Happy Almost Bar Mitzvah Anniversary to Me, and Other Updates From Howard Lovy
Hello, everybody. I hope the High Holidays were meaningful to all who observe them. For me, the holidays always come around my birthday, so it’s always a time for introspection about the passing of another year. I turned fifty-seven years old on October 7, and if I think too hard about that number sixty shuffling ever closer, my brain goes to bad places. Something about lost time and goals yet unattained. I don’t think of myself as pushing sixty, but numbers do not lie and neither do the lines on my face. Yet I continue to strive to meet the potential everybody said I had when I was young. In a world that is geared toward youth, though, it grows more difficult to make my voice heard. Yet, I long ago chose a profession where I have nothing if not my written voice. So, I’ll continue to shout.
In the context of this newsletter, I shout about Jewish culture, history, and against antisemitism in all its forms.
Jesus Christ, It Was All A Misunderstanding
My latest Jewish-related work appeared last week in Publishers Weekly. In a piece headlined New Book Reframes Jesus’s Trial, I interview Israeli biblical scholar Israel Knohl, who hopes his book, The Messiah Confrontation: Pharisees Versus Sadducees and the Death of Jesus, will lead to reconciliation between Jews and Christians over who put Jesus on trial a couple thousand years ago. Knohl says Jesus was the victim of an internal Jewish debate. Long story short, it was a Jewish minority group that held a highly-irregular nighttime trial of Jesus during Passover. Had the majority group held the trial, Jesus likely would have been acquitted and history might have been very different. For me, there are parallels to current times, when a tiny minority of anti-Zionist Jews give cover to antisemites.
Anyway, I am thankful to Publishers Weekly for allowing me to interview some fascinating Jewish authors over the years. You can find links to more of them here.
Jews Stuck In The Middle
I’m also continuing to write about the life of my grandfather in pre-Holocaust Hungary. Many of you have already read this piece on my grandfather witnessing a pogrom and blood libel. It’s part of a larger memoir I’ve been working on as time allows. I finished another section that continues the story. It follows my grandfather's experiences as a child between the world wars, when Hungary lurched between the extremes of communism and fascism. Whenever there are extremes at play, it is always the Jewish community that suffers. It is a story of its time, but also has some parallels to the dangerous situation in which Jews find themselves today, when they are scapegoated by extremists on all sides. It describes what is called the White Terror, or the backlash against communism by fascists and the impact it had on the Jewish community of Paks, Hungary. That chapter has been submitted for separate publication, but it will eventually become a part of my full memoir.
New Podcasts
I’m very excited about a couple of new podcasts. My first one for Emet-Truth was an interview with author Ben M. Freeman, who talks about his series of books, and an entire movement, centered around Jewish pride. Please listen if you haven’t already.
In another branch of my professional life, I produce and host podcasts for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Every other Sunday, I join Orna Ross, ALLi director, for our Creative Self-Publishing Podcast. I learn a great deal from Orna, who is my publishing mentor in addition to novelist, poet, and creative facilitator. Every episode, we’ll discuss how to become a profitable self-publisher while also retaining your unique, creative voice. There are many paths to self-publishing, and we’ll help you discover yours.
This adds to two other podcasts I already host, one in which I interview inspirational indie authors and a news podcast I co-host with Dan Holloway.
Book Editor
When I’m not writing about Jewish issues or podcasting, I’m a developmental book editor. Sometimes, my worlds collide, though, and I edit Jewish themed books. I have a few in the works now and I’ll link to them when they’re released. I’m very excited to help these authors bring their visions into reality. You can find out more about my book-editing services here.
Bar Mitzvah Anniversary
Oh, and Happy almost Bar Mitzvah Anniversary to me!
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