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Jewish Luck Blog

Leslie Levine Adler, PhD visited Russia in the summer of 1976 as part of her undergraduate Russian Studies program. She returned in 1977 to pursue her friendships from the previous summer. After teaching ESL at university, she became a psychologist.
Leslie

Leslie

  http://morejewishluck.com

Leslie Levine Adler, PhD visited Russia in the summer of 1976 as part of her undergraduate Russian Studies program. She returned in 1977 to pursue her friendships from the previous summer. After teaching ESL at university, she became a psychologist.

Leslie

Full Circle

Leslie
Sunday, 19 October 2014
Jewish Luck Blog
Unlike those brave CNN anchors, Wolf Blitzer and Fareed Zakaria, I am afraid to have a DNA test from Ancestry.com.  I might discover my husband and I are too close for comfort – Sorry kids!  Let me explain. Everyone who has read our book, Jewish Luck, knows of my serendipitous meeting with Vera in Leningrad, but I had another serendipitous meeting - - with my future husband, Harry Adler.  The agent of this meeting was the unlikely Therese, Hennepin County Medical Center psychodynamic psychology intern, a nice Catholic girl from the Minnesota Iron Range with dreams of marrying a Jewish doctor. On October 14, six weeks after our introduction at the posh downtown apartment building in which Harry and Therese resided, Harry’s friend and self-appointed life coach, Rob Schilit (z”l), called to ask Harry “how serious?”  Harry called to ask me the same question, which I refused to discuss over the...
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bsheret ushpizin sukkot talk Norfolk Jewish engagement story
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Leslie

What’s a Child of Soviet Jewish Immigrants to Do? How about write a novel?

Leslie
Monday, 29 September 2014
Highlighted Books
1410book-fishmanFeaturing: A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman (NY: Harper, 2014)*  and Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel – A Graphic Novel by Anya Ulinich (NY: Penguin, 2014). If you want to read an authoritative high-brow book review on either of these books, hop to the New York Times Book Review where both books are highly touted.  If you want to read a Midwesterner's account of how I connect to these books and how it relates to our book, Jewish Luck, keep reading. These novels have something in common besides being extremely funny, well written, and, no doubt, somewhat autobiographical.  Both are written by Soviet émigrés who came to the US at a young age.  Boris Fishman arrived in New York City at age 9 from Minsk; however, his neighborhood in Brooklyn might better be named New Minsk.  Anya Ulinich immigrated from Moscow to Arizona at age 17.  What better topic for these Americanized emigrés...
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Soviet Russian emigre literature lena finkle boris fishman anya ulinich a replacement life
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Leslie

Taking Account of Our Soul - Heshbon Hanefesh

Leslie
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Jewish Luck Blog
Really? My Hebrew isn't fluent, but how striking to juxtapose a concrete term like heshbon, meaning a bill or account, next to the abstract nefesh, referring to soul. It’s Elul, the month before the high holidays, and this is a topic Meryll thought might be appropriate for me to discuss at Congregation Rodef Shalom in Denver. I submit it would have been more appropriate for Meryll. Nevertheless, I tried -- for a month. I tried to search my soul for all the things I did wrong. Yes, I facebook-stalked to check out my son’s potential date (he’s 26 and there’s no excuse). I dragged my daughter to Mall of America (which we both dislike) when we both know shopping online is so much better. They have forgiven me. Truly, this past year has been so joyous and exhuberant in terms of the connections that Meryll and I have made with friends,...
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heshbon hanefesh yom kippur repentance
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Leslie

Becoming Ourselves - Integrating a Jewish Identity

Leslie
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Jewish Luck Blog
How did you learn what it meant to be Jewish? What obstacles did you encounter because you were Jewish? If all Jewish institutions were illegal and Jewish books, culture and practice were banned as they were in the former Soviet Union, how would that have affected the development of your Jewish identity? What if beiing Jewish was so widely accepted that you didn't have to give it much thought? Meryll and I have been traveling across the United States speaking to groups in San Diego, Phoenix, Omaha, Columbus, and Princeton.  We are inspired and grateful for the conversations that our book, Jewish Luck, engenders.  Some of the East Coast crowd described being raised in an American shtetl in NYC.  An older women in Encinitas recalled childhood experiences in wartime Vienna when she had to be silent about her identity and blend in.  Stories connect us and make our common history come...
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Soviet Jews Jews in Russia Jewish Identity Jewish continuity Russian Jews
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Leslie

Why is Alisa jumping for joy in front of Buckingham Palace?

Leslie
Sunday, 27 July 2014
Jewish Luck Blog
140728-br Perhaps because she is close to her “relative,” the Queen, or perhaps because she is even further from St. Petersburg. The real reason is that she was hired by a very progressive telecommunications company, Millicom, where the Swedish concept of lagom (the average is good enough) does not rule.  She has global responsibility for procurement of services and will be working out of three hubs.  Her main base is London and she will also be visiting Luxembourg and Miami (where we hope to celebrate with her and Vera). Vera and Alexei have been busy on their “pirate island” procuring a new boat more suited to their recreational purposes.  They has also attained citizenship in the Caribbean and their son, Lev, is now going on his second year as a US citizen.  Mention was made in a previous blog of Vera’s Hollywood connection to RD’s movie, The Kitchen Boy.  Vera says...
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Jewish Luck Book Jewish luck heroines
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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...
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Leslie
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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...
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Leslie
Leslie
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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. "...
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Invite Us To Speak

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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:
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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.

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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...
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