Book Reviews: The Pious Ones and The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

Being back in the U.S. has opened back up the world of book reviewing for me, which has me giddy like a schoolgirl. I am a bibliophile, and, as Ash becomes a bit more independent and has a consistent sleep schedule, I actually get to read the books that are sitting on the coffee table, couch, dining room table, side table ... 

First up is The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles with America by Joseph Berger. You see, I frequently go into Barnes and Noble and peruse the bookshelves, search out the books at the library or on publisher sites, then get ready to read, read, read. The Pious Ones was one of those books, and a publisher was kind enough to send along a review copy. 

That being said, the truth of this book is that I'm simply not enjoying it. One chapter in and I felt like the author was skimming the surface of what I was expecting to be an in-depth and honest look at a subset of the Jewish population. Then again, I was expecting something in the vein of Sue Fishkoff's amazing look at, for example, the Chabad community in The Rebbe's Army. I was sorely and sadly mistaken. The stories in The Pious Ones are shallow and paint broad strokes across a community that is so fascinating, deep, and unique. 

In short, this book left me frustrated and annoyed. I expected so much more from such a mighty title/subject. 

In the world of fiction, I just finished reading The Rise and Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman, which I found on my own accord and read simply for the pleasure of it (no sponsorship or review copy involved). I saw this sitting on a new-releases shelf at the local library while Ash was squirming in my arms, and from the moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. 

A story of mystery, intrigue, family, and identity, this book follows the bizarre life of a girl named Tooly. The chapters hop from the present day back to the 80s and the late 90s, as well as the early 2000s while Tooly tries to find her bearings in a world that seems to throw her around willy nilly without much explanation -- but that doesn't seem to bother her. 

I found myself desperate to figure out the cast of characters, all mysterious, strange, and tied together through one unassuming, special girl. I honestly didn't figure out the storyline until a chapter or so before the big reveal came, and even then there were things that I couldn't have even imagined or suspected. 

Although I haven't read The Imperfectionists, Rachman's first work, I have to say he's a very creative writer, dedicated to the storyline but utterly committed to developing a cast of characters at arm's length. 

Up next on the list? I've received a review copy of Rabbi Shlomo Brody's A Guide to the Complex, which from the dozen or so chapters I've read so far is one of the most comprehensive, detailed, and accessible samples of halachic (Jewish law) responses I've ever encountered. I've also started reading The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street, which is a pretty quirky and honest look at life on the Lower East Side of NYC from the perspective of a (fictional) Russian-Jewish refugee. 

Have your read any of these books and have thoughts? Let me know. Also: If there's a book you think I must pick up, please let me know!

GIVEAWAY: Listen, It's [Dot] Complicated

"A successful woman is one who can build a firm
foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her."
[modified from an original quote by David Brinkley]

Several months ago the amazing folks at Zuckerberg Media contacted me about reading, reviewing, and offering up a giveaway of Randi Zuckerberg's Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives. If you're not sure who Randi is, but you recognize that obviously recognizable last name, yes, she's related to the illustrious Mark of Facebook fame. What you might not know is that Randi was the mastermind behind some of Facebook's most amazing and groundbreaking live streaming initiatives and relationships with big dogs like CNN and ABC.

As the master of her own company and life now, having written this stellar read about her experiences at Facebook and how she got out and launched herself, she's also a published children's book author. Her first masterpiece? Dot., a book for children about putting down the tech and enjoying life. In this children's book, the flutters and noises of technology are found outside, too, whether it's surfing down a hill or listening to the twitter of the birds. It's a beautiful pairing with her Dot Complicated book for adults. I envision myself sitting down to reread Randi's book someday with Ash sitting next to me with Dot. Sort of a his and her's experience, except in this case, it'll be a tech savvy mommy's and a tech savvy baby's experience.

In Dot Complicated, Randi is casual and paints one of the most vivid pictures of a life experience I've read in recent years. As a work of nonfiction, her honesty and candid reflections about being "Mark Zuckerberg's sister" and her breaking point when she realized that she had to get out and do her own thing in a big way. Her narrative is inspiring and I have no doubt in my mind that she's paving the way for future generations of women -- both through her children's book and her book for more adult-like individuals.

I also have to applaud her realistic approach to technology and how it is shaping our lives in positive and negative ways. Early on in the book she says the following:

The famous science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." He was right. New technology is a kind of magic and today we can do things with ease that were impossible just a few years ago. Like magic, each new innovation has advanced our society and our potential. Of course, the seductive glow of these magical devices can also blind us to some of their downsides and effects." (57)

Her jaunts into her journey took me back to the days of AIM and the melancholy of being a teenager and college study.

Remember the effort you'd make to choose the perfect IM profile picture, or the time you invested in crafting the perfect "away" message? I admit that I spent way too much time selecting vague but meaningful lyrics from the latest song I was obsessed with. Plenty of times I would announce my presence online with "I believe I can fly," "I saw the sign," or "I get knocked down." (71)

Yes, I used to have "Sleep, those little slices of death" (a la Edgar Allen Poe) as one of my away messages. I was the original when it came to super vague and sometimes frightening posts in the "social" sphere.

Randi's take on the merging of the public and private spheres also had me rolling my fist in the air Arsenio Hall style.

"It can't be that we're going to have to adjust to a world where we cannot share anything but our utmost public and sterile information. Sharing the personal stuff with others is an essential aspect of what it means to be human. If our online lives are to be as fulfilling as our offline ones, and if those two lives are to be fully integrated, then as we go forward we need to find a way to bring back personal information online. We must be able to post some pool pics without the whole world finding out, even if one of our friends is feeling a little overenthusiastic with the share button that day. (80)

Preach! Now that's a manifesto. As someone whose life is very public by my own choice, I can't say enough about the truth in Randi's sentiments. I don't believe in separating the two, and neither does Randi. Huzzah!

I will say that one thing that slightly bummed me out, although not in a big way, was her reflections on being a Jewish woman and mother. A quick reference to Chinese food on Christmas a Jewish woman entrepreneur does not make.

That aside, probably the most valuable piece of actionable advice Randi dishes out is that everyday, you have to pick three from the following and that's it. You can't do it all, so pick three and make them work. And don't feel guilty about it either.

• Work
• Sleep
• Family
• Friends
• Fitness

I remember reading this before Ash was born and thinking "YES! What a great approach to life." Have I enacted the "pick three" philosophy? No. But guess what? Starting tomorrow, I'm going to because, let's be honest, I've been trying to pack four of those into every day (sorry, fitness). And maybe, maybe someday we'll all work for a company like FullContact in Denver, Colorado, which pays their employees $7,500 bonus if they don't take their phones with them on vacation. A girl can dream, right? (168)

Oh, and I don't forget: 

"The more successful you are and the more you have to say, the more people will be mean to you on the Internet. The only way forward is to embrace your haters. Don't be afraid of the keyboard cowards. Engage them." (237)

Have I sold you yet on Dot Complicated? If you haven't read the book already and are seriously jonesing for some mind-blowingly awesome writing, storytelling, and inspiration, hold tight! It's time for a giveaway. 

To be entered to win:

• Comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a copy of Dot Complicated!
• Share this blog post to Twitter and/or Facebook for an extra chance to win. You must include in your comment that you've posted on these social sites for the extra chances (i.e., "I'm commenting on your blog post to win this awesome book, and I also shared on Twitter and Facebook.")
• Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

I'll draw a winner at random on Wednesday, March 19 at midnight (EST). 

Book Review: Letters to President Clinton

I am seriously backlogged on book reviews at the moment (all the books read and merely waiting for me to share my two cents) thanks to a bundle of joy that is ever-so attached to his mommy at all times. I really should get better at voice-to-text, but the reality is that the way that I write and the way that I speak are two very different animals. So here we go!

The kind folks over at Sterling Publishing reached out to me with Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership, which (you guessed it) is a book chock full of fascinating and insightful thoughts in the form of letters to President Clinton. The president wrote the foreword to the book, and it was edited by Rabbi Menachem Genack.

Rabbi Genack and President Clinton became acquainted in 1992 in New Jersey, and their friendship has remained strong since then. The book highlights their communications, but also letters that Rabbi Genack requested from friends and colleagues on special topics for the president. Although not in any kind of date-sequential order, the book's communications come from President Clinton's second term and after and its lessons are divided among Leadership, Sin and Repentance, Creation, Community, Faith, Dreams and Vision, and Holidays. With some of the letters there are responses from President Clinton about the essay (and the responses are included in the book in image form, so you can see that it's written on President Clinton's letterhead!).

The great thing about this book is that you can easily hop around from gleaning to gleaning without reading the book straight from start to finish. In fact, I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading this from cover to cover. With authors like Norman Lamm, Adin Steinsaltz, Nahum Sarna, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Cynthia Ozick, and Joseph Telushkin, you might want to find an author that you love and dig into a letter they've written to President Clinton.

One thing this book does well is creates an accessibility to Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike. With President Clinton being a Southern Baptist, most of the essays are accessible on a cross-denominational level. Translations of Bible verses come from President Clinton's preferred mode of bible and the authors build lessons that are universal in their nature. It really is a book for leaders of every generation.

The only off-putting aspect of this book that I ran into, oddly enough, was a very awkward preface written by Rabbi Sacks. I tend to love just about everything that Rabbi Sacks writes and does, but this preface was forced, uncomfortable, and referenced his own books and work at random intervals. It was like he was less interested in talking about the topic and more interested in selling his own books and philosophies on American Judaism and how it is shockingly different than English Judaism.

Have you read this book yet? Sound like something up your alley? Let me know what you think!

Book Review: Chanukah and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

I've been on a bit of a Chanukah (c)hiatus this week while ironing out some new work that I'm really excited to be taking on and trying to have some time with the hubsters before the wee one shows up. The truth is that nothing I've planned has gone according to, which is just proof that planning is for the foolish!

The upside of a bit of downtime has been that I've been sleeping a lot and devouring books at a rate for which I'm quite proud.

For Chanukah my literature of choice has been The Soul of Chanukah: Teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (published by Mosaica Press) as compiled by Rabbi Shlomo Katz. Now that's two big names in one small chunk of sentence, and I have to say that this is one of the nicest looking books I've gotten for review in a while.

There are countless reasons why this book rocks, chief among them (according to Mr. T) being that it's in English. In Israel it's easy to land a lot of Rav Carlebach's work, but in Hebrew, which is awkward because most (if not all) of his morsels of wisdom were shared with the world in English. On that note, when it comes to morsels of wisdom in the form of divrei Torah or conversations, you want a concise book that is inspirational, powerful, and thought-provoking. This book is a mere 114 pages split into -- you guessed it -- eight chapters for eight nights, meaning that it's the perfect sit-and-learn option for Chanukah (so buy it for next year, why don't you?).

Unfortunately, the book only hit my post box midway through Chanukah, so I haven't completely devoured it yet, but what I've read will have me reading it well into the post-chag. But I want to give you an idea of the brilliance and inspired ideas that make Rav Carlebach such a prolific and unique individual.

Now, I refer to Rav Carlebach as "hippie dippie," which drives Mr. T nuts, but with my background and philosophy on Judaism, I often find it hard to relate to the "deeper" side of Judaism found in Hasidic teachings. Yes, I sit down every Friday night and read from a collection of Hasidic stories and found some of my greatest inspiration and peace in Judaism through Chabad and other Hasidic teachings, but I still don't get into the sit-in-a-circle and sing style of Judaism. It's just not in my fabric.

Lucky for me, I married a lover of Hasidic philosophy and understanding, so we find a lot of the same "aha" moments really powerful, just in different ways.

So after reading through Chapter 1, Shining Eyes, I had to share some of the tidbits with the husband because it screamed "Mr. T." This first chapter was all about how we're meant to perceive the world uniquely on Chanukah, especially because it's one holiday where we don't go out to greet the king, but the king (that's HaShem) comes into our homes to greet us. How much more special and meaningful is it that the king comes to us?! We're all commanded to light the chanukiyah (menorah for Chanukah) -- every man, woman, and child -- and the king is meant to come to our homes to check out our gnarly lights. It's like Justin Bieber showing up to taste your famous homemade waffles, if you need a ridiculous, modern reference to something that can't even begin to compare with what it's like to experience the presence of HaShem.

Also: Did you also realize that Chanukah is the one chag that we celebrate that actually took place in Jerusalem? Passover/Pesach was in Egypt, Purim was in Persia, and so on. Now that's a powerful reason to kindle the lights and experience the miracle.

One thing Mr. T is always kvetching about is how so many Jews (and people in general) are constantly asking "Mah magiah li?" or "What's in it for me?" instead of asking what can I provide, what can I do, where can I go? Rav Carlebach talks about how on Chanukah we're meant to look around and just take it in because we can't use the lights of the chanukiyah for anything, we can only enjoy them.

I can look at something and say, "Can I use it or can I not use it? Is it good for me or not?" Just like the spies said. But the fixing of Chanukah is that I'm not trying to use it for anything. I'm just so glad it's there.  ... The Torah of Chanukah is that I'm learning Torha, and I'm just looking at what I'm learning. No calculations, no expectations; I'm just looking at the light and I'm so glad it's there." (21)

That's some powerful, beautiful Torah right there. Chanukah, for Rav Carlebach, is all about how we look at the world, the people around us, the beautiful things that we are and are not doing. It's all about refocusing ourselves and reconsidering things, "fixing" as he says Chanukah by our perception.

There are moments where I can definitely see Rav Carlebach with guitar in hand calling something "deep" or talking about the "deepness" of Chanukah, which does make me giggle a bit, but whether you're into his style of Judaism or not, the morsels of Torah and truth in his vision are incredibly powerful.

I absolutely recommend this book, because the truth is this is one of those rare moments where I have nothing negative to say about it. Yes, mark your calendars, folks, because this is one book that will grace my shelves for years to come. It might even make for a Chanukah gift in the coming years.

Note: I received this book for review purposes, but my reviews remain honest, unbiased, and from the heart!

Book Review: Getting Kvetchy at Hanukkah

I am what you might call a bibliophile. I love books, I love collecting them, I lament having to part with them (which I did with so many during my divorce and aliyah to Israel), and when I look at our bookshelves at home there are a lot of seforim, but those belong to my dear husband Mr. T. I'm not about to start hoarding books again just to have a fine balance between his and hers, but it is nice getting new books, reviewing books, and finding new authors to kvell over.

Recently Mr. T was in Jerusalem with a friend of his looking for benschers (the little books that Jews use before and after meals and on Shabbat that have songs and the prayers over food and drink) at M. Pomeranz Bookseller, a staple store owned by a couple that made aliyah to Israel more than 20 years ago. 

While there, Mr. T spotted a book: The KvetchiT: A Hanukkah Tale by Larry Butchins. He absolutely had to have it for me because I am, after all, the Kvetching Editor. Surprise surprise he brought it home and I sat reading it last night.

The premise is cute, and it makes me wonder who comes up with these things (but in a good, not judgey way, of course). The story is narrated by a grandfather figure named Samuel who starts with the historic dilemma of the people at the rededication of the temple. The people are kvetching and kvetching that they don't have any oil, and although the common miracle we hear of is the oil lasting for eight nights, the miracle we don't hear of is the creation of the the KvetchiT -- a fuzzy, little three-eyed creature who feeds on kvetches. But once the kvetching over the oil stops, the KvetchiT is at a loss because he needs the kvetches to survive. He hides away in a cave and falls fast asleep.

The story zips ahead hundreds of years when a boy named Samuel finds him (does the name ring a bell?) and hears the story and agrees to help record the 20 greatest kvetches for the KvetchiT to live on. The story brings us back to the present where one of Samuel's grandchildren receives a unique gift of family tradition (and kvetching).

It definitely takes kvetching to a unique, new level of cuteness, and the illustrations are very traditional in the style of "religious" Jewish books, but not aggressively so (don't worry, you won't find the mom in a full-body coverup). I'm just bummed that the 20 greatest kvetches collected in the story are only available on cassette. Who has a cassette player?! Not this chick. I eagerly await their release in MP3 or CD format.

You can buy the book from Pomeranz for pennies, folks, and this would make a very cute gift for a child or a particularly kvetchy adult.

Do you have a favorite children's Chanukah book? A particularly excellent kvetch that you think the kvetch could live FOREVER on? With a wee one on the way, I'm eager to start collecting gobs of children's books!

Note: The book reviews I'm doing for Pomeranz are honest, as all of my product and book reviews are, but the books are being given to me at no cost for review. 

Aliyah Update: Vlog Style

Aliyah: The Small Things

It's funny how when it comes to thinking about aliyah, it's the small things that I can't help but thinking about. The big things like money and moving aren't even on my radar. It's happening, and it's going to be awesome.

Instead, I'm thinking about ...

• Will my appliances work in Israel? My Kitchenaid and ice cream maker and immersion blender and food chopper? 
• Will I be able to use my iPhone in Israel? Or is it only good in the U.S. on my current network?
• I know beds in Israel tend to suck. Do people take their mattresses with them? 
• There's an IKEA in Israel! YAY!
• Where do people in Israel buy amazing English-language books? 
• Why hasn't Amazon.com set up shop in Israel yet?
• Will I be able to survive without kale in Israel? 
• What happens to all of my mail in the U.S.? Do I need to have it sent to my family or something?

And, of course, I'm thinking about all of the things I'm going to stock up on and schlep with me to Israel, like all of my natural, organic products -- you know, lotions, soaps, vitamins, supplements, etc. 

Food? I can make my own BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, you name it. And I can do it all in Israel. I don't anticipate schlepping any food products with me to Israel. Wait, I take that back. I'm considering stocking up on Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Bread Mix and Oat Flour. 

My head's all a'whirl. In a beautiful, excited way. 

This is life, folks. And it's starting now. 

Motzei Shabbos Special

I know, I know -- I said that this would be a regular thing, but, well, let's make it semi-regular since life doesn't always seem to be nice, clean, and easy for me these days. Thus, I give you, the Motzei Shabbos Special!

A Cook's Life for Me
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen chopping veggies and fruits, and cleanup is a pain in the tuches. Well, hello there Cutting Board w/Collapsible Bin! It holds up to four cups of your scraps so you don't have to keep chucking scraps.

Keep Your Fingers Cool ... or Warm?
I'm a junkie when it comes to these things. I have a Starbucks one and a Whole Foods one (the latter, of course, I feel a lot better about because it was donation-based). But I like the branding on this -- the Java Jammy. Maybe I should print up some Kvetching Editor(tm) ones, eh?

Used Books. Jewish Used Books! Books That are Used and Jewish!
I have a book habit. Everyone who is anyone knows this, of course. The apartment I'm staying at in Chicago has some good books on the shelf, and I happened upon a few that I'm now dying to pick up. Where can I find them? Jewish Used Books! This is #winning, folks. (I'm looking at the Mishneh Torah Yad Hachzakah and The Kuzari: I and II. I should probably also pick up some of the Laws of Kashrus and Hilchot Shabbat, eh?) Oh. You know what, find your favorite Jewish book there and post it in the comments. Maybe I'll buy it. Maybe I'll buy it for you. Who knows. (And they have more than books and seforim, too!)

Show Your State Pride

Okay, so I already have an awesome apron that I got while married that was a highly contested item because, well, my ex didn't believe in fancy aprons. For $20, I have to say the apron I have is pretty awesome and for the amount of time that I use it, it was totally worth it. So if you don't have a nice apron yet, I suggest you shimmy with state pride and order one of these for double-chai -- a mere $36! (Note: There's no Nebraska. What gives!? I mean, it's a beacon of home-cooking! Come on now!)

Hipster Babies

Oh man. Yes, you've seen the "I Bike ..." shirts everywhere. Places like Seattle and New York and Chicago and Denver all have them. It's like the bumper sticker that says "My other car is a bike." Well, even your little Timmy or Susie can hop on the hipsters-on-wheels bandwagon with these cute outfits. I'd get them for my nephews, but, you know, they're only for 6-12 monthers and my nephews are a spritely 17 months old now!

Bite-size Bits

These kind of remind me of Larabars, but they're more bite-sized and hail from the land of the Danes! Made in Denmark, $13 gets you four bites of three flavors of Kur Delights -- Dark Chocolate Mint, Brownie, and Coconut Cream. Not bad, if you ask me. (It's OU-D, too!)

Manifest Your Inner Vegan!

I'm a sucker for cookbooks, and I'm hoping to land this one once I can validate the expense (yes, every expense these days must go through a serious vetting process). From the mind behind www.manifestvegan.com is this gluten-free and vegan cookbook -- Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats: Cut Out the Gluten and Enjoy an Even Healthier Vegan Diet with Recipes for Fabulous, Allergy-Free Fare. And if you go to the Amazon site, you'll even get a free recipe to try out to see what you think! Brilliant! That's ultimate advertising, folks, because you get buy-in before the consumer really buys in. 

Don't be Toddy to the Party

Summertime is cold, iced coffee time for me. Back in the day, I used to just strong-brew some coffee and then put it in the fridge once it cooled down. Bam! Cold coffee! But not really. There's actually a way to cold brew coffee, folks, and it's called the Toddy. The big difference is that if you cold brew and you do it right, you get rid of more than 50 percent of the acid that comes with normal coffee brewing. BUY THIS: Toddy T2N Cold Brew System ... your stomach will thank you.

And that concludes this installment ... have a product you love? A website you can't live without? Let me know in the comments!

The Motzei Shabbos Special

In order to keep myself honest and my blog consistent, I've decided to start a few traditions. Yes, I know what you're thinking: You've done that before! You've failed! And that's true, but I like making lists, and people like being exposed to awesome new things, so this is going to be The Motzei Shabbos Special. More than likely, this list is compiled on Friday, but it's possible that I get lazy and don't write it up until Saturday night. With that, I give you the inaugural Motzei Shabbos Special.

My Newest Obsession 
Without cable, and "borrowing" internet from my elderly neighbor, I have quickly become obsessed with Game of Thrones. Not for the weak of stomach of modest of eyes, mind you. But it does make me reminiscent of the much more tame days of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess.

The Bibliophile
Every few weeks, I spend some time in a bookstore ooing and awing over all the books I want to read. This time around, It's the illustrious Augusten Burroughs' This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike. Essentially, it's the anti-"Self-Help Book."

For the Conscious Cook
With my adventures in Vegan Cooking, I wouldn't be able to do it without Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. Vegan Sloppy Joes? Delicious homemade BBQ sauce? Spaghetti and Bean Balls? Yes. Thank you.

For the Father
Father's Day is coming up, and now that my older brother is also a dad (with two adorable babies Owynn and Oliver), I have to think a lot more about dads. This one is kitschy (as far as I know neither my dad nor my brother are beer drinkers, but ... ): A Beer-Tasting Toolkit, completely with paper bags!

For Dad's Dog
Every daddy's dog needs a stylish collar. How about a bow tie?

Your Daily Halacha Needs

I love this book. LOVE. In fact, I often find myself reading through an entire month on the halachot or laws of onions before realizing that I am about 29 days over my daily limit. 

Made for Modesty

I've been a devotee of Kiki Riki shells for many moons now, but largely because it's been the only option for me. As a busty girl with large arms, I've found it hard to find cotton half-shells that are breathable, nonrestrictive, and comfortable in summer. Enter Half Tee. I'd been hoping to write a much longer review on the Half Tee, but I've put it off too long. I requested the largest size to review, which turns out to be a little too big for me, so I'm going to order a size down. But overall? Love it. The sleeves are so comfortable and not tightly bound, and the fabric is so soft. The Half Tee can be worn two ways, with one side being higher necked than the other. However, I know a lot of y'all out there won't be comfortable with the coverage. For those of you who are, BUY THEM NOW. There's sleeveless, boyfriend length, 3/4-length, turtleneck, and more. (I'll post some pictures of me in the Half Tee once I get a different size.)

A screen-grab from a product review.

Unnecessary, Yet Cool 

This probably takes the cake for the most ridiculous unnecessary kit, but being able to plug your iPad into a classic typewriter? Amazing. 

Manage a Subscription
I have several magazine subscriptions that I couldn't live without, and this is one of them. I know, aren't I all high tech and paperless? Well folks, there's only one thing to do on Shabbos other than sleep and eat and spend time with loved ones, and that's READ! VegNews -- serving up the latest in meat-free news, food, travel, politics, and buzz -- is probably one of the few magazines that I read quite literally from cover to cover.

Speak Now
One of my coworkers produced this nifty speaker from her bag several weeks ago to pop into her computer's USB slot, and although it's a little out of my price range, this iPhone Bullhorn Speaker really has me jonesing at a mere $10.

For After the Wedding
I got married two years ago, and around this time two years ago I was in my sheva brachot (the week of celebration after you get hitched), and I was already on my way to giving my wedding dress to a gemach (that person who collects stuff that other people can't afford so they can rent it out). Although I opted for no bridesmaids, I can't imagine what one would do post-wedding with their dresses. So, I give you, the Recycled Bridesmaid Dress from Uncommon Goods.

Shop for a Cause
While perusing Sugarlicious in Cherry Creek for a classic comfort candy (the Chick-o-Stick) after a really bad day last week, I discovered lots of cute bobbles, buttons, and bracelets. I couldn't help but pick up one of the Pura Vida bracelets -- they're simple, classy, and only $5. The cause? Every bracelet purchased helps provide full time jobs for local artisans in Costa Rica.

Kosher Nosh
I try really hard not to buy anything processed these days, but I've been waiting for what seems like years for Udi's Gluten Free Blueberry Oat Muffin Tops (Case of 6) (the food folks, not the unfortunate style choice). I saw them at Whole Foods and just had to buy them. Thus, I did. Believe it or not, I wasn't disappointed.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub
I saw a deal on Vegan Cuts a few weeks back and was tempted to purchase, but I wanted to make sure the product wasn't going to rip my delicate skin apart. You see, often facial scrubs are just bad news for my sensitive skin, so when I saw the Sprout Exfoliant, I contacted their help desk and asked if they could send me a sample to make sure the investment was worth it. They complied, I got the scrub, and I love it. It comes as a powder, you mix with a bit of water, and bam. Face scrub. The Brooklyn-based store makes everything in small batches for small bottles, so what you get is made with care -- very carefully.

Clothing that Counts
Yes, it might be $30, but come on ... look at it. A shirt made from 100% recycled goods? Maybe I've become too Boulder for my own good (I do own the "Only Kale Can Save Us Now" shirt), but I love this one. Eat Like You Give a Damn from Herbivore Clothing. If you think about it, it's the Jewish way.

Kitchen Bobbles
You love tea, you love robots, you love this Robot Tea Infuser because he crawls into your mug and steeps your tea for you. Never let go!

A Simple Arrangement
A sucker for all things that Very Jane sends out, this simple $5 offering offers a rustic means to arranging your favorite flowers. (Seriously, who thinks of these things!? I wish I were this creative.)

Bag It
I'm not a purse collector, although I have many friends who are. I view purses more for utility than style. But as I go the Vegan way, I've realized that leather is such a no-no, so I'm fully entrenched in the vegan leather way. Enter the Laguna Bag from Namaste Inc. Drool. At $65, you can't complain. But I'll do it anyway!

Guiltless Pudding
I'm a sucker for sweets, but I've never been a fan of pudding. Something about the texture makes me want to gag. But I decided to be adventurous and give Chocolate Chia Pudding a try because the ingredients were simple and the recipe called for an nutritionally action-packed seed. The result? Heaven.

• Ingredients
• 3 cups dark chocolate almond milk
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1 tsp organic vanilla
• 2 Tbls agave

• Instructions
• Mix the first three together and chill in fridge 1 hour, then add the agave and mix well. Divide into six bowls and top with berry of your choice).

VOILA!

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Websites from which you should be getting updates:

• VeganCuts.com || Vegan Cuts is run by a vegan couple, John and Jill, who really want to see more people shopping with vegan ethics. A commitment to buying vegan food is a great start, but you can also make a positive difference by choosing vegan options when purchasing clothing, shoes, accessories, body care products and everyday household items. This is why Vegan Cuts features a range of vegan products and encourages members to shop vegan by promoting opportunities to save money while eschewing animal cruelty.
• VeryJane.com || Provides daily boutique deals from amazing Etsy.com shop owners.

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Note: Unless I mention it, all of the things in this post are things that I find on my own and just want to share with the world. No one's paying me for this (I wish!). 

Book Review: A Dynamic Approach to the Seder

Sitting down to write this blog has, for some reason, been incredibly difficult. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not in a book-review mode, or if it's just that I'm so busy in my work life that I dread having to do anything that isn't sleep. But since I'm staying in tonight at TribeFest (more to come on this, including my awesome encounter with the hilarious Rachel Dratch), I figure if not now, when?

I received a copy of the New American Haggadah -- which people are incorrectly calling the "Jonathan Safran Foer" haggadah -- for review, and I have to say that I'm a fan in some respects and a critic in others. But that's why you guys read my reviews, right? Despite this being a freebie, I do my best to be as honest and forthcoming about my opinions, so here we go.

The unique thing about this haggadah is that it offers a multi-facted approach to the Passover experience --  there are beautiful, visual pieces and images throughout the book, fascinating historical notes, and big questions for big conversation.

I appreciate the introduction, written by Jonathan Safran Foer (who also edited this new version of the classic text), which declares that "This Haggadah makes no attempt to redefine what a Haggadah is, or overlay any particular political or regional agenda (v)." The emphasis of the creators of this haggadah is on the always-evolving and creative nature of the haggadah, because with a changing time and lifestyle comes new versions of haggadot with new artistic interpretations and question-inspiring conversation pieces.

There are a lot of graphics issues with the font spacing throughout the haggadah, which really bothered me. On page 6, for example, the "e" in Exodus appears on a different line than the rest of the word. It seems that there was a rush job or someone jacked something up at the last minute resulting in some really weird issues like this.

I do like that throughout the haggadah are little sections (that annoyingly require a turning the book sideways) that approach a significant issue from four perspectives: Playground, House of Study, Library, and Nation. I'm not entirely clear what each of the categories is geared toward, but Playground tends to be pretty loosey-goosey and cute, although sometimes they seemed a little too flippant (like the Four Children and there being Four Parents). One of the sections I really appreciated was on the idea of the significance of bread, the matzo bread.

Without bread there is no Torah. (Mishna, Pirkei Avot 3:2)

and

This is the bread of affliction. All who are bent with hunger, come and eat. 

The Nation section discusses this but misses the point. It's too literal. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that as a note for Passover, when we're told that all who are hungry should come and eat, it is not meant to be literal. Hunger -- like the blindness experienced during the book of Exodus -- is multi-facted. To be hungry is to yearn, to need to fill a void. This might be physical nourishment, but I believe that the idea here is to fill the spiritual void, the neshama is hungry! Don't you think?

I'm also perplexed by the translation of Elo-enu as "God-of-Us." I know that translations are peculiar, but this is one that I've really never seen and I'm not sure what the significance is of not saying "Our G-d." What is your take on this?

A page spread, the design done by Oded Ezer.

The art is strange, and although I don't understand much of it, I appreciate the illumination of certain prayers and powerful words like "And they did us evil, those Egyptians, and they tortured us, saddling us with punishing work" (in the Hebrew of course). Some of the images resemble fractals -- beautiful, brush-stroked fractals.

I want to share so many of the interesting and bizarre historical details, but I don't want this post to be too long and, of course, I don't want to spoil things for you if you plan on buying this specific haggadah. The truth is, I really like this version of the classic, but I don't know how I feel about the aesthetics. Having to turn this large book to its side to read the topical breakout pieces or the historic pieces is quite the pain, and I can't imagine how difficult it would be at the seder table.

However, I think this version will be most excellent for throwing morsels of knowledge around at the seder table! (One I'm excited about is the Livorno Haggadah that was printed for former Conversos.)

Pledging Jewish Allegiance: Part II

You can read the first part of this multi-part look at Pledges of Jewish Allegiance and responsa about conversion in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries here. 

I think -- and this is me, of course -- that when it comes to conversion to Judaism, the concern of the rabbis and the born-Jewish community is one of honesty, sincerity, and dilution of the Jewish people. Oddly enough, in Pledges of Jewish Allegiance, a "warning" narrative is mentioned to show just what can happen when you don't welcome the convert with open arms. The source is an aggadic one, which means that it's not legal but rather a narrative from which we can learn something, and it comes from the Tractate Sanhedrin.

What is the purpose of [writing in the Torah], "And Lotan's sister was Timna"? -- Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, aluf Lotan, aluf Timna; and by aluf, an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, Timna went to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz, the son of Esau, saying, "I had rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation." From her, Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? -- Because they should not have repulsed her. (29)

The passage doesn't state why Timna should have been accepted, but it does suggest that "when people are turned away, the implications for Jewish security in the future can be very problematic." Hell hath no fury like a potential convert scorned? 

Maimonides, writing in the late Twelfth Century, discusses the idea mentioned in the last blog post of intention at length when detailing how to handle a potential convert.

The appropriate way to perform the commandment [of conversion] is that when the convert comes to convert, we investigate him lest [he be converting] for money that he will receive, or for some position of authority that will come his way, or whether it is because of fear that he wishes to enter the religion. If he is a man, we investigate whether he has cast his eye on a Jewish woman; and if she is a woman, we investigate whether she has cast her eye on a Jewish man. If no inappropriate motivation is discovered, we inform him of the magnitude of the weight of the yoke of Torah and of the tremendous efforts required from Gentiles to perform [its commandments]. If they accept and did not change their minds and we see that they have returned out of love, we accept them. (30-31)

The new and interesting thing about this is that it suggests that the court be compelled to investigate, not that the court simply turn someone away because their motives might be suspect. You will notice, oddly enough, that in this bit from the Mishneh Torah Maimonides says absolutely nothing about acceptance of the mitzvoth (commandments). After all, the text merely says that the potential convert is "informed" of the weight of the yoke of Torah -- not that he or she must accept it or be fully educated on it prior to conversion. In later responsim, rabbis will use these ambiguities to support their own points. 

And then, of course, there's this, which comes later from Maimonides, is a big deal, and I think that this should inform how we view conversion today. 

A convert whom they did not investigate or to whom they did not make known the commandments and the punishments [for not fulfilling them] but who was circumcised and immersed in front of three judges is a convert. Even if it subsequently becomes known that he converted for some ulterior motive, once he has been circumcised and immersed, he has been removed from the status of Gentile, and he remains suspect until his righteousness can be verified. Even if he returns to Gentile worship, he remains in the category of a Jewish apostate whose marriage is a valid marriage. (32)

BAM! This very passage from the Mishneh Torah, says volumes about the convert -- volumes that many modern rabbis seem to ignore when they think that they can revoke a conversion. Even in the Beit Yosef, Rabbi Karo follows Maimonides' claim that all conversions are valid, regardless of whether the courts have investigated and that it is "obvious" that failure to accept the commandments does not render the conversion invalid after the fact (36). It also must be mentioned that both Maimonides and Karo agreed that every case with conversion is different, unique, and specific to the time and place and that every court must handle the case accordingly. In essence, there is no simple way to hold every potential convert to the same process and same procedures. 

In just about everything that Maimonides says regarding the convert, it is clear that he values and respects the position of he or she who joins the fold. In a query from Ovadiah ha'Ger as to whether he should amend the liturgy and avoid phrases like "God and God of our fathers," given his status as a convert, Maimonides had this to say:

You should recite everything as it is, and do not change anything. Rather, you should pray as every Jewish citizen does, whether alone or in public. The critical point is that it was Abraham our Father who taught the entire nation, who gave them the wisdom and who made known to them the truth and unity of God. He battled against idolatry ... and brought many under the wings of the Divine Presence. ... Thus, anyone who converts until the end of time ... is a disciple of Abraham our Father and a member of his household. ... Thus, you should say "our God and God of our ancestors" ... -- there is no difference here between you and us. 

It's statements like this, from one of the greatest sages of all time, that makes me wonder why we've fallen so far. 

I'll conclude with this portion of the series by saying that many rabbis in later times who sought to make it "easier" to convert followed the position of the Beit Yosef in the emphasis on the discretion of the court while also debating what exactly "for the sake of heaven" means in Maimonides' initial dictum about the conversion process. In future posts, you'll see how confusing and convoluted the debate becomes based on the writings of Tractate Geirim and the works of Maimonides. 

Still: Think back to what Maimonides says about once a convert, always a Jew. Why can't we live by this simple dictum? 

Pledging Jewish Allegiance: Part I

Not that long ago, @bethanyshondark hooked me up with someone who provided me with a review copy of a book that is more than right up my alley: Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa. I'm only halfway through the book, but I felt compelled to write about what I've already read. There are some definite positives and some very clear negatives to this book which were apparent from the get-go. The upside is that the collection of responsim in English translation is, in and of itself, invaluable. I'm able to overlook some very egregious "errors" because of this.

The authors of this volume are David Ellison and Daniel Gordis, the former is the president of Hebrew Union College (a Reform institution) and the latter is a popular speaker on Israel and is the president of the Shalem Foundation. The book was written over a period of a decade, according to the acknowledgements, and I imagine the push to get it printed now, at this very moment, was because of the increased intensity in the U.S. and Israel over the "Who is a Jew?" question regarding conversion.

The first thing that caught my eye in this book was the fact that the entire first chapter discusses the "geir" as meaning convert in the bible. I don't know how many times I have to say it, but there is absolutely zero proof that any use of the term in the bible meant anything other than stranger.

Jewish tradition permits the convert to join the Jewish people but often makes it difficult for him to do so. Even the Bible's word for "convert," geir, reflects this conflict, for geir means not only "convert" but "stranger" as well. The Bible refers to the convert as a geir even after he has joined the Jewish people. (14)

I can't express how distraught I was after reading this. The truth is that I really just wanted to put the book down at this point, because from an academic (and personal) standpoint, this is ignorant academics. In most of the instances in the Bible where this term is used, the understanding is that the individual being called a geir has simply tagged along with the Jewish people, he or she is a stranger among the Israelites. There is no formal layout for conversion at this point in the Israelite narrative, and the closest we truly get to someone in the bible converting is in the story of Ruth, who says that the Israelites will be her people and that their G-d will be her G-d. Other than that, the closest perhaps is Yitro (Moshe's father in law), but even there the rabbis and scholars struggle with whether he "converted" to become an Israelite as he joined the people and then subsequently left -- problematic when community is so important to the conversion narrative.

That being said, the meat of the book is interesting and informative about how we got from the Nineteenth Century to now and what exactly shaped modern-day rulings and concerns about motivation, acceptance of the mitzvoth (commandments) and what that means, and so on. Before I cut myself off (because I don't want to write five-million word long blog posts) I do want to share one thing that will set the stage for us that comes from Tractate Geirim, a minor tractate not formally part of the Mishnah (Oral Torah) and typically dated somewhat later.

Anyone who converts [in order to marry] a woman, for love or out of fear, is not a convert. Thus, Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah used to say that all those who converted in the days of Mordecai and Esther are not [valid] converts, as it is written, "and many of the populace were converting to Judaism, for the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them." And anyone who does not convert lesheim shamayim [for the sake of heaven], is not a [legitimate] convert." (24)

The interesting thing about this particular passage is that it informs what the rabbis discuss in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries -- but not in a way that you might expect. Ultimately, this very specific dictum is brought into question amid a rise in intermarriage and the Enlightenment period.

So I'll leave this one at this for now. Stay tuned for a multi-series look at some of the responsim and exactly what they mean for us today.

Particularly! Look out for what Maimonides has to say on the whole thing. It might surprise and delight you!

Book Review: "Heir to the Glimmering World"

If you've never read something by Cynthia Ozick, then you're seriously missing out. My first encounter with Ozick was in the last class of my last year of my undergraduate career -- American-Jewish Fiction with one of my favorite professors who I wrote about recently because he passed away. In that class, we read Ozick's The Shawl, which offered a portrait of the survivor's mentality and subsequent destruction therein. It is an incredibly short read, but an incredibly powerful read that will have you in tears.

When I was back in Nebraska last month, I picked up a ton of delicious used books at A Novel Idea, and one of them happened to be a Cynthia Ozick book I was neither familiar with nor had read -- Heir to the Glimmering World. I'm happy to say that this is one of those books that's incredibly hard to put down, and since it was my bedside table, pre-bed book, it made it hard to get through.

The narrative features Rosie, an 18-year-old whose father's curious past leaves her in an interesting place when he passes. She ends up living with her "cousin" Bertram, but when he takes up with a radical named Ninel (Lenin backwards!), Rosie is off to new frontiers, which leads her to the home of a family of refugees. The bulk of the book takes place in the 1930s when Rosie is in the home of the Mitwissers in The Bronx, where she is something of an assistant to the elder Mitwisser, a once-prized professor in the old country. The family has been affected in strange ways by the changes in Germany in the 1930s, and each of the family members handles things differently. Having been of the German elite, the family now relies on their benefactor, James A'Bair, who has his own strange, obscure background that left him "in the money." Rosie plays a greater role in the family than she can ever imagine, and Heir to the Glimmering World, and the book is unexpected in where it begins and where it ends.

I was incredibly pleased with this book, and it definitely had Ozick's balance of light and darkness in storytelling. The glimpses of hope and despair are so perfectly balanced, and unlike so many stories of refugees from the 1930s and 1940s from Europe, this story doesn't follow the typical trend. Judaism doesn't play a major role in the book, despite the elder Mitwisser being an aficionado on the Karaites.

Ultimately, this is a book about crushed dreams, new realities, a loss of security, and moving on with life when you lose everything and have to start fresh. It was a truly powerful read, and I highly recommend it!

Getting Help: Books You Can Trust II

Ahh, I love two-part posts. I first posted earlier this week about Rabbi Goldfeder's "Relationship 1:1" and now it's on to the second book that hit my doorstep thanks to the rabbi-author's publicist. Read on!

Life is Great!
Revealing the 7 Secrets to a More Joyful You!
By Rabbi Yitz Wyne

I was always a sucker for Why Bad Things Happen to Good People -- it got me through some really craptastic times. It seems as though these helpful books were coming out of the woodwork over the past few months, giving me food for thought and some wisdom with which to run.

Rabbi Wyne's book is, to put it simply, an eyesore. I say that because, well, you can see the cover, and it screams of "I AM A CHEESY JEWISH SELF-HELP BOOK!" with its sunshiney rays and smiling rabbi. Rabbi Wyne is the founder and spiritual leader of Young Israel Aish Las Vegas, which also threw me for a loop because I didn't realize that Young Israel and Aish were bound up in any way, and he's also a popular radio personality on "The Rabbi Show" on AM 720 KDWN talk radio. With a radio show, six kids, a wife, and a congregation, it's no wonder perhaps that the book cover design was an afterthought. Or maybe it wasn't. Either way, if you can get by the "don't judge a book by its cover" bit, you should be fine.

The book is divided into chapters according to the seven "secrets" that Rabbi Wyne wants to share, which feels a little gimmicky to me. Why do self-help books always have to have "secrets" to offer up? Why can't the author say what he or she means and get on with it. Each chapter leads with the secret and a sunshine clip art, which grated on my nerves at the turn of each chapter. (Can you tell this book annoyed me?)

However! I read the entire book. In fact, I flagged probably 20 different things in it that I found particularly interesting or inspiring. I just wish someone would re-release this book with a new layout, getting rid of the "secrets" and the bad clip art and cover.

Some of the great takeaways?

• Happiness ratings are subjective || Rabbi Wyne explains how what might be a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 for me might be completely different on a scale of 1 to 10 for someone else. Our scales are incredibly varied, so we can't and shouldn't compare our levels of happiness (21). 
• Happiness is a choice || "No one can 'make you' happy or 'make you' sad. The most others can do is create situations and environments that make it easier for you to be happy or upset, but ultimately the choice will be yours" (46). Amen, amen. Now to drill this into mine own noggin!
• Learn from your experiences || Rabbi Wyne quotes the Talmud, saying, "Who is wise? He who learns from everyone." The rabbi-author stresses that "Judaism doesn't view wisdom as accumulation of facts and formulas. Wisdom is a process that is acquired with a particular attitude" (90). I like it. It makes me wonder if I'm wise, however.
• The Passion Principle || I often wish I was a better waker-upper in the morning, but I often roll around, sometimes for hours, lamenting my lack of sleep or poor sleep and bemoaning getting up. Rabbi Wyne discusses the importance of being passionate about something as it gives life meaning and purpose. He says, "This concept is so important that in Jewish tradition the very first law that is stated in the law books is to 'strengthen yourself to wake up every morning like a lion, to serve your Creator" (137). I need to find my inner lioness, methinks.

I have to give mad props to the rabbi-author for crowd-sourcing a question on Facebook and using some of the responses in his book (99-100). On a negative note, however, I found the rabbi's discussion about how you should "Expect nothing from anyone else. Don't expect gratitude. Don't expect kindness. Don't expect loyalty" as a bit harsh. He goes on to say, "The more we expect from others, the more we will be disappointed" (104). What do you think? I feel like if I get married, I have the right to expect things -- emotions and otherwise -- from my spouse. In a job, one has the right to expect to be treated a certain way. Right?

Overall, this book has a lot of morsels of goodness that will make you tilt your head, go "huh," and think. Aesthetics aside, the rabbi-author offers a lot of personal insight, stories, and tales from his mentor as well. It's not as personal as some other books I've read, and it feels a little cheesy and forced at times, but if you're in a tough place, you can definitely walk away with some things to think about.

Read this book? Know the author? Let me know what you think!

Remembering Professor Gerald Shapiro

Today is very bittersweet for me. I was fully of tears of joy earlier today, unable to sleep, being so happy that Gilad Shalit is back with his family after five years and four months in the arms of evil. But I just found out some news that has me almost in a different kind of tears, tears of sadness.

Once upon a time, back in 2006, before Gilad Shalit had even a hinkling that his life was in danger, I was sitting in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Spring semester classroom of Gerald Shapiro, an English professor, taking his Jewish-American Fiction course. It was my last class at UNL, and I was so eager to immerse myself in the life and times of Jews in America writing about their lives. The syllabus was amazing -- Maus I and II, works by Cynthia Ozick, Tova Mirvis, Saul Bellow, Jonathan Safran Foer, and others. I loved every minute of that class, especially because we got to watch movies along with reading some amazing texts that enlightened me on the American-Jewish experience. At that time, during that semester, I was closing up my learning for my Reform conversion, and just before the semester closed, I became a Jew under Reform auspices.

In response to my final paper -- and this is probably why I remember Professor Shapiro so much, why I feel like his impact on me was so great -- he wrote,

"Jewishness, Jewish culture, is a matter of putting pen to paper – you’ve got that down, too. You have what my mother would have called a Yiddishe kupf – a Jewish head. You see the subtleties, the nuances in things. You see the humor that’s enveloped in tragedy, and the tears hidden inside the laughter."

I even blogged about it back in January. This man touched my life, and I don't know that he knew that. And that makes me so sad. He believed in me, as a writer, as a Jew. He believed in me.

I graduated, I moved on, and then, in November 2006 I decided to email Professor Shapiro, who had had such an amazing impact on my Jewishness and my literary interests. We sent a few emails back and forth about suggestions for reading for me based on what I did and didn't like in class -- and he remembered me, "fondly," he said and suggested some things I might enjoy. "Gerry," he signed his emails. At the end of one, he said,

"It's very, very good to hear from you and I hope you'll keep me posted as to your comings and goings."

And I never emailed him again. I feel bad about that. I followed the suggestions he made for me and wound my way around the world of American-Jewish fiction on my own, but now I'm wondering what else he would have suggested for me.

But now, he's gone. Unexpectedly. At the age of 61.

He'd been diagnosed with Hodgkins in his 20s, and I never saw or heard him speak about it when I was in his class or through our emails. He mentioned a back surgery once, but that he was doing well, but that was years ago. I feel horrible for not keeping in touch, but it reminds me how fleeting relationships are, even those with mentors and people we respect to guide us.

If you a chance, pick up a copy of Bad Jews and Other Stories, and let me know what you think.

Book Review: Why Be Jewish?

About a month ago, the kind folks over at Mosaica Press tapped me to write a review of "Why Be Jewish?" by Doron Kornbluth. Me being a bibliophile, I agreed to accept the book and write the review, as I do with so many books here on the blog. But with that disclaimer out of the way, I have to say that I honestly don't have much to say about this book. The author seems like it should be a declaration more than a question, but ... who knows. This book is just plain off on its intents.

Amazon.com's Editorial Review describes the book this way:

An increasing number of people regard being Jewish as a lifestyle choice rather than an unchangeable fact. Jewish identity no longer survives automatically. To stay Jewish today, each of us needs to find our own reasons why our heritage is important, inspirational, and relevant to our lives. Bestselling author Doron Kornbluth travels to over 50 cities a year to speak about Jewish identity. "Why Be Jewish" is touching, thought provoking, meaningful and funny. See which perspectives appeal most to you, and gain clarity and confidence in why you're Jewish.

I describe the book this way:

People identify as Jewish in vastly different ways, and as we try to understand these divergent and sometimes contradictory journeys, we must listen to narratives in order to connect to one another and to truly understand the question, Why Be Jewish?

Now, although I describe the book that way, that isn't exactly how the book comes across. I admire the author for writing the book in honor of a teenager who was killed in a terrorist attack in Israel, and I admire the effort to express the colorful narratives of what it means to be Jewish and how each of us choose to express our Jewishness. But the author imagines these narratives. They aren't real. 

I kept having to go back to the introduction to figure out exactly what the book was doing, because each chapter is a different narrative about the choice and way in which ones Jewishness manifests. One would have thought that the author would use real-life narratives, but instead he uses imagined narratives of different people with different circumstances with different desires and backgrounds. My question? Why not just tell real stories of real people? Those are the most compelling. Not imagined narratives of what real-life people think. I want to hear it from the mouths of the real people!

Overall, the book was a disappointment, and the cover of the book is confusing, don't you think? There are many collections of stories about being Jewish that are more powerful than the imagination can conjure, so why not stick to real stories by real people instead of one man's imagined Jewish masses.