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Nov. 20, 2009
Nov. 19, 2009
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf
with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith
with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Nov. 12, 2009
JWisdom.com Does God get tired?
with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole
in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to
have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How
to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Nov. 5, 2009
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking
Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker
With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater?
With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change
With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
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Jewish World Review
Jewish Da Vinci Code is exciting, action-packed thriller
By Oline H. Cogdill
Page-turner's intricate plot is timely for Jews and Christians; comes as legislation is pending before Congress seeking to halt Temple Mount artifact destruction by Muslims
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT)
It may be a coincidence or just good marketing but it seems as if many publishers are launching mysteries that deal with myths, antiquities or icons before Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" comes out Sept. 15.
After all, Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" made fiction about symbols and religion palatable for the masses. Getting on the Brown bandwagon before his new novel is published makes good business sense. But whoever thought antiques would be fodder for action?
While Daniel Levin's debut deals with Brown-like subjects, this New York-based author is no copy cat. "The Last Ember", out today, is an exciting, action-packed story about history, religion, archaeology, antiques and tension in the Middle East. Realistic characters with believable motives further elevate "The Last Ember."
Levin juggles a complicated plot into a cohesive story that never drags.
A classics scholar turned attorney, Jonathan Marcus is sent to Rome by his firm to inspect a fragment of a first-century stone map. But this is no simple case. A cryptic message in the map leads to an ancient spy ring that smuggled out the Tabernacle Menorah, Jerusalem's most precious artifact. Jonathan teams up with Emili Travia, an U.N. antiquities expert who happens to be his ex-girlfriend, to find out who's behind the illegal excavation that is destroying Jewish and Christian artifacts.
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"The Last Ember" becomes a global chase from the Coliseum's hidden tunnels and Rome's Jewish ghetto to Jerusalem, giving both a historical and a contemporary perspective to each. Jonathan and Emili decipher clues in brittle maps and ancient manuscripts while rekindling their romance.
Levin occasionally falls back on thriller cliches naturally hero and heroine will find time for a long overdue tryst and many a treasure is rigged to cause harm when touched by a villain, a la "Indiana Jones." But Levin's original storytelling overrides any deficiencies.
An attorney, Levin's bachelor's degree was in Roman and Greek civilizations. He does what many textbooks can't make these eras feel as vibrant and as fresh as they were in reality. Readers unfamiliar with the details of Judaic and Roman history will not be lost in Levin's intricate plot but will find themselves swept up by his storytelling.
"The Last Ember" also is timely. The U.S. Congress has a bill to stop the Waqf Authority's destruction beneath Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which plays a large role in Levin's novel.
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© 2009, Sun Sentinel; Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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