#MindfulMondays

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The Queen & the Spymaster

Midwest Book Review ● General Fiction Shelf

“The Queen & The Spymaster” is a deftly crafted and simply riveting novel by Sandra E. Rapoport that is based on the story of Esther, and adheres to the ancient biblical text while imagining the suspenseful, gripping and ultimately triumphant backstory of the unlikely heroes of Xerxes’ Persia.

Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “The Queen & The Spymaster” is also available in a digital format 

“Weiss propounds ‘Open Orthodoxy’ in new book”

Fred Reiss, Ed.D. ● San Diego Jewish World

Reform Judaism in eighteenth century Germany and Hasidism in the Ukraine in the same century represent the first modern ruptures in traditional Judaism; the former due to European emancipation, the latter a spiritual revival movement. The freedoms granted by American democracy led to further balkanization, including Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Humanistic Judaism. Orthodox Judaism is not without its own divisions, such as Haredi Jews and the Modern Orthodox.

Was Yosef on the Spectrum?

● Professor Michael Fitzgerald, M.D., FRC Psych, M. Inst. Psychoanal. 

Professor Samuel J. Levine’s book, Was Yosef on the Spectrum?, is a magnificent scholarly work and most interesting.  Levine sets out the diagnostic issue very clearly and very carefully, and his analysis of the character of Joseph is very persuasive.  Overall, I came to the conclusion that the book’s thesis stands up to scrutiny, and that the title is probably correct.

Professor Fitzgerald was the Henry Marsh Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin, and the first Professor of Child Psychiatry in Ireland.  He has a doctorate in the area of autism and has been a researcher in this area since 1973.  He has clinically diagnosed over 2600 individuals with Autism and Asperger’s syndrome.  

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Values: Between Man and Man

Ben Rothke ● Jewish Link of New Jersey

This is volume three of Amsel’s encyclopedia series. Here, he covers a wide range of topics on the interpersonal level including subjects from business ethics, modesty with dress, self-defense, to peer pressure, physical beauty and ugliness; privacy vs. community, and much more.

At about 5-10 pages per topic, Amsel does an excellent job of surveying the topic. He provides copious sources for those that want to do a deeper dive in the topic. This is a most worthwhile reference.

BD”E Leila Leah Bronner

Julie Gruenbaum Fax ● Jewish Journal

Leila Leah Bronner, a Jewish history and Bible scholar died in Los Angeles on July 2. She was 89.

Bronner was a community leader and Orthodox feminist and the first woman to receive a doctorate in Bible and Jewish studies in South Africa. The author of eight books, Bronner contributed hundreds of articles to scholarly and popular publications. She was an assistant professor at the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University) in Los Angeles, a visiting professor at Harvard University, Bar Ilan University in Israel and USC, and a frequent presenter at academic conferences around the world. A resident of Hancock Park for the past 35 years, Bronner also taught Shabbat afternoon Torah classes for women out of her home. 

Book Review: “Jews in Medicine”

Oliver Pollak ● San Diego Jewish World

This 464-page encyclopedic reference book starts with the Talmud and comes into the present including still living practitioners. The author identifies Jewish physicians in Islamic and Christian lands before the 1492 expulsion from Spain. About 70 percent of the book is devoted to the Modern Era marked by the Age of Specialization. The basic sciences include bacteriology, microbiology, infectious diseases, biochemistry, cell biology, DNA-RNA research, genetics, immunology, pharmacology, and physiology.

The Clinical Medicine section covers cardiology, cardiac surgery, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology, internal medicine, medical imaging, radiation oncology, neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, obstetrics/gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, surgery, virology as well as public health, prizes, medical education, medical administration, closing with physicians and medicine in the State of Israel…