Rabbi Jason Holtz “As a Driven Leaf,” by Rabbi Milton Steinberg, is a 20th century book that’s a retelling of an ancient rabbinic story. The protagonist, Elisha ben Avuyah, is a respected rabbinic scholar living in the ancient land of Israel. Despite his traditional Jewish learning and stature in the community, he… Read more »
Steven Freedman When I was a young boy, I would go camping with my parents, older brother and younger sister. My mother would read a book aloud as my father drove the station wagon with the camping gear neatly stowed on top. On one trip, mom read short stories by Sholom… Read more »
Rebecca Kunsberg A friend loaned me “The History of Love,” by Nicole Krauss, and it sat on my night stand for two months. I was in grad school at the time, and didn’t have time to read a book for leisure. I finally had time between semesters, and to this day,… Read more »
Penelope Starr “The Penelopeiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus” by Margaret Atwood is a book that confirmed what I already believed, an excellent way for a book to get your attention. Atwood was asked to reinterpret an ancient myth as part of the Canongate Myth Series. She takes the story… Read more »
Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford I grew up in a Jewish family in Nogales, Arizona, on the Mexican border, in a predominantly Mexican-Catholic community. Since the early ’60s, I have been on a rich journey of embracing interracial/interfaith friendships and marriage. The wisdom and maturity I gained along the way have served as a… Read more »
Beth Alpert Nakhai “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” a memoir by Amos Oz (Harcourt, 2003; translated from the Hebrew by Nicholas de Lange) is among the most gorgeous books I have ever read. Oz is a master of words and in this book he crafts them to create the story of… Read more »
Tom Miller In recent years I have become obsessed with “Don Quixote de La Mancha.” The book, published in two parts some 400 years ago, follows the exploits of Alonso Quijano, who imagines himself a knight-errant dedicated to acts of chivalry and takes on the name Don Quixote as well as… Read more »
Arthur Yavelberg Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen” came to me at an important time. I already had a passion for baseball— how I wanted the ball hit to ME when it really counted. So when the Hasidic yeshiva student, Danny—at that time the menacing, Darth Vader-like Danny—recognized the spin in Reuven’s curve… Read more »
We call ourselves “People of the Book” because of the commandment that every Jew study Torah. Over generations, this moniker has also come to signify a more general esteem for books and learning. The metaphor of the book so permeates our identity that during this High Holiday season, we… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — High on the list of Jewish martyr stories still retold, or at least alluded to, every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the terrible medieval tale of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz. For refusing to appear before the Bishop of Regensburg, who had requested that Amnon… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — On a fall day in 1963, Abraham Joshua Heschel unburdened his soul. Speaking the truth without regard for whether it scandalized or hurt was something he would do fairly often in that decade of social upheaval. Already branded as an eccentric and an outsider, that… Read more »
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — When I’m invited to a Shabbat or holiday meal in a Jewish home, I always bring kosher wine. Not just that, I try to make it Israeli. It’s not because I keep kosher. And it’s not because the people I’m visiting necessarily keep kosher either.… Read more »
I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to everyone who showed up for my dad’s (Edwin Blum) memorial on Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Reid Park Zoo. And a huge thank you to every Jewish War Veteran for defending our great nation. –Sue Moss… Read more »
President Barack Obama holds a working dinner with, clockwise from left, President Hosni Mubarek of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and Tony Blair, the international Middle east envoy and former British Prime Minsiter, in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Peace in a year? Try getting past Sept. 26. Or is it 30? Direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis have barely begun and already the sides are facing their first major hurdle — the end of Israel’s partial moratorium on settlement building. Several issues might beset… Read more »
Last Friday night, my dear friend Karla Ember, beloved cantorial soloist of Congregation Chaverim and longtime Tucson Jewish community musician was violently attacked and gravely wounded. She is now in intensive care and fighting for her life. Members of our Jewish community are trying to help Karla and her… Read more »
Clockwise from top: THA 8th graders at the Israel home of Carol and Dan Karsch — top row (L-R) Rabbi Billy, Noam Shahar, Itai Kreisler, Joshua Girard, Matan Laytin, Benjamin Louchheim, Devin Hulsey, Shelby Kotz, Avigail Penner, David Rosman; middle row (L-R) Rebecca Slepian, Hannah Karsch Hochner, Dan Karsch, Carol Karsch, David Abraham (IDF commander in the tanks division), Marlene Abraham (THA teacher/chaperone); front row (L-R) Juliet Weintraub, Adina Artzi, Ron (Israeli guide), Eve Stone. Tucson PNAI (Parents of North American Israelis) members Carol and Dan Karsch spent a month at their home in Modi’in, the city in which their daughter Hannah Karsch Hochner, son-in-law Jacky, and grandchildren Tanya, Hillel and Ayelet reside. During this time, Carol, executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation… Read more »
Sarah Shemtov Sarah Shemtov, 74, died Aug. 17, 2010 in Brooklyn, N.Y., just days before her 75th birthday. A community activist in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, Mrs. Shemtov was known for supporting Jewish education and for philanthropy to help build local and international organizations. She and her late husband,… Read more »
Rabbi Yossie Shemtov An 82-year-old Jewish man was recently marveling to me about the wonders of the Global Positioning System, otherwise known as the GPS satellite-based global navigation system. An observation of his got me thinking. “You see,” he said, “a person can go anywhere but if he doesn’t have a destination… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman It’s that time of year again. Backpacks and school binders tumble off the shelves at local stores, crossing guards in bright orange vests patrol the roads and parents are bemoaning the frenzied schedules that “back to school” requires. But there’s a positive energy in the air as kids, tanned… Read more »
President Barack Obama holds a working dinner with, clockwise from left, President Hosni Mubarek of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and Tony Blair, the international Middle east envoy and former British Prime Minsiter, in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Tell us what you want. Now listen to what your partner wants. Now tell us what your partner wants. In slow, almost excruciating increments, talks between Israelis and Palestinians are taking on the dimensions of counseling sessions moderated by the United States. Heading into a White… Read more »
