By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
“Cinnamon Girl"
There is a great deal to dislike about Adam Zantz, the hero of Daniel Weizmann’s “Cinnamon Girl” (Melville House). He refuses to take responsibility for his actions and often spins a lie, rather than tell the complete truth. Yet, readers wil…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Harry Freedman makes something very clear in his new book “Shylock’s Venice: The Remarkable History of Venice’s Jews and the Ghetto” (Bloomsbury Continuum): the Jews of Venice were treated far better than most Jews in Christian lands during the 16th century,…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Joan Leegant will speak at the Campaign 2025 Federation Super Sunday Brunch on Sunday, September 8. For more information about the event and an interview of Leegant, see future issues of The Reporter.
I spend a great deal of energy looking for books of interest –…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Judaism is about law, while Christianity is about love. Rabbi Shai Held sees this statement as not only anti-Jewish propaganda, but completely mistaken. His purpose in writing “Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life” (Farrar, Straus and Girou…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
It was the title that caught my eye: “The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews: A Memoir” (She Writes Press). The author’s name, Rossi (just Rossi), didn’t seem familiar. However, when looking at her short biography, the title of her previous memoir. “The Raging Sk…
