Features

CJL: The Bible and its scribes

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

William M. Schniedewind thinks scholars and contemporary readers often ask the wrong questions when looking at the development of the biblical text. In his “Who Really Wrote the Bible: The Story of the Scribes” (Princeton University Press), Schniedewind, a profe…

CJL: Books for the younger crowd

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop” 

Time loops have become a popular literary device, one that allows writers to explore how their characters would react if forced to live the same day or weekend or week over and over and over again. This is the premise…

Jewish Online Resources 4/11/25

By Reporter staff

A variety of Jewish groups are offering educational and recreational online resources. Below is a sampling of those. The Reporter will publish additional listings as they become available. 

Hadassah Magazine will hold the virtual program “Chutzpah Girls” on Thursday,…

On the Jewish food scene: Matzah: Just on Passover or all year-round

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

During Passover last year, a friend said she couldn’t wait for the holiday to be over so she could stop eating matzah and get it out of her house. That struck me as odd, so I asked her, “You only have matzah in the house on Passover?” She said yes and thought …

Off the Shelf: European novels

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“Confidential”

First novels can be tricky for short story writers, especially if their tales feel more like vignettes than complete works. However, Mikolaj Grynberg’s book “I’d Like to Say Sorry, But There’s No One to Say Sorry to: Stories” was so goo…