Sometimes a single quote, read at the right time, can send the reader off on a journey to learn more about its context and origins. This is what happened to Rabbi Naomi Levy, who read a profoundly moving letter from…
Book Review – The Deadly Scrolls – Ellen Frankel
Many Jews will no doubt be aware of Ellen Frankel through her influential The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah, published in 1996. In her latest book she uses her expertise to propel a foray into…
Under Jerusalem
In the mid-19th century, far from being the revered hub of three world religions and the site of pilgrimage and tourism that it is today, Jerusalem was, in author Andrew Lawler’s words, “a typical midsize Middle Eastern town of its…
Filled with Fire and Light
During his lifetime, Elie Wiesel published several collections of profiles featuring figures from the Bible, Talmud, and Hasidism. Filled with Fire and Light, edited by Alan Rosen, is a new book that contains nine more of these short but powerful essays.…
Judah’s Wife
This review was previously published in the December 2018 issue of Chai Notes. Although Hanukkah is one of the most popular Jewish holidays, many Jews only know the bare bones of the story of the Maccabean revolt, and the books…