Jewish Review of Books
When Everything Matters
16 Mar 2020
"The Plot Against America," a television series based on Philip Roth's novel, explores a counterfactual history where Charles Lindbergh, a Nazi sympathizer, ...
16 Mar 2020
Jewish Review of Books
Suspecting Esther
5 Mar 2020
In Seymour Epstein's "Suspecting Esther," he presents a provocative interpretation of the Book of Esther, suggesting that it serves as a critique of Jewish l...
5 Mar 2020
Jewish Review of Books
Haman, Builder of Towers, Brother of Abraham?
5 Mar 2020
In "Haman, Builder of Towers, Brother of Abraham?" by Adam J. Silverstein, the author explores the various interpretations of the Esther story in Islamic cou...
5 Mar 2020
Jewish Review of Books
Empty Torah Cases and “Little Purims”
5 Mar 2020
The article discusses the tradition of "Little Purims" within Jewish communities, which are local festivals commemorating miraculous events similar to Purim....
5 Mar 2020
Jewish Review of Books
The Inheritance of Jacob: A Rejoinder
7 Feb 2020
Abraham Socher engages in a thoughtful debate with Tal Keinan regarding the conservation and transmission of Judaism, critiquing Keinan's "crowdsourcing" app...
7 Feb 2020
Jewish Review of Books
Stemming the Yuletide
24 Dec 2019
"Hanukkah+" is a new album inspired by Yo La Tengo's annual Hanukkah concert series. The album features a mix of original songs and covers, aiming to provide...
24 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Pancho Villa and the Star of David Men
17 Dec 2019
In her book, Jessica Cooperman explores the role of American Jews during World War I, focusing on the involvement of Jewish soldiers in the Punitive Expediti...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
A Life of Dialogue
17 Dec 2019
Paul Mendes-Flohr's biography of Martin Buber, the first in English in over 30 years, delves into the philosopher's life and thought, contextualizing his wri...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Overturned Tables
17 Dec 2019
In "Overturned Tables," Paula Fredriksen explores the Jewishness of Jesus and early Christianity, challenging the historical view of supersessionism that Chr...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Law, Lore, and Theory
17 Dec 2019
Chaim N. Saiman's book explores the multifaceted nature of halakhah, Jewish law, arguing that it exists on a spectrum between a system of rules governing beh...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Wink-Wink, Win-Win?
17 Dec 2019
In Michal Kravel-Tovi's book on state-sponsored religious conversions in Israel, the conversion crisis is explored, dating back to the 1950s when the issue o...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Not So Innocent Abroad
17 Dec 2019
The exhibit "Mark Twain and the Holy Land" at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library celebrates the 150th anniversary of Mark Twain's travelogue ...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Remembering the Plutocrat and the Diplomat
17 Dec 2019
The James Simon Galerie in Berlin, built as an adjunct to the city's grand museums, commemorates James Simon, a Jewish philanthropist integral to bringing cu...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Israel’s Sea Change
17 Dec 2019
"Zionism's Maritime Revolution" by Kobi Cohen-Hattab discusses the historical significance of Jewish maritime endeavors in the years leading up to Israel's e...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Fix Was In
17 Dec 2019
In "The City Game," author Matthew Goodman explores the remarkable story of the City College of New York Beavers basketball team's triumph in the 1950 NIT ch...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Nothing but Blue Skies
17 Dec 2019
"Nothing but Blue Skies" by James Kaplan delves into the life and impact of Irving Berlin, an influential Jewish composer and lyricist, highlighting his unpa...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Letters, Winter 2020
17 Dec 2019
The discussion in the Winter 2020 Letters involves different perspectives on the current state and potential future of American Judaism. There are views on t...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Remembering Harold Bloom
17 Dec 2019
Harold Bloom, a renowned literary critic, had a profound impact on his students with his intense engagement with poetry and prose, urging them to be transpor...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Exit, Loyalty … Crowdsource?
17 Dec 2019
"God Is in the Crowd" by Tal Keinan delves into the complex issues facing Jewish communities today, touching on topics like the decline of American Jewry due...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Tradition and Invention
17 Dec 2019
"The text 'Tradition and Invention' explores how Jews, for much of their history, were perceived as lacking a political life due to their exile and subordina...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
“He Called Me Jim”
17 Dec 2019
The text discusses the life and work of James Atlas, a literary biographer who delves into his experiences writing biographies of famous figures like Saul Be...
17 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
History of Mel Brooks: Both Parts
12 Dec 2019
In "Funny Man" by Patrick McGilligan, the biography of Mel Brooks unfolds, shedding light on the comedy icon's journey from his early days as the exuberant C...
12 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Warning Song and the Medlars: Two Stories
12 Dec 2019
The text discusses the life and writing of Glikl bas Judah Leib, a 17th-century Yiddish writer known for her unique memoirs. Glikl refrained from giving her ...
12 Dec 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Punctuality, Mendelssohn, and Nihilism: Remembering Alexander Altmann
20 Nov 2019
The reminiscence of the Mendelssohn scholar Alexander Altmann reflects on his punctuality and devotion to studying Moses Mendelssohn's works, notably "Jerusa...
20 Nov 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Hasidic Renewal on the Brink of Destruction
1 Nov 2019
Kalonymus Kalman Shapira and Hillel Zeitlin, two prominent figures in interwar Warsaw's Hasidic world, had significant impacts on the Hasidic community befor...
1 Nov 2019
Jewish Review of Books
A Different Kind of Hero
1 Nov 2019
The story of Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Jewish boy who assassinated a German diplomat in 1938, not only sparked Kristallnacht but also outlined the de...
1 Nov 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Ubiquitous Gabirol
2 Oct 2019
Shmuel Yosef Agnon's work "The Ubiquitous Gabirol" delves into the story of a mystical encounter with the medieval poet Solomon ibn Gabirol, where Agnon weav...
2 Oct 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Scholem!: From Berlin to Jerusalem to My House
25 Sep 2019
The text recounts a personal interaction with Gershom Scholem, a prominent Jewish scholar of mysticism, at an event in Jerusalem. Scholem's interest in surna...
25 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Symbol Catcher
16 Sep 2019
The text discusses the symbolic dimension of baseball cards and idolatry, drawing parallels between the reverence for baseball cards and religious idol worsh...
16 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Happy Is the People Who Knows the Blast
16 Sep 2019
Rabbi Moshe Hayim Efrayim of Sudilkov, a prominent figure in early Hasidism, authored "Sefer Degel Machaneh Efrayim," a collection of sermons linking Torah t...
16 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
State or Substate?
15 Sep 2019
In "State or Substate?", Dmitry Shumsky explores the idea of nonstatist Zionism, focusing on major Jewish figures like Judah Magnes and Martin Buber who envi...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
A Stolen Seat
15 Sep 2019
Doba-Mera Medvedeva's memoir details life in a shtetl in late 19th and early 20th-century Belarus, marked by poverty, revolution, and war. Despite being bare...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Sitting with Shylock on Yom Kippur
15 Sep 2019
The article reflects on the complex character of Shylock from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" through a Jewish lens, particularly focusing on the symb...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Orpheus on the Lower East Side
15 Sep 2019
Samuel Greenberg, a Jewish poet and artist born in Vienna in 1893, moved to New York with his family and settled on the Lower East Side. Despite dropping out...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Romania!
15 Sep 2019
"I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians" is a film by Radu Jude that delves into the uncomfortable history of Romania during World War II. The ...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Setting the Table
15 Sep 2019
Sally Berkovic's memoir "Under My Hat" delves into her experiences as an Orthodox Jewish woman, navigating the complexities of religious commitment and engag...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Rocketmen
15 Sep 2019
Rocketmen, curated by Adolfo Roitman, Hagit Maoz, and Michael Maggen at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, focuses on Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who ...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Letters, Fall 2019
15 Sep 2019
The text discusses different perspectives on Jewish identity and the relationship between Israel and the diaspora. There are critiques of a book analyzing Eu...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
In and Out of Time
15 Sep 2019
Abraham Joshua Heschel, a prominent Jewish thinker and refugee scholar, faced uncertain times during Nazi rule in the 1930s. In a new collection of his writi...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Gray Lady and the Jewish State
15 Sep 2019
The book "The Gray Lady and the Jewish State" discusses the New York Times' controversial editorial decisions regarding Israel and Zionism, particularly high...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Mastering the Return
15 Sep 2019
In Tova Reich's novel "Mother India," a Jewish mother from Brooklyn decides to spend her final days in Varanasi, India, instead of risking reincarnation. The...
15 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Jews Not without Money
14 Sep 2019
The exhibit "Jews, Money, Myth" at the London Jewish Museum curated by Joanne Rosenthal, Dominik Czechowski, and Morgan Wadsworth-Boyle until October 17, exa...
14 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Zionavar Tapestry
13 Sep 2019
Guy Gavriel Kay, a Canadian fantasy writer and son of a Jewish immigrant from Poland, has made significant contributions to the fantasy genre through works l...
13 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
A Failure of Reimagination?
10 Sep 2019
Simon Rawidowicz's essay "Israel: The Ever-Dying People" reflects on the Jewish historical tendency to fear disappearing while paradoxically surviving. The c...
10 Sep 2019
Jewish Review of Books
A Pinch of Levity
7 Aug 2019
Alter Druyanov, a Russian Jew and Zionist, compiled a three-volume book of Jewish jokes in Hebrew, showcasing the humor of Jewish folklore with some jokes re...
7 Aug 2019
Jewish Review of Books
For the Many, Not for the Jew
29 Jul 2019
The British Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership has been plagued by accusations of anti-Semitism, merging pro-Palestinian activism with old Europea...
29 Jul 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Hebrew Teacher
9 Jul 2019
The text delves into the author's reflections on his Jewish heritage and experiences at Harvard University, juxtaposing his family's history as Hebrew teache...
9 Jul 2019
Jewish Review of Books
Leviticus on the Fourth of July
3 Jul 2019
"Leviticus on the Fourth of July" is an anthology that explores the influence of the Hebrew Bible on American national consciousness and institutions. It hig...
3 Jul 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Jewsraeli Century
24 Jun 2019
In the book "#IsraeliJudaism: A Portrait of a Cultural Revolution," authors Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs discuss the evolution of Jewish identity in Israel,...
24 Jun 2019
Jewish Review of Books
The Anti-Imperialism of Idiots
24 Jun 2019
In "The Anti-Imperialism of Idiots," Susie Linfield explores the estrangement between Zionism and the Left, questioning why many left-wingers oppose Jewish n...
24 Jun 2019