Book Reviews

Ettinger wants to tell a broader story than that, however, including not just questions of the Israeli Rabbinate but also more broadly of rabbinic authority in Orthodox Judaism.

Ashira Greenberg is a pretty, talented and articulate young lady who, at the tender of age of seventeen, has just published a book.

Savor the flavor and laugh along with the author as Reyna Simnegar teaches you about Persian cookery and life. Feldheim Publishing has done an outstanding job of presenting a handsome cookbook with references to normal human interactions in dating and marriage rather than pretending everyone adheres to "Three Dates and You're Done" behavior. Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride is as much about the author's cross-country courtship and marital adjustments as it is about food. The bonus is that you'll eat wonderfully aromatic, delicious food by following the author's simple recipes and her cheerful path to a well-adjusted life.

Once the reader understands the framing of this book, it is a gold mine.

Sophia’s mission continues. “I want every high school student in the United States to read Mordechai’s book,” Martin’s Story: An Orphan’s Triumphant Journey, she says, unwavered by this seemingly insurmountable task.

One of the more forceful and vital chapters is towards the end of the book when Rabbi Bleich discusses vaccinations.

The authenticity of the book is also worth noting. I particularly appreciated that when Sara reaches out with kindness to the classmate who teased her, the classmate is largely unreceptive. This rings true.

Since each page is something that we do with our hands, I do each action to or with my granddaughter. She copies me or she participates.

The book contains multitudes, all woven together so beautifully. The story is complex, as are the characters. It is fast-paced and character-driven. A page-turner.

With raw candor and authenticity, Bracha shares her painful struggles, as she seeks to understand the meaning of life and the inconsistencies of the feminist movement that she supports.

One thinks of family as an all-embracing sanctuary – a safe haven and a refuge from the outside world. But this is rarely the case.

The proof will be in your hands: some self-published books are remarkably wonderful. Lisa Aiken's The Family Guide to Touring Israel is a 382-page paperback with essentials even native Israelis need to know.

Tension reigned. They were watched by the Soviet security services. The KGB often would search their rooms and suitcases. They were threatened and warned and targeted in shuls.

Behind "the news" there's almost always a story that isn't being reported, and certain kinds of phenomenon occur almost simultaneously all over the world in almost every era.

It is so rare to find a Jewish book in which you feel sincerity and faith, and appreciate consistently excellent writing.

It’s amazing how a Jew raised with minimal religion can still feel visceral discomfort when asked to pray in front of a Buddha or participate in a cremation ceremony. That growing feeling of disjointedness ever so slowly spurred Liane’s interest in her own heritage.

Work-life balance has been in the media a lot lately. Anne-Marie Slaughter, a Princeton professor who served as the first female Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department, wrote a groundbreaking article in The Atlantic entitled “Women Can’t Have It All.” Slaughter writes about her struggle with balance—parenting and working, and the importance of being present, as well as the importance of absolute boundaries between work and parenting. As evidence—both of the compartmentalizing men are capable of and as an example of the type of behavior women should engage in more, Slaughter writes about Orthodox men she has worked with: “Come Friday at sundown, they were unavailable because of the Jewish Shabbat.”

He powerfully argues against the stereotype of Jews marching like sheep to the gas chambers: The great majority remained honest, dignified, pristine and heroic…

Written entirely through Frayda’s eyes, the reader is drawn by her unassuming personality.

Schonfeld didn’t just save the children from a distance, but got involved in their struggles. “He was a father figure and had a personal relationship with many of the children,” Riki says.

The author’s skill at portraying multiple layers of trauma gives this book great depth. We see the long-lasting effects of the shame imposed on family members for something they didn’t do.

The book Here Comes Shabbos! is about a family baking, cooking, polishing silver, shining shoes, shopping and cleaning for Shabbos. The activities begin on Friday morning and only conclude shortly before lighting the Shabbos candles. During that time span, it covers everything you need to do in order to get ready for Shabbos.

Those who know Shadal’s commentary on the Torah know that Dan Klein is uniquely fit for the job.

By understanding the domestic politics of Italy and Germany vis à vis the Vatican, as well as how the United States, Britain, and the French government in exile fully comprehended the Pope’s duplicity,... we may understand, but never accept, the horrific and unforgivable conduct of the Pope.

The book’s main characters are not mere action heroes, but deep ideological thinkers, motivated by the 2,000-year dream of re-establishing the nation of Israel in its Divinely-promised homeland.

In her class, Aviva is the only girl without a father, and that becomes particularly poignant in her sixth-grade year, when the school traditionally hosts a father-daughter Bas Mitzvah Bash at a local arcade.

A history of New York Jewry took Jewish book of the year honors in the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards.

Holy emunah, Not Just Another Scenario 2 is a riveting read. Rabbi Pinchas Winston's revised Not Just Another Scenario holds a plot, corroborated by recent headlines, underscoring ancient prophecies coming true in one hugely happy ending.

For those focused on contemporary issues, Rabbi Mordechai Willig’s “Confronting the Pandemic in the Community: A Rabbi’s Memoir” offers unprecedented insight into the way halachic decisions were made for our community during COVID.

More than just a resemblance of the mortar paste used to make bricks during our slavery in Egypt, she investigates further into the Talmud.