Words of the Week Archives

Words of the Week: “Barkuni”

by Erika Dreifus on September 22, 2026

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With a little help from Avinatan Or, and subtitles provided by Yael Bar Tur.

The greatest weapon we have is our sense of humor (and the Iron Dome).

Enjoy this hilarious clip of Avinatan Or, who was held hostage for 2 years in the tunnels of Gaza, trying to sell his new book. I put subtitles on it for you (watch til the end!)

Courtesy of Barkuni on IG. pic.twitter.com/r5lWGW8Xpq
— Yael Bar tur (@yaelbt) September 20, 2026

Words of the Week

by Erika Dreifus on September 15, 2026

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From Saturday morning’s service. If you’re familiar with the liturgy, this will be familiar. (And for that matter, if you’re familiar with Leonard Cohen, some of it will be familiar, too.)

And from my archive.

Words of the Week: Yours?

by Erika Dreifus on September 8, 2026

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NYT journalist @liamstack is seeking input from Jews on Israel, the I-P conflict, and Jewish identity. If you're fed up with extremists being shown as a prominent perspective in our community, here's a good opportunity to challenge that portrayal.https://t.co/Bv8o2uB2Cq
— Alex גדעון בן װעלװל (@JewishWonk) September 8, 2026

Direct link to a New York Times journalist’s call for information from Jewish New Yorkers.

Words of the Week: Haya Pomrenze

by Erika Dreifus on September 2, 2026

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Elissa Wald's introduction to the poetry of Haya Pomrenze over on Judith Magazine, as linked within the post.

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Words of the Week: Erika Dreifus

by Erika Dreifus on August 11, 2026

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“It’s not just a matter of publishers, it’s a matter of the entire pipeline,” Jewish literary consultant and advocate Erika Dreifus said. “It’s a matter of writers feeling empowered to attend conferences and classes and to write their Jewish stories in supportive spaces. Then it’s a matter of agents being willing to look at those stories and take them on. Then it’s a matter of the books being covered in pre-publication trade reviews, which I have noticed are not necessarily including certain narratives and certain authors. That’s how reviewers find out about books. Everything has a drip-down effect.”

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Erika Dreifus

Writer and Resource Maven

Posts Tagged‘Words of the Week’

Words of the Week: “Barkuni”

Words of the Week

Words of the Week: Yours?

Words of the Week: Haya Pomrenze

Words of the Week: Erika Dreifus