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]
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.
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Ayelet Waldman Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
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]
Murder Mystery Secondary to a Fine Portrait of Skid Row Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors
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]
Elisha Expanded on His Mentor Elijah’s Role as Prophet Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors
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]
Jewish Biography: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosopher and Logician Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
With the author having grown up in western Christianity and the illustrator having experienced eastern religions, their collaboration, written in couplets on left-facing pages and with explanatory information on right-facing pages, uses the alphabet as a teaching vehicle. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘The ABC’s of the World’s Religions’ Shows Their Similarities Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Sex and Character asserts that all human beings are composed of a mixture of masculine and feminine matter. “Masculine” is active, productive, conscious, moral and logical, while ‘feminine’ is passive, unproductive, unconscious, amoral and illogical. In this book, Weininger emerges not only as a misogynist but also as an antisemite. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Otto Weininger: A Jewish Antisemite Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors
“Mad” and “Madness” are the operative words in the title of this collection of short stories in which the lives of Howie and Marsha Fine – the subjects of “Fine Madness” – are improbably chronicled. [Donald H. Harrison]
Book of Short Stories Takes Me Back to Mad Magazine Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors
This, as the title suggests, is the story of Heidi, a little Catholic girl born in 1936 who grew up in Berlin and the nearby countryside during the Hitler regime that culminated in Germany’s utter defeat in World War II. [Donald H. Harrison]
World War II’s Impact on German Civilians Told in Biography of Heidi Posnien Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Staff and Bylined Contributors
This is a handbook for social and political activism, written by a medical doctor who has spent his life engaged in protests, demonstrations, and movements for change. Whether you agree with his positions on a variety of issues, or disagree, reading this book may be enlightening. [Donald H. Harrison]
A Handbook for Social and Political Action Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Eight of Elie Wiesel’s fifty-seven books could be called “Theological Biographies.” They are books on biblical figures and stories about Hasidim. They are Souls on Fire (1972), Four Hasidic Masters and Their Struggle Against Melancholy (1978), Somewhere a Master (1982), and Wise Men and Their Tales (2003), which focus on Hasidim. Messengers of God (1976), Five Biblical Tales (1981), and Sages and Dreamers (1991) look at biblical people. Filled with Fire and Light is a 2021 posthumous book addressing biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic figures. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Hasidic Rebbes and what they taught us Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Do Jews believe in miracles? An article on myjewishlearning.com sparked my interest. Miracles appear throughout Jewish texts, from the splitting of the Red Sea to the bush that burned but was not consumed. [Cailin Acosta]
Are There Jewish Miracles? Yes, 8 Days of Chanukah Among Them Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Jewish themes were constantly present in Pervomaysky’s work. In the early “everyday” stories and novels they occupy a leading place. They were in the center of the story of The Promised Land, the stories The Umbrella of Pinchus-Moti (1926), In the Bookbinder’s Room (1928), From the Song of Songs (1935), and One Night of Ilyusha’s Childhood (1937). [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Leonid Solomonovych Pervomaysky, Ukrainian Author Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors
July Galper, a native of Peru and a champion of the poetry of the Peruvian-Jewish Poet, Inge Strusberg, opened the Jewish Poets of the Past program Tuesday evening, November 19, with a biographical sketch of Strusberg, written in the poet’s own words. [Eileen Wingard]
Shoah, Israel’s Wars Subjects of Poetry Readings at Lawrence Family JCC Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, International, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors