Interfaith Relations
Love, Anyway
I love to sing. I had wanted to join the Community Chorus, but at the first rehearsal I innocently asked, “Are we only singing Christmas music?” The choir director proudly said YES.
Jewish Culture
Larry Lesser
Why Release Another Jewish Album Now? A personal essay by songwriter Larry Lesser
Like many Jews, I’m still reeling from the last two years and the continuing rise of antisemitism. A 2025 ADL/World Union of Jewish Students poll found more than three-quarters of Jewish college students now conceal their religious identity. On the other hand, many of us have found
Crypto-Jewish History
Carrasco's Crypto-Judaic Music Video an Official Selection for the Silver City Film Festival
Story contributors: Blanca Carrasco, Joel Carrasco, Larry Lesser, & Kim Ryan Joel Carrasco, a recent UTEP grad in Digital Media Production, reached the red carpet with his first-ever music video. His video of Larry Lesser’s song “Lights Lead Home” from Lesser’s award-winning album Sparks was announced
JCC
PACO DIAZ in CONCERT JCC OCT. 16th 7 p.m. World-Renowned Spanish Musician
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETSLISTEN TO PACO DIAZ PLAY "BENDIGAMOS" We hope that you can join Hillel House and the JCC for a concert with a world-renowned Spanish musician. Paco Diez is celebrated internationally as one of the major advocates of Spanish Romancero and Sephardic music. This is
Culture
Borges’ Jewish Roots
by Ilan Stavans Perhaps because the adolescence of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) was marked by the atrocities of the First World War—when his family was caught in Europe during a trip and ultimately stayed there for more than a year—and the friendships he made during the period,
Jewish Culture
Samuel's D'var Changed Us
By Misha Sauceda, with Samuel A year ago in March, Marty Sherman, from the Burial Committee, asked if the minyanaires could support a bar mitzvah for a young man named Samuel. His mother had died just a few weeks earlier, before he could complete this coming-of-age Jewish ceremony,
Jewish Culture
The Torah in the Tarot by Stav Appel, coming from Ayin Press/NY
by Corinne Joy Brown In the rarefied world of Jewish mysticism, the study of Kabbalah and its sacred texts immediately come to mind, unlike methods of secular divination such as astrology, the reading of tea leaves, or the interpretation of Tarot cards. Until now. Thanks to the research of Stav
Jewish Holiday
A Jewish and Navajo Marriage at the New Year of the Trees
By Diane Joy Schmidt February 4, 2025 In 2025 Tu B'Shvat begins on the full moon, Feb. 12th. On Tu B'Shvat, some years ago... A marriage ceremony took place between a Navajo groom and a Jewish bride on Friday evening. It was not only Valentine’s