Michal's Tefillin

It was always the goal of Michal’s Tefillin to seek out and promote vibrant, creative talent amongst Jewish women. When our first issue was launched last year, we had no idea just how deep that well spring of immeasurable talent was. Every issue brings forward yet more dazzling talent, bright hopes and beautiful souls. So, we decided to choose our Women of the Year, women who have stunned us with their generosity of spirit, their enthusiasm, their creativity and their unbridled chutzpah. I thank all the people who have so far joined Michal’s Tefillin on its journey and I hope that this is just the beginning of an incredible ride! So, without further ado, here are our glorious, beautiful, amazing Women of the Year:

Sharon Novikov, you may remember, is the icon of Michal’s Tefillin. Her lust for life is enviable and inexhaustible and the word chutzpah was surely coined just for her.

A beauty with brains (she is a science undergraduate at Haifa University), Sharon is beginning to cement her presence in Israeli film, after starring in the indie hit Kalispera, she also has a part in Avi Nesher’s Love Lessons. Sharon has also dipped her toe into the worlds of photography, modelling and recently wrote her first article for Michal’s Tefillin. We can only say thank you Sharon, because without you, Michal’s Tefillin wouldn’t have its amazing icon.

Jennie Rivlin Roberts is the dynamic founder of ModernTribe, the coolest online Judaica store on the planet, which was featured in our Hanukkah issue. Jennie’s amazing sense of humor and her will to succeed make her a natural born winner and ModernTribe has become the byword in everything that is fresh, classy and sharp about modern Judaica. Jennie is also on the editorial committee of the new US magazine Jewish Woman and she has also launched a new website, a sort of ModernTribe’s cheeky kid sister, Popjudaica.

Vanessa Hidary, aka The Hebrew Mamita, half Syrian, half Ashkenazi equals 100% ass kicking hot. This native New Yorker has been making us laugh, cry and be introspective with her chutzpah driven stand up def jam poetry for several years now and she goes from strength to strength. Spared the flat-ass syndrome (the benefit of the Sefardi gene), Vanessa is busy touring, writing a book and generally being a cool Jew. Make 2010 the year you see Vanessa doing her thing, live.

Ooty Reut Raz Yaacobi ahhh Ooty! When we said women who have stunned us with their generosity, we meant Ooty Reut Raz Yaacobi. Not only is Ooty an incredible artist and designer, whose work we have featured in both previous issues and plan to do so again in the future (we’re in love with her sushi plates almost as much as we’re in love with Ooty), but she consistently goes out of her way to make people happy. Ooty, we love you!

Maytal Sheinbaum is an Israeli graphic designer. Based in Kfar Saba, Maytal is involved in web design and wedding photography – she helps brides obtain the most stunning results for their wedding photo albums. One of the world’s rarest beauties, that is to say, beautiful inside and out, Maytal’s gentle soul, her unfailing generosity and spirit makes her a natural for our women of the year awards. If we had to rename her, we’d call her Love.

Popularity: 60% [?]

Fryszer & Danon are in the business of making your dreams come true. If you have always imagined your wedding to be something magical and dazzling, with a chuppah that looks as if it fell from Heaven, then there is no one else on the planet who can make that happen for you like they can.

Based in Tel Aviv, Yanai Fryszer and Maya Danon are dedicated to transforming the dreams you have always clung to into a breathtaking reality. And while your wedding might look as if it’s been sent from heaven, it won’t cost you the earth.

Maya Danon, who produces the events that the company organises, is dedicated to making people happy. She told us: “This is absolutely what I have wanted to do my whole life, taking people’s dreams and making them a reality. This is the most important day of their lives, it has to be perfect.”

The company guides a new client the whole way through the process. Says Maya: “Every event is a unique and exciting challenge for us. When a client first approaches us, we arrange a meeting to gauge what the client envisages. We get to know the person and build on their dream concept. We are not one of those companies that likes to put their own stamp on things – we work with the client and what the client wants, it’s very personal, from the initial concept right through to the actual event.”

Maya Danon

The key to Fryszer & Danon’s skill at keeping costs as low as possible is their impressive contacts list. “We know where to get the best of everything,” says Maya, “from flowers to catering, lighting, locations and DJs. We have a variety of suppliers for every area. If people want organic food, we know who can supply that. We also take care of wedding day transport, cars, buses for guests and hotels. It’s a complete service.”

Maya’s partner (the company started two years ago), Yanai Fryszer, is the company’s interior designer and the person responsible for the creating the dazzling arrangements. Creativity is only limited by one’s imagination, and there are no limits to Fryszer’s artistry and vision. Whether it’s a small scale intimate party or a wedding for a thousand people, whether it’s corporate or a bat mitzvah, Fryszer’s meticulous eye for detail and style ensures the event is unbelievable and unforgettable.

Fryszer & Danon are planning to take on a large project in the United States within the next few months and their dream, says Maya, is to expand globally. If you have a dream, get ready to see it come true.

Contact Fryszer & Danon at www.fryszerdanon.com

or email: maya@fryszerdanon.com

Popularity: 100% [?]

Gil Shacham – Fashion Designer

Twenty-six year old Gil Shacham, owner of one of Israel’s most chic boutiques, Chief Boutique, is a name to watch out for. Her elegant, yet sporty designs in rich cottons, shimmering silks, delicate chiffons and supersoft shearling with hand embellishments are a favourite with Israel’s fashionistas. Based in Ramat Poleg, south of Netanya, Gil designs everything in her store, including her own jewellery.  She also imports beautiful bags and belts from the States.

Gil’s future plans include designing wedding dresses and elegant evening wear. Catch her now before she spirals away into superstardom. Contact her via email at: chief.gils@gmail.com or call her on: 054-662-0660

Kira Bell, Writer

Kira Bell is one of America’s brightest young literary hopefuls.  An English major at Northwestern, Kira is a hugely talented writer and is working on an extremely anticipated debut novel about a very hot subject. She says: “Agents consistently encourage people to write what they love. Not what’s “hot.”  Of course you should write what you love and what I love corresponds directly to what’s hot. Werewolves. Vampires.  I think my plot is original, that my voice differentiates me from the crowds of ambling prospective authors, but there is a small person inside of me that screams, “you couldn’t think of anything better to write about!?”

“But when I stop thinking about market saturation, pressure of originality, and my own dark fears of failure, I feel better. When I peel the layers away, it just comes down to the fact that I deeply and truly love the story I’ve written down. My heart and soul went into it, not to mention blood, sweat, tears, and years of writing.”

Kira, your future’s so bright, you gotta wear shades.

Read all about Kira at http://kirabell89.livejournal.com

Popularity: 72% [?]

Charitable acts are at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts lately, with the horrors in Haiti dominating the media worldwide. Giving money these days is not always easy, given that so many people have less and less to give. And when huge, all-encompassing tragedies like earthquakes strike, it is easy for people to forget about those in their midst who desperately need help and support. And as charity begins at home, Israeli musician Amiram Eini and his group Amiram Inc, are donating all the profits from their new single, I Guess I Must Be Wrong, to helping African refugees in Israel.

Says Eini:  “In 2007 a phenomenon previously not known to Israel happened. Refugees from African countries like Sudan and Eritrea walked across the Sinai desert, escaping from genocide, ethnic cleansing and famine in their home countries. They walked through the Egyptian deserts, where many were victims to abuse, torture, rape, starvation and they basically went through a living hell to get to Israel.
“Those who made it to Israel were not officially received as refugees, as Sudan is officially an enemy country to Israel, but were allowed to stay in a sort of a legal no man’s land. Sometimes incarcerated in prisons for care or left to fend for themselves without any legal status, work papers or medical insurance.

“A TV programme showed the lives of these refugees, living in abandoned bomb shelters in south Tel Aviv, sometimes 90 people in one room. In winter these shelters were flooded, and summer was unbearably hot. I was deeply moved by the plight of these people and wanted to do something. Being a musician, I decided that we would use the media attention we usually get when releasing a song  and focus it towards this subject.”

Eini managed to involve studios, photographers, celebrities (including Guy Pines and Amir Faye Guttman), and cell phone companies in order to record the song and film the video. All of those who collaborated on the project or who appeared in the music video did so  (and some are still doing) on a totally voluntary basis. Eini adds: “Our concept was to use well-known faces to replace the faceless people we don’t see in our day to day lives. The participants in the video (besides our band) are either refugees or celebrities.
All revenues from the song, downloads, sales or royalties will go to humanitarian organizations that help these refugees.

Amiram Eini

“One group we especially wanted to focus on were the pregnant women and their babies, and so we are donating the money to Brit Olam’s project “Hagar and Miriam”.

The single itself, I Guess I Must Be Wrong, is a guitar-driven melodic piece of poetry infused with celtic-inspired fiddle and Eini’s emotive, pleading voice. One of Israel’s most important rock bands, Amiram Inc are working on a new album (their debut, Little Defects, was released two years ago to critical acclaim) and hopefully I Guess I Must Be Wrong will be included on it. It would be a shame if only those in Israel have the chance to own a piece of this amazing piece of love and support.

To find out more about how to help African refugees in Israel go to: www.britolam.org or www.assaf.org.il

Amiram Inc are at www.amiraminc.com

To see the video on Youtube:  I Guess I Must Be Wrong

Popularity: 44% [?]

In November 2008, terrorists stole the lives of over 170 people in the Indian city of Mumbai. Among those who died were Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivka, tortured and executed with four others at the Chabad Mumbai House.

Cut to a few years previously, when two French students were travelling in India. One of them kept kosher and hadn’t eaten meat for four weeks during their travels so when they arrived in Mumbai, the first thing he did was do a Google search for ‘kosher Mumbai’ and was stunned when a Jewish centre popped up with Rabbi Holtzberg’s phone number. The rabbi invited them to shabbat dinner and the following day, in the synagogue, they were shocked and surprised to see the building full of Indian Jews.

On returning back to film school in New York, Jonas Pariente, the co-director and co-producer of Next Year In Bombay,  realised that no in-depth documentary had ever been made about this far-away Jewish community and he and documentary maker Mathias Mangin packed their bags and returned to India.

The Jewish community, known collectively as ‘Bene Israel’ settled in India 2000 years ago. Although they never faced anti-semitism, most of them moved to Israel in the 1950’s and today they are 4000 in Bombay and its region.

The film focuses on the last two educators of the community, Sharon and Sharona Galsulkar, who were trained in a yeshiva in Jerusalem and who have been relentlessly working towards a better Indian Jewish life. As their daughters are growing older, they have to decide whether they will stay with their shrinking community or if they will fly to Israel in order to provide their children a more Jewish life. The Bene Israel story, with its wonders and sorrows, may come to an end. “Today,” says Pariente, “because the majority of the Bene Israelis have moved to Israel, the Indian Jewish culture could evaporate within one generation. Many of the 4000 people left in and around Bombay are afraid they will have to choose between India and being Jewish. This is also the story of how the creation of Israel, in an odd trick of history, actually threatens a unique Jewish culture.”

In Alibag, an hour from the city, only five Jewish families remain, “a striking number,” says Pariente, “where one area is still named Israel Lane” and where a number of businesses and houses are decorated with the Magen David. There is still an active synagogue, but only on high holy days, and everyday the 74-year-old chazan prays alone amongst the Torah scrolls.

This is a visually stunning documentary film, bursting with Indians’ natural joie de vivre and sense of calm; it is fragrant with the smells of this bustling, over-populated yet beautiful city and while it celebrates the Bene Israel’s incredible 2,000 year history, it is tinged with a certain sadness.

To see the official Next Year In Bombay trailer go to: Next Year In Bombay

To read more about Jonas Pariente’s film making journey go to: http://nextyearinmumbai.blogspot.com/

Popularity: 41% [?]