Open Search form

Books

Apply for a Blog

Janet Bond Brill

Sep 28, 2026, 9:24 PM

She Danced for the Gestapo. Then She Danced the Hora

One of my favorite photographs of my mother-in-law, Edna, sits on my desk. She is high above a dance floor, lifted on a chair during the hora. Her platinum curls are immaculate. Her mouth is wide open in a...

Tony D. Senatore

Sep 25, 2026, 5:43 PM

More on The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien

I've been thinking about something that feels increasingly relevant to how we understand the world. The Bible tells us that there is a struggle between good and evil, and that ultimately good will prevail. Tolkien takes that ancient idea...

Sep 24, 2026, 7:10 PM

Book Review – New Year, Lots of New Books on the Parsha

Daf Yomi, like the weekly Torah reading, creates a shared Jewish intellectual calendar. On any given Shabbat, an Orthodox Jew anywhere in the world is likely to be hearing the same Torah portion as Jews in Jerusalem, London, Teaneck,...

Tony D. Senatore

Sep 24, 2026, 12:44 AM

What Tolkien Taught Me about Good and Evil

I watched all six of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies last week. After spending several days immersed in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, I found myself thinking less about the fantasy itself and more about the philosophy underlying...

Sep 23, 2026, 3:56 PM

Jewish Author Spotlight! Zibby Owens: ‘Between Chapters’

The latest from multi-talented literary force Zibby Owens hit bookshelves yesterday, and believe me when I say you’re in for a treat. Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot features 40 raw, heartfelt, and...

Sep 21, 2026, 6:21 PM

The graphic novel about Jonah and the fish

The Koren Tanakh Graphic Novel: Yona (Jonah in English) is more than a retelling of Jonah. Koren presents it as the full biblical text in graphic form, with words by David Sacks, four artists, and one colorist. It can...

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Sep 18, 2026, 11:19 AM

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is not easy to get into this book, though once the reader overcomes the initial difficulty posed by its peculiar layout and can accept the premise that the narrator is Death itself, with its own inimitable view of...

Sep 17, 2026, 9:47 PM

Let them know! We had just finished a long Rosh Hashana davening when I was approached by a man in the shul who I did not know. He told me," You have no idea how much joy you just brought...

Sep 17, 2026, 8:01 PM

Book Review – I Read This Over Shabbos: Reading Jewish History in the Parasha

Pirkei Avot 1:6 advises, “Acquire for yourself a friend.” In I Read This Over Shabbos: Reading Jewish History in the Parasha (Koren Publishers), Rabbi Dr. David Bashevkin shows that he has certainly taken that advice to heart. Throughout the book,...

Sep 15, 2026, 8:24 PM

One of the best books published this year

Graphic novels can offer something distinctive: they combine words, images, design, and pacing, so readers actively interpret both what the text says and what the pictures imply. This can make complex stories, historical events, and religious narratives more immediate...

Load more