With this fourth installment of ALL BOOKED UP, we’ve now completed a month of summaries.  During this time, our readership has doubled … but we’d love even more people to join us on this journey.  So if you know anyone who might appreciate this newsletter, please forward them this e-mail and encourage them to sign up . Drunk Tank Pink is both the name of the book I’ll be featuring this week as well as a color that apparently has a calming influence on male aggressiveness.  R

The key question Dr. Sharon Moelem asks is: Why do hereditary disorders exist? After all, evolution likes genetic traits that help us survive and reproduce.  According to natural selection, if a gene produces a trait that makes an organism less  likely to survive, carriers will be less likely to reproduce and eventually the gene won’t get passed on, at least for very long.   And yet, hereditary diseases perpetuate.  Why? The short answer is that some conditions once thought t

The premise of Yale Law Prof. Ian Ayres' book, Carrots and Sticks * is quite simple, and well articulated by the subtitle: Unlock the Power of Incentives to Get Things Done.  To expand: Human beings know what is good for them in the long run, but often fall short of achieving such goals because short term, often contradictory rewards loom large in the human psyche.   Weight loss and investing in one's financial future are both great goals, but since their accompanying rewards

In Parshat Kedoshim, we are commanded to Love thy Neighbor as Thyself, or in the original, ואהבת לרעך כמוך.  The question is: Is that even possible?  Can I ever love a person as much as I love myself? Even Rabbi Akiva, who of course promoted this commandment above all others, understood there were limitations in applying it.  For example, when two people are lost in the desert and there is only enough water for one of them to survive, Rabbi Akiva writes that if you are the on

We're 3 for 3! The online review service, Reader's Review, had three people review our latest book, The Day the Devil went on Trial. And all three gave the book its highest 5 Star Review. Here are the full reviews , and here is an excerpt from the one written by Carol Thompson: "The Day the Devil Went on Trial is inventive, funny, and full of charm; a novel that uses satire to explore the possibility of transformation even in the most unlikely characters. Ian Pear writes

The Torah tells us that Yitzchak re-dug many of the same wells that his father Avraham had dug in his lifetime, an act necessitated by the fact that these earlier wells were filled in by the local inhabitants in the interim.  The Torah seems to emphasize the importance of these acts by having Yitzchak actually name the wells he re-digs.  Many commentators ask why the Torah needs to tell us this seemingly mundane fact.  Some even point out that doing so embarrasses Avraham; af

Parshat VaYetzei One of the famous scenes in this week’s Torah reading is Yakov’s dream of the Angels ascending and descending a ladder placed on the ground and whose top is somewhere in the heavens.  And one of the most famous interpretations of this dream is provided in the Midrash: The angels represent different nations, such as the Babylonian and the Roman Empires.  Their ‘Angels’ will ascend – they will conquer eretz yisrael and am yisrael and subjugate our people.  But

With Purim approaching I thought perhaps a little Torah on happiness might be appropriate:  The Talmud in Hulin (139) informs us that Haman is alluded to within the story of Adam and Eve.  Where? you ask.  According to Rav Matna, it is when God challenges Adam after he disobeys God and eats from the Tree of Knowledge.  In the language of the Torah, “Ha’min ha’etz asher …” or in English, “Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”  The first word of t

Dan Heath's book Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen begins with a parable: A couple of guys picknicking next to a river notice a young child floating down the river about to drown. They jump in and rescue the child, but then see another child coming down the river. They rescue this child as well, but then notice a long line of additional children approaching. One of the guys gets out of the river and runs upstream. "Where are you going?" shouts

One doesn’t usually think of the rock group Supertramp when studying Mishna … but maybe we should.  Towards that end, maybe you’d like to play this song in the background as you read the below post.   The Mishna in question is the very first to appear in the Tractate of Shabbat, while the topic in question is the halacha relating to carrying on Shabbat, or more specifically, the prohibition of carrying on Shabbat.  Here is the Mishna along with the translation provided by the

"Ian Pear's The Day the Devil went on Trial is a philosophical gem disguised as satire." For the full review, click here .

Glad to report good sales thus far. Here's a picture of how it's doing on Amazon today. True, 16000 in all books does not a bestseller...

As the saying goes, I have some good news and some bad news. First, the bad. I unfortunately did not get in to the City Council. Our party needed 3 seats for me to get on the Council, and we only got 2. But there is also good news. First, while the overall non-Haredi voter turnout was significantly down, Anglos made their presence felt, and as a result, our party is no less interested than before in representing our interests and values. For example, I was just asked to play

When asked by the head of our טב list for City Council -- Deputy Mayor Chagit Moshe - what I wanted to work on as a City Councilor, one answer I offered was to focus on sustainability in Jerusalem. Sustainable building, increased green spaces, more bike lanes, innovative environmental initiatives (maybe helping Synagogues interested in going green do so with training/subsidies/incentives). Part of my motivation behind this concern will be read in Synagogues across the country

In honor of Tu B'Shevat: Here’s a thought I had while studying the Talmudic tractate Bava Kama (the laws of damages).  The discussion focused primarily on the obligations a private individual has to the public vis-a-vis the disposal of his property.  For example, he is not allowed to toss rocks or other dangerous items from his private domain into the public domain as it might cause damage to a passer by.  For if he did, and a passer by was injured – let’s say by tripping ove

To refute the erroneous claim made by some that the Jewish people have no connection to the land of Israel before 1948 I've started a...

Today's Political Principle (#3) is something I learned from my grandfather and appears in a campaign poster of his from 62 years ago as he ran for public office in a rural (read: very non-Jewish) part of Connecticut. In his words: "My Mission is to have the opportunity to serve all the people honestly, fairly, aggressively without fear or favor." Sounds like a pretty good principle to me.

As you may have heard, we Jews like to argue. Especially about politics. One of the things I hope to address if fortunate enough to be elected to the Jerusalem City Council is the tone of such debates. Towards that end, I want to share something known as a 'Call In'. We're all familiar with the 'Call Out' -- that's when someone says something inappropriate and we call them out on their statement/position. Maybe we even cancel them, letting them - and others - know that they h

From time to time I hope to share what kind of representative I’d like to be if fortunate enough to be elected. Rather than focusing on promises, though – in politics, not everything is in one’s control and I’d prefer not to say something that I cannot guarantee – I’ll detail some of the principles that will guide me whatever comes our way. The first principle is: Whenever possible, I won’t react. I will act. What I mean by this statement is as follows: Much of political life

I've decided to throw my kipa into the political ring. About half a year ago I started working with Chagit Moshe, a Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, on matters relating to my Shir Hadash community. I was incredibly impressed by her responsiveness, effectiveness and concern for not only our community, but the English speaking Jerusalem population in general. As a result of the positive working relationship we developed, Chagit asked if I would be interested in joining her list for t