An Evening with Rabbi Nilton Bonder

Mystical tales drawn from decades of spiritual counsel come to life through the imagination of an internationally acclaimed author and religious leader. An Evening with Rabbi Nilton Bonder takes place Sunday, May 4 at Books & Books, where he will discuss his latest work, Wedding at the Graveyard: And Other Stories of the Jewish Fantastical.

These short stories, previously published in Portuguese, bridge reality with the unusual and inexplicable, transforming ordinary situations into extraordinary narratives. The collection includes tales of a Romanian woman from Copacabana seeking to marry her deceased fiancé, an Inquisition manuscript with supernatural powers and a boy with paranormal abilities preparing for his bar mitzvah.

Rabbi Bonder, trained and ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, draws from his forty years of experience providing spiritual guidance to create fiction in the tradition of Isaac Bashevis Singer. His narratives often begin with real situations—including one featuring the author as a young man in the home of renowned theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel—before venturing into alternate realities.

As the author of twenty-nine best-selling books in Latin America, Rabbi Bonder leads one of Brazil's most influential Jewish congregations while remaining active in civil rights and ecological causes. His works have been translated throughout Europe and Asia, with twelve published in the United States, including The Kabbalah of Money and The Kabbalah of Food by Shambhala.

This free event provides an opportunity to hear from a writer whose career spans multiple continents, with workshops for corporations like IBM and lectures at institutions including Boston University, New York Central Library, and the American Academy of Psychoanalysis. Wedding at the Graveyard (Monkfish Group Publishing, $19.95) will be available for purchase during the evening.