By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
What possible connections could there be between a synagogue and a frozen yogurt shop? They both serve as buildings that offer meaningful lessons, or at least they do in two recent novels: “The Rabbi Who Prayed with Fire: A Rabbi Vivian Mystery” by Rachel Sharon…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Warning: If you prefer to view Israel through rose-colored glasses, then you should skip this review of Rebecca Sacks’ novel “City of a Thousand Gates” (Harper). If you’re hoping that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be easily resolved, you should think …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
When a writer offers long descriptions of people and places, my mind rarely forms a visual image from the text. Instead those words create an emotional mood – one that may not be completely faithful to the author’s intent. That’s one reason I enjoy books with …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Are houses of worship built to celebrate the glory of God or the glory of humans? That question would not have been asked of synagogues in medieval Europe because of the many restrictions limiting the size and height of those buildings. Other laws restricted where J…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
The never-ending number of novels about World War II and/or the Holocaust amazes me. It’s so easy to get behind because numerous new ones are published each month. In fact, I decided not to ask for review copies of six recent works because I already had five novel…
