facebook   linkedin   goodreads    Buy the Book
  • Home
  • Authors
    • Sister Authors
    • Meet Leslie
    • Meet Meryll
  • Book
    • About the Book
    • Discussion Questions
    • Beyond the Pale
    • Behind the Scenes
    • More about the Dedication Page
    • Reviews
  • Blog
    • Latest Blogs
    • Featured Books
    • Blog Archive
  • Extras
    • Deleted Chapters
      • Choose Your Beginning
        • The Missing Introduction
        • Alternate Chapter 1
      • Ballerina Alla
      • Baubie Chapters
        • Celestial Tea and Essig Flaish
        • Celestial Tea and Mandelbrot
        • Celestial Tea and Poppy Seed Cookies
    • Recipes from Baubies
      • Recipes from Grandma Rae
        • Essig Flaish
        • Mandelbrot
        • Mohn Cookies
  • Press
    • Press Kit
    • In the Media
    • Reviews
  • Events
  • Contact

Celestial Tea and Strudel

This follows Chapter 18 Vera—Love and Politics

Grandma Rae: Oy, Vera should know better. It’s not the right thing to do. It’s not how a good girl behaves. How will she get a husband?

Baba Lyuba: Rae, you are so old-fashioned.

Grandma Rae: My granddaughters wouldn’t have done that. They knew better.

Baba Lyuba: No, Rae. You just had your own home as did they, so they had more privacy. Of course they did.

Grandma Rae: (peeking over the edges of heaven) Les, Meryll is this true?

Les/Meryll (together): Yes, Grandma. But it worked out.

Grandma Rae: I should have been there.

Les/Meryll (laughing): You’re always here.

Grandma Rae: (turning back to others at table) Good thing their grandfather doesn’t know.

Baba Lyuba: Face it, Rae, your ideas about marriage are bourgeois. You should have been in Russia during the times of the real Bolsheviks. You would have a completely different idea about what women can and can’t do? Why shouldn’t a woman be free? A woman can do everything a man can do and more.

Rosa: Except get paid an equal amount for the same work.

Baba Lyuba: True.

Grandma Rae: I’m worried about Vera. I don’t think she should be fooling around like this and not with a married man. This won’t end well.

Baba Lyuba: Sasha is an intelligent man and I promise you it will have a good ending. Fira and Misha will see to it. He just needs some education.

Rosa: But Sasha doesn’t want to change. He doesn’t want trouble. Also even though Sasha’s father is Jewish, they won’t marry under the huppah. I don’t think his family will like Vera.

Baba Lyuba: Sasha will change. You’ll see. Who cares what his family thinks? They’d be lucky to have Vera. Let’s be quiet and see what what happens.

Grandma Rae: We’ll have a little strudel while we wait and see. Also some tea.

Deleted Chapters

  • The Missing Introduction
  • Alternate Chapter 1
  • Ballerina Alla
  • Celestial Tea and Essig Flaish
  • Celestial Tea and Strudel
  • Celestial Tea and Mandelbrot

Recipes

  • Essig Flaish
  • Mandelbrot
  • Mohn Cookies
  • Strudel

Recent Blogs

Meryll
Meryll
09 April 2021
Jewish on the Down Low
I snapped up the invitation to speak at a zoom meeting for the Jewish Affinity Group from Columbus School for Girls. Self-quarantining for almost a year has made me hungry to talk about Jewish Luck. It's certainly clear from the news that Vera and Alla's perceptions about the "New" Russia are just as relevant now as they were when Vera first encountered Putin in Leningrad.More than the intellectua...
Read More
Leslie
Leslie
07 February 2021
American Kompromat
What I learned from American Kompromat by Craig Unger (2021) Dutton: NYC has prompted me to write a blog. Trigger Warning: This book contains potentially distressing content that could trigger trauma that we have experienced regarding the previous US President. I whisper this mantra to myself: "We're safe now. He's gone. We're safe now." The purpose of this exercise is to reduce my blood pre...
Read More
Leslie
Leslie
31 January 2021
Alexey Navalny: Intrepid SuperHero of Russia
"Faster than a speeding bullet." .Organized anti-government rallies in 109 cities across Russia from jail for January 23 and January 30, 2021. Watch each weekend. "More powerful than a locomotive."  Able to make a miraculous recovery from Novichok poisoning on Aug. 20, 2020 after remaining in a coma for nearly a month. His is the only known case of survival of that strain of Novichok. "...
Read More

Invite Us To Speak

invite

We were featured speakers at Hadassah Brandeis Institute and Levy Summer Series. Our speaking engagements include JCCs, synagogues, libraries, book groups, retirement communities, schools, and organizations (e.g. ORT, Hadassah, and Women's League). References are available. 

Invite Us To Speak
 

Talk Review

"I was very fortunate to be able to hear Meryll and Leslie speak at a Hadassah event in Israel. Each of the ~50 participants really enjoyed the event because Meryll and Leslie were so engaging. While they had a natural rapport with the audience, you could also tell they had prepared well so they could connect with our particular group's interests. I learned a lot from listening to them, and I found their sisterly interaction unique and fun. If you want an enlightening and uplifting experience, attend one of their book talks."
Lisa Shimoni, Modiin Israel

Book Review

"Truly, you have written a story that makes accessible the reality of existence in Russia, through the eyes of individuals who lived through the various regimes and dictates.  It is fascinating and very well told.  As I read Vera and Alla's story, I learned more Russian history than I had known from a textbook.  That's a big deal, women!  You tell the tale with vivid detail and hook us on the two women and their stories, then weave in the history to illuminate their journeys. It is such a necessary book.  I am thrilled that the two of you collaborated, as I can see the uniqueness of your personalities come through in the stories, and that, too, makes the book a gem."
Margaret Leibfried, Danielson Group consultant

Buy the Book

Online:

Click here to order your copy of Jewish Luck: A True Story of Friendship, Deception, and Risky Business on Amazon.com.

The Kindle version is available here

In Stores:
cgb250
logo-sholom
Make a donation to Sholom Home and enjoy Jewish Luck at the same time. Jewish Luck is now available at the Sholom Home West gift store. Meryll and Leslie will donate 50% of the proceeds back to Sholom Home. Enjoy!

Tasting Torah

Nourish mind, body, and soul with Meryll's Tasting Torah, which will bring oneg (joy) and limmud (learning) to your Shabbat, broaden your culinary horizons, and draw your Shabbat guests closer together.

logo tasting torah

Highlighted Books

Meryll
Meryll
02 July 2017
July Book of the Month:  Bloodlines by Neville Frankel
July Book of the Month: Bloodlines by Neville Frankel
Leslie and I began writing Jewish Luck with an underlying question in our minds—what would life have...
Read More

Copyright © 2016 All Rights Reserved by More Jewish Luck

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Login

Site created by LiveSites