Jewish Inspiration at your Fingertips
Interviews with Jewish Personalities, Israeli Life, 3-Minute Life Lessons and Book Reviews
Layers: Personal Narratives of Struggle, Resilience, and Growth from Jewish Women by Shira Lankin Sheps
From The Layers Project, “a blog that featured the images and raw intimate stories of Jewish women,” to the book Layers, which “tackles different life situations or taboo topics,” Shira Lankin Sheps invites her readers to experience, understand and commiserate with amazing women through her narration of their stories. Continue reading “Book Review – Layers”
“I had gone to the dying to learn how to live. To find comfort. And all this time it was the world of the living…that had just as much to teach me.” In the subtitle of Sherri Mandell’s book, she notes that she “blew it training as a pastoral counselor.” Continue reading “Book Review – Reaching for Comfort”
“Welcome to How To Make Pesach In Five Days. This book presents ideas that you can easily incorporate into your family’s routine. Your mind will not be cluttered with details…” So begins Meira Spivak’s lively- and uncluttered- marvel of a book, explaining in non-stressful language how to manage the pre-Pesach pandemonium. It is short, concise, and exactly what I need as I contemplate the calendar and realize that Purim was already a few weeks ago and Pesach is fast approaching. Continue reading “Book Review – How to Make Pesach in Five Days”
The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Dr. Edith Eger, Psychologist
Here I sit, on a cold, snowy February day, at my computer with that cold, flaky white stuff drifting down from that cold, gray sky. I’ve become a frenzied knitter, this winter of our COVID-19 discontent, clicking my bamboo knitting needles in endless colors weaving endless skeins of yarn into more afghans than my children or grandchildren (especially those in the hot Scottsdale climate) will ever need or use. I’ve also continued my lifelong habit of reading- from “Fifty Famous Fairy Tales” when I was little (how convenient it was to read ‘once upon a time’ conclude with ‘happily ever after’!) to tales of fiction, non-fiction, and self-help as I’ve grown older. Which brings me to The Gift by Dr. Edith Eger- a wonderful, enriching book conceived as a “practical guide to help us identify our mental prisons and develop the tools we need to become free.” Continue reading “Book Review – The Gift”
The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership by Yehuda Avner.
When I was in school (100 years ago?), I yawned my way through history class and tackled my homework via memorization of explorers, dates, and other arcane information which seemingly bore no relation to teenage me. Continue reading “Book Review – The Prime Ministers”
Expecting My Child: A Mother’s Longing by Bat-Galim Shaer
“As I write this we mark three years without Gil-ad, may Hashem avenge his blood. We lost our only son among five daughters. The loss caused me the most extreme emotional upheaval; our world became dark.” Continue reading “Book Review – Expecting My Child: A Mother’s Longing”
Unlocking Greatness: The Unexpected Journey From The Life You Have To The Life You Want by Charlie Harary with Mark Dagostino.
“Welcome to life in the modern world: a world in which most people have more wealth, knowledge and technology…than their ancestors could have ever dreamed for themselves. A world in which we have so much but so little…A world in which we are perpetually unsatisfied.” With this introduction, Charlie Harary poses questions about the difference between our wants and our needs, and provides a road map through our brain to help us navigate our physical and emotional life. Continue reading “Book Review – Unlocking Greatness”
Out of the Depths: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last. A memoir by former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. Continue reading “Book Review – Out of the Depths”