Posted By  richards on April 22, 2013    
				
				    By Rebecca Soffer  April 21, 2013  
    NEW YORK (JTA) -- May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a    commemoration first recognized by President George W. Bush in    2006. Since then, hundreds of programs have taken place    nationwide annually to honor the rich contributions of Jews to    American culture and society.  
    President Obama added to the annual festivities by launching an    annual White House bash. But this year's party was canceled    because of the sequester.  
    Not to worry:In anticipation of the big month, were    suggesting 31 activities to keep you busy each day in May.    You'll see some usual suspects, but will also find new ideas in    entertainment, food and travel, and overall fun. Were pretty    sure youll find something of interest.  
    If weve somehow missed the mark, feel free to participate in    the epitome of American Jewish hobbies: kvetching.  
    For a rundown of official Jewish American Heritage Month    events, visit http://www.jahm.us. You can    also follow @USAJewish on Twitter.  
    1. Make cholent  
    Our people are into stews. So is it really surprising that the    great American Crock-Pot originally was coined the Naxon    Beanery All-Purpose Cooker after its Jewish inventor, Irving    Naxon? Naxon, who died in 1989 with more than 200 patents in    his name, conceived an inexpensive and safe heating element    inspired by his mothers tales of making the traditional    Sabbath meat-and-potato stew -- a nearly 24-hour process -- in    her Lithuanian shtetl (his daughter recently wrote about her    family memories for the     Beyond Bubbie online food project). Not into the idea of    cholent? Toss anything into a Crock-Pot, from lentils to grits    to an entire chicken, and thank Mr. Naxon for making cooking so    darn easy.  
    2. Celebrate Hollywoods female showrunners  
    In case you hadnt heard, Jewish American women are taking the    entertainment world by the beitsim. Writer-director-producer    Jill Soloway won the    2013 Sundance Award for U.S. Dramatic Directing for her debut    film, Afternoon Delight (she also founded the Los Angeles    community organization East Side Jews). Allison    Silverman, the former co-executive producer of theColbert    Report, has been penning episodes for The Office and    Portlandia, the IFC show starring hipster Jew Carrie    Brownstein. And creator-star-writer-director Lena Dunham, she    of the million-dollar book proposal, has turned the HBO series    Girls into a cultural sensation along with showrunner Jenni    Konner. Buy a movie ticket, subscribe to HBO or tune in to NBC,    and thank the ladies for the laughs.  
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31 things to do during Jewish American Heritage Month
				
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