Hadassah Magazine's Guide to Jewish Literature - September/October 2018

“Compelling and vividly written,” Boulder Jewish News.
A plot twisting, only-in-the-South, character driven tale that transports you back into the 1960’s civil rights era of rural Virginia. “Jewboy” weaves a can’t-put-it-down mystery with  provocative insights into the ethics, mind and morality of Jewish and Southern identity, sexual intrigue, judicial abuse of blacks and female heroism, all sprinkled with reflections on Martin L King,  early rock n’ roll, blues and jazz. It boils from page to page with juicy sex, hilarity, suspense, violence and questions of right action in the face of systemic injustice.

See the year through Jewish eyes!  Beauty and learning come together in this unique 13-month wall calendar, with illuminating art and captions by fine art painter, illustrator, and author D.Yael Bernhard. Subjects include Jewish identity, holidays, Torah, Israel, and Diaspora.  Hebrew & English calendar grids from Sept. 2018 through Sept. 2019 include holidays, weekly Torah portion, candle-lighting times and havdalah.

Captured by raiders to be sold into slavery, Sofea narrowly escapes their ship. Bargaining her way to a Levitical city of refuge, she finds herself in a more dangerous situation. Can she find safety in this city of strangers, accept their God as hers, and be satisfied with His justice?

Maggie Glezer spent years conducting research for this James-Beard-Award-winning guide to Jewish breads found around the world. Containing more than 60 recipes for challah, Sabbath and holiday breads, the book also explores the rich symbolism of their history, kosher laws, oral histories, legends, shtetl folktales, and proverbs.  The volume is the most in-depth and wide-ranging one published on the subject. Hardcover, 336 pages, with photos

Not all mothers love their children unconditionally. How can it be?  Some mothers suffer from “Narcissist personality disorder”. Learn about Narcissism in the family through a personal journey of learning, understanding and overcoming growing up with a narcissistic mother. This life-changing book will make you open your eyes to see the world from a different angle.

Sarah Taube is forcibly exiled from her shtetl in Lithuania during the First World War. She cowers in a hidden cellar with her three children, listening as the White Army Cossacks raid her house in search of Jews to rape and plunder. She will do whatever it takes to protect her family, even if it means dealing with Dimitri Bogdonovich, the Soviet commissar. Through her experiences, Sarah Taube, once an uneducated naïve girl, becomes an independent and forceful woman educated in the ways of the world–her education obtained by being a witness and participant in world shaking events.

How many of us are ruled by the number on the scale, measure our self-worth by the size of our jeans and count our calories rather than our blessings? This compelling memoir – laced with riveting anecdotes – zeroes in on how we fight to overcome our personal challenges – whatever they may be. “In this insightful and inspiring book, Iris shares her story of recovery from a forty-six year long battle with bulimia. She brings a poignant and relatable honesty – using both wisdom and humor – to bring readers on the journey from despair to healing.” Dr. Nina Savelle-Rocklin, PsyD.

Harpoon tells the story of a secret Israeli mission – code-named “Harpoon” – that fought to choke off terrorists’ oxygen supply, money, using innovative tactics and strategies. Among the many revelations, the authors show how Hamas received funding through U.S.-based charitable donations and diverted the money to carry out suicide bombings and terrorist attacks inside Israel — including attacks that resulted in the deaths of American citizens. Harpoon’s efforts successfully shut down these programs with spy-thrilling dare, while lawyers pursued devastating court judgments in New York against major banks that helped launder terror money. A true-life thriller you just can’t put down.

“Magnificent… a novel of epic proportions that tells of three strong women, a nun, a rabbi and a minister as they face the struggle for legitimacy and recognition…”—Rabbi Stephen L. Fuchs. A Catholic Sister wants to become a priest. One of the first women rabbis and one of the first women Presbyterian pastors must choose between their lovers and their careers. When the three attend a dinner to receive an award, each recalls fifty years of her life and journey to forge a path-breaking career and find her voice, and each makes the decision that will forever change her life.

Leaner and lighter Mediterranean cuisine. A collection of Mediterranean-style Kosher family recipes handed down from mother to daughter from Esther Salem, Sarina’s grandmother, the first Syrian Jewish caterer in Brooklyn. These authentic, traditional salad recipes are beautifully photographed and have easy to follow directions. Each has a glorious blend of Middle East flavors. Sarina has adapted some recipes to accommodate modern thinking about healthy eating. Perfect for beginners and vegetarians.

The treasured bond between bubbies, zaydees and grandchildren is lovingly shared in Bubbie’s Baby, a musical story of a bubbie, zaydee and grandchild celebrating the joys of exploring the world. This tender tale comes to life through a CD-single/book, featuring a toe-tapping melody and beautiful vocals sung by singer/songwriter/author. Guaranteed to create memories together with sing-along fun!

Young Adult fantasy for the whole family! A terminally-ill relative recovers. A living uncle possesses his own death certificate. When her brother Daniel disappears, eighteen-year-old Corinne wonders if these inexplicable incidents are connected. As she researches her Jewish ancestry, a surprising link to a medieval “sorcerer” makes everything clear: Corinne must find Daniel and defeat his captor, or her family may be erased from existence.

What if the act of making challah weekly — mixing and kneading, watching and waiting — could heal your sense of being overwhelmed? It can. This is the surprise that physician-mother Beth Ricanati learned on her journey of three children, three cities, over a thousand patients and a thousand challahs. She realized this meaningful ritual is the one of the best medicines to prescribe in our fast-paced world.

In 1905, when Rebecca leaves her shtetl in Ukraine to join Samuel in Milwaukee and Ingrid leaves Norway to become the Picture Bride of Lars, a farmer in North Dakota, by mistake officials at Ellis Island send them to each other’s destination. Lost in alien cultures, they struggle to return to their fiancés. But the love that blossoms between Rebecca and Lars threatens their plans.

In Tel Aviv, under daily missile attack during Operation Desert Storm, when every heart seeks comfort and companionship, complex affairs and a world of crisis bring conflicts of love, betrayal and unforeseen commitments. A young charismatic nurse lives and works by her own code of honor in a strict Orthodox hospital—until one day a married doctor emerges with a campaign of seduction that could endanger her livelihood, reputation and self-respect. “…a powerful first-hand look at what everyday life was like in Israel when most Americans were watching Shock and Awe on the 24-hour news channel.”—Mike Ball, Erma Bombeck award-winning author.

There are no pictures of the matriarchs of Genesis, and the text contains little description of them. In work that reflects both scholarship and artistic devotion, Melanie Lewis has created Faces of the Matriarchs. These beautiful images, accompanied by Scripture and commentary, bring readers into a world that has been hidden from view, and into the mind of a deeply spiritual artist. They are illuminating.