René Mayer (I): A Post-War European Jew

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  Where did the Jewish community in Madrid hold services before the synagogue was built in 1968?

René Mayer was born in France in 1947.  He is best known … Leer más

Dr. David Silberklang: Historical Implications of the Holocaust

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What were three Jewish political movements that were active in pre-World War II Eastern Europe?

Dr. David Silberklang is Senior Historian at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at … Leer más

Eshkol Nevo, Israeli Writer

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  How is Three Floors Up different from Eshkol Nevo’s previous novels?

Eshkol Nevo was born in Jerusalem in 1971, and spent part of his childhood in the United … Leer más

Hasidic Music in Weimar, with Rabbi Sruli Dresdner

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  Why do Hasidim dance only to singing, without instruments?

Rabbi Sruli Dresdner grew up in a Hasidic family in New York and has been performing and teaching Klezmer … Leer más

Alan Bern: Yiddish Culture in Weimar, Germany

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: What does the four-fold mission of Yiddish Summer Weimar consist of?

Alan Bern is an American composer, pianist, accordionist, educator and cultural activist, based in Berlin. He is internationally … Leer más

Simchat Torah: Some Customs and a Story by Sholem Aleichem

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday, which takes place right after Sukkot, marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue we publicly … Leer más

The Big Sukkah, by Abraham Reisen

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – Sukkot (pronounced Sukkos by Ashkenazi Jews), is a biblical Jewish holiday beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei, between late September and late October. It is one of the three biblically mandated … Leer más

A Yom Kippur Scandal, by Sholem Aleichem

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – Sholem Aleichem is probably the best-known and most well-loved Yiddish writer.  He was born Sholem Rabinovich in Russia in 1859, and died in New York in 1916.  He did a lot to promote … Leer más

“The Dark Young Man” by Jacob Dinezon, with Scott Hilton Davis

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What is unusual about the titles of Jacob Dinezon’s first three novels?

Jacob Dinezon was born near Kovno, Lithuania, in 1851. At the age of 15, after his … Leer más

A Rosh Hashonah Story by Yente Serdatzky

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week we are celebrating Rosh Hashonah, the Jewish New Year, with a Rosh Hashonah story. It’s called “Rosh Hashonah”, and was written by Yente Serdatzky. She was a Yiddish writer, who … Leer más

Khayele (Helen) Beer, Yiddishist

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What is unique about Itzik Manger’s ballads?

Helen (Khayele) Beer is Lecturer in Yiddish in the department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London. She was … Leer más

León Felipe: A Spanish Poet with a “Commitment to the Jewish People”, with Jesús Jambrina

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What poem did León Felipe dedicate “To all the Jews in the world, my friends, my brethren”?

León Felipe was a Spanish poet who was born in Zamora … Leer más

Upon the Wings of an Eagle: A Family Saga by Chaya Diane Hager

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What is the name of the German Jewish philanthropist whose organization sponsored the large-scale emigration of persecuted Jews from Russia in the 19th century, and the founding of Moisés … Leer más

The Presence of the Past in a Spanish Village, with Ruth Behar

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What are “madreñas” and how are they used?

Ruth Behar is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She was born in … Leer más

Venezuela’s Jews: Dealing with the Crisis, with Isaac Nahon-Serfaty

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  How has the recent crisis in Venezuela influenced the issue of Jewish identity there?

Isaac Nahon-Serfaty is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University … Leer más

The Leonese Language: Little-known but widespread, with Alicia Valmaseda

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  Where is a variety of Leonés an officially recognized language?

León is now a region of Spain to the northwest of Madrid, but during the Middle Ages it … Leer más

Return to Sepharad in the 21st Century, with Elena Goti

This week’s trivia question:  How many Sephardi Jews from Luxembourg have applied for Spanish nationality?

Elena Goti is an Argentinian-born social psychologist, whose professional career has focused on groups and families from a trans-generational and trans-cultural perspective.  For … Leer más

Cuba’s Jews, with Ruth Behar

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What is the “Patronato”, in Havana?

Ruth Behar is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She was born in Havana, Cuba … Leer más

The Artian: Art Meets Entrepreneurship–Three Innovators

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  Aside from the mission to the moon, what is SpaceIL’s main activity?

The Artian is an innovation and creativity training company that, while rooted in the art … Leer más

The Artian: Art Meets Entrepreneurship, with Nir Hindi

ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What does art bring to the business world?

The Artian is an innovation and creativity training company that, while rooted in the art world, explores the influence of art … Leer más