When I was 17, one of my best friends wanted to learn how to scuba dive, so we took the course together and did pool-training. But I was neither that interested in it myself, nor was I really up for an open water dive in Tobermory (on top of being a little nervous about getting…
Category: Monday Morning Reading
Rav Amnon Bazak – To This Very Day: Fundamental Questions in Bible Study
For many years I’ve been a big fan of Rabbi Amnon Bazak as an extraordinary example of the Gush approach to learning Tanach. In his book To This Very Day: Fundamental Questions in Bible Study, he takes a step back to look at the big questions modernity has raised about the study of Tanach. Using…
Western Lane – Chetna Maroo
I know – it’s Tuesday. There’s a book shop in Terminal B at Laguardia that always seems to have interesting books on display. This is not normally the case for book displays at airports (which I always check out, assuming I have the time). On a trip to New York a few months back I…
Books for Israel
Given that today is Yom HaZikaron and tomorrow is Yom Haatzmaut, I thought it was a good time for a survey of some great books on Israel, both fiction and nonfiction, that are worth reading (some of which I’ve written about in this space). The Making of Modern Zionism: The Intellectual Origins of the Jewish…
Dan Stone – The Holocaust: An Unfinished Story
I’ve learned quite a bit about the Holocaust, between day school, university, and my own reading. So when I heard about a book called The Holocaust: An Unfinished Story, by Dan Stone, it piqued my curiosity – what could be unfinished in this story almost 80 years later? It turns out, quite a bit. Especially…
The Winners – Fredrik Backman
I’ve been a Fredrik Backman fan for some years and have written about many of his books in this space. His first Beartown book was my favourite without question. And because I loved the first, I read the second, which was very enjoyable, but not as good as the first. And once I was that…
Mesilat Yesharim – Ramchal
Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto is one of the most interesting figures of Jewish modernity. Born in Italy in 1707, he was broadly educated, a prolific author who wrote not only Torah, but plays, and was deeply controversial. At the age of 20 he was exiled from his native land because he claimed to learn Torah…
Kids Books – March 2024
One of the rules in our family is that you aren’t allowed to watch a movie based on a book until you have read the book first. As such, I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t read the book Holes, by Louis Sachar, but I did see the movie (years ago), which was great. However,…
Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams – David Burkus
I must admit that the title Best Team Ever, by David Burkus, sounds more like a book for middle school kids than professionals. Once you add the subtitle, The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams, it does work a bit better. That said, it’s quite a good guide for how teams can maximize their work…
Talking Sense by Barry Jentz
There are two experiences in my life that have helped me see how difficult communication can be. One is marriage, and the second is school leadership. No matter how clear I think I’m being when I speak or write (and anyone who’s sent an email to our parent community knows this is true), it’s never…