Jewish Fiction

Short Story: A Memorable Spaghetti Dinner

I was sitting at a table in a small unprepossessing Italian restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn. Being an insecure type, I sat with my back to the wall, as usual, when three nattily dressed gentlemen of Italian appearance entered and approached me. “This table is our table. . .” the nattiest of them said to me softly and not impolitely. Maybe because of the gangster movies I had seen, I considered it best not to dispute the fact. If I were younger, I would have yielded with a humorous face-saving remark, such as “I thought tables were fungible.” If I were much younger, maybe even argued a bit, and perhaps I would have remained much younger for eternity. But fortunately I was not so young and life had taught me a certain prudence.  “No problem,” I said. “I’ll sit somewhere else.” I reached a hand toward a plate of spaghetti and meatballs that had arrived immediately before the three gentlemen – to take it to a table less in demand.  [Larry Lefkowitz]

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Jewish Fiction

Short Story: Fishbein, the Piano Tuner

Everyone in our family called the tuner of my daughter’s piano, “the piano tuner,” though his name was Fishbein. He was a brusque man, even for a fellow Viennese, stooped, often wore a checkered jacket which contrasted ridiculously with his formal striped pants, as if he had been a jazz saxophonist at one stage of his life and a concert pianist in another; his polka dotted, cabaret comedian’s tie completed the total mismatch. He arrived, tuned the piano, refused tea and cake (not very Viennese), pleaded that he was late for another piano, grabbed his tuning case and hurried away. Always the same ritual. His statement about being late for another piano caused us to chuckle (after he left) because he spoke of the piano that awaited him like it was a person. [Larry Lefkowitz]

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International, Jewish Fiction, Middle East

Short Story: Gershon’s Bus Ride

Gershon is sitting on the bus with two baskets brim full of purchases from the open- air market at his feet, one basket crowding his legs, the other half in the aisle, a traditional arrangement on Jerusalem’s buses as they aren’t designed for ample purchases. Jerusalemites like to purchase in bulk. They have large families. Besides, at any time someone or many someones may “drop in.” Gershon’s wife, Rachelah, who was not blessed with children, likes people to drop in. She is fond of quoting Gershon who quotes from the Mishna: ‘Let your house be open wide.’ [Larry Lefkowitz]

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Jewish Fiction, Middle East

More Than a Raceway: Novel Presents a Jewish Side of Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen by Eleanor Lerman; Mayapple Press 2021; ISBN 9781952-781018; 213 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The Finger Lakes region of upstate New York is known for Watkins Glen International, a race car venue that permits ordinary citizens to take three laps around the track in their personal cars for a fee.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, USA

Short Story: ‘The Conductor’

I am always surprised and rather dismayed whenever I hear my fellows disparage the vocal production of our avian cousins. Do you not know, I want to say, that many birds – from the nightingale to the song sparrow – are consummate musicians? The Lyrebird, that clears a patch of forest floor, prepares his stage on which to sing and dance. Is this not an artist, in the most complete sense? Birdsong is indeed music, a spontaneous expression of how a particular bird experiences and feels the world. So much so that some birds have been known to sing with such intensity and passion that their little hearts have burst in the very e ecstasy of the transport – as if their poor frames could not contain the overwhelming spiritual force of the music. [Sam Ben-Meir]

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Jewish Fiction, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir

Short Story: The Fly

Once upon a time there was a fly – by all outward appearances an ordinary and inconspicuous housefly. But this fly was quite unlike its fellows, unlike any fly that has ever been or is ever likely to be again. For this fly was in love, and not with another fly let me hasten to add. This fly was in love – in love, I say – with a man. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Jewish Fiction, Sam Ben-Meir

Children’s Literature: ‘The Rabbi and the Painter’

‘The Rabbi and the Painter,’ a children’s book imagines a fictional friendship between the Mannerist painter Tintoretto and Rabbi Leon of Modena, whose most famous work, Historia de gli riti Hebraici, describing for non-Jews the rites and customs of the Jewish people, was written more than 40 years after Tintoretto’s death.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction

Two Jewish tales to read to your youngsters

With illustrations accurately depicting life as it was in the 1880s, this is the tale of Nate, a king-size, gentle spirit who loves helping people.  His magic can stretch a small lump of chocolate big enough for an entire family or a small jar of oil long enough to last eight days. He takes a special liking to the Glaser family as they journey from Europe in the late 1870s and follows them as they work side by side with their neighbors, the O’Malleys in their new American life. [Marcia Bernegere]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger

Fiction: Jewish perspectives on Niue, Part 2

Editor’s Note: In this fictional piece, Esther and Noa, representing the San Diego-based Rabinove Foundation, go on a cruise around the South Pacific Island of Niue. In the previous segment, their guide Matafetu told them about the northern part of the island, occupied by the Motu people. In this part, he guides them around the southern part, the land of the Tafiti people. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food

Fiction: Jewish perspectives on Niue

Boarding a comfortable but fast boat that would circumnavigate the South Pacific island of Niue, Noa and Esther were pleased with their earlier meeting with the country’s premier, who had promised his government’s cooperation as they explored the possibility of installing a desalination plant on the island.  However, he warned them that due to the atoll’s geography, rising as it did straight up from the Pacific Ocean, there were very few spaces for beaches or natural harbors. So, he said, finding a suitable location for a desalination plant might be very difficult indeed. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Fiction: “It’s a Good Start”

Adam looked at the kitchen clock and realized he would not make it to the morning minyan, even if he sprinted. He would daven shachris from home, in his new apartment. He began the morning blessings, thanking Hashem for causing him to wake from sleep, for being born a male, for being sure-footed. These primary blessings were intended to set the tone of praise, gratitude, and mindfulness for the prayers to follow. [Short story by Eva Trieger]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Jewish Fiction, Lifestyles

Fiction: Mendel the Chasid’s job interview

Friday, the big day arrived. Mendel’s hat and long black coat were cleaned, special. We even asked the seamstress to fix the frayed bottom of his coat so it would not look bad. He had a new white shirt, properly buttoned to the collar and his tallit katon, which he always wore outside his shirt. It was freshly washed and ironed. We added black shoe polish to his canvas shoes to make them look darker. He combed out his long salt and pepper beard, so it was extra neat. [Jerry Klinger]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jerry Klinger, Jewish Fiction