Features

Community Spotlight: Raychel Reilly

The Reporter is starting a new feature called “Community Spotlight” highlighting community members and finding out more about them. If you want to be among the participants, e-mail treporter@aol.com.
First up is Jewish Community Center Chief Operating Officer Raychel Reilly.

1. What is …

On the Jewish food scene: Curing the common cold

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Whenever we were sick or injured, my mother would smash up 3-4,000 milligrams of vitamin C to help us heal. A fan of Linus Pauling, who was a proponent of vitamin C, she claimed that the reason I still have an eyebrow after a bike accident when I was a kid is becaus…

Off the Shelf: Jews and Christmas

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I enjoy reading and reviewing books with similar subject matter because they often complement each other, giving me more insight into the topic than either would alone. That’s why, after receiving a review copy of Scott D. Seligman’s “The Great Christmas Boyco…

Off the Shelf: Gangsters, detectives and spies

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“Kaplan’s Plot”

At first, I wondered why such a fuss had been made about “Kaplan’s Plot” by Jason Diamond (Flatiron Books). The novel made several “most anticipated books of the year” lists, which is one of the reasons I asked for a review copy. How…

Off the Shelf: Miscellaneous fiction

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Rom-com

I am a ginormous fan of Jean Meltzer’s rom-coms. (Yes, I know some people don’t consider ginormous a real word, but it is listed as one in the Oxford Language and the Merriam-Webster dictionaries.) The fact that I’m using a fancy word, rather than jus…