Members of the Scribe
Beginning a Literary Career
Although St. Martin’s Press would probably prefer me not to mention it, Shlepping the Exile , which comes out next ...
On Edith Pearlman
I imagine many of us can remember exactly where we were when we encountered a favorite book—when we felt our ...
On Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen”
When I first read Chaim Potok’s The Chosen I wasn’t yet trying to be a writer myself, and was blissfully ...
Every Word Counts
I began my first post with a Sarah Silverman joke, so let me start this one with a more traditional example of ...
Why the Book of Jonah?
When you write a novel called The Book of Jonah , when you base that book on the biblical Book of ...
Woody Allen’s Jewish Soul
Like Woody Allen, I can remember a childhood when being Jewish caused me a certain deep unease, partly because of ...
The Jewish Hall of Fame
I once heard Sarah Silverman tell a joke about the pride Jews inevitably take in the accomplishments of other Jews. To paraphrase, ...
Lessons of a Broken Heart
It’s amazing how your first broken heart feels like the end of the world. Until your next broken heart which ...
Faking the Big A — Attitude!
Dating is all about attitude. If you’re in a pissy mood about something totally unrelated to your date, or if ...
Finding My Jewishness
At birth I was blessed with not one, not two, but four Jewish names. Tamar Avital is the name my ...