Jewish Sightseeing HomePage Jewish Sightseeing
   2001-08-03: Chicken Soup


San Diego
     County
San Diego

Congregation
      Beth El

 

'Chicken Soup':  3 San Diegans 
are in the mix

San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, Aug. 3, 2001

 
A new book, Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, is making its way to the bookstores.  

Among the contributors of "slice of life" short stories to this anthology are three San Diegans.  In one way or another, the tales recounted by all three had a "Jerusalem connection."

The San Diego authors include Rabbi Hillel E. Silverman, who will assume the pulpit of Congregation Beth El this fall; Rabbi Jack Riemer, who once was rabbi at Congregation Beth El, then went to a congregation in Boca Rotan,  Florida, and now is retiring back in San Diego, and psychotherapist Rebecca Heisler.

Heisler's story tells of a woman in Jerusalem who ran an errand for a friend who was preparing for her tenth child's brit milah.  Silverman's story concerns the meeting of an Arab woman in Jerusalem with a Jewish woman now living in what was formerly the Arab woman's house.  Riemer's story takes place in Jersey City, but concerns a rabbi friend who subsequently moved to Jerusalem.  

Like many of the stories in the anthology, each of  these tales are only a couple of pages long - and as some have surprise endings, it would be unfair to recount the details here. 

Take it from me that all three stories are quite enjoyable, leaving readers with something to think about.
      -- Donald H. Harrison