Wholly Jewish: Noa: The Beauty of Taking Up Space
Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw
In her memoir, Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw (New American Library), food writer Elissa Altman, who also wrote Poor Man’s Feast, deftly uses kashrut – Judaism’s dietary laws – to portray, both literally and symbolically, the toxic relationships in her dysfunctional Jewish family.
The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History
On the outskirts of Berlin lies the charming lakefront community of Groß Glienicke, where locals and summer visitors enjoy swimming, boating and fishing. Nestled among the medieval village’s structures is the lake house where author Thomas Harding’s grandmother once lived.
Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal
Author Milton Viorst wants to know how Theodor Herzl’s vision of a Jewish refuge for a beleaguered people became “a military power where peace and security was thought about exclusively within a military framework.”
The Six-Day War: The Breaking of the Middle East
For Jews of a certain age, June 5, 1967 is and always will be a date as familiar as one’s own birthday. It was on that day that Israel launched a preemptive strike in response to the mobilization of Egyptian forces along the Israeli border in the Sinai Peninsula and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.
Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War
In 1938, Hank Greenberg came three home runs shy of eclipsing Babe Ruth’s record of 60 homers in a season.
A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion
Tom Segev’s voluminous biography, A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion, gives new meaning to the Latin phrase – carpe diem – seize the day. That is just what David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) did when he proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948.
Pain: A Novel
In Pain (Other Press) gifted writer Zeruya Shalev explores human pain amid heightened emotional awareness as the protagonist Iris finds herself in a second-chance love affair in middle age.
Stories We Tell: Don't Apologize to Me, Apologize to Him
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Vayeilech: The Sacred Art of Letting Go
Parashat Vayeilech is read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time of transition for all of us. We've brought in the new year with hopes, prayers, and the shofar, and we look toward Yom Kippur, where we are tasked with letting go of the last year and moving forward.