Seth Rogovoy, author of Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, wrote about Bob Dylan’s Judaism, Jews who write Christmas music, and the album itself. He is guest-blogging all week for MyJewishLearning and the Jewish Book Council.
When I first heard the songs on Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart, I thought, not only is this the worst […]

Yesterday Matthue and I had the opportunity to study with the good folks at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (at their New York office. Jerusalem is too far away for a lunch and learn). And as it’s Rosh Chodesh Kislev, our topic with Yaffa Epstein centered around Hanukkah.
We looked at the traditional Talmudic text […]

Seth Rogovoy, author of Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, wrote yesterday about Bob Dylan’s Judaism. He is guest-blogging all week for MyJewishLearning and the Jewish Book Council.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Bob Dylan’s Christmas album is that it took nearly fifty years for him to make one. There is a long-established tradition of pop […]

Seth Rogovoy, author of Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, is guest-blogging all week for MyJewishLearning and the Jewish Book Council.
My new book, Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet (Scribner) — a critical biography of the rock poet that examines his life and work through a Jewish prism — hasn’t even been officially published yet (that happens […]

It’s true. Forget those Christian-centric stores who feel the need to roll out Christmas tunes and trees the moment that Halloween ends — Hanukkah, this year, starts on December 8. To a procrastinator like myself, that’s basically the equivalent of a pop quiz. Instead of having three or four weeks from the beginning of December […]

There is always some debate as to whether or not Jews should participate in Halloween, being that it isn’t a Jewish holiday and all. But, like it or not, your kid wants to go trick or treating. And like it or not, your girlfriend wants to go to that cool costume party.
So you’re gonna need […]

In this special installment of the Jewish Book Council/MyJewishLearning Authors Blog series, we spotlight book illustrator and visual artist Eliyahu Alpern.
Eliyahu Alpern is an amazing photographer. With author Allison Ofanansky, he’s done two children’s books that put distinctly different spins on Jewish holidays: In Harvest of Light, they walk through the process of making olive […]

One of my many pet peeves is celebrities who take up Judaism like it’s a hobby. Let’s review, people: Judaism is a RELIGION. If you need something to do in your spare time try jigsaw puzzles, or taxidermy, or curling. Judaism is about providing meaning to your life, and a connection to your history. It’s […]

Oh my God, you guys, the holidays have been going on FOREVER. Whenever I talked to my Jewish friends this week I just whined about how much I missed having weekends and how sick I was of spending beautiful days sitting in shul.

I always get kind of petulant and annoying towards the end of Sukkot. […]

This week was Sukkot. If you missed it, I guess there’s always next year. At least that’s what I tell myself. On MJL though, they didn’t forget about the holiday. In fact, everything I have to share with you has to do with holidays.
First, our wonderful Associate Editor, Shoshanna, has given us a great recipe […]