New Books in Jewish Studies

Nov 19 2024 1162 ep. 56 mins 2.9k

New Books in Jewish Studies Podcast artwork

Interview with Scholars of Judaism about their New Books

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Masha Kirasirova, "The Eastern International: Arabs, Central Asians, and Jews in the Soviet Union's Anticolonial Empire" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Nov 19 2024 60 mins

In the first few years after the Russian Revolution, an ideological project coalesced to link the development of what Stalin demarcated as the internal "East"—primarily Central Asia and the Caucasus—with nation-building, the overthrow of colonialism, and progress toward socialism in the "foreign East"—the Third World. Support for anti-colonial movements abroad was part of the

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, "In Search of Jonathan: Jonathan Between the Bible and Modern Fiction" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Nov 17 2024 64 mins

In both modern fiction and the biblical texts of 1 Samuel 13-2 Samuel 1, the character of Jonathan serves as a key literary and theological figure. Throughout In Search of Jonathan: Jonathan Between the Bible and Modern Fiction (Oxford UP, 2023), Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer interprets Jonathan's portrayal in traditional biblical literature and modern fiction. Each chapter provides first an

Hannah Pollin-Galay, "Occupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024)

Nov 15 2024 60 mins

The Holocaust radically altered the way many East European Jews spoke Yiddish. Finding prewar language incapable of describing the imprisonment, death, and dehumanisation of the Shoah, prisoners added or reinvented thousands of Yiddish words and phrases to describe their new reality. These crass, witty, and sometimes beautiful Yiddish words – Khurbn Yiddish, or “Yiddish of the

Gil Student, "Articles of Faith" (Kodesh Press, 2024)

Nov 14 2024 29 mins

The advance of technology has revolutionized nearly everything in our world, bringing changes which have led to much confusion regarding faith and practice. Here, Rabbi Gil Student stands as a pioneer with his online periodical Torah Musings, which explores timely issues of faith and meaning in the contemporary world based on classic Jewish texts. His recent book, Articles of Faith

Sara Glass, "Kissing Girls on Shabbat: A Memoir" (Atria, 2024)

Nov 13 2024 62 mins

Growing up in the Hasidic community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Sara Glass knew one painful truth: what was expected of her and what she desperately wanted were impossibly opposed. Tormented by her attraction to women and trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, she found herself unable to conform to her religious upbringing and soon, she made the difficult decision to walk away

Maksim Goldenshteyn, "So They Remember: A Jewish Family’s Story of Surviving the Holocaust in Soviet Ukraine" (U Oklahoma Press, 2022)

Nov 13 2024 90 mins

When we think of Nazi camps, names such as Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau come instantly to mind. Yet the history of the Holocaust extends beyond those notorious sites. In the former territory of Transnistria, located in occupied Soviet Ukraine and governed by Nazi Germany's Romanian allies, many Jews perished due to disease, starvation, and other horrific conditions. Through

Janusz Korczak, "How to Love a Child and Other Selected Works" (Vallentine Mitchell, 2018)

Nov 12 2024 88 mins

How to Love a Child and Other Selected Works (Vallentine Mitchell, 2018) is the first comprehensive collection of Korczak's works translated into English. It contains his most important pedagogical writings, journal articles, as well as private texts. Volume 2 starts with extensive excerpts from two pedagogical treatises written for young readers. These are: Rules of Life, which ex

Jay Rovner, "In Every Generation: Studies in the Evolution and Formation of the Passover Haggadah" (Gorgias Press, 2024)

Nov 10 2024 35 mins

I spoke with Jay Rovner about his book In Every Generation: Studies in the Evolution and Formation of the Passover Haggadah (Gorgias Press, 2024). The Passover seder is one of the most widely celebrated ceremonies in the Jewish world today. It was one of the few that was maintained as much as possible in secret by crypto Jews, and there are still remnants of it today in descendants

Naomi S. S. Jacobs, "Delicious Prose: Reading the Tale of Tobit with Food and Drink: A Commentary" (Brill, 2018)

Nov 08 2024 60 mins

In Delicious Prose: Reading the Tale of Tobit with Food and Drink (Brill, 2018), Naomi S.S. Jacobs explores how the numerous references to food, drink, and their consumption within The Book of Tobit help tell its story, promote righteous deeds and encourage resistance against a hostile dominant culture. Jacobs' commentary includes up-to-date analyses of issues of translation, text-

Karine Rashkovsky, "An Improbable Life: My Father's Escape from Soviet Russia" (Cherry Orchard Books, 2024)

Nov 05 2024 41 mins

From evading the KGB and disassembling a downed American plane to narrowly escaping a life sentence in Siberia, Reuven Rashkovsky’s story is a gripping tale of coming of age, searching for belonging, and daring to escape the tightly controlled Soviet regime. Relayed in his point of view by his daughter, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky, An Improbable Life: My Father's Escape from Soviet Ru