SHABBAT READING:
Why Does the Torah Describe Babies Born Hands First?’: Dr. Eran Viezel, The Torah.com, Nov. 28, 2018
The story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 ends with Tamar giving birth to twins:[1]
בראשית לח:כז וַיְהִי בְּעֵת לִדְתָּהּ וְהִנֵּה תְאוֹמִים בְּבִטְנָהּ. לח:כח וַיְהִי בְלִדְתָּהּ וַיִּתֶּן יָד וַתִּקַּח הַמְיַלֶּדֶת וַתִּקְשֹׁר עַל יָדוֹ שָׁנִי לֵאמֹר זֶה יָצָא רִאשֹׁנָה. לח:כט וַיְהִי כְּמֵשִׁיב יָדוֹ וְהִנֵּה יָצָא אָחִיו וַתֹּאמֶר מַה פָּרַצְתָּ עָלֶיךָ פָּרֶץ וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ פָּרֶץ. לח:ל וְאַחַר יָצָא אָחִיו אֲשֶׁר עַל יָדוֹ הַשָּׁנִי וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ זָרַח.
Gen 38:27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb! 38:28 While she was in labor, one of them put out his hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to signify: This one came out first. 38:29 But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named Perez. 38:30 Afterward his brother came out, on whose hand was the crimson thread; he was named Zerah.
The story has two features that contradict the reality of childbirth.
As Landmark Saul Bellow Documentary Premieres, A Look Back at His Life Through The JTA Archive; Gabe Friedman, JTA, Dec. 12, 2022 — Given his place in the international literary canon, it’s hard to believe that there has never been a widely-released documentary made about the Jewish Nobel Prize winner Saul Bellow.
Every American Hanukkah Special, Movie and TV Episode Worth Knowing About: PJ Grisar, Forward, Dec. 13, 2022 — It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hanukkah’s profile has grown over the years due to its proximity to Christmas. It’s also true that because of this nearness, it is the Jewish holiday most Christians are familiar with.
Saul Bellow Wanted Jewish Stories to Be Seen as American Stories: Saul Austerlitz, PBS, Dec. 13, 2022
Leonard Cohen’s Songs of the Yom Kippur War: Matti Friedman, Tablet, May 4, 2022
“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli’ Review: When Rye Met Pastrami: Joanne Kaufman, WSJ, Dec. 7, 2022
What Happened to All the Women in All Those A Cappella Hanukkah Videos?: Stav Ziv, Forward, Dec. 15, 2022
Leonard Cohen’s Yom Kippur War Trip to Israel Gets Dramatic Adaptation: Amy Spiro, Times of Israel, Nov. 29, 2022 — The fabled tale of Leonard Cohen’s frontline performances for Israeli troops during the 1973 Yom Kippur War is being turned into a TV miniseries aimed at global audiences.
The Secret Life of Philip Rieff: Blake Smith, Tablet, Dec. 15, 2022 — Philip Rieff is remembered today—if at all—as the one-time husband of his former student Susan Sontag, and a crankily conservative observer of American society, which he saw as violent, stupid, and doomed.
10 Treasures from the New York Public Library’s 125-year-old Jewish Collection: Julia Gergely, NY Jewish Week, Dec. 12, 2022 — In the heart of Manhattan, you can page through the Passover story in an Italian haggadah from half a millennium ago, check out the posters for the most popular Yiddish plays of the 1920s and examine dried flower arrangements from the Holy Land made at the end of the 19th century.
How Ken Burns Misuses the Holocaust: Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary Magazine, Nov. 2022 — Ken Burns’s documentaries blend striking visuals of still photos or archival film with colorful and often insightful analysis and narration.