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On Being Jewish Now
An intimate and hopeful collection of meaningful, smart, funny, sad, emotional, and inspiring essays from today’s authors and advocates about what it means to be Jewish, how life has changed since the attacks on October 7th, 2023, and the unique culture that brings this group together.
On October 7th, 2023, Jews in Israel were attacked in the largest pogrom since the Holocaust. It was a day felt by Jews everywhere who came together to process and speak out in ways some never had before. In this collection, 75 contributors speak to Jewish joy, celebration, laughter, food, trauma, loss, love, and family, and the common threads that course through the Jewish people: resilience and humor. Contributors include Mark Feuerstein, Jill Zarin, Steve Leder, Joanna Rakoff, Amy Ephron, Lisa Barr, Annabelle Gurwitch, Daphne Merkin, Bradley Tusk, Sharon Brous, Jenny Mollen, Nicola Kraus, Caroline Leavitt, and many others. On Being Jewish Now is edited by Zibby Owens, bestselling author, podcaster, bookstore owner, and CEO of Zibby Media.
All profits will be donated to Artists Against Antisemitism.
This discussion guide was provider by the publisher, Zibby Media.
Book club questions for On Being Jewish Now
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Which essays hit home the most for you? Why?
What are some of the major themes in the collection?
What do you think being Jewish now means to the contributors taken as a whole?
What does being Jewish now mean to you?
How does food show up in the essays?
Consider some Jewish stereotypes. Do you find evidence of those in the essays? If so, which ones?
Multiple authors talk about being descendants of Holocaust survivors. What are commonalities in their shared trauma? Do they tend to respond similarly to this new threat?
What do the “accidental activists” have in common?
What are some of the Jewish mom hallmarks? What are the unique struggles here?
What does it mean to be a “good Jew?”
Jews have survived in the past by hiding in the face of danger. Do you agree with the contributors’ decisions to speak up? Would you?
Discuss the role of humor in Jewish life with more examples.
How would you handle some of the friendship conflicts?
What are your feelings about wearing Jewish jewelry?
Being publicly Jewish: good, bad, or...???
On Being Jewish Now Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the On Being Jewish Now discussion questions
A USA Today Bestseller
Featured in the Washington Post
“Zibby Owens has done the literary world a great service, collecting important views at a critical moment in history. As she says, this is not a time to lower your voice. Kudos to her and all the authors here for sharing valuable insight, emotion, and perspective on the often misunderstood Jewish experience.”
―Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays With Morrie