Richard J. Israel's first collection of essays, The Kosher Pig and Other Curiosities of Modern Jewish Life, is a study of the tensions and dissonances found in the life of any modern Jew who is joyfully directed by the regimens of traditional Jewish life. With the wisdom of a learned scholar and the biting tounge of a 20th century man, Israel reflects on the realities of making Jewish decisions in a universe which no longer operates by the laws of Jewish physics. from a night spent washing the dead to the ways wasps attack a sukkah, from the challenge of keeping a yarmulke on a bald head to how the secret diet of a marathon runner can ease the Yom Kippur fast, Israel provides exhilarating lessons on how the small details which inform Jewish life open up the larger understanding about being a Jew in today's world.

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