James Taylor Dazzles Americans For July 4 At Tanglewood

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Tanglewood, Massachusetts --- July 4, 2011 .... There are few, memorable treats that one can expect when celebrating America's birthday. Sure, we have the fireworks, the parades and the picnics. But to hear the soft, sweet sound of James Taylor coming not from a DVD but directly from this music legend's mouth to your ears, is almost surreal.

The staff of the Israel News Agency were guests of a magical place called Tanglewood in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
We sat among a crowd of over 17,000 under clear New England skies. James Taylor had joined the legendary Boston Pops and its master composer John Williams for July 4.

James Taylor was now doing his fifth of his annual benefit weekends for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BOS) at its summer home in Lenox. About 60,000 people have paid between $21 and $115 for one of Taylor's four weekend performances - adding millions of dollars to the BSO coffers.

James Taylor, 63, resides in the Berkshires and understands that the BSO is the key for a regionwide community of artistic enterprises.

As we entered Tanglewood, it brought back memories of Woodstock. Long, green fields awaited the mass human blanket that was allowed to bring food and drink onto the sprawling, well manicured lawns. For those who could afford, they took their wooden seats at what is known as the Shed - or the indoor amphitheater.

As James Taylor sang, it was as though all had transformed into little children listening to a bedtime story. The crowd was hypnotized by Taylor and many stood up and danced slowly to his many tunes including his most classic - You Got A Friend .

Taylor engaged the audience several times during the concert and at one point when a woman yelled out: "James marry me" Taylor responded with a smile: "I can see that this is going to be an interesting evening.

Israeli Jewelry: Popularity is on the Rise | Israel-Catalog.com Blog

What may be cause for this growing popularity? With the escalation in the World Wide Web, more items are becoming accessible to consumers throughout the world. This is creating a drastic expansion of shopping online that has changed the world’s market in all its areas; customers from all over the world can now easily acquire jewelry from Israel. This positive change has encouraged Israeli jewelry designers to get more exposure, and therefore, distribute a wider collection of products directly into the international market. These designers are very much familiar with Jewish traditions and symbols. Their studios incorporate jewelry pieces with traditional Jewish motifs, such as the Magen David , mezuzahs and hamsa- hand . Jewish jewelry from Israel is often inscribed with Jewish prayers and blessings in Hebrew, such as Shema Israel and the Traveler’s Prayer.  These pieces allow the wearers to express their faith and be part of a collective identity. Another good example would be MIZZE Jewelry – Made for Luck. This productive studio specializes in modern Jewish and Kabala jewelry that is all wished-for luck. Mizze’s original accessories include prominent Jewish and kabbalists motifs for good fortune and blessing. Their popular designs include Hamsa bracelets, red string bracelets and jewelry pieces that feature Kabbalist codes such as the 72 Names of God. In the second group of fashion jewelry from Israel you can find Israeli jewelry designers such as Shlomit Offir who creates unique jewelry pieces, in tune with mainstream fashion. Made from finest materials Offir’s fantastic works include jewelry pieces that dwell on general themes, such as nature. Based in Tel Aviv, her items are integrated with pearls and semi precious stones and made in various techniques. Adina Plastleina’s works are made in an ancient glassware technique called Millefiori.  It was employed hundreds of years ago to create distinctive patterns in glass.  Adina Plastelina studio utilizes this technique with different materials, such as: polymer, clay and other natural materials.   Each item produced by this technique is distinctive and bears vibrant appearance.

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