JL;DR

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

Jay Michaelson's book, "The Heresy of Jacob Frank," challenges traditional portrayals of the 18th-century figure as an egomaniac and false messiah. Michaelso...

"An Unchosen People" by Kenneth B. Moss challenges the notion that interwar Poland was a golden age for Polish Jews. Through extensive research and analysis ...

Hilde Domin was a German poet who was born in Cologne in 1909 and returned to Germany in 1954 after over 22 years in exile. She became a national figure and ...

"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...

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...

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...

In the first letter, the writer discusses the importance of an outsider's perspective in Israeli politics and policy-making. They suggest that politicians ma...

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, ...

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...

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...

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 ...

This text is a discussion of Norman Mailer's life and career, focusing on his mayoral campaign and his transformation from a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn to...

"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...

The article discusses the problematic focus on "upstanders" in Holocaust education, which often overlooks the actual experiences of Jewish victims. It introd...

"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...

This article discusses the role of Jews in the American Revolution and the subsequent granting of political equality to Jews in the United States. It highlig...

Ilana Pardes' book, "Ruth: A Migrant's Tale," explores the biblical story of Ruth and its various interpretations throughout history. The book tells the stor...

In "Walking Upright" by Daniel Gordis, the author explores the successes and failures of Zionism and the State of Israel in relation to the aspirations of Is...

"Satmar, American-Style" discusses two books that challenge common perceptions of the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn. "A Fortress in Brooklyn" argues t...

As Israel approaches its seventy-fifth birthday, the traditional celebrations and nostalgic commemorations will focus mainly on local actors and events. Howe...

This photo essay by Agnieszka Traczewska documents the presence and revival of Hasidic Jewish life in Poland. Traczewska, a non-Jewish Polish photographer, h...

In this article, the author recounts their experience of attempting to walk around the Dead Sea, starting from the Jordanian side and intending to finish on ...

"When Canines Were in the Land" is a book edited by Susan Martha Kahn that tells the story of Rudolphina Menzel, a scientist and Zionist who played a signifi...

The author discusses the significance of Israel's Declaration of Independence in contemporary Israeli society. The Declaration is often displayed on banners ...

In Peter Cole's book "Draw Me After," the poet explores the meaning of Jewishness in relation to art, specifically drawing. The book features nine drawings b...

J.H. Chajes' book, "The Kabbalistic Tree," reveals the existence of a genre of Jewish visualizations of God called ilanot, which are combinations of images a...

In the 1520s, a black man named David Reubeni appeared in North Africa claiming to be the son of King Solomon and the brother of King Joseph, who ruled a Jew...

The diaries of Franz Kafka, translated by Ross Benjamin, provide insight into Kafka's life and writing process. Kafka's close friend and literary executor, M...

The letters in this issue touch on various topics related to Jewish concerns. In response to Hillel Halkin's assertion that Israel is sleepwalking towards a ...

"Coming of Age in the Sephardi Diaspora" explores the scarcity of Sephardi coming-of-age stories compared to Ashkenazi literature and highlights some notable...

In "Bookstore or Beis Medresh," the author reflects on the value of browsing in bookstores and the unique experience they offer. The author shares personal a...

In "Rub Salt into Love," Israeli poet Almog Behar explores the intertwining of Hebrew and Arabic in his family history and writing. The collection reflects h...

This article discusses the complex relationship between Sigmund Freud and his Jewish identity. Freud himself did not want to be seen as a Jewish thinker, as ...

The author explores the significance of the storytelling aspect of the Passover Seder and its role in the creation of the Jewish nation. The Exodus story, as...

The practice of reading the Song of Songs on Shabbat Chol Hamoed, the Sabbath during the intermediate days of Passover, is unique to Ashkenazi synagogues. Th...

The article is an exchange between Allan Arkush and Eric Alterman regarding Alterman's book, "We Are Not One: A History of America's Fight Over Israel." Arku...

This text is a response to Eric Alterman's book "We Are Not One" by an unnamed author. The responder criticizes Alterman's approach to history, arguing that ...

In this article, the author criticizes a review of his book by Allan Arkush, a chief at the pro-Israel thought police. He argues that Arkush's attack is inep...

The Jewish Review of Books has compiled three humorous reviews for Purim. The first review rates various famous "Brooks," including Mel Brooks and Brooks Bro...

Koren Publishers has released a graphic novel adaptation of the Book of Esther, called "The Koren Tanakh Graphic Novel Esther." The novel is aimed at a young...

The article is a response to critics of the author's previous article, in which he expressed pessimism about the future of Israel. The author clarifies that ...

In this response to Hillel Halkin's concerns about the recent Israeli elections and their consequences, the author disagrees with Halkin's deep pessimism. Th...

The author argues that despite disagreements, democracy is still thriving in Israel and the voters who supported the current government had various reasons f...

The author reflects on their disappointment and fear after losing Israeli elections and discusses various ways they have tried to manage it, including visiti...

The author begins by agreeing with Hillel Halkin's portrayal of the current cultural and political situation in Israel, which is marked by despair and uncert...

The article discusses how Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets point guard, has faced criticism for his endorsement of a conspiracy theory that claims present-day...