We began last week...

Sorry, our bad, it was last week that Genesis was read. Big whoops!

New beginnings & Invisible Touch & Phil Collins (clearly not a Jewish name)

This week Jews all over the world start reading the Torah from its beginning. In Hebrew, it is called b'reishit. The common English translation for this is Genesis.

However you call it, the biblical creation story is recounted, complete with the world created in 6 days followed by the first man and the woman that was fashioned out of his rib. So the story goes. For any of you with a problem with that unbelievable-sounding story, just remember you gotta dig deeper. Not a single thing there is quite literal. But we ain't no rabbis or nothin'.

Getting back to Genesis, naturally we thought of one of our first concerts in the 80s to see Phil Collins' band (aptly named Genesis). Take a listen to their "Invisible Touch." Is it possible that Phil is belting out lyrics describing the biblical Eve? She tempted Adam, was mysterious, he fell for her, and they got kicked out of the Garden of Eden forever.



Sorry Chava (the Hebrew name for Eve), we think you weren't the best heroinne in Jewish history.

Collins is clearly not a Jewish name (wasn't that what Whole Phamily was originally about? Jewish family names?), but in a way yes you are part of the Whole Phamily too in that we think "Invisible Touch" could have something to do with the creation story, and that your band's name clearly comes from our tradition.

Finally, here is a shout out to our friend Noah who is moving on to new beginnings of his own.

Love Song to Islamic Fundamentalists (From a Jew)

We're all about the big picture, one love and one family here at the Whole Phamily.  We are all connected and want good things for our own families.

Check out Pesach Stadlin's earnest song about this very idea.

Look! There she is. Just ask the Bernsteins.

It's not a bird and it's not a plane.  It's the moon, and she's right up there waiting for you to notice her.  Recently we met a very bright young 3rd year student at the Law School  (as if there's only one) who was wrongfully convinced that the ecocult which he'd ultimately like to establish will be based around solar energy.  "The sun's bright and full of energy," he extorted as we departed our conversation on the steps of a summer camp dining hall.  Au contrare, my friend, how mistaken you are.

Lunar power is where it's at.  And she's all woman.  Any thinking woman will tell you that just as the moon waxes and wanes (gets bigger and smaller for the lunar-jargon challenged among us), so too do women have their highs and lows.  Call it what you want:  soul sistas, girl power, or women's intuition...it's all the same deal.  The moon is cyclical. What goes around comes around.  Isn't that what life is all about?

Some tunes to recall at this point include Sir Elton John's"Circle of Life."  Even Disney is capable of words of wisdom.



We also recall  Harry Chapin's "All my Life's a Circle."


Finally let us always remember Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game" which, it is claimed in this YouTube's comments section, was written with Neil Young.  Don't doubt that one.



We have the moon to thank for those.

The moon may be smaller than the sun, but she's a lot smarter and got her head screwed on straight.  She ain't the one in the news on a seemingly daily basis.  With the current energy crisis, the words climate change, global warming and greenhouse gases are all connected to the sun and enough to drive any middle American batty.  Just the other day, the White House said no thanks to solar panels.  Uh oh, we're in big trouble.

If you are a girl or woman, stare at the moon for as long as you can every night.  Once we locate the moon, that's when we usually say, "look, there she is!"  For Jewish women, it is a way of participating in the celebration of Rosh Chodesh, the new month in the Jewish lunar-based calendar.  At this moment, the moon is waxing gibbous, getting fuller and fuller to that point next week when she's a glorious full moon and Jews the world over will rejoice during the harvest festival of Sukkot  (note to self:  check out sukkah city), also known as the "time of our happiness"  (remember our blog post referring to Joy at its end?   Same deal).

If you want to get all astrological and womyn and some say wiccan about it, you can even check out We'Moon.  How interesting that their publisher is called Mother Tongue Ink.

In Yiddish, mother tongue is rightfully referred to as  mamaloshen.  Now that's something to talk about.

Just ask Inigo Montoya.



Mandy Patinkin will belt it out in the mother tongue at Queensboro Community College on September 26th.   Maybe the Bernsteins want tickets? 

Talkin' Hava Negiliah Blues

Who hasn't done a hora to hava nagila at bar and bat mitzvahs in the United States?  It is an unavoidable Jewish American cliche.  Over the years, we have grown to prefer other, less-trite Jewish songs, but just when we thought it was out of our lives...

... wouldn't ya know, along has come a documentary on the song.




While they didn't say it by name, hava nagila is, essentially, based on a chassidic nigun, or wordless religous melody invoking prayer and spirituality.
Spare yourself the 9 minutes.  Despite the much-appreciated academic analysis of the song,

we'll stick with Bob Dylan's rendition.

Shake Sugaree and how nice it is to be with your brothers and sisters, including Matisyahu

Not to be confused with (fellow MOT) Danny Meyer's Shake Shack (no doubt:  treif and not kosher, but you can learn how to make their Shack Burger at home), tonight, in memory of Jerry Garcia (he died 15 years ago, August 9, 1995) we were listening to the Dead's Shake Sugaree.




 I got to thinking how the Dead sang about themes such as American love, loss, and heartbreak, and how this song is connected deep deep within our roots.

Elizabeth Cotten wrote the original Shake Sugaree. This woman knew how to sing and write the blues.  She was a real southern church-goin' mama. 

Here is a nice blog about Elizabeth Cotten.
She must've been connected in some way to the generations of African American women who followed the drinking gourd and had wisdom from their mamas and just by being connected to the earth.

Speaking of being connected to the earth, The Topsy Turvy Bus,

we have heard, plans to be in the lots for the 8/17/10 Phish show at Jones Beach theater.  This will be a great time to learn what the Jewish Climate Change Campaign Tour was all about.  Or maybe what Teva Learning Center is all about (shh...this visit to enlighten Jews and the world about caring for the earth is officially off the books and not really a Teva event...I mean, where is the bus even to be found on the home page?  That's another story...)  We could always chat with the folks about Eden Village Camp.  Maybe we could give each other a hug.  Or be nice.  Or just Speak Nicely. 


Here's a little history of the bus, with an interivew with Ben Cohen from Ben & Jerry's, at the end.



Or maybe, before the show, we can hang out in front of the bus and sing a good old fashioned hinay matov, arm in arm, camp-style.



Now if we could only beat-box like Matisyahu, we'd be golden..

Shwekey

For those of us familiar with Ashkenazic names, Shwekey wouldn't initially strike you as Jewish.  But if you're outside this mold, and familiar with the Syrian community, this name will be as familiar to you as kibbeh and ma'moul.

Probably the most public person with this name today is the Israeli-born, New Jersey-based Yaakov Shwekey .  A Jewish singer-songwriter, Shwekey has played at venues around the world, including the Beacon Theater in New York last December.  We have no clue as to the origin of his name, but would love to know.  According to his Wikipedia page, originally the surname was Choueka and his father is of Egyptian and Syrian background.

a poster promoting a performance in France

We're not quite sure if he's our style, but this performance with Yonatan Razel offers a taste.



The whole reason you read this far?

Click to 2:57 for a hilarious interlude.

Kentridge or Kantorowitz, a fine artist indeed

William Kentridge, a South African artist (and a Jew), has hit the scene in New York.  Currently, you can see his work at MoMa and the Met, and starting May 2nd, at the Jewish Museum.

How's that for a triple whammy?

www.davidkrutpublishing.com

Kentridge's work ranges from original opera to film to collage to sculpture to performance art.  He grew up in a liberal Jewish family in South Africa who was involved in the liberal elite and fighting apartheid.  The nose that is featured on the sets of his opera "The Nose," Kentridge has said, is inspired by his own Ashkenazic Jewish nose.

And what about the name?

Kantorowitz comes from the same place as Kantrowitz and even Kantor, Cantor and various other spelling variations.  Way back when their family in Poland or Russia were probably cantors, or hazzanim.  So belt it out, Mr. Kentridge.  You should be singing your halleluyahs that you've got such a fine showing in NYC this spring.

Haim = Life or Home?

This morning we learned of the tragic death of Corey Haim, the child actor who reached fame and glory in the '80s.  We will forever love Lucas.  As Jews, we wish his family great comfort among the mourners of Zion.

Corey Haim during the '80s

Jewlicious has presumed that his last name meant "life."

While the Hebrew word chayim translates as life (as in L'chayim), it is also possible that Haim could have been from the Yiddish word, heim, which means home (as in heimish - - homey, cozy - -  or alter heim, referring to the old country/home).

Perhaps Haim was shortened from Haimovitch, meaning the "son of a Hayim".  This discussion talks about a Haimovitch family who emigrated from Romania to Montreal and since changed their name to Haines.  Perhaps the Haines and Haim family are related, since Corey was raised in Canada.  Unless Bernie Haim, Corey's father, wants to chime in here, we'll likely be in the dark.

For now, we're motivated to finally watch Lost Boys, which we somehow missed in 1987.

Aaronson is also a Cohen

Riding the Katz and Cohen wave, let's talk about the last name Aaronson (interestingly, this week's Torah portion T'zaveh, discusses at length the priestlihood).  By obvious definition, it means "son of Aaron."  Let's go back historically and look at the original Aaron.  He was the brother of Moses, who led the Children of Israel from Egypt out of slavery (remember the Passover story where frogs were here, frogs were there, frogs were jumping everywhere?).  Aaron was selected as the first High Priest (in Hebrew, kohen gadol).   It would make sense, then, that the descendents of Aaron are also from the priestly lineage and are cohanim as well.

There are, indeed, Aronsons and Aaronsons who are not Jewish, and come from Norweigan backgrounds.

We don't know if composer Jack Aaronson is Jewish, but it sure looks like his gigs down in the West Village in NYC are lots of fun. 



If belting out current Broadway tunes is your thing, then pop in on a Tuesday night and let us know how it goes!

Marie's Crisis Cafe
59 Grove Street
New York, NY
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