For those of you who appreciate the traditions of German Jewish davening, Bini Breuer is happy to release “Ohr Ponecho 2” – another album in a series of German Jewish tefillah melodies. More than half the songs are performed with the children from Beis Chorev in Jerusalem.
The album contains a selection of poems which circle the yomim tovim of the year: Kaddeishim, Shir Hamaalos, Yidgal, Lecha Dodi, Peyutei Chagim, Hotzoas Sefer Torah, Anim Zemiros and more.
The main purpose of creating this album is to spread the glorious heritage of German Jewry that is in danger of becoming forgotten or lost.
The album can be obtained by calling in Israell: 050-5715001
or by emailing guesswhoscoming2dinner@gmail.com.
I receive no compensation for telling you about this CD, nor do I receive any revenue from the sales. I just think that the melodies are lovely and that many of my readers may enjoy the music as well.
With permission of the artist, I have uploaded a sample of this CD is here.
Not to be confused with those cheap "imitation" fake watches.... No siree!
I guess I'm not the only one..... What do YOU buy that becomes part of "that Yom Tov feeling"?
"I have been wearing the Milano WiGrip for about a week now and I am loving it. I never wear my shaitel all day. I almost always take my shaitel off as soon as I come home to put on something more comfortable, most often the hand-tied Israeli kafiyahs, but I will put anything on if it’s convenient (read: right next to my shaitel head!).
This WiGrip is so comfortable without any pins or clips digging into my hair that I am able to wear my shaitel all day, and I hardly notice it. Seriously, my children keep asking me where I am going because they come home at the end of the day and I am still wearing it!I hear you, Doobie and thanks for the feedback!
I have also tried the WiGrip with the crocheted snoods that always fall back because they are so slippery and heavy, and it kept those on as well. Not only is it more comfortable because it’s not constantly moving, but I also love that I don’t have to keep worrying about too much hair showing as it slips back.
The WiGrip worked so wellwith the Israeli hand-tied headscarves which I usually wear with bobby pins to keep them from moving. Again, the WiGrip was more comfortable than pins and did keep it from moving. Plus, it is so thin that it was barely noticeable under the headscarf.
So, overall I am really thrilled with this prize and would recommend it to anyone who covers her hair. One other point worth noting: The package came very quickly, directly from Myheadcoverings.com including a short personalized note congratulating me on winning the Guesswhoscoming2dinner blog giveaway!
Thanks G6 for the opportunity to try a product I would have only window shopped but now know is totally worth the price. We love your blog keep up the good work and keep those contests coming ;)"
Our Oldest Wimpel
This past Shabbos, the oldest wimpel amongst our kehilla's large collection was once again wrapped around the sefer torah.
The wimpel was donated to our Bais Haknesses by its owner Mr. Hermann Loebenberg z"l. Mr. Loebenberg was born in Waechtersbach, Germany on December 24, 1877 / 18 Teves 5638. Waechtersbach, 35 miles northeast of Frankfurt am Main, was a small town with a population of approximately 1,200. The first mention of a Jewish community in Waechtersbach was in 1643. In the late 19th - early 20th century the Jews consisted of approximately 5% of the population. The last shul there was built in 1895 which also contained a mikveh and a school. Mr.Loebenberg was appointed chazan of the shul in 1924 as well as a trustee.
With the rise of antisemitism in the mid 1930's many of the Jews began to move from Waechtersbach. The Loebenbergs sent their two daughters and son to family in Paris and London. Finally, in August 1938, Mr. Loebenberg, being the last Jewish inhabitant of Waechtersbach, sold the shul building for 8,000 RM, which he donated to a nearby Jewish community and to a fund for the upkeep of the Jewish cemetery, and moved with his wife to Frankfurt am Main and then, via London, to New York in 1940 bringing his treasured wimpel with him.
Mr. Loebenberg was a member of our kehilla until his passing in 1969. His two daughters, Mrs. Dora Stern o"h and yb"l Mrs. Ann Baranker, with their husbands and children, also became members of the kehilla. Our beautiful green Shabbos poroches was donated in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Loebenberg by their son and daughters. Approximately five years ago the author was approached by Mr. Loebenberg's granddaughter, Ms. Jane Baranker, with the request that the wimpel be returned to the family as, she assumed, due to its age, that it was no longer usable. After discovering that the wimpel was actually in excellent condition, the family happily agreed to have the wimpel remain in circulation. A concerted effort has been made each year since, to use the wimpel on the Shabbos closest to Mr. Loebenberg's date of birth.
In addition, Mr. Loebenberg also brought to America his son’s wimpel. Leopold Loebenberg was born in 1920 and his wimpel is currently in circulation alongside his father’s.
"I’ve always loved the musical “Company,” a Broadway show by Stephen Sondheim that opened in 1970. It was about a 35-year-old Manhattan guy, still unmarried even though all of his best friends are married couples. The set, the tone and the score were all ultrachic, ultramodern, ultraurban. So urban and modern, in fact, that the first thing you hear as the show begins is a busy signal — in its day, the ultimate technological symbol of a fast-paced, full-up lifestyle.
But when I went to see the revival of the show in 2006, the busy signal was gone. Mr. Sondheim later told me that nobody knows what it is anymore.
I had to admit that he was right. When’s the last time you heard one? These days, voice mail (or just sending a text message) has almost completely eliminated the busy signal. Still, that left the opening number of “Company” stripped of the original idea — and a really clever one — that had inspired it!
Then there’s the record-scratch sound, still used frequently in ads and comic scenes to indicate someone’s train of thought going off the rails. Isn’t it weird that we still use that sound? For the most part, the last 20 years’ worth of viewers and listeners have never even heard that sound in real life! (In a 2008 NPR segment, the host asked some teenagers if they could identify the sound. They couldn’t. “I have no idea…. I know I saw it on TV.”)
And then there’s the rewind/fast-forward gibberish sounds — of TAPE. What will they do in the movies, now that random-access digital video formats deprive producers of that audience-cuing sound?
What about modem-dialing shrieks? Sure, we’re all thrilled to have always-on Internet connections. But wasn’t there something satisfying, something understandable, about that staticky call-and-response from our computers to the mother ship?
We’re losing the dial tone, too. Cellphones don’t have dial tones. Only landlines do, and those are rapidly disappearing. And without the dial tone, how will movie producers ever indicate that someone’s hung up on a character? (Even though that was an unrealistic depiction to begin with.)
Funny thing is, we’re replacing these sounds mainly with … nothing! What’s the sound of broadband? Of rewinding a CD?
The point, of course, is that as digital technology takes over, we’re losing the sounds of analog technologies. And sometimes that’s a real loss. Cash registers don’t go “ka-ching” anymore, either. But we still SAY “ka-ching,” and there’s your proof — sometimes, our culture simply cries out for a certain audio meme, a certain sonic cue that used to have real meaning.
Every now and then, in fact, you find a case where the old analog audio cue is so important, the manufacturer actually installs a recorded version of it — right into the otherwise silent digital device — because the sound has a purpose. Digital cameras, for example, play a digitized version of an analog shutter. I recently tested an electric motorcycle that plays a recording of a gas motorcycle, just so you don’t mow down unsuspecting citizens sharing the roadway with you.
I’m not going to play Andy Rooney here and bemoan the pace of technological progress. Something’s always lost when we move from one format to another; that’s just the way it goes.
At the same time, I’d like to commemorate the loss of those record scratches, busy signals, tape-rewinding chatters, and ka-chings. Maybe with a moment of silence."
