Hol HaMoed
Candlelighting is at 7:16 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Seattle and Bellevue Kabbalat Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study and Shacharit – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m./10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7:25 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative
Kavana
Shabbat morning minyan @ 10 a.m.
Contact for address.

For the last three years, my friends and I have celebrated “veder” — a vegan Passover seder.
The animal-protection community is full of Jewish vegans, and many of us find it difficult to sit through a typical seder at a table filled with the body parts of the animals that we love and fight so hard for. However, the meaning and purpose of the holiday is something we connect to very deeply as social justice activists, and, let’s be frank, we missed the flavors and feelings of the dishes we grew up eating.
We wanted to create new traditions that included the traditions of our ancestors, but also included the enslavement and oppression of non-human animals. We were also excited by the challenge of recreating and veganizing dishes we grew up with, such as brisket, gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup and potato latkes.
We weren’t exactly sure what we were creating, only that we wanted to make sure we acknowledged and honored the billions of animals exploited for food, clothing, entertainment and scientific research. We wrote an adapted Haggadah that told their stories, which connected the Jewish people’s escape from slavery with the current enslavement of animals.
We tell the stories of the cows exploited for dairy, who have their children stolen away in their first 48 hours of their lives so humans can drink the milk their bodies produce for their newborns. We tell the stories of the egg-laying hens living in filth, crammed in cages their entire lives until they no longer produce eggs at the rate industry deems sufficient, and are then met with a violent death. We tell the stories of cows, veal calves, lambs, pigs, turkeys, and chickens who live under horrendous conditions until they meet their ends by the slit of a knife across their throats or a bolt in their foreheads.
The saddest part of their stories is that none of this is necessary. We don’t have a biological need to eat their body parts or secretions, to wear their skins, or be entertained by their exploitation. We do so out of habit, tradition and palate desires. The Pharoah enslaved Jews not because of any real-world need, only because he viewed them as lesser beings. This is how we view nonhuman animals today, and Jewish vegans are particularly sensitive to this reality.
Jews and ethical vegans share common values including a belief in justice, fairness, equality and compassion. Both tribes believe unnecessary suffering is wrong. The Passover story reminds us that freedom is one of the greatest entitlements we all have. It reminds us that slavery is no longer acceptable, and viewing and treating each other as property has no place in a just and fair world.
As ethical vegans, we fight for the freedom of other animals. We fight for their right to not be viewed and used as property. We believe and act as if all sentient beings have the right to freedom.
And so we indulge in rich, flavorful foods, drink many glasses of wine, enjoy each other’s company, but we also remember the obligation we have as Jews, which is to fight against oppression, to fight against violence, to fight for justice and compassion.
Check out some vegan seder meal ideas here and also here!

Before you skip this page because it has “raw” in the title, hear me out. Raw and basically vegan they are, yes, but only second to Simply Amazing. I generated this recipe over Passover in 2010, the holiday that renders two of my favorite food groups, homemade pizza and baked goods, taboo. I was also feeling a little bloated on bread and sugar in the days leading up to the holiday — I wonder why — so I began to search for alternatives to the nutrient-free Passover cake meal and recipes that call for, like, 12 eggs.
Passover tends to raise Jewish cholesterol levels like a newfangled Angel of Death. Plus, being the gastronomic anarchist that I am, I try to avoid brands and products we all think we need, especially the kosher-for-Passover products that are usually unhealthy, if not strange. With all the fruits and nuts available to Passover-observers, it’s a wonder how underrepresented they are in Passover cooking.
And we can make most of these products ourselves, which is how I passed Passover without eating one macaroon out of a jar (incredible! I know!). The recipe is based on a macaroon tartlet crust in Ani Phyo’s “Ani’s Raw Food Desserts.” I highly recommend this book — the recipes are easy and it’s not one of those “out there” raw food cookbooks. Just mushed into little balls, the crust recipe makes killer cookies, rich and buttery with the healthy fats and goodness of coconut and nuts. They don’t leave you with that “I shouldn’t have eaten that” feeling, and oh, they are satisfying. In case you’re still worried about the raw vegan thing, know that I could hardly churn them out fast enough for the carnivore enthusiasts in my life. And another perk: You can eat them for breakfast without feeling guilty. At least I do.

Simply Amazing (Raw) Coconut Macaroons
Prep time: 10 minutes
Makes about a dozen macaroons
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cashews or almonds
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
Process the nuts in a food processor until powdery. Add the other ingredients and process for about 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Make balls by scooping out a tablespoon of the mixture and rolling it between your palms. If desired, roll them in a little dried coconut to garnish. They are best served room temperature but can be stored in the refrigerator — if you happen to have any left over!

Books

Elissa Altman
Saturday @ 7 p.m. and Sunday @ 11 a.m.
Elissa Altman, member of the food bloggerati, stops in Seattle to promote her new story-cookbook, “Poor Man’s Feast,” a celebration of sustenance, authenticity, simplicity, and kindness in the face of pretense, artificiality, and otherwise complicated, uppity recipes in a rude world. In 2012, Altman won a James Beard award for best individual food blog. And, despite her love of all things porcine, Altman tells heartfelt stories from her personal life alongside doable recipes, like Jewish Apple Cake (“There’s something about an apple cake that wraps itself around you like a blanket”).
On March 23 at Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 Tenth Ave., Seattle, and on March 23 at the Book Larder, Fremont Ave. N, Seattle.

Theater

How to Disappear Completely
Opens Thursday and runs through Sunday @ 8 p.m.
In 1999, Israeli-born Itai Erdal moved to Vancouver, B.C. to pursue a film career. A year later, he found out his mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had nine months to live. Erdal returned home to care for her and to film the last part of her life. The result, “How to Disappear Completely” merges film, theater, and the grieving process into an honest and uplifting performance. Read our interview with Itai here!
At On the Boards, 100 W Roy St.

Crossing Delancey
Sunday @ 3 p.m.
Seattle Jewish Theater Company presents a romantic comedy about a grandmother and a matchmaker who try to fix up a bookseller in New York with the owner of a pickle store. Free and open to all.
At Temple B’nai Torah, Bellevue.

Film

Gatekeepers
Six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, talk on-screen about their successes and failures, and why they came to believe that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the best solution to the ongoing conflict.
At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Lore
When her loyal SS-sympathizing parents realize Hitler has lost and they’re in trouble, they destroy the evidence and send their three children, led by 14-year-old Lore, to a grandmother in the north. Journeying through the devastated land, Lore comes to terms with her family’s past, and learns that the only person she can trust is someone she has been taught to hate. Not your everyday coming-of-age story, and a look at the other side of Holocaust/World War II aftermath.
At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Shabbatica

Dinner and Services with The Tribe
Friday @ 6 p.m.
Musician Eli Rosenblatt and Rabbi Aaron Meyer will lead a musical service, followed by dinner around the corner from TDHS at Piecora’s (pizza! Get it while you can!). Drinks start pouring at 6.
At TDHS, Seattle.

Passover

Pre-Passover Pizza and Beer
Sunday @ 4 p.m.
With eight days of no bread and no beer on the horizon, join Jconnect and The Tribe for a yeasty, cheesy evening just before the week of affliction starts. Just $10 will get you plenty of pizza and beer to leave you feeling leavened for the week ahead.
At Tutta Bella, 2200 Westlake.

Seders
We’ve got a comprehensive list of Passover seders and alternative Passover events going on over the next week at our partner site, JTNews. Chag sameach!

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

Shabbat HaGadol. The parsha is Tzav.
Candlelighting is at 7:07 p.m.

Passover times - traditional/observant:
Last time to eat hametz: Monday @ 10:46 a.m.
Dispose of hametz by 12:01 p.m.
Candlelighting Monday night: 7:11 p.m.
First seder starts after 8:14 p.m.
Second night: Candlelighting and seder after 8:15 p.m.
Yom tov ends: Wednesday @ 8:03 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Fourth Friday preneg – Seattle @ 6 p.m. Services @ 7 p.m. Fourth Friday with The Tribe @ 6 p.m. (see “Shabbatica” above)
Friday night: Preneg – Bellevue @ 5:30 p.m. Rock Shabbat and Rock Shabbat Potluck @ 7 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m.
Saturday: Shacharit service – Seattle and Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St, Seattle
Saturday: Exploratory Minyan @ 9:45 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m. Hametz Fest Community Dinner @ 7 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat Services @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7:05 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

It’s that time of year again: time to clean the nooks and crannies of our houses, time to tell, yet again, the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, time to suffer through reflect on eight days of leaven-free eating.
I’ve come to develop quite a fondness for Passover, and since leaving home, it has become my tradition to host a second-night seder. After everyone did the first night requisite formalities, I felt like my seder was the more laidback elective option where you’d be guaranteed to meet someone new and hopefully to see things differently, whether from tasting an unexpected Pesadich dessert or thinking about a new insight. And as a foodie (or something like that), the seder provided a great opportunity for me to try some new recipes on a captive audience. My philosophy for cooking for Passover, the same as my philosophy for cooking in general, is to try new things. It’s a rare occasion when I come across a dish that is worth repeating rather than trying something novel. So it went that each year I would host I would try some new foods to a new crowd.
For many years, I mostly hosted the seder solo. One year was baked fish, the next was chicken Marbella, after which came roasted stuffed salmon. The next year, I found a seder hosting buddy, and as we planned our menu, given our mutual love for meat, especially on Jewish holidays, we quickly agreed that nothing less than a brisket would do. And so we found ourselves, the afternoon before the start of the holiday, maneuvering a piece of meat at least four times the size either of us had ever personally encountered before. You’d better believe that we were proud of that massive brisket: Its smells filled the kitchen over the hours it cooked, and as we and our guests tasted it, we were transported back to the flavors of our childhoods.
This year, my co-host and I, having done this together before, set about planning our menu. It was a bittersweet task: This will likely be the last seder we host together, at least for a while, as I relocate back to my East Coast roots. Usually, when menu planning, I would have a list in my head of new recipes to try, a new spin to take. Except this year, I didn’t. As if reading my mind, my co-host proposed, “We should do everything the same as last year.” And that seemed just right this time around. 
So brisket, round two, it will be.
Whether we intended it or not, the brisket gives my co-host and I a way to hold on to the past for a little bit longer. And it is fitting for Passover: Leaving Mitzrayim, we chose what we left behind and what we brought with us, and today, we choose what we leave in our history and what we carry with us as we move forward in our lives. Our traditions, brisket and otherwise, help us, as we live in the present and look forward to the future, to hold on to the past.
The brisket, the matza ball soup, the quinoa, the salad, the green vegetables – that’s what our Passover meal will be. For my guests, I guess now the cat is out of the bag about my seder menu, but I still promise to tweak the brisket for a little novelty and mix it up on the dessert. I hope that is the right balance of old and new for my guests as well as myself. And I hope that your Passover is likewise balanced, both meaningful and enlightening, filled with both tradition and freshness.

Should traditional music be altered? If so, does it lose its classic and treasured qualities? Are alterations inevitable?
These questions were discussed at a presentation with the award-winning Guy Mendilow Ensemble, which was in town to present at Jewdub’s final New Voices in World Jewish Music series March 13-14. “Sailors, Sirens & Kings: Traditions and Change in Ladino Song” was organized by the Stroum Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington and attracted about 20 students. The ensemble performed Ladino songs and led discussions about the alteration of traditional Ladino music.
Participants discussed ways traditional Ladino songs have been adapted to new cultural environments, both in modern times and historically. Other topics included implications for questions regarding Ladino music’s authenticity and the roles, responsibilities and obstacles performing artists have when working with traditional material.
Ladino, also known as Judeo-Arabic, can be traced back to the Jewish community of Spain pre-Inquisition and expulsion and is still spoken by some older members of the Sephardic community. On the brink of extinction, new efforts — particularly by the UW and musicians like Mendilow — are being spearheaded to save and protect the language.
Guy Mendilow and ensemble member Sofia Tosel introduced the group to Ladino song types and their history and language. Also presented were field recordings from various Ladino communities, both as musical examples and as illustrations of the songs’ functions in traditional repertoire.
Differing opinions about Ladino music’s function emerged during the conversation.
Participants brought up how there’s worthwhile emphasis by some to keep ancient music, including Ladino, pure and free of modern influences that can potentially degrade its historical properties.
But, said one participant, “The Ladino music that’s played today most likely was manipulated by ‘modern’ influences 200 years ago, yet we still consider it traditional.”
Others responded that there is always that fear that modern influences will change music, but that the music is never classified as “untraditional” as a result.
This is similar to rock-and-roll or jazz or any other genre that 50 years ago was allegedly degraded by radical modernists, one participant said, but today is considered traditional music. In 100 years from now, the music we compose today will be considered “classic” with the naysayers refusing to let anyone adulterate it.
This concern is always there, she said, but it’s never played out.
Fear of change is deep-seated and will enter any facet of life.
“I don’t think you ask that question of Bob Dylan songs,” one participant said. “We don’t have to ask, ‘is this OK that we’re taking these cultural traditions and modifying them?’
“When we think about world music or traditions that are coming from different parts of the world,” she added, “how much do we need to ask questions [about modifying] just because we’re talking about exotic cultures or something that’s outside our own experience?”

“When Moses was in Egypt land, let my people go…” The haunting words of this recognizable Passover hymn takes on new meaning in the highly acclaimed dramatic play by Matthew Lopez, “The Whipping Man.” 
Hard as it is to believe, over 100 years before Jews were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement alongside their African American brethren, they were among the slave-owning population of the Confederate states. “The Whipping Man” draws the ironic parallels between the two groups of people — freed black slaves in the South at the end of the Civil War and Jews who, thousands of years prior, were themselves slaves in Egypt.
The play opens with Caleb, an injured Jewish Confederate soldier, returning from battle to his war-torn home in Richmond, Va. While the rest of the family seems to have gone missing, two of the longtime family-owned slaves — now emancipated — are all who remain to greet him. As they observe Passover together, recalling the Jewish exodus from Egypt, their shared pasts and “family secrets” call into question the futures of all three men.
“We read about the play about two years ago and found it absolutely fascinating,” said Taproot Theatre’s artistic director Scott Nolte. “As the story is told you have to bring out the rest of the skeletons of what’s going on in the family and layers of betrayal and injustice that have taken place.”
For Nolte, the lasting moral of the show offers is “you’re really not going to be free until you recognize the injustices. And once you recognize them, then you can begin that reconciliation and forgiveness process.”
Nolte feels that the play pays homage to the genuineness of Simon, the elder slave. “It pays a great deal of respect to the depth of his faith, in spite of the war, in spite of the death of Abraham Lincoln — Father Abraham, the American Moses. Despite his understanding that, though he thought his owners treated him like family, and he thought of them as family, that was just another layer of betrayal,” said Nolte.
The house (which is the setting of the play) is in itself reflective of the situation between the men on stage. The violent and devastating end of the war has left the house burned, shelled, and looted. The three men, essentially, are faced with the fact that there is nothing about the way they used to live that is safe. They have to leave there and move forward — they cannot stay in this house. The same can be said of their relationships with each other.
Though there are several points at which Simon — the self-proclaimed leader of the seder — adapts the story of Passover to his own experience and the recent events (the surrender, death of Lincoln, and so on), he holds true to a traditional Jewish Passover ceremony. The men scrape together what they can in their dire situation, but they make it work. It becomes apparent to the audience that regardless of what has gone on in the world outside the walls of their home, the men find it utterly imperative that this tradition is observed and honored.
“We have three really terrific actors that are really dedicated to it, which makes a huge difference,” said Nolte about the stirring performances by Ryan Childers, William Hall, Jr. and Tyler Trerise.
Nolte points out that, even though our response to the issue of slavery in the United States is often quite disconnected — “because slavery was a long time ago, and ‘it wasn’t my fault’” — there is importance in acknowledging the legacy of that history.
It’s easy to walk away and say, “That was a great story, but it doesn’t apply to me. I live in Seattle, and we’re not racist here.” But Nolte’s hope is that the play will go deeper than that for audience members.
As with all of Taproot Theatre’s productions, patrons who attend the Wednesday night performances will have the opportunity to participate in a post-play discussion, which will feature the cast and director.
In addition, a free special event is planned for April 16: “Conversations” will be held in conjunction with The John Perkins Center for Reconciliation, Leadership Training, and Community Development at Seattle Pacific University. Nolte has worked closely with the center throughout the development of the show to help his crew better understand how to relate to the issues of slavery, justice, and human rights, and convey that energy to the audience. The post-play discussion and “Conversations” are opportunities for patrons to delve deeper into some of the topics brought up by this unique story.
Through confronting some of the most unjust and dehumanizing periods of our humanity, we are able to move forward and be truly free, Nolte pointed out. “This play, in a sense, is all of our stories,” he said.

“There’s no royalty, there’s no religion, there’s just herring,” said Mark Russ Federman.
Federman spoke at Town Hall last Monday, March 11, about the origins of Russ & Daughters, his acclaimed appetizing store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Federman was joined in conversation by Seattle restaurateur extraordinaire Tom Douglas.
“Where do you go for good Jewish food here?” asked Douglas. “New York?” Then he proceeded to describe the bagel with lox and schmear he had from Russ & Daughters when he was last in New York, causing everyone in the audience to drool.
Russ & Daughters was originally started as a pushcart selling herring by Federman’s great grandfather, Grandpa Russ. Federman explained that salt-brined herring was a staple for Jews in Europe, and poor Eastern European Jews who had migrated to the Lower East Side would buy a herring that could last them for one to two meals. The pushcart grew into a store selling all kinds of preserved fish and related delicacies, bagels and cream cheese, dried fruits, and baked goods with all of the family laboring in the effort. “Before the days of the Food Network,” quipped Federman, “it was just hard work.” However, after decades of a flourishing business, by 1978, the area was in decay and the business was in decline and Federman’s parents were considering selling it or closing its doors. Federman believed that Russ & Daughters was a special place, and so he decided to leave his career as a litigator to take over the business. 
Since that time, Russ & Daughters has again developed a renowned reputation and loyal clientele. Federman talked about the challenges of coming into an established business: There is the importance of tradition both in terms of respecting the ancestors and also keeping the customers happy. At the same time, tastes change, and the business wouldn’t survive if it didn’t change with them. Through it all, Federman stressed the importance of quality, teaching his employees the art of slicing smoked fish: “Slice it so thin you can read the New York Times through it.” 
Federman related that, like most Jewish parents, it was his parents’ fantasy that their children would get an education and wouldn’t have to sell fish. As it would happen, Federman would go to law school and practice for nine years. Initially returning to the business, he aspired to run the store and practice law part-time, but that only persisted for a day, as he discovered that to do it right, running the business would be a full-time job.
The experience that Federman describes of Russ & Daughters is more than just an in-and-out trip for provisions: It is both sensual and tinged by memory. He described appreciating the aroma when he walks into the shop, which, as an appetizing store, is a confluence of very particular smells: The saltiness of the fish, the yeastiness of the bagels, the sweet scent of rugelach. “Food and sex, it’s about the same…to some, anyway,” said Federman. He also related being taken to the store by his grandparents, and the way that they interacted with the people behind the counter. There was a relationship there, and, he recalled, “That relationship made that food taste that much better when you got it home.”
With Federman’s delightful storytelling and witty one-liners, Tom Douglas didn’t get much of a chance to speak — but no one seemed to mind, including the chef himself. As the conversation meandered through Federman’s family dynamics, the history of the Lower East Side, and what it takes to be successful in the food business, two key themes resonated: Taking pleasure in food and evolving tradition. The depth of the history, the passion for food, and the dry humor had me sold. And if you missed it, you can catch up with all of Federman’s stories with his book, Russ & Daughters: Reflections and Recipes from the House That Herring Built.

Film

I Am Secretly An Important Man
Tonight! Thursday @ 7 p.m.
Peter Sillen’s documentary of Steven “Jesse” Bernstein, confidant of William S. Burroughs, inspirer of Kurt Cobain, and icon in the Seattle underground music scene, captures a portrait of the troubled artist, whose life came to an end with his suicide in 1991.  A poignant film with rare interviews and performance footage.
At the Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St.

Gatekeepers
Opens Friday
Six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, talk on-screen about their successes and failures, and why they came to believe that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the best solution to the ongoing conflict.
On Sun., March 17, following the 4 p.m. screening, a discussion facilitated by J Street that will feature Israeli Ph.D. candidate Yoav Duman, Palestinian arts educator and community activist Zaki Abdelhamid, and Seattle Jewish Film Festival director Pamela Lavitt will take place at a coffee shop around the corner from the theater. At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Lore
When her loyal SS-sympathizing parents realize Hitler has lost and they’re in trouble, they destroy the evidence and send their three children, led by 14-year-old Lore, to a grandmother in the north. Journeying through the devastated land, Lore comes to terms with her family’s past, and learns that the only person she can trust is someone she has been taught to hate. Not your everyday coming-of-age story, and a look at the other side of Holocaust/World War II aftermath.
At the Harvard Exit, 807 E Roy St., Seattle.

Music

Vadim Gluzman
Thursday @ 7:30 p.m. and Saturday @ 8 p.m.
Hailed by the Washington Post as “one of today’s top violinists,” Israeli virtuoso Vadim Gluzman performs Max Bruch’s romantic Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The program also includes Michael Tippet’s Ritual Dances from “The Midsummer Marriage” and Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” Michael Francis conducts. An hour before the performance, Symphony violinist Stephen Bryant will talk on “The Enigma of Edward Elgar.”
At Benaroya Hall, 200 University St.

New Voices Presents: Guy Mendilow Ensemble
Tonight! Thursday @ 7:30 p.m.
Who said Ladino is a dying language? The Guy Mendilow Ensemble and the UW Stroum Jewish Studies Department are both holding the Judeo-Arabic language from the brink of extinction. This last of three performances by guest Sephardic musicians features British/Israeli/American Guy Mendilow, whose Ladino songs voyage from ancient Spain to Sarajevo, Salonika, and Jerusalem with tales of sailors and seas, fantastic dreams, and royal intrigue.
At The Fremont Abbey Arts Center, 4272 Fremont Ave. N, Seattle.

Theater

Crossing Delancey
Saturday @ 8 p.m. and Sunday @ 3 p.m.
“Isabelle “Izzy” is a single young Jewish woman working in an upscale Manhattan bookstore who longs to be part of the intellectual literary scene. But her roots are on the Lower East Side where her old-fashioned grandmother (her “Bubbie”) and a matchmaker are trying to fix her up with Sam, a quiet young man who runs a pickle store in the neighborhood. The conflict is resolved with a generous dose of humor, affection, and wisdom.” – Seattle Jewish Theater Company  
Saturday: Kenyon Hall, 7904 35th Ave. SW
Sunday: Ezra Bessaroth, 5217 S Brandon St.

Books

Lesley Hazelton on “The First Muslim”
Friday @ 7 p.m.
TED-featured Jewish author Lesley Hazelton will discuss her book, “The First Muslim: A New Biography of Muhammad.” Hazelton, “an accidental theologian,” sat down to read the Koran and found something totally unexpected.
At MAPS (Muslim Association of Puget Sound)
17550 NE 67th Ct., Redmond

Food for Thoughtica

Passport to Passover
Tonight! Thursday @ 5 p.m.
Join Jconnect Seattle, Jewish Family Service, and Whole Foods Market for a Passover food tasting and celebration! Come learn about Passover foods and traditions as you “journey” through the aisles. Get ideas to spice up your seder and meal, and enjoy free tastings of gefilte fish, matzo ball soup and more.
At Whole Foods Market, Roosevelt Square.

How Is This Story Different? A Modern Look at Passover
Sunday @ 6 p.m.
On Passover, we think about the Israelites’ journey out of slavery in Egypt to freedom. But what does that experience feel like? How can we connect to that story now? With Jconnect, come hear from Seattleites about their immigration stories. Each group will enjoy a family-style meal with local restaurateurs as they share their journeys to freedom. $13 per person to cover the cost of the meal.

@ Phnom Penh
Sam Ung and his family immigrated as refugees to the United States in 1980 after fleeing the Khmer Rouge.  They had no more than the clothes on their back, but they were determined.  They had a dream, a gift, and a talent that they wanted to share.  They learned as much English and they could, worked several jobs, and raised their three daughters.  After 7 years of perseverance, they were able to recognize their dream and open their own restaurant, sharing a piece of their culture with others.
660 South King St.
Seattle, WA 98104

@ Afrikando Banadir
Mohamed Aden is originally a refugee from Ethiopia.  His education and career eventually led him to Somalia and Kenya, wher he worked as a protection assistant for the UNHCR.  He is currently the Executive Director of 21st Century Basic Human Services which provides various services, like housing assistance, food, and tutoring services to immigrants and refugees from East Africa.
5212 Rainier Ave S (between S 39th Ave. & Dawson St.)

Your weekend drink

St. Patrick’s Day is definitely not a Jewish holiday, but we can still drink to that. Break out the Irish whiskey for this Kilbeggan Irish Ginger Toddy.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Vayikra
Candlelighting is at 6:57 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Shabbat Unplugged – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Family Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m. with guest speaker Roni Keidar
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat at potluck dinner @ 7 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Learners’ Minyan @ 10:30 a.m. Discussion with Roni Keidar @ 1:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday: Shabbat dinner circle @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7:05 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 7 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative
Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue
Friday: Meditative services @ 7:30 p.m.
1111 Harvard Ave.

We are “citizens of the globe and cosmopolitans,” said Michael Rosenthal, professor and philosophy department chair at the University of Washington, as he introduced a UW panel, Circumcision as a Human Rights Issue, “and the rights of the child to bodily integrity have been pitted against the rights of parents to exercise religious liberty and raise their children according to the traditions of their faith.”
Citing the protections to minors in the United Nations General Assembly’s Convention on the Rights of the Child against bodily harm, two philosophers, a historian, and a social scientist spoke for one hour to a crowd of 75 about a growing movement seeking to limit circumcision, which is practiced around the world by many cultures and religions.
In 2010, a controversial ruling in a Cologne, Germany court acquitted a doctor who performed a circumcision on a Muslim boy who was later hospitalized with complications. However, an appellate court later condemned the non-medical religious ritual, saying it constituted “bodily harm” and that in the future, a doctor “could be held accountable even when the parents consented to the procedure, if the boy did not.
Rosenthal noted, however, that even in a religious context, people do often consider the medical benefits of circumcision when making the decision about whether to circumcise.
The March 4 program was sponsored by the Stroum Jewish Studies Program at the UW and the university’s Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities. The UW Department of Philosophy, and the Seattle Jewish Film Festival co-sponsored the event.
Thomas Schmidt, a professor of the philosophy of religion at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, advocated for a more conciliatory approach.
“The terms of peaceful coexistence must be negotiated,” said Schmidt. “There is a real and deep conflict between religious freedom and the right to bodily integrity. Legal regulation would not satisfy the religious.”
Arguing the opposite view, however, Schmidt said the only morally acceptable act between two people, even parent and child, is one that is mutually agreed upon — including circumcision. But where, he asked, are the limits of this principle?
“In the case of the decision of the Cologne court, I was really irritated by the hostility and ignorance among some of my secular friends,” said Schmidt. “For quite a few among them, the practice of circumcision displays the pre-modern, barbaric, irrational, dangerous character of religion, in general.
“But if you are interested to live in a society in which religious and secular citizens operate under fair and equal conditions, without prejudices and resentment, you cannot be left indifferent by the ruling of the Cologne court.”
Bettina Shell-Duncan, a professor of anthropology and an adjunct professor of global health at the UW, said that according to a 2006 World Health Organization study on the health outcomes from the procedure and a United Nations investigation, from an epidemiological standpoint the medical risk for males was hard to determine. She did note that in the case of female genital cutting, the report showed that while women who experience the practice experience increased difficulties during childbirth, including possible death of their newborns, the risk was still lower than mothers who smoke during pregnancy.
In the absence of overwhelming medical data against the practices, said Shell-Duncan, legal human rights scholars agreed that the most viable argument for limiting the practice was that circumcision violated a child’s rights to freedom from torture and to bodily integrity.
“The human rights framework implies that there’s responsibility on the part of the state for protecting these citizens against these violations,” said Shell-Duncan.
Within the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, children are not only entitled to the broad general human rights that all humans enjoy, but according to its tenets, they also benefit from unique human rights due to their minority status.
Circumcision was a topic that was “vigorously debated, particularly, in Europe between 1840 and 1939,” said Robin Judd, an associate professor of history at Ohio State University, only human rights were not the focus.
Some cities there tried to impose regulations on the circumciser, requiring licensure, said Judd, and anti-Semites used it as a reason to exclude Jews from certain groups, claiming that circumcision flawed the perfect human form.
These same groups, said Judd, also promoted cartoons of violent and bloody circumcision rituals, invoking the old “blood libel” against Jews, accusing them of eating the blood of Christian and Jewish children.
“In the late 19th century, we saw an escalation of blood libel accusations,” Judd told JTNews, “The two rituals that get invoked with the most frequency are circumcision and kosher butchering. There are a large number of cases where the kosher butchers were arrested for the crime. There were fewer cases where circumcisers are accused of the crime.”
Judd said that these anti-Semitic accusations persist.
“Today, there are some blood libel accusations, absolutely, but we don’t see as many cases of circumcision being invoked. But we do see kosher butchering being invoked in the blood libel conversations.”

In 1999, Israeli-born Itai Erdal moved to Vancouver, B.C. to pursue a film career. A year later, he found out his mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had nine months to live. Erdal returned home to care for her and to film the last part of her life. The result, “How to Disappear Completely” merges film, theater, and the grieving process into an honest and uplifting performance.

JTNews: Describe your show, “How to Disappear Completely.”

Itai Erdal: My mom died 12 years ago. She asked me if I would take care of her, because she didn’t want to go to a hospital. I filmed the whole thing. It was actually her idea.

JT: Why did you decide to use the footage for a theater performance instead of creating a documentary?

IE: First of all, at the time, it was just way too close and personal. It takes years to process what I had been through.
I work in theater, and I love verbatim theater. There’s something about real stories that touches me like no other theater does. It’s such a rare opportunity to reflect on one’s life like this through a piece of theater. 

JT: How do you interact with the film onstage?
IE: All of the footage is in Hebrew with subtitles. Sometimes I do translations, sometimes I comment in general about what they’re saying, sometimes I say my friend’s words as if they’re mine. It’s a tool and device that moves the story forward constantly. Doing the show is like hanging out with my mom for an hour. I’m getting emotional just talking about it. It’s a joy. It’s a gift. 

JT: How did the experience of taking care of your mom change you?

IE: All the priorities change about what’s important or not important in life. It’s the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do. My mom was such a strong woman; she was a rock. To see somebody like that, to see her fall apart completely, particularly mentally, was horrible. There was never any doubt or question about what was the right thing to do, once it’s somebody that you love. It changed me profoundly.

JT: Did it change you in a religious or spiritual way? 

IE: I was brought up as an atheist, and my mom was an atheist. But since she died, I have felt her presence many times. Whereas I remain an atheist, I am somewhat more spiritual than I was. I do think that maybe the notion of a soul can exist. My mother is as present in my life in her death as she was [when she was alive]. 

JT: In the trailer for the show, there is a part where you are reciting Mourner’s Kaddish…

IE: It might be the first time in my life where I did do some Jewish customs, because I found them useful. My mom’s funeral was such a surreal experience for me. But saying the Kaddish, I get it now. By doing something public in the moment of your biggest grief, it forces you to be present. You can’t not be there. You can’t not feel things.
And same for the shiva: A week later, everybody cooks for you, your house is open, everybody looks at photos together…It’s a lot of laughter, a lot of joy, a lot of the tension kept in the house for months and months while waiting for someone to die is released. Suddenly, there are children in the house, there’s laughter in the house. Shiva is a fantastic tradition. I also grew a beard that I’ve kept ever since. I didn’t have a beard before. In the 30 days after your parents die, you do not shave. It’s another thing I sort of took with me.

JT: How have audiences reacted to the show? 

IE: This show has touched so many people. Every time I do it there’s a line of people with tears in their eyes waiting to tell me about parents that have died, siblings that have died. People have written me letters and emails telling me their whole life story. It has by far exceeded any of my dreams for anything I could create. I don’t want people to think that it’s super depressing; [my mom] had a great sense of humor. The show is very funny! I am funny. A lot of people see the poster, my mom’s shaved head in the poster, and think it’s a depressing show. And it is sad, but it is also uplifting.

For those of you who still think kosher wine means kosher-aisle, bottom-shelf Kedem Concord Cream Red, sip on this: Bartenura Moscato has the highest sales of imported Moscatos in the United States. Eighty-five percent of the signature blue bottle dessert wine sells to consumers unconcerned with kosher status.
As it does once a year, JTNews sat down with Michael Friend of Royal Wine Corp. to taste new, high quality kosher-for-Passover wines to the local market. This year’s flight featured five Israeli wines, two locals from California and Washington State, and — for the first time ever — three spirits: A cognac, a Scotch, and a vodka liqueur. All but the Scotch and vodka are kosher for Passover, and most items are available at QFC Mercer Island and University Village, Albertson’s, and Wine World.
Editor Joel Magalnick and I were joined by esteemed guests Ned Porges, Jerry Barrish, Josh Furman, Jason Dishlip, Elise Peizner, and Tzippy Wiens at the lovely Chai Lounge on the 13th floor of the Summit at First Hill. Wines marked with an [M] can be considered mevushal.
Without further ado: Our rankings!

Best local wine:

Pacifica Pinot Noir (Washington, $25.95)
Indeed, the Pacifica ran unopposed in this category, but it’s worth pointing out to you locavores that Washington State does have its own kosher wine, which won “Best New Wine of 2012” at Kosherfest 2012 USA. This Pinot Noir, unfortunately, pales in comparison to last year’s sumptuous Meritage. On a scale of 1 to 5, our reviewers gave it an average of 2.75. Josh called it “mellow and smoky” and tasted notes of “campfire.” “Instead of being strong, it seems to glow” on the tongue, said Ned. Though a little immature, this is still a good, dry wine.

Josh Furman contemplates a red.

Best deals:

Domaine Netofa Galilee Red (Israel, $21.99): Jason smelled vanilla and cotton candy, and Ned found it astringent and deep — a wine to sip, not drink. Pair it with grilled meat or cheddar cheese. Tzippy rated this “best bet for hostess gift” and anointed it the “new Wiens house wine.”
Carmel Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon (Israel, $20.99): Both wines met equally good reviews (4 out of 5), but evoked different responses. Josh thought it smelled like new rain and picked up a taste of seaweed, and Joel found a bit of anise at the finish. Tzippy called it the “wine equivalent of an Old Spice commercial.” If this leaves any doubt in your mind, Wine Enthusiast magazine gave it a rating of 90.

Jason Dishlip studies his selection.

Best wines for your seder:

Psagot Edom (Israel, $33.99): Recommended alongside roasted meat, stew, and robust pasta dishes, the Psagot got high ratings from the tasting team, who found in it aromas of chocolate, pipe tobacco, and leather, and flavors of cherry and pepper, even “mild salsa,” contributed Joel. Finally, a wine we can pair with shank bone and roasted egg!
Baron Herzog White Riesling (California, $11.99 [M]): If you are sentimentally attached to the idea of sticky sweet Manischewitz at your seder table, consider opting for this Riesling. Jerry called it “sweet but not cloying,” and Elise, who picked up honey and peach, deemed it “adult juice.”
“My grandmother would love this,” said Tzippy. “I should send her a bottle.”
“Berrylicious,” said Joel.
Remember: You do need to drink four cups, and two of them are after the meal. This dessert wine is a great way to close the night.
Bin Chardonnay (Israel, $12.99 [M]): Scoring a 4 out of 5, our tasters picked up apricot, melon, honey, peach, even butterscotch aromas and flavors. Stored in stainless steel rather than oak, Bin is light, smooth, and easy going down.
“I’m not a huge chardonnay fan, but this was good for a chardonnay,” said Jason. A good choice for white wine drinkers, or if your seder table is heavy on fish and vegetarian dishes.

Michael Friend introduces the Tomintoul Scotch to Ned Porges.

Best splurge:

Tomintoul 16-year Scotch (Scotland, $105.99, not kosher for Passover)
This award-winning Scotch deserves a dark room, a leather chair, and a special occasion. Our tasters picked up hints of caramel and maple. “Cinnamon and nutmeg finish adds depth,” wrote Josh. “Smooth and delicate even for a non-Scotch drinker.”

Best new find:

Walders Vodka & Vanilla (Holland, $38.99, not kosher for Passover)
“MUST BUY! WINNER!” raved Josh. “A real treat after a hard day…or an easy day…delicious always.”
“Tastes like birthday cake and trouble!” wrote Tzippy.
Good on its own over ice or mixed with Sprite, Walders is the pancakes and maple syrup of liqueurs. The taste of vodka is barely noticeable, favored by a sweet (but not too sweet), custardy cream. But wait, it gets better: Walders is dairy, soy, and nut free, and it accounts for only one Weight Watchers point. But you have to wonder: What makes it so creamily perfect?
The answer is: We don’t know. Nowhere on the packaging or on the Walder’s website are the ingredients disclosed. So drink responsibly. Too much, and you may grow a sixth finger.
One more thing: It is imperative that you shake the bottle before pouring.

Best all around:

Binyamina SR Cab (Israel, $22.99 [M])
This Israeli Cabernet scored 4.5 out of 5 and evoked anise, Indian spices, even a “shouk spice market.” Elise found it “very earthy.”
“Wow on the nose,” Michael observed. He brought up the average when he gave it a rating of 6 — off the charts!
“Great body,” wrote Joel. “Delicious.”
Jerry found it very complex and “woodsy.” If you like a nice, bold red that holds back from being too strong, this is for you. And at $22.99, it nearly makes a three-way tie as “best deal.”

Best kosher for Passover spirit:

Louis Royer Cognac VSOP (France, $85.99)
A kosher cognac is an exciting thing, though the Louis Royer did not go over terribly well. Our trusty tasters gave it a dreary 2.3 out of 5, likening it to rubbing alcohol and shoe polish. However, cognac enthusiasts may beg to differ with these reviews (some people like shoe polish, right?), and we invite you to bring this to your seder tables and get back to us with your thoughts. After all, paired with matzoh and gefilte fish, it might be just the thing.

Books

The Search for Meaning Book Festival
Saturday 9-5
Try to hold it together, now. Seattle U’s School of Theology and Ministry’s Search for Meaning Book Festival features Michael Chabon, Linda Cohen, Rabbi Ted Falcon, Rabbi Anson Laytner, Howard Behar, along Reza Aslan, Sherman Alexie and a zillion other writers, artists and musicians who will all be talking about their search for the meaning of life. Nerdgasm!
At Seattle University, 901 12th Ave., Seattle.

Film

Yossi
Starts Friday
After losing his beloved Jagger ten years ago, the sequel to the groundbreaking film about the gay life in Israel catches up with Yossi, who has become an esteemed cardiologist. Getting older, pudgier, and still closeted, Yossi continues to grieve Jagger, but gains some freedom from his own self when he meets Tom, an openly gay man who represents a new era of gay life in Israel. Read our review!
At the Egyptian, one week only.

Lore
Starts Friday
When her loyal SS-sympathizing parents realize Hitler has lost and they’re in trouble, they destroy the evidence and send their three children, led by 14-year-old Lore, to a grandmother in the north. Journeying through the devastated land, Lore comes to terms with her family’s past, and learns that the only person she can trust is someone she has been taught to hate. Not your everyday coming-of-age story, and a look at the other side of Holocaust/World War II aftermath. Read our review!
At the Harvard Exit.

SJFF
The Seattle Jewish Film Festival comes to a close this weekend.
In Case I Never Win A Palme D’Or
Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.
A delightful mockumentary about a hapless, underemployed filmmaker who attends a support group for ex-filmmakers struggling to kick their addiction to moviemaking. – SJFF
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
God’s Neighbors
Saturday @ 9:30 p.m.
Leading a brigade of Orthodox watchdogs, Avi and his gang take it upon themselves to patrol the streets of coastal Bat Yam. – SJFF
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
The Basketball Game
Sunday @ 12:30
A simple game of hoops at a Canadian summer camp dispels mindless prejudices in this autobiographical animated tale about confronting one’s fears. Plays with The Art of Spiegelman. – SJFF
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
The Art of Spiegelman
Sunday @ 12:35 p.m.
An intimate portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and cartoon artist and his extraordinary creative genius. – SJFF
Stay for a “Jews in the Arts” panel discussion with five prominent Northwest (and one New Yorker) artists. In the fast-paced style of Pecha Kucha, the artists will discuss the meaning of Jewish art, and Jewish art in the Northwest.
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
The Rabbi’s Cat
Sunday @ 2:30 p.m.
France’s favorite kosher kitty leaps from the comics to the big screen. Adapted from Joann Sfar’s best-selling graphic novel. – SJFF
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
Numbered
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
A heart-wrenching, emotional account of Holocaust survivors’ serial numbers and their meaning that were branded on their chests and arms. – SJFF
At SIFF Cinema Uptown
The Words and closing night reception
Sunday @ 7:30 p.m.
A writer at the peak of his literary success discovers the steep price he must pay for stealing another man’s work. – SJFF
“The Words” producer Michael Benaroya will be presented with the Reel Difference Award at the closing night reception. Benaroya will be interviewed by Robert Horton, film critic for KUOW 94.9 NPR Puget Sound Public Radio, The Crop Duster, and The Herald.
At SIFF Cinema Uptown

Shabbatica

Second Friday Italian Shabbat
Friday @ 7 p.m.
Jconnect Shabbat dinner is the place to be. Feast on pasta, salad, garlic bread and olive oil cake, and participate in a discussion with Roni Keidar, a fascinating figure who works for peace in Israel and Gaza.
$12 or pay what you can. Everyone who RSVPs will get a free drink when they walk in the door.
At Hillel at the UW.

Volunteer

Teen feed
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
Every second Sunday, Jconnect prepares and serves food to homeless teens in the community. They always need help with prep, serving, and cleanup. Sign up!

Food Lifeline Sort with Bet Alef
Sunday
Join other Bet Alef members and friends sorting food for the hungry. In just 3 short hours together, sort 15,000- 20,000 pounds of food, providing close to 17,000 meals. Have lunch afterwards at Pho Ha Vietnamese Restaurant.
RSVP through the website for more details.

Music

Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce
Sunday @ 8 p.m.
Ari Shine is on tour with his latest album, Songs of Solomon, some lovely folksy Americana for a mellow Sunday Night.
At Musicquarium Lounge, 216 Union St.

Art

The Evolving Image of Jerusalem
Sunday @ 11:30 a.m.
Professor Shalom Sabar, professor of art and folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and visiting professor at the University of Washington’s Jewish Studies Program, will discuss how illuminated Haggadot over the ages have depicted the holy city of Jerusalem. While the Passover story changed little, the images accompanying the texts reflect the ideas and ideals of Jerusalem, as well as the time and place of the creators.
At Congregation Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle.

Extended weekend

Mark Russ Federman with Tom Douglas: Reflections and Recipes from Russ & Daughters
Monday @ 6 p.m.
Mark Russ Federman of Manhattan restaurant Russ & Daughters will chat on-stage with acclaimed local chef Tom Douglas. Federman, whose eatery has been described as a “hallowed shrine to the miracle of caviar,” will tell his family’s story, starting in 1907 with the fresh-off-the-boat Joel Russ peddling herring out of a barrel, and continues through the Depression, war, near failure, and ultimate success. Admission to this event also gains entry to Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier on “Big Data” at 7:30 p.m.
At Town Hall, Eighth and Seneca, downstairs. $5.

Your weekend drink

In honor of the Search for Meaning Book Festival, try making a Hemingway Daiquiri or a Green Isaac’s Special — favorites of the bar-hopping author.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Vayakhel-Pekudei
Candlelighting is at 5:46 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 E Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Rock Shabbat with Arik Ascherman – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 NE 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Jazzy Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St, Seattle
Friday: Shabbat in the Home
Saturday: Tikkun Olam Brunch with Reb Arik Ascherman @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:45 p.m.
Saturday: Learners’ Minyan @ 10:30 a.m. Shabbat discussion @ 1:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat featuring Rabbi Asher Ostrin on Soviet Jewry, then and now @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services featuring Rabbi Asher Ostrin on amazing stories from around the Jewish world @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:55 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:55 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:50 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Braising is something of a lost art, which is a shame because it isn’t at all difficult to do. Learn a couple of basic moves and you’ll be rewarded with a succulent, richly flavored, rustic dish.
A proper braise is composed of even more basic cooking methods. First you sear the heck out of your main ingredient to develop those beautiful browned flavors. Then you remove it from the pot, quickly sweat your other vegetables, and return the main ingredient along with a small amount of flavorful liquid. With the lid on and the heat lowered, everything steams until tender while the flavors marry and the sauce emulsifies into silky goodness.
The most common choice of supporting vegetables is mirepoix — carrots, onions and celery. In this case I omit the celery because it might muddy the flavor of the fennel.
Fennel pollen, if you can get it, is pretty amazing stuff. The aroma is like summer in Provençe in a jar. It is rather expensive but a pinch goes a long way. This dish is just fine without it, but if you are in the mood to gild the lily, I highly recommend it.

Braised Fennel
Serves 4 as a side dish
Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus additional for garnish
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and halved lengthwise, fronds reserved for garnish
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups sliced carrots (1/4″ thick coins)
Crushed red pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Zest and juice of 1 mandarin orange
1/4 cup dry vermouth (kosher for Passover)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Optional: fennel pollen
In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, big enough to hold the fennel in a single layer, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. (A Dutch oven is ideal for this recipe.) When the oil is shimmering hot, lay the four fennel halves in the oil, cut side down. Sear until quite well browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another couple of minutes on the rounded sides.
Remove the fennel to a plate, leaving the oil behind in the pot. Lower the heat to medium low. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, a big pinch of crushed red pepper, several generous grinds of black pepper, and the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, until the onions start to soften.
Add the orange zest and juice, the vermouth, and 1/2 cup water and stir, scraping the bottom to incorporate the delicious caramelized brown bits (fond). Put the fennel back in the pot, cut side up, on top of the onions and carrots. Cover the pot and braise until the fennel is completely tender when probed with a knife. This could be anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the bulbs. During the braise, adjust the heat so there is a good, steady amount of steam in the pot, but not so much that all the liquid boils off. Add a bit more liquid if needed.
To serve, transfer the fennel bulbs onto a serving platter. Spoon the carrots, onions and sauce over the fennel. Garnish with a generous drizzle of good olive oil, more freshly ground pepper, some flaky salt, the fennel fronds, and the optional fennel pollen.

Set during the fall of Germany in April 1945, Cate Shortland’s extraordinary “Lore” evokes and filters the moral weight of history through a single adolescent girl.
Experiential rather than informational, subjective without being reductive, the German-language film is a parable of the end of innocence — the naïve innocence of girlhood intertwined with the willful self-denial of the complicit German masses.
A brilliantly impressionistic and sensuous study of a Hitler follower shepherding her four younger siblings 500 miles to refuge with a relative, “Lore” is the first must-see movie of the year.
“Lore,” an Australian-German production that was Australia’s submission for the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film, opens Friday, Mar. 8 at the Harvard Exit.
For 14-year-old Lore (Saskia Rosendahl), the opening moments of the film are intended to suggest the first dim awakenings from a dream. Her SS father has returned to their comfortable home, but something isn’t quite right. Lore can’t grasp what’s going on as the family collects the silver, burns files and piles into a truck. Suddenly, the piercing off-screen sound of a gunshot — her father killing the family dog — cleaves Lore’s world into “before” and “after.”
We discern that the parents were more devoted to the führer than to their children. Now, stunned by the demise of the thousand-year Reich, they can barely focus on anything but their own plight.
In short order, Lore is left with a little cash, a few pieces of jewelry and instructions to take the other children (including an infant) to her aunt’s faraway house. Any hesitation we may feel about empathizing with the blonde daughter of war criminals is further complicated by the hints we get of her sheltered upbringing and simple, unquestioning subscription to the Nazi doctrine.
Lore is more ashamed about being confronted with her hungry brother’s theft of food, or at having to beg, than by the photographs posted of the heinous crimes her country (and her father, though she doesn’t realize it yet) committed.
“Lore,” adapted from Rachel Seiffert’s novel, “The Dark Room,” neither explains nor excuses its protagonist’s Hitler Youth-instilled attitude. Shortland and co-screenwriter Robin Mukherjee rightfully assume that the audience will bring knowledge of the Third Reich and the Holocaust, and will see Lore in a broader context than she can see herself. 
So the filmmakers concentrate on immersing us in Lore’s impossible task, and encouraging us to empathize with her exceedingly gradual, confusing, and painful process of confronting horrible truths. “Lore” is a deeply moral film — make no mistake — but rather than nervously asserting its bona fides it expects that moviegoers have a developed sense of right and wrong.
Consequently, much of the movie’s pleasure derives from the way in which details — clues, if you will — are briefly presented and occasionally withheld. As in most coming-of-age stories, the audience gets things that are beyond the main character’s level of experience and understanding.
That’s the case with a dark young man named Thomas, an enigmatic survivor of the camps who latches onto Lore’s bedraggled caravan. As the days pass, though, and the film plants a seed that he may not be Jewish but has cannily deduced that a Jewish ID is the best way to navigate postwar Germany, we realize we aren’t necessarily any clearer about his identity and agenda than Lore is.
As for the mystery regarding an Australian filmmaker’s attraction to this subject matter, Shortland’s debut feature, “Somersault,” was also a coming-of-age saga about a teenage girl.
More revealing, though, is an anecdote that her South African-born husband, filmmaker Tony Krawitz — whose maternal grandparents fled Berlin in 1935 — tells about their meeting at a party in their early 20s where they connected over a common interest in history and fascism.
It’s a measure of Shortland’s mature gift for nuanced insight that the climactic moment when Lore rejects her childhood of deception is anything but cathartic. To this 14-year-old non-Jew, pretending that one could live happily ever after the Holocaust is inconceivable.

Remember that scene at the end of “The Graduate” when Elaine has skipped out on her wedding and fled with Benjamin Braddock on a city bus? The look on their faces — Katharine Ross in her white veil, Dustin Hoffman sweaty and with his hair mussed — said it all: “What in the heck do we do next?”
It’s the same look that ends “Yossi,” Israeli director Eytan Fox’s sequel, 10 years later, to his breakthrough hit “Yossi and Jagger.” But let’s start from the beginning. When “Yossi” opens, the eponymous character, Yossi Guttman (reprised by Ohad Knoller), is asleep in the call room after a long night at the hospital. He’s a middling cardiologist who has never gotten over the loss of his lover and IDF commander Jagger, who in the original film died in his arms after a skirmish in Lebanon. Yossi is lonely, overweight and exhausted. He spends his evenings eating oily takeout, watching porn and looking for one-nighters on online dating sites. His few friends — all of them co-workers — can surmise he’s gay, but he closes himself off so much that nobody knows for sure. Even the nurse who keeps trying to get him to go out on a date can’t get a straight answer about his sexuality. No two ways about it: He’s stuck.
But then he gets a visitor. Jagger’s mother comes in for an exam. Not knowing her connection to the still-mourning Yossi, she tells him about Lior — Jagger’s given name — and eventually he comes clean to Jagger’s parents about their relationship. It’s not an understatement to say that finding out about their son’s love life a decade after his death came as a shock.
But the moment finally Yossi decides to do something about his life. On a forced vacation to the Sinai, he picks up a quartet of soldiers on their way to Eilat for a weekend of R&R. One of them, it turns out, is gay. What ensues we’ve seen before. A courtship. A coupling. An awakening. Yes, it’s derivative, and the lights-on/lights-off scene — you know the one where one lover is embarrassed to be seen in the light while the other wants to see — is too rom-com in a drama that elicits few laughs.
But Fox seems to know that unlike “Yossi and Jagger,” which at the time was a shocking revelation but set the stage for Israeli gay film over this past decade, he’s not breaking new ground with the sequel. Doron Eran’s “Melting Away,” the 2011 film that broke the transgender barrier in Israel, can claim that mantle today. But just because “Yossi” doesn’t have high profile of the original doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. Though it is, admittedly, kind of a downer, the acting and direction are still well done. One scene between Yossi and Tom, the young soldier, is a case in point and an allegory for Israel today and the Israel of a decade ago. Where the older, quieter Yossi still hasn’t stopped hiding his sexuality, the younger, more boisterous Tom isn’t afraid of who he is: He flaunts it, his buddies know all about it, and it’s just one of those things they all accept.
So when Yossi has his Benjamin Braddock moment, we can only hope that if we visit him again in 10 years he has aged much more gracefully than he has in the past 10. Without it, the rest of the film would have felt like a waste.

On Tuesday, professor of history at Ohio State University Robin Judd will be at the UW to speak on “What’s Love Got To Do With It? Jewish War Brides, Soldier Husbands, and Postwar European Jewish History.” Jew-ish caught up with her to gain some insights into the phenomenon of Jewish war brides, and how we “moderns” can relate to this concept today.

Jew-ish: What are some examples of war brides you’ve come across in your studies?  
Robin Judd: In my talk on Tuesday, I’ll begin with a description of Flory (Kabiljo) Jagoda, a wonderful Ladino folk singer, who met her husband after she and her family fled to Bari [Italy]. I love Ms. Jagoda’s story in part because she met her husband, a master sergeant, when she was working on the US military base.  After years of fleeing, she kept her Jewishness hidden, and it was only when Harry Jagoda insisted on asking her parents’ for permission to take her to a dance that he noticed the mahzor (special prayerbook for the high holidays) and asked if they were Jews.
Jagoda’s story is different from the second bride I introduce. Gerda Weissman Klein, whose book “All But My Life” is required reading in many History of the Holocaust courses, met her husband when he liberated her.
Jew-ish: How did you end up on this topic? Why is it important?
RJ: I became fascinated with this topic because I kept being struck by how many of the memoirists that I teach in my History of the Holocaust course (including Weissman) were GI or war brides.  I wanted to learn more about these women and found that scholars had paid attention to their experiences in the war, but that nothing had been done on the Jewish war brides. As I conducted my research, I realized that a study of these women allows us a new way of understanding postwar Jewish life in Europe, England, Canada, and the United States.
Jew-ish: What do the women you study have in common?
RJ: Perhaps it is the fact that I’ve spent so much time with these women, but in many ways I see more differences than similarities. They shared similar challenges — many of the women I study did not share a common language with their husbands. They all immigrated to a new home country, and many of them did so under the auspices of the military. Many of them had to contend with serious ambivalence from the friends and family of their spouses.
Jew-ish: Does love have anything “to do with it”?
RJ: I’m a romantic, but yes, I do think that love had something “to do with it.” I’m not naïve enough to suggest that all of the relationships I studied were built on love or were themselves loving relationships, but I’ve been struck by how many of these individuals talk about love, and particularly about love as a strategy for reconstruction after the devastation of the genocide.
Jew-ish: What is unique about the women’s interactions with one another?
RJ: There are two particularly interesting aspects about their interactions. First, these war or soldier-brides lived with other war or soldier-brides and came to the United States or Canada with other brides. This meant that they were living in incredibly close proximity to women of different national origins.  For the survivors, this sometimes meant that they were on the same ships as German-speaking non-Jewish women. Second, and most important, the GI, or war bride, experience stamped a tremendous influence on these women. Many of them joined war bride clubs and created strong relationships with other brides.
Jew-ish: How can modern women today relate to such a foreign concept as a war bride?
RJ: I think both modern women and modern men can relate to this foreign concept. It isn’t a phenomenon solely lodged in the past. We still have GI brides or husbands today.  But most important, I think a history about the war brides sheds light on the many different strategies people offered for reconstruction and community building in the aftermath of loss.

Music

Friday
Why? @ 8 p.m.
Alternative hip-hop/indie/art rock/emo band Why?, led by Yoni Wolf with the help of his brother, Josiah, performs with Astronautalis and Dream Tiger.
At Neumos. $15.
Saturday
Simply Tsfat @ 8:30 pm
The Seattle Kollel welcomes back Simply Tsfat, a trio of personality, musical talent and spirit the whole family will enjoy. Returning to Seattle from the holy city of Tsfat, this band plays Jewish songs and prayers with a mystical bent. $10 adults/$5 students and children/$40 family.
At the Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. Call 206-722-8289 for tickets or information, or purchase at the door.

Film: The Seattle Jewish Film Festival

Saturday
The Day I Saw Your Heart @ 6:30 p.m.
The festival’s opening night kicks off with The Day I Saw Your Heart, about a hapless Melanie Laurent and her Jewish boyfriend, and daddy, troubles. Afterwards, shove some frosting in your face with a piece of cake created by Holly Levin, The Cake Lady. Read our review here!
Happy hour starts at 6:30, screening at 7:30.
At AMC Pacific Place 11

Sunday
Motzoh Momma Sunday Brunch and Film @ 9:30 a.m.
The popular annual Motzoh Momma brunch returns, joined by Klezmer music and a giant hora before the screening of Hava Negilah at 11 a.m.
At AMC Pacific Place 11
Once Upon a Time at 55th and Hoover @ 1:05 p.m.
Sephardic Jews from Rhodes in Los Angeles built a thriving community centered on unique traditions. Followed by a Sephardic echar lashon (coffee klatch).
At AMC Pacific Place 11
Joann Sfar Draws From Memory @ 2:45 p.m.
A documentary about graphic novelist Joann Sfar, creator of The Rabbi’s Cat, who finds inspiration in his Algerian-Jewish heritage and his current home, France.
At AMC Pacific Place 11
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea @ 4:30 p.m.
Join Jconnect for this screening, about a French teenager who strikes up a pen pal friendship with a young Gazan. Read our review here.
At AMC Pacific Place 11
Paris-Manhattan @ 8 p.m.
This romantic comedy focuses on a Woody Allen-obsessed pharmacist and her would-be lover.
At AMC Pacific Place 11

Shabbatica

Friday
Shabbat Across America @ 6:45
Shabbat Across America sees tens of thousands of Jews around the country get together for the celebration of Shabbat. The Seattle Kollel is hosting dinner and a special guest speaker, Rabbi Yehuda Silver. Rabbi Silver will speak on “Shabbat: A Ray of Light in a World of Darkness.”
$18 adults; $9 children; $60 family. Please contact 206-722-8289 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to reserve.

Nerdica

Friday–Sunday
Emerald City Comicon

Billed as “the largest comic book and pop culture convention in the Pacific Northwest,” with a special tribute panel to revolutionary graphic artist Will Eisner on Saturday — not to mention that the graphic novel industry was practically created and owned by Jews (don’t tell the ADL we said that) — this is sure to be an awesomely Jewy, nerdy weekend. Read our story on Will Eisner week and the ECCC here.

Monday
Stephen Greenblatt @ 7:30 p.m.
Hey, who said the weekend has to end on Sunday? On Monday night, Seattle Arts and Lectures’ Literary Arts Series hosts Stephen Greenblatt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” and “Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare.” Greenblatt argues in “The Swerve” that Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius’ “On the Nature of Things,” which posited that the world operated without gods and that matter consisted of small particles in motion, changed the course of history and thought.
At Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle.

Your weekend drink

This past week, Jew-ish and JTNews got to taste new kosher wines and liquors to Washington State. Our fave? Walders Vanilla Vodka. We don’t know what is in this stuff, but it is gooood. A creamy vanilla liqueur, it is delish over ice and a splash of Sprite.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Ki Tisa / Shabbat Parah
Candlelighting is at 5:35 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Classic Shabbat – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Friday night: Shabbat Unplugged – Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.
Saturday: Shacharit – Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Chappy Hour @ 5:30. nashir service @ 6 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St, Seattle
Friday: Family services @ 6:15 p.m. Potluck @ 6:45 p.m. Adult services @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. Out of the Box! @ 9:30 a.m. Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: Nusach HaTefilah @ 1:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:45 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:45 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:40 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative
Kavana Cooperative
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Minyan @ 10 a.m.

Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue
Friday: Back to the ‘60s Purim Shabbat @ 7:30 p.m.

Oh, how I miss the days when stodgy men behind heavy cedar desks, pipe smoke swirling above their heads, told us what to think. Hark, this performance is sublime, that one rubbish. It was all so easy. Now, thanks to this silly invention called “democracy,” everyone and their uncle can opine about art, usually in grammatically incorrect sentence fragments in long strings of accusatory comments beneath an online article, perhaps written by said stodgy male from his lofty perch on a higher branch of the evolutionary tree.
“This movie sux.”
Ah, but is it possible to have a middle ground? A voice between the Ivy-trained expert and the grumbling, unsophisticated masses?
Andy Horwitz, founder of Culturebot, says yes. Well, what he actually says is, let’s “try to have amore nuanced conversation” (minus all that stuff about the grumbling masses).
Horwitz, along with Culturebot editor Jeremy Barker, will be in Seattle for Everyone’s A Critic, an interactive performance at On the Boards March 7. The artist-panel–audience-conversation event will kick off Culturebot’s Citizen Critic Project, described as “a national initiative to activate and inspire public critical conversations on the arts and society.”
So, I started by asking him: “Is everyone a critic?”
“No,” he said.
Phew.
“We’re trying to distinguish between a reviewer and a critic,” he continued. “A critic isn’t just judging on whether they like it or not, but they’re really engaging with it…Critical thinking is a very important skill. A critic is someone who embraces critical thinking.”
To this end, Yelpers and Facebook likers and comment posters don’t fit into the category of critic. At the same time, Culturebot wants to wrench arts criticism out of the talons of the “experts.” This is partly borne out of Michael Kaiser’s 2012 HuffPo blog “The Death of Criticism or Is Everyone a Critic,” where he laments the explosion of blogs (note the irony!) and amateur opinions about art. Rather than trust knowledgeable arts critics in leading the way, Kaiser fears “art that appeals to the lowest common denominator will always be deemed the best.”
“I really feel passionately, if you live in a democracy, you have a responsibility to be informed and engaged,” said Horwitz. “From an arts perspective, I wanted to push back on Michael Kaiser.” The people going to the ballet and the theater aren’t “just consumers buying tickets. So why don’t these people have a voice in the process?”
Culturebot is pushing for a new mode of dialogue Horwitz has coined “critical horizontalism,” which means the critic continues the dialogue started by the artist.
“How do you position yourself in relation to that which you cover?” he asked. “I think that what I’m advocating is actually a repositioning between the writer and the performance…It’s kind of like Buber. You’ve currently got this framework of a subject-object relationship. I propose adopting a subject-subject relationship.”
Horwitz, who used work for the Foundation for Jewish Culture in New York, says his Judaism informs a lot of his ideas, if indirectly.
“I’m very Jewish in my creativity,” he said. “I grew up in a household where we had Shabbat dinner every Friday night. Part of having Shabbat dinner was having a conversation…one of the things that Jewish people do is have conversations.”
(He also shares that he lived in Seattle between 1990 and 1995, and taught music at a Sunday school in Bellevue. “I tortured a bunch of kids with ‘Hinei Rakevet,’” he said.)
I am warned: Discussion about Culturebot’s mission veers into esoterica. I tell him our readers can handle it.
“I find being in work of increasing complexity endlessly exciting,” he said. “If the Divine is everywhere, the pursuit of increasing complexity is a search for the Divine as it manifests in this world.” That is, infinite conceptual conversations are possible. They need not end with the all-knowing expert or devolve into pithy reviews. The world is changing, and we have to resist the simplicity of the black and white, he said.
So how can we all become citizen critics?
“First of all, do your research,” Horwitz said. “How can you do your research about the context of what you’re seeing? Try to meet it halfway, as opposed to expecting it to meet you.”
“Everyone’s A Critic” will consist of two parts. In the first, a panel of local artists will present on what they are passionate about. The second is a model of non-hierarchical conversation, one called “Open Space Technology,” the other “The Long Table,” where audience participants will engage in directed conversations.
“It’s always fun,” said Horwitz. “People are smart. They have a lot to say. People love it.”

With one of the largest comic conventions of the year on the horizon, here in Seattle we prepare ourselves to salute Jewish comic giant, Will Eisner.
Wait, who the heck is Will Eisner? Well, if you saw his signature, you’d think maybe he had some sort of connection to Walt Disney. While Disney and Eisner never worked together, they are both giants in the world of cartooning. Eisner was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry and is often referred to as the father of the graphic novel.
Since his passing in 2005, every year the week of March 6 is designated “Will Eisner Week: An annual celebration promoting graphic novels, literacy, free speech awareness and the legacy of Will Eisner” around the U.S. This year, Will Eisner Week coincides with Emerald City Comicon (ECCC) here in Seattle. “Reflections on Will Eisner and the 35th Anniversary of A Contract With God” a panel featuring Denny O’Neil, Batton Lash, Matt Fraction, Jackie Estrada, and moderated by Ben Saunders, will take place on Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m.
Born in 1917 in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants — his mother from Romania and father from Austria — Eisner came from an artistic, entrepreneurial background. His father painted backdrops for vaudeville and Jewish theater productions in New York. His mother, a staunch pragmatist, tried desperately to dissuade young Will from becoming an artist, to no avail. 
It was during high school at DeWitt Clinton in the Bronx that Eisner’s blooming interest in art was fostered and encouraged by his father, and it was in the school newspaper that published his first comic work in 1936. This early work launched Eisner into a unique and groundbreaking career spanning almost seven decades.
At 19, Eisner met his first business partner, Samuel Maxwell “Jerry” Iger, the two connecting through their work with a short-lived comic magazine, “Wow!” Their work together blossomed into a wonderful partnership, and the Eisner-Iger Studio was born.
The studio was a veritable comics factory, churning out strips in a variety of genres with the objective of having those comics placed in American newspapers. Toward this end, Eisner-Iger recruited a number of young artists who would go on to become comics legends in their own right: Bob Kane, the creator of Batman, and Lou Fine and Jack Kurtzberg (later Jack Kirby), co-creators of Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four.
From 1940 on, Eisner became best known for his work producing “The Spirit,” but it was in 1978, with his production of “A Contract with God” — a collection of four stories that draw heavily on themes of Jewish immigrant and tenement life — that Eisner launched into the in-depth and complex world of graphic novel creation. Eisner followed “A Contract With God” with a series of graphic novels published by the alternative comics publisher Kitchen Sink Press. With subject matter ranging from the semi-autobiographical (“The Dreamer” and “To the Heart of the Storm”), to keen observations of modern life (“The Building” and “Invisible People”) and science fiction allegory (“Life on Another Planet”), Eisner is credited with helping to break comics from the juvenile ghetto of superheroes and “funny books.”
From his work with “The Spirit” to his revolution of the graphic novel, Eisner then went on to use what he learned from the field of comics to become a teacher himself. Many of today’s graphic novelists and industry professionals in North America were students of Eisner’s.
It’s from these years of teaching that Eisner authored three definitive works examining the creative process, “Comics and Sequential Art,” “Graphic Storytelling” and “Expressive Anatomy.”
Throughout the ‘80s until his death, Eisner traveled as much as he could, giving lectures and attending conventions, spreading the word about the value and potential of comics as an art form, as well as an educational tool. He spent many hours speaking with aspiring cartoonists, encouraging them to persist, to develop their own styles and experiment with the different aspects of graphic storytelling.
In 1988, the Eisner Awards were established in his name. Presented each year at Comicon International in San Diego, California, these awards are now considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry and recognize the finest sequential artwork of the year.
Eisner has been cited as an inspiration by comics creators from all corners of the world and from all areas of the art form. As a creator who helped define the very language of comics, his influence will be felt for years to come. He will remain one of the most important and inspirational forces in the comics field.

What do you do when your family hates you for what you are? If you’re lucky, you get out. That’s what happens to Assaf at the start of “Melting Away,” a teenage boy who disappears after his father, upon finding women’s clothes hidden in his son’s bedroom, bolts the door to the house.
“He’ll come back,” says Shlomo to Assaf’s tearful mother, Gallia.
And she believes him. But Assaf never returns. Four years later, however, Anna does. After enlisting the assistance of a private detective, Gallia finds her son — who has since become her daughter — to let her child know that Shlomo is dying.
Acting as a care nurse by day while he convalesces, Anna appears to successfully hide her new identity from her father, whose illness has made him less of an overbearing jerk, while trying to recreate the relationship they never really had.
If “Melting Away,” which screens at this year’s Seattle Jewish Film Festival, were an American film, it likely would have made its rounds of the indie film circuit, screened at a few gay and lesbian film festivals, then been relegated to the LGBT section of the dwindling video stores in the more progressive cities around the country. But this is not an American film. This is Israel’s first examination of transgender issues on the screen, and director Doron Eran manages to create a sensitive yet engaging film that can come only from his level of experience behind the camera.
Which isn’t to say that the film is perfect. Hen Yanni is spectacular as Anna, and Ami Weinberg’s portrayal of Shlomo, the go-getter-turned-terminal-patient, is just as impressive. Limor Goldstein’s portrayal of the weak-turned-empowered Gallia is good, if not too tearful.
But the supporting cast — a favorite uncle whose understanding behavior toward a disaffected young nephew is far different from his aggressive behavior toward pretty young women, or the best friend who fears coming out to his mother — play too close to type.
But the actors work well together, and with what they have. Assaf/Anna is pensive, drawn into her career as an artist and cabaret singer, and is seemingly well adjusted despite having lived in hiding for several years. That she can slip right back into her family’s lives so easily without immediately giving herself away pushes the boundaries of believability, as does the fact that no one in the hospital questions Anna’s nursing credentials.
But those are minor quibbles in a beautifully shot, conversation-inducing picture. The ending turns much of what we’ve watched on its head, but everyone gets what he or she wants, even Shlomo, though it doesn’t give anything away to say that he dies. For everyone else, life goes on.

It’s hard to believe that Madeleine Albright, who fled Prague with her parents in 1939 and lost three grandparents in the Holocaust, never had any idea her family was Jewish.
“Stunned is not even a word,” said the former secretary of state to the Clinton administration. In the process of being vetted for office in 1997, the pieces started to come together.
“At some point,” she told herself, “I have to get back and put the story together.”
That story — part love poem to her native Czechoslovakia, part play by play of the war, part family history — is finally told in “Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937–1948” (Harper Perennial). Albright will be in Seattle on February 23 to speak about the book at Town Hall. JTNews had the honor of speaking with her by phone before the visit.
Albright is aware of the skepticism around her ignorance of her family’s history.
“I feel, in retrospect, stupid,” she said. But, “if you have no reason to ask questions, you don’t ask questions…I had a complete story of my life, I thought.”
“Prague Winter” is Albright’s in-depth study of her family’s history, which, she explains in the introduction to the book, was impossible to write without “placing my parents within the context of the times in which they lived,” particularly 1937–1948 Europe. The result of extensive research, including sorting through her father’s writings, speeches, and recordings stored in boxes in the garage, “Prague Winter” expresses in palpable detail the national pride and pain shared by Czechoslovaks as Hitler began grabbing chunks of the continent, closing in on their homeland.
The history, while laden with names, dates, places, details, is riveting. “Prague Winter” is an important read, especially for anyone who still fails to grasp how World War II could have possibly unfolded and led to such unthinkable cruelty.
“The notion that the summit of the human race was represented by the homely Austrian and his pear-shaped colleagues was laughable — and people did laugh,” Albright writes at the top of chapter 6. Yet reading “Prague Winter” is like watching a slow-moving car you know is going to crash. You can’t help but hope the other drivers will stop him. To this end, Albright has more than a few choice words about the British.
“The thing that I try to explain to myself: Why didn’t the British and French do something earlier?” she pondered. The only thing she can come up with is, “They were exhausted from World War I. They couldn’t make themselves believe that Hitler was the monster he was…. My sense is, from readings that I did, the people that stayed behind couldn’t begin to imagine the monstrosity that was going to happen to them.”
Albright’s maternal grandmother boarded a train to Terezín and was never seen or accounted for again, and her paternal grandparents calmly packed, cleaned, and sent their dog to the pound once they were summoned to Terezín.
“They were telling Jews that this was a pretty nice place,” said Albright. “Why not go to this place in the country? It was sold to them that way. That’s the only thing I can imagine.”
Given the fear of the future under Hitler’s reign, the Jews, Albright presumes, thought it might be the safer option.
“There weren’t people to come back to tell them what was going on,” she continued. “It’s a little town. They had enough people to have a symphony orchestra. It was hypocrisy at its highest.”
“Prague Winter” has three levels, Albright explained: The personal story, the war account, and the lessons for humanity. She hopes readers will walk away less judgmental. “I kept trying to put myself in someone else’s shoes [writing the book]” she said. “I didn’t go through the horrors that some of my relatives did. I think we all need a little bit of humility.”
Rather than succumb to the darkness of winter, Albright stressed her intent to continue finding the shafts of light.
“The main lesson is about the resilience of the human spirit,” she said. “The necessity to stand up to evil. Trying to analyze what could happen. The unintended consequences. I hope people get that out of it. There are definitely lessons.”

Talks

Saturday
Madeleine Albright @ 2 p.m.
The former secretary of state comes to Town Hall to talk about her latest book, “Prague Winter.” The story is part love letter to her native Czechoslovakia, part family history, part play-by-play of World War II from the eyes of her peace-loving, nationalistic Czech family. Albright escaped Prague with her parents in 1939, and didn’t find out until 1997 that they were, once upon a time, Jewish.
At Town Hall.

Music

Friday–Sunday at various times
Marvin Hamlisch tribute concerts
The Seattle Symphony Orchestra honors the legacy of Pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch, who passed away in August. Conducted by Hamlisch’s friend Larry Blank, the tribute concerts include hit numbers from Hamlisch’s compositions, including “A Chorus Line” and “The Spy Who Loved Me.”
Performances run Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets from $19 to $95 may be purchased at http://www.seattlesymphony.org or through the Symphony’s iPhone or Android apps, by calling 206-215-4747, or by visiting the ticket office in Benaroya Hall.
At the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle.

Sunday
Israel Vibration @ 8 p.m.
That is, Israel as in Zion, and vibrations as in Jamaican. But we couldn’t leave this Jew-ish concert off the weekend guide. Tickets are $20.
At Neumos, 925 E Pike St., Seattle

Athletica

Saturday
Jews in Shoes @10:30 a.m.
Rain or shine, meet at the Starbucks in Green Lake (7100 E Green Lake Ave.), then head out for a walk or jog with fellow Jews around lovely Green Lake. Afterwards, grab a drink at the Blue Star Café and Pub.
For more information contact Elise at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Hebrew

Saturday
Seattle Hebrew Language Meetup @ 11:30 a.m.
“Let’s practice speaking Hebrew with each other!” Now under new leadership, the Seattle Hebrew Language Meetup is planning more conversational activities. Join their meetup at the Green Lake Starbucks (7100 E Green Lake Ave.) for an hour or so of Ivrit.

Purim!

Saturday
Neon Purim @ 8:30 p.m.
This year Jconnect is shining a whole new light on the Book of Esther. A neon light, that is. Don’t miss another one of Jconnect’s fabulous holiday parties.
At Melrose Market Studios, 1532 Minor Ave., Seattle. For more information contact Elise at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Sunday
Purim Basket Making with JFS @ 1 p.m.
Jconnect will team up with Jewish Family Service to make mishloach manot for families in need.
For more information contact Talia at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Tetzaveh
Candlelighting is at 5:25 p.m.
Purim starts Saturday night and ends Sunday night

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: 4th Shabbat – Seattle @ 7 p.m.
Friday night: Rock Shabbat and potluck - Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday – Seattle: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.
Sunday: Adult Purim @ 10:30 in Seattle

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 10:30 a.m. Purim service @ 7 p.m.
Sunday: Adult Megillah reading @ 10 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m. Purim spiel and Megillah @ 7 p.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: Megillah and shtick @ 7 p.m. Dance party @ 9 p.m.
Sunday: Megillah @ 9:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m. Purim-Bond celebration “From Shusan with Love” @ 7 p.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m. “Purim in Hawaii” @ 7:30 p.m. with Island Crust Cafe catering, a seafood bar, and the Od Yishama Orchestra.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush. Purim party @ 7:30 p.m.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:35 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Megillah reading @ 7:10 p.m., purim party to follow with food and live band.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:35 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m. Megillah reading and ‘50s style Purim party @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Purim breakfast @ 9:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Friday night service @ 5:25 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m. Megillah @ 7:15 p.m. followed by Purim bash
Sunday: Megillah @ 9 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Reconstructionist
Kadima
Sunday: Purim party @ 10 a.m. plus packing mishloach manot for JFS clients.

Alternative
Kavana Cooperative
Saturday: Megillah and Purim Party with snacks @ 6 p.m. Register for details.

“A Bottle in the Gaza Sea” (Une Bouteille à la Mer) has been billed by some critics as a Palestinian-Israeli Romeo and Juliet.
Indeed, our young protagonists — Tal Levine (Agathe Bonitzer), a French teenager who has made aliyah with her family, and 20-year-old Gazan Naïm Al Fardjouki (Mahmud Shalaby of last year’s film festival feature “Free Men”) — are from rival houses. Seventy-three kilometers apart, yet separated by walls and ideologies, they establish an unrequited friendship through clandestine emails.
But the comparison ends there. “Bottle in the Gaza Sea” is much more about the reckoning that both Tal and Naïm have to do with each other, as well as with their own families and values.
Withdrawn and jumpy after a nearby café bombing, Tal has her brother, a soldier serving near Gaza, toss a message in a bottle into the sea.
“I wonder,” she writes, “how anybody can attach explosives to his body, choose some place and watch his victims, knowing he’s about to die.” Somewhat implausibly, the bottle ends up in the hands of Naïm and his friends.
“She’s nuts!” they laugh. “She wants to know how a guy blows himself up? Abu Samir, our neighbor, will show her!”
Naïm, however, secretly contacts Tal via the email address she’s left, which begins a rocky correspondence until Tal reveals her French origins. Rather than stoking Naïm’s anger (after all, she has another homeland), this fact endears her to him. For he is studying French, and in her he has found a language partner. Ah, oui, the French save the day.
Directed by Thierry Binisti, “A Bottle in the Gaza Sea” is based on Valérie Zenatti’s young-adult novel by the same title. Knowing this, it’s easier to understand the simplicity of the friendship and some of its more problematic elements.
Yet despite the criticism, “Bottle” is beautifully shot and acted and impeccably timed. Moreover, it poignantly captures the day-to-day challenges of Naïm, Tal, and their friends and families, from Tal’s growing disaffection with her parents and boyfriend to Naïm’s frustration with his t-shirt delivery job and the extended family that has been forced to temporarily share his apartment. And while the gravity of the conflict is more heavily weighted toward Naïm — especially when Operation Cast Lead begins — their personal grievances, family conflicts, life lessons, and moments of comic relief complement each other.
No one said the Middle East conflict was easy, and these days art tends to either pick sides or neutralize the passions into a digestible lesson about how we’re all the same. “A Bottle in the Gaza Sea” takes the latter tack, but not without trying to point out the nuance along the way.
But truly, given the complexity of the situation, is a little simplicity once in a while such a bad thing?

If Jewish sons have mommy issues, then Jewish dads have daughter issues. This phenomenon crosses time zones and national boundaries, as proven by the Seattle Jewish Film Festival’s opening night flick, “The Day I Saw Your Heart.”
The festival has strong representation from France this year. “The Day I Saw Your Heart” (“Et Soudain Tout le Monde Me Manqué — “And Suddenly I Miss Everyone” is the French title) starring Mélanie Laurent (“Inglourious Basterds”) as Justine and Michel Blanc as her meddling father, stands in the middle of a family whose dysfunction, embarrassingly, appears to be its most Jewish trait.
One has to wonder why the adorable Justine just can’t get it together. Crashing on her sister and brother-in-law’s couch — nearly botching their adoption home study — the quirky blonde picks arguments with baristas and goofs off on her job in a medical clinic by taking X-rays of household objects.
We come to find that Justine’s clinical pastime is an expression of her artistic side, and when Justin Timberlake lookalike Sami (Guillaume Gouix, who stars in recent French-Israeli drama “Alyah”) drifts into her life, he becomes an objet d’art, too. In one of the most creative romantic sequences I’ve seen in some time, Justine X-rays various parts of Sami’s body after the clinic has closed for the night. Back home with the images held up to the window, she torments herself finding the perfect arrangement.
Are her X-ray art projects art pour l’arte, or, peut-être, art pour le inner turmoil caused by la famille, in particular, le père?
Eli Dhrey, Justine’s father, not only gave his daughters a run for his love, but now, remarried and getting on in age, announces his wife’s pregnancy. This does nothing for Justine, who has spent her life trying to win his love (hence many failed relationships). And when Justine discovers that her long string of ex-boyfriends are all in close contact with her father — he’s even leaving his business to a couple of them — and that he’s pulling Sami into his collection, you can imagine all the more why she’s crashing at her sister’s place and confiscating their toaster for internal exams.
When Eli, in his meddling way, finds out that his daughter has been X-raying a boyfriend, he requests a session. But what Justine finds is not art. Holding up the image of his chest X-ray, she spots a problem with his heart. Cue the irony.
Facing a life-threatening situation, Eli and his wife and daughters have to sort out their issues before it’s too late. Although only vaguely Jewish, “The Day I Saw Your Heart” is, if you’re not too uncomfortable, heartwarming.

An important challenge for 21st-century documentary filmmakers is connecting the distant history of the Holocaust to today, and making it relevant for younger audiences.
More often than not, it’s the children and grandchildren of survivors, rescuers, and perpetrators who supply the necessary link between the past and the present.
In her riveting, revelatory, and profound film, “Besa: The Promise,” director Rachel Goslins depicts an Albanian man’s extraordinary efforts to fulfill the vow his late father made to the Jewish couple he hid during the war. The marvelously crafted film, with a fine score by Philip Glass, simultaneously honors the broader efforts of the entire population to protect its Jews from the Nazis.
These days, Albania is looked down upon as the most broke, backward province in Europe, but the country deserves a better reputation. Immediately before Mussolini’s troops invaded and drove him into exile, King Zog granted citizenship to every Jew living in Albania.
Following their beloved king’s lead, and in keeping with their highly developed code of honor, the populace assumed the responsibility of sheltering its Jews. Some 70 percent of the Albanians who saved Jews were Muslim, and “Besa: The Promise” is intended in part as a rebuke of the conventional wisdom that Muslims and Jews are natural and eternal enemies.
Admittedly, Albania is a small country and we’re not talking large numbers of Jews, but every life and every act of conscience counts. That’s the attitude of the tireless Norman Gershman, an American who embarked a decade ago on a campaign to find, photograph, and extol the Albanians who aided Jews.
“Besa: The Promise” artfully weaves the historical overview and the aging Gershman’s solo crusade with the fascinating, nearly unbelievable persistence of an unassuming toy seller named Rexhep Hoxha. Born in 1950, Hoxha grew up hearing his father’s story of hiding a Bulgarian Jewish couple and infant during the war.
When the Jewish family fled, they left three prayer books — treasured family items that, if they were stopped en route, would have betrayed their Jewishness — in their benefactor’s care. He promised to return them after the war, but to his dismay he was never able to locate the family, and neither they nor their children ever showed up to reclaim them. After his father’s death, Rexhep Hoxha inherited the “besa,” the Albanian custom of keeping one’s word and helping in times of need. The traditional concept of besa expanded to include the Albanian Muslim protection of Jews during the war years.
What gives the film its tension is the mysterious behavior of the Jews, whose inexplicable failure to seek out and thank their rescuers after the war (of greater importance, arguably, than recovering their property) contrasts with Hoxha’s unwavering, Internet-aided persistence.
The trail eventually leads to Israel, where we watch with apprehension to see if the people of the book will be embarrassingly and insultingly cavalier about Hoxha’s remarkable commitment to return their precious books, or if they will match the singular character of the Albanian (and his son) we’ve come to admire.
Lawyer-turned-filmmaker Goslins has made a rare film that lets us spend an hour and a half awed by the best qualities of human beings, inspiring us to manifest our own.

Film

Harold and Maude
Thursday @ 7 p.m. – tonight only!
The classic film about the intergenerational relationship between depressed young Harold and kooky old Maude is super existentialist, which is to say, super Jewish. A this special showing, enjoy tragi-romantic candy hearts, a Cat Stevens sing-along, and prizes for couples with big age gaps. Snatch up your favorite cougar/silver fox!
At SIFF Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N.

Outdoors

Ski with Jconnect
Sunday
Join Jconnect for a day of skiing at Crystal Mountain. Meet at Hillel at 6:30 a.m. for the carpool, and be on the slopes by 9. All levels welcome. Grab lunch and partake in après-ski beverages, and be back by 6 p.m. If you have a season pass and gear, you are ready to go. Otherwise a day pass can be purchased for $66 and gear can be rented for the day. If you can offer to drive, please let them know how many you can fit. Four-wheel drive strongly encouraged! For more info contact Matt Drooyan at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Books

“The Essential Homebirth Guide” Book Launch
Sunday @ 4:30 p.m.
Celebrate with local author and midwife Jodilyn Owen!
The Couth Buzzard Book Store 8310 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle

Theater – Ongoing

Undo – last weekend!
Thursday-Saturday @ 8 p.m. at the Annex

Photograph 51
Friday-Sunday @ 7:30 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday @ 2 p.m. at the Seattle Rep

Shabbatica

Brews and Shmooze
Friday immediately following oneg, following services @ 7:30 p.m. at Bet Alef
Come to Shabbat services and then join Rabbi Olivier at a local pub for a beer (first one is on the rabbi!) and spirited discussion. You must be 21-31 years of age to attend. Everyone is welcome. This month’s topic: Pot is Legal - But is it Kosher?

Our advice: Go skiing with Jconnect on Sunday, or else head outside on Monday and pay tribute to our great American presidents by doing something outdoorsy, like forging a stream or hunting game. Afterwards, warm up with a spiked hot chocolate. This recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, honey, vanilla and rum.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Terumah
Candlelighting is at 5:15 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Shabbat Unplugged – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Saturday – Seattle, Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday: Family Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study at 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Community Shabbat dinner @ 6:30 p.m., Kabbalat Shabbat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St., Seattle. (Alki UCC)
Friday: Friday evening services featuring Total Experience Gospel Choir and potluck @ 7 p.m.
Saturday: Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. Services and kiddust @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: Observant life discussion group @ 1:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:20 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:20 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Friday night service @ 5:15 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Meditative
Bet Alef
1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle (First Baptist Church)
Friday - Meditative Shabbat Service @ 7:30 p.m. $10.

As women, we know that it is not always easy to make the vagina happy, and it can be hard to put our fingers on (ahem) exactly what the problem is. 
Vagina: A New Biography by Naomi Wolf (author of The Beauty Myth) is a captivating read full of science, sociology, and literature. The title states what the primary subject of the book is about — the vagina — but it is also about the importance of emotional intimacy in any relationship, backed up by recent medical research that you likely haven’t heard about.
The first part of the book explains the science that provides the reader with a lot of “Aha!” moments. Wolf describes how the vagina talks to the brain: The pelvic nerve physically extends from the clitoris, vagina, cervix, and anus to the spinal column and then to the brain. The structure of the pelvic nerve is different for each woman. This complex neural circuitry provides for an intense feedback loop from vagina to brain and back again. In the one direction, orgasms involving different aspects of this network can result in different mood-altering chemicals — dopamine, oxytocin, and opioids — to be produced by the body, rendering the vagina the delivery system for women’s feelings of transcendence, creativity, and confidence that persist beyond the bedroom into their professional and interpersonal lives.
In the other direction, positive or negative messages about women’s vaginas and sexuality can have a profound effect both on women’s physical sexual response as well as general mood and well-being. Thus, in the vagina-brain dialogue, depending on what else is “contributing” to the conversation, the nervous system, endocrine system, heart, and mind can all be involved.
Each of these can thus have a huge impact on intimacy, and Wolf explains how focusing on only some of these without the others may leave things lacking when it counts. To that end, the book critiques our culture’s goal-oriented emphasis on orgasm when it comes to sex and highlights that without activating women’s autonomic nervous system, or more plainly put, being attentive to getting a woman supremely hot and bothered, “she can have intercourse and even climax; but won’t necessarily feel released, transported, fulfilled, or in love, because only a superficial part of her capacity to respond has been made love to, or engaged.”
The second part of the book is filled with “Oops… did that hurt you?” stories of how bad treatment of the vagina, even in our “liberated” culture, stifles women’s sexuality, self-realization, and empowerment.
Wolf explains that it wasn’t always this way: Many ancient civilizations in the Near East, India, and China exalted the vagina as the highly celebrated giver of life and love. She goes on to present the history of the evolution of views toward the vagina, the emphasis on male sexual relationships in Greece, Jewish and then Christian restraints on sexuality, medicalization of the vagina in Victorian times, to an unsatisfying “liberation” of women’s sexuality over the last century and a half when the vagina is still a taboo word and a not very respected organ in modern culture and pornography.

While today’s openness is an upgrade from the repression of previous centuries, offensive language and threatened and actual violence toward the vagina are still pervasive, and if you think that those pornographic vaginas are really making anyone happy in the long run, you will think again. The research shows that “porn diminishes rather than heightens libido over time; that its effect on the phallus is ultimately unmanning and depressive; and that its effect on the vagina is a short-circuiting of the intense erotic potential…inherent in every woman.”
The latter part of the book gives the reader that “Yes! Yes! Yes!” sensation of climax and connectedness. The goal: Get your woman to feel like a goddess. To that end, the book explores the world of tantra and the latest research. The takeaways range from the conventional to the unexpected: “value her”; “find her ‘sacred spot,’ then hang out there far longer than you think reasonable”; “do whatever she likes to her nipples”; and of course the tried and true, let her smell your armpits. The results of these activities are to give her those extra dopamine kicks that will not only make her happy, but will make her want to make you happy.
By the end of the book’s tour through the knowledge about the physical, social, and sexual aspects of the vagina, Wolf concludes that with this new information, more research, and getting to know the beloved vagina (whether it is yours or the one attached to your amazing partner) will improve happiness in many relationships.
As progressive and open-minded as we already were, reading this book has opened our eyes. Sure, we knew about exploring our bodies and communicating our needs, but it blew our minds to gain a new understanding of how our bodies are biologically and chemically wired, what we really need to have a gratifying sexual experience, and the interplay between how things are going in the bedroom and our happiness, productivity, and leadership. “Vagina” reminded us that each woman’s body is very unique, and it follows that what works for one woman might not work for the next. Even more than that, the book imparts that knowing the right techniques is only part of the equation for a successful sexual experience, solo or otherwise: Making a woman feel loved, not just in her vagina, but in her brain, is just as important. While this book is about empowering women, it’s also about improving relationships with women by understanding and celebrating diversity and the connections between our bodies and our minds so that we can love our partners oh so much more. (Again and again.)
Accordingly, we want to encourage both genders to read this book: It successfully tackles otherwise potentially stressful and anxiety-producing topics by providing more information and encouraging dialogue and exploration, using them to bring us closer together.
Read this book, because it is important for us as women to better know the needs of our bodies and minds before we take off those tights, and for you as our partners to have a better understanding of what you’re working with before you take off our skirts. 

Dating fucking sucks right now. Also, Valentine’s Day. Insert eye rolling and huge yawns.
But really: Dating sucks right now. I’m single — wwwwwwwwaaaaaaahhh — and now thanks to Internet matchmaking websites I can’t be okay with it because it’s my own fault I’m “not trying hard enough” or “exploring my options.” After all, there are millions of people waiting to date me, if I would just sign up, pay money, and put up cute pics where I’m smiling and look like a normal person who is nice and laughs at jokes and prefers jeans and tee-shirts and uses emoticons in both text messages and at the end of work emails. (_8(|) ← Homer Simpson!
The Internet hookup boom causes my formerly casual singledom to appear as an extremely intentional choice. Whereas I used to be able to lazily blame my lack of significant other on environment (home town population: 14,698) or peer group (theater people! they’re so crazy!), I now, seemingly, have no excuse. Because if I really wanted to be dating, wouldn’t I just sign up for JDate or OKCupid or eHarmony or The Stranger personals or something? There are so many people out there who have the Internet and who are mutually single and frustrated! Men! Women! Their moms!
Wait. Moms? Yes. Not as in MILF. Not as in women who are looking to date and who have also birthed children. Rather, mothers of people who are single. Mothers.
I introduce to you TheJMom.com, a new dating website where Jewish mothers peruse singles profiles on behalf of their children.
Upon first hearing of this website, I laughed my ass off. Surely, it’s a joke.
I quickly found that it is not a joke.
Then, I was given this assignment: Interview Kevin Leland, CEO of TheJMom.com. I am specifically told to “be nice.”
The following is the nice interview that occurred between Kevin and me:

Jew-ish: What drew you to the Jewish online dating market?
Kevin Leland: TheJMom.com was started by my good friend Brad Weisberg and his sister Danielle. They were home for the holidays and while Brad was checking out Jdate.com, his mom swooped in and started picking out girls that she thought would be a good match.
Danielle had the brilliant idea of turning that into the focus of a dating site where the moms got to do the matchmaking. For two years [Brad and Danielle] ran the company on a part-time basis, but they couldn’t manage it with their full-time jobs, so they hired me.
Jew-ish: What is the average age of the “daters” whose moms use the site?
KL: The average age of the children is 28.
Jew-ish: How diverse is the age range of both moms and daters?
KL: The moms are age 45 and up, but about 75 percent of them are age 54 to 65. As you might expect, the vast majority of the children are age 25–34.  Although the site is called TheJMom.com we do have a fair number of JDads. About 33 percent of the parents are male.
Jew-ish: The targeted demographic is specific — are there any plans to expand or diversify?
KL: We’ve had a lot of people bring that up — couldn’t this work for moms in general? The answer is absolutely yes, but we’re focused on targeting Jewish moms in the short term. It’s a demographic that feels very passionately about finding their child a Jewish partner and likes to get involved in their child’s life – and I mean that in the nicest way possible.
Jew-ish: How is it coming along?
KL: Things have really been on the upswing recently. Our traffic has increased 50 percent and engagement is way up. Since launching, the moms have sent nearly 10,000 messages to each other.
Our biggest challenge is getting the word out. We’re a bootstrapped company so we don’t have a ton to spend on marketing. We find that when people do find out about the site, they couldn’t be more enthusiastic.

The only, and I mean only way that this concept will be successful is if somehow thousands of Jewish parent-child combos are out there where the relationship 1) exists, and 2) is solid enough for the child to allow their parent to make dating decisions. Oh, and 3) the parent is fluent in Internet.
Sure, if that reality is floating around in bulk, great! In fact, I’m jealous. Because the thought of my parent knowing me that well is hard to imagine.
I simply cannot believe that the dating market has become so insanely competitive and communicable that parents are getting involved on behalf of their 28-year-old adult children.
Call me a half-ass romantic, but no, just — no. Success stories and ridiculous, barf-inducing engagement videos do nothing for me. Here, consult this scientific chart I put together on Potential for Direct Communication in Dating Scenarios:

Serendipitous, face-to-face live spotting: single person-><-single person

single person—->computer<---single person

single person~?~?~?~?~?~parent———>computer<------parent~?~?~?~?~?single person

In the January/February issue of The Atlantic, Dan Slater blew the top off online dating. In “A Million First Dates,” his subjects — online dating executives and one d-bag named “Jacob” from Portland — posit that online dating threatens monogamy. Partners become dispensable, people stuck in mediocre relationships can hop on the internet and pick up a date without any of the effort of going to the bar or taking up swing dance. The article produced a flurry of responses. Alexis Madrigal, an Atlantic editor, called the article out for not taking into account a million other cultural reasons for the dissolution of the traditional relationship. Katie J.M. Baker backed this idea up on Jezebel: It’s not the social media or any other newfangled technology we can blame for the the crumbling of all that is holy. Relationships are just changing. We should look at all the angles.
In light of this debate, we at jew-ish thought it would be fun to collect some of our own, locally grown online dating disasters. Of course, dating disasters have always happened and always will, and yes, the way we are dating is changing because the way we are living is changing.
But how much? At least most of the women I know (and indeed, a lot of the men) want a nice, happy, healthy, monogamous relationship. Online dating seems to have passed quality control in its cure for singledom. Are the men here just extra douchey? Or do they stand with Dan Slater’s “Jacob,” the guy who stays in a relationship until he gets bored and then reactivates his profile?
One of the women here offers her opinion:

“I believe that men (and women) value the things they have to work for. Meeting online (I really can’t call it online dating) is way too easy. When something is too easy, it is not valued. If it is not special, there is not an impetuous for those who meet people online to invest in comittment because that would be work and someone else is only a click away.”

And as for the guys who pursue relationships on the side, it comes down to the thrill:

“They can feel the thrill of the new relationship~ and THAT is what people get addicted to. It’s new, exciting and everything is perfect. Your heart jumps when your phone buzzes or that email comes through. No nagging, complaints about finances or figuring out how to avoid the mother-in-law. Pure excitement. When you can always feel excitement and not have to deal with anything that involves compromise or discomfort, why would anyone have a real relationship?”

The stories we received about online dates gone wrong are pretty awesome. And by awesome, I mean not awesome at all. Some are blatantly ridiculous, and others are just awkward and uncomfortable. It’s that kind of laugh you do when you see someone fall down the stairs. Enjoy.

Not laughing
We met on JDate. He said that he was a, “Faithful, funny and well-traveled guy looking for somebody to take adventures with while laughing through life.” We met up for drinks, and it was a nice evening, which ended with a kiss on the cheek. Things progressed from there, and soon enough we were in a relationship, talking every day. He told me that he loved me, and even though I’d be moving out of town for graduate school a few months later, he could move to be with me.
At the same time, some strange things were going on — he’d miss my calls or be late because he’d “fallen asleep” or had a work or personal emergency. Finally, it was my birthday, and after not being able to get ahold of him all day, I made my way to his place. There, he told me that he really worked for the CIA, that he has to make sacrifices in his personal life for his job, and that I would have to decide if this was something I could handle. Not knowing how to respond, I left. That was the last time I saw him. We did email back and forth a bit after that, but it would be about a year before his wife would see one of those emails and call me, wanting to know if I knew he had a wife (he’d conveniently failed to mention that) and telling me how they’d started dating when he and I had been together and how she’d gotten pregnant and they’d gotten married a few months later. While it was distressing to feel deceived, it was good to know that I’d dodged that bullet.

The truth about Carl
Oh, summertime. The sun is out, and love is in the air. Since I am not the best at dating, I figured that it would be a good idea to try OKCupid. It’s free, and what did I have to lose? I went on a few dates that went well, but there was no connection. (At least we shared good stories and laughed, right?)
Then along came Carl.
Carl was not Jewish, so I didn’t think that anything would come of it, but since I was having such a great time meeting the other guys, I figured it would not hurt to just meet him. Ironically, I did not wear makeup or put much effort into my outfit since I was skeptical that anything would come of it. Ironically, that seemed to be what did the trick in making a connection. I was relaxed and not trying to impress him. We ended up talking for hours on that first date, and for the first time, I went home feeling connected to someone I met through an online dating website. I was ecstatic.
Carl had just moved here from New York. Even though he was not Jewish, he had lots of Jewish friends and did not appear to have any issues with my eating restrictions, my community obligations, my volunteer projects, or the fact that Friday nights were for services and not dinner dates. Even though I was so busy, we still saw each other every other day. And even though I had doubts about any long-term commitment, I wanted to give this new relationship a chance.
Carl did everything that I wanted from a man. He took me to book lectures, cooked for me, texted and called me everyday, shared his feelings, and told me frequently about what a great fit he thought the two of us were, in spite of our differences. I don’t think that I had ever been so excited over anyone like that before. I was on cloud nine.
Then one Friday morning I woke up randomly upset at him. I had no idea why I felt that way, but proceeded to get ready for work as usual. I thought maybe I was being silly for no good reason. Half way through my breakfast, my roommate came running out of her room, shaking. She said: “If it were me, I would want you to tell me.”
There it was. There was my beloved Carl, asking my roommate out on a date on OKCupid for a Friday night, when he knew I would be at Shabbat services.
He actually had not met her before. She was a relatively new roommate and had been on vacation the times he had come over to my apartment. My nerdy brother did the math and said that Carl must have asked out at least 60 women before he came across the unfortunate luck of accidentally asking out my roommate.
My heart was crushed. When I confronted Carl about asking my roommate out, his first five responses were along the lines of “She came onto me first.” My roommate is one of the most “pro-sisterhood” women I have ever met, and I knew to trust her.
Even though we had not had the “talk” yet, Carl had made it clear he was so into me that I had no idea he was still seeing other people, and above all, he was using my commitment to my faith as an opportunity to see other women. Some of my friends think that I must be lucky to have Hashem looking over me.
Whatever the reason, luckily I found out the truth about Carl.

J-wad
He contacted me on JWed. Fairly quickly, we gave each other our emails and within about 2 weeks we were texting and speaking on the phone. He was a sweet Israeli guy living in New York and seemed very sincere and was really into me. He sent me chocolates and flowers, and was encouraging me to start my own business. He said he wanted to build something with me. He planned a trip out to Seattle, but then things became a bit unclear. He told me he was coming to see me but also had business. I thought this was a little strange, but was so excited to finally meet him that I didn’t listen to my intuition and press the issue.
He came to my apartment in a cab to get me so we could go to dinner. He was SO cute and gave me the biggest bouquet of flowers I had ever received. We got downtown and were at a red light, I glanced down and saw a ring on his finger! I just about went through the roof. I said, “What is THAT?” He told me that he was separated but still married. This was the first time I knew anything about it.
I still went to dinner with him but the dynamic had changed in a heartbeat. He then revealed his real reason for coming: He wanted me to marry him so he could get a work visa. Since he married his wife in Israel, he wasn’t really “married” in the U.S. This was more than I could handle. I cared for him and he was just manipulating me to try to get a visa. 
I couldn’t believe that for months I had been corresponding with a married man and totally falling for him. At the end of dinner, I told him thanks for dinner but that he needed to go back to his wife and that I’m not the kind of girl that you keep on the side. He was surprised that I wasn’t willing to continue.
Months later, he contacted me again and offered to pay my rent for a year if I would marry him so he could have his visa. Tempted a little, I said, ‘No’.

Pierogi purgatory
I swapped emails back and forth with one guy on JDate for a month. I was getting so excited about him and everything we had in common – we were both very into food. As a first date I decided to invite him over to make pierogis. Once he came over, I found that despite our email connection, we had no actual chemistry, and it took hours longer than expected to make the pierogis. By the time we sat down to eat, I was ready for him to leave, and regretful that we couldn’t just have done a coffee date so I didn’t have to spend all the time and money preparing and cleaning for the dinner. I think he felt the same way. He left and I didn’t hear from him again, nor did I really want to. I wouldn’t see him again for a few years until a mutual friend unsuspectingly introduced us at Yom Kippur services. We pretended not to know each other.

Chopped
After a coffee date, a guy on OkCupid invited me over to have dinner at his place. He was a bit older than I, and on his profile he said that he was just looking to have “fun,” and for activity partners to cook with and to experiment with his new Vitamix blender. Dinner was pretty bland, so I was glad that I had at least brought some cookies and ice cream. He suggested we eat the ice cream on the couch. Next thing you know, I guess he was ready to get to the “fun” part of the date, and he offered to give me a tour of the upstairs of his house. Now, while I was happy to play with his Vitamix in the kitchen, playing with his Vitamix in the bedroom was a much different matter. I said that I wanted to leave, and he suggested we talk about how I was feeling, but I opted to just make my way to the door.

Hannah Mayne is a Ph.D. student in anthropology at the University of Florida. She is kicking off the UW’s lunchtime learning series tomorrow with her talk, “Making it Normal, Making it Safe: Women’s Voices from a West Bank Settlement.” Intrigued by the idea of an academic study of settler women — and not from a point of criticism, disdain, mockery or apology — we caught up with Hannah for a quick interview.

Jew-ish: First, some basics. How old are you and where are you from?
Hannah Mayne: I’m 27 and I’m originally from Ottawa, Canada.
Jew-ish: We understand that you will be sharing ethnographic vignettes of women’s lives in West Bank settlements. Tell us a little more about your research and how you got onto this topic.
HM: I’m very much a student of socio-cultural anthropology. At UF (the University of Florida), I worked very closely with Jack Kugelmass, an anthropologist who is well-known for his narrative work. Jack’s focus on stories and characters inspired me. I am also influenced by feminist theory and the value of paying attention to voices of those who are often not heard. I’m interested in what people have to say about their day-to-day lives, and how that might bump up against the way they are viewed in the media, or by those far away. Settlers, for example, are generally not thought of as people who don’t have their voices heard, but I began to wonder, on family visits, what women — and mothers specifically — have to say… if they have a different story to tell.
Of course, I also do not want to essentialize the difference between men and women, but most of the settlers are religious Jews and gender difference is indeed significant in that community. Women get a different education, and have different roles in the family, and they participate in community life in different ways.
How did I get onto this topic? Actually, I went to Israel to study something different, but I was visiting some of my husband’s family in the settlements and I became more and more intrigued by the contradiction between my political unease, and the warmth and beauty of the communities. I was (and continue to be) deeply troubled by the occupation of the territories, and yet, the Jewish communities are so pleasant. How did that happen? Radical religious ideologies didn’t seem to be the only answer. I wondered what had been written about the settlements in the field of anthropology, and I discovered that there was very little. So, after a lot of debating, I decided to delve into the subject.
Jew-ish: What are one or two interesting findings from your research?
HM: From the beginning, representation and diversity have been majors theme for me. Most of the ethnographic literature describes the settlers as fundamentalists, as crazy lunatics, really. But the truth is that “settlers” are not one homogenous group. There are many different kinds of people who move to the settlements for many different reasons. I’m interested in looking more closely at those motivations.
Jew-ish: Settlements are a charged topic. Do you face much controversy?
HM: It’s really tricky. I always have to be extremely sensitive about the terms I use, and depending on who I’m talking to, it can be challenging to talk about my research without receiving a cold shoulder.
It’s particularly challenging because I’m focusing on middle class settlements that are located literally right beside Palestinian towns, where the socio-economic conditions are extremely different, and more importantly, where the inhabitants do not have basic civil rights. It’s not easy to just talk about the settlers without getting deeply into this major and crucial problem.
But, in a sense, what I’m trying to do is to ask people to move past the ideas and assumptions that they have in their minds, and for a few minutes to consider other voices, and to zoom-in closer into the issue. I find that many, many people have a view of the settlements that is quite distant. Both the settlers and the Palestinians are talked about a lot in the news, but many people don’t know what happens in the West Bank region, what things look like, who these people are as individuals.
Jew-ish: What’s the main thing you hope people will take away from your talk?
HM: I’d like people to get a sense for how complicated the situation really is. The conversations about the settlements, about the Palestinians, and also about Israel more generally, are too often painted in white and black; people are either left or right, either for or against the settlements, for example. I think that looking more closely at what is actually going on gives us a much deeper understanding about why and how exactly it’s happening, and, in addition, perhaps gives us some sense for how to move towards a more hopeful future. Right now many people are talking about the intense messiness of the West Bank map, and the impossibility of drawing boundaries between two potential states — but I am interested in looking at the geography on the level of human beings, and how listening carefully might make those boundaries less important.

For the record, I’ve never really been a fan of Valentine’s Day. Like many holidays, it is a day filled with expectations that, at least in my case, were usually left unsatisfied.
As a pre-teen, it was usually the day when I would work up the courage to proposition whichever boy in my class I happened to have a crush on, and would then be completely devastated when my affections would go unreturned. Later, in the years when there was a love interest in my life, things generally went smoothly enough, but on a day with such high hopes, disappointment was inevitable.
And then there were those years with no guy. Some years I celebrated with friends. One year my roommate and I did as best we could to not leave our apartment and pretend the holiday didn’t exist. And one year I got excited about cooking a fancy dinner for myself only to lose my motivation at the last minute and opt for microwaved brown rice with soy sauce and sesame seeds instead.
To try and make lemonade out of this lemon of a holiday, this past year I decided to prepare a romantic dinner for a good friend. I spent the afternoon preparing salad, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and tuna steaks, and most importantly, a decadent dessert to make us forget about ever being self-conscious of our singledom ever again: Caramelized white chocolate caramel cakes, for which I had scaled down the recipe to make just enough for two servings.
While the rest of the dinner preparations were fairly basic, the cakes ended up being a very involved process. I spent the better part of an hour tending the white chocolate as it caramelized in the oven. Next, I gathered all of the other cake ingredients and mixed them all into the batter. I had everything timed just so.
My date came over, and so far everything was going as planned. The dinner was ready, the table was set, the cake batter was in the ramekins. We sat down to eat and — so far so good — everything was tasty and filling. I couldn’t wait for our little warm cakes to finish our meal and to provide some vindication for my hours spent in the kitchen preparing them earlier that day.
But as the meal went on, my date’s ear, which had been bothering her all week, was now starting to feel worse. We finished the dinner and I went to do dishes while she called a doctor. The verdict came in: We were going to the emergency room.
It’s an odd feeling to spend your Valentine’s Day night sitting in an emergency room with a bunch of strangers. But it actually turned out to be a prime bonding experience for my date and me. I tried to be comforting and entertaining, as we speculated about what brought everyone else in to the emergency room that evening and lamented the pains of the woman sitting next to us, whose finger had apparently been bitten by a chicken.
After seeing the doctor, with antibiotics and pain meds as parting gifts, I dropped my friend off at her apartment, as she was already starting to get loopy. I made my way back to my place, where I knew that my two little ramekins of cake batter would be waiting for me. While I was disappointed that I would be enjoying these on my own, I was looking forward to finally savoring the fruits of my labor. 
I set my little cakes in the oven and waited patiently for them to bake to a golden brown. I took them out when it was time and let them cool for a few minutes and then approached them, ready with my fork.
However, things were not as expected. As I took a bite, I realized that something was not right. I looked back at my notes and discovered that in my aim to scale down the recipe, I had reduced all the ingredients except for the eggs, leaving a dense, Passover-like cake as a result. At first, I persisted in eating it, despite its strange consistency and flavor, but I gave up fairly soon afterward.
I wasn’t sure if I was more disappointed or relieved that my date had missed dessert, or if I was just disappointed that I had let myself make a careless mistake on something that I had spent so much time on and been so hopeful for.
This year, I’m going for a second take with that date, caramelized white chocolate cakes and all. I’ll remember that despite my best intentions, things might not go as planned. But I have faith that the important things will turn out right, one way or another.

Music

New Voices in World Jewish Music: Galeet Dardashti
Sunday 7–8:30 p.m
Galeet Dardashti performs Persian and Jewish music and holds a Ph.D. in anthropology. For the second installment of Jewdub’s New Voices series, Dardashti will perform and talk with vocalist and composer Jessika Kenney of Cornish College. Free.
Last performance sold out - RSVP in advance!
At UW School of Music, Brechemin Auditorium, Seattle. For more information visit jewdub.org.
Student Dessert Q&A
At 9 p.m., students are invited to the basement of McMahon Hall (The 8 Café) for an intimate conversation with Galeet over dessert.
For more information, visit their Facebook event page.

Comedy

Todd Glass
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Todd Glass is a veteran entertainer who has earned the unanimous respect of his peers, praised by superstars like Sarah Silverman and Louis CK and beloved by “hip” comedy fans. He had guest appearances on “Home Improvement,” “Friends,” and “Mr. Show.” His podcast, “The Todd Glass Show,” is one of the most chaotic, consistently funny listens on the Internet.
At the Tacoma Comedy Club, 933 Market St., Tacoma. Ticket prices vary from $10 to $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. for the 8 and 10:30 shows, respectively.

Theater

Undo
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Rachel and Joe are getting divorced and everyone they know is invited. Guilt, grief, desire, and booze collide in this darkly comedic new play that contemplates a world where the worst moment in your life is something that people dress up for. “Undo” continues its run through Feb. 16.
At the Annex Theater.

12 Minutes Max
Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m.
This collection of seven short performances includes comedy, dance and theater, all under 12 minutes. Jew-ish.com’s theater writer Erin Pike will be presenting her own piece, “Score,” which uses “the authority of male vocalization, phallic gesture and a tiny chair in this pursuit.”
At Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave., Seattle. For more information visit their Facebook page.

Dance

THREE TO MAX and Too Beaucoup
Saturday at 8 p.m. — one night only!
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is in Seattle for one night only to perform “THREE TO MAX” and “Too Beaucoup,” created by famed Tel Aviv Batsheva Dance Company dancers Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, and Gai Behar. Naharin’s “THREE TO MAX” utilizes his “Gaga” style of choreography, and Eyal and Behar’s and “Too Beaucoup” — meaning “too, too much” if your French is rusty — “aims to manipulate and replicate precise and robotic movement that offers a sense of watching a 3-D video.”
At the Paramount.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their Facebook page.

Film

My So-Called Enemy
Sunday @ 3 p.m.
Kol HaNeshama is screening “My So-Called Enemy,” a documentary following six teenage Israeli and Palestinian girls, as part of their tikkun olam film series. RSVP as space is limited. At a private location.

Shabbatica

Jconnect Second Friday Shabbat
Friday at 7 p.m.
It’s that time of the month again! Though today is bright and sunny, it ain’t no Riviera, so celebrate Shabbat with Jconnect’s Mediterranean-themed dinner. Drinks and schmoozing start at 7 p.m., followed by services at 7:30 and then dinner. On the menu: mezze plates, Persian chicken, Moroccan chickpea stew, couscous, and salads. All for $12! And — get this — everyone who RSVPs will get a free drink when they walk in the door.
At Hillel UW. Learn more and sign up here.

Temple Beth Am scholar in residence
Friday at 8 p.m. Rabbi Aaron Panken will speak about “The Origins of Jewish Argument.”
On Saturday at 9:15 a.m., load up on breakfast and take in Rabbi Panken’s talk on “The Sabbath, Then and Now: How the Talmud Shaped Judaism’s Most Important Day.”
On Sunday at 10 a.m. Rabbi Panken will speak on “From Babylonia to Bellevue: Parents and Children in Talmudic Times and Today.”
At Temple Beth Am.

Gatherings

Jews and Brews
Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
New dating site HappyBubbe.com invites all young professional Jews to mingle at the brand new Bellevue Brewing Company. If you post a profile and photo before Sunday, Bubbe will buy your first pint.
Space is limited to 50 so RSVP now!
For more information check out their Facebook page.

Unless you have a superhuman immune system, you have, or have had, or will have that awful cold/flu plague (you know, the one that starts in the throat and takes over your life). This hot toddy recipe is basically Theraflu for the 21-plus.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

The parasha is Mishpatim
Candlelighting is at 5:03 p.m.

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Rock Shabbat – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Saturday – Seattle, Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.
Shacharit service – Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Jazzy Kabbalat Shabbat service with guest speaker Aaron Panken on “The Origins of Jewish Argument” @ 8 p.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Community Shabbat dinner @ 6 p.m., Kabbalat Shabbat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St., Seattle. (Alki UCC)
Exploratory Minyan Saturday @ 9:45 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.
Learners’ Minyan @ 10:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m. Shabbat dinner circle at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad at the UW
5200 21st Ave. NE
Shabbat services Friday @ 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat morning services @ 10 a.m. followed by kiddush

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.
Shabbos morning drasha given by Rabbi Bernie Fox, Dean of NYHS: “Has Modern Orthodoxy Lost its Relevancy?”

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5:10 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Friday night service @ 5:05 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ five minutes after candlelighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

In the year since her book, “We are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust” (University of Nebraska), came out, Ellen Cassedy has traveled around the country to speak about the summer she spent studying Yiddish in Lithuania and what she learned about how Lithuanians are trying to come to grips with what happened to their Jewish citizens during World War II.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” says the author. “I’ve been so moved by people who have opened themselves up to this material. Just reading about the Holocaust is hard and painful.”
Cassedy will speak in the Seattle area twice next week. On Mon., Feb. 11, she will appear at a gathering of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State. On Feb. 12, she speaks at the University Bookstore.
Cassedy journeyed to Lithuania, where her family had its roots, to take an intensive course in Yiddish. Just before she left, her uncle made a startling revelation to her about his time in the ghetto, which changed her perspective on the Holocaust.
Living in Vilna, once known as “Jerusalem of the north,” she began to ask Lithuanians about their perspectives on what happened during the war. She learned that moral definitions are not always drawn as clearly as most of us believe.
“My book asks people to look with respect at people who a lot of us in the Jewish community in the United States have thought of as being on the other side,” she said.
The author continued her language studies, and her often-humorous attempts to master the extremely complicated grammar of Yiddish are laid out side by side with her conversations with Lithuanians, including an elderly man who wanted to talk to a Jew before he died.
Complicating the issue is that many Lithuanians see themselves as victims, too — both of the Nazis and the Soviets. Many are completely ignorant of what happened to the Jewish population, a testament to how isolated the cultures were from one another. There is much denial, and there were many righteous gentiles.

Cassedy explores the moral gray area of what gentile Lithuanians did and did not do during the war.
“If it’s a choice between protecting your own family versus reaching out across a cultural divide to stand up for another part of a population,” observed Cassedy, we are naïve if we think we would automatically rescue someone else at our own risk.
“It’s a question we all have to ask ourselves,” she said.
By writing this book and speaking about it, she said “what I do today is make sure I don’t have to make that decision.” She said she hopes for a world “where people can stand up in the face of injustice without jeopardizing ourselves.”
Cassedy doesn’t challenge Lithuanians. She asks some gentle questions and observes “some brave souls” — a minority of Lithuanians who pose these questions “to their fellow Lithuanians.” In that country, currently dominated by right-wing nationalist politics, Cassedy feels it’s important to talk to those who are engaged in what she called “good-hearted” and “fragile initiatives” of getting their society to talk about the Holocaust.
Her message to genealogy groups is not different than her message to the general public, said the author.
“I talk about how my own genealogy journey morphed…in this larger exploration and I draw ties to what we’re after as genealogists and what I discovered,” she said. It “gives you respect of the lives of ordinary people.”
For some, “the enormity of the Holocaust and the right-wing nationalism that you find in Lithuania today…is overwhelming,” Cassedy said, and she respects those who speak out about the issue. However, she prefers to “shine a spotlight on the good things that are happening there,” and “ask people to be sophisticated enough to see that things are complicated.”

This is one of my favorite appetizers to serve for a party; they are a cinch to make and will surprise your guests with the unexpected combination of caramelized apple, blue cheese, and tarragon. The key is to use a good, crisp-cooking apple and then really caramelize it deeply, like you see in the picture. Using both a quickly made tarragon oil and the fresh leaves is a good trick to amp up the flavor.
I prefer a creamy blue cheese that will get a little melty on the warm apples, such as Blue de Causses, but any blue cheese will work. Instead of tarragon, you could also use basil or even arugula.
If you have any fancy finishing salts (which you can find at high-end food retailers), this is the perfect dish to use them on. A few grains will sit beautifully on top of the apples and add a bit of extra crunch and interest.

Caramelized Apple and Blue Cheese Crostini
Makes 16 crostini
Time: 20 minutes
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
16 thin slices of crusty baguette
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 small apples such as Pink Lady, cut into 16 wedges
Tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup blue cheese (such as Blue de Causses or Gorgonzola dolce), at room temperature
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon a.k.a. the world’s greatest salt) or large-crystal sea salt (such as red Hawaiian salt)
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400º.
Set aside 32 nice looking tarragon leaves. In a mortar and pestle or mini food processor, roughly purée the remaining tarragon with the olive oil.
Brush the baguette slices with the tarragon oil, reserving the crushed tarragon. Toast in the oven (on a baking sheet) or toaster oven until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the apples on in a single layer, working in batches if needed, until both sides are golden brown and somewhat tender, about 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of cayenne pepper and several grinds of black pepper.
To serve, arrange two slices of cooked apple on each crostini. Top with 1/2 teaspoon of the blue cheese, a speck of the crushed tarragon, two whole tarragon leaves, and a few grains of sea salt.

Our plan was simple. We were going to stop in the Druze village of Peki’in — mostly because it is connected to Kabbalistic mythology — and because our tour operator, Jana, had arranged for our group to experience Druze hospitality at a dinner that evening.
Peki’in is connected to Kabbalah because Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in the first century CE, hid there from the Romans in a cave with his son for 13 years. As the myth goes, during this 13-year forced meditation retreat, Bar Yochai wrote the Book of the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah.
Before walking down the steep slope in Peki’in to find the cave, our group stopped for hummus at Rayah’s, a little hole-in-the-wall eatery. Once restored, a few of us began our descent. Beyond the cave itself, our guide, Marla, mentioned that this Druze village also harbored a synagogue from Second Temple times — renovated many times over the centuries —that was still in use. We decided to pay it a visit.
But the door was locked. Undeterred, Marla walked into a little house next door to ask if the people there knew the person who could open the synagogue for us. Two Druze women sitting around an office desk replied that the caretaker of the synagogue had the key, but she wasn’t there at this time. As we regrouped to decide our next move, a little old lady, four feet tall, wearing rags from the last world war, looking like she was a thousand years old and carrying a couple of full plastic bags and muttering to herself, walked by. Jana asked if, by any chance, she knew the synagogue’s caretaker. And the woman, in an angry tone, mumbled back to her very fast: “Yes, of course! It’s me, but I’m not ready for you!” In shock, and thinking this old woman no longer had all her mental capacities, we followed her to the office Marla had just emerged from.
This little office space was no place to bring tourists into. It was old and decrepit, with the paint peeling off the walls. Waiting for the old woman to open the synagogue, a few of us ventured into the two adjacent rooms only to discover a series of ancient objects which, at best, belonged to a flea market. The old lady ignored us altogether for a good 15 minutes, casually drinking a glass of Sprite with the other two women. Eventually, after I pressed her again to please open the synagogue for us, she yelled at me, saying that we should first see all the artifacts in the other rooms, and only after that would she open the synagogue.
As she walked us through the other two rooms, she revealed the most incredible treasure trove. These artifacts we originally dismissed as the refuse of a hoarding old lady who was no longer coherent, were actually historical artifacts she had saved and organized as her version of a little museum.
Her name was Margalit. She was 81 years old. On the walls were pictures of her father and grandfather from early 20th century, although her family had been in Peki’in for over 2,000 years at the time of the Second Temple — way before there even was a Druze people.
There, on the wall, was her grandfather posing with Yitzchak Ben Zvi, one of the founders of the Jewish State, many years before the Declaration of Independence. Next to it, a photo of the Jewish kids of the 1936-37 school year, with their teacher and their little school behind them. On the side, another photo of the attendance record with the name of each child in the picture written in Hebrew.
Walking a little further into the room, we saw the Torah reading table of the old synagogue she had saved, the decorated curtain that covered the old Ark, and a few other ritual objects of the very ancient synagogue she was able to salvage from the last few remodelings. I kept asking questions about these objects, and she yelled at me each time, as if I should have already known and all my questions were truly idiotic. I was totally in love with her.
She pointed to a book that was open behind a glass case. On the first page a few words were handwritten in Hebrew, dedicated to her grandfather: “To the oldest family in our native land; thank you for…” I couldn’t read the rest. Signed: David Ben Gurion. Amazing! Next to the display case, a large picture of her receiving state honors from Shimon Perez, Israel’s president. Unbelievable! We clearly had stumbled upon Israel’s grandmother.
After a good half hour of touring her two-room museum, I reminded Margalit that we really wanted to see the synagogue.
“Wait!” she angrily muttered. “You have to eat something before that, and have a little drink!”
Of course! We wouldn’t dare crossing the street to visit the synagogue on an empty stomach. I told her we had just eaten a little hummus at the shop on top of the hill. She yelled at me, again, saying she hoped we had eaten at Rayah’s place and not anywhere else. As a matter of fact, I said, that’s exactly where we had eaten. Why did that matter so much to her, I asked?
She proceeded to tell us that Rayah’s father saved her father from a band of terrorists who were about to burn him alive during an attack in the years before the creation of the State of Israel. Sometimes the universe sends you to eat your hummus in the right hole-in-the-wall place.
A good 45 minutes had passed, and we hadn’t gotten anywhere near the synagogue yet. Finally, now that we had all eaten and drunk a little Sprite, we qualified for a synagogue tour. It took her a few minutes to open the gate of the courtyard and another few minutes to find the key to the synagogue’s front door.
“How many Jewish families still lived in Peki’in and used the synagogue?” I asked her. She barked back at me: She was the only one left in the village. Everyone else was either dead or had moved away. But because Peki’in is a holy place for many Jews (mostly because of Shimon Bar Yochai’s cave), Bar Mitzvahs often still take place at the synagogue.
Just before we could enter, she grabbed a few twigs held together as a broom to clear the entryway from all the leaves that had fallen from the magnificent mulberry tree that shaded the courtyard. I graciously told her that she certainly didn’t have to clean on our behalf, that we would be happy to just walk into the synagogue without the front doorstep being leaf-free.
What did I just say?! Here she went again, yelling: She wasn’t clearing the front door for us! Was I kidding?! She was clearing the dead leaves away so that we wouldn’t bring them into the synagogue as we stepped in!
I knew then that she had a thing for me. Why else would she keep on responding so indignantly to everything I asked? She gave us an incredible tour of this little synagogue, always muttering and mumbling, always angrily responding to our questions. We all totally fell in love with her. When the tour was over and we reluctantly started to walk toward our next destination, Margalit ordered us back into the courtyard. And as we sheepishly complied and gathered in front of her, she began to bless us with words from the Torah, words that rabbis pray for healing and success. She blessed us with health and wealth, she blessed our families, and our children’s children. Our hearts melted. Then, and only then, were we allowed to leave, to get back to our lives.
But there is no way for us to do that, Margalit. Life will never be the same now that we have spent these couple of hours with you. We have truly been blessed by your presence. You are the last Jew of Peki’in. You are a being of light and you will shine in our hearts for the rest of our days. Thank you for teaching us patience, thank you for teaching us to stay open to life’s surprises. Had we not, we would have missed you, and that would have been so terribly sad.

Theater

Saturday
Free Paramount Tour
10 a.m. the first Saturday of every month

Saturday-Sunday
Falsettos
“Falsettos” follows a married Jewish man who, in 1979, comes out of the closet and leaves his wife. This Tony award-winning sung-through (dialogue-free) musical sweeps through such light topics as being gay, AIDS, the definitions of marriage and family, and coming of age. If that doesn’t sound like loads of fun, note that the musical opens with the song “Four Jews in a Room Bitching.” Really, this will be a lot of fun. Really!
Saturday, February 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 3 at 2 p.m.
Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Avenue and Union, Seattle

Film

Friday
Seattle Jewish Film Festival tickets go on sale! The festival takes place March 2-10 this year.

Saturday
Groundhog Day
Double feature with Stephen Tobolowsky in person
6:30 p.m.
The classic about the lame, but ever-so-awesome-and-anticipated holiday. Stephen Tobolowsky will be in attendance — Ned! Ned Ryerson! — to do a Q&A and sign copies of his new book, “The Dangerous Animals Club.” And if that’s not enough to make you have to change your pants, there will be a dessert-eating competition, a movie-oke, and prizes from Punxsutawney, PA!
After the first feature, you can do it ALL OVER AGAIN.
At SIFF Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N, Seattle.
Tickets: $15 | $10 SIFF members. SIFF Cinema passes, vouchers and other discounts are not valid for this special presentation.

Music

Saturday
Songs of Heaven
7:30 p.m.
Philharmonia Northwest chamber orchestra and Kirkland Chorale Society/Magnolia Chorale present “Songs of Heaven,” including Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei,” the latter performed by cellist Miriam Shames. Other pieces to be performed are Dvořák’s “Te Deum” and “Three Chorale Preludes” of Bach-Respighi.
At Meany Hall, University of Washington, 1401 15th Ave., Seattle. $18.

Comedy

Thursday night only – tickets still available!
Seth Meyers Live at the Paramount
7:30 p.m.
The Jewey SNL comic (wait, which one?) will be on stage with new material.
Tickets available at stgpresents.org/tickets.
Doors at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30.
At the Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle.

Friday
Lewis Black Live at the Paramount
8 p.m.
Ever irate, Lewis Black delivers some of the sharpest commentary about our politics and culture. The Daily Show veteran is returning to Seattle after his wedding comedy One Slight Hitch ran at ACT last summer, and his new tour is appropriately called The Rant Is Due. Expect him to release all the pent-up anger and disillusionment from last year’s election.
Tickets available at stgpresents.org/tickets. Doors open at 7 p.m.
At the Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle.

Gatherings

Saturday
The Q
8:30 p.m.
Trivia competition for adults 21-plus, with food, open bar and top-shelf liquor. All proceeds go to Seattle NCSY. Free babysitting available on a first-come, first-served basis. $36 per individual, $248 per table of 8, and various sponsorship levels up to $1000. For more info contact Ari Hoffman at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, 5217 S Brandon St., Seattle.

Sunday
Nosh & Naches
11:30 a.m.
Jconnect and the Washington State Holocaust Resource Education Center are partnering for a very special intergenerational brunch with Holocaust Survivors.
A delicious, dairy brunch will be served, and klezmer music, prom style pictures will be available, and stories will be shared by all! Each young adult will be paired with a survivor. $18. For more info contact Elise at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At Hillel, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle

Brainia

Saturday
First Saturday Limud
11:30 a.m.
Forbidden Fruit - The Art and Culture of a Biblical Story. Come to services at Temple De Hirsch beforehand at 10:30 if you want to. For more info contact Emily at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At Eltana, 1538 12th Ave., Seattle

Pass, run, tackle, chug!

Make this lime beer cocktail on game day, or anytime.

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

Reform
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Shabbat Classic – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Shabbat Unplugged – Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday – Seattle, Torah study @ 9:30 a.m. and Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.
Shacharit service – Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Kabbalat Shabbat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Nashir service @ 6 p.m., Classic Shabbat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday Torah study @ 9 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St., Seattle. (Alki UCC)
Friday night evening service and potluck @ 7 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study and service @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
B’Yachad & Simchat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox
Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Friday night service @ 4:55 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:55 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Reconstructionist/Meditative/Alternative
Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue
1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle (Seattle First Baptist Church)
Meditative Shabbat service @ 7:30 p.m.

Kavana Cooperative
Location provided upon RSVP
Coffee Shop Shabbat and potluck dinner @ 6:30 p.m.

Up alongside the process of major scientific research and discovery is the necessity of human communication. Within that context comes miscommunication. This scenario is the subject of “Photograph 51,” opening February 1 at Seattle Repertory Theatre on the Seattle Center Campus.
Written by Anna Ziegler, the play is directed by Braden Abraham, a native Northwesterner who’s been at The Rep for nine years, most recently as associate artistic director.
Early genetic research in post-war Britain brought fame to scientists like James Watson, Maurice Wilkins, and Francis Crick. Additionally, Rosalind Franklin was involved in leading research in several areas of scientific importance, including the identification and discovery of the structure of DNA.
Yet in 1962, Watson, Wilkens, and Crick shared the honor of a Nobel Prize, while Franklin’s contribution went unmentioned, her role dismissed and downgraded by Watson in his account of the discovery of the double helix.
Rosalind Elsie Franklin’s contribution to the discovery of DNA, with the use of an X-ray diffraction image of DNA nicknamed Photograph 51, is only recently becoming part of history. Fellowships, awards, and even a university have been named after her, and books have been penned about the physicist who died in 1958, at 37, of ovarian cancer.
The play focuses on the young British Jewish woman from Notting Hill, London. Born into a family long involved in Jewish causes, Franklin’s uncle was Sir Herbert Samuel, High Commissioner of Palestine during the British Mandate. Early on, Franklin showed a talent for chemistry and physics and stubbornly stayed true to her love of science, receiving her Ph.D. from Cambridge University. Her research extended far into natural and what later became genetic science.
Playwright Ziegler discovered Franklin and her story when researching another play. “I had never heard of her, but later [developed] a ‘love affair,’” she said. Ziegler worked on a project commissioned for the state of Maryland about three women in science. “It was a total education,” she said. “I even learned about the race [to discover the structure of DNA]. It was fun to write a play that’s an education for yourself.”
“Drawing from real accounts and her own imagination, Anna presents a fictionalized version of the race to claim this enormous discovery in very human terms,” said Abraham.” This is a play about the rewards and sacrifices of achieving great things.”
Franklin was “complicated, a prickly person, and was hard to work with,” said Ziegler. The role of Franklin will be played by Boston University grad Kirsten Potter.
“The portrait you see is [that] she’s a strong, directed person…but how circumstances get in her way” said Abraham. Franklin “was an outsider at King’s College,” and the play shows “how she feels, how she is being treated — she protects herself.” 
“This is where the plays starts,” said Ziegler, “with a central miscommunication: [Franklin] thinks she is in charge.”
Staged in the smaller Leo K Theatre at Seattle Rep, all six characters remain on stage the entire time. Abraham says his production will be fluid, combining “narrative, real scenes and commentary.”
Asked if or how Seattle’s reputation as a biotech and science hub was a factor in staging the play here, Abraham said that the theatre “has added performances [because] Rosalind Franklin is pretty famous in the biotech community.”
This is Ziegler’s second time in the Northwest: In 2007, the Icicle Creek Theatre Festival in Leavenworth presented “Dov and Ali.” Ziegler likes the art scene at Seattle Center and finds Seattle “friendly, welcome and supportive,” she said. “It’s not true everywhere.”
“Photograph 51” has already played to audiences in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis. It has garnered awards from the Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Filmmaker Fund and STAGE International Competition. A film version starring Rachel Weisz is in the works.
“Photograph 51” has “a sense of humor, and it’s funny, not dry,” said Ziegler. “There’s real warmth. It’s definitely not a play written by a scientist.”

I don’t remember much of high school. Even the memory of my teen trip to Israel, which in many ways changed the course of my life, appears in short flashes, like the remaining few intact frames on a long reel of disintegrated film.
In one of these frames, a man named Doron pops his head into our NFTY group 4A tour bus and announces that those of us who do not have family in Israel to visit on the free weekend are welcome to spend the weekend with him and his wife.
Doron is in his late twenties, and he’s energetic and religious. A galaxy, it would seem to my 17-year-old self, could fit between our life stories.
I don’t have family in Israel.
Another frame: I am standing in some courtyard, staring at the ground, pondering my options. A group leader says we may go to a movie over the free weekend. That sounds fun.
Missing is the frame where I decide to go with Doron, but I do retain the memory of deciding that in the future, whenever faced with a risk, I will take it. Observing Shabbat in Jerusalem with an observant couple was an enormous step outside of my comfort zone as a staunchly Reform teenager from Connecticut. I put on an India print skirt that was my mother’s from the ‘70s — the packing list said to bring some “modest” clothing for situations like this — which became the title of an award-winning poem I wrote about that weekend later that year.
The Shabbat weekend with Doron and his wife, Sarah Tikvah, and several rowdy members of my tour group, carved a notch in my spiritual journey. Even though so much escaped my memory, including their last name, when I came across a book by Doron Kornbluth a decade later, as a traveler through Jerusalem, I knew I had reconnected with my host.
The book, “Why Marry Jewish?” opens with a list of words, including Torah scroll, Passover, shofar, and menorah — as well as Jesus on the cross, ham, Christmas tree, and the pope. It’s a thought exercise: Which are comforting? Which strike a nerve? Even I, the product of an interfaith marriage who grew up with both Judaism and Christianity, felt a visceral negative reaction to the Christian words, but a warm familiarity with the Jewish associations. Like the Shabbat in Jerusalem, the opening lines of the book hit me hard. And that is how Doron rolls: He’ll give you the kindest, sincerest punch in the gut you’ll ever get.
Fast forward to last month, when I saw an announcement for a talk by one Doron Kornbluth at the Hillel at the University of Washington and at the West Seattle Torah Learning Center to lecture on his latest research and book, “Cremation or Burial: A Jewish View” over the weekend of Jan. 25. I was excited to reconnect with him all these years later. Over lunch at Island Crust Café he filled me in on the unappetizing details of why more and more Jews are making un-Jewish end-of-life choices.

Emily K. Alhadeff: What got you onto cremation and burial as a topic?
Doron Kornbluth: You have this major uptick in cremation rates, nationally and amongst the Jewish community. I was just really bothered by it. People make their own decisions — they’re adults — but the reality is that people don’t have information to make decisions. There are a lot of misconceptions out there. So I started researching it.
EA: Do you consider this kiruv (Jewish outreach)?
DK: No. I consider it education. There’s a deep polarization going on within the Jewish community. Fifty years ago, there was a strong center of Jewish community. It was somewhat traditional, had some Jewish education, celebrated holidays, and they kept their families Jewish. That is largely gone, or going. Basically, the people who are more knowledgeable and more serious are moving to the right, and unfortunately, the majority is leaving.
Very often people are scared by the all-or-nothing nature of Judaism. I’m just saying, look at the wisdom and beauty of different Jewish practices. I’ve been focusing on families, raising kids to love being Jewish, and the latest thing is cremation. People can and want to know more, and they can be convinced to be more traditional in some aspect.
EA: What is the Jewish history of burial?
DK: For thousands of years Jews have always insisted on burial. A Roman historian, Tacitus, when he was describing the Jews to his Roman compatriots, one of the few defining characteristics that he said was, “Jews bury, rather than burn the dead.” Even 2,000 years ago it stuck out. The Romans cremated. The Greeks cremated. All these guys cremated. It’s not a new idea; it’s actually an old idea. Jews always stuck out for burial.
EA: What has changed?
In the last 30 years, cremation rates nationally among non-Jews have gone up. The same with Jews. And in the last four years, it’s gone up dramatically.
Imagine if you’re a Jewish person and you’re looking at the planet, looking at America, and you see that every year 5 percent less of the Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah. Last year it was 100 percent, 95, 90, and you know that within a few years if you don’t do anything about it, soon it’s just going to be the strictly Orthodox who celebrate Hanukkah. What would you do? How would you feel? I think if you were a caring Jew you’d be concerned about that.
The reality is that it is happening, but it’s happening with different parts of Judaism. It’s happening to Jewish burial. It used to be a given, but because of a lack of education and understanding, it is not a given at all.
EA: What are some factors causing this dramatic rise in cremation?
DK: When it comes to why people are cremating, cost is definitely a big factor. Some cremations are the same cost as burials, but there’s something called direct cremation. The cremation will cost $1,000-$2,000, you call a 1-800 number, they pick up the body at the hospital, they return to you the cremated remains.
EA: Very personal.
DK: No service, you can keep the ashes on your fireplace, you can scatter them, but nobody can beat that cost.
There’s another reason: Mobility. Meaning, it used to be that people for generations would be in the same town. Today, you have grandparents in one city, parents in a different city, kids in another city.
Florida has a very high cremation rate among Jews. I think the main reason is simply that they’re down there, their kids are in the Northeast…
People also think it’s better for the environment. But it’s not. Environmentalists are not in favor of cremation. [This misconception is due to a 1950s campaign against burial because of the pollution caused by metal caskets and embalming.] What does Jewish tradition say? No metal casket, no embalming. Jewish burials are actually a model of environmentalism.
Cremations are terrible for the environment. Cremations release tons of toxins into the air. Cremations use a tremendous amount of fossil fuels. But the cremation industry is a billion-dollar industry that has great advertising.
Plants, animals, birds — what do they do? They grow, and they die, and their bodies go back into the earth. So the natural way is actually burial. It’s the way of every living thing. When you’re putting it into a modern oven — and by the way, it’s essentially an Auschwitz oven, it hasn’t changed — you’re firing it up — that’s artificial.
When you have cremated remains, they are indistinguishable from any other cremated remains. You never know if it’s your grandmother’s remains, or a stranger’s, or a cat or a dog.
Let’s say, a father passes away, then I have an urn. Then my mother passes away, and I have another urn. My in-laws pass away, two more urns. What am I going to do with all these urns? You get older, you move into an assisted living home, you pass them onto your kids — they’re going to have 16 urns?
Some people scatter. A hundred years ago in England, you know who would scatter? The only people who had scattered remains were the worst criminals. It was a punishment to them, that no one would remember them. Now we understand why the Nazis did it. The Nazis killed twice. They were trying to wipe out the memory.
If you go to all the reasons for cremations, they’re highly, highly questionable. Except for one. It’s cheaper.
EA: What is the significance of burying the dead in Judaism?
Israel has released hundreds of terrorists many times in the last 20 years just for bodies of the dead. Every Jew deserves a proper burial.
Most Jews have heard of the idea of tearing kriyah [tearing a garment as a sign of mourning]. You tear kriyah because you are expressing that life is not going on. There’s a loss. Something’s broken. In burial, the earth itself is tearing kriyah. Isn’t it a beautiful symbolism? The earth is opening up. You’re making a tear in the earth.
Not only is the cremation rate very, very high, but funeral services are on the way out. We don’t want to deal with it. Woody Allen once said, “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying.”
People don’t want to talk about it, but Judaism’s point is “No, we don’t do that.”
The tradition is to bury within a community cemetery, emphasizing that we’re part of a community. We live there together forever. The word “cemetery” comes from the Greek for “sleeping place.” That’s why a grave looks like a bed. Because it’s a quiet, subtle promise of rebirth. It’s kind of a beautiful idea.

Imagine: Tomorrow the economy collapses. The ATMs are empty, your savings are gone, and you have no work. The hospitals run out of medicine. Fifteen presidents take over the country over the course of five days.

This is exactly what happened in Argentina during its economic crisis in 2001.

“From one day to another, my husband has no more income,” said Viviana Bendersky. Bendersky’s husband worked in construction, but building in Argentina ceased altogether for six months.
“The Argentine money we had was impossible to be touched,” she said. “Bankrupt in Argentina is bankrupt, and gone is gone.”

Bendersky is the director of Baby Help and Voluntarios en Red, two social welfare organizations with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. She visited Seattle last week to meet with a small group of supporters at the home of Bill and Toby Donner, and with Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum of Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, who has a relationship with the JDC and the Buenos Aires synagogue Adat Israel.

The JDC began assisting European refugees in Argentina in the 1940s. Before 2001, JDC social welfare programs serviced 4,000 clients. With the collapse of the economy, and with it the middle class, that number rose to 40,000.

“That was the start of JDC’s rapidly ramped-up engagement in Argentina…to deal with the collapse of the middle class,” said Michael Novick, the JDC’s executive director of strategic engagement.
After the collapse, “we realized that kids were not receiving their milk, no vaccinations, no medicine, so really our future was at risk,” said Bendersky. In 2003, Baby Help was established to provide food, medicine, and other necessities to children under 5 whose families fell below the poverty line. It also offered support to pregnant women, many of whom became single mothers as the financial downturn led to family breakdown. Free daycare allowed parents to return to work.

While the country has largely recovered, even a decade later “there are still poor families that can’t cover their basic needs,” said Bendersky. In 2012 alone, milk saw 100 percent inflation. The price of chicken rose 45 percent, and subway tickets close to 200 percent.

“The incomes of the jobs were nowhere near on a relative basis,” said Novick, and even families above the poverty line have trouble making ends meet.

Today, Baby Help serves around 600 vulnerable children, and offers services such as counseling and nutrition education to parents.

Most notable is Baby Help’s current daycare location, inside the LeDor VaDor senior citizens’ home in Buenos Aires. 

“We’re not aware of any other nursing home in the world that has a wing dedicated to children ages 0 to 5,” said Novick. “You have to imagine the Kline Galland…the opportunities just from the point of view of lifting spirits and engagement of the elderly is just huge.”

Bendersky describes the children’s funny, natural interactions with their adoptive grandparents. “[One child] came and told me, ‘You know Matilda’s teeth are not hers? The dentist gave to her!’” she said. “I saw elders with Alzheimer’s that have contact with no one…[but] with the kids they connect.”

The children and elderly celebrate Jewish holidays together, including a weekly Kabbalat Shabbat that sees 200 children and family members, in addition to the elders.

Argentina’s Jewish community of approximately 225,000 has a high rate of affiliation with synagogues and Jewish Community Centers. (Novick explained that due to the Catholic nature of the country, the Jewish community did not assimilate the same way as in North America, but rather built its own institutions.) There are four JCCs in Buenos Aires, and 50-60 percent of kids attend Jewish schools. Synagogue Kabbalat Shabbat services may see 500-700 attendees every week.

Bendersky is proud of her babies. “My kids know the blessings from Shabbat and from the festivities better than any kid from the most expensive schools in Buenos Aires.”

While Baby Care is expensive to maintain, Bendersky said she is committed to providing the best services possible.

“I want good services for poor people,” she said. “Otherwise they will always know the same quality of facilities or places that they live.”

Bendersky shared the story of Luzmila, who a state social worker found with her mother, Romina, in a run-down boarding house in a dangerous neighborhood, when Luzmila was just two months old.

Romina had a troubled life and was homeless before becoming pregnant. The social worker set them up with the JDC, and Luzmila was accepted into Baby Care, where she receives food, clothes, a stroller and a cradle, as well as daycare. Furthermore, Romina discovered that her grandmother lives at LeDor VaDor, and now the elderly woman and her great-granddaughter have a relationship. Luzmila is now 2 years old.

“What is unique is not only her commitment to the work that she’s doing, but the creative aspect that she brings to her programming,” said Seattle host Toby Donner of Bendersky.

The Donners traveled with the JDC to Buenos Aires last March. “Viviana just has a way with people,” Donner said. “This program is so loving and so supportive.”

LeDor VaDor was built in 2007 with the JDC’s help to create a better living facility for Jewish seniors.

“It came to my mind, why not move the daycare to the elderly home and to make it an intergenerational project?” said Bendersky. “In the beginning, my bosses thought that I was completely crazy.
They know already that I am crazy, but they also know that when I want something —”

“Having these children so intimately involved with the seniors is remarkable,” said Donner. “It’s a two way street. That’s what it’s about.”

Have synagogues been doing membership backwards?

“Many of our synagogues start with membership. Someone calls and right away they’re diving into, ‘Do you want to join?’” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who was installed last June as the new president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the body that oversees Reform congregations across North America. “This idea that membership is our desperate need is the wrong frame. Doing meaningful Jewish teaching, observances, social justice, things that really define who we are.”

Jacobs spent Jan. 10–12 meeting with Reform congregations and communal groups throughout the Seattle area. His visit came about in large part due to the efforts of a former colleague, Rabbi Beth Singer of Temple Beth Am. The two served together as rabbis for four years in the 1990s at the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, N.Y.

“For me, Rabbi Jacobs’s visit to Beth Am was a double win,” Singer told JTNews. “He had the opportunity to see results of the intensive creative effort Beth Am has put into welcoming diverse Jewish individuals and families to a Jewish community that matters, and we had the opportunity to learn directly from the leader of our national movement about the direction Reform Judaism is headed.”

As Jacobs sees it, the direction Reform Judaism is headed is very much up to people whose values are similar to the values of Reform Judaism — and choose to engage. People may be eschewing denomination, but they aren’t eschewing spirituality, said Jacobs. In his travels across North America, he has found they just aren’t fulfilling their spiritual needs inside the walls of a synagogue or church.

“People are hungry for meaning. They’re hungry for real community. Not fake community, not presumed community, but real community,” he said. “People are hungry to matter…. Modern culture, in particular modern North American culture, is not nourishing us in the deep way that many of us hunger for.”

One big solution? Crafting the message.

Part of the alienation “comes from people being disgusted by organized religion being so focused on money and power… values that they don’t resonate with,” Jacobs said. “It sounds awfully spiritual to me, and it sounds kind of like the core pillars upon which you would build a religious community.”

He pointed to one group he feels is doing outreach right: “A lot of people talk about Chabad,” he said. “I have very warm feelings for what they try to do. They understand that relationships precede memberships.”

Or, in essence, putting the horse before the cart to engage people before asking them to become a part of a community, he said.

“Dramatic, transformative things can and must happen in synagogues if we’re going to matter in the next generation,” Jacobs said. “The majority of Jews right now live outside the walls of synagogues. So if we only bother and focus and nourish those inside the walls, you’re kind of leaving out most of the Jewish people.”

Reaching outside of those walls is an important initiative Jacobs and his cohort have laid out in the past year and a half. At the same time, strengthening struggling congregations within the movement is a priority, as is ensuring that strong congregations continue to stay that way.

“The ones that are doing really well, they won’t be doing well in a couple years if they don’t pay attention,” he said.

What Jacobs called “engaging the next generation” — Jews in their 20s and 30s — is the union’s third priority.

“Most 20s and 30s are not in synagogues, and they really are not in most of our Jewish institutions, they’re really kind of in-between,” said Jacobs. “So how do we meet them where they are, and somehow engage them in Jewish life — not see them as potential members primarily, but young people with whom the tradition hopefully will grow?”

Jacobs may have found an exception to the rule. He celebrated Shabbat evening with nearly 200 young adults at a Jconnect dinner at Hillel at the University of Washington. His talk began by addressing “the common perception inside the establishment Jewish institutions that people in their 20s and 30s are just absent from Jewish life,” said Rabbi Oren Hayon, Hillel UW’s Greenstein executive director. “It was kind of half funny, half ironic to be saying that in a room that was absolutely packed to the walls with people who were there to celebrate Shabbat.”

The discussion that followed was an honest dialogue that allowed people to express their opinions on Judaism, spirituality and practice.

“I was really impressed that he made a point of putting this on his itinerary,” Hayon said. “Anyone who’s serious about the spirituality of Jewish young adults would do well to look at Jconnect.”

Music

Different Trains @ 2 p.m.
Part of Music of Remembrance’s “Sparks of Glory” series, this concert features Steve Reich’s “Different Trains,” a reflection on his own rail journeys across WWII Europe, contrasted with the tragic journeys of so many other children at the same time. Also: Lori Laitman’s “The Seed of Dream,” based on the poems of Vilna Ghetto prisoner-turned-resistance fighter Abraham Sutzkever.
At the Seattle Art Museum

Mongrel Jews @ 9 p.m. Saturday night
Album release concert featuring Oliver Franklin and Blvd Park.
Concert is $8 at the door and 21+. Copies of Inherit the Earth will be available for purchase.
At Conor Byrne in Ballard, 5140 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle.

Theater

The Understudy
What happens when an action movie star decides to produce an undiscovered Franz Kafka play into a Broadway hit? And when the understudy finds out the stage manager is his ex-fiancée? They all turn into giant bugs. (Not really…but, then again, we haven’t seen it yet.)
“In the end, “The Understudy” has a lovely balance between satire, farce, and sentimental comedy.” – Kelly Kitchens, director
The Boston Globe says: “…funny, funny, funny. Oh, and more than a little Kafkaesque, too.”
At the Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W Greenlake Dr. N, Seattle.
Runs Thursday-Saturday @ 7:30 p.m. through February 16, and Sundays at 2 through February 17.

Undo @ 8 p.m.
Joe and Rachel are getting divorced and everyone they know is invited. Through February 16. See our interview with the director and cast members here.
At the Annex, 1100 E Pike St.

Fiddler on the Roof
Jconnect is hosting a “Traditional” Eastern European dinner and a performance of Fiddler at the Village Theatre. Carpools leave Hillel at 1:15 for the show in Everett. Dinner to follow at the Bistro at Downtown Banya. Tickets are $38 — RSVP today!
At the Village Theatre, Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett, and the Bistro at Downtown Banya, 2814 Colby Ave., Everett.

Film

The Dhamma Brothers @ 6:30 p.m.
Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue will screen the documentary “The Dhamma Brothers,” about two death row inmates who discover Vipassana meditation together. (There is a kids option too, if you don’t have a babysitter.)
Dessert potluck and discussion with Ben Turner of the Northwest Vipassana Center will precede the film. Please RSVP! Bring a dessert to share. Donations welcome.
At Bet Alef (Seattle First Baptist Church) in the Fellowship Hall Parlor, 1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle (enter on Seneca).
More information here.

More

Jconnect interfaith Tu B’Shevat celebration @ 11 a.m.
All faiths and cultures are invited to celebrate Tu B’Shevat with a brunch at Cactus in Madison Park at 11 a.m. followed by a walk through the Arboretum (around 12:30).

Drink

Am I the only one who thinks gin tastes like pine trees? Well, in honor of the new year for trees, how about mixing up a little Beefeater? Here is a simple recipe that highlights the oranges of the season, too. (And it calls for Maraschino cherries!) Try a Metropolitini!

Friday night and Saturday Shabbat services

Reform

Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night: Special Shira Shabbat with Sababa @ 6 p.m. - Seattle
Saturday Torah Study @ 9:30 a.m., Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m. - Seattle
Saturday night Sababa Concert @ 7 p.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m. with Tu B’Shevat potluck to follow
Saturday morning Torah study @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
6115 SW Hinds St., Seattle.
Friday night Tu B’Shevat seder @ 6:30 p.m.

Conservative

Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Special Tu b’Shvat Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Tu b’Shvat potluck community dinner @ 6:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox

Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Friday mincha @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:50 p.m.
Special Tu b’Shvat Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:50 p.m.
Special Tu b’Shvat Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Friday night service @ 4:50 p.m.
Fruticas, a special Tu B’Shevat Shabbat dinner @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:50 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Reconstructionist/Meditative

Kadima
12353 8th Ave. NE, Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat and Tu B’Shevat seder and potluck dinner

The Mongrel Jews classify themselves as “a Seattle street folk band influenced equally by pop, rock, and the folk music of America, the British Isles, and Eastern Europe. They’re as likely to cover Prince as Tom Waits.”

The trio consists of Aaron Joshua Shay on vocals, banjo, ukulele; Sarah Alyse Shay on vocals, washboard, mandolin, bodhran; and Annie Hughes on vocals, harmonica, mandolin, ukulele, miniature accordion. And yes, if you’ve noticed two of the band members share the same last name it’s because they are in fact brother and sister.

About three years ago, Sarah approached her brother Aaron, who had music experience and had been in bands prior, about starting a band together. Shortly after that the two met their third band mate Annie and everything just fell into place.

Jew-ish: So, tell me about the name, “Mongrel Jews.”

Aaron: There used to be a coop in Seattle called the Ravenna Kibbutz, which was a collection of smart, artsy, wonderful people of Jewish background and there were lots of different events that the Ravenna Kibbutz held.
Sarah: They had a workshop event regularly that they called “Coffee House Night.”
Aaron: Which was funny, because there was never any coffee.
Sarah: It was more of the coffee house vibe: One part workshop, one part open mic, one part just hanging out and eating pizza with your friends. And the two of us had already been going for a while and sharing music, writing, and so on. And when Annie joined the band and we had one song ready we thought, “Oh, let’s debut it at Coffee House.” So we went, we didn’t have a name yet, and we didn’t have anything we even remotely liked. And then we played our song and coffee house, and later I read a short story that I had written and I mention in the story that Aaron and I are half Norwegian. And someone asked, “What’s the other half?” And Aaron and I said, “Well, uh, Romanian…Ukrainian…Georgian…Russian…we’re not totally one hundred percent sure.”
Aaron: You know, you’re basic Jew mongrel.
Sarah: And this guy Morris Stegosaurus – he’s a slam poet—was in the audience and said, “Oh, Jew Mongrel. That would be a good name for your band. Or Mongrel Jews.” And everyone in the room went, “Oh, yeah. That’s a good name.” Nobody said, “Do you think that would be controversial?”
Aaron: Never once did we think that would be a controversial name. [paused] Until we told our parents. [laughing] They were not thrilled. Lets just say, it would not have been their first choice.
Sarah: We’re not allowed to say the name in their house.

Jew-ish: How did the name then influence the band?

Aaron: The name took on a life of its own. It was first just a lark, but once people started responding to it, we started thinking about what it actually meant. And then we started embracing the idea of our mongrel-ness.

Jew-ish: So, what have you guys been up to lately?

Aaron: We’ve put out an EP more than yearly since we’ve been a band.
Sarah: Until now, they have all been home recorded, very sort of punk rock, slap-dash little things. But, this whole past year has been completely taken over by putting out our first studio EP, which we did a successful Kickstarter for last year in February. So we’re coming up on a year of the process.

Jew-ish: What was your experience with doing the EP through a Kickstarter?

Aaron: It amazed us the level of support we received from our fans and from complete strangers. There were a few people who just found our Kickstarter on the website. It was really wonderful towards the end when it was getting down to the wire the number of people who, not only donated, but increased their donations, because they wanted to push us.
Sarah: We had a lot of options from $5 all the way up to…well, we had one at $10,000, but that was mostly a joke. Out $10,000 reward was: You can spoon for half an hour with one of the Mongrel Jews member of your choice, while the other two members plays acoustic mood music. [laughing] We actually got featured on the Kickstarter blog for that.
Aaron: One thing about the Kickstarter campaign that was beneficial and really needed to happen was it kind of made us get our shit together – as a “theoretical” business, as it were. We suddenly had a project, where we had to deliver. We had rewards that we had to deliver…
Sarah: …and we were accountable to all these people that gave us their money…
Aaron: We’re more performers than business people.

Jew-ish: Has the direction of the band changed then?

Aaron: After we release the EP and get all the rewards from the Kickstarter distributed, we’re gonna spend about a month writing new material and trying to figure out where we want to take the band in the next year.
Sarah: Definitely putting this album together, we started having actual band meetings where we don’t practice, we just have a meeting. We take notes, make to-do lists, that kind of thing.

You did it again! We always knew you, our dear reader, had good taste — why else would you choose JTNews as having the best Jewish website? — but we didn’t know you had great taste! Below you’ll find results from our annual Best of Everything survey. Read on!

Party Time!
Best Place for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah Party: Why else wouldn’t you want to whoop it up, Velcro wall and all, at the Woodmark Hotel off the coast of Lake Washington in Kirkland? Great views, great space, great memories.
Best Place for a Wedding Reception: It’s elegant, it’s historic, and it shows off the best of what Seattle has to offer. Congratulations, Fairmount Olympic. Confidential to the person who suggest that the winner is New Jersey: I’ve been to weddings in New Jersey. You’re better off at the Fairmount.
Best Local Party Band or DJ: Once again, DJ Hayden Hall has a lock on this town — he spins ’em like nobody’s business.
Best Place to Buy an Engagement Ring: One of the country’s most prestigious jewelers began right here in Seattle by a member of our Jewish community. Once again, Ben Bridge Jeweler takes the diamond.
Best Ketubah Artist: I see a lot Joan Lite-Miller’s unique designs for marriage contracts hanging over mantles. Miller makes beautiful pieces of art, not just a document to be signed and stored in a box in the attic.
Best Event Photographer: Once again, Seattle shutterbug Dani Weiss Photography takes the prize for showing us the best of your lively event.
Best Florist: Anna Brandt’s Distinctive Design Florist is a second-generation, family-run flower business that creates lovely and creative arrangements for any event, happy or sad.
Best Hotel for a Simcha: With a kosher kitchen and lots of space, the Seattle Sheraton in the heart of downtown is clearly the place for a big party.
Best Caterer: Whether you’re looking for kosher and delicious — or just delicious — Nosh Away is the place to call for just about any kind of simcha (or business event).
Best Wedding Cake Baker: We were going to say in the previous category that Nosh Away takes the cake, but, well, this seemed more appropriate. We do want to give a shout out to Michele Yanow (she of Seattle Jewish Chorale fame), who has come to the cake rescue more than once and was recognized for her abilities as well.

Our Community
Best Local Jewish Organization, School or Agency: Is there really a contest? Jewish Family Service serves so many areas of our Jewish community — and a lot of the non-Jewish community, it should be said — in so many different ways. Once again this agency is the clear winner.
Best Youth Organization: NCSY isn’t just a youth group. Its leaders have expanded the program into Israel trips, high school classes, fashion shows, and so much more. Plus, the kids who participate have a most rocking time!
Best Jewish Camp: With its new nature center and decades of tradition, the kids who head to Tumwater each summer to Camp Solomon Schechter come home with smiles and Jewish spirit.
Best Jewish Website: Aw, shucks, guys. We’re kind of blushing over here. But we’re thrilled that JTNews and our regular updates (way more than every two weeks) of local and world news got your vote. Have you friended us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter?
Best Place to Volunteer: Whether it’s delivering holiday packages to home-bound seniors or making a party out of sorting non-perishable foods, Jewish Family Service wants you, no matter how old or young you are, to join up.
Best Local Food Bank: If you keep kosher and need food assistance, you won’t find a fresh alternative to Jewish Family Service. Even if you don’t need kosher, the state-of-the-art food bank has produce, toiletries and packaged foods, and treats its clients with quiet dignity.
Best Counseling Services: Once again, Jewish Family Service takes the prize. With the completion of its new building, JFS’s counseling services have been given their own space that allows for confidentiality and breathing room. The agency also holds weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and provides services at Hillel at the University of Washington. Talk about a full plate!
Best Congregation: Once again, Congregation Beth Shalom wins it. The small Conservative congregation in Wedgwood with lots of prayin’, eatin’, and social action has a lot of passion among its members.
Best Jewish Supplemental School: Congregation Beth Shalom’s program serves kids from early childhood to middle school, and was part of the team that brought together the new social-action–based high school program Livnot. Teach on!
Best Adult Education Program: Once again, Congregation Beth Shalom shows that learning isn’t just for kids.

Deli-cious
Best Pastrami: It’s a tie on rye: Tradition vs. tradition updated. But we’ve got room for both. Goldberg’s Famous Delicatessen in Factoria and Stopsky’s Delicatessen on Mercer Island share the prize!
Best Smoked Fish: Einstein’s Bros. Bagels wins in the general “Dang, that smoked fish is good!” followed by the more specific goodness that is the hand-smoked white king salmon at University Seafood & Poultry. Oh, how my mouth is watering as I type this.
Best Rugelach: It may be hard to find, but the rolled-up pastries from Leah’s Catering gets many a-tummy filled with satisfaction.
Best Challah: It’s clear: Nothing beats homemade. But the soft, simple challah from Grateful Bread in Wedgwood is a close, close second.
Best Bagel: In the year since the Montreal-style Eltana Wood-Fired Bagel Café last won, this locally owned champ has expanded from one beautiful space on Capitol Hill to two more — on Stone Way in Wallingford and in the revitalized Armory at Seattle Center.
Best Dill Pickle: Britt’s Pickles will take just about any vegetable and toss it into a barrel of brine. Started on Whidbey Island, and with a recently opened stall in the Pike Place Market, this upstart is wowing pickle lovers the world over.

Dining Out
Best Burger: Yes, you can’t trip without falling on a fancy new burger joint. But those mainstays of cheap and delicious (yet known for treating their employees well), Red Mill and Dick’s, share the prize.
Best Pizza: Kosher, tasty and hitting the spot, Island Crust Café wins the prize for the fifth year in a row!
Best Sunday Brunch: The line-ups tell the story: Both Portage Bay Café and Stopsky’s Delicatessen know how to please a groggy Sunday morning crowd.
Best Organic/Local/Sustainable/Chef-Drive Restaurant that Knocked Your Socks Off: Portage Bay Café’s three Seattle locations and Tilth, located inside a house in Wallingford, have diners pulling up their argyles between bites.
Best Sushi: You might get lost trying to navigate the streets of Tangletown to get to neighborhood mainstay Kisaku.
Best Romantic Dinner: There’s nothing more romantic than two people sitting across from each other, glass of wine in hand… and looking at something else. But if it’s a view and white-glove treatment you want, both SkyCity atop the Space Needle and Canlis atop the Aurora Bridge will take excellent care of you.
Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant: You’ll find plenty of kids hanging out at Island Crust Café, which once again takes the prize.
Best Middle Eastern: It wasn’t so long ago to find good Middle Eastern in this town you had to go to the Middle East. But Ravenna’s Harissa, Bellevue’s Mediterranean Kitchen, and the University District’s Cedar’s will do wonders to help your falafel jones.

Local Buzz
Best Wine List or Wine Bar: Purple is not just a color. It’s a way of life. It’s a tower of wine. And it’s now in four locations: Downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Woodinville.
Best Happy Hour: If Italian food makes you happy — and you’d have to be crazy for it not to — Momma Melina’s just north of University Village is classy, inexpensive, and delicious.
Best Cocktail in Town: Spur Gastropub, with its eclectic food menu, also makes a mean cocktail. It shares honors with the bar at the W Hotel, which does its cocktails with class and a few extra drops of the hard stuff.

Save Room for Dessert
Best Bakery: If you’re in West Seattle, you’re already well aware of the baked goodness that fills the display cases of Bakery Nouveau. For everyone else, get over there pronto (or however you say that in French) for the most amazing croissants.
Best Chocolatier: Legend has it that when President Obama needs to clear his head, he likes to play basketball. The truth? He sneaks down to the White House basement, hides behind some steampipes, and pulls out his box of salted caramels from Fran’s Chocolates.
Best Ice Cream, Gelato or FroYo: Those self-serve yogurt places are popping up everywhere! The best of the bunch is Menchie’s. The plain yogurt is kosher, and you have to love those cute little spoons! Now if only they’d make their disposables compostable…
Best Pie: High Five Pie, found at its Capitol Hill shop and at Fuel Coffee joints around the city, once again wins the award for its light, flaky crusts and yummy fillings.
Best Cupcakes: Oh, Trophy, why must you tempt me with those rows and rows of delicious cakes and mile-high frosting? Damn your Snickerdoodle. And your Red Velvet (gluten-free!). And your Triple Coconut.

Shoppin’ and Relaxin’
Best Fitness Club: It’s amazing what you can do with an old military hangar. Magnuson Health Club is spacious, well-equipped, and, if you live in the ’hood, convenient.
Best Spa Experience: Once again, the men are stuck at home watching football while the ladies can head to Tacoma or Lynnwood for the ultimate experience at Olympus Spa.
Best Kids’ Playspace: Adventure Kids in both Bellevue and Issaquah is a great place to drop off your kids and head out to our next category…
Best Destination When I’m Shopping for Clothes for Myself: Nordstrom has selection, service and quality. Magnifique!
Best Consignment or Secondhand Clothing: The Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s thrift store is up on Capitol Hill, so you’ll be fighting off ironic hipsters for the best threads, but it’s for a good cause.
Best Independent Toy Shop: Top 10 Toys’ conscientious playthings in Greenwood and Pacific Place eschew guns and plastic for more creative, mind-bending activities.
Best Little, Local, Independent Shop and Best Independent Gift Shop: Fireworks, with locations in upscale malls across the region as well as at the airport, always has a fun and interesting selection. Bike Works in Columbia City fixes donated bikes and has programs to get underprivileged kids on two wheels. It’s a win-win!
Best Independent Bookshop: Located in Ravenna and Lake Forest Park, Third Place Books really does serve as that third gathering place. And their book selection is pretty good, too.
Best Theater Company: ACT Theater puts on some amazing shows year after year, but their work in cultivating up-and-coming playwrights and local talent makes this local gem shine. Bravo!

The Professional Life
Best Family Doctor: Fight the flu! Don’t delay your physical! Drs. Gary Spector and Deborah Klein will make you feel better.
Best Dentist: Do you know how I know Dr. Gordon Sako is a great dentist? Every time I go to see him he tells me what great teeth I have. The better to eat you with, my dear. He shares space with Dr. John Way, who shines on the pediatric dentistry.
Best Plastic Surgeon: “Seriously…aren’t we as a people past this at this point?” asks one respondent. Enough said.
Best Lawyer: Though he only set up his own practice in 2010, Joshua Moultray already has a following. Use him for business or real estate law, to defend yourself against a misdemeanor, or a number of other services. We hear John Grisham’s next book will be based upon Josh. But don’t quote us on that.
Best Accountant: Tax time’s coming up. Who you gonna call? Bellevue CPA Dennis Goldstein has decades of experience, though he has yet to get the call from Grisham.
Best Real Estate Agent: Serving primarily Seattle’s Northend, Rhona Feldman can list, list, list. Her best-kept secret? She teaches Israeli dance on the side.
Best Car Dealership: If you’re looking for a Volkswagen or a Subaru, Chaplin’s in Bellevue has a great selection. The cars, of course, speak for themselves.

Wherever You Go There’s Always Someone Jewish
Best Jewish Book of 2012: “From Aleph to Ze’ev: Excursions into Jewish Culture, History, Rituals and Beliefs” is actually from 2011, but close enough. A review in our compatriot to the south, the now-defunct Portland Jewish Review, said the Corvallis author’s book “presents intriguing insights, concise summations and fascinating esoterica that will delight readers from all walks of Jewish life as well as non-Jews curious about Judaism and Jewish history.”
Best Jewish Author of 2012: Nathan Englander. Neuroses and deft imagination won the day with his book of short stories, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.”
Best Jewish-Themed or Israeli Film of 2012: “Yossi,” Israeli director Eytan Fox’s follow-up (after nine years) to “Yossi and Jagger,” revisits the surviving protagonist of the story of two star-crossed lovers, back when gay film in Israel was still scandalous.
Best Jewish Actor/Comedian of 2012: This is sad, but we had a 10-way tie. Let’s just say that Adam Sandler wasn’t on the list. But neither was Lena Dunham, and she should have been.

Out in the Community
Best Place to Hang Out and Meet Other Fun Jews: It should go without saying that Hillel UW, and its big brother Jconnect, are where the cool kids are. Which should mean it goes without saying that when you meet cool people, it’s also the Best Place to Meet a Nice Jewish Boy or Girl.
Best Local Sports Team: The Seahawks had a great year, and that last minute time-out flub should not put a damper on the fact that they deserved to go as far as they went.
Best Online Dating Site: JDate, as usual, wins, but we should give special mention to a local dating site, still in beta, called HappyBubbe.com. Get those profiles coming!
Best (or Worst) Political Antic of 2012: Every response had something to do with anything one presidential candidate or the other did. No need to relive the details.
Most Important Political Issue of 2012: Being Jews, the winner was, of course, every single ongoing issue in Israel: The thousands of rockets that have fallen in Southern Israel, the UN vote on Palestinian observer state status, to name but two, followed by marriage equality.
Best local Jewish news item of 2012: From one respondent: “Not the best but the most impactful — our community’s loss of David Brumer,” a local activist; the opening of the new Jewish Family Service building, and that whole kerfuffle with the cancellation of events with a contingent of gay Israelis by the City of Seattle.

Thanks for your votes, everyone!

Cultural preservation is not just about the past, but also about the future.

Sarah Aroeste, a Sephardic musician whose family hails from Greece and Macedonia, and Professor Devin Naar, a historian of modern Jewish history at the University of Washington who specializes in Sephardic Jewish history, had a frank conversation last Thursday addressing themes of diaspora, Jewish identity, family, and, most importantly, cultural preservation.
The conversation-performance was the first of JewDubs’s three-part series, New Voices in World Jewish Music.

The evening began with “Arvoles,” a song that describes trees crying for the rain (Arvoles yuran por luvyas). The chorus translates: “What will become of me? In foreign lands I will die” (ke va ser de mi? En tierras ajenas yo me vo murir).

It begins as a love song, Aroeste pointed out, but quickly we understand it not only to be an ode to a lover, but to a love of homeland. Believed to be written in the 15th century, this makes sense — that was the century of the Spanish Expulsion. Whether this homeland is Spain or Israel is an entirely different story. “In foreign lands I will die.”

The haunting song is just the tip of the iceberg of an incredible menagerie of Ladino music that Sarah Aroeste introduced me to that night. I was there to learn, but the audience, many of them members of the Seattle’s vibrant Sephardic Jewish community, clearly knew many of the songs Aroeste mentioned. From my seat, I could hear audience members humming, sometimes singing along, voicing that they too shared this history with Aroeste.

I noticed, too, that the audience fell silent when Aroeste performed or played recordings of traditional songs that she had reinterpreted. I’m not sure whether this was a sign of disapproval or just a moment where the audience was grappling with the new sound of such rooted songs, but the enthusiastic applause at the conclusion led me to believe that the silence meant that they were listening.

Aroeste, a classically trained vocalist who intended to have a career in opera, first came across Ladino repertoire from an opera coach in Tel Aviv. She “fell in love” with the repertoire, and, upon returning to the United States, hired a guitar coach, who, in a “besheret” moment, turned out to be Sephardic himself. The duo served as a springboard for a band, and pretty soon, traditional “canciones” like “Chika Morena” (Brown Haired Girl) and “Hija Mia” (My Daughter) were reinterpreted by Aroeste. Aroeste explained that she is often intrigued by the sensual side of Ladino music, and wanted to bring that to the fore in songs like “Noches,” where a bride anxiously anticipates her wedding night and voices her sexual longing to her mother.

What I find most interesting about Aroeste is her ability to bring out the complexity of the traditional songs that she performs. Aroeste plays up themes of diaspora, displacement, feminism and sexuality, often by changing the lyrics or the tone of traditional piece.

For example, Aroeste named her latest album Gracia, after Gracia Mendes Nasi. Gracia, a converso (one forcibly converted to Catholicism) became one of the wealthiest women in Renaissance Europe and helped hundreds of other conversos escape the Spanish Inquisition. The nod to Nasi is a nod to Sephardic Jewish history and Ladino’s roots on the Iberian Peninsula, as well as to a powerful woman who negotiated on behalf of the Jewish people. Additionally, Aroeste’s use of rock music is a tribute to her American heritage: “I did not grow up in Macedonia,” she explained. “I grew up in America.”

For more information on the series, please visit www.jewdub.org/newvoices. For more information on Sarah Aroeste, please visit her website at www.saraharoeste.com.

The Torah commands us to remember. As historian Yosef Yerushalmi points out, the command form of “to remember,” zakhar, appears in the Hebrew Bible no less than 169 times — usually with God or Israel as the subject. Many things about Jewish history, tradition, and culture are important to remember: The Exodus, the Sabbath, the Abrahamic Covenant, and even the Amelekites, said to be the predecessors of all evil. Historically, leading rabbis and Jewish intellectuals have urged their people to “remember,” often around times of rupture and crisis: The destruction of the Second Temple, the Spanish Expulsion, the Haskalah (Enlightenment).

The most significant rupture in Jewish history, at least in modern times, is the Shoah. The loss of 6 million Jewish lives left no Jew untouched. Scholars, rabbis, and leaders of the Jewish community and beyond have grappled with issues of politics, ideology, ethics and morality in an attempt to understand how such a tragedy could have happened, to such scale and degree, in modern Europe. And then the Jewish people were left to struggle with how to create life in the time that followed.

But if we go back to this idea of zakhor, and the Holocaust, what is it that we should really remember? Are monuments to the Shoah, to suffering, pain, and new life enough? Should we look to the copious biographies and memoirs that remind us of the multiplicity of human experiences? Or perhaps to the incredible music that came out of some of the most desperate death camps of the Third Reich?

While I do not dare suggest that I hold the definitive answer to that question, I can offer the following: Two films in the past few years have encouraged us to remember those non-Jews who stepped up to help the Jewish people, or the “Righteous Among the Nations.” The documentaries Nicky’s Family (2011) and Visa Al Paraíso (Visa to Paradise, 2010), which played last year at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival and the Seattle Latino Film Festival, respectively, display acts of altruism that resulted in saving Jewish life from people with little or no connection to Jews or Judaism.

Visa Al Paraíso, a film by Lillian Lieberman, tells the story of Gilberto Bosques Salvídar, who became known as the Mexican Schindler. As the Mexican Consul General in occupied France between 1939 and 1942, Salvídar issued over 45,000 exit visas to Jews and Spanish Republicans fleeing Franco’s Spain through France. Throughout the film, we hear from survivors and their children who received these visas, many of whom went on to live their lives in Mexico. We also hear from Salvídar himself (whose name, by the way, is related to Salvador — savior) who, amazingly, doesn’t seem to make much of his mission to write the visas. Salvídar’s altruism is what resonates most from the film.

Nicky’s Family follows the story of Nicholas Winton, who, after a trip to Czechoslovakia, helped organize a system for the evacuation of 669 Jewish Czech and Slovak children to Great Britain. Not only was Winton not Jewish, but he also kept his actions secret for nearly half a century. It was not until his wife found a suitcase filled with documents in the attic of the family home that he began to reveal what had happened. The director, Matej Minac, uses interviews with “Nicky’s children” and grandchildren, and intersperses it with reenactments of the events leading up to their rescue.

We are witness to a remarkable act of altruism — Winton, along with one secretary, spent his time creating pages containing pictures of six Jewish children for British families to choose from, then arranging for the visas through the British consulate.

While the subject is ultimately about death, the emphasis of this film is life. We see the survivors ride that same train from Prague to London. We visit with the extended family of the survivors — a number estimated to be around 6,000 — and are given insights into the good that they are doing in the world. Artists, community leaders, and teachers, all inspired by Winton’s good deeds. What we remember, in this case, is that altruism inspires altruism in others.

From lessons on politics and the end of ideology to inspiring stories of altruism and heroism, there is no shortage of axioms to remember. Yet many people, especially Jews, have chosen to do the opposite: Shakach, to forget. Many of us know examples of survivors who just don’t speak about the war. Especially in these times, when politics over the State of Israel have truly divided the world, it is important to zakhar times in which militant ideology nearly destroyed the Jewish people. But it is just as important to remember the times when non-Jews practiced selflessness in order to help a group of people on the brink of extermination.  Films like Nicky’s Family and Visa Al Paraíso are opportunities for us to think critically about our relationships with our friends and neighbors, especially those in need, whatever the scale. Bibilically speaking, the Jews were intended to be the Light Among The Nations- an example for our friends and neighbors, which I believe starts with any opportunity to recognize injustice and to do whatever we can to help all those in need, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion.

Look for Nicky’s Family and Visa Al Paraíso at film festivals internationally. For more information on Nicky’s Family, you can visit the film’s website.

Friday, January 18

Undo
Thursday–Saturday at 8 p.m.
Rachel and Joe are getting divorced and everyone they know is invited. Guilt, grief, desire and booze collide in this darkly comedic new play that contemplates a world where the worst moment in your life is something that people dress up for.
Read our exclusive interview with director and cast here on Jew-ish.
Runs through February 16. General admission is $18 or $5 for students.
At the Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St. (11th Ave. at E Pike St.), Seattle.

Sunday, January 20

“How to Successfully Grow Your Greens” with Shirley Savel at 10 a.m.
Presented by the BCMH Sisterhood, Shirley Savel, Seward Park’s own “Queen of All Things Green,” will show you how to start off your planting projects on the right foot and teach you some amazing tricks to maintain a healthy garden. After all, spring is just around the corner! Admission is FREE but everyone is asked to bring one non-perishable food item for the JFS Food Bank. Women only - sorry guys.
For more information about this event, contact Rhonda Rubin at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Hanna Esther Begoun at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At BCMH, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle.

Top Chef Chabad at 6:15 p.m.
The Jewish Women Sisterhood invites you to a special evening in celebration of Tu B’Shvat. Three teams of three will engage in cutthroat competition for fabulous prizes to create a delicious salad from a full pantry of fresh and cooked ingredients. Nutritionist Anat Barak and health foodie Nurit Anash will be on hand to judge the entries and talk to audience members about the latest trends in health and nutrition. Dinner, including Nurit’s New York Times award-winning salad recipe, will be served. Cost is $20 for non-members, $15 for members. Women only (again - sorry guys!).
At the Eastside Torah Center, 1837 156th Ave. NE Suite 303, Bellevue.

Who doesn’t love a hot wine drink in the dead of January? Try this recipe for a Claret Cup this weekend!

Now playing in theatres around Seattle:
This is 40
“Knocked Up,” 10 years out. Bring a flask of our Claret Cup with you.

The Guilt Trip
If only we could give our own guilt-tripping mothers Razzies.

The Law in These Parts
Sundance and Jerusalem Film Festival “best documentary” 2011 winner, “Law” tries to get to the bottom of the law of occupation. Just a guess, but this one is probably a downer.

Coming up next week week:
SIFF’s Women in Cinema presents Hannah Arendt
Wednesday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m.
An intelligent and powerful look at the philosopher Hannah Arendt, whose “The Origins of Totalitarianism” made her famous in philosophical circles. She shot to further international fame via her controversial chronicle of Nazi Adolph Eichmann’s 1961 trial for war crimes in Jerusalem, and it is this intense period that serves as the film’s focus. German with English subtitles. At the SIFF Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N, Seattle.
Reception & Film: $25 | $20 SIFF Members
Ticket includes post-film reception at Taste Restaurant.
Film Only: $11 | $6 SIFF Members | $10 Youth 21 & under and Seniors 65-plus
SIFF passes and vouchers are valid for film only admission.

Shabbat services

Reform

Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night Martin Luther King, Jr. Shabbat with Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church Choir @ 6 p.m. – Seattle
Saturday – Torah Study @ 9:30 a.m., Shacharit @ 10:30 a.m. - Seattle

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday night Family Kabbalat Shabbat Service @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah Study @ 9:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Friday night Nashir Shabbat service @ 6 p.m,
Community Shabbat dinner @ 6:30 p.m.
Kabbalat service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit service @ 10:30 a.m.

Kol HaNeshamah
Alki UCC, 6115 SW Hinds St., Seattle.
Friday night Shabbat service and potluck @ 7 p.m.
Saturday Shabbat Service and Kiddush Luncheon @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Congregation Beth Shalom 
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation 
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Friday evening Shabbat service @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shabbat service @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox

Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Erev Shabbat service @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad House (UW)
4541 19th Avenue NE, Seattle
Saturday @ 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:40 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
6500 52nd Ave. S, Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:40 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:35 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat – 5 minutes after candle lighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Alternative/Meditative

Bet Alef
16330 NE 4th St., Bellevue
Friday night service @ 7:30 p.m.

Kavana Cooperative
Shabbat morning minyan @ 10 a.m.

I never envisioned that I would be a food writer or that food itself would be such a part of who I am and what I present to those around me. What I appreciate about food – cooking it, eating it, talking about it – is that it encompasses so much of the side of me that doesn’t come out otherwise in my day-to-day life of running code, doing research, or writing an economics paper.

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, William Deresiewicz complains about food having replaced art as high culture. He says that this development is a net loss: “Food, for all that, is not art…It is not narrative or representational, does not organize and express emotion…A good risotto is a fine thing, but it isn’t going to give you insight into other people, allow you to see the world in a new way, or force you to take an inventory of your soul.”

I beg to differ. 

My mother is an excellent cook, and while I learned from watching her, it wasn’t until I ventured out on my own that I got to try my hand at learning about ingredients and flavors and developing my own style in the kitchen. But if I could sum up what she taught me, it would be that in cooking one must also remember to add the secret ingredient: Love.

The real push for me to first start getting into food was moving abroad and finding that if I wanted to eat kosher meat on any sort of regular basis, I was going to have to cook it myself. And so, over four months in Belgium I tried my hand at chicken, Moroccan vegetables, and whole-wheat challah. Afterward, over four months in Hong Kong, I really got into it: my first roasted chicken, pan-seared steak with mushroom-Merlot sauce, baked fish over angel hair and lots of Asian stir fried vegetables and noodles.

At the same time, while living in Hong Kong, I came to really connect with a core group of friends, and in particular, Peter (platonically, just to be clear). We ended up spending most of our time together: We hiked together, we traveled together, we watched bootlegged episodes of “24” on DVD together. We also cooked and ate together, which really meant that most of the time I cooked and then we ate together.

As our four months in Hong Kong neared their end, our relationship grew tense. One evening, Peter was late — like, ridiculously late — and I stood there with my steak and mashed potatoes and broccoli and stewed until he made it back to our building, when after a tense dinner, I went my separate way in a huff. Later, Peter apologized for being late and also pointed out that while for him, cooking was just cooking, he realized that for me it was more than that.

While we walked away on good terms that evening, the real truth was that I was upset about more than just the being late to dinner. Our time together was nearing its end. While I was starting to get distressed about leaving some good friendships, it seemed like Peter didn’t really care. Things blew up before I left for a conference in London. It felt like I’d spent the past several months building this friendship and it meant something to me, but it didn’t mean anything to Peter. I wrote him an email and without hearing back, I left and figured that was the end of that.

But to my surprise, it wasn’t. I hadn’t checked my email while I was away, but when I came back, Peter was there with our other friends to escort me from the bus to our building. After leaving me at my room, he told me he would come back to get me for a surprise, but that I should check my email. He had written that this wasn’t going to be the end of our friendship, that we would make the most of our last few days in Hong Kong, and it would continue after that.

A few minutes later, he came to get me for the surprise. It was chocolate cake that he’d made, one in the shape of a heart and one in the shape of a teddy bear, frosted with whipped cream because his attempt at icing didn’t work out. That night we enjoyed the cake with the rest of our friends. We stayed up to watch the sunrise before our early morning flight back to New York, and it happened that we did keep in touch – we emailed, we got together in New York and Atlantic City, we took a trip to San Francisco together.

It’s possible that the story would have played out the same way even without the cooking and without the cake, but I really don’t think so — or at least, that it wouldn’t touch me in the same way. In response to William Deresiewicz, if someone cooks you a good risotto and you come away thinking only that it was a fine bowl of rice, then I’d say you’re missing out on a lot more than just art appreciation.

Is it too soon to joke about the Holocaust?
According to the irreverent Shalom Auslander, apparently not.
Auslander’s debut novel, “Hope: A Tragedy,” chronicles the undoing of Solomon Kugel, who escapes to the uneventful town of Stockton, NY, with his wife, toddler, and Holocaust-obsessed mother to start life afresh.
And that’s when it all goes downhill.
They can hardly pay the mortgage, an arsonist with a penchant for old farmhouses like their own is on the loose, and, if that wasn’t enough to keep a neurotic like Kugel up all night, what — rather, who — he finds in the attic is.
Auslander joins the ranks of dark, tousle-haired boys who constitute the present-day Jewish literati. A generation removed, but cut from the same foreskin as Philip Roth and Woody Allen, the characters dreamed up by Auslander, like those of Nathan Englander and Etgar Keret, find themselves in absurd situations that blur the line between reality and a hallucinogenic guilt trip.
The result, as black as char, is heartbreakingly hilarious.
Wracked with paranoia about his house going up in smoke, Kugel uncovers a much bigger problem. There’s a nasty old lady sleeping on a pile of rags in his attic. And her name is Anne Frank. And she won’t leave until she finishes her novel. Kugel pontificates:

I don’t know who you are, he said, or how you got up here. But I’ll tell you what I do know: I know Anne Frank died in Auschwitz. And I know that she died along with many others, some of whom were my relatives. And I know that making light of that, by claiming to be Anne Frank, not only is not funny and abhorrent but it also insults the memory of living victims of Nazi brutality.
The old woman stopped typing and turned to him, fixing that hideous yellow eye upon his.
It was Bergen-Belsen, jackass, she said.

What if Anne Frank had lived? What if Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin had made it past 27? Would they be strung-out losers with a bunch of tanked albums? In rehab for embarrassing sexual compulsions? Don’t kid yourself: You’d prefer them to be dead. It’s easier to glorify them that way.
The point being, the dead Anne Frank is so much more inspiring than the one who could have survived.
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out,” wrote the young girl in her famous diary. “Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Oh, those ideals.
Kugel, we gradually learn, is a short, pale, unathletic, violently gluten-intolerant mama’s boy (and for Pete’s sake, the poor guy’s name is synonymous with a cheesy, glutinous casserole) who obsesses about death — a characteristic his mysteriously absent “guide and adviser,” Professor Jove, attributes to Kugel’s optimism.
“So desperate was Kugel for things to turn out for the best, proclaimed Professor Jove, that he couldn’t stop worrying about the worst. Hope, said Professor Jove, was Solomon Kugel’s greatest failing.”
This is the real problem. Not the missed mortgage payments or the arsonist or any of the other things that Kugel chases, but the hope.
Auslander lifts the veil of optimism we are too stupid to believe doesn’t exist. “Hope” only mocks the Holocaust because it mocks something much bigger, and much scarier: Life. Life sucks, then you die. Kugel chases solutions to his problems, but life chases him, until he is a bruised, broken, limping, diarrheal raving lunatic. The end of the string unraveling his life is gripped by his own fingers.
“Imagine,” said John Lennon. He was shot.
“I have a dream,” said Martin Luther King Jr. Shot.
“Shalom,” said Yitzhak Rabin. They pulled a bloodstained “Shir L’Shalom” from his shirt pocket.
“Hope,” said Barack Obama. The economy tanked.
Who was the biggest optimist in the 20th century? asks Professor Jove.
“Hitler was the most unabashed, doe-eyed optimist of the last hundred years,” he says. “Have you ever heard of anything as outrageously hopeful as the Final Solution?”
Yet Auslander manages to spend 353 pages pacing the edge of the abyss without convincing you to jump. It’s a very funny place, this cliff. Of course, everything is going to turn out all right in the end.
We can only hope.

To support and promote the rich tradition of music throughout the Sephardic world, JewDub is launching a series of three inspirational, talented young artists in their New Voices in World Jewish Music series, beginning Thursday, January 17 with Sarah Aroeste. Through live performances and conversations with faculty, these artists will showcase their roots in places ranging from medieval Spain to Greece, Turkey, Iran and Jerusalem.

Sarah Aroeste, inspired by her family’s Sephardic roots in Greece and Macedonia, has spent the last 10 years bringing her contemporary style of original and traditional Ladino music to audiences around the globe. American born and trained in classical opera at Westminster Choir College and Yale University, Aroeste became drawn to her Sephardic musical past after spending a summer in 1997 performing at the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv. Aroeste works tirelessly to keep Ladino music alive for a new generation of music lovers. Her style combines traditional Mediterranean Sephardic sounds with contemporary inspiration such as rock, funk jazz and blues. One of the few Ladino artists today who writes her own pieces, Aroeste performs songs with universal themes such as family dynamics, first-love crushes, unrequited love, loss, searching for home, going off to war, and much more.  Together, her songs have breathed new life and energy into the beautiful and mystifying sounds of Sephardic music.

Aroeste will demonstrate some of her music and speak about her work in conversation with Professor Devin Naar, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Washington. Dr. Naar is a European Jewish historian with an emphasis in Sephardic history, specifically Salonica and is credited with spearheading the Sephardic Studies Initiative with the Samuel & Althea Stroum Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington.

Coming up next in the series: Galeet Dardashti in conversation with Jessika Kenney on February 10 and Guy Mendilow Ensemble on March 14. Look for details on those upcoming concerts soon here on Jew-ish.

Friday, Jan 11

Ray Suarez: The Politics of Faith in America // Town Hall @ 7 p.m.
Ray Suarez is senior correspondent for PBS’s “The NewsHour” and author of “The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America.” With the inauguration only a week away, Suarez shares his analysis of the advent of political polarization and how it is profoundly changing the way in which we live our lives.  He focuses on the attitudes and beliefs of the people behind the voting statistics, the places in which these new beliefs are being born, and how the political divide is manifesting itself throughout the United States.
Admission is free, but tickets are required. Get them at brownpapertickets.com.
At Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. (at Seneca Street), Seattle.

Jconnect’s 2nd Friday Shabbat // Hillel @ 7 p.m.
This month’s Jconnect 2nd Friday Shabbat features special guest Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Jacobs is devoted to creative change in the Reform movement and will be leading the discussion.
Drinks and schmoozing at 7 p.m., services at 7:30 p.m., followed by a full Shabbat meal, including roast chicken, savory Portobello mushrooms and other delicious comfort foods.
Dinner is $12 (or pay what you can). Please RSVP to reserve your spot for dinner by contacting Elise Peizner at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
At Hillel at the University of Washington, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle

Manhattan // Grand Illusion // Friday-Saturday @ 7 p.m. & 9 p.m.
Called his most romantic film, Manhattan is Woody Allen’s love letter to New York City.
Show times continue on Saturday at 5 p.m., 7 p.m.* and 9 p.m.; Sunday 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St., Seattle
*Saturday night’s 7 p.m. showing will be introduced by Seattle University film professor Bill Taylor.

The Tin Drum // SIFF Cinema // Friday-Sunday @ 4:30 p.m.
Winner of the Palme D’Or and Academy Award for best foreign language film, “The Tin Drum” (1979) is the surreal, satirical and sad story of Oskar Matzerath of Danzig, Germany in the years leading up to World War II. A child brilliant beyond his years, Oskar watches the hypocrisy of his countrymen — including his father — as they follow Hitler. On his third birthday, Oskar vows to stop growing, and bangs on his tin drum in a relentless, but futile, call for humanity. Adapted from the novel by Günter Grass, the film has been digitally restored and includes 20 more minutes of original footage.
Tickets $11, $6 for SIFF members, and $10 for youth under 20 and seniors over 65. Matinee is $8, $6 for SIFF members.

Sunday, Jan 13

Rabbi Rick Jacobs // Temple Beth Am @ 10 a.m.
The president of the URJ will share his vision for the future of Reform Judaism.

Love & Death // Grand Illusion @ 5 p.m.
Last film in the Woody Allen 1970s series, Love and Death is oft seen as Allen’s departure from his previous movies where he reinvents himself. The film is full of philosophic debates at the most unlikely moments.
Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St., Seattle

Now in theaters (and getting lots of traction): This is 40 is Judd Apatow’s semi-sequel to his comedy hit “Knocked Up,” starring Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Chris O’Dowd. Check your local listings for show times.

And if it does in fact end up snowing on Saturday as the forecast predicts, curl up with a frothy mug of Dirty Chai Toddy.

Shabbat services

Reform/Reconstructionist

Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Special Expanded Preneg in Honor of Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Pres. URJ – Seattle @ 5 p.m. with Rock Shabbat to follow @ 6 p.m.
After services, FEED #3 @ 7:30 p.m. - Abraham’s Tent will welcome homeless and formerly homeless representatives from Real Change newspaper to our third FEED Dinner of the year. The speakers will participate in a panel discussion to help us understand the various faces of homelessness.
Saturday morning Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services – Seattle and Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday night Freedom Shabbat in honor of MLK Jr. Gospel Concert @ 7:30 p.m./Service @ 8 p.m.
Saturday Shabbat Outdoors at Discovery Park @ 10 a.m.

Temple B’nai Torah
15727 NE Fourth St., Bellevue
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m. with guest speaker Maurice Harris
Torah Study @ 9 a.m. Saturday
Shabbat services @ 10:30 a.m. Saturday

Kadima House
12353 8th Ave. NE, Seattle
Shabbat morning service @ 10 a.m. Saturday
Includes a potluck vegetarian lunch (scaled fish okay).

Conservative

Congregation Beth Shalom 
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
B’Yachad & Simchat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox

Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Erev Shabbat service @ 10 min. before sunset
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

Chabad House (UW)
4541 19th Avenue NE, Seattle
Saturday @ 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
6500 52nd Ave. S, Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:25 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat – 5 minutes after candle lighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

This is the first in a series of interviews with Jew-ish Seattleites doing cool and unusual things. Know one? Tell us!

Professor Sarah Stroup is up to her eyeballs in ancient text and artifact excavation. And she loves it.

Having grown up in a professorial family, Stroup actually had no intention of becoming a teacher. Her plan had been to go to law school and go into a profession that would actually make her some money.

“But then I started having a crisis. As I was taking ethics, philosophy and other classes, I realized I wasn’t going to get to do this as a lawyer. I thought about it, I love research and I love writing, and I love ancient Mediterranean and I loved travel. I put it all together and I decided, ‘I have to be a professor of Classics,’” says Stroup.

Now, most people would look at the University of Washington Associate Professor of Classics and see that she spends the bulk of her time researching ancient Greek and Roman texts, teaching language, art, history and then, for several months in the summer, digs around in the dirt looking for shiny historical objects. Which is pretty awesome, right?

“I love my job. And I do think that I have the coolest job,” says Stroup.

It can sometimes be confusing when Stroup uses the term classicist to describe herself and what she teaches. “Really [classicist] is a horrible name for what we do. What it generally means is the study of ancient Greek and Rome. It’s language and it’s the text and everything in between,” says Stroup.

During the fall, Professor Stroup can be found teaching courses like Greek and Roman Mythology here in Seattle. And then, in the spring, she might be whisked off to Rome to teach Roman Topography and Monuments. Then, it’s on to the ancient Mediterranean town of Dor, a harbor and port town in Israel that attracted a multitude of merchants, immigrants, and conquerors to the Carmel coast.

What’s most important to the professor about her work is making the connection between ancient times and today. Her ability to do both the theoretical research as well as getting literally down and dirty with the places these texts originated is invaluable.

“Traditionally, people who are text people are text people. It’s incredibly time consuming to do both. But I really love both. Part of it is selfish. I get to go to Israel every summer and do something that’s worthwhile. I spend the rest of my year poring over these ancient texts, but going and doing the excavation gives me a much better perspective and gives me a big picture view,” says Stroup.

The professor points out that we all consume archeology in different ways and it’s important to see how it’s actually produced.

“I love taking the students to Israel and teaching them how to dig. I thought at first it was just kind of interesting and fun, but now it’s really important to me. It’s one of the most important experiences that the students can have. What I love about Dor is that very infrequently are we able to have our students be our research assistants and our partners,” says Stroup.

The UW Tel Dor Archaeological Excavation and Field School program is open to students and adults over the age of 21. Applications are now being accepted through February 1.

Inspired by her mother’s and grandmother’s legacies, world-renowned pianist and recording artist Mona Golabek combines timeless music and powerful storytelling in “The Pianist of Willesden Lane.” Golabek brings a special edition of this critically acclaimed one-woman show to Connections 2013, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s annual women’s gathering on January 27 at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue.
With a goal of gathering 500 or more Jewish women around a theme of “Women Making Choices,” “Mona’s story will help everyone understand how easy we have it, compared to the choices some women have had to make,” said Connections co-chair Iantha Sidell.
Golabek’s story begins with her pianist grandmother Malka Jura’s forced choice in 1938 Vienna to send only one of her children away on a kindertransport to the safety of faraway England. She chose her teenage daughter, Lisa. A piano prodigy herself, torn from her beloved concert halls and from her dreams of playing the Grieg piano concerto on their stages, the determined Lisa Jura made her way to London, to a children’s hostel at 243 Willesden Lane.
Malka left her daughter at the train station in Vienna with these words: “Hold on to your music. It will be your best friend in life.” Lisa shared that friend, and made friends ever after, in her mother’s spirit.
“The Pianist of Willesden Lane” is based on Golabek’s book “The Children of Willesden Lane,” co-written with Lee Cohen, and brought to the stage by producer Hershey Felder, who has performed as George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein in his own one-man shows. Introduced to critical acclaim in Los Angeles and Boston in 2012, “The Pianist” requires Golabek to meet the astonishing challenge of speaking in character while playing famous classical music solos at the highest professional level.
Lisa wound up marrying a Polish resistance fighter and settling in Los Angeles. There, she taught her mother’s words and her own stories to her two daughters, sitting side by side at the piano bench. The dreams of concert careers that she and her mother had sacrificed took flight in the careers of Mona and her sister, the late Renee Golabek-Kaye.
Named for her grandmother Malka, Mona Golabek has added her grandmother’s and her mother’s stories to the powerful wave of voices emerging from the Shoah’s surviving generations. She has created the Hold On To Your Music Foundation (http://www.holdontoyourmusic.org) with the stated mission “to expand awareness and understanding of the ethical implications of world events such as the Holocaust, and the power of the arts, especially music, to embolden the human spirit in the face of adversity.”
“The Children of Willesden Lane” has already become part of the widely used “Facing History and Ourselves” curriculum. “A hundred fifty thousand students have read the book so far,” Golabek said. “Students in Alabama who had never even heard of the Holocaust have told me they have been inspired to hold on to their own dreams as a result of their work with Lisa’s story.”
The success and power of that work inspired Golabek to make a midlife career change.
“I’ve had a strong career,” she concedes, as a concert pianist, recording artist, and radio performer. “But I saw that God, or someone, or destiny, gave me this.”
Her story is her work now. A reviewer for the Boston Globe wrote, “We sense that she has to tell it.”
Golabek’s music-plus-readings radio show, “The Romantic Hours,” produced in L.A., airs nationwide. It is not currently broadcast in Seattle, but Amazon sells it on CD with glowing reviews. She credits her mother for teaching her, by example, to combine music and the spoken word.
“During piano lessons,” she recalls, “Mom would talk about the bombs, or about the big kid at the hostel who whistled the Grieg piano concerto to her to make her laugh.” Mona and Renee understood that they were to “be worthy of the losses. Be worthy of the pain. We knew we had a clarion call to make something of our lives.”

“Undo,” a play about a Jewish couple’s divorce ceremony, premieres at Annex Theatre on Capitol Hill Jan. 18. Annex company member Erin Pike interviews playwright Holly Arsenault and actors Mark Waldstein and Samantha Leeds.

JTNews: How would you summarize “Undo”?

Holly Arsenault: “Undo” takes place in a world that is exactly like our own, except in order to get divorced, you have to endure an elaborate ritual of undoing that involves everyone who was invited to your wedding. In the world that we’re in, all religions have this ritual. It’s not just a Jewish thing. But the family whose ritual we are seeing happens to be Jewish.

JTNews: Mark and Sam, what characters do you play?

Samantha Leeds: My character is the youngest daughter, Naomi. She’s 14. She’s taken on Judaism in an intense way to cope with the [dissemblance] that’s going on with her family.
Mark Waldstein: I play Abraham (Abe), who is the father of the groom, soon-to-be-ex-groom. Abe is sort of the patriarch of this play. He’s always nudging people. He’s not afraid, at times, to speak his mind.

JTNews: Why did you choose to focus on a family that is Jewish?

HA: I loved the image of the broken glass, which plays a central role in this play. That is the only reason that I made them Jewish. My stepfather’s Jewish, so a little part of my family was Jewish, and I had Jewish friends growing up.
I wrote the first couple of scenes almost 12 years ago, and then I put it in the drawer for over a decade. In that decade, I married a Jewish person, so I gained this huge, wonderful Jewish family. Suddenly, one day, I thought, “I think I might be able to write this play now.” It wasn’t that clear of a trajectory. It wasn’t like, “Oh I get Jews now, I’ll write this play.” I sat down to write another play, but this one kept asserting itself to me. I could hear these people talking to me in a way I hadn’t before. A lot of people have commented that it feels really appropriate. “Somehow, this feels like something that Jews would do” is a comment that I get a lot.
MW: When I first read the script, I actually had a moment where I said to myself, “This isn’t real…is it?”
SL: I did that, too!
MW: Could I have possibly have been around all this time, and missed that somehow?
HA: My mother-in-law said, “I’ve been Jewish my whole life, but is it possible that I just missed this?” People have said to me throughout this process, “Is this real?” And I say, “Really? You think that somebody has to put on their wedding dress and go back — you think that’s a real thing that could actually happen?” Despite that [the play] is a fantasy, the tone is stark naturalism.

JTNews: Was the Jewish context the right choice for this play?

HA: Absolutely. It fits in this world. And maybe if I had decided that they were Methodists, and did that research, I may have found ways that it aligned. But —
MW: [Whispering] Methodists aren’t funny!
HA: [Laughs] For one thing, the characters needed to be funny —
MW: No one tells Methodist jokes.
HA: [Laughing] So yes, that helps. Another reason that it feels possible to people is, I think that Jews “do” death better than a lot of other religions, by which I mean they don’t try to ignore it.
And this ritual is essentially a funeral. So it makes sense to me that it makes sense to other people, that this feels like something that Jews might do. Because the ritual that I’ve invented is honoring this institution that existed, and honoring how difficult it is to end it, and allowing people a vessel for experiencing that and sharing their grief about it.
SL: It’s okay if the audience thinks that this is a very real ritual. That’s what the theater is for, right?
HA: It’s not a play about Judaism. The play is also in a suburb of Philadelphia, but it’s not a play about Philadelphians.
MW: Because at heart, it’s a family play. It’s about a family who happens to be Jewish. And that’s a real thing in the world. Not every Jew goes around broadcasting that.
SL: Mark and I grew up two towns away from each other in New Jersey, at different times. From a purely cultural level, this play is so fun. I remember reading this play for my audition and just being like, “Yes, this is so right on!” There’s something so satisfying about doing this show.
HA: As a non-Jewish person writing a play about Jewish characters, there’s anxiety. I want to get it right. I want to be respectful. I want people to understand the tremendous affection I feel for this culture, for Jewish practices.
MW: Everything Holly just talked about, Sam and I are here to attest to. She’s done it very thoroughly.

Alright, the holidays are officially over. Hopefully you’re not spending the whole weekend putting away your menorah, breaking down Amazon.com boxes. The forcast is looking cloudy, so we have some great indoor activities for you (unless by some miracle it’s sunny; in which case by all means, go skiing or snowboarding).

Friday, Jan. 4
BANANAS
To impress a beautiful female activist (Louise Lasser), New Yorker Fielding Mellish (Allen) travels to the “banana republic” of San Marcos and winds up becoming a dictator. “Bananas” is both the second film in the Grand Illusion’s Woody Allen in the 70s and the second of Allen’s directing career.
Show times on Friday are at 7 and 9 p.m. Shows through Sunday, Jan. 6.
Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St., Seattle.

Fiddler on the Roof (second run)
If you missed the Christmas sing-along at SIFF, don’t fret! Back after a week hiatus, The Village Theatre’s presentation of “Fiddler on the Roof” continues through the end of January. Though, this is a live production, and I’d venture to guess singing along is not widely encouraged.
Curtains at 8 p.m. Wednesday–Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Everett Performing Arts Center
2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett.

Saturday, Jan. 5
First Saturday Limud
It’s The Tribe’s first First Saturday Limud of 2013! Come chat about your New Year’s resolutions (if you haven’t already broken them) over bagels. For more information, contact at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Eltana, Capitol Hill
1538 12th Ave., Seattle

Sunday, Jan. 6
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Another one of Allen’s most famous, most absurd comedies, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex” was the second most popular comedy of 1972 (after “What’s Up Doc?”). Also part of the Woody Allen in the 70s series, the film opens Sunday at 5 p.m.
Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St., Seattle.

Now in theatres: Whether you grew up with a mother who adored Barbara or you are a fan yourself, Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen’s new film “The Guilt Trip” is a Jewish mother/child must-see. Check your local listings for show times.

Seattle-Eastside Shabbat services

Reform

Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Friday night Shabbat service – Seattle @ 6 p.m.
Friday night Shabbat Unplugged – Bellevue @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services– Seattle and Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat @ 8 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox

Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:20 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.
Class on Trei Asar (books of prophets) with Rivy Poupko Kletenik @ 3 p.m.

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:20 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:15 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.

Shevet Achim
5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat – 5 minutes after candle lighting
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 9:30 a.m.

Pozole (also spelled posole) is a soup or stew made all over Mexico, dating back to pre-Columbian times. Kosher pozole is almost a non-sequitur, because the original is heavy on the pig, but this vegetarian version is delicious and filling so I don’t think you’ll miss the meat. It makes a terrific one-pot meal on a cold day.
There are more variations of pozole than you can count, but as long as it has hominy and some kind of red chili in it, you’re in the ballpark. I add pinto beans, which makes it pozole de frijol. I like to use tomatoes and a lot of lime juice to make a somewhat sour broth.
Much of the fun comes with the accompaniments, which you can put out on a big platter and let everyone choose for themselves. Popular options include: Avocado slices, cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cabbage or lettuce, onions and radishes. If you want to make a true feast, fry up some homemade tostadas and make a batch of guacamole.
The recipe below calls for canned hominy and beans for simplicity. Made this way, it can even be a weeknight supper. But if you want a more leisurely and even better soup, you can cook them both from scratch. Hominy corn is available dried, in which case you would soak it overnight and boil it for several hours, very much like with dried beans. Or if you are really motivated, you could try to find maiz para pozol and soak it yourself in lye water and then remove the end of each kernel. Sounds like fun!

Vegetarian Pozole Rojo de Frijol
Serves at least 4 as a one-pot meal
Vegetarian and gluten-free; vegan if you don’t offer cheese as a condiment
1 or 2 (or more, if you are a chili head) dried chilis de Arbol, ancho, or guajillo chilis to suit your preference
2 Tbs. oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups mild vegetable broth (optional)
1/2 15 oz. can diced tomatoes — those “fire roasted” ones would be good if you have them
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 15 oz. cans hominy, drained and rinsed
Salt
Juice of 2 limes
Garnishes: see the list in the discussion above
Soak the chilis in a bit of boiling water for 20 minutes or so, then purée in a mini food processor.
In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, 2 tsp. of salt, the oregano, and 6 cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a simmer.
Add the pinto beans and hominy and bring back to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the puréed chilis and lime juice, stir, then add salt and more lime juice or more of the tomatoes as needed to produce a piquant broth. You might like to add the chilis a little at a time and taste to make sure you aren’t exceeding your heat preference. You can always serve the remainder of the chili sauce on the side.
Serve it forth, with a good selection of garnishes.

Opens Friday, December 28 at 7 p.m.
Woody Allen in the ‘70s
If you’re reading this, dear target demographic, you weren’t around (or, at least, you weren’t a cognizant and participating member of society) for the golden age of Woody’s career. Before Scarlett Johansson there was Diane Keaton; before Barcelona there was New York, and only New York. Through Jan. 17, time warp over to that mythologized decade of analysis, second-wave feminists and feathered hair at the Grand Illusion Cinema for a Woody Allen retrospective.
Dec. 28-Jan 3: “Annie Hall” 
Jan. 4-6: “Bananas”
Jan. 6-10: “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)”
Jan. 11-13: “Manhattan”
Jan. 13-17: “Love & Death”
Jan. 6 (part 1) & Jan. 13 (part 2): “Woody Allen: A Documentary”

Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St., Seattle

Saturday, December 29
MOHAI reopens.
Not really Jewish, but we dig it.

Monday, December 31
Happy New Year!
It ain’t no Rosh Hashana, but apples are still kind of in season. Make your New Year a little Jewier with an appletini!

Tuesday, January 1
Jews on Ice
It probably won’t be as elegant and graceful as Disney on Ice, but we’ll take rabbis in skates over Snow White any day. Join the Kollel at Highline Ice Arena for skating and schmoozing.

Third Place Book Sale
People, get your book on. The annual sale is back at both locations. Everything 20 percent off.
Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE and Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle.

Seattle-Eastside Shabbat services

Reform

Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1511 East Pike St., Seattle
3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue
Preneg and Rock Shabbat – Bellevue @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study – Seattle @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services– Seattle and Bellevue @ 10:30 a.m.

Temple Beth Am
2632 Northeast 80th St., Seattle
Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6:15 p.m.
Saturday morning Torah study @ 9:30 a.m.
Shacharit services @ 10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 5 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation 
3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Kabbalat Shabbat @ 6 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit services @ 10 a.m.

Orthodox

Shaarei Tefillah (Chabad)
6250 43rd Ave. NE
Shacharit Saturday morning @ 9 a.m.

BCMH
5145 S Morgan St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:10 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.
Class on Trei Asar (books of prophets) with Rivy Poupko Kletenik @ 3:00 pm

Sephardic Bikkur Holim
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:15 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:30 a.m.

Ezra Bessaroth
5217 S Brandon St., Seattle
Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @ 4:10 p.m.
Saturday morning Shacharit @ 8:25 a.m.