Bagels, Books and Schmooze

Cats in the Doll House: Great Chanakah Gift

2011-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Cats in the Doll Shop
By Yona Zeldis McDonough

I don't review books for children. Not, that I am saying I don't enjoy it. But the chance never came about, till the publisher of The Cats in the Doll Shop asked. I am glad she did. I enjoyed reading this chapter book.

This is a story about a Jewish, little girl, named Anna, and her two sisters. They live above a doll shop that her parents own. One day, her parents tell her, her cousin from Russia will be coming to live with them.
In the mean time, Anna spies a neighbor, harming a mother cat, and her babies.

These are the two intersecting conflicts in the story. As a adult, I enjoyed reading this story. I could see the story unfolding vividly. I liked the historical background, of the Jewish experience in NYC, immigration life, living above the doll shop, and the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, and Chanakah,

I thought the story, was so wholesome, and charming. How Anna cared about her cousin, and the mother cat, and her kittens. Anna had such empathy for both of them being not wanting. Where Anna's sister did not want any part of it. Just loved the story, how it was put together.

There is a glossary for Jewish terms, and historical references in the back of the book as well to explain the story.

I don't have young children any longer, but a 21 year old son. But, my niece who is 10 years old I would recommend to my sister-in-law. This would be a nice book to give as a gift for Chanakah.
Thank you for allowing me to review.

Everything Closed for Christmas: Chinese Dumplings

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe on the Jewish Forward. It is perfect, to try out when all the restaurants are closed for Christmas. I am going to try it. We Jews, have a tradition to go out for Chinese, since nothing is usually open for Christmas. I think I am going to try it out. I found this on the blog, the Jew, and the Carrot. There is a video, that explains it all. Great, for me since I am more visual for instructions. Happy Chanukah!!!

Chicken Soup Dumplings
Soup Filling
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons water
1 package unflavored gelatin (If you don’t have access to a supermarket that carries kosher gelatin, it is available online.)
1) Bring broth to a boil
2) In a separate bowl, combine gelatin with water
3) Combine the broth and gelatin and transfer to an 8-inch square dish
4) Refrigerate for about 5 hours, or until it solidifies. This can be made the night before.
Wrapper
2 cups flour + more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup each boiling water and cold water
1) Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add hot water 1/3 at a time, stirring constantly, until you have a course meal mixture. Add cold water 1/3 at a time, gathering mixture until it forms a ball.
2) Knead dough on a floured board for 20 minutes (adding more flour is necessary to prevent sticking) until dough is smooth. Cover with a damp towel and let sit for at least 20 minutes. This can be made the night before.
3) Roll out 1 1/4 inch balls of dough to 3- 3 1/2 inch circles, making sure to avoid the center of the discs while you’re rolling. The edges should be as thin as possible, while the center should be slightly thicker.
Meat Filling
3/4 pound ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 stalks finely minced scallions
1/3 cup chicken broth
Combine all ingredients
To shape dumplings
1) Fill each wrapper with about 2 teaspoons of meat and 1 teaspoon of soup filling.
2) Using your thumb and pointer finger, start at one end of the wrapper and then gather the edges, little by little, to form small folds and pinch them into the center.
3) Steam on a layer of blanched cabbage placed in a steamer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve with a sauce that is two parts Chinese black vinegar and one part soy sauce poured over freshly grated ginger.

Happy Chanukah

2011-12-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the start of the Jewish holiday, Happy Chanakah to everyone!!! I always love the smell and sound of the Latkes sizzling in the oil. My stomach is started to rumble already, with the anticipation of the the latkes, and being surrounded by family watching my son light the menorah. That is really what the holiday is about the traditions, sounds, and surrounded by family.

2011-12-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

I am excited about the change on the Jewish Book Council's website. It is much more user friendly. Giving tips for book clubs, and book recommendations and reviews on their site. It is also has many book links and resources. I wanted to share this with my readers. Here is the link if you are interested.

Home in the Morning: Book Review

2011-12-01T07:41:00.001-08:00

Home in the Morning
By Mary Glickman
Courtesy of Open Road Media

Home in the Morning takes place in the turbulant years of the 1950's and 60's, in Guilford, Mississippi. The Sassaport's, are a well to do Jewish southern family living in Mississippi.
Jackson, is the eldest son, and is overly protected by his mother, a genteel southern lady.

Living in the south during the 1960's was horrible enough, but in this story the divide of White, Black, Christian or Jewish was worse. There were hazing, beatings, civil rights movement, and anything to cause the divide of White and Black. He becomes friends with a Afro-American boy, named Lil Bo'key.

In the house is Katherine Marie, a Afro American housekeeper. They become close friends. He's friend Lil Bo'key and Katherine Marie become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Jackson, a reform Jew eventually does leave Mississippi, to go to college at Yale University. He meets Stella Godwin a Orthodox Jew. They eventual marry and move back to the south. Where he rebuilds his friendships with Katherine Marie.

Jackson, has a younger brother that is coddled by his mother. He is troubled, lazy, and is often in trouble for one thing or another. But, he's mother always seems to help him out of the trouble he gets out of by paying someone off.

My Review: I read this novel, because the author is from Charleston, SC. Not too far from my house.

I picked up the novel, Home in the Morning because I liked the synopsis of the Jewish Southern experience during the 1960's. Has to be a great read, right. Sorry to say it was a let down.

Anyway, it took me about 100 pages in to finally connect with the characters, and finally understand what was going on.

Finally after the 100 pages, I was captivated by the story. I kept wanting to flip the pages, it was getting intense. But, by the end of the book, what a let down. I am not going to tell you, just in case you may want to give it a try. I did not like the ending it ended abruptly.

I think the author had a good story, but it just did not go anywhere. I really enjoyed one part of the story when the cousin, Lil Mo and Jackson ganged up and threatened his brother. I wish the author had done more about this part of the book. Also if she wrote about the Jewish Southern experience during the 60's, and Jewish-black divide. This would have enriched the novel, she did snipets but nothing more.

I really wanted to like this book, because of the reasons stated above. I really cared though for the characters except for Jackson's brother. There are many other readers that did enjoy reading this. I would still give it three stars.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-07-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the book I have been anticipation for, drum roll!!!

Still waiting for the cover to be unveiled.

The Little Bride

By Anna Solomon

Expected publication-early September 2011

This is the novel, that I am anticipating to read in September. I heard quite a buzz, at BEA. I am sitting on pins and needles in the anticipation of this one. I have not read many books that take place in the midwest, during the 1800's, and the characters are Jewish. I am very excited as you can tell.

The Story:When 16-year-old Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox, and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons. The country is desolate, the work treacherous. Most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family’s limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.

Here is the author's website, Anna Solomon

Harold U. Ribalow Prize Awarded

2011-06-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

SARA HOUGHTELING TO RECEIVES HAROLD U. RIBALOW PRIZE

Author of Pictures at an Exhibition receives annual literary award

NEW YORK – Hadassah Magazine presents the 2010 Harold U. Ribalow Prize at a 3:30 p.m. ceremony on January 31 in New York. Every year, Hadassah Magazine honors an author who has created an outstanding work of fiction on a Jewish theme.

This year’s winner is Sara Houghteling, author of Pictures at an Exhibition, which was published in 2009. Set in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s, Houghteling’s first book tells the story of Max Berenzon, the son of a French Jewish art dealer, as he searches the city for his father’s art, stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Houghteling was chosen by an independent panel of judges that included Elie Wiesel, N. Scott Momaday and Peter Manseau, the 2009 Ribalow Prize winner. A nominating committee consisting of three members of the Ribalow family and three representatives from Hadassah Magazine identified the initial list of nominees, which was then sent to the judges.

“It’s a humbling honor to receive this award and to know that Dr. Wiesel read my novel – his writings have been a moving, powerful presence throughout my life,”Houghteling said. “One of the wonderful aspects of receiving this award is that my parents and I have heard from our family and friends all over, some long-lost and far-flung. It gives me a renewed sense of my connection to other members of the Jewish community.”

Among the writers who have received the prestigious Harold U. Ribalow Prize since its inception in 1983 are Aharon Appelfeld, Louis Begley, Joseph Epstein, Jonathan Safran Foer, Todd Gitlin, Dara Horn, Anne Michaels, Francine Prose and Tamar Yellin.

About the Author: Sara Houghteling, originally of Brookline, Mass., graduated from Harvard College, then received a master’s in fine arts from the University of Michigan. She spent a year in Paris as a Fulbright scholar, and recently from a fellowship at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Pictures at an Exhibition was a National Jewish Book Award finalist and was named a New York Timeseditors’ pick. She is the recipient of the Moment Magazine Emerging Writer Award, a Wallant Award and first prize in the Avery and Jules Hopwood Awards, as well as a John Steinbeck Fellowship. Her writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicleand the New York Times. She currently lives in Berkeley with her husband, fellow author Daniel Mason.

About the Award: Hadassah Magazine’s annual literary award for outstanding Jewish fiction was established in 1983 by the friends and family of the late Harold U. Ribalow, an editor and writer known for his passion for Jewish literature and his interest in promoting the work of many now-famous Jewish writers. Ribalow was inducted posthumously into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 for his contributions to society through Jewish sports writing.

Founded in 1912, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is the largest women’s, largest Zionist, and largest Jewish membership organization in the United States. In Israel, it supports medical care and research, education and youth programs, and reforestation and parks projects. In the United States, Hadassah promotes health education, social action and advocacy, volunteerism, Jewish education and research, Young Judaea and connections with Israel. For more information, visit www.hadassah.org.

Jerusalem Maiden

2011-06-10T12:15:00.001-07:00

Jerusalem Maiden
By Talia Carner

Jerusalem Maiden, is about a young ultra orthodox Jewish girl, Esther Kaminsky. She is living in Jerusalem before the fall of the Ottoman Empire(this is today known as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, etc). Young Ultra orthodox girls, are known as Jerusalem Maidens. They become of age at the age of 12 in the Jewish religion. Once they hit this age it is their duty to marry young and have many male children to hasten the arrival of the messiah.

Esther, the main character of the story has a artistic hand. Her art teacher notices her passion. She encourages her to pursue her art. But, the Jewish religion,
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image"

She continues to draw without any one's knowledge. Her cousin Asher has a plan. Asher also wants to follow his art, music. He has a plan, marry me and we both can pursue our dreams and passions.

But, then tragedy strikes her mother, she dies. She believes it is her fault. G-d has punished her, because her mother dies. She puts down her art. Her father has arranged a marriage to a wealthy gentleman. At the wedding, just like Jacob, in the bible she thinks she is marrying Asher. Until her veil is lifted.

She becomes a dutiful married ultra orthodox woman, with many children and household chores. But, it is not as bad as the other women because she has married a wealthy man. Most women in Jerusalem are poor, and suffer the hands of the Ottoman empire, and their brutal husbands. . She does not understand the traditions and rituals of her husband. Because he doesn't follow them he isn't as strict with the traditions and rituals of the Jewish traditions.

Then opportunity knocks, she gets the chance to go on a trip to France. Then everything changes. Does she pursue her dream and passion of art? Should she forget about her responsibilities at home in Jerusalem? Live as how she was raised a Orthodox woman? or as a gentile?

My Thoughts: I did enjoy reading this book. I think this is a good Jewish book read. I will most likely recommend this to our book club. It is a great jumping off point to talk about women(especially Orthodox vs. other jewish women).

It did bother me when something tragic or something that did go the way she planned. This was g-d's plan. The synagouge, I attended since I was a young girl, always taught us you make your choices don't blame it on g-d. You can always do something about it.

I am a Jewish feminist. I don't believe religion and men should dictate and tell you what to do. Me, myself I don't think g-d wants to restict women. I think he wants women to express themselves and do what you believe in, as long as it does not hurt anyone else. I think the entire message of the book, BE TRUE TO YOURSELF!!! thats it...

When I was reading this book, I knew where this book was leading. Talia Carner, believes in women's rights in other countries. She also has worked for women's magazines.

SPOILER*******
The novel, reminded me of a book, Loving Frank. In both books the main character's left their children for their passion. In loving Frank, it was a man. In Jerusalem Maiden, it was her art.

But, that was the point of the story. I am sure there are many people that do pick up, at times in their life and are reckless and not take responsibility.

I enjoyed reading what life was like in pre-Israel, the religion, the culture. I was aware of traditions and rituals of the Jewish religion in the middle east compared to the United States is different.

I found it interesting to read about life in Paris for the art community in the early 20th century. This is very interesting to me because modern art was just starting to take off. I enjoyed reading about the incident of Picasso.

Also around this time in history, literary authors were coming from the U.S. to France, such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and other famous authors.

But, most of all I enjoyed reading about the character's, and the different people that lived in pre-Jerusalem. There is a love interest and there are explicit sexual scenes. But, I think this is necessary for the book.

The book is separated in different sections of Esther's life, How the story intensified in different sections. I don't think I have ever read a book like this before. Jerusalem Maiden held my interest and won't be forgotten for a long time. I wanted to keep reading and not stop. I am sorry the book ended. I loved the surprise ended.

This is not a beach read, and at times sad. The novel is based on the author's grandmothers life. I don't know if this book was aimed at the Jewish community. But, because I am Jewish, I immediately connected and knew the traditions and rituals of Jewish girls, and women.

But, I think for the general public, a glossary of Jewish terms is needed. Perhaps the author on her website can put a short glossary there. But, there is another option, the book does change the type on words that do need translation. You need a computer handy, just google it.

Thank you Talia, for the review copy.

Saturday Wife: Book Review

2011-01-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

I am a bit late for the Jewish Carnival post, it is hosted by Marie, at People of the Book. Sorry for posting so late, but I had emergency dental work. Then to make matters, worse the dentist made a mistake, and had to redo the work, Ouch!! I hate dentists, even more.

Saturday Wife
By Naomi Ragen

Our book club discussed this novel a few days ago. The discussion was led very well. There was alot of heated discussion over this book. If you went to my other blog at Susan's Literary Cafe, you would understand why.

The book, we found out by our book club leader is a satire. A satire, is making fun of something. Most of us were offended by this novel. We are not orthodox. But, some of the things the main character did or said was over the top, ridicoulous. We felt she was making fun of the Jewish community.

We were trying to figure out if she was just having a good time, and not to take this so serious. But, it is hard not to do that. While reading this book. After I got over,the over the top antics of Delilah( which even her name is peculiar), just reading the book, then I just started reading it. It was a fun at times,comical read.

But, still felt like she was making fun of the Jewish community. This is the first book I read that I was actually angry at the author, and the characters she created. I know this is suppose to be funny, but it was difficult to not take it seriously.

I know Mrs. Ragen is from the U.S., and then immigrated to Israel. She is a big, Jewish Feminist. But, if she does not agree with most of the Jewish laws, then why does she follow them.

I don't agree, but I don't bad mouth, like she did., I just don't follow the observance of the Orthodox, instead I follow the observance where I feel confortable.

I am wondering, does she really feel this way, or did she just exaggerate a bit, and did not mean to offend anyone.

It seems like she took every bit of Jewish law, went down the list and put a slant in the story. I did not like, the character of Delilah. Even Delilah's name is ironic, with a name like Delilah Goldgrab, would you want her name.

She was very materialistic, and about me, me, me. Why would she marry Chaim, if she did not believe in her observance. I

At times, I can understand Rabbi's wives are under so much scrutiny, and pressure, they may think bad thoughts, but I am sure, they keep it to themselves.

One of our book club members added, she was putting the Madoff controversy in the novel(the swindler, Victor). look at the ending of the story, all the cards falling down. Interesting thought. If any one else read this I would like to know what your thoughts are.

I am sorry, Mrs. Ragen for being so harsh. I am just hoping you don't feel this way. That you just exaggerated the story over the top.

We did have a great discussion. These kind of books make great discussions. A few people liked the book. About half of us were offended by the book. Personally, if you are observant I would not recommend this book. I tried not to take this book seriously, but it was very hard not too.

I have read a few of Naomi Ragen's book and enjoyed them. This one was very different than her others. If you like soap opera type, with light reading, you would probably enjoy reading.

Now our next book will be very different. We will be reading in March, Dinner with Anna Karenina. Looking forward to that read...

Hadassah's 2010 Ribalow Prize Winner

2010-12-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

Sara Houghteling has been awarded for 2010 The Harold U. Ribalow Prize award by Hadassah, for her novel, Pictures at an Exhibition.

The award is given each year by the Jewish zionist women's organization each year. It is a annually award for Jewish fiction. It must be written in the english language, and either be written in short story or novel form.

You can read Hadassah magazine's, December/January issue with a excerpt of her novel. Read the article in the Forward about the the background of her novel.

Born to an art dealer and his pianist wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden from entering the family business for reasons he cannot understand. He reluctantly attends medical school, reserving his true passion for his father s beautiful and brilliant gallery assistant, Rose Clément. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding. They return in 1944 to find that their priceless collection has vanished. Madly driven to recover his father s paintings, Max navigates a torn city of corrupt art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators. His quest will reveal the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, the heroism of his lost love, and the truth behind a devastating family secret.

Sara Houghteling graduated from Harvard College in 1999 and received her master's in fine arts from the University of Michigan. She is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to Paris, first prize in the Avery and Jules Hopwood Awards, and a John Steinbeck Fellowship. She currently lives in California, where she teaches high school English.

Mazel Tov !! Sara

This was taken from Hadassah's magazine's article:

Sara Houghteling lives in Berkeley, California, and grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, she is in love with Paris. It is the setting of her first novel, Pictures at an Exhibition (Vintage), winner of this year’s Harold U. Ribalow Prize. She began her work on the novel while she was on a Fulbright Scholarship in the French capital in 2005. “It was an opportunity to focus on French art, French music, French

history,” Houghteling, 33, says. “It kept calling me back.”

Pictures is the story of Max Berenzon, the only son of a successful Jewish art dealer, in the years leading up to and following the fall of Paris during World War II. The family survives in hiding, but they return to the city to find their priceless art collection gone and Paris shrouded in duplicity and silence. Max chases his dual obsessions: his father’s paintings and former assistant, Rose Clément.

The Harvard College graduate didn’t know much about Nazi looted art when she began her research, inspired by Lynn H. Nicholas’s The Rape of Europa (Vintage). She found it “strange, distressing and complicated” how the systematic plunder unfolded. “It’s horrifying,” she adds, that the Nazis used the deportation of Jews to gather art for their personal benefit, aesthetic purposes and to finance the Final Solution.

Houghteling learned that after the war European art dealers went into what she calls “lockdown mode” to protect each other. “They all had benefited in some way from what was done to the Jewish art dealers and collectors,” she explains.

She also came across the out-of-print autobiography of Rose Valland, former curator of Jeu de Paume national gallery—on whom she based the character of Rose Clément. “The real Rose was incredibly heroic,” says Houghteling. “It is mind-boggling how one woman almost single-handedly orchestrated a complex plan to outwit the Nazis in their final plunder,” by notifying the Allies and resistance groups about the movement of trains containing artworks, saving thousands of France’s masterpieces from destruction.

In addition to her own love of Paris, her father lived in France after World War II, where her grandfather worked on the Marshall Plan. “Having their perspective on France after the war set the stage [for the book],” she says. Also thanks to them, Houghteling learned French, though she admits to having “a good accent, but comic grasp of grammar.”

The author’s love of music—she studied at the New England Conservatory as a youngster—is evident in the novel. In fact, the title is borrowed from the 1874 piano suite by Modest Mussorgsky. The exhibit that inspired the composer had been taken down, she explains, “and all that is left is the haunting remains of what was.”
Houghteling teaches high school English at a Berkeley private school. Her husband, Daniel Mason, is also a fiction writer; the couple spent four months in France recently, both on fellowships from the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, near Marseilles, where Houghteling worked on her second novel.

The designation of Jewish writer is one that Houghteling, who grew up belonging to a Reform temple, accepts with no misgivings. “Judaism is so much a part of my identity that my characters most easily tend to be Jewish,” she says. “Judaism is the melody in the back of my head.” Plus, she adds, “primarily when dealing with World War II era, the ’30s through the ’50s—the time period that preoccupies me the most—I can’t write without thinking what it was like to be Jewish at that time.”

In fact, she says, the experience that “solidified [her] Jewish identity” was her job as editorial assistant to Holocaust survivor Emmanuel Tanay, which she did while earning her master’s of fine arts at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Tanay was working on a memoir of his childhood in Poland. “I had always been drawn to the Holocaust,” she adds, “but the sustained immersion in another person’s life from that era [was incomparable].”

Guest Post Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp

2010-12-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

I am honored today, with a guest post by co-authors, Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp. They have written a marvelous book called Table Of Contents Cook Book, From Breakfast with Anita Diamant to Dessert with James Patterson.

A few months ago I was looking for authors to donate books for our temple's auction. I already spoke to a few authors. One such author was Anita Diamant. I got the idea for our book club book basket to ask Judy and Vicki since Anita's donated her book. Their book, Table of Contents has Anita and her book featured. I thought what a great idea to have both books in a book basket. I took a gamble. They were sweet and they donated a copy.

Judy and Vicki met over stacks of books, and endless cups of jo at a local sandwich shop. They decided to try their hand atThe Book Club Cookbook, followed by Kids Book Club Book and Table of Contents. They also have a marvelous website, Book Club Cook Book, with enormous resources for book clubs. You would find food pairing with a favorite book. Information about the author. Loads of resource information for your book club.

Welcome Judy and Vicki,

Hi everybody,

We envisioned our new book, Table of Contents

as a compilation of intriguing recipes drawn from the works of 50 bestselling authors. When we began our research, we were unsure what the combination of authors would be. After all, there are hundreds of authors popular with book clubs. And, some of their books lend themselves better to recipes than others. How would we choose?

As it turns out, the process unfolded naturally. We quickly identified our “wish list” of participating authors, based on ongoing correspondence with book clubs, thorough searches of bestseller lists, and daily monitoring of book club and reading websites. Many invited authors signed on immediately, while some declined because other projects took precedence, or even because they lacked interest in the topic: food and literature. The self-selection process meant we were left with authors as fascinated by the topic of food and books as we ourselves were, and 50 wonderful partnerships were born.

We felt fortunate to work with this eclectic, intriguing, ethnically diverse selection of authors. Book club members have been telling us for years that they love being transported to exotic locales and distant times through their reading. It was no surprise to find Abraham Verghese, Frances Mayes, and Esmeralda Santiago on our list, with books set in Ethiopia, Italy, and Puerto Rico. Readers also seem to love stories set in the South, so Amy Greene, Joshilyn Jackson, and Hillary Jordan were natural choices. Writers of historical fiction who transport readers to times gone by -- Tudor England (Phillipa Gregory) and wartime Hong Kong (Janice Y.K. Lee), for example -- also made the grade.

Of course, this selection of authors and titles translated into tantalizing, exotic recipes! We love Lisa See’s Won Tons, that she makes with her family every year at Thanksgiving. And Stephanie Saldana, who spent several years traveling and living in the Middle East, sent us a recipe for Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Walnuts and Pomegranate Syrup), the smell and taste of which carries the cook to the winding streets of Damascus, Syria. And there are so many more examples! Readers tell us they enjoy experiencing some of these ethnic foods for the first time, and preparing and eating these dishes helps them connect with the setting and time period of the book.

As we embark on our new project, a revision of our first book, The Book Club Cookbook, we look forward to sharing more recipes and insights from bestselling authors. We hope this will continue to enhance readers' understanding of these books, and of course to add another important element to book club meetings - fun!

Bon Appetit!

Judy Gelman and Vick i Levy Krupp

Toda Raba Authors

2010-11-17T23:01:00.000-08:00

Our Temple, Temple Emanu-El is having a silent auction in January. I wrote to a few authors, Jewish and not to participate in our auction. Most of the authors, has kindly accepted my invitation. They have contacted me in the past to review books for them. I was a loyal fan before, I am even more of a follower after. I would like to thank the following authors. As more authors contribute I will be adding you to our list for the silent auction.

Dara Horn, has written In Her Image, an award given by Hadassah. her next novels are, The World To Come( The Jewish artist, Chagall). All Other Nights, is about Jewish experience in the south during the civil war.

Anita Diamant, Has written fiction and non-fiction she is best known for her novel, The Red Tent. The book became a best seller because of book clubs, word of mouth. Other books, The Days of Dogtown Good Harbor, Day and Night, and other non-fiction Jewish parenting book

Chris Bojhalian, has written 13 novels. He is best known for Midwives, he's most recent is Secrets of Eden. He has written a novel about the holocaust, called Skeletons at the Feast. This is one of the first author's I know that was very book club friendly. He enjoyed speaking to our book club a few years ago. He is a advocate on book clubs.

Adriana Triagiani is a novelist from Virginia and has moved to NYC. Her first novel Big Stone Gap was written as a trilogy. Adriana is another author that has gone out of her way to speak to book clubs.

Linda Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit has published a new book. The book is called Unbroken. It was just published a few weeks ago. It has been publicized on all the tv networks. I am sure it will be another winner.
The book is about a American Olympian sent to war, during WW11. He and his fellow americans are in a plane. The plane goes down. How they survive or don't survive. I don't want to spoil the rest.

I would like to thank Sara Marvin of Random House. for the copy for the silent auction. Another copy to me for my blog to review. Can't wait to dive in.

Quiches, Kugels and Coucous by Joan Nathan.Known as the Jewish Cookbook Guru. On her website she tells the inspiration of the reasons she wrote the book on French cuisine. The book will give history just like her other books of the recipes. You can view her inspiration on her website.
Thank you Sara Eagle for a copy for our Temple Silent Auction. Thank you for a copy for my blog to review.

Marcie Cohen Ferris, has written a Southern Jewish Cookbook, called Matzah Ball Gumbo. It is full of Southern Jewish History as well as the recipes. She is associate director of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies and assistant professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I bought the cookbook a few years ago for a friend of mine. It has nice pictures and a good resource book about Southern Jewish cooking.

Our book club, The 38th Ave. Divas are going to make up a bookish baskets full of bookish items for the auction. I can't wait to see who wins the basket.

What a wonderful mitzvah !!!
Toda Raba to all of these wonderful authors, and publishers. What a wonderful mitzvah. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

Carolina Book Stacks and Bagels Books and Schmooze.

Jewish Carnival: Promise Me by Nancy Brinker

2010-10-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

For November's, Jewish Book Carnival I picked Promise Me. I am not sure what you classify this book.
There is very little Jewish rituals in Promise Me. But it Nancy does speak about charity very briefly.
The book is written by a Jewish author, Nancy Brinker.

Many Askenazi Jews, which I am one are predispossed to breast cancer. There has been debate what constitiutes a Jewish book. For the first time I am posting the same thing on both my blogs.

November, Jewishboston.com is hosting the Jewish Book Carnival. Each month there is a new host. The bloggers pick a book with Jewish content. What a great idea, Marie from Boston Bibliophile.

Promise Me
By Nancy G. Brinker

Nancy Brinker is the late sister of Susan G. Koman

Susan Goodman known as Suzy. She was born in Peoria, Ill 1943 after came Nancy three years later.
They were raised by Jewish parents. Their parents, taught them the importance of Tzedakah", acts of kindness.

Suzy and Nancy's mother was a founding member of the Red Cross. She also was helping people in need.

She would make a meatloaf for their ill neighbor. She would bring a gift basket of diapers of a single woman without family. She would weed someone's garden if they were not able to. She had a strong sense of community. This led the way for the girls sense of community and what was yet to come for Nancy.

Nancy was the tomboy,trailblazer, outspoken and book smart. Nancy was like their mother. Where Susy was homecoming queen and interested in becoming a wife and mother. Suzy was like their father. They were as close as sisters could be. They shared everything together. They were a very close family. With good solid family values.

Once they both came into their 20's. Suzy became a wife and mother of two. Nancy moved on.

She moved to Texas to work for Neiman and Marcus. She moved up in the ranks to counter girl to marketing. She eventually met and married Norman Brinker, president of one of the bigger restaurant chain.

Suzy, at the age of 33 was diagnosed with Breast cancer. She shares with us the diagnosis and evasive treatments that she had to watch while her sister was dying. In the last days of her life Suzy asked Nancy to make a promise that would affect her life. Suzy asked Nancy to make a promise that she would never let a woman die without dignity and help find the cure.

From that time on Nancy had not stopped. Nancy started with $200 in a shoebox and invited 20 ladies to a tea. From that time on it blossomed. But there has been lots of bumps and bangs along the way.

Unfortunately back in Suzy and Nancy's early years society did not talk about breasts. It was a hush-hush under the table. Sex, was not a word you talked about. Cancer was thought of as a contagious disease. If you saw someone walking on the street with cancer, you avoided them and crossed the street to avoid that person. There was not any support groups. There was not a 800 number you could call. Not a computer. You were left alone with your own devices.

Norman Brinker her husband gave her lots of support and encouragement. He helped her understand how to make a non-profit organization. How to get solicitatotors and start the funding for the research. Nancy did a enourmous research before she jumped right in

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® mission was to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

In researching the need she found a statistics. During the Viet Nam War over 58,000 service men lost their lives .During that same 10 year period of time 339,000 women in the U.S. died from breast cancer. Yet no one was talking about this silent killer.

During the 80's came a change in politics and talking about breast cancer. The first lady, Nancy Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was a spit fire and was very open about Breast Cancer. She became a advocate for breast cancer. This opened up the way for funding and grants. This changed society's view on breast cancer. Society became more opening talking about the disease.

Nancy discusses her marriage, her family and children and her divorce. After three years after her sister, Suzy died. She was given the dreaded news that she had the same tumor. But, this time Nancy beat it because of the knowledge she had about the disease. Networking with doctors and the people she already knew working with them.

While working in Texas, she became aquainted with Pres. Bush's, and the sons. She worked with Laura. Laura was the first lady as governer in Texas. She was later asked to become ambassador to Hungary. To become protocol in the White House. She has been awarded many honors in the last few years including by President Barack Obama with the Presidential Honor of Freedom. She is responsible for countries around the world becoming aware of breast cancer, and women's health. She is spreading her wings to help spread the word about breast cancer and world health

Through out the book you will read about brave remarkable women that survived breast cancer. Or some that did not make it. The families braveries that make them continue to tell their stories.

After SGK was founded after a few years affiliates started popping up in different towns across the nation raising millions of dollars a year.

My Review: I became educated while reading this book. Nancy believed in advocacy for breast cancer. Especially for the lay person. I think she has done that. This book is awe inspiring as well.

The book taught me alot about the history and helped me reflect how science and medicine has changed. I remember how bad the treatments were.

talking about health issues. I also believe that because of SGK there are more things that being talked about now a days. Less things are pushed under the rug. There is much more advocacy for women's health than before.

There is funding for research for breast cancer by the United States. But SKG is also responsible for the funding and grants for breast cancer. There use to only be 75% cure rate after 5 years. Now, it is 95%. That is totally amazing. Cure does not mean it is gone, just means there is a remission.

I do believe SGK has opened up doors to allow for women's health issues to be heard. To allow for allowing other issues to be heard by women.

One thing that does amaze me. I just can't believe it was denied. Nancy went to the lingerie manufacturers to ask them to put on their bras tags to show women how to do a monthly breast exam. They were denied. Because, Nancy was told women come into the shop to be giddy, not unhappy thoughts. I am not sure, to this day I have not seen any tags on lingerie and bras to instruct women to do a monthly breast exam. Tsk!! Tsk!!.
I was not very interested in the business end of SGK. But I found myself drawn to it. Nancy Brinker deserves our praises all across this nation, and across the world division. She writes that she believes, that g-d put her in this mission in life. There is always a reason for things to happen. I believe that too.

SGK, is in Israel this year. Hadassah is a women's Jewish organization is helping to support and host this event. Hadassah has been a women's organization that has advocacy for women's health for years. In Israel, Hadassah Hospital is the leading hospital for research in breast cancer.

A Jewish Author Takes Home the Prize

2010-10-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Booker Prize was announced yesterday for a author, that lives in England and the British Isles. The Booker Prize website, has information about the winners of the short list and the long list and their books.

I am happy to post about the winner. The author is Jewish, yes you heard right a Jewish author won the prize.

He has also written, previously, in 2003 "Kalooki Nights".
The new novel, Finkler Question was just published on Tuesday in the U.S.

Since winning, the Booker Prize there is a lot of buzz out there. I can't recommend it as yet. I have not read it. But one of my blogging pals, Marie, from Boston Bibliophile is reading it. I can't wait for her

post . The Boston Globe has a article here.

I am going to, not walk but run to get this book. It is nice to hear a Jewish author to get recognition occasionally. And, yes this book is about the Jewish experience in England. I also heard that it is funny too.

Below is the synopsis of the book I found on the Booker Prize website:

Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and
Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are
old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they’ve
never quite lost touch with each other - or with their former teacher, Libor Sevick, a
Czech always more concerned with the wider world than with exam results.

Now, both Libor and Sam are recently widowed, and with Treslove, his chequered
and unsuccessful record with women rendering him an honorary third widower,
they dine at Libor’s grand, central London apartment.
It’s a sweetly painful evening of reminiscence in which all three remove
themselves to a time before they had loved and lost; a time before they had
fathered children, before the devastation of separations, before they had prized
anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. Better, perhaps, to go through life
without knowing happiness at all because that way you have less to mourn?
Treslove finds he has tears enough for the unbearable sadness of both his friends’
losses.

And it’s that very evening, at exactly 11:30, as Treslove, walking home, hesitates
a moment outside the window of the oldest violin dealer in the country, that he
is attacked. And after this, his whole sense of who and what he is will slowly and
ineluctably change.

On another note, on this side of the Atlantic. American Jewish author, Nicole Krauss has been selected to be one of the finalists for the National Book Award for her novel The Great House.

Congratulations to both of these Jewish authors on both sides of the Atlantic.

Have A Little Faith: Pefect for High Holidays

2010-10-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

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Have a little Faith by Mitch Albom I reviewed for The Jewish Book Carnival for October. It is being hosted by the Jewish Book Council. Our book club, The 38th Ave. Diva Readers selected this novel for October also.

I have read Mitch Alboms, small little books, with a large message before. This was a great choice.

The book was a easy read. I was waiting for the book to intersect with the two characters. They never did meet up with each other. But there was a reason for it. The book did have a message to tell. I am not going to let on with that.   I did like the message of the book. The book was a perfect book for the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The book, which is non fiction is about Mitch Albom's family rabbi. Mitch Albom when he was young studied judiasm. But as he got older he had neither the need or want or time for Judiasm. His work, his family and his life has not given him a chance to think about it until now. Mitch goes home to NJ one year and that is where the story starts.

The Rabbi, he is up in age wants Mitch to write his eulogy. Mitch wonders why, the Rabbi asks him to do it.
The Rabbi and Mitch make a journey together.   There is a 8 year journey of faith. The Rabbi is ill and keeps his faith even as he's health waivers and his life is about to go on a new journey.

Back in Detroit, Mitch meets a minister in a run down church.  Mitch develops a friendship with the minister. He starts caring about all the congregants that make up the church by listening to their stories.
The minister was in a life of crime when he was growing up.    He was living in the streets. Finally the last straw, the police come to his house looking for drugs. He prays if I get out of this one I will never do it again.

He is saved, and from that time on he becomes a preacher. He goes into the ministry. He starts he's church. He finds a building that is run down. He helps the penniless, the homeless, the abused and every one that has a story to tell.

It is so bad in the winter with not any heat. They huddle in a tent in the church to keep warm most of the winter. At the same time the imminent death of the Rabbi is coming. And financial collapse in our country is taking place. People are asking, Where is Hashem??

But Mitch finally understands the journey.   He tries to understand the message that the Rabbi and the Minister are sending.

The book was about three journey's. The Rabbi, The Minister and Mitch Albom's. Everyone needs something to believe in. It is not too late. You never know what can be right around the corner that will change you. Even Mitch, he never thought he never cared about his faith or religion. But look at him now.
It is never too late.

This a interesting concept. Our Rabbi wrote this message in the bulletin. He was talking about Kirk Douglas. He was saying that he had something missing. Later on in his life he found what he was missing. His faith. That is interesting that our Rabbi, wrote the same message that our book club was reading.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the story. You will have to read it yourself.   I did like the message of the book. You will understand the title of the book once you read the book and get to the end of Mitch Albom's book. But basically the message is, Everyone can do something to change your life and make a difference.

I may not exactly loved the book but I did like the message. No matter when, it is never too late to fix something as long " AS YOU HAVE A LITTLE FAITH!!!

La Shana Tova Tikvatenu

2010-09-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is the Jewish new year,the birth of the world. it started tonight at sundown. The Jewish New Year is 5771. I would like to wish my friends and family and my cyberfriends, a year with peace, good health, and sweet new year.
Let's pray that 5771will be a year for good things.
Let's pray that there will be peace in Israel this coming year. Amen....Let the shofar blast and resonate for all good things to happen.
La Shana Tova Tikvatenu!!! The book of life we will be inscribed.

The New Yiddish Book Peddler

2010-08-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

I just love this concept of selling to the public by push cart. Mr. Papernick has chosen to sell books without a middle man. I would love to see this in person. But unfortunately I live down south. This is so unique old yiddish world meets new Jewish world. What a great concept. What a great way to sell books. Maybe he's idea will catch on. What do you think??

You can read the article here at Jewish Literary Review

Sima's Undergarments for Women-Book Review

2010-08-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

The post is dedicated to the August Jewish Book Carnival hosted by Marie, Boston Bibliophile and American Jewish Libraries.

Sima's Under Garments for Women
By Ilana Stange-Ross

Sima's Undergarments for Women takes place in the orthodox community of Boro Park, NY. Sima is a middle age women married to a retired school teacher, Lev. Sima and Lev were unable to have children.. They don't communicate very well with each other, Sima bickers most of the time or complains to Lev. For years they have drifted apart in a loveless marriage.

Sima owns a bra shop in a basement. Most businesses in NY are run in the basement.

Timna, a young Israeli woman is looking for work. Fortunately for Sima, she is in the need for a seamstress. Sima is living in a upstairs apartment with her husband. Sima complain to her husband, most of the time. Basically, a "Fish Wife".Sima's whole life was the bra shop. The bra shop is the hub of the community. Everyone goes there.

When Timma comes to work for Sima. Sima starts re-living her past. She re-lives her history of her marriage, in-laws, her parents, and fertility questions etc.

Sima is living her life through Timma. She wants to be young again. She doesn't want Timma to make the same mistakes she did. Sima is watching over her like she is her mother. She gives her motherly advise. Which Timma did not ask for any. Sima gets in too deep at times and goes too far. She follows her home. Sima calls Timma's boyfriend to tell him what she fears happened but stops herself short by inches. Sima is a mother hen. How far is too far?? Timna decides it is time to leave after passover. How does Sima react with Timna leaving. The rest you will have to find out for yourself by reading the novel.

My Thoughts: The novel I felt was about regrets. I thought the author did a great job describing Sima's feeling. I am not exactly yet her age. But I am close. She did a great job re-capping how a middle age woman would feel recapturing youth. She did a great job getting into Sima's head. The book was a great catharsis for me. Since I am at the age realizing at times that how did life go so fast. I wish I could have talked to someone about this. I did not even have to pay for a therapist. Ms. Stange saved me thousands of dollars of therapy sessions, LOL!!!

I personally did not like Sima's character. She reminded me of all those Jewish women you would see in the movies. A meddler, complainer, butting into other people's business, and a nag. I wish there was more story line with Lev. That would have made the story more interesting.
Other than that I enjoyed reading the novel. Hope to read more of her work soon.

Monthly Jewish Book Carnival

2010-07-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, Marie, at Boston Bibliophile, and American Jewish Libraries will be hosting a monthly Jewish Book Carnival. To promote Jewish books and readership on the biosphere. I am so excited because I have always thought there has been a few of us bloggers out there. Apparently not there are a few of us. Maybe with the promotion of this carnival more of us Jewish Book Bloggers will turn up.
My blog, Bagels, Books and Schmooze has been laying idle for about six months. I have not had a big readership. I was starting to think to combine my two blogs. But then reading about the carnival I decided to give it a try.

But not only that maybe we will get Jewish book news in one place. Hopefully if there are other Jewish book bloggers they will join us. Thank You, Marie for inviting me and telling me about this.
Happy Blogging, Looking for August Jewish Book Carnival.

Finally, A Jewish Literary Magazine

2010-02-15T05:58:00.001-08:00

Sorry I have not been around lately. I finally broke down and bought a new computer. This one is a touch screen. I was going to get a lap top but when I saw he computer. One touch, wireless, and the price was decent. I broke down and bought it.

a article I saw on the Forward. I had to share with my jewish readers. I can't believe it a literary Jewish magaizine. Can't wait to read it. It will be ready today actually. Scroll below to read the whole story excerpt from The Forward...

Barring snowstorm-induced printing delays, during the week of February 15, mailboxes across the country will receive the launch issue of The Jewish Review of Books, a new print journal.

Reading Material: The first issue of the Jewish Review of Books will feature some heavyweights in the world of ideas.A quarterly magazine devoted to Jewish literary and political affairs, the JRB boasts heavy hitters on its editorial board, such as Michael Walzer, Leon Wieseltier and Ruth Wisse. An oversized, stapled newsprint magazine like the New York Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement, the JRB will open with an issue that features contributions from Ron Rosenbaum, Adam Kirsch and Harvey Pekar.

At a time when newspapers, magazines and journals are experiencing a crisis unprecedented in the history of print, launching a new publication devoted to Jewish issues is either a fool’s errand or a bold attempt to inject American Judaism with some old-fashioned middlebrow intellectualism.

Abraham Socher, the editor, is betting it’s the latter. He took a leave from his spot as chair of the Jewish studies program at Oberlin College’s department of religion to launch the JRB. He’s both optimistic about the future of journals of ideas and opinions and well aware of the pitfalls that await any print publication in the 21st century.

“Magazines of ideas, which are willing to address a subject at as much length as is called for, which are willing to let writers be writerly, can remain print publications,” Socher said. Those readers attracted to long-form writing prefer to read their lengthier articles in print and are willing to pay for the privilege, Socher believes. “The great threat to print may be a far greater threat to newspapers and news magazines than it is to literary journals, journals of opinions and policy journals,” he said. The print JRB will be complemented by a Web presence before the end of February.

The funding is coming from the Tikvah Fund, an endowment established by the late Zalman Bernstein, a well-known conservative philanthropist. The fund’s board is dominated by such neoconservative figures as William Kristol, Roger Hertog and Jay Lefkowitz. Given the source of the funding, one might expect the JRB to be slanted rightward, but Socher maintains that it “will range broadly from the center left to the center right.” The virgin issue features essays by Hebrew University of Jerusalem political scientist and Zionist political philosopher Shlomo Avineri, who served in Yitzhak Rabin’s government, and Hillel Halkin, a prominent Israel-based literary Hebrew translator and right-leaning Forward contributor. “I don’t believe in pigeonholing people, but I would say that in our first issue, you get an idea of the kind of range we have,” Socher said
■Hold the Presses: Newspapers Are Competing for Orthodox Readers
With Tablet, Commentary, Zeek, The New York Review of Books and the Forward filling newsstand and virtual racks, the JRB is joining a crowded field. But Socher makes it clear that his magazine intends to fill a niche. “The Jewish Review of Books is really Jewish,” he said. “It’s unabashedly interested in Jewish things. Unlike The New York Review of Books, we don’t take on the whole intellectual universe.” And yet, unlike, say, Tablet, the JRB will be long form and highbrow. As if the name didn’t give away anything, there will be nothing sexy about The Jewish Review of Books. “We’re the magazine for those that when they turn to the NYRB or perhaps the back pages of TNR, [The New Republic] those wonderful pages edited by Leon Wieseltier, they’re especially excited when a Jewish book or issue is reviewed or discussed, and turn first to that. We’re the magazine for that reader,” Socher said.

2009-11-30T08:04:00.000-08:00

Dead Weight by Batt Humphreys
236 pgs.
Joggling Board Press

Dead Weight is based on factual events with fictional characters mixed in. There is a murder of a Jewish merchant, Mr. Lebelsky. His wife Rose, is away in New York until she is summoned by the city of Charleston that her husband was murdered. She returns to Charleston.

There seems to be a rift between Mr. Levin and Mr. Lebelsky about business being open on Saturday. Jewish law doesn't allow stores to be open on Saturday. Max Labelsky was from the new school to be open on Saturday, but Mr. Levin did not believe this.

Rose Lebelsky opens her clothing shop when she returns. While she is working she gets conked on the head. There is a young black man,Nealy Duncan he is walking away from the scene not running down the street.

He was purchasing items for his wedding. Mrs. Lebelsky was conked on the head. The mob chases after him after they hear Mrs. Lebelsky scream. They chase after him. The mob grabs him and does not look for any other suspects. But they come to the realization he must be Mr. Lebelsky's murderer. This is Charleston, SC the racial divide.

The elements Mr. Nealy Duncan works for a baker named Mr. Gelifiss. He is a white man that teats Nealy like a son. He is about to marry Ida. He makes purchases for the wedding that is what he doing in Jewish Charleston. Observant Jews business owners don't open their business on Saturday. There was a rift between Mr. Lebelsky and Mr. Levin.

SPOILER!!! SPOILER!! If you don't want to know what happens don't read any further.

The trial does not go well for Nealy. It was a unfair trial. it is decied that he will be hanged. There are citizens that want to help including a reporter Hinson.

After the trial he is placed in the jail for two days till the hanging. A group of men wanted to give Nealy his last wish, to see Ida in her wedding dress and married. The group put something in their drink to make the jailers sleep. They have 15 minutes to knock them out and bring Ida to Nealy united in marriage. Be able to escape without anyone's knowledge.

Nealy is hanged by a noose what is called Dead Weight. How they do it on the ships. Even the hanging does go well. You should be able to hear his neck snap and the observers are not sure if it did. They keep him in the noose for a extra 30 minutes.

In the mean time there is a hurricane coming. Ida's mother can not find her. Mr. Hinson goes searching for her. He finds her at Nealy's fresh grave. He realizes that she has shot herself(Romeo and Juliet).

My thoughts on this book. It is a fast easy read. I enjoyed reading the book, Dead Weight. Mr. Humphreys did a lot of research and had a lot of background information about Charleston area and the hurricane. The hurricane just added to the story. I went to Charleston last summer so that added to the feel of the book. Now that I read the book I would like to visit the places that are mentioned, especially the homes and businessses on Kings and Meeting street. The Jewish cemetery where Max is buried. I would like to find Lebelsky's gravesite in the Jewish cemetery.

I have said it before but if any of you live in the Myrtle Beach area or would like to see Batt come to Barnes and Noble at the Market Commons at 1PM on December 6th. He will be doing book signings. Or if you would like to see him as a guest speaker at our Hadassah Tea on December 6th from 3-5. Leave me a comment at the bottom of my post and I will get back with you with details.

I will be having Batt write a guest post in the next few days.

Happy reading

It Is Confirmed

2009-11-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

It is confirmed Batt Humphreys, the author of Dead Weight is coming to our Hadassah Tea in Myrtle Beach. He will first be having his book signing at Barnes and Noble at the Market Commons. From there he will be our guest speaker at the Membership tea. If any of you are in the area and would like to attend let me know by leaving a comment and I will get back with you.

I am very excited because I met him through correspondence through cyberspace. We have been corresponding about his book. When I found out about him coming to Myrtle Beach I had asked him if he would come to our membership tea as our guest speaker.

Dead Weight is a book based on factual event that happened in Charleston at the turn of the century. It is about a murder of a Jewish merchant. The accused is a young black man about to be married. You will just have to read the book to find out how the book ends.

Did you know there is alot of Jewish history in Charleston? Actually the first place Jews settled was Charleston, SC not New York.

Batt Humphreys was a senior producer of CBS News, in New York. He lives outside of Charleston. He's roots are in the south.

Batt Humphreys, Author of Dead Weight

2009-11-19T05:11:00.000-08:00

I have been in touch with Mr. Humphreys about his book,Dead Weight. He is a local author from outside Charleston. He is coming to Barnes and Noble on December 6th. The good news is, After the book event at Barnes and Noble he will be stopping by at the membership tea we are having.

I wanted to have him come out to lunch with my book club and my group of friends. But most of them would be at the tea. Some quick thinking on my part, I had come up with a plan. This is not what I would have wanted but the best that I could think of.

I can't believe a author would do this and take the time to come to talk to us after. That is so gracious of him. When I started communicating with him when he and he's publicist were planning the book event at BN he asked me what day woudl be better. To ask me, I am sure he is so busy. This was so touching, don't you think?? Top it off he is not getting paid for this.

The organization, will not allow him to solicit his book during our tea. So, this is out of the kindness of his heart( but spreading the word about his book helps).

This is fantastic, and awesome. There are not many book events down here in SC. Up north there is more opprotunity for them.
I am excited to meet Batt.

He has written a book based on fact of a murder that takes place in Charleston. It is about a black man accused of murdering a Jewish merchant. The book is called Dead Weight. I like reading about the historical events that are written. Also, some of Jewish Charleston. That facts that he writes about in Jewish Charleston he got right. I am surprised that he knew about the rift between other Jews. I am not going to tell you the rest. You will just have to read and find out what I am talking about.

Now, I need to get back to studying. Just thought I would check in and let everyone know what is going on. Wish me luck on my exam. This is going to be a hard exam. It is on the brain. I thought the muscle was hard. The nervous System is double the studying time. What was worse was we only had a day to study the brain. It is just alot of info. to study in a short time. I will let you all know after my practical how I did on my exam.

See you all soon.

Our First Book Club

2009-11-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

Our book club met for the first time. We discussesd Gurersney's Literary Potato Peel Pie Society. Alot to discuss. We all just loved the book. We liked the historical background as well as the story. We were amazed about the historical background of the story. We did not know that part of this small island was occupied by the Germans. We were surprised that England just abandoned this tiny island and did nothing to prevent this.

Our book club was only going to meet 3-4 times a year we are going to try meet every month and see what happpens. We had 6 people come which better than the last time. We were all pretty happy.

We decided on two books for the next two months:

Snow In August by Peter Hamill

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

Both of these books I have read and enjoyed. It is going to be great discussing the two books in the upcoming months with our book club. Both of these books I have enjoyed before and I will enjoy again.

Pete Hamill wrote Snow In August. I just loved this book. About a boy that is not Jewish and befriends a Rabbi.
I learned about the Golem from this book.

I always wanted to have a book club meeting to discuss Snow in August but the chance never came untill now. I can't wait. I had writen to the author to see if he would think about talking to my book club through speakerphone. I am sure he is very busy, but who knows.

Dead Weight

2009-10-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

There is a new book out called Dead Weight by Batt Humphrey. I am excited because the book is based on facts. It happened close to my home town of Myrtle Beach. We don't have alot of books that are published by southern authors. Especially in SC, and about a person that is Jewish. If you are interested go to the author's website deadweight.us .

The story takes place in the turn of the century in Charleston, SC. It is about a Jewish merchant that is murdered. A African American is blamed and eventually tried for the murder.

This book has recieved great reviews. I have a bookish friend that saw Mr. Humphrey at a moveable feast. She told me he was awesome. I hope that he may be able to speak at one of my book clubs.

I have a friend that belongs to the Georgetown Temple in Georgetown, SC. Their temple was started by the Charleston Jewish community many years ago. They would probably be interested.

Mr. Humphrey is a CBS, senior producer and a resident of the Charleston, SC area.
Looking forward for Mr. Humphrey's doing a guest blog soon.

31 Hours: Book Review

2009-10-11T18:34:00.001-07:00

31 Hours
By Masha Hamilton

This is a book review I posted on my secular book blog. But thought it might interest my Jewish readers. When I read this book I thought of me, as a mother. But also thought of 9/11, and suicide bombers that attack Israeli's and die for their cause to reach martyrdom. If you are interested you can read my review at my other blog at Carolina Gal's Literary Cafe..

La Shana Tova Tik-Va-Tevu

2009-09-17T16:23:00.001-07:00

La Shana Tova, For my non-Jewish readers. This is the Jewish holiday that we say La Shana Tova, may you be inscribed in the book of life.

This coming Friday is sundown. This starts the Jewish holiday season. The holiday is two day of Rosh Hashanah. Depending if you live here, or in Israel. In Israel the holiday is celebrated for one day. If you are reform, then you celebrate it for one day. But, us that are Conservative or Orthodox Jews in the United States, we celebrate for two days.

We anticipate hearing the blowing of the shofar. There are other traditions of food, and actions that we do. Then 10 days later we come back to the synagoge and repeat for Yom Kippur where we fast for 1 day. We hear the blowing of the shofar.

In our house, We eat the traditional Brisket, Matzah Ball Soup, Gefilte Fish, and Honey Cake. This is the tradition from my mother that I have followed and never wavered. We have traditional food, of Wine, Apples, Honey, Challah( round for the new year).

This is the time for 10 days to reflect, repent, and set new goals for the year. This is followed with the holiday of Succot( holiday of booths). Moses and the Jewish people traveled through Egypt. Followed with Simchat Torah, the holiday, where we celebrate the beginning cycle of reading of the Torah all over again.

I don't mean to offend anyone. But I simplified it for everyone. If you would like to know more go to myjewishlearning.com.or to know more info you can go to Chabad

May you & your loved ones be inscribed & sealed in the book of life for a happy, healthy, safe & joyous New Year

Let us pray for a happy, healthy, sweet new year. Without any war, May the year 5770 be a better year.

In My Hot Little Hands

2009-08-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to tell all my Jewish readers about a new book, that was just delivered by my mailman. Just delivered in my hot little hands. It is Day after Night by Anita Diamant published by Simon and Schuster.

Anita Diamant is the author of The Red Tent and a few other Jewish parenting books.

From the book jacket flap:

Based on the extrodinary true story of the October 1945 rescue of more than two hundred prosoners from the atlit internment camps, a proson for ilegal immigrants run by the British military mear the Mediterranean coast north of Haifa. The story is told through the eyes of four young women at the camp with profundly different stories. All of them survived the Holocaust: Shayndel, a Polish Zionist; Leonite a Parisian beauty; Tedi a hidden Dutch Jew; and Zorah, a concentration camp survivor. Haunted by unspeakable memories and losses, afraid to begin to hope, Shayndel, Leonie, Tedi, and Zorah find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience even as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves in a strange new country.

This is a unforgettable story of tragedy and redemption, a novel that reimagines a moment in history with such stunning elogquence that we are haunted amd moved by every devastating detail.

I can't wait to read this one. A good boook it sounds like right in time for the Jewish high holidays. It will be released on September8,2009. Thank you Anita for the copy to read and review on my Jewish blog.

Jewish Mail Box Monday

2009-08-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

I have been surfing the web for a Jewish mailbox that would be fun to post. I could not find anything. Unfortunately, this is the only thing I came up with. The mailbox is from Israel. Bare with me until I find something else.

The box is boring, but the books are not. I am estatic, that I recieved this many Jewish books. This has not happend to me since I started my blog. I usually get more secualar books rather than Jewish.

Here is what came into my Jewish Mailbox this past week. Thank you for hosting this Marcia, from The Printed Page.

Rashi's Daughter, Book 3 By Maggie Anton
Thank you Maggie

I have been looking forward to this one for awhile. This is Maggie's third book about one of Rashi's daughters. Each book is written based on one of he's daugters, Rashi is a famous Jewish scholar in Medival France.

Bending Toward The Sun by Leslie Gilbert_Lurie
Thank you FSB Associates for the copy. This one is a memoir about a mother and daughter and the experiences of the holocaust.

The Puzzle Queen by Betsy Carter courtesy by the author, thank you.
Other bloggers have written about the cover of the book. I have to agree as well. Digitally the eyes look very intense but when you see if in your own hands it is not as intense. But still, I like the cover. The book is a historical fiction, based on the holocaust.

You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr
I am looking forward to reading this one as soon as possible. There is some contraversy surrounding the book. I can't wait to read this one. I have heard some tongues wagging because of this one.

This is the first time More Jewish books came into my mailbox rather than secualar. I just wish my people would visit my blog as I have not been paying alot of attention to it. Once I start getting mor visitor I think I will start to give it more loving care!!

Blogging Help

2009-08-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to re-design my blog with blogger. I want to make a navigational bar. This way I can have my two blogs connected. I want to be able to use my own color background, and to make my blog header with a graphic design for my own choosing.
Some of you bloggers did this yourself. I was wondering if anyone would like to do this is their spare time,and is handy with the technical side of the blog. I am not and I would pay you for your trouble. I have tried to follow directions on the blogger tutorial and it just doesn't do it for me. I am desperate!!. All of you that personal sent me emails to try to explain it to me have been great. But I just don't get it.

This Is Where I Leave You

2009-08-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

This Is Where I Leave You
By Jonathan Tropper

This is Where I Leave You, the story of Judd Foxman. He's father, Mort has just passed away. Judd and Jen, his wife are having marital problems. She is having a affair with Wade, his boss, the radio jock. Judd finds out she is pregnant. On the same day he's father dies.

He's family is Jewish. He's mother tells the family by the request of their father to sit Shiva(seven days of mourning). Their father is not religious or traditional at all. There are Jewish rituals that are followed, covering mirrors, sitting on stools, no bathing,no fun at all. There are family, friends aquaintances, that visit during the seven days. The shiva is sat by mother, wife, brother, sister, and children. If you are interested visit here.

The family is dysfunctional. This where the fun begins. The family must sit together for seven days on stools. Many visitors come a calling. You can hear the criticism, and whispers by the family members. They have not sat and come together for many years. There is family can't sit together for two minutes without bickering. Sparks start flying.

Judd is the narrator, you hear him through out the book. Phillip, is the younger brother, that messed up his life. Paul is the older brother, Judd lost his virginity to Phillip's wife many years ago. Wendy is the sister, that still has a crush on the boy next door. She hit him over the head many years ago. He has memory loss to this day.

Their mother, Linda holds a PHd, a psychologist, we find out later in the book who the family suspects as her lover. The mother loves to use shocking words to get attention of the family.

If during the shiva that it falls on Friday night through Saturday night. The members go to services. shiva week. During services there is some mad cap comedy that reminds me of one of Sandler's movies.

As the cantor drones on, I stick my hand into the pocket of Dad's suit and discover what feels like a old, twisted, tissue but turns out, upon further inspection, to be a fat, bone fide, home rolled joint.

He then goes down to the bathroom. Now read on...
It was in Dad;s suit. Dad was a stoner? Phillip says, so much of life makes sense.

Then ..Then a few minutes later, we're sprawled at our timey attached desks, while the three dimensional letters of the hebrew aleph-bet taped above the blackboard float over us in the smokey haze.
Then it goes on during the shiva week, sex, drugs,sex, every kind of raunchy act you can think of.

I liked the way the book was set up for each day of the seven. Each section of the book was for the day of the week of the Shiva. You could not wait to find out what happened the following day. Finally there was no family issues settled. But alot of hugs and kisses and understandings.

The story is rauchy, "R" rated,full of sex, funny, hilarious. You start cracking up right from the first sentence. Best of all entertaining. I started reading this book at the Dr.'s office.

I had to have a three hour glucose tolerance test the day I started the book. The patients and the staff thought I must have been nuts. Because I had a smirk on my face, and laughing out loud, and calling out oh my g-d without realizing I was speaking out loud. I am sure they were ready to send me away in a straight jacket any moment. I did not realize I was cracking up and smirking the whole time I was there.

Some parts of the book sounded like my family. I don't think my mother would go to all those lengths to have the family sit together. Sitting throught Shiva would be the biggest punishment for her. She is a cultural Jew.

If you can get over the raunchy and sex parts, Which I did. After awhile it just grows on you and you forget that, and just keep on laughing.

This book was just bought up to movie rights. I don't know if I would see it. As I don't like these kind of movies. But I definately loved this book. It was so hilarious. Go check it out at a Bookstore near you!!
You can read a review by my blogging friend Marie, The Boston Bibliophile here.

Annie's Ghost

2009-07-30T08:05:00.001-07:00

For the first time I am posting on both blogs the same review. This book happens in all families not just in Jewish families. You will find the review here as well as my other blog.

Annie's Ghosts
By Steve Luxenberg
Published May 2009

Washington Post associate editor Steve Luxenberg is a master of investigative journalism. The editor of two Pulitzer prize winning series, Luxenberg has now written his most compelling story. His exploration of his late mother's secret.

Beth Luxenberg always claimed to be an only child, but a chance mention led to the discovery that she had been hiding the existence of a sister, Annie. The girls had grown up together, living in a series of cramped apartments until Annie's commitment to a mental instituion at the age of twenty-one. Why was Annie committed? How had Beth so thoroughly erased her sister's existence? Why had she wanted to?

Annie's Ghosts is the engrossing eye opening story of Luxenberg's search for the personal motives and cultural forces that influenced his mother's decision to create and harbor her secret. The deeper he digs. the more he finds himself in unfamiliar territory, struggling to balance his dual roles, the tenacious journalist and empathetic son.

The research and investigative work that Mr. Luxenberg did was well documented. You could tell that he was a investigative journalist by his writing style. I thought he did a good job in the research that was done.

He documented the family, friends, relatatives, neighbors that knew his family. He documented the history of psychiatry. in the hospital and in Europe. How the mentally ill were treated with psychotropic meds, insulin, shock treatment. The after effects of Haldol which can cause tardavdiskensia.

The history of mental hospitals, psychiatry, the treatment of patients, the overcrowding. The government's role in mental illness and hospitals. The governments funding in the US. Social culture in the US during the 40's. He summized what life was like for the family under normal conditions. What life was like to have a child with a physical disability and mental illness. How this effected the whole family. His family, his grandparents, his mother.

The research and investigative work was well researched. He did the work objectively. Which was a hard thing to do. Since this was a personal matter, his mother, Beth and Aunt Annie. How do you do investigative work objectively.

The story of the secret his mother, Beth kept from the family till she died. The family lived in Detroit, Michigan during the 30's and 40's. Beth's sister was severely handicapped with mental illness. She was sent away from the home in her early twenties.

Steve's grandmother, Tillie felt that the sins of the parents are passed on to the children. Because Tilly his grandmother and Zeyde married as cousins. In the old country in Europe in the Jewish faith you can marry a cousin to keep everything in the family.

Steve's investigative work also brought us to Europe. In Russia, with the Pograms, the holocaust, mass murders. How families in Europe felt about mental illness and physically handicapped family members. They felt it was right to keep secrets.

During the 40's families felt it was a disgrace to have a family member with a mental illness and a physical handicap. It left you with a stigma and the family felt disgraced in the 1940's. If you expected to marry you did not let anyone know you kept it in the family.

The account of the family takes place, while he's mother is still alive. While she is being hospitalized she tells the social worker the secret. He wonders, why did she wait to tell the secret then. Why not before. What a shock this had to be for him and his family. The brothers and sisters all thought she was a only child.

During the investigation of the early accounts when Annie's is committed to Eloise(the name of the mental institution). He questions her IQ, her mental state, her emotional state. Was she severely mentally ill or was this just a place to put her. Was she schizophrenic? or was this what they labeled everyone.

In the 40's Schizophrenia was a catch-all. Not like today when they distinguish the different mental illnesses. The documents that he finds challanges the reason she was put in Eloise in the first place. He finds documents that states she can care for herself. And can function very well.

At the end of Annie's life she died in 1972. She died alone in her early 50's. She died before the government opened the doors for good. She was buried with a Jewish burial by his mother. She wrote Annie's orbituary that was fabricated. The author questions why did his mother finally recognize her in death but not while she was alive.

Was this a cartharsis for the author? Did he write this to help others that had family secrets? Did he want to understand why the secret was kept? While I was reading the book I wanted to know answers. But there weren't any because Steve' did not know the answers because he's mother kept him in the dark. There weren't any leaads to the questions because his mother and her generation passed away. There were some relatives, neighbors and friends that were still alive. But their memories were fading.

I have mixed feeling about Annie's Ghosts. What I am wondering where are the motivations for each action. Where are the feelings to their actions. How and why did this happen. It is hard for me to relate because there isn't any emotions sprinkled on the pages of the book, only the authors. You can see he took great care to preserve his mother's memory. To protect his mother, and his brothers, and sisters.

I wanted to know the mother and sister's and parents side. How was Annie raised by her parents?? how did Beth actually feel about her? Did she ever feel anything for Annie? Did her parents keep the secret from everyone as well?? The holes were never filled. How it affected them. All the questions he had were never answered, WHY??!!

That is probably why I did not understand why this book was written. With so many unanswered questions. I could not relate to most of the book.

There is a saying you don't judge someone because we have not walked in their shoes. But still I was angry with Bertha. To not have any compassion and not care what happens to her sister. To not care about her welfare and well being really makes her out as a heartless human being.

We will never know if she did or didn't because his mother never told him about his Aunt. She is no longer hear to defend herself.

Annie's Ghost has a good history lesson of the mentally ill, and psyciatry, and what society thought of the mentally ill. If you have no idea what psyciatry was like during that time.

I did enjoy reading this book. The book was well documented, and lot of work, sweat and caring, and investigative work was involved. The book was very compelling. It could help someone that is trying to research family and what happens to a family when there are secrets. I am still glad that I picked up this book and read it.
Thank you, Jill, FSB for allowing me to review.

Charleston, SC Trip Pix(Pt.1)

2009-07-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

Jewish Charleston: Rosh Hodesh-Girlfriend's Group

2009-07-13T15:13:00.001-07:00

Shalom Y'All,

Our Rosh Hodesh "Girlfriends group meet once a month. This month June 18th. This is a Jewish women's group that meet once a month in honor of the new moon. This day we decided to meet for a day time event. We went to Charleston.

Charleston, you say. That is not Jewish. Well, guess what?? you are wrong. There is a lot of Jewish history in this town of Charleston SC. If you don't believe me you should do a google search. You will find alot of history on the Sephardic Jews
( Spainish).

Our town, Myrtle Beach has a Chabad community as well as conservative and reform. Our RH group is not insular we welcome anyone that is Jewish. Most of us are conservative and reform or secular. We only have two women that are orthodox. This is the overall character of our group.

Chani, is the Chabad rabbi's wife is a very welcoming person. She is not trying to make all of us orthodox because all of us are over 50. She is just a nice person.
The group every month does tefillin(prayer), then some learning(jewish learning) followed by a fun project it can be anything.

Chani drove us in a van with 10 of us to Charleston. Took about 2 hrs. Can you imagine a ride with all women for two hours riding in a van. EAR SPLITTING.
I have not seen some of these ladies for 6 months because of work and school.
It was nice to see them. The ladies some belong to my temple, or to our Hadassah group, Jewish Myrtle Beach, etc.

We started a day with getting a guided tour on our van. G-d must have been with us. We were very lucky. We did not have to walk. We had a air conditioned van. We had a Jewish guide. This was just great. The whole day we only took a few steps the rest of the time we were in the van. The temperture was great.

We started with the Jewish Cemetary in Charleston. The cemetary was a gated wall.
The cemetary was in poor condition which is very sad. The head stones were broken, and thrown every each way. The head stones were damaged recently.

I personally was very surprised how poorly kept the cemetary was kept. I have a friend, she is a member of Temple Beth Elohim, a poor small Jewish community.
Their cemetary is well groomed.

There is not a large Jewish community in Georgetown. But in Charleston Jewish society there is a large community.

Next the homes are beautiful. Some of the homes are owned by Jews other are not. I did not hear much about anti-semitism in Charleston as our guide we talking to us about Charleston.

One of the homes was the inspiration of Gone With The Wind. She showed us the significance of Rhett Butler and the author. Which I can't remember what she said. The high class homes face a certain direction for good ventilation.

We came to the harbor how beautiful was the sea breeze and across the street was the high society homes. Unfortunately I am posting this about 3 weeks later so some of the information is a vague maemory.

Next, we had lunch, at Broad Street Guest House in Charleston. The only kosher eatery and guest house in town. It is run by Hadassah Rothenberg. She never opens it up for only a meal. But she did this time. She told us, no one ever asked her, why not. We had lunch and a tour. We had soup, salad, vegetarian wraps, and a old-fashioned apple pie to die for.

Our next stop was the synagouge, Temple Beth Elohim, a sephardic(Spainish) a Orthodox temple became a reform in the middle 1800's. It was a orthodox shul that became reform in the middle 1800's.

View the picture in the above post of Temple Beth Elohim of the richness and vastness of the shul. We toured the temple, in the main sanctuary, of course the Bimah front and center where the torah is kept(holy books), large stain glass windows(Jewish themed), a balcony and a organ.

Music is not allowed in orthodox or conservative because music is not played during the sabbath. The balcony was built to separate the women and children from the men.

This is very different from how I was raised. The culture from Jews from the north is different from Jews in the south. I was raised in a some what secular home but I was raised from a traditional back ground. I came from the north where shul did not look like a church. The shuls had chairs, not long benches.

We then walked along Market street and then went home. I had a very enlightened historic adventure of Jewish Charleston. If anybody has never been to see the Jewish south this would be a good learning experience especially to you that did not realize there was a large population of Jews in the south.

I will be posting the picture of Temple Beth Elohim on the above post.

Shalom,
Susan(Hadassah)

What Makes A Jewish Book???

2009-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

This has been questioned so many times by Jews. Readers, rabbi's, scholars etc. No one seems to have the answer.

The reason I bring this up. This past year, a book called, Songs for the Butcher's Daughter, written by a non-jewish author. He worked at National Yiddish Book Center.

I can't make a opinion about the book since I have not read it. But I have read several books that have Jewish content, or author's are Jewish but not any Jewish content. I personally have not read anything from a author that is not Jewish.

Can a non-Jewish person write his or her experiences in a Jewish story. I am not sure. They do not have the experiences or feel what we as Jews feel. That is just my opinion. I have not heard the other way around that a Jewish author writes a story about the experiences of being Christian.

When the author writes a book that is Jewish I can identify with the story because I am Jewish. The characters, the situation etc. When the story is written by a Jewish author there isn't anything between the lines that you can relate to if you are Jewish to make it Jewish. To me to make a book Jewish is the content. That is only my opinion.

I am very interested to see what others think of Song of the Butcher's Daughter.

One of my fellow bloggers just mentioned the book on her blog that is why I brought it up. I want to see what she has to say about it.

I appreciate other commenter to post their thoughts on this opinions. Readers and scholars alike. What do you think??

What Makes A Book Jewish??

2009-06-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to put this on my blog. I have alway wandered about this. What Makes A Book Jewish? There is not any easy answer to this.
When our book club picks what we read we sometimes have issues. For example is it Jewish content? Is the author Jewish? If not should we still pick the book if it has Jewish content? Is the book or author Jewish enough? There is a author that has written a novel that is a gentile but vey Yiddishkeit. Now, what do we do?

What are your thoughts about this??This can bring in a very hot and tempered conversation. I try to stay away from this subject. But when it deals with a book we need to discuss sometimes it can not be helped.

What Makes a book Jewish
By Josh Lambert
Copied from Jewish Book World
Summer 2009

since you’re reading Jewish Book
World, this is probably a question
you’ve asked yourself, at
least briefly, at one point or
another. If you’re a librarian or
bookstore owner, editor or
reviewer, literary scholar, or
book group leader, you may
even have decided which books
count as Jewish and which books don’t for a
particular project, issue, display, or collection.
I had to think about this all the time while
writing my book, American Jewish Fiction: A
JPS Guide, which explores the field through
short reviews of 125 classic novels and short
story collections published between 1867 and
2007. What books would I include, and
which ones would I leave out?
Many of these decisions are easy enough
to make. Everyone agrees that a book written
in a Jewish language like Hebrew, Yiddish, or
Ladino, can be counted as a Jewish book.
Even when they have nothing to do with Jews
or Judaism, it would be hard to deny that
such books maintain some relation to Jewish
writers and readers. Sure, the Yiddish translation
of the New Testament was produced to
help Christians convert Jews, but the book
remains Jewish in a sense because of its language
and its intended audience.
Since my focus was on American fiction, I
could immediately and enthusiastically add
to my list many novels written in Yiddish,
including works by David Pinski, I. J. Singer,
I. B. Singer, and Chaim Grade; my publishers
requested that I steer clear of any books that
have not been translated into English, which
meant picking Isaac Raboy’s Der yiddisher
kauboy (Jewish Cowboy, 1942), rather than his
earlier and somewhat similar novel Herr
Goldenbarg (1913), and leaving out books
like David Ignatov’s In keslgrub (1918) that
have not yet been translated. Sadly, this
requirement meant excluding many novels
and short story collections written in Hebrew
12 Jewish Book World Summer 5769/2009 www.jewishbookcouncil.org
by Josh Lambert
What makes a book Jewish?

about life in America by writers including
Simon Halkin, Reuben Wallenrod, Razia
Ben-Gurion, and Maya Arad (though I mention
several of these in an appendix for those
able to read them in the original). But I never
had to think too deeply about whether these
Yiddish and Hebrew books should be considered
Jewish.
Even when dealing with non-Jewish languages—
in the case of my own book, particularly
with novels written in English—some
decisions pose no great difficulty. Who would
deny that Milton Steinberg’s As a Driven Leaf
(1939), which dramatizes a set of stories from
the Talmud, is a Jewish book simply because
Steinberg, a congregational rabbi, chose to
write it in English? The real complications
begin with writers who were not rabbis
and with stories drawn not from central
and traditional Jewish texts, like the Talmud,
but from modern experience in all
of its ambiguity and dynamism.
A few borderline cases will help to
demonstrate the problems that tend to
crop up. Nathanael West (né Weinstein)
wrote extraordinarily dark and
resonant satires of American
culture in which Jews do not
figure as primary characters,
and while J. D. Salinger was a
rabbi’s grandson, his stories of
alienated young geniuses and
dysfunctional urban families,
including Catcher in the Rye
(1951), barely mention Jewishness.
An even more resonant
case is that of the famed Czech
writer Franz Kafka, whose diaries and
letters reveal an intense fascination with
and attention to Jewish life and history,
but who never mentions the word “Jew”
or “Jewish” in a single one of his novels
or stories.
To justify including works by these
writers in the category of Jewish literature,
critics often argue that their books subtly
symbolize something fundamental about the
modern Jewish experience, even if they don’t
explicitly mention Jews. Saul Bellow, for example,
characterized a Jewish book as one in
which “laughter and trembling” are “curiously
mixed,” and by this standard, West and Kafka
would be shoo-ins, while Salinger would have
a fair shot. Cynthia Ozick, meanwhile, has
called for a “liturgical literature,” and depending
on how one defines that purposely vague
term, West, Salinger, and Kafka could all be in,
or out. Ruth Wisse, professor of Jewish literature
at Harvard, proposes that “in Jewish literature
the authors or characters know and let
the reader know that they are Jews,” under
which criterion West, Salinger, and Kafka
would all be summarily excluded; nevertheless,
Wisse insists on including Kafka in her Modern
Jewish Canon (2000), as she perceives “the
permanent anxiety of a Jew writing in German”
in The Trial (1925). Noting the long history
of such disagreements and confusions,
Hana Wirth-Nesher remarks, in an anthology
of essays on this topic, titled What Is Jewish Literature?
(1994), that “there is no consensus nor
is it likely that there will ever be one.”
Why not say, then, as Michael Kramer, a
professor of English literature at Bar Ilan University,
does, that “Jewish literature is simply
literature written by Jews”? Kramer means
this literally and absolutely: he includes any
books written by any Jew “regardless of any
relationship to Judaism or yiddishkayt or any
of the many versions of Jewishness that have
strutted across the stage of modern Jewish
history.” For Kramer, if it turns out that a
Jewish person wrote PowerPoint for Dummies,
well, then that’s a Jewish book.
For many readers, Kramer’s approach will
seem needlessly broad—does he really imagine
that the Jewish section at Barnes and
Noble could include every book written by a
Jewish author? And who exactly is supposed
to check to see whether the author of The
Bacon Cookbook had a bat mitzvah?—but even
this inclusive approach is also not nearly broad
enough. Plenty of books written by proud and
unambiguously identified non-Jews surely
deserve mention in any discussion of Jewish
literature, from George Eliot’s influential
proto-Zionist novel Daniel Deronda (1876) to
the most recent winner of the National Jewish
Book Award for fiction, Peter Manseau’s Songs
for the Butchers Daughter (2008). Manseau’s
book appeared too late for me to include it in
American Jewish Fiction, but I did include
works by non-Jewish authors including Henry
Harland, Edward King, and John Updike. I
particularly recommend Gish Jen’s Mona in
the Promised Land (1996), which features a
young Chinese-American convert to Judaism.
It seems to me, finally, that the way
to answer the question about what
makes a book Jewish is to decide why
you think anyone should read such
books. Are these books meant to bring
Jews closer to God? To explain Jewish life
to non-Jews? To educate, to entertain, to
perplex, to enlighten? Personally, I hope
Jewish books can do all of these
things, and that helped me to
make my choices. After consulting
with experts, literary scholars,
and many voracious readers,
I eventually chose novels about
religious and secular Jews, about
the Holocaust and Israel, about
conversion and intermarriage,
about Jews who are proud to be
Jewish and about Jews who
aren’t exactly sure what being
Jewish means. And, for the record, I
included novels by West and Kafka, but
not Salinger. I imagine that not everyone
will agree with these choices. In fact, I
hope they won’t. That’s why I created a
companion website, www.AmericanJewishFiction.
com, where readers can let me
know what books and authors I neglected
and help me to build a more complete list.
We may never be able to agree, as Wirth-
Nesher suggests, on what exactly makes a
book Jewish. But by staking out positions and
arguing about them, we’ll develop richer and
more complex ideas about our literature, and
even, perhaps, about what “Jewish” means.
Josh Lambert (JL) is a doctoral candidate in English
literature at the University of Michigan, and the
author of American Jewish Fiction: A JPS Guide
(2009). He contributes regularly to the Forward,
Nextbook.org, and other publications, and his
website is epikores.com.
www.jewishbookcouncil.org Summer 5769/2009 Jewish Book World 13
That’s why I created a companion
website, www.americanjewishfiction.com,
where readers can let me know what books
and authors I neglected and help me to
build a more complete list.

Starting Book Club

2009-06-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Those of you that follow my blog know that I have had a hard time keeping Our book club, The 38th Ave. Diva Readers, going this year.The 38th Ave. I am not sure what is going to happen.

Now for some good news. Our new Jewish book club was formed this evening. Unfortunately, we forgot to name our selves. But that can be next time. Our first meeting was wonderful. We discussed Who By Fire By Diana Spechler.

I read this a second time around and appreciated it much more. The book is about a family of three siblings. The youngest sibling is kidnapped. Ellie asked Ash to watch his younger sister, Alena.

The husband eventually leaves the family. The whole family has emotional issues and baggage. They have guilt and blame toward each other and themselves.

Bits deals with the kidnapping by compulsively having sex. Ash deals with the kidnapping by becoming a Bal T'shuva( return Jew). Bits decides to take the plunge and move to Israel and live in a Yeshiva( house of study). The Ellie falls in love with Jonathan. Jonathan and Ellie work together to form a plan to get Ash out of the "cult" in Israel. Jonathan hires a young girl to lure Ash out of the Yeshiva.

Bits, flys to Israel to attempt to bring Ash back. Through all this the family has made several attempts to contact Ash. Ash has cut all contact with the family. Ellie, the mother informs Bits, that her sister's hairs were dug up and found. Bits plans to bring Ash back to the U.S. for the funeral. Ash doesn't want any part of it. Ash has religious searching to do. Ash leave the Yeshiva and meets a Chabad rabbi on the beach. The Rabbi talks him into returning to the states to help the family.

In time we find out that Jonathan is working with a young girl to get Ash out of the cult. There is something suspicious about Jonathan. He is conning Ellie for more money, and he has done this in the past. Jonathan keeps claiming that this kind of Jewish life is a cult. "We have to get him out"

Bits finds out from her aunt that there was not going to be a funeral after all. Her sister's body was never found. This was a story to make Ash come back to the states.

Ash does eventually come back to help take care of her sister. Bits finds out that Bits is pregnant. Ash is staying till he knows she can take care of herself, and the baby. He does plan to go back to Israel when he is no longer needed.

My reaction to the story is this is a dysfunctional family. They are all nuts. The family has a hard time communicating with one another and telling them the truth.
They seem to all want to rescue each other. The sister wants to rescue Ash. The mother wants to rescue Ash and Bits, Ash wants to rescue Bits. The whole family is full of guilt and blame.

I don't like the mother she seems to deal with the guilt by blaming both of the kids. Especially placing the blame on Bits for everything that her brother does. The brother has guilt because he was suppose to be watching Alena when she went out to play and she was kidnapped and never found. He becomes more observant to deal with his sister's kidnapping since this is the only way for him to deal with it. Both of the children live with the guilt that the mother puts on them every day.

I love character study and that is what this book was. It was not a straight narrative. It went back and forth to the characters. I just enjoyed reading this book becauses of this. Everyone was trying to rescue everyone and blame and shame.

Here is what happens when you try to rescue someone. You find out you are the one that needs the rescuing

On Yom Kippur, the most holiest day of the Jewish calendar. This is judgement day.

On Yom Kippur is will be sealed
How many shall pass away
How many shall be born
Who shall live and who will die
Who shall reach end of his days and who shall not.
Who shall perish by water and WHO BY FIRE

The book club reaction: None of them liked the book. The thought the story was totally bizarre. Which I tend to agree with them. When people say they hate the book they tend not to discuss and that makes not a very good meeting. I thought even though I did not particular like the story. I did like the character study. There was alot to discuss.

Administrative Notes:
We will be meeting four times a year. We will read Jewish books either with content or the author is Jewish. The person that decides on the book will be hostess. Even though it technically is not a Jewish book. But does take place in Europe during WW2. We decided on this one. We will be Monday, September 14th at 7PM.
We are going to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Holocaust Museum Shooting: Wednesday

2009-06-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, there was a fatal shooting of a security guard. The unfortunate events still say there is much hatred and denial of the holocaust. It is ironic that the holocaust museum was built to promote less hatred and tolerance of all peoples and cultures. Unfortunately it did not reach Vonn Brunn.

I decided not post his picture. I did not want to give him publicity for his actions. Instead I am giving the honor to the security guard, Stephen T. Johns. He was killed by the hand of Vonn Brunn

On Wednesday morning a security guard Johns was opening the door to the museum. A 88 yr.old man, Vonn Brunn walked in as the museu and shot a guard. The guard was rushed to the hospital unfortunately he died 2 hours later.

There was a note left in his car with much anti semitism sendiment. The biography of this man gives you a bad taste in your mouth. He was a soldier in WW2. He hold a bacholor of science degree in journalism. later on in the 80's he was arrested and sent to jail for his views and sentiments about the government and the holocaust.
It also has been said he was a leader in various groups of holocaust deniers and on the internet.

He does have a bachelor's degree in Journalism. What a waste he could have used his background in much better ways then hatred.

This is the exact reason why the museum was built to stop hatred and educate people to understand the diversity of all peoples. It just too bad that no one could help this man.

Hugo Schiller, a holocaust survivor. He is a member of my temple. Later in life he decided to educate people about the holocaust. He belives educating children. He tours around the area and talks about his experience in the holocaust.

A friend of mine, Joy Glunt( she has a pen name for the book) wrote a book about his life, I Remember Singing. The reason she told me that she wrote this book was to educate people. She hoped that if she reached one person to understand then she helped the world.

Mr. Schiller and Joy were invited just a week ago to the museum to speak about the book and a book signing. Perhaps they did reach someone at the book signing. Hopefully the book reached a young child that will make a difference.

Check Out Holocaust Museum in D. C,

2009-06-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Washington D.C. area and and will be going to the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington this weekend. There will be a book signing, I Remember Singing, a children's biography about a holocaust survivor Hugo Schiller. His wife, Ellie will also be in attendance at the museum.

please support this wonderful children's book. It is a biography about a Holocaust survivor, Hugo Schiller. I don't want to blog to much more. That will be written at another time. I wanted to tell you about this book to spread the word. My friend self-published this book so any of you bloggers are reading this. You all know how hard it is to get recognized in mass book market. Can you imagine how hard it is being self published. You can also purchase it at Amazon.com.

Synopsis:
Product Description
"This I remember was very special about Hugo; he sang for the little ones to comfort them when they were scared and missing their families."Alice Resch Synnestvedt, Rescuer of Jewish children during the Holocaust. Hugo Schiller was seven years old when Hitler's Nazis dragged his father Oskar from their home in Grünsfeld, Germany and took him to the concentration camp Dachau. Two weeks later they brought him back without explanation, and forced him to sell Rosenbusch & Company, the family store. When Hugo's school principal informed him that he could no longer go to school because he was Jewish, Hugo's parents sent him to Offenbach, Germany to live with two aunts and go to school. The morning after he arrived home for vacation break, Hitler's uniformed Nazi troops came for the family, giving them one hour to pack a suitcase and leave. Hugo and his family were deported to Gurs, a refugee camp in the South of France where they were held behind barbed wire in intolerable living conditions and with scanty food. At the muddy Gurs camp near the Pyrenees Mountains, Hugo sang for bread for his Mother Selma and Aunt Hilda who were starving. One day cheerful Alice Resch drove into Camp de Gurs in a truck with a canvas flapping on the back. Working with the Quaker Refugee Relief agency, she had gained permission from the Vichy French Government to help feed the children. Soon after, she gained permission to take Hugo and the other children from Gurs to the children's home in Aspet. In Hugo's true story there is unspeakable loss but also great triumph on many levels. Hugo Schiller, child-hero, bravely survived the Holocaust by helping others. Today, he speaks about his experiences and about how to help make certain a Holocaust never happens again.

About the Author
"Today, I write because I want to help make certain that our world becomes a more humane and peaceful place for our children, grandchildren, families and friends," She said, "and to do that it is necessary to expose those elements that lead to Holocausts." Arielle Aaron writes children's books, poetry, and non-fiction, participates in the Grand Strand Creative Artists' Exhibit, and photographs Brookgreen Gardens. She has published poetry, non-fiction articles, a play, children's stories and a book for her sons titled: THINGS I MEANT TO TELL YOU...IF I DIDN'T. She earned her B.A. degree in English/Writing and Editing, a track in Speech Communications and completed studies for a concentration in Journalism at NC State University. In 1993, she won a Dewitt Wallace Fellowship to study graduate Literature at The Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College in Vermont; has completed coursework at the University of South Carolina; attended the Governor's School on Foreign Language at UNC Chapel Hill & Appalachian State University; and did graduate work at Campbell College at Buies Creek. She participated in the North Carolina Writing Project at UNC Wilmington, and participated as a Teacher-Scholar "Writing Children's Books" at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. She recently re-organized the Hugo Schiller Holocaust Resource Center for teachers, and participates in "South Carolina Reads about the Holocaust." "In fourth grade--in a little country school--I wrote about Holocaust children. In my stories some of the children survived." She says. "Imagine my surprise upon meeting brave child-hero Hugo Schiller who did survive the Holocaust. The world is a better place because this good man survived."

Hag Sameach

2009-05-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

The holiday of Shavuot begins at sundown tonight. This is the holiday where we eat dairy. To read about the holiday go to myjewishlearning.com. Hag Semeach, everyone.

2009-04-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across JBC blog and found a interesting article written about young Jewish authors. Check it out, it is a long article but it is interesting. I have to remember I am not young any longer. I have to ask my self who are they talking about.
The article is about Jewish writters, and is written in Vanity Fair. Check it out here.

Myrtle Beach Fire

2009-04-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

VisitSeaside Bookworm to read about the Myrtle Beach fire.

Holocaust Memorial Day

2009-04-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am a little late by a few days. I don't know how I forgot this important day in Jewish history. I am added my take on the day, by a few days. When I used to live in Miami Beach I would visit this beautiful and agonizing museum. I would have mixed emotions. The Arm sticking up from the ground, with the tattoo with the prison numbers. If you have not been to this outer museum you can view it online. The museum is in Miami Beach. In the outside there are statues of children and adults free form. It has real emotions attached to the sculpture. WE MUST NEVER FORGET!!

In all of this, Hugo Schiller is a holocaust survivor. He is a congregant in our temple. He goes to different schools talking about the experience in the holocaust in France. He's entire immediate family perished in Auschwitz.

Miraculously he has a different out look about the holocaust. He lives each day without a frown on his face.

He and his family lived in Germany. But the Germans came and took him and his family to the camps. He was sent to Vichy, France. He was taken care of a woman named Alice. It was awhile before he got out. He was able to get to N.Y.C.

I did make a small contribution to spread the word about the holocaust. I had spoken to my professor about Hugo. Hugo will be a guest speaker talking about the holocaust for a future program next year. The college never knew there was anyone that experience the holocaust in the area. I have a hard time believing this. Hugo has been here since the 1960's. But at least it will be a program now.

It would have been nice if they were able to have a program for Holocaust Remembrance Day but it was too late to develop a program. Maybe it is something the college will think of in the future.

Now, I would like to tell you about a special lady. Her name is Eleanor Schiller. She is the wife of Hugo. She is a dedicated history teacher at the Chabad School in Myrtle Beach, SC. Both Hugo and Ellie try to keep a kosher home and a religious life as possible. They are not not strict but they try the best they can to be faithful Jews. Which is very hard in S.C.

Ellie has developed a Holocaust Resource Center. With many books on the subject.
She also developed a Holocaust Resource and Library Center in our temple. She is hoping that it can be moved to the University at CCU in Conway. Until that happens it will stay put at Temple Emanu-El in Myrtle Beach.

She also made the "Butterfly Project" a few years ago. This is where all the children wanted to know how many is 6,000,000 Jews. Ellie came up with the project instead of the numeral. Lets actually make something that is actually tangible. They did not reach the number but the children can now understand that 6,000,000 is just too many to have to perish.

This week is going to be a hard week. I am taking a history class. Our subject this week is on the holocaust and the Nuremberg Trial. It is one thing for our Rabbi to talk about it at temple. But a totally different matter when other people talk about it with authority. They are not holocaust survivors, they are not Jewish so how would they know. I know this sounds stupid but I feel that because the holocaust is a jewish matter. Only Jewish people should talk about it. My history teacher does not know about the Jewish experience.

Last semester I was in his Western Civilization Class. He brought up a few things I don't agree with. Me talking about the holocaust made me feel very self conscious and drew attention to myself. That is one thing you do not do in the bible belt.

One thing my instructor says he doesn't have any proof. But he suspects that--get this-- that hitler never knew about the crematoriums. He says there were so many different committees it is possible that Hitler was kept int the dark about this.
I have a hard time with this.

The other thing is when he was announcing the numbers of people killed in the holocaust. That it was not a Jewish experience. There were many others that were killed. Even people that did not like jazz music. This made the holocaust not a Jewish experience. But many different kinds of people killed. This makes the holocaust not a Jewish experience, and not unique among Jews.

All my life I have been told the holocaust happened with 6 million Jews.
Now the instructor, is saying just as many other people in German and European society were killed. Then the students in the class opened up and said in unison with the instructor that Jews were not the only ones targeted. Which I know that the insane and gay members of society. But Jews were still targeted. I would like to see the statistics to find out where he recieved this information.

I am going to check out the statistics out to see if this is true.

I love this saying this is very true.

"First they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out; Then they came for the Socialists and Trade Unionists but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for the Jews but I was not Jewish, so I did not Speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

Martin Niemoller 1892 - 1948

All These Books!!

2009-04-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

These are all Jewish books I recieved in the mail this week:
The Jewish Body by Melvin Konner
Maimonides by Sherwin B. Nuland
The Life of David by Robert Pinsky
How to Raise a Jewish Child by Anita Diamant

Thank you Schocken Books for all these books.

From various Jewish authors:
Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling
Sonata For Miriam by Linda Olsson
The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
The Last Testament by Sam Bourne

I don't know if the above books are from Jewish authors or not. But it is based on Jewish characters and a piece of Jewish history. I can tell you that Joshua Henkin is a Jewish author. One of the characters in Matrimony is Jewish.

This question has always been asked and no one seems to have the same answers.
What makes a Jewish book? the content, the author has to be Jewish? or Jewish history? Any one up for the great debate?S

Check Out My Other Blog

2009-04-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

You can visit me at my other blog to see what plans I have for our book club for May.
Our book Club we will be reading My Father's Paradise. It is our book club's 4th birthday. I have plans to celebrate. Our book club is all Jewish Women. We read all kinds of books. Usually I blog about our book club on the other blog because most of the time it doesn't have references to Jewish books. But since this book is Jewish I thought to post it on both blogs this time.

In My Father's Paradise, father and son travel to today's war-torn Iraq in a quest to rediscover a forgotten land. As Ariel retraces his father's footsteps, he brings to life the eccentric characters, extraordinary determination, and fascinating historical odyssey of the Kurdish Jews.

In the early 1950s, young Yona and his family were part of the mass exodus of 120,000 Jews from Iraq –– one of the largest peacetime airlifts in history. In Israel, Kurdish Jews struggled against bigotry and poverty, watching helplessly as their ancient culture and language slipped into oblivion. As Yona worked his way through night school in Jerusalem and then, against all odds, to Yale University, he devoted himself to the rescue of his people's vanishing traditions. Now an esteemed professor of Near Eastern languages at UCLA, Yona is one of the world's most sought-after experts on Aramaic.

In retelling his father's story, Ariel Sabar finds his own. This deeply moving, vividly told history reads like a novel of biblical proportions. My Father's Paradise is a stirring tale of hope and redemption in an Iraq very different from the one in the headlines today.

Hag Semeach

2009-04-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Pesech starts tomorrow at sundown, our first seder. I would like to wish all my Jewish readers a happy holiday. Nwxt year in Jerusalem. Ma-nish-tana-ha lela ha zey.
Why is this night different from other nights. This is from the Hagaddah. If you are interested in knowing a bit more information on the holiday of Pesach you can visit my links on my blog.

On another note, I was invited to go to a friends house for her seder. But I came down with a cold. I feel bad for my son, David. So, even though I am sick I am now going to start making a seder, a last minute job. Those of you who observe the holiday know how labor intensive it is. The menu consists of Brisket, Chicken Soup (oh, yes we can't forget the matzoh balls). I was raised on hard matzah balls. There has been a discussion around friends. My Bubbe either made footballs or softballs(soft or hard). I prefer them chewy. So that is what I will make. My son, David likes it that way. Of course Sponge Cake for dessert. We cannot forget that.

I decided not to go to school tomorrow. But to prepare the holiday. I am not feeling well anyway so it will give me time to rest. Luckily, it is just David and myself so I don't have to set the table for more than 2 people.

Again Hag Ha Matzah.

Mazel Tov, To The Winners

2009-03-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Jewih Book Council has announced this year's winner of the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. Also listed is the finalists.

Mazel Tov to the winners and finalists.

I have not read One More Story. But I did read September of Shiraz last year. I can't recall the whole story. But I do remember it takes place in Iran. The anti-semitism,and fear of being found out you were Jewish. Ffrom the author's perspective of course.

The author based this on some of the stories of her family living there.
I would recommend this book highly. I do want to pick up One More Story soon.

On another note Dara horn's new book has been published and due to come out this week. Her book is called" All Other Nights" You can read about her book on a previous post. All her books have a mystical-Jewish yiddishkeit tie to history. I am sure there one will too.

Just Published: All Other Nights

2009-03-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

Dara Horn All Other Nights,published by W.W. Norton Publishing. She has written In The Image, and The World To Come. Her two previous novels,first. In Her Image received a 2003 National Jewish Book Award, and the 2003 Reform Judaism Fiction Prize. Her second novel, The World to Come, published by W.W. Norton in January 2006, received the 2006 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, the 2007 Harold U. Ribalow Prize, this award is given by the Jewish organization, Hadassah.
She was selected as an Editor's Choice in The New York Times Book Review.

For the Jewish people every year we open our Haggaddah at the Seder table. Why is this night different from all other nights?, the youngest child asks. We will be opening our Haggadot on April 7th, Wednesday at sun down. The Haggadot is to re-read the history of when the Jewish people were in bondage in Egypt.

All Other Nights, I have not read yet. But it is related in some way to the south and the Civil War. I became very excited because there are not many books written in the Civil War about Jews.

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy and I will be posting soon hopefully during Passover. I am assuming it has something to do with the holiday.
All her books have some metaphorical significance, and symbolism. That is why I am excited to read this as soon as I receive a copy. Thank you Amy and Erica.

This was copied from Dara Horn's website:

How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, it is a question his commanders have already answered for him -- on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle in New Orleans, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent, the daughter of a Virginia family friend. But this time, his assignment isn’t to murder the spy, but to marry her. Their marriage, with its riveting and horrifying consequences, reveals the deep divisions that still haunt American life today.

Based on real personalities like Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy’s Jewish Secretary of State and spymaster, and on historical facts and events ranging from an African-American spy network to the dramatic self-destruction of the city of Richmond, All Other Nights is a gripping and suspenseful story of men and women driven to the extreme limits of loyalty and betrayal. It is also a brilliant parable of the rift in America that lingers a century and a half later: between those who value family and tradition first, and those dedicated, at any cost, to social and racial justice for all.

The author's website has a wealth of information. This would be a great book for the Jewish Book Challenge I am participating in. Thank you again Amy.

I usually don't post questions on my blog. I love the idea of American History intertwined from the Jewish bible. Not sure how it will play out, but like the story line. Forgive my enthusiasm. Have you ever felt the enthusiasm for a book. Was the book what you expected? Or were your expectations too high? What was the last book you felt like this to?

Questions | Also by this Author

Discussion Questions

1. The title of this novel, All Other Nights, is in the author’s view also a question: Are we the same people from one night to the next? If not, how are we accountable for our actions in the past? And if so, how is it possible to change?
2. Jacob is twice presented with opportunities to potentially save President Lincoln’s life, each time at great personal cost. Does he do the right thing?
3. How do the themes of escape and freedom from bondage (as celebrated in the Passover feast) play out in the book?
4. What is the role of deception in the novel? What are the different motivations for deception, and can any of them be good? What are the consequences, both for the deceiver and for the deceived?
5. Palindromes have a playful role in the book among the spy sisters’ secret codes, but do they also play a serious one? Many events in the book are repeated (an encounter in a cemetery, a prisoner’s unexpected release, a choice regarding a spouse), but with different outcomes. Is there a way in which the book itself can be read as a palindrome? What might this pattern suggest about the characters’ control over their circumstances?
6. Theater and performance come up many times in the novel—including Jeannie’s stage acts, Edwin Booth’s portrayal of Brutus in Julius Caesar, and Jacob’s role as a secret agent. There is also an element of performance in Judah Benjamin’s detachment and courier John Surratt’s swagger, among many other characters. Are there any characters in the book whose motivations are completely pure? What is the price of honesty for the people in this novel? Is it possible to be true to oneself when one is forced to choose a side?
7. Slavery plays an important thematic role in the novel, both explicitly in the circumstances of African Americans at the time of the Civil War as well as in other forms of interpersonal exploitation. How are people bought and sold in the book, and what form does freedom take?
8. Relationships between parents and children are pivotal to the story in All Other Nights, particularly for the fathers of Jacob and Jeannie. What do these two fathers—one an immigrant and the other the son of one—reveal about their priorities and dreams for their children? [not sure what the last part of this meant – how can there be “levels” of devotion? Seems more rhetorical than an actual question….]
9. What is ultimately more important in this novel: family values or a search for self?
10. The author has suggested that historical fiction tends to address the time in which it is written much more than it addresses the past. Do you see parallels between the conflicts presented in this book and conflicts in American life today? How would you describe them? Which side are you on, and can you say anything good about the other side?
11. What makes someone an American in this novel? Is it birth? Ancestry? Ownership of property? Personal freedoms? The respect of others? What is patriotism for these characters?
12. Where do Jacob’s loyalties lie, and is it possible to rank them in order? Where are your own deepest loyalties? Is there a difference between your loyalties as an individual and your loyalties as a member of an ethnic, religious, regional, national, or other kind of group? What do you do when they clash?
13. What do you think most deserves our personal loyalty? Our collective loyalty?
14. What does it mean to be able to say no?

Maggie Anton Stopped By!!!

2009-03-24T19:10:00.001-07:00

I am thrilled that Maggie Anton, author of Rashi's Daughter stopped by my blog.
The book is historical fiction based on as the title say's, Rashi( a famous rabbi in France). During that time women were seen and not heard. But luckily, there were still men that believed women did have a brain. To find out more check out Maggie's website and her books about Rashi's daughter. She has written two in the series. I believe she will be writing another.

Our book club read this book a few years ago. Rabbi Debbie had alot to mention about the talmud. This was very insightful when we were discussing the book.

I reccommend this book if you are interested in this time period.

People Of The Book

2009-03-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

It flew right by me I did not review People Of The Book.

I liked the premise of the book that goes from present time, when we meet Hannah, a Australian. How about that Geraldine Brooks, is Australian as well. She has written a few books. The author has won a Pultizer prize for March. The author tends to write fiction based on the past.

I really loved the book in the beginning perhaps because it was based on Jewish History. I don't know anything about Medieval Jewish history, only about famous rabbis. Another book I read based on Jewish historical fiction was Rashi's daughter by Maggie Anton. If you want to read a book on French Medieval history I do recommend this book.

I really loved the idea of the book being found. Each piece of evidence a hair, feather, wine stain etc is a mystery how it got in the book. Examined by museum curator, Hannah. Each of these pieces had a mystery how it got in the book as explained by Hannah, the museum curator.

It took you back in time to explain how they got in the book. From the present time, to 1940's to 1890's to 1400's.

I may have liked this book because I have found many articles about the Sarvejo Haggadah and the history in the 1990's in Bosnia very fascinating. There was a story that Senator Lieberman was suppose to come to the Seder when they would show the world the lost Haggadah, but unfortunately he was not able to make it. There is true facts about the Haggadah in Bosnia during the 1940's and how it escaped "death".

I like the symbolism in the book that Hannah was learning about her own history with her mother, at the same time she was learning history of the book.

I did not like the end of the story though. It seemed like it was far fetched and the author wanted to make the story have a interesting ending. It was a downer. The part when Hannah figures out something is amiss that is when the story felt like it went down hill.

For your information there is much on the internet about the Sarvejo Haggadah, google and you will find loads of resources. Including if you go to the author's website.

Our own congregant, that is a rabbi, but not in our shul explained the history of the Haggadah and did loads of research to prepare for our sisterhood meeting had lots to share.

Sorry about the delay in posting.

Little Red Book

2009-03-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

In honor of National Women's Month I have review and posted my thoughts on
" My Little Red Book". It is written by women of all ages about getting their first periods. There are stories written by one woman during the holocaust. If you would visit me here.

Mailbox Monday

2009-02-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

Books I received this week:
Tight Rope by Michael Karpin
Rowing Lessons by Anne Landsman
Rowing Lesson is up for a award by Jewish Book Council
If you would like to visit my other blog and see what else I received go to
Seaside Bookworm

Thank you Marcia for hosting Mailbox Monday.

Our Rabbi: The True Facts about Israel

2009-02-10T19:44:00.001-08:00

This article was written by our Rabbi Avi it was published in the Sun News of Myrle Beach, SC on Febuary 9th, 2009.

Hamas follows ideology of violence, hate

By Rabbi Avi Perets

I read "Israel creates its own problem with Hamas," [Shane Watson letter], which appeared on The Readers' Page Jan. 27, and I was amazed to see so many inaccuracies, one-sided facts and misunderstandings of Hamas. The author of this essay pictured Hamas as a legitimate organization that helped and improved the quality of life of the Palestinians, when in fact Hamas is an extreme terrorist group that stood in the way of any chance for peace in that area. Hamas tortured and killed many Palestinians that opposed its militant and destructive ways, including members of the Palestinian Authority who rule the West Bank. Israel evacuated Gaza two years ago, giving the Palestinians 100 percent of their territories, with a hope that afterward, the terrorist attacks and missile strikes would stop. In reality the opposite happened. Hamas increased its attacks on Israel with daily missile strikes on civilians. Israel retaliated by temporarily closing the border entries to Gaza, which resulted in a shortage of goods and more suffering to the people of Gaza.

When Israel tried to reopen the entries to Gaza, Hamas terrorists bombed them again and again, causing the borders to be closed off again. This vicious cycle of violence repeated itself many times, and Hamas, who disregarded the misery of the Palestinians, is to blame for that. Hamas is motivated by anti-Semitic and fanatic ideology, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist. A simple reading of the Hamas charter reveals the true nature of their ideology, which is anti-Jews, anti-Christians (whom they call infidels) and anti-western. They receive their funding from Iran, and they promote global Jihad with their colleagues from Al-Qaeda.

I happened to be in Israel for a visit with my wife and children when the recent war with Hamas started. We stayed in the city of Ashdod, which is about 15 miles north of Gaza. We experienced firsthand the suffering and misery of the Israeli citizens who reside in the south part of Israel. The Hamas terrorist organization was launching their missiles indiscriminately and aiming at large cities and their civilian populations in Israel. As a result, they were killing and injuring innocent citizens.

In the city of Ashdod, where we stayed, we heard the missiles as they exploded nearby, hitting a kindergarten, school, residential building and other civilian targets. There were 1 million Israeli citizens affected by these terror attacks. Many businesses had to shut down, and the schools were closed for four weeks. At first, Israel and Egypt (yes, even Egypt realized that Israel has a right to defend itself) just warned Hamas to stop these missile attacks, but to no avail. Hamas knew that Israel would hesitate to destroy the missile-launching sites because they were in schools, mosques and other heavily populated locations. Finally, after a week of hundreds of missile attacks, Israel used its military forces in order to put a stop to these unbearable conditions. Let us also remember that if the Arabs had accepted the U.N. partition of Palestine into two states in 1947, the "Two State Solution" would have been a reality from the very beginning; but instead, seven Arab nations attacked the newborn state of Israel with the intent of annihilating the nation.

No other country in the world would tolerate the existence of a terrorist country as their neighbor. Not only are they calling for the annihilation of the state of Israel, but they are also actively performing acts of terror. We should salute Israel for standing in the frontline and defending the democratic values of the modern world.
The writer is the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Myrtle Beach.

Defience- Movie Review

2009-02-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

The movie Defiance with Liev Shriebner, and Daniel Craig.

The story is based on a true story, based on a book. I remember seeing this book at least 15 yrs. ago in Barnes and Noble but I did not pick it up. After Schindler's list I wanted to read anything and everything about the Holocaust.

This movie is a very different kind of movie about the Jews during the Shoah. This time they fight back. The reason I felt this was different was, every movie that takes place during the holocaust either is the passivity of the Jews, about the awful sad atrocities that happened during that time. Or the elderly, that were survivors tell the true facts, and flashbacks. It is the first time I have seen anyone do something to fight back.

Finally Jews that fight back!!

It is about Defiance, the two older brothers both become defiant with each other. The become Partisans in the forest after their parents are killed and they find out the fate of their wives. They both have to make a choice. One of the brothers wants to avenge the deaths of the Jews by the Germans, the other brother feels that life is precious. every life you save you are responsible for, it is survival. He feels saving a old woman's life is more important than killing ten Nazi's. It is interesting how all of the Jews that are saved are in the forest and how they become a community. It is interesting how they deal with survival and the making of their own society during the duration of the war. The brother's fight to decide how this will play out either as avenging the Germans or just to survive. One of the brother's decides he wants to fight side by side with the Russians. The other just wants to live each day and survive.

My favorite quote

One day of freedom is another day of faith

You can read a review from The New York Times here

Tommorow's My B-Day!!

2009-02-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me I don't usually post about myself but the spirit moved me to do it this time.
Tomorrow's my Birthday!! I am not telling how old I am. Having a 18 yr.old son gives you some indication. I can't celebrate my b-day till Wednesday what a bummer. I have a school and one exam tomorrow and I have to work..

But Wednesday I am having a b-day arranged by my mom with some of my friends.
We will be headed to Little River to a nice restaurant called the Parson's Table.
It was re-designed by new owners awhile back. It was a old church. We celebrated a few years ago here when my son became a Bar-Mitzvah. I am looking forward to it.

My son is having friends over for the super bowl later. I thought I would hava a hour to celebrate with him and then hit the books so more. Well no such luck he just informed me he having some friends over tonight. Oh, well such is life with a 18 yr. old.

I would like to remind anyone that has not entered in my book giveaway for People of the Book you still have time to enter. I may extend it a few more days since I did not get a response. If you would please spread the word. If I don't get much of a response I will extend it to next Sunday.

Israeli Film: Adam Resurrected

2009-02-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

I am posting this article from Nextbook about a independent film featuring Jeff Goldblum and William Defoe.
I love to see independent films, and foreign films. This film is looks a bit unusual but that is what adds to the flavor of the film. It is based off a novel from a Israeli author from the 60's. The movie is a Israeli film. Hopefully I will be able to see it on a video sometime soon. I don't think we will be getting it here. It is just too controversial for the South.
It takes place during the holocaust.

Mailbox Monday

2009-01-27T20:21:00.001-08:00

Hello All, Thank you Marcia, form the painted page for hosting Mailbox Monday.
I don't have too many, not like last week.
My list is as follows:

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rossnay
Raising a Child with Soal by Slovie Jugreis-Wolff

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

2009-01-27T05:37:00.000-08:00

I am going to make this a easy giveaway.
I have two copies of the book,People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks to giveaway on both of my blogs.
You have one chance if you leave a comment on this blog. If you leave a comment on both blogs you have two chances. The contest starts tomorrow and will last till February 2nd, in honor of my b-day.
The books were sent to me courtesy from Julie Harbedian of FSBA Associates.

This is a wonderful book. Many people are comparing this to the Davinci code.
It is full of suspense and full of mystery. You won't want to put it down. You are not giving the book justice when you compare it to the Davinci Code.

To make it short and sweet the book is about a young Australian woman, she is asked to find out the mysteries of the book, called the Haggadah. As she does the research she finds different things in the book such as a feather, hair, blood and other things. The book goes back and forth in time. First to present day Bosnia then goes back to the 1400. One of the mysterious objects is in the book is explained. The chapter then is told how that mystery got in the book. Then it goes back again to present day. Where Hannah has her own problems. How the story connects to the others stories makes this book a wonderful read.

I thought the story was quite different then any book I read. I liked Geraldine Brooks unique style of writing.

I will tell more of the story when the book contest is over. But who ever wins the book will absolutely love it. You will appreciate it even more if you are Jewish.

But For Now Good Luck!!!

Mailbox Monday

2009-01-19T19:57:00.001-08:00

I am posting on both of my blogs about what I received in my mailbox this week by my reliable postman/postwoman, and UPS. I received a few books this week. On the Jewish literary side I received one book:

Illumination by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori
The publishing date is tomorrow. I would like to wish both of them good luck on their new novel.

Wow,For Me

2009-01-19T04:43:00.001-08:00

I would like to thank Jewishwishes for honoring me with these awards.
I didn't think anyone was paying attention to my blog, especially because the blog specializes in Jewish Literature. My blog is visited not by Jewish Bloggers but by non-Jewish Bloggers. Which I think is interesting that non-Jewish bloggers would want to know about Jewish books and Judiasm. Judiasm,I have not posted on my blog, and not sure I would. My blog is also a teaching blog that I hope enriches your reading experience. I dig deeper by researching and locating articles about the author, subject, and her/his book.

The Award is the Prémio Dardos Award: “The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing”. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web“.

Now I have to pass it to another blogger that has made a difference in my life.
A Work In Progress
I love reading you everyday. The books you review are very diversified, especially the classics which I don't read often. I enjoy your posts.
Book Club Girl
Because of you I started blogging and reaching out to the book blogging community.
Bermuda Onion
Because reading your posts I feel like I am reading an old lost friend. I read you every day.
Every Day I Write The Book
One of the first blogs I started to read and I visit every day
Fizzy Thoughts
I enjoy visiting because you are just fun to read
The Boston Bibliophile
One of my blogging friends that we have become friends. She has helped me out tremendously with blogging and contacts.
Kaye's Penguin Posts
Kaye at Penguin Post I started to visit a couple of weeks ago. I enjoy reading your blog. Her reviews are very well written. I could not have done better. Check her out when you have time.
She Is Too Fond of Books
I enjoy reading her blog. They are not only reviews. She will tell you about her literary travels sometime at different book stores. Her escapades as a volunteer worker at the library. Her posts can be hilarious.
Red Lady's Reading Room
Her blog is just wonderful, she reads what I read and enjoy the blog posts she writes.
Hey Lady What You Reading
She is absolutely hilarious . The funny situations she writes on her posts.

Thank you all that you do and now I am passing the award to all of you.

2009-01-08T14:43:00.001-08:00

I am so excited I just received Sima's Undergarments for Women by Ilana Stanger-Ross.
I read the backcover, What juicy tidbits. The author was born in Boro Park I am sure she knows the ins and outs of the Chabad community(Orthodox community).

This looks like a fun read. Never heard of Chick Lit-Jewish Style. I will let you know what I think. I have seen some great reviews. I am still reading People of the Book.

What a interesting cover. A red cover (symbolism) woman with her eyes closed wearing only her bra with a tape measure over her eyes. Wonder what symbolism that means. I will have to see as I turn those pages of this steamy read hot book.

The author takes the readers to her home turf of Brooklyn, into a secret underground sisterhood that congregates at one woman's basement bra shop to share laughter, loves and losses in a l=place few men dare to tread.

For years, Sima Goldner has watched women of all shapes and sizes come in her Brooklyn shop in search of the most im=ntimate garments. Sima has beci=ome an expert at finding the perfect fit for her customers just from a look, but it's a knack for doling out a different kind of support to the lovelorn and unconfident that made her shop a Mecca for women from Brooklyn and beyond to gather and kibitz. When Timna, a young Israeli with enviable cleavage becomes the shop's seamstress, Sima finds herself drawn into the girl's life of romance and adventure. Stuck in a bitter image of nearly fifty years and harboring a secret from her youth, Sima must try her own advise to find out if it's not too late to turn her life around. You can read a review here
Here is a review I found in one of the Israeli Newspapers

Maybe we will find out some secrets of the orthodox community. I don't know why but it sounds so dangerously fun ... All you ladies give it a try. What do you have to loose. I remember the garment shops my grandmother used to take me to in Miami Beach. And the shops and boutiques in Ramsey NJ growing up in the 70's. Woops, I just aged myself.
This brings back memories. This does sound like a fun book. It just reminds me of the old shops and boutiques in the 40's and 50's that you would see in the movies. Where the sales person would actually take time to size you and help you. Not any more unfortunately.

Appeal to the Jewish Community and Beyond

2009-01-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

Rabbi Avi has been our Rabbi since 2004. He was born in Israel and came to the U.S. and formed his family with Mira, and his children Ron, Maton, and Eden.
They lived in Boston, a few years later moved to Florida and then Texas for many years. He found his way to us in Myrtle Beach, only recently. We are blessed.

He has just sent a message to our congregation about the grave situation,right now in Israel. He just returned from Israel. He went there with his wife. Mira because her mother is very ill with Pancreatic Cancer. He saw first hand what is going on in Israel. I thought it was a good idea to post this since he is a eye witness to what is going on there.

I don't usually post things like this. But when Hamas is attacking and Israel has to defend itself from terrorists. We Jews have to defend her. I am not a Israeli citizen but I do feel for my fellow Jews that are in Israel being attacked.

I am posting his message on my blog. If you are interested in giving to the UJC and what work they do.

His message to Temple Emanu-El, Myrtle Beach, SC

Dear members and friends,

I'm glad to be back home after a two week visit to Israel. My dear wife Mira remains in Israel in the city of Ashdod, to take care of her gravely ill mother. While we were in Ashdod, we experienced first hand the suffering & misery of the citizens who reside in the south part of Israel.

The Hammas terrorist organization was launching their missiles indiscriminately and aiming at large cities in Israel. As a result, they were killing and injuring innocent citizens. In the city of Ashdod, where we stayed, we heard the missiles as they exploded nearby hitting a Kindergarten, a school, residential building and other civilian targets. There are more than 1 million Israeli citizens that are currently experiencing the difficult conditions of war. Many businesses have shut down and the schools have closed, however, the spirit of the Israeli people remains strong and they are all standing behind the actions taken by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) because they believe that this is a just and necessary war.

No other country in the world would tolerate the existence of a terrorist country as their neighbor. Not only are they calling for the annihilation of the state of Israel, but they are also actively performing acts of terror such as bombings and missile strikes, that are aimed at innocent civilians.

In this difficult time I call upon your heart and conscience to do your share by helping to support Israel. Please log onto the UJC website at www.UJC.org and look for the paragraph entitled "The Gaza Situation" then click on "Donate Now" and follow the instructions from there on.
Please also remember that we are part of the Myrtle Beach Network.
If you would prefer to send a written check, then please make it out to UJC Israel Solidarity Drive (write the same on the bottom of the check) and mail it to:

UJC
P.O.Box 30
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113
Attention: UJC Israel Solidarity Drive

May G-d bless you and your family.

Rabbi Avi Perets

The Mystery Of the Sarvejo Haggadah

2009-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here is background info from a Jewish newspaper article.
The Haggadah is used during the Seder meal.

Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

It has been long time since the middle of the 14th century, the golden age of Spain when the amazing and incomparable ”The Sarajevo Haggadah” was created. It still remains unclear whether we will ever learn the date and place of the book’s making, the symbol of liberation, which has also become a symbol of Sarajevo.

Year after year for centuries the Jews around the world have been celebrating Passover, the holiday that marks liberation from the Egyptian slavery by a traditional Seder dinner at which Haggadah, the book of liberation, is being read. Every Jewish family has a copy of Haggadah and rich families in prosperous Spain could even afford lavishly decorated ones – a specially made Haggadah, as the one we have.
In addition to the mystery regarding the date and place of its making, it is also a mystery as of who painted it. If he was a Jew, how dared he portray a man and if he was a Christian who provided him with the necessary instruction? Could it be that he was a Muslim, as they lived in harmony with the Jews at the time in Spain and who were masters of calligraphy? The Muslim religion also proscribes portrayal of human image. No one knows the answer to these questions and that leaves us with the baffling mystery unsolved to the present day.

The very first image after opening Haggadah leaves us confused. Imagine presenting the Earth as round in the 14th century! Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for the very crime 200 hundred years later and our authors just took it for granted and repeated it in depicting every single day of the Creation. Browsing through the glorious pages we find the entire Old Testament and one can only imagine all the tales being told in addition to it. They must have been told in Ladino language, the language of Cervantes and later in Italian, probably in Bosnian too or in some other language. The images are so inspiring that it is not at all difficult to imagine the storyteller enriching every page of Haggadah by his always new interpretations often related to everyday situations.

Browsing through the book further, one comes to the well known page used also as the cover for the new reprinted edition which says ”Who is hungry should come forward and eat, the thirsty should come and drink…”, the sentence being said at every Seder, the sentence inviting wretched and unexpected guests to join us as we ourselves are celebrating. Several more mysteries follow. The coat of arms of the city of Barcelona at the top, or something closely resembling it. And then the two coats of arms at the two corners at the bottom. One depicts a rose and the other a wing. Let us remember that the word for rose in Hebrew is ”shoshan” and wing is ”elazar”. Could it be a proof that the Haggadah was made as a gift for the occasion of marriage of members of two dominant families Elazar and Shoshan, as there is evidence of the two families becoming related by marriage at the time?

Several pages are stained by red wine. Quite normal, taking into account that one has to toast four times at Seder and it is a little wonder that a drop here and there is spilled on the occasion. What sort of wine was it? Was it Kosher? Who was learned to write using the Haggadah pages? Who added images of humans and animals in the empty spaces? We will probably never get a proper answer to all these questions.

After expulsion of Jews form Spain in 1492, probably around 1510, the Haggadah changes hands. A note mentions the 18th year after the expulsion but does not provide us with names of either of the owners. Yet another mystery. Did somebody buy the book practically for free so that the desperate owner could save or feed himself or did that somebody buy the book in order to help a miserable man who had nothing else worth selling?

Finally a right track! The year of 1609 and a note that the book holds nothing against the church. The Haggadah was granted amnesty and won’t be burnt at the stake, as was the case with so many other books of much more naïve contents during the inquisition. What about the illustration at the first page? Could it be that the inspection was started at page two or that the examiner supported the blasphemous ideas of Giordano Bruno?

Then comes a long pause. We can only presume what happened between 1609 and 1894. The manuscript came to Bosnia and Herzegovina either as a piece of dowry or as a bribe, or simply as property of those who looked for security in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo. The Haggadah lived to see its worldly glory in the European Jerusalem, where Jews have been living with others since 1565. It was in this city that the Jewish cultural – educational and humanitarian society ”La Benevolencija” was established in 1892. The Haggadah was far too expensive when Josef Cohen offered to sell it to the society. What is its market value today? Who knows? The figures go as high as 700 million US$ (which is probably a misprint of estimated 7 million US$). It was sold for 150 Kruna, estimated today (and probably also at the time) at 15.000 KM. The buyer was the Archaeological Museum, the institution opened in 1888 that was financially capable of acquiring worthy antiques. The correspondence related to purchase of this manuscript between Sarajevo and Vienna is presented at this exhibition.

Then a strange thing happened. The manuscript was sent to Vienna for the first expertise and, believe it or not, was returned to Sarajevo after two years. How bleak would the British Museum, the Louvre and other world renowned museums around the world would have looked today if they returned everything they took from around the world? The Austrians have returned the Haggadah to Sarajevo. We will never find out whether that happened because Sarajevo was part of the Monarchy at the time or if it was an act of honest professionals. Nevertheless, we thank them even one hundred years later for having the Sarajevo Haggadah today and not the Vienna Haggadah.

The Haggadah was never displayed. It was always kept in a special place and was available for viewing only to the selected few. It was not seen and yet everybody knew about it. One of the first relics that the German forces requested after entering Sarajevo in 1941 was the Sarajevo Haggadah. Thanks to ingenuity of Mr. Jozo Petrovic, the director and Mr. Dervis Korkut, the custodian of the Archaeological Museum, the Haggadah was not handed over then. Obersturmbanfuerer Fortner was quite puzzled after he was told that a German officer ”was here a minute ago and took the book away… His name? How could we dare and ask?” Anyhow, the book was saved and then comes another mystery. As its former owners and enthusiastic readers ended their lives in Jasenovac, Auswitz, Gradiska, Jadovno and dozens of other concentration camps, the Haggadah survived without our knowing where and how. A legend says that it was hidden under the threshold of a mosque in a village at the foot of mountain Bjelasnica. Another says that it was buried under a cherry tree or under a walnut tree. It is probably realistic to believe that it was buried among other titles of the museum’s rich library as its nondescript binding prevented even most cunning visitors from discovering the wealth behind the plain cardboard covers.

After the liberation in 1945, the Haggadah gets back to the Archaeological Museum, which changed name to the National Museum. The fact that the manuscript survived the times in which six million Jews were not that fortunate made it legendary. First studies come out soon as well as new reprints and disputes. Who owns the Haggadah? The Supreme Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rules that the Haggadah is property of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that its proprietor is the National Museum. The dispute is thus closed, followed by both legal and pirated reprints by publishers Svjetlost in Sarajevo, Prosveta in Belgrade or in cooperation of the two publishers.

During the preparations for the global exposition ”Sepharad 92” in 1991 to mark the expulsion of Jews from Spain of five hundred years ago, the Haggadah was requested for the largest exhibition of Sephardic art ever organized in Madrid. Unfortunately or rather fortunately, the Madrid Museum required it to be insured for 7 million dollars because of the wars in Slovenia and in Croatia and the organizers had to give up on the idea. So it happened that the Haggadah remained in Sarajevo and awaited the war that lied ahead. Once again, it was saved in a mysterious way. The hero this time was Dr. Enver Imamovic, the director of the Museum, who, along with a couple of brave policemen and members of the territorial guard, took out the Haggadah from the Museum immediately at the front line and moved it to the vault of the National Bank.

During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina several newspaper articles around the world speculated that the Haggadah had been destroyed or even that the Government of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina sold it and used the funds to buy arms, which was all untrue. By 1995 Bosnia was no longer high on the agenda for media around the world. We were left to bleed to death and they dealt with other topics. Then an idea on how to bring back attention of the world to Sarajevo by using Haggadah was born. Senator Lieberman said: ”I will come to Sarajevo for Passover if the Sarajevo Haggadah will be on the table.” President Izetbegovic and Prime Minister Silajdzic accepted the idea and the Haggadah was brought to the Jewish Municipality Building for the Passover of 1995 under massive security measures. The event was noted by all news agencies around the world and quite a few sent their reporters to Sarajevo especially for the occasion. It was the ”Breaking News” for CNN and Senator Lieberman did not make it to Sarajevo because of the tight siege and closing down of the airport.

Nevertheless, the Haggadah was presented to public for the third time. It was proved that us, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, can care for relics other than those of our own milieu and we also succeeded in bringing the attention of the world to Sarajevo and to the Haggadah once again.

A broadcast of ABC Night Line dedicated to the Sarajevo Haggadah was seen by 12 million American viewers.

A part of the story told through documents from the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina is before you.

Soon the Sarajevo Haggadah will also be before you. By joint efforts of the UN Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, our Jewish community, the Archaeological Museum and several donors, a space to permanently exhibit the Haggadah at the Archaeological Museum is being prepared so that everybody can see it and prove it to himself and herself that the mystery is real and that beauty is eternal.

We hope and believe that peace and tranquillity will prevail in the next 650 years of existence of the Sarajevo Haggadah and that its beauty will overcome all hardships and problems.

Sarajevo, March 2002.
Jakob Finci

Sarevejo Haggadah

2009-01-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

I found pictures of the original Sarvejo Haggadah. It is significant because Jews in Medieval Europe were not allowed to create man's image. This is amazing. But i The pictures shown here is what you find in Medieval Europe in a Cathedral and in Christian books. I do wish that Geraldine Brooks would have inserted pictures in her books for readers to see.

Geraldine Brooks Interview

2008-12-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a interview with Geraldine Brooks talking about her book People of the Book.
You can read a article here and listen to her podcast on KCRW here. and below I found her at lecture at Northeastern University in Boston. There is alot of historical background. The Sarvejo Hagadah had a great journey in medieval Europe to present and how it survived is quite interesting. I am looking forward to Rabbi Debbie talking about this at our sisterhood meeting. If any of my readers are in the area you are welcome to come and join us.

I keep surfing the web and I found a article in the newspaper about the long surviving journey the Sarajevo Haggadah made

Acquired Rights of People Of The Book

2008-12-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

News;Catherine Zeta Jones has acquired film rights for People of the Book...
II do hope it becomes a movie soon.

Susie Does it Again

2008-12-23T05:44:00.001-08:00

I was thrilled to receive a copy of Susie Fishbein's new cookbook. This is her seventh in Kosher By Design series. Kosher by Design, Passover by Design, Kosher by Design entertains, Kosher by Design;Short on Time, and Kosher by Design; Kids in the Kitchen. The cookbook ia written by Susie and Bonnie Taub-Dix a dietitian, a spokesperson for the American Dietician. The cookbook starts with a introduction in healthy eating habits. She tells you to rethink how you eat, and to rethink about the supermarket experience. I haven't seen this in other cookbooks But I don't go out looking for cookbooks either.

There is a listing of definitions of vitamins, minerals and chemicals that are good for you and tells you why it is healthy for you.

Her entertaining ideas are wonderful. I may use some of her helpful hints of entertaining.

She tells you about new foods that have been discovered to be very good for your health, such as Salmon, Beans, Blueberries, Dark Chocolate, etc.
It goes into flour, grains, oils, sugars, seeds and nuts. Susie tells you about the different oils and then you consider which one is better for you. For example to me it looks like sunflower seeds are overall are better for you it contains antioxidants and vit.C and E. Brown rice is better for you than white rice. They have been saying that for years. Out of the oils Olive oil is the best to use. olive oil contains monounsaturated fats which is thought to lower cholesterol. Extra virgin oils are the best virgin oils to use.

The recipe for Honey Oat Challah. For years we have been using all purpose flour her recipe calls for whole wheat flour. In the introduction of the recipe she gives you the reason for the switch to whole wheat flour. You are less likely to develop type 2-diabetes and becoming obese. But this not a cure all but it can help you eat better and have a healthier life.

There are some recipes I would try on my family there are other recipes that I would only use for entertaining and for Shabbat dinner. a few recipes call for different ingredients that are staples in the other countries. that were not as easily accessible years ago but with the internet recipes have changes with added flavors and tastes that add a unique flavor.

There is a summer roll it looks just beautiful. I would like to try this in the summer months. This recipe calls for foods that you may have to get at a specialty supermarket. Chummos Canapes, Marrakesh Carrot Salad, is one of my favorite recipes, I love it with extra garlic it gives a little more bite. The Cranberry Couscous Salad is very different. I used regular couscous rather than Israeli couscous with cranberries. My 18 yr. old son loved the White Portobello Pizzas, he is a picker eater. Don't forget all these recipes are good for you and the full of different tastes and flavors that compliment each other,

There is not a single recipe that is a traditional Jewish recipe they are a updated version of a traditional recipe. You don't need to be Kosher to enjoy these recipes.

There is a few paragraphs that talks about the kosher kitchen but the cookbook is not a extensive wealth of information. It is a best if you are deciding to become kosher to find a more concise one. I have How To Keep Kosher by Lisa Stern. But I do not recommend it for someone that is highly observant. I would consult your Rabbi first. He will direct you to the best kosher books to read.

The Photographs of the final products are just beautiful. She really knows how to make a nice presentation. They are mouthwatering recipes. Some of the the recipes called for ingredients that may be hard to find in certain areas of the country. But some ingredients you can substitute.

Overall I liked this cook book. I can see this cook book used for for preparing and entertaining healthy foods for large dinner parties, and Shabbat dinner. Even some recipes for the upcoming Superbowl. HAPPY COOKING, HAG SAMEACH, and Happy Chanakah!

Tonight-First Night of Chanakah

2008-12-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Chanakah everyone. Tonight at sundown started the first night of the holiday.
Interesting article, I am not endorsing it but it is a interesting thought if you are out and unable to light your candles at home. The concept is lighting your candles electronically on your cell phone
(Chanakah Hi Tech). And check out a Chanakah video here. I am getting ready to hear the sizzling of the oil, and cook up the latkes, My mouth is watering already. HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!!

All Other Nights-Dara Horn

2008-12-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

I just found this e-letter from Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. I am excited about a new book that Dara Horn wrote. It will be published in March. I am linking here with her interview and a few other Jewish authors.
Here is her website to read about her new book that will becoming out in March and her other two books. I can't wait for it to be published. Herfirst book, In Her Image, was about coming to America. In the early 20th century Jewish immigrants came to the new country. When the Jewish immigrants landed in NYC the men took their tefillin out of their satchels and threw it in the ocean. This was very significant because they were proclaiming they were tearing off their old customs and taking on the new American customs. T I still remember this in her book. I loved the symbolism.

This synopsis is from the Amazon website. This is the only information I could find on her new book. I will be waiting in great anticipation. A gripping epic about the great moral struggles of the Civil War. How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army, it is a question his commanders have answered for him: on Passover in 1862 he is ordered to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln.

After that night, will Jacob ever speak for himself? The answer comes when his commanders send him on another mission—this time not to murder a spy but to marry one.

A page-turner rich with romance and the history of America (North and South), this is a book only Dara Horn could have written. Full of insight and surprise, layered with meaning, it is a brilliant parable of the moral divide that still haunts us: between those who value family first and those dedicated, at any cost, to social and racial justice for all.

All Other Nights is very different than her other books it includes a mystery. Usually her books are layered with yiddishkeit, and Jewish mysticism. It seems very different with American history. I knew there were issues if you were a northern Jew or a southern Jew where do you draw the line when you know the other soldier is Jewish. What side is your alligence fall on if you are Jewish. When you are a northerner and you are a fellow Jewish southerner needs help what do you do? My son was learning about this in hebrew school. I can't even imagine do you kill the other soldier knowing that he is Jewish? I have always wondered about that. But the symbolism is interesting. Each Passover all Jews say this line when we are at the Seder. All Other Nights, The significance is ironic. Passover is about the parasha of Exodus. Jews in Slavery in Egypt this is very significant because of the Civil War. I may just buy the book for the Jewish book Challenge that I am participating in. Since it has a underlining significance with Passover. So Look Out For This Book. All Other Nights by Dara Horn. This is one of those books you can't wait for.

Happy Chanakah

2008-12-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wish all of my Jewish readers a happy Chanakah. The holiday starts Sunday, December 21st at sun down. In the spirit of the holiday I am putting a video of Rock of Ages, by Pharoah's Daughter, on this post. Enjoy and HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!
If you would like to know more about the holiday I will be putting a couple links on my post. here are the links here, and here to find out more about Chanakah.

Jewish Lit. Challenge List '09

2008-12-18T10:22:00.001-08:00

The Jewish Literature challenge starts Sunday night the first night of Chanakah.
All the Jewish holidays start from sundown to sundown( this is considered a day),and concluded sundown on the last day of Passover. Read four books and post.
I would like to thank Calista for hosting the book challenge.
My four books are:

Who by Fire by Diana Spechler
Zookeeper's Wife by Dianne Ackerman
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit by Lucette Lagnado
My Father's Paradise by Ariel Sabar

Hurry Down Sunshine

2008-12-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg.

Hurry Down Sunshine, is a memoir about the author's journey with his daughter illness and recovery.
Sally is his 15 yr. old daughter. She becomes ill, with Manic Depression or the other name Bipolar Disorder. and he has to put her in a psychiatric hospital. It takes place in NYC. He doesn't have any insurance, he reassures the hospital he will pay. At the same time we see Sally's illness. He talk about the history of the family, his parents, and brothers. Mainly. his mother has a hard time bow to mother. She had a hard time dealing with parenting. There is he's brother Steve who is unstable. He lives in a studio apartment with 4 other people(homeless). It is dirty, and filthy. Michael is a good brother that meets his brother periodically at the supermarket to buy groceries. He's mother tries to ease Micheal's fears that Sally is ill because of him. His mother tells him she doesn't know why but she never wanted Steve. He talks about his bohemian relationship with his first wife. Which they still have a connection because of Sally. It seems Sally's brother is upset with their father they he was never told about Sally's illness. But seems he doesn't accept the illness. Michael talks about the other patients on the floor with mental illness. Sally's recover while on the floor, where she looks numb. Micheal's mother can only tolerate so much at the psychiatric ward. Michael talks about the great classic writers that had mental illness. The book is not a joy to read but does help us (the reader) understand Michael and what he is going through with his daughter and his family. does sprinkle some great minds with mental illness. There is a point where Michael takes Sally's medication most likely to see what she is going through. He understands her numbness.
Sally does recuperate, and comes out of it. But unfortunately she has remissions and then the cycle starts over again. We do find out that she did attempt to go to college. Did get married but unfortunately it did not last. She lives in Maine close to her mother doing menial work. This is the sad fact of mental illness. There is not a cure. There is medication to control it. But unfortunately there is times when a patient has bouts of mania with depression. They have Euphoria with depression, with psychosis, and paranoia. This is the sad fact of mental illness.
I was a Psychiatric Nurse in the VA Hospital. I still remember I had a patient in his 40's. He was Bipolar. He's family wanted him in a group home. He could not handle this as he was living independently. When he was put in the group home, he could not handle this and he committed suicide unfortunately. This is the sad part about mental illness and
Sally's journey. There isn't any happy ending. Sally just has to keep trying to survive and overcome. I would recommenced this book to anyone that is going through this with loved ones and friends and family to understand the illness. The other is find resources out in the community. Or do a search on the illness. If you suspect anyone going through this go get help. Or you think the person is going to hurt himself or someone else, get help. There are resources in the community.

Below is a article that Michael Greenberg wrote about his daughter.

How Is Sally Now?
By Michael Greenberg
Author of Hurry Down Sunshine

Many people ask me, after reading Hurry Down Sunshine, how Sally is doing now. The book tells the story of Sally's first manic attack at the age of fifteen, during the summer of 1996 in New York City. My aim was to recreate the experience of Sally's astonishing leap into psychosis from both inside and out, and to show its effect on those of us who are closest to her. Writing Hurry Down Sunshine, I sometimes felt as if I was describing a great storm: an unexpected wind had come upon us, tearing to bits the little boat upon which our family floated. When the wind finally lifted, we were each holding on to a different plank of the vessel, looking at each other from the across the water, which was suddenly calm again, surprised to have eyes.

The book ends when the summer ends, with Sally having recovered enough to return to school -- no small triumph. In a short postscript, I suggest that Sally's struggles did not end there. Manic-depression is a chronic condition. Although Sally has experienced rich and productive periods of remission and calm, the possibility of a new attack always looms. She is twenty-seven now, and out of necessity she and I both have become experts of her disease, ever vigilant of sudden mood swings and other ominous signs. Together -- along with her doctor, her mother, her friends -- we do our best to stave off a fresh breakdown.

This has proved to be an essential component of Sally's care. One of the most diabolical aspects of mania is its seductiveness in its earliest stages. It beckons you with feelings of omnipotence, fluidity, charisma -- who among us would be strong enough to turn away from such an electrified state? By the time florid psychosis has set in, it's usually too late. Sally has learned to dread her attacks and the months of distress and damage that follow them. The poet Robert Lowell, who also suffered from manic-depression, used to say that he could sense a seizure coming on by the mercurial, liquid feeling in his spine. He grew to fear it so much that he once overdosed on lithium to try to prevent it!

2008 has been a steady and rewarding year for Sally, after a difficult 2007 that included the breakup of her marriage and a delicate medication change. In January, she moved to Spring Lake Ranch, a therapeutic work community in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The Ranch is forty percent self-sufficient. They grow their own food, raise animals, and make one of the most delicious brands of maple syrup in Vermont. A tremendous espirit de corps exists between the residents and the staff. As I write this, Sally is preparing to move into her own apartment in a nearby city. She is a vibrant young woman, a caring friend, and a natural writer with an unusual gift for language.

I'd like to add a word or two about the immeasurable influence Sally has had on her family. Her stepmother Pat, inspired by her experience with Sally, has changed her career, taking a degree in infant development. She now works on early intervention with children who are at risk of developing long-lasting problems. Sally's older brother Aaron works for UNICEF, a division of the United Nations, as a Child Protection officer, a path that was also influenced by Sally. As for me, Sally has changed my fundamental view of the world. She has taught me about the fragility of even our closest relationships, and the endurance of our deepest bonds of love.

Boy In The Striped Pajamas

2008-12-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

I went to see the movie the Boy In The Striped Pajamas the other day.
I have been evading about writing my thoughts about the movie. It has won award. It was written for children. Which I can not imagine the book written for children unless the book had a different ending.
I am just stunned by the conclusion. The story is about a German boy and his family. They move to the country side, in German on a "Farm". His father is a officer in the German army. The boy, name Bruno is very naive,as well as his mother. She doesn't realize until they move where they are moving to. The mother doesn't agree with the German cause. She is constantly having arguments with her husband. She did not realize she would be close to a concentration camp. And unaware what the Germans are doing to the Jews. Their Grandfather comes to visit.
The Grandfather agrees with the cause but not the Grandmother that doesn't visit the camp. The Jews are blamed for all the woes that happened leading up to the war. The family have prisoners of the camp working in the house. One of the men is peeling potatoes. Bruno realizes that the man was a doctor. Bruno says to him "You must not have been a very good doctor. Bruno seems very naive about many things. Especially dealing with Jews. When he disobeys his mother and goes in the garden and wanders out to a barbed wire fence that separates him from the Jewish prisoners. He doesn't realize what is happening. He meets on the other side of the barbed wire a boy called Shalomo. He believes it is a game he thinks all the children are locked up, and playing a game. Bruno and his sister are tutored at home. The sister is falling for a German Soldier. She is 12. The tutor is indoctrinating the Nazi beliefs on to the children. Which Bruno doesn't understand.
Later on in the story, Sholomo is brought into Bruno's house to clean the wine glasses. "Because his hands are very small." Bruno talks to him like he a friend. In walks in the German soldier, in the mean time he offers him food. The soldier asks Bruno do you know the boy. Bruno denies that he knows him and tells him he never gave him permission to take the food. Bruno feels terrible that he didn't stand up for his friend. Bruno lookd for his friend every day. He finally does come out to the fence. Bruno sees his friend with a black eye with dried blood on his face. He apologizes, and asks can you forgive me. Which Sholomo does forgive him. Spoiler****************************************Don't go any further unless you plan not to see the movie.
Sholomo is worried he can not find his father. In the meantime Bruno realizes if he digs under the fence he can get through. Bruno volunteers to help Sholomo find his father. Bruno reminds him for the next day to bring him a pair of striped Pajamas.
The next day Bruno switches his clothes to the striped Pajamas and goes under the barbed wire fence. He thinks of it as a game. His family starts panicking, where is Bruno they realize that he has gone into the garden and to the "farm". In the meantime the father told the children they have to move with their mother till after the war has ended. He tells them it is for the best. Bruno goes to the barbed wire to say goodbye. Which he then decides to go under the barbed wire to help his friend find his father. Bruno walks a little while in the camp. When he reaches the middle of the camp, he starts to think that this was not the best idea. He wants to back out, but changes his mind. He goes into the barracks, and then everyone is rounded up for a "Shower" Sholomo and Bruno are in the shower together.
And Die together. The mother and Father and sister are too late.

I am not sure how I feel about this movie. I would not recommend this for children.
It would give them nightmares. As a Jew this was very hard at the end because it is history. Jews are suppose to die. But a german naive innocent child. I am not sure how I feel. But I will say the acting was very good. What the atory had to say.
If you visit the website, there is a discussion for children and teachers to discuss the book and the movie. A very hard movie to watch to the final conclusion. There was not alot of horror of the treatment of the Jews, but the ending shook me up.
If you have seen the movie leave a comment what your thoughts are.

Happy Chanakah, Amy

2008-12-11T06:02:00.001-08:00

I never win anything! I must enter so many book blog contests and never win anything.
I just entered on book club girls blog. On a whim, I thought to myself I won't win.
This one blew me away. The contest was, for the book, The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. The contest asked what gifts are you buying or planning to buy for the holiday season. I had said Danielle Steel to my best friend who loves all her books. She has a new book out, to my best book club friend,Amy. She is the only one that I can talk books to. None of my other friends are as passionate about books as I. I think the last question was if you won who would you give the book to.
At the time I said I would give it to myself since I bought the book for my friend, Amy already. When I received the book I decided even better yet. My girlfriend Amy already has the book. But she would cherish it more than I, with his autograph. I thought it would be great gift for Chanakah. She loves Wally Lamb. The way she talks about his books you would think she was in love with him.
Amy, this is to you... Happy Chanakah. By the way, it will still be a surprise, to her. She is computer illiterate. She never goes on my blog, the secret is still hush, hush.
Thank You Jen, from Book Club Girl, this is going to put a smile on Amy's face. Can't wait for her reaction. I will let you know maybe even take a picture. What a great way to open the holiday. By the way, don't worry my girlfriend is computer illiterate!! This will not spill the beans. She never goes on my blog.

I've Been Tagged!!

2008-11-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

I won a book worm award by my friend Marie at Boston Bibliophile. I also was asked to do my first meme. Sine this is a Jewish blog I am going to do only subjects that deal with Jewish books. The closest Jewish book to me is what I am reading now.
Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg. Turn to page 56,5th sentence:
When her turn comes she stands without difficulty, swallows her meds , chats with the nurse. Gently coaxingly the nurse suggests she try walking to her room on her own.
On hearing this, the woman's legs immediately turn to jelly and she slumps back into her wheelchair, her head in her hands in a gesture of sorrow so complete it seems to obey it's own natural law.

Who By Fire Interview

2008-11-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Diana Spechler is the author of the novel Who By Fire (Harper Perennial.) Her fiction has appeared in such publications as Glimmer Train, Greensboro Review, and Moment. She has taught at the University of Montana and the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She holds a BA from the University of Colorado and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana.

NO SPOILERS!!!
It catches you right from the start and grabs you and doesn't let go.
I don't call this a Jewish book. But it is written of course by a Jewish author.
The book deals with issues that could and probably has happened to many families that are Jewish or not.
Family problems, the mother, sister, and brother don't know how to communicate with one another and guilt, and guilt, and guilt, and there is plenty of that to go around.
That is what Jews are famous for. They all deal with the crisis differently. The book does deal with the Intifada, and the brother running off to Israel and becomes a B'al Teshuva( religious Jew), and cuts himself off from his family. I just loved the characters, How each family member deals with their sister's disapearance and their father leaving the family. It was a very good read.
I have been waiting for a novel by a author to touch and talk about the situation in Israel. I thought it was interesting how Diana made the narrative into alternate voices through out the book instead of a straight narrative. I think it was quite effective. I don't think the book would have had the impact it did on me if it was a straight narrative.

I would like to thank Diana for stopping by and chatting with me during her busy book tour. This happens to be Jewish Book Month, when we find out what Jewish Books are flying off the shelves.

How did you come to write Who By Fire? Were there events in your life that led you to write it?

When I was a grad student, I wrote a short story about two of the protagonists, Bits and Ash, who are brother and sister. Bits lives in Boston and Ash lives in Jerusalem, learning at a yeshiva. At the beginning of the story, Bits learns of a suicide bombing in Jerusalem and wants to know if Ash is okay. She keeps calling him, but he never responds. The story, which I titled Close To Lebanon, ends without resolution. A few months after I finished Close To Lebanon, it was the tense plot and the fictional family, rather than my own family or events from my own life, that wound up haunting me enough to expand the story into a novel.

Do you consider yourself a Jewish writer?
I am Jewish and I am a writer, but not everything I write is about Judaism. At the moment, people refer to me as a Jewish writer because of the themes and the setting of Who By Fire. Truly, that’s an honor. There are so many amazing Jewish writers.

What makes a Jewish novel?

I think that classification is somewhat subjective. If I write a novel that has nothing to do with Judaism, it will still be a Jewish novel, because Judaism is transmitted through the mother, and I am, after all a woman. (Yes, I’m joking. Kind of.)

Did you always want to be a writer?

Yup. I was writing stories as soon as I could pick up a pen. My mother has a twenty-four page story I wrote when I was seven years old. It’s called Shana and The Magic Quilt. It is a masterpiece.

Is there a certain Jewish author you look up to?
I love a lot of Jewish authors. Two of my favorite Jewish novels are The Ladies’ Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

Is there a secular author you look up to?

Only about a million of them. Jeffrey Eugenides is one of my favorites because of his novel Middlesex.

Was there an author, Jewish or not, who advised you along the way? Did you take his or her advice?

When I was a graduate student, I got a lot of great advice from my teachers, who were, of course, writers themselves. I remember the author Colum McCann visiting my MFA program and talking about pushing through writer’s block. He said that if you’re writing a story and it gets out of control, it’s up to you to wrestle it into submission. After all, you created it. That’s pretty empowering advice.

For my non-Jewish readers, can you talk about your experience with yeshivas?

When I was researching yeshiva life, I contacted a lot of men’s yeshivas in Jerusalem. I told them I was coming to do research for a novel and I was hoping to take a tour and ask some questions. Most declined or didn’t respond, which is understandable. For one thing, yeshivas are a place for men to learn about Judaism. They didn’t need a woman staring at them and writing about them in a notebook. For another thing, some were worried that I was writing about Orthodox Judaism to make fun of it. Of course, I wasn’t, but I had trouble convincing most people of that. A couple of yeshivas did let me in, which helped me to better imagine yeshiva life and make Ash’s chapters (which are set in a yeshiva in Jerusalem) more authentic.

Were you able to draw on your own knowledge of Judaism, or did you have to do research?

I did a lot of research. Of course, from growing up Jewish, I knew some things, but while I was working on Who By Fire, I did a lot of reading and I asked a lot of questions. I made frequent use of the website Askmoses.com.

Since your brother has become a B'al Teshuvah, has your relationship with him changed?

My relationship with my brother never changed. We’ve always been very close. He’s the best.

What is it like to be in Israel as an American?

I certainly can’t speak for all Americans, but I’ve had fabulous experiences in Israel. Once, in college, I spent a whole semester there, studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (I use the word “studying” loosely.) Those months were some of the best of my life.

Are you surprised by how many non-Jewish readers are reading Who By Fire?

I’m not surprised. The novel is set partly in Israel and the characters are Jews, but the themes are universal. It’s a story about guilt and rescue. Those are not exclusively Jewish concepts.

What kind of responses, favorable or otherwise, are you getting to the book?

So far, the reviewers have been very kind. (Should I knock on wood now?)

Why the title, Who By Fire?

A lot of people ask me if the title comes from the Leonard Cohen song, but in fact, Leonard Cohen and I seem to have had the same inspiration: the Yom Kippur prayer that lists the ways one might die in the coming year if he hasn’t made it into the Book of Life.

Is there something you want readers to get out of this book?

Of all the reactions I get to the book, the two most gratifying are, “I couldn’t put it down,” and “I’ve never been to Israel, but after reading your book, I want to go.” I hope more readers will pay me those two compliments!

Are the events in the novel autobiographical or did you make them up?

I made them up. That’s the fun part of writing fiction. I write some non-fiction, too, but I always prefer imagining people who aren’t real doing things that I would never do.

Is there a message in the book?

I hope there are subliminal messages on every page, seeping into the reader’s unconscious, encouraging them to send me presents. Other than that, no, I don’t think there’s a message.

Are you observant or secular?

I’m pretty secular at this point in my life, but I’m open. I’m interested in every type of observance and every type of non-observance. Judaism fascinates me. Religion in general fascinates me. It’s all beautiful. Even Jews who ignore Judaism have beautiful stories to tell about their reasons for living how they live.

What kind of reaction have you had from observant Jews?
I was so worried that even after all my research, my depiction of yeshiva life would sound inauthentic. I haven’t heard that yet, though. The feedback has all been pretty positive, from observant Jews, secular Jews, and non-Jews.

Has your family read the book? What was their response?
They loved it! After all, it’s dedicated to them.

Are you writing now?
It’s hard to write while I’m on book tour, but the novel I have in the works is a story of transformation through loss set at a weight-loss camp for children in North Carolina. I’m not sure yet about a title for it; it’s still in its infancy.

I am reading the book and loving it. The family around which the book is centered happens to be Jewish, but it’s a story that could happen to any family. Do you agree or disagree?
I definitely agree. Family dysfunction does not discriminate based on race, color, creed, religion, etc.

Thank you for stopping by!! Good luck on your new book Who By Fire.
Can't wait to read the next one. If you would like to contact Diana and let her know what you thought of the book you can visit her website. Also visit book blog talk radio on November 20th where book club girl is hosting her monthly author radio program.
I would also like to thank Book Club Girl for all her help.
Thank You So Much You Are The BEST!!!

Book Giveaway

2008-11-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hi I found this on the Jewish Challenge blog.
I decided to post here. You can read my post and then enter the contest.
But you must first post about the contest on your blog.
Here's mine. Book Give-Away
New Podcast

Author talks, lectures on Jewish literature, panel discussions, and workshops are among the offerings of the newly launched Association of Jewish Libraries Podcast. Available at www.jewishlibraries.org/podcast, the program provides audio that enhances and enriches the listener's appreciation of Jewish book culture.

The podcast will include material recorded at the Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention, as well as recordings of Jewish literary events across North America. A wide range of topics will be covered, from the academic to the hands-on, from children's literature to technology.

"Jews are book lovers, and Jewish librarians even more so," says Susan Dubin, President of the Association of Jewish Libraries. "The AJL Podcast gives us a way to share our enthusiasm with others, without geographical or scheduling restrictions. Now everyone can learn and enjoy!"

How to Listen
New podcast episodes will be posted every few weeks. Listeners can hear the show online at www.jewishlibraries.org/podcast, subscribe via iTunes or other feed readers (using the feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/ajlpodcast), receive episodes by email via FeedBlitz, or listen by phone at (651) 925-2538.

Book Give-Away
To celebrate the launch of the podcast, AJL is offering a Jewish book give-away. Forward this press release or post its contents on a blog or web page to be entered into a drawing for five Jewish interest books from Hachette Book Group. Be sure to CC jewishlibraries@gmail.com on any forwarded messages or to email us about any posts. Complete contest rules and information about the give-away titles can be seen at jewishlibraries.org/podcast - click on the Contest page in the sidebar. Deadline for entry is December 12, 2008.

For more information, contact AJL Public Relations Chair Heidi Estrin at jewishlibraries@gmail.com

About the Association of Jewish Libraries
The Association of Jewish Libraries promotes Jewish literacy through enhancement of libraries and library resources and through leadership for the profession and practitioners of Judaica librarianship. AJL fosters access to information, learning, teaching and research relating to Jews, Judaism, the Jewish experience and Israel.

People of the Book

2008-11-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

In January at the sisterhood meeting in Temple Emanu-El.
Rabbi Debbie will be talking about People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
There is maps, book discussion questions and lots more info. on the background of the book.
The book synopsis is from Geraldine Brooks website.

Available now, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, an intricate, ambitious novel that traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from convivencia Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the sunburned rock faces of northern Australia.

Inspired by the true story of a mysterious codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, People of the Book is a sweeping adventure through five centuries of history. From its creation in Muslim-ruled, medieval Spain, the illuminated manuscript makes a series of perilous journeys: through Inquisition-era Venice, fin-de-siecle Vienna, and the Nazi sacking of Sarajevo.

In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed manuscript, which has been rescued once again from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with figurative paintings. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she becomes determined to unlock the book’s mysteries. As she seeks the counsel of scientists and specialists, the reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its creation to its salvation.

In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of Vienna in 1894, the book becomes a pawn in an emerging contest between the city’s cultured cosmopolitanism and its rising anti-Semitism. In Venice in 1609, a Catholic priest saves it from Inquisition book burnings. In Tarragona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text has his family destroyed amid the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed.

2008-11-05T17:29:00.001-08:00

I wanted to let my readers of Jewish Rantings know that Diana agreed (enthusiastically) to give us a visit soon on Jewish Rantings. You will have to stop by frequently. As she is so busy right now on her book tour. This month is also Jewish Book Month when all the Synagogues, and Jewish Community Centers have Jewish Book Festivals. I am sure that will keep her very busy.
Remember to visit Blog Talk Radio on November 20th to listen to the radio broadcast.
You can also send in your questions to Jennifer Hart before the broadcast.
The article below is from the Jewish Week. It was written Oct 30th.

Spechler’s novel is set during the second intifada. “I wanted to explore the feelings we get as Jews, upon hearing about a suicide bombing,” she says.

by Sandee Brawarsky
Jewish Week Book Critic
Diane Spechler had the title of her first novel long before she knew how the story would turn out. She was delving into themes of guilt, atonement, faith and redemption, and knew that the lines from the Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur liturgy, “who by fire,” would be fitting. Some have asked the 29-year-old author if the title was inspired by Leonard Cohen’s song of the same name, but it’s more likely that he drew from the same source she did.
“Who By Fire” (Harper Perennial) is a compelling and original novel, told in three alternating voices: a sister, brother and their mother, whose storylines are entangled. It’s a tale of the complex pull of family, with a chain of incidents set off in
JTS
Israel and America when the characters assume they know what’s best for one another.
The disappearance of the youngest child, Alena, 13 years earlier haunts the characters’ lives. The father has left them, the mother grieves as she fosters guilt and blame, the older sister uses sex to numb her pain and confusion, and the son goes through a series of obsessions, ultimately finding solace and meaning in Orthodox Judaism. To the horror of his mother and dismay of his sister, he drops out of college and moves to Jerusalem to enroll in an Orthodox yeshiva.
Set in 2002, during the second intifada, the novel opens as Bits is on a flight to Israel to rescue her brother. Ellie, the mother, is drawn to a charismatic man who convinces her that her son has been brainwashed and, as she gets more involved with him, “her heart is constricting like a question mark.” And Ash, now known as Asher, is at peace, happier than he’s ever been, as he’s learning in a yeshiva for young men who’ve grown up religious along with ba’alei teshuvah, newly religious young men like himself.
Spechler, in well-crafted prose, manages to make all three quite likeable. She captures the daily drama of their lives, the humor too, as they take actions unknown to one another. Each one, and particularly Ash in his yeshiva, has deeply-felt conversations about faith, God and observance.
Toward the end, all three reflect on what happens “when you try to rescue someone.” As Bits realizes, “you find out you’re the one who needs rescuing.” Her mother notes, “You can forget your priorities; you can even forget your children. You forget all about the person you’re rescuing.” And Ash thinks, “This is what happens when you try to rescue someone. There is embarrassing, ineffectual melodrama, like a fire truck blaring sirens, speeding toward a cat in a tree.”
Ultimately, the novel takes a hopeful turn and, as Spechler points out in an interview in a Manhattan cafe, ends with the word “light.” While Alena’s disappearance is always present, this is not a dark tale. The author says she is grateful that she has no such tragedy in her own family’s story, but says the themes and emotions of the novel are indeed autobiographical.
Spechler, who grew up in Newton, Mass., graduated from the University of Colorado and spent a semester at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After completing a graduate writing program in Montana, she lived in Texas, Wyoming, California, Rhode Island and Michigan, before moving to New York City, where she now lives in the East Village. She has attended writers’ workshops, taught writing to yeshiva girls and fashion students, and tended bar, all while writing.
“In everything I do,” she says, “I make writing the centerpiece.”
The novel has its origins in a story Spechler wrote while in graduate school, as part of her thesis. That story was about a sister in America and brother in Israel, written from the sister’s perspective.
“I wanted to explore the feelings we get as Jews, upon hearing about a suicide bombing. You can’t explain how bad it feels, and, at the same time, there’s a disconnect.”
She kept thinking about the story, as it was so unresolved and disturbing, and wondered about the brother’s side of the story and about the family she had created. At a writer’s colony in Minnesota, she began writing from his perspective, and realized that this was a long piece rather than a short story. Later on, she added the mother’s perspective too.
Spechler grew up with weekly Shabbat dinners, Jewish summer camps, attendance at a Reform synagogue and a high school summer in Israel — “one of those trips where a bunch of American teenagers in the same T-shirts ride around on a bus.” She says that the Orthodox yeshiva world was one she didn’t know existed.
While at Hebrew University, she first learned about Orthodox Judaism and “flirted big time with becoming more Orthodox.”
“When I was there, I was swept up in that,” she recalls, explaining that she studied with a learning partner a couple of times per week, began keeping kosher and said morning prayers.
She says that some of the appeal was that the world of Orthodox Judaism seemed a tight community, and that you couldn’t possibly understand it unless you were in it — just as one can’t really understand the inner workings of any family unless one is part of it.
“When I got home, a lot of it faded. I thought — and I still think — that if you really believe in it, then how could you not to do everything according to letter of the law? My struggle is that I have too many questions to live a life that screams, ‘I have answers.’ I have many more questions than answers.”
Some passages read like overheard conversations between religious and secular Jews, and Spechler admits that those are drawn from conversations with herself. As she explains, “I was at war with myself. I was on both sides of the fence for a very long time.”
When asked if she still struggles, she answers, “Yes and no. I think I was really searching for a long time. The novel gave me a context to be acceptably obsessive with the questions, to explore them to the core. I take on obsessions all the time when I’m writing and when I finish the project, I unburden myself of the obsession. Now, I’m more at peace with having questions that don’t have answers.”
She did a lot of research in her quest to get the details just right. In 2004, she returned to Israel and spent time in the few yeshivas that welcomed her presence. One yeshiva student became her correspondent and supplied answers to her many questions, and she also learned a lot from the Web site AskMoses.com.
“I’m writing about issues that really concern me, about the conflict between secular and religious Jews,” she says. “I feel like an observer of the way people practice Judaism. I don’t have a judgment. I’m not trying to make point.”
In what might be a coincidence, after she had been working on the novel for a year, she learned that her own brother had decided, while in Israel for a summer before law school, to become an Orthodox Jew. She points out that her brother, who only knew vaguely what she was working on, is nothing like Ash. He is now back in Austin, Texas, where he continues to lead an observant life.
“The happiest feedback I’ve gotten,” she says, “is from people who are not Jewish or don’t know anything about Israel or Judaism, who tell me that this book makes them want to go to Israel. That feels like a great accomplishment.” n *

Jewish Challenge

2008-10-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

I found a a challenge that I am excited about. That I am going to join in.
It is not that difficult. You have to read four books from December to April.
If you are interested I will post a link as soon as I can.

Who By Fire

2008-10-27T21:52:00.001-07:00

I am hosting a giveaway in conjunction with Book Club Girl's blog talk radio. The guest will be Diana Spechler, the author of Who By Fire. I will be giving away 10 copies of the book. The contest begins today and will end November 5th. That gives you enough time to read the book in preparation for blog talk radio.
you need to leave a comment on Jewish Rantings, by November 5th. And if you blog about it on your blog you will get three entries.
But you must also leave a comment on this blog to get two entries. my blog friend Jennifer, book club girl here for information of the book Who By Fire, and information on the blog talk radio show with Diana Spechler.
The Synopsis of the book is taken from Harper Collins Website.
Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister, Alena—an incident for which Ash blames himself—caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild-child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again; Alena's remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what's left of their family.

HELP TO ALL OUR Brethens

2008-09-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Our Rabbi from Temple Emanu-El sent this to all our members of Temple Emanu-El.
It is a good idea to spread the word throughout the entire Jewish community. This is not only for the Jewish community, but the entire area that was affected by Hurrcane IKE.
If you would like to get involved read below:
I am asking you to support The United Jewish Communities (UJC) and their Disaster Relief Fund which supports all victims of Hurricane Ike. You can go online to this address UJC.org and follow the links to the Hurricane Relief Fund. To donate by check, please make the check out to UJC Hurricane Relief Fund and clearly mark UJC Hurricane Relief Fund on the bottom of the check. The check should be sent to:

United Jewish Communities
P.O. Box 30
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113
Attention: UJC Hurricane Relief Fund

Leshanah Tovah Tikatevu

2008-09-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am added this post on my blog about the book Matrimony by Joshua Henkin.
He is a Jewish author. The question always arises what makes a Jewish book.
The author? The time period??( The old country), the Jewish customs( Friday Shabbat candles)?
Does just being Jewish make you a Jewish author. I have pondered this question every time a Jewish author publishes a book. Let me know your thoughts. Any one know of any Jewish Book Blogs out there that have answered the question. Let me know by leaving a comment.
There is a contest at B&B. The contest ends soon. Visit and leave a comment.

Here is a contest that can't be beat. Bethany at B&B exlibres is having a drawing for the book Matrimony. The drawing will be on September 22nd. This a great time for this drawing.

Because of the Book Appreciation Week. He has nice things to say.
You can read what he has to say about book clubs over at Books on the Brain.
You want to talk about dedicated you must read what his daughter and him were talking about
when it deals with book clubs. Also when I visited books on the brain, Lisa is having a contest there and lots of background info. I would check it out. Then Bethany added more comments on
Matrimony. I would check that out again here. This post was written in June. This also has a nice video and lots of links to other bloggers reviews.

Joshua Henkin is giving one signed copy of his new book Matrimony, in paperback away to one super-special commenter!!! Seriously this book has been all over the web, and back and I am guessing you just HAVE to read it. This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week as well, and this giveaway will add to the love being posted around this bloggie-blog world.

To enter the drawing:
1.) Comment on this post for one entry
2.) Post about it on your blog for an additional two entries.

The super-lucky-ducky winner will be chosen on the 22nd!!!

For more information on the book you can head over to Joshua Henkin's website, or you can go to amazon of indie bound for ratings and to purchase the book.

Here is what your fellow book bloggers had to say about Matrimony:

Rebecca of The Book Lady's Blog
Chartroose of Bloody Hell, It's a Book Barrage!
Jennifer of The Literate Housewife
Trish of Hey lady! Whatcha readin'?
Gautami of My Own Little Reading Room
Bookfool of Bookfoolery and Babble
Mrs. S of 50 Book Challenge
Lisa of Books on the Brain
Heather J. of Age 30 - A Year of Books
Gayle of Everyday I Write the Book Blog
Becca of The Inside Cover
Dewey of Hidden Side of a Leaf
Tanabata of In Spring it is the Dawn
Trish of Trish's Reading Nook
Amy of My Friend Amy
Julie of Booking Mama
Bethany of B&b Ex Lib

My First Giveaway

2008-09-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Bookclubgirl.com has agreed to help promote my Jewish book blog.
Jen has agreed to allow me a few copies of a Diana Spechler, Who By Fire. The giveaway contest will take place in conjuction with book club girl's talk radio.

Further details will follow.

You can visit her website here and visit Harpercollins here

Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister Alena, an incident for which Ash blames himself, caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again: Alena’s remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what’s left of their family. Told from the alternating points of view of the three family members, Who By Fire is a searing commentary on guilt, grief, and the inescapable bonds of family from a fresh and extremely talented new voice in American fiction

Book Club Today

2008-09-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

We had our book club meeting for the first time at Barnes and Noble.
It was convenient and everyone seemed to like it there.
All of us agreed to meet here again on October 22nd at 1P.M.
We had some business, and then some more business and then it was back to
The BOOK CLUB
We decided on a few things, do you remember, how crazy last year was with us. Participating in gift wrapping?? If you do, then you would agree that it is best to skip December's meeting. We decided to read something totally different, we will be reading Exile by James North Patterson. Since the book is 600+, We will wait to discuss it in January. In February, we will be discussing, People of the Book by Geraldine March. It is similar to" Davinci Code/Jewish Slant". We are hoping that Rabbi Debbie will be available to host the book club in February. That should be very interesting.
Our next book in October is Keeping The House by Ellen Baker. The author will be joining us, with her treats that she will be sending us.
I love the book cover it drew my interest. I hope the book is as good as the cover, or I am in great trouble. Anyway, here is what everyone thought of the book, AWAY by Amy Bloom.
We felt it was very unrealistic.
The book Away, was a short book less than 300 pages. It was about a young Jewish immigrant.
She looses her husband and daughter in Europe during the pogroms in the early 1920's. She decides to leave Europe to the better life in the United States. But she finds, life is not any better here than in Europe. She is struggling to survive poverty, and the desperation she must endure. She learns that her daughter is alive from a friend. He helps her financially to help her on her way.
She leaves NYC to search for her daughter in Alaska. We learn about her hardships to get there and all the strange people she meets along the way. It would have done better with short stories. She did not know how to make the story flow. She did not know how to change the scenes subtlety. The novel would have done better with short stories.

What Others Are Reading

2008-08-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

I posted on the previous post about a book club in Marblehead Mass.
I posted it because I wanted y'all to see what other Hadassah Book Clubs were reading,this is the 60th anniversary of Israel.

Israel's 60th Celebration

2008-08-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hadassah book club reads ‘Exodus’
Mon Jul 28, 2008, 02:44 PM EDT
Salem -

As part of its yearlong celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary, the Lynn-Swampscott-Marblehead Chapter of Hadassah’s Israel@60 Book Club will discuss the novel “Exodus” by Leon Uris at its September meeting. The meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m. at the Cornerstone Bookstore, 45 Lafayette St., Salem.

As part of the discussion, Diane Elefson, the Youth Aliyah chairwoman for Hadassah’s Shalom Chapter, will talk about Hadassah’s rescue efforts. Youth Aliyah first started to rescue Jewish youth from Nazi Germany. Some 5,000 teenagers were brought to the country before World War II and educated at Youth Aliyah boarding schools followed, after the war, by an additional 15,000, most of them Holocaust survivors. Today, Youth Aliyah villages continue to play a vital role in the absorption of young newcomers and also offer thousands of disadvantaged Israeli youth a second chance. Since 1934, over 300,000 youngsters from 80 countries have been part of the Youth Aliyah program.

Free Giveaway

2008-08-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let my blog readers know about free book giveaway by one of the publishers. I always get excited about free books, but Jewish that is even better.
I have recieved news before from readingbookchoices.com.
They send me new books or I find out info. on new books.
They also let me know about publishers that are giving away books.
There are two publishers that are always doing this. One is WW.Norton.com, and the other is Harpercollins.com. What I recieved in the package is to recieve free book from Norton, is a copy of Zookeeper's Daughter. I bought the hard cover about a year ago when it first came out. This is a book club selection for our Hadassah Book Club in the fall. This is based on a true story during the holocaust.
When Germany invaded Poland. Stuka bombers devasted Warsaw-and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen guests hid inside the Zabinski's villa, emerging after dark for dinner and socializing.
With her unique prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world. Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonia refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.

You can visit http://wwnorton.comrgguides/zookeeperswife.htm for:
Audio and print interviews with the author, discussion questions, and you can visit the author's website at dianeackerman.com. Supplies are limited and it is first come first served basis.

History of Yiddish

2008-08-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

I found this interesting article on jbooks.com about the history of "The Jewish Language". YIDDISH of course. and what will become of Yiddish.

We're Talking Jewish
By DAVID MARGOLIS
Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish
By Dovid Katz
464 pages. Basic Books. $26.95.Dovid Katz’s fascinating linguistic and narrative history of Yiddish posits the mameloshn as a surviving link in an uninterrupted “Jewish language chain” stretching from ancient Hebrew and Aramaic to the present. Moreover, though Yiddish is on the UN’s list of endangered languages expected to flicker out of existence over the next century, Katz sees a vibrant future for it.

Yiddish, which developed in central Europe about 1,000 years ago, fuses elements of German, Hebrew, Aramaic, and (as it moved east) Slavic, while drawing vocabulary from every language among which Yiddish speakers lived. Deeply imbued with Jewish experience and sensibility—Yiddish means Jewish, after all—the language encapsulates the meeting of a “language and people from the Near East with language and people in Europe.” That confrontation gave rise to a wholly new Jewish culture.

European Jewish culture was “trilingual,” using Hebrew for Bible, commentaries, and community documents; Aramaic for Talmud and Kabbalah; and Yiddish as the spoken, and later written, vernacular of ordinary Jews. Books were written in Yiddish for women, empowering them, and later for men, and still later by women. As the fortunes of Yiddish improved, even kabbalistic works appeared, including the core work of Jewish mysticism, the Zohar, in 1711. In the end, Jews were dispersed throughout eastern Europe, too, and Yiddish was the native language of almost all of them.

How did the “modern” Jew arise? Katz blames the German Jews. Western Askenaz culture declined, partly in confrontation with German anti-Semitism, to which the Jews’ “secret language” was an “ugly, barbaric ‘jargon’ emblematic of Jews’ lack of civilization.” By the mid-18th century, German Jews internalized anti-Semitic critiques, and many thought that if they adopted the German language and became like everyone else, German society would accept them. The task of molding a form of Judaism palatable to the gentiles was undertaken by the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, who was hostile to Yiddish (“this jargon has contributed much to the immorality of common Jews”) and tried to eradicate it in order to replace it with German.

“Few kinds of hate are as potent as self-hate,” Katz notes correctly, describing how Mendelssohn and his successors tried to exterminate Yiddish. Reform Judaism and even German neo-Orthodoxy “focused on the premise of linguistic assimilation and a German-speaking Jewry,” Katz recounts. But, he adds, Jews behaving like Germans only infuriated the local anti-Semites even more.

Politics and wars brought some eastern European Jews under the control of German-speaking anti-Yiddish governments, while others fell under Russian rule. From both sides, they faced pressures for acculturation, with many programs against traditional religion and Yiddish supported by Jewish “enlighteners.”

However, in Eastern Europe Yiddish was stronger than the assimilationists. Indeed, the leaders of the Haskalah—who were forced, like Zionists later, to use Yiddish because that was the people’s language while it tried to influence them away from Yiddish—contributed to the “secular outburst” of a major literature in Yiddish whose rise Katz traces through the 19th and 20th centuries.

The masters of that secular outburst, like the Zionists who founded the state of Israel, had been brought up in or close to the Yiddish-speaking traditionalist environment. The “traditionally religious Askenazi Jewish society with its internal Jewish trilingualism,” Katz instructs us, remains the only milieu that can support Yiddish.

Today’s ultra-Orthodox are not proponents of secular Yiddish literature or, for that matter, of Zionism. Nonetheless, according to Katz, the Yiddish future belongs to them, not to the university programs and klezmer festivals that have sparked rumors of a Yiddish revival. Demographic projections indicate that by the end of the current century, ultra-Orthodox Jews will form the Jewish majority in the Diaspora, and their insistence on maintaining Yiddish as a native language, makes its long-term survival “a simple and foregone conclusion.”

The tragedy of Jewish success in the New World has been that American Jews, among the fastest of groups to cast off their native tongue, generally deprived their children of the opportunity to learn it. In America, the purpose of the Yiddish press became to Americanize the immigrants, while the Hebrew day school system “excluded” Yiddish and its achievements from its curriculum, Katz laments.

American Jewry has largely retained the humanistic and liberal views it inherited from Yiddish but has held on less successfully to the language’s deeply Jewish outlook. Katz does not belabor the point, but for a contemporary reader, the subtext of his history will be American Jewish ignorance of any Jewish language, growing distance from Jewish culture and traditions, and separation from a coherent and integrated Jewish community, all of which Yiddish provided.

A professor of Yiddish language, literature, and culture at Vilnius University and the author of many books and papers in his field (including three collections of Yiddish fiction), Katz provides lively accounts of the migrations of European Jews and the fate of Yiddish in the USSR and in pre-State Palestine, and he profiles many lesser-known but important literary and political figures in Yiddish-speaking Europe.

Surprisingly, however, he omits any comparison of Yiddish to other Jewish languages, such as Ladino or Persian-Jewish. It would have been interesting to know his opinion as a linguist of whether they are, like Yiddish, complete languages or only partial dialects, and to have some evaluation or comparison of their accomplishments.