Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices to Showcase Students From San Diego and Portland

By Eileen Wingard   LA JOLLA, California — Once again, the Student Showcase of Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices will take place online. This allows for student poets, not only from San Diego but from the Middle School of the Portland Jewish Academy, to also participate. This year’s Student Showcase will take place Tuesday evening, March 14, […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Jewish Knowledge Book Provides Broad Introduction to Judaism

This work seems comprehensive, yet it is introductory.  It covers five important aspects of Judaism – its history, its teaching, its practices, its calendar, and its lifecycles – and yet no single volume could teach all there is to teach about any one of these aspects, much less all of them. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

‘My Own Directions’ Speaks to the Triumph of Taking a Leap of Faith

“My Own Directions,” by Sheldon Epps; McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2022. ISBN 978-1-1-4766-8858-9; 183 pages. By Eva Trieger   SAN DIEGO — Artistic director, actor, and author, Sheldon Epps, has become a leader in the theater world, renowned for his work on both coasts of America and across the pond in London. Most recently,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

The Raw, Harrowing Facts on the Holocaust in France

“La Rafle des Notables” (The Deportation of Prominent Jews), by Anne Sinclair, published by Bernard Grasset, Paris, 2017. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Anne Sinclair, noted French writer and journalist, has written extensively about the Holocaust and how it affected her family. In this book she focuses on the arrest and deportation to

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International

Two Mysteries for Price of One in ‘Trouble’

Hella Mauzer is a fictional former policewoman in Helsinki, who now works as a private investigator.  She is asked by her old colleagues to do a background check on a man who is under consideration to head the homicide bureau.  She agrees upon the condition that she might also review the records from 1942 in which members of her own family were killed by a hit and run truck driver. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

A Fascinating Book on the Lessons Derived from Architecture in the Bible

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin   BOCA RATON, Florida — Urim Publications published “ArchitecTorah, Architectural Ideas in Judaism and the Weekly Torah Portion” by Joshua Skarf in 2023. It contains 178 short, informative, easy-to-read essays on the 54 weekly portions focusing on Torah topics that reveal hidden information about God and architecture design and theory

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Responding to Loved Ones Who Are Thinking of Suicide

Freedenthal says that most people who have suicidal thoughts are not in immediate danger of attempting to kill themselves.  Most are giving serious consideration to the idea but have not gotten to the point where they want to actuate their thoughts.  They are still debating with themselves, and that’s when a supportive friend, family member or partner can help them navigate toward making a life-saving choice. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education

Digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade, Inna Hecker Grade Now Publicly Available

NEW YORK (Press Release) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the National Library of Israel (NLI) are delighted to announce the completion of the digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade. Making this collection available online will enrich the lives of lovers of Jewish and Yiddish literature throughout the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, USA

Many Jews Receive Mentions in Brief History of 17 US Presidents

Ronald Gruner, who spent his working career as a CEO of three different tech companies (Alliant Computer; Shareholder.com; and Sky.Analytics), is a lay historian deeply interested in economic policy and outcomes.  His book, analyzing the presidencies of the 17 U.S. Presidents from Warren G. Harding to Donald J. Trump, focuses largely on issues like unemployment, interest rates, and inflation.  But along the way he also makes mention of significant geopolitical events that occurred during those presidencies. I will leave it to economists to determine the value of Gruner’s economic analyses.  They are beyond my depth.  What I did take notice of was how often our fellow Jews, and issues of direct relevance to the Jewish community, cropped up in the book.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

‘A God of Our Invention’ Shines Light on Contemporary Political-Religious Agendas

Daniel Kohanski, A God of Our Invention, How Religion Shaped the Western World (Hannacroix, NY: Apocryphile Press, 2023) 285 pages, $26.00 By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — Daniel Kohanski graduated from Colgate with a degree in philosophy and received an MS in computer science from Rutgers. He spent many years as a computer programmer

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak, USA

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Uses New Book to Build Bridges

(Press Release) To begin the new year of 2023, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan gifted copies of the recently published Book of Jewish Knowledge to all ambassadors at the United Nations. In a body where Israel regularly faces negative headwinds, Erdan aimed to utilize the Book of Jewish Knowledge’s concise exploration of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel

Wolf(e) Foiled Again in Little Red Riding Hood Parody for Purim

Purim arrives this year the evening of Monday, March 6, and concludes on Tuesday, March 7.   To get your children or grandchildren ready for the fun holiday, you could enjoy reading with them this parody on Little Red Riding Hood, wherein Lily whizzes on a skateboard toward grandma’s condo in Florida.  Lily has hamantaschen loaded into her backpack.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & Satire