Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • “The Etrog,” a short-story by Nobel laureate S.Y. Agnon (translated by Jeffrey Saks), was re-upped on Tablet this week for the Sukkot holiday.
  • “In a moment when being Jewish in America suddenly feels threatened in a way it hasn’t in decades, the idea of a distinctly Jewish novel — a concept that has persisted in literature since the turn of the 20th century — has become increasingly urgent. Three fiction writers and one cartoonist ruminate on Jewish identity and its relationship to Israel and the U.S. in 2017.” (The New York Times)
  • “Hagar, or: The Handmaid’s Tale” (S.L. Wisenberg on the Lilith blog).
  • Last chance to enter this giveaway!
  • And a reminder that you can catch Gal Gadot on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend!
  • Shabbat shalom and chag sameach.

    Words of the Week

    “In a new article published in The Forward, Stephen Walt claims that time has proved his and John Mearsheimer’s writings on the Israel lobby correct. Ten years ago, they wrote that a loose network of pro-Israel political and policy organizations negatively influence U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East. Yet, Walt’s efforts to show how the last ten years have proven him right would not pass muster in an introductory international relations course.”

    Source: Mitchel Hochberg and Dennis Ross, “Stephen Walt Is Still Wrong About the ‘Israel Lobby'” (Forward)

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • “It’s funny to be back at camp, almost 30 years later. Teaching writing—not as a crafts elective—but as part of a required Jewish education. It is a Jewish camp, after all, a camp that prides itself on text and learning; that requires campers to take two classes a day despite the fact that they are almost all staunchly allergic to the idea of ‘school’ in the summer.” From a beautiful essay by Sara Lippmann that I’d be sharing even if my name didn’t appear within.
  • A year after the passing of Shimon Peres—the statesman’s memoir appears.
  • This week’s “Israel in Translation” podcast features the poetry of Eli Eliahu (as translated by Kevin Haworth, Adriana X. Jacobs, and Vivian Eden).
  • A new issue of JewishFiction.net went live this week.
  • And a great, inspiring time was had by all at Tuesday evening’s launch event here in New York for Rabbi Shai Held’s The Heart of Torah: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion. Listen to recordings from the evening. Check out the online photo album. Consult the tour schedule to see if Rabbi Held will be in your neighborhood sometime soon. Enter the current giveaway. And note this discount offer from The Jewish Publication Society.
  • Shabbat shalom, everyone.

    Words of the Week

    “If given today’s false choice between learning the watch-your-back lessons of Munich or the Blame-Israel-first lessons of Lebanon, I start with Munich. We can’t be pure if we don’t survive. But I’m with the late Leonard Fein – let’s risk the nervous breakdown and navigate the world’s messiness – aspiring to be good, after ensuring we stay alive.”

    Source: Gil Troy, “Sabra, Shatila, and the Rise of the Jewish Voice for Israeli Suicide” (Jerusalem Post)