"His books have not just been good for the Jews; they have been great." – Joel Yanofsky, Literary Review of Canada
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Picture by Marilla Wex.
Here's a link to Jon Kalish's audio report on the memorial service for Adrienne Cooper that was held on January 1st in New York.
It's a nice combination of excerpts from the official program of song and eulogy with less formal interviews with a few of the people in attendance who knew Adrienne.
I was... Read more here
Only Michael Wex could daven next to a guy U.S. government investigators allege to be the ringleader of “one of the largest immigration fraud schemes to have ever been committed in our country.”
This news comes on the back of police being called to the Markham Street Shul on Yom Kippur when a request not to use a cellphone on shul property on yontef ended in a scuffle.
Seriously, who knew that life in... Read more here
Last week Wex was asked to comment on New York Times journalist David Brooks' piece on his African safari vacation, and specifically on his use of the Yiddish word haimish (sic).
Although he has no problem with Brooks' understanding of the word heymish (to give it the YIVO transliteration), Wex does have something to say about whether or not it's appropriate to use in the context of a luxury... Read more here
It's a constant source of irritation to Wex that the word chutzpah is often misused in English to mean having balls instead of its more accurate meaning of displaying unbelievable cheek.
So he was chuffed to bits when Tablet asked him to comment on the recent resurgence of the use of the word in connection with the US debt crisis.
To make sure you're not misusing this powerful Yiddish word, and to find out... Read more here
My most recent book, The Frumkiss Family Business, comes out today in an easily affordable paperback edition.
Perfect for post-Tisha B'Ov presents. Tell your friends. Buy copies for your enemies and make them your friends.
Buy as many as you can afford--I'm trying to raise money for root canal... Read more here
Someone who has previously written for, and received, help with Yiddish sent me the following delightful comment about the video that I posted earlier today. It's the sort of thing that makes me wonder why I bother:
"Most of these Jesus prayers are usually horshit (sic) but this is the most horseshitty one I ever heard and if this is the type of shit that you think is so important to "share" with with me... Read more here
