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Articles by Ellen M. Umansky
Paula Ackerman | Jewish Women's Archive
December 7, 1893–1989 by Ellen M. Umansky Paula Ackerman, reading from a religious text. When Paula Ackerman's husband, William Ackerman, died in 1950, his congregation, the Reform Temple Beth Israel of Meridian, Mississippi, requested that she succeed him. Thus, Paula Ackerman became the first female spiritual leader of a mainstream Jewish congregation in the United States. Institution:The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH.
After Kristallnacht, America chose not to save Jewish children from the Nazis.
History In 1939, a refugee ban kept 20,000 Jewish children out of the U.S. The St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees, waits in the port of Hamburg, Germany, 1939. ushmm.org The revised travel ban President Donald Trump issued Monday may have been watered down in places, but its core remains as hostile as ever to Muslim immigrants and refugees. Many of us think of America as a welcoming nation and of Trump’s attacks on outsiders as an aberration. Sen.
What Torah Says about Economic Equity
COVID-19 has dramatically reshaped our everyday lives. Many of us have not seen family or friends in person since early March. We may have been furloughed, let go from our jobs, or continue to work remotely, uncertain as to when it will safe for us to return to our offices, or in my case, the university campus on which I teach.
A Father-Son Novel Served With a Twist
There are a number of con artists in Mark Sarvas’s second novel, “Memento Park” — some heavy on the con; others, the art. Principal among them is Matt Santos, a C-list actor and the novel’s narrator, who is more focused on telling his story than his acting. His life is upended when he learns that a valuable painting may have been stolen from his family’s Budapest home during World War II. The painting, now in the hands of the IRS, could become his.
Soutine | The Literary Review
Chaim Soutine was hungry. This he felt as he made his way through the crowded damp streets in the early afternoon, head down, hands jammed deep into the pockets of his thick dirty coat, past newspaper boys shouting out headlines from Paris-Soir and L’Intran, kiosks pasted over with brightly colored advertisements urging him to take Vittel for the kidneys and Vichy for the liver.
Jewish News and Politics, Jewish Arts and Culture, Jewish Life and Religion
Los Angeles beckons those eager for self-reinvention, and Alain Cohen was no exception. Nearly 30 years ago, Cohen left France to enroll in L.A.’s American Film Institute. Born in Tunisia, he had lived in Paris from the age of 6, and he’d grown up working for his father’s kosher restaurant Les Ailes—everything from serving as a busboy and waiter to later bartending and managing.
A Noir Novel of Motherhood, With a Modern Twist
A home in the Hollywood Hills, a blistering heat, a stranger about to arrive: Edan Lepucki opens her second novel, “Woman No. 17,” with a classic sense of noir before offering a delightfully modern twist — the stranger, a young, blunt woman named Esther, is here to apply for a babysitting job, and the men who dominate noir are nowhere to be found.
After Kristallnacht, America chose not to save Jewish children from the Nazis.
The revised travel ban President Donald Trump issued Monday may have been watered down in places, but its core remains as hostile as ever to Muslim immigrants and refugees. Many of us think of America as a welcoming nation and of Trump’s attacks on outsiders as an aberration. Sen.
A Painting Stolen First by the Nazis, Then by Persons Unknown
There is often a requisite magic to fiction involving lost masterpieces. Two memorable examples, Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” and Dara Horn’s “The World to Come,” use a scaffold of mystery to contain the logic of fairy tales. Something similar holds for stories about music (the film “The Red Violin” comes to mind, as does David Mitchell’s epic “Cloud Atlas”).
Calendar: February 17-23, 2017 — Jewish Journal
These two icons, part of the famous Peter, Paul & Mary trio, will share the stage and sing many of the group’s classic hits. Peter, Paul & Mary helped transform folk music with their music that spoke to and inspired people during a time of social change. 8 p.m. Tickets starting at $41. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. (805) 449-2787. civicartsplaza.com.
Stolen art connects two women across generations in ‘The Fortunate Ones’ | The Star-Telegram
Chaim Soutine, a Russian-born French Expressionist of the 1920s, is sure to expand his fan base in the coming months thanks to “The Fortunate Ones,” Ellen Umansky’s elegant debut novel.Here’s how it’s bound to happen:Readers will be intrigued by the author’s description of Soutine’s work (“angry and ugly and dizzying and beautiful, all at once”); they’ll put down the book long enough to do an internet search; and they’ll be just as mesmerized by the striking images they find online as the...
The Secret to Sibling Success
Years ago, my younger brother and I attended the wedding of a childhood friend, held on a high floor of a stylish San Francisco hotel. We were standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, joking with each other, when the sister of the groom approached. “You guys are so close,” she said. “It must be nice. Tell me, what can I do to make my daughters as close as you are?” Her tone was light, but her eyes were searching. “You want to know?” Eric said.
Forgiveness, Reconciliation with the Past
Many years ago, I taught an adult education class on biblical heroes. Among those we studied was Joseph. We focused on Parshat Miketz and discussed Joseph’s contentious relationship with his older brothers and their later reconciliation. Although intellectually I believed that Joseph had indeed matured; emotionally I felt otherwise and sensed that somehow we hadn’t grasped the full story. I asked the class: If Joseph had indeed matured, why hadn’t he communicated with his father?
A Biblical Text of Terror
In the midst of this week’s parshah is a lengthy story about Jacob’s only daughter, Dina. While Jacob briefly appears in this story, he plays a surprisingly insignificant role. Indeed, after Jacob hears that Dina has been raped by Shechem, a local Hivite prince, he neither tells anyone nor takes any action, choosing to wait until his sons return home.
A Legacy of Kindness, Generosity and Love
Ironically, this week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah (“Sarah lived”), is not about Sarah’s life but about her legacy. Beginning with mention of her death and of Abraham’s great mourning for her, the parshah primarily focuses on the Bible’s first story of betrothal, namely that of Isaac to his cousin Rebekah. The relationship between their engagement and subsequent marriage, and Sarah’s legacy becomes clear as the parshah unfolds.
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