“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
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.
In “Waste Not, Want Not Kosher Cookbook: Creative Ways to Serve Yesterday’s Meal”, author and kosher cooking expert Yaffa Fruchter promotes a unique and exciting approach to making leftovers new again in palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kosher dishes suitable for any and all dining occasions.
Boasting a collection of over 120 beautifully illustrated and innovative recipes, “Waste Not, Want Not Kosher Cookbook” is culinary compendium that offers a comprehensive guide of the best, safest, and most delicious ways to use what’s on hand and eat well for kosher households. To curb her own food-waster’s guilt, Yaffa developed creative ways of using available ingredients to produce excellent new dishes that will change the way you look at last night’s meals — including 30 recipes that use cooked chicken, 15 that use bread and challah, and so much more!
Critique: A unique and superbly organized cookbook that is inspiring to plan kosher menus and meals using leftovers, “Waste Not, Want Not Kosher Cookbook” is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, family, and community library ethnic cookbook collections.
On the 40th anniversary of her
freedom, Silvia Fishbaum will share her remarkable story of her escape from
Soviet occupied Czechoslovakia and anti-Semitism.
In today’s world with anti Semitism
rising it’s ugly head throughout Europe and reaching its highest levels
ever in the United States with attacks on Synagogues, this lecture is of
paramount importance, especially for young adults and teens in the middle
school and high school.
After sharing her extraordinary story,
Silvia will be available for book signing opportunities.
Light refreshments. FREE Entry
Sponsor $100
includes an autographed book by Silvia Fishbaum. Click here to reserve
This sweet, tough, and charmingly amateurish memoir is the story of a tenacious woman. Sylvia Fishbaum grew up in Slovakia after World War II. Her parents braved anti-Semitism and maintained a traditional Jewish lifestyle in a country where Jews were nearly extinct.
After the rise of Communism, life became harder both materially and emotionally, but Fishbaum’s irrepressible confidence served her well. As a young woman, she sewed clothes and sold them on the black market in the Ukraine to finance her escape to the United States.
A chance meeting with a Jewish family on its way to Israel alerted Sylvia to the existence of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in Rome. After careful, clandestine planning, Fishbaum left behind an apartment and a job,made her way to Rome, and eventually moved to New York. There she married a co-owner of an iconic kosher pizzeria in Manhattan, raised two sons, and lived the American dream.
After her husband’s early death from heart disease, Sylvia dedicated herself to reviving Jewish life in Slovakia. Fishbaum’s wellsprings of willpower and self-deprecating humor make for a compelling read.
Posted by Jewish Book Maven 
New and Forthcoming from Urim Publications
November 26, 2018