Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Classic Hanukkah song imaginatively illustrated verse by verse

The first thing a reader notices is how much the author’s concept of Hanukkah resembles Christmas.  It’s as if hanukkiahs, dreidels, and Jewish stars hare replaced Santa Clauses, creches, and peppermint sticks as symbols of the winter holidays. (Donald H. Harrison)

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JCC presents ‘Jewish Poets of the Past’ in 19th annual ‘Jewish Poets – Jewish Voices’ programming

(The evening features) the poetry of the Yiddish writer, Malka Heifetz Tussman (1893-1987), and the lyrics of the Israeli song writer, Haim Hefer (1925-2012). [Eileen Wingard]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish birthday: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman (November 10, 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series The Sandman (1989–1996) and the novels Good Omens (1990), Stardust (1999), American Gods (2001), Coraline (2002), Anansi Boys (2005), The Graveyard Book (2008) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013). [Wikipedia]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

A professional physicist is an amateur Jewish historian

While writing my books, I decided that the patterns published by Toynbee were incorrect and that, apparently, it was necessary to look for new ones. As a physicist, I initially instinctively tried to find general laws governing historical events, but I did not find them and realized there was nothing to look for. [Alex Gordon]

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‘Zaidy’s Band’ starts as a family quest but concludes as a survey of Canadian Jewish servicemen’s WWII experiences

For journalist Aron Heller, the search for his grandfather’s World War II history began with a mystery within his own family. Mickey Heller, affectionately known as Zaidy, had served four years in the Royal Canadian Air Force, including two years as a navigator in Bomber Command in Europe. Yet despite his grandson’s curiosity, Mickey rarely spoke about his military service. (Cailin Acosta)

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Israel: A parliamentary democracy

Israel is a parliamentary democracy with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Its parliament, the Knesset, has 120 members elected through proportional representation. Voters choose parties rather than individual candidates, and seats are distributed according to each party’s share of the vote. (Cailin Acosta)

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Accept an invitation to a formal Shabbat dinner

A Shabbat dinner offers an opportunity to experience Jewish tradition, share a meal, and take a break from everyday busyness. (Cailin Acosta)

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Havis’ novel on Oct. 7th offers no definitive insights

Havis is attentive to the ways earlier political commitments become inadequate once concrete violence has occurred. Several characters discover that language they once used without much cost now requires defense or revision. The novel records these moments of discomfort—awkward family calls, a lecturer choosing silence, a podcaster recalibrating tone—but does not press very hard on what the discomfort produces. (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel0

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