Jewish Review of Books
“The Secret of Our Army’s Endurance”
23 Jan 2024
In a 1964 interview, S.Y. Agnon, a renowned Jewish author, reflected on the significance of a Jewish army defending the State of Israel. Agnon expressed conc...
23 Jan 2024
Jewish Review of Books
Reprise of the Repressed
23 Jan 2024
"Reprise of the Repressed" discusses two musicals, "Harmony" and "I Can Get It for You Wholesale," and their themes of Jewish trauma and guilt. "Harmony" tel...
23 Jan 2024
Jewish Review of Books
Of “Good Jews” and Bad Binaries
23 Jan 2024
The author reflects on a situation where his daughter's classmate accused her of glorifying colonialism because of her paintings inspired by her wife's child...
23 Jan 2024
Jewish Review of Books
Tamar, Helen, and Love’s Ambition
22 Jan 2024
The article discusses the character of Tamar in the Bible and Thomas Mann's interpretation of her in his book Joseph and His Brothers. Tamar plays a signific...
22 Jan 2024
Jewish Review of Books
Tools of Hope: Finding Guidance from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef
9 Jan 2024
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef discusses the question of whether it is permissible to pay a higher ransom for Jewish hostages in cases where their lives are in immediat...
9 Jan 2024
Jewish Review of Books
Ruby Sees Red
28 Dec 2023
Israeli American novelist Ruby Namdar discusses the novelistic plight of American Jewry and Israeli Jewry in the aftermath of October 7. Namdar reflects on t...
28 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Letter from Neukölln, Berlin
10 Dec 2023
The authors, a couple of Modern Orthodox-trained rabbis from New York, moved to the Neuklln neighborhood in Berlin, known for its large Arab and Turkish immi...
10 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Unfinished Rock
7 Dec 2023
The article discusses the well-known Hanukkah song "Maoz Tzur" and its final stanza. It explores the history and possible controversy surrounding the inclusi...
7 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Tamar, Helen, and Love’s Ambition
7 Dec 2023
In this article, the author explores the character of Tamar in the biblical story of Genesis. Tamar is the mother of Perez and therefore the ancestor of Davi...
7 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Finding Gold
1 Dec 2023
Herbert Gold, a prolific and versatile author who recently passed away at the age of ninety-nine, was known for his diverse range of writing including essays...
1 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Halakhot of Hostages: Part III
1 Dec 2023
In this article, the author discusses Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's views on the exchange of imprisoned terrorists for hostages, focusing on the concept of pidyon she...
1 Dec 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Letters, Spring 2013
30 Nov 2023
This text is a collection of letters and responses related to two different topics. The first topic is a disagreement between Shlomo Avineri and Henry Kissin...
30 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Halakhot of Hostages: Part II
21 Nov 2023
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef explores the question of whether it is permissible to exchange hostages for imprisoned terrorists. He examines the duty to save another pe...
21 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Wars and Peace: Memoirs of a Conflict
17 Nov 2023
The author reflects on their experiences and perspective regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict. They discuss their interaction with a Palestinian classma...
17 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Sisters of Iron and Coders in Black Hats: Haredi Integration and the War Against Hamas
17 Nov 2023
The article discusses the increasing integration of the Haredi community into Israeli civic culture following the Hamas massacre. It highlights two examples:...
17 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
What Goes Into Survival: A Report from the Washington Rally
17 Nov 2023
The article discusses the experience of attending the March for Israel rally in Washington DC. The author describes the mood of the rally as a mix of pride, ...
17 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Then and Now: Two Wars
7 Nov 2023
This article discusses the contrasting experiences of two wars: the Yom Kippur War in Israel in 1973 and World War I. The author reflects on the dedication o...
7 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Halakhot of Hostages: Part I
3 Nov 2023
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a prominent halakhic thinker, addressed the question of whether Israel should release terrorists in exchange for hostages. In his respons...
3 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Welcome to the New Campus Normal: A Dispatch from Ohio State
2 Nov 2023
This article describes the experiences of Jewish students at Ohio State University following a series of anti-Semitic incidents. The author, a Jewish profess...
2 Nov 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Kibbutz Be’eri, Chaos, and Creation
19 Oct 2023
The author describes visiting Kibbutz Beeri, near Gaza, after it was attacked by Hamas. The kibbutz, which was once a thriving community, now lies in ruins. ...
19 Oct 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Pogroms, Politics, and the Association for Jewish Studies
16 Oct 2023
The author expresses disappointment with the statement released by the Association of Jewish Studies (AJS) following the recent violence in Israel. The state...
16 Oct 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Not Rain
16 Oct 2023
The author recounts their experience on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday marking the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle, which coincided with the ou...
16 Oct 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Letters, Fall 2023
26 Sep 2023
In a series of letters, there are discussions and responses to various topics in Jewish literature. Paul Goldberg defends his novel, The Dissident, against a...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
After the Fall
26 Sep 2023
The author reflects on the current state of Israel, describing the ongoing anti-government demonstrations and the disarray within the country's air force due...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
You Say You Want a Revelation
26 Sep 2023
The book "The Revelation at Sinai: What Does Torah from Heaven Mean?" edited by Yoram Hazony, Gil Student, and Alex Sztuden explores the tension between trad...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Fruit of the Fall
26 Sep 2023
In this book, author Azzan Yadin-Israel explores the question of why apples are commonly associated with the forbidden fruit in the story of the Fall of Man....
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Mysterious Mishnah
26 Sep 2023
The Mishnah, an important Jewish text, is shrouded in mystery regarding its origins and purpose. Some believe it was written by Moses, while others attribute...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
The Adjectival Liberal and The Kingship of God
26 Sep 2023
In his book "The Adjectival Liberal and The Kingship of God," Michael Walzer proposes defending liberalism not as an overarching ideology, but as a way of be...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Kidnapped!
26 Sep 2023
In the book "Kidnapped!" by Motti Inbari, the author explores the story of Ruth Ben David, a French convert to Judaism, who was involved in the kidnapping of...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Ruthless Cosmopolitans
26 Sep 2023
"Maestros & Monsters" is a memoir by Robert Boyers that explores his relationships with two Jewish intellectuals, Susan Sontag and George Steiner. Boyers adm...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Blessing and Rebuke
26 Sep 2023
This text discusses the poetry of Paul Celan, a Holocaust survivor and German-language poet. Celan's most famous poem, "Deathfugue," depicts the Nazis' forci...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Memory and Terror
26 Sep 2023
"My Hijacking" by Martha Hodes is a personal account of the author's experience being held hostage on a hijacked plane by the Popular Front for the Liberatio...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Intrigues and Tzuris
26 Sep 2023
Rough Diamonds is a Belgian crime drama available on Netflix that revolves around the affairs of a wealthy Hasidic diamond-trading family, the Wolfsons. The ...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
My Path in Jewish Studies: Memoirs of a Counter-Historian
26 Sep 2023
The author reflects on his journey in Jewish studies, starting with an interview with Gershom Scholem, who emphasized the need to breathe new life into the f...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
The Integralists and Us
26 Sep 2023
The article discusses the rise of a group of Catholic intellectuals known as integralists, who advocate for a form of illiberal legalism that prioritizes the...
26 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Dateline Zion
20 Sep 2023
During World War II, the rabbis of Jerusalem received a urgent telegram from Kobe, Japan, asking which day Jews should fast on Yom Kippur. The question arose...
20 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
“I am an Object Loved by God”: Rereading Clarice Lispector
20 Sep 2023
Clarice Lispector, a renowned Brazilian writer, was fired from her job as a columnist shortly after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, which led to a purge ...
20 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Akedat Hannah
12 Sep 2023
The text discusses the story of Akedat Hannah, the sacrifice of Hannah and her son Samuel, and its connection to the binding of Isaac and other instances of ...
12 Sep 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Indiana Jones and the Meme-ification of Nazis
3 Aug 2023
In "Indiana Jones and the Meme-ification of Nazis," the author discusses the decline in the quality of Nazis as villains in the fifth installment of the Indi...
3 Aug 2023
Jewish Review of Books
From Place to Place in Search of a Place: Reading Agnon in Berlin
10 Jul 2023
"To This Day" is a novel by Shmuel Yosef Agnon set in wartime Berlin. The protagonist, Shmuel Yosef, is a drifting narrator in search of a place to live in a...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Problems with Authority
10 Jul 2023
In Paul Goldberg's novel "The Dissident," set in 1970s Moscow, a couple falls in love and gets married amidst a backdrop of a groundbreaking human rights org...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Those Days Are Gone Forever
10 Jul 2023
"The Jews of Summer" by Sandra Fox explores the history and significance of Jewish summer camps in postwar Jewish culture. The book highlights how these camp...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Early Modern Blasphemy and Postmodern Virtue
10 Jul 2023
Jay Michaelson's book, "The Heresy of Jacob Frank," challenges traditional portrayals of the 18th-century figure as an egomaniac and false messiah. Michaelso...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
As American as Augie March
10 Jul 2023
Maya Arad's novel "Shanim tovot" is a collection of annual Jewish New Years letters written by Leah Zuckerman over five decades, chronicling her life in Amer...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Strange, I’ve Seen that Face Before
10 Jul 2023
The author discusses their work on personal letters from the Cairo Geniza, focusing on the daily life of Andalusian Jews. While reviewing a geniza fragment, ...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Nobody’s Fool
10 Jul 2023
"Nobody's Fool" is a bilingual edition of Isaac Bashevis Singer's signature short story, Gimpel the Fool, featuring Singer's original Yiddish text, Saul Bell...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
From Turban to Top Hat
10 Jul 2023
The Jewish Museum in New York is currently hosting an exhibition called "The Sassoons," which explores the lives and legacy of the Sassoon family, a wealthy ...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Come Here to Me, You Fortunate Citizen of the World
10 Jul 2023
The article discusses the problematic focus on "upstanders" in Holocaust education, which often overlooks the actual experiences of Jewish victims. It introd...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
It’s the End of the World as We Know It
10 Jul 2023
In "Judaism in a Digital Age" by Rabbi Danny Schiff, the author explores why Reform and Conservative Judaism are in decline. He argues that these movements w...
10 Jul 2023
Jewish Review of Books
Solidarity and Democracy
10 Jul 2023
The lack of a constitution in the Israeli political system has been a subject of debate. Nir Kedar, an Israeli law professor, argues that David Ben-Gurion, t...
10 Jul 2023