The Auschwitz Violinist

by Jonathan Dunsky

In this, the third of Jonathan Dunsky's Adam Lapid mystery series, Lapid sees a man on a Tel Aviv street that he hasn't seen since his imprisonment in Auschwitz.

The man, Yosef Kaplon, had vanished so quickly from the barracks that Lapid believed he had been killed. Kaplon tells him that he survived Auschwitz thanks to his mother: the violin lessons she forced him to take allowed him to become a member of the orchestra that greeted new arrivals to Auschwitz.

Kaplon invites Lapid to come to a cafe and hear him play. It turns into a magical evening for Lapid, filled with bittersweet memories.  Surrounded by people speaking his native Hungarian, eating goulash that rivals that of his own mother and listening to Kaplon's heavenly music, Lapid is reminded of all he lost at Auschwitz.

The Book of Jewish Values

by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

In the hit HBO series, "Game of Thrones," the Stark family of the north repeatedly says, "Winter is coming!"

When Elul rolls around, we Jews say, "Yom Kippur is coming!"

Every year I reach the end of the High Holy Days inspired to do more -- study more, come to more services, observe more rituals more often -- and be more -- kinder, more charitable, more aware and more grateful.

Yet when Elul comes round again, I'm disappointed in myself. Overwhelmed by the possibilities for improvement, I realize I've defaulted to business as usual on the path of least resistance.

This year, however, I've discovered a book to guide me: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's The Book of Jewish Values; A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living. The book offers short, readable essays on Jewish values for every day of the year except Shabbats, when Rabbi Telushkin recommends reviewing the previous six days' essays.