Volume 67, Issue 8

From the Depths of the Creative Religious Soul
Mima’amakim Fosters Community of Jewish Artists
by Tzvi Kahn

Of course, it’s impossible to say whether the author of the 130th Psalm ever envisioned that its opening words, “From the depths I call out to you, O God,” would constitute the title, underlying philosophy, and modus operandi of a journal like Mima’amakim, which labels itself a forum for “Creative Expression on the Jewish Religious Experience.”

French Department Play a Success
For Second Straight Year
by Ruben Seth Fogel

Following in the footsteps of its successful 2001 production of Pique-nique en campagne, the French Department of Yeshiva College – under the direction of Assistant Professor of French Dr. Holly Haahr – undertook an ambitious endeavor this academic year in seeking to adapt Jean-Claude Grumberg’s play Dreyfus to the small stage.

Here Lie Al Hirschfeld (99) and the
Art World (’03) R.I.P.
by Menachem Wecker

To say that the art world has lost a giant, albeit a gentle one who never wielded the pen as abusive lance but instead as sympathetic microscope, is an understatement.  Al Hirschfeld was so much more than a genius; he was an artist.  A St. Louis boy who made it big in New York, the artist rose to the occasion from a house without gas, electricity or running water to the razzle-dazzle halls of Broadway, in which he watched more shows than any person ever has, or likely will. 

What Jews do on Christmas:
David Broza Live in NYC
by Zev Nagel

Jews have nothing to do on Christmas Eve.  While Americans spend the evening with family members and Santa Claus, Jews can only watch and try to ignore them.
Until now.  Last Christmas eve, Israeli pop star David Broza catered to Jews with another sold-out performance at the 92nd St. Y in Manhattan, debuting his new CD, “It’s All or Nothing,” and showcasing his most popular songs of the past 20 years.

Embracing Differences Between Faiths
by Jamie S. Hirsch

In his 1996 book, “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” Samuel Huntington argues, “World politics is being reconfigured along cultural and civilizational lines.  In this world the most pervasive, important and dangerous conflicts will [be]… between peoples belonging to different cultural entities.”

Table Tips - A Culinary Must!
by Jessica Russak

Darna is a must! I normally build up to that point, but this time I wanted to lay it all out on the table right from the start. Located on the trendy Upper West Side, Darna is a restaurant that exudes the essence of Morocco, from its walls to its food.

Magical Drawings and Sketches:
Leonardo at the Met
By Menachem Wecker

I am fairly certain that I do not overstep my bounds by saying that Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman, foremost of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current exhibitions, is one of, if not the best, exhibit I have seen in my entire life.  The Met has outdone itself, much like it did with its recent, wonderful collection of Richard Avedon’s work.

Are Chrysanthemums Perchance
More Real than Skulls?
“Snuff Films,” Suicide, and Impressionism
by Menachem Wecker

Visitors to a Berlin (only in Germany…) arts center confused a 24-year-old suicidal woman with an actress playing an artsy performance piece.  Failing to differentiate between a very disturbed bohemian who had leapt from a window to her demise and a design piece, the viewers fell to the pothole of many a modern art institution and stumbled about the hazy barrier between art and death:

Poetry
Sanitized
by Joshua G. Pollack

Floating like a dandelion, descending along on its white plume
The soldiers looked up to it like sunflowers looking to the sun
The metallic cylinder, an oatmeal box, but definitely no Quaker
Floating eyes watching above, an Old Testament G-d for a new age
From the air the soldiers look like daisies, daisies about to be cut

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