The Kosher Pig: And Other Curiosities of Modern Jewish Life

Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: I thought that this book was very funy about tackling a very solemn set of issues. I would reccommend it

Rating:
Summary: A great book, and a deceptively wise one.
Review: The Kosher Pig is one of the great undiscovered Jewish books of our generation. It is funny, charming, entertaining, eclectic, but it is also deceptively wise. Richard Israel is rooted in Jewish tradition, but he has spent a rich professional rabbinical career dealing with real live American Jews - and it shows. His Jewish knowledge in a technical sense is balanced and informed by his understanding of people. The combination is rare and valuable. His chapter on davenning [praying] is one of the best short introductions to the topic I've ever read. His essay on how to give a dvar torah [a short homiletical speech - except that's not quite right, because a dvar torah is so much less formal than the English "homiletical speech"] is absolutely the best on the topic I've ever read. A book to enjoy for oneself, and also a great gift for someone who is Jewishly questing and growing.