OMGWTFEXODUS: A Dialogue With the Man Who’s Bringing the Bible to the 21st Century

By Derek M. Kwait September 5, 2014

Part live spectacle, part Biblical scholarship, comedian David Tuchman’s OMGWTFBIBLE podcast “reframes the Bible as the world’s oldest weekly comedy serial.” A year-and-a-half after its debut in April 2013 (as seen in New Voices), he’s now heading into Exodus. I caught up with David recently in the food court of Grand Central Station to discuss…

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It’s All Your Fault?

By David G. August 1, 2014

Together, we have reached the last leg of our journey through the text of the Torah, coming to the fifth and final book, Devarim, or Deuteronomy. In Parshat Devarim, from which the entire book gets its name, the Jewish people stand at the foot of a mountain, on the last leg of their own journey…

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Growing Up an American Jew – 2 Poems

By Sophie Katzman April 18, 2014

2 Poems  by Sophie Katzman:   Descendant’s Blessing Zadie. Zionist. Yellow stars. Young and old yearning for years passed. Yahrzeit. Yiddush: lyb, sholem. War. Woody Allen. Leaving notes on the Western Wall. The V’ahavta. U-blessed by the Orthodox Union. Torah. Tzedakah. Tikkun Olam, we repair the world. Shabbat. Sternberg Sewing. Samuel’s Metal Shop. Schlep. Shylock….

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soup nazi

The Bright Side of Cheap Holocaust References

By Editorial Board April 8, 2013

Hitler, the Holocaust, gas chambers, Nazis, concentration camps — these all loom large in our contemporary cultural consciousness. They call forth strong feelings and evoke vivid imagery. At the same time, it is no longer surprising to encounter cheap comparisons to them. It happens all the time: You’re walking down the street, on your way to…

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Oy with the Jewish stereotypes already; Palestinian prisoner hunger strike; Free the press, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 17, 2012

Stereotypes, Oy [Huffington Post] Howard Meyer laments the longevity of unflattering Jewish stereotypes, claiming they are representative of the prejudices of a few discontents years ago and have little relevancy in today’s Jewish communities. He cites examples from the Seinfeld episode “The Yada Yada”, above, in which Jerry’s dentist converts to Judaism “for the jokes”,…

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Meet Larry David

By lkatz February 6, 2012

Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and the star of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm | photo by flickr user jaydedman (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Born Lawrence Eugene David, “Larry” is an American actor, writer comedian and producer. He was born on July 2, 1947 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn where he grew up in a Jewish housing section….

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The Reading List: Uncle Leo Z”L

By Ben Sales February 17, 2011

Uncle Leo, beloved uncle of Jerry Seinfeld on the classic sitcom, has passed away at 88. [JPost] The former editor of the Jerusalem Report will head Hillel’s new Israel Engagement Center. [JPost] A story we kind of missed: It’s not just the Maccabeats: Jewish a capella rises at college. [Forward] Students at a Haredi yeshiva…

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