Members of the Scribe
The French During the Holocaust and the Complications of History
For the past eight summers, I’ve taught creative writing at the Paris American Academy, a small school in a neighborhood ...
The Golden Child
Recently, one of my writing students turned in a story featuring an adorable, vulnerable child whose blue eyes were “wide ...
A Southern Jewish Superhero
The call comes in the middle of the night.“Your nephew’s got it in his head that he wants to have ...
Visiting the Soviet Union
I’ve had four opportunities to visit the Soviet Union/Former Soviet Union over the years, the fourth being the trip I’m preparing ...
Putting Myself on the Line
As a book editor, my work had always been behind the scenes. When Ron Rubin (an author I had previously ...
The Teacher Has Plenty to Learn
At Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, where I teach, all would-be history majors and minors are required to take (and ...
From Intermarried Couple to Observant Jewish Family
When my wife and I speak to groups about our family’s journey to Judaism, inevitably we are asked about our ...
Abortion, Birth Control, and the Complexity of Halacha (Jewish Law)
I recently came across a copy of the June 28 issue of The Jewish Press . The Jewish Press is an Orthodox ...
Mourning the Loss of a Non-Jewish Parent
“Ima, Aunt Angela is trying to reach you. I know it’s grandma! I want to go to her funeral!” My ...
Top 5 American Jewish Women Most People Have Never Heard Of
One of the biggest pleasures in writing American Jewish women’s history is discovering the immensely talented, hardworking, committed women whose ...
West and Schwartz, Dreaming at the Movies
When it comes to 20th-century Jewish authors, it’s Bellow, Roth, and Salinger who generally grab headlines. But their immediate predecessors—Delmore Schwartz and Nathanael ...
A Word on Who I Am
A few months ago I finished Pete Townshend’s autobiography, Who I Am . I can’t say I was surprised to ...