The Frum Fantasy Author Charming Worldwide Readers & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Book World’s Hot New Fantasy Author is an Orthodox Jew With a Magical Shtetl
Orthodox Jewish author Rena Rossner initially set her debut novel, “The Sisters of the Winter Wood,” in a random forest town in 19th century French Christendom. It was her third outing as an author — her first two unpublished novels were “very Israel, very Jewish.” “My previous two works didn’t sell,” said Rossner, whose day job is a booming career as a literary agent with the Jerusalem-based Deborah Harris Agency. Those books were poetic adult literary fiction and while they made it to advanced stages of the publishing world, neither were published.

UES Sukkah Defaced During Jewish Holiday of Sukkot
An anti-Israel message was scrawled across a public sukkah in the shadows of Gracie Mansion early Sunday, leaving the area’s Jewish community outraged that a vandal would mar a religious space over a political point. The phrase “Free Gaza” was scrawled three times in black spray paint on the outside of the structure in Carl Schurz Park — used to commemorate the holiday of Sukkot — sometime after 12:00 a.m. Sunday and reported around 8:00 a.m., cops said.

Meat Labs Pursue a Once-Impossible Goal: Kosher Bacon
Rabbi Gavriel Price has thousands of years of Jewish religious law to draw on when he is on the job, determining whether a new food item can get a kosher certification from his organization, the Orthodox Union. But all the rules about meat and milk, and the prohibitions on eating pork and sciatic nerves, are of limited use for Rabbi Price’s latest assignment: figuring out how the Orthodox Union, the largest kosher certifying organization in the world, should deal with what is known as clean meat — meat that is grown in laboratories from animal cells, including Jewish cuisine that had previously seemed impossible: kosher bacon.

How a Transplanted Face Transformed Katie Stubblefield’s Life
Katie is the youngest person in the US to have a face transplant and the head surgeon of her team is an Orthodox Jew – Dr. Brian Gastman. This is the cover story of September’s National Geographic.

Couple Breaks Ground as Kosher Craft Brewers
Ben and Jamie Shillow, the married couple behind Shillow Beer, have been living Orthodox lives since around 2012, when Ben left a rising career as a sommelier and manager at fine-dining restaurants. “I couldn’t navigate a hospitality career while living essentially a frum life,” Ben explains, because he’d have to work Fridays and Saturdays.

Can Haredim Elect an Orthodox Woman Mayor in Beit Shemesh?
Recent divides among the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) leadership could catapult a religious Zionist woman to the mayor’s office in increasingly haredi Beit Shemesh, political analysts in the city said Thursday. School principal Aliza Bloch, who is backed by Likud, Bayit Yehudi, Labor and Kulanu, is challenging incumbent Shas mayor Moshe Abutbul. Her advisers said she only needs 10 to 12 support of the haredim in the city to win and that she will win much more.

If you found this content meaningful and want to help further our mission through our Keter, Makom, and Tikun branches, please consider becoming a Change Maker today.