Madison Margolin
By Madison Margolin
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Culture He’s Saying Hashem, But It Sounds Like Hare Krishna
Picture this: a rabbi who is also a martial artist leads a style of ancient Indian chanting in Hebrew. A knit yarmulke rests upon his flowing gray hair, and during Jewish mystical chants, he plays a harmonium — which looks like a cross between a keyboard and accordion — or sometimes just his guitar. He…
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News Is Hebrew a Language To Bind Us, or To Bore Us?
It’s common for young Jews to study Hebrew until the age of 13 — and then never interact with the language again. Hebrew school students learn the alphabet, but often have little understanding of what the prayers mean. Having a conversation in modern Hebrew is a long shot. This phenomenon raises questions about the priorities…
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Culture Folksbiene Pays Homage to Jewish Broadway — in English
What’s so Jewish about Broadway? The National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene’s production of “Another Hundred Years” showcases the Jewish influence on Broadway from the beginning of the 20th century until the present day. Last week’s one-time performance gave us a preview of the extended 90-minute version of the show in the works for the near future….
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News Can Israel Help California Solve Its Drought Problem?
Today, Lake Oroville, California’s second largest reservoir, looks like an almost barren valley. The piers of Enterprise Bridge, once steeped in fresh water, stand tall and dry, supporting the deck over a stream that trickles down the valley’s center. At the 2015 Summit on Water Technology and the California Drought, held on July 10 in…
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Culture Why Jewish Anxiety Is No Laughing Matter
I’ve been biting my nails ever since I’ve had a full set of baby teeth. Sometimes I twirl my hair, tap my foot or overanalyze everyday situations. For me, Woody Allen’s neurotic existential musings or Larry David’s socially awkward malaise come as assurance I’m in good company. They validate anxiety as a fact of life….
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Music A-Wa’s Unlikely Journey From Rural Israel to Global Fame
A trio of sisters wearing hot pink hijabs piles into a dusty white Jeep and rambles across the desert. At home in the village, a man with a closely-cropped white beard shaded by his military cap whips a lash upon the cracked, sandy ground, while an elderly woman with sunken eyes and gold-painted fingernails puffs…
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The Schmooze Should We Judge Woody Allen’s Relationship With Soon-Yi Previn?
“Love fades,” Diane Keaton says in “Annie Hall.” But Woody Allen says he’s “lucked out” with his wife Soon-Yi Previn, to whom he’s been married for 20 years now. In an , Allen spoke out about the relationship, the success of which he attributes to its “paternal” dynamics. Allen is 35 years older than Previn,…
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Culture How Judy Brown Learned To Love Her Little Brother
Judy Brown used to say her little brother was “crazy as a bat.” Nobody in her community or even in her family understood the boy who terrorized baby sitters and flapped his hands in the air. Even Brown wished he would go away. If Hashem performs miracles, she wondered, why couldn’t He “cure” her brother?…
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