Passover Give Away: Hip Hop Seder Box

Lisa Alcalay Klug, the author of Cool Jew, and myself are offering one lucky winner the following fun Passover Seder accoutrements, all boxed and ready to give. To enter go to Cool Jew Book and type your email in the "Giveaway" box. You will be joining the Cool Jew Book email list. Enter between Thursday, March 26th to Monday, March 30th. Enter now.

Hip Hop Seder Box

• Cool Jew Book
• Moses Action Figure
• So Called Seder Hip Hop Hagaddah CD
• Zelda's Marshmallow Chocolate Covered Frog

For teens to the young at heart.

Thank you for entering! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 31 and will receive the Hip Hop Seder Box in time for the first night of Passover, April 8th.

** Update: Congratulations to Maya G. of LA - winner of the Hip Hop Seder Box. Buy it for $31.99 - we will ship it worldwide. http://tinyurl.com/cb3c9z

Jews In Unlikey Places: Scattered Among The Nations

I tripped across an article about Penn State hosting an exhibit entitled Scattered Among The Nations by photographers Bryan Schwartz, Jay Sand, and Sandy Carter. The photographs depict Jews in the most unlikely places: India, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Peru and Uzbekistan.

Check out the website scatteredamongthenations.org to see many photographs and descriptions of the Jewish communities in Africa, Asia, former USSR, and South America. Also in the works is a book: Jews of Color: In Color!

It's fascinating to read about these often tiny Jewish communities. Some of them are ancient such as in Tunisia where the first Jews arrived 2600 years ago during the Babylonian Exile. Others are brand new such as the the Inca Jews of Peru who started practicing Judaism just 10 years ago. The small communities are recognizably Jewish with many of them observing Shabbat and kosher laws in the familiar ways one would find everywhere. However, each have customs reflecting their own "flavor" of Judaism. For example, in the tiny Jewish communities of Uganda and Zimbabwe songs written in Hebrew are set to African melodies; in India the Benei Menashe still practice ritual sacrifice of animals while the Bene Israel have their "Malida" ceremony which offers prayers, songs and bowls of fruits and flowers to the Prophet Elijah.

Scattered Among Nations is also a non-profit organization who assists isolated Jewish communities through projects such as helping the Inca Jews become officially converted and building a community center for the Benei Menashe Jews in India.

“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” And Its Young Jewish Heroine

By Marista Lane for In The Moment Blog by Moment Magazine.

Norah: “There’s this part of Judaism that I like. Tikkun Olam. It said that the world is broken into pieces and everyone has to find them and put them back together.”

Nick: “Maybe we don’t have to find it. Maybe we are the pieces.”

“Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” recently came out on DVD. For those who haven’t seen it, you might be surprised by the positive, open-minded young Jewish main character, Norah Silverberg (Kat Dennings).

Not only does she openly divulge her Jewish heritage, she also willingly expresses her enthusiasm for it. Small hints are given throughout the movie regarding Norah’s Jewish background, even as it is not explicitly revealed until a pivotal moment involving her love interest Nick (Michael Cera).

While the film mostly focuses on the chemistry (or awkwardness) between Nick and Norah—as well as their mutual music obsession—there are hints throughout the movie to Norah’s identification with Judaism. She attends a prestigious Catholic private school (only because her best friend goes there) but asserts her connection to the Jewish faith in other ways. She has a semi-relationship with Tal, one-third of a wannabe Israeli band, and she asserts that being Jewish is just as much a part of her, if not more so, than anything else. By sharing that with Nick, she shows that it is a deeply invested part of who she is.

It’s a good way for Hollywood to sneak in a good Jewish role model in a film directed to the youth.

Originally based on the eponymous novel by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, the movie was released on DVD on Feb. 3 by Sony Pictures. It’s rated PG-13 for teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior.

Stewart V. Cramer: The Rundown

Have you been hearing the buzz about the battle between these two big personalities?

Both these men are Jewish and the LA Jewish Journal, quite Jewishly, gives us a meta-take on this conflict which is worth considering and discussing:

"Last night’s encounter between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer should be replayed, studied, discussed and memorized at every single yeshiva and Jewish day school. Make the debate a mandatory part of the curriculum. Why? Because there are few more concise, dramatic and entertaining ways to engage in one of the central ongoing questions Judaism asks: How do you balance the need for money with the curse of money?"

Here is the Rundown on this conflict:

Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's Daily Show had been taking on stock market analysts including Jim Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money in his popular segment where he shows video clips from the news. Hindsight is 20/20 and these segments are always hilarious because they record in full-color oh-how-wrong-they-are. Embarrassing clips of Cramer speaking positively about Bear Sterns a few days before its collapse began a media war between the two. This video on YouTube is a 5 minute review of those events leading up to the appearance of Cramer on The Daily Show.

After several passive-aggressive back and forths from both sides Jon Stewart finally had Jim Cramer on his show this Thursday.

Here are the full, unedited interviews complements of Comedy Central. Watch Part One and you can continue onto Part Two and Three. Then read LA Jewish Journal's thought-provoking post and be part of the discussion on LA Jewish Journal's Swindler's List.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

TJC: The Painless Way to Get Your Jewish News

* Charles Freedman and the New American Jewish Climate
* Purim Schpeils at the 92Y
* Pope Benedict apologizes For Re-appointing Nazi-denying bishop
* Art Stolen by Nazis now at The Jewish Museum

Subscribe to Week in Review and all TJC videos on YouTube.

Mazel Tov to Winners of Cool Jew Gift Box

From Lisa Alcalay Klug, author of Cool Jew:


It's not every day you can snag free Heebster swag. But this week, CoolJewBook.com and ModernTribe.com chose one lucky winner of the Cool Jew Gift Box. The winner was chosen based on the cool ways they celebrated Purim.

The Gift Box includes

* Cool Jew, a 2008 National Jewish Book Award Finalist.
* No Limit Texas Dreidel, the Standard Edition game for up to four players
* Dreidel Hustler keychain doll, Heeb magazine’s Dreidel Hustler in 3D!
* Two 2.5 oz bags of kosher goodies to symbolize mishloach manot, the mitzvah of sending food to friends
* Masquerade Mask to “Recycle, Reuse, Reshmooze” any time you go undercover
* All boxed in hip packaging (unlike those mini laundry baskets)

The winners of the Cool Jew Gift Box are Victoria and Ron Gindick of Valley of the Sun, Arizona. As part of their Purim festivities, the Gindicks used their solar oven to bake whole grain breads with fresh ground flour to ship overnight to their mishpocha in New York.

Shabbat Shalom and mazal tov all around!

Check out Lisa's blog: Cool Jew - Shtetl Town Crier

5 Ways to Plan a Bar & Bat Mitzvah On a Budget

(1) Remember the meaning is in the mitzvah.
It is the coming-of-age ceremony that brings meaning to the bar or bat mitzvah. Sure, you want to have a nice reception or party, but when you find yourself tempted to over-extend your budget, remind yourself: my child is becoming a member of the Jewish community, as did his/her ancestors for generations before, and this is why this day is special. When your teenager hock mier en chinik to hire the local celebrity bar mitzvah band: close your eyes, breath-deeply and chant three times:

The Meaning is in the Mitzvah

Here are four more pointers to ease the financial burden of a bar or bat mitzvah party, without compromising on quality or fun.

(2) Be your own party planner.
If you have the time, energy, and gumption, planning the mitzvah party yourself may help you save in two big ways: (1) skipping the party planner fee and (2) exposing yourself to less pressure to spend more. You can buy a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Planner Book for around $14.

(3) Consider a reception in the synagogue hall (why not?) or community hall.
I've seen many synagogue reception halls and most of them are lovely, if not blank canvases that can be transformed by decoration into anything you wish. Another less expensive option than hotels or event spaces are community halls. For example, our old neighborhood had a big room in renovated loft space with a catering kitchen to rent for around $200 a night. The space was cool, modern and cheap. You may have a local park with a community room or a municipal building that rents the lobby space. For starters, go to local.google.com (set your location to your own zipcode) and then search for "community hall".

(4) Rent a jukebox or fill up your teen's iPod.
Consider renting a jukebox for around $300 or create your own jukebox ala iPod. Your teen can choose the music or you can download a Party Music Essentials playlist from iTunes. You may want to designate a friend or family member to DJ the iPod and make sure the sound system is set up to connect with it.

(5) Make it more meaningful through borrowing.
Borrowing Grandpa's tallis, yad or kiddush cup or Grandma's Shabbat candlesticks or Havdallah set doesn't just save you money: it is apropos. Your child's mitzvah signifies Judaism being passed down to a new generation.

Borrowing for centerpieces can be an easy money-saver. Most people have a few clear glass or crystal vases in their home. Ask to borrow from your friends and family clear vases (telling them not to loan you anything sentimental or expensive). You can create centerpieces by grouping 3-5 vases together. Unify the pieces by using one or two varieties of flowers in coordinating colors. You can buy flowers in bulk either through Costco, Sams Club, your local farmer's market or online, for example: The Flower Exchange. The picture at right is from ApartmentTherapy.com.

Week in Review from TJC: March 6th

• US Pulls Out of Durban II
• Kirsten Gillibrand Addresses The Jewish Community
  
• Jewish Woman Conference on Prayer
  

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Homemade Seltzer ala Israel

SodaStream, the largest brand of in-home seltzer and soda makers, is made in Israel. The Jewish Week reports that Soda-Club, the parent company of SodaStream, "employs 450 people in its factory in Maale Adumim, including Israelis, recent immigrants from the Soviet Union, Ethiopians, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, 18 Bedouins, and even 40 Darfur refugees."

The SodaStream machines are gaining in popularity due to the economical sense (cheaper to make soda than to buy it), health benefits (add fresh fruit juice instead of corn syrup), and ecological mindedness (no more disposable plastic bottles). And it looks so fun!

You can watch this SodaStream silly demo video on how it works. There are several models to choose from. The "Penguin" shown above (which would look totally cute sitting on your counter) is available as a starter kit which includes the machine, 2 carbonators, 2 glass carafes, and flavor variety pack (OU Kosher!) for $199.