Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Children’s Book Teaches Kindness to Animals in an Exotic Jewish Locale

The story, intended for children between the ages of 4 and 9, teaches several lessons.  Author Kierzenblat’s main message reinforces the ethical concept of being kind to animals.  Another is the fact that Jews lived throughout the Diaspora, incorporating into their daily lives the customs of the people around them. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, The World We Share

Rabbi Ilene Schneider Writes Murder Mystery Novels

Three previously published novels with punny titles all are set around Jewish holidays. Their protagonist is Rabbi Aviva Cohen, who in some respects resembles the author: the fictional Cohen is “a woman rabbi from south New Jersey, and she is short, chubby with unruly curly red hair,” Schneider said. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

La Jollan Jagoda Coached Jimmy Carter for Debate with Gerald Ford

In 1976, Jagoda coached former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter for his presidential debates against incumbent U.S. President Gerald Ford. Later, Carter became the 39th U.S. president. Carter won the popular vote (40,831,881 to Ford’s 39,148,634) and garnered 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 240. [Rick Griffin, Times of San Diego]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, News Media, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Times of San Diego, USA

‘Mysteries of Judaism’ Encourages Readers’ Questioning of the Torah

One of Drazin’s central arguments is that the Bible often raises more questions than it answers. Many biblical terms and events are left undefined or unexplained, such as the meaning of “heaven” in the creation narrative or the significance of humanity being created in the “image of God.” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

European Family’s Lives Tracked Through Several Countries and Holocaust

Particularly telling is the account of the way the German occupiers gradually close in on the Jewish population, depriving them of their rights and property and eventually deporting them in [ cattle trains to concentration camps in the east, with the cooperation of the French authorities. All those events are described in harrowing detail. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Young, Committed Jews Offer Their Thoughts on the Future of Our People

ollege students and youth in their 20’s contributed 31 essays to this anthology.  Some essays are descriptive like that of Stanford University student Julia Steinberg’s “Home, Transcendence, and the Land,” in which she describes the feelings of belonging and of being home on her first visit to Israel. Others were proscriptive such as Ashira Boxman’s “To Stand United, We Must Respect Our Different Paths,” and Kivi Franks’ “Stop Overfocusing on Antisemitism.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Billings, Montana, Set an Example of Brotherly Love after a Rock was Hurled through a Little Jewish Boy’s Window

When the police chief came to investigate, he concluded that it was done by the same group of neo-Nazis who had been harassing African Americans. Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and gays and lesbians. Previously, a swastika signboard had been nailed to the Beth Aaron Synagogue, and Jewish tombstones had been pushed over in the cemetery. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Ayelet Waldman

Courtesy of Wikipedia Ayelet Waldman (December 11, 1964) is an Israeli-American novelist and essayist. She has written seven mystery novels in the series The Mommy-Track Mysteries and four other novels. She has also written autobiographical essays about motherhood. Waldman spent three years working as a federal public defender and her fiction draws on her experience as a lawyer.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Murder Mystery Secondary to a Fine Portrait of Skid Row

This murder mystery takes place on Chicago’s run down southside, circa 1966. But two murders don’t start the novel, they occur very close to the end. The story begins with a young, idealistic Jewish dentist starting a practice on Skid Row and becoming acclimated to the drunkards and junkies who inhabit the neighborhood. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Elisha Expanded on His Mentor Elijah’s Role as Prophet

Israel Drazin’s Who Was the Prophet Elisha? is a thought-provoking exploration of one of the Bible’s most enigmatic figures. Through a blend of scholarly rigor and accessible analysis, Drazin offers a comprehensive examination of Elisha’s life, ministry, and legacy, presenting new insights into the prophet’s role in biblical narratives. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Biography: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosopher and Logician

At the age of 14, Ludwig left his parents’ home to attend a real gymnasium in Linz, where his fellow student was Adolf Schicklgruber, the future Hitler, who was born six days earlier than Wittgenstein. Although the Wittgenstein family had converted to Christianity, they were considered Jews throughout the neighborhood. Therefore, the appearance of a Jew in the classroom provoked the ill-will of his classmates and the hatred of Hitler. “This Jew we did not particularly trust, […] we doubted his trustworthiness,” Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors