We had a small bundle of papers on the table, a job application seven pages long and a thirteen-page job description certification. Applying for a job as a tollbooth operator for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority was more complicated than we had at first thought. [Jerry Klinger]
Fiction: Mendel the Chasid applies for a tollbooth job Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jerry Klinger, Jewish Fiction
Call me Orca. I’ve got a whale of a story to tell. You know the story of Jonah and the whale, right? Wrong. You only think you do: A big, ugly whale swallows Jonah, who spends days in the whale’s belly, before God releases Jonah from captivity and the whale exits, stage right. [Fiction by Michael Ginsberg]
Fiction: Jonah and Me, the Whale Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Michael GinsbergI had stopped off for a Mocha Java Grande with extra mocha and cinnamon. To be sure to stick to my diet, I threw in two Nutra-sweets. He was sipping a glass of water from a plastic cup at a corner table. Sweat visibly thickened through his white, long-sleeve shirt buttoned at the collar. He had a long black coat, a bit dirty and frayed at the hem, that touched the floor. His oversized black-felt hat, with the extra-large, firm brim, lay on the table. His full grey-flecked beard wiggled whenever his hand nervously readjusted his black yarmulke. Mendel’s large gentle eyes cried his tired confusion. He was out of his element. It was 82 degrees outside, very bright and humid. [Jerry Klinger]
Fiction: Mendel the Chasid Moves to Boynton Beach Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jerry Klinger, Jewish Fiction
In my continuing quest to learn the stories of other peoples – in what you might call independent ethnic studies for a Jewish septuagenarian—I picked up Reclaiming Our Stories 2 and was intrigued by one of the fellows pictured on the cover. He was wearing a shirt with the slogan, “Peace for Palestine.” I wondered what kind of peace he had in mind. [Donald H. Harrison]
Anthology personalizes racism, oppression, loss Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County
Laurie Baron, Ph.D, rounds up streaming programs of Jewish interest for scholars and lay people, from Sunday, Sept. 6 through Friday, Sept. 11
Streaming Jewish Programs (Sept. 6-11) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA
Rosh Hashanah and Yon Kippur are almost here. This year’s celebration will definitely be different from those of past years. There will be services to be watched from the safety of our homes, both for adults and for kids. But how will children be involved by watching without interacting? PJ Library has come up with the perfect solution. They have assembled a fifty-page packet of information, crafts, recipes and conversation starters to engage children of all ages and encourage interaction between all family members. [Marcia Berneger]
A High Holy Day guide for children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger
Moses Crossy
Also Bossy
We don’t Likey
This long Hikey
Sun is Bakey
Feet are achey … [ Norma Levinson-Sedler ]
The aftermath of The Ten Plagues Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & Satire
The concerts take place on the stage of the new concert hall in Tel Aviv. I am pleased to report that in the first two concerts, the musicians were socially distanced, although they were not wearing masks. Of course, that would have been impossible for the clarinetist in the first concert, which featured Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. [Eileen Wingard]
IPO’s music is together, but players are socially distant Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
I commend Morelli for her courage in choosing to work with four point-of-view characters, and I can’t think of any way she could have removed any of them and still told such a sweeping story, but the book suffers, in my estimation, from the intricacies inherent in such an approach. Chapters range from two to around ten pages, meaning that often within a few minutes reading time we are bounced from one character to another, and from the fifteenth to the twentieth century and back again. One never has the chance to settle in, to feel involved with the characters, to develop a strong sense of caring, before one is off again someplace else. [Laurel Corona]
‘The Night Portrait’: Another nice book to read Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
This history of one Holocaust family’s experiences, together with a book by Julie Gray that I reviewed yesterday — The True Adventures of Gidon Levin in which Gray traveled with Lev to the major venues in his life, — leave me with a hopeful sense that we are moving into a new era of Holocaust research and scholarship. I’m hopeful because I’ve often heard Holocaust survivors ask plaintively, “When we’re gone, who will tell our stories?” The answer is that an entirely new generation of journalists, descendants, and academics will probe the history of the mass murder of six million Jews, unearthing untold stories and bringing to them fresh new perspectives. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]
A new generation of writers tackles the Holocaust Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History
Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev had written a memoir but he needed an editor. Julie Gray, who had recently made Aliyah to Israel, had a background as a writer for magazines and periodicals. Even though Lev had children older than Gray, their relationship became more than a work match; the two would travel together, become lovers and lifelong companions, and produce a joint memoir that was both an exploration of Lev’s experiences and Gray’s reaction to them. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]
Memoir of a Holocaust survivor, Kibbutznik, lover Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
We stayed overnight at the upscale Hotel Orion in the community of Piggs Peak. After checking in, and dinner at the hotel restaurant, we strolled into the lobby. Sitting on the floor in an alcove was a young man with several nicely wood carved figures of animals. Curious I picked up and examined a few of them. Pasted on the bottom were tags showing how many hours it had taken him to carve each piece. A small simple elephant caught my eye. It had taken 32 hours to carve. I remarked how lovely I thought the piece was, but asked if he was aware of the small inexpensive hand held Dremel electric Motor tool which I had used for years in my carving, sanding and polishing work? He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an old Dremel catalogue and replied,”yes I am, but they are not available in my country and I can’t afford to buy one.” Impulsively I said, “I will send you one when I get back home.” What’s your name and address? And that’s how I became introduced to Pius Mthupha of Piggs Peak, Swaziland. [Ira Spector]
Person-to-person diplomacy in Swaziland Read More »
International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Travel and Food, USA
This morning, I woke to the sad news that actor Chadwick Boseman had passed from this world after a four-year battle with colon cancer at the age of 43. Boseman had the honor to play some amazing icons of African-American history including Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get On Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). But he is best known as the Marvel Universe superhero, Black Panther, appearing first in Avengers movies and then in his own feature film in 2018. [Eric George Tauber]
King T’Challa and King David Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & BroadcastLaurie Baron, Ph.D., has combed through Internet listings for programs of direct Jewish interest from Sunday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 3.
Streaming Jewish programs, Aug. 30-Sept. 3 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast