There are some novels that are so distinctive that they’re difficult to describe. This was true of two recent books: “Before All the World” by Moriel Rothman-Zecher (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and “When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sacha Lamb (Levine Querido). The former pac…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Messiah: the noun is connected to the Hebrew verb that means to anoint a person or object with oil. However, the connotations of the term have changed over time. In the early sections of the Bible, it usually referred to a man who was anointed with oil by another pe…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
It’s often a matter of luck who our neighbors are. We pick a house based on a variety of factors, but rarely do we interview the people who live next door or across the street before making a decision. Yet, those neighbors can have a great impact on our lives as …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Some of the best books are also the most challenging, especially if they force you to think carefully about how you view the world. Take, for example, “On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World” by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (Beacon Press). I…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Demons, gremlins, golems: for many contemporary Jews, these creatures belong to the realm of fairy tales. This was not true – at least, not in the case of demons – for the ancient rabbis who lived in Babylon. In her book “Demons in the Details: Demonic Discou…
