Marvin Silbermintz performs Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" in Yiddish. We will be posting the background on this performance in the next few hours. Stay Tuned! To all our new readers from @JewishTweets, thanks for visiting! ...
Lately, my wife Jody and I have spent a lot of time getting in touch with old friends via Facebook. It started when I received a friend request from Larry. Larry and I were best buddies growing up. But after I moved away, we fell out of touch. I’ve looked for him from time to time via Google but never found any contact information. It had been ...
Because nobody’s ever questioned me about my involvement with Israel’s top-secret spy agency, the Mossad, I’m now ready and willing to talk. It all began while I was still living in Toronto and planning my escape to Israel. One day I stumbled upon an advert in a national Canadian newspaper inviting people to join the Mossad ...
Some folks make aliyah for religious reasons, others for nationalist reasons. And then there are songwriters like me who come to Israel for no apparent reason, and decide to stay, until they're asked to leave. Being the wandering Jewsician that I am, I've recorded in a number of major studios in Toronto, Montreal and New York. But there's no place like ...
Kosherfest is similar to any other convention held at any other convention center. The only difference, kosher food. Wait, wait, FREE Kosher food. The sound of that makes any observant Jew grin with glee. I held the same feeling walking in to the exhibition hall, waiting to try all these new kosher goodies. Within the first hour or so, I had popped in my mouth ...
I will always remember Friday night. I came to a realization, an understanding, the veil of darkness was lifted from my eyes. I recall the mad dash before leaving for my brother's house, seeing online that McCain had chosen Sarah Palin for the job of VP, in the likely case that he won. Immediately, I started researching the future Veep, with much gusto and fervor. I wanted to know everything I could about her, so ...
The week didn’t go at all as I expected. When Jody made plans for her and Amir to go to Cleveland for Jody’s grandmother’s 90th birthday at the same time as Merav and Aviv were to be in sleep away camp, I thought: this is great. I get the house all to myself. Peace and quiet to work without interruption. Plus I can do whatever I want, whenever I want with no responsibilities. I can ...
There was no one so frightening as the man who sat in the farthest back row of the synagogue. To most adults he was friendly and harmless, but we children knew better. We approached him with great care and trepidation. He never looked you straight in the eye, but he knew you were there. He was like a fisherman patiently waiting to reel you in. He did none of the work, we were lured by our own unbridled desire. Your first time, you were led by the hand, by an older, more experienced boy or girl. They took you to an unmarked boundry, beyond which only one child could approach at a time. He was a mountain approached with awe. Once you were close enough, somehow you knew you were close enough, you stopped. He never changed his severe expression, as he slowly reached beneath his tallis into his suit pocket. Out would come one piece of candy in a cellophane wrapper. He would hold it out for you to take, but make you tug on it to release it from his grasp. Your heart pounded so loudly you had trouble hearing your mumbled thank you and you quickly left. No candy tasted sweeter. It was spiced with the thrill of having narrowly escaped with your life. He was the ‘Candy Man.’ “Candy Men” can be found in synagogues all around the world, and in the memories of many Jewish adults. They come in all shapes and sizes. They come from every background. There isn’t a special curriculum of study, no special degree required, just an ancient tradition passed on from generation to generation. ...
Shauli, our youngest son, was about seven years old as he sat across the table from me, at our favorite pizza shop. He considered a slice of pizza he held in his hands and asked: “Is Hashem (G-d) everywhere?” “Yes,” I answered, matter of factly. “Is He in this slice of Pizza?” he asked, probing further. “Yes,” I answered; less sure of myself, but still fairly confident. Shauli then took a bite out of his pizza and looked ...
One day, Mayer, my chavruta wondered out loud about how a prophet could identify that a particular event he saw would happen in the future; after all, the information that he was accessing was most likely coming from a “place” beyond the boundaries of time. His question began a stream of consciousness that led me to remember a question that had once occurred to me: Can a gilgul (reincarnated soul) go back in time? When your ...
