From Diaspora to Jewish peoplehood — how an Israeli museum shifted its vision
As the division between Diaspora and Israeli Jews blurs, Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the Jewish People reimagines its mission.
burning man
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Israel’s Burning Man festival gets go-ahead
A Beersheba court ordered police to provide a permit for the annual Midburn event in the Negev but laid out rules about indecent exposure. More ▸
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Meet restaurateur Lisa Schroeder, Portland’s unofficial Jewish mother in chief
By Gil SheflerMother’s Bistro & Bar is a Jewish establishment more in concept than cuisine, devoted to that time-honored Mosaic tradition of mother worship. JTA’s Gil Shefler reports. More ▸
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Afterburn
By Ben HarrisIt’s been nearly two weeks now since I left the playa. The blog posts are up, the story is written, the video has gone live, and I’m about to embark on my next mission on Monday, to Mexico City. But I wanted to share a few parting reflections on the weirdness that is Burning Man,… More ▸
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Video of the Burn
By Ben HarrisTook a little longer than I had hoped, but after clearing the censors here, my video has gone live. I can reasonably attest that this is about the most explicit video of Burning Man that you will ever see from JTA. And given that, here’s the requisite disclaimer: Adult Content. Viewer Discretion Advised. Later this… More ▸
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Amid hedonistic indulgence, Jews search for meaning at Burning Man
By Ben HarrisBen Harris, aka “The Wandering Jew,” reports on Jewish life at Burning Man, an annual festival that attracts more than 40,000 people, or “burners,” to a post-apocalyptic landscape in the Nevada wilderness for an experiment in temporary community and radical self-sufficiency. More ▸
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The world’s largest havdala candle
By Ben HarrisSaturday night is the culmination of Burning Man, the moment that gives the event its name, when they actually burn the Man. It’s the only time virtually all the 40,000-plus residents of Black Rock City are in the same place and focused on the same thing. The man in question is an enormous wooden, um,… More ▸
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Guest Post: The Wandering Jewess on art and spirituality at Burning Man
By Ben HarrisMy companion for the week at Burning Man was the Wandering Jewess, who as the director of the Six Points Fellowship, knows a thing or two about art. Here’s her take on the Burn’s artistic offerings and their relationship to Jewish experience: One way to characterize Burning Man is as an art festival. When I’m… More ▸
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Burning Shabbat
By Ben HarrisThe high point of activities for the week at Sukkat Shalom was easily the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service. With all of the debauchery on offer on the playa, it was refreshing to have a holy experience, even if the largely traditional service did have a distinct Burning Man quality to it: bare breasted women… More ▸
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Jewish mothers and burning men
By Ben HarrisWe had our first day out on the playa, the dry lakebed that is the site of Burning Man. I realize I haven’t fully explained exactly what Burning Man is, which may be because I’ve largely felt inadequate to the task. Painting a picture in words of this otherwordly place seems daunting mostly because metaphors… More ▸
