Applications to LABA East Bay 2021 cohort are open!

Need inspiration as an artist and a cohort of culture-makers to surround you in 2021?  Consider applying to LABA East Bay by (new date) November 16, 2021 by clicking here! LABA East Bay is a non-religious, Jewish house of study and culture laboratory  which uses classic Jewish texts to

Inspired 5781

10 Tishrei, 5781 From Dan Schifrin I love how at times of crisis, artists and institutions can come together to keep us sane. Four amazing Jewish artists from the Asylum Arts network were commissioned to offer a moment of inspiration for the High Holidays, and I plan to dig

Jonah

9 Tishrei, 5781 As Bay Area artists, we are fortunate for many things, including the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life (this image of Jonah is housed @themagnes).  Related to Jonah, compiled by @jewishboston, click here for a tour through some “ridiculous representations” of Jonah and the Whale.

Behold as Clay

8 Tishrei, 5781 From Josh Ladon, LABA East Bay Lead Teacher My favorite liturgical poem from the High Holiday liturgy is from the Kol Nidrei service on Erev Yom Kippur. It is called Ki Hinei Kachomer, “Behold as Clay.” The poem is ripe with images of human creativity (the

Pick Yourself Up

7 Tishrei, 5781 From Bruce Bierman I love this song.  Music by composer Jerome Kern (‘Showboat’) and lyricist Dorothy Fields (‘Annie Get Your Gun’) both first generation Jews of immigrant parents. The song was written in 1936, 6 years into the Great Depression.    I remember a story from

After the Rain

6 Tishrei, 5781 From Marika Brussel I saw this duet on stage and was moved – Arvo Part (the music) and the magic of the dancers, but it was redone and filmed outside, right after 9/11.  For me, this piece makes me want to savor every moment of life,

The Distance by Harvey Shapiro

5 Tishrei, 5781 From Jake Marmer “The Distance” by Harvey Shapiro Because this poem is short it is easy to memorize and carry with/in me, as I do, especially during the holiday season, whether I go to a synagogue or am elsewhere. The poem carves out a space between

Hard Times Ain’t Gonna Rule My Mind

4 Tishrei, 5781 From Sarah Wolfman-Robichaud, JCC East Bay Director of Public Programs and LABA East Bay Program Director This song.  It’s been a lullaby to my children that I scrawled on the side of my nursing chair so I wouldn’t forget the words during my infant-stage insomnia, a