September Mid-Month Report: Saved by the Grapes
Literary matters and an update from Day 345
Dear friends,
My “regular” monthly newsletter - usually sent on the 1st of the month - starts with literary matters and is followed by an Israel update at the end, and my mid-month reports is the opposite. But I’ve flipped things around this month. And given that my regular newsletter was sent only a week ago, this will be brief…
Literary Matters
What I’m Reading
Recently finished: The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel (listened to it) and American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. Loved them both! Currently reading James by Percival Everett and listening to I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. Look for my reviews in my Oct. 1 newsletter.
Upcoming Events
Happening today, Sept 15, Literary Modiin’s September event - at 20:00 Israel time / 1 pm Eastern - featuring Batnadiv HaKarmi (THE LOVE OF MORTAL BEINGS), Sasha Vasilyuk (YOUR PRESENCE IS MANDATORY) and Lynne Golodner (CAVE OF SECRETS). Register here.
More events down the line:
Sunday October 6 - Literary Modiin’s special solidarity event commemorating one year since October 7, featuring readings, perspectives, prayers and support. Register here.
Sunday, Nov 10 and Sunday Dec 15 - save the date for these upcoming Literary Modiin events. Stay tuned for details.
Sunday Nov 17 - The 2024 Jewish Writers’ Conference, sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, is open for registration, and early-bird pricing is still available for the next couple of days. The conference is virtual, and will take place from 10 am - 5 pm Eastern time. I’ll be speaking on an additional panel, probably that week but final date TBD, entitled “Why is This War Different from All Other Wars: Writing About Israel After October 7th,” together with Deborah Harris and Galina Vromen, moderated by Miryan Sivan.
Department of Mazal Tovs & Nice Things
Judith Magazine: New on the literary scene, Judith Magazine is the brainchild of Elissa Wald (whose Never Alone Substack I highly recommend), and was launched for the purpose of “promoting Jews in the literary world at a time when we are under siege within the industry — not just for supporting Israel, which would be bad enough, but just for being Jewish.” The magazine launched on Friday with the poetry of Jess Burnquist, and the plan is to feature a different writer or Jewish creator at least three times a week. See the full submission guidelines and read the origin story of the magazine. Mazal tov!! Thank you to Elissa and poetry editor Rachel Neve-Midbar, fiction editor David Michael Slater, and nonfiction editor Howard Lovy for making this happen.
The Loneliest Man Alive: In case you missed it in last week’s newsletter, I have a new short story out, so mazal tov to me :-). “The Loneliest Man Alive,” was published at History Through Fiction in the members-only area. Lifetime membership only costs $5, so if you enjoy historical fiction, you might want to sign up for this. This brand new Jeremiah story takes place on July 20, 1969, the day of the first moon landing, and is one of 11 new stories that will be in my upcoming novel-in-stories.
Book Club Meeting: I’m speaking to a local Modiin book club tomorrow about The Book of Jeremiah. I LOVE meeting with book clubs of any kind - Hadassah / sisterhood / synagogue / library / private groups - so if your group is interested, please let me know. Happy to do this over Zoom or in-person, when possible. (I’ll be in the greater NY/NJ/CT area for two weeks in October if the timing works out for your group…)
Juicy Jews: Also launched last week - a website / social media channels aimed at supporting Jewish creators, culture and community. Thank you to creator Ian Hollander for putting this together (and for including this newsletter) in this “Perfectly Imperfect Map of Newsletters We Love to Read (Published by Jewish Authors, Artists, Makers, Mentors, Teachers, Leaders and Inspirational Entrepreneurs….Visualized!)
A couple new books I’m excited about: Ayelet Tsabari’s new novel Songs for the Brokenhearted (published last week - Ayelet appeared at our very first Literary Modiin event, and will be back in December) and Yardena Schwartz’s Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict (pub date: Oct 1. Preorder here - which has gotten rave reviews from the likes of Matti Friedman and Yossi Klein-Halevi).
Not a literary matter, but one more nice thing from last week - I celebrated one-year at my day job, and received this cute Lego figure (and I suppose I am holding a book):
Israel Update
The heaviness in the air is still with us, two weeks after the horrible news that six beloved people - Hersh, Carmel, Alex, Ori, Eden, and Almog - were executed by Hamas after 329 days in captivity. On Tuesday of last week, my daughter and her friends marked the 27th birthday of Gali and Ziv Berman (twin brothers from Kibbutz Kfar Aza), who are still being held by Hamas. It was not a celebration of any kind, but they handed out goody bags filled with things Gali and Ziv would like, they set off balloons, and had a display of the pita crumbs and burnt mattresses to represent what the day may have been like for them.
Last Sunday night and Tuesday morning, I resumed my volunteering in the agricultural sector by picking grapes at two different vineyards; on Wednesday, I was at work, feeling very low about the situation, and I came to the conclusion that my day would have been better if it had started with volunteering. Thus on Friday, I went back for a third time and picked more, this time for the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon wine (the previous two times were for Petit Verdot). It is safe to say that picking grapes is what got me through the last week. בורא פרי הגפן / Borei pri hagefen / Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
On Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet with rescued hostage Andrey Kozlov. He was an intern at my previous company, in the marketing department with me, and he wanted to visit the company and have lunch with us. He shared with us bits and pieces of his thoughts and his time in captivity, and it was both very special and a bit surreal. “I’m so happy to see all of you,” he said, to which I responded, “not as happy as we are to see you!” My sense was that he is trying to find meaning in what happened to him.
From side conversations over the week, I continue to be worried - we all are - about the younger generation. Just one example: a friend was telling me about her 29-year-old daughter, who lost 20 friends at the Nova concert, including one of her closest friends, and now feels paralyzed, unable to complete her degree.
Never a Dull Moment
This morning, my husband and I were at our pool for an early morning swim when a siren went off. At first, I thought, “Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing?” and then the lifeguard’s whistle made it clear that I was. I was halfway down the lane, on my way to the far side of the pool, so I turned around and swam as fast as I could back to the nearer end. Way to get my heart rate up. As the 10-12 of us from the pool took refuge in the spinning room next door, we heard a very large boom nearby. Our phones were in the locker room, so we were a bit concerned that our daughter, home alone, might have slept through it. (She did not). A short while later, we understood that the siren was due to a ballistic missile fired by the Houtis in Yemen…and that, indeed, it hit close to home, in an open area in Ben Shemen forest (where I am often biking at that hour). Debris from the interceptor caused slight damage to one of our local train stations. The Houtis have promised more to come…
For further reading:
Hearing the Shofar Blast at the Shiva for Hersh Goldberg-Polin by Jessica Steinberg in Hadassah Magazine
What kind of religious Jew am I? The Rachel and Jon kind by Mishael Zion in the Times of Israel
Where are the slogans of joy? Sarah Sassoon’s latest Substack
And for listening: קרן שמש / Keren Shemesh (Sunbeam) by Benaia Barabi. I can’t put into words why this song touches me. It came out a few years ago, and I think I must have heard it played at a טקס מעבר - tekes maavar - the transitional ceremony between Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut - because I have a strong association between the song and the ceremony. It is both sad and uplifting at the same time.
Wishing all of us a second half of September that is quiet, hope-worthy, and joyful. May the remaining hostages be home soon, may our soldiers stay safe, and may there will be less suffering all around. Until next time, b’sorot tovot. Am Yisrael Chai.
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.
Request: If you’ve read (and liked) The Book of Jeremiah, please help me out by writing a brief review on Amazon or wherever you purchase books online. It can be as simple as one or two lines. Thank you!
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
Sending light and love, Julie
Thank you so much for your words!