What does it mean to be Jewish?
For Mitchell Ball, the answer isn't found only in a synagogue or prayer book. It's found in family, traditions, memories, food, faith—and a lot of questions.
Jewish Logic is a humorous and personal journey through growing up Jewish and discovering how the things we experience as children can take on entirely different meanings as we get older.
From dropping out of Hebrew school and finding sudden motivation when Grandma offered $500 for becoming a Bar Mitzvah, to Passover Seders, Yom Kippur, synagogue services, Jewish holidays, family arguments, and a mother's treasured matzah ball soup recipe, Mitchell looks back at the people and traditions that shaped his Jewish identity.
There is plenty of humor along the way—including Grandma's unforgettable advice about never going outside in your gatkes—but underneath the laughter is a story about family, memory, faith, and carrying traditions from one generation to the next.
This isn't a textbook about Judaism, and it doesn't attempt to speak for every Jewish person. It is one man's personal experience of being Jewish, asking questions, developing his own beliefs, and understanding his heritage differently after more than six decades of life.
Because sometimes being Jewish means praying.
Sometimes it means questioning.
Sometimes it means remembering.
And sometimes it means someone looking at you and asking:
“Did you eat?”
Welcome to Jewish Logic.
About the Author
Mitchell Ball is an author and longtime respiratory therapy professional with more than four decades of experience in healthcare. His writing combines personal experience, humor, reflection, and the everyday moments that often become our most lasting memories.
Born into a Jewish family in New York City, Mitchell grew up surrounded by Jewish holidays, family traditions, Hebrew school, synagogue, his Bar Mitzvah, and plenty of food and opinions. Much of what he learned about Judaism came from his mother and grandmother—whose lessons, recipes, expressions, and sense of family stayed with him throughout his life.
Mitchell is the creator of The Logic Series, a collection of books that finds humor and meaning in the way people live, work, play, believe, and relate to one another.
In Jewish Logic, Mitchell turns the lens on his own life, sharing what being Jewish has meant to him while exploring faith, family, tradition, memory, and the questions that have followed him from childhood into his sixties.
When he's not writing, Mitchell enjoys kayaking and spending time on the water in South Florida.
And yes, he still makes his mother's matzah ball soup.
The secret ingredient remains a family secret.