the body
The Whole BodyMonday, December 17, 2012 by Viva Hammer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
My rabbinic father-in-law and my lay leader mother agree on one thing: no body piercing. Ears, nose, and bellybutton, all are sacred property on loan from God.
Krav MagaThursday, October 4, 2012 by Joseph Isaac Lifshitz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The year was 1987 when the Intifada started. Just after few months after I had joined a Jerusalem judo club, our instructor told us he was going to make a change in our practice sessions: we would now divide our classes between judo and krav maga.
Happy Yom Kippur to You?Tuesday, September 25, 2012 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
"Happy" is certainly not the first word that comes to mind for most of us when we describe our Yom Kippur experience. After all, the Torah commands us to afflict ourselves on this day (Leviticus 23:26-31).
What is Jewish Dance?Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by Walter Zev Feldman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For readers interested in the development of folk dance and, to a lesser extent, modern dance in Israel, Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance, edited by Judith Brin Ingber, a dance scholar who has written widely on Israeli dance, is a valuable resource.
Jumping with DanceThursday, October 28, 2010 by Margot Lurie | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
"I don't like that people think Israel: war, guns, army. This doesn't really color who we are." Thus speaks Ohad Naharin, artistic director of the Batsheva dance company, which recently completed a triumphantly successful round of performances in New York. To tell the story, and the significance, of modern dance in Israel is indeed to add a bright and distinctive hue to the "color" both of the state and of its cultural achievements, among which Batsheva occupies a place of shining honor.
Editors' Picks
The Only Ancient Jewish Male Hair Ever Found James Tabor, Taborblog. “Lice-free, and trimmed or cut evenly . . . The length of the hair was medium to short, averaging 3-4 inches. The color was reddish.”
The Contenders Aaron Kalman, Times of Israel. Since the first games of the modern era, Jews have stood on the podium in every Olympic gathering. Meet this year’s Jewish Olympians (save the Israeli delegates).
The Game of Their Lives Ofer Aderet, Haaretz. Think Jews can't be Olympic champions? A new exhibit celebrating 19 Jewish athletic stars—from a matador to a fencer—says otherwise.
The First Lady , YouTube. Even after losing family and key years to the Holocaust, Agnes Keleti became the most successful Jewish woman in Olympic history and “the foundation stone of gymnastics in Israel.” (Video)
A Story with Two Twists Kate Connolly, Los Angeles Times. Hitler blocked Jewish high-jumper Gretel Bergmann’s participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She was replaced on the team by an athlete of ambiguous gender—and the gold went to a Hungarian Jew.
The Star of Israel , J-Grit. When boxer Daniel Mendoza beat the "Bath butcher" in 1787, he was "brought back to London by a vast horde of jubilant supporters who carried lighted torches and sang 'See the Conquering Hero Comes.'"
Lifting Britain's Spirits Jim White, Daily Telegraph. Found weighing barely 80 pounds in Theresienstadt, Ben Helfgott went on to become an Olympic weightlifter for Great Britain: "I so wanted to win a medal to say thank you to the country that saved me."
Maccabiah! , International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. With little encouragement and not a small amount of ridicule, 15-year-old Yosef Yekutieli spent a decade developing the idea of a Jewish Olympics.