JL;DR

Chava Rosenfarb's trilogy, "The Tree of Life," offers a detailed and authentic portrayal of the destruction of the Jewish community in the Lodz Ghetto during...

This poem reflects on the legacy of Holocaust survivors, exploring themes of identity, faith, and intergenerational trauma. The speaker, a descendant of surv...

"Between My Father and the Old Fool: A Holocaust Memoir" by Maier Cahan, adapted by Yosef Neumark, delves into Cahan's personal Holocaust experiences and his...

Hyam Plutzik, a renowned but relatively unknown poet, is celebrated in "Apples from Shinar" which has been reissued for the centennial of his birth. Despite ...

Roman Vishniac, a versatile photographer, is the subject of the retrospective "Roman Vishniac Rediscovered" at the International Center of Photography. The e...

In a discussion of the intertwining of medicine and poetry in medieval times, various Jewish authors are highlighted for their poetic works relating to the h...

Robert Whitehill-Bashan responds to Hillel Halkin's review, pointing out Halkin's oversight of his Hebrew poetry work spanning several decades, despite being...

"Life After Baghdad: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew in Israel, 1950-2000" is a newly translated volume of memoirs by Sasson Somekh, an Iraqi-born Israeli scholar, co...

MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic explores Art Spiegelman's journey from creating humorous Wacky Packages and underground comics to his seminal graphi...

In "Movies and Monotheism," the discussion centers on the tradition of Jewish Hollywood novels, highlighting works like Leon Zolotkoff's "From Vilna to Holly...

"Poets of the Tribe" by Alan Mintz delves into the realm of 20th-century American Hebrew poetry, shedding light on forgotten poets like Benjamin Silkiner and...

"On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War" by Bernard Wasserstein delves into the rich cultural and social tapestry of Eastern European Jew...

Nelly Sachs, a Jewish poet who escaped the Third Reich and won the Nobel Prize for Literature, underwent a remarkable transformation in her work post-Holocau...

"Melisande! What Are Dreams?" by Hillel Halkin tells the story of a love triangle involving the narrator, Hoo, his wife Mellie, and their friend Ricky. The n...

In a series of letters published in the summer 2012 edition of a Jewish publication, the topic of discussion revolves around Leon Wieseltier's harsh critique...

Jorge Luis Borges, a renowned Argentinian writer, was accused of being Jewish in a fascist magazine in 1934. He responded wittily, reflecting on the possibil...

Micha Josef Berdyczewski, a former Orthodox Jew turned Hebrew writer, advocated for a departure from traditional Judaism to a more vital Hebrew identity, cal...

"The World Without You" by Joshua Henkin follows a family, the Frankels, as they gather for the memorial of their beloved son and brother Leo, who was killed...

Saadi Besalel a-Levi's memoir, "Singing Gentile Songs," offers a unique insight into 19th-century Salonica, shedding light on the lost Ottoman and Jewish wor...

The New American Haggadah, edited by Jonathan Safran Foer and translated by Nathan Englander, presents a discussion on the complexities of translating Jewish...

In the discourse from Letters, Spring 2012, the focus is on the placement of altars in Christian churches and bimahs in synagogues, particularly through the ...

Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport, also known as S. An-sky, a writer and ethnographer a century ago, embarked on an ambitious survey aimed at documenting vanishing Jew...

In Umberto Eco's novel "The Prague Cemetery," the character Peter Rachkovsky explains the origins and implications of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a ...

Norman Podhoretz, a Jewish intellectual and influential figure of neoconservatism, rose from a poor background in Brooklyn to become a leading literary criti...

Harold Bloom, a renowned literary critic, delves into the complexities of writing and influence, particularly through the lens of strong misreading in his wo...

"Life on Sandpaper" by Yoram Kaniuk is a fictional memoir detailing the author's time in 1950s bohemian New York, filled with encounters with famous figures ...

Harry Austryn Wolfson, a prominent Jewish scholar, delivered a sermon at Harvard in 1955 challenging prevailing theological notions and criticizing contempor...

In "A Curable Romantic" by Joseph Skibell, the novel delves into the life of Jakob Sammelsohn, an oculist in Vienna who encounters historical figures like Si...

Eliaz Cohen, an Israeli poet and Religious Zionist living in the West Bank, addresses the challenge faced by settler-artists in his work. His poems, focusing...

Vasily Grossman, a prominent Soviet writer, faced a tumultuous life shaped by Stalinism's repression, personal tragedies, and his dedication to depicting the...

Meir Shalev's book "Beginnings" delves into the Hebrew Bible with the aim of encouraging readers to rediscover the original text and make fresh personal disc...

Solomon Schechter's discovery of the Cairo Geniza in 1896, a collection of discarded Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic manuscripts from the Ben Ezra Synagogue, reveale...

The text discusses the challenges and intricacies of translating the works of Yiddish writer Chaim Grade, highlighting the need for knowledge of Yiddish, Eng...

Rabbi Nosson Scherman, an editor known for the ArtScroll Revolution, donated the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud to the Library of Congress, revolutioniz...

"Saul Bellow: Letters," edited by Benjamin Taylor, offers an intimate look into Bellow's life and career, detailing the challenges he faced in his writing jo...

The text discusses various perspectives on Franz Kafka and his works, challenging common perceptions and myths surrounding the author. It questions the idea ...

The text discusses a tradition where pregnant women would bite off the tip of the etrog after Sukkot in a symbolic act tied to childbirth pains, stemming fro...

David Grossman's novel "To The End of The Land" is a powerful exploration of love, loss, and family bonds set against the backdrop of military conflict in Is...

Lionel Trilling, a prominent Jewish intellectual, faced criticism for not depicting Jewish characters in his work, despite having Eastern European Jewish her...

The "Letters, Summer 2010" from the Jewish Review of Books features discussions on various topics. It includes praise for Dara Horn's article on Isaac Rosenf...

"The Cookbook Collector" by Goodman is a novel set during the late 1990s and early 2000s in California, intertwining themes of love, work, risk, and Jewish i...

The text delves into a critique of Holocaust fiction through examples from novels like Anya Ulinich's "The Nurse and the Novelist" and Yann Martel's "Beatric...

In the essay "No Jewish Narnias: A Reply," the author discusses the absence of deeply Jewish fantasy literature comparable to the Christian-influenced works ...

"The Prophet's Wife" is a review of Milton Steinberg's works, particularly focusing on his novel "As a Driven Leaf" and his unfinished manuscript "The Prophe...

Isaac Rosenfeld, a mid-century American Jewish intellectual known for his essays, novels, and cultural criticism, is explored in Steven Zipperstein's biograp...

The Jewish Review of Books aims to fill a gap in thoughtful and accessible Jewish criticism and commentary amid an abundance of Jewish publications. The maga...

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein's novel, "36 Arguments for the Existence of God," follows psychology professor Cass Seltzer, who gains fame for debunking 36 reas...

Michael Carasik has produced The Commentators' Bible series, focusing on Exodus and Leviticus, an ambitious project attempting to replicate the centuries-old...

The book "These Mountains: Selected Poems of Rivka Miriam" translated by Linda Zisquit showcases the disciplined and imagistic poetry of Rivka Miriam, a prod...

The autobiography of Rabbi Jacob Emden, a sage and heresy-hunter in the 18th century, is highlighted in this text. Translated by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, the...