This is a parsha of contradictions. Balak, king of Moab, fears the Egyptian Hebrews and seeks help from the powerful prophet, Balaam. YHWH goes back and forth as to whether or not Balaam can go to Moab. He finally goes and (according to some rabbis) tries to curse the Hebrews, but is only able to [...]
From our friend Mark Skier… “Ich hob veiter a epes cowbell shtickel..” This is one of my favorite SNL sketches, and its almost as funny…
You may have heard that HotHouse is in trouble, again. A month ago, the Tribune’s Howard Reich announced what many already suspected; that between the Board battle that forced out founder Marguerite Horberg, high overhead and funding shortages, things did not look good. $70,000 was reportedly owed in taxes, all staff but the [...]
Two years after they were forced from their homes, over 2000 Jews now residing in Israel proper are in need of a place to life and a way to support themselves. You may recall that the Israeli government forcibly uprooted dozens of Gaza settlements, including Gush Katif, and many of the Katif residents still are [...]
(From Chicago Sun-Times)
June 26, 2007
Chicago’s North Side synagogue that was vandalized last year with anti-Semitic graffiti was burglarized Friday night, police said.
Audio-visual equipment, computers and donated food were taken from the Agudas Achim-North Shore Congregation at 5029 N. Kenmore, according to members of the congregation.
“It breaks your heart,” said Rabbi Philip [...]
(photo reuters) We’re coming up on a year since the illegal capture kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Schalit by Palestinian terrorists on sovereign Israeli soil.
In the wake of the madness that ensued over the last two weeks in Gaza, Hamas has faced near complete rebuke by the international community for its Coup attempt. In rather [...]
A new Chavurah embracing standards that halakhically permit women to lead Kabbalat Shabbat, Psueki dZimra and even leyn Torah has started in Skokie. Called “Kol Sasson” the group seems to meet every other week at Temple Beth Israel on Dempster, which is a pretty good locale. For some background on “Partnership Minyans” and the Jerusalem-based Shira [...]
Zeus, king of the Greek gods, was not mentioned in this week’s parsha, though the Greeks did, for a time, occupy Palestine. His appearance as YHWH’s confessor is a device to let us put words in her mouth about how she might have felt about this week’s shocking turnaround in her relationship with Moses.
Zeus [...]
We’re in Israel for part 2 of the Israeli/Palestinian Comedy Tour! This has been a whirlwind. With show locations ranging from Haifa to Be’er Sheva, including Ra’anana, Tel Aviv, the Ambassador Hotel, Jerusalem and on and on. The show was nicely blogged on Jewschool. We also made TWO trips to fabulous West Bank city of [...]
2007 CHICAGO YIVO SUMMER FEST
Every summer, the Chicago branch of YIVO (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research) mounts a Summer Festival of Yiddish Culture, and the schedule for this year is now online. I always feels its a great shadow of what it could be where there a modest investment in the programming, but its [...]
Last one the year, Leahj says. Ignore that the image says Wednesday, it takes place TONIGHT @ FIXX.
via email: “Just a quick note to say that I hope I see some of you tonight at the Fixx at 7PM. The Fixx is at 3053 N. Sheffield Ave. in Chicago, and we will discuss ‘Judaism and [...]
In case you missed it, Norman Finkelstein (DePaul) is not getting tenure.
I’m not a fan; he seemed more opportunistic weasel than a misunderstood academic. His constant attempts to portray himself as a martyr for the anti-Israel cause didn’t win him any points in my book- especially because in doing so, he reinforced the will of [...]
Hermitco
Digital Monkey
Bulgarian Chix
Balkan Beat Box performs an inspired madness that crosses multi-cultural circus with non-stop dance party. Its full horns, dj beats, throbbing basslines and percussion come together for a surreal atmosphre that’s part Gypsy caravan, part performance-art collective. Blending electronic music with hard-edged folk music from the Balkans, North Africa, [...]
