Sept. 8, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract? Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something Sept. 5, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: What does 'doing the right thing' entail? Caroline B. Glick: The master strategist Sept. 4, 2008 Ron Kampeas: Biden, Palin take lead in clash on Mideast issues Bruce Dancis: With humor as their weapon, the Three Stooges took on Hitler Sept. 3, 2008 Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: Productive school years don't just happen The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Quick lamb stew serves up flavors of India Sept. 2, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Costly Advice Caroline B. Glick: Calling Israel's bluff JWisdom: Wandering in Wonder by Rabbi Mordechai Becher August 29, 2008 Rabbi Berel Wein: 20/20 sightlessness Caroline B. Glick: When history is not repeated JWisdom: Blessed or Cursed: It's Really Up to You by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky August 28, 2008 Steve Lipman: A Comeback for the 'Jewish Jordan' Jeffrey Weiss: Researcher reports 'intriguing' diabetes breakthrough August 27, 2008 Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald: Removing the perfectionist's mask The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Nunn: Summer harvest linguine JWisdom:: The Missing Link in Spiritual Life by Rabbi David Aaron August 26, 2008 Yaffa Ganz: Grandma gets lessons in staying cool Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: The Dems' 'soft' jihadist JWisdom:: Today: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Plague of indifference August 25, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: A friend is bearing a silly grudge from a supposed wrong. What recourse do I have? Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes JWisdom:: The knowledge you need to overcome your insecurities by Malka Schulman August 22, 2008 Rabbi Berel Wein: Life's essential ingredient Caroline B. Glick: Dominos anyone? JWisdom:: Actually, Do Sweat the Small Stuff! by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky August 21, 2008 Today in Biblical History by Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Popularization of Kabbalah: 20 Menachem-Av 1558 CE Jonathan Rosenblum: Lessons from the Beyond JWisdom: : The Olympian within is rooting for you -- yes, you! –- to go for the gold August 20, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: Misleading Platform Platitudes The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: America's Defense of the Jews --- Until WWII by Rabbi Nosson Scherman August 19, 2008 Dennis Prager: If the Almighty doesn't exist Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Obama's Islamist problem has nothing to do with his upbringing JWisdom: Think your life is messed up? by Rabbi David Aaron August 18, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Business with Friends Diana West: Roars About Russia, Bare Whispers About Islam JWisdom: Relationship agony: The real cause by Malka Schulman August 15, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: To love the Divine Caroline B. Glick: Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man JWisdom: The Truly Righteous Don't Demand Entitlements by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky August 14, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Confessions of broken spirit Libby Lazewnik: The Numbers Game JWisdom: Six Questions You'll Be Asked in Heaven? - Uh - Let's Just Take One for Now! by Gavriel Aryeh Sanders August 13, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: Georgia should be on their minds The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Go Greek: Pair flavorful lamb kebabs with a hearty salad JWisdom: Human hybrids aren't science fiction by Rabbi David Aaron August 12, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bless us Daniel Pipes: The West's Islamist Infiltrators JWisdom: From Sadness to Gladness: The Route from Tisha b'Av to Rosh Hashana by Rabbi Mordechai Becher August 11, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: A Jewish view on fair pricing Caroline B. Glick: Ignoring failure in Gaza JWisdom: 'Communication' Is Not The Answer! by Malka Schulman August 7, 2008 Rabbi David Gutterman: A Continuing Story With a Sustaining Goal Rabbi Berel Wein: Mourning and morning JWisdom: Yes, we are still in exile by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky August 6, 2008 David Ashenfelter: Government made military engineer's life a living hell because of his faith, Defense Department report documents Jonathan Tobin: Speak the Truth; Defeat the Lies JWisdom: Jewish Spirituality: Fusion or Confusion? by Rabbi David Aaron August 5, 2008 Chris Leppek: Church/state wall beginning to crumble? Paul Greenberg: Exit Olmert (no encore, please) JWisdom: Serenity: Make the commitment by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (Read by Gavriel Sanders) August 4, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Am I taking advantage of another's psychological quirk? Andrew Silow-Carroll: A black and a Jew walk into the White House… JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: Edward R. Morrow visits the ‘living dead’ by Rabbi Nosson Scherman March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review March 2, 2004 /9 Adar, 5764 NEW PURIM PARTY MUSIC! By Paul Wieder http://www.jewishworldreview.com | The main theme of Purim, says the Megillah, is "v'nahapachu," or "turnabout." And the main activity of Purim is… making noise! So what better time to explore some of the new Jewish music that is turning the (turn)tables and standing music's Hamans on their triangular ears: The Rabbinical School Dropouts ear-popping CD, Cosmic Tree. The standout track is its irrepressible opener, "Dung Gate." The Arabic-tinged big-band sound is made by, well, a big band: 10 musicians on 18 instruments, ranging from a trombone to a tabla to a toy piano. Fun is the objective, as evidenced by the titles themselves: the swinging-in-the-shuk "Mosquito from Megiddo," the lounge jazz of "Nuclear Jet Set," and spacey tango "Warp to Level Three." The Dropouts record on John Zorn's envelope-shredding Tzadik label. So does Paul Shapiro, whose album Midnight Minyan is interested in exploring traditional Jewish liturgy through jazz. There are no vocals, but you will find yourself doing mental karaoke to "Ma Lecha Hayam" from the Hallel, "Sim Shalom," and "Aitz Chaim He." Shapiro experiments more with these melodies than say, Jon Simon, but so ends up in more dissonant territory. He also plays some niggunim not often thought of as songs: Haftarah blessings, the Misheberach, and the Amidah. TO ORDER ... OR SAMPLE THE AUDIO Rabbinical School Dropouts: Cosmic Tree Paul Shapiro: Midnight Minyan Zoom Golly: Let My People Go-Go Wally Brill: The Covenant Zohar: Onethreeseven YIDcore: The Great Chicken Soup Caper E.P. David Krakauer: Live in Krakow Klezmer Madness! Click on title. Sales help fund JWR Back in 2000, a DJ known as Zoom Golly put out an elctronica-dance album called Let My People Go-Go. Along with Wally Brill's The Covenant from the previous year, it opened up the idea of laying Jewish vocals (in Brill's case, those of classic cantors) over electronica tracks. Go-Go features Golly's booming voice and is the more dance-able of the two. The songs on it are evenly mixed between Israeli folk songs and Jewish traditional; Golly weaves them with reggae, disco, Latin, and other rhythms and both acoustic and electronic instruments. The sound is that of a kid happily discovering which of his old toys work with the new ones he just got for Chanukah. Somewhere between Brill's work and Golly's is that of Zohar's onethreeseven. Not to be confused with the American-Jewish band Zohar (from Putumayo's Jewish Odyssey), this UK outfit twines traditional cantorials like Yoselle Rosenblatt's with sophisticated electronica tracks. Where Zohar's work expands on Brill's is in the use of modern and non-Jewish singers like Zehava Ben and Oum Kalthoum, and in their cutting and pasting these vocal tracks themselves. The album is also more subtle than either Zoom Golly's or Brill's, but matches them in playfulness. Still, in that area, few can match the rambunciousness of YIDcore, the Australian Jewish punk band. Their second release, The Great Chicken Soup Caper E.P. is more of their speaker-immolating desecrations of favorites from the Jewish holiday and campfire songbooks. The top-of-the-lungs delivery, the faster-than-speed guitars, the turn-that-junk-down drums… this is a Spinal Tap done by a Jewish doctor (in fact, the lead singer is a lawyer). The last track is a live cut of "To Life" done at the legendary CBGB's, so they have "cred," too. If punk is "from" that club, then David Krakauer is from Krakow, and that is exactly where he cut his most recent album, called, simply enough, Live in Krakow. Krakauer, a veteran of the Klezmatics, plays klezmer clarinet. But his music is anything but old-fashioned; his band, Klezmer Madness!, features an electric guitar- and on this concert, he was accompanied by samples and beatbox provided by turntable prodigy SoCalled Krakauer switches between klezmer bulgars and street beats, and sometimes combines the two. Less than an hour's drive from Auschwitz, Krakauer summons up music ancient and anguished, futuristic and freylach. Am Yisrael chai, indeed. Purim is a time when, as a great Jewish poet has said, "The first one now/ Will later be last… For the loser now/ Will be later to win." It is a day of masks, surprise endings and turnabout. So this Purim, surprise yourself and your guests with some of the endless supply of innovative Jewish music. You just may end up enjoying the whole megillah. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Paul Wieder is a public relations associate at the Jewish United Fund and a columnist for JUF News. Contact the author or the magazine by clicking here. © 2004, Paul Wieder