Category Archives: Judaism

By Robert J. Avrech | April 20, 2018

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Art, Fashion, Glamour, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Marlene Dietrich, Painting, Photography, Quotes, Rita Hayworth | Tagged Ann Miller, Arnold Schwarzbart, Audrey Hepburn, Dorothy Gish, Eva Marie Saint, Francisco de Goya, George Washington Thomas Lambert, Georges Dambier, Gerrit Rietveld, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Omer counter, Palma Vecchio, Richard Estes, Rita Hayworth, Salavat Fidai, Tuesday Weld, Vintage Cars | 3 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | April 18, 2018

Israel at 70: Flourishing Against All Odds

Tweet Institute for Contemporary Affairs

Also posted in America, Gaza, Israel, Jew-haters, Jew-hatred | Tagged 1948, Athens, Dore Gold, Gaza, Innovation, Israel, Lebanon, Missle Defense, Sparta, Strategic Challenges, Terror Tunnels, The Middle East | Leave a comment

By Robert J. Avrech | April 13, 2018

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Bette Davis, Deborah Kerr, Dovima, Fashion, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Movie Posters, Movies, Myrna Loy, Painting, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Abraham Polonsky, Bette Davis, Charles Demuth, Deborah Kerr, Dorothy Dandridge, Dovima, Edward Hopper, Erwin Blumenfeld, Force of Evil, Gianfranco Gorgoni, Gordon Parks, Grant Wood, Horst P. Horst, Livia, Merle Oberon, MGM, Myrna Loy, Richard Rutledge, Tippi Hedren, Veronica Lake, Vintage Cars, Vivian Maier, William McGregor Paxton | 9 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | April 11, 2018

Jackie Danicki to Deliver the Fifteenth Annual Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture

Tweet You are all invited to the Fifteenth Annual Ariel Avrech ZT’L Memorial Lecture that will take place Sunday, June 10, 2018, at 10 AM, followed by brunch. Location: Young Israel of Century City 9317 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035 For those unable to attend the lecture will be posted here at Seraphic Secret. Karen and I are […]

Also posted in Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture, Ariel Chaim Avrech | Tagged Ariel Avrech, Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture, Conversion to Judaism, Jackie Danicki, Karen Avrech, Ner Israel Rabbinical Academy | 3 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | March 30, 2018

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions, Passover 2018

Also posted in Art, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, IslamoNazis, Israel, Jew-hatred, Judaica, Passover, Photography, Rick McGinnis, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Arthur Szyk, Audrey Flack, Bird's Head Haggadah, Dovima, Eleanor Parker, Emma Matzo, Frank Stella, George Ault, J.R. Everman, Lizabeth Scott, Maria Montez, Moshe Zabari, Richard Avedon, Rick McGinnis, Sari Srulovitch | 2 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | March 23, 2018

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Art, Dovima, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Movie Posters, Movies, Painting, Passover, Photography, Quotes, Rick McGinnis, Saul Bass, Screenwriting, True Hollywood Confessions, Vintage Cars, Vivien Leigh | Tagged August Herbin, Cartier, Cecil Beaton, David Niven, Eva Rubinstein, Fashion, Fay Wray, Félix Vallotton, George Clausen, Ginger Rogers, Hiroshige, Jean Harlow, Joan Collins, Michael Wolf, Nina Leen, On the Waterfront, Passover Haggadah, Peter Mitchell, Richard Avedon, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Vivian Maier, Vivien Leigh, William Helburn | 3 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | March 9, 2018

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Actors, Art, Art Deco, Automobiles, Design, Dovima, Elizabeth Taylor, Fashion, Friday Fotos, Gary Cooper, Glamour, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Jewish Photography, Judaica, Painting, Photography, Photography, Signs, Purim, Quotes | Tagged Annie Oakley, Artemesia Gentileschi, Cary Grant, Catherine Den, Clark Gable, Dovima, Eleanor Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, Filippo Lippi, Frauke Eigen, Gary Cooper, Georges Dambier, Joseph Cornell, Lana Turner, Richard Avedon, Richard Burton, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Estes, Rolex, Sandro Botticelli, Sophie Litvak, Stanley Spencer, Thomas Hart Benton, Vintage Cars, William Merritt Chase | 4 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | March 7, 2018

Books On My Night Table

Tweet I’m reading three splendid books, all which I highly recommend.

Also posted in Book Reviews, Books, Daf Yomi, Hollywood, Miriam Hopkins, Talmud, The Devil's Arithmetic, Torah | Tagged Allan R. Ellenberger, Design for Living, Ian Mortimer, If All the Seas Were Ink, Ilana Kurshan, Miriam Hopkins, The Outcasts of Time | 6 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | March 1, 2018

Purim: The Deeply Anti-Progressive Jewish Holiday

Tweet Today is the holiday of Purim. It is no accident that in 2015, Benjamin Netanyahu referenced Purim when delivering his powerful address to the U.S. Senate in an unsuccessful bid to curb Obama’s legitimization of a nuclear Iran. Purim is an old ( 5th century B.C.E.) but painfully familiar story: A Jew-hater named Haman […]

Also posted in Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, Jewish Holidays, Purim, Second Amendment, Torah | Tagged Benjamin Netanyahu, Book of Esther, Esther, Haman, King Ahasuerus, King David, Liberal Jews, Mordechai, Obama, Persia, Purim, Saul, Second Amendment, Torah | Leave a comment

By Robert J. Avrech | January 31, 2018

President Trump’s SOTU: Americans Are Dreamers Too

Tweet In spite of the fact that the speech was too long (any speech that runs longer than 7 minutes is too long) I loved President Trump’s SOTU. It was filled with a love of America, pride in our military, respect for our flag, and an almost mystical vision of the American people and their […]

Also posted in America, Barack Hussein Obama, Democrat Fascists, Democrat Racists, Democrats, Donald Trump, Economy, IslamoNazis, Israel, Jerusalem, Jew-haters, Jew-hatred, Taxes | Tagged Democrat Black Caucus, Louis Farrakhan, President Trump, Ryan Holets, SOTU | 5 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | December 13, 2017

Chanukah 2017: The Battle of the Maccabees Continues

Tweet Today is the first day of Chanukah. And here is a timeless message from Simon the Maccabee: “We have not taken a foreign land, nor did we take the property of others — for this is the inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed by our enemies. But we, having the […]

Also posted in Chanukah, Donald Trump, Israel, Jerusalem | Tagged Antiochus IV, Chanukah, Jerusalem, Judea, Maccabees, Menorah, President Trump, Samaria, The Miracle of Chanukah | Leave a comment

By Robert J. Avrech | December 12, 2017

Fire Bombing Jewish Children In Sweden

Tweet Like a California fire, Islamism is devouring Europe at a rapid and unchecked pace. French Jews are leaving by the hundreds, soon to be thousands. When walking the streets of Jerusalem I hear more and more French speakers. Jews of England also see the writing on the wall. And the Jews of Sweden, just […]

Also posted in Donald Trump, Islam, Islam Denial, Islamic State, Islamic Terror, IslamoNazis, Israel, Jew-haters, Jew-hatred, Jihad in Sweden | Tagged Goteborg, IslamoNazis, Jews of Sweden, President Trump | 4 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | November 24, 2017

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Carole Lombard, Cartier, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Gene Tierney, Gerrit Rietveld, Grace Kelly, James Nares, Lawren Stewart Harris, Leonardo Da Vinci, Louise Brooks, Milton Greene, Mona Lisa, Rita Moreno, Thanksgiving, Vasari, Willem de Kooning, Yvonne De Carlo | 8 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | November 22, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017: The Children of the Children of Israel

Tweet As far as I know, there are only two countries in the world that were founded on the idea of hope. America and Israel. And what was the hope?

Also posted in Holidays, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Israel, President Trump, Thanksgiving | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Alice White, Ann Miller, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Doris Day, Dorothy Sebastian, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Jeanne Crain, Judy garland, Lowell, Marilyn Monroe, Marsha Hunt, Mass., MIckey Rooney, Paula Corday, Rebbetzin Celia Singer, Shirley Temple, Thanksgiving, Vera Allen | 4 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | November 17, 2017

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Art, Art Deco, Brigitte Bardot, Design, Fashion, Friday Fotos, Glamour, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Movie Posters, Movies, Myrna Loy, Painting, Photography, Quotes, Screenwriting, True Hollywood Confessions, Wisdom of Hollywood Screenwriters | Tagged Adam de Coster, Alternative Movie Posters, Barbara Stanwyck, Barthel Bruyn the Elder, Brigitte Bardot, Cartier, Celia Singer, Frank Sinatra, Ingrid Bergman, Kim Novak, Lawren Stewart Harris, Livia Yarden, Lucas Cranach The Elder, Milton Avery, Myrna Loy, Pickup on South Street, Sam Fuller, Vincent van Gogh, Vintage Typewriters | 9 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | November 15, 2017

Hidden Hollywood: Seven Obscure Jewish Films

Tweet What’s a Jewish film? My definition is quite simple. It is a film that deals with Jewish subject matter. Thus, Woody Allen does not make Jewish films. In truth, Hollywood movies that do deal with Judaism are quite rare. Take a look at the subject headings in Netflix. There is no category for Jewish […]

Also posted in Hidden Hollywood, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Israel, Jewish Holidays, Jewish Hollywood, Kirk Douglas, Movie Posters, Movies | Tagged Al Jolson, Elissa Landy, Franchot Tone, Frank Capra, Hungry Hearts, Kirk Douglas, Straight is the Way, Symphony of Six Million, The Jazz Singer, The Juggler, The Yellow Ticket, The Younger Generation | 4 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | November 10, 2017

Veteran’s Day, 2017: My Favorite Veteran, Rabbi Chaplain Abraham Avrech z’l

Tweet My father, Rabbi Chaplain Abraham Avrech passed away on March 15, 2014. This is the fourth Veteran’s Day without my father’s physical presence in this world. He is gone, but like all veteran’s certainly not forgotten. Take a moment to ponder the enormous sacrifices made by our nation’s heroes and their families.

Also posted in Abraham Avrech, America, Family, Veterans Day | Tagged 42nd Division, Abraham Avrech, Baseball, Chaim Avrech, Mina Avrech, Miriam Avrech, Rabbi Irving Koslowe, Rabbi Samuel Avrech, Veteran's Day, War, Yanuv Poland, Yeshiva University | 7 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | October 20, 2017

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Also posted in Actors, Art, Arthur Szyk, Brigitte Bardot, Dolores del Rio, Dovima, Friday Fotos, Greta Garbo, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Ingrid Bergman, Judaica, Milton Avery, Movie Posters, Movie Star Ads, Quotes, Star Ads | Tagged Alternative Movie Posters, Arthur Szyk, Bette Davis, Dolores Del Rio, Dovima, Greta Garbo, John Ford, Lauren Bacall, Milton Avery, Miniature Calendar, Pieter de Hooch, Richard Avedon, Rick McGinnis, Tatsuya Tanaka, Vintage Cars | 12 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | October 11, 2017

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Tweet Once again Friday Photos appears on Wednesday due to the last days of Sukkot which begin tonight and then run into Shabbat. Enjoy!

Also posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Betty Grable, Friday Fotos, Hollywood, Hollywood Still Photography, Jewish Holidays, Movie Posters, Movies, Painting, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions, Wisdom of Hollywood Screenwriters | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Allan Grant, Alternative Movie Posters, Bernard Picart, Betty Grable, Buster Keaton, Edward Hopper, Efrat, Eileen Gray, Eugene Robert Richee, Gail Patrick, Gene Kelly, Gerrit Dou, Hendrick Terbrugghen, Hoshana Rabbah, Louise Brooks, Morgan Auto, Picasso, Preston Sturges, Richard Avedon, Richard Burton, Rick McGinnis, Robert Doisneau, Simchat Torah, Sukkot, To Catch a Thief | 2 Responses

By Robert J. Avrech | October 4, 2017

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

Tweet No, you have not fallen into a time warp. It is Wednesday. So: why Friday Photos today? The celebration of Succos starts tonight and continues into Shabbat. And because Orthodox Jews (that’s us) do not use electronics during these holidays you get Friday Photos early. We hope you enjoy this edition.

Also posted in Art, Brigitte Bardot, Cary Grant, Family, Friday Fotos, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Jewish Holidays, Movie Posters, Movies, Myrna Loy, Photography, Quotes, Sandra Dee, Succos, True Hollywood Confessions, Wisdom of Hollywood Screenwriters | Tagged Alternative Movie Posters, Bernard Palissy, Cary Grant, Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Le Brun, Follow the Fleet, Ginger Rogers, Horst P. Horst, Marilyn Monroe, Myrna Loy, Sandra Dee, Shabbat, Succos | 6 Responses

How I Married Karen

The new book
by Robert J. Avrech

Available in All Major Book Stores

Adobe Digital Edition's version is available through the Lulu store!
About Me
Robert J. Avrech
Los Angeles, California
I'm an Emmy Award winning screenwriter. I'm also an observant Jew, a religious Zionist, a conservative Republican, and a member of the NRA. I've been writing and producing in Hollywood for over twenty-five years. But the focus of my life is my family: my radiant wife, Karen—with whom I have been in love with since I was nine years-old—and my two daughters, who, thankfully, look like Karen. Not too long ago, we had three children. But our son, Ariel, died at the age of twenty-two from cancer. We miss him terribly. We think about him practically every minute of every day. People tell us that time heals, but Karen and I know this is not true. Time grinds away doing its terrible work. Ariel is gone. Yet absence becomes presence.

Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
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Annual Ariel Avrech
Memorial Lectures
Young Israel of Century City

Fourteenth: June 11, 2016
Daniel Greenfield: “Fighting Anti-Semitism and Defending Israel in the Age of BDS.”

Blog Post
MP3 Audio Stereo (100 MB)

Thirteenth: May 22, 2016
Ben Shapiro: “How You Can Save Israel”

Blog Post
MP3 Audio Stereo (70 MB)

Twelfth: June 7, 2015
Larry Elder: “The New Black Anti-Semitism”

Blog Post
MP3 Audio Mono (50 MB) | Stereo (100 MB)

Eleventh: June 8, 2014
Michael Medved: “Shifting Alliances: Why Liberals No Longer Reliably Support Israel — And Conservatives Do.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 97MB)

Tenth: June 9, 2013
David Horowitz: “The War Against Judaism on the University Campus.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 16MB)

Ninth: June 3, 2012
Joel B. Pollak: “The Mainstream Media’s Betrayal of Israel.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 15MB)

Eighth: June 5, 2011
Yossi Klein Halevi: “What is Expected of a Survivor People: Lessons My Father Taught Me.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 18MB)

Seventh: June 13, 2010
Dennis Prager: “Happiness is a Mitzvah, Not an Emotion.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 80MB)

Sixth: June 21, 2009
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky: “Conformity in Jewish Life: Vice, Virtue or Affectation?”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 64MB)

Fifth: June 15, 2008
Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl: “What Was the Rosh Yeshiva Reading: Intellectual Openness in 19th Century Lithuania.”

Blog Post | Audio (mp3 70MB)
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