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Judith Clurman

Faith In Brooklyn for Nov. 26

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Originally published on Brooklyn Daily Eagle by Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor

Judith Clurman.
“Testimony” by Stephen Schwartz
(Recording released BroadwayRecords.com
with
Essential Voices USA); rehearsal photographed: Tuesday, June 20, 2017; 11:45 AM at Manhattan School of Music; Room 707; NYC; Photograph: © 2017 Richard Termine
PHOTO CREDIT – Richard Termine

Prominent Conductor from Brooklyn Releases New Album on Jewish Song

Acclaimed choral conductor Judith Clurman has released a new compact disc, “Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit,” on Sono Luminus (DSL-92182). Clurman, whose Brooklyn roots have stayed with her, now lives here in the borough with her husband, Cantor Bruce Ruben.

“Cherished Moments” features Essential Voices USA, with Clurman conducting, along with soloists Ron Raines, Bruce Ruben and Michael Slattery.

This new CD combines the expertise born of Clurman’s 30 years as a prominent conductor with memories of her own childhood in synagogue and an intimate knowledge of this poignant repertoire to create a unique recording. The recording introduces exciting arrangements of traditional songs that represent the Jewish holidays and life cycle events — from the centerpiece “Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah,” a cycle for chorus, soloists and orchestra that premiered at Carnegie Hall, to the 19th-century lyrical classicism of Louis Lewandowski and Emanuel Kirschner, to works by folk artist Debbie Friedman, cantor-composer Bruce Ruben and Canadian composer Ben Steinberg.

The recording also features important new works, among them a minimalist setting of “Set Me as a Seal” by Nico Muhly, Larry Hochman’s “Shomeir Yisrael” and Paul Schoenfield’s “Al Hanisim,” all written for Clurman. The recording features the singers of Essential Voices USA and renowned guest instrumentalists, including composers Hochman and Schoenfield accompanying their own works.

Clurman’s Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is widely regarded as one of New York’s preeminent choral ensembles. It is composed of a highly talented roster of both seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers. Within this group, Clurman has created a dynamic choral model in which the size of the ensemble is dictated by the unique needs of each project. EVUSA performs regularly on the Carnegie Hall subscription series with the New York Pops and at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. For more information, visit www.essentialvoicesusa.com.

 

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Chabad Gala Banquet

PHOTOS: 5,200 Rabbis and guests attend largest dinner in NYC

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Originally published on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Rabbis are seen in this photo among their colleagues at a banquet at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in the Brooklyn borough of New York on November 23, 2014. They are among 5,200 rabbis and guests from over 80 countries in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world.… Read More »PHOTOS: 5,200 Rabbis and guests attend largest dinner in NYC

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler, a Brooklyn Boy and Chanuka

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Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1966,[2] the son of Judy, a nursery school teacher, and Stanley Sandler, an electrical engineer.[3] His family is Jewish, descending from immigrants from Russia on both sides.[4][5] When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by… Read More »Adam Sandler, a Brooklyn Boy and Chanuka

JUDGE JUDY – A 550 YEAR SAGA

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JUDGE JUDY

FROM THE BETH DIN JUDGES TO THE FAMILY COURT JUDGE

A FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEAR SAGA

By DR. NEIL ROSENSTEIN

FOUNDER AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

When thinking about writing this article, the biblical verse that came to my mind was from the Book of Samuel I, Chapter 18:7:

“Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.”

Rabbi Meir of Padua's tombstone crest (a crouching cat)
Rabbi Meir of Padua’s tombstone crest (a crouching cat)
Rabbi Moses Isserles
Rabbi Moses Isserles

  Five hundred and fifty years ago Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen, 1482-1565, the Av Beth Din, that is, Head of the Rabbinical Court of Padua, Italy, known by the acronym “MaHaRaM Padua,” was the respected judge of hundreds, if not  thousands of litigants. About the same time, his distant relative, Rabbi Moses Isserles, 1520-1575, known by the acronym ReMA, the eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, Talmudist, decisor and judge, renowned for his fundamental work of Halacha (Jewish Law), entitled HaMapah, which is a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) and served as the Head of the Rabbinical Court of Cracow, Poland.

Their 21st century famed descendant, Judge Judy, is known and admired by millions of TV viewers for her reputation as one of the toughest court judges in the United States.

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Sarina turns 60

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A video celebration of a Brooklyn Jewish life in progress. BJHI’s own Sarina Roffe, mazel-tov!

Sam Levenson

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By Joe Dorinson

“Today I am a fountain pen!” This mantra for Bar-Mitzvah boys in the 1940s, embedded in a mandatory speech thanking parents, relatives, and friends, was coined by teacher/humorist Sam Levenson. Before affluence enveloped our country, a fountain pen proved to be a welcome gift to eager students from frugal parents. Teacher turned comedian, Mr. Levenson captured that transformative moment with a funny observation or pun as in punim.

 

Today, comedians sling four letter words like old-time short order cooks used to do with hash, the kind you ate, not smoked. They hyphenate mother with a sexual act and offer little or nothing about social concerns. Don Imus, a “shock jock” trying to emulate Lenny Bruce, resorted to racist and sexist stereotypes and almost aborted a lucrative career. What a pleasure, therefore, for this writer to discover a mother-lode of wisdom and wit in the Sam Levenson archives housed in the library of  his alma mater, Brooklyn College. What follows is drawn primarily from this archive.

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Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads

Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads

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New York Times published Sarina Roffé, whose recipes have also been featured in NY Times Jewish Cookbook, Image Magazine and Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America, has released Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads. The book is available on Amazon. Sarina is the author of “Food and Drink, Modern Period: Syria.” Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (Brill, Leiden, 2014). She is a recognized academic in the field of Syrian Jewish… Read More »Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads

They All Had Faces of Angels

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Gayle Sassoon with her children
Gayle Sassoon with her children

By Frank Rosario, Kevin Sheehan and Bruce Golding

He wept as he recited the names, saying they are all “angels” now.

A Brooklyn father who suffered the unthinkable loss of seven children when fire ripped through his home brought thousands of mourners to tears Sunday during their funeral.

“They all had faces of angels. Hashem [God] knows how much I love them,” said a sobbing Gabriel Sassoon.

“People forget what’s important in life. My children were unbelievable. They were the best.

“But the truth is, every child is the best. Every child is the most beautiful child there is in the world. Every child is like that.”

The Orthodox Jewish dad broke down as he recited the names of his dead children, ages 5 to 16.

He called them a “sacrifice to the community.”

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Community Making Sense of 7 Senseless Deaths

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By Sarina Roffé No father should have to eulogize his child. Gabriel Sassoon had to eulogize 7 of his 8 children. “Why seven? Seven beautiful lilies,” cried their anguished father, Gabriel Sassoon, during his eulogy. “So pure. So pure.” Thousands of mourners, including the chief rabbi of Israel, attended the emotional service in Jerusalem, as anguished cries came from the crowds. The caskets, small and large, were lined up in… Read More »Community Making Sense of 7 Senseless Deaths