32 minute read
BOOKS
Old Tales, Fresh Narratives
Evoking past and future at the seder | By Leah Finkelshteyn
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Pesach comes and goes,” Marcia Falk writes in Night of Beginnings, her new Haggadah, “always bringing with it something new: Although the narrative we tell is the same, the way we view and understand it changes each time we tell it.”
The themes referenced by Falk— change, renewal and the resiliency of Jewish tradition—run through the latest crop of Passover titles. The various picture books explore different periods in Jewish history, from Inquisition-era Spain and 1950s Iran to contemporary times, while Haggadot provide feminist insights into the seder and the expanded Jewish family.
Night of Beginnings: A Passover Haggadah
By Marcia Falk (Jewish Publication Society)
In her introduction to Night of Beginnings, her decadesin-the-making Haggadah, Marcia Falk reminds us that with “each spring— each Pesach season—we encounter newness in the world.” The acclaimed poet, liturgist and Judaic scholar skillfully traverses that delicate balance between modern perspective and traditional views, inviting readers to explore centuries-old seder night customs as well as her own fresh reflections on hymns, psalms and Passover motifs. connection across both time and space.” Ozeri, who has spent decades chronicling far-flung Jewish communities, uses his photos to illustrate the classic Passover text, in Hebrew with English translations, as well as to emphasize the customs and observances that tie Jews together. There is a striking image of a woman making matzah in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, in 2002, and a 2009 photo of a woman teaching children to make matzah at a Detroit Jewish community center. There are images of Jews engaged with sacred texts, including a photo of a women’s study group in Seattle, Wash., in 2009, and another from
Springtime is evoked throughout Night of Beginnings, in the delicate floral illustrations drawn by Falk, her inclusion of biblical epigraphs like passages from the Song of Songs and the pastel colors of the pages themselves. And while the Haggadah follows the text’s classic structure, in Hebrew with English translations and transliterations, Falk replaces the traditional blessings with egalitarian versions and adds what she calls kavanot (Hebrew for directions or intentions), which take the form of prose poems, biblical phrases and meditations.
Falk, one of the leaders of the early Jewish feminist movement and author of groundbreaking prayer books with alternative and supplementary prayers, brings her distinct sensibilities to the seder night. During Maggid, the storytelling portion of the seder, she includes the full biblical tale of the Exodus, replacing the compressed version found in most Haggadot in a way that uplifts the actions of the female characters, including Yocheved, Miriam, Bat Pharoah, Shifrah and Puah.
As we recount the stories in the Haggadah, Falk writes, “we re-enact with all our senses—tasting, smelling, hearing, seeing, and touching—ushering the past into the present moment.”
Pictures Tell: A Passover Haggadah
By Zion Ozeri (Gefen Publishing)
The seder, notes the preface to Pictures Tell, the new Haggadah from veteran Israeli photographer Zion Ozeri, “is a reflection of Jewish
Woman making matzah in Uzbekistan, from ‘Pictures Tell’
ONE BOOK, ONE HADASSAH
Join us Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. ET,
as Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein interviews award-winning author Lisa Barr about her latest novel, Woman on Fire. Part thriller and part historical fiction, with more than a touch of romance, the novel follows journalist Jules Roth as she tracks down an elusive masterpiece stolen by the Nazis more than half a century earlier. With its strong female characters and well-researched look into the art world, Barr’s page-turner explores provenance and ownership of Nazi-looted art and asks how far one should go to reclaim a family treasure (see review on page 58). This event is free and open to all. To register, go to hadassahmagazine.org/books.
1992 of children in the mountain town of Haidan A-Sham in Yemen gathering in a cave to study the weekly Torah portion.
Pictures Tell asks readers to use the photographs as jumping-off points for seder discussions. In a sign of the times, Ozeri includes in the Haggadah QR codes that link to additional information. All this is supplemented by short quotes and commentaries from contemporary Torah scholars and Jewish thinkers, such as Israeli writers Daniel Gordis and Yossi Klein Halevi and Mizrahi writer and psychotherapist Rachel Wahba.
Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation
By Daniel C. Matt (Yale University Press)
Elijah is a guest at every seder, invited toward the end of the night, given a cup of wine—the kos Eliyahu—and expected to usher in the redemption. But how did the prophet, shown in biblical texts as a zealous, fiery, even angry figure railing against injustice, become a permanent invitee to the Passover table? Why does he have a seat at every bris and a starring role in Jewish folklore? (There are more Elijah stories in The Israeli Folktale Archives, the books notes, than any other Jewish figure.)
Author Daniel C. Matt gives readers a researched, thorough look at the legendary prophet who is thought to have ascended to heaven while still alive. Filled with quotes from biblical texts, rabbinic commentaries and books of Jewish mysticism, Becoming Elijah explores how the zealot was transformed into a man of compassion and earned his place at Jewish holidays and life-cycle events. The book presents Jewish views of the prophet over the centuries as well as the Christian and Muslim connection to Elijah. Ultimately, Elijah is a figure of hope, the author concludes. “Each generation pours their yearning into him and draws comfort from him,” Matt writes. “The various portraits of the immortal prophet reveal as much about the mind of the people of Israel—their needs and ideals—as about the character of Elijah.”
BOOKS FOR KIDS
A Persian Passover
By Etan Basseri. Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh (Kalaniot Books)
Ezra and Roza, siblings in 1950s Iran, are helping with preparation for their family’s Passover celebration when an accident ruins the newly baked matzah. The two take readers through their neighborhood and local marketplace as they rush to find replacement matzah for their seder.
The book is based on the experiences and customs of the author’s father, Jamshied Basseri, who grew up in Kermanshah, a city in western Iran. Indeed, A Persian Passover shares the distinct sights and traditions of the Iranian Jewish community, such as the building of a matzah oven in the synagogue courtyard and how, for the seder, Ezra and Roza’s family sit around a large sofreh (ornate cloth) “decorated with a seder plate, scallions, dyed eggs, and green sprouts.”
Alone Together on Dan Street
By Erica Lyons. Illustrated by Jen Jamieson (Apples & Honey Press)
A charming only-in-Israel tale of resilience and empathy, Alone Together on Dan Street introduces us to Mira, who misses being with friends and family during Covid. In advance of the seder, Mira decides to practice the Four Questions on the balcony of her Jerusalem apartment and ends up inspiring her lonely neighbors, including elderly Mr. Blum and wheelchair-bound Mrs. Yaso, to sing together on seder night, each from his or her own balcony—“a choir larger and happier than she could have imagined.”
During pandemic lockdowns, news reports noted that thousands of Israelis did indeed take to their balconies to sing traditional tunes on Passover. Alone Together on Dan Street is an illustrated ode to such joyful acts of solidarity in trying times.
Raquela’s Seder
By Joel Edward Stein. Illustrated by Sara Ugolotti (Kar-Ben Publishing)
Young Raquela yearns to experience a seder, but in Spain during the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Jewish families like hers are forbidden from practicing their religion. Nevertheless, her parents try to fulfill her
request, quietly gathering the ingredients for a seder that they all celebrate in secret on a boat out at sea.
Through descriptive text and appealing illustrations, Raquela’s Seder captures the hopes, fears and sadness experienced by conversos, the term, the book explains in an endnote, for Jews who remained in Spain during the Inquisition and hid their Judaism. “A long time ago, God freed the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt,” Raquela’s papa says as he fills a wine glass at the secret seder. “Let us hope that one day we will also be free—free to live as Jews.”
‘Raquela’s Seder’
Leah Finkelshteyn is senior editor of Hadassah Magazine.
NONFICTION
The Remnant: On Burning Wings: To a Displaced Persons Camp and Beyond
By Michael G. Kesler (Vallentine Mitchell)
The title of this poignant Holocaust memoir, The Remnant, is an allusion to the biblical phrase she’erit hapletah. In Chronicles I 4:43, it refers to the surviving remnant of a group that has almost totally been destroyed. Today, the phrase is used to describe both Holocaust survivors in general as well as those who were gathered into displaced persons camps after the war.
The Remnant is the story of the harrowing journey that author Michael G. Kesler took with his older sister, Luba, after the German invasion of their hometown of Dubno.
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Dubno, in eastern Poland (now Ukraine), was one of the most important Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Almost all the city’s 8,000 Jews were systematically murdered by the Germans and their local collaborators. At war’s end, only 300 remained.
Most survivor stories have similar beginnings—the Germans come—and the same ending—somehow, they lived. But the middle element, the how and where, makes each story different. And Kesler’s experiences are indeed unique.
After the Germans broke through the Russian lines in 1941, Michael and Luba’s parents urged the two to flee eastward toward Russia. Once they arrive, he serves briefly in the Russian army. In the book, he describes the constant guilt and sadness he felt as a teenager about his abandonment of his parents. It is only the sympathetic guidance of his sister and his good friends that pulls Kesler out of his depression. The brother and sister keep moving east and eventually arrive in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, some 3,000 miles from home. There he finds work as a veterinary assistant and later as an apprentice weaver, selling
Looking for more Holocaust-related
nonfiction for Yom Hashoah? Go to hadassahmagazine.org/books for our reviews of The Letters Project, a memoir of a woman who, after uncovering a hidden cache of letters, searches for the truth about her father, a Holocaust survivor, and The Dressmakers of Auschwitz, about the group of young women who were forced to design and sew fashion clothing for the wives of Nazi elite.
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yarn on the black market. Kesler also has a brief romance with a local girl, but ultimately cannot commit himself to someone outside his faith.
Stories like these, with their dramatic content and crisp characterization, are paradigmatic of the quality of The Remnant and had me eagerly turning pages to find out what would happen next.
The book also describes Kesler and his sister’s journey after the war. The siblings return to Dubno to discover the mass graves of the city’s Jews, including their parents. They then find refuge in a displaced persons camp in Germany, where they wait for more than a year for a country to open its doors to them. With each setback and catastrophe, Kesler describes his struggles with God: “During four years of exile, Luba and I had never celebrated the Sabbath or any other Jewish holiday. The torrent of conflicts began to tear me apart. I felt myself floating in mid-air without mooring.”
At the camp, he takes a course in radio repair and trains on a kibbutzlike farm. Kesler applies for and, in 1947, wins a scholarship that enables him to study at Colby College in Maine. He later transfers to MIT. (Luba obtained a visa to Uruguay. After a number of years, she immigrated to the United States.) In the United States, for the first time since the start of the war, he finally experiences the feeling of total freedom.
Kelser passed away in August 2021 at the age of 97, a few months after his memoir was published. His enthralling recollections artistically combine a novelist’s keen insights with a historian’s detailed accounts of an era. —Curt Leviant
Curt Leviant recently published a translation of a long-forgotten Sholom Aleichem novel, Moshkeleh the Thief, as well as his 12th novel, Me, Mo, Mu, Ma & Mod; or, Which Will It Be, Me and Mazal or Gila and Me?
FICTION
The Pessimists
By Bethany Ball (Grove Press)
Even an optimist will enjoy The Pessimists, Bethany Ball’s engaging and biting satire about three modern-
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day couples raising their children in an affluent and predominantly white Connecticut suburb of New York City.
As in her previous novel, What to Do About the Solomons, the author teases apart the struggles, successes and failures of the families she writes about as well as the secrets that haunt them. There are Tripp and Virginia, the genial hosts of a New Year’s Eve party that opens the book, who are keeping secrets from each other; and Rachel, who is Jewish, and her Swedish husband, Gunter, recent transplants from Manhattan. The third pair, Richard and Margot, wrestle with questions of fidelity and mental health as well as their grief over a daughter who died in infancy. What unites these privileged couples—all looking for the best for their offspring—is their embrace of the Petra School, a private, New Agey institution that sometimes forgets to stress subjects like math and science.
Indeed, the families’ lives revolve around the unaccredited and murky Petra School—a sendup of progressive academies—and its cryptic headmistress, Agnes. She sets the tone, issuing streams of surreal memos and proclamations challenging widely accepted pedagogic practices: “Dear Petra School Parents,” she writes in one missive. “Competitive sports are inappropriate for Petra School children. Ours is a school of cooperation. Chess, however, is encouraged.”
Vaccines and the consumption of gluten are, however, discouraged. As is dairy, which Agnes links to dyslexia. There will be “no learning disabilities of any kind” at Petra, she writes in another note. There will also be no mention of Passover, or any other Jewish holidays, in the classrooms because, Agnes tells parents, “there are no Jewish teachers”—a whiff of antisemitism from the headmaster who herself has possible Nazi connections.
All of this sets the stage for the families’ lives to unravel.
The Art of the Haggadah
Illuminate your Seder table with Haggadahs illustrated by artists including Marc Chagall, Ben Shahn, Mark Podwal, and more.
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Photo: Tory Williams Under the auspices of the Jewish Theological Seminary
Unbeknownst to virtually everyone, including his wife, Tripp has become a doomsday prepper. Among his preparations for the apocalypse is an arms repository that he creates in his basement. Virginia, for her part, is keeping her breast cancer diagnosis a secret, refusing to treat the cancer despite the concerns of her oncologist.
Rachel, desperate for her children to fit into Petra, ignores the uncomfortable antisemitism. Gunter, originally skeptical—“School is meant to be hated,” he quips. “How else will children learn to endure hateful things?”—suddenly embraces Agnes’s formula for happiness, including yoga and meditation.
To manage her anxiety, Margot obsessively immerses herself in housework while Richard, who hates his job, engages in serial extramarital liaisons as an escape.
What are we readers to make of all this? These jaded, wealthy suburbanites may seem to lead perfect lives, but, as the author shows, their unmet desires, fears and discontents are relatable and all too real.
Several loose threads remain at the conclusion of this novel, even as it winds down to an unexpected climax and a relatively satisfying ending. —Stewart Kampel
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York 10005. REGISTRATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, SANCTION OR RECOMMENDATION BY ANY STATE. Charitable deductions are allowed to the extent provided by law. Hadassah shall have full dominion, control and discretion over all gifts (and shall be under no legal obligation to transfer any portion of a gift to or for the use or benefit of any other entity or organization). All decisions regarding the use of funds for any purpose, or the transfer of funds to or for the benefit of any other entity or organization, shall be subject to the approval of the Board or other governing body of Hadassah. The Hadassah Foundation, Inc. is a supporting organization of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. and Hadassah Medical Relief Association, Inc. January 2021 Stewart Kampel was a longtime editor at The New York Times.
Woman on Fire
By Lisa Barr (Harper)
In Woman on Fire, Lisa Barr returns to the theme of art under the shadow of Nazi Germany that earned her awards and accolades for her debut novel, Fugitive Colors. Barr, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, is a long-time art lover and journalist who is a former managing editor of Moment Magazine and Today’s Chicago Woman. Now, she brings her passions and life experience to fiction. Woman on Fire combines mystery, thriller and romance along with Barr’s penchant for strong
female characters and her exhaustive research into Nazi-looted art, giving readers a page-turner that educates as it entertains.
Jules Roth, the novel’s protagonist, is a young journalist on a mission that sends her across the United States and Europe to find a painting stolen by the Nazis 75 years earlier. The object of her pursuit is Woman on Fire, a life-size portrait of a woman consumed by brilliant-colored flames. The painter, fictional German expressionist Ernst Engel, who also appears in Fugitive Colors, was murdered by the Nazis in their purge of avant-garde artists whom they labeled “degenerate,” and the painting disappeared. Jules races to find it, guided by her mentor, Chicago Chronicle editor Dan Mansfield. This search is personal for Dan, who wants to return the painting to his dying friend, Ellis Baum. Ellis’s mother, Engel’s model, was shot by the Nazis as her son watched. Ellis wants to see the painting of his mother one last time before he dies.
Every suspense novel needs an enemy, and here Barr gives us the strong, unscrupulous Margaux de Laurent—a Paris art dealer who would do anything to possess the long-lost painting. The twist here is that Margaux believes the painting belongs to her; there is evidence that her grandfather briefly owned the painting during the war.
As Jules uses her investigative skills to track the provenance and whereabouts of Woman on Fire, we readers are immersed in the painful travails experienced by contemporary families still trying to recover Nazi-confiscated art. Barr forces us to consider whether multiple families or institutions might have a reasonable claim to the same artwork, and is there a difference between coerced sale versus outright theft?
The twists and turns of the story include a little too much hot-andheavy romance for my taste (note Ellis’s “ruggedly handsome” grandson Adam, who joins Jules on her quest). But Barr also gives us more complexity than a genre thriller, delving into secrets of the art market and raising questions of forgeries, forced
Continued on page 62
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Guide to Jewish Literature
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WHAT CAN WE REALLY LEARN FROM THE HABITS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS? Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg applies years of masterful rabbinical sermons and theology to the contemporary trappings of the lifestyles of the rich and famous and the false idols of celebrities. You can learn from the highs and lows of the infl uential while keeping your spirits intact!
Available on Amazon.
REBIRTH OF PLANET EARTH Gary Michael, Marvin Michael
Almost the entire human and mammal population on Earth dies mysteriously in 2030. One survivor, Eli, an agnostic who recently made aliya to Israel from the US is compelled to fi nd answers. Hassan, an astronaut on the international space station from the UAE, provides Eli with helpful information. Eli starts his journey driving an Israeli-made solar-powered vehicle and fi nds survivors and valuable scientifi c research. Eli studies Torah and is contacted by the Almighty. The Earth is repopulated with an emphasis on protecting the environment. After Eli’s death, the people of another planet need assistance from the people of Earth.
Available on Amazon (318 pp, Free on KindleUnlimited, Kindle $4.95, paperback $14.95). Email the authors at rebirth.of.planet.earth@gmail.com.
THE PASSOVER GUEST Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin
A Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner! In this fresh retelling of the classic I.L. Peretz story “The Magician”, Muriel assumes her family is too poor to hold a Passover Seder this year—but an act of kindness and a mysterious guest change everything. This picture book o ers a wonderful message about the power of togetherness through di cult times and masterfully encapsulates the spirit of Passover.
Hardcover, 40 pages. Available on Bookshop.org or wherever books are sold. Published by Neal Porter Books / Holiday House Books.
SELLING ETHICALLY: A BUSINESS PARABLE CONNECTING INTEGRITY WITH PROFITS Joel Malko
An engaging, thought-provoking, Heavenly Court story about applying Jewish ethics and integrity in life, business and more… Here’s what several Amazon Readers have said, “A relatable coming of wisdom story…” “Right book at the right moment, underscores the power of ethical behavior, this short book felt like a refreshing drink of water…” “Encourages you to be more ethical not only in business, but in all aspects of your life!”
FREE professionally narrated audiobook (Value: $15.00). Visit theEthicsGiver.com/o er for FREE Download. Available on Amazon in softcover, e-book, hardcover, audiobook.
PRAIRIE SONATA Sandy Shefrin Rabin
Named one of the Best Books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. “A compelling work… poignant and eloquent.” (Starred Review). Mira Adler, growing up in a town on the post-WWII Canadian prairies, learns about life and love from her Yiddish and violin teacher, Chaver B, a recent immigrant from Prague. Perfect for Purim, the holiday plays an important role in Mira’s growing consciousness in this coming-of-age novel about music, love, friendship, community, and religion. Winner of the Independent Press Award and a New York City Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite. Ideal for book clubs, Bat/Bar-Mitzvah gifts, adults/young adults.
See www.PrairieSonata.com for more reviews and details on purchasing. Available in hardcover, softcover, and e-book.
RUMORS Stephanie Abrams
Rumors percolate in a Jewish community where gossip is an Olympic sport. RUMORS, boasting 79% fi ve-star ratings, overfl ows with secrets, lies, love, lust, conspiracies, intrigue, wit, a who-dunnit and people you know, braided together like a challah! An acclaimed author notes: “Not since Rosemary’s Baby have I been given a book I could not stop reading. Gripping plot, well written.” An Israeli-American magazine publisher writes: “My wife devoured this book in record time. She told me: ‘You’d love it.’ Later that night I inhaled the book.”
HIP SET Michael Fertik
“Fast paced with an original, exotic setting, Hip Set is an unstoppable read from fi rst page to last,” Faye Kellerman, best-selling author. A noir thriller set in modern-day Tel Aviv, Hip Set begins with what appears to the police to be a simple murder but swiftly takes our heroes through the hidden lives of Sudanese refugees and the violent underground economy of Russian gangsters, in search of an ancient mystery, lying untouched in the desert for millennia, that has been troubling scholars since it fi rst appeared in the Old Testament itself.
Available on Amazon.
Milner analyzes when Moses punished the Israelites with a death penalty, not God-approved, that this prohibited him from entering Israel and how this punishment was consistent with the principles of Divine Justice found in the Torah. Then Milner examines when Moses strikes, rather than speaking to the rock at Meribah, the event thought to be the reason Moses couldn’t enter the Land. He presents the view that this reason was a late addition to the Torah, intended to rehabilitate the reputation of Moses.
ISBN 978-1946124-869, 774 pages. Available on Amazon.
Milner takes us to the closing period in Abraham’s life after the Akedah, when told by YHWH to prepare to sacrifi ce Isaac. It was after this event that Abraham, amazingly, lost faith. After the Akedah, when it was not Isaac who died, but Sarah, Abraham did the unexpected; he married a pagan. Milner presents Abraham’s story in the format of a play, through dialogue. Ideal for teachers and group leaders, this story can easily be presented in a live format for all ages.
ISBN 978-1946124-883, 148 pages. Available on Amazon.
Inspired by a real-life incident. When a favorite teacher gives an assignment requiring students to pretend they’re Nazis and debate the Final Solution, two brave teens speak up and refuse to participate. The situation explodes, forcing the school and larger community to confront antisemitism and bigotry. What does it take for tolerance, justice, and love to prevail? Find out in this riveting, fast-paced, multi-award-winning novel.
Available in hardcover, e-book, paperback, and audio wherever books are sold. Free curriculum guide through Penguin Random House. Liza will speak to Hadassah chapters, synagogues, schools, and other groups. Visit lizawiemer.com for more information.
BETWEEN THESE WALLS Michael Newman
Art curator Daniel Singer, adopted son of Colonel Samuel Singer, receives a mysterious package from Germany. He can’t help but think that there’s something important within the envelope. But what? Daniel’s quest to learn about the package’s contents leads him on a voyage of discovery about his roots, an encounter with the Mossad, Israel’s secret spy agency. As he searches, he unlocks the secrets of three families —one American and two German —following them from the dying days of WWI, to the rise of Adolf Hitler, WWII, the Holocaust, the birth of the State of Israel and three Middle East wars.
Available on Amazon.
YOUR SOUL MATE AWAITS! A MATCHMAKER REVEALS HOW TO FIND LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN 3 SIMPLE STEPS Judith Gottesman, MSW, with Maria De La O
The owner of Soul Mates Unlimited™, Judith Gottesman, MSW, is a Jewish matchmaker and dating coach. In Your Soul Mate Awaits! A Matchmaker Reveals How to Find Love and Happiness in 3 Simple Steps, Judith takes on much more than just dating, to illuminate today’s relationship questions. Judith understands how frustration, self-doubt and uncertainty plague those looking for a soul mate connection. Whether readers are looking to date for the fi rst time, for the fi rst time in a long time, or just need a new approach, Judith reveals the tricks of the trade to fi nd a romantic partner. Seeds of Scripture weaves together ancient wisdom and modern knowledge. It is not a reimagination of the Jacob story but an expansion that teases out the inner meaning of the biblical text. In Egypt, Jacob shares his past with his grandchildren as he organizes the writings collected by Abraham.
Available through Amazon Kindle or Amazon.
BLACKS AND JEWS IN AMERICA: AN INVITATION TO DIALOGUE Terrence L. Johnson and Jacques Berlinerblau
A Black-Jewish dialogue lifts a veil on these groups’ unspoken history, shedding light on the challenges and promises facing American democracy. “This book o ers a smart, fresh take not only on the complicated history of a fraught alliance but also on topics like liberalism, intersectionality, and Israel-Palestine that tend to separate the two groups today.”—Maurice Samuels, director, Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism.
Hardcover, 224 pages, $26.95. Available for purchase on press.georgetown.edu.
THE GRAVEL ROAD David Handelman
From a potential waif to the triumphs of wealth, he sees the adventures of his life; loss, love of friends, enemies, of coming close to meeting his own death.....An unloved boy, enterprising auctioneer, unrequited lover – Jonah Knight always looked for things hidden in plain sight that someday save his life.....Knight’s quest for himself leads him to learn what deprived him of the only shelter over his head – the remarkable auctioning skills he learned from Peter Flagsta .
Available on Amazon.
RICHARD CODOR’S JOYOUS HAGGADAH Richard and Liora Codor
A cartoon haggadah that follows the traditional steps of the seder. Written in a concise, contemporary style, it includes songs, games, recipes and prayers in English, Hebrew and transliterated Hebrew. It makes the seder fun and meaningful for family, guests and even for those “who don’t know how to ask.”
Softcover, 48 pages. Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, $11.95. Blending history, mystery, and romance, The Paris Photo is an acclaimed novel depicting the long reach of wartime trauma. Stationed in Paris in 1944, an American soldier, Ben Gordon, assists a Jewish Parisian family. Years later, his daughter fi nds a photo of her father, taken in Paris, with women and a boy. Why were they in a picture he obviously kept his whole life – but never discussed? She travels to Paris to uncover the story, learning more than she intended. The author, part of the Jewish Book Council network, has given presentations around the country.
Paperback, 494 pages (also an e-book). Available at independent bookstores, Amazon, or at www.theparisphoto.com.
THE RABBI’S WIFE, THE BISHOP’S WIFE David Jacobson and Chayuta Deutsch
A Jewish woman’s story of faith and betrayal, loyalty and commitment. Spain, 1391. Shlomo Halevi, the city’s Rabbi, converts to Christianity with his fi ve young children. Later, he becomes the Archbishop of his city. Shlomo’s wife Joana is faced with an impossible choice between loyalty to her children and her Jewish heritage. This novel is a tribute to Jewish women and mothers of all generations.
Available on Amazon in softcover print and Kindle editions. Hebrew version (bestseller) available in all Israeli bookstores and www.ybook.co.il.
STRANGE FIRE Joel Burcat
The frackers have invaded Pennsylvania and Yukon Oil and Gas may have poisoned a residential well and threaten a town’s water supply. Mike Jacobs, a 29-year-old environmental lawyer with Pennsylvania’s environmental agency, is back in this romantically-charged environmental legal thriller. “Burcat writes with an insider’s edge about a dangerous battle over fracking. Strange Fire is a dark, suspenseful read that ranges from gas fi elds to the courtroom, all handled with gritty style. A treat for thriller fans.” William Landay (Defending Jacob).
Paperback, 385 pages. Available on Amazon in paperback and e-book. For more info: www.JoelBurcat.com.
To advertise here, please call Randi O’Connor at (212) 451-6221, or email roconnor@hadassah.org. Space is limited.
sales, provenance and ownership.
Even Margaux, after breaking into an apartment to abscond with a trove of Nazi-looted art, asks: “If I stole from the art robbers—does that make me a villain or a hero?” —Elizabeth Edelglass
Elizabeth Edelglass is a fiction writer, poet and book reviewer living in Connecticut.
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for the visually impaired or reading disabled CALL 800-999-6476 BEFORE APRIL 4, 2022 or order online at www.jbilibrary.org
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A N S W E R S
Crossword Puzzle on page 47 HER ELVIRA BABEL ALES LIESEL AROMA RACHELFRANK SARIS LIARS ESA ABATE ANGELABUCHDAL NEED AAS AINT ISS DSS ERN IRONSIDES ENO SSN RETE
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TOP TEN JEWISH BEST SELLERS
FICTION 1. The Books of Jacob
by Olga Tokarczuk (Riverhead Books)
2. Three Sisters
by Heather Morris (St. Martin’s Press)
3. The Postmistress of Paris
by Meg Waite Clayton (Harper)
4. Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart (Random House)
5. The Cellist
by Daniel Silva (Harper)
NONFICTION 1. The Betrayal of Anne Frank:
A Cold Case Investigation
by Rosemary Sullivan (Harper)
2. The Complete Maus:
A Survivor’s Tale
by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)
3. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
by Michelle Zauner (Knopf)
4. All About Me!: My Remarkable
Life in Show Business
by Mel Brooks (Ballantine Books)
5. People Love Dead Jews:
Reports from a Haunted
Present
by Dara Horn (W.W. Norton)
