Minnesota rabbis oppose marriage amendment

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On Nov. 6, Minnesota voters will be asked this question: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?”The Minnesota Rabbinical Association (MRA) — comprised of 35 rabbis and 15 synagogues — as well as Jewish Community Action (JCA) and other local organizations are urging Jews, and all Minnesotans, to vote “no.”On Jan. 18, MRA members unanimously adopted a statement opposing the proposed marriage amendment. The rabbis’ statement noted that the “Minnesota state constitution attempts to protect the rights of our citizens rather than to deny them,” while the proposed marriage amendment “seeks to continue the practice of leaving individual families within the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community vulnerable and unprotected by the law. To honor an individual is to fight against discrimination in society for any reason, including race, religion, natural origin, gender, age or sexual orientation. Continue Reading

Celebrating Hanuka with Marlene

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Marlene Solomon once had just one menora.“Everybody’s grandmother had one with the two lions,” Solomon told the AJW. “I had one like that.”But when she ended her time as a youth group leader, her students gave her a gift: a simple menora with a row of marching Maccabees.“That was the beginning of the collection,” Solomon said. “I keep hoping, from that moment on, that no one gives me the hubcap to a Rolls-[Royce].”Forty-nine years later, Solomon’s collection has grown to more than 60 hanukiot, Hanuka menoras, which she displays throughout her Golden Valley apartment all year long.“When I came to rent this apartment, I immediately saw where the menoras would go,” she said. “What good is having a collection if you can’t enjoy it?”Solomon was born in Scranton, Penn., and lived most of her life in Washington, D.C., where her late husband worked for the Government Accountability Office. She moved to Minnesota 15 years ago to work as a program director at the Sabes JCC, where she met Jennifer Herman Spiller.“According to our family, it wouldn’t be Hanuka if we didn’t celebrate with Marlene,” Herman Spiller told the AJW.Together with her partner, Richard Hoffman, Solomon used to host a dinner party for 10-12 people during each of the eight nights of Hanuka. Continue Reading

Gershwin’s Jewish soul music

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Joe Vass has always loved the music of composer George Gershwin, and other songwriters from the early to mid-20th century — music from what is known as the Great American Songbook. But when Vass began exploring the world of Jewish music, he was surprised to find Gershwin (born Jacob Gershowitz) there.“I never made the connection, though, between Gershwin music and Jewish music,” Vass told the AJW. “As I, at a certain point in my life, became more aware of Jewish music and began to listen to it, I made that connection. I thought it would be fun and exciting and entertaining to explore the connections between Jewish music and American music like Gershwin’s music.”That idea formed the basis for the show titled The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer, which Vass created several years ago and has performed throughout the United States and in Canada and Israel. The show, originally titled Gershwin, the Klezmer, premiered at St. Continue Reading