The New York Jewish Week ~ Connecting the World to Jewish News, Culture, Features, and Opinions ~ Friday, 1 November 2013 ~ Weekend Update
BACK OF THE BOOK:
We Need Jewish Micro-Giving -They might as well have called us the People of the Couch. by Erica Brown
They might as well have called us the People of the Couch.
Today’s airline industry has suspended reality as we know it. Some months ago, I was told that my wooden garden ornament was a weapon when it was actually a large wooden tulip with a stem. TSA would not let me through. I have to speak to the NRA about this.
Going through security, I read the bold warning sign about liquids. This includes peanut butter. I don’t know what brand you buy, but when I take off the lid off my peanut butter and turn it upside down, nothing moves. In the liquid, gas, solid categorization we learned in sixth grade science, my peanut butter is definitely a solid.
Flying has also introduced another reality. Today, if you pay extra, you can virtually skip the security lines altogether. Airlines are very careful to distinguish different levels of fliers with special privileges, making economy fliers feel more diminished than before. They take away your legroom and then ask you to pay an extra $39 for the inches that used to be free. Or you can amputate. Your choice. On a recent flight to the Midwest, I heard this announcement made loud and clear after take-off: “We’d like to give a special welcome to all of our gold and platinum fliers today.” I waited for them to welcome the rest of us in the cheap seats. I am still waiting.
In the midst of trying to juggle a bag, a medium (very large) Starbucks coffee and a carry-on, my briefcase tipped over right at the entrance to the plane. The steward inches in front of me was busy stirring a drink for one of his first-class passengers. He made no effort to help, not even a suggestion of help.
These kinds of financial demarcations that have gone “public” — like paying to jump the cue at Disney World — are appearing everywhere. You can buy the privilege of being first and being special. Pay up and you get instant status and rewards. I don’t mind that money can buy love. My concern is for those who are still paying something — and maybe even a lot, but not enough in someone else’s estimation to get any love.
And this kind of thinking has subtly crept into many aspects of Jewish organizational life today. Donate more and get more love. Pay full tuition, and you may get more attention. Most leaders — professional and lay — may give more love to big donors. They may not even realize it is happening. But ask those who are not a name on any plaque how they feel in their interactions with a particular Jewish organization, and they may answer with one word: “Invisible.”
No one should be invisible.
One of my favorite chasidic stories (this could be made up) is the story of a young yeshiva student who showed up barefoot at the door of the wealthiest man in town. He needed a little money to buy shoes. The rich man slammed the door in his face. Many years later, the yeshiva student had become a famous rabbi and Jewish scholar. He visited the town where he had studied in his youth. A crowd came out to greet his train. Among the well-wishers was the wealthy man who had long since forgotten the incident. He approached the scholar and offered to be the patron for his next book. The rabbi turned to him, looked him in the eye and said, “No thank you. But there was a time when you could have had me for a pair of shoes.”
Too many leaders and too many boards spend too much time cultivating relationships with a payoff, raising big money and not necessarily engaging in community building on every level. We need to spend more time and thought engaging more people in our missions and expanding donor bases with smaller donations. Political campaigns have benefited enormously from micro-giving, helping people feel that they are part of the energy and the community and not merely a pledge card with a pulse.
It is time we asked ourselves what we are doing to make the invisible more visible in our organizations. I don’t know if Adam and Eve flew first-class or business, but I do know that everyone — even those in coach — is created in God’s image.
Thanks for flying.
Erica Brown is scholar-in-residence at The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Her column appears the first week of the month.
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ARTS GUIDE
THE BUZZ: What's Hot in the Arts
Guide To The Arts
Your weekly guide to what's hot in New York area arts. by Gabriela Geselowitz
ART SPIEGELMAN’S CO-MIX: A RETROSPECTIVE
Long before writing his most famous work, Art Spiegelman was making experimental and underground comics. Of course, he eventually created “Maus,” the autobiographical graphic novel of a son exploring his father’s experiences in the Holocaust. Now, The Jewish Museum has a new exhibit on Spiegelman’s work, from his New Yorker illustrations to his work with dance company Pilobolus. On Monday, the museum holds an opening reception for the exhibit.
—Mon., Nov. 4, 7-9 p.m. The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave., (212) 423-3267, thejewishmuseum.org. Exhibit on view through March 23, 2014.
A CANDID TALK WITH FORMER ISRAELI PM EHUD OLMERT
The former prime minister of Israel speaks in New York this week, in conversation with former New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner. Olmert is expected to speak openly on a range of topics about the Jewish state, from the controversial place of haredim, to the Palestinian conflict, to the effect of the Arab Spring (now winter) on Israel.
—Sun., Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., 92Y, Buttenwieser Hall, 1395 Lexington Ave., 92Y.org. Tickets from $29.
LIES MY FATHER TOLD ME
The Folksbiene’s much-anticipated new musical, “Lies My Father Told Me,” begins performances next weekend. The show, based on the film of the same name, is a poignant coming-of-age story of a Jewish boy in Montreal and his relationship with his grandfather. In a slight divergence from the Folksbiene’s tradition, it is performed in a mix of English and Yiddish. Bryna Wasserman directs.
—Previews begin Sun., Nov. 10, and officially opening Thurs., Nov. 21. At Baruch Performing Arts Center, Nagelberg Theater, 55 Lexington Ave., (646) 312-5073, Nationalyiddishtheatre.org. Performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 6 p.m. Tickets from $50. Through Dec. 15.
JERUSALEM
The new documentary “Jerusalem” seeks to reveal life in Israel by focusing on three local teenage girls from different religions, each giving a tour of their home city from a unique perspective. The film plays in IMAX in limited release.
—IMAX Theatre at Palisades Center (4270 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, [845] 358-4629) and Cradle of Aviation Museum- National Geographic Theater (Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Garden City, [516] 572-4111), jerusalemthemovie.com.
THE PRIME MINISTERS: THE PIONEERS
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Moriah Films has a new documentary tracing Israel’s history through the inhabitants of its highest political office. In two parts, the film examines Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzchak Rabin and Menachem Begin, and how their lives intertwined with the fate of a nation. Based on the memoir by Yehuda Avner, who served a number of prime ministers as a top aide.
—Check local listings.
THE MODEL APARTMENT
Donald Margulies’ black comedy, “The Model Apartment” (directed by Evan Cabnet), returns to New York this season. The play about two Holocaust survivors from Brooklyn who retire to Florida holds in store surrealistic twists and turns. As Margulies once said of his work, “This isn’t your bubbe’s Holocaust play.”
— 59 E. 59th St., $70, (212) 753-5959, primarystages.org. Through Nov. 1.
BAD JEWS
After a successful run last year, the Roundabout Theatre Company has remounted “Bad Jews,” Joshua Harmon’s controversial play about the nature of living as a Jew in modern America, and family dysfunction over clashing values. The dynamic cast of Tracee Chimo, Philip Ettinger, Molly Ranson and Michael Zegen returns.
—The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, The Laura Pels Theatre, 111 W. 46th St., (212) 719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. Tickets $77-$87. Through Dec. 15.
HOW JERRY HERMAN GOT ME THROUGH ANALYSIS
Eyal Sherf’s semi-autobiographical “therapy session” using the Jerry Herman songbook is back at Don’t Tell Mama by popular demand.
—Mon., Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., $8 and two drink minimum, Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St., (212) 757-0788, donttellmamanyc.com.
SHTREIML: A CONCERT OF JEWISH ROOTS AND TURKISH BLUES
Montreal-based Shtreiml creates a unique mix of klezmer and Turkish folk music. They perform next weekend at the Eldridge Street Synagogue.
—Sun., Nov. 10, 3 p.m., Museum at Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St., (212) 219-0888 x 205, $20 /$15 students and seniors, eldridgestreet.org.
AN EVENING OF PERSIAN AND JEWISH MUSIC WITH SCHOLAR AND VOCALIST GALEET DARDASHTI
Galeet Dardashti performs traditional Persian music with a 21st century twist- video and electronic art. She also holds a Q&A after the concert.
—Wed., Nov. 6, 8 to 9:30 p.m., Baruch College Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave., (646) 312-1000, free, baruch.cuny.edu.
THE JEWISH MUSEUM
The Jewish Museum presents “Love, War and Exile,” exploring a new side to the quintessential Jewish artist Marc Chagall. The exhibit particularly focuses on Chagall’s work from the 1930s and ‘40s, and how it reflected the dark period of world and Jewish history. Through Feb. 2, 2014.
—The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE
“Against the Odds: American Jews & the Rescue of Europe’s Refugees, 1933-1941” presents both individual stories and a portrait of the collective experience of American Jews trying to help relatives, friends or even just strangers thousands of miles away, linked by the shared bond of religion. In particular, the exhibit explores how American immigration laws limited the power of those trying to assist, and how Jews overcame tremendous obstacles to help those in need.
“Hava Nagilah: A Song for the People” documents the ubiquitous ditty’s journey from the Europe to Israel and America through video, music, design and more.—Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. (646) 437-4202. $7-$12. Through Dec. 2013.
—Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. (646) 437-4202. $7-$12.
SOL LEWITT: SHAPING IDEAS
“Sol LeWitt: Shaping Ideas” is an exploration of the artist’s understanding of form through pieces that range from drawings and prints to time-lapse videos and an interactive map of LeWitt’s public artworks, and includes pieces related to synagogue architecture and traditional music.
—Laurie M. Tisch Gallery, The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444, free, jccmanhattan.org/the-laurie-m-tisch-gallery. Through Nov. 12.
CIRCLES OF JUSTICE: LAW, CULTURE AND THE JEWS OF METZ IN 18TH-CENTURY FRANCE
The YIVO Institute at the Center for Jewish History has a new exhibit about the Jewish community of Metz, France, in the 18th and 19th centuries, including rare documents of its local bet din, or religious court.
—YIVO, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 246-6080, yivo.org. Free. Through Dec. 31.
NO JOKE: MAKING JEWISH HUMOR
Congregation Or Zarua’s “Author Speaks” series hosts professor Ruth Wisse speaking about her book, “No Joke: Making Jewish Humor,” an academic look at the role humor has played in Jewish history, from culture to politics.
—Sun., Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Or Zarua, 127 E. 82nd St., (212) 452-2310, orzarua.org.
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The Arts
Australian actor Jeremie Bracka in his one-man show, "Arafat in Therapy," inspired by work at UN Mission.
Couples Therapy For Arafat And Peres
Ted Merwin - Special To The Jewish Week.
Working in Israel’s mission to the United Nations and listening to the Israelis and Palestinians bickering, complaining and trading insults, the Jewish Australian actor Jeremie Bracka suddenly envisioned Yasir Arafat and Shimon Peres in American-style couples therapy. Thus was born “Arafat in Therapy,” in which Bracka portrays 20 different characters, each with his — or her — own perspective on the peace process. The hour-long parody will be performed this weekend at the United Solo Festival in Midtown.
Bracka, whose mother is Polish and whose father is Egyptian, trained as an actor in his native Sydney. He performed two other one-man shows, “Lox, Shmocks, and Two Smoking Salmons,” and “Enough About Me … Let’s Talk About Jew,” before taking a break to study law at NYU. He later worked for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN, for Ambassador Uri Savir (Israeli’s chief negotiator at Oslo), for the vice president of the Supreme Court of Israel, and for Israeli’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Directed by Pip Mushin, “Arafat in Therapy” has been performed in both Australia and Israel — for the Israeli run, Bracka altered the title to “Peres in Therapy.” Bracka performs a mix of characters that include his boss at the UN, Israeli and Palestinian authors, his own parents, an Israeli hasbara (“Israeli propaganda machine”) worker in New York, and a member of Socialites Without Borders (a fictional international aid organization) who teaches Palestinians how to “mingle.”
As Bracka, who now lives in Tel Aviv, told The Jewish Week, “Most people are disillusioned by the peace process.” The peace negotiations that he witnessed seemed, he said, “so farcical, with so much lost in translation.” Yet, he adds, both sides in the conflict have the same “hopes, dreams and desires.” While he has been often ben likened to Sacha Baron Cohen, Bracka compares himself more to Billy Crystal for the latter’s ability both to tickle the funny bone and tug the heartstrings.
Does the idea of the Israelis and Palestinians in marital counseling imply that the two peoples are already ensconced in an intimate relationship of some kind? Bracka thinks so. “For better or for worse, we are historically, geographically, and territorially bound to each other,” he said. “Our destinies are shared.”
Like a good couples therapist, the playwright himself scrupulously avoids taking sides. As a result, he said, his play has been embraced by both Palestinian activists and religious, right-wing-oriented Jews. “My characters are optimistic,” he said. “They know that it’s sink or swim.”
“Arafat in Therapy” runs Sunday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. (that show is virtually sold out) and Monday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St. For tickets, $18, call Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
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Blogs
THE NEW NORMAL
Giraffes: The Meaning Of A Facebook Meme by Rabbi Rebecca Schorr
In the past few days, giraffes have overrun my Facebook stream.
Why? The Great Giraffe Challenge.
Try the Great Giraffe Challenge!! The deal is I give you a riddle. If you get it right you get to keep your profile picture but if you get it wrong you must change your profile picture to a Giraffe and leave it there for the next 3 days. INBOX MESSAGE ME your answer so that you don’t give it away and spoil the fun.
Here is the riddle:
3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, it’s your parents, and they are there for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread, and cheese. What is the first thing you open?
REMEMBER… inbox message me only, DO NOT COMMENT WITH YOUR ANSWER BELOW. Also remember if you get it wrong you must change your profile picture to a Giraffe.
Sounds like fun, right? And the answer seems obvious.
Or does it?
The actual “correct” answer can be open for interpretation.
The riddle is meant to confound the individual by introducing extraneous information e.g. the food items. Because, of course, before offering breakfast to the early arrivals, the door must be opened in order to invite them into your home. Some argue that the first thing one might open upon being awakened would be one’s eyes. Others insist that one’s eyes must already have been opened in order to know either (a) the time or (b) who was at the door.
This reminds me of a question on a test used to determine a child’s eligibility for the gifted program.
Which one of these items does not belong:
(a) an orange
(b) an apple
(c) a banana
(d) a tennis ball
(a) an orange
(b) an apple
(c) a banana
(d) a tennis ball
Is the answer obvious? Or, once again, can the “correct” answer be open for interpretation? (I'm thinking shape here.)
Before I am accused of taking this innocent game too seriously, allow me to acknowledge that I am aware of my own hypersensitivity. I know that this is meant to be a harmless game. But for me, it is a reminder of how my son, Ben, experiences the world. The answers that might very well seem obvious to you or me are not typically apparent to Ben. And most questions, as processed by his Aspergian mind, require a Talmudic-like conversation to arrive at some sort of consensus – and often with the admittance that there might be more than one correct answer.
This game can certainly be seen as a wonderful teaching model. After all, the player is making a commitment to change his or her profile picture, thus announcing to the world, or at least to all of one’s closest 1,234 friends, that he or she got the answer wrong. It shows integrity, honesty, a sense of humor and more than a little self-confidence. It’s not a coincidence that we associate the giraffe with those who “stick their necks out;” that, too, is an admirable quality, and one we hope to instill in our children.
Perhaps, then, as you play this game or have friends who do, you will remember that there are many who walk among us whose days are filled with riddles that have no clear answers. They don’t get to change their pictures back after three days but must continue to live in a world that is impatient with their differences. May we have compassion for them all.
Rabbi Rebecca Einstein Schorr is a CLAL Rabbis Without Borders Fellow whose work appears regularly on the Rabbis Without Borders blog and Kveller.com as well as a variety of other websites. Writing at This Messy Life (www.rebeccaeinsteinschorr.com), Rebecca finds meaning in the sacred and not-yet-sacred intersections of daily life. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccaschorr
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A COMIC'S JOURNEY
Opening Acts That Are Funny -- Not In A Good Way by Joel Chasneff
Did a show the other night in Cherry Hill, N.J., for Jewish National Fund. No solicitation of funds before or after the performance. Just a heavy reminder that if people don’t contribute, the State of Israel will cease to exist. This is what’s known in the Jewish world as a “soft sell.”
What stands out in my mind about the performance was my opening act. I had a wonderful opener named Eric Dash. He’s a singer-songwriter from Cherry Hill, in his 20s, now living in New York and L.A. and appealing to that ever-important 10-22-year-old female demographic. As Eric himself said after the show, “Tomorrow I’m doing a concert for tweens in Connecticut.”
Eric did everything an opener should. He was charming. Loosened up the crowd with his music. Even cracked a few well-received jokes. But most of all, he taught the audience how to be an audience. This might sound silly, but until an audience knows that they’re an audience, they’re just a bunch of people in a room eating hors d’ouevres. (Or, at a shoestring-budget Jewish events, chips and water.) A good opener unifies the disparate groups of people into one single group with a common mission: to enjoy the upcoming show.
What made Mr. Dash such a welcome addition is that, at least in the Jewish world, my opening acts have often proven more of a challenge than a help. This is because a typical Jewish-world opener is a 7-minute video about whatever charity is trying to raise money that night. And as you can imagine, these videos are rarely, shall we say, uplifting. In my years on the Jewish circuit, I’ve taken the stage after videos about suicide bombings in Israel, slide shows about Jewish children living in poverty, and Power Point presentations about the myriad of autoimmune diseases permeating our Jewish genes. Sure, colitis can be funny. But not that funny.
If I’m lucky, the evening’s MC will follow the sad video with a smooth transition — something like, “Now that we’ve learned about Jews and Type 2 Diabetes, it’s time to reflect on the funny side of life…” —and then bring me to the stage.
And if I’m not lucky? Well, that happened a couple years ago, in Arizona, I think. The crowd had just watched a 10-minute video about birth defects among Russian Jewish newborns growing up near Chernobyl. Then the house lights came on. The evening’s organizer took the podium. And, wiping away a tear, whispered, “Now — Joel Chasnoff.”
The key in these situations is to acknowledge the challenge. When I was starting out, I tried to ignore this elephant in the room. Now, I actually look forward to performing after a downbeat presentation, because it provides instant tension that I can immediately play with. It’s not hard, either. Just a quick opening line, something as simple as, “Well, now that we’re all in the mood for comedy after that hilarious video about Tay-sachs…” is usually all it takes.
So — what would be my ideal opening act?
Eric Dash, singer-songwriter. Sharing a soulful ballad about terrorism.
Joel Chasnoff is a stand-up comedian and author of "The 188th Crybaby Brigade" about his service in the IDF. Visit him at www.joelchasnoff.com.
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Food & Wine
The Duffin: An Easy-To-Bake Sufganiyot Alternative
Forget the Cronut; dig a Duffin for a simple, no-fry Thanksgivingukkah dessert option.
Ronnie Fein - Jewish Week Online Columnist
Just in time for Hanukkah, with its glad ritual consumption of doughy, fried sufganiyot, comes news of a doughnut that’s got the bakery world in a tizzy -- and it's not the Cronut.
The Duffin.
Say what?
The Duffin, the latest in the crazy, fusion-oriented, let’s-make-a-hybrid pastry. We’ve all heard about the Cronut, the cross between a croissant and doughnut which has risen to such heights of popularity that people have been known to wait for over an hour outside New York’s Dominick Ansel Bakery to buy one (for $5 each). But the latest must-taste is the Duffin, sparking such a controversy that some have even referred to a Duffingate.
The Duffin is a combo of doughnut plus muffin. The original version is jelly-stuffed. The controversy began when Starbucks in the UK stared selling the pastries. It seems that Bea’s of Bloomsbury, a well-known London tearoom, created the Duffin and when Bea’s customers discovered that the coffee house giant was horning in on their local shop’s specialty, they got upset and fought it out on Facebook and Twitter.
Apparently the fight has been good for business for both Bea’s and Starbucks.
The question remains: is Duffin a fad or will it become a classic?
Thus far we aren’t able to taste an actual Duffin in the States. And the folks at Starbucks have informed me that they have no immediate plans to sell them here soon. But we can and should make something like them in our own kitchens, especially around Hanukkah. A Cronut is laborious and time consuming, but a Duffin is not. This doughnut made in a muffin tin is not only easy and relatively quick to cook, it’s a terrific alternative to the usual Hanukkah treat because it’s a no-fry, no-mess and no kitchen-odor wonder.
Tastes pretty good, too.
My version is dairy-free, so you can serve them for dessert on Thanksgivukkah after the turkey dinner. For a dairy meal, you can use half-and-half, and you can also brush the surface of the baked muffin with melted butter, roll it in sugar and use a pastry tube to stuff it with jam, as they do at Bea’s.
I call these Hanukkah Muffin Tin Doughnuts. Not as catchy as Duffin, but I don’t want get into trouble on social media, or with the law.
Ronnie Fein is a cookbook author and cooking teacher in Stamford. Her latest book is Hip Kosher. Visit her food blog, Kitchen Vignettes, at www.ronniefein.com and follow on Twitter at @RonnieVFein.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Recipe Steps:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease 10 muffin tin cups.
Place the sugar and egg in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until light, thick and smooth.
Add the coconut milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and blend in thoroughly.
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat at medium speed for a minute or until well blended.
Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
While the doughnuts are baking, mix the confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon together.
After the doughnuts are baked, but still warm, sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar.
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