March 15, 2025

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Ben Rothke

Ben Rothke lives in New Jersey and works in the information security field. He reviews books on religion, technology and science. @benrothke

Articles by Ben Rothke

Yom Tov Reading

For those who like to read, the yamim noraʾim and Sukkos provide great opportunities to do that. This is what I read over the holidays.

The Best Books of 5782

The term “People of the Book,” which sounds much better in Hebrew, Am HaSefer, is indeed apt. Walk into any Jewish bookstore, and new titles

Making Selichot More Meaningful

Reviewing: “The Koren Selihot Minhag Lita” by Rabbi Jacob J Schacter. Koren Publishers Jerusalem. 2022. Hebrew and English. Hardcover. 1314 pages. ISBN-13: 978-9657766682. Saying you

The Story of Satmar

Reviewing: “American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York” by Nomi M. Stolzenberg and David N. Myers. Princeton University

The Hardest Question

Reviewing: ‘Pain is a Reality, Suffering is a Choice: Grappling with Divine Justice’ by Rabbi Asher Resnick. Mosaica Press. 2022. English. Hardcover. 416 pages. ISBN-13:

Tribute to a Brilliant Scholar

Reviewing: “Studies in Halakha and Rabbinic History” by Rabbi Eitam Henkin. Maggid Books. 2022. English. Hardcover. 456 pages. ISBN: 9781592645817. I do not think I

The Final Work of Rabbi Sacks, zt”l

Reviewing: ‘Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas’ by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Maggid Books. 2020. English. Hardcover. 334 pages. ISBN-13:978-1592645527. In his brilliant weekly Thursday night shiur, Simcha

Two Interesting Reads

Reviewing: “Cornerstones: The Bible and Jewish Ideology” by Rabbi Hayyim Angel. Kodesh Press. 2020. English. Paperback. 224 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1947857438. There’s a joke that two