Beth Kissileff has contributed pieces to many publications, including The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Tower, Tablet, the Forward, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Haaretz, Religion News Service and Hadassah. Her complete resume (PDF) is available for download, with selected publications below.
Fiction
- What’s not there: Soul Searching in Israel. First chapter of Questioning Return excerpted in Tablet magazine (http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/217749/whats-not-there-soul-searching-in-israel) November 11. 2016
- Willing Donor (Jewish Fiction.net)
- The Rov’s Legacy (Zeek Magazine)
- Counterfeit (Michigan Quarterly Review 53:3)
- I’m Not Here for Myself (Michigan Quarterly Review 57:5 Winter 2019)
Popular articles
- The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting Could have Destroyed my Family – But Jewish Tradition Opposes the Death Penalty. New York Times Opinion, Guest Essay. On line April 26, 2023, in print April 30, 2023.
- How has the Tree of Life Shooting Changed my Life? One Victim’s Impact Statement. Religion News Service, April 24, 2023.
- Many People Lie About their Resumes: Why George Santos’ case is different. Religion News Service, January 9, 2023.
- Light and Growth in the face of Tragedy. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 28, 2021.
- On a second Covid Thanksgiving, how to find room for thanks. Religion News Service, November 24, 2021. Reprinted in Washington Post and other places.
- Honoring the Legacy of the Tree of Lie synagogue murder victims. Wisdom Daily, October 27, 2021
- Three Years after the Tree of Life attack, my community struggles to feel safe. October 27. 2021, The Christian Century.
- Death Penalty for Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter not Just. Forward, October 15, 2021.
- Three years to the Pittsburgh shooting – here’s what I learned. Jerusalem Post. September 14, 2021.
- On Antisemitism Now. Hadassah Magazine, fall 2021.
- On Tisha B’Av, the meaning of Tree of Life revealed. Washington Post, July 23, 2021. Originally in Religion News Service, July 23, 2021.
- Toward a Syllabus for Modern Grieving. LitHub, July 23, 2021.
- What to do in Response to the current levels of antisemitism. Wisdom Daily. June 2, 2021.
- Was the Tragedy at Meron Preventable? Wisdom Daily. May 10, 2021.
- What Painter Alice Neel saw in Jewish Faces. New York Jewish Week/ Times of Israel. April 14, 2021. Review and discussion of Jewish figures and subjects painted by acclaimed portrait artist Alice Neel.
- Trump Impeachment: Judaism says its wrong to be merciful to the cruel. February 23, 2021. The Wisdom Daily.
- Tragedy and Trust. Next Page, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 10, 2021.
- Reflections Two Years after the Pittsburgh shooting. December 9, 2020. The Wisdom Daily.
- Bound in the Bond of Life, blog post reflecting on memorialization for Katz Center at the University of Pennsylvania. November 23, 2020.
- Objects tell stories, blog post for Museum of Jewish Heritage. October 27, 2020.
- Two years after my husband survived the Tree of Life shooting, Christian Century October 27, 2020.
- Lessons for Elul. September 16, 2020. The Jerusalem Post, opinion.
- How I found Meaning in a very different Tisha B’Av this year. The Wisdom Daily, August 7, 2020.
- Tips from an art colony on sharing co-working spaces during the pandemic. The Wisdom Daily. Posted April 1, 2020.
- Telling the Whole story Pittsburgh Post Gazette November 17, 2019.
- Prophets of Today: Therapists. 929. October 30, 2019.
- Five Years Ago Naftali Fraenkel was murdered. His mother looks back on a journey from grief to joy. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, posted June 28, 2019
- What I wish had been said at the funeral of young suicide victim. http://thewisdomdaily.com/what-i-wish-had-been-said-at-the-funeral-for-a-young-suicide-victim/ The Wisdom Daily August 2, 2018
- Can we train ourselves to be Happier? The Wisdom Daily. Posted July 10, 2018
- How One Faith Group fights abuse one School at a Time. The Forward. Posted June 6, 2018.
- Writing in Roth’s Room at Yaddo. New York Jewish Week/ Times of Israel. Posted May 29, 2018.
- Philip Roth and the Rabbis. The Wisdom Daily. Posted May 28, 2018.
- Philip Roth Dead at 85. https://www.jta.org/2018/05/23/top-headlines/philip-roth-enfant-terrible-turned-peerless-chronicler-american-jewish-life-dead-85. Jewish Telegraphic Agency May 23, 2018.
- There’s no place for lingerie jokes in Professional settings. http://thewisdomdaily.com/theres-no-place-for-lingerie-jokes-in-professional-settings/. The Wisdom Daily, May 17, 2018.
- What I want my kids to Know about the Holocaust. The Wisdom Daily. April 17, 2018.
- MLK’s Message: Unity is a Way out of Slavery. The New York Jewish Week/Times of Israel. April 5, 2018.
- A Book list to prepare you for Jewish Learning in Israel or at home. The Wisdom Daily. March 19, 2018.
- A List of Inspiring Books by Jewish Women for International Women’s Day. The Wisdom Daily. March 8, 2018.
- Just as Queen Esther, McDormand Wielded Power by Realizing She has it...The Wisdom Daily. March 5, 2018.
- New York Times Journalist Bari Weiss on how Judaism guides her. The Wisdom Daily. October 30, 2017.
- How Frankenstein Became Human and we can too. The Wisdom Daily. October 16, 2017
- The Red Hills of America. Op Ed in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 19, 2017.
- The Radical subtext of The Wedding Plan New York Jewish Week, posted June 13, 2017. http://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/the-radical-subtext-of-the-wedding-plan/
- The Woman who Connects Seder Food to Jewish History. (The Wisdom Daily, April 5, 2017)
- The ‘Unofficial Hogwarts Haggadah’ is what is missing from your Seder (Kveller 3/22/17)
- Why I ‘Thank” The Anti-Semitic Thugs Who Vandalize Jewish Cemetaries. (Forward 3/3/2017) and in print Forward 3/10/ 2017.
- A Desecrated Cemetary Ended 150 years of Confidence in America. (Haaretz, 3/2/2017)
- 100 US Religion Scholars Write Scriptural Letters to Trump’s Administration for its First 100 days (Tablet 1/23/2017)
- Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom founder Sheryl Olitzky Forward ( 12/30/2016)
- Shining a Light on Difference. New York Jewish Week, posted December 13, 2016.
- How will Rabbis lead congregations through post election America? http://forward.com/news/354270/how-will-rabbis-lead-congregations-through-post-election-america/(Forward, News, 11/11/2016)
- How are Rabbis consoling congregants following Trump’s triumph? http://forward.com/news/national/354286/how-are-rabbis-consoling-congregants-following-trumps-triumph/?attribution=home-top-nav-section-1-featured-article-text-2(Forward, News, 11/11/2016)
- Charming and Inspiring Stories from Hillary Clinton’s Oldest Supporters http://forward.com/sisterhood/352922/charming-and-inspiring-stories-from-hillary-clintons-oldest-supporters/(Forward, Sisterhood blog, 10/28/2016)
- An English- Yiddish Dictionary for the Ages (http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/213044/a-yiddish-english-dictionary-for-the-ages) The Scroll at Tablet (10/7/2016)
- Celebrity Chefs share Rosh Hashanah recipes (http://www.jta.org/2016/09/28/life-religion/celebrity-chefs-share-their-rosh-hashanah-recipes) Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 9/28/2016; syndicated and reprinted in multiple outlets)
- ‘Small, still voice’ at the 9/11 museum (Religion News Service, 9/9/2016)
- Mondays with the Mikvah Lady, a short profile of Malka Markovic (Tablet, 10/27/2015)
- A site for secular and religious Israelis to study Bible together, about 929 website (The Tower, 6/4/2015)
- Israel Story, about the four producers of the Israeli version of “This American Life” radio program (The Tower, 5/11/2015)
- This Haredi woman wants your vote, on Be’zechutan, the first Ultra Orthodox women’s political party (The Tower, 2/10/2015, and aMosaic editor’s pick, 2/12/2015)
- Israeli writers around the globe (The Tower, 1/5/2015, and a Mosaic editor’s pick, 1/12/2015. Translated to Hebrew and published in Alaxon Magazine, January 2015, and Haaretz, March 2015)
- Women who teach women in war and peace (The Tower, 10/7/2014, and a Mosaic editor’s pick, 10/14/2014)
- Admissions 105: Mastering Rejection (Reform Judaism, Fall 2014)
- A visit to Jerusalem to see the things that are no longer there, a personal essay (Tablet, 8/2014)
- Sacred and Profane: Philip Roth, One Time Enfant Terrible Gets Seminary Honor (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 5/22/2014; syndicated by the Forward, the Baltimore Jewish Times, and the Times of Israel; referenced in the New Yorker blog)
- The Sunburnt Faces tour of Tel Aviv: A day with Shimon Adaf (Tablet, 5/2/2014)
- Where Denominations Lose their Meaning, essay and reporting on secular yeshivot and mechinot in Israel (The Tower Magazine, 5/2014)
- In Israel, Creating New Ways to Observe Yom Hashoah (Tablet, 4/28/2014)
- Re-Dreaming Jerusalem. A Woman Rabbi in Israel: Interview with Tamar Elad-Appelbaum. (CJ Magazine, Spring 2014)
- Do American Jews Really want to Listen to Israelis? (Haaretz Online, 2/24/2014)
- Datlash vs. Ex-Frum: Memoirs in Israel and America (Tablet, 2/24/2014)
- Advice for the college tour(NYTimes.com blog The Choice, 6/6/2013)
- The Man I Married(Tablet, 5/31/2013)
- Jonathan Ames does Israel (Jewish News Service, 5/20/2013)
- Why Can’t Yeshiva Alumni follow Horace Mann Blueprint? (Forward, 5/6/2013)
- Rejection is a process (NYTimes.com blog The Choice, 4/30/2013)
- Judaisim: The World’s Best Memory Palace (Moment Magazine, September-October, 2012)
- Women Join Talmud Celebration (Tablet, 7/30/2012)
- Car culture and autonomy for kids (NYTimes.com blog Motherlode, 6/27/2012)
- Ready for the market (Tin House blog, 3/9/2012)
- Correspondent’s Course: Writing advice about Writing advice (Tin House blog, 1/6/2012)
- Errand into the (Jewish) Wild (Hadassah-Brandeis Institute eZine, 3/2011)
- Who says Jews don’t have soul, (Moment Magazine, 2/7/2011)
- Making the Truth One’s Own: Why Jews should care about Reynolds Price (Forward, 1/2011)
- An Open Letter to Amy Chua (Kveller, 1/2011)
- Taking a Cold Shower in Philip Roth’s Room (Forward, 1/22/2010)
- A Tribute to Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi (The Jerusalem Report, 1/2/2010)
- Reading Island of the Blue Dolphins With My Daughter (Double X website of Slate, 9/30/2009)
Reviews and author interviews
- A Summer Reading List… from Whimsy to Weighty. July 13, 2021. The Wisdom Daily.
- Review of Cynthia Ozick’s Antiquities for Sources Journal, forthcoming summer, 2021.
- A psychological thriller about four Israeli women and their Biblical role models. The Christian Century, June 30, 2021.
- Moshe Rosenberg on his new Superhero Haggadah. The Wisdom Daily, March 16, 2021.
- An Interview with the editor of Can Robots be Jewish? The Wisdom Daily. March 11, 2021. Amy Schwartz speaks about her anthology drawn from the Moment Magazine column Ask the Rabbi.
- Ilan Stavans Reflects on His New Anthology. The Wisdom Daily. November 12, 2020.
- Nathan Englander’s New Book Hearkens back to its religious roots. The Wisdom Daily May 14, 2019.
- Essential Reading: Fiction. https://www.christiancentury.org/article/books/essential-reading-fiction The Christian Century. May 9, 2018.
- Dr Elisha Waldman on End of Life Care for his Jewish and Arab Patients. http://thewisdomdaily.com/dr-elisha-waldman-on-end-of-life-care-for-his-arab-and-jewish-patients/. The Wisdom Daily May 3, 2018.
- ZUckerman Unbound in our Town. Review of Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetry. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 22, 2018.
- A Reading list to Transport you to Israel in Honor of its 70th Birthday. The Wisdom Daily. April 11, 2018.
- The Collection of Haggada Masterpieces that lets us learn by looking. Wisdom Daily. March 29, 2018.
- Bringing Daf Yomi to Life and Vice Versa. Review of Ilana Kurshan memoir If All the Seas Were Ink. Tablet, September 5, 2017
- What we eat connects us. Lilith blog, April 7, 2017.
- The Haggadah that uses magic to make the seder accessible. The Wisdom Daily. Posted March 28, 2017.
- Conversation in Dialogue between Shimon Adaf and Lavie Tidhar about Art and War (+972 Magazine, 5/7/2016)
- The Mysteries of Moses, a review interview of Chanan Tigay’s Lost Book of Moses (Tablet, 4/22/2016, and a Mosaic editor’s pick)
- “Painting the Town,” a review of The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothchild (Jerusalem Post, 4/7/2016)
- Review and interview with Geraldine Brooks on The Secret Chord, a book on King David (Jerusalem Post, 12/11/2015)
- “Giving Words Body and Soul,” a review and interview with author Aviya Kushner of The Grammar of God (Jerusalem Post, 9/18/2015)
- The Many Songs of David, an interview with Rabbi David Wolpe on David: A Divided Heart (University of Pennsylvania Gazette, September-October 2015)
- Review and interview with Aviya Kushner’s The Grammar of God (Tablet, 9/9/2015)
- Review of Patrick Modiano’s Pedigree (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 12/13/2015)
- Review and interview with Avivah Zornberg on her new book on Numbers, Bewilderments (Tablet, 3/9/2015)
- Interview with Mark Polizzotti, translator of Nobel Laureate Patrick Modiano (Jewish Book Council, 3/6/2015)
- Review of Honeydew by Edith Pearlman (Jerusalem Post, 2/20/2015)
- Easing the Pain with Literature: Interview with Shimon Adaf, (Forward, 2/20/2015, p. 2)
- Eight New Israeli Writers You Need to Read Right Now, (Forward, 5/22/2014)
- Fridays with Zalman: The Spiritual Wisdom of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a review of The December Project (Tablet, March 2014)
- Review of Netanya by Dror Burstein (Jewish Book World, Spring 2014)
- Two Books Explore New Perspectives on the Talmud, With a Focus on Women, a review of Tova Hartman’s and Ruth Calderon’s books (Tablet, 2/26/2014)
- The Afterworldly Imagination of Ofir Touché Gafla (The Tower, 2/5/2014)
- Interview with Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings (Jerusalem Post, August 2013)
- Paris When it Fizzles, a review of Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick (New York Jewish Week, 11/19/2010)
- Review of Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick and interview with author (Jewish Book World, November-December 2010)
- No Scripts for Miscarriage: Review of Anthology About What was Lost. Lilith, June 24, 2007
Jewish texts
- The Biblical Heroine who can Teach us the Secret of Redemption. The Wisdom Daily, February 1, 2021.
- Jewish law should guide us on Election day. The Forward, October 18, 2020.
- The Wisdom of an Ancient Text. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Next Page. March 15, 2020.
- People are interested in what I have to say. JOFA blog. March 9, 2020
- The Women who Made Talmud Study less intimidating. JOFA Blog January 15, 2020
- Sometimes All you can do is Scream. http://thewisdomdaily.com/biblical-wisdom-for-current-days-when-words-fail-its-time-to-scream/The Wisdom Daily July 19, 2018.
- What the Passover Story can teach us about inclusion riders. Lilith blog. March 23, 2018.
- The makings of a biblical heroine. http://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/the-makings-of-a-biblical-heroine/ The JOFA Blog. Posted December 8, 2017
- Still Holy? Does Judaism believe in exonerating holy men for their crimes? JOFA blog at New York Jewish Week/Times of Israel. Posted November 6, 2017.
- How to Read Ecclesiastes what we read on Sukkot and the Inspiration for the Title of many classic novels. Tablet. October 4, 2017.
- Rabbi Akiva taught of the transcendence of Ideas (The Wisdom Daily May 9, 2017)
- Reading the Megillah for Purim Tikkun(March 9, 2017)
- Megillah 101: Purim Lessons for the Trump era Lilith (March 9, 2017)
- Sometimes, All it Takes is a Miracle. http://thewisdomdaily.com/sometimes-miracle/ (The Wisdom Daily, October 31, 2016)
- It’s no Accident the final commandment is to Write http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/_blog/The_ProsenPeople/post/its-no-accident-the-final-commandment-is-to-write/(The Prosen People blog of the Jewish Book Council, 10/23/2016)
- Can We Learn from Jonah’s Happiness? http://www.thelehrhaus.com/timely-thoughts/2016/10/20/can-we-learn-from-jonahs-happiness (The Lehrhaus October 20, 2016)
- Root yourself in the Text. A piece on what 614th commandment might be. (Hadassah-Brandeis Institute eZine, 11/2013)
- Shabbat: Our Tool for attention literacy (The Jewish Writing Project, 11/23/2012)
- Snakeskin and Veils: Garments in Genesis (HBI eZine, 7/2012)
- “Commentary on Talmud Sotah 5a” (Sh’ma Journal, 4/2012)
- “Six Word Memoir.” Six words about being Jewish, included in print and online anthology. (Smith Magazine, 3/2012)
- “How to Make Miracles”(Hadassah Magazine, 12/2011)
Commentary on Torah portion of the week – entire year’s worth of comments at 929, others below
- Joseph and the Amazing Turmoil that can Haunt a Family. New York Jewish Week. December 9, 2021.
- Change is slow – but its coming. Parshat Shmot. Religion News Service, January 11, 2021
- Vayeshev: Finding Light, Making Change. December 10, 2020. My Jewish Learning.
- Vezot Habracha, What we Need from a Leader When it is time to let go. Jewish Week, October 7, 2020.
- Beha’alotekha – No Milk, No Trust – June 12, 2020. Lehrhaus.
- Beha’alotekha What do we learn about the value of female leadership from Moses? JOFA blog, June 11, 2020
- Author page at 929 with weekly commentary , updated each Thursday, from October 29 2018 to November 16, 2019
- Swallowed up by Bad Leaders. Korach. New York Jewish Week, July 2, 2019.
- Genesis 25 Striving to see and be seen. 929.org https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/author/36663/post/37913
- Genesis 21 Sarah’s Entering the Covenant https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/author/36663/post/37426
- Genesis 16 Hagar: The Bible’s First Theologian 929 website. https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/page/16/post/36714
- VAyigash: Joseph Educates his Brothers. Portion of Vayigash(Genesis 44:18-47:27) New York Jewish Week Posted Dec 19, 2017.
- Deuteronomy: When Moses has Nothing to Lose (New York Jewish Week 7/ 28/17)
- Emor The Omer: Time can Create (New York Jewish Week 5/ 12/17)
- Miketz Joseph’s Dizzying Descent and Ascent (New York Jewish Week 12/30/16)
- Hayei Sara: Accepting a Reality we did not Anticipate (My Jewish Learning 11.23/2016)
- Shoftim: From Rehem to Rahamim (My Jewish Learning, 9/9/2016)
- Beha’alotekha: Growing Pains and Rebellion (New York Jewish Week, 6/24/2016)
- Vayehi: Joseph’s Power: Reading Backwards and Forwards (New York Jewish Week, 12/22/2015)
- Noach: Who is a Hero? (Jerusalem Report, 10/29/2015)
- D’varim: Making Sense of History (New York Jewish Week, 7/21/2015)
- Tazria-Metzora: The Feedback Loop (New York Jewish Week, 4/24/2015)
- Vayera: Ways of Seeing and Asking (New York Jewish Week, 11/4/2014)
- Re’eh: Rav Kook’s Different Dimensions (New York Jewish Week, 8/29/2014)
- Naso: The Blessings of Love and Jealous (New York Jewish Week, 5/30/2014)
- Hayei Sara: Rebecca and Veiled Understandings (New York Jewish Week, 10/23/2013)
- Ki Tetzei: “Accept Responsibility” (Jerusalem Report, August 2013)
- Shoftim: Sorry future King George Alexander Louis: Jewish Kings are leaders beyond the accident of Birth (New York Jewish Week, 8/10/2013)
- Vayigash: Joseph’s Emotional Rescue (New York Jewish Week, 12/20/2012)
- Ki Tavo: The Farmer and the First Fruits (New York Jewish Week, 9/5/2012)
- Bamidbar: The Time to Pay Attention (New York Jewish Week, 5/25/2012)
- Toldot: Whose Child is this? (New York Jewish Week, 11/28/2011)
- Noach: Noah’s Art of Aftermath (Jewish News Service, 10/24/2011)
- Ha’azinu: “Behind the Song” (Jewish News Service, 9/28/2011)
- Emor: “The optimism of the Omer” (New York Jewish Week, 5/9/2009)
- Ki Tetzei: “How a Jewish teacher became a heretic” (Jewish News Service, 9/13/2008)
Articles relating to October 27, 2018 attack at my synagogue New Light which rented space at Tree of Life in Pittsburgh
The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/after-pittsburgh-shooting-there-hope-hanukkah/577462/ December 6, 2018
My Pittsburgh Synagogue is still Grappling with the Fragility of Life. November 3, 2019.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York Jewish Week
Front page article – In Pittsburgh, Grief Takes a Holiday https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/inpittsburgh-grief-takes-a-holiday/. March 27, 2019
New York Times
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette
https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2018/12/23/Beth-Kissileff-Who-can-provide-comfort/stories/201812230091 December 23, 2019
Religion News Service
In the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting, finding a new Jewish voice at Shavuot Posted June 7, 2019.
https://religionnews.com/2019/01/29/fighting-hate-from-tree-of-life-synagogue-to-charlestons-mother-emanuel-church/ January 29, 2019
https://religionnews.com/2019/02/27/the-jewish-answer-to-how-to-punish-the-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooter/ February 27, 2019
Tablet
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/tisha-bav-destruction-of-the-temple August 9, 2019.
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/282071/the-joy-of-purim March 20, 2019
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/274499/ariel-burger-elie-wiesel November 13, 2018
Times of Israel
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/when-they-go-low-we-go-to-shul-pittsburgh-a-month-later/ November 27, 2018
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/thoughts-on-hanukkah-5779/ December 9, 2018
Wisdom Daily
http://thewisdomdaily.com/a-pittsburgh-community-member-reflects-on-the-parkland-suicides/ April 11, 2019
http://thewisdomdaily.com/how-preparing-a-body-for-burial-helped-me-understand-the-power-of-love-2/ April 29, 2019
http://thewisdomdaily.com/the-problem-with-treating-ordinary-people-like-heroes/ September 19, 2020.
http://thewisdomdaily.com/what-tishrei-is-like-in-squirrel-hill-this-year/ October 29, 2019.
http://thewisdomdaily.com/the-mixed-emotions-of-attending-a-bris-in-a-place-where-many-jews-died/ February 20, 2020.