Shalom Book Club
We meet monthly on Zoom for a lively and interesting discussion of that month’s book.
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3rd Monday of each month
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3 pm Pacific (note new time!)
Click here to join the Book Club and be notified of our meetings.
2026 Dates and Books
October 19
American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews, Andrew Porwancher (Non-Fiction)
Roosevelt was a scion of the Protestant elite, yet he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a U.S. president. As a rising political figure in New York, he transformed the Lower East Side by reforming the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for meager wages in perilous conditions. Porwancher uncovers the challenges of Roosevelt’s presidency as he faced the flood of Jewish refugees escaping the pogroms of Eastern Europe and confronted antisemitic xenophobia at home.
November 16
The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican, Rabbi Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner (Non-Fiction)
Upon cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a plethora of Old Testament figures and Jewish symbols were revealed. Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor and was resentful when a corrupt pope commandeered him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He struck back by embedding his famous mural with Old Testament figures, deliberately eschewing the depiction of Christian themes. The authors (a rabbi and a Vatican expert) chronicle the Jewish influence and affinity in Michelangelo's life, including his study with a rabbi.
December 21 - Book Selection for 2027