Best of
Judaica

1980

The Thirteen Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence and Belief


Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz - 1980
    In this classic work, world-renowned scholar Adin Steinsaltz answers the major questions asked by modern Jews about the nature of existence in God's universe. The title The Thirteen Petalled Rose is taken from the opening of the classic Jewish text on mysticism, the Zohar, and refers to the "collective souls of the Jewish people," which scholars have likened to the fullness of a rose and its thirteen petals. Along with a new preface by the author, this edition contains a new chapter on prayer that provides the most up-to-date account of the Kabbalistic view of devotion. Another new chapter recounts and interprets the prophet Elijah's Introduction to the Zohar. "Steinsaltz possesses a mind of the quality that occurs perhaps once or twice in a generation, or several generations... In [The Thirteen Petalled Rose] one can encounter the classical Jewish mystical view of reality, delineated lucidly, concisely, profoundly and, what is so rare, believingly. It is an utterly authentic expression of Judaism yet so unknown even among the well-informed and therefore so necessary, so welcome." (Herbert Weiner, Oxford University)

"Gizelle, Save the Children!"


Gizelle Hersh - 1980
    Gizelle Hersh, inspired by her mother's parting words, attempts to save her three younger sisters and a brother from death in the Auschwitz concentration camp at the close of World War II.

The Best of Sholem Aleichem


Sholom Aleichem - 1980
    

The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah


Isaac Bashevis Singer - 1980
    Full-color pictures throughout.

The Four Winds of Heaven


Monique Raphel High - 1980
    The foremost Jewish family of Russia, the single voice of their people to the Tsar, the Gunzburgs stand on the threshold of cataclysmic change as their proud by fragile world is threatened, then crushed by the surging forces of the Great War and the Revolution.

Great Tranquillity: Questions and Answers


Yehuda Amichai - 1980
    "Yehuda Amichai begins to look more and more like a truly major poet - in the strict sense of the term. That is, there's a depth, breadth and weighty momentum in these subtle and intricate poems of his, even in the slightest, that sounds more and more like the undersong of a people. Who else is dipping his bucket into such a full river of experience and paid-for feelings?"--Ted Hughes.

Hayesod: Fundamentals of Hebrew


Luba Uveeler - 1980
    For use in the classroom as well as for anyone who wishes to teach himself. Newly revised and expanded.

The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700


Jerome Murphy-O'Connor - 1980
    The Holy Land is an indispensable, illustrated guide to over 200 of the best Christian, Jewish, and Islamic sites in the City of Jerusalem and the surrounding Holy Land from earliest times to 1700. Each entry explains the history and topography of a site, as well as its function and significance. Father Jerome Murphy-O'Connor provides a brief historical outline from the Stone Age to the Modern Period, and lists sites accordingly. The Holy Land presupposes little knowledge of history or archaeology and gives clear directions on how to find sites and monuments of interest--both well-known and those less familiar. With entries including the Damascus Gate, the Holy Sepulchre, the Via Dolorosa, Mount Sion, the Dead Sea, Hebron, and Jericho, this indispensable guide includes detailed maps, plans, and illustrations further illuminating these spectacular wonders.

The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History


Paul Mendes-Flohr - 1980
    Marked by such profound events as the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel, Judaism's long journey through the modern age has been a complex and tumultuous one, leading many Jews to ask themselves not only where they have been and where they are going, but what it means to be a Jew in today's world. Tracing the Jewish experience in the modern period and illustrating the transformation of Jewish religion, culture, and identity from the 17th century to 1948, the updated edition of this critically acclaimed volume of primary materials remains the most complete sourcebook on modern Jewish history. Now expanded to supplement the most vital documents of the first edition, The Jew in the Modern World features hitherto unpublished and inaccessible sources concerning the Jewish experience in Eastern Europe, women in Jewish history, American Jewish life, the Holocaust, and Zionism and the nascent Jewish community in Palestine on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel. The documents are arranged chronologically in each of eleven chapters and are meticulously and extensively annotated and cross-referenced in order to provide the student with ready access to a wide variety of issues, key historical figures, and events. Complete with some twenty useful tables detailing Jewish demographic trends, this is a unique resource for any course in Jewish history, Zionism and Israel, the Holocaust, or European and American history.

Jewish People, Jewish Thought


Robert M. Seltzer - 1980
    This classic survey of the main features of the Jewish historical landscape exposes students to the rich scholarly literature on Jewish history, theology, philosophy, mysticism, and social thought that has been produced in the last century and a half. It shows Judiasm as a creative response to ultimate issues of human concern by members of a group that has faced a unique concatenation of political, economic, and geographical circumstances. "Standing both within and without the mainstream of Western culture, Judaism offers remarkable insights into the genesis and elaboration of powerful religious ideas and into the determined survival of a small, vulnerable people repeatedly forced to confront and adjust to conditions beyond its immediate control."

Voices Within the Ark: The Modern Jewish Poets


Howard Schwartz - 1980