Friends, colleagues and fans remember Rabbi Harold Kushner

Rabbi Harold Kushner was often identified as the author of “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People,” when the correct title of his best-selling 1981 book is “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” The book was never meant to provide a definitive solution to the age-old question of theodicy — why God permits evil […]

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Judy Blume is having a moment. Here’s why Jewish women love her work.

As a young teenager growing up in Manhattan, Nina Kauder found it nearly impossible to ask her mother difficult questions about puberty or her Jewish identity, for two reasons. Her mother had fled the Holocaust as a child and was, in Kauder’s words, “very tough” to talk to. And by the time Kauder was a […]

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In a first, Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature goes to Hebrew author

For the first time, the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature was given to the author of a book in Hebrew and its translator, in a sign of the award organization’s desire to expand the prize to non-English language works. “Jerusalem Beach,” a book of short stories that draws on Israeli author Iddo Gefen’s background […]

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‘Parade’ and ‘Leopoldstadt’ each nab 6 Tony nominations

Shows about the Holocaust and a notorious American antisemitic incident picked up several Tony Award nominations Tuesday morning, as Broadway’s biggest honors made room for a sizable Jewish presence. Most notably, a revival of the 1998 musical “Parade,” starring Ben Platt as the early-20th-century Jewish lynching victim Leo Frank, scored six nominations, including best revival […]

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Meet the real-life rabbi in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’

Rabbi Michael Wolk was nervous when he stepped foot onto his synagogue’s bimah in May 2021 — but not because his congregation was returning to in-person prayer after a pandemic pause. The jitters were because he was about to debut as an actor, in a role for which he hadn’t auditioned: as the rabbi in […]

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Met Gala in hot water for spotlighting controversial German designer

The star-studded Met Gala was held on Monday in New York City amid both glamor and controversy, with its theme revolving around the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away in February 2019 at the age of 85.  The Met Gala is held annually on the first Monday in May and marks the opening […]

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Dee family hears mother’s heart in transplant recipient

The family of Lucy Dee who was murdered last month alongside her daughters by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank met Tuesday with the recipients of organs she donated. Dee, 48, and her daughters Maia Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, were shot dead while driving through the northern Jordan Valley on April 7. The […]

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‘A Small Light’ tells Anne Frank story of the woman who hid her

The short life of Anne Frank has inspired generations of filmmakers and television producers. The list of past productions range from “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1959), whose director George Stevens witnessed Nazi occupation as a US army officer, to the Academy Award-winning documentary “Anne Frank Remembered” — featuring the only known footage of Anne […]

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Disturbed’s David Draiman takes back his life

“I need it so badly, I can taste it… maybe more than I ever needed it in my life.” David Draiman, everyone’s favorite world-famous, American, heavy metal demi-god who happens to be a staunchly vocal defender of Israel, wasn’t talking about drugs or drink, but getting on stage as the frontman for his band, Disturbed. […]

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‘Gal Gadot is doing a great job as Wonder Woman’ – Ana de Armas

Actress Ana de Armas was asked in an interview with Wired about the rumor that she’ll play Wonder Woman after Gal Gadot. This came after it was reported that DC film division CEO James Gunn is rebuilding the brand’s cinematic universe and is expected to make changes in the casting. “Well, I feel like Gal […]

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