Shabbat shalom! My new JNR staff member requires a lot of supervision, so this posting will be short, as Sandy and I are pretty busy making sure the new kid has adjusted to his temporary quarters for the weekend.
Amidst the gloom and doom of Putin’s war on the world order, and amidst the whirlwind of other news items (International Women’s Day, Trillion $$ budget approved, Floridian morons passing “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, a pause in Iranian nuclear deal, Major League Baseball and the players agreed to a new deal, etc etc etc)) I caught this neat essay on the recent death of Mr. Charles Entenmann, the last of the great baking family. He and his brothers and mother took over the business originally delivering baked goods in their Brooklyn neighborhood on horse-drawn carriages. Two big headlines on this essay: Entenmann’s were not Jewish, and, Charles hated baked goods and never ate any of his product! I always thought Entenmann’s had to be Jewish, since the iconic brand was always present at Shiva’s and other Jewish gatherings. But I will always remember the raspberry danish and coffee cakes that provided an amazing sugar high, and had that amazing crumbly topping. Rest in peace Charles, you prince of sweets. Read the essay here.
Here are a few selected items for your Jew News of the week, courtesy of The Forward:
- Alan Dershowitz: Smart Schmuck making good? Dershowitz is helping build a Martha’s Vineyard Chabad house – with your money: Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor, is now on Cameo, an app where civilians can buy video greetings from B-list celebrities. He joins luminaries like the Tinder Swindler, Michael Cohen and the guy who played Lyle in “Blazing Saddles.” Dershowitz said he will be donating his proceeds to build a shul near his summer home. In a few sample videos, he talks about Jewish day schools and Israeli politics. “Ask me any questions,” he said. “Call me.”Read the story ➤
- Green eggs and sperm? 🥚 Scientists at Hebrew University have discovered a way to reverse the aging of a woman’s eggs, a breakthrough that could help women over 40 have healthy babies. In the peer-reviewed study, published Tuesday, the doctors were able to make older eggs appear closer to those belonging to a 20-year-old. Can they do the same with my knees? (Times of Israel)
- Leonard Cohen’s estate sells his songs for big bucks – Hipgnosis Songs Fund—which also owns works from Lindsey Buckingham and Neil Young—purchased the catalog for an undisclosed sum. The sale includes the “songwriter’s share” of 127 songs in Cohen’s Stranger Music catalog, which includes everything published from the start of his career through 2000—such as “Hallelujah” and “First We Take Manhattan”—as well as an additional 84 derivative works.
- 📃 Representatives from the U.S. Holocaust Museum are in New England this week collecting artifacts from survivors and their families. Fred Wasserman, the museum’s acquisitions curator, recalled speaking with a survivor who donated a Star of David pendant that “she had put in her mouth” when she arrived at Auschwitz. “And then 75 years later, to be talking to her at the kitchen table, and to have her turn this over to me, and to hold this in my hand,” he said. “I’m getting chills just talking about this.” (Boston Globe)
- ✈️ Birthright Israel is lowering its age limit back to 26, after a five-year experiment aimed at attracting older participants. One of the reasons? Extending the age range caused people to put off going. This summer will be the last time people aged 27-32 can participate in the program. (JTA)
- Jack Kerouac turns 100 today – Nothing terribly Jewish about this piece, other than he was good friends with Alan Ginsburg. But this was a great interview with a biographer friend of Kerouac that aired on NPR yesterday, in honor of what would have been the famous beat generation author’s 100th birthday. Click here for the interview
That’s all folks! Gotta run and get my new staff member out of his crib! But, hey, let’s keep staying safe out there.
Brad out.
Jew News Review 