We adore Julie Benko, the Broadway legend in the making who dazzled as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” delights us with her renditions of Yiddish songs, brought a tear to our eyes with her mashup of “Tomorrow” and the Hanukkah blessings (alongside Cantor Azi Schwartz) and brought even more tears to my eyes with her cover of Brandi Carlile’s instant tearjerker “The Mother.”

Last month, at a High Holiday concert celebrating the Jewish Broadway community, Benko appeared alongside other Jewish Broadway performers like Tovah Feldshuh and Ari’el Stachel to mark the new year. Benko performed an original medley called “A Little Bit of Lox,” and as lovers of a good Jewish parody, we had to share.

In the song, from her cabaret show “With a Little Bit of Lox: Broadway’s Bashert,” Benko tells a relatable story of Jewish parenting goals that clashed with her own ambitions: “Oy, my mom thought I should go to med school,” she sings. “She thought I could be a successful MD, but instead I said ‘I’ll get a theater degree.’”

Then, she breaks into a series of familiar Broadway tunes: “Oy what a pain in my tuches,” she belts to the tune of “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” from “Oklahoma.” She goes on to parody “Annie” and “Guys and Dolls,” throwing in a few Yiddish gems along the way, to appreciative applause — the oh-so-satisfying “if you know, you know” kind of applause.

The concert was put on by Jewish Artists Gathering, an organization that celebrates the intersection of the theater and Jewish communities. Previously, the group has hosted the annual Broadway Community Seder, where Broadway legends perform original songs like “Everything’s Coming Up Moses.” (Hey Broadway, if you ever want to enter our Passover Parody Contest in the spring, our inbox is open.)

Watch Julie Benko perform “A Little Bit of Lox” below:

The post Broadway Star Julie Benko’s Parody Medley Is Packed With Yiddish Joy appeared first on Kveller.

“The Great British Baking Show” (or “The Great British Bake Off,” depending on where you’re watching) is back for a 17th season, and this one comes with a big change. After seven seasons with Mary Berry and nine with Prue Leith, the new judge working alongside Paul Hollywood in the famous white tent is none other than British food legend Nigella Lawson — and she just so happens to be Jewish.

Nigella was destined for a career in food. On her mother’s side, her family founded and ran J. Lyons and Co., a British catering company known for their iconic teashops and packaged sweets that were ubiquitous to British grocery shops. It’s a connection she explored in an episode of the BBC’s genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are,” where she said, “I suppose one of the things about coming from a Jewish family is that… whatever kind of business you’re in, food is always central.” After her first cookbook, “How to Eat” (1998), became a bestseller, Nigella became widely known, first in the U.K. and then worldwide, for her food writing and iconic innuendo-filled presentation style across a range of TV programs.

Take a peak at the recipes on her website or flip through the pages of her cookbooks and it’s clear how important food is for Nigella’s connection to her family (particularly her mother, who passed when she was in her 20s). Though she was raised unobservant, she cites Jewish food culture as being core to her upbringing, “from cooking too much, to feeding anyone the moment they walk through the door, and giving them things to take home.”

Only a few episodes into the new season, Nigella has already proven to be a breath of fresh air. Fans online have applauded her unapologetically large bites of cake and her staunch refusal to speak about food with any of the shame or guilt that previous judges on the show have. During biscuit week, she pushed back on Paul’s assertion that a cookie should be “indulgent and naughty,” instead saying, “I don’t approve of talking about food as naughty. We need to take our pleasures where we can in life.” For “Bake Off,” this attitude is new; but for Nigella, this is what she has built her career on: finding and sharing the pleasure in simple, accessible food.

Jewish moments in the tent are few and far between, and have not always been tactfully handled. Longtime “Bake Off” fans will remember all the times that challah has been referred to as a “plaited loaf.” Maybe you remember the back-to-back Jewish technical challenges of series 11: chocolate babka and rainbow (yes, specifically rainbow) bagels. Maybe you’re still riding the high of Jürgen’s “Passover Pavlova” from series 12 (and Jewish co-host Matt Lucas’s whispered “mazel tov” after judging).

Hopefully we’ll see some of Nigella’s Jewish recipes make their way under the white tent soon — personally, I’m hoping for rugelach. Whatever this season brings, we are all grateful for the addition of Nigella to the world of “Bake Off.” Her passion for good food, impeccable eloquence and love of salt have already made me a fan of this Jewish food legend.

The post This British Food Legend Is the Perfect Addition to ‘The Great British Bake Off’ — And She’s Jewish appeared first on Kveller.

Stars — they’re just like us!

Genealogy research and DNA tests have revealed that some very famous Jewish people are related (when they had no idea they were mispacha!), and that others have Jewish roots that they didn’t know about hiding in their family trees.

If you’re interested in filling out your own family tree, you’re in luck — our partners at My Jewish Learning are hosting an expert-led 4-week Intro to Jewish Genealogy course, starting Oct. 15, 2026. Learn about these famous Jews who found unexpected family connections and surprising Jewish roots, then learn more about how you can do the same.

Famous Jews Who Found Out They’re Related

Larry David and Bernie Sanders

Life imitates art sometimes. Years after Larry David famously impersonated the Vermont senator on “Saturday Night Live,” a DNA test on “Finding Your Roots” revealed that the two are actually related. David revealed that Sanders is “a third cousin or something” and “[he] was very happy about that.” Turns out the resemblance wasn’t just good casting.

Andy Samberg and Sen. Tammy Baldwin

The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star and the U.S. senator from Wisconsin are third cousins: Samberg’s mother was adopted, and her adoptive father, psychologist Alfred J. Marrow, was first cousins with Baldwin’s maternal grandfather, biochemist David E. Green. Next time Congress needs a comic relief witness, Baldwin knows who to call.

Sarah Silverman and Iliza Schlesinger

Two comedians, one family tree. On “Finding Your Roots,” Schlesinger learned that she and Silverman share long identical stretches of DNA on four different chromosomes. Usually, a match on just one is enough to call someone a DNA cousin. (Fun fact: Because Ashkenazi Jews descend from a relatively small founding population, many share surprising amounts of DNA, which is part of why Jewish genealogy takes some extra detective work.)

Other Celebrities Who Discovered Jewish Roots

George R.R. Martin

The “Game of Thrones” author grew up believing his paternal grandfather was Italian. But when he took a DNA test on “Finding Your Roots,” he found no Italian ancestry at all. Instead, he turned out to be 22.4% Ashkenazi Jewish on his father’s side, meaning one of his grandparents was Jewish. A plot twist worthy of Westeros.

Jessica Alba

While exploring her paternal Mexican lineage on “Finding Your Roots,” the actress discovered a rich mosaic of heritage, including Sephardic Jewish lineage. Her story is surprisingly widespread: A multitude of families throughout Mexico and the American Southwest trace their lineage back to Sephardic ancestors who concealed their identity or converted during the Spanish Inquisition.

Helena Bonham Carter

Sometimes genealogy uncovers heroes. Bonham Carter’s maternal grandfather, Eduardo Propper de Callejón, was a Spanish diplomat in France during World War II who issued visas to thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis. Yad Vashem has recognized him as Righteous Among the Nations.

Start Your Own Search

You don’t need a TV crew to make discoveries like these. In Intro to Jewish Genealogy, Nolan Altman, director of data at JewishGen, one of the largest Jewish genealogy databases in the world, will show you how to get started. Over four live sessions, you’ll learn how to gather information from vital records, census records, oral histories and naming patterns; how to read headstone inscriptions, even if you can’t read Hebrew; and how to find records of relatives lost in the Holocaust, which are often more available than you may think. 

The course meets on four Thursdays, Oct. 15 through Nov. 5, from 7 to 8 p.m. ET. Every session is recorded, so you can watch on your own schedule and refer back as you research. 

Sign up here.

The post 6 Famous Jews You Didn’t Know Are Related appeared first on Kveller.

It turns out Hanukkah Barbie was just the beginning.

Weeks after Mattel released its wildly popular Hanukkah Barbie, which sold out at major retailers within hours, the company has introduced something I never saw coming: a matching Hanukkah sweater for actual humans.

It’s like Mattel read my mind.

Apparently, sweaters are having a very Jewish moment.

Rewatching seasons one and two of “Nobody Wants This” ahead of season three has me increasingly captivated by Joanne’s collection of gorgeous knitwear, especially the Fair Isle cardigan she wears to Camp Haverim. With one of the upcoming episodes reportedly titled “Last Christmas,” here’s to hoping we finally get the show’s first Hanukkah episode. Because surely Joanne needs a Hanukkah sweater, too!

HomeGoods has even introduced a vintage-style bear cookie jar dressed in a Hanukkah sweater. And we’re calling him Maccabear.

Full disclosure: I recently designed my own super-soft Hanukkah animal-print sweater because I wanted one I’d actually wear.

So Mattel’s latest surprise couldn’t have come at a better time.

Hanukkah ugly sweaters didn’t start with Barbie. We had Jewish aunts crafting their own holiday creations back when DIY wasn’t cool. By the early 2010s, online shopping helped turn these festive knits into a holiday fashion trend of their own. Then Seth Rogen sported a giant Jewish star sweater in the 2015 movie “The Night Before.”

Fast-forward to 2026: Hanukkah sweaters have officially entered the Barbie Dreamhouse.

Mattel’s new $80 sweater is a close recreation of Barbie’s blue-and-yellow knit, complete with a menorah, dreidels, Jewish stars and snowflakes. If we’re getting technical (and obviously we are), the base of the yellow menorah is slightly different from the one on the doll. The adult version, available in unisex sizes small through 2XL, also has an adorable extra row on the sleeves featuring the iconic Barbie script logo, a detail missing from her miniature outfit.

One catch: Unlike Barbie’s, the adult sweater doesn’t light up!

Of course, even Barbie’s light-up sweater has its limitations. The menorah glows in three sections rather than illuminating individual candles. Ideally, it would light the correct number of candles for each night of Hanukkah. But I have it on good authority that programming the doll to do that would have been technically challenging and significantly more expensive to produce. Fair enough.

On the bright side (pardon the pun!), the lack of batteries should make washing it easier.

But the sweater alone won’t complete the look. Hanukkah Barbie’s gingham pants and tiny shearling boots aren’t included, so naturally, I’ve already bought a pair of blue-and-black checkered pants. Now I just need to dig out my UGGs. At least my Purim costume for next year is already taken care of.

What I especially love about this matching sweater is how wonderfully ordinary it feels. Mattel isn’t asking anyone to stop and appreciate the significance of a Jewish holiday sweater. It’s simply offering another fun Barbie product, this time in our size.

So much of the public conversation about being Jewish right now is serious, often necessarily so. But our lives aren’t lived entirely in headlines. There’s room for pajamas, toys and matching outfits for dolls and humans, too.

Maybe that’s the point: Sometimes a Hanukkah sweater can just be a Hanukkah sweater.

And if you’re wondering what Mattel might dream up for future Jewish holidays, my money’s on Passover Barbie.

In the meantime, if you spot someone dressed like Hanukkah Barbie inspecting the Hebrew letters on a dreidel plate in the middle of HomeGoods, come say hello.

The post Couldn’t Get Your Hands On Hanukkah Barbie? Now You Can Wear Her Sweater. appeared first on Kveller.

At a Passover in the near future, you might think twice about leaving the door open for Elijah. That’s because there’s a new Passover movie coming — and it’s a home invasion horror comedy! (Side note: If “horror comedy” doesn’t neatly sum up the Jewish experience, this writer doesn’t know what does.)

“Doom Scroll” centers on one family’s Passover seder that gets interrupted by home intruders “hungry for revenge, viral fame and power,” per the film’s synopsis. It goes on: “A college student grappling with his identity must then protect his family and reckon with an ancient myth that becomes terrifyingly real.” “Doom Scroll” stars Jewish icon Jason Alexander, as well as tribe members Josh Radnor, David Mazouz and Inbar Lavi. Betsey Brandt and Erin Darke round out the main cast.

An ancient myth? Sounds positively plague-full.

“Doom Scroll” is the second feature film from production company K180. Founders (and Jewish siblings) Becky, Lily and Shai Korman are the team behind “The Floaters,” a film which Kveller’s Lior Zaltzman hailed as “the best Jewish summer camp movie ever made.” Excitingly, Jewish “Floaters” cast members Judah Lewis, Jim Kaplan and Max Samuels are a part of the ensemble cast of “Doom Scroll.”

So, when will we get “Doom Scroll”? There’s no release date yet. However, the movie recently wrapped filming and last week K180’s Instagram page touted that it was “coming soon.”

Dayenu!

The post A Passover Horror Comedy Movie Starring Jason Alexander Is Coming! appeared first on Kveller.

Hello, loverboy! “Dirty Dancing: The Musical” is heading to Broadway!

The musical will open at the Lena Horne Theater on Feb. 12, 2027 and run until Sept. 5, 2027. Based upon the 1987 movie of the same name, the musical will follow the unlikely romance between Frances “Baby” Houseman and dance instructor Johnny Castle at the very Jewish Kellerman’s Resort in the Borscht Belt during the summer of 1963. The cast stars Broadway newcomers Annalese Starzec as Baby and Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny, and the track list features songs “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” “Hungry Eyes” and “Do You Love Me?”

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As if that weren’t exciting enough, the production has some sweet connections to the original movie. Lonny Price, who originally played Neil Kellerman, is slated to direct the show. Meanwhile, Jewish writer Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote the screenplay for the original movie, penned the musical’s script. Both the movie and the subsequent musical were inspired by Eleanor’s childhood trips to Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel.

Additionally, the show is a deeply personal one for veteran Jewish actor Loren Lester, who is playing the role of Max Kellerman. (Full disclosure: Loren Lester is the father of 70 Faces Media audience engagement editor Lily Lester.) Lester recently shared in an interview that his mother and grandmother worked at The Concord Hotel, another centerpiece resort of the Jewish Catskills. (The Concord closed its doors in 1998.) “When the movie first came out, I watched it with my mom and it was very, very real for her,” Lester shared. “Being Jewish, this is such a great part of our culture and part of our history in the United States.”

So what is there left to say? February better hurry up and get here so we can go see this musical and have the time of our lives.

The post ‘Dirty Dancing: The Musical’ Is Mamboing to Broadway appeared first on Kveller.

There’s been no shortage of journalists, celebrities and filmmakers who have been eager to shed light on the horrors of the October 7th attacks on Israel. If you feel moved to commemorate the third anniversary of that awful day by watching a film, documentary or scripted show, we’ve compiled ten moving options.

Films

“Of Dogs and Men” (Chaiflicks)

In this film inspired by a true story, a teenager is forced to confront the aftermath of the attacks when she goes back to Kibbutz Nir Or to search for her beloved dog.

Scripted series

“One Day in October” (HBO Max)

Each of the seven episodes of “One Day in October” (“Shahar Adom,” or “Red Dawn” in Israel) tells the story of an event or person impacted on October 7.

“Red Alert” (Paramount)

“Red Alert,” a four episode series, follows “several civilians whose stories intertwine as they experienced the atrocities of October 7.”

Documentaries

“6:30” (Chaiflicks)

“6:30” uses a creative miniature approach to bring the firsthand accounts from survivors at seven different attack sites to life.

“FACTS – October 7 War Series” (Izzy)

This long-running Israeli show released a ten episode season, led by a veteran journalist, exploring individual stories of bravery and trauma.

“Holding Liat” (available to rent on Apple, Amazon, YouTube)

“Holding Liat” explores the political turmoil within one family as a hostage’s father pushes back against efforts to use her captivity to justify escalating violence in Gaza.

“October 8” (available to rent on Apple TV, Prime, YouTube and other streaming services)

This documentary tells the story of the rise of antisemitism in the wake of October 7.

“Picture This “(Chaiflicks)

Beautiful animation is combined with intimate interviews in “Picture This,” a series of eight half-hour episodes.

“Screams Before Silence” (YouTube)

This emotional documentary focuses on the sexual violence that took place on October 7.

“We Will Dance Again”  (Paramount+)

Focusing on the attack at the Nova Festival, “We Will Dance Again” was one of the first major documentaries about October 7.

The post 10 Films, Documentaries and Shows About October 7 That Are Streaming Now appeared first on Kveller.

Since the October 7 attacks three years ago, we’ve turned to our Jewish community more often than we can name. So when it came time to commemorate that horrific day, it only made sense to turn, once again, to this community to make sense of our grief and our hopes for the future. We asked Kveller readers to contribute their feelings for a collective prayer on the third anniversary of October 7. This is the result.

Take care of yourselves today, and may the lives of everyone lost be a blessing.

Join a virtual Kaddish Minyan to mourn the victims of October 7, hosted by Kveller’s partner site, My Jewish Learning, today at 4 p.m. ET. Register here.

Three Years After

Written by the Kveller community

If we’ve found the will to dance again,

may the memories of those who can’t

guide our rhythm.

If we’ve ever wanted to tuck our Jewish identity away

may we feel confident enough — safe enough —

to let it back out.

If we’ve thought about giving up on Jewish joy

may we embrace it,

manifest it,

embody it.

If we’ve prayed for a better world

and it has felt hopeless

may we know that it’s not.

May we continue to build bridges,

and walk them with empathy and compassion.

Hear each other.

Heal together.

And may there be peace, amen.

The post A Prayer on the Third Anniversary of October 7 appeared first on Kveller.

Are you ok?? 

Are you OK?? 

MOM! 

MOM! 

MOM! 

These are the texts from my children on March 12, 2026; one in high school, one in middle school. My high schooler had her phone, my middle schooler did not. News of something wrong in the area trickled in. All schools were put on lock down but no one knew why. Then, news of a problem at a religious institution arrived. A religious institution in West Bloomfield, where we live, and I work. News of an active shooter at Temple Israel. My children were hearing about their mom possibly having been killed in an attack during a regular school day.

I was at Temple Israel, outside on the driveway. I was not inside when a man drove his car deep into our building, started shooting, and then set off fireworks causing flames and smoke to spew. I tried to get back inside to grab some of the preschoolers I knew were in danger, but I was stopped by the many, many officers with very large guns who were running by me. 

Parents started flooding in from every direction screaming, falling to the ground, trying to run towards the building. I was holding them up, telling them their babies would be OK, not knowing if I was lying. In the meantime, my babies were terrified their mom was gone, because she’s a rabbi, and going to work is dangerous.

My congregation always had excellent security. I always trusted that when I was in our building, I was safe. But on March 12, despite our miracle that no one was killed, our illusion of total safety in the United States was broken. I no longer feel safe being Jewish in America.

I knew becoming a rabbi would be incredibly time consuming and often, my own family would take a back seat to others. I’m the parent that ran to the soccer field after half time because I was coming from a funeral. I made it to the parent programs at school, but I was never the one planning them and never would be. There was no room for PTA in my schedule. 

Never did I think that my being a rabbi would be a source of great worry for my kids because I was a target for antisemitic lunatics. Never did I consider that my career choice might make my children live in fear that there was a chance they could lose their mom because someone decided I was responsible for what is happening in the Middle East or that I am part of a grand cabal looking to overtake the world. 

Sadly, after the attack, I’ve heard from many parents at our synagogue who feel similarly. They wanted to send their children to a Jewish preschool to be embraced by our faith, traditions and warmth. I doubt on March 12 any of them thought: My toddler is in danger because thousands of miles away there is a war, and someone is going to hold us responsible. They did not. But they do now. I don’t know what the larger answer is to this reality we are being forced to confront. For my congregation, it is more security. In fact, we must go back into fundraising mode because we are installing $10 million worth of uninsured security enhancements. That is how serious we are about the safety of our children, staff and members. It will take time to fundraise for sure, and though it is a burden we should not have to bear, we refuse to stop gathering and welcoming and celebrating because we were attacked. 

My job as a rabbi and as a mom is to emphasize to our children how special it is to be Jewish, and how much we have to be proud of as Jews. It is not the time to hide or allow our worry to overwhelm us. This was not included in the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” Maybe there should be a Jewish version written for raising Jewish children in an antisemitic world. But it’s not new. The hate and our worry is as ancient as our hope, and for 2000 years, we have made certain that hope always wins over worry. We can’t stop now.

My kids know that every morning I must kiss their heads before they go to school. They are 14 and 16 and still oblige. I do it so in case there is a God forbid crisis at school, they know their mom kissed their heads. In America in 2026, I know many parents feel the same about sending their kids to school. Since March 12, 2026, before I go to work, my kids kiss my head, too.

The post I Always Felt Safe Being a Rabbi — Until My Synagogue Was Attacked appeared first on Kveller.

This article is part of Kveller’s Jewish Artists Spotlight, featuring Jewish artists who work in a variety of media in New York, Israel and elsewhere. The project combines a series of profiles with live, online events that explore the experiences of being a working Jewish artist today, brought to you with the support of UJA-Federation of New York. 

Born and raised in Tel Aviv, multimedia artist Danielle Alhassid moved to New York in 2021 with a Yiddish poem in her pocket.

“My Hands,” written in 1920 by Celia Dropkin — an avant-garde Yiddish writer and poet who immigrated to New York from Russia in 1912 — is a provocative poem that subverts the innocence of exposed hands to reveal the depths of female desire.

Alhassid carried the poem around with her for months. “There was something so striking about a poem that was written 100 years ago that is so explicit and sexual and speaks about losing control over your body,” Alhassid said, speaking to Kveller in her colorful Brooklyn home that she shares with her partner and toddler. “For me, it was totally a poem about migration — even though it didn’t say any word about migration. It was in Yiddish, a diasporic language that’s not rooted in any specific place.”

With Dropkin’s words in her tote bag, Alhassid found herself sketching commuters’ hands as she rode the subway, making sense of her new home. “For me, all of the city was reduced to only the relationship of hands,” she said. “I think many people have this experience in the city, where there’s this kind of tension between how anonymous you are here and how much intimacy actually exists in public space … I just kept reading this poem again and again and again. I read about her life, about her history — Celia Dropkin and I became close.”

Eventually, Alhassid had a revelation: “I can’t keep on just thinking about what I should do about this poem — I just need to start doing,” she said.

Alhassid’s subway sketches eventually became “Two Pieces,” a video diptych that was shown at the Brooklyn Museum in 2024. Alhassid describes the work as a “video poem,” a two-channel stop-motion video about touch, bodies and intimacy that combines paint on glass, photographs and visual and aural representations of New York City.  

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Later, Alhassid made other works about hands, including a piece based on the hands of the women in her family — how some liked to show their hands and others liked to hide them. “With my projects, usually I think they’re finished and then they keep on growing,” she said. “That was definitely one of these where I thought, OK, it’s done, and then there was another layer and another.”

Such open-ended, multidisciplinary works — typically a combination of stop-motion animation, performance and print — are Alhassid’s specialty. In recent years she’s been inspired by the words of other Jewish immigrant women, creating artworks that offer a modern perspective on women’s roles in Jewish communal life.

“As an artist, I decide: Everybody needs to know, now, about this — like, this is a very important thing,” Alhassid said. “I take on this task that nobody asks me [to do]. In recent years, all of my projects are based on texts by immigrant women. My works are reframing them, and it becomes this alternative archive. That’s the agency of my work, and this is the reason that I feel like I have to do it.”

Installation view of Alhassid’s “Go Forth O Daughters”

Another of her inspirations is something far more pedestrian — literally. When she was pursuing her BFA at Amsterdam’s Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Alhassid worked as a tour guide, where she took travelers around sites such as the city’s Jewish Quarter.

“At first, I thought, ‘This is a really interesting parallel world to being an art student in the Netherlands,’” said Alhassid, who completed her degree in 2020. “But then slowly, slowly, I realized I was really interested in what we do in tour guiding. Like I point out this door and I tell a story, and then I point out this window and I tell a story, and there is this really strong experience. Eventually, by the end of the tour, we’ve put this puzzle together, and suddenly you’ve got an illusion of a complete picture. I was really interested in that, and I was kind of slowly trying to find out ways to bring it into my practice.”

As it turned out, the most compelling way Alhassid found to do this was through the use of stop-motion animation, something she encountered as a one-semester exchange student in 2018 at The Cooper Union in New York. “Video was never my thing, I wanted to be a painter,” she said. 

But while taking the stop-motion animation class, something clicked. “I was like, OK, storytelling, things in movement, duration, and the potential of that — these are things I could really bring into my art. That’s how I got ‘stuck’ with stop motion.”

Alhassid’s work is both deeply researched and profoundly personal, living at “the intersection of memory, femininity and urban experience,” according to her website. We spoke with Alhassid about her process, her inspirations and how being an artist is like being a detective.   

A still from Alhassid’s “Go Forth O Daughters”

Your process is fascinating. Can you tell us a bit about the materials you use?

I work with a light box and with layers of glass, and also with an overhead projector. These are two tools I use to really connect the very physical work [of film or performance] with very simple materials like pieces of paper, pieces of glass, stains of ink, glycerine — the glycerine helps the ink to stay moist for a long time, and it also captures my fingerprints. In all my videos, actually, my body is present, and the materials, they become something that is in movement — the film, eventually, or the installation — but then they also go back to being the material. 

There’s also a physical or performance element to your work.

Yes. I think there are two different kinds of artworks, in a way. There are the artworks of the “genius artist,” where you see something complete, like a monument — a general on a horse. You see a complete version of something, and you can’t really tell how it was made.

Or you could expose much more of the process. For me, the works where I get a little bit of a detour into the artist’s body and experience in mind is much more intriguing. That’s also the way I work. I always want to show the tricks. I feel like art is this kind of magic. It’s full of tricks, and artists try to capture people’s attention.

Tell us a bit about “Go Forth, O Daughters,” your five-channel animation inspired by the Tsenarena, a 17th-century Yiddish work that was known as “the women’s bible.”

In this specific project, the animation was, in a way, filling the room with all of the women — the animation was there to bring their presence back to space. So you had the object — Tsenarena, the book — that was carried by this collective of readers, and then you have the animation bringing these women to life. 

In the animation, it’s a physical representation of the characters, the women gathering together, framing the idea that women would join together around this object. Men who were like women — men who read and wrote in Yiddish, who were not dominant — also gathered around this book; that also fascinates me. It’s almost like a detective’s work — I try to imagine how it would have been. And yet, it’s only pieces of materials. 

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I think this kind of tension between something that is really almost utopian — imagining multiple generations of migrants traveling with these books, carrying these stories, then bringing them back to space — but then also knowing that it’s just materials, and we can’t imagine fully [what it was like]… this tension really interests me.

How has your background shaped the artist you’ve become? 

I grew up in the center of Tel Aviv, and there was a lot of art around. I never felt like my parents expected me to be an artist, but the option was there.

My parents come from very different backgrounds. My father grew up in the center of Israel, and his family is of Sephardi descent. My mother’s parents migrated from Morocco and France, and they lived in the south of Israel. I think that informs my work a lot — there were a lot of different traditions in my family that often also contradicted one another. Not only between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi but also just the approach to culture. 

Some parts of my family are very traditional or even very religious, and some parts are very secular, radical left, extreme right. My brother and I navigated many different spaces as kids and we knew different cultural languages. I think this is something that definitely affected my work and the way I think about art. 

How so? 

My work is definitely rooted in research and has this intellectual aspect of it, but it can also be read in a very simple way. That’s something that is important for me — to be able to speak about my work with a very diverse audience. It’s like tour guiding: You take people to a new city, you mediate it for them, and you make them feel a little bit more at home. That’s what I try to do through archival research. I choose texts that are meaningful for me, and then I try to introduce this intimacy.

Join Kveller and 70 Faces Media on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. for “Contemporary Art: Tracing Texts for and by Jewish Women,” a conversation with Danielle Alhassid. During this free, virtual gallery tour, Alhassid will present selections and share stories from her extensive body of work as well as answer questions from our audience. Learn more and register here.

The post This Multimedia Artist Is Inspired by the Stories of Jewish Immigrant Women appeared first on Kveller.

Today, opening up a word processor on your computer is such a no-brainer that it’s hard to imagine a time when editing a sentence meant typing the whole thing again. But did you know that the person who invented the first computerized word processor was a Jewish woman from the Bronx?

Her name was Evelyn Berezin, and she was one of the great pioneers of the computer age who spent most of her career as the first — or only — woman in the room.

In the 1960s, Berezin had achieved great professional success, such as designing the first computerized airline ticketing system, but realized that the only way she was going to call the shots was if she created her own company – so that’s exactly what she did.

In 1969 she founded Redactron, which focused on solving a very specific problem – the wasted time and frustration of editing professional documents. While there had been a few type-writer innovations that attempted to solve this issue, Berezin believed that computers were the real way to solve this problem. 

When Redactron’s Data Secretary hit the market in 1971, it enabled users to edit, delete and rearrange their writing without retyping an entire document. At about 3 feet by 3 feet (which seems huge by today’s standards!) this freestanding machine was considered small enough that workers could keep it at their desks.

It was a technological marvel and a commercial success.

Berezin’s  credentials and skills were unmatched, but she had a hard time breaking into physics and engineering jobs because she was a woman. 

For instance, she created the computerized ticketing system for American Airlines in 1962. It was the first of its kind and, at the time, one of the largest computer systems in the world. However, this job came to her after a job offer as a vice president overseeing the New York Stock Exchange’s computer communications system was rescinded. It was a job that would occasionally require her to be on the trading floor, where the language was considered unsuitable for women, or so she was told.

“I had worked in laboratories [with men] all my life,” she later recalled. “I said, what in the world was he talking about?”

The barriers she encountered helped push Berezin toward founding her own company. 

But before she was a groundbreaking inventor, she was a Jewish girl who grew up in a very different kind of world.

Born to Russian Jewish immigrants whose families settled in tenements in New York’s Lower East Side, Berezin would later speak of a poor but happy childhood. She, her parents, and her two older brothers shared a 420 square foot apartment in the Bronx (which, for context, Berezin’s grandmother called “a palace” the first time she saw it). She grew up speaking exclusively Yiddish at home until her older brothers started learning English at public schools.

Her father processed animal pelts for coats and hats. Her mother made dresses in a sweatshop. Berezin recalled that her parents never learned how to read English.

Her fascination with science began early. She pilfered copies of her brother’s Astounding Science Fiction magazine and marveled over what she found inside. This planted seeds of scientific inquiry that would inspire one of science’s greater innovators.

She died in 2018 at 93, leaving behind 13 U.S. patents and a legacy that reaches into the technologies we use today.

On turning 89, she had a typically practical assessment of the matter: “It’s a great age.”

It certainly was a great life.

The post The Inventor of the Word Processor Was a Jewish Woman appeared first on Kveller.

With the arrival of fall comes plenty of built-in activities. There’s apple-picking, raking crunchy leaves into piles to jump on, hay rides and Halloween festivities galore. And once one heads home, sun setting earlier and earlier, another beloved pastime takes hold: cozy TV watching season.

But what makes a TV show cozy? Everyone’s definition seems to be slightly different. For some, TV is cozy when the show itself is set in the fall or winter with heavy flannels, spiced cider, colorful leaves and roaring fires. For others, cozy TV can just simply be a comfort watch (or likely re-watch) that evokes plenty of nostalgia. Romance and comedy are typically a part of the formula, but they don’t have to be. Even spooky shows can count as cozy TV if that’s you’re thing!

So if you’re craving a relaxing autumn watch filled with Jewish actors and storylines, look no further. Read on for eight cozy Jewish TV shows you should absolutely make time for this fall.

1. “Schitt’s Creek”

While the interfaith and recently bankrupt Rose family is having a tough time adjusting to their new down-sized lives in the tiny town of Schitt’s Creek, you’ll be enjoying the impeccable comedy stylings of Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. “Schitt’s Creek” is perfect for a binge watch, whether you’re new to the show or its your comfort rewatch.

“Schitt’s Creek” is streaming on Hulu and HBO Max.

2. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

When Jewish housewife Midge Maisel’s husband walks out on her, she turns to an unlikely place to take ownership of her life: stand-up comedy. This Amy Sherman-Palladino comedy is deeply nostalgic for New York Jewish life in the ’50s and ’60s with its vivid, highly curated set and costume design. And, lest we forget, the pilot begins on Yom Kippur!

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is streaming on Amazon Prime.

3. “New Girl”

This sitcom about quirky teacher Jess who finds herself living in an L.A. loft with three goofy men is peak twee and just plain (forgive me) adorkable. Turn it on and you’ll transport yourself solidly back to the 2010s. The ensemble cast of Zoey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris is an absolute delight and thanks to Greenfield’s Schmidt, the comedy is often explicitly Jewish. As Schmidt himself says: Judaism, son!

“New Girl” is streaming on Hulu and Peacock.

4. “The Golden Girls”

Before there was “New Girl,” there were “The Golden Girls.” This comedy from the ’80s follows four older, single women living under one roof in Miami and navigating their golden years together. It’s heartwarming, full of Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty star-power and deeply comforting.

“The Golden Girls” is streaming on Hulu.

5. “Hart of Dixie”

“Hart of Dixie” is the phrase “Well bless her heart” incarnate. When Dr. Zoe Hart is forced to leave New York City to practice medicine in rural Bluebell, Alabama, hilarity and drama ensues. With just four seasons, “Hart of Dixie” is a quick and fun watch.

“Hart of Dixie” is streaming on Pluto TV.

6. “The O.C.”

“Nobody Wants This” who? “The O.C.” will always be the most compelling tale of an interfaith family on television. Fall in love with Adam Brody’s nerdy and cute Seth Cohen and his love for Chrismukkah all over again and let yourself indulge in the melodrama of this Y2K teen series. You won’t regret it.

“The O.C.” is streaming on Hulu and HBO Max.

7. “Mad About You”

“Mad About You” has a “Friends” feel and a whole lot of heart. It follows the daily lives of newlyweds Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) and Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) in ’90s Greenwich Village, addressing interfaith relationships with tenderness and humor. Basically, it’s way ahead of its time.

“Mad About You” is streaming on Hulu.

8. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” might be full of demons and supernatural baddies, but when you’re watching Buffy — played by Jewish actress Sarah Michelle Geller — get the job done while snug under a blanket? Few things in life are cozier.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is streaming on Hulu.

The post 8 Cozy Jewish TV Shows for Fall appeared first on Kveller.

We’re winding down the High Holidays, it’s cool enough outside to wear a sweater and the grocery store shelves are stocked with pumpkin spice everything. You know what that means: It’s time to curl up with a cup of tea and watch “Gilmore Girls.” In honor of one of our favorite fall traditions (which is technically a Jewish text, as it was written by Jewish TV maven Amy Sherman-Palladino), we put together a list of Jewish baby names with “Gilmore Girls” vibes.

Girls’ names

Delilah: Our head canon: If Lorelai hadn’t named Rory after herself (in the Sephardic tradition, of course), she would have gone with Delilah, a bold, controversial Biblical woman. The name may have a connection to a Hebrew root that means “delicate,” but it screams strong, chutzpah-filled spitfire to us.

Leora: If there were a fourth Gilmore Girl, sonically Leora would fit right in, right? Emily, Lorelai, Rory, Leora. The name, which means “my light” in Hebrew, is also one of the fastest rising girl’s names in the U.S.

Romi: Currently surging in popularity, the Hebrew name Romi means “my exaltation.” Doesn’t she feel like she would fit right in at Chilton? Romi would absolutely work at the Franklin and get screamed at a lot by Paris. Keep your chin up, Romi, things will get better!

Sadie: It’s a popular name in general now, but Sadie was a common nickname for turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrants named Sarah. As for the “Gilmore Girls” connection, Stars Hollow feels like it’s missing a Sadie. Like if the town had a pie shop, the owner would be Sadie. Her pies would be carried at Luke’s, but he would have a long running issue with the flakiness of their crust. 

Sookie: Yes, you can argue that Sookie is a Jewish name — it was originally a nickname for Susannah, which is the anglicized version of the Hebrew Shoshana, which means “rose or lily.” You might not win that argument, but the argument itself would be really, really Jewish.

Yael: This Hebrew name, meaning “ibex,” will always get misspelled as Yale. Trust us. So consider it an ode to Rory’s alma mater. (But also, Yael was a Biblical badass who drove a tent peg into a man’s head, a story that feels like a Lorelai monologue waiting to happen.)

Boys’ names

Dean: Traditionally, Dean is an English name with Latin roots, but if you’re looking for a quietly Jewish name, there’s a Hebrew connection to the word din, which means “judgment.” (And we can all agree we were judging Rory and Dean at certain points in their relationship.) 

Gil: Gil is, famously, the first syllable of Gilmore. But if you need more to base your baby name decision on (weird), it’s also a modern Hebrew name that means “exuberant happiness” — which is how we feel when we hear the opening notes of the “Gilmore Girls” theme, “If You Lead” by Carole King. On the show, Gil is one of Lane Kim’s bandmates (he replaces Adam Brody’s character) who can do a pretty great rendition of “Hava Nagila.” 

Jesse: The English form of the Hebrew Yishai, who was the father of King David, Jesse might have been the full name of Jess, Luke’s nephew and one of Rory’s boyfriends on “Gilmore Girls.” The name means “God’s gift,” which you could say fits the way the Team Jess faction of fans feels about the character. 

Max: In the show, Max is Rory’s high school English teacher — and almost her stepdad. In Jewish American culture, many Jewish immigrants named Moshe adopted Max when they arrived in the U.S.  

Reuben: Does Luke’s diner serve a reuben? They should. Reuben isn’t just a sandwich, though — it’s the English equivalent of the Hebrew Reuven, the firstborn son of Jacob. In Hebrew it literally means “behold, a son,” which is perhaps what one might shout if any of the Gilmore Girls ever had a boy.

Vidal: We can picture this man in all aspects of “Gilmore Girls” — a broody brainiac Rory meets at Yale, a quirky salon owner who opens up shop in Stars Hollow, a rival harpist to Alex Borstein’s Drella. This Ladino name means “alive.”

You don’t need a baby on the way to love a good name! Sign up for Kveller’s Baby Name of the Day newsletter — a new Jewish name every day, with its meaning, origin, and the story behind it. 

The post 11 Jewish Baby Names With ‘Gilmore Girls’ Vibes appeared first on Kveller.

Editor’s note: We first published this piece in 2023. We are republishing it in 2026 with updated information about Dara Collins and Donna Miller-Small’s new online Intro to Canasta class.

What do you know about canasta? I learned about the popular Rummy-like card game, whose name means “basket,” through the classic Jewish American show “The Nanny,” in which Sylvia, Fran’s mother, plays it — and even reveals that she’s amassed quite a full “pushke” of winnings.

If you grew up Jewish in the U.S., it’s likely you know someone, of (ahem) a certain age group who plays canasta. While the game’s roots are in Uruguay, it’s been popular in the U.S. since the ’50s.

“Ralph Michaels, a Chicago businessman, brought canasta to the United States. Canasta exploded into prominence when it reached New York and was the latest fad to blaze across the country, quickly surpassing Contract Bridge, the most popular card game played in the U.S. at that time,” gaming mavens Dara Collins and Donna Miller-Small told Kveller.

Similar to mah jongg, canasta is especially very popular among Jewish women, according to Annelise Heinz’s “Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture” — and became a staple among Jewish social groups and in Jewish community centers.

Now, Collins and Miller-Small are on a mission to get more and more people into canasta. It’s not Collins’ first rodeo getting people acquainted with a classic game beloved by fellow Jews: Collins and Donna Kassman co-own Modern Mahjong, where you can get their trademarked mahjong dice along with other gaming merch, and find a community to play the iconic tile game (though they do not provide the traditional mah jongg snacks!).

If you want to learn to play canasta, sign up for Intro to Canasta with Dara Collins and Donna Miller-Small, starting Oct. 13, 2026.

Collins and Miller-Small have just published “Modern American Canasta: The Complete Guide,” which will help you get into the game Sylvia Fine loves so much. While there are plenty of videos on how to play canasta and books on different versions of the game, Collins and Miller-Small say theirs is “the only complete [guide to] Modern American Canasta” — the version of the game that’s experiencing a resurgence right now. It provides “an instruction guide to learn the game, clear illustrations and creative graphics, widely accepted rules and 14 chapters on strategy.”

The game, which is played by four people in two pairs of partners, necessitates much less buy-in than mahj, which requires specialty tiles — all you really need is two decks of cards with jokers, a piece of paper and a pen. You might want to invest in a rotating card tray and a card holder, as well, but it’s a not a necessity for beginners.

The goal of canasta is to reach 8500 points by forming melds and canastas — “A Canasta consists of a meld of seven of the same number or picture cards, with or without Wild Cards, and regardless of the suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs),” Collins and Miller explain.

“While trying to make as many canastas as possible, the teams must also play defensively by preventing their opponents from gaining points. Typically, a game involves several rounds of play, and scoring accumulates from each round,” they continue.

Miller-Small, a Jewish grandma, is a veteran canasta and mah jongg instructor in her home state of Long Island, with over 15 years of experience. She tells Kveller she “got the ‘card’ gene” from her parents, “both Life Master Bridge Players,” and she fondly remembers “endless hours of card-playing, including canasta,” with her family.

Dara is more of a newcomer to the card game: Her mother taught her, along with her husband David, to play it, and they ended up playing it online as COVID-19 made it impossible to play the game in person. She used Donna and her mom as a sort of “canasta hotline” to help her master the game.

This past year, the two women realized that there was a real “need for a comprehensive guide to learn and improve your game” — and that’s how their book came to be.

The two believe that the partnership game is experiencing a resurgence because more and more people find themselves wanting to connect and socialize without the interruption of electronics. Canasta is a pretty intimate game, and it also requires a lot of teamwork; it’s basically perfect for a double date game if you want to test the strengths of your relationship.

If you’re looking to get into canasta and don’t have anyone to play with, don’t fret. Miller-Small and Collins recommend RealCanasta.com, “a user friendly way to play with the computer or live players.”

“Friendship, laughter, and edge of your seat action aren’t words you normally use to describe a card game,” but they are the words Collins, along with the increasing number of players getting hooked, use to describe canasta. Sounds pretty enticing to me!

Learn to play canasta in Intro to Canasta with Dara Collins and Donna Miller-Small, authors of “Modern American Canasta: The Complete Guide.” You’ll meet four times through Oct. 13 – Nov. 3, on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Sign up to register for class here!

The post More Jews Should Be Playing Canasta appeared first on Kveller.

Ready to get your book club into the spooky season spirit? Look no further than these six supernatural Jewish titles. Whether you are looking for a supernatural thriller, a rom-com or something in-between, these Jewish books will have your book club covered this fall. Just don’t be surprised if you feel the need to check for monsters under your bed!

The post 6 Spooky Jewish Books for Your October Book Club appeared first on Kveller.

Autumn belongs to Nora Ephron. As soon as the air gets crisp and the leaves turn, rewatching “When Harry Met Sally” is practically compulsory; turning on “You’ve Got Mail” a reflex. How, after all, can one truly observe the changing of the seasons if not through pining after Harry’s thick, cable-knit cream sweater or the bowler Sally wears to walk in a fiery-leafed Central Park? A bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils, perhaps?

After that, popular culture dictates indulging in “Practical Magic,” “Moonstruck” or “Gilmore Girls.” It’s not a bad instinct. Their sweeping portraits of New York and the northeast in the ’80s through the early 2000s are exceedingly nostalgic. Their stories of love and family a sustaining warmth as the the sun sets earlier and crisp turns toward chill.

But where amidst all of this is the love for “Crossing Delancey“?

“Crossing Delancey” is a romantic comedy about a 33-year-old Jewish woman striving to leave behind the Lower East Side of her bubbe in favor of uptown literati. But try as Isabelle or Izzy (Amy Irving) might, her bubbe (Reizl Bozyk) has other plans. She employs a matchmaker (Sylvia Miles), who introduces Izzy to Sam (Peter Riegert). Sam, a pickle man on Delancey Street, is handsome, hardworking and down-to-earth. He’s nothing like Anton, a renowned — yet self-centered and misogynistic — writer Isabelle worships. Izzy is initially averse to the prospect of being matched and the provincial way (in her view) Sam lives. Time and again, she returns to Anton’s orbit, unable to reconcile Sam’s affections and Anton’s clear want to make her his sexed-up secretary.

In the end though, Izzy cannot help but to be charmed by Sam. They embrace in the closing moments of the film. “I was so happy I was gonna see you tonight I made a special bracha for the occasion,” Sam tells Izzy, tears welling in her eyes. “I said the prayer for the planting of new trees. Don’t ask me why.”

“Crossing Delancey” is intoxicating. The tension between Izzy and Sam rides the air in Joan Micklin Silver‘s film; and it diffuses far past the screen, letting the viewer inhale its sensuousness. The bouquet melds the crispness of new books, lavender and milk, Delancey street in the early morning, vats of pickles and vinegar, wax on the Westside YMCA gym floor, the earthiness of Essex Market and Kiddush wine. This aroma lingers on color shots of Schapiro’s Kosher Wines, Zelig Blumenthal, a Hasidic child savoring a pastry on the gate of the Delancey Street subway stop. It would be impossible to feel the movie so strongly if it were not for its specificity to New York and its Jewish institutions in the mid-’80s.

The quick humor is only additive to this emotional resonance. While there’s no “I’ll have what she’s having” moment, Susan Sandler’s script doesn’t need one. A bubbe self-defense class and the concept of a traditional bris for a baby named Bart are as ridiculous as they are anchors in time, while Izzy rebuffing Anton’s claim that he “felt a kinship” with “You felt an administrative need!” is a punchy triumph for our heroine.

So why has “Crossing Delancey” had a slighter cultural impact than “When Harry Met Sally“? Perhaps it’s that Amy Irving and Peter Riegert don’t have the same Hollywood cachet as Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, nor do Joan Micklin Silver and Susan Sandler compared to Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner. Maybe, I roll my eyes to admit, it’s that the Jewish influence in “When Harry Met Sally” is not quite as overt in “Crossing Delancey,” making it more relatable to a wider audience.

But as Sam tells Izzy, a change in perspective can be everything. I contend it’s more than time that pop culture sensibility, if only briefly, replaces Sally’s bowler with Izzy’s Stetson. What new joys this brings, as Izzy finds, could very well surprise us.

“Crossing Delancey” is available to rent on Amazon. 

The post ‘Crossing Delancey’ Deserves Just as Much Love as ‘When Harry Met Sally’ appeared first on Kveller.

Jessica Siskin just published her debut novel, but she’s been on our radar since her days as a Rice Krispie treat influencer. Yes, you read that correctly: Siskin, who, along with the title “novelist,” also calls herself a “former fashion executive and food art pioneer,” gained a social media following as a successful “Rice Krispie treat artist,” crafting elaborate and beautiful crispy marshmallow desserts (including this impressive seder plate) and working with brands to create gooey depictions of their products. But behind the scenes, she was writing what would eventually became “Looks Perfect,” a novel about a fashion designer and influencer who has it all — at least, that’s how it looks online.

From her joyfully absurd depictions of Jewish food (bagel and lox, anyone?) we had a hunch Siskin would have a delightful list of Jewish joy-makers — and we were right.

Here are 9 things that bring Jessica Siskin Jewish joy:

Jewish geography: I know people love to act above it, but I think at the end of the day, Jewish geography is about belonging. It’s a concrete enactment of the Jewish value for community, a way that even the most secular Jew can continue to participate in an ancient peoplehood. There is something so special about knowing someone who knows someone, about our unique ability to shine a blacklight on the invisible string that connects everyone, Jewish or not, to one another. When someone says they love someone that I love, it’s shorthand for many other things we’d have in common. There’s a whole language underneath Jewish geography that I feel deeply fortunate to participate in. 

A chunky chai choker: A couple of months ago I saw an extremely cool girl hailing a cab in SoHo wearing this Choked by a Thread necklace. I googled “jade chunky chai choker” and found it in a second, and sent the link to my literary agent, Sarah, who is also one of my best friends and the person I send all my cool fashion finds to. We immediately decided that we both needed the necklace and bought them for one another as an early book-publication celebration present. I love how cool it is and also how Jewish it is; it feels to me like the Jewish version of a Chrome Hearts cross necklace I wasn’t allowed to have in high school for obvious reasons. 

Edith’s Sandwich Counter frozen iced coffee (New York City): I love that this frozen coffee doesn’t just try to replicate an Israeli iced cafe but iterates on it by adding tahini. It’s so good and hits the spot every time. 

My personal Jewish reference book: I don’t remember how I came across  “To Life, a Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking” by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, but it’s become my favorite Jewish reference. It distills the teachings of centuries of scholars and the Torah in a way that’s really easy to connect to, especially when I want to learn about holidays that I don’t celebrate as a Reform Jew. My favorite line in the book is one I post every year on Rosh Hashanah: “The traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah is L’shanah tovah tikatevu — ‘May you be inscribed [in God’s book] for a good year.’ On January 1, we wish each other a ‘Happy New Year’ because the goal of secular society is to be happy. But on Rosh Hashanah, we remind ourselves that our real goal is not to strive for happiness, but to strive for goodness. If we do that, happiness will follow.” Absolute banger and incredible reminder. 

The perfect Jewish wedding gift: I’m not going to lie, I’ve been gatekeeping what I think is the best wedding gift ever, a mezuzah that is made in Israel with petals from the couple’s wedding floral arrangements. When I want to buy this for a couple, I bring a little Ziploc to the wedding and collect some flowers at the end of the night, and then mail them over to Israel, where they’re encased in resin and sent back as a mezuzah. I think it’s so special and Talia is so kind, communicative, talented and easy to work with. 

The quintessential Jewish novel: Nora Ephron’s “Heartburn” is the quintessential Jewish novel to me, and also happens to be my favorite novel. The main character, Rachel Samstat, is so deeply, idiosyncratically Jewish without becoming a caricature. I especially love how there are recipes woven into the text. I love everything Nora Ephron ever touched, but I’ve read this book at least a dozen times and it never gets old. 

Sending visitors to my apartment home with a Jewish parting gift: I had matches that say “Temple Beth Siskin” made for my apartment for my 40th birthday party. I still use them to light Shabbat candles and give them to people who stop by. The inscription came from the fact that I love to host Shabbat and when I was looking at apartments, there was one in the East Village in a revamped synagogue. I didn’t get that apartment, but it planted the seed of the idea.

Phish: I’ve been to 110 Phish shows as of press time, and I love how Jewish the band is. The running theory is that with its Vermont roots, Phish built a loyal fan base at Jewish summer camps, and there’s actually a book about Phish’s connection to the Jewish community called “This Is Your Song Too,” but I found it really academic and never finished it. When they play at Madison Square Garden I love to go by the minyan that fans always put together at set break; it’s just the definition of Jewish Joy to me. The band occasionally plays “Avinu Malkeinu,” and when people say live music is a religious experience, they don’t know what they’re talking about if they haven’t sobbed to Phish performing the prayer in an arena. 

My Hebrew name plate necklace and unlikely friendship with Shlomo: In the fall of 2022, while I was trying to make progress on my novel, a friend offered me her apartment in Tel Aviv for a month while she’d be visiting family in the U.S. I knew very few people there at the time, and everyone I knew in the U.S. was sleeping all day [because of time zones], so it was an incredible opportunity to write. One day I walked past a jewelry shop with a sign advertising same-day Hebrew name plate necklaces, and I’d been wanting one that spelled Jessica phonetically. I walked in and found Shlomo, who was born right in Tel Aviv in 1942 and grew up his entire life a block from his store. He was alone in the shop, and asked if I had time to hear a story. It turned out a friend he had known since childhood who was a Holocaust survivor had just passed away that morning, and he wanted to tell me about him. I live to bear witness, and ended up staying for hours. Visiting Shlomo, hearing his stories about his friends, his family and the various wars he fought in, and looking through the photo albums he would bring in just to show me, became a part of my regular routine. Before I left town, he took me and a friend on a historical walking tour of his life, which was so special. Each time I’ve returned to Tel Aviv, I have visited Shlomo — I even got to celebrate his 81st birthday with him a few years ago. We text on WhatsApp on holidays and whenever else we think of one another, each writing in our own language and using Google Translate. Unfortunately, his shop closed since my last visit so I can’t send you there, but as such a huge source of Jewish joy in my life, he deserved a mention.

The post What Brings Author Jessica Siskin Jewish Joy appeared first on Kveller.

Before I headed off to my friend’s wedding, I had one very important stop to make. My sister and I drove to the local candy store on a mission: find Sunkist Fruit Gems for the aufruf. 

We searched the whole store until we finally found a large bag of the sugary, chewy candies. When I handed my basket to the cashier, she looked quite confused. Though I was also purchasing an entire box of jumbo Smarties, she had many questions about the Fruit Gems. 

“You need this big of a bag? What are you possibly doing with all of these?” 

I told her they were for a wedding. Despite us being in a very Jewish part of Cleveland, that only furthered her confusion.

Though just a regular candy to the majority, Sunkist Fruit Gems hold a very special place in the North American Jewish community. Developed in the 1930s as a way to use the overabundance of citrus fruits, they have become a quintessential part of bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, Purim mishloach manot bags and Hebrew school treats. 

Affectionately called “temple candies” by my family, they are synonymous with North American Jewish culture. When brought up in conversation with fellow Jewish people, the topic is always met with a burst of excitement regarding their seemingly universal adoration and importance. They became popular in synagogues as they contain all the perfect attributes for their very specific job: small, individually wrapped, kosher, delicious and, most importantly: soft enough to throw at people on the bimah. 

When I walked into the synagogue for the aufruf, I ran up to my friend and gave her a big hug. Then I pulled out the candy bag. She squealed with delight and hugged me harder. She exclaimed how her bridesmaids were panicking the night before, realizing no one had bought any, but now we were prepared. I explained to my non-Jewish friends before the ceremony exactly how it would go — the rabbi would bless the couple, we would sing “Siman tov u’mazel tov” and then we would shower them in temple candies. 

Sunkist Fruit Gems have always had a special place in my life. When I was younger, they were a treat from the rabbi following the “Torah parade” — our Shabbat tradition where after the ark is opened, kids carrying stuffed Torahs follow the adults with the real Torahs around the sanctuary, and then return to the bimah to get candy from the rabbi. We would run back to the kids’ sanctuary and compare flavors, fighting over who would get the red ones. 

When I became a teenager, Fruit Gems were the candy we threw at my friends celebrating their b’nai mitzvah following the Haftarah and their completion of leading the service. And now, I am buying them for my friends’ weddings, continuing to mark each life milestone with a little token of sweetness. 

My sister says Sunkist Fruit Gems will always taste best out of that random drawer on the bimah our rabbi kept them in. Others would argue it’s out of a tallis bag, a purse, or picked up off the floor post-candy shower. My cousin reminded me how her grandfather — my great-grandfather — always kept one in his suit coat pocket. 

Their belovedness across all generations is widespread, which made candy manufacturer Ferrara’s recent announcement that they were discontinuing Sunkist Fruit Gems even more jarring. With their perpetual existence in Jewish spaces, it never occurred to me that one day, they would just cease to exist.

The sentiment towards this tragedy was felt by so many — but especially those in the Jewish community. Last week, my social media was filled with people posting their disbelief, sadness and anger at the news. I saw a flyer of someone hosting an actual Mourner’s Kaddish for the candies. One rabbi was launching an event to help identify the candy’s successor. Parents all over wondered what they would do for the children’s future b’nai mitzvahs.

In my grief, I decided to create a petition to Ferrara in hopes of recontinuing production. Their reasoning for discontinuation was “due to lack of consumer demands across the country,” but also likely part of Ferrara’s revamp of the Jelly Belly brand (the most recent owners of the candy, whom Ferrara purchased in 2023). I wanted to prove that there is indeed a demand, and I very quickly got nearly 1000 signatures. Within the petition are many comments of support, though I feel Teri’s speaks for us all: “…This is a niche market, but it’s an important one.”

Teri’s sentiment voices what we all feel inside: that even though the Jewish community is small, we are a consumer demographic that matters. Thankfully, our pleas were heard. It’s hard to say whether it was because of the petition, journalists decrying the news, or thousands of Jewish people across all denominations having a collective breakdown on social media, but this past weekend, Sunkist announced that Fruit Gems are only temporarily unavailable. As they explained in a statement to social media, they are returning to the candy’s family-owned business roots and joining forces with a small candy company. They promised that when they do come back, they’ll have the same great flavor and kosher certification.

So fear not. Sunkist Fruit Gems will continue to be present, as they have been over the years from my great-grandfather’s suit jacket to next weekend’s b’nai mitzvah. May we continue to create memories of the aerodynamically delicious temple candies to carry with us for generations to come.

The post May Sunkist Fruit Gems Be Carried (and Thrown) From Generation to Generation appeared first on Kveller.

The miracle of Hanukkah came early this year: Hanukkah Barbie is here.

Mattel would like us to call her “Holiday Sweater Barbie.” Respectfully, no. This is Hanukkah Barbie.

She is dressed in the blue-and-yellow color palette that retailers have apparently decided belongs exclusively to Hanukkah. Her sweater is covered in Jewish stars and dreidels, with a light-up hanukkiyah built right into the front.

As if the sweater isn’t Hanukkah enough, she also dons blue-and-white gingham pants. And then there are the tiny tan shearling boots, because Hanukkah Barbie understands comfort.

Naturally, I bought her immediately.

Unboxing her involved approximately 613 tiny plastic ties, but once I finally freed her, I was even more delighted than I expected to be. I have spent an unreasonable amount of my adult life thinking about Hanukkah merchandise, and holding an actual Hanukkah Barbie feels slightly surreal. 

This story also has a wonderfully Jewish twist: Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, the daughter of Jewish immigrants, who co-founded Mattel and introduced Barbie in 1959.

It feels almost bashert that a doll created by the daughter of Jewish immigrants, which became woven into American childhood, is finally celebrating a Jewish holiday — more than six decades after her debut! 

I’m not sure Handler ever imagined this particular outfit, but I like to think she would have loved it.

And judging by the frenzy around her, plenty of people seem to agree.

She has repeatedly sold out at major retailers, sometimes within hours of appearing online. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one determined to bring her home.

I understand the impulse.

There are few shopping instincts stronger than a Jewish person unexpectedly encountering genuinely good Hanukkah merchandise. You see it. You buy it.

Which is why I was particularly disappointed when some other outlets decided that the big Hanukkah Barbie story was apparently her nose.

The articles drew on a handful of Reddit comments questioning whether Mattel had intentionally given its Jewish Barbie a larger nose. Hanukkah Barbie had barely arrived, and somehow the conversation had already turned to one of the most tired stereotypes about Jewish appearance.

So, for reasons I absolutely did not anticipate when I ordered this doll, I have now become familiar with Barbie face sculpts.

The Barbie face many of us probably picture is known in collector circles as the Millie sculpt. Another existing Mattel face sculpt, known as Violet, dates to 2018 and has appeared on other Barbies for years. It has pronounced dimples, fuller cheeks and a somewhat more prominent nose.

To my eye, Hanukkah Barbie’s face looks like an iteration of Violet, but it does not appear to be the exact same sculpt. When I put her next to a Barbie with the Violet sculpt, Hanukkah Barbie’s face looks more petite. And while Violet dolls are marked “2018” on the backs of their heads, the back of Hanukkah Barbie’s keppe reads “2026.”

That doesn’t tell us exactly what changed, or why. Mattel has not identified Hanukkah Barbie’s face sculpt publicly, as far as I can tell. But based on my own side-by-side comparison, I see similarities to a face already used on other Barbies, not evidence that Hanukkah Barbie was designed around a stereotypically Jewish nose.

If we’re going to scrutinize the choices Mattel made with Hanukkah Barbie, I’d rather focus on the ones the company actually got right.

The Hebrew letters on the dreidels are accurate. Her hanukkiyah has the correct number of branches. The sweater lights up. Technically, the illumination reads more like three glowing sections than nine individually blazing candles, but I’m willing to give Barbie a pass for imperfect light-up-sweater technology.

Those details may seem small, but Mattel itself knows how quickly one mistake can become the story. In 2023, packaging for its Barbie honoring the Cherokee Nation’s first woman principal chief famously contained an error in the Cherokee text that turned “Cherokee Nation” into “Chicken Nation.”

This time, Mattel did its homework. And maybe that’s part of why the response from the Jewish community has been so extraordinary. There’s something pretty powerful about finally feeling seen.

I just have one more pressing question for Mattel: When are we getting the Hanukkah Dreamhouse?

The post Hanukkah Barbie Is Here — And She Actually Got the Jewish Holiday Right appeared first on Kveller.

Sukkot is arguably the most under-appreciated Jewish holiday in terms of TV airtime. While Hanukkah and Passover get the most beloved Jewish holiday specials — “Rugrats”! “The Nanny”! — even the somber Yom Kippur memorably shows up in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” But a little primetime love for the Festival of Booths? Not so much.

Thankfully, what Sukkot episodes of TV lack in quantity, they make up for in quality. Because back in 2022 “Kid Sister” made a perfect episode of television featuring the Jewish harvest festival.

But first, let’s back up for a second. “Kid Sister” is a Kiwi Jewish comedy from created, written and starring Simone Nathan which first aired in 2022. (The second season came back in 2023.) Simone plays Lulu Emanuel, a drifting 29-year-old in Auckland’s traditional Jewish community who finds out she’s pregnant by her boyfriend Ollie (Nathan’s real-life husband Paul Williams). Among the many problems this poses for our struggling heroine, one stands out from the rest. Lulu’s family is practically foaming at the mouth for her to marry a Jewish guy, and Ollie is decidedly goyische.

By the time Sukkot has rolled around in episode two, “Emotional Rant,” Lulu still hasn’t told her family she’s seeing Ollie, let alone pregnant. But Ollie starts formulating his own plan to make their relationship work. “I could learn. I could get Jewish,” he suggests, before asking: “What’s happening at the moment? There’s always a big festival on.”

“It’s Sukkot,” Lulu explains. “It’s when you get in cages and shake fruit.” Ollie cracks a smile. Lulu is clearly messing with him. “No you don’t,” he laughs. “No, yeah, no, that would be crazy,” Lulu laughs along, defeated. Cut to Ollie the next day googling “Sook hot” and, mouth agape, realizing that that is in fact what you do on Sukkot.

Later, the Emanuels gather to build their sukkah and an unwanted ushpiza arrives with a platter of grocery store fruit. It’s Ollie. As desperate as he is to show Lulu’s family he’s a good match, the Emanuels are desperate for him to not be there. But nevertheless, he persists. They welcome him inside the sukkah in the spirit of the holiday. I won’t spoil the end of the episode for you, but let’s just say things go fantastically awry when Lulu’s grandfather Hershey (Peter Hayden) attempts to teach Ollie how to shake the lulav and etrog while the rest of the table talks about adult circumcision.

Pairing Ollie’s conversion journey, which progresses throughout the rest of the season and parallels Paul Williams’ own conversion, with one of Judaism’s more esoteric festivals is a bit of genius from Simone Nathan. The comedic point of view spares no one. Yes, it’s riotous to see Ollie, charming as Paul Williams may be, trying so hard to get Judaism right for Lulu and messing up so spectacularly. But it is also (lovingly) points the finger back at us Jews. Just because we’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s not objectively a little crazy to live in an impermanent hut and shake obscure plants for a week. And for the Emanuels, it’s even crazier work for a family with so few boundaries to exist in a tiny sukkah together.

For Simone Nathan, Lulu’s answer to the adage “when life gives you lemons” is to bite gums-deep into an etrog. (We even see Lulu and her brother Leo, played by Simone’s real-life brother Joseph Nathan, do this earlier in the episode.) The result is messy, juicy, sour, sweet, funny and very entertaining watch.

Starting Oct. 11, 2026 you can stream “Kid Sister” on ChaiFlicks.

The post There Are Almost No Sukkot Episodes on TV. Thankfully, ‘Kid Sister’ Made a Perfect One. appeared first on Kveller.