Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was a chemist for almost 40 years, most of those as a clinical lab technologist, so I lived through much of the sexism and putdowns of women that I recognized in Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. At times I wanted to scream with frustration at the heroine's trials and tribulation, but knowing there would be a satisfying ending, I read on. And it was worth it.
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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was a chemist for almost 40 years, most of those as a clinical lab technologist, so I lived through much of the sexism and putdowns of women that I recognized in Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. At times I wanted to scream with frustration at the heroine's trials and tribulation, but knowing there would be a satisfying ending, I read on. And it was worth it.
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The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a big fan of mysteries and sci-fi, and The Anomaly is certainly both. Although it is well written; it is also weird, very weird. People I know who've read this book either like it or hate it. I reread it several times, and reread certain scenes at least a dozen times. I've heard many complaints about the ending, but I think I understood it.
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What is a miracle? Which events during the book of Exodus would be called miracles?
According to Oxford’s Dictionary: “A surprising and welcome event not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.”
According to Christian sources: “An act of God that goes against the laws of nature and is performed for religious reasons.”
Some people would consider it a miracle that God communicated with Moses out of a bush that is not consumed, but others might think it was some sort of delusion or hallucination. So maybe a miracle. And while many Hebrews might consider Pharaoh’s daughter pulling Baby Moses from the Nile to raise in the royal household a miracle, this action is easily explicable by natural. Thus not a miracle.
What about the 10 Plagues? 1. Several microorganisms in the Nile could have turned the water red so it appeared to be bloody. 2-4. Frogs, lice/gnats, and flies live in the area and natural causes could have caused any of their populations to increase over their usual levels. 5-6. There are many animal diseases that also infect humans. 7-8. Hailstorms and Locusts are natural phenomena that destroy crops. 9. Darkness for three days could be caused by sandstorms. 10. However, it is impossible to explain any natural occurrence that would kill only first-born males. Thus, the tenth plague should be considered miraculous.
Next, how did the Hebrews cross the Sea of Reeds, if not by a miracle? True the pillar of fire that kept the Egyptian army at bay all night couldn’t be natural, but what happened in the morning likely was. Think about how tides were affected by the moon and sun. When the sun, moon, and Earth were in alignment (at the time of the new or full moon), the solar tide has an additive effect on the lunar tide, creating extra-high high tides, and very low, low tides. During the vernal and autumnal equinoxes (March 21 and September 23, respectively) the sun is directly above the equator, causing even higher high tides and lower low tides.
Consider when Hebrews observed the first Passover—when the full moon coincided with the Spring/vernal equinox, producing the highest high tides and the lowest low tides. In a narrow low-lying wetland, such as the Sea of Reeds, people could walk on crushed reeds during low tide, but the high tide would be over fifteen feet deep. However, the following four “miracles” are difficult to explain as natural occurrences, except perhaps Moses appearing to get water from a rock above an underground spring.
Manna sent In the Wilderness Exd 16:14-35
Water from the rock Rephidim Rephidim Exd 17:5-7
Aaron's rod budded Kadesh Num 17:1, etc.
Nadab and Abihu consumed. Sinai Lev 10:1, 2
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I started reading Cold Sassy Tree in the mid-1980s (it was first published in 1984). I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to end, so I stopped reading before the final chapter. I finally picked it up to re-read it entirely and see how it held up. To sum up my opinion, it was quite different from my first impression. In the meantime, I've read the works of Isabel Wilkerson and other historians of the Black experience in the early 20th century in the deep South. This time around, I saw that Cold Sassy Tree was a fairy tale. Nobody used the N-word, Black people had their place, but there seemed to be just as much prejudice against white mill-workers ["lint heads"]. I admit the writing is excellent, the dialogue clever, and the plot poignant. But I now know about that society's unseen racist background and it's difficult to reconcile the two.
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I know, it’s been almost a year since my last blog post. The big gap has mainly been due to two reasons, one good and one bad. The bad was the disastrous attack in Israel on October 7, shortly after my family returned from our vacation there, which left me too devastated to write about reality. The good was that I finished writing my upcoming historical novel, The Midwives’ Escape: Egypt to Jericho, which will be coming out on March 4, 2025. In time for Women’s History Month and to prepare for Passover, Sat, April 12, 2025 – Sun, April 20, 2025.
My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me by Caleb Carr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the very first paragraph, I was in awe of Caleb Carr's writing. I knew I could never write that beautifully. I admit I'm a cat-lover; I still remember being a toddler and peaking in the small area under the fireplace where my mother swept the ashes to see our cat's new kittens. Like the author, our family had only one cat at a time. Now it's our 2-year-old rescue cat, Mishka.
I was swept into the dual stories of the author and his cat. Some at the beginning were almost too painful to read, as both suffered neglect in their early years. But I couldn't put the book down. I had to see how their bond developed, how they came to love and depend on each other, and how they overcame so many trials and tribulations. It was indeed wonderful.
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I just learned that I received a 2023 Rockower Award, otherwise known as the Jewish Pulitzers. And what is a Rockower Award you may ask, as I did? Briefly, in 1979, as a century tribute to him by his sons, the Rockower family created the Simon Rockower Jewish Journalism Awards to honor him and his deep love for the craft of Jewish Journalism. These prestigious awards honor achievements in Jewish media. Awards were presented at the 42nd Annual Simon Rockower Awards Banquet held in conjunction with the American Jewish Press Association’s 2023 Annual Conference, July 11, 2023, in New Orleans, LA.
My award was in Division B. Magazines and Monthly Newspapers.
First Place: Jewish Currents, Brooklyn, NY “Under the hood” by Zoé Samudzi.
Second Place: Lilith Magazine, New York, NY “Mama lives on” by my friend and colleague, Ilana Kurshan. Click here to view her submission.
Last but not least, I received Honorable Mention Award for Excellence in Arts — Review/Criticism for my book review of "Dirshuni: Contemporary Women's Midrash" in
Moment Magazine, Washington, DC, “Studying Talmud with Beruriah." Click here to view mysubmission.
As I was preparing to visit Israel, I came across an article about the synagogue mosaic being unearthed at Huqoq , a kibbutz near where we’d be staying in the Golan. Since 2011, excavations led by Dr. Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been bringing to light a monumental, Late Roman (early fifth century C.E.) synagogue paved with stunning mosaics depicting a variety of biblical scenes and the first non-biblical story ever discovered decorating an ancient synagogue.
I emailed Dr. Magness in hopes of visiting the site, but unfortunately for me, her work was finished. The Israel Antiquities Authority [IAA], responsible for excavating, preserving and investigating antiquities sites, was taking over. It invests great efforts in the development and preservation of ancient buildings in Israel's historic cities. Under their authority the mosaic had been buried and the site placed under guard until such time that the IAA could prepare the site to become a national park.
It’s now a month since we returned home from Israel. The chocolate goodies we made, along with the forbidden fruit I brought back, were eventually eaten, empty suitcases are finally back up in the attic and finished photo albums have been delivered (of course there were a few mistakes like including the same pictures twice). Just as I’m focusing on current activities like when to see Barbenheimer and future ones like planning a December vacation, I get an email from the Biblical Archaeology Society, of which I’m a member, with a link to an article titled Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols: Zodiac mosaics in ancient synagogues. Since I’ve visited most of the synagogues mentioned over the years, including a few of them last month, I read the article. It is very informative and I even learned something.
Tuesday, June 20. Our plane back to LA was leaving at 11:50 pm so we tried to pack in as many activities as possible on the drive from the Golan kibbutz to the Tel Aviv airport. First we drove west to Akko/Acre to see an archeological treasure, the crusader fortress, built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. At the time it was built, the city was one of the main ports of Israel, and the fortress was built directly in the center to ensure the vital supplies coming to and from Europe. The fortress is an impressive structure, not just because of its huge size but because of the brilliant preservation that has taken place since its re-discovery. Inside are dining rooms, public bathrooms, and most impressively, huge halls used for varying purposes. The crypt that lies underground contains crusader tombstones and the tunnel that leads to it is as small today as it once was, so my tall (6'7") grandson and son-in-law stayed behind.
Our next stop was across the bay in Haifa, the beautiful Holy Bahai Gardens. We didn’t have time to tour them, but we were able to park at the overlook and take photos. Then it was south to Caesarea National Park, located right on the beach. Its most impressive structure is the theater. People from the highest and lowest walks of life came here to enjoy dramas and comedies. The shape of the theater was influenced by the classic model of Roman theaters: a semi-circle, in which were built blocks of cavea (seats) separated by vomitoria (entrances and exits), and the arena – an area at the foot of the seats used for the performances. The theater serves in this capacity to this day–its stage is used for performances by the greatest artists in the country.
Our final stop before the airport was Old Jaffa where we did some shopping. The small, narrow streets are home to unique boutiques, designer shops and other fascinating stores. We ended up on a street specializing in antiquities, where The Gallery had a wonderful collection of old coins, jewelry and art—some of which was actually affordable. My grandson and I avoided the bargaining by crossing the street to watch a wonderful sunset. It was a perfect finale to our trip.
This was the big bar mitzvah day. But since the ceremony wasn’t until 4 pm in Zippori Natl Park, I had time for a leisurely morning walk past all the scrap metal sculptures by the local artist, Yoop de Yons (aka: Joop de Jons). I took photos of dozens of them, which are posted on Facebook. We stopped to pick up lunch at an Aromas on the way, and ate at a shaded patio outside the visitor center. Zippori was once the capital of the Galilee, the seat of the Sanhedrin and the place where the Mishna was completed. It is also where many of the Israel scenes of my duo of Rav Hisda’s Daughters historical novels are set. The last time I was there was in 2012, and a great deal more of the ancient city has since been uncovered.
We spent most of our time before the bar mitzvah viewing ancient mosaics. The most famous is undoubtedly the mosaic scholars call the Mona Lisa of the Galilee. The mosaic work is of much finer detail than many other mosaics of the time. The second most significant mosaic is found in a restored villa from the 3rd century. There visitors can view a mosaic that illustrates scenes from the life of Dionysus, the Roman god of wine. Additional mosaics are found in the synagogue, but the largest and most impressive mosaic is located in the 5th century Nile Building. Archeologists believe the Nile Building served some kind of public function and was once completely paved with colorful mosaics. The Nile Mosaic originally covered the entire floor and portrays landscape scenes around the Nile River in Egypt and various hunting scenes.
At 3 pm it was time to convene at the ancient synagogue – a long narrow basilica-like structure, dated to the end of the Byzantine period, containing an impressive mosaic floor divided into four parts: the Sacrifice of Isaac, the signs of the Zodiac, a description of the Tabernacle in the desert and the Arc of the Covenant in the Jerusalem Temple. We chose that site for Ben’s bar mitzvah for three reasons: the historical significance of Zippori, the synagogue’s beauty, and—most important in late June—it’s air conditioned. We hired Reform Rabbi Or Zohar to officiate and prepare Ben for the ceremony, which involved Ben learning a whole new Torah portion and writing a new drash. The Sephardic Torah scroll, enclosed in a beautiful vertical silver case, allowed Ben to read his portion at eye level. The advantage of a Monday afternoon bar mitzvah is that the service is shorter than a morning one, and thus he chanted merely three sections of three lines each. The Jerusalem Talmud requires only seven for a minyan, which our family, guide, drive and rabbi provided. Later that evening, we had a delicious celebratory dinner prepared by two professional chefs who lived in the Meron Golan Kibbutz.
