Abigail Pogrebin – författare

Sixty-two of the most accomplished Jews in America speak intimately—most for the first time—about how they feel about being Jewish. In unusually candid interviews conducted by former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin, celebrities ranging from Sarah Jessica Parker to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Larry King to Mike Nichols, reveal how resonant, crucial or incidental being Jewish is in their lives. The connections they have to their Jewish heritage range from hours in synagogue to bagels and lox; but every person speaks to the weight and pride of their Jewish history, the burdens and pleasures of observance, the moments they’ve felt most Jewish (or not). This book of vivid, personal conversations uncovers how being Jewish fits into a public life, and also how the author’s evolving religious identity was changed by what she heard.· Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, Gene Wilder, Joan Rivers, and Leonard Nimoy talk about their startling encounters with anti-Semitism. · Kenneth Cole, Eliot Spitzer, and Ronald Perelman explore the challenges of intermarriage.· Mike Wallace, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ruth Reichl express attitudes toward Israel that vary from unquestioning loyalty to complicated ambivalence. · William Kristol scoffs at the notion that Jewish values are incompatible with Conservative politics.· Alan Dershowitz, raised Orthodox, talks about why he gave up morning prayer. · Shawn Green describes the pressure that comes with being baseball’s Jewish star.· Natalie Portman questions the ostentatious bat mitzvahs of her hometown.·  Tony Kushner explains how being Jewish prepared him for being gay. · Leon Wieseltier throws down the gauntlet to Jews who haven’t taken the trouble to study Judaism. These are just a few key moments from many poignant, often surprising, conversations with public figures whom most of us thought we already knew.“When my mother got her nose job, she wanted me to get one, too. She said I would be happier.”—Dustin Hoffman“It’s a heritage to be proud of. And then, too, it’s something that you can’t escape because the world won’t let you; so it’s a good thing you can be proud of it.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg“My wife [Kate Capshaw] chose to do a full conversion before we were married in 1991, and she married me as a Jew. I think that, more than anything else, brought me back to Judaism.”—Steven Spielberg“As someone who was born in Israel, you’re put in a position of defending Israel because you know how much is at stake.”—Natalie Portman

Journalist Abigail Pogrebin is many things—wife, mother, New Yorker—but the one that has defined her most profoundly is “identical twin.” As children, she and her sister, Robin, were inseparable. But when Robin began to pull away as an adult, Abigail was left to wonder not only why, but also about the very nature of twinship. What does it mean to have a mirror image? How can you be unique when somebody shares your DNA? In One and the Same, Abigail sets off on a quest to understand how genetics shape us, crisscrossing the country to explore the varied relationships between twins, which range from passionate to bitterly resentful. She speaks to the experts and tries to answer the question parents ask most—is it better to encourage their separateness or closeness? And she paints a riveting portrait of twin life, yielding fascinating truths about how we become who we are.

It Takes Two to Torah is not just an education, it’s an invitation – to join the oldest Book Club in the world.

This book is a Torah conversation-starter for families on Shabbat, for religious school instructors with students of all ages, for individuals who have never found a way to read the entire Torah in bite-size, relatable nuggets, and for young clergy looking for some sermon ideas if they’re stuck! Most of all, it is a snapshot of what Torah study is meant to be: a real-time, candid, instructive, challenging exchange of responses to ancient text.For the first time, in a single volume, readers can take a tour of the entire Torah through the medium of one challenging, instructive, irreverent, animated conversation. Rabbi Dov Linzer, an Orthodox rabbi, and Abigail Pogrebin, a Reform journalist talk their way through the Five Books of Moses with candor, humor, emotion, personal revelation, and scholarship.

This book is the product of two people literally meeting in the middle to bring us their most honest intellectual and relevant understanding of the Torah. Pogrebin and Linzer engaged in short dialogues on a podcast forTablet Magazine, and they have now been collected and edited so that the full, fascinating exploration can be found in one place. 

Rabbi Linzer is President and Rabbinic Head of YCT Rabbinical School (a Modern Orthodox seminary,) and Abigail Pogrebin is a veteran journalist, author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew and former producer for 60 Minutes.

Dov is a renowned expert in Torah and Talmud, whose personal values run liberal and egalitarian, but who also has clear parameters about what is halachically correct and comfortable when it comes to Jewish law and tradition. Abby is our relatable every-Jew in America, deeply engaged in Jewish life, but less through strict observance and prayer as through study, reporting, synagogue, and community.