(Getty Images; collage by Alma)
This story originally appeared on Alma. Contrary to popular belief, summer is not only for the lighter things in life. It can be the best time for luxurious nostalgia and dark rumination. Like Lana Del Rey, I’ve often got that Summertime Sadness. This may be the reason why, without… Read more »
Pamella Nadell is the author of the forthcoming book "America's Jewish Women: A History From Colonial Times to Today." (Book photo: Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company; Nadell photo: Sophia Myszkowski)
NEW YORK (JTA) — While looking at family photos, historian Pamela Nadell noticed how female relatives dressed differently with each generation. Her great-grandmother wore a high lace collar and covered her hair with a wig, like some Orthodox Jews. Her daughter’s go-to is a pair of skinny jeans. Nadell, a… Read more »
"Struck: A Husband's Memoir of Trauma and Triumph" Douglas Segal’s “Struck: A Husband’s Memoir of Trauma and Triumph” is a riveting book. It’s heartbreaking, inspiring, unflinchingly honest, and often funny as hell, which is something of a surprise in a book that starts off with the author’s wife and 12-year-old daughter caught up in a horrific car… Read more »
(JTA) — Afikomen hunts, a rambunctious pup and the catchy classic “Dayenu.” All are featured in a half-dozen new Passover books for children that will inform and entertain even the littlest kid — or a whole herd of ’em. The eight-day holiday kicks off this year on the evening of… Read more »
Author Judy Brown explores growing up in a haredi Orthodox community with an autistic brother in her new memoir, "This Is Not a Love Story." (Avi Burstein)
(JTA) — In recent years, a spate of memoirs have been written by those who have left haredi Orthodox Judaism. Titles that have had mainstream publishing success include books by Shulem Deen (“All Who Go Do Not Return”), Deborah Feldman (“Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”) and Leah… 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 »
