Weather

      Do you believe the weather forecasters? I don't . I don't completely disregard their expertise, but I do not take their word for gospel. They are right some of the time. Not even most of the time. My tried and true way of figuring out weather patterns is seeing what the temperature is in the Midwest and then I know that a few days later that will be the weather in New York. It sounds insane but in reality its no more reliable than  the Doppler radar the so called weather forecasters use.

   My next best method is sticking my head outside my window.

The Gastro Israeli

Post by BuzzFeed Video.

 I really love this video. When they posted a video awhile ago with gentiles eating Jewish food I did not find it so profound, but I really liked this one. I like the krembo and bissili. I did not try any of these foods until I actually went to Israel though now they are a little more available in the United States.

Point of View

     On the whole the Jewish film festival of New York attracts an over 60 crowd with a smattering of younger people depending on the film. Or at least this is my view after attending 6 shows this year at various times of the day and week. There was a lady sitting next to me at the 9pm show on Thursday night who thought that the crowd for the Jewish film festival is getting younger now that she is older and it made her feel old.  She felt that she was one of the younger ones years ago  and now that she is one of the older ones she feels that there are more younger attendees now. I hope she is correct but judging by the shows I have attended I know she is wrong. There are some younger attendees but not so many. Israeli films get a younger demographic. That's about it. I never mind being the oldest in audience at a Jewish film because seeing the younger people restores my faith in the continuum of Judaism.If only older people are interested in Jewish things this does not bode well for the future. The best is when there is a mix of ages in the audience. If something is really good it should be able to attract an  audience of various demographics.

Echoes of a Shofar

     This is such an inspiring video. 

Jerusalem's best-kept secret

 More of the wonders of Israel

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

     Its seems the Jewish Film Festival in New York has gone on for weeks. Two weeks to be exact. This year every film I have seen has been a good one. So far, anyway. The last film I saw was on Sunday. It was called The Outrageous Sophie Tucker produced by Lloyd and Sue Ecker. I had heard of Sophie Tucker a few years ago when the Jewish film festival showed a film about Jewish women in comedy called Making Trouble.That  film  recounted  her life more than  her career. This film told more about her career than about her life.
       When I stood in line before the film I really did not know what to expect. There was a mix of old and young, but mostly older. An older woman in line in front of me commented how it was too bad that Sophie Tucker was not there to see how many people were there to see the documentary about her. The man behind me in line commented "Oh she knows, she knows" . Certainly a fun way to herald the showing of a documentary about a woman I knew little about except for the fact that she was an icon to many of a previous generation.
        Sophie Tucker was born in Russia in 1886, and moved with her family to Hartford , Connecticut when she was an infant. Her family was orthodox and was not happy when she decided to become a performer. Eventually they did accept her path, but it took awhile.
        Sophie Tucker first performed in black face because club owners thought she was too ugly to perform as she was. Eventually that went by the wayside. Like Al Jolson she performed Jazz music. She was the forerunner and mentor of Mae West. She performed in Barbara Walters' father's club. Barbara Walters was interviewed  in this film. It was wild. Tony Bennett was also interviewed as well as Mickey Rooney , Kaye Ballard and other old time celebrities.
          During the prohibition era the clubs were owned by mobsters so Sophie Tucker was friends with mobsters like Al Capone so she could perform. She was friends with seven presidents including John F. Kennedy .
           I am not so sure that I am into the old style music that Tucker performed, but her celebrity is quite impressive. She befriended her fans wherever she went. She kept scrapbooks of her career. There are more photos of her with celebrities that fictional Forrest Gump had. She portrayed a warmth onstage that her audience could not get enough of. She was written to as much as any glamour girl was by soldiers during World War II. One Jewish soldier from Brooklyn named Al brought a record of her singing Yiddishe Mama with him to the army and would continually play it to the annoyance of his fellow soldiers.His goal had been to play this record in the streets of Berlin when they got there. He died during combat before he was able to realize his dream, but his friends did this for him when they later reached Germany.
             Watching this documentary made me feel a little bit like someone who was late to the party because I only saw snippets of her career instead of full performances. It does however give me a glimpse into her celebrity and  make me want to read more about her . The Eckers, who produced the film have also written a book about her which is available on amazon which deals with her youth , to be followed by two more books. I plan on reading them. They also plan on making a broadway show about her which is cool because Sophie Tucker was all about stage presence.
            I always like a film that is informative as well as one that makes me want to pursue more knowledge about its subject. This film succeeds on both counts.
      

The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

     I saw the film GETT ; The Trial of Viviane Amsalem at the Jewish film festival in New York City.  What a film. The film deals with an Israeli couple. The woman wants a divorce but the husband still loves her and does not want to let go and give her a divorce. The case goes on for five years. Most of the time it does not take so long to have a get given but when it does  the bitter side  of frumkeit is exposed.

  The film was first released in Israel three months ago. Divorce courts in Israel are closed to the public so for many this is the first time they had seen these proceedings. The film does not say that there should not be a gett process it just presents the issues that come up often and that have prevented so many from being able to get divorced and move on with their lives.
      The film has made quite a stir in Israel, so much so that it will be shown on February 13 at a rabbinical convention.
      What I find so interesting about this film is that it was made by a brother and sister. It is a very interesting dynamic.I felt that the film was made out of love and hope and not as a way to slam Jewish law, more as a means for dialogue and resolution.  After the screening there was a question and answer session with Shlomi Elkabetz. It is the first film about this subject that has finally forced the rabbinical courts to take notice .. I think that this is due to the respectful way that the film has portrayed this delicate issue. Of course we do not yet what impact the film will actualize, but we can only hope.