A Gothic Rendering of a Hero of Judaism
Slightly more slender than life-size, Moses sits on an unadorned stone bench, supporting the tablets with his left hand and making the apparent sign of benediction with his right hand.
Slightly more slender than life-size, Moses sits on an unadorned stone bench, supporting the tablets with his left hand and making the apparent sign of benediction with his right hand.
In the 19th century Black spirituals were inspired by biblical stories in the Old Testament, especially those we remember during Passover. In the early decades of the 20th century, Black and Jewish musicians, often living side by side in the same impoverished neighborhoods, connected through legacies of oppression. With the music industry one of the few fields open to them both, it’s no surprise that blues and jazz became rich, crossover genres. Join Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and Nadine Epstein, Moment editor-in-chief, for a conversation about these musical connections, the bonds and tensions, and a taste of the music itself including Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho and Go Down Moses to Bei Mir Bist Du Shein.
This Passover, I attended a seder at Kyiv’s Central Brodsky Synagogue.
I wish more prominent world leaders would not only visit Ukraine but also become harsher and more decisive in their attempts to stop all the war monstrosities.
The story of Passover is about freedom and sacrifices made on the road to liberation, and this year it seems more relevant than ever. It might as well be about Ukraine.
“When I tell people that a Jewish family once owned Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello, their jaws drop,” says director Steven Pressman.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin stated that his goal was “denazification.” Historians agree that there is no substance to this claim—and that by invoking Nazism, Putin is attempting to weaponize the trauma of World War II to justify an invasion, and the many lives it has cost.
When I met Moshe Azman, he identified himself not only as the rabbi of Kyiv’s central synagogue, but also as the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine.
On March 30, the congregation voted to officially adopt anti-Zionism as a core value.
I have a personal interest in the carved Japanese netsuke, or figurines, that are at the center of the New York Jewish Museum’s current show “The Hare with Amber Eyes,” on view through May 15.
At the top of people’s minds that day was news that had broken in Israel just a day earlier: one member of Knesset’s decision to cross the lines, throwing Naftali Bennett’s coalition in a tailspin.
We can’t get over the shock that the Russian army keeps destroying the lives and homes of peaceful Ukrainians, burning Ukrainian cities and towns to the ground.