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.
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.
Suffering in Silence: Jews, Therapy, and the Stigma of Mental Illness
I was 20 when I learned that my first love had committed suicide. His death shattered me, both mentally and emotionally – but it also saved my life. You see, in the months leading up to his suicide, I had been planning my own.
A Satisfaction Survey for the Jewish New Year
As we turn to the start of a new Jewish year, perhaps we can be inspired by the all-too-familiar customer satisfaction survey to evaluate our spiritual lives.
Shabbat in Netanya, Israel: The Israeli Judaism We Need
This is liberal Judaism on the edge: Flinging doors open wide to those who would otherwise be left behind. The community is a voice of Judaism that is open to all who seek it.
Life Lessons Learned on the Basketball Court
Now a Jewish professional, my basketball experiences were formative. Skills in motivation, mentoring, management, and interpersonal relationships cultivated on the court impact my Jewish work.
How Summer Camp Helps Create Communally Engaged Jews
When big news develops during camp, campers and staff have space to explore the issues and share perspectives openly in communities of mutual Jewish concern.
Mishkan HaLev: Trying Out the New Selichot Service
Selichot is the overture for our High Holidays, a chance to focus on meaning, tradition, faith, and striving to reach that spot in the heart where no one else can go.
Wrestling with God’s Violent and Destructive Hand
In this week’s parashah, even as one of God's hands reaches out to liberate the Jews, God's other, largely invisible hand brings death and plagues upon the Egyptians.