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Simon Weinstein, known by his Hebrew name Simcha Weinstein (), is an English author and a rabbi. In 2006, his first book, , was published. In 2008, his second book, , was published.
Weinstein's first book, Up Up and Oy Vey, published in 2006, analyses the Jewish role in the creation of such popular comic book superheroes as Superman, Batman, Hulk, Captain America, and Spider-Man, as well as super-teams like the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Justice League of America. The book also discusses Jewish superheroes, like Shadowcat, Sabra and The Thing and Jewish graphic artists including Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Will Eisner, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, Chris Claremont, Julius Schwartz and Stan Lee. Up Up and Oy Vey won the Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin award in 2007 for religious book of the year. Benjamin Franklin Award Winners and Finalists 2007 at Independent Book Publishers Association (accessed 15 December 2010).
The first sentence of the book reveals Weinstein's interest in the link between popular superheroes and Jewish tradition: "Before Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, there were the superpatriarchs and supermatriarchs of the Bible and heroic figures named Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David and Samson – not to mention the miracle-working prophet Elijah and those Jewish wonderwomen Ruth and Esther just to name a few. They all wielded courage and supernatural powers to protect and serve their people."
Weinstein's second book , published in 2008, presents an overview of the approach modern Jewish comedians are taking to their work – brutal, matter-of-fact, and unashamedly Jewish. To contrast the older approach with the newer approach, Weinstein gives examples of the comedy of previous generations of comedians such as Gertrude Berg, Woody Allen, Sid Caesar, and Mel Brooks. He then presents in-depth analysis of Jewish comedic performers, including Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen and Sarah Silverman.
Weinstein and his work have been discussed in The New York Times,Samuel G. Freedman, "Religion and Comic Books: Where Did Superman’s Theology Come From? " The New York Times, 23 September 2006. Seattle Times,Adam Moog, "Batman, Spider-man — why not SuperJew?", Seattle Times, 4 April 2006. Chicago Tribune,Shia Kapos, "The Mensch of Steel?; Author explores Jewish underpinnings of Superman, others in comics" , Chicago Tribune, 11 August 2006 (pay site). Houston Chronicle,Louis B. Parks, "Book delves into Superman's Jewish origins", Houston Chronicle, 27 June 2006. Arizona Daily Star, "'Comic Book Rabbi' set for appearance in Tucson", Arizona Daily Star, 1 February 2007 (pay site). Miami Herald, "Superheroes Flaunt Their Jewish Roots", Miami Herald, 9 December 2006 (pay site). The Forward,Jonathan Kesselman, "Being a Profound Critical Analysis of Contemporary Jewish Comedic Literature", The Forward, 20 November 2008. Arutz Sheva,Hana Levi Julian, "Spider Man is a Jew!", Arutz Sheva, 28 May 2007. Terra Networks in Argentina, "El Bar Mitzvah de Superman" , Terra Networks (Argentina), 28 June 2006. La Stampa in Italy, "Rabbino "scopre" origini ebraiche di Spider-Man", La Stampa, 6 May 2007. and on CNN. Showbiz Tonight, transcript for 19 June 2006, at CNN.com (accessed 15 December 2010).
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