Gordon Haber writes about religion and culture in addition to editing the CANVAS Compendium, a newsletter on Jewish arts and culture. He does not live in Brooklyn.
Gordon Haber
By Gordon Haber
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News Everything You Wanted To Know About Derivatives But Were Afraid To Ask
From call options to put options, forwards to futures, we break derivatives down and answer all the questions you were afraid to ask. Derivatives: financial securities whose value is based on, or derived from, that of an underlying asset. That asset could be money, bonds or agricultural produce — or anything. Derivatives can be used…
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Culture All Jewish on the Western Front
The Autry National Center is a gem. Tucked away in Los Angeles’s sprawling Griffith Park, the museum is packed with exhibits about the American West. There’s a stagecoach and a 19th-century fire engine, along with vintage guns and guitars. My favorite installation is the ornate saloon, all mahogany and brass, which provides a taste of…
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Culture Bringing Israeli Education Home
Americans, Jewish and otherwise, have long gone to Israel to learn about Judaism. But now many are going to learn about learning. In recent years, American educators have had growing opportunities to gain a window into the Israeli education system. The programs have somewhat different aims, but all foster a dialogue between educators from Israel…
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Culture Broiling Mojave Spawns ‘Angry Buddhist’
The Angry Buddhist By Seth Greenland Europa Editions, 400 pages, $16 This year, my wife and I celebrated Passover in the Mojave Desert. In a rented house on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, we had an intimate Seder with friends as the glaring light lowered into dusk. After the meal, we went outside…
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Culture ‘Homegrown’ Story of West Coast Jews
On my laptop I have a scan of a photo of my grandfather that always makes me smile. It’s not just the snap-brim fedora and my grandfather’s relatively unlined face; it’s also the car behind him, a giant, four-door, butterscotch-colored Buick that he bought for cash in the early 1970s. I have a host of…
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Culture Oldest Living Shoah Survivor Still Smiling
A Century of Wisdom: Lessons From the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World’s Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor By Caroline Stoessinger Spiegel & Grau, 256 pages, $23 Let us consider the astonishing story of pianist Alice Herz-Sommer. Born in prewar (that is, pre-World War I) Prague, Herz-Sommer survived Theresienstadt, made aliyah and finally settled in London….
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Recipes L.A. Chef Serves Up Seven Matzo Brei Variations
Matzo brei is a relatively recent invention. According to the “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food,” the common brei recipe — soaked matzo dipped in egg and pan-fried — can be traced back to the late 19th century — or in Jewish terms, last week. Despite the diversity of Jewish cuisine, that recipe has remained largely unchanged…
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News Raised Christian, But Jewish by Birth
Elisabeth Tinkham, 41, was raised as a Protestant by her adoptive parents, but always felt a connection to Judaism. Her most vivid childhood memory of the United Church of Christ involves a Passover Seder, which a rabbi demonstrated for the congregation. “I really liked the symbolism of the foods,” she said. “And when the rabbi…
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