What's Happening at the Temple

This section of the website is the place to see and be seen!  We hope to provide lots of information, discussion, and announcements about our Temple family. Please contact the Temple at temple18@goeaston.net to share the joys and challenges of your life. 

To inaugurate this new spot, we asked some Temple members to share titles and commentary about books they’ve read this summer. Perhaps, if you notice that certain books are mentioned several times, or seem particularly excellent, we might consider initiating a program where we suggest a book for the entire Temple community to read together.

Here you go:

I highly recommend a very engaging and timely book by Dr. Mitchell B. Reiss entitled Negotiating With Evil.  Mitchell is president of Washington College in Chestertown. He has held various significant positions in the State Department and served under Sec. Powell during the General's term as Sec. of State. It is a powerful read and offers the reader insight into an element of the world that we seldom experience but all too often see.  (Rabbi Peter Hyman)

The Warmth of Other Suns. The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. This was extraordinary. Through the powerful stories of 3 individuals who flee the South to escape Jim Crow and encounter both opportunity and discrimination in New York, Chicago and L.A., Wilkerson tells the story of the mass migration of African Americans in the 20th. century. It gets the highest compliment I can pay non-fiction - it reads like a novel.  Moonwalking with Einstein:The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer. I wasn't sure what would interesting about a reporter training for a memory contest, but the history of memorization was actually fascinating, as were the techniques that have been used for centuries. Unfortunately, I still haven't found one that helps me remember names.  A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer

Intrigue, greed and romance surround the development of penicillin during WWII.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.  When a scientist is reported dead in the jungle one of his colleagues is sent to investigate the progress of the fertility research being conducted by her intimidating former teacher. Some of it was a little strange and there were lots of surprises, including the ending. The one I'm reading now is The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. It is a history of cancer written after Mukherjee completed an oncology fellowship. It is explores language, culture, science and medicine and I haven't been able to put it down. (Barbara Viniar)

Two wonderful books!  "No Ordinary Time", by Doris Kearnes Goodwin, is the story of the Roosevelts and WWII -- not an ordinary history, but an inside look at both the people and the politics of that fascinating era. Also "Playing With Fire" by Pam Constable, the Wash. Post reporter in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- an inside look at what is really going on in Pakistan, written as a look at the country and its people, not as a dry history or academic treatise.  I recommend both!!! (Lesley Israel)

My first choice is non-fiction, "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand - not a "feel good" story, but so well written, a testament to one man's courage and perseverance and an education for me about WWII in the Pacific. As for fiction, I was intrigued by "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese, an unusual story about twins raised in Ethiopia who each become very different kinds of doctors. "Sarah's Key," which I read some time ago (and which is now a movie) is a work of historical fiction based on fact, that revealed to me actions against Jews which took place in Paris during WWII, of which I had no knowledge. (Mary Whitehead)

I read a really terrific book called Wolves at the Door by Judith Pearson. It is a true story about a woman by the name of Virginia Hall who was an American spy working for British intelligence service during World War II. She worked with the French Resistance and there is not only some great history in the story; but, a vivid picture of Jewish life in those dire times. The book portrays VIrginia Hall as a woman of courage, defiance, and charm. (Myra Goldgeier)

I bet you are getting this book from lots of people since I know several who read it this summer. "In the Garden of Beast," by Erik Larson.  An historically accurate book about the US ambassador to Germany in 1933 and 1934. The ambassador was William Dodd, a University of Chicago professor who got the job because Roosevelt couldn't find anyone else. He went to Berlin thinking he could strengthen the relationship between the US and Germany but after awhile he realized the evil intent of the Nazi Party. What makes the book so interesting is the relevance to today's situation in the world. "People of the Book," by Geraldine Page is another recommendation. It deals with the Sarajevo Haggadah in an interesting and imaginative way. The "story" is contrived but the tale of the book's history is fascinating. (Barry Koh)

My book club is reading the following books:

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Well written--I have not finished it

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - Next month's selection

Recently we have read:

The Moveable Feast by Hemmingway - Excellent!!

The Killer Angels: THE classic novel of the Civil War byMichael Shaara--I did not read it

Major Pettigrew's Last Standby Helen Simonson -Light and thought provoking  (Elaine Friedman)

I read a book last month called Alice I have Been A Novel by Melanie Benjamin with my book group. It is a story loosely based on the real Alice in Wonderland character. It provoked discussion of the morality questions surrounding Lewis Carroll. The Victorians had a very different life view; the roles for girl children and women were explored, along with the implication of implied pedophilia.  It certainly made me want to reread Alice in Wonderland with a different view this time.  I listened to State of  Wonder by Anne Patchett. I enjoy her story telling abilities, though the premise for this novel was a long stretch.  The descriptions of the Amazon were fascinating, her research paid off as details emerged during the story-telling.  (Jan Kirsh)