By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Western society’s legal system has been influenced by biblical law, even when lawmakers don’t specifically reference the Bible in their thinking. Instead, these laws serve as the underpinning of the system, something that is often taken for granted. Daphne Barak…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Although Al Jolson was once one of America’s popular performers, his star has diminished. That’s partly due to the fact that he frequently performed in blackface (using burned cork or makeup to color his skin) – something frowned upon in contemporary times –…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
The connection between immigrants and crime has been a hot topic recently. However, it’s not a new one: Jewish immigrant involvement in crime in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th was one of the reasons U.S. immigration laws changed…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Religious poetry that speaks to both observant and secular Jews is a rare phenomenon. That’s why it’s always a pleasure to read poems by Yehoshua November. He has a way of finding words that address both worlds. This is certainly true of his most recent book,  
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Writing historical fiction that combines fact and fiction – particularly using real life people as characters – can be difficult because the writers’ plots are constrained by historical events that readers can confirm in history books or on the Internet. There…
