Welcome to the Jewish Review of Books
Welcome to the first issue of the Jewish Review of Books.
What the U.S. Can and Can’t Do in the Middle East
Why the realists are being unrealistic about American power in the Middle East.
Why There Is No Jewish Narnia
So why don’t Jews write more fantasy literature? And a different, deeper but related question: why are there no works of modern fantasy that are profoundly Jewish in the way that, say, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is Christian?
The Child Was Circumcised
The circumcision controversy in Germany has been heating up, but it's not the first time. The discussion has been going for centuries and has involved differing levels of overt anti-Semitism.
The Lost Textual Treasures of a Hasidic Community
The Regensburg Library at the University of Chicago contains a catalogue of markings and stamps from books saved from Nazi destruction. One such stamp comes from the library of the Karlin-Stolin Hasidim, a collection that might contain the most valuable manuscript for understanding the roots of Hasidism. But where is it?
The Limits of Prayer
One who prays to change the past, says the Mishnah, “utters a vain prayer.” A person should not beseech God to undo events that have already taken place, even when the outcome is still unknown. And yet there are circumstances where one is naturally tempted to do just that.