In this first volume of a five-volume collection of parashat hashavua, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity and destiny. Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under God s sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, Covenant & Conversation allows us to experience Rabbi Sacks sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award, 2009.

    Is Catholicism inherently Anti-Semitic? Do the Hebrew Scriptures accurately predict Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah? How does Jewish thinking presuppose devotion to Mary? Is the Catholic Church a fulfillment of historic Israel? How did the Israelite identity of the twelve Apostles influence the early Church? How do Jewish water rituals relate to Catholic baptism? Is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass a Passover meal? Should the Catholic priesthood conform to the priesthood established by Moses? How has the Jewish Temple influenced traditional Christian architecture? Does the Pope wear a yarmulke? These and other questions are answered in this book.?

    In this second volume of a five-volume collection of parashat hashavua commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny. Chief Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy, and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under God’s sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, Covenant & Conversation allows us to experience Chief Rabbi Sacks’ sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah.

    The Siddur marks the culmination of years of rabbinic scholarship, exemplifies Koren's tradition of textual accuracy and intuitive graphic design, and offers an illuminating translation, introduction and commentary by one of the world's leading Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Halakhic guides to daily, Shabbat, and holiday prayers supplement the traditional text. Prayers for the State of Israel, its soldiers, and national holidays, for the American government, upon the birth of a daughter and more reinforce the Siddur's contemporary relevance. A special Canadian Edition is the first to include prayers for the Canadian government within the body of the text.

    All too often we leave that to Christian theologians. But in this excellent volume, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin puts the commandment to love at the center of Jewish theology and experience. This is a book that will change the way you think about–and practice–Judaism.”–Professor Ari L. Goldman, Columbia University, and author of The Search for God at Harvard“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the best-known commandment in the Bible. Yet we rarely hear anyone talk about how to apply these words in daily life. In this landmark work, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the premier scholars and thinkers of our time, gives both Jews and non-Jews an extraordinary summation of what Jewish tradition teaches about putting these words into practice.Writing with great clarity and simplicity as well as with deep wisdom, Telushkin covers topics such as love and kindness, hospitality, visiting the sick, comforting mourners, charity, relations between Jews and non-Jews, compassion for animals, tolerance, self-defense, and end-of-life issues. This second volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics written in the English language is breathtaking in its scope and will undoubtedly influence readers for generations to come. It offers hundreds of practical examples from the Torah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and both ancient and modern rabbinic commentaries–as well as contemporary anecdotes–all teaching us how to care for one another each and every day.A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself is a consummate work of scholarship. Like its acclaimed predecessor, which received the National Jewish Book Award, it is rich with ideas to contemplate and discuss, while being primarily a book to live by. Nothing could be more important in these strife-torn times than learning how to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message of this book is as vital and timely now as it has been since time immemorial.

    Their gripping adventure begins in the ancient city of Jerusalem and takes them to the very spot in Galilee where Jesus taught the multitudes to pray. Along the way they discover a Hebrew version of the Lord’s Prayer, preserved in secret by Jewish rabbis for over a thousand years. The richness of meaning that the Hebrew unlocks reveals a powerful message of spiritual growth for Jew and Christian alike. Join them on this provocative exploration of the Hebrew origins of the Lord's Prayer!"Both Jews and Christians could learn a great deal from this book... I highly recommend it!" Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman, Congregation Kol HaNeshama, Jerusalem"If you enjoy detective mysteries... this book is a veritable gold mine... as we discover hidden truths and marvel together with the authors..." Christine Darg, Exploits Ministry"I am so thankful to the Father for this book... I felt like I was on a spiritual journey with so many things confirmed and also revealed." James Thrash, NFL PlayerNehemia Gordon holds a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies and a Bachelors Degree in Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gordon has worked as a translator on the Dead Sea Scrolls and as a researcher deciphering ancient Hebrew manuscripts. He has been invited to speak in synagogues and churches around the world and has led groups of pilgrims and visitors on tours of biblical sites. A native of Chicago, Nehemia has made his home in Jerusalem, Israel since 1993.Keith Johnson earned his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has spent nearly two decades in Christian ministry. As an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, Johnson has served as pastor of Park Avenue Church in Minneapolis and as chaplain of the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson was also chosen as one of only 40 chaplains from around the world to serve the athletes of the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta. Keith lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and sons.

    They originated in Yiddishland, a vast expanse of Eastern Europe that, before the Holocaust, ran from the Baltic Sea to the western edge of Russia and incorporated hundreds of Jewish communities with a combined population of some 11 million people. Within this territory, revolutionaries arose from the Jewish misery of Eastern and Central Europe; they were raised in the fear of God and taught to respect religious tradition, but were caught up in the great current of revolutionary utopian thinking. Socialists, Communists, Bundists, Zionists, Trotskyists, manual workers and intellectuals, they embodied the multifarious activity and radicalism of a Jewish working class that glimpsed the Messiah in the folds of the red flag.Today, the world from which they came has disappeared, dismantled and destroyed by the Nazi genocide. After this irremediable break, there remain only survivors, and the work of memory for red Yiddishland. This book traces the struggles of these militants, their singular trajectories, their oscillation between great hope and doubt, their lost illusions--a red and Jewish gaze on the history of the twentieth century.

    For centuries scholars and rabbis have wrestled with the biblical narrative, attempting to answer the questions that arise from a plain reading of the text. In The Murmuring Deep, Avivah Zornberg informs her literary analysis of the text with concepts drawn from Freud, Winnicott, Laplanche, and other psychoanalytic thinkers to give us a new understanding of the desires and motivations of the men and women whose stories form the basis of the Bible. Through close readings of the biblical and midrashic texts, Zornberg makes a powerful argument for the idea that the creators of the midrashic commentary, the med­ieval rabbinic commentators, and the Hassidic commentators were themselves on some level aware of the complex interplay between conscious and unconscious levels of experience and used this knowledge in their interpretations. In her analysis of the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Abraham, Rebecca, Isaac, Joseph and his brothers, Ruth, and Esther–how they communicated with the world around them, with God, and with the various parts of their selves–Zornberg offers fascinating insights into the interaction between consciousness and unconsciousness. In discussing why God has to “seduce” Adam into entering the Garden of Eden or why Jonah thinks he can hide from God by getting on a ship, Zornberg enhances our appreciation of the Bible as the foundational text in our quest to understand what it means to be human.

    Parents question whether nurturing their children's souls is even possible in the fast-paced materialistic culture in which we live. Utilizing the insight that springs from her knowledge of Torah wisdom, her personal experiences and the experiences of those she has counseled, Slovie Jungreis-Wolff, a longtime parenting coach and advisor to young couples and families teaches in detail how to approach the entire gamut of issues, with a special emphasis on strengthening the child's morality and character. Parents will learn how to: - Instill simchas hachayim, true joy, in their children- Value chessed, kindness, in a self-absorbed world- Create a mikdash me'at, a home filled with calm and reflection- Teach children gratitude and appreciation- And much more...From discipline to sibling rivalry to effective communication skills, Raising a Child with Soul offers unique concepts and pragmatic ideas that can be understood and applied to both Jewish and non-Jewish households.

    These weekly portions, read aloud in synagogues around the world, have been subject to interpretation and commentary for centuries. Following on this ancient tradition, Torah Queeries brings together some of the world's leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah through a bent lens. With commentaries on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and six major Jewish holidays, the concise yet substantive writings collected here open up stimulating new insights and highlight previously neglected perspectives.This incredibly rich collection unites the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight-allied writers, including some of the most central figures in contemporary American Judaism. All bring to the table unique methods of reading and interpreting that allow the Torah to speak to modern concerns of sexuality, identity, gender, and LGBT life. Torah Queeries offers cultural critique, social commentary, and a vision of community transformation, all done through biblical interpretation. Written to engage readers, draw them in, and, at times, provoke them, Torah Queeries examines topics as divergent as the Levitical sexual prohibitions, the experience of the Exodus, the rape of Dinah, the life of Joseph, and the ritual practices of the ancient Israelites. Most powerfully, the commentaries here chart a future of inclusion and social justice deeply rooted in the Jewish textual tradition.A labor of intellectual rigor, social justice, and personal passions, Torah Queeries is an exciting and important contribution to the project of democratizing Jewish communities, and an essential guide to understanding the intersection of queerness and Jewishness.

    Written in a unique, lyrical Aramaic, this masterpiece of Kabbalah exceeds the dimensions of a normal book; it is virtually a body of literature, comprising over twenty discrete sections. The bulk of the Zohar consists of a running commentary on the Torah, from Genesis through Deuteronomy.This fifth volume of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition opens in the middle of Exodus immediately following the revelation at Mount Sinai. The first chapter features a famous narrative about two rabbis and an old donkey-driver they encounter on the road. This old man seems like a complete ignoramus and pesters them with nonsensical riddles, but he turns out to be a sage and explains to them one of the most tightly guarded secrets of Kabbalah: the reincarnation of the soul. In the course of his exposition, the old man enthralls his two listeners with a romantic account of Torah as a maiden who reveals herself only to one who pursues her lovingly.The rest of this volume consists mainly of the Zohar's commentary on the biblical description of the mishkan, the Dwelling (or Tabernacle) in the desert. The mishkan symbolizes Shekhinah, the feminine presence of God who "dwells" on earth. Since the Dwelling was the center of worship, the Zohar explores here the theme of prayer.The volume concludes with one of the shortest yet most important sections of the Zohar—Sifra di-Tsni'uta (The Book of Concealment). This enigmatic and poetic composition contains a veiled description of God's body, focusing on the beard. Its few pages convey the central teachings of Kabbalah, including the balance between male and female energies, and how divine breath animates all that exists.

    Then, in one extraordinary moment in the French Revolution, the Jews of France were emancipated. Soon the ghetto gates were opened all over Europe. The era of Emancipation had begun. What happened next would change the course of history. Emancipation tells the story of how this isolated minority emerged from the ghetto and against terrible odds very quickly established themselves as shapers of history, as writers, revolutionaries, social thinkers, and artists. Their struggle to create a place for themselves in Western European life led to revolutions and nothing less than a second renaissance in Western culture. The book spans the era from the French Revolution to the beginning of the twentieth century. The story is told through the lives of the people who lived through this momentous change. Some are well-known: Marx, Freud, Mahler, Proust, and Einstein; many more have been forgotten. Michael Goldfarb brings them all to life. This is an epic story, and Goldfarb tells it with the skill and eye for detail of a novelist. He brings the empathy and understanding that has marked his two decades as a reporter in public radio to making the characters come alive. It is a tale full of hope, struggle, triumph, and, waiting at the end, a great tragedy. This is a book that will have meaning for anyone interested in the struggle of immigrants and minorities to succeed. We live in a world where vast numbers are on the move, where religions and races are grinding against each other in new combinations; Emancipation is a book of history for our time.

    Using the method of parshanut (interpretation) and her own unique approach to biblical texts, Klitsner draws bold, surprising parallels between biblical passages, revealing previously unexcavated layers of meaning. The result is a series of fresh and original readings of familiar narratives, accessible to both novice and experienced readers of the Bible. With her fresh, original readings of familiar narratives, Klitsner illustrates the dynamic nature of biblical attitudes regarding issues of ongoing relevance, such as the self, gender relations, and relations between Jews and non-Jews.

    When Shira’s father is arrested by the local baron intent on enforcing the Catholic Church’s strictures against heresy, Shira fights for his release and encounters two men who will influence her life profoundly—an inspiring Catholic priest and Meir ben Baruch, a brilliant scholar. In Meir, Shira finds her soulmate.Married to Meir in Paris, Shira blossoms as a wife and mother, savoring the intellectual and social challenges that come with being the wife of a prominent scholar. After witnessing the burning of every copy of the Talmud in Paris, Shira and her family seek refuge in Germany. Yet even there they experience bloody pogroms and intensifying anti-Semitism. With no safe place for Jews in Europe, they set out for Israel only to see Meir captured and imprisoned by Rudolph I of Hapsburg. As Shira weathers heartbreak and works to find a middle ground between two warring religions, she shows her children and grandchildren how to embrace the joys of life, both secular and religious.A multi-generational novel that vividly brings to life a period rarely covered in historical fiction.

    Unlike many other treatments of the Holocaust, this history traces not only the persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: Gypsies, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the disabled, and other groups deemed undesirable. With clear and eloquent prose, Bergen explores the two interconnected goals that drove the Nazi German program of conquest and genocide purification of the so-called Aryan race and expansion of its living space and discusses how these goals affected the course of World War II. Including illustrations and firsthand accounts from perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human, and eminently readable.

    Binyamin Lau breaks down the Book of Jeremiah, rearranging its chapters according to historical events and the chronology of the prophet’s life. This groundbreaking reconstruction turns the biblical narrative from a collection of disjointed prophecies into a thrilling account of warring empires and nationalistic struggle, social decay and political intrigue, soaring hope and crushing despair.

    This revelation will bring the Bible to life as never before releasing new miracles and blessings into your life, ministry, family, and finances. Beginning with his own experience at the ruins of an ancient synagogue in Capernaum, Pastor Larry reveals many powerful spiritual truths that will reconnect you to the rich heritage of your faith—from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Jesus. The Torah Blessing will help you discover:What the apostle Paul means when he teaches that believers are “grafted in” (Romans 11:17)How the biblical feasts hold the keys to releasing a continuous flow of covenant blessingsWhy the Sabbath is God’s appointed time for connecting His people with supernatural promisesHow the Jewish prayer shawl holds the promise of “healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2)How Bible prophecy is being fulfilled to unite Jews and Christians in these end timesStart your own journey today and begin to experience the supernatural revelation and the spiritual destiny found in The Torah Blessing…as the mysteries are revealed, the miracles will be released!

    Its counterpart, Garden of Peace for Men, was received with acclaim for its down-to-earth, honest, and sensitive approach, and these qualities shine from this volume for women as well. * How can a woman build up her marriage so that it is one of peace and tranquility? * What is the real meaning of love? * What is the role of the wife in the home?Not only does this book present a beautiful, time-tested perspective on marriage, it also offers wisdom and insight on parenting, prayer, and motherhood. A vital read for every Jewish woman!Translated from Hebrew to English by Rabbi Lazer Brody, this book is for women only, but women of all ages. Not limited to marital issues alone, Rabbi Arush teaches of whole life from the feminin perspective. The book is divided into eight sections, covering all aspects of a woman's life. Yes, marriage, but also finances, food, children, etc. etc. When King Solomon said, "Every wise woman buildeth her home : but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." (Mishlei 14:1), it is this knowledge and wisdom that is refered to. Get it and read it.

    While God is conventionally viewed as an entity separate from us, there are some Jews--Kabbalists, Hasidim, and their modern-day heirs--who assert that God is not separate from us at all. In this nondual view, everyone and everything manifests God. For centuries a closely guarded secret of Kabbalah, nondual Judaism is a radical reorientation of religious life that is increasingly influencing mainstream Judaism today.Writer and scholar Jay Michaelson presents a wide-ranging and compelling explanation of nondual Judaism: what it is, its traditional and contemporary sources, its historical roots and philosophical significance, how it compares to nondual Buddhism and Hinduism, and how it is lived in practice. He explains what this mystical nondual view means in our daily ego-centered lives, for our communities, and for the future of Judaism.

    Barclay, a sympathetic Christian, states in the Preface that he studied the Talmud with learned Rabbis during a ten-year's residence in the Holy land.The task of translating the Talmud, which takes up more shelf space than the Britannica, would be daunting, and is probably beyond what one person is capable of in a lifetime. So early solo translators such as Barclay had to prioritize. While Rodkinson translated the entirety of the Festivals and Jurisprudence sections of the Talmud, including the commentary, Barclay took a more representative approach. He translated the Mishna (primary text) of seventeen tracts across the entire span of the Talmud, as well as a commentary on the Tabernacle. This includes a number of tracts not in the Rodkinson translation, specifically, Blessings, Sabbatical Year, Daily Sacrifice, Measurements, Leprosy, and Hands. Others, particularly Fathers and Sanhedrin are also available in multiple translations at sacred-texts. The final feature of this book is a detailed plan of the Temple complex with extensive architectural notes.Barclay does a straightforward translation of each text, and keeps his personal opinions to a few footnotes. This is a meaningful and significant modern Talmud translation, and has been cited many times in other works, although seldom seen.About Author:Joseph Barclay, D.D. (1831–1881), was Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.Barclay was born near Strabane in county Tyrone, Ireland, his family being of Scotch extraction. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and proceeded B.A. in 1854 and M.A. in 1857, but showed no particular powers of application or study. In 1854 he was ordained to a curacy at Bagnelstown, county Carlow, and on taking up his residence there began to show very great interest in the work of the London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews. The question of Jewish conversion was at that time agitating the religious world in England, and Barclay supported the cause in his own neighbourhood with great activity, till in 1858 his enthusiasm resulted in his offering himself to the London Society as a missionary. He left Ireland, much regretted by his parishioners and friends, and, after a few months' study in London, was appointed to Constantinople. The mission there had been established in 1835, but no impression had been made on the 60,000 Jews calculated to inhabit the town. Barclay stayed in Constantinople till 1861, making missionary journeys to the Danubian provinces, Rhodes, and other nearer districts.

    As a bridge between both worlds, Reb Zalman, and his co-author and student Netanel Miles-Yepez, introduce the reader to rare and unique translations of Hasidism with their own personal reflections on their meaning. This book gives the readers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Hasidic wisdom and narrative and in the teachings of a modern Hasidic master.

    Sommer investigates the notion of a deity's body and self in ancient Israel, Canaan, and Mesopotamia. He uncovers a lost ancient Near Eastern perception of divinity according to which an essential difference between gods and humans was that gods had more than one body and fluid, unbounded selves. Though the dominant strains of biblical religion rejected it, a monotheistic version of this theological intuition is found in some biblical texts. Later Jewish and Christian thinkers inherited this ancient way of thinking; ideas such as the sefirot in kabbalah and the trinity in Christianity represent a late version of this theology. This book forces us to rethink the distinction between monotheism and polytheism, as this notion of divine fluidity is found in both polytheistic cultures (Babylonia, Assyria, Canaan) and monotheistic ones (biblical religion, Jewish mysticism, Christianity), whereas it is absent in some polytheistic cultures (classical Greece). The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel has important repercussions not only for biblical scholarship and comparative religion but for Jewish-Christian dialogue.

    For each day of the year, an inspiring quote from a Jewish source and a personal reflection on it help you focus on your spiritual life and all the things you have to be grateful for.Using both the secular and Jewish calendar as a framework, this daily devotional helps you honor the special and holy events of the year as well as identify the sacred in the mundane moments of your life. It draws on the wisdom of Jewish sources and teachings, and ancient and contemporary spiritual thinkers, to gain perspective on the abundance that is all around you--in your achievements and challenges, relationships and personal time, joy and suffering, job and home. It will help you elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary every day of the year.

    Soloveitchik's classic essay, "U-Vikkashtem mi-Sham." Drafted in the 1940's as a companion to his earlier treatise Halakhic Man, this powerful and wide-ranging work was published in Hebrew only in 1978. Drawing its title from Deuteronomy 4:29 - "And from there you shall seek the Lord your God, and you shall find Him if you search for Him with all of your heart and all of your soul" - and framed by the evocative metaphors of the Song of Songs, the essay charts the individual's search for God, a quest which culminates in the stage of devekut, cleaving to Him.The human being initially seeks God by examining the natural and spiritual worlds. But this search fails; hence God must reveal Himself and express His will. Rabbi Soloveitchik explicates the contrast between these two different modes of experiencing the divine: the natural consciousness, marked by freedom and creativity, and the revelational consciousness, marked by compulsion and discipline. The remainder of the work elaborates on this dialectic, exploring such themes as the imitation of God, devekut, mercy and justice, trust and fear, love and awe, the rule of intellect, elevation of the body, the perpetuity of God's word, and creation and revelation.And From There You Shall Seek is Rabbi Soloveitchik's fullest and most elaborate examination of religious consciousness and the dynamics of religious experience. Its presentation of the challenging interplay between cultural creativity, religious practice, and spiritual quest is sure to enrich the contemporary reader.

    From touring Cracow's former Jewish ghetto with a young female guide who may or may not be a government agent, to a barbershop in Santa Monica, where Nachman uses his unwitting hairdresser as a therapist, to a mysterious corporate cryptology conference in Manhattan that makes Nachman long for the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean outside his bedroom window in California.

    By eating food that is not kosher or that has not been prepared according to halachah, we transgress many of the most serious prohibitions of the Torah, and we compromise our spiritual integrity as well. Rabbi Binyomin Forst is a master at explaining halachah in a readable, understandable, and practical manner. In The Kosher Kitchen he explains the basic principles of kashrus and their practical ramifications, showing us how to avoid problematic situations and how to recognize halachic questions and ask them correctly.Among the many topics discussed:* A utensil-by-utensil overview of the kitchen* The special status of parve foods in halachah* Common kashrus problems - recognizing, avoiding, and dealing with them* Microwaves, ovens and dishwashers* Non-Jewish housekeepers and cleaning help* The parameters of Pas Akum, Chalav Akum, and Gevinas Akum* Kashering utensils* A comprehensive "tevilah" chart showing which utensils need immersionThe Kosher Kitchen: Practical. Comprehensive. And absolutely vital.

    'Maybe pebbles.'"--From the IntroductionInternationally acclaimed Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is considered to be one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. He has been lauded by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar" and by Ted Koppel of Nightline as "one of the very few wise men that I've ever met."Arthur Kurzweil--himself a Jewish scholar, author, teacher, publisher, and a longtime disciple of Rabbi Steinsaltz--has gathered in one place a collection of "pebbles" of wisdom from Rabbi Steinsaltz. This wonderful book is filled with wisdom from more than thirty years of Rabbi Steinsaltz's lectures, writings, interviews, conversations, and reflections.Pebbles of Wisdom includes Rabbi Steinsaltz's thoughts on the big topics of life including the meaning of happiness, the search for the purpose of one's life, the point of suffering, discovering oneself, dangers along the spiritual path, the process of transforming oneself, and the challenges of faith.

    No group of writers better represents the problems of Jewish identity than Jewish poets writing in the American modernist tradition--specifically secular Jews: those disdainful or suspicious of organized religion, yet forever shaped by those traditions. This collection of essays is the first to address this often obscured dimension of modern and contemporary poetry: the secular Jewish dimension. Editors Daniel Morris and Stephen Paul Miller asked their contributors to address what constitutes radical poetry written by Jews defined as "secular," and whether or not there is a Jewish component or dimension to radical and modernist poetic practice in general. These poets and critics address these questions by exploring the legacy of those poets who preceded and influenced them--Stein, Zukofsky, Reznikoff, Oppen, and Ginsberg, among others. While there is no easy answer for these writers about what it means to be a Jew, in their responses there is a rich sense of how being Jewish reflects on their aesthetics and practices as poets, and how the tradition of the avant-garde informs their identities as Jews. Fragmented identities, irony, skepticism, a sense of self as "other" or "outsider," distrust of the literal, and belief in a tradition that questions rather than answers--these are some of the qualities these poets see as common to themselves, the poetry they make, and the tradition they work within.

    In this work he fearlessly dissects the complex attitudes of Western European liberal Left intellectuals toward Israel, Zionism and the “Israeli peace camp.” He argues that through a prism of famous writers like Amos Oz, David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, the peace camp has now adopted the European vision of “new Zionism,” promoting the fierce Israeli desire to be accepted as part of the West and taking advantage of growing Islamophobia across Europe.The backdrop to this uneasy relationship is the ever-present shadow of the Holocaust. Laor is merciless as he strips bare the hypocrisies and unarticulated fantasies that lie beneath the love-affair between “liberal Zionists” and their European supporters.

    As wisdom allows us to see clearly, our hearts break open with compassion for the struggles of our own lives and the lives of all beings. Awakened with wisdom and compassion, we are impelled to live our lives with kindness, and we are led to do whatever we can to repair the brokenness of our world."--from the IntroductionAt last, a fresh take on meditation that draws on life experience and living life with greater clarity rather than the traditional method of rigorous study.Based on twenty-five years of bringing meaningful spiritual practice to the Jewish community, well-known meditation teacher and practitioner Rabbi Jeff Roth presents Jewish contemplative techniques that foster the development of a heart of wisdom and compassion. This contemporary approach to meditation--accessible to both beginners and experts alike--focuses on using the distilled wisdom of Buddhism and Judaism as a way to learn from life experience. By combining these two traditions, he presents a model that allows westerners--both Jews and non-Jews--to embrace timeless Eastern teachings without sacrificing their birth traditions.

    "Like water, teshuvah is both destructive and creative. It dissolves the person you were but simultaneously provides the moisture you need to grow anew. It erodes the hard edges of your willfulness but also refreshens your spirit. It can turn the tallest barriers of moral blindness into rubble while it also gently nourishes the hidden seeds of hope buried deep in your soul. Teshuvah, like water, has the power both to wash away past sin and to shower you with the blessing of a new future, if only you trust it and allow yourself to be carried along in its current." --from Part VIIIn this candid and comprehensive probe into the nature of moral transgression and spiritual healing, Dr. Louis E. Newman examines both the practical and philosophical dimensions of teshuvah, Judaism's core religious-moral teaching on repentance, and its value for us--Jews and non-Jews alike--today. He exposes the inner logic of teshuvah as well as the beliefs about God and humankind that make it possible. He also charts the path of teshuvah, revealing to us how we can free ourselves from the burden of our own transgressions by: - Acknowledging our transgressions - Confessing - Feeling remorse - Apologizing - Making restitution - Soul reckoning - Avoiding sin when the next opportunity arises

    This clandestine movement was evidenced by such early groups as the Nazarenes, Ebionites, and Elkesaites but is generally thought to have died out when the Church of Paul branded these groups as heretics. However, despite the ongoing persecution by the Roman Catholic orthodoxy, this underground Jewish strain of Christianity was able to survive and resist incorporation into its more powerful rival. Jeffrey Bütz, author of The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity, reveals for the first time the hidden theological link that connects James the Brother of Jesus and the Ebionites with the religion of Islam, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and Freemasonry. In The Secret Legacy of Jesus, Bütz demonstrates how this centuries-old underground stream of Christ’s original teachings remained alive and how it surfaced again in Colonial America, where the Founding Fathers used Masonic principles rooted in Jewish Christian teachings to establish what they believed would be a “New Jerusalem.” With the rise of a fundamentalist Christianity, this potent spiritual vision was lost, but Bütz contends it can be recovered and used to bring about the reconciliation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims throughout the world.

    Stripped of their clothes, their possessions, and, in many cases, their families, they nevertheless held on to the hope of freedom. Despite the insurmountable odds against survival, these children lived to tell their tales in the second installment of the Whispers series.

    He makes an original and innovative contribution by clarifying, affirming and constructively critiquing the present state of its theology. The book examines five topics of theological concern: God's nature, activity and attributes (can the one God of Israel and the Christian Trinity be the same?) The Messiah (Messianic Jewish Christologies) Torah in theory (the meaning and interpretation of the Torah in the light of Jesus) Torah in practice (Messianic practice of Sabbath, food laws and Passover) Eschatology (the diverse models employed within the movement to describe the future of Israel). Within each topic Harvey explores the range of Messianic Jewish views and their roots in both Jewish and Christian theological traditions. The author proposes a typology of eight theological tendencies within Messianic Judaism and identifies issues where further theological development is required.

    It is well-known that before the author’s passing, he urged his son to publish the Nefesh Hachaim before any of his other works, since he passionately wished to influence the people to achieve greater fear of G-d and intense love of Torah.The themes he deals with are many and varied. He discusses the profound impact that our mitzvos and prayers have on the universe; an understanding of berachos (blessings), the nature of the soul and of Olam Haba (the World to Come); whether one should combine Torah study with earning a livelihood, and whether man is greater than the angels, to name just a few.This classic work, now in English for the first time, will hopefully achieve the author’s heartfelt desire -- for all Jews to deepen their commitment to Torah study and their observance of mitzvos, so that we may ultimately merit to see the fulfillment of the verse, All your children will be students of Hashem, and your children’s peace will be abundant (Yeshayah 54:13).This beautiful new edition contains a thorough subject index. Note: The Kabbalistic sections of the sefer have been left untranslated.

    Nyland contains:1 Enoch (The Ethiopic Book of Enoch)2 Enoch (The Slavonic Book of Enoch, the Secrets of Enoch). This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek.Note that this is Dr. Nyland's translation and NOT a public domain work.1 Enoch tells of the Watchers, a class of angel, who taught humans weapons, spell potions, root cuttings, astrology, astronomy, and alchemies. The Watchers also slept with human women and produced the Nephilim. For this, they were imprisoned and cast into Tartarus. This is also mentioned in the New Testament. In 2 Enoch, two angels take Enoch through the 7 heavens. This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek.There are copious background notes and cross references to Bible verses.This book is an easy to read translation with cross references and notes.

    For two centuries following their conversion, the Dönme were accepted as Muslims, and by the end of the nineteenth century rose to the top of Salonikan society. The Dönme helped transform Salonika into a cosmopolitan city, promoting the newest innovation in trade and finance, urban reform, and modern education. They eventually became the driving force behind the 1908 revolution that led to the overthrow of the Ottoman sultan and the establishment of a secular republic.To their proponents, the Dönme are enlightened secularists and Turkish nationalists who fought against the dark forces of superstition and religious obscurantism. To their opponents, they were simply crypto-Jews engaged in a plot to dissolve the Islamic empire. Both points of view assume the Dönme were anti-religious, whether couched as critique or praise.But it is time that we take these religious people seriously on their own terms. In the Ottoman Empire, the Dönme promoted morality, ethics, spirituality, and a syncretistic religion that reflected their origins at the intersection of Jewish Kabbalah and Islamic Sufism. This is the first book to tell their story, from their origins to their near total dissolution as they became secular Turks in the mid-twentieth century.

    Ellis takes on the hard moral questions about Jewish support for the state of Israel. Reviewing the historical record of the past sixty years and envisioning the prospects for a just and lasting peace, Ellis makes an unyielding case—based on the most cherished Jewish values—that the present policies of the Israeli state cannot reasonably be defended. The future not only of Judaism but of Israel itself, he argues, hinges on a fundamental shift in Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and on a completely new direction in the peace process.At a time when critics of Israeli policies are silenced with the charge of anti-Semitism, Ellis offers a prophetic Jewish alternative to the blind acceptance of Zionism, demonstrating "great courage, integrity, and insight," according to Noam Chomsky.Sure to be the subject of fervent debate, Judaism Does Not Equal Israel marks a major effort by a leading American Jewish thinker to make the case that condemning current Israeli policies is fully consonant with being a good Jew.

    Beyond the Qumran Community does just that, reaching a surprising conclusion: the sect described in the Dead Sea Scrolls developed later than has usually been supposed and was never confi ned to the site of Qumran. / John J. Collins here deconstructs “the Qumran community” and shows that the sectarian documents actually come from a text spread throughout the land. He examines the Community Rule, or Yahad, and considers the Teacher of Righteousness, a pivotal fi gure in the Essene movement. After examining the available evidence, Collins concludes that it is, in fact, overwhelmingly likely that the site of Qumran housed merely a single settlement of a very widespread movement.

    The Yemenite Babies Affair is the emotionally laden, yet still unresolved, story of the alleged kidnapping of hundreds of Yemenite babies upon their arrival to Israel during the 1950s.  In analyzing fifty years of public narratives, Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber argues that the media played a major role in the concurrent framing and silencing of this story. This eye-opening study exposes the clash between the European Zionist ideology of unity and the reality of Israel’s diverse society, where at least half of the Jewish population is of Arab descent.

    

    Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire examines the cultural identities that Jews were creating and disseminating through voluntary associations such as libraries, drama circles, literary clubs, historical societies, and even fire brigades. Jeffrey Veidlinger explores the venues in which prominent cultural figures--including Sholem Aleichem, Mendele Moykher Sforim, and Simon Dubnov--interacted with the general Jewish public, encouraging Jewish expression within Russia's multicultural society. By highlighting the cultural experiences shared by Jews of diverse social backgrounds--from seamstresses to parliamentarians--and in disparate geographic locales--from Ukrainian shtetls to Polish metropolises--the book revises traditional views of Jewish society in the late Russian Empire.

    It is not a lengthy philosophical dissertation. You won't find big words. It doesn't quote Kant, Nietzsche, or Spinoza. It is real. It is about pseudo-hipsters, hairstyles, loud music, Czech beer, shwarma, the art of New York driving, music school, Israel, and the Earth Jew. It is about identity and asking questions. It is about being Jewish. It is about frustration and not knowing what to ask. It is about everything: and that everything you want, you already know.

    These insights can inform our own approaches to current issues, challenge our assumptions, and force us to consider alternative approaches. The conversation between our texts and our lives can enrich our experience of both."--from the IntroductionConfront the most pressing issues of twenty-first-century America in this fascinating book, which brings together classical Jewish sources, contemporary policy debate and real-life stories.Rabbi Jill Jacobs, a leading young voice in the social justice arena, makes a powerful argument for participation in the American public square from a deeply Jewish perspective, while deepening our understanding of the relationship between Judaism and such current social issues as:Poverty and the Poor Collection and Allocation of Tzedakah Workers, Employers and Unions Housing the Homeless The Provision of Health Care Environmental Sustainability Crime, Punishment and RehabilitationBy creating a dialogue between traditional texts and current realities, Jacobs presents a template for engagement in public life from a Jewish perspective and challenges us to renew our obligations to each other.

    The power of change.Central to the life of the Jewish family is the time they spend together around the Shabbos and Yom Tov table -- a warm and convivial setting that invites conversation and the exchange of thoughts and ideas. Yet words alone do not make for an elevated Shabbos experience; when the discussion around the table is mundane and inconsequential, the experience is rendered similarly meaningless. But when the "table talk" is enhanced by Torah ideas that can be applied to daily life, then even the most simple meal becomes a vehicle for personal growth and transformation.The power of the Torah to change lives is a concept that the authors of an extraordinary new collection of essays, Torah for Your Table, understand well. Through their work for Hineini -- the pioneering Jewish outreach organization founded and headed by their mother, renowned author and lecturer Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis -- Rabbis Yisroel and Osher Anshel Jungreis have personally witnessed and played a role in the spiritual renewal of tens of thousands of Jewish neshomos. With their new book, the authors continue their holy mission to bring Torah to Jews; wherever they are and whatever their level of observance, Torah for Your Table speaks to one and all.Compiled by Rebbetzin Jungreis, who knows from vast personal experience how Torah words can elevate every heart and penetrate even the most distant Jewish neshama, these beautifully crafted essays on the weekly Torah portions lend timeless relevance to our lives. But it is not only around the Shabbos table that this book can make a difference. Its wisdom is applicable in every setting -- in one's own home or at formal or informal gatherings.Whether you are a newcomer to Torah thought or have dedicated many years to its study, Torah for Your Table will enhance the flavor of your every meal.

    Reading this book will deepen your appreciation of all that Christ did on behalf of His people as the application of all the details is carefully explored. Some may find the style a little stilted, but perseverance will be amply rewarded. Perhaps no other portion of Scripture illustrates as many facets of Calvary as this.First published in 1848, this edition has been completely re-typeset for issue as an eBook. Hebrew words in the text have been transliterated and the number corresponding to their entry in Strong’s Concordance given alongside, since at present they cannot be rendered on a Kindle. Greek characters have been retained.

    The book also examines her pioneering approach to the study of the Hebrew Bible and the commentaries that forever changed the face of Jewish Bible study, as well as her acceptance as a prominent Torah scholar despite her gender and the future of her work in light of recent scholarship. Dozens of black-and-white photographs help tell the story of a brilliant teacher, an erudite scholar, and a forthright, warm, and humorous individual who left her mark on tens of thousands of people around the world.

    These cultural warriors sought to recast themselves and other Jews not only as a modern nation but as a nation of moderns.Kenneth Moss offers the first comprehensive look at this fascinating moment in Jewish and Russian history. He examines what these numerous would-be cultural revolutionaries, such as El Lissitzky and Haim Nahman Bialik, meant by a new Jewish culture, and details their fierce disagreements but also their shared assumptions about what culture was and why it was so important. In close readings of Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian texts, he traces how they sought to realize their ideals in practice as writers, artists, and thinkers in the burgeoning cultural centers of Moscow, Kiev, and Odessa. And he reveals what happened to them and their ideals as the Bolsheviks consolidated their hold over cultural life.Here is a brilliant, revisionist argument about the nature of cultural nationalism, the relationship between nationalism and socialism as ideological systems, and culture itself, the axis around which the encounter between Jews and European modernity has pivoted over the past century.

    This book is the first to provide a broad overview of the major trends in contemporary Kabbalah together with in-depth discussions of major figures and schools. A noted expert on Kabbalah, Jonathan Garb places the “kabbalistic Renaissance” within the global context of the rise of other forms of spirituality, including Sufism and Tibetan Buddhism. He shows how Kabbalah has been transformed by the events of the Holocaust and, following the establishment of Israel, by aliyah. The Chosen Will Become Herds is an original piece of scholarship and, in its own right, a new chapter in the history of Kabbalah.