By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
“Songs for the Brokenhearted”
Israel from a Yemenite Jewish point of view: that describes Ayelet Tsabari’s short stories and memoir. While those works were excellent, they may leave readers unprepared for her moving and powerful first novel, “Songs for the …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
“Goyhood, he thought – the state of rebounding from one travesty to the next.” – Mayer Belkin in “Goyhood”
What happens when you discover everything you thought about your life was based on a lie? At age 12, twins Marty and David Belkin learn from Ida Ma…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Romantic comedies: that is the longer term for what are frequently referred to as rom-coms. The shorter term suggests these novels are light and fluffy with no real substance. However, the best of these works offer a wider view of women’s lives. For example, two n…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
If you have ever adored a novel, you sometimes approach the author’s next work with trepidation. After all, is it possible for them to succeed in enchanting you a second time? That was particularly true in the case of Sacha Lamb, whose first book “When the Angel…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Regular readers of this column might be puzzled: Didn’t she already review a book about the history of Jews and pigs? Those asking this question would be remembering my 2021 review of the excellent “Evolution of a Taboo: Pigs and People in the Ancient Near East…
