The astounding poetry in the Book of Job is restored to its powerful ancient meanings and rhythms. The account of creation in its Voice from the Whirlwind is beautiful and incendiary—an unforgettable challenge to the place of man in the universe. The serene fatalism that construes life as ephemeral and without purpose suffuses Ecclesiastes with a quiet beauty. The pithy maxims of Proverbs impart a worldly wisdom that is still sound and satirically shrewd.Each of these books conveys and undermines the universal wisdom that the righteous thrive and the wicked suffer in a rational moral order; together they are essential to the ancient canon that is the Hebrew Bible. In Alter’s translation they regain the energy and force of the original, enhancing their ongoing relevance to the lives of modern readers.

    Originally written in Alexandrian Greek, and brought from Egypt to the Languedoc during the early to middle part of the first century, this exceptional manuscript has been preserved within the author's spiritual community since that period. In this extraordinary book, the Gospel of the Beloved Companion comes alive to bring us a luminously poetic yet starkly objective insight into, and perhaps a new perspective on, the teachings and philosophy of one of the greatest spiritual teachers the world has ever known. Author Jehanne de Quillan presents this translation along with a detailed comparative study between the Gospel of the Beloved Companion and the canonical and gnostic Gospels in a clear and easy-to-read format, leading the reader step-by-step to a deep understanding of this remarkable text and, perhaps for the first time, a clear and unsullied view of the woman known to most as Mary Magdalene.

    They lived a paradox--unwanted by a repressive Stalinist state, yet forbidden to leave. "When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone" is the astonishing and inspiring story of their rescue.Journalist Gal Beckerman draws on newly released Soviet government documents as well as hundreds of oral interviews with refuseniks, activists, Zionist "hooligans," and Congressional staffers. He shows not only how the movement led to a mass exodus in 1989, but also how it shaped the American Jewish community, giving it a renewed sense of spiritual purpose and teaching it to flex its political muscle. He also makes a convincing case that the movement put human rights at the center of American foreign policy for the very first time, helping to end the Cold War.In cinematic detail, the book introduces us to all the major players, from the flamboyant Meir Kahane, head of the paramilitary Jewish Defense League, to Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, who labored in a Siberian prison camp for over a decade, to Lynn Singer, the small, fiery Long Island housewife who went from organizing local rallies to strong-arming Soviet diplomats. This multi-generational saga, filled with suspense and packed with revelations, provides an essential missing piece of Cold War and Jewish history.

    

    But when a doctor told her that her young daughter, Noa, had a fatal degenerative disease, Rabbi Levy’s own insights could not prevent her whole life from unraveling.In Hope Will Find You, Naomi Levy shares her journey and the wisdom she gained. She describes with humor and honesty how she came through a time of uncertainty and fear and learned how to stop waiting for life to begin. A natural and engaging storyteller, Levy has written a book filled with invaluable lessons for living in the present and for opening the door to an extraordinary future.Hope Will Find You is a book that will be passed to friends when life gets confusing, a book that will rest on our bedside tables when we are searching for hope and direction.

    The works of Maimonides, particularly The Guide for the Perplexed, are reckoned among the fundamental texts that influenced all subsequent Jewish philosophy and also proved to be highly influential in Christian and Islamic thought. Spanning subjects ranging from God, prophecy, miracles, revelation, and evil, to politics, messianism, reason in religion, and the therapeutic role of doubt, Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism elucidates the complex ideas of The Guide in remarkably clear and engaging prose. Drawing on his own experience as a central figure in the current Israeli renaissance of Jewish culture and spirituality, Micah Goodman brings Maimonides’s masterwork into dialogue with the intellectual and spiritual worlds of twenty-first-century readers. Goodman contends that in Maimonides’s view, the Torah’s purpose is not to bring clarity about God but rather to make us realize that we do not understand God at all; not to resolve inscrutable religious issues but to give us insight into the true nature and purpose of our lives.

    That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now, go and study." This is the most famous teaching of Hillel, one of the greatest rabbis of the Talmudic era. What makes it so extraordinary is that it was offered to a gentile seeking conversion. Joseph Telushkin feels that this Talmudic story has great relevance for us today. At a time when religiosity is equated with ritual observance alone, when few Jews seem concerned with bringing Jewish teachings into the world, and when more than 40 percent of Jews intermarry, Judaism is in need of more of the openness that Hillel possessed two thousand years ago.Hillel's teachings, stories, and legal rulings can be found throughout the Talmud; many of them share his emphasis on ethical and moral living as an essential element in Jewish religious practice, including his citing the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) as a basis for modifying Jewish law. Perhaps the most prominent rabbi and teacher in the Land of Israel during the reign of Herod, Hillel may well have influenced Jesus, his junior by several decades. In a provocative analysis of both Judaism and Christianity, Telushkin reveals why Hillel's teachings about ethics as God's central demand and his willingness to encourage the process of conversion began to be ignored in favor of the stricter and less inclusive teachings of his rabbinic adversary, Shammai.Here is a bold new look at an iconic religious leader.

    Some of these documents are lost forever, but many have been preserved. Part of these extant sources are the Pseudepigrapha. This collection of Jewish and Christian writings shed light on early Judaism and Christianity and their doctrines.This landmark set includes all 65 Pseudepigraphical documents from the intertestamental period that reveal the ongoing development of Judaism and the roots from which the Christian religion took its beliefs. A scholarly authority on each text contributes a translation, introduction, and critical notes for each text. Volume 2 includes expansions of the "Old Testament" legends, wisdom, and philosophical literature; prayers, psalms, and odes; and fragments of lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works.Contributors include E. Isaac, B.M. Metzger, J.R. Mueller, S.E. Robinson, D.J. Harrington, G.T. Zervos, and many others.Of enormous value to scholars and students, religious professionals and interested laypeople.Part of Anchor Yale Reference Library.

    The masters of the Jewish Mussar tradition have crafted a roadmap to help people approach that lofty goal. Mussar is a system of introspective practices that can help you identify and break through the obstacles to your inherent holiness, using methods that are easy to integrate into daily life. Every Day, Holy Day is an essential companion for anyone who wants to experience the life-changing gifts of Mussar. The program laid out in this book focuses on 26 traits (middot)—such as loving-kindness, strength, generosity, compassion, honor, and equanimity—each of which takes center stage for a week of contemplation and exercises, in order to develop and refine that quality in yourself. Alan Morinis invites you to follow the Mussar path with him for a year. It is remarkably simple, and also remarkably effective in helping you overcome negative tendencies and strengthen positive ones—and to reveal your innate holiness in the process.

    Inspired and nurtured by the successes of the feminist and LGBT movements in the Jewish world, Jews who identify with the “T” now sit in the congregation, marry under the chuppah, and create Jewish families. Balancing on the Mechitza offers a multifaceted portrait of this increasingly visible community.The contributors—activists, theologians, scholars, and other transgender Jews—share for the first time in a printed volume their theoretical contemplations as well as rite-of-passage and other transformative stories. Balancing on the Mechitza introduces readers to a secular transwoman who interviews her Israeli and Palestinian peers and provides cutting-edge theory about the construction of Jewish personhood in Israel; a transman who serves as legal witness for a man (a role not typically open to persons designated female at birth) during a conversion ritual; a man deprived of testosterone by an illness who comes to identify himself with passion and pride as a Biblical eunuch; and a gender-variant person who explores how to adapt the masculine and feminine pronouns in Hebrew to reflect a non-binary gender reality.

    Rabbi Shais Taub, a world renown expert in Jewish mysticism as well as a mentor to many thousands of addicts, draws from his unique background to thoroughly address many of the concerns raised by Jewish addicts in recovery while also using Jewish knowledge to enrich the understanding of the spiritual principles of recovery for addicts of all faiths.

    It's a reflection of a community's history, culture, and values. From India to Israel to the United States and everywhere in between, Jewish food appears in many different forms and variations, but all related in its fulfillment of kosher laws, Jewish rituals, and holiday traditions. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food explores both unique cultural culinary traditions as well as those that unite the Jewish people.Alphabetical entries—from Afikomen and Almond to Yom Kippur and Za'atar—cover ingredients, dishes, holidays, and food traditions that are significant to Jewish communities around the worldThis easy-to-use reference includes more than 650 entries, 300 recipes, plus illustrations and maps throughoutBoth a comprehensive resource and fascinating reading, this book is perfect for Jewish cooks, food enthusiasts, historians, and anyone interested in Jewish history or foodThe Encyclopedia of Jewish Food is an informative and eye-opening guide to the culinary heart and soul of the Jewish people.

    As featured on the cover of Tikkun magazine How do we articulate a religious vision that embraces evolution and human authorship of Scripture?  Drawing on the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah and Hasidism, path-breaking Jewish scholar Arthur Green argues that a neomystical perspective can help us to reframe these realities, so they may yet be viewed as dwelling places of the sacred.  In doing so, he rethinks such concepts as God, the origins and meaning of existence, human nature, and revelation to construct a new Judaism for the twenty-first century.

    Delineating common sense, feasibility, and ethical concern, the author provides a wealth of original insights into the very essence of halaca. In language accessible to everyone, Not in Heaven discusses a wide range of contemporary issues, including the status of women, marriage, divorce, conversion, rabbinic authority, and the role of halacha in a Jewish state.

    Times Book Prize in Poetry.

    Franklin argues that the memory-obsessedculture of the last few decades has led us to mistakenly focus on testimony as the only valid form of Holocaust writing. As even the most canonical texts have come under scrutiny for their fidelity to the facts, we have lost sight of the essential role that imagination plays in the creation of anyliterary work, including the memoir.Taking a fresh look at memoirs by Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi, and examining novels by writers such as Piotr Rawicz, Jerzy Kosinski, W.G. Sebald, and Wolfgang Koeppen, Franklin makes a persuasive case for literature as an equally vital vehicle for understanding the Holocaust (and for memoir as anequally ambiguous form). The result is a study of immense depth and range that offers a lucid view of an often cloudy field.

    Beginning at the dawn of Islam and sweeping from the Atlantic Ocean to the mountains of Afghanistan, Gilbert presents the first popular and authoritative history of Jewish peoples under Muslim rule. He confronts with wisdom and compassion the stormy events in their dramatic story, including anti-Zionist movements and the forced exodus to Israel. He also gives special attention to the twentieth century and to the current political debate about refugee status and restitution.Throughout, Gilbert weaves a compelling narrative of perseverance, struggle, and renewal marked by surprising moments of tolerance and partnership. A monumental and timely book, Jews under Muslim Rule is a crowning achievement that confirms Martin Gilbert as one of the foremost historians of our time.

    Evans.Topics covered will include the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, notes on the Dead Sea region, the contents and dates of the Scrolls, who wrote and gathered them, first and second generation scholars of the Scrolls, and more

    Be receptive to God's voice. Act out of faith. These are just a few of the life lessons Rabbi Shlomo Riskin imparts in this collection of personal stories. Rabbi Riskin takes us from his grandmother's Brooklyn Shabbat table to the vibrant community

    With wit, irreverence, and more than a little old-fashioned hutzpah, Ze'ev Maghen presents the most compelling, outrageously funny defense of Jewish identity in our time.

    In this exciting new volume, these two formidable foes team up to try to rid the West of Rabbi Harvey once and for all. The key to their evil scheme: Bad Bubbe's darling son, Rabbi "Wisdom Kid" Rubin, newly arrived from back East. He's young. He's clever. He's eager to take Harvey's place. But is he fast enough on the draw--the wisdom draw, that is--to take the town from Rabbi Harvey?The hilarious, action-packed plot draws on classic Jewish folktales, Talmudic teachings and the timeless wisdom of the wise men of Chelm. As always, Rabbi Harvey protects his town and delivers justice, wielding only the weapons of wisdom, wit and a bit of trickery. He also gets a bit of help from Abigail, the town's quick-thinking school teacher--a woman, it appears, who just may have captured his heart.

    Fatal Embrace charts Braverman's journey as an American Jew struggling with the difficult realities of modern Israel. The book vividly describes the spiritual and psychological forces driving the discourse and is a call to action to Americans of all faiths.

    This book, therefore, delves into the fundamental reasons why Judaism does not accept the Christian messiah. It meticulously illustrates that the core teachings and doctrines of the Church are incompatible with the cornerstone principles declared by the Prophets of Israel, and are opposed by the most cherished tenets contained in the Jewish Scriptures.Moreover, this exhaustive book illustrates how, over the course of many centuries, the Church systematically altered the Jewish Scriptures in its authorized translations of the Bible in order to persuade its adherents that Jesus is the promised Jewish messiah. To accomplish this task, Christian translators manipulated, misquoted, and mistranslated verses in the Hebrew Scriptures so that these texts appear to be speaking about Jesus.Over the past two millennia, Christians have been unaware of this systematic Bible-tampering because few parishioners can read the Hebrew Bible in its original language. Since time immemorial, earnest churchgoers utterly depended upon manmade Christian translations of the "Old Testament" in order to understand the "Word of God." As a result, Christians have wondered aloud why Jewish people, who are reared since childhood in the Holy Tongue, and are the bearers and protectors of the sacred Oracles of God, do not accept Jesus as their messiah. The central goal of this volume is to thoroughly answer this perplexing, age-old question.This volume also contains the extensive references cited in the Let's Get Biblical 24-Part CD Series.

    This prayerbook includes the complete liturgy for the high holy days. An added feature is a full transliteration of all songs.

    Enszer's second collection mines the multiple meanings of sisterhood, exploring the burdens and joys of sisters, real and imagined. These poems ache with loss: of a sister, of friends from AIDS, of elder poets, of innocence, of exuberance and idealism in middle age. But at the same time, these poems affirm life: the desire of humans to live, to hold one another tightly, to build new ways of living amid fragile remains.

    Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers.In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based--God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness--to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development.Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives and to which all life returns.

    Kabbalah teaches that the alphabet, called “ivrit” in Hebrew, comes from the root word lavir, or to transfer. Far more than simple symbols of communication, the letters transfer energy from the Light of God into the physical world. The story of the letters as they pleaded their respective cases for the primary role in God’s creative process is the blueprint by which Creation was made possible. In his new book, Rav Berg reveals the spiritual meaning and history of each of the 22 letters: how and why each was created, and what energy it transmits. Berg uses quantum physics to illustrate this bedrock of Kabbalah, proving that this truly is a time when physicists and metaphysicists are joining hands and minds.

    She asksher friends for help planting grains. "Sorry, bub," neighsHorse. "Think again," barks Dog. Of course, the Little Red Hen does it all herself. A classic tale gets a Jewish twist in this hilarious story.

    

    Many innovations have been tried around the world, and no doubt, synagogue leadership will continue to think creatively about improving services. But deep and lasting change will only come when each of us takes ownership and responsibility for what only we can really guide--our inner lives."--from the PrefaceJoin over fifty Jewish spiritual leaders from all denominations in a candid conversation about the why and how of prayer: how prayer changes us and how to discern a response from God. In this fascinating forum, they share the challenges of prayer, what it means to pray, how to develop your own personal prayer voice and how to rediscover meaning and God's presence in the traditional Jewish prayer book.CONTRIBUTORS: Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson - Rabbi Aryeh Ben David - Rabbi Anne Brener, LCSW - Rabbi Sharon Brous - Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum - Rabbi Mike Comins - Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove, PhD - Rabbi Lavey Derby - Cantor Ellen Dreskin - Rabbi Diane Elliot - Reb Mimi Feigelson - Rabbi Tirzah Firestone - Rabbi Nancy Flam - Rabbi Karen Fox, DD - Dr. Tamar Frankiel - Rabbi Ethan Franzel - Rabbi Elyse Frishman - Rabbi Laura Geller - Rabbi Neil Gillman, PhD - Rabbi Shefa Gold - Rabbi Elyse Goldstein - Joel Lurie Grishaver - Rabbi Nadya Gross - Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD - Melila Hellner-Eshed, PhD - Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD - Rabbi David Ingber - Rabbi Zoe Klein - Rabbi Myriam Klotz - Rabbi Jamie Korngold - Rabbi Lawrence Kushner - Rabbi Naomi Levy - Rabbi Richard N. Levy, DD - Rabbi Sheryl Lewart - Jay Michaelson - Rabbi Linda Motzkin - Rabbi Debra Orenstein - Rabbi Nehemia Polen, PhD - Rabbi Marcia Prager - Rabbi Jeff Roth - Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi - Rabbi Rami Shapiro - Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater - Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz - Rabbi Ira Stone - Rabbi Michael Strassfeld - Dr. Linda Thal - Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD - Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg - Rabbi Zari M. Weiss - Rabbi David J. Wolpe - Rabbi Shawn Zevit

    Thus, my translations do not so much offer the p'shat or the literal meaning of the words as they do a devotional interpretation that can make them into prayers of the heart. . . .This siddur is meant to help you stay in touch with God on a daily basis, to gain divine assistance, to lighten your burdens, not to add to them. May you come to experience your own prayer as a blessed meeting with your own God.- Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

    In this unique volume, some of Judaism's most insightful contemporary thinkers bring the words of sages past to bear on the present. They explore how we can become closer to God through our relationships with others, our observance at home and our actions in the world, asking:What do mitzvot have to do with mysticism?Is spirituality selfish?Can mysticism enhance community?Organized thematically, each section focuses on how mysticism engages and complements the dimensions of religious life, including studying Torah, performing mitzvot and observing halakhah.Contributors:Yehonatan Chipman - Mimi Feigelson - Lawrence Fine - Eitan Fishbane - Michael Fishbane - Nancy Flam - Everett Gendler - Joel Hecker - Shai Held - Melila Hellner-Eshed - Barry W. Holtz - Jeremy Kalmanofsky - Judith A. Kates - Lawrence Kushner - Ebn Leader - Shaul Magid - Ron Margolin - Daniel Matt - Haviva Pedaya - Nehemia Polen - Neal and Carol Rose - Or N. Rose - Zalman Schachter-Shalomi - Jonathan P. Slater - Gordon Tucker - Sheila Peltz Weinberg - Chava Weissler

    But in this pathbreaking work, Eric Nelson argues that this familiar story is wrong. Instead, he contends, political thought in early-modern Europe became less, not more, secular with time, and it was the Christian encounter with Hebrew sources that provoked this radical transformation.During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Christian scholars began to regard the Hebrew Bible as a political constitution designed by God for the children of Israel. Newly available rabbinic materials became authoritative guides to the institutions and practices of the perfect republic. This thinking resulted in a sweeping reorientation of political commitments. In the book s central chapters, Nelson identifies three transformative claims introduced into European political theory by the Hebrew revival: the argument that republics are the only legitimate regimes; the idea that the state should coercively maintain an egalitarian distribution of property; and the belief that a godly republic would tolerate religious diversity. One major consequence of Nelson s work is that the revolutionary politics of John Milton, James Harrington, and Thomas Hobbes appear in a brand-new light.Nelson demonstrates that central features of modern political thought emerged from an attempt to emulate a constitution designed by God. This paradox, a reminder that while we may live in a secular age, we owe our politics to an age of religious fervor, in turn illuminates fault lines in contemporary political discourse."

    Poet, philosopher, and physician, he is known today for both his religious and secular verse, including his famed “songs of Zion,” and for The Kuzari, an elucidation of Judaism in dialogue form. Hillel Halkin brilliantly evokes the fascinating world of eleventh- and twelfth-century Andalusian Spain in which Halevi lived and discusses the influences that formed him. Relying on the astonishing discoveries of the Cairo Geniza, he pieces together the mystery of Halevi’s last days, with its fateful voyage to Palestine, which became a haunting legend. An acclaimed writer and translator, Halkin builds his account of Halevi’s life and death on his magnificent translations of Halevi’s poems. He places The Kuzari within the wider context of Jewish thought and explains why, more perhaps than any other medieval Jewish figure, Halevi has become an inspirational yet highly controversial figure in modern Jewish and Israeli intellectual life.

    Inspired by the pioneering work of Jewish feminists, using the same narrative tools as the rabbis of old, Ramer has crafted stories that anchor LGBT lives in the three thousand year old history of the Jewish people. "The universe is made up of stories, not atoms," wrote poet Muriel Ruckeyser. The stories in this book will transport you to a new universe the one we are striving to create, right here and now.

    Along the way, Longenecker calls into question a variety of interpretive paradigms — such as Steven J. Friesen’s 2004 poverty scale — and offers a fresh vision in which Paul’s theological resources are shown to be both historically significant and theologically challenging.

    When the religion is Orthodox Judaism, the task is even more daunting. This anthology takes on that challenge by giving voice to genderqueer Jewish women who were once silenced—and effectively rendered invisible—by their faith. Keep Your Wives Away from Them tells the story of those who have come out, who are still closeted, living double lives, or struggling to maintain an integrated "single life" in relationship to traditional Judaism—personal stories that are both enlightening and edifying. While a number of films and books have explored the lives of queer people in Orthodox and observant Judaism, only this one explores in depth what happens after the struggle, when the real work of building integrated lives begins. The candor of these insightful stories in Keep Your Wives Away from Them makes the book appealing to a general audience and students of women’s, gender, and LGBTQ studies, as well as for anyone struggling personally with the same issue. Contributors include musician and writer Temim Fruchter, Professor Joy Ladin, writer Leah Lax, nurse Tamar Prager, and the pseudonymous Ex-Yeshiva Girl.Keep Your Wives Away from Them official website: http://www.keepyourwivesawayfromthem....

    Men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets trace the history of Un'taneh Tokef and connect the prayer to its biblical and rabbinic roots. They wrestle with the personal and community impact of its deeply moving imagery, probe its haunting message of human mortality, and reflect on its call for sanctity, transformation and renewal.Prayers of Awe A multi-volume series designed to explore the High Holy Day liturgy and enrich the praying experience for everyone--whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.ContributorsMerri Lovinger ArianRabbi Tony Bayfield, DDRabbi Sharon BrousDr. Marc BrettlerDr. Erica BrownRabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyDRabbi Edward FeinsteinRabbi Elyse D. FrishmanRabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhDDr. Joel M. HoffmanRabbi Delphine HorvilleurRabbi Elie KaunferRabbi Karyn D. KedarDr. Reuven KimelmanRabbi Lawrence KushnerRabbi Noa KushnerRabbi Daniel LandesRabbi Ruth Langer, PhDLiz LermanRabbi Asher LopatinCatherine MadsenRabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhDRabbi Dalia Marx, PhDRuth MessingerRabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhDRabbi Rachel NussbaumRabbi Aaron Panken, PhDRabbi Or N. RoseRabbi Marc Saperstein, PhDRabbi Sandy Eisenberg SassoRabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMinRabbi Brent Chaim SpodekRabbi David SternRabbi David A. Teutsch, PhDRabbi Gordon Tucker, PhDDr. Ellen M. UmanskyRabbi Avraham WeissRabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DDDr. Ron WolfsonRabbi David J. WolpeRabbi Daniel G. ZemelDr. Wendy Zierler

    Thomas More, legal advisor to and close friend of Henry VIII. As Jill and her colleagues work to authenticate this rare find, letters arrive to convey the manuscript's history and the donor's unimaginable story of survival. At the same time, representatives from the Archdiocese of New York arrive to stake their claim to this controversial document, hoping to send it to a Vatican archive before its explosive content becomes public. As the process of authentication hovers between find and fraud, and as the battle for provenance plays out between religious institutions, Jill struggles with her own family history, and her involvement in a relationship she fears will disrupt and disappoint her family.

    For two decades Sir Gilbert Levine and Pope John Paul II collaborated on symbolic acts of reconciliation: a series of internationally broadcast concerts designed to bring together people from all religious backgrounds under the auspices of the Vatican. These concerts broke new ground and demonstrated the Vatican's desire for rapprochement and even atonement in its relationships with Jews around the world. And it resulted in Sir Gilbert recovering his own Jewish faith in a deeper and more meaningful way.Details the extraordinary collaboration between a world-renowned musical maestro and an innovative PopeShows how music can act as a bridge between people of different faithsA moving, inspirational, and personal story that appeals to music lovers and to people of all faith traditionsThis is a compelling tale of faith, friendship, and the healing power of music to bring people together.

    “Hanging in there.” “Surviving.”That is a reaction you would expect from a man who just found out he has terminal cancer and has six months to live. How do you explain it coming from people living in the lap of luxury, enjoying wealth, freedom, and almost limitless opportunities? HANGING IN THERE? SURVIVING?!More than a mere expression, it is indicative of a deep dissatisfaction just beneath the surface. That's not the way it's supposed to be - not the way Hashem wants it to be.Why did Hashem create us? Why is there suffering? Why is there pain?Here is a book that answers these and other deep life-questions, in an engaging, entertaining manner. It offers a roadmap and the inspiration to create a life of meaning and purpose - to stop merely surviving and start living.Written in an easy-to-read, contemporary style, this powerful book offers a road map and the inspiration to create A LIFE OF MEANING AND PURPOSE - to stop merely surviving and start living.

    In the lightning-shot Psalm-space where Divine meets human, time shatters, splits, leaps like a river, and so does the soul of the speaker, now hunting God, now hunted, now languishing in despair, now reclining in quiet triumph against the pillars of Heavens.These contemporary psalms attempt to create a corollary to that biblical psalm space, a space narrowed to a single room in which God and the speaker have no choice but to face and struggle toward one another through the whirlwind of pain and love."God has a lot to answer for, and Joy Ladin doesn't let him off easy in Psalms. Intimate, exacting, agonistic, and seductive, these poems could only come from a believer who demands not easy professions, but ecstatic confirmations of faith. Ultimately Ladin sings to God songs we would all profit by hearing, songs that bear the scars as well as caresses of her encounter with the divine."-David Bergmanauthor of Heroic Measures"As with the canonical psalms, Ladin's Psalms capture an experience that is at once deeply personal and universal-intimacy with a Divine Presence that can fill us with both ecstasy and revulsion, often simultaneously. God is not merely in our pleasure and pain; God is our pleasure and pain."-Rev. Allyson RobinsonAssociate Director of Diversity, Human Rights Campaign

    The Steinsaltz Talmud offers solutions to linguistic and contextual issues in the text, removes obstacles stemming from the its non-linear construction, and provides succinct commentaries, pertinent Halachic rulings, explanatory notes to Rashi and other commentators, detailed indexes, and background from the sciences, history and the humanities. The Steinsaltz Talmud enables both beginning and seasoned students to participate in the living Talmudic conversation.

    Mitzvah's silly antics manage to charm his family and his humorous misinterpretations of the Jewish holidays will leave you laughing and begging for more. Get ready for a howling good time as you celebrate Shabbat, Hanukkah and Passover with Mitzvah the Mutt.

    Now she gives us the fruits of her quest in this extraordinary book, a treasure trove of delectable kosher recipes and the often moving stories behind them, interlaced with the tumultuous two-thousand-year history of the Jewish presence in France.In her search, Nathan takes us into kitchens in Paris, Alsace, and the Loire Valley; she visits the bustling Belleville market in Little Tunis in Paris; she breaks bread around the observation of the Sabbath and the celebration of special holidays. All across France she finds that Jewish cooking is more alive than ever. Traditional dishes are honored, yet many have acquired a French finesse and reflect regional differences. The influx of Jewish immigrants from North Africa following Algerian independence has brought exciting new flavors and techniques that have infiltrated contemporary French cooking, and the Sephardic influence is more pronounced throughout France today.Now, with Joan Nathan guiding us, carefully translating her discoveries to our own home kitchens, we can enjoy:• appetizers such as the rich subtle delight of a Terrine de Poireaux from Alsace or a brik, that flaky little pastry from North Africa, folded over a filling of tuna and cilantro;• soups such as cold sorrel or Moroccan Provençal Fish Soup with garlicky Rouille; • salads include a Mediterranean Artichoke and Orange Salad with Saffron Mint and a Tunisian Winter Squash Salad with Coriander and Harissa;• a variety of breads, quiches, and kugels—try a Brioche for Rosh Hashanah, a baconless quiche Lorraine, or a Sabbath kugel based on a centuries-old recipe;• main courses of Choucroute de Poisson; a tagine with chicken and quince; Brisket with Ginger, Orange Peel, and Tomato; Southwestern Cassoulet with Duck and Lamb; Tongue with Capers and Cornichons; and Almondeguilles (Algerian meatballs);• an inviting array of grains, pulses, couscous, rice, and unusual vegetable dishes, from an eggplant gratin to a mélange of Chestnuts, Onions, and Prunes;• for a grand finale, there are Parisian flans and tarts, a Frozen Soufflé Rothschild, and a Hanukkah Apple Cake, as well as many other irresistible pastries and cookies.These are but some of the treasures that Joan Nathan gives us in this unique collection of recipes and their stories. In weaving them together, she has created a book that is a testament to the Jewish people, who, despite waves of persecution, are an integral part of France today, contributing to the glory of its cuisine.

    Cotsen; The Maurice Amado Foundation; National Endowment for the Humanities; and the National Foundation for Jewish CultureTales from Arab Lands presents tales from North Africa, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq in the latest volume of the most important collection of Jewish folktales ever published. This is the third book in the multi-volume series in the tradition of Louis Ginzberg’s timeless classic, Legends of the Jews.The tales here and the others in this series have been selected from the Israel Folktale Archives (IFA), named in Honor of Dov Noy, at The University of Haifa, a treasure house of Jewish lore that has remained largely unavailable to the entire world until now.Since the creation of the State of Israel, the IFA has collected more than 20,000 tales from newly arrived immigrants, long-lost stories shared by their families from around the world. The tales come from the major ethno-linguistic communities of the Jewish world and are representative of a wide variety of subjects and motifs, especially rich in Jewish content and context.Each of the tales is accompanied by in-depth commentary that explains the tale's cultural, historical, and literary background and its similarity to other tales in the IFA collection, and extensive scholarly notes. There is also an introduction that describes the culture and its folk narrative tradition, a world map of the areas covered, illustrations, biographies of the collectors and narrators, tale type and motif indexes, a subject index, and a comprehensive bibliography.Until the establishment of the IFA, we had had only limited access to the wide range of Jewish folk narratives. Even in Israel, the gathering place of the most wide-ranging cross-section of world Jewry, these folktales have remained largely unknown. Many of the communities no longer exist as cohesive societies in their representative lands; the Holocaust, migration, and changes in living styles have made the continuation of these tales impossible. This series is a monument to a rich but vanishing oral tradition.This series is a monument to a rich but vanishing oral tradition.

    

    Silence the incessant planning, organizing, running, manipulating, possessing, and processing that are the ineluctable redoubts of the ego. Not because these activities are bad or wrong or even narcissistic ... but because they preclude awareness of the Divine. To paraphrase the Talmud, God says, 'There ain't room enough in this here world for your ego and Me. You pick.'"--from the IntroductionTapping the experiences and wisdom of his career as a spiritual leader, Lawrence Kushner delights, surprises, challenges and inspires us. With his signature candor, wit and compassion, he helps us reconnect with the why and how of our spiritual lives. He encourages us to find new perspectives on the "life-stuff" that shapes them, and gently reminds us of the Source of it All.These inspiring--often startling--insights will warm you during the dark times of your own doubts even as they brighten your quest for meaning, faith, identity, community--and holiness.

    Anthony Julius focuses on four distinct versions of English anti-Semitism. He begins with the medieval persecution of Jews, which included defamation, expropriation, and murder, and which culminated in 1290 when King Edward I expelled all the Jews from England. Turning to literary anti-Semitism, Julius shows that negative portrayals of Jews have been continuously present in English literature from the anonymous medieval ballad "Sir Hugh, or the Jew's Daughter," through Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, to T. S. Eliot and beyond. The book then moves to a depiction of modern anti-Semitism--a pervasive but contained prejudice of insult and exclusion that was experienced by Jews during their "readmission" to England in the mid-17th century through the late 20th century. The final chapters detail the contemporary anti-Semitism that emerged in the late 1960s and the 1970s and continues to be present today. It treats Zionism and the State of Israel as illegitimate Jewish enterprises, and, in Julius's opinion, now constitutes the greatest threat to Anglo-Jewish security and morale. A penetrating and original work, Trials of the Diaspora is sure to provoke much comment and debate.

    Also included is a special section on the deeper significance of the Dreidel.

    McGuire, creator of Rainy Day Games, presents a refreshing children's look at the story of Jonah with unforgettable watercolor characters, witty prose, and a heartwarming lesson that God has a special job for everyone.

    The Koren Talmud sets each Vilna page opposite each of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's incomparable elucidation pages, which include modern Hebrew translations, clarifying explanations, succinct commentaries, detailed indexes, and scientific and historical background. The Koren Talmud fosters deep and creative engagement with the Talmud text, by allowing users to reference the traditional page as they are guided through its layers of meaning by one the greatest Talmud scholars of all time.

    A few served together in Jewish companies while most fought alongside Christian comrades. Yet even as they stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" on the front lines, they encountered unique challenges.In Jews and the Civil War, Jonathan D. Sarna and Adam Mendelsohn assemble for the first time the foremost scholarship on Jews and the Civil War, little known even to specialists in the field. These accessible and far-ranging essays from top scholars are grouped into seven thematic sections--Jews and Slavery, Jews and Abolition, Rabbis and the March to War, Jewish Soldiers during the Civil War, The Home Front, Jews as a Class, and Aftermath--each with an introduction by the editors. Together they reappraise the impact of the war on Jews in the North and the South, offering a rich and fascinating portrait of the experience of Jewish soldiers and civilians from the home front to the battle front.

    

    Set in France & Germany from 1939 to 1941, Messiaen served in the French army, was captured at Verdun, and sent to Stalag 8A in Gorlitz, Germany, where he composed the great work, The Quartet for the End of Time. The enigmatic Messiaen, an avant-garde composer and also a devout Catholic, along with Etienne Pasquier, an agnostic cellist, Henri Akoka, a Jewish Trotskyite Clarinetist, and Jean le Boulaire, an atheistic violinist, become the famous quartet of Stalag 8A. These four very different men collaborated to create musical history in the most unlikely of places. Messiaen's Quartet, composed in a Stalag, transforms man's inhumanity to man with hope.Yet to the avant-garde, he was too traditional and too religious; to the traditionalists and religious, he was too avant-garde. As a result he will always stand somewhere outside of Time. The first performance of the Quartet for the End of Time at Stalag 8A in January 1941 has become, in the words of Paul Griffiths, "one of the great stories of twentieth-century music". - From the Publisher

    It takes the reader through a historical narrative that puts many issues into proper perspective. Israel and the Palestinian nightmare is a reliable reference book and a captivating description and review of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It offers an honest account of where Israel went wrong, covers facts relating to the origins of the nation of Israel, and the profound effect that history has had upon contemporary events. "In every generation, there are always a few who understand; Always understand... even if you remain among the few." RMK

    He provides a fresh perspective on Biblical and Rabbinic texts, offering new ways of thinking about other faiths. In the majority of volume, he develops the categories of theology of religions for Jewish texts. He arranges the texts according classification widely used in interfaith work: inclusivist, exclusivist, universalist, and pluralist.Judaism and Other Religions is essential for a Jewish theological understanding of the various issues in encounters with other religions. With passion and clarity, Brill argues that in today’s world of strong religious passions and intolerance, it is necessary to go beyond secular tolerance toward moderate and mediating religious positions.

    All defined themselves as Jews and philosophers. Their intellectual concerns and worldviews often in conflict, they nevertheless engaged in fruitful conversation: through the dialogue between Zionist activism and heterodox forms of Marxism, in the rediscovery of hidden traditions of Jewish history, at the intersection of ethics and metaphysics. They shared a common hope for a better, messianic future and a deep interest in and reliance on the cultural sources of the Jewish tradition. In this magisterial work, Pierre Bouretz explores the thought of these great Jewish philosophers, taking a long view of the tenuous survival of German-Jewish metaphysical, religious, and social thought during the crises and catastrophes of the twentieth century. With deep passion and sound scholarship, Bouretz demonstrates the universal significance of this struggle in understanding the present human condition. The substantial and established influence of the book's subjects only serves to confirm this theory. Profoundly learned and amply documented, Witnesses for the Future explains how these important philosophers came to understand the promise of a Messiah. Its significant bearing on a number of fields -- including religious studies, literary criticism, philosophy of history, political theory, and Jewish studies -- encourages scholars to rethink and reassess the intellectual developments of the past 100 years.

    The Tanakh retains those elements of the Jerusalem Bible that make it unique and offers new features to broaden its use . The English translation by Professor Harold Fisch has been reset for improved legibility and new color maps have been added.

    But before Baxter can find out how he, too, can join in the fun, the man has boarded the bus. Soon after, Baxter learns that he certainly cannot be a part of Shabbat dinner because he's not Kosher. So begins one pig's misguided quest to become Kosher. Will Baxter succeed or will his dreams of taking part in Shabbat dinner remain unfulfilled? Readers will cheer as a series of misunderstandings leads to a warm message of welcome and community.From the Hardcover edition.

    Over a period of two years, researchers Aron, Cohen, Hoffman, and Kelman interviewed 175 synagogue leaders and a selection of congregants (ranging from intensely committed to largely inactive). They found these congregations shared six traits: sacred purpose, holistic ethos, participatory culture, meaningful engagement, innovation disposition, and reflective leadership and governance. They write for synagogue leaders eager to transform their congregations, federations and foundations interested in encouraging and supporting this transformation, and researchers in congregational studies who will want to explore further. Part 1 of this book demonstrates how these characteristics are exemplified in the four central aspects of synagogue life: worship, learning, community building, and social justice. Part 2 explores questions such as: What enabled some congregations to become visionary? What hindered others from doing so? What advice might we give to congregational, federation, and foundation leaders? The picture that emerges in this book is one of congregations that were entrepreneurial, experimental, and committed to 'something better.'

    Jackson shows that the answers to these and similar questions may be found in the abundance of Restoration scripture that sheds light on the Bible, its history, and its teachings. For example, we know that all the prophets testified of Jesus Christ, but did they do so only with "types and shadows," or did they teach with "plainness," as the Book of Mormon prophets did? Brother Jackson clearly and persuasively shows how additional sources of revealed truth clarify biblical teachings and point us to Christ.

    In this book, mind and heart both emerge satisfied as each is given plenty of lucid food for thought. Chapters include: How to Achieve Emunah; How to Attain Simple Faith; and Believing in the Thirteen Principles, among others. Individual chapters are devoted to an in-depth exploration of each of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.Far more than a book - this is a life-changing experience!

    Drawing on a mass of unpublished writings and archival sources from prerevolutionary Russian conservatories, this book offers an insightful account of the Jewish search for a modern identity in Russia through music, rather than politics or religion.

    This inspiring adaptation of the Mornings Blessings reminds us to appreciate the arrival of each new day and to be grateful for all of the miracles it brings. Intended for children ages two to seven, the Modeh Ani provides families with a calming and focusing ritual to begin their day with holiness, joy, and peace.

    It traces the development of the Ethiopian Jews from their controversial origins to the beginning of the twentieth century. The author places their evolution firmly within the Ethiopian social, ethnic, religious, political and historical context, using analytical tools such as caste, class and ethnicity. Quirin shows how the Ethiopian Jews struggled to maintain their identity in the face of political, military, economic and religious external pressures from the Ethiopian state and the dominant Christian society from the fourteenth through the early seventeenth centuries. He then analyzes their loss of political independence and partial assimilation into the society and state of the Gondar dynasty during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They faced new challenges and influences from European Protestant missionaries and western Jews in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Quirin employs an exhaustive use of Ethiopian and European written sources, as well as an original and careful use of internal oral traditions obtained in interviews with scores of Beta Israel and other informants.

    Until the Second World War, this was the heartland of the Jewish world: nearly three and a half million Jews lived in Poland alone, while nearly three million more lived in the Soviet Union. Although the majority of the Jews of Europe and the United States, and many of the Jews of Israel, originate from these lands, their history there is not well known. Rather, it is the subject of mythologizing and stereotypes that fail both to bring out the specific features of the Jewish civilization which emerged there and to illustrate what was lost. Jewish life, though often poor materially, was marked by a high degree of spiritual and ideological intensity and creativity. Antony Polonsky recreates this lost world - brutally cut down by the Holocaust and less brutally but still seriously damaged by the Soviet attempt to destroy Jewish culture. Wherever possible, the unfolding of history is illustrated by contemporary Jewish writings to show how Jews felt and reacted to the complex and difficult situations in which they found themselves. This second volume covers the period from1881 to 1914. It considers the deterioration in the position of the Jews during that time and the new political and cultural movements that developed as a consequence: Zionism, socialism, autonomism, the emergence of modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Jewish urbanization, and the rise of popular Jewish culture. Galicia, Prussian Poland, the Kingdom of Poland, and the tsarist empire are all treated individually, as are the main towns of these areas. *** Winner of the 2011 Kulczycki Book Prize for Polish Studies, awarded by the American Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. *** "Polonsky's magisterial The Jews in Poland and Russia is one of those rare works that can hope to bridge the gap between specialist and "intelligent general reader." . . No one interested in Jewish, Polish, or Russian history can afford to be without these volumes . . . will long remain the standard work on this crucial Jewish community . . . The most important thing one can say about Antony Polonsky's The Jews in Poland and Russia is: get it and read it!" Theodore R. Weeks, The Polish Review. *** "This superb and very up-to-date book is very well written, carefully documented, balanced, and will be a standard reference in the field. It has a glossary and a wide-ranging bibliography, very useful maps, and statistical tables all of which make it a good starting point for any reading on East European Jewry." - Shaul Stampfer, Religious Studies Review, Vol. 38, No. 2, June 2012 *** "The Jews in Poland and Russia contains a meticulously crafted synthesis of existing historiography, and yet also goes far beyond. Antony Polonsky s particular scholarly achievement lies in the fact that he combines a masterful grasp of Jewish history with that of Eastern Europe. . . . these beautifully narrated volumes should not only be seen as a staple for university courses, but also as a must-read for anyone attempting to understand any aspect of modern Jewish history and religious tradition, wherever it may be playing out. It all originates in Eastern Europe, Antony Polonsky reminds us, and without understanding our collective past, how can we understand our present." - European Judaism, Vol. 46, No. 2, Autumn 2013