February 2025: 13 points of light (thus far), 4 great books, and Lit Modiin's first mention in a novel
Writing, reading, resources and recipes + an update from day 489
Dear friends,
I hope you are doing well. I’m several days late with this newsletter due to some family medical issues, and as such, this may be a bit shorter than usual, but I’m hoping you’re all well. It’s been an eventful three weeks in Israel since I last wrote (when is it not?), and baruch hashem / thank God we have seen the return of 13 of our beloved hostages. More on that below, but for now, here’s your monthly dose of book reviews, upcoming literary events, a poem, a recipe, and an update from my corner of Israel.
Brief update on my writing life: I’ve barely done any writing in the last two weeks, but I’m happy to report that life is calming down a bit and today I was able to return to my local Roladin (bakery/cafe) where I did a tiny writing exercise towards the beginning of a new scene in my work-in-progress. The other week I’d started a generative writing class through One Story. The exercises are still open in my browser and I’m planning on doing them at some point, either as the beginnings of brand new stories or new scenes in my work-in-progress. In the meantime, I’ve been racking up some rejections from literary magazines, but a few have been very complimentary / near misses, so that is heartening. And I continue to send off query letters. Onward!
Late breaking update: an acceptance from Emerge Literary Journal for a brief piece of CNF (creative nonfiction), unrelated to my novel-in-stories. Hooray for the first acceptance of 2025! Looking forward to sharing it with you when the piece is published.
Recommended Reading
I read five books this month, all of them great…I’m a bit behind for my self-imposed 2025 reading challenge, so hopefully I’ll catch up at some point. Here are this month’s recommendations:
On Her Own by Lihi Lapid: My local book club chose this as our book by an Israeli author for the year. This propulsive novel, which I read in one day, opens with Nina, a teenage runaway, finding herself in a torn minidress in a stairwell in Tel Aviv. Right away, we know this can’t be good, but fortunately the first person who comes across Nina is an elderly woman named Carmela with dementia. Convinced Nina is her granddaughter, Carmela welcomes her into her apartment. Meanwhile, Nina’s mother Irina, a Russian immigrant, is frantic with worry, and Itamar, Carmela’s son in America, feels increasing guilt over leaving Carmela, particularly as Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s memorial day) approaches and she’s already lost her other son to the conflict. The novel does a good job of blending authentic, empathetic characters with some of the less savory sides of Israeli life. This blurb from Noa Tisby resonated with me: “a heart-wrenching, female-driven narrative that offers readers a powerful glimpse into the depths of humanity and the lesser-known corners of Israeli society.” Register for Literary Modiin’s February event to hear Lihi discuss On Her Own.
The Delegation by Avner Landes: I was fortunate to receive an advanced reader’s copy of this book, which is coming out in April. In this novel-within-a-novel, the main story revolves around two Soviet Jewish artists (an actor and a poet) who are dispatched by Stalin in 1943 to the US and elsewhere to rally support and raise funds for the Soviet Army’s continuing war efforts against the Nazis. Another layer is added through the author’s notes running through the entire book, in which the fictional, contemporary author discusses his struggle with his writing and research. There are also dozens of footnotes for the author’s notes (many of which are based on real events*). The main story - inspired by the real-life delegation of actor Solomon Mikhoels and poet Itzik Feffer, both of whom were assassinated in Stalin’s purges of Jewish artists within 10 years after their trip - is a rollicking road trip during which the pair meet with wealthy Jews, Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson and others. Mikhoels attempts to entertain crowds while worrying about what Feffer is writing in his tiny notebook…poems or notes for the Soviet police? The result is a rich, complex novel, blending humor and pathos, that reimagines our ever-present themes of identity and survival in a fresh and compelling way. (*Fun fact: Literary Modiin gets two mentions in this book!) Register for Literary Modiin’s March event to hear Avi speak about The Delegation.
Wellness by Nathan Hill: I loved Nathan Hill’s latest novel, featuring Jack and Elizabeth, two college students from vastly different worlds who meet and fall in love in Chicago in the 90s. Fast forward 20 years, when Jack and Elizabeth’s marriage is in trouble. They turn to the latest health fads, questionable cures for marital woes, and dreams of home ownership. Like Hill’s debut, The Nix, this book hits all the right notes. I like this blurb, from Joshua Ferris: “Nathan Hill has synthesized about a hundred years of that distinctly American delusion called self-improvement, and Wellness is the whip smart and gently comic result. Epic in scope, domestic in scale…” A fun, relatable read.
Long Island by Colm Toibin: Audible kept suggesting that I listen to this book, and I’m glad I did. I hadn’t read Brooklyn, the first book in this series, but that didn’t matter. In brief - the novel opens in the 1970s, with Irish-born Eilis Lacey living in Long Island among her husband Tony’s large Italian American clan. Tony has made a mess of things — an affair resulting in a baby, which the spurned husband has promised to deliver to Eilis’ doorstep. What Eilis does in response makes the novel riveting. For audiobook lovers, the narration was terrific, so definitely go for the audio version! I like this blurb from the NYT Book Review: “Eilis is an interesting and vivid character because she manages to make her destiny her choice... In her own mind, and in the eyes of sympathetic readers, she is free.”
Events
I’m really looking forward to our next several Literary Modiin events! Coming up soon, on Sunday, February 16 (20:00 Israel time / 1 pm Eastern), we’ll hear from Zeeva Bukai (THE ANATOMY OF EXILE), Lihi Lapid (ON HER OWN), and Ruth Franklin (THE MANY LIVES OF ANNE FRANK). Register here.
Sunday, March 23 - in person and on Zoom - featuring Avner Landes (THE DELEGATION), Ayelet Tsabari (SONGS FOR THE BROKENHEARTED) and Joan Leegant (DISPLACED PERSONS). Register here.
Tuesday, March 25 - on Zoom (22:00 Israel time / 20:00 UK / 4 pm Eastern / 1 pm Pacific) - I’ll be speaking about writing and The Book of Jeremiah to the Qesher Book Club…based out of Budapest! Qesher connects Jewish communities all over the world and they have lots of cool events online as well as Jewish heritage tours. Register here.
Save the date for the April Literary Modiin event - Sunday, April 27. More details to follow.
Poem of the Month: A Hopeless Peace
A Hopeless Peace by Dara Barnat (Judith Magazine). Dara’s powerful new poem captures the mood in Israel perfectly, the dual lives we’ve been living since October 7, 2023.
Recipe of the Month: Versatile Peanut Butter Cookies for All
Welcome to the near-end of the newsletter, where you are rewarded with a yummy recipe. Recently we had a guest for Shabbat dinner who is a vegan, and it was important to me that he shouldn’t suffer, dessert-wise…I turned to Chocolate Covered Katie, who has so many great recipes…They were delish, and when I made a gluten-free version for my daughter, no one could tell the difference. These, too, got snatched up right away. I’ve been tripling the recipe, but here is the original:
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 TBSP applesauce
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 TBSP flour (white or any gluten-free flour work)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (my addition…)
Mix all ingredients and shape into small balls. Press down with a fork to get the PB cookie look…Bake for 8-9 minutes at 175 C / 350 F. They will look a bit underdone, but then let them cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Israel Update
What a few weeks it has been. Thank God that Emily, Doron, Romi, Liri, Daniella, Karina, Naama, Agam, Arbel, Gadi, Ofer, Keith, and Yarden have returned to their families. We’ve been glued to the television and watching reunion clips on repeat (as my friend Jessica writes about here). Our hearts are full of joy for the hostages and their families, who can now begin the long road of healing. Thirteen rays of light.
I especially love this clip (thanks again, Jess) of the five female observer soldiers (Naama, Karina, Daniella, Liri and Agam) singing and dancing at a private concert given by Elai Botner. They are singing מכתב לאחי (“A letter for my brother” - on my happy Israeli music playlist). Here’s the chorus they’re singing at the end of the clip:
At the same time, I have no words to express my rage, disgust and revulsion at the outrageous, insane horror shows staged by Hamas at each handoff, to say nothing of the barbaric, seething mob that Arbel Yehud and Gadi Mozes were forced to walk through by the Islamic Jihad after 482 days in captivity, each of them in isolation the entire time. I was watching from a lounge Asaf Harofeh hospital in central Israel along with several other visitors and staff members. It was complete insanity. A nonreligious woman next to me was reciting the shema the entire time.
While I’ve cried tears of joy to see most of the reunions, I can’t look at images and videos of Yarden Bibas without breaking into tears of sadness. The entire nation and Jewish world is waiting to hear the fate of his wife Shiri and sons Ariel and Kfir. We await the other 20 hostages who are slated to be released in phase 1 of this deal, and please God we will continue to phases 2 and 3 until all 79 remaining hostages are home.
זה הרגע - Zeh haregah - This is the moment. I want every one of the remaining hostages and their families to have that moment, and for the end of the road to be a happy one.
Frequent readers of this newsletter will know that my family is awaiting and praying for the release of two hostages in particular: my daughter’s friends Gali and Ziv Berman, 27-year-old twins who were brutally taken from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza 489 days ago. Their aunt, Maccabit, was interviewed on the אחד ביום (One story a day) podcast (in Hebrew) this week about battling for their freedom. When I met Maccabit over the summer in Modiin with my daughter, we chatted briefly about the Gali and Ziv shirts and magnets and posters that they/we have put everywhere, and she was saying that she can’t wait to have a massive bonfire to burn all of it once Gali and Ziv are home. I’ve been seeing posts of people taking down banners they’ve had hanging, now that some of the hostages are home; we, too, can’t wait to take ours down, to stop wearing the shirts, to run across a finish line without holding their picture. Halavai, halavai it will happen soon.
I also have no words for Trump’s suggestions/pronouncements related to Gaza other than “batshit crazy” and “morally bankrupt.” But also, to give credit where credit is due, I am grateful that he was able to exert pressure to get the ceasefire-hostage deal done. As my friend Vivian, in her latest post (“Circus”) writes:
There was outrage not (only) for the basic ethical and humanitarian and political and regional problems that the Gaza “plan” would pose, but for the simple fact that nowhere in the declarations was there a commitment made to the release of the hostages. Especially when the negotiations for the second stage of this deal, the one that would bring ALL the hostages home, were supposed to start two days ago (but got “delayed” to the weekend.)
A few weeks ago, I bookmarked this beautiful essay by Rachel Sharansky Danziger (yes, the daughter of Natan Sharansky) to share here: Waiting for the deal, I ask: What is my job in this moment?
And then, the other day, she wrote this amazing post on Facebook about the g’vurah/heroism of the hostages who have returned. I recommend reading the entire thing, but here’s an excerpt:
When Agam observed Shabbat, when she and her friends tried to fast on Yom Kippur, when Liri dared to intervene in the abuse of Amit Soussana, when Mia recited Psalms with the other women, when these extraordinary women continued to help one another under unimaginable conditions, when Gadi clung to the hope of rebuilding Nir Oz, when Danielle Aloni cried at night so she wouldn’t break down during the day and scare her little daughter... They achieved the impossible: They took control of their own lives. They served their principles, their beliefs, their goals, even as heartless enemies thought they were the ones in control.
We will keep waiting and praying and showing up to support the families until the last hostage is home. Until next time, b’sorot tovot. Am Yisrael Chai.
Go Birds
Unrelated to everything else in this newsletter, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the Philadelphia Eagles and wish them well in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Living with three die-hard Eagles fans, you can bet we’ll be watching live in the middle of the night. So, go Birds!
A small way to support my work: Since June 2019, I’ve hosted the monthly Literary Modiin author series, and since April 2020, I’ve been putting out this monthly newsletter. Both represent a significant amount of effort for me, but I love talking about books and promoting other authors, and I’m committed to keeping both of these things FREE for all. I do incur some expenses to keep these up, however, so if you have enjoyed the Literary Modiin events and/or if you enjoy the newsletter or both, and you’d like to support my work in some small, tangible way, I’d be grateful if you’d click on the “Buy Me a Coffee” link below. (If you can’t, that’s fine too)! I appreciate your continued support for these events, book recommendations and my literary musings.
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Julie Zuckerman's debut novel-in-stories, The Book of Jeremiah, was published in May 2019 by Press 53. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in CRAFT, Tikkun, Jewish Women’s Archives, Crab Orchard Review, The Coil, The SFWP Quarterly, Ellipsis, MoonPark Review, Sixfold, and The MacGuffin, among others. She is the founder and host of Literary Modiin, a monthly author series celebrating fiction, memoir and poetry with Jewish content. A native of Connecticut, she lives in Israel with her husband and four children. www.juliezuckerman.com