Chanukah Guilt

Chanukah Guilt
Author: Ilene Schneider
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2023-12-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504089235

A small-town New Jersey rabbi is compelled to investigate when a funeral leads to a suspicious death in this cozy mystery series opener. Aviva Cohen is a fifty-something, twice-divorced rabbi living an uneventful life in southern New Jersey. Although her family is unconventional, her days are otherwise routine. Services, religious education, and counseling mostly. She also officiates the occasional funeral . . . But the funeral of unpopular real estate tycoon William Phillips is very out of the ordinary. At the end of the service, two family members ask Aviva for help, saying that Phillips was murdered. Aviva dismisses their claims but is shocked when one of them is later found dead from an apparent suicide. Riddled with guilt and suspicious of the death, Aviva puts her skills as a yenta to good use. Her search for answers, unfortunately, has her crossing paths with her first ex-husband, the new chief of police. Plus, if Aviva’s not careful, the next funeral she attends might be her own . . . “Lots of fun!” —Midwest Book Review “Schneider succeeds in blending the complex life of a congregational spiritual leader with that of [a] first-rate detective, family member, confidant, friend, human being and even yenta (nosy body).” —San Diego Jewish World “Chanukah Guilt weaves Jewish culture and mystery in a delightful blend. . . . I enjoyed this cozy mystery and look forward to the next instalment by this talented author.” —Bloodstained Book Reviews “I think this character could show up in several more books and I’d be glad to see her.” —Reviewing the Evidence

Writing the Cozy Mystery

Writing the Cozy Mystery
Author: Phyllis M. Betz
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2024-08-05
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476690820

This book brings together essays written by a number of well-known writers of cozy mysteries, including Sherry Harris, Amanda Flower, Leslie Budewitz, and Edith Maxwell, among others, who provide insight into their approaches to writing. Topics covered include how they work with the form, develop characters and settings, and utilize the particular hook, skill or business that establishes the protagonist's ability to solve crimes. In addition to discussing these traditional aspects of writing, several authors focus on how they have expanded the direction the contemporary cozy mystery has taken with the inclusion of more diverse characters and social issues.

The Sacred Calling

The Sacred Calling
Author: Rebecca Einstein Schorr
Publisher: CCAR Press
Total Pages: 609
Release: 2016-05-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0881232807

Women have been rabbis for over forty years. No longer are women rabbis a unique phenomenon, rather they are part of the fabric of Jewish life. In this anthology, rabbis and scholars from across the Jewish world reflect back on the historic significance of women in the rabbinate and explore issues related to both the professional and personal lives of women rabbis. This collection examines the ways in which the reality of women in the rabbinate has impacted on all aspects of Jewish life, including congregational culture, liturgical development, life cycle ritual, the Jewish healing movement, spirituality, theology, and more. Published by CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis

On the Chocolate Trail

On the Chocolate Trail
Author: Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2017-10-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1683366786

Take a delectable journey through the religious history of chocolate—a real treat! In this new and updated second edition, explore the surprising Jewish and other religious connections to chocolate in this gastronomic and historical adventure through cultures, countries, centuries and convictions. Rabbi Deborah Prinz draws from her world travels on the trail of chocolate to enchant chocolate lovers of all backgrounds as she unravels religious connections in the early chocolate trade and shows how Jewish and other religious values infuse chocolate today. With mouth-watering recipes, a glossary of chocolaty terms, tips for buying luscious, ethically produced chocolate, a list of sweet chocolate museums around the world and more, this book unwraps tasty facts such as: Some people—including French (Bayonne) chocolate makers—believe that Jews brought chocolate making to France. The bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, was poisoned because he prohibited local women from drinking chocolate during Mass. Although Quakers do not observe Easter, it was a Quaker-owned chocolate company—Fry's—that claimed to have created the first chocolate Easter egg in the United Kingdom. A born-again Christian businessman in the Midwest marketed his caramel chocolate bar as a "Noshie," after the Yiddish word for "snack." Chocolate Chanukah gelt may have developed from St. Nicholas customs. The Mayan “Book of Counsel” taught that gods created humans from chocolate and maize.

Gertrude's Guilt

Gertrude's Guilt
Author: Dolores Edwards
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1646104749

Gertrude’s Guilt By: Dolores Edwards Do not punish the son for the sins of the father. Cultural guilt becomes a burden for youths in the modern world. It lives beneath a bitter woman’s behavior to her neighbors. It becomes a learned behavior. The bitterness and guilt leads to the sins of war, terrorism, genocide, and xenophobia. It exists as a global pandemic—fear and bitterness caused the genocide of Native Americans, the Jews during Nazi occupation of Europe and countless other cultures in the history of mankind. But, what happens when worlds collide and individuals have the chance to learn of each other’s parallel stories? When a young Irish woman from a conservative family finds herself with child, she strikes out on her own in America. At least, she thought she’d be on her own. Instead, she finds herself traveling with friends—old and new. Her friends from Ireland have the chance to overcome histories of abuse and create their own stories, as well as meet new loves. Along the way, they meet men and women of different cultures, who are all burdened by their own cultural pasts.

The Afterlife Survey

The Afterlife Survey
Author: Maureen Milliken
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2011-11-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1440531374

Is there life after death? It depends on who you ask...It happens to all of us, yet...what happens when we die? Are we reincarnated? Do we go to heaven? Is death the end of everything? Or do our souls pass on to another life? Do we even have souls? These are the questions humans have wrestled with since the dawn of mankind. We've heard answers from philosophers and theologians. Now, for the first time collected in a single volume, people from every faith and calling share their thoughts on this most fundamental problem. Ordinary folk from all walks of life offer their ideas about what happens after our life has run its course. Sooner or later everyone makes that final journey. Now readers can find inspiration from a wide range of enlightening opinions as they form their own thoughts about the afterlife.

Unleavened Dead

Unleavened Dead
Author: Ilene Schneider
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2023-12-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504089243

A full-time rabbi becomes a part-time sleuth when three suspicious deaths arise in this cozy mystery by the author of Chanukah Guilt. Rabbi Aviva Cohen has her hands full with Passover preparations, she certainly has no time to deal with anything else. Yet tragedy soon changes her plans when two members of the congregation are found dead. Their cause of death is believed to be accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, but Aviva is not so sure. Soon after, her niece’s partner is suspected in a hit-and-run death. While Aviva is certain she’s innocent, the amateur sleuth can’t overlook the body-sized dent in the hood of her SUV. Digging into the two cases, Aviva uncovers a surprising connection between them, as well as a heap of disturbing criminal activity. Now she must quickly sift through the mishegoss to find out the truth before death strikes again . . . “Aviva is a great character, full of fun, somebody you’d feel comfortable hanging out with. Even though there are many mentions of Jewish tradition, non-Jews won’t feel bombarded with too much information or miss any good clues along the way.” —Kings River Life Magazine

My Two Holidays

My Two Holidays
Author: Danielle Novack
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545235154

When Sam's classmates talk about which winter holiday each one celebrates, he gets embarrassed because his family enjoys both Christmas and Hanukkah.

David's Journey

David's Journey
Author: David Brody
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2012-10-24
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9781467873086

On December 4, 1999, David was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. He also had the complication of Crohns Disease. The cancer had reappeared twice, since the first remission. Although articulate, David was better able to put his hopes, fears and experiences on paper. This journal covers the seven years from 2004 to 2011.

American Rabbis, Second Edition

American Rabbis, Second Edition
Author: David J. Zucker
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2019-06-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532653247

This book is a broad-brush approach describing the realities of life in the American rabbinate. Factual portrayals are supplemented by examples drawn from fiction—primarily novels and short stories. Chapters include: ♣Rabbinic Training ♣Congregational Rabbis and Their Communities ♣Congregants’ Views of Their Rabbis ♣Women Rabbis [also including examples from TV and Cinema] ♣Assimilation, Intermarriage, Patrilineality, and Human Sexuality ♣God, Israel, and Tradition This book draws upon sociological data, including the recent Pew Research Center survey on Jewish life in America, and presents a contemporary view of rabbis and their communities. The realities of the American rabbinate are then compared/contrasted with the ways fiction writers present their understanding of rabbinic life. The book explores illustrations from two hundred novels, short stories, and TV/cinema; representing well over 135 authors. From the first real-life women rabbis in the early 1970s to today’s statistics of close to 1,600 women rabbis worldwide, major changes have taken place. Women rabbis are transforming the face of Judaism. For example, this newly revised second edition of American Rabbis: Facts and Fiction reflects a fivefold increase in terms of examples of fictional women rabbis, from when the book was first published in 1998. There is new and expanded material on some of the challenges in the twenty-first century, women rabbis, human sexuality/LGBTQ matters, trans/post/non-denominational seminaries, and community-based rabbis.