For 800 years the Zadokite priesthood has led the Jewish People. But the ancient world is changing. Without, Rome is rising, becoming the super power of the world. Within, a power struggle inside the House of Zadok is a golden opportunity for interlopers, who seek to unseat them from the throne. The delicate balance which has allowed the Jewish Nation to survive in this age of Empires is threatened.On the background of these tumultuous times, Judah, scion of a minor priestly lineage, comes of age in Judea. While experiencing love, friendship, and conflict he slowly transforms into the warrior and leader his people are waiting for.Fascinating Historical Novel about Judah the Maccabee, who led the ancient Israelis to a brave rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. A gripping glimpse into the heart of the dramatic events that took place in the Land of Israel before and during the Maccabee Rebellion.

    

    Her last musician, Juan de Granada, refuses to depart with the other servants, forcing two functionaries of the Holy Office of the Inquisition to interrogate him in the now-empty palace. But is it really empty? Or is there, as Holy Office suspects, a heretic hidden on the premises, a converso secretly practicing the forbidden rites of Judaism? Only Juan knows the answer, and his subversive tale is at once a ballad of lost love and a last gambit to save a life—and a rich cultural and spiritual tradition on the verge of erasure.

    From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience.Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith. With discussions of major books by over thirty writers—ranging from Franz Kafka to Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel to Tony Kushner, Hannah Arendt to Judith Plaskow—he argues that literature offers a new way to think about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. With a wide scope and diverse, original observations, Kirsch draws fascinating parallels between familiar writers and their less familiar counterparts. While everyone knows the diary of Anne Frank, for example, few outside of Israel have read the diary of Hannah Senesh. Kirsch sheds new light on the literature of the Holocaust through the work of Primo Levi, explores the emergence of America as a Jewish home through the stories of Bernard Malamud, and shows how Yehuda Amichai captured the paradoxes of Israeli identity.An insightful and engaging work from "one of America’s finest literary critics" (Wall Street Journal), The Blessing and the Curse brings the Jewish experience vividly to life.

    Giving voice to the private and public sectors of queer Jewish experience, Mishkan Ga'avah is also a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of both the Stonewall Riots and the first pride march, reflecting the longtime advocacy of the Reform Movement for full LGBTQ inclusion.

    Nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard viewed the story as teaching suspension of ethics for the sake of faith, and subsequent Jewish thinkers developed this idea as a cornerstone of their religious worldview. Aaron Koller examines and critiques Kierkegaard’s perspective—and later incarnations of it—on textual, religious, and ethical grounds. He also explores the current of criticism of Abraham in Jewish thought, from ancient poems and midrashim to contemporary Israel narratives, as well as Jewish responses to the Akedah over the generations. Finally, bringing together these multiple strands of thought—along with modern knowledge of human sacrifice in the Phoenician world—Koller offers an original reading of the Akedah. The biblical God would like to want child sacrifice—because it is in fact a remarkable display of devotion—but more than that, he does not want child sacrifice because it would violate the child’s autonomy. Thus, the high point in the drama is not the binding of Isaac but the moment when Abraham is told to release him. The Torah does not allow child sacrifice, though by contrast, some of Israel’s neighbors viewed it as a religiously inspiring act. The binding of Isaac teaches us that an authentically religious act cannot be done through the harm of another human being.

    Highly recommended." -- Library Journal, starred review

    Many of the rescuers could have escaped themselves, but they chose to save their Jewish brethren. They did this with craftiness and wisdom, acting selflessly and at great risk to themselves, and many of them paid for it with their lives. In these dark years in the history of the Jewish nation and under impossible conditions, the Jews did more than any other nationality in Europe to save themselves. The saviors operated in cities, villages, ghettos, and camps. Some also operated for the Allied Forces and there were some who worked to rehabilitate the survivors after the war and bring them to Israel. Many of the rescuers immigrated to Israel, fought in its wars, and took a substantial and important part in Israel’s establishment and prosperity.These stories present a phenomenon that the majority of the Jewish nation in Israel and around the world does not know about. This book is the second volume of a multi-volume collection presenting the stories of Jews who saved Jews, the forgotten heroes of the Holocaust, who in their holy sacrifice and exemplary courage decreed future generations to life. This book is the fruit of great research. The materials were collected from articles, books, memories, testimonies, interviews, as well as meeting with researchers, rescuers and their families, survivors and their families, and public officials.The volumes of this collection constitute the largest database of information on this topic. Their goal is to illuminate the memory of the people whose determination, dedication, and courage saved thousands of Jews, many of them children.

    But it doesn’t hurt!What would you get if the Seinfeld, Reiner, Crystal, and Kagan families got together for dinner? You’d get fatter, guiltier, hoarser from trying to get a word in edgewise and suffer muscle cramps from laughing. When you get into My Shorts, you get all that and more.An uproarious collection of true stories featuring a chubby Cheetos-loving Jewish middle child with overactive sweat glands and an abundant imagination. His tendency toward mischief and twisting the truth complicates grappling with issues of childhood, family, relationships, sexuality, and a hunger to be accepted. From lusting for a BB gun, accidentally setting the family shed on fire, to his “first time” . . . every one of Brian’s stories will make you giggle and feel the nostalgic joy of the messy, hilarious, and poignant journey we call life.Written with a fresh and honest voice blending humor, Americana culture, and “it’s like I’m right there in the ’60s” scenes and vivid dialogue, My Shorts delivers life lessons that stick with you long after reading. Brian’s stories remind you that no matter what, never forget to laugh.

    In this masterful book, winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in the Con­tem­po­rary Jew­ish Life and Practice category, Arthur Green calls out to seekers of all sorts, offering a universal response to the eternal human questions of who we are, why we exist, where we are going, and how to live.   Drawing on over half a century as a Jewish seeker and teacher, he shows us a Judaism that cultivates the life of the spirit, that inspires an inward journey leading precisely toward self-transcendence, to an awareness of the universal Self in whose presence we exist. As a neo-hasidic seeker, he is both devotional and boldly questioning in his understanding of God and tradition. Engaging with the mystical sources, he translates the insights of the Hasidic masters into a new religious language accessible to all those eager to build an inner life and a human society that treasures the divine spark in each person and throughout Creation.

    This return to in-depth study of the plain text has brought with it new challenges. How should one respond to the complex questions raised by close textual reading, by new methodology, and by recent discoveries? This work portrays the unique approach that has arisen in the current generation of Bible scholars, who come to Tanakh study with deep, serious belief in the holiness and divine nature of the books, on the one hand, and on the other, the understanding that new discoveries in the scholarly world need neither be rejected out of hand nor adopted in their entirety.

    A wise and trusted Jewish courtier expands his platform of influence, and a vulnerable minority facing death becomes a powerful people in a land not their own. Dr. Erica Brown offers us a close textual and thematic reading of this beloved story of courage and heroism against a background of hate and political ineptitude. This ancient story sheds its light on today's most pressing problems: contemporary antisemitism, sexual tyranny and the absence of leadership.

    They introduce English readers to a number of major Hebrew authors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose work forms an important part of the literary response to the modern Jewish experience. These essays also explore the reciprocal relationship in this period between Hebrew literature, the evolution of the modern Hebrew language, and the emergence of Zionism as a historic force in Jewish life.

    

    The material offers a structural overview of the path of contemplative mysticism based on the non-emanationist interpretation of the Kabbalah. It provides a rare opportunity to put the material to work through a set of daily exercises configured for a 288-day training period. The system is a true amalgam of sources that span eight centuries, unified as a single vision. The depth of its view and methodology make The Thirty-two Keys a truly powerful tool for study and practice that is unique in the Western Esoteric Tradition.Includes a deck of thirty-two 5 x 7 in. cardsClothbound hardcover bookSmyth sewnBlocked in red metallicFrench fold dust jacket 6 in. x 8.5 in. Custom endpapers192 pages 36 images

    The fascinating life story of Rachel Seri-Levy begins at the close of WWII and takes you from Romania to Israel, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Brooklyn, Berlin, and finally back home to Israel.Sprinkled with Rachel’s wise musings and observations, her varied experiences and hobbies are set against the backdrop of warm friendships and a delightful self-awareness, poetic spirit, and perpetually positive attitude.But life was far from a bed of roses for Rachel. From starting first grade three times—each in a new country with a foreign language—to her difficult marriage and subsequent divorce while single-handedly raising four children, she took it all in stride with grace and pure faith. When you read her story, you will understand why she is, quite literally, still dancing.

    But some of those who had survived the Nazi genocide returned to their hometowns and tried to start their lives anew. Lukasz Krzyzanowski recounts the story of this largely forgotten group of Holocaust survivors. Focusing on Radom, an industrial city about sixty miles south of Warsaw, he tells the story of what happened throughout provincial Poland as returnees faced new struggles along with massive political, social, and legal change.Non-Jewish locals mostly viewed the survivors with contempt and hostility. Many Jews left immediately, escaping anti-Semitic violence inflicted by new communist authorities and ordinary Poles. Those who stayed created a small, isolated community. Amid the devastation of Poland, recurring violence, and bureaucratic hurdles, they tried to start over. They attempted to rebuild local Jewish life, recover their homes and workplaces, and reclaim property appropriated by non-Jewish Poles or the state. At times they turned on their own. Krzyzanowski recounts stories of Jewish gangs bent on depriving returnees of their prewar possessions and of survivors shunned for their wartime conduct.The experiences of returning Jews provide important insights into the dynamics of post-genocide recovery. Drawing on a rare collection of documents--including the postwar Radom Jewish Committee records, which were discovered by the secret police in 1974--Ghost Citizens is the moving story of Holocaust survivors and their struggle to restore their lives in a place that was no longer home.

    With this book, students use language as a practical tool for conversing with their classmates about their daily lives and as a vehicle through which they creatively delve into texts for cultural and artistic insights.In eynem:* fully supports different types of learners (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and multiple learning environments: in-class learning with a teacher, independent learning, online learning, and community group learning* incorporates a wide variety of multimedia resources (available through the textbook website), primary source historical documents, and literary textsemphasizes all four areas of language learning: speaking, writing, reading, and listening* includes a cast of recurring characters that represent all the different types of people who speak and study Yiddish today* includes a teacher guide that provides detailed lesson plans to optimize the use of the book in a classroom setting, as well as functioning as a teacher training tool both for new teachers and as enrichment for experienced teachersHere is what Yiddish language instructors are saying about the book:* In eynem is nothing less than a revolution in Yiddish language pedagogy. Its engaging, interactive approach fosters a community of learning that bridges time as well as space, whether in a university classroom, community setting, or individual study… Beautifully illustrated throughout and complemented by rich online resources, In eynem is a twenty-first-century Yiddishland for teachers and learners alike.—Rebecca Margolis, Monash University

    

    

    Tuling elucidates many compelling—and contrasting—ways of thinking about God in Jewish tradition.Thinking about God addresses the genuinely intertextual nature of evolving Jewish God concepts. Just as in Jewish thought the Bible and other historical texts are living documents, still present and relevant to the conversation unfolding now, and just as a Jewish theologian examining a core concept responds to the full tapestry of Jewish thought on the subject all at once, this book is organized topically, covers Jewish sources (including liturgy) from the biblical to the postmodern era, and highlights the interplay between texts over time, up through our own era. A highly accessible resource for introductory students, Thinking about God also makes important yet challenging theological texts understandable. By breaking down each selected text into its core components, Tuling helps the reader absorb it both on its own terms and in the context of essential theological questions of the ages. Readers of all backgrounds will discover new ways to contemplate God. Access a study guide.

    Drawing from the best of traditional and contemporary scholarship, Rabbi Beasley shows us why these prophets are as relevant today as they were to the Jews of Judah so many years ago.

    If we believe that Turks and Jews have lived in harmony for so long, then how can we believe that the Turks could have committed genocide against the Armenians? Marc David Baer confronts these convictions and circumstances to reflect on what moral responsibility the descendants of the victims of one genocide have to the descendants of victims of another. Baer delves into the history of Muslim-Jewish relations in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey to find the origin of these many tangled truths. He aims to bring about reconciliation between Jews, Muslims, and Christians, not only to face inconvenient historical facts but to confront it and come to terms. By looking at the complexities of interreligious relations, Holocaust denial, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and confronting some long-standing historical stereotypes, Baer sets out to tell a new history that goes against Turkish antisemitism and admits to the Armenian genocide.

    The Passover Haggadah provides the script for the meal and is a religious text unlike any other. It is the only sacred book available in so many varieties--from the Maxwell House edition of the 1930s to the countercultural Freedom Seder--and it is the rare liturgical work that allows people with limited knowledge to conduct a complex religious service. The Haggadah is also the only religious book given away for free at grocery stores as a promotion. Vanessa Ochs tells the story of this beloved book, from its emergence in antiquity as an oral practice to its vibrant proliferation today.Ochs provides a lively and incisive account of how the foundational Jewish narrative of liberation is remembered in the Haggadah. She discusses the book's origins in biblical and rabbinical literature, its flourishing in illuminated manuscripts in the medieval period, and its mass production with the advent of the printing press. She looks at Haggadot created on the kibbutz, those reflecting the Holocaust, feminist and LGBTQ-themed Haggadot, and even one featuring a popular television show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ochs shows how this enduring work of liturgy that once served to transmit Jewish identity in Jewish settings continues to be reinterpreted and reimagined to share the message of freedom for all.