Short Takes

A Spectrum Of Support For Jews With Autism

05/15/2012 | Steve Lipman | Staff Writer

A mother’s offhand comment here about the need for a place for Jewish children with autism has, 15 years later, spurred an international research center.

In 1997, the mother of two young special-needs children who lives in the New York area told Joshua Weinstein, a veteran educator with a Ph.D. in special education who was serving as CEO of a local health care agency, that no major program for Jewish children with various forms of autism existed.

Fiction That Bridges Age Groups

05/15/2012 | Steve Lipman | Staff Writer

The central character in the newest novel by Thane Rosenbaum — lawyer, law professor, author, moderator of an annual discussion series at the 92nd Street Y — is a 12-year-old daughter of divorced parents who shuttles between mother and father via the Brooklyn Bridge. The granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, she learns about her grandmother’s wartime experiences while juggling such issues as homelessness and 9/11, divorce and fashion.

Jewish Version Of TED Talks Launched

05/08/2012 | Gary Rosenblatt | Editor And Publisher

At last, the Jewish community has its very own version of TED — sort of.

‘Girls’: A Ramah-kable Reunion

05/08/2012 | Adam Dickter | Assistant Managing Editor/Online Editor

Given the cost of a national advertising campaign or product placement, a mention on one of the most-talked about shows on cable is a pretty nice gift if it comes gratis.

But the folks at Camp Ramah, a network of facilities run by the Conservative movement, may not be kvelling over their inclusion in this week’s episode of HBO’s “Girls,” the chock-full-of-Jewish comedy about angst-ridden women in their early 20s trying to get a life in contemporary Manhattan.

Sharing Bite-Size Chunks Of Wisdom

05/01/2012 | Staff Report

Looking for a Mother’s Day gift that is thoughtful, timely — and free?

A publishing company called Sinai Live is offering a small book entitled “More Precious Than Pearls,” a collection of 10 essays reflecting on Eishet Chayil (A Woman of Valor), the chapter from the Book of Proverbs traditionally sung to the woman of the house before the Friday night Shabbat meal.

Choreographing To A Sephardic Beat

05/01/2012 | Eric Herschthal | Staff Writer

Getting information out of the much-touted contemporary ballet choreographer Alonzo King, based in San Francisco, is a bit like prying teeth. He likes to keep things abstract, speak about universal truths, and give primacy to the viewer’s perspective.