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July 2, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person
Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya
July 1, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken
The Kosher Gourmet
by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts
June 30, 2009
Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?
Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief
June 29, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'
Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas
June 26, 2009
Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain
Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law
June 25, 2009
Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip:
Everything's Relative
June 24, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity
The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun
June 23, 2009
Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin
Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect
June 22, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm
N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?
June 19, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect
Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity
June 18, 2009
Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip:
Everything's Relative
June 17, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion
The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …
June 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel
Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …
June 15, 2009
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'
Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed
June 12, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big
Caroline B. Glick:
Obama's High Commissioner
June 11, 2009
Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President
Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers
Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos
June 10, 2009
Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world
The Kosher Gourmet
by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste
June 9, 2009
Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?
June 8, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?
Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past
Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?
June 5, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams
Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth
June 4, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock
The Kosher Gourmet
by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette
June 3, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?
Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action
June 2, 2009
Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 20, 2005
/16 Elul, 5765
New year, new and old sounds: Five new CDs for the High Holidays
By Paul Wieder
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Chanukah probably has the catchiest songs of any Jewish holiday, but
the High Holidays are hard to beat for sheer musical depth. Jewish
composers have been inspired by the season's themes of repentance
and
redemption for centuries, creating a whole body of profound work.
Many recent releases, in a variety of styles, can help awaken
sluggish souls to the spirit of this time of year.
CANTOR BENZION MILLER: THE FIRST S'LIHOT
The Milken Archive is dedicated to preserving and presenting the
major
works of American Jewish composers. Its two-disc edition of "The
First
S'lihot" features the powerful vocals of Cantor Benzion Miller
honoring
both the words of the liturgy and the arrangements of his cantorial
forebears, including Yoselle Rosenblatt. He is accompanied by full
choruses and both adult and young soloists. Haunting and stirring,
this is very old school- old shul?- music that still resonates.
KOL ZIMRA: THE MUSIC OF ABIE ROTENBERG
There are no instruments on "The First S'lihot", and none on this
disc,
either. But you will have a hard time believing that the drums,
basses
and harmonies are all voices. Or maybe not, after you see which
voices
help Kol Zimra out: Shlomie Dachs, Elli Kranzler, Yehuda!, and Blue
Fringe's Dov Rosenblatt, for starters. The performers and source
material
are strictly Orthodox, but the songs' treatments are not;
Rockapella's
Sean Altman produced this album, which may explain why it can sound
like
everything from Boys II Men to Manhattan Transfer. It is redundant
to
say that Jewish vocalists are "out of the chapel" (which is what "a
cappella" literally means) but the guys in Kol Zimra are also out of
this
world.
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SAM GLASER: EDGE OF LIGHT
This album presents even fewer instruments --- just one voice and a
piano.
But the voice is Sam Glaser's, and the piano his playing his
arrangements. Which is plenty. Glaser moves beyond the usual
and-here-they-are-again concept of best-of compilations with "Edge of
Light", reinterpreting
some of his most spiritual songs from his previous albums. Glaser's
voice, unplugged and unadorned, is both strong and warm; why hasn't
be
been cast as Joseph in the musical yet? And Sha-Rone Kushnir's
delicate,
crystalline playing recalls George Winston's, and is also featured,
solo, on a bonus disc. An inspiring work.
CRAIG TAUBMAN: INSCRIBED
Evidently, giving the Jewish world a new nigun (powerful wordless melody) for Sabbath on "Friday
Night Live" and "One Shabbat Morning" isn't enough for some people. On
"Inscribed", Taubman starts with the High Holiday liturgy and follows
its
themes throughout the Jewish year, touching on some of lesser-used
material. After his showcasing some of the best Jewish musicians
around on the
Celebrate Series he produces, it is nice to see Taubman stretching
his
own musical muscles again. Here, he smoothes his sandy voice over
some
new moving and meditative melodies. The V'al Kulam here is one of
the
most simply and beautifully elegant settings of Jewish liturgy
since...
well, since the Hashkivenu on Taubman's Friday Night Live album.
LAZER LLOYD: HIGHER GROUND
Anyone who knows the blues knows it is a deeply spiritual music. And
an
album with tunes named "Peace Love & Joy," "Life Goes On," and
"Higher
Ground" certainly favors that side of the blues. But here, Lazer
Lloyd
does not forget the other side... the one that people need to be
lifted
to the Higher Ground from. Lloyd was born in Madison, Connecticut,
played in bands starting in high school, and majored in music at
Skidmore.
He eventually opened for Johnny Winter and Little Feat. Lloyd plays
the
kind of blues you would expect from someone who grew up wandering
around Nature; call it laid-backwoods blues. His influences run from
Stevie
Ray Vaughn and Neil Young to Willy Nelson, and of course Bob Dylan.
But
also the Ba'al Shem Tov, the Chofetz Chaim, and the Rebbe. There are
no
overt Jewish references on Higher Ground, but the messages of faith,
acceptance, and salvation are embedded in the lyrics... and flow
from
every guitar lick, slide, and wail.
The High Holidays are a time for introspection, reflection,
resolution.
They also gives us some of the most soulful music of the Jewish
year.
May 5766 be one of both melody and harmony.
Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Paul Wieder is a public relations associate at the Jewish United Fund and a columnist for
JUF News. Contact the author or the magazine by clicking here.
© 2005, Paul Wieder
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