Elissa Strauss on the Majesty of Making Babies Lucas Cranach Share For so long, I took their word for it. Eve — the world’s first woman according to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions — messed up. Her punishment, two-fold. One, she was kicked out of Eden, sweet Eden, where she spent her days sauntering around naked, no shame
Ruby Namdar on Why We Hate Thinking About Our Mothers Having Sex “Maternal Affection” by Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1861) Share How ironic is it that Eve, mother of all living things, is also associated with death and mortality? In the book of Genesis, Eve is portrayed as the weak moral link, the one
Siona Benjamin is a painter originally from Bombay, now living in the US. Her work reflects her background of being brought up Jewish in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim India. In her paintings she combines the imagery of her past with the role she plays in America today, making a mosaic inspired by both Indian
Two Egyptian Grandparents, One Cup of Turkish Coffee by Misha Shulman
On hunger, desire and rock and roll by Stephen Hazan Arnoff http://vevo.ly/eDnhbM Share Ruth lives in the age of Judges. “Joshua Judges Ruth,” the title of a 1992 Lyle Lovett album, aptly summarizes this age by reciting the New Testament order of the books preceding her story as a kind of ancient J’accuse. Early in
On my grandma’s shoulds and my wants by Sarah Seltzer Share In my grandmother’s last few years, as she grew frail and spent more time sitting on her four-poster bed with the New York Times scattered across the quilt, we fed her ice cream. We would take a spoon and soften some Haagen Daaz vanilla. We’d
A new recipe inspired by Ruth by Erin Patinkin Share Ruby Namdar, one of our LABA teachers, asked me to respond to Chapter 2 of the Book of Ruth with something edible. “Maybe you could make up a recipe for a barley bread. You know, something easy.” Easy. Right. Barley plays a central role in
A commentary on the Book of Ruth by Ruby Namdar Wheat awaiting harvest Share 6 And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of
On the Power of Fasting by Basmat Hazan Arnoff Fasting is one of those rare intimate experiences that the whole community takes on together. In Jewish tradition there are three major types of fasts. One, and the most important, is to raise one’s spiritual level. This is thought
On Dylan’s Angelinas and Isaiah’s Fast by Stephen Hazan Arnoff There are two Angelinas in Bob Dylan’s musical canon. Each offers an approach to human ambition and humility in the face of divinity, and each remains partly hidden in broad daylight for many years. The first figure is the namesake of “Farewell, Angelina.”