JL;DR

"Sharansky's Exodus" is a memoir written by Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy, in which Sharansky recounts his personal journey from a Soviet refusenik to a leadi...

The first letter discusses the debunking of claims regarding the Zionism of the Vilna Gaon and his followers, while also mentioning early proponents of Zioni...

Esther in America, edited by Stuart W. Halpern, is an anthology that explores the wide-ranging influence of the story of Esther in American history and cultu...

This article discusses the commonly held belief that Jews were able to largely avoid the bubonic plague during the Black Death due to their cultural practice...

Nicole Krauss's new collection of stories, "To Be a Man," explores themes of identity, longing, and the complicated relationship between past and present. In...

In this text, the author reflects on their father's unpublished work on Uriel Birnbaum, a Jewish poet, painter, and thinker from Vienna who was overlooked in...

The author discusses Alexander Kaye's avoidance of using the term "halakhic state" when describing premodern Jewish regimes, only employing it to refer to pr...

In response to a review of his book, "The Invention of Jewish Theocracy," Alexander Kaye clarifies his argument that the idea of a halakhic state in Israel i...

The brivnshteler, or letter-writing manual, was a popular self-help book in Jewish communities in the early 20th century. These books provided Yiddish speake...

"When Heidi Met Shimen" is a book by Moshe Koppel that expands upon his blog, "Judaism Without Apologies," where he juxtaposes the lives and ideals of two Je...

The book "Objective Muddles and Persuasive Testimony" explores the relationship between analytic philosophy and Judaism. It argues that analytic philosophy's...

In "Miami Vices" by David Hopen, the novel follows 17-year-old Ari Eden as he navigates the world of a Modern Orthodox Jewish high school in Zion Hills, Flor...

"The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace" by Adi Schwartz and Einat Wilf is a book that challenge...

"The King of Warsaw" by Szczepan Twardoch is a crime novel set in interwar Poland that explores the underworld of Jewish gangsters in Warsaw. The protagonist...

Adam Sutcliffe's book, "What Are Jews For?", explores the question of the Jewish purpose throughout history. Sutcliffe discusses various explanations of the ...

In her memoir "At Home in America," Esther Safran Foer embarks on a journey to uncover her family's history, including her Holocaust-survivor father and her ...

In recent decades, a mythological counterhistory has emerged among contemporary religious Zionists in Israel, claiming that the true seeds of Zionism can be ...

"Emancipation Terminable and Interminable" by David Sorkin explores the history of Jewish emancipation from the 16th to the 20th century. The author challeng...

In this article, the author discusses the history of blood libel accusations against Jews and its connection to current conspiracy theories, such as the QAno...

This text discusses various topics in Jewish culture and scholarship. In the first section, there is a disagreement over the Jewish Review of Books publishin...

Winter Vigil is a memoir written by Steve Kogan that was published posthumously by his widow, Carol Rusoff. Kogan's manuscript received numerous rejections b...

"The Tunnel" by A.B. Yehoshua tells the story of Zvi Luria, a retired engineer in his seventies who is diagnosed with incipient dementia. As he grapples with...

In "A Moral Voice", Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks argues for the importance of the common good in a world dominated by individualism and identity politics. He em...

Honey on the Page is a new anthology of Yiddish children's literature edited and translated by Miriam Udel. It features lesser-known Yiddish stories and poem...

The article discusses Roald Dahl, a beloved children's author, and exposes his history of antisemitism, misogyny, and racism. Despite these revelations, his ...

David Fincher's film, Mank, explores the disputed authorship of the iconic movie Citizen Kane and tells the story of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. Mankiewi...

In "A Sharp Word," Brian J. Horowitz examines the political development of Vladimir Jabotinsky, a prominent Zionist leader, during his Russian years from 190...

Yemima Mizrachi, an influential religious teacher and speaker in Israel, explores the themes of joy, love, and desire in the context of Yom Kippur in her boo...

In her book "Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World," journalist Tara Isabella Burton explores the rise of bespoke religious identities in contempo...

In 1934, Senator William E. Borah accused Professor Horace M. Kallen of quoting a fake George Washington saying in support of internationalism. Kallen, an ar...

The article discusses the author's experience arranging a speaking tour for Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever in Canada in 1959. It highlights Sutzkever's life,...

This article discusses various retellings and interpretations of the biblical story of Jonah. It starts with a 1896 news story about a sailor who survived be...

"Our Lady in Tehran" is a compelling Israeli TV series set in Tehran, following the story of Tamar Rabinyan, an Israeli hacker and spy posing as an Iranian f...

Amos Oz's memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, was able to re-endeared him to readers around the world, despite its uneven literary texture and lack of struc...

The Coen Brothers, acclaimed filmmakers, are often seen as exploring various genres in their movies, but a closer look reveals that they are actually express...

"The Accusation: Blood Libel in an American Town" by Edward Berenson tells the story of the Massena blood libel, which occurred in 1928 in Massena, New York....

Barry Gewen's book "Tragedy and Power" explores the life and worldview of Henry Kissinger, a prominent figure in international relations. Gewen highlights Ki...

"The Lehman Trilogy" by Stefano Massini, translated by Richard Dixon, tells the story of the Lehman Brothers bank's collapse in 2008. Although the play and n...

The Fall 2020 issue of Letters from the Jewish Review of Books features a variety of reader responses to various articles. One reader comments on the artwork...

In "Take Your Son...", Aaron Koller discusses the story of the Binding of Isaac in Genesis 22. He explores various interpretations of the text, including mid...

In his book "Ireland and the Promised Land," Alexander Kaye explores the relationship between religion and the state in Israel. He argues that the idea of a ...

The article discusses the increasing concerns over China's investment and influence in Israel, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative. There are w...

In "Crazy Rich Sephardim" by Jonathan Kaufman, the author focuses on the interconnected stories of the Sassoon and Kadoorie families, two prominent Sephardic...

In "The Professor and the Con Man" by Ariel Sabar, the author unravels the story behind the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, a controversial fragment of papyrus that ...

This exchange of articles explores the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish response to COVID-19. Yehoshua Pfeffer's original article examines the haredi community...

In this article, the author responds to a previous critique of the Israeli haredi community's response to COVID-19. They agree with the criticism that haredi...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the failure of haredi leaders in Israel to understand the difference between rabbinic rulings and public policy. Despit...

"Camp Mountain Lake, 1977" is a collection of photographs taken by Andy Sweet, a young photographer who was tragically murdered in 1982. The book includes ph...

"The Law of the Baby" by Mara H. Benjamin is a philosophical exploration of the nature of obligation in Judaism, using the experience of motherhood as a lens...

"Mikhal Dekel's book, Tehran Children, tells the story of her father, Hannan, and his sister, who were part of a group of Polish refugee children who made th...