Find Jewish authors and discover the people behind the books

Jay Bailey

Jay Bailey is an American-born writer who has lived in Efrat, Israel, with his wife, Dena, and their three children since 1995. His work blends biblical history with fast-paced plotting. A longtime devotee of historical fiction, biblical archaeology, and the history, culture, and geography of both ancient and modern Israel, he draws from his decades of business-oriented storytelling as a long-time marketer, and as a student in Israel’s Tour Guide course. He has also volunteered on archaeological digs, experiences that deepened his fascination with the Philistines and early Israel. Before turning to fiction, Jay served as Director of Communications at Answers.com in Jerusalem and later founded RapidFire Consulting, crafting narrative messaging and video and print design for companies and nonprofits. He has written columns for The Jerusalem Post and New York Jewish Week. The Blood of Birds, his debut novel, unfolds in the time of King David; his next book is a mystery set in the tumultuous Second Temple period, with its battling sects and dramatic rituals.

Primary book

The Blood of Birds: A King David Era Thriller

Hadassa Ben Ari

Hadassa Ben-Ari is an Israeli author, editor, content creator, and popular figure in Israel. She lives in Pardes Hanna and is the mother of seven children.

Primary book

The Heroes of October 7th: Heroic Stories for Children

Aleeza Ben Shalom

Aleeza Ben Shalom is a dynamic and passionate relationship coach and matchmaker whose expertise has gained her international acclaim as the star of Netflix’s hit series Jewish Matchmaking. As the vibrant host of the “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” podcast, she shares her insights and experiences, inspiring countless individuals on their journey to love. With a remarkable record of successfully guiding over 250 people down the aisle, Aleeza's impact is undeniable. Her dedication extends beyond individual matches; she has empowered over 450 matchmakers and coaches through her comprehensive training programs. Currently, Aleeza is leading the charge with World Mizrachi in founding the Jewish Matchmaking Movement, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at securing the Jewish future. Together, they are on a global mission to create meaningful connections and cultivate matches within a community. Aleeza’s unwavering commitment to fostering relationships is not just her career, it’s her passion and purpose.

Primary book

Matchmaker Matchmaker

Flora Cassen

Flora Cassen is the Lavine Family Director of the Brandeis Center for Jewish Studies and the Director of the Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness at Brandeis University. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Originally from Antwerp, Belgium, Cassen earned her B.A. in History and Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, her M.A. in Comparative History from Brandeis, and her PhD in Hebrew and Judaic studies from New York University. Her writing has been published in Haaretz, The Forward, Slate, Aeon, Sources, and Smithsonian Magazine

Primary book

Stained Glass

Ellie Henkind Katz

Ellie Katz, holistic psychotherapist and author, lives in a mountain village outside Jerusalem with her husband of fifty years, sculptor Michael Katz. She has written five books, including When Sane People Do Insane Things, Enslaved: Ten Men and Women Recount Their Stories of Addiction, and My Last Summer as a Fat Girl. Her stories reflect decades of experience hoisting the human spirit.

Primary book

Finding Phoebe

Emmet Hirsch

Emmet Hirsch grew up in Jerusalem and served as an artillery officer in the Israel Defense Forces. He is now a researcher, obstetrician-gynecologist, and Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Chicago. In his creative writing, he seeks meaning in a fact-driven world. He is the author of the novels The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb and The Education of Doctor Montefiore. His reflections on the interface of medicine and human relationships have been published in various literary, professional and media outlets.

Primary book

The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb

Yael Leibowitz

Yael Leibowitz is an Israel-based educator and Kitvuni Fellow at the Matan Institute in Jerusalem. She holds a Master’s degree in Judaic Studies from Columbia University, taught at the Upper School of Ramaz, and is a former faculty member of Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women where she taught advanced Bible courses. She currently teaches at Matan and Midreshet Lindenbaum College for Women, and is a frequent lecturer throughout North America and Europe. For more of Yael Leibowitz’s writing visit: yaelleibowitz.com.

Primary book

Ezra-Nehemiah: Retrograde Revolution

Rebecca Rubin Seligson

Rebecca created Wheellustrated Tales in 2021 to write and publish picture books with the goal of normalizing disabilities in children’s literature. She holds degrees in both Early Childhood Education (B.A. Yeshiva University) & Literacy (M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University), and has experience teaching English as a Second Language. She is currently working as a preschool teacher. Originally from New York, Rebecca now lives in Modi’in, Israel with her husband and two children. Please check us out at wheellustratedtales.com and on social media – Wheellustrated Tales!

Primary book

The Adventures of Incredi-Wheels & Triple S: The Lemonade League

Yossi Sheffi

DR. YOSSI SHEFFI is an Israel-born scientist, scholar, businessman, and a world-renowned expert in supply chain management. He serves as the Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and a member of the faculty in the MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His scholarly and professional work has been recognized in numerous academic and industry forums and has won dozens of awards. He is the author of nine books. Unsafe at MIT is a departure from his previous works. He felt a moral obligation to his community and the world to chronicle what he witnessed at MIT following the events of October 7, 2023

Primary book

Unsafe at MIT

Mitchell Silk

Mitchell Silk is former Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2017-2020), and was the first Hassidic Jew to ever serve in a Presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed role. At Treasury, Mitch advanced U.S. interests on financial stability, trade, development, and regulatory issues, while promoting growth, particularly through global energy and infrastructure financing agreements. Mitch led the major effort to craft a major new trade agreement with China. He designed a large inter-agency initiative through which the United States helped dozens of Latin American and Asian countries unleash value in their energy and infrastructure sectors. He also built and implemented the $94 billion program (under the CARES Act) to assist American aviation during the pandemic, saving more than 700,000 American jobs. Mitch is a regular speaker on infrastructure and energy throughout the world, and a leader in the orthodox Jewish community. He has served in many leadership roles in Jewish organizations around the world, and is currently active in pro bono legal work for Jewish families and organizations in the US. Mitch is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, although his favorite language is Yiddish, and a connoisseur of the fine art of food diplomacy. Mitch lives in Brooklyn, New York. He and his wife, Yocheved Rivka, are the proud parents of eight children and seven grandchildren.

Primary book

A Seat at the Table: An Inside Account of Trump’s Global Economic Revolution

Yiscah Smith

Yiscah Smith is a thought leader and spiritual activist committed to empowering and ennobling others in the spiritual practice of encountering the Divine spark within and beyond. She teaches Jewish contemplative practice and spiritual texts at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and for the online platform Applied Jewish Spirituality. She is the author of Forty Years in the Wilderness: My Journey to Authentic Living and founder of Conscious Community Nachlaot, an alternative prayer space in Jerusalem.

Primary book

Planting Seeds of the Divine

Stephen Spector

Stephen Spector is a professor of English emeritus at Stony Brook University. He is the author of Operation Solomon: The Daring Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews and Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism, among other volumes. Spector has taught the Bible to undergraduate and graduate students for fifty years. He has been a visiting scholar at Hebrew University and a senior research fellow at the National Humanities Center and the Wesleyan Center for Humanities.

Primary book

God and the First Families

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Ben-Tzion Spitz writes about Torah for the modern reader. His work distills complex ideas into clear, accessible reflections that highlight the enduring relevance of classical Jewish thought. He lives in Israel.

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Rambam Tweets

Devorah Ungar is a writer, a thinker, a biologist, a musician. A mother and grandmother. She lives in Israel, or in Neverland, or in Everland. Floating on fluffy white clouds in a pale blue sky, or dreaming in a garden of enchantment. Where the soul can drift and dream, and speak of its longings. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Devorah Ungar speaks to us of the power of faith and hope in a world of tragedy and challenges. She speaks to us from the world of dreams, where truth and faith and hope are eternal.

Primary book

Catching Sun

Ronit Ziv-Kreger

Ronit Ziv-Kreger serves as Momentum’s director of education. With a PhD from MIT, she has more than twenty-five years of experience in designing and leading large-scale educational initiatives. Since coming to Momentum in 2016, her responsibilities have included collaboratively advancing bold ideas and overseeing data-driven success in fostering positive impact for communities, institutions, families, and individuals. The author and editor of two other Momentum Publications — Year of Growth and Soul Full: Gateways to Jewish Prayer — she enjoys collaborating with the global Jewish community in creating learning resources and publications that foster unity without uniformity. Ronit lived her formative years in both Israel and Boston. She is the mother of three adult children, and she lives with her husband in the Boston area. She loves to hike, garden, and study Torah

Primary book

The Art and Practice of Living Wondrously