arts & Life
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The tit herliter Haggadah:
Art. history and Commentary
PASSOVER from page 59
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CHRIS BARASH
Pictures by
ALESSANDRA
SACHAROPUL O
At its core, the Schechter
Haggadah: Art, History and
Commentary (Schechter Institute
of Jewish Studies; $40) written by
Dr. Joshua Kulp with illuminated
illustrations edited by Prof. David
Golinkin, is a beautifully illustrated
complete Haggadah. But it also
is so much more. The Schechter
Haggadah follows the historical
development of the seder's lit-
urgy over the past 2,000 years.
From the development of the "Mah
Nishtanah" to why we use horserad-
ish to represent maror, Kulp infused
his scholarly research with engag-
ing meaning. ModernTribe.com .
Children's storybook favorite Eric
Kimmel (The Chanukah Guest, Hershel
and the Hanukkah Goblins) has writ-
ten something for kids a bit older: In
Scarlett and Sam: Escape from Egypt
(Kar-Ben; $5.95), readers ages 6-9 can
follow bickering twins Scarlett and Sam
from the seder table to the ancient
Egyptian desert, thanks to Grandma
Mina's time-traveling carpet. So, they
team up with Moses, Aaron and Miriam
to help free the slaves. But, of course,
the story does not turn out as planned.
Area Barnes & Noble stores (bn.com ).
Sweetly illustrated by Alessandra
Psacharopulo, Is It Passover Yet? by Chris
Barash (Albert Whitman & Co.; $16.99) is a
picture book that brings to life the richness
of a family preparing for Passover from a
child's perspective. Cleaning house, setting
out the good dishes, filling our homes with
family and the delicious smells of kugel
and sweet matzah cake and cinnamon"
create memories of togetherness and free-
dom. Area Barnes & Noble stores (bn.com ).
•
•
• • •
In Let's Go Free with Miri & Tzvi
Children's Haggadah (Feldheim; $19.99),
colorful and approachable
storybook-style illustrations by Devorah
Benedict are made even more relate-
able and engaging with graphic comic
book-style quote bubbles. Younger
seder participants follow Miri and Tzvi
through the story of Passover and will
root for them to escape Egypt. All illus-
trations are based on Torah, Midrash
and commentaries. Feldheim.com .
Celebrity Jews
I
Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
A LA MODE IN ISRAEL
A couple of weeks ago, Dave
Gahan, the front man for Brit
New Wave band Depeche Mode,
made a sur-
prise visit to
Israel. He was
there to attend
the Jewish
f.-
wedding of
his son, Jack
Gahan, 27, to
Israeli native
Dave and Jack
Sigal Mamis.
Gahan
(It is virtually
certain, given
Israeli marriage laws, that Jack
Gahan converted to Judaism.)
60
April 2 • 2015
====
MOJNah,
WiTALIV-0
...[P
Devorah Benedict
Gahan met Mamis following a
Depeche Mode concert in Tel
Aviv in 2009. It was the second
live appearance by the band
in Israel, where they are very
popular.
Side note: Radiohead guitarist
Jonny Greenwood is married to
an Israeli, as is reggae musician
Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob
Marley. Both Radiohead and
Marley have played in Israel.
Also, reports are breaking that
Kanye West and his partner, Kim
Kardashian, plan to visit Israel
and Jordan during mid-April, but
no concert is planned.
AT THE MOVIES
Opening this week: Danny
Collins stars Al Pacino as an
aging rock musician: A super-
star in the '70s, he now coasts
The Baseball H aggada
A Festival of Freedom
h
and S p
rilwrim
15 Innings
e
If you've got baseball lovers (of any
age) attending your seder (or need to
revive your school's model seder), this
one's for you: The Baseball Haggadah: A
Festival of Freedom and Springtime in
15 Innings by Rabbi Sharon G. Forman
(Sharon Forman; $10.95). With Moses as
the team captain of the Israelites and
Pharaoh heading up the Taskmasters,
this Haggadah packages the story of the
Exodus as an exciting game of baseball.
Amazon.com .
on his fame, is a chronic wom-
anizer and a heavy drug user.
However, when Collins' manager
(Christopher Plummer) gives
him a 40-year-old letter writ-
ten to him by John Lennon,
Collins decides to change his
ways and reconnect with his
long-estranged son (Bobby
Cannavale). The screenplay is
by Dan Fogelman, 43 (Crazy,
Stupid, Love), who makes his
directorial debut with this film.
The documentary The
Wrecking Crew played Detroit
in 2013; an enhanced version
is now available On Demand
and on iTunes. The film title
refers to a large group of Los
Angeles-based studio musicians
who played behind many of the
biggest rock/pop artists of the
1960s and '70s. Sometimes they
provided all the instrumenta-
tion (although credit was often
elusive). Their name was coined
by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
drummer Hal Blaine, 86 (born
Chaim Zelmon Belsky), whose
35,000 recordings include the
drumming on "Good Vibrations."
Blaine is interviewed in the film,
along with many other dual
"tribe and crew" members,
including jazz/rock pianist Don
Randi, 79 (born Don Schwartz)
and guitarist Carol Kaye, 79,
unique in being a top female
studio musician. A convert to
Judaism, Kaye's musical credits
include playing guitar on Richie
Valens' original "La Bamba" and
backing some of the most highly
regarded Beach Boys and Simon
and Garfunkel recordings.
Poor Amy Pascal, 57, the
former head of Sony Pictures.
First, she was booted out of her
job following the disclosure of
hacked emails that showed her
in a poor light. The emails were
probably hacked by the North
Koreans, who were upset by
The Interview, which co-starred
Seth Rogen, 32. As a consola-
tion prize, Sony gave Pascal an
office on the studio lot that had
until recently housed Rogen.
Then she became the subject
of Hollywood chuckling when
the usually reliable Hollywood
Reporter said last month that
her move into the office was
delayed as crews struggled
to get Rogen's heavy mari-
juana smell cleaned out. Rogen
responded that the story was
"completely untrue ... and pot
smells [aren't] a stench."
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