Leaving Lucy Pear
Award-winning novelist Anna Solomon’s second novel Leaving Lucy Pear, now out in paperback, is a masterfully woven web of ambition and lies.
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.
The Most Unusual Seder I've Ever Attended
I’ve attended many seders in the U.S. and several other countries during my 60 years. Some have been memorable, and others have been, well, slightly less memorable, fusing into an abstract painting in my mind.
Orange Is the New Advocacy: An Interview with NFTY's President
NFTY President Jeremy Cronig explains why he's so passionate about ending gun violence.
Jewish Life in Cuba: Amidst the Poverty There is Richness
I recently traveled throughout Cuba with 16 congregants from Beth Emeth in Wilmington, DE. At each stop, as we engaged with the island’s history, its challenges, its people, and especially its Jewish communities, I was reminded of the story of Bonchi the Silent.
Galilee Diary: Spiritual Leadership
I thought, “I will not mention Him, no more will I speak in His name,” but [His word] was like a raging fire in my heart, shut up in my bones; I could not hold it in, I was helpless.
Jeremiah 20:9
Recently I attended the monthly meeting of the Council of Reform Rabbis in Israel (i.e., the Israeli CCAR, the professional association of North American Reform rabbis), where the main agenda item was the continuation of an ongoing discussion about whether individual rabbis – and the Council as a body – can or should take a public position regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict and directions toward its resolution.
In a New Thriller, Age is No Barrier to a Survivor's Revenge
The 2015 film Remember, the Nazi revenge fantasy plays out within the familiar Hitchcockian confines of film noir by Canadian, Academy Award-nominated director Atom Egoyan.
Yoga and Torah Study: What Do They Have in Common?
For six years, I have led a diverse group of about 25 individuals in a weekly “Lunch and Learn” Torah study session. As we wrestle with the text through the lens of our contemporary lives, some parashiyot (weekly portions) resonate more than others, but we are comfortable enough in our study to question everything – including God – without diminishing our faith.
Tuning in to the Power of Psalms
It was a blessing for me to study Psalms with mentors at Hebrew Union College and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Now, I study Psalms almost every day.