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rabbiaustinzoot
Sep 26, 20233 min read
With Robert Galbraith, Sometimes The Greatest Mystery Is How I’ll Feel After Buying A New Book
The first time I read The Cuckoo’s Calling, I didn’t know who wrote it. It was the debut novel by an unknown writer, Robert Galbraith,...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Sep 13, 20232 min read
The Personal Assistant: Sometimes Wanting to Know More Is Better Than Actually Knowing
If a book makes you want to keep reading to figure out what happens but massively underwhelms in the end, how do you evaluate its...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Aug 4, 20233 min read
"What If It Was Your Family?" The Death Penalty Through New Eyes
“But what if it had been your family?” This is the question people always seem to ask when discussing the death penalty. What if YOU were...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jul 31, 20233 min read
Therapy is All the Rage...But Not All Mental Healthcare Is Created Equal
As our societal awareness of mental health has grown, so too has an industry focused on selling us the best ways to take care of our...
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rabbiaustinzoot
May 1, 20232 min read
Soundtracks Review: A Self-Help Book That Actually…Helps?
There are a LOT of self-help books out there. This does beg the question: if the books are any good, why do we need so many? It seems...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Apr 27, 20232 min read
Luckiest Girl Alive Review: A No-Longer Novel Idea
The trailer for the new Netflix movie Luckiest Girl Alive caught my attention. Mila Kunis is a favorite of mine, and a suspenseful drama...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Apr 25, 20234 min read
Tazria-Metzorah Sermon: The Stuff We Don't Want To Talk About
The following is a sermon delivered on April 21st, 2023 at the Valley Temple in Wyoming, Ohio. This week’s Torah portion,...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Apr 18, 20232 min read
All Things Aside Review: Shlesinger's unique blend of comedy and social critique
During the hardest parts of the COVID shutdown, my wife and I watched a lot of stand-up comedy. There was something refreshing about...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Mar 22, 20233 min read
World Baseball Classic 2023: A Reminder Why We Play
The sports industry has been surprisingly puzzling in the past decade or so. During a period of entertainment innovation, you would think...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Feb 23, 20232 min read
Radical Candor Book Review
Everything starts from a place of relationships. This is true in every industry, but is perhaps most often ignored in a business setting....
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rabbiaustinzoot
Feb 14, 20232 min read
Love Warrior Book Review
Books on personal growth are as popular as ever, likely because it is pretty darn difficult to be a human being in the modern world....
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rabbiaustinzoot
Feb 9, 20232 min read
Good Enough Book Review
Good Enough wasn’t really written for me. I’ve read books by Kate Bowler before, and I liked them enough to read this, no questions...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Feb 7, 20233 min read
Fleishman Is In Trouble Review
If at all possible, I like to read the book before I watch the TV or film adaptation of a project. If I see the video content first, I...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 27, 20232 min read
Parashat Bo 5783 - The Invention of Ritual
Ritual is an essential component of Judaism. Zionist essayist Ahad Ha’am famously said “more than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 10, 20232 min read
Why Do Jewish - Book Review
I so badly wanted to like this book. In fact, I am, in many ways, trying to WRITE this book. But Why Do Jewish: A Manifesto for 21st...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 6, 20233 min read
Vayechi - Maybe No Happy Ending After All...
Jacob is the last of our major patriarchs in Judaism, and his death closes the book of Genesis. Throughout his story, we see a...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 5, 20232 min read
Mediocre Book Review
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America was an uncomfortable book to read. And that was kind of the point. I’ve read some of...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 3, 20231 min read
Book Review: We Need New Stories
We’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but are we allowed to judge a book by its title? Because We Need New Stories, by Nesrine...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 6, 20223 min read
Watson Struggles, But We All Suffer
“Watson struggles in season debut.” That was the notification I got this weekend from the NFL. I wouldn’t have known any other way. I...
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rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 4, 20223 min read
Vayeitzei - What Are We Supposed to Learn?
Different people approach the Bible with different needs. Some read the book in order to learn the history of our people (reading the...
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