Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture & Heritage is a stunning collection of 32 powerful essays celebrating Jewish joy. Whether set in the Catskills of New York, New England, Chicago, or LA; across oceans in Israel, Denmark, Mt. Everest, or Spain; in synagogues of youth, redwood forests, or family seder tables, its stories, like manna in the desert of our ancestors, sustain both body and soul. Curated by Diane Gottlieb, with a foreword by Erika Dreifus, Manna Songs speaks to the rich diversity of Jewish lives. Through tallit and candlesticks, paintbrushes and prayer, these beautiful Jewish voices reach back across generations and pass traditions forward. Readers will find humor alongside sorrow, questions beside wonder, people lost, others found. Manna Songs will delight, move, and inspire you. It will make your heart sing!
"If the essays in Manna Songs were merely composed of rich and lyrical prose but did not represent a range of beautifully diverse Jewish voices, show me facets of my own tradition that weren't yet familiar to me, or provide a potent infusion of Jewish joy, Dayenu. But Manna Songs does all this and much more. I'm so grateful for this treasure trove of luminous and soul-sustaining Jewish perspectives."
-Elissa Wald, Editor in Chief of JUDITH Magazine
"What a powerful look at what it means to celebrate Jewish joy, to preserve the past, and to forge our Jewish identities in today's tumultuous world. Here's to uplifting Jewish stories."
-Zibby Owens, On Being Jewish Now: Reflections of Authors and Advocates
"These are wonderful stories - short, touching vignettes of Jewish life, resilience, humor and pride. A book that is needed in our trying times."
-Rabbi David Wolpe, author of David: The Divided Heart
Contributors: Melinda Gordon Blum, Judy Bolton-Fasman, Eileen Vorbach Collins, Adrienne Dern, Dina Elenbogen, Debbie Feit, Jennifer Fliss, Lynne Golodner, Tzivia Gover, Melissa Greenwood, Lisa Grunberger, Julia Grunes, Talya Jankovits, Gabrielle Ariella Kaplan-Mayer, Joan Leegant, Sarah Leibov, Ellen Levitt, Nina B. Lichtenstein, Matthew Lippman, Ana Miriam Lublin, Aliza Marton, Sandell Morse, Robbi Nester, Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, Ronit Plank, Amy Rogers, Seth Schindler, Jena Schwartz, Amy Shimshon-Santo, Megan Vered, Mimi Zieman, Julie Zuckerman
Cover Art by Aliza Marton: alizafineart.com
