Ruth Ellen Gruber's Blog, page 34

Germany and Poland -- Fire (Worms) and Flood (Auschwitz)

There has been an arson attack on the historic (rebuilt) synagogue in Worms, Germany, apparently by pro-Palestinian protesters who took out their anger at Israel by attacking a synagogue that had been built in the 11th century, destroyed by the Nazis, and totally rebuilt from the rubble and reconsecrated in 1961. It forms part of  a museum complex -- including the "Rashi House" Museum -- but also is used at times for services. The great 11th century Jewish scholar Rashi studied here, and the ...

Hungary -- Rhapsodic recipes

I provided some Hungarian Jewish recipes to go with my JTA story last week on Jewish eating in Budapest. They include my friend Antonia Szenthe's spinach and fish casserole and Andras Singer's recipe for solet (cholent), as served at his restaurant Fulemule.

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

BUDAPEST -- Antonia Szenthe likes to read Jewish cookbooks such as "Spicy Eszter" Bodrogi's "Spice and Soul: Jewish Cooking Here and Now" and adapt the recipes to her family's taste. She also enjoys experimenting to...

Poland -- Warsaw Jewish Book Fair coming up

The Jewish festival season is at hand..... most of my readers will know about the "big one" -- the Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakow, at the end of June/beginning of July, which celebrates its 20th edition this year  -- but there are many other festivals throughout the spring and summer months. I continue to add dates to the list that I post in the sidebar of this blog - click HERE.

Coming up at May 23-26 is the 13th annual "Days of Jewish Books" in Poland, sponsored by Midrasz, the Polish ...

Budapest -- Eating Jewish

 Flodni advertised at Cafe Noe. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber
Here's a repost of an article I've written on  trends in Jewish eating in Budapest -- mentioning old classics (like the Fulemule restaurant and its six types of solet) as well as nouvelle places such as Koleves and Spinoza.

By Ruth Ellen Gruber (May 12, 2010)

BUDAPEST (JTA) -- Rahel Raj calls herself a 21st-century Yiddishe mama. The daughter of a rabbi and mother of a toddler, she and her family run a pair of popular Budapest bake...

Poland -- tombstones recovered

The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland reports that more than 60 Jewish tombstones used during the World War II to pave a courtyard of the Gestapo prison in the town of Mogielnica, south of Warsaw, have been discovered, unearthed and secured. After the renovation of the Jewish cemetery in Mogielnica, the stones will be returned to the cemetery grounds

Budapest -- Shameless Self-Promotion!

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I can't help it. I love to see my books piled up in nice displays in book stores or prominently positioned in the window. About a week after the book launch of the Hungarian edition of Jewish Heritage Travel, I found "Zsido Emlekhelyek" in almost every book store I chanced on in Bp.

Wroclaw -- White Stork Synagogue, and More

Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber, 2008

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

After years of stop and start work, the historic White Stork synagogue in Wroclaw, Poland was rededicated this week. The May 6 ceremony was at the heart of four days of cultural events, religious services, commemorations and other activities. These also included an international conference on Jewish religious life in Wroclaw. The full schedule of events can be seen HERE.

The central performer was the Israeli-born, New York-based Cantor Josep...

Romania -- Conference in Bucharest

This year's annual Internation Jewish Studies conference at the Goldstein Goren Center at the University of Bucharest will take place May 27-28 and focus on Jews and the City -- on  "how the Jewish minority shaped and was shaped by the urban space along history. The diverse Jewish lifestyles, relations and spirituality patterns, which created a characteristic space within the rich context of urbanism, and their economic expression, artistic values and social ties."

I haven't see the list of sp...

Poland -- New and fascinating article on the stories behind the epitaphs

 Bagnowka cemetery. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The online Jewish Magazine runs another fascinating article by the scholar Heidi Szpek about the lives evoked by the epitaphs on Jewish tombstones, specifically those in the Bagnowka Jewish cemetery in Bialystok, where she has been doing research.

This time Szpek focuses on the reality behind the flowery and cliches language oftern used. Such epitaphs, she writes, led Jewish tombstone epitaphs to be described as

"exaggerated...

Vienna -- Secret Garden-like Hidden Jewish Cemetery

 Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber
By Ruth Ellen Gruber

It's always a pleasure to come across new sights and experiences in places you think you know pretty well.... A case in point is the Jewish cemetery on Seegasse, in Vienna, which I visited for the first time on Friday. (Shame on me, I know, for never having gone there before...)

If you didn't know about it, you would walk right by.... the cemetery, the oldest preserved Jewish cemetery in Vienna, is entered by walking through the lobby of a modern...