Short Takes

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.

Indie Minyan Movement Grapples with Day School Cost

04/24/2012 | Julie Wiener | Associate Editor

With recession-battered parents concerned about affordability, and with cheaper alternatives like summer camp and Hebrew charter schools in vogue among philanthropists, it makes sense that the so-called “value proposition” — making the case for why a day school education is worth the money — has become a buzz phrase in the Jewish day school world.

Morning At Churchill Downs, Thanks To Maximilian Hirsch

04/24/2012 | Eliza McGraw | Special To The Jewish Week

When the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby is broadcast May 5 on NBC, you can lay a pretty sure bet that there will be pre-race feature stories showing the Derby hopefuls working out in the pre-dawn mist, flecks of light peeking through the darkness.

You can thank Maximilian Justice Hirsch for that.

Hirsch bore an outsized Texas name and went on to an outsized career as a racehorse trainer.