A Labor Of Love

Children Of Israel Are Never Alone

Hey, beloved tribe. A belated shavua tov.

Here in Portland, Oregon there is finally a delicious little chill in the air.

Autumn is my favorite season by far. I love everything about it. The summer-lovers who dread the fall seem to believe that autumn represents death, and it’s easy to understand why: the leaves turn and fall off the trees, green yields to gold, darkness comes earlier, frost replaces the flowers, and the world moves inexorably toward the deep cold of winter.

But in keeping with our Jewish tradition, to me autumn feels like renewal. Our New Year happens now. School starts up again. The working world gears up for major campaigns after the malaise of August. We break out hats and scarves and boots and sweaters and jackets and the trappings of my favorite American holiday, Halloween. Elections usher out the old and bring in the new. There’s a briskness, an electric energy in the air.

This coming Thursday, September 12, is also the 9th of Elul, my Jewish birthday. I’m marking the occasion by launching JUDITH magazine. I still don’t feel ready, but it’s more than likely I will never feel ready. I’m going to start and get better as I go. And I have extraordinary partners in this endeavor.

Rachel Neve-Midbar, an incredible poet and Fulbright scholar, has accepted the position of poetry editor.

David Michael Slater, a brilliant and prolific author who writes for adult, YA, middle grade and kidlit audiences alike, and has more than 50 (!!!) published books to his name, has accepted the position of fiction editor.

Howard Lovy — incisive and essential journalist, author, editor, podcaster and partner in my forthcoming publishing house — has accepted the position of non-fiction editor.

And yesterday I spoke at length with Lailah Robertson about her idea of building out a space for genre authors (romance, fantasy, horror, etc.) and I’m incredibly excited about creating an editorial position for her as well.

While I’m helming none of these categories, it’s not an exaggeration to say I’m finding unbelievable Jewish literary treasures every single day and forwarding them to the editors above.

And I will be writing my own column for the magazine, which I wanted to tell you about here.

There aren’t many people in life whose careers I covet. I’m wildly happy to do my own job every day. But if there’s a single human being whose work fills me with a yearning to do something similar, it’s Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York.

HONY is such a brilliant concept. Oh, how I wish I’d thought of it. Making a job of wandering around New York City, connecting with its wild cast of characters, hearing their stories, bringing them to the world… and he does it so well. His featured people’s self-narrated stories are inexpressibly poignant, hilarious, heart-mangling, electrifying, beautiful, tragic and just so gorgeously, kaleidoscopically human.

I have never once read an entry without thinking: I want to do that!

And so I’ve decided to do my own version of it. I’m going to write a column for JUDITH called Jews Of The Universe. I’m going to find Jews all over the world who are doing intriguing, inspiring, fascinating things and I’m going to bring you their profiles in their own words once a week.

And I wanted to let you know in advance that I’ll be sharing the first one here this Friday.

I don’t know if I’ll do this regularly here — likely not, since it will be a feature of the magazine, so anyone who enjoys them can find them there. But I do want to find ways to broaden this newsletter so that it’s about more than the I/P conflict and anti-Semitism.

I’ve been writing on those topics for 6 months, and I’ve written 92 essays between 1,000 - 2,000 words long. That is well over a book-length number of words! I wanted to create a safe community space for Jews who love Israel from the left side of the political aisle, and I wanted to make an airtight case for Zionism as the most progressive of values. I have done that to the best of my ability and I will absolutely continue to write on those topics, but I also really, really want to bring the Jewish joy and empowerment, and put it front and center at the same time.

I also want, with all my heart, to mount the fiercest possible fight for Jews in the book world. From Zionist blacklists to canceled events to imploded award ceremonies to mass resignations at literary magazines to unwelcoming book conferences to the overwhelming number of Jewish writers who have been told, by agents and editors, that this is “just not the right time for a Jewish book”, the discrimination is real and it’s mounting and we can’t let it stand.

All the initiatives I’m building right now are linked to some degree and created to combat this unacceptable trend.

There’s a Jewish political activist I admire deeply whose name is Simon Rosenberg. And he has a mantra that’s been with me since the day I discovered him: Worry less and do more.

I don’t blame a single American Jew for being afraid or despairing right now. But Judaism explicitly cautions us against going too far in either of these directions.

Gevalt, Jews, do not despair!

The whole world is a narrow bridge; the essential thing is not to be afraid.

Action has a way of keeping fear and despair in check. For one thing, when we’re doing the work, we usually don’t have time to go there. And in Judaism, as we know, feeling so often follows form.

We don’t need to feel the right thing; we just have to do the right thing, and far more often than not, the feeling follows.

So if you’re a reader, writer, or in any way part of the book world, and you’d like to be involved with the Never Alone Book Club (which has thousands of members!), JUDITH Magazine, or my Jewish publishing house (tentatively named Lev Lamarr) which plans to put out at least 2 Jewish titles in 2025, please drop me a note. If you don’t have time or this isn’t your wheelhouse but you’d like to support these initiatives, please choose or upgrade a paid subscription here or at JUDITH magazine on Thursday! All the money is going into these projects and if I’m ever in a position to pay the essential players in any department, I would love nothing more than to do that. Right now everyone is doing this work as a labor of love, and with the belief that our community needs this and we need all hands on deck.

I’ll be back with you on Wednesday. I hope your week has started well. Huge love to you all.

Am Yisrael Chai.