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Israel sees highest COVID cases in months, Nazis express regret in new Netflix film, what the Yiddish 'Robinson Crusoe' teaches us, and remembering Dr. Ruth's mentor.
FROM THE FORWARD Rick Rosenthal became a professional Santa and opened a school for other Santas. Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. So we’ll try to keep this brief. (Wait, who are we kidding?)
Meet the Orthodox Jewish Santa who trains America’s Christmas performers.Rick Rosenthal runs the Northern Lights Santa Academy, where he hosts lawyers to advise on contracts and costumers to speak about sartorial choices. “As a Jew, it’s easy to do because it tells us that we’re supposed to be a light unto the nation,” Santa Rick said in a phone call from his home in the Atlanta neighborhood of Merry Hills — it’s actually called that — a largely Orthodox area with street names like Reindeer Drive and Christmas Lane. Read the story ➤
There’s a great new film — but is it Israeli or Palestinian or both? “Let It Be Morning” is already generating Oscar buzz, but it’s also courting controversy. The film’s identity — like those of its writers, cast and crew — cannot be defined solely by citizenship. “The term ‘Israeli film’ has no meaning,” said director Eran Kolirin. “Have you ever seen Scorsese going onstage to present ‘his American film’? Categorization is a fluid question.” Read the essay ➤
From a Budapest attic to the New York Knicks: A Holocaust survivor’s family journey: A new book tells three stories in parallel: a Hungarian woman’s escape from Nazi persecution; her son’s transformation from scrawny Romanian refugee to NBA player; and her grandson’s retracing of their footsteps in his European hoops career – which began in the first German state to put the Nazis in power. Read our Q&A with the author ➤
Wait, Robinson Crusoe wasn’t Jewish – was he? This month marks the 300th anniversary of the death of Alexander Selkirk, the Scottish sailor who served as inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe.” Defoe’s original novel was not seen as an ideal book for Jewish readers, but blended with elements from significantly altered Yiddish and German translations, a worthwhile pedagogical text was attained. Read the story ➤
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY 😷 There were 1,306 new COVID-19 cases on Monday in Israel, the highest daily caseload in two months. Government officials are meeting today to discuss new restrictions to stem the spread of the Omicron variant – including limiting gatherings and requiring proof of vaccination to go shopping. (Times of Israel)
🏫 The staff member at a Washington, D.C., elementary school that asked third-graders to reenact the Holocaust has been suspended. “I want to acknowledge the gravity of this poor instructional decision,” the principal of Watkins Elementary School, Scott Berkowitz, wrote in an email to parents. “Students should never be asked to act out or portray any atrocity, especially genocide, war, or murder.” (Algemeiner)
🎄 After a deadly 1917 explosion in the Canadian city of Halifax, a Jewish Bostonian organized a heroic relief effort – delivering medical personnel and supplies by train through a snowstorm. As a way of showing gratitude, the province of Nova Scotia has a tradition of sending one of its iconic spruces to be Boston’s official Christmas tree. More than 12,000 people attended this year’s tree lighting ceremony. (JTA)
🎥 Ten years in the making, a new documentary questions Germans about their role under the Third Reich. “I’m ashamed!” shouts a shaking former Nazi, adding that he had been “convinced that what Adolf did was right.” The film, “Final Account,” is now available on Netflix. (Jewish News of Britain)
📸 There are 55 million people in Myanmar. About 20 of them are Jewish. On a trip to Yangon, the country’s former capital, photojournalist Joanna Marchi stumbled across a synagogue and met the caretaker and his family, who help organize community events for Hanukkah and Purim. Marchi came back with this photo essay. (Vice)
Mazel tov ➤ To Senator Jon Ossoff and his wife, Alisha Kramer, on the birth of a baby girl, named Eva Beth.
Shiva call ➤ Shirley Zussman, a sex therapist who studied with Masters and Johnson, has died at 107. Dr. Ruth Westheimer called Zussman a “pioneer” and “role model” and noted the importance of her husband, who was a gynecologist, validating the work. “It gave it the legitimacy that sex therapists like me needed,” Westheimer said. “I wouldn’t be talking about orgasms if it wasn’t for Shirley.” (JTA)
And we’re also remembering Richard Rogers – a mensch of an architect full of whimsy, genius and morality – who died at 88. Read our appreciation ➤
FROM OUR KITCHEN In Yotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, “Shelf Love,” the award-winning Israeli chef rummages through your pantry for Mideast inspiration. It’s as if he’s saying, “Tell me what staple ingredients you have in your pantry, fridge or freezer, and I’ll tell you what to make.” Read our review and then try this sweet potato shakshuka >
But wait, there’s more… Our 10 best Jewish recipes of 2021 push beyond the obvious, add spice (sometimes literally, always figuratively) to routine, and make hard-times life much, much yummier. Former champ Yuri Foreman is now the ‘Vegan Boxing Rabbi,’ certifying kosher doughnuts.Five hundred years after the Inquisition, Spain finally has a vibrant kosher wine industry. ON THE CALENDAR On this day in history: Paul Winchell, an actor and ventriloquist, was born to Jewish immigrants on Dec. 21, 1922. He hosted several television shows during the 1950s and 1960s, including a prime-time series on NBC. His most famous dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff (shown above), are now in storage at the Smithsonian Institution. He was also an inventor, becoming the first person to build and patent a mechanical artificial heart.
Speaking of hearts … Also on this day in 1967, Louis Washkansky, a South African Jew, died 18 days after becoming the first to undergo a human-to-human heart transplant. The lessons doctors learned from his case have helped save countless lives.
Last year on this day, we reported that a residence hall at Rutgers would be named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
On the Hebrew calendar, it’s the 17th of Tevet, when Shearith Israel, the first New York synagogue, purchased a lot for its building in Lower Manhattan.
PHOTO OF THE DAY Pop open the app that Marvel released with the new Spider-Man film and you may notice a photo of a certain Yiddish publication on the newsstand. Our PJ Grisar got the behind-the-scenes story: The production company reached out to us last year, seeking a bit of hometown Yiddish flavor for Spider-Man’s New York. Our intrepid designer, Angelie Zaslavsky, helped to format the Yiddish type, and Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter translated.
––– Thanks to PJ Grisar and Louis Keene for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.
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