Forward.com

The Silver Jews ReturnThis year, David Berman forgot when Yom Kippur was to begin. With his band, the Silver Jews, releasing a new album, “Tanglewood Numbers,” and Berman doing interviews to publicize it, he was convinced the holiday started a day later than it actually did. He realized his mistake an hour before the holiday began, and…Read more

The Roman Era, RevisedIn many Jewish imaginations, the Roman period — from the conquest of Judea in 64 BCE to roughly the sixth century C.E. — is remembered as a time of tragedy and catastrophe. The early years of the Common Era witnessed the destruction of the Second Temple and the devastation of the Jewish populace in Israel following the failure of the Bar…Read more

The Kid Stays in the PictureAs the one and only major Jewish celebration centered on the home and not the synagogue, the Seder must walk a fine line: It has to be equally compelling for young and old alike. We see this tension at the Seder’s very outset, with the Four Questions, which frame the evening’s agenda in a form that is both easy enough for a child…Read more

Finding an Excuse To Celebrate CoplandNo excuse is necessary to stage a concert of Aaron Copland’s works — over the last 60 years, his name has become synonymous with American classical music — but Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Kane Street Synagogue found one anyway. On November 14, it staged a tribute to the composer to coincide with the 91st anniversary of Copland’s bar…Read more