Climbing Sinai

This entry is cross-posted at the JPS Blog.

Only a few hours into the day, I’ve decided that it’s high time for another link roundup.  As I mentioned last time, part of my job here at JPS is to surf the internet and keep abreast of what’s happening the Jewish book world.  As a result, I regularly stumble across tons of interesting blog posts, websites, and articles.  (Want my job?  Well, it turns out that since I’ll soon be leaving JPS to start grad school, the Online Sales and Marketing Associate position will be open, and JPS is looking to hire someone great!)  Anyways, today has just been so chock-full of goodies that I can’t really contain myself!  So here’s the catch of the day:

● Rachel Barenblat (alias: the Velveteen Rabbi) has been interview about her Jewish poetry, and what it means to her, at Read Write Poem.

● eJewish Philanthropy gives us a heads-up about a new Limmud Conference.  This time, it’s a one-day event at the Hampton Synagogue in WestHampton, New York – and it’s being organized under the umbrella of Limmud FSU.  So all you Jews from Russian-speaking families, here’s your chance to participate in an exciting day of informal learning sessions, discussions, and performances!

● Tablet Magazine presents a selection of Israeli pop music that draws freely from Jewish liturgy.  Liel Leibovitz presents not only a fun playlist, but podcasts a discussion about how Israeli pop artists explore their faith through music.  Have a listen, and see if you can spot the liturgical references.

● Charles London, author of Far From Zion: The Search for a Global Community, guest blogs at My Jewish Learning and the Jewish Book Council about Diaspora Jewry and the overhaul of the Museum of the Jewish People in Israel.

- Naomi

This entry is cross-posted at the JPS Blog.

One of the many hats I wear here at JPS is that of Official Internet Surfer.  (It’s a pretty cool hat actually – it’s got this wee little surfboard perched on top…  Ok.  Cue the tomato-throwing.)  In order to keep abreast of what’s happening in the Jewish book world, I keep a close eye on my Google Reader, do a regular scan of the Google Blog Search, and pay attention to the news shared by our many Twitter followers.  As a result, I regularly stumble across tons of interesting blog posts, websites, and articles.

Well, I’ve decided it’s high time that I start sharing my findings with my gentle readers.  Every once in a while I’m going to do a mini-compilation of my interesting and relevant findings for that day.  So here it is, the catch of the day:

● Marc Tracy of Tablet Magazine shares some original, awful Jewish poetry, as a tribute to MyJewishLearning’s Bad Jewish Poetry Contest.  “Shall I compare thee to a matzah ball?”  Oy vey.

● At Mixed Multitudes, Tamar Fox looks back at a full year of mourning and saying kaddish for her mother.  She’s been blogging about the experience this entire year – after reading this post, I think I’m going to go back and read her thoughts from the very beginning.  A tremendously moving meditation on an age-old Jewish tradition.

● At eJewishPhilanthropy, Joshua Avedon discusses the “innovation pipeline” for new Jewish nonprofit organizations.  His Google Chrome analogy is helpful to those relatively unfamiliar with the world of Jewish innovation and social entrepreneurship.

● According to Beattie’s Book Blog, Merlin Digital has just launched the slimmest e-book device in the market.  Is this development good or bad for the book world?  It all depends on how you look at it, I suppose.

Happy surfing!
-Naomi