Home loan Taxation Masters Below Area 80EE
Home loan Taxation Masters Below Area 80EE If you’re a first-big date homebuyer, you could potentially claim tax deduction below Section 80EE. That it part allows a lot more income tax deduction of upto Rs 50,100 toward interest percentage to the financial. Quite simply, that it deduction is over and you may over the different away from Rs 2 lakh allowed not as much as Point twenty-four(b). The borrowed funds should have become drawn ranging from . It should be the fresh debtor?s first possessions purchase. The value of the home really should not be more than Rs fifty lakh, while the financial shouldn’t be more than Rs 35 lakh. Part 80EEA – Taxation Deduction to have Attention Paid down for the Affordable Housing Loan This new 2019 Commitment Budget revealed because of the Money Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a major raise towards the ‘Housing for All’ initiative through providing a supplementary income tax credit from Rs 1.5 lakh to the property mortgage attract money produced between . An important purpose of so it deduction is to help homeowners for the obtaining low-costs investment in order to achieve the us government of India’s “Casing for everyone” objective. Homeowners can also be subtract an extra Rs 1.5 lakh into the attention repayments http://www.simplycashadvance.net/loans/short-term/ to their family financing significantly less than Area 80EEA. This will be along with the Rs dos lakh tax different limit and this can be stated around Point 24(b). Merely basic-go out homebuyers is avail benefits lower than that it section. Ergo, the borrower should not have any almost every other home within their term. Deduction can simply getting reported to own desire payment on house loan. Your house loan have to have already been taken between . The worth of the house or property should not be more Rs forty-five lakhs. You can’t allege taxation gurus under Section 80EE. Just what Tax Pros arrive into the Shared Home loans? For individuals who make an application for home financing along with other somebody, your chances of obtaining grant improve. One financial otherwise financial organization is much more browsing help a good home application for the loan with many individuals simply because they be aware that the new loan might possibly be paid off by several individuals. Such co-individuals also are named co-borrowers. As well as increasing the likelihood of bringing a mortgage, combined ownership supplies the individuals more installment freedom, decreasing the chance of paying the EMI on it’s own. Additionally, individuals with mutual home loans meet the criteria to have mutual financial taxation exemptions, so you and all sorts of the co-individuals otherwise co-individuals is allege income tax advantages separately. Per co-candidate is allege a tax deduction of up to Rs dos lakh having appeal payments and Rs step one.5 lakh for dominant installment lower than Section twenty-four(b) and not as much as Section 80C, respectively. One another people must, although not, feel co-owners of the house and you can pay the EMIs. Deduction having attract repaid on the casing mortgage With a make an effort to assist some body pick their home, the cash Income tax Act regarding 1961 brings of a lot provisions that allow home buyers in order to allege tax exemptions to your certain components of brand new mortgage, including interests. Whenever men secures a home loan so you’re able to often get otherwise build a house which can be expenses EMIs then they is allege taxation work with for the after the several parts Point twenty four enables you to subtract the attention quantity of the EMI covered the current economic...
Read MoreIf you have questions regarding the loan options, you could potentially telephone call an effective CIBC advisor at the 1-866-294-5964
If you have questions regarding the loan options, you could potentially telephone call an effective CIBC advisor at the 1-866-294-5964 With versatile installment words and competitive rates of interest, you can add selling worth to your residence with the home improvements if you’re saving cash on your own home opportunity bills. The latest lending option you need hinges on the fresh new home improvements you will be carrying out. Finance are often greatest fitted to one to-go out have fun with. Eg, setting up a slate rooftop, including a family group area, otherwise building an alternate driveway is an isolated endeavor. Listed here is a snapshot away from exactly how per solution functions. Loan: A personal loan offers money you ought to create a massive purchase when you are providing you less rate of interest than just a charge card and you may an appartment timeframe in which to help you pay off the mortgage. You could safer their recovery loan with the collateral on your family once the equity, that may make you qualified to receive an even straight down rate of interest. Funds are also some personalized where you could potentially pick your own popular rate of interest, should it be repaired otherwise changeable, as well as your well-known payment package. Credit line: In the event the recovery preparations was constant, look into sometimes a personal line of credit or even the Household Electricity Package . These activities enables you to borrow funds and you can pay it needed. In case your desired renovations are likely to tally several thousand dollars, believe that loan or line of credit to aid defense these types of expenses You could potentially contemplate a credit line as being similar so you’re able to credit cards. Once you have the means to access the cash, it’s not necessary to re-apply each time you want to make use of her or him, together alternative loans with poor credit with a credit line provides you with a lesser attention rate. This will make it a far more flexible provider as even though you have no idea just how much needed for a specific enterprise, you should have reassurance understanding its available when the amount of time will come. Which have a credit line, you might also need the option of protecting it and you can reducing your interest rate by using your property since the collateral. Along with, you can sign up for money on their line of credit regarding your own debit card, financial machine, online and a whole lot more. Along with your money set up, it’s time to prioritize their need household renovations. Your loan otherwise credit line is better spent on specific home improvements as opposed to others. Imagine and work out these types of improvements to your house so you can both increase its comfort and you may selling worth: Update your bathrooms: Help make your restrooms modern-day with new fittings, the lowest-disperse toilet, space-saving cupboards, fresh paint and new tile. Remodeling restrooms can have a good 56% higher profits on return than average home improvements. Grow the kitchen: When you have a tiny galley kitchen or a kitchen that’s defectively laid out, spend money on updated cabinets and you will appliances. You could see an Value for your dollar from your really works here that’s forty-two% higher than average. Replace the floor: Wood floors was a major feature from inside the residential property. For those who have them, purchase refinishing him or her. If you sick carpet towards the top of sweet flooring, rip you to out and...
Read MoreThe Dog House Slot Demo Oyna Türkçe – Ücretsiz Deneyin
The Dog House Slot Demo Oyna Türkçe – Ücretsiz Deneyin The Dog House slot oyunu, slot severler tarafından oldukça popüler bir oyundur. Pragmatic Play tarafından geliştirilmiş bu oyun, kullanıcılara renkli grafikler ve eğlenceli karakterler sunarak keyifli bir deneyim yaşatır. Türkçe demo oyun seçeneği sayesinde, oyuncular hiçbir ücret ödemeden ve gerçek para riskine girmeden oyunu deneme şansı bulurlar. Ücretsiz slot deneyimi yaşamak isteyenler için The Dog House demo sürüm mükemmel bir fırsat sunar. Slot oyunları Türkçe dilinde oynayarak, oyunun tüm detaylarını anlayabilir ve oyuna hızlı bir şekilde adapte olabilirsiniz. The Dog House slot, ilk kez oynayacaklar için ideal bir başlangıç noktasıdır ve kullanıcıların oyunu öğrenmelerine yardımcı olur. Öne Çıkanlar Ücretsiz slot deneyimi ile gerçek para riskine girmeden oyun oynayın. Renkli grafikler ve eğlenceli karakterlerle dinamik bir oyun. The Dog House demo sürüm Türkçe dil desteği sunar. Pragmatic Play tarafından geliştirilen popüler bir oyun. İlk kez oynayacaklar için ideal bir başlangıç noktası. Neden The Dog House Slot Oynamalısınız? The Dog House slot oyunu, Pragmatic Play slotları arasında popüler bir tercihtir. Eğlenceli ve kazandırıcı özellikleriyle öne çıkan bu oyun, hem bedava slot oyunları denemek isteyen hem de gerçek kazanç arayan oyuncular için cazip bir seçenektir. Oyunun Genel Özellikleri The Dog House slot özellikleri, 5×3 düzeninde ve 20 ödeme hattına sahip olmasıyla dikkat çeker. Çeşitli bonus özellikleri ve yüksek kazanç potansiyeline sahip olan bu oyun, oyunculara heyecan verici bir deneyim sunar. Renkli ve canlı tasarımıyla oyuncuların ilgisini çekerken, Pragmatic Play slotları arasında üst sıralarda yer almasını sağlar. Renkli Tasarım ve Eğlenceli Tema The Dog House slot oyunu, köpek temalı karakterleri ve neşeli müzikleriyle oyunculara keyifli zamanlar sunar. Oyunun detaylı grafikleri ve canlı renkleri, görsel açıdan çekici bir deneyim sunar. Bu özellikler, oyunun uzun süre ilgi çekici kalmasını sağlar. Ücretsiz Deneme Avantajı Oyunun demo versiyonu, The Dog House slot özellikleri ve bonuslarını riske atmadan denemek isteyenler için mükemmeldir. Bedava slot oyunları arasında yer alan demo sürüm, oyunu anlamak ve strateji geliştirmek için harika bir fırsat sunar. Ayrıca, Türkçe dil desteği ile anlaşılır ve erişilebilir bir arayüz sağlamaktadır. Özellik Detay Düzen 5×3 Ödeme Hatları 20 Bonus Özellikleri Çeşitli bonuslar ve yüksek kazanç potansiyeli Tema Köpek temalı karakterler ve neşeli müzikler The Dog House Slot Demo Oyna Türkçe: Nasıl Başlanır? The Dog House slot demo versiyonunu oynamak oldukça basit ve hızlı bir süreçtir. Genellikle demo slot oyunu nasıl oynanır sorusunun cevabı için herhangi bir kayıt işlemi gerekmemektedir. Bu bağlamda, pek çok online casino platformu, oyunculara anında başlayabilmeleri için ‘oyunu dene’ veya ‘demo oyna’ gibi seçenekler sunar. Kayıt Olma ve Başlatma the dog house slot demo oynamak için, popüler online casino sitelerine giriş yapabilirsiniz. kayıt işlemleri çoğu zaman gerekmediği için, slot demo kayıt işlemleri basit bir kullanıcı deneyimi sağlar. Sadece sitenin arama bölümünden oyunun adını aratarak ‘demo oyna’ seçeneğine tıklamanız yeterlidir. Genellikle bu tür deneme modları, oyuncuların oyunun kurallarını, bonus özelliklerini ve ödeme tablosunu keşfetmeleri için idealdir. Demo Modunda Oynamanın Faydaları The Dog House slot demo oynarken, oyunculara birçok avantaj sunar. Özellikle, oyuncular herhangi bir mali risk olmadan oyunun mekaniğini ve stratejilerini öğrenebilirler. Avantajlı slot deneyimi sunan bu demo modu, oyuncuların gerçek parayla oynamadan önce bilgi sahibi olmalarını sağlar. Bu da daha bilinçli ve stratejik bir oyun deneyimi için son derece faydalıdır. FAQ The Dog House slot demo oyununu nasıl ücretsiz oynayabilirim? The Dog House slot demo oyununu oynamak için, desteklenen online casino platformlarına girip ‘oyunu dene’ ya da ‘demo oyna’ seçeneklerini tıklamanız yeterlidir. Kayıt olmanıza gerek yoktur. The Dog House slot oyununun demo sürümünü oynamanın avantajları nelerdir? Demo sürüm, oyunun kurallarını ve mekaniklerini öğrenmek için mükemmel bir fırsattır. Gerçek para riski olmadan strateji geliştirebilir ve oyun hakkında bilgi edinebilirsiniz. The Dog House slot oyununun hangi özellikleri...
Read MorePre-Acceptance otherwise Pre-Qualification: What things to Understand
Pre-Acceptance otherwise Pre-Qualification: What things to Understand Whether or not you love to plan much beforehand otherwise set out with only a map, very first move around in your own homebuying adventure should really be to communicate with a personal bank loan administrator . Just before looking at homes, you will need to speak to their bank knowing and therefore homes are in your own finances and exactly how much time it entails one get a house. Their financial makes it possible to together with your pre-qualification for a loan and then help you to get pre-acknowledged getting home financing. One another steps can take your closer to and make a deal toward a separate domestic and can make a difference when you’re ready while making a deal. What is actually Pre-Certification? If you’re leaning to the to invest in a separate house but maybe perhaps not one hundred% sure if you are able to decide to take the plunge, pre-qualification is your best flow. To-be pre-qualified means you are given a projected amount borrowed centered on very first qualifying pointers and standard lending requirements. So it produces a finances for your house bing search. New pre-certification process is as easy as taking a loan provider with your earnings pointers. They ask you questions relating to your income and you may credit score but not one of them you to definitely fill out papers. They will certainly as well as inquire about the cost variety considering for your new home. Pre-degree helps homebuyers manage a realistic finances. It’s also among the first questions a representative will ask: Just how much have you been pre-qualified for? Real estate professionals often generally speaking remain a copy of one’s pre-degree letter on the document if the home owners inquire about they ahead of appearing property. It is critical to know that you could potentially pre-be eligible for a much higher home loan than your budget. If that happens, it is good news. This means that you are to avoid entering a position in which youre overextended. Simply because you qualify for extra cash than just you questioned cannot mean you ought to see a property that’s at the the very high-end of one’s degree finances. You’re going to have to envision of many affairs when making a budget. Getting pre-accredited will additionally provide a homebuyer a concept of exacltly what the monthly obligations is. It is critical to keep in mind that installment loans for bad credit in Riverside pre-degree ‘s the initial step, when you find yourself pre-recognition requires more day. What is actually Pre-Recognition? Pre-acceptance comes to filling out a software which have a financial institution and you can requires a great deal more paperwork. They’ll perform an intensive glance at of one’s earnings, one financial obligation you may possibly have, your credit score, and you can a secured item view. They’ll plus ask for latest paychecks, lender comments and your W-2 forms. It could take as much as a couple of weeks in order to determine how much currency you are recognized to invest. Once you have the pre-approval matter, the fresh new financial institution provides you with a letter saying how much you can borrow. A pre-approval page from your bank generally ends immediately following 90 days. Remember that this new pre-recognition letter isnt an union to help you provide. Which have it letter at your fingertips brings a buyer an aggressive advantage in the an attractive business. It means if you discover property you like and it’s on the pre-recognition assortment, you are able to a bid...
Read MoreUnless you otherwise the attorneys helps make specific plan to your lender, your home might be sold on the product sales big date
Unless you otherwise the attorneys helps make specific plan to your lender, your home might be sold on the product sales big date What is Property foreclosure? Foreclosures is actually a legal procedure that lets a financial to market assets to repay an effective borrower’s past due mortgage. To stop Property foreclosure When you are having problems purchasing your mortgage, rating let quickly. The home loan servicer, an excellent Us Institution away from Construction and Urban Innovation (HUD)-approved houses therapist, and you can a qualified attorney could possibly get be able to bring alternatives so you’re able to save your valuable household. Although not, it is very important require let easily, as the chances of rescuing your residence miss as you slip next trailing. Shedding Behind on your Home loan During the first thirty-six days just after shed a cost, you can acquire a call from the servicer. You need to explain the problem on servicer and request help. Unless you catch up inside forty five times of forgotten an installment, you are going to discovered a good Observe of Delinquency. This notice will state the brand new go out your decrease at the rear of, tell simply how much you borrowed, and incorporate a loss of profits mitigation application. You ought to fill in the application form and posting they in. Good HUD-recognized housing specialist helps you from this processes (find less than). 120 months shortly after their skipped fee, the financial institution may start new formal foreclosures techniques. There are two sort of property foreclosure from inside the Arkansas: official and low-judicial. The process for each and every are briefly talked about less than. Form of Property foreclosure Official foreclosure occurs when the financial data files a lawsuit contrary to the borrower to get the court’s permission to market our house. You should understand an official property foreclosure has started if you are presented with a summons and you will a criticism. If you are offered a foreclosure suit, get in touch with a legal professional. You just enjoys a month so you’re able to file a suitable respond to that have the fresh new circuit judge clerk. If you don’t document a reply within this thirty days, a default judgment tends to be joined up against both you and your home could well be ended up selling. Non-judicial property foreclosure is a process that allows a bank to sell an effective borrower’s house in place of going to trial. The method initiate when the financial information an effective Observe from Standard and you can Intention to market. It find, and therefore should be taken to the fresh new debtor by official and you can normal mail within this thirty days from it are filed, need to tend to be (among other things) the newest go out, go out, and put of your own sales; a legal malfunction of the property; plus the title, target, and you will contact number of party bringing the foreclosure, plus the after the statement: You may want to dump your property unless you grab immediate action. The new deals date can not be below two months from the time the fresh new observe is recorded to the clerk. If you get this find, contact legal counsel instantaneously. You’ll eliminate the liberties on possessions. If your home is offered at under extent you owed towards mortgage, the lending company can get sue you to own an effective insufficiency wisdom to pay for huge difference. So it lawsuit have to be introduced contained in this one year of product sales. Mitigating Losses Loss...
Read MoreAbout Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
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In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
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Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
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When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
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Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
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One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
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Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
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The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
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A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
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Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
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I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
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Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
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A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
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A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
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A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
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Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
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I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
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Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
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An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
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A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
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It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
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Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
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Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
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A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
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I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
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Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
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December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
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I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
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Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
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It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
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Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
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I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
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A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
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It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
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A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
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Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
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Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
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On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
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MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
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LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
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LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
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A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
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On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
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Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
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A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
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