The Passover seder, a collective commemoration of liberation and redemption, is probably the most observed Jewish ritual of our time. Here LABA fellow Amy Handelsman reflects on her family’s seders past and present. One of the foundational principles of Judaism is T’shuvah, the concept of circularity and return. We return to the same holidays every year, the
On Thursday, March 22nd, LABALive One will present an evening of subversive art and teachings on this year’s theme, WAR & PEACE. The evening will feature LABA teacher Liel Leibovitz and works-in-progress by LABA Fellows Tal Beery, Jess Honovich and Brandon Woolf. Woolf is a theater maker and a scholar of contemporary performance. Here he ruminates on the relationship
Israeli-American playwright Zohar Tirosh-Polk is a current LABA fellow. For this year’s Purim celebration, she reminds us how the heroine of the Megillah can inspire us to heal a broken world. Carnival Lately I’ve been feeling kind of quiet and stuck. Whether it’s Israel preparing to send African refugees back to war zones, the Israeli prime
Counting the days until the first 2018 LABAlive on March 22nd, Ruby Namdar, celebrated author of the The Ruined House and former LABA teacher, muses over art inspired by ancient Jewish texts. During my ten years tenure as LABA faculty, I had the privilege of teaching some of the most amazing texts ever written to
Writer and story consultant Amy Handelsman is a current LABA fellow. Here are Amy’s thoughts on some timely ancient texts we’ve been studying on this year’s theme, WAR + PEACE. Twice a month as a LABA fellow, I am privileged to take part in a study session at the 14th Street Y, where Lead Teacher Liel Leibovitz
LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture is a program of the 14th Street Y that uses classic Jewish texts to inspire the creation of art. Every year we celebrate our new fellows with DRUNK, an evening of wine and performance inspired by Jewish texts. This year the teachers were the redoubtable Ruby Namdar, author of The
There are a lot of different ways of thinking about Hanukkah, but we tend to forget that the holiday is very much about intra-Jewish conflict. The Festival of Lights, as you know, commemorates the restoration of the Temple in 164 BCE. After kicking out the Seleucids — whom we might call today “culturally Greek Syrians”
The Seventh Day Literary Festival, curated by LABA Journal editor Hanan Elstein, celebrates its closing night with “A Wandering Language,” Thursday, December 7th, 7:00PM, at the American Jewish Historical Society and the Center for Jewish History. LABA’s resident scholar and expat Israeli novelist Ruby Namdar will be discussing his prize-winning new book, The Ruined House
On Saturday, November 18th, at 7:30 PM at the 14th Street Y, LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture will kick off its 10th season with DRUNK, an intoxicating evening of art, performance and Jewish texts. Below, LABA fellows Yael Sloma, Tal Gur and Zohar Tirosh-Polk reveal their drinking habits (or lack thereof) and serve up
DRUNK is an intoxicating evening of wine, art, performance and Jewish texts from LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture. This Saturday, November 18th, 7:30 PM at the 14th Street Y, LABA kicks off its tenth season with DRUNK. Don’t miss out: Nine artists. Five wines. Five texts. One night only. And, God willing, countless DRUNKS!