Instead, Bruno notices his friend Julie and his younger sister Martha carrying a baby in a basket. Curious, he follows them rather than boarding the train. Earlier that morning, the baby had been left on the steps of the Belle Beach Library during the dedication of the new children’s library. [Cailin Acosta]
A mystery at Belle Beach Library Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Linda Moskovics is a retired former head librarian at the Benjamin branch of the San Diego City Library system. She has now written a children’s book, for ages 4-14, inveighing against “too much screen time [that] can quietly steal joy, focus, sleep, and connection. It can increase anxiety, harm social skills, impact brain development and crowd out important life experiences.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Children’s lives enriched by screen time alternatives Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, USA
Gideon Gadot (April 1, 1941 – September 21, 2012) was an Israeli journalist and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1984 and 1992. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Gideon Gadot Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, News Media, Today's Jewish Birthday
Rabbi Amnon Bazak’s second volume on the biblical book of Samuel is superb, far better than the many classical commentators he frequently mentions. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Bazak keeps to literal interpretation of Torah in II Samuel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Dr. Samuel’s very informative and readable book teaches us what kabbalah and mysticism are, their history, the people involved, the countries they were associated with, the influences and impact of these ideas on their lives and others’ lives, and the problems they posed. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
‘Kabbalah Demystified’: A primer about Jewish mysticism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
At the heart of Shyfrin’s project lies an informational ontology—the view that information, rather than matter or energy alone, constitutes the fundamental substrate of reality. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Kabbalah conforms with some modern scientific theories Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
In 1998, Perutz published a collection of essays about scientists and science titled I Wish I’d Made You Angry Earlier: Essays on Science, Scientists, and Humanity. Among these essays was the following: “Friend or Foe of Mankind?” (Fritz Haber, “a man’s fascination with poison gas”), where he attempted to decipher the “structure of the hemoglobin molecule” of world history through the example of Haber. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish biography: Max Ferdinand Perutz, molecular biologist Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Death is a certainty, and the emotional and spiritual thoughts that it precipitates agonize and often leave mourners disoriented and alone. Co-authors Batya L. Ludman and Gina Junger provide a compassionate guide to navigating grief through the lens of centuries of Jewish tradition. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Jewish journey through loss: From death to healing Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Our protagonist was a math nerd because unlike people, numbers don’t lie about who they are. A 3 is a 3, a 5 is a 5. And a 2? That’s where doubles come in. Lonely at the children’s farm, she felt like 1/2 a person — half at Valleyview, the other half back in her rightful home, living with her father, older sister Vicki, younger brother Hank, and grandma. That was 4 other people. It had been 5 before her mother died from breast cancer. [Donald H. Harrison]
What sets Weinstein’s work apart from standard references (ArtScroll’s dictionaries, the Jastrow Talmud lexicon, or even free online tools like Sefaria’s glossaries) is its deliberate accessibility and Orthodox integrity. Every entry was vetted through Torah-centric sources only—no secular etymology or Reform reinterpretations. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Review: A guide to Jewish religious vocabulary Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Golo Mann (March 27, 1909 – April 7, 1994) was a popular German historian and essayist. After completing a doctorate in philosophy under Karl Jaspers at Heidelberg, in 1933 he fled Hitler’s Germany. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Golo Mann Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Science, Medicine, & Education, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
New-Russia: Images from a Journey offers remarkable snapshots of the Soviet Union during a brief but revealing historical moment. The book captures the Soviet experiment as it was still taking shape. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Book Review: ‘New-Russia: Images from a Journey’ Read More »
Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Erica Jong (March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, satirist, and poet known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Erica Jong Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Science, Medicine, & Education, Today's Jewish Birthday, WikipediaThe Gavriel Tirosh Affair was written by Yitzhak Shalev (1919-1992) in 1964. Shalev was a novelist and poet. It is based on Shalev’s personal experiences as an adolescent in the 1930s. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Book Review: The Gavriel Tirosh affair Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.