Strange Fire: Jewish Voices from the Pandemic

A daring exploration of UnOrthodoxy in a moment of global crisis

A century ago, the Philadelphia Jewish community held a Black Wedding to ward off the 1918 flu pandemic. A destitute bride and groom were chosen from the community and married off in Mount Moriah cemetery. A thousand guests attended, standing between and among fresh graves, waiting for the chance to give the deathly couple gifts according to their means.

Needless to say, this was not religious orthodoxy. At best, one might call ...