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.

  • “To the extent, however, that we have to embrace an anti-Zionist kashrut in order to participate in their community — sorry, no can do. Our hope is actually to preserve a progressive sensibility in the American Jewish community, to reach to our right and to our left, not to hunker down into self-righteous rage and radical orthodoxy.” A message from the editor of Jewish Currents magazine.
  • Honestly, Ron Charles might as well have been speaking directly to me at the start of his review of Moving Kings, the latest novel by Joshua Cohen.
  • I don’t see award amounts posted, but if you’re working on Jewish art/literature in Los Angeles County, you might want to check out The Word Grant, a project of American Jewish University’s Institute for Jewish Creativity, “which supports artists creating projects that explore Jewish ideas, themes, tradition, history, and identity.” Deadline: August 10, 2017. (via eJewishPhilanthropy)
  • “Park Avenue Synagogue, a large, dynamic Conservative synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, seeks a dedicated individual for the role of Library Assistant.” (This is a part-time position.)
  • And, just posted a few hours ago: the July Jewish Book Carnival (organized by the Association of Jewish Libraries; hosted this month by yours truly).
  • I am taking off shortly for a long weekend away. Comment moderation may be delayed pending my return. In the meantime, Shabbat shalom, everyone!

    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.

  • I’m among those theatergoers swept up in the power of Oslo, which won a Tony award for Best Play this week. Itamar Rabinovich’s review for Jewish Review of Books offers some insights I appreciate knowing.
  • Speaking of plays: Check out this nice feature on the Jewish Plays Project by Amy Oestreicher for Broadway World.
  • I was lucky enough to be in the audience one recent evening when authors Matti Friedman and Nicole Krauss were in conversation—on writing about Israel and more—at Central Synagogue in New York. And now, thanks to JBSTV.org, you can catch a video of their discussion.
  • For The New York Jewish Week, George Robinson shares the four films that he believes are “the best Jewish or Israeli films of the first half of the year.” See if you agree with his choices (or add some titles to your to-be-watched list).
  • And a hearty mazal tov to all of the individuals and publications recognized in the latest round of the Simon Rockower Jewish Journalism Awards.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    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.

  • “Are you a Jewish student? Do you like to write?” If so, you might want to check out The Alevy National Jewish Student Journalism Conference, May 21-22 in New York City.
  • I missed this Yom HaAtzmaut webinar with Dr. Ruth Calderon on “The Israeli Identity Challenge: The Public Sphere in a Jewish Democratic State,” but I plan to catch up soon with this recording (and text materials).
  • Fellowship opportunity for “culture-makers” at LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture.
  • Baltimore Jewish Times is looking for a staff reporter, and Jewish News of Greater Phoenix seeks a managing editor.
  • ICYMI: my dispatch from this week’s celebration for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    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.

  • On Tablet, in time for Yom HaShoah: an excerpt from Leela Corman’s forthcoming graphic novel Victory Parade, in which a Jewish American soldier helps liberate Buchenwald—and is haunted by the experience.
  • Also connected with Yom HaShoah: “UnWitnessable: A Reading of Contemporary Poetry and Prose Related to the Holocaust,” an event for those in the Philadelphia area, happening next Wednesday, April 26.
  • “Washington Jewish Week, a print and multi-platform digital publication covering the capital region’s diverse Jewish community, is looking for an enthusiastic, quick-learning general assignment reporter/writer to join our Rockville-based news team full time.”
  • Check out the April Jewish Book Carnival, hosted this month by Yael Shahar.
  • And enjoy Judy Bolton-Fasman’s super write-up of Lilith magazine’s recent 40th-anniversary celebration at Brandeis University. Included: a sneak peek into Rachel Kadish’s forthcoming novel.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Words of the Week

    “From the very start, Lilith positioned itself at the place where feminism and Jewish life intersect, where the x and the y axes—the abscissa and the ordinate of our identity—meet. (Or is it the Scylla and the Charybdis?)

    In 1994, for Lilith’s 18th anniversary issue, I outlined the magazine’s origin story:

    “While our Jewish backgrounds ranged from Orthodox to assimilated, and our politics pretty much covered the map too, we all identified strongly as feminists and as Zionists.” We believed unwaveringly in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, while publishing writing unequivocally critical of some Israeli government policies.

    This season, some have declared the intersection of feminism and Zionism unacceptable. Who has the right to confiscate either part of my identity?”

    Source: “Intersections and Intersectionality,” Susan Weidman Schneider’s Editor’s Note in the current issue of Lilith magazine. Full text available online.