Best of
Jewish

1951

The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man


Abraham Joshua Heschel - 1951
    In this brief yet profound meditation on the meaning of the Seventh Day, Heschel introduced the idea of an "architecture of holiness" that appears not in space but in time. Judaism, he argues, is a religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the material things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that "the Sabbaths are our great cathedrals."

All-of-a-Kind Family


Sydney Taylor - 1951
    Follow along as they search for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor, or explore the basement warehouse of Papa's peddler's shop on rainy days. The five girls enjoy doing everything together, especially when it involves holidays and surprises. But no one could have prepared them for the biggest surprise of all!

Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion


Abraham Joshua Heschel - 1951
    Abraham Joshua Heschel's philosophy of religion is not a philosophy of doctrine or the interpretation of a dogma. He erects his carefully built structure of thought upon foundations which are universally valid but almost generally ignored. It was Man Is Not Alone which led Reinhold Niebuhr accurately to predict that Heschel would "become a commanding and authoritative voice not only in the Jewish community but in the religious life of America." With its companion volume, God in Search of Man, it is revered as a classic of modern theology.

Moses


Sholem Asch - 1951
    His story has inspired movements of national liberation. Asch portrays him with vigor, insight & sympathy as a leader who struggled with implacable enemies, rebellious followers & personal failings to bring his people to a land of promise. Asch weaves a tapestry of superbly realized oriental color & movement. Egypt comes alive under his pen. The opulence & intrigue of Pharoah's court is contrasted with the poverty & oppression of the slaves who worked to build & maintain the empire. Every episode provides & an excitingly instructive example. We meet Moses as a young prince, rebelling under palace discipline, aware of rumors concerning his birth, drawn to the Hebrews, but afraid to reach out to them. We see him struggling with halting speech & a violent temper. Finally, he finds his true family & makes the decision to cast his lot with Israel. One day in the desert, God speaks to him out of a bush that burns but isn't consumed & commands him to deliver Israel to freedom. A great trek begins. This work of historical exactitude & sustained inspiration meets the challenge of Moses with a scope & authority worthy of that sublime figure. "In 1936, the novelist & critic Ludwig Lewisohn was asked to name the world’s ten greatest living Jews. The resulting list, which ran in The NY Times, included Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber & Louis Brandeis. Lewisohn deemed only one writer great enough to be included in this illustrious company: Sholem Asch."—Ellen Umansky, Tablet Magazine