It’s officially fall, which means it’s cozy reading season. Here’s a list of classic Jewish comfort reads to give your mood a boost and maybe even help you re-connect with your own Jewishness during the High Holidays!
If you’re interested in spirituality and Jewish texts, Rabbi Alan Lew’s “This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation” and Ellen Frankel’s “The Five Books of Miriam” are must-reads that are certain to challenge and change you in the best way.
Lew’s book is a guide for the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It encourages self-reflection, emotional vulnerability and healing. Both profound and simple, I reread it every year around the High Holidays, but, honestly, it is relevant any time of the year.
“The Five Books of Miriam,” a classic feminist exploration of the weekly Torah cycle, imagines conversations between Biblical women, Jewish historical figures and everyday Jewish women about the weekly Torah portions. It’s like a bunch of important Jewish women met with you and your bubbe to debate, commiserate and connect.
I love a good cookbook, and what is more comforting than food? If you are a like-minded foodie, try Michael Twitty’s “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African-American Jew.” The James Beard Award-winning author and food historian traces themes of diaspora (both Jewish and African), food and his own path to Judaism in this memoir/cookbook/cultural history masterpiece. “Koshersoul” provides a unique and important perspective on what it means to be Jewish, and Twitty’s knack for storytelling pulls readers in.
Another great option is Dr. Beth Ricanti’s “Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs.” Ricanti, a physician by trade, writes about the ritual of challah baking as self-care practice. Relatable and spiritual, it will definitely enhance your own challah-making experience.
Comfort reading doesn’t have to be heavy. If you’re in the mood to escape into fiction, you can’t go wrong with summer-camp themed reads like Elyssa Friedland’s “Last Summer at the Golden Motel,” in which two families struggle over what to do with their declining Catskills resort, and “Until Next Summer,” by Ali Brady, which is about two friends trying to save their beloved summer camp. Both are full of nostalgia for classic Jewish summer experiences that emphasize the messy, relatable humanity of the characters.
While Jewish-authored romance novels are not a new phenomenon, the last few years have seen an uptick in their popularity. Many of these novels feature Jewish characters, settings, and lifecycle events that offer Jewish representation.
Felicia Grossman’s “Marry Me by Midnight” and “Wake Me Most Wickedly” are contemporary classics within this genre (complete with bodice-ripping cover art), as are those of authors like Jean Meltzer (“Magical Meet Cute,” and “Kissing Kosher,” among others). Meltzer in particular has been at the forefront of the Jewish joy movement, which seeks to celebrate Jewishness.
So take advantage of the season: the Days of Awe are upon us, and for many of us, that coincides with autumnal weather, too. Now is the time to dive into one of these comforting Jewish books. Which one will you choose?
