Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus' poem, "The New Colossus," affixed to the base of the Statue of Liberty in 1903 (twenty-five years after her death), identifies this icon as the "Mother of Exiles." It took time for Lady Liberty to grow into this role.
Kabbalah: A Love Story
When is a predictable love story more than a predictable love story? When a teacher of mysticism like Rabbi Lawrence Kushner uses it as a parable.
Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet
Constitutional scholar Jeffrey Rosen’s new biography Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet coincides with the 100th anniversary of the confirmation of America’s first Jewish Supreme Court justice.
A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen
In his well-crafted biography, A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen, Tablet magazine senior writer Liel Leibovitz explores Cohen's enduring impact as a poet, lyricist, songwriter, and Jewish icon.
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
By the time she was 3 years old, Jazz Jennings (not her original first name or her real last name) knew she was meant to be a girl. In her new book Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teenager, Jazz tells her story, including how she and her family became reality TV stars and outspoken advocates for transgender rights.
Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story
Matti Friedman was conscripted into the Israeli Defense Forces at 20, along with 19 other young recruits, and sent to a border outpost in Lebanon called Pumpkin Hill, which he describes as “a forgotten little corner of a forgotten little war.” Israeli casualties of Hezbollah guerilla attacks were code-named “flowers,” hence the title of his new book, Pumpkinflowers A Soldier’s Story (Algonquin Books, 2016).
The Debt of Tamar
The Debt of Tamar, a self-published online sensation picked up by St. Martin’s Press in 2015, is a Nicholas Sparks-esque pastiche of fated love, hereditary burdens, and international flair. Spanning centuries from an auto-da-fé in Portugal to Nazi-occupied Paris to modern-day Istanbul and New York, Nicole Dweck’s vivid descriptions of iconic cities and idealized characters make for an enjoyable read.
The New Reform Judaism: Challenges and Reflections
The tent of Judaism is expanding. As a result, the ways in which Jews engage in worship and ritual, understand observances and practices, and relate to God and the Jewish community are in constant flux.
Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself
Hardly a week goes by without news of religious extremists committing atrocities against people of other faiths in the name of God or some other holy cause. As a result, “religion” itself has been put on trial.