The Italian Executioners: The Genocide of the Jews of Italy
Simon Levis Sullam, who teaches modern history at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, has written a well-researched book that shatters the widely-held belief that Italians were brava gente, “good people,” who protected their Jewish fellow citizens from the horrors of the Holocaust.
Promised Land: A Novel of Israel
Martin Fletcher, the former NBC bureau chief in Israel, describes his 409-page novel in three words: “Exodus meets ‘Dallas.’” And indeed it is.
The Family Tabor
What do we choose to show to others, and what do we keep hidden? How do we curate our public face?
Muck: A Novel
In this re-telling of the life of Jeremiah, the second major prophet in the Hebrew Bible, Dror Burstein, an Israeli poet and novelist who teaches literature at Tel Aviv and Hebrew universities, interweaves all aspects of the modern world, including cell phones, fax machines, computers, and high-speed transit with the ancient Jerusalem in which the First Temple dominates the horizon. T
Mavericks, Mystics & False Messiahs: Episodes from the Margins of Jewish History
In Mavericks, Mystics & False Messiahs: Episodes from the Margins of Jewish History, Pini Dunner provides a series of bizarre stories describing how some Jews crashed through conventional guardrails of staid Jewish tradition and sped forward onto aberrant lanes of false messiahs, forgers of Passover Haggadot, rabbis searching for subversive religious meanings of Hebrew amulets, and an 18th-century British lord who converted to Judaism.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - T’tzaveh: What to Wear
Parashat T’tzaveh goes into detail about the ritual garments and dress of the ancient high priests. In almost every religious community, the leaders wear distinctive garments that make their roles clear in their respective communities.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Va-eira: Modern Day Moses
This week, Rabbi Jacobs discusses Parashat Va-eira. Parashat Va-eira is read during Shabbat Tzedek, right before we celebrate Dr.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Va-y'chi: What Lives on of Us When We Die?
Jacob’s death, which takes place in parashat Va-y’chi, marks the end of an epoch in the life of the Jewish people.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - B’shalach: When it's the Time to Act, and When it's the Time to Pray
In Parashat B'shalach, the Israelites arrive at the Sea of Reeds, the sea parts, and they walk across dry land toward freedom.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Mishpatim: Always Be Present
Near the end of Parashat Mishpatim, God tells Moses to go to the mountain, and to “be there.” Why would God tell Moses to “be there” after already telling him exactly where to be?