Greetings, book lovers!

We’re excited to announce that the next CRO Book Club meeting will take place before Shabbat Minḥa on July 26, 2025. This month, we’ll be discussing Alive and Beating by Rebecca Wolf — a compelling and deeply moving debut novel that promises to spark meaningful conversation.

About the book: Inspired by a true story, Alive and Beating follows six people from across Jerusalem, each in desperate need of an organ transplant, on the day their lives will change forever. Among them are Leah, a Hasidic young woman; Yael, the daughter of Holocaust survivors; Hoda, a Palestinian hairdresser; David, an Iraqi restaurant owner; Severin, a Catholic priest; and Youssef and Yosef, two teenage boys whose fates are inextricably linked.

Wolf’s masterful storytelling brings together characters from diverse backgrounds, offering a powerful testament to the possibility of renewal, the transcendence of faith, and the deep humanity that connects us all.

Get your copy: The book is available in hardcover, paperback, or as an e-book. You can order it here.

As always, all are welcome — come for the book, stay for the community!