Rebecca Klempner's Blog, page 13

Books that model good middos: Measure of a Man by Martin Greenfield

One day early in my marriage, I found my husband reading the autobiography of John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach.

Martin Greenfield’s new book about the Shoah and after inspires readers to rise to greatness.

“Why are you reading that?” I asked. My husband did not follow sports, and he rarely read a book that wasn’t overtly “Jewish.”

“My rabbionce told me that if you want to learn good middos (character traits), you should read about the lives of people who have achieved genuine greatnes...

Ready for a little Hanukkah Hoopla?

Latkes frying. Image by Jonathunder from Wikipedia Commons .

Blogger Renée A. Schuls-Jacobson has invited me to participate in this year’s Hanukka Hoopla. To help wrap upyour holiday, I’ll be sharing a Chanukah memory and a recipe in case you’re still looking for a latke fix.

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My parents divorced when I was a preschooler. Mom settled down with my twin sister and me in suburban Columbia, Maryland, near her parents.

Grandma and Grandpa were about the most doting grandparents humanly imaginable.(An...

My Review of Henye Meyer’s A Stranger to My Brothers

My latest review appears in the Jewish Press book supplement, Of the Book. You can find it here. It’s of Henye Meyer’s re-issue of A Stranger to My Brothers under a new title and with new material.

Remembering Gil Marks and his contribution to Jewish books and cooking

Last week, Gil Marks passed away at the untimely age of 62. He was a legendary food writer, known not only for his recipes, but for his contribution to our understanding of Jewish food. He did extensive research on the details of recipes, their cultural connections, and place in history. Because I trained as an anthropologist, his ethnological approach to Jewish food made him by far my favorite cookbook author.

Remembering Gil Marks and his contribution to Jewish books.

His most famous books ar...

Slacker moment — forgot to let you know about my review of Farewell, Aleppo

Sleecha.

I got a little distracted at the end of November, and I forgot to post about my most recent book review for Jewish Home Los Angeles. It’s of Claudette Sutton’s Farewell, Aleppo, and it will interest readers who like reading about the Jewish American Experience, as well as those whose families originate in Syria or other Muslim countries. You can find the review here.

Tables turned: a writer gets interviewed by Fradl Adams for The Lakewood Shopper

Fradl Adams interviews inspirational women, particularly baalos teshuvah, for The Lakewood Shopper. Her column appears weekly. Anyway, she asked to speak to me — focusing primarily on my writing for Jewish teens and tweens — about a month ago, and the interview runs this week. For those of us outside NJ, she provided this link.

I’m much more used to interviewing people than being interviewed. It was definitely WEEEIRD, and I kept thinking, “Do I sound like that?”

A discovery! And what happens when you follow other writers’ advice.

So, thingstoday went better today than last week. In short, I wrote more today than I wrote in the entirety of last week. (Yes, that’s how bad things were going.)

One of the things I found helpful was focus@will’s new setting “Cafe focus Beta.”A few months back, I reported thatresearchers released data indicating that writers are more productive in cafes than sitting in a quiet office at home. Well, I guess the folks at focus@will read the same study, because not only can you use the site to e...

Visiting “This Way to Eden” today for the Orthodox Women’s Roundtable!

Want to know what Orthodox women think about? TodayI am appearing with several other amazing bloggers on the latest round of “Orthodox Women Talk.”We’re answering a reader’s question about integrating spirituality into every day life.

You can find the post here, and don’t forget to leave comments or even ask a question for the next round.

A classic or a shonda: Which pieces of literature stand the test of time?

Earlier today, I was listening to an audio recording of some Beatrix Potter stories. My children and I laughed over the surreal adventures of little Lucy in “Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle” and the slapstick of “Two Bad Mice.” The stories are about a hundred years old now, I believe, and they’ve stood the test of time very well.

A failure in my sister’s home.

My kids and I often read classics, and sometimes we recommend titles to friends and family looking for a good read. Not too long ago, I recommended “L...

Fighting hibernation again

I think that despite outward appearances, I am a bear.

You may have heard me complain about this before. For some reason, for the last several autumns, my body has decided all I really should be doing at this time of year is lying slanty across a bed or a couch, dozing. My brain does not want to turn on.

Usually, I hold out until December, but this year, it kicked in as soon as sunset arrived before 5 pm local time.

The problem is, I have work to do. And I want to do it. I’ve got plans to write...