By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Even though Steve Leder conducted more funerals than he could count in his 30 years in the rabbinate, it wasn’t until he experienced personal loss – the death of his father – that he developed a new philosophy: one that says death offers people the opportunity…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
How wonderful to read a memoir by someone who loves his mother. That love comes through clearly in Wayne Hoffman’s “The End of Her: Racing Against Alzheimer’s to Solve a Murder” (Heliotrope Books). Except for a short time when he was coming to terms with his…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Google defines melodrama as “a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.” I consider melodrama to also include too many unbelievable coincidences and events. But that doesn’t mean melodrama i…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
After being dumped
It’s bad enough that Lauren Leo is 41 and the last of her friends to marry. Well, to almost marry because in the opening chapter of Marilyn Simon Rothstein’s “Crazy to Leave You” (Lake Union Publishing) Lauren is dumped by her fiancé min…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
The Spanish Civil War
Spain has a mixed Jewish history. Tales of tolerance and understanding while the country was under Muslim rule clash with the forced conversions and expulsions of the Jewish population during the reign of Christian monarchs Ferdinand II of A…
