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Jewish Luck Blog

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Leslie

Post-Apocalypse Part II: Poland

Leslie
Friday, 12 June 2015
Jewish Luck Blog
I thought I would never go to Eastern Europe, but, by the end of this journey, I found unexpected resolution.   To my husband’s dismay, I referred to this “vacation” as the Concentration Trip Tour. Harry reminded me that we would be spending only two of our eighteen days visiting concentration camps.  To prepare, I immersed myself in Holocaust nonfiction and reached a moderate level of self-traumatization before setting foot on the plane.  At the last minute I reached in my jewelry box to find an amulet for this journey. Since my Magen David and mezuzah had been given to Vera long ago, I was left with a golden hamsa (the hand against the evil eye), a gift brought to me from Israel by my friend, Janet, who had already made the trip to Poland. Last week my blog was about Berlin.  Today, I write about Poland.  I thank Dana Yugend-Pepper and...
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Jewish Poland Visiting concentration camp March of the Living Travel to Poland Jewish travel
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Leslie

Post-Apocalypse Part I: Berlin

Leslie
Friday, 05 June 2015
Jewish Luck Blog
To write about a trip to Eastern Europe is daunting.  So I’ll split my memories into two blogs.  This one is dedicated to Berlin, centered on the memorials.  I was struck by Professor James E. Young’s comment from his brilliant talk “Landscape of Memory" (available on youtube.com).  Speaking of Holocaust memorials, he said,  “in each of these places [archives and museums of the world], I found a very different Holocaust.”  He continues, “memorials and museums shape the Holocaust in different ways.”  This was the essence of what I discovered and it revealed a lot about how each country is coming to terms (or is not) with the Holocaust. My relationship with Germany has not been very informed or intimate over the years.  However, as Harry's and my thirtieth wedding anniversary approached, we were looking for a special place. My father-in-law’s vote for Berlin as “most fascinating city” was seconded by my...
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Stolpersteine Jewish travel Jeremy Minsberg Holocaust memorial Berlin memorial
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Meryll

Absurdist Sculpture—Russian style

Meryll
Friday, 29 May 2015
Jewish Luck Blog
Public art enhances our lives. In Minneapolis public art is diverse and found in all corners of the city. Sharon Zweigbaum highlighted Minneapolis public art featuring water as part of the Jewish Artists’ Lab sponsored by the Sabes JCC last Tuesday. Some of the sculptures like the shadow figures embedded in sidewalks make us rethink our idea of Minneapolis’s influential figures.  Fountains abound in the City of Lakes that refresh and entice passers by.  Russian public art is, well, uniquely Russian.  In the New York Times of May 29, 2015 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/world/europe/another-huge-statue-in-russia-not-rare-but-hugely-divisive.html?ref=world), Neil MacFarquhar guides us through the reasoning that Moscow may soon be looking up at an 82 foot tall statue of St. Vladimir slated to perch on a Moscow hill.  Aside from environmental arguments against the statue and the artistic merit of Salvat Scherbakov’s work, this is a convoluted attempt to reconstruct Russian History.  For a more thorough explanation one needs to read...
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St. Vladimir Sharon Zweignbaum Russia statue Putin public art
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Leslie

A Musical Interlude

Leslie
Friday, 22 May 2015
Jewish Luck Blog
“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue... and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” E.Y. Harburg Yip Harburg’s lyrics opened our original first chapter of Jewish Luck (subsequently deleted). The flute music from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" also opened the marriage ceremony of Vera’s son and daughter-in-law on Grand Cayman.  The words to that melody captured the poignancy of just how far Vera and Alla had come since their childhoods in Cold War Leningrad. Indeed, this sixth wedding of the book (if you’re counting) on Twelve Mile Beach was symbolic of the life of opportunity for the children of both women and the dreams that their mothers “dared to dream.” Fast forward to the 2014 Academy Awards when Pink sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the 1939 release of “Wizard of Oz.” Jewish social media tweeted, buzzed and blogged about Pink’s...
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Brother Can You Spare a Dime Free and Equal Blues Jewish composers Somewhere Over the Rainbow Yip Harburg
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Meryll

Hauntology

Meryll
Friday, 15 May 2015
Jewish Luck Blog
“Where Bones and History Won’t Stay Buried.” It seems like the former USSR will forever regurgitate its dead.  Andrew E. Kramer’s article and the imposing photo of tall trees resembling eternal sentinels reminded me of past photos in other forests dotting the former Soviet Union.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/world/europe/in-ukraine-bones-of-war-dead-re-emerge-to-stir-political-passions.html?ref=world “Again?” I thought. In the case of Lviv in the western Ukraine, the perpetrators could be Soviets or Nazis.  The Ukraine is even divided on which was the more evil enemy.  The attitudes Kramer encountered from residents of Lviv regarding the unearthed bones varied widely.  Some were eager to rebury Ukrainian bones because they represent the ancestors of Lviv’s residents. Others want the past to remain past, “Let them lay there,” states another. And what of the mass graves of Poles shot by the Ukrainian Partisan Army?  What about the Jewish skeletons? Can a country, a region, a town, a person live without feeling he or...
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Alexander Eklund Andrew E. Kramer hauntology mass graves Preobrazhensky Cemetery
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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
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...
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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. "...
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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

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

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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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