ModernTribe: PunkTorah Friday!

Hey, this is Patrick. In addition to working with ModernTribe.com and singing in the Jewish punk rock band Can!!Can, I do PunkTorah, a website and activism project I founded last April. PunkTorah strives to provide meaningful Jewish spiritual connections to progressive people. The project includes weekly videos, outreach events, public speaking and blogging on several Jewish websites.

ModernTribe is a great supporter of PunkTorah (you can buy PunkTorah shirts on the website) and is letting PunkTorah take over the blog every Friday. Each week I'm looking forward to sharing with you the best of PunkTorah. For more PunkTorah visit PunkTorah.com. Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful weekend!

Here is a short video about PunkTorah:



Parshat Bereishit (Shot Inside My Kitchen):



Sukkot Party Home Movie:

Best of the Web Wednesdays

It's Wednesday, and that means ModernTribe's Best of the Jewish Web. This week features a big announcement from our friends at Jewcy and JDub Records, valuable information on Breast Cancer Awareness Month from My Jewish Learning and a great recipe for French Onion Soup...that's actually kosher!



Jewcy is a terrific forum for bloggers to share ideas and learn about contemporary Jewish life, politics, social issues and to create connections in the larger online Jewish world. So we were very excited to hear that JDub Records (Soulico, Girls In Trouble, Golem, Balkan Beat Box and more) has taken over the site with promises of great things to come.


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I was surprised to learn that Jewish women are actually at a higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. My Jewish Learning is providing some amazing resources for women to learn more about these issues, including links to non-profits dedicated to working with Jewish and Israeli women on health and wellness.




I'm a huge "foodie", and one of my favorite things to do is deconstruct non-kosher recipes to find their kosher, and healthier, alternative. I have been trying to find a way to do it with French Onion Soup with absolutely no luck. That's why I was really glad that The Jew and the Carrot, a blog that looks at food and environmentalism from a Jewish perspective, found a way to make my cravings a reality.

Enjoy the Best of the (Jewish) Web! -Patrick Aleph

What's New On ModernTribe

If you are a fan of Twitter (like us), then you know that today is #MusicMonday, where Twitterers "tweet" their favorite artists, songs and albums.

We're taking this to the "next level" by showing you our favorite new Cool Jew Music Merchandise on ModernTribe.com.



The Ghettoblaster Bag by Parcel/Loop NYC is a great gift for anyone who likes the retro-hip hop style of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Afrika Bambaataa and Run DMC.

We first learned about this bag when Shopkeeper Jennie's niece came to visit. Jennie fell in love with the bag and just had to find it for you!

The bag has real working speakers for your ipod or mp3 player. Just plug & play, the wires and speakers are built right in!

Our fearless Personal Shopper Patrick Aleph (who happens to be a musician as well) thinks this makes an awesome alternative to a back pack, especially for grad students.

We also think it makes a cool alternative baby bag for hip parents (especially dads) that want their baby fashion to be...well...edgy!

Now here's a few Cool Jews that are changing the way the world sees (and hears!) Jewish music. First we have Matisyahu, with his new album Light. Matisyahu breaks the mold by effortlessly blending deep dance, reggae, electronica, and even acoustic folk into this album that showcases his brilliance.

We're proud to call Y-Love a personal friend. Y-Love's album This Is Babylon is an epic journey into the heart of a Modern Orthodox, biracial rap sensation, who brings together English, Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin into global hip hop. With themes of unity, spiritual journeys, and prophetic visions of the future, Y-Love is truly a hip hop revolutionary.

Consider the soul-moving sounds of Girls In Trouble, fronted by Alicia Jo Rabins of the klezmer rock band Golem. Girls In Trouble asks the question, "what would happen if the girls of the Bible started an indie rock band"? What you get is a marriage of classical instrumental training and folk-punk sensitivity through the filter of Jewish literature, mysticism and history. It will take your breath away.

As seen in Time Out New York, the Mix Tape USB Stick is one of our best selling products. These 64MB USB memory sticks will store up to one hour of digital music -- the same amount as you used to get on and old school C60 cassette tape.

What's new is our ongoing list of New Jewish Loves Songs. If you have a favorite, email ModernTribe today!

Follow us today on Twitter: @ModernTribe_Jew (Shopkeeper Jennie), @TexasDreidel (No Limit Texas Dreidel)