CULTURE
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1st Prize — Jewish Renaissance
Last December, two days after assuming office as Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei attended a Chabad Hanukkah menorah lighting in Buenos Aires. The next day, Argentinian media was full of images of the president wearing a kippah, a rabbi by his side, reaching out to light a candle. Although raised Catholic, the president has been enthusiastic about his love of…
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Michael Graubart 1930-2024 — Jewish Renaissance
The Austrian-born conductor and composer has died aged 93 Michael Graubart was born in Vienna in 1930 and came to England as a Jewish refugee in 1938. He studied physics at Manchester University, but spent most of his time there composing and playing the flute. He also studied composition with Mátyás Seiber, flute with Geoffrey Gilbert and conducting with Lawrence…
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Rabbi Sacks’ archive to be digitised — Jewish Renaissance
Much of the work, notes and more once belonging to the renowned religious leader and philosopher has been acquired by Israel’s National Library The personal archive of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) was received this week by the National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jersusalem. Comprising around 50 boxes of material – including sermons, books, notes, correspondence and…
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Jewish Connections in Unexpected Places — Jewish Renaissance
On our way back to London we’ll stop at another little-known but fascinating location: St Matthew’s Church on the outskirts of Northampton, which, thanks to the intervention of Dean Walter Hussey in the 1940s, is home to two impressive artworks: Henry Moore’s serene Mother and Child, and Graham Sutherland’s tortured Crucifixion, which was, by the artist’s own admission, partly inspired…
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Questioning belief — Jewish Renaissance
Shimon ben Azzai was a second century rabbinic scholar, who would walk up and down the bustling market in Tiberius declaring, “I welcome anyone asking about the Torah and I’m ready to respond”. He typified the positive attitude of our sagest of questions. They wanted to discuss what we believe and practice. They relished challenges, not just to help the…
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Kafka ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Kafka was an intense, haunted, genius with neurotic paranoia. His constant apprehension of terror inhabits novels such as The Trial, where an arrest for an unknown crime leads to incarceration and a horrific death. He may not have lived through the Holocaust, but his imaginings seems to foreshadow it. If it were not for his close friend Max Brod, we…
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A Song of Songs ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Woodyatt’s is a tall and imposing figure, his voice authoritative as narrator and his presence compelling, almost sinister. The score, a collaboration between Daniel and co-composer Lior Ben-Hur with Ali Paris and Yuval Ron, is one of the jewels of the production, always beautiful and hauntingly evocative of Arabic and Spanish music. At times it all seems almost too in-your-face,…
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JR hears from Mexico’s first president to be a woman – and Jewish — Jewish Renaissance
Sheinbaum never considered a political career until López Obrador made her his environment secretary when he was mayor of Mexico City between 2000 and 2005. At the time she was married to a middle-level political leader whom she had met through student politics in the 80s. From then on Sheinbaum’s dedication to the projects López Obrador gave her to oversee…
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The Boy in the Woods ★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
He puts his skills to good use, eventually managing to light a fire. He builds a shelter from fallen branches, forages for berries and traps and roasts a rabbit. With charcoal from charred twigs, he draws the faces of his family onto rocks. Placing them around him, he recites a Hebrew blessing. Despite railing against God, he clings to his…
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Kidnapped ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Bellocchio’s cinematography is stunning, with many interior scenes in chiaroscuro, lit like a Caravaggio painting. Care has been taken to reconstruct settings and even the speech sounds authentic: Enea Sala, who plays the child Edgardo, comes from Bologna and speaks in the local accent. The acting is first class: Paolo Pierobon as Pius IX can chill with his eyes, while…
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