Jewish Fiction

Jewish Fiction: The Education of Boris Mikhailovich Borisov

Boris Mikhailovich Borisov loved the Soviet power. It lifted him up from the bottom of society and equalized him with its many multinational subjects in rights and lack thereof. Boris Mikhailovich could not pray, but he often and almost prayerfully thanked the dear power for the good life. To succeed, he joined the Communist party, received a law degree, and began seeing a speech therapist to correct his embarrassing Yiddish pronunciation. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, International, Israel, Jewish Fiction, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

German-Czech Future Fund supports Kafka anniversary projects

Published by DPA International To mark the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death, the German-Czech Future Fund is supporting cross-border projects that deal with the life and work of the German-Jewish writer. Interested parties from Germany and the Czech Republic can apply for funding until the end of this month, a spokeswoman said in Prague

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Nordot

Treachery, Sex, Sportsmanship Dominate Novel about 1936 Olympic Games

Hitler sought a propaganda victory for his Nazified country with the Olympic Games supposed to be the setting for a demonstration of “Aryan” superiority. Brundage, blinded by his own lust for prominence, became Hitler’s stooge, so desperate was he to rise to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Three Intriguing Stories Lead to One in ‘The Boy with the Star Tattoo’

The highly readable novel juxtaposes three stories: 1) love and survival in Vichy France;  2) Jewish efforts shortly after World War II to find European Jewish orphans who could be brought to Eretz Israel; and 3) the drama of Israel “stealing” its own ships from under the eyes of the French. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Book Teaches Children about Trying New Foods, Diversity

In this Australian-based story, when the Jewish community has a cholent competition, onlookers and most other competitors are surprised when Amira, whose Jewish roots are in Iraq, stuffs a chicken with such ingredients as garlic, ginger, onion, paprika, baharat, cinnamon,  and rice.  She cooked the stuffed chicken inside a mixture of sauteed tomatoes and cardamon, hard-boiling eggs on the side. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Children’s Book Offers Myth of an Earlier Garden of Eden

It posits that before it was relocated to Earth, the Garden of Eden—with a man and a woman, the snake, and its fruits and vegetables—all existed on an unnamed planet.  There, the fruits each laid claim to being the best.  The apple boasted it was the “hardiest”; the pomegranate, the “biggest”; the grape, the “sweetest”; the fig, “the yummiest” and the citron (lemon) because it could make any of them taste better with just one drop. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors

OpEd: Imagined Voices and Motivations of Middle East Actors

Are we on the brink of plunging into a spiral of violence, potentially dragging the rest of the world into the horrors of World War III? Or will we strive to restore calm, seeking to cultivate a world marked by peace and prosperity for all its inhabitants?  What will be the answer? [Jose Galicot]

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International, Israel, Jewish Fiction, Jose Galicot, Middle East, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Fiction: Another American Passover

The haroset is a mixture of fruit, especially those things with laxative qualities such as prunes, nuts and wine. It is very sweet and quite enjoyable. Is this really what the Rabbis intended to convey? The sandwich of Matzah, bitter herbs and cement is actually a tasty appetizer. Let me get this straight, the symbols of slavery are tasty? [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Love Competes with Jealousy in YA ‘Summer Nights and Meteorites’

There are passing mentions of b’nai mitzvah, Shabbat, and studying Hebrew but these are not essential to the plot, and I wonder sometimes whether such Jewish content is there simply to be placed on Jewish reading lists.  You won’t learn anything about Judaism or Jewish culture, but interesting information abounds about the space and the sea. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘Redwood’ Dramatizes Jewish Concept of ‘Lo tash’chit’

Prior to Jesse climbing the tree, Becca is trying to get her to leave and suddenly says “Lo tash’chit!” At this point my mind said “Wow, that sounded like Hebrew, but no it couldn’t have been.” But in fact it is.  Becca goes on to explain that it’s a Jewish concept of taking care of the trees as well as you take care of yourself. She’s bageling Jesse, assuming that Jesse is Jewish. [Sandi Masori]

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Jewish Fiction, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast