Are you a casual reader or an enthusiastic and passionate reader? Enjoy our selections this year and come and share your thoughts! Join us at one or all of the following sessions:
Wednesday, December 11, 2019—7:00 p.m.
Discussion led by Rabbi Roni Handler
If All the Seas Were Ink by Ilana Kurshan
At the age of twenty-seven, alone in Jerusalem in the wake of a painful divorce, Ilana Kurshan joined the world’s largest book club, learning daf yomi, Hebrew for “daily page” of the Talmud, a book of rabbinic teachings spanning about six hundred years. Her story is a tale of heartache and humor, of love and loss, of marriage and motherhood, and of learning to put one foot in front of the other by turning page after page. Kurshan takes us on a deeply accessible and personal guided tour of the Talmud. For people of the book—both Jewish and non-Jewish—If All the Seas Were Ink is a celebration of learning, through literature and how to fall in love once again.
Purchase Here Also available for sale in the BTBJ Office.
Wednesday, March 3, 2020—7:00 p.m.
Discussion led by Rabbi Roni Handler
The World That We Knew, by Alice Hoffman
BTBJ will again be participating in the One Book, One Jewish Community Program. During WWII, two girls Ettie and Lea become friends. Ettie, the daughter of a rabbi creates a golem named Ava to watch over Lea. The golem is created in the spirit of a heron, and will help protect Lea, who is on the run from the Nazis. The two girls become entwined, their paths fated to cross, and fortunes linked through Ava.
Join the One Book community on Sunday November 17, 2019, and meet Alice Hoffman for an interview and book signing at 2:00 pm. Advanced tickets are $10, or $15 at the door. Contact Mindy Cohen for more information at 215-635-7300x155 or mcohen@gratz.edu
Purchase Here Also available for purchase in the BTBJ office.
Thursday, April 2, 2020—7:00 p.m.
Discussion led by Rabbi Grife
As A Driven Leaf, is a historical novel based on the story of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya who lived in 1st-2nd CE Palestine. The book is about Elisha’s lifetime journey that wove through intense periods of dedication in and out of Judaism and Hellenism. After turning from Judaism, he is excommunicated because of his heresy. The title “As a Driven Leaf” based on the Biblical words of Job when tormented he asks God, “Why do You hide Your face and treat me like an enemy? Will You harass a driven leaf?” (Job 13:24-25) This story promises to resonate in everyone who is looking for doctrines by which to live while we are confronted by life’s often unforeseen challenges.
Please remember BTBJ with your purchase of our Book Club selections through Amazon Smile
