Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

Where are you, American viewer, likely to have met the stentorian English comic actor Matt Berry, whose Toast of London comes to stateside cable Wednesday on IFC?

Currently, Berry plays an English vampire on Staten Island in the FX vampire mockumentary series What We Do in the Shadows, developed by Jemaine Clement from his film of the same name, and is the voice of Prince Merkimer, man and pig, in Matt Groenings Netflix animated fantasy Disenchantment. Longer ago, there was The IT Crowd, with Chris ODowd and Richard Ayoade; the 80s horror pastiche Garth Marenghis Darkplace and a few episodes of The Mighty Boosh, all of which have managed airings this side of the Atlantic. And every year around this time, I post a link to AD/BC, a pitch-perfect pastiche 1970s-style rock opera written by Berry and Ayoade that tells the story of the Nativity from the point of view of the innkeeper.

Created by Berry and Arthur Mathews (Father Ted), Toast of London stars Berry as Steven Toast, a British actor who is not so much struggling he works as stuck. (Maybe I should broaden my horizons a little, he suggests to unreliable agent Jane Plough, played by Doon Mackichan. The thing is, Toast, she replies, you dont have any horizons). The show debuted in the U.K. in 2013; the second and third seasons will come to IFC in 2020, and a fourth is possible when Berry whose current U.K. series, a Victorian detective comedy called Year of the Rabbit that will also come to IFC next year finds the time. (All three extant seasons are also streaming on Netflix.)

It is an impolite sort of show, profane, sexually farcical, mock-heroic, sometimes violent. There is a mildly serial element, but its arcs are mostly short, with Toast sent on different jobs and involved with different women in each episode. What remains constant is the horrible play in which he stars nightly its title so obscene that it is masked with noise when anyone says it and which opens him up to abuse when he is recognized from it in public. And there are regular trips to the voice-over studio where he is ever more openly mocked by engineer Danny Bear (Tim Downie) and producer Clem Fandango (Shazad Latif). (Berry and Mathews write the best character names this side of Dickens Daz Klondyke, Peggy Plywood, Max Gland, Strawberry Rathbone, Senna Poddington, Hamilton Meathouse, Greta Cargo, Ricky Seasack, Dinky Frinkbuster.)

Robert Bathurst as Ed Howzer-Black, from left, Matt Berry as Steven Toast and Harry Peacock as Ray Purchase in the IFC comedy Toast of London.

(Kuba Wieczorek / IFC/CH4)

Berry is a stocky, hirsute fellow, with a big, rich voice that immediately calls to mind the word thespian and gives everything he says a sheen of (over)dramatic irony; it has the quality of being dubbed, even when you see the words come out of his mouth. (In Garth Marenghis Darkplace he did actually dub his own character, badly.) His Toast is something of a loser, but also enough of a hero, relatively speaking, to keep us on his side. He is more self-approving than he has a right to be, which sometimes works for him and mostly does not. He gets along with his landlord, retired actor Ed Howzer-Black (Robert Bathurst), who is not competition. But he is treated with disdain more often, including by his brother, Blair (Adrian Lukis), a military buffoon; his ex-wife, Ellen (Amanda Donohoe); and rival Ray Purchase (Harry Peacock), the most homophobic actor in London with whose wife, called only Mrs. Purchase (Tracy Ann Oberman), Toast is sleeping.

In stateside terms, Berrys character has something to do with the blustery bumblers Bob Hope used to play or that Danny McBride takes on in his various HBO series, though tonally (and thematically) Toast of London more resembles Maria Bamfords absurdist Lady Dynamite, another show about the indignities of show business. There are cartoon sound effects, old-fashioned crash zooms. Toast orders a cocktail so tall it cant be seen over, while a small sandwich Toast makes himself is in fact very, very tiny. A young, black African woman (daughter of the Nigerian ambassador) is turned by an unscrupulous plastic surgery into a dead ringer for (not young, not black) former British game show host Bruce Forsyth, played by Bruce Forsyth. Toast, in an episode full of James Bond references, finds himself $20,000 in debt to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and stalked by Webbers enforcer, the British musical theater superstar Michael Ball. (It gives him something to do in the day between shows and winning awards.) There are musical numbers as well. (Berry has several albums of fine, non-comical progressive rock to his name.)

The jobs Toast feels himself above, and invariably accepts, are in fact ridiculous, involving ridiculous people. He auditions in a prison visiting room for a director in jail for Holocaust denial; another attempts to murder him; a third is making a film called Prince Philip, Scoundrel Dog merely in order to revenge himself on the Duke of Edinburgh, (Look, Duke, we all know that youre the murderer, says Toast, playing the part of a police detective. Your life of privilege and being carried around by servants wont save you now.)

He does have his limits, though: I wont play a bald man, Toast declares. Not even on Radio 4.

'Toast of London'

When: Midnight and 12:30 a.m. Wednesday

Rated: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)

Excerpt from:

Watch Matt Berry in 'Toast of London' on Netflix, IFC. Here's why - Los Angeles Times

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

PARIS, Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised French National Assembly adoption today of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Parliament's action follows on President Emmanuel Macron's call earlier this year for France to adopt the IHRA working definition.

"The National Assembly's endorsement of the working definition is a very welcome and significant boost to France's determination to recognize the dangers to our society of rising antisemitism and to more effectively fight hatred of Jews in all its forms," said AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bcache.

Parliament's adoption of the working definition comes amidst a continuing rise in antisemitism, including acts of violence, in France. In the first half of 2019, the number of antisemitic acts in France increased by 76% over the previous year during the same period.

"The urgent need for education on antisemitism, to recognize it and mobilize to confront it, is paramount," said Sebban-Bcache. "It is essential now that government, civil society, faith and other leaders use the working definition in the fight against antisemitism."

The working definition was adopted unanimously by the IHRA's 31 member states in 2016. The European Parliament endorsed it in 2017, and last December the Council of the European Union adopted a declaration calling on Member States that had not yet done so to adopt the IHRA working definition. To date, it has been endorsed by 16 European countries.

The IHRA definition is based on the 2005 European Monitoring Centre (EUMC) Working Definition. It offers a clear and comprehensive description of antisemitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial, and, of particular note, antisemitism as it relates to Israel.

For many years, AJC worked closely with the EUMC to develop the working definition, and has advocated for its adoption at the institutional, national and popular levels.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

http://www.ajc.org

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AJC Applauds National Assembly Adoption of Antisemitism Working Definition - PRNewswire

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

The Israeli Twitterverse and media are buzzing over the decision of Festigal organizers to remove the word, "Freicha," which means flower or blossom but is slang for "Mizrahi bimbo," from a performance of the "Freicha Song" by singer Anna Zak. In a clip of a performance by the singer/model that will be part of the upcoming Festigal holiday show, the song title has been changed to "I Feel Like Dancing" and the word "freicha" does not appear in the song, although Gil Mishali, a reporter for Reshet, wrote on Twitter that audience members at the performance could be heard calling out the "Freicha."The song was one of the late, beloved Israeli singer Ofra Haza's signature hits. The singer, who was from a Yemenite family, embraced every aspect of her Mizrahi heritage, singing traditional Yemenite songs in Arabic, wearing traditional Yemenite garb and performing the upbeat, "Shir HaFreicha" as if to wink at the ethnic stereotypes about Mizrahi women. Its lyrics are by the Israeli actor/director Assi Dayan and its melody is by Svika Pick (today also known as Quentin Tarantino's father-in-law). In it, a young woman tells off a man, saying that although she loves life, including being silly and dancing, she isn't into him. It was composed for Dayan's 1979 movie, Shlager, in which Haza had a role. At first, radio stations in Israel refused to play it, considering the word "freicha" and the lyrics too suggestive, although it quickly became a huge hit. However, in the politically aware climate of today, the song is considered scandalous again by some. Neta Houter, writing on the website Mako, said she did not want to have to tell her son what this slang term meant: "True, it is a great and beloved song, it can also be seen in reclamation and protest (alongside racism and misogyny), but it just doesn't fit Festigal. It was written by an Ashkenazi man (Assi Dayan, Svika Pick composed) to a Mizrahi woman (Ofra Haza) and is murderously stereotypical."In a lively thread on Mishali's Twitter feed, many commented on whether the editing of the song was justified, with some wondering why Festigal management chose the song to begin with. Talila Shlimovich wrote: "So what's the smart thing about incorporating the song into Festigal and censoring the central thing about it. Sterilize its content. In the first place, the song should not be included in Festigal. In my opinion, the song is not suitable for this competition and for children. And that would have saved us this stupidity. Politically Correct Derivatives."For some of the Twitter commentators, the song is a throwback to an era in which it was acceptable for Ashkenazim to ridicule and marginalize Mizrahim in general and Mizrahi women in particular, and even it if is performed by a singer from an Ashkenazi background -- Anna Zak is from a Russian -- it still causes pain and offense. Johnathan, who approved of the change, wrote, "The thing is that they did not come out against the freicha figure - she is present in the clip. Just against the word."It's hard not to notice that this controversy is generating great publicity for Festigal, a holiday entertainment show for children, and that that may have been just what the organizers had in mind when they chose and edited the song. And it's hard not to wonder what Haza herself -- the face of the freicha -- would have thought of this discussion, but the singer, who did so much to change the public image of Mizrahim, died nearly 20 years ago of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 42.

More:

Festigal's removal of the word, 'freicha,' from song sparks debate - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

In these times of alarming disregard for scientific data (were talking to you, climate change deniers), lets hear it for science, specifically the astonishing gains made in the field of genetics and genetic testing.

Our three-part Past Lives series highlights the extraordinary resources now readily available to anyone curious about their family ancestry. Easy access to family records on the internet and the mapping of the human genome allows us to peer into our genetic past to learn more about who we are. And we can do both kinds of research from the comfort of our own homes.

For Jews, this has been a blessing for the most part. Unlike those Americans descended from Western European populations who can turn to comprehensive written archives, such as baptismal and marriage records, most Ashkenazi Jews like African Americans and Hispanic Americans lack the paper trail to trace their ancestry back further than a few generations.

Now, with the evolution of genetic testing, we can pinpoint to a remarkable degree of precision the composition of our ethnicity and where we came from. And all it takes is a simple cheek swab.

For some, discovering Jewish roots opens the door to new connections and layers of spiritual meaning.

As our stories show, this technology is about more than percentages and places on the map. For some, discovering the very existence of Jewish roots is a personal marvel, opening the door to new connections and layers of spiritual meaning.

However, as with any technology, ethical concerns run rampant.

Are we now as a global kehillah to rely on DNA test results as a proving ground for belonging to the Jewish people? What about those who convert to Judaism and might hail from different backgrounds? When their DNA pie chart comes back with zero percent Jewishness, does that mean they are any less Jewish?

Though matrilineal descent long ago enshrined a genetic aspect to Judaism, have we not seen enough of eugenics, racism, white nationalism and hate-fueled violence to check a rush to embrace anything that smacks of genetic purity?

These concerns have come to the forefront in Israel, where for the past two years the Chief Rabbinate has been using genetic testing to confirm the Jewishness of immigrants from the former Soviet Union seeking marriage licenses, in cases where the applicants dont have sufficient documentation of their status. Dozens of young couples, and their close relatives, have been humiliated in this way, and the practice is now being challenged before Israels High Court, brought there by the largely immigrant Yisrael Beiteinu party.

Scientific discoveries often involve thorny ethical questions. They must be faced openly.

Read more:

The thrill of genetic genealogical discoveries should be tempered by ethical concerns - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

Berkeley Lab bioscientists Nomi Harris and Chris Mungall at the Aquatic Park Office. (Credit: Laurent-Philippe Albou/Berkeley Lab)

Rare diseases are rare, right? Not as rare as you might think. As much as 10% of the population is thought to have a rare disease. Unfortunately, due to a lack of understanding, many rare diseases remain very difficult to diagnose and treat.

Inspired by the enormous unmet needs of people with rare diseases, a group of scientists from across the globe has teamed up to develop open-access tools and resources for sharing disease characteristics and treatment information. The research is centered around an artificial intelligence-enabled catalog of disease descriptions called Mondo, which, like a Wikipedia for rare diseases, can be added to and improved by the scientific and medical community.

In a recent commentary in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, the group explained how agreeing on precise definitions of each rare disease can lead to more accurate diagnoses and better treatments. They also shared results from a preliminary analysis that suggests that the number of different rare diseases may be higher than previously estimated.

The project team, led by Melissa Haendel of Oregon Health & Science University, and Tudor Oprea of the University of New Mexico, includes Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers Chris Mungall, Nomi Harris, Deepak Unni, and Marcin Joachimiak. We spoke with Chris and Nomi about the project and why they are participating in it.

How do we decide what qualifies as a rare disease?

Nomi: Theres no single definition of rare disease because it depends on which region or group youre talking about. In the U.S., a rare disease is legally defined as one that affects fewer than 200,000 people; in the EU, a rare disease is one that affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. Some diseases are rare in some groups but common in others for example, Tay-Sachs disease is rare in the general population, but much more common in Ashkenazi Jews, and tuberculosis is rare in the U.S. but is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide.

All of us almost certainly know someone who has a rare disease, though they may be undiagnosed.

How are the current systems or protocols for classifying rare diseases translating into problems in patient care?

(Credit: iStock/marchmeena29)

Nomi: To diagnose and treat a disease, we need to know how to define and characterize the disease. For common diseases, there are many cases to observe, so we have a pretty good idea of what that disease looks like what the symptoms are, how to test for it, how to treat it. For rare diseases, there may be only scattered information maybe one physician in South America has seen a case, and one researcher in China, but they arent sharing their information, so we dont have a complete picture of what that disease looks like. And if we cant precisely define a disease, then its hard to reliably diagnose it, and even harder to treat it optimally.

Our preliminary analysis, included in the commentary, suggests that the number of rare diseases may be higher than we thought maybe around 10,000 different diseases, rather than the 5,000-7,000 that has previously been estimated. That means that distinct rare diseases (for example, different varieties of thyroid cancer) have probably been lumped together, when there might be different subtypes that benefit from different treatments.

What needs to be done to improve and expedite rare disease research, diagnosis, and treatment?

Chris: As Nomi mentioned, its hard to come up with the best treatment for a disease if youre not even sure what exactly that disease looks like, or if it is confused with a similar disease. To address this, our team is working to catalog the whole landscape of rare diseases. Were bringing together separate efforts in rare disease research, and developing computational tools to help experts come up with a precise definition for each rare disease. We developed a new artificial intelligence algorithm that helps disambiguate and unify the disease definitions from different databases and reference sources. We call this unified set of disease definitions Mondo, from the Italian word for world, because it brings together information from all over the world.

To accelerate this important work, we hope that funding and regulatory agencies, patient advocacy groups, and biomedical researchers will join together to support a coordinated effort to build a complete catalog of rare diseases.

How can Berkeley Lab play a role in this effort?

Chris: Berkeley Lab has been at the forefront of efforts to establish standards for representing and sharing biomedical data. My specialty is ontologies, which are like specialized vocabularies for precisely describing a class of things, such as symptoms, diseases, biochemical processes, or even entire ecological systems. One of the most widely used ontologies in biological science, the Gene Ontology, was launched by a team that included several Berkeley Lab researchers. My group has helped to build many other important biomedical ontologies, including Mondo, and we write computational tools to help others build, use, and expand ontologies.

There are many advantages to engaging in this type of work at Berkeley Lab, including the presence of leading researchers in computer science, biology, and other relevant fields, and also a commitment to open science meaning that anyone in the world is free to not only use the resources we develop, but also to contribute to them. When were attacking a big problem like accurately defining all rare diseases, we can use all the help we can get!

Berkeley Lab is a great place to engage in this research, but I also want to recognize the key contributions of our talented Mondo collaborators at Oregon State University, the Jackson Laboratory, the European Bioinformatics Institute, and many others.

What motivated you both, personally, to join this project?

Chris: One of my main areas of research is characterizing and interpreting regions of the genome using ontologies. Many rare diseases are Mendelian, which means the cause of the disease can be traced back to changes within or affecting parts of the genome. Other rare diseases may be environmental, or a mixture of environmental and genetic, and Im very interested in how the environment influences the health of complex organisms like humans. This led to the creation of Mondo as a way to annotate genomes and environments. My role was developing the algorithms that used different kinds of reasoning to bring together multiple sources of information and organize it coherently.

Nomi: My masters thesis involved applying artificial intelligence techniques to predict the risk of inheriting genetic disorders. After that, I worked for years on bioinformatics projects that didnt directly relate to human health. I was excited to have a chance to get back into the medical realm and contribute to a project that we hope will ultimately help to improve the prospects of those with rare diseases.

# # #

Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoryand its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Labs facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science.

DOEs Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visitenergy.gov/science.

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Rare Disease Q&A: What Rare Diseases Are and Why That Matters - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

Final part of three-part PAST LIVES series on Jewish genealogical research.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Sam Ginsburg sat in a library with a mess of papers scattered in front of him. He was looking for an uncle he had never met, and who was most likely dead.

He had little information besides the mans nameMorris Cooperand an address, found in a 1950s New York City directory: 477 FDR Drive. He knew it was the right Morris Cooper, because he matched the address to a wedding invitation for a second cousins wedding. And he also knew Morris family had originally come from Slutsk, Belarus, and that their last name had likely been Cooperman at some point.

But thats all he knew.

So he turned to the mavensvolunteers with the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society who gather once a month at the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco for brainstorming sessions.

Im a little overwhelmed trying to figure out who he was, Ginsburg said. Theres a million Morris Coopers.

At-home DNA testing, which has doubled in usage each year since 2017, and popular television shows like Finding Your Roots on PBS and Who Do You Think You Are? on TLC, demonstrate our growing fascination with, and yearning for, finding clear and convincing evidence of where we come from not simply relying on fading memories and family lore.

For Jews comfortably ensconced in the United States, the improbable life stories of the people who once bore their surnames can feel remote. What is shtetl life to someone in San Francisco? Can we imagine a life lived under threat of a pogrom?

Moreover, many Jewish legacies are not as easily traced as, say, those of Mayflower descendants. Few records were kept in the Russian Pale of Settlement, the center of European Jewish life until the early 20th century. And surnames were rare among Ashkenazi Jews, who used patronymic names roughly until the 19th century.

And yet, the centuries-old struggle of European Jewry to survive makes the drive for Jews to uncover their familial past just as strong as it is in the general public maybe even stronger.

As technology races ahead, a few dozen Bay Area genealogists are still using old-fashioned resources to dive deep into the past, and are surfacing with vital information: resources like ocean-liner passenger lists, newspaper classified ads, Ellis Island arrival records and century-old census data (much of it, thankfully, categorized online, with more being added every year).

Some are members of the S.F. Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, a registered nonprofit that first met officially on Aug. 4, 1981, in the community room at a bank. At the meeting, according to its minutes (society members are nothing if not diligent record-keepers), secretary Peter Tannen volunteered to computerize the mailing list on his Apple II personal computer. Dues were set at $10 a year.

Four decades later, the SFBAJGS is still meeting every month, still sending delegates to national conferences and still producing a quarterly journal, titled ZichronNote (a pun on the Hebrew word for memories). The annual membership fee has inched up to $23.

We exist as an organization to support individuals, to get people thinking, said Jeremy Frankel, a London-born former mapmaker who has served as SFBAJGS president since 2001. Frankels wife, Victoria Fisch, is the president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento.

Frankel described genealogical research as like doing a jigsaw puzzle, but without the box-top picture. As a maven society members prefer it to the word expert hes confident that with a bit of time and effort, most American Jews can find information about their forebears.

I suspect with a bit of work anybody can research their family probably to about 1800, he said. Then it gets challenging.

On the first or second Sunday of each month, SFBAJGS volunteers hold drop-in sessions at the Jewish Community Library in the Western Addition, called Brainstorming with the Mavens. The next session will be held on Dec. 8.

Some attendees come to find a long-lost cousin, or to get to the bottom of a family mystery. Most, though, want to know more about their family tree and where they came from and seek help overcoming brick walls in their research.

The drop-in sessions are organized by the library, though SFBAJGS members are vital participants.

The society is one of about 60 similar American genealogy networks scattered all over the country, all member organizations of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. The IAJGS also has member groups in far-flung places including Australia, Israel, Europe and Jamaica.

The SFBAJGS also hosts speakers and presentations on topics like American Jewish kinship clubs or the Jews of Shanghai. In recent years, members have volunteered to transcribe about 35,000 Bay Area cemetery records into an online database: the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. The JOWBR represents an effort to document all extant Jewish cemetery and burial records, worldwide.

This goal may never be fully achieved, the SFBAJGS website says, but the results to date represent an amazing resource for all genealogists.

Frankel, who remembers the day 34 years ago when he first became fascinated by Jewish genealogy, is poised to lead the SFBAJGS into its 40th year in 2021, and beyond.

Were very fortunate, he said of accomplished society members like Judy Baston, Ron Arons, Robinn Magid and others. Anyone who joins has access to some of the top minds in the field.

After spending 14 years as a cartographer in the U.K., Frankel moved to the U.S. in 1987. He would go on to lead canal tours in upstate New York, and ultimately wrote a book on the subject: 1991s New York State Canal Guide.

One of the most important things to understand about genealogical research, Frankel says: Its a challenge. And it requires creative thinking.

I suspect with a bit of work anybody can research their family probably to about 1800. Then it gets challenging.

For example, say youre looking for your great-grandfather in the 1920 census, Frankel said. His age could be wrong. His first name could be wrong. He may have a heavy accent. People were mishearing and not writing down names correctly.

You have to look at it as a mathematical problem: How do I minimize errors?

The session Ginsburg attended was led by Baston, a former journalist and 27-year library volunteer, whose areas of mavenhood are Poland and Lithuania. In 2015, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IAJGS, at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

Baston often says that the world of Jewish genealogy changed for good in the early 1990s.

Two things happened at the same time, she explained. One was the growth of the internet. The other was the fall of the Iron Curtain.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, archives that were previously locked behind byzantine regulations and state-imposed secrecy (in Poland and Lithuania, in particular) became accessible to the general public for the first time. And organizations such as Jewish Records Indexing Poland and the Litvak Special Interest Group invested time and money building searchable, online databases, which now offer around 8 million searchable records with more added every few months, according to JRI-Poland.

Baston advises those searching for Eastern European Jews to use Jewish Gen or JRI-Poland rather than Ancestry.com, a company with ties to the Mormon Church whose records are scant, she said.

As to Ginsburg, the man looking for his uncle, the mavens, as usual, started with what they knew.

So he was sent a wedding invitation. Did he go to the wedding? Baston asked.

The bride didnt know who he was, Ginsburg replied. And she has since died.

Im just wondering if anybody had pictures, Baston said. Back then, people often sent photographs by mail to distant relatives, with notes written on the back.

That never occurred to me, Ginsburg said.

Leave no stone unturned, Baston intoned.

Another maven, Steve Harris, weighed in. A professional genealogist specializing in New York City records, Harris has a psychology Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

You know he was living [on FDR Drive] in the 50s, Harris said. Which eliminates the census. Unless he was also living there in 1940.

Since the U.S. Census only releases individual-level data after 72 years pass, person-specific information from 1950 wont become available until 2022.

But Harris had another thought.

He would have been roughly the correct age for what was called the World War II Old Mans Draft, he said. It was for people who were born in about 1870 to 1890, roughly.

Using Ancestry.com while sitting in the library, Harris searched and found 27 people with the name Morris Cooper who had filled out these draft registration cards. Each bore an address.

I dont have time to go through all 27, Harris said.

But Ginsburg called that number reasonable and was eager to begin combing through them for clues.

Earlier that day, Baston reflected on why she spends so much time and effort on genealogical research. She was addressing, specifically, past controversies involving the Mormon Church in which it became clear that members of the church were posthumously baptizing Jews, including Holocaust survivors, using their vast troves of genealogical records.

Some people say, Why does it matter? she said, of the posthumous Baptisms. Well, to me it matters. Its historical falsification.

Then she asked a rhetorical question: Why do I do this?

I dont really do it for other researchers. I do this for the dead people. So that they will be remembered, and found, she said. People should be remembered as accurately as possible.

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Geneaology 'mavens' go old-school to uncover Jewish past - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

AshKara chef Daniel Asher shares his Middle Eastern-inspired recipes for latkes, lamb, doughnuts, and more.

For Daniel Asher, Hanukkah is synonymous with his mothers cooking. My mom is amazing in the kitchen, says Asher, the chef at year-old Middle Easterninspired restaurant AshKara in LoHi. And Hanukkah was always a time when she would embrace her love of feeding us with reckless abandon. But reminiscing about childhood holidays is bittersweet for Asher these days: His brilliant, hard-working father, Maximo, died in August. The only times when my father would pause and be present were when we were at the table, Asher says. Hanukkah has always symbolized a time when we were together and connected. So, despite the increased levels of activity that restaurants (and their chefs) experience at this time of year, Asher makes sure to commune with his familyhis wife, Steph; their children, Fletcher, Judah, Morgan, and Tulsiand friends around the table during the Jewish Festival of Lights (December 22 to 30). Below, he shares a menu of lamb, latkes, carrots, jam-filled doughnuts, and more, based on the meals that his mother, Sheila, prepared when he was growing upenhanced with the contemporary Middle Eastern flavors Asher is known for. Food is my mothers love language, Asher says, and it became mine, too.

Click here for Daniel Ashers first-person story on what Hanukkah means to him now, in the wake of his fathers passing.

(A shopping list and meal prep timeline appear after the recipes.)

For me, the spirit of Judaismand the basic principle of being a thoughtful humanis about taking care of one another, Asher says. Feeding the ones he loves is part of that ethos. No Hanukkah table is complete without latkes, enjoyed here (above, from left) by Levi and Mason Dinar, sons of Ashers restaurant partner Josh Dinar, and Ashers son Judah. Ashers mother always made latkes traditionally, with potatoes and onions, but Ashers root-vegetable pancakes are what he imagines shed have made if she let loose. If there are latke leftovers, use them as the base for a Benedict the next morning, reheating the pancakes in a low oven.

Makes about 20 3-inch-wide latkes

4 medium waxy red potatoes1 medium sweet onion, halved through the root and peeled1 small beet, peeled small zucchini, trimmed and peeled small fennel bulb, cored small sweet potato, peeled2 Tbs. sea salt, plus more to tasteGrapeseed or rice bran oil, for frying2 large eggs, beaten2 tsp. herbes de Provence1 Tbs. all-purpose flourApple butterCrme frache

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Kugel, an Ashkenazi noodle dish (sometimes sweet, sometimes not), is a mainstay on Hanukkah menus; Sheila, Ashers mother, typically made hers sweet. Ashers version is a mix of styles, with sugar, cottage cheese, ricotta, milk, and raisins adding creamy sweetness and spices, including the Moroccan blend ras al hanout, lending a savory note.

Serves 8

6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the panSea salt12 oz. wide egg noodles2 cups whole milk, at room temperature1 cups full-fat cottage cheese, at room temperature cup whole-milk ricotta, at room temperature4 large eggs, at room temperature cup granulated sugar3 Tbs. ras el hanout spice blend1 Tbs. Madras curry powder1 cup raisins

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My mom would begin cooking for Hanukkah a week ahead of time, Asher says, and Id help her. It was always a feast, combining my dads Eastern European favorites, traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dishes, and a bit of a Sephardic influence, as well. Roasted carrots were a staple at their celebrations, but here, the chef channels a popular AshKara menu item by adding ginger, coriander, pink peppercorns, and a saffron yogurt sauce.

Serves 6 to 8

For the yogurt sauce:1 medium lemon6 saffron threads1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt cup chopped fresh cilantro1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsleySea saltFor the carrots:3 Tbs. olive oil1 Tbs. crushed coriander seeds1 Tbs. sea salt1 tsp. crushed pink peppercorns1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced8 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut into large chunksTo serve:2 Tbs. wildflower honey2 Tbs. pea shoots (optional)

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Ashers mother braised a beef brisket for every Hanukkah meal he can recall, but for this menu, he put a Colorado spin on the dish by marinating a local leg of lamb and then braising it in pomegranate juice, red wine, and tamari. Root vegetables, mushrooms, and dried fruits cook with the lamb, giving the resulting jus a rich, complex flavor. You can repurpose leftover jus as the base for stew or nontraditional French onion soup.

Serves 8 to 10

6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil cup stone-ground mustard10 medium cloves garlic, minced2 Tbs. fennel seeds2 Tbs. dried mint2 Tbs. light brown sugar2 Tbs. ground cumin2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper2 tsp. zaatar1 large sprig rosemary, leaves picked and choppedSea salt6 lbs. boneless leg of lamb, tied2 Tbs. unsalted butter1 medium sweet onion, peeled and diced12 baby turnips, trimmed and halved6 assorted mushrooms, stemmed and coarsely chopped1 large parsnip, peeled and diced small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced4 cups chicken or vegetable stock1 cup dry red wine1 cup pomegranate juice cup tamari18 dried mission figs14 dried apricots12 pitted prunes cup dried currants2 dried bay leaves

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This colorful dessert salad, drizzled with creamy tahini and flavored with fragrant orange blossom water, is an homage to Ashers father, Maximo, who snacked on fresh fruit every night after dinner while drinking a cup of chamomile tea. Asher recommends buying orange blossom water at Arash International Market in Denver or Mediterranean Market & Deli in Boulder. Leftover fruit salad is delicious for up to two days.

Serves 8 to 10; yields about 14 cups

4 small oranges (navel, blood, or a combination)1 small pineapple1 medium, ripe melon (honeydew, cantaloupe, Harper, or muskmelon)1 lb. red grapes2 cups blackberries1 Tbs. orange blossom water cup fresh mint leaves, sliced into thin ribbons cup tahini

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Jam-filled fried doughnuts, or sufganiyot, are a Festival of Lights classic that represent the miracle of the oil. When Asher was young, he helped his mother fry doughnuts; today, six-year-old Judah is in the kitchen with his father. Cooking with my mom for Hanukkah was all about the joy of the family being together, Asher says. Now, its a time for me to be present and to cook forand withmy family. For me, cooking is the greatest expression of care for others. Take note that the doughnut dough needs to be prepared a day ahead of frying. Feel free to use any jam or jelly flavor you like, but Asher recommends Denver-based RedCampers whiskey-peach or blueberry-gin.

Makes 8 to 10 doughnuts

cup whole milk, at room temperature3 Tbs. granulated sugar2 tsp. active dry yeast1 large egg, plus 1 yolk3 Tbs. sour cream tsp. ground cinnamon tsp. sea salt tsp. vanilla bean paste or tsp. pure vanilla extractZest from medium blood orange plus 3 Tbs. juice12 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for rollingGrapeseed or rice bran oil1 to 1 cups jam or jellyPowdered sugar

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A savvy host like Asher knows that a make-ahead punch recipe (courtesy of AshKara) and drink-mixing assistance free him up to complete last-minute kitchen tasks such as frying latkes and carving lamb. This citrus-and-spice-scented Miracle Punch is named for the Jewish story in which a small quantity of oil, used to light a menorah in Jerusalems holy temple, lasted for eight days instead of one. The fragrant base for this festive punch is oleo saccharum, a syrup of citrus peels and sugar that bartenders use to unlock the essential oils in the fruit. You can make the oleo saccharum up to 1 week ahead, but the punch base is best made within a day of serving.

Serves 12

For the oleo saccharum:2 medium lemons2 large oranges1 cup granulated sugarFor the punch base:2 black tea bags1 cup (8 oz.) boiling water3 oz. Greek Mastiha liqueurTo serve:Pebble ice1 cups (12 oz.) brandyChampagne or sparkling wine12 star anise pods

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(Note: Daniel Asher recommends buying organic produce, dairy, and proteins whenever possible.)

Fresh Produce2 large, 1 medium, and 4 small oranges (navel, blood, or a combination)3 medium lemons1 small pineapple1 medium, ripe melon (honeydew, cantaloupe, Harper, or muskmelon)1 lb. red grapes2 cups blackberries8 large carrots, preferably multicolored4 medium waxy red potatoes12 baby turnips6 mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake, or a combination)1 large parsnip2 medium sweet onions1 small zucchini1 small butternut squash1 small fennel bulb1 small sweet potato1 small beet10 medium cloves garlic1 sprig rosemary1 small bunch fresh cilantro1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley1 small bunch fresh mint1-inch piece fresh ginger2 Tbs. pea shoots (optional)

Meat & Dairy6 lbs. boneless leg of lamb, tied1 qt. whole milk1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt (8 oz.)3 Tbs. sour cream1 cups full-fat cottage cheese (12 oz.) cup whole-milk ricotta (6 oz.)Crme frache2 sticks unsalted butter

Other Groceries4 black tea bags cup tahini1 Tbs. orange blossom water1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock1 cup dry red wine1 cup pomegranate juice cup tamari18 dried mission figs14 dried apricots12 pitted whole prunes cup dried currants2 dried bay leaves cup stone-ground mustard2 Tbs. wildflower honey12 oz. wide egg noodles2 Tbs. light brown sugar6 saffron threads2 Tbs. ground cumin2 tsp. zaatar (available at Marczyk Fine Foods and Middle Eastern markets)2 Tbs. fennel seeds2 Tbs. dried mint (available at Marczyk Fine Foods and Middle Eastern markets)1 Tbs. coriander seeds1 tsp. pink peppercorns2 tsp. herbes de Provence3 Tbs. ras el hanout spice blend (available at Marczyk Fine Foods and Middle Eastern markets)1 Tbs. Madras curry powder10 whole star anise1 cup raisins (5 oz.)1 jar apple butter (preferably Ela Family Farms brand, available at Marczyk Fine Foods or elafamilyfarms.com)1 package active dry yeast8 large eggs, preferably cage-free1 to 1 cups jam or jelly (preferably RedCamper whiskey-peach or blueberry-gin, available at Marczyk Fine Foods or redcamper.com)Vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract5 oz. Greek mastiha liqueur10 oz. brandy1 bottle ChampagneOlive oil (preferably extra-virgin)All-purpose flourGranulated sugarPowdered sugarGround cinnamonGrapeseed or rice bran oilSea salt (preferably Jacobsen kosher sea salt, available at Whole Foods Market and Marczyk Fine Foods)Black peppercorns

Specialty Equipment/ToolsRolling pinCheesecloth or thin kitchen towel9-by-13-inch baking dish3-inch ring mold or cookie cutterCandy thermometerPastry bagLarge, round piping tip

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Up to 1 week ahead:

1 day ahead:

5 hours ahead:

4 hours ahead:

3 hours ahead:

2 hours ahead:

1 hour ahead:

As guests arrive:

Just before dinner:

30 minutes before dessert:

Just before dessert:

Denise Mickelsen oversees all of 5280s food-related coverage, and feels damn lucky to do so. Follow her on Instagram @DeniseMickelsen.

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How to Host the Best Hanukkah Feast Ever - 5280 | The Denver Magazine

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

As these clinical tests became more common, scientists were also busy trying to drill deeper into the substance of DNA, the chemical structure of which had only been deciphered in 1953 by James Watson, Francis Crick, and Rosalind Franklin. Over the next few decades, scientists would come to understand that its helix-shaped pattern of paired basesadenine, thymine, cytosine, and guaninefunctioned like letters, spelling out words that a cell would decode into amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. They would also begin to realize that most of the human genomeabout 98 percentdoesnt actually code for proteins. In the '70s, junk DNA became the popularized term for these nonfunctional sections.

Not long after, in 1984, a British geneticist named Alec Jeffreys stumbled upon a use for all that so-called junk DNA: crime-fighting. In these regions of the genome, the DNA molecule tends to duplicate itself, like its stuttering over the same word over and over again. Scientists can capture and count these stutters, known as short tandem repeats. And because the number of STRs a person has at various locations is unique to them, they can be used to build a personally identifiable profile, or DNA fingerprint.

Genetic Testing Glossary

GenotypingTesting technology, often chip-based, that generates a partial list of your unique genetic differences.

Whole-genome sequencingA method used to determine the exact sequence of your entire genome, all 6.4 billion letters.

Whole-exome sequencingA method used to determine the exact sequence of the protein-coding portion of your genome, comprising about 22,000 genes.

Coverage/DepthA measure of how many times a DNA sequence has been proofread. 30X average depth of coverage is the benchmark of a high-quality sequence.

VariantA generic term referring to places in someones genome that differ from a reference genome

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)A variant defined by a single letter change

Polygenic Score (PGS)An algorithm that adds up the effects of multiple variants to predict the likelihood of a physical or behavioral trait based on your DNA.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)A method for testing IVF embryos for genetic defects prior to starting a pregnancy.

Non-Invasive Prenatal TestingA method for screening a fetus for certain genetic disorders by testing the mothers blood. Confirming a diagnosis requires more invasive procedures.

Carrier ScreenA test used to find out if you carry any genes for disorders that you could pass on to your children.

Short Tandem Repeat (STR)A pattern of repeating sequences in the noncoding part of your genome used in forensic DNA testing

CODISA national database of genetic profiles collected from criminals and crime scenes, maintained by the US government.

In 1987, this technique was used for the first time in a police investigation, leading to the arrest and conviction of Colin Pitchfork for the rape and murder of two young women in the UK. That same year, Tommie Lee Andrews, who raped and stabbed to death a woman in Florida, became the first person in the US to be convicted as a result of DNA evidence. Since then, forensic DNA testing has put millions of criminals behind bars. In 1994, Congress signed the DNA Identification Act, giving the US Federal Bureau of Investigation authority to maintain a national database of genetic profiles collected from criminal offenders. As of September 2019, this database, known as CODIS, contains DNA from nearly 14 million people convicted of crimes, as well as 3.7 million arrestees, and 973,000 samples gathered at crime scenes.

Throughout the '80s and '90s, while cops were rushing to use DNA to catch rapists and murderers, geneticists were slowly doing detective work of their own. By linking health records, family pedigrees, disease registries, and STR locations and lengths, scientific sleuths painstakingly began to map traits onto chromosomes, eventually identifying the genes responsible for a number of inherited conditions, including Huntingtons disease, cystic fibrosis, and sickle-cell anemia. These diseases linked to single genes, so-called monogenic conditions, are basically binaryif you have the genetic mutation youre almost certain to develop the disease. And once the sequences for these faulty genes were revealed, it wasnt too hard to test for their presence. All you had to do was design a probea single strand of DNA attached to a signal molecule, that would send out a fluorescent burst or some other chemical flare when it found its matching sequence.

As the new millennium approached, companies were beginning to pilot such tests in various clinical settings, i.e. with a doctors order. That included testing amniotic fluid as part of prenatal screening, testing the blood of prospective parents (whats known as carrier screening), and testing the cells of embryos created by in vitro fertilization, in a process called pre-implantation diagnosis. These tests were expensive and targeted only at people with family histories of so-called monogenic diseases. Developing tests to assess a healthy persons risk of developing more complex conditions caused by the interaction of multiple genesthings like heart disease, diabetes, and cancerwould require a more detailed map of human DNA than the fragmented picture scientists had so far decoded. Luckily, that was just around the corner.

In 2000, a rough draft of the human genome sequence was made freely available online, followed three years later by a more complete, high-resolution version. With it, scientists and engineers now had enough information to load up chips with not one or two DNA probes but thousands, even hundreds of thousands. These microarrays made it possible to simultaneously scan a persons genome for thousands of SNPs, or single nucleotide polymorphismssingle changes in the arrangement of DNA letters that make people unique. These SNPs, or variants as theyre alternatively known, can be tallied up to rank a persons susceptibility to various illnesses.

And because this SNP snapshot technology, known as genotyping, could be done much cheaper than full sequencingin 2006 it cost $1,000 as opposed to $1 million for a full-genome scanit launched not only a new wave of research but a new industry: direct-to-consumer DNA testing.

Starting in the mid-2000s, dozens of companies began selling people a new genetic experience that didnt have to take place in a doctors office. They would take a sample of your DNAa few laboriously salivated milliliters of drool sent through the mailscan it, and peer into your ancestral past as well as forecast your genetic future. In the early days, these tests could provide only a limited amount of information. And many companies went under while waiting for researchers to amass more knowledge about the links between certain genes and human traits. But one deep-pocketed Silicon Valley startup weathered the creeping adoption curve (and a spat with the US Food and Drug Administration) to become synonymous with the retail genomics business: 23andMe.

Today though, as costs sink even further and the internet makes the exchange of cheek cells for genetic insights virtually frictionless, 23andMe again has plenty of competition. A recent study identified nearly 250 companies offering DNA tests that people can buy online. Most of these are tests for disease predisposition, ancestry, and paternity. But others offer biological inheritance as infotainmenttests offering matchmaking services, predicting childrens talents, recommending the right diet, or even identifying wines you might be genetically inclined to enjoy.

Customers should be aware though, that many of these recreational tests offer results with little relationship to realitythe science is still just too premature to be truly predictive for most complicated traits. They might be fun, but dont take them too seriously. (And if you care about genetic privacy, dont take them at all!) Even the more medically focused tests, like 23andMes health reports, should be taken with a grain of salt. Its testing formula for breast cancer risk, for example, is built around just three genetic variants in the BRCA genes, common in Ashkenazi Jewish populations and known to be associated with cancer. But there are thousands of other variants in those genes that can also raise your risk of breast cancer. Its just that 23andMes DNA chip isnt set up to capture them. In other words, a clean bill of health from 23andMe shouldnt be taken as definitive. The company emphasizes that its tests are probability readings, theyre not meant to be diagnostic. So if anything does come up, you still have to go see a doctor for confirmatory clinical testing.

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What Is Genetic Testing? The Complete WIRED Guide - WIRED

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Posted By admin on December 4, 2019

Part two of our three-part PAST LIVES series on Jewish genealogical research. Part three will be available tomorrow.

Kimberley Schroder was 15 years old when she finally got some details about her biological father.

Born through in vitro fertilization via a sperm donor, she found out he had been a UC Berkeley graduate student studying biology. He was from the East Coast. He was also Caucasian of Jewish extraction.

This information, discovered around 2002, would spark a decade-and-a-half journey for Schroder in discovering her religious and genealogical connections to Judaism, culminating most recently in a face-to-face meeting with her biological father.

Schroder, now 32, has spent most of her life in Lafayette. She currently works for Better Place Forests, a natural alternative to cemeteries in which a loved ones ashes are spread amongst nature.

Schroder, who says her parents used a sperm donor because her mother had trouble getting pregnant, described her childhood as very secular. The whole concept of religion was foreign to me, she said. But Schroder, whose parents divorced when she was 3, does remember going to church with her cousins an experience that left her curious but unsatisfied.

I would enjoy going to church as a cultural immersion project, Schroder said. I didnt believe every word the priest was saying, but I found some universal meaning. But it didnt feel like mine.

After finding out her biological father was Jewish, Schroder said, I slowly started to dunk my toes into Jewish identity. At Cornell University, where she studied environmental science as an undergrad, a Jewish bone-marrow donation group came to campus and asked for a cheek swab; perhaps she could be a match for someone who needed a transplant.

This was a big moment for Schroder. A thing that is specifically Jewish applied directly and undeniably to me, she said.

And those moments kept coming.

After graduating from Cornell in 2010, she moved to Canticle Farm, a 24-person urban farm and living community in Oakland, where a housemate began inviting her to Shabbat dinners.

There was something about these dinners that did feel like mine, she said. I was like, Is my DNA activating? There was something about these Hebrew songs and sounds and the rituals that I really liked and that resonated with me that I had never experienced before.

In 2015, with a former Jewish boyfriend in tow, Schroder started going to musical Friday night Shabbat services at Temple Sinai in Oakland. The time she spent there pushed her to look for a more permanent Jewish community, which she found in 2017 when she joined a womens Rosh Hodesh circle in Berkeley. This year, she got involved with Wilderness Torah, a Berkeley-based nonprofit that promotes Earth-based Judaism.

As Schroder continued building her Jewish community and practice, she wanted to understand where her family was from. Four months ago, she ordered a 23andMe DNA kit, which provides an analysis of a persons genetic background. It also connects them with relatives who have used 23andMe and are in the companys fast-growing database.

When Schroders results came back, it said her ancestry was 49.9 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.

But the results gave her more than that. Her biological father had also done a 23andMe test, and he had opted in to be connected to other relatives.

Boom! There he is! Schroder said in recalling the moment his name popped up on her screen. It went from so big and far away to a concrete, real person.

She messaged him through 23andMe, and he responded a month later. He had made other sperm donations, he told her, but she was the first of his offspring to reach out.

Its this interesting dynamic of I know you, but I dont know you.

As the two continued to message each other, Schroder said that she could feel a visceral connection to him. I understand how his brain works, she said. His asides, how he goes on tangents. The way he closes threads and brings up information. Because my brain does the same thing. Its this interesting dynamic of I know you, but I dont know you.

With services like 23andMe becoming more popular, finding a surprise relative is also becoming more common. In the first of our Past Lives series, Portland resident Jennifer Ortiz was caught off guard when she found out from a DNA kit that her biological father was a Jewish man who lived in San Francisco.

Schroder met her biological father earlier this month when he was in San Jose for business. They spoke at a restaurant for four hours, sharing each others life stories. He shared that he lived in Portland with his wife and two kids. (He declined an interview request from J.)

He was super excited to meet me, Schroder said. He was a nice warm guy. It just felt validating. It felt like I got a sense of peace around it.

Now Schroder is thinking of either converting to Judaism or having an adult bat mitzvah. She has approached Jewish Gateways, a Berkeley-based organization that helps people discover Judaism regardless of their background. Rabbi Bridget Wynne, the agencys executive director, said she has heard many stories similar to Schroders. She said that it shows why an open and inclusive Jewish community, rather than a rigid and exclusive one, is so needed.

This discovery opens up a lot of questions, Wynne said of Schroders journey. I think its so important to find ways to help make people feel welcome. From my point of view, if they want to be Jewish, they have the right to explore and make a decision. I encourage people to not let other people say they arent Jewish.

Eva Orbuch, organizer of the Rosh Hodesh circle Schroder is part of, says she has seen Schroder go through a transformation. She was more uncertain before about who she was and her identity, Orbuch said. Now I see her owning Jewish spaces. Ive noticed a little more confidence and willingness to go in [to these spaces].

Orbuch said that Schroder is a pillar of the circles community.

She gathers people together. She shows up willing to be vulnerable and share herself. She is a seeker.

Its belonging, Schroder said simply. But its also a connection to something greater that feels authentic and personal to me. I can see my sense of self in time a little bit more.

Schroder said she now wants to do a pilgrimage to the countries 23andMe said her ancestors were from.

Shortly after Schroder met her biological father in San Jose, she sent him a text that read, I just wanted to express again how grateful and elated I am to have met up with you I didnt quite know what to expect and it turns out youre a sweet guy that I enjoy connecting with.

He responded with the same candor: Although I was not able to share in your wonderful upbringing for the first 32 years I hope to witness more of the next 64 years and beyond.

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She wanted to discover her Jewish roots. She ended up finding her biological father. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 3, 2019

JTA Escalating the legal dispute between Russia and the United States over the Schneerson collection of Jewish texts, prosecutors in Moscow sought an arrest warrant for an American rabbi.

The request for an international arrest warrant against Rabbi Shalom Dov-Ber Levine, the director and curator at the Central Chabad-Lubavitch Research Library, was reported on Wednesday by the news site MK. He is wanted for failing to return cultural property to Russia.

According to the report, the move is connected to seven manuscripts from the Schneerson library, a historic collection of 12,000 books and 50,000 documents named for Rabbi Joseph I. Schneerson, who led the Chabad Hasidic movement until his death in 1950.

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Russias state archive is holding the collection inside the Jewish Museum of Moscow. In 2013, a US judge ordered Russia to pay $50,000 a day in fines for failing to honor a 2010 ruling by the US District Court in Washington, DC, to hand over to the New York-based movement the entire library.

But Russia insists the library is part of its national heritage. In 2014, a Russian court demanded that the US Library of Congress hand back seven precious Jewish texts to Moscow and, in a tit-for-tat ruling, said it should pay a massive fine for every day it delays.

The request for an arrest warrant is over those seven books, which Chabad loaned in 1991 to the Library of Congress, MK reported.

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Russian prosecutors seek arrest of US rabbi in fight over Jewish manuscripts - The Times of Israel

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