Dear Reader,

Certain themes predominate in the world of Jewish fiction. Not surprisingly, inheritance is one of them.  As Jews we are constantly both celebrating and struggling against the traditions and practices of our ancestors. Considering how far back our history goes and how vigorously it shows up on a day-to-day basis in our lives, it's not surprising to find our authors preoccupied with the way fears, hopes, and dreams are passed from generation to generation.  

Now on JBooks.com, we're featuring three new works of fiction all more or less concerned with issues of inheritance.  In Haim Be'er's The Pure Element of Time, which Amos Oz has praised as an Israeli Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a young writer finds his voice somewhere between his religious father and his mother's voracious reading.  In Marjorie Sandor's collection of short stories, inheritance from mother to daughter comes in the form of repression of desire. And in Joseph Skibell's second novel (his first was called "As magical as it is macabre" by the New Yorker) the real ruins of the American southwest and Auschwitz become symbols for the personal ruins of one embittered composer. 

Other current features include a look at Hebrew for Dummies and an emotionally powerful excerpt from the spiritual memoir by Rabbi Paul Plotkin, about his divorce and the solace he found in Psalm 30. 

Don't forget about our contest, which we've extended until our next issue goes up in early August: tell us who your favorite Jewish TV character is, and why, and you could win a free book!

Meanwhile, we're working on putting together our next issue, for Tisha B'Av, which will include a review of the new book by Ari L. Goldman, author of The Search for God at Harvard, as well as an interview with a radical feminist who could not abide the unfettered anti-Semitism in academic circles. Check back soon for these articles and more.

Best wishes for a pleasant summer, and enjoy your reading.

Josh Lambert

Editor, JBooks.com