Ben Rothke, at The Blogs

Oct 19, 2023, 7:32 PM

Book review – Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War & How It Created the Modern Middle East

50 years ago this month was the Yom Kippur War. It was one of the darkest times in the modern state of Israel. As the Bar-Lev Line on the Suez Canal was being dismantled by the Egyptian Army like...

Sep 14, 2023, 2:30 PM

The 5 best books of 5783

The term People of the Book, which sounds much better in Hebrew, Am HaSefer, is indeed apt. Walk into any Jewish bookstore, and new titles are arriving daily. The year 5783 is coming to a close, and the year, like previous...

Aug 31, 2023, 2:44 PM

Book review: 101 Treasures from the National Library of Israel

The National Library of Israel (NLI) is dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Jewish heritage. Located at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the quantities around its holdings are quite impressive. That includes over 4 million...

Aug 24, 2023, 8:07 PM

Book review – Two interesting new books on Kohelet

Every year, the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) is read on Sukkos. There are many reasons why it is read then. A theme of Sukkos is that everything is ultimately temporary, and nothing evokes that like our moving into a...

Aug 8, 2023, 10:37 PM

Book review – Ruth Blau: A Life of Paradox and Purpose

One of the characteristics of the very brilliant Dr. Gregory House, the titular character of the medical drama television series House, M.D., was that he would only take on very interesting cases. Run-of-the-mill diseases such as appendicitis, heart attacks, and anything...

Jun 29, 2023, 2:58 PM

Book review – New Insights into Bemidbar

Reading the The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel: Exodus, the authors make it clear that context is vital when it comes to an understanding of a subject. If someone lacks context, their ability to understand is severely...

Jun 15, 2023, 3:19 PM

Book review: Reclaiming Dignity, A Guide to Tzniut for Men and Women

One of the most incredible shots in the history of golf was by Vijay Singh at the 2009 Masters Tournament. The ball skipped a few times over a pond, went into the middle of the putting green, and made...

Apr 20, 2023, 4:32 PM

Book review: Two new books on medicine and halacha

The COVID-19 pandemic is approaching the three-and-a-half-year mark. It changed our lives significantly, and its long-term effects are still being worked out. It upended Jewish religious life to a degree not seen in many generations. The medical field was...

Mar 2, 2023, 3:51 PM

Book review – Architectural Ideas in Judaism & the Weekly Torah Portion

The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria highlighted the importance of building standards and good architectural practices. Turkish officials have turned architects into reasons for the failures, and the public outrage at architects is viewed as responsible for the...

Feb 23, 2023, 7:54 PM

Book review: Transmitting Jewish History: Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi in Conversation

A little over 40 years ago, one of the most influential books on Jewish history was published - Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory, by noted Jewish historian Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, then a professor of Jewish history at Columbia...

About Me

I’m a senior information security and risk management professional, based in New York City. I speak at industry conferences, and write on information security, social media, privacy and technology. My book reviews are on information security, privacy, technology, and risk management. My reviews for the Times of Israel focus on Judaism, Talmud, religion and philosophy.

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