Disturbing, but unsurprisingly good short story by Nathan Englander in the current New Yorker. (Englander's Q&A with Cressida Leyshon piqued my interest, too.)
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Elena Kagan, Jewish feminist.
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Daniel Levenson reviews A Safe Haven, Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel, by Allis and Ronald Radosh
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via @JewishPub RT @KarBenPub Mazel Tov to Association of @JewishLibraries President-Elect Heidi Estrin! http://bit.ly/dpxb7B #Jewish#books
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via @bookoflifepod A brand new blog for folks who write Jewish kidlit! Cool! http://bit.ly/aaw6pA
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via @JewishIdeas A new book narrates the Jewish history of North Carolina http://www.jidaily.com/uXfrUCkqI/t
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Finally, please help me choose the author photo for my forthcoming short story collection, Quiet Americans!
Shabbat Shalom!
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
May 14, 2010
April 10, 2010
Bylines in Hebrew and English
The other day, author Allegra Goodman mentioned that her novel for young adults, The Other Side of the Island, had just been published in Hebrew. This comment particularly caught me: "The funny part about Israeli publications is that even now, I’m still a little surprised to find my Hebrew name on the cover: Alyza, instead of a transliterated Allegra."
In addition to wondering if her translators/Israeli publishers had asked for her Hebrew name (or just assumed it), I found myself glancing over at my desk plate:
Readers, THIS was the "favor"--personalized for each teenage-and-under attendee--that was distributed at my Bat Mitzvah reception. The anniversary of which (Parashat Emor) is rapidly approaching. (I won't tell you exactly how many years I've had this item within my peripheral vision. Let's just say that this year, I'll be listening as the daughter of a dear friend--one I've known since my freshman year of college--recites Emor as part of her Bat Mitzvah service.)
If I should be so fortunate as to have my forthcoming short story collection translated into Hebrew, I wonder if I, too, will find my Hebrew name (Yocheved) on the cover, instead of the very familiar transliterated Erika.
Any other writers in the Diaspora care to share their Hebrew byline experiences?
In addition to wondering if her translators/Israeli publishers had asked for her Hebrew name (or just assumed it), I found myself glancing over at my desk plate:
Readers, THIS was the "favor"--personalized for each teenage-and-under attendee--that was distributed at my Bat Mitzvah reception. The anniversary of which (Parashat Emor) is rapidly approaching. (I won't tell you exactly how many years I've had this item within my peripheral vision. Let's just say that this year, I'll be listening as the daughter of a dear friend--one I've known since my freshman year of college--recites Emor as part of her Bat Mitzvah service.)
If I should be so fortunate as to have my forthcoming short story collection translated into Hebrew, I wonder if I, too, will find my Hebrew name (Yocheved) on the cover, instead of the very familiar transliterated Erika.
Any other writers in the Diaspora care to share their Hebrew byline experiences?
March 18, 2010
Notes from Around the Web
Love this treasure from Tablet: excerpts from nine fiction writers revealing literary treatment of the Sabbath. The nine? Elisa Albert, Shalom Auslander, David Bezmozgis, Nathan Englander, Tova Mirvis, Lev Raphael, Jonathan Rosen, Philip Roth, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. What prompted this feature? Judith Shulevitz's new book, The Sabbath World.
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The Forward reports on another upcoming literary event: the second International Writers Festival in Jerusalem, which will run May 2-May 6.
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Linda K. Wertheimer describes how a recent writing workshop triggered a memory of being (along with her brothers) the only Jew(s) in school.
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Too much interesting and important material on Jeffrey Goldberg's blog to provide you with updates myself. Just be sure to go over there at least once in awhile. If you have limited time, be sure to read this post first.
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The Forward reports on another upcoming literary event: the second International Writers Festival in Jerusalem, which will run May 2-May 6.
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Linda K. Wertheimer describes how a recent writing workshop triggered a memory of being (along with her brothers) the only Jew(s) in school.
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Too much interesting and important material on Jeffrey Goldberg's blog to provide you with updates myself. Just be sure to go over there at least once in awhile. If you have limited time, be sure to read this post first.
September 21, 2009
"Reflections During the Days of Awe, 1989-5750"
Last Friday, I posted an essay from my personal archive on my other blog. Titled "Reflections During the Days of Awe, 1989-5750," the essay is 20 years old. I wrote it when I was enrolled in an undergraduate creative nonfiction workshop. It still means a lot to me, and it's definitely relevant for the Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur season. I hope you'll read (and enjoy) it.
August 7, 2009
Streaming Shabbat Services
I remember, growing up, listening to the weekly radio broadcast of early Friday evening Shabbat services live from New York's Temple Emanu-El. This was, of course, in the days before the Internet.
But now that we are living in an Internet society, services can be accessed online. Or, at least services held at Temple Beth Or in Morristown, N.J., can be accessed online.
According to the New Jersey Jewish News:
But now that we are living in an Internet society, services can be accessed online. Or, at least services held at Temple Beth Or in Morristown, N.J., can be accessed online.
According to the New Jersey Jewish News:
"Since May, the synagogue has been streaming its Shabbat services on Friday evenings and some Saturday mornings on a live webcast available to anyone with Internet access.It's a really interesting development, and, according to the article, one that is not limited to Jewish congregations.
That puts B’nai Or in the vanguard of high-tech shuls. A search using — what else — the Internet revealed only two other synagogues with such an offering: Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Ala., and Shaarey Zedek Synagogue in Winnepeg, Canada."
August 4, 2009
Notes from Around the Web
Jeffrey Goldberg "translates" Roger Cohen.
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Alana Newhouse considers Jewish exceptionalism in the days of Madoff and Dwek.
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Dan Kosky argues that the New Israel Fund should not support groups that oppose the Jewish state. (Which reminds me why I didn't jump to embrace the fund when a friend introduced me to it.)
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Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in the United States, has just opened a new visitors' center.
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Alana Newhouse considers Jewish exceptionalism in the days of Madoff and Dwek.
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Dan Kosky argues that the New Israel Fund should not support groups that oppose the Jewish state. (Which reminds me why I didn't jump to embrace the fund when a friend introduced me to it.)
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Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in the United States, has just opened a new visitors' center.
March 1, 2009
A Cantor Comments on Chatzi Kaddish
Some weeks ago, I subscribed to the Union for Reform Judaism's "10 Minutes of Torah" e-mail series. On Thursday, the daily e-mail provided a wonderful lesson on "The Sounds and Music of Chatzi Kaddish," replete with cantorial audio selections. I can't say I've been won over to the final (Gottlieb) version discussed in the column, but I've really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this incredibly important prayer.
January 19, 2009
Grandparents' Days
Today begins a bittersweet anniversary period. Between today and the end of the month, my family commemorates a series of important occasions.
Today, for instance, would have been my paternal grandparents' 68th wedding anniversary. And both my grandmothers were late-January babies, with their birthdays a week apart (I have many happy memories of joint birthday celebrations). Then, at month's end, we will say Kaddish for my paternal grandmother, the grandparent my sister and I were lucky to have with us the longest (she died in 2002).
January is also a time to say Kaddish for a number of other loved ones: the great-grandmother for whom my sister is named; my mother's beloved Aunt Syl; and my maternal grandfather.
All of them remain with us.
Today, for instance, would have been my paternal grandparents' 68th wedding anniversary. And both my grandmothers were late-January babies, with their birthdays a week apart (I have many happy memories of joint birthday celebrations). Then, at month's end, we will say Kaddish for my paternal grandmother, the grandparent my sister and I were lucky to have with us the longest (she died in 2002).
January is also a time to say Kaddish for a number of other loved ones: the great-grandmother for whom my sister is named; my mother's beloved Aunt Syl; and my maternal grandfather.
All of them remain with us.
January 15, 2009
Source of Comfort: Avinu Malkeinu
Lately, I've been seeking comfort by finding and listening to Hebrew prayers/music on the Internet. From time to time, I'll share some of my discoveries here. Today's offering: Barbra Streisand's rendition of the Avinu Malkeinu ("Our Father, Our King"), which is chanted during our High Holy Days. And for an alternate melody, but one that's equally familiar to me, listen to this clip from a cantorial concert.
You'll hear all Hebrew; I am looking for a complete translation online (something resembling what I'm used to seeing in the Gates of Repentance) prayerbook, but have not yet found one. Meantime, here's the best I can do.
You'll hear all Hebrew; I am looking for a complete translation online (something resembling what I'm used to seeing in the Gates of Repentance) prayerbook, but have not yet found one. Meantime, here's the best I can do.
January 11, 2009
Healing for Everyone, Everywhere
As I've suggested in some recent posts, and as the number of posts themselves may confirm, this has been a rather challenging week for me. And it hasn't been so easy for the rest of the world, either. Which is why I'm going to point us all to this lovely rendition of the Mi Shebeirach.
Amen.
Amen.
December 30, 2008
Not Very Good News
These have not been happy days. Last Friday morning, my family and I lost a beloved friend, our congregation's Senior Rabbi Emeritus, Barry H. Greene. His passing was utterly unexpected. The funeral took place on Sunday. I hope to be able to share excerpts from eulogies another time. Right now, I am still absorbing this shocking event. Zichrono l'vracha.
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Barry, as I was privileged to call him, would doubtless have forwarded at least one or two relevant editorials and similar items about the current difficulties in Gaza. Here is one I would have shared with him.
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Unfairness to Israel in academic circles is not exactly news to me, but the latest example is. After reading this, I'm glad I'm no longer an MLA member. The list of disciplinary/professional organizations I can no longer embrace with the enthusiasm I once did because I don't wish to support their non-disciplinary, non-professional political agendas with my membership dues thus grows.
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Barry, as I was privileged to call him, would doubtless have forwarded at least one or two relevant editorials and similar items about the current difficulties in Gaza. Here is one I would have shared with him.
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Unfairness to Israel in academic circles is not exactly news to me, but the latest example is. After reading this, I'm glad I'm no longer an MLA member. The list of disciplinary/professional organizations I can no longer embrace with the enthusiasm I once did because I don't wish to support their non-disciplinary, non-professional political agendas with my membership dues thus grows.
November 28, 2008
Mumbai
Like many of you, I've been spending a lot of time following the horrible news from Mumbai.
Sometimes when these awful incidents occur, it almost begins to seem that all the accounts from witnesses and survivors are blending together. But when a CNN broadcaster interviewed Jonathan Ehrlich earlier today, something was different.
From the safety of Vancouver, Ehrlich told CNN about his frightening experience in Mumbai, where he was staying at the Oberoi hotel.
Ehrlich said he feels even more blessed now than he did before--he's got a good life, and he's always recognized that, and now he feels even luckier. Among his thoughts, when talking about how fortunate he is to have escaped from the terrorists in his hotel: "First of all, I'm Jewish, and if they knew I was Jewish, I'd be dead...."
Which led the interviewer to bring up the targeting of the Chabad House and ask Ehrlich how it feels to be part of a group of people "that was purposely targeted."
"The sad truth of it is is that Jews are a target everywhere because of who they are," Ehrlich said. But, he added that "We're tough, we can take it," and we will go on.
Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu ya'ase shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisrael, v'imru amein. (May the source of peace send peace to all who mourn, and comfort to all who are bereaved. And let us say, Amen.)
Sometimes when these awful incidents occur, it almost begins to seem that all the accounts from witnesses and survivors are blending together. But when a CNN broadcaster interviewed Jonathan Ehrlich earlier today, something was different.
From the safety of Vancouver, Ehrlich told CNN about his frightening experience in Mumbai, where he was staying at the Oberoi hotel.
Ehrlich said he feels even more blessed now than he did before--he's got a good life, and he's always recognized that, and now he feels even luckier. Among his thoughts, when talking about how fortunate he is to have escaped from the terrorists in his hotel: "First of all, I'm Jewish, and if they knew I was Jewish, I'd be dead...."
Which led the interviewer to bring up the targeting of the Chabad House and ask Ehrlich how it feels to be part of a group of people "that was purposely targeted."
"The sad truth of it is is that Jews are a target everywhere because of who they are," Ehrlich said. But, he added that "We're tough, we can take it," and we will go on.
Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu ya'ase shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisrael, v'imru amein. (May the source of peace send peace to all who mourn, and comfort to all who are bereaved. And let us say, Amen.)
August 29, 2008
Alumnae Rabbis
I was pleasantly surprised to discover, tucked in the new (September-October 2008) issue of Harvard magazine, an article on alumnae rabbis. The article chronicles the experiences of three women - Toba Spitzer ’86, Jennifer (Kirsch) Flatté ’87, and Julia Andelman ’97 - and the paths each has traveled in becoming and serving as a rabbi. Do give it a read.
July 17, 2008
Notes from Around the Web: Sadness and Solemnity
Here are a few links to coverage of yesterday's sad and solemn return of Israeli soldiers to eternal rest at home:JTA
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Ynetnews
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Jeffrey Goldberg (1)
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Jeffrey Goldberg (2)
Photo: Honoring the remains of Ehud Goldwasser, murdered by Hezbollah. Mrs. Goldwasser is on the photo's far left side. (IDF/BPH Images)
MAY THE SOURCE OF PEACE SEND PEACE TO ALL WHO MOURN, AND COMFORT TO ALL WHO ARE BEREAVED. AND LET US SAY, AMEN.
June 8, 2008
Notes from Around the Web
As a Reform Jew, I was quite naturally drawn to Jack Wertheimer's Commentary exploration of "What Does Reform Judaism Stand For?".
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I was back in my old Massachusetts stomping grounds this weekend; this article in the Sunday Globe jobs/careers section, on a mohel's work, caught my eye.
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Last week we comemmorated yet another sad anniversary: 40 years since Bobby Kennedy's assassination. It seems as though I've always known when he was killed, where he was killed, and the name of his killer. What I didn't realize, shockingly, is the role his pro-Israel sentiments may have played in his brutal death.
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I was back in my old Massachusetts stomping grounds this weekend; this article in the Sunday Globe jobs/careers section, on a mohel's work, caught my eye.
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Last week we comemmorated yet another sad anniversary: 40 years since Bobby Kennedy's assassination. It seems as though I've always known when he was killed, where he was killed, and the name of his killer. What I didn't realize, shockingly, is the role his pro-Israel sentiments may have played in his brutal death.
June 4, 2008
Allegra Goodman's New New Yorker Essay
I've just received the New Yorker's summer fiction issue, and while I have yet to read the issue's fiction proper, I have managed to make my way already through some of its nonfiction essays penned by fiction writers. In this issue, those essays are grouped around the theme of "Faith and Doubt."
And they include a piece by Allegra Goodman, which begins as follows: "As a young girl, I spent more time outside synagogues than in them. Services were long, and I always found some excuse to get away." Read the rest here.
And they include a piece by Allegra Goodman, which begins as follows: "As a young girl, I spent more time outside synagogues than in them. Services were long, and I always found some excuse to get away." Read the rest here.
April 5, 2008
Notes from Around the Web
Learn about "The Russification of Jewish-American Fiction" in this new article by my friend, Andrew Furman.
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Personally, I've always appreciated the chance to pray for the well-being Israel (and, for that matter, for the United States), in the concluding part of a synagogue service. But in yet another example of political correctness run amok, "some American Jewish worshipers are finding themselves uncomfortable with the traditional Prayer for the State of Israel - and are changing it to suit their viewpoints." See the JTA article here.
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I guess there's not enough talk of anti-Israel boycotts like this one and this one and this one out there already, so American Theatre magazine decided it was time to stir the pot.
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Personally, I've always appreciated the chance to pray for the well-being Israel (and, for that matter, for the United States), in the concluding part of a synagogue service. But in yet another example of political correctness run amok, "some American Jewish worshipers are finding themselves uncomfortable with the traditional Prayer for the State of Israel - and are changing it to suit their viewpoints." See the JTA article here.
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I guess there's not enough talk of anti-Israel boycotts like this one and this one and this one out there already, so American Theatre magazine decided it was time to stir the pot.
January 2, 2008
Wishes for Tom Lantos
Sad news broke today:
"U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the only Holocaust survivor elected to the U.S. Congress, is retiring because he has cancer."
Read the entire story here.
I remember well Congressman Lantos's visit to our Temple in New Jersey back when I was in religious school. He was inspirational. I wish him all the best, and will recite a Mi Shebeirach for him.
"U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the only Holocaust survivor elected to the U.S. Congress, is retiring because he has cancer."
Read the entire story here.
I remember well Congressman Lantos's visit to our Temple in New Jersey back when I was in religious school. He was inspirational. I wish him all the best, and will recite a Mi Shebeirach for him.
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