Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • According to D.G. Myers, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (1940-2011) “was probably not a great novelist, but she was and is the kind of writer upon whom a living literature depends — hard-working, indefatigable, utterly devoted to the life of words.”
  • Further reflections on Samuel Menashe (1925-2011), courtesy of Jewish Ideas Daily/David Curzon.
  • Four poets—Rachel Barenblat, Matthew Zapruder, Kathryn Hellerstein, and Yerra Sugarman—collaborate on a poem inspired by Genesis 22:13. (“So Avraham took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.”)
  • Author Wayne Hoffman wants straight Jewish readers to choose Jewish gay books. He provides a reading list to help.
  • For Jewish Woman, Sandee Brawarsky shares “A Quartet of Stores About Love and Loss,” new books by Katharine Weber, Lucette Lagnado, Ellen Feldman, and Alice Hoffman.
  • From New Jersey Jewish News: “the first in a ongoing series of columns on how best to communicate for Israel.”

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Paid Internship Opportunity with MyJewishLearning

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    MyJewishLearning, Inc. is seeking an editorial intern to work on its two largest projects MyJewishLearning.com (the leading transdenominational Jewish website) and Kveller.com (the largest website for parents of young Jewish children).

    The intern will help create innovative content, update existing material, and upload articles to the sites as well as support a number of upcoming editorial projects. The ideal candidate should be eager, able to work independently, and comfortable working on multiple projects at the same time. Experience writing for web publications, using a Content Management System, and knowledge of Photoshop are essential. Qualified candidates will also have an interest in Jewish culture and tradition.

    The intern will work out of MyJewishLearning’s Manhattan office. The internship is available immediately and would last at least through the end of 2011. The position is 10-15 hours a week and pays $10 per hour.

    For more information and to apply, see the announcement on JournalismJobs.com.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Next week, I’ll be publishing an interview with debut novelist Anna Solomon. But this week, you can read Anna’s fascinating essay on Jewish mail-order brides on Tablet.
  • Poet Samuel Menashe has passed away.
  • Some fall nonfiction titles of Jewish interest to anticipate.
  • Mazel tov to David Bezmozgis, author most recently of The Free World, which has been shortlisted for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.
  • Eric Herschthal compiles a Jewishly-focused reading list for President Obama.

    • Shabbat shalom, with an emphasis on “shalom,” especially for our community in southern Israel.

    Five Twitter Feeds to Follow So You’ll Know What’s Happening in Israel

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    You know, if the population of any American city were living under the barrage of rockets that continues to rain on southern Israel, we’d be hearing about it all the time, 24/7. But whenever I look at my Twitter timeline, I see almost everyone talking about almost everything/anything but the rocket attacks.

    If you want to stay informed–and I hope that you do–I recommend “following” these Twitter feeds for updates:

  • @IDFSpokesperson
  • @IsraelConsulate
  • @StandWithUs
  • @GPOIsrael
  • @NJJN (because, as they’ve done this week, my hometown Jewish newspaper covers our “sister community” in southern Israel–Ofakim–which I visited last fall)

    • I can’t sit around and worry about what’s happening in Israel all day, every day. But at least when I see updates from these feeds, I can say a quick, silent prayer. And I can stay informed.

    If you have additional feeds to recommend, please share them in comments. Thank you.

    Words of the Week: Jeffrey Goldberg (via Sarah Wildman)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    “This is where it breaks down for me with hyper-whiney critics: If you are Jewish and deal with Jewishness, you have to deal with the fact that half the world’s Jews live in Israel and there is something called peoplehood. It is particularistic, and it is territorial. It is a story of a group of people with a relationship to a certain place, and you have a relationship to that place.”

    Source: Jeffrey Goldberg, quoted in Sarah Wildman, “How Do We Talk to Our Children About Israel?”