We love to keep track of interesting things coming out of Israel. We also have an appreciation for practical and convenient household items like aluminum foil. So naturally, when we heard that The Aluminum Show, a creative visual stage performance, was coming to Atlantic City from Israel this month, we were intrigued. Conceived by choreographer Ilan Azriel, from Dimona, the show brings metal-like objects to life through movement, sound, and light, including dancing metal tube people, metallic balloons, and other spectacles inspired by aluminum. And you thought it was just for wrapping dinner leftovers.

Until August 31 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tickets and more information at the Trump Plaza website.

When Israelis Roy Weiner and Erez Cohen met for the first time in the United States, Weiner was impressed by Cohen’s schnitzel recipe. Thus Weiner, a restaurant entrepreneur, and Cohen, a chef, joined forces to become co-owners of the eco-friendly, kosher-style falafel and schnitzel joint, Pita Joe. The first-ever Pita Joe opened in Manhattan earlier this week, although Weiner and Cohen said they hope to turn it into a national chain. The food is mostly organic, everything is trans-fat free, and all ingredients are obtained locally. Read the rest of this entry »

Like the rest of America, we’ve been staying up far too late this week, watching the live feed from the Beijing Olympics. Along the way, we’ve been tracking the stories of Jewish athletes like Dara Torres, the swimmer whose Olympic career has spanned more than two decades and who continues to break records at 41 years old; and fencer Sada Jacobson, who won a silver medal in sabre competition. Check out her next match on August 14, and tell us which Jewish athletes you’ve got your eye on in the 29th Olympic Games.

Pineapple Express Trailer

Today Pineapple Express comes out starring two of our favorite tribe members James Franco and Seth Rogen. A change from Rogen’s usual slapstick this movie mixes in some serious action (and more than a little violence). But not to worry, Rogen maintains his usual regular-guy appeal. Read more about this new Hollywood icon—and the rise of the celebrity schlub—in Jewish Living’s upcoming September/October issue.

On July 13, the Brooklyn Cyclones became the first American pro team to sport Hebrew lettering on their jerseys, part of a celebration of Jewish Heritage Night. Joshua Satin (left), a member of both the tribe and the team, donned the special uniform along with the rest of the Cyclones with a logo that translates to “Brooklyn.” Kosher hot dogs, cute players, and the Alpha-beit? Take us out to the ballgame!

No bar mitzvah is easy to plan. For Director Paul Weiland, however, it was a greater challenge to plan the extravaganza when he found out his big day coincided with the 1966 World Cup soccer finals. Sixty Six, Weiland’s latest film, opening on August 1, tells a story based on that time in his life. Starring Eddie Marsan and members-of-the-tribe Helena Bonham Carter and newcomer Gregg Sulkin, “Sixty Six” is a sentimental comedy about a nerdy boy, his relationship with his unstable father, and the importance of family when becoming a bar mitzvah. Jewish Living talked with Director Weiland about making his memories come to the big screen.

Jewish Living: How autobiographical is this movie?
Paul Weiland: It’s not completely autobiographical. At the end it’s true-ish, which is a pun on Jewish, a true-ish story. Read the rest of this entry »

Romeo and Juliet married under a chuppa? With some new academic and theatrical work, that might have been the case. Scholar John Hudson seems to think that is the way it should be. Jewish allegories, Hebrew puns, and themes of feminism in Shakespeare’s plays are just some of the evidence Hudson uses to argue the playwright was really a black Jewish woman named Amelia Bassano Lanyer. Although some Shakespeare scholars have already identified the woman, also a poet in her day, as the “Dark Lady” of the famous sonnets, Hudson is the first to credit her as the actual writer of all Shakespeare’s works. Hudson’s theory has led him to write a biography that is currently under publishing negotiations, The Dark Lady, as well as start an acting company: The Dark Lady Players put on Shakespeare plays with a twist—as a Jewish comedies and satires, which Hudson believes Lanyer intended them to be. If you’re in New York City, you can catch the last two performances of As You Like It; The Big Flush at the Where Eagles Dare Theater July 26 or August 3. Read the rest of this entry »

The folks who brought you religiously inspired reggae musician Matisyahu are at it again. Not-for-profit Jewish music label JDub is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a series of concerts in cities across the country. Read the rest of this entry »

Have a creative family tradition, or want to try one of our ideas? Tell us how you celebrate the holidays.

Can you relate? Share a story about your family and what the relationships mean to you.