(JTA) – Imagine a village full of Borats, and you’re close to realizing the absurdity of Chelm. The real-life Polish shtetl, a popular subject of Jewish folklore and Yiddish authors including Isaac Bachevis Singer, took on a mythic identity as a village...

“A Jewish joke is more than just a funny story, for it often has a message for the listener. “First you laugh at a Jewish joke or quip. Then, against your will, you suddenly fall silent and thoughtful. And that is because Jews are so frequently jesting...

On May 1, 2019, Glamour magazine's West Coast Editor and St. Louis native Jessica Radloff posted this picture on Facebook, from the set of "The Big Bang Theory." "This is all I’m allowed to...

(JTA) On Friday the 13th we typically watch for planes falling out of the sky and elevators crashing and relationships falling apart. Americans are so spooked by the number 13 that some buildings even skip the 13th floor. But if we lived in Israel today,...

During Covid, "pandemic pups" became all the rage. More than 23 million American households — nearly 1 in 5 nationwide — adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). My social...

No offense to Mrs. Maisel, but Sam Fox on FX’s “Better Things” is the Jewish icon we need to see on TV. The final season of the show, about a working actor and single mom to three teenagers, displays all the traits we love in Jewish women while...

Turning 40 for an actor can sometimes open up their repertoire to new genres or challenges as a performer. But Seth Rogen is already there, existing in an area of versatility that I am not sure some of his fans and critics know enough about. The Jewish...

According to the YIVO, the Institute of Jewish Research, the term “Yiddish” is derived from the German word for “Jewish.” The most accepted (but not the only) theory of the origin of Yiddish is that it began to take shape by the 10th century...

(New York Jewish Week) — “Funny Girl” is so deeply ingrained in Beanie Feldstein’s life that she doesn’t even remember the first time she watched the movie. “From my developmental psychology classes in college, I think I remember that...

Dear Jewish Light reader, Please help me put an end to a mystery. I'll just say it straight up, I think the kid, featured on the cover of my very own Maxwell House Haggadah, is now grown up and is a major Hollywood star. Many of his fans simply know...

(JTA) — Rabbi Yael Buechler conceived of her latest product a whole year ago, after planning ways to make the Passover seder fun for her two young sons. But it wasn’t until she started promoting the matzah pajamas she designed that she decided...

I ran across a book today, that I just had to tell you about. It's written by Daniel Klein, who figured that Yiddish needed an update to make it more conducive in modern times.  He penned "Schmegoogle: Yiddish Words for Modern Times," which contains...