A lovely confluence of elements occurred recently in the world of architecture, and both of them, in a sense, have benefited Philadelphia. First, Susan G. Solomon published her important and insightful book Louis I. Kahn's Jewish Architecture: Mikveh Israel and the Midcentury American Synagogue , out from Brandeis University Press. Then, Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, one of the...

On the cover of Geniuses of the American Musical Theatre: The Composers and Lyricists , six individuals are pictured, and not surprisingly, only one of them -- Cole Porter (again not surprisingly) -- is a non-Jew. Take into consideration that the author, Herbert Keyser, is Jewish and this becomes an all haimische endeavor. (The publisher is Applause, behind which stands...