‘Abracadabra’ — new program for JCCSF
The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco will present an extensive two-month program exploring Jewish mysticism and magic. Beginning Oct. 16 and running through December, “Abracadabra” will bring together diverse entertainers, authors and educators for a series of seminars and performances.
Guest lecturers and entertainers scheduled to appear at “Abracadabra” include magicians Jay Alexander, Ricky Jay and Manny Sperling, Kaballah experts Moshe Idel and Nathaniel Deutsch, and famed Chilean novelist Isabel Allende of Marin. The programming also includes a magic-themed Shabbat dinner Dec. 5.
Some of the topics to be covered during the two months of programming include “Jews, Art and Magic,” “Monsters in the Jewish Imagination,” Jewish Adventures with the Paranormal” and a seminar about the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chassidism, titled “The BeSHT: Teacher, Shaman, Magician.”
For a complete program listing, more information or for tickets, call (415) 292-1233 or visit www.jccsf.org/arts.
‘Rape of Europa’ now out on DVD
The documentary film “The Rape of Europa” has been released for sale on DVD. Produced and directed by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham, the documentary is based on Lynn H. Nicholas’ book, which tells the story of the systematic theft, destruction and survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Holocaust era.
For 12 years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on an unprecedented scale. The film, which screened in the 2007 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, describes how art professionals, truck drivers and clerks fought to safeguard, rescue and return millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures. “The Rape of Europa” is available at all major DVD outlets.
Jewish folklore inspires JCC dance company
The Jewish Dance Theatre, the resident dance company at the JCC of the East Bay, will present performance artist Melusina Gomez in a dance inspired by women and an ancient Jewish folktale.
“Paper Promises” will involve collected letters, poetry and stories of women from six centuries as interpreted by Gomez. It also will allude to the Jewish folktale “The Corpse Bride,” all in a dream-like piece that will include visual art, dance and music.
The dance will take place 8 p.m. Oct. 12 at the JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. For more information, visit www.jcceastbay.org.
Sephardic music to jazz up Golden Gate
Vocalist Kat Parra will regale Golden Gate Park visitors with her ensemble, the Sephardic Music Experience, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.
Parra and her ensemble will perform arrangements created by Spanish Jews and sung in Ladino. The pieces have Moorish influences and incorporate salsa, bolero and samba. The performance will take place outside in the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum’s Café Terrace.
The event is part of a collaboration between the de Young and Intersection for the Arts that brings free, family-friendly outdoor Sunday afternoon performances to the park. The de Young is at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive in Golden Gate Park. For more information, visit www.theintersection.org.
McCartney performs in Tel Aviv
More than 40,000 Israelis turned out Sept. 25 for the country’s first performance ever by a Beatle, Paul McCartney.
Tickets to the concert in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park sold for between $150 and $1,500. McCartney played Beatles classics, including “The Long and Winding Road” and “Yesterday,” as well as songs from his solo career.
McCartney, whose tour had been dogged by pro-Palestinian groups who asked him not to come and Islamists who issued death threats, greeted the audience with “Shanah tovah” to mark the Jewish New Year, as well as “Ramadan karim,” marking the Muslim month of fasting, which is now under way.
Conservative authorities forbade the Fab Four from performing in Israel in 1965.