Issue

33

Mar 2023 / Pesach 5783

Preface

Welcome to this brilliant, 7-language issue of Jewish Fiction .net! Here you’ll find 12 terrific stories, originally written in Danish, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, and English, and – for the first time – Albanian! This issue also includes an Agnon story that has never before been published in English (“Women’s Wisdom”) and, in honour of the upcoming holiday, a Pesach story (“The Haggadah of the Chinese Jews”).

As we contemplate the meaning of freedom this year in the context of the worrying strife in Israel, we hope that this new issue of Jewish Fiction .net will be thought-provoking and pleasurable for you and that it will enrich your celebration of this Festival of Freedom. Wishing you and yours a joyful and meaningful Pesach,

Chag sameach v’kasher! from all of us at

Jewish Fiction .net

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Women’s Wisdom

by Shmuel Yosef Agnon

Women’s Wisdom

There was an eminent woman in town, from a good family, who would read Scripture and review Mishnah and Midrash

13m read Translated from Hebrew by Yehudah Cohn

ChildhoodFeminist

Things Disappear

by Nina Foighel

Things Disappear

We were walking around the East End of London and we were worn out. By the sun, and by the sense of history

10m read Translated from Danish by the author

AgingAntisemitismDiasporaNon-JewsSynagogue

Frozen Spring – Jerusalem Returning

by Entela Kasi

Frozen Spring – Jerusalem Returning

"I need to forget everything," Hannah wrote to Johan

13m read Translated from Albanian by the author with assistance from Sarah Lawson

AgingDeathDiasporaHolocaustJerusalem

Golem

by Maciej Płaza

Golem

They had been in haste, that was Shira's lasting memory of those times, those days. Two years had passed

35m read Translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

AntisemitismDeathHasidicMarriageMourningWedding

The Jewish Stone

by David Shrayer-Petrov

The Jewish Stone

We were strolling along the shore of Lake Ladoga: Lyonya Kogan, my friend from the days of our youth

26m read Translated from Russian by Mira Isabella Shrayer and Emilia A. Shrayer

AntisemitismConversionDiaspora

Wall

by Ela Moskovits-Weiss

Wall

From a distance, they were a tall, handsome couple. The man was wearing an elegant business suit

10m read Translated from Hebrew by Yaron Regev

FeministIsraelTel Aviv

The Lake of Galilee

by Ephrat Huss

The Lake of Galilee

The waves of the holy Galilee Lake in Israel rhythmically leave and return to my veiny old ankles

27m read

AgingDiasporaIsraelMarriage

Longing

by Ber Kotlerman

Longing

"My father never went back there," said Mrs. Dobrovsky bitterly. Outside the window of her room danced the boundless

8m read Translated from Yiddish by Vivian Felsen

AgingDiaspora

Bubbie’s Ḥalushkas

by Elliott B. Oppenheim

Bubbie’s Ḥalushkas

What is the meaning of food in our culture? Bubbie's lunch invitation just after Passover emphasizing explicitly just us

13m read

AgingHolocaust

The Haggadah of the Chinese Jews

by Ida Shear

The Haggadah of the Chinese Jews

Nathanial made a sudden U-turn and pointed the Chevy pickup toward

17m read

ConversionIntermarriageMarriage

Crumbs of Hope

by Mark Russ

Crumbs of Hope

Having unintentionally left his mother to die alone at Our Lady of Mercy several years before, Malcolm was determined to remain with his father until the end.

9m read

AgingDeathHolocaust

The Origin of Migraines

by Maurice Krystal

The Origin of Migraines

I don't remember the first time I asked where my grandparents were. I was aware that all my neighbourhood friends had grandparents. They came to visit

20m read

AgingChildhoodHolocaust