By Shifra Epstein (originally published August 2022) Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I have been visiting festivals, shops, and events in Ann Arbor speaking with individuals about the war. This June, my interest in how the war in Ukraine impacts Ann Arborites led me to the Top of the Park, the popular…
Lonnie Sussman, special to the WJN True confessions. I lied when I wrote last month that I had just returned from Morocco. I was about to leave for the trip and didn’t return until after the May issue was published. Please forgive me as I’m still jet lagged but excited to share some actual experiences…
By Drew Coel, Marketing and Program Associate at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor The Amster Gallery at the Ann Arbor JCC continues to feature the work of local artists for all in the community to enjoy! Starting on June 6, the JCC will showcase the beautiful abstract acrylic paintings of Ann Arbor…
Modern Judaica: Today’s Makers, Today’s Sacred Objects by Jim Cohen Reviewed by Janet Kelman Modern Judaica, by Jim Cohen, is a book to treasure. Included are works by over 50 of the most talented contemporary Judaica artists. While most of the artists reside in the United States, several others live in Israel, the Netherlands, England,…
Lonnie Sussman, special to the WJN How do you mark time? I’ve been thinking a lot about how I mark time. I’ve just returned from a trip to Morocco, a trip that was more than three years in the planning and flew by in a minute. If you have children, do you constantly think of…
By Meg Bernstein Michal Raucher is an associate professor of Jewish Studies and the undergraduate director for the department at Rutgers University. She holds a PhD from Northwestern in Religious Studies, as well as a master’s degree in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2020, Dr. Raucher published a book on her ethnographic studies…
Ken Wachsberger, special to the WJN The calamitous withdrawal of U.S. troops after twenty years in Afghanistan provoked a frenzied flight of refugees from the Taliban-ruled country. Now, the United States is gearing up to accept an influx of over 90,000 Afghan refugees in the next 12 months. Michigan alone has agreed to take in…
Hannah Davis interviews Andrew Lapin and Andy Kirshner It may be something in the air. Two local creators are releasing pieces of media profiling prominent figures, who were also antisemites, in American history from the early 1900s. Andy Kirshner is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design and the…
By Shifra Epstein Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, it had taken my partner Miriam and me more than sixteen months to venture into downtown Ann Arbor on a Saturday night. During our first venture in on May 10, we enjoyed the closure to traffic of the downtown streets, which made strolling very pleasant. The first…
Gabrielle Pescador, special to the WJN Rabbi Miriam Geronimus, who grew up and lived in Ann Arbor until graduating high school, became a rabbi on May 23 at the 49th commencement ceremony of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College outside Philadelphia. In her early years Geronimus attended the Jewish Cultural Society, the Secular Humanistic Jewish congregation in…