Just in time for Purim, the Coen brothers’ whimsical look at Midwest Jewish life in the 1960s is available for home viewing. A Serious Man (Blu-Ray Hi-Def and DVD, from Universal) includes three bonus features: “Becoming Serious,” with commentary about the film by the Coens, actors and crew members; “Creating 1967,” about locations and set design; [...]

The potholes in Twin Cities streets will get deeper and wider in the coming years. This was one conclusion reached by a lobbyist for municipal governments, after Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled his proposal on Monday to deal with a $1.2 billion state budget deficit.
In addition to $250 million in LGA (Local Government Assistance) cuts, which [...]

Focus Features, the distributor of A Serious Man, have put up a Web site devoted to varied aspects of the Coen brothers’ film — now available in DVD and Blue-Ray formats for home viewing.

Amy Landecker stars as Mrs. Samsky, shown here with Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays protagonist Larry Gopnik, in writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen’s [...]

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren spoke, or tried to speak, to a raucous crowd on Wednesday night at the University of California-Irvine. The speech was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers, and then Oren took a 20-minute break, which was intended to calm the crowd of 500.
The Orange County Register reported that Oren resumed his speech, “only to [...]

The Minnesota Independent reports today that Rep. Michele Bachmann, addressing a Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) event in Los Angeles last week, “offered a candid view of her positions on Israel: Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls back its support, America will cease to exist.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann

The story quotes from [...]

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Jewish humorist Sholem Aleichem, author Aliza Shevrin will speak 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 21 at the St. Paul JCC, 1375 St. Paul Ave. The event is part of the JCC’s Twin Cities Jewish Book Fair and co-sponsored by the Minneapolis Yiddish Vinkl.
Shevrin will offer new translations of Tevye the [...]

Experience gained as a green apprentice at Kibbutz Lotan is now applied to eco-projects in low-income areas of Minneapolis

By JOSH TOLKAN

After graduating from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., with a concentration in environmental and technology studies, I was interested in gaining hands-on ecological experience and seeing Israel. On Kibbutz Lotan’s Green Apprenticeship program, I [...]

 
Millions of evangelical Christians believe that a global cataclysm is imminent, and that Israel will be the central venue
 
By MORDECAI SPECKTOR
 
The tagline for the new documentary Waiting for Armageddon is: “50 million Americans believe that the End of the World is just the beginning.”
And, indeed, that is the view expressed by a number of [...]

Bob Alper, a rabbi turned comedian, mines a new vein of shtick performing with Arab and Muslim comics

By MORDECAI SPECKTOR

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A rabbi and a young Muslim guy walk into a synagogue and do some stand-up comedy.
What’s the punch line? Read on.
Bob Alper, a former Reform pulpit [...]

Rabbi Miriam Jerris, of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, will offer two talks Feb. 19 and 21

By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor

Humanists are not atheists.
According to Rabbi Miriam Jerris, rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), Humanists focus on what they believe rather than on things for which they have no [...]