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Sisterhood has created an on-going series of Book Reviews to enhance your Jewish Literacy. This year they are joined in co-sponsoring this series by our Continuing Education Committee. Don’t judge a book by its cover, read it yourself. For information, contact sishood@emanuelhouston.org.
The
Coffee Trader
by David Liss
Thursday, October 30,
Noon
Reviewer: Lois Falk
A re-creation
of 17th century Jewish Amsterdam at the time
of the discovery of the wonders of the coffee
bean.
Those
Who Saved Us
by Jenna Blum
Thursday, November 13, Noon
Reviewer: Helaine Lane
A
Holocaust story, mother-daughter drama and an
exploration of the legacy of shame.
Away
by Amy
Blooms
Thursday, January 8, Noon
Reviewer: Rabbi
Amy Weiss
A novel of Jewish immigration,
an epic adventure and mother's search for a lost
daughter.
People of the Book
Thursday,
March 12, Noon
Reviewer: Rabbi
Roy Walter
A Pulitzer
Prize Winner's tale of the Sarajevo Haggadah
set in various lands over many centuries.
The Sistine Secrets
by
Benjamin Brecht and Roy Doliner
Thursday, May 14, Noon
Reviewer: Charlotte
Berkowitz
A fascinating
non-fiction of the hidden, forbidden Hebrew messages
and Jewish symbols in the heart of the Vatican.
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Rosh
Chodesh has long been recognized
as a woman's holiday. In the Talmud
we read that women are exempt
from work on Rosh Chodesh. Why
do women merit a special holiday
once a month? In midrash, Pirke
DeRabbi Eliezer, we are told that
in the incident of the golden
calf, the women refused to relinquish
their earrings to the men who
were building a calf. As a reward.
God gave them an extra holy day
each month free from work. It
is customary to wear new clothing
on Rosh Chodesh in celebration
of the day's special character.