Lithuania -- promo video for Vilnius Jewish Library

By Ruth Ellen Gruber 

Wyman Brent is a non-Jew from San Diego who has been working to create a Jewish library in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is now scheduled to open next year. Part of the "virtually Jewish" experience -- he now has a promotional video for the endeavor. It's a bit long, but it gives interesting insight into the virtually Jewish appeal, as well as the appeal and perception of Jewish culture and art.

Budapest -- Hanukkah party central continues

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The eight night festivities go on.... last night, in cafe Siraly's basement, the hip-hop/fusion/klezmer/etc band haGesher, with Adam Schonberger (far left) and Flora Polnauer (right) on vocals....

Budapest -- Adam LeBor on Possibilities in Budapest's Downtown Jewish Quarter

Adam LeBor has a nice commentary in the Economist about the Jewish quarter in Budapest, pegged to the Quarter6Quarter7 Hanukkah festival.

District VI and District VII have survived wars and revolutions, invasion by the Nazis and the Soviets, and decades of communism. But capitalism has proved perhaps their deadliest enemy yet, as property developers—many of whom, ironically, are Israeli—knock down large swathes of the area and build ugly modernist office blocks and parking lots.
Yet the twists of Hungarian politics, and the recession, may prove the Jewish quarter’s greatest allies. The developers have run out of money, at least for now. The Socialist municipal officials who permitted historic buildings to be destroyed lost office in October's local elections. György Hunvald, the disgraced former mayor of District VII, is in detention awaiting trial on corruption charges.  

Municipal government was decentralised after the collapse of communism, giving Budapest's district mayors substantial powers. The new Fidesz mayors and their officials are said to be pragmatic and open-minded—and doubtless aware of the political and financial value of a thriving Jewish quarter. The Quarter6Quarter7 festival is already attracting commercial support: Vodafone has sponsored audio guides to 30 locations that can be downloaded on to a mobile phone.

We win an award!

By Ruth Ellen Gruber


I've just be notified that this blog has been named one of the top 50 Jewish blogs by the Guide to Online Schools.

We scoured the web to find the best blogs pertaining to Judaism and came up with this list of 50. These blogs were selected because they demonstrate expertise and passion, are updated frequently, and provide a wealth of information and other resources. 

Guide to Online Schools

Top 50 Jewish Blogs

All over -- Other Europeans video by Mark Rubin

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Bassist/tuba player extraordinaire  Mark Rubin has posted a fantastic collection of his videos of the "Other Europeans" project, taken over the past three years in many places.

The band

is an international gathering of 14 leading klezmer (Yiddish) and lautari (Roma) musicians. Created and directed by Alan Bern, this new intercultural supergroup is creating powerful, deeply emotional and virtuosic music that restores a centuries-old cooperation between two groups who cohabited the same space in present-day Moldova before being torn apart by war, holocaust and immigration.

Bringing together some of the most distinguished soloists from seven countries, the Other Europeans Band is building new cultural relationships between two peoples who are often considered marginally European, but have played a major role in creating and transmitting European musical traditions.

Much has been said about the Jews and the Roma. Now musicians from both worlds have joined, researching and demystifying their connected cultures to create a new heritage, an exciting contribution to a shared new European and Cosmopolitan identity.

Budapest -- The Hanukkah Festival is on!

Tour guide Agi Antal leads a group to the Dohany St. synagogue in Budapest during the 2009 Hanukkah festival. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I'm back in Budapest for Hanukkah again -- I arrived last night and plunged right in to events in this year's Quarter6Quarter7 Hanukkah festival, which takes place in the city's downtown old Jewish quarter (the 6th and 7th Districts). I wrote about last year's festival for JTA and the New York Times online.

My train from Prague was too late to catch the concert I wanted to hear of Shkayach, a group that sings updated versions of Israeli and traditional Jewish songs. The group's singer, Flora Polnauer, also fronts hip-hop klezmer fusion groups -- and she chanted the Rosh Hashanah service this year for a Budapest reform congregation.

But I did manage to catch the concert by the Polish Klezmer Jazz group, the Bester Quartet.

And afterwards, I had a drink with the festival's organizer, Adam Schonberger, at "M"  restaurant -- which is serving special menus during the festival. Last night there was a Sephardic menu; I had the fish empanadas with a orange and black olive salad.

Adam told me that he is experimenting with the festival format this year. Instead of having concerts, performance, openings and other events for the full eight days of Hanukkah, as last year, the last four days are devoted to a film festival.

One of the innovations this year is a downloadable Jewish quarter tour guide app for smart phones -- more on this after I take a look at it. So far it's just in Hungarian, but an English version is coming.

As last year, though, more than 30 local venues and businesses in the 6th and 7th district are involved in the festival, hosting events or providing programs.

Lithuania -- Jewish heritage trip being organized

Vilnius synagogue. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber


A roots-oriented Jewish Heritage trip to Lithuania is being organized this July. Here's the info:

JEWISH HERITAGE TRIP TO LITHUANIA

JULY 5 TO JULY 15, 2011

We will be visiting Lithuania this summer, would you like to come with us?

We have been planning trips to Lithuanian for groups of people interested in their Jewish heritage for 18 years. In addition to visiting Vilnius and Kaunas, we will have two days for individual roots tours.

Our main purpose in planning these trips is to offer Jews an opportunity to go back to their roots, to encourage them to research their ancestors, and to enable them to see the latest efforts being made to keep Judaism alive in Lithuania. Since profit is not the main motive, all arrangements are made in a first class manner intended to make the trip enjoyable and meaningful for all.

Prior to the trip, we will inform you of the do’s and don’ts - what to wear, what to take with, what to leave home, and many other little tips that help make the trip an enjoyable one. While this is a group trip, we try as much as possible to make it a personal trip, tailored to individual needs.

Please respond to - LitvakTrip@gmail.com

Peggy Freedman
8335 Berkley Ridge
Atlanta, GA 30350 USA

Howard Margol
4430 Mt. Paran Pkwy NW,
Atlanta, GA 30327-3747 USA
Email - homargol@aol.com