The redwood tree at the West Branch of the Berkeley Library that will have to be taken down. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel A towering redwood tree that was to be the focal point of the garden at the new West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was so damaged by the contractor that it will have […]
Afikomen Judaica
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses
New on 4th: Convert shoes GREEN SOLES On Fourth Street, the space vacated in January by A La Folie has been snapped up by Convert Shoes. The owners say they opened the store “to give our customers more of what they clearly want — sustainably made shoes that are simply great looking.” Brands include Timberland, Doc Marten, Keds, Seychelles, New […]
Posted inArts, Events
What is it with this new generation of Jewish writers?
Rebecca Spence If nothing else, Berkeley writer Rebecca Spence has chosen an irresistible title for her Sunday talk at Afikomen: Portnoy’s Restraint: How Jewish-American Writers Have Learned to Stop Kvetching (and Love Being Jewish) Spence, who has her MFA from Bennington College and worked as the West Coast correspondent for The Forward, is writing a […]
Posted inArts
A most unusual Haggadah on display in Berkeley
Illustration by Arthur Syzk During World War II the man who drew the most piercing caricatures of Adolf Hitler was himself a Jew who had escaped from Nazi-dominated Europe. Arthur Szyk, who was born in Poland in 1894 and who moved to the United States in 1941, drew international attention for his drawings that lampooned […]
Posted inArts, Business, Events
Why is that parsley sprig on the Seder plate anyway?
When Ira Steingroot started working at Cody’s Books in 1976, he noticed that the store only had a small collection of Jewish books. Since Passover was approaching, Steingroot decided to stock some more haggadot, the book Jews follow during the Passover Seder. That casual decision launched Steingroot on a 34-year quest to discover and understand […]
