Sometimes you feel so stressed, you think you are going to SNAP! That, according to author Julie Potiker, is a good thing, assuming you are referring to SNAP as an acronym. [Donald H. Harrison]
Dealing with Stress? It’s a SNAP! Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles
Julie Potiker, Robert Nejmias, and Lisa Schwartz were the featured poets for the second evening of Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices’ 15th season on January 17 at the Astor Judaica Library in the Lawrence Family JCC. They all read their own works and the audience was totally engaged by the creativity and beauty of their poems, as well as their self-assured presentations. Examples from each are at the end of this article. [Eileen Wingard]
Three Jewish Poets Share Their Creativity at the JCC Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard
By Oliver B. Pollak TETON VILLAGE, Wyoming — I watched The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film on Amazon Prime. There were four of us in the living room, that cut it down to $5 each. I had no intention of writing about it. I got a birthday gift in November, Paul Newman, The Extraordinary Life
Books and Films – Paul Newman, Steven Spielberg, and the Second World War Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Celebrities, Oliver Pollak, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
This book is billed as one for women, but in fact the issues it discusses apply equally to the genders. In her memoir, Laura Black tells of her struggles with weight and her recognition that because of it, her parents were embarrassed by her. To demonstrate her worth, she threw herself first into business and secondly into the law, eventually combining the two to create an agency to supply lawyers on a temporary basis to law firms that were crushed with work. Her career won her recognition and plaudits, but did not erase her negative self-image. [Donald H. Harrison]
Finding Meaning in the Last Part of Your Life Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles
Various items connected to the celebration of Passover have gone missing in their home: Passover placemats, a Seder plate puzzle, Afikomen bag, even matzo. With the discovery of each disappearance, Michael texts the Easter bunny, asking him to put that item in the Golden Easter Egg. But the placemats, puzzle, and Afikomen bag, are too large to fit in the bag, even though the Easter Bunny pushed, patted, squished, and squashed. [Donald H. Harrison]
Missing Information Detracts from Passover & Easter Tale Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
After years of running and hiding during the Holocaust, Jenny Benrey, decided that her five-year-old daughter, the future novelist Michèle Sarde, should be baptized in the Catholic Church. So many of her relatives and friends had disappeared in the Nazi Holocaust! But later, when it came time for Michèle’s confirmation, Jenny could not bring herself to complete her abandonment of Judaism. Michèle was withdrawn from the confirmation class, thereafter living neither as a practicing Jew nor as a Catholic. And the Holocaust that had prompted Jenny’s impulses became a forbidden subject, enveloped in silence. [Donald H. Harrison]
Sephardic Family History Stretches from Spanish Inquisition to Post-Holocaust Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — The 15th season of Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices continues on Tuesday evening, January 17, at 7 p.m., featuring three Jewish poets from our community, Roberto Nejmias, Julie Potiker, and Lisa Schwartz. Register here: https://my.lfjcc.org/12680/12681 Nejmias writes in Spanish and his sister, Sara Artenstein, will be reading the English translations.
Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices Continues to Tap Into Community’s Creativity Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, San Diego County
By his own assessment, being a rabbi who must give sermons before a congregation and empathize with congregants during times of their loss or emotional stress is a challenge that others might believe insurmountable given his high-functioning autism. [Donald H. Harrison]
Autistic Rabbi Brutally Honest about Issues and Himself Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
Although this graphic novel is about sleepaway summer camp, there’s a warning that it is not a book for kids. That’s because it’s graphic in another sense, with scatological and sexual images pertaining to the hopes and imagination of adolescent boys. [Donald H. Harrison}
Graphic Novel About Kids’ Camp Not Drawn for Kids Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
A Jew, a cosmopolitan, a humanist, a pacifist, a supporter of a united Europe, Zweig did not accept Herzl’s Jewish nationalism. At a request of Herzl to help organize a Zionist movement, Zweig refused: the Jewish theme was too small compared with the problems of Europe. [Alex Gordon]
The Burning Secret of the Great Biographer Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History
This book, written by a well-known TV personality specializing in economic subjects, aims to present the issues and obstacles the average Israeli encounters in dealing with economic matters and bureaucracy, writing about complex subjects in a way that is accessible to all. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Readable Book Takes the ‘Dismal’ out of the ‘Dismal Science’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & Education
(JNS) Sefaria, a provider of digital Jewish texts at no cost, on Tuesday launched its offering of the four foundational texts of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement. The newly available texts include a fully bilingual edition of the Tanya, the cornerstone philosophical text of the Chabad movement; a Hebrew version of Torah Ohr, a 19th-century compilation
Foundational Texts of Chabad Movement Launched in Digital Form Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, USA
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Maggid Books, together with Yeshiva University Press, published “A Guide for the Jewish Undecided: A Philosopher Makes a Case for Orthodox Judaism” by Dr. Samuel Lebens, a rabbi and Orthodox Jew who is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa in Israel. His
Book Offers a Philosopher’s Case for Orthodox Judaism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Joshua Lambert, The Literary Mafia: Jews, Publishing, and Postwar American Literature (Yale University Press, 2022) By Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D. RICHMOND, California — On Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 2 p.m. about 40 people zoomed into Josh Lambert’s presentation on his new book The Literary Mafia: Jews, Publishing, and Postwar American Literature (Yale Univ Press,
The Virtual New Book Tour—Zoom, Stream, YouTube, Audio, Print, and Film Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak