Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's commandments, Judaism has a long tradition of commissioning ritual objects from craftsmen and artists.

Kiddush, literally, "sanctification," is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Silver kiddush cups are traditional but not obligatory.

The tradition of artistically embellished haggadahs dates back to the Middle Ages. The Sarajevo Haggadah of 1350 is a celebrated example. Major contemporary artists have produced notable haggadahs, such as the Szyk Hagaddah.

The menorah (or hanukkiah) used on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is perhaps the most widely produced article of Jewish ceremonial art. The Lindo lamp is a particularly fine example by an 18th-century silversmith. Contemporary artists often design menorahs, such at the gold-plated brass menorah with 35 moveable branches designed by Yaakov Agam. A silver menorah by Ze'ev Raban from the 1930s is in the Judaica Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Manuel Valls (French: [manyɛl vals], Catalan: [mənuˈɛɫ ˈβaʎs], born August 13, 1962) is a French Socialist Party (PS) politician, deputy since 2002 and mayor of Évry. On May 16, 2012 he was appointed Minister of the Interior (Homeland security) in the French government of Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Valls was born in Barcelona, Spain, and became a naturalized French citizen in 1982. He is a prominent supporter of F.C. Barcelona, the famous club whose anthem was composed by a namesake of his, the cousin of his father. As reported on the Swiss Newspapers last week he is the son of a Spanish citizen, while his mother is a Ticinese, Swiss-Italian from Valle di Blenio, Canton Ticino.

After serving as an advisor on youth issues for Prime Minister Michel Rocard from 1988 to 1991, he was communications advisor to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2001.

He sought the PS nomination for President of France in the 2012 election. Finally ranked 5th of the first round of the PS primary, he called for a François Hollande vote in the second round. Valls is often considered in France as a representative of the social-liberal wing of the French Socialist Party, sharing common orientations with Scandinavian style Social Democracy and Blairism.

The Books were an American duo, formed in New York City in 1999, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong. Their releases typically incorporate samples of obscure sounds and speech. They have released three critically acclaimed albums on the German label Tomlab, and released their fourth studio album, The Way Out, on Temporary Residence Limited in July 2010.

Zammuto and de Jong first met in New York City in 1999 as they shared the same apartment building. De Jong invited Zammuto to dinner at his apartment, where he played him some of his collection of audio and video samples, including a Shooby Taylor record. Zammuto said of their meeting that "we both kind of knew at that moment that we listened (to music) in interesting ways and had similar approaches to music." Soon after, they began playing what they considered to be pop music, in comparison to their own works, under the name The Books.

In 2000, The Books started work on what would become their début album Thought for Food. Zammuto and de Jong moved locations constantly during this time, recording in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and finally in the basement of a hostel in North Carolina where Zammuto worked for a while after hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Adriane Galisteu is a Hungarian Brazilian model, actress and TV host. She was born on April 18, 1973, in São Paulo, Brazil. She has appeared in the Brazilian edition of Playboy magazine on a number of occasions and was a VJ for MTV Brasil. She was the girlfriend of iconic Formula One driver Ayrton Senna when he died in a racing accident in 1994.

Adriane became a celebrity following the death of Ayrton Senna and has kept that status ever since, working as a TV show host. Currently, she has a TV show on Rede Bandeirantes. She is also the host of Projeto Fashion, the Brazilian version of Project Runway.

She wrote a book "O Caminho das Borboletas" (Adriane: My Life With Ayrton; Nirlando Beirão as ghost writer) about her relationship with Brazilian Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna. She is also the ex-girlfriend of Brazilian soccer player, Roger.

Her mother's name is Ema Galisteu. Her father died when she was 15. She also had an older brother who died at the age of 28. He had AIDS. She has a son, Vittorio Iodice, who was born on August 4, 2010 in São Paulo. Alexandre Iodice, heir to the fashion house, is the father.