It seems like something we already know. But do we? Questions haunt the careful reader. Among them: Doesn't the name Passover seem a bit strange? Why not just call it Freedom Day, or Independence Day? And did the Exodus have to be so complicated? Couldn't an All-Powerful deity have teleported the Israelites out of Egypt and spared everyone the arduous process of the Ten Plagues? Then there's the uncomfortable parts of the Exodus: Why, exactly, did God have to harden Pharaoh's heart? Was that really fair? In this book, Rabbi Fohrman invites us to look at the Exodus story with fresh eyes - to join him, as it were, on a guided adventure, a close reading of the ancient Biblical text. In so doing, Rabbi Fohrman reveals a side of the Exodus story that illuminates not just our past, but our future, and tells not only of our freedom, but of our destiny. This book will uncover secrets that lay hidden in this ancient and sacred saga; it tells the tale of the Exodus you thought you knew.

    Even people who have tried other books without success have learned to read Hebrew using this book. Here's what makes it different: * Fun memory tricks make it super simple to remember the sounds of the letters * Pace - The book is divided into 12 simple lessons. Two a week for 6 weeks. * The cheerful style of the book is great for adults and children alike. * From week one you are given words you can read from the Hebrew Bible! * The charming illustrations make learning Hebrew a pleasure. At the end of six weeks you WILL be able to read from the original Hebrew Bible, Psalms or the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) and you will have taken the first big step towards learning the Hebrew Language!

    Believing the Hebrew Bible to be the ultimate blueprint for Western morality, Rabbi Sacks embarks upon an ethical exploration of the weekly Torah portion, uncovering its message of truth and justice, dignity and compassion, forgiveness and love. "

    The Complete Jewish Study Bible pairs the updated text of the Complete Jewish Bible translation with extra study material, to help readers understand and connect with the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.The Complete Jewish Bible shows that the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is a unified Jewish book meant for everyone Jew and non-Jew alike. Translated by David H. Stern with new, updated introductions by Rabbi Barry Rubin, it has been a best-seller for over twenty years. This translation, combined with beautiful, modern design and helpful features, makes this an exquisite, one-of-a-kind Bible.Unique to The Complete Jewish Study Bible are a number of helpful articles and notes to aid the reader in understanding the Jewish context for the Scriptures, both in the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and the B rit Hadashah (the New Testament).Features include: - Twenty-five contributors (both Jewish and Christian), including John Fischer, Patrice Fischer, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Rabbi Russell Resnik, and more - Thirty-four topical articles ranging from topics such as the menorah (or candelabra of God) and repentance (t shuvah) in the Bible, to Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount and the Noachide Laws (the laws given by God to Noah and subsequent generations) and their applicability to Gentiles - In addition to these topical articles and detailed study notes, there are twelve tracks or themes running throughout the Bible with 117 articles, covering topics such as Jewish Customs, the Names of God, Shabbat, and the Torah - New Bible book introductions, written from a Jewish perspective - Bottom-of-page notes to help readers understand the deeper meanings behind the Jewish text - Sabbath and Holy Day Scripture readings - Offers the original Hebrew names for people, places, and concepts

    In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship. Pulling back the layers of a long-standing Gentile ignorance, he reveals how the church’s literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from these original Jewish authors’ intent that it is an act of heresy.Using the Gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the Bible’s literary and liturgical roots—its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition—to explain how the events of Jesus’ life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the Gospels took these stories to be factual, distorting their original meaning.In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a better blueprint for the future than where the church’s leaden and heretical reading of the story of Jesus has led us—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story in the modern world.

    Every day, parents are bombarded by demands. The pressures of work and life are relentless; our children’s needs are often impossible to meet; and we rarely, if ever, allow ourselves the time and attention necessary to satisfy our own inner longings. Parenthood is difficult, demanding, and draining. And yet, argues Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, if we can approach it from a different mindset, perhaps the work of parenting itself can offer the solace we seek.Rooted in Judaism but incorporating a wide-range of religious and literary traditions, Nurture the Wow asks, Can ancient ideas about relationships, drudgery, pain, devotion, and purpose help make the hard parts of a parent’s job easier and the magical stuff even more so? Ruttenberg shows how parenting can be considered a spiritual practice—and how seeing it that way can lead to transformation. This is a parenthood book, not a parenting book; it shows how the experiences we have as parents can change us for the better.Enlightening, uplifting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Nurture the Wow reveals how parenthood—in all its crazy-making, rage-inducing, awe and joy-filled moments—can actually be the path to living fully, authentically, and soulfully.

    The People and the Books shows how central questions and themes of our history and culture are reflected in the Jewish literary canon: the nature of God, the right way to understand the Bible, the relationship of the Jews to their Promised Land, and the challenges of living as a minority in Diaspora. Adam Kirsch explores eighteen classic texts, including the biblical books of Deuteronomy and Esther, the philosophy of Maimonides, the autobiography of the medieval businesswoman Glückel of Hameln, and the Zionist manifestoes of Theodor Herzl. From the Jews of Roman Egypt to the mystical devotees of Hasidism in Eastern Europe, The People and the Books brings the treasures of Jewish literature to life and offers new ways to think about their enduring power and influence.

    Never one to miss an opportunity for genealogical research;methodical and meticulous Molly plans a side trip to Ukraine. Intriguingly, her mother, Judith, evokes a favorite Yiddish proverb, 'Man plans and God laughs.' If Judith had her way, her daughter would still be dressing up in fairy wings and princess crowns- collecting wild flowers and connecting with her spiritual energy, but for Molly; making plans and compiling data came as second nature. She and her father had delighted in spending long, cozy, afternoons cuddled in the library studying ancient family history. David Abramovitz began recounting tales of great-grandparents trekking across Mother Russia when his daughter was still quite young. Captivated, Molly learned how her relatives boarded a ship and sailed across the ocean to reach the shores of Argentina. Now, at last, Molly's plans are coming to fruition. Her trek to her ancestral home leads her to an accidental discovery of a mythical tarot card. Will the life lessons revealed on this enchanted journey shake up her staid and uncomplicated life? Only time will tell.

    In Mamaleh Knows Best, Tablet Magazine columnist Marjorie Ingall smashes this tired trope with a hammer. Blending personal anecdotes, humor, historical texts, and scientific research, Ingall shares Jewish secrets for raising self-sufficient, ethical, and accomplished children. She offers abundant examples showing how Jewish mothers have nurtured their children’s independence, fostered discipline, urged a healthy distrust of authority, consciously cultivated geekiness and kindness, stressed education, and maintained a sense of humor. These time-tested strategies are the reason Jews have triumphed in a wide variety of settings and fields over the vast span of history. Ingall will make you think, she will make you laugh, and she will make you a better parent. You might not produce a Nobel Prize winner, but you’ll definitely get a great human being.

     This Siddur includes: • Broad selection of readings, including beloved passages from our Reform liturgical tradition and great poetic writings from throughout Jewish history • Faithful, elegant translations
 • Contemporary, gender-inclusive English • Theological and stylistic diversity • Full transliteration • Extensive commentaries, source notes and usage guides • More than 100 contemporary and traditional song texts • Innovative design in two-page spreads (additional Shabbat services in linear style also included) • Two-color design to enhance usability

    Providing an accessible guide through the journey of t'shuvah (repentance) and cheshbon hanefesh (self-reflection), it bridges the personal and the communal, as well as the ritual and the ethical dimensions of Yamim HaNoraim. From feelings of awe to moments of solace, from the solitude of contemplation to the solidarity of song and worship, Mishkan HaNefesh inspires a multifaceted experience through the High Holy Days while embracing both the rich liturgical voices of the Jewish past and the aspirations of our people today. Special Features - Fully transliterated liturgy - Expanded options for Torah readings - Study texts that provide background and context - Contemporary poetry and alternative readings - Rich commentary drawing from Jewish tradition - A range of theological possibilities - New translations that capture the beauty of the Hebrew - Original woodblock art by acclaimed artist Joel Shapiro - Includes essays by the leading Reform Movement thinkers This ebook is the Yom Kippur volume only. The Rosh HaShanah volume is also available via Kindle.

    His political voyage began in the 1920s when he joined the Industrial Workers of the World. He rode the rails as an itinerant laborer, bedding down in hobo camps and mounting soapboxes in cities across the United States. Self-educated, he translated, edited, and wrote some of the most important books and journals of twentieth-century anti-authoritarian politics, including the most widely read collection of Mikhail Bakunin's writings in English.His story, told with passion and humor by his son, conjures images of a lost New York City—the Lower East Side, the strong immigrant and working-class neighborhoods, the blurred lines dividing proletarian and intellectual culture, the union halls and social clubs, the brutal cops and bosses, and the solidarity that kept them at bay.An instant classic of radical history, this biography is written by a man now in his seventies who, as a child and young man, had a front-row seat to the world of proletarian politics and the colorful characters who brought it to life."The American left in its classical age used to celebrate an ideal, which was the worker-intellectual—someone who toils with his hands all his life and meanwhile develops his mind and deepens his knowledge and contributes mightily to progress and decency in the society around him. Sam Dolgoff was a mythic figure in a certain corner of the radical left ... and his son, Anatole, has written a wise and beautiful book about him." —Paul Berman, author of A Tale of Two Utopias and Power and the Idealists "If you want to read the god-honest and god-awful truth about being a radical in twentieth-century America, drop whatever you're doing, pick up this book, and read it. Pronto! If you're not crying within five pages, you might want to check whether you've got a heart and a pulse." —Peter Cole, author of Wobblies on the WaterfrontAnatole Dolgoff is the son of Esther and Sam Dolgoff, two of the most important anarchists in the United States in the twentieth century. He has lived in New York City his entire life and teaches geology at the Pratt Institute.

    The traditional notions of what it means to be a Jew, what Jewish organizations look like and what Jewish leadership means are no longer working, leaving many Jewish organizations in a struggle for survival. Many Jewish leaders are afraid that this will only get worse as the millennials--the "my way, right away, why pay" generation--begin to enter adulthood.But college campuses are incubators of new and vibrant expressions of Jewish life. With motivation and entrepreneurial spirit, and without the limitations of cynicism or institutional history, students are inventing and reinventing Jewish community, Jewish prayer, Jewish service and Jewish learning, and Hillel is right there with them. Each chapter of this book explores innovations developed on the University of Pennsylvania campus and shows how they can be applied to synagogues, Federations and JCCs to help them reinvent themselves so that they are better able to meet the changing needs of American Jews.This is an essential resource for lay leaders, rabbis, cantors and anyone who wants to build a brighter Jewish future for all Jews and the institutions that support them.

    Bronfman's clarion call to a generation of secular, disaffected, and unaffiliated Jews, this book addresses the most critical question confronting Judaism worldwide. Completed in December 2013, just weeks before he passed away, Why Be Jewish? expresses Edgar Bronfman's awe, respect, and deep love for his faith and heritage. Bronfman walks readers through the major tenets and ideas in Jewish life, fleshing out their meaning and offering proof texts from the Jewish tradition gleaned over his many years of study with some of the greatest teachers in the Jewish world. With honesty, poignancy, and passion, Bronfman shares in Why Be Jewish? insights gleaned from his own personal journey and makes a compelling case for the meaning and transcendence of a secular Judaism that is still steeped in deep moral values, authentic Jewish texts, and a focus on deed over creed or dogma.

    With each chapter revolving around a single theme (Narratives, Sinais, Zions, Messiahs, Laws, Mysticisms, Cultures, Movements, Genocides, Powers, Borders, and Futures) this introductory textbook interrogates and broadens readers’ understandings of Jewish communities. Written for a new mode of teaching—one that recognizes the core role that identity formation plays in our lives—this book weaves together alternative and marginalized voices to illustrate how Jews have always been in the process of reshaping their customs, practices, and beliefs. Judaisms is the first book to assess and summarize Jewish history from the time of the Hebrew Bible through today using multiple perspectives.   Ideal for classroom use, Judaismsprovides a synthetic and coherent alternative understanding of Jewish identity for students of all backgrounds;focuses on both the history of and potential futures for physical and ideological survival;includes an array of engaging images, many in color;offers extensive online resources including notes, key terms, a timeline of major texts, and chapter-by-chapter activities for teaching.

    November's beautiful and profound meditations on work and family life, and the intersections of the sacred and the secular, invite the reader--regardless of background--to imaginatively inhabit a life of religious devotion in the midst of our society's commotion.

    Is that too much to ask?Evidently so for Joel, as he tries to survive Hannukah, 1971 in the suburbs of the suburbs of Los Angeles (or, as he calls it, “The Land of Shriveled Dreams”). That’s no small task when you’re a “seriously funny-looking” twelve-year-old magician who dreams of being his own superhero: Normalman. And Joel’s a long way from that as the only Jew at Bixby School, where his attempts to make himself disappear fail spectacularly. Home is no better, with a family that’s not just mortifyingly embarrassing but flat-out broke. That’s why Joel’s betting everything on these eight nights, to see whether it’s worth believing in God or miracles or anything at all. Armed with his favorite jokes, some choice Yiddish words, and a suitcase full of magic tricks, he’s scrambling to come to terms with the world he lives in—from hospitals to Houdini to the Holocaust—before the last of the candles burns out.No wonder his head is spinning: He’s got dreidels on the brain. And little does he know that what’s actually about to happen to him and his family this Hanukkah will be worse than he’d feared . . . And better than he could have imagined.

    Assuming responsibility for the future of the Torah, the sages set about bringing it out of the Temple and into everyday life, determined to keep it alive in a world of change. In his commentary to Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg mines the book for the religious and ethical wisdom, the humility and the courage, the staunch traditionalism and the bold innovation that guided the sages through this tempestuous era. Framed by thumbnail sketches of the lives and times of the sages, the book's line-by-line commentary offers an original reading of Pirkei Avot, applying its teachings to the questions and challenges of our rapidly changing world.

    However, Jacob and Jeremiah believe they get more presents on Hanukkah. The children learn that Christmas and Hanukkah are about celebrating the gift God has given to His children. It's not about how many presents are under the tree at Christmas or the eight days of presents for Hanukkah. It's about God's provision for those He loves. God gives the gift of the Messiah to the Christians and the gift of Light to the Jews. The true gift from God is learned in this colorful holiday story! Beautifully illustrated hardcover book designed for children ages 3 - 8.

    Providing an accessible guide through the journey of t'shuvah (repentance) and cheshbon hanefesh (self-reflection), it bridges the personal and the communal, as well as the ritual and the ethical dimensions of Yamim HaNoraim. From feelings of awe to moments of solace, from the solitude of contemplation to the solidarity of song and worship, Mishkan HaNefesh inspires a multifaceted experience through the High Holy Days while embracing both the rich liturgical voices of the Jewish past and the aspirations of our people today. Special Features - Fully transliterated liturgy - Expanded options for Torah readings - Study texts that provide background and context - Contemporary poetry and alternative readings - Rich commentary drawing from Jewish tradition - A range of theological possibilities - New translations that capture the beauty of the Hebrew - Original woodblock art by acclaimed artist Joel Shapiro - Includes essays by the leading Reform Movement thinkers This ebook is the Rosh HaShanah volume only. The Yom Kippur volume is also available via Kindle.

    The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the city's incorporation into Greece in 1912 provoked a major upheaval that compelled Salonica's Jews to reimagine their community and status as citizens of a nation-state. Jewish Salonica is the first book to tell the story of this tumultuous transition through the voices and perspectives of Salonican Jews as they forged a new place for themselves in Greek society.Devin E. Naar traveled the globe, from New York to Salonica, Jerusalem, and Moscow, to excavate archives once confiscated by the Nazis. Written in Ladino, Greek, French, and Hebrew, these archives, combined with local newspapers, reveal how Salonica's Jews fashioned a new hybrid identity as Hellenic Jews during a period marked by rising nationalism and economic crisis as well as unprecedented Jewish cultural and political vibrancy. Salonica's Jews—Zionists, assimilationists, and socialists—reinvigorated their connection to the city and claimed it as their own until the Holocaust. Through the case of Salonica's Jews, Naar recovers the diverse experiences of a lost religious, linguistic, and national minority at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East.

    You are about to participate in a quest for friendship, understanding, and love, beyond language, religion, and borders..."--from Josep's forewordIt began as an extraordinary correspondence across the Mediterranean.Josep, a secular Catholic from Barcelona, wanted to learn about Daniella's life as an American-Israeli Orthodox Jew. Her enthusiastic response to his curiosity resulted in this collection of entertaining and enlightening letters.With nuance, candor, and warmth—and a liberal dash of humor—Daniella paints a vivid picture of observant Jewish life. She explains complex concepts in a manner so unassuming and accessible that even the most uninitiated can relate—but with enough depth that the knowledgeable will find new insight, too.Whether you’re a curious non-Jew or a Jew hoping to expand your knowledge, Letters to Josep will charm, inform, and inspire you.

    The volume engages the reader in a wide range of interdisciplinary methods and perspectives, such as gender and feminist criticism, social-scientific methods, post-colonial and psychoanalytical theory that emphasize the inherently intersectional dynamics of race, ethnicity, and class at work in womanist thought and analysis.

    Despite her beginnings in an orphanage and her rare position as a southern, Jewish woman pursuing a legal profession, Margolin became an important and influential Supreme Court advocate. In this comprehensive biography, Marlene Trestman reveals the forces that propelled and the obstacles that impeded Margolin's remarkable journey, illuminating the life of this trailblazing woman. Raised in the Jewish Orphans' Home in New Orleans, Margolin received an extraordinary education at the Isidore Newman Manual Training School. Both institutions stressed that good citizenship, hard work, and respect for authority could help people achieve economic security and improve their social status. Adopting these values, Margolin used her intellect and ambition, along with her femininity and considerable southern charm, to win the respect of her classmates, colleagues, bosses, and judges -- almost all of whom were men. In her career she worked with some of the most brilliant legal professionals in America.A graduate of Tulane and Yale Law Schools, Margolin launched her career in the early 1930s, when only 2 percent of America's attorneys were female, and far fewer were Jewish and from the South. According to Trestman, Margolin worked hard to be treated as one of the boys. For the sake of her career, she eschewed marriage -- but not romance -- and valued collegial relationships, never shying from a late-night brief-writing session or a poker game. But her personal relationships never eclipsed her numerous professional accomplishments, among them defending the constitutionality of the New Deal's Tennessee Valley Authority, drafting rules establishing the American military tribunals for Nazi war crimes in Nuremberg, and, on behalf of the Labor Department, shepherding through the courts the child labor, minimum wage, and overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. A founding member of that National Organization for Women, Margolin culminated her government service as a champion of the Equal Pay Act, arguing and winning the first appeals. Margolin's passion for her work and focus on meticulous preparation resulted in an outstanding record in appellate advocacy, both in number of cases and rate of success. By prevailing in 21 of her 24 Supreme Court arguments Margolin shares the elite company of only a few dozen women and men who attained such high standing as Supreme Court advocates.

    Written in a lyrical Aramaic, the Zohar, a masterpiece of Kabbalah, features mystical interpretation of the Torah, rabbinic tradition, and Jewish practice.Volume 11 comprises a collection of different genres within the Zoharic library. The fragmentary Midrash ha-Ne'lam on Song of Songs opens with its treatment of mystical kissing. Highlights of Midrash ha-Ne'lam on Ruth are the spiritual function of the Kaddish prayer, the story of the ten martyrs, and mystical eating practices. In Midrash ha-Ne'lam on Lamentations, the inhabitants of Babylon and the inhabitants of Jerusalem vie to eulogize a ruined Jerusalem. It reframes the notion of a Holy Family in Jewish terms, in implicit contrast to the Christian triad of Father, Mother, and Son.The Zohar on Song of Songs consists of dueling homilies between Rabbi Shim'on bar Yohai and the prophet Elijah, contrasting spiritual ascent with the presence of the demonic. The climax projects the eros of the Song of Songs onto the celestial letters that constitute the core of existence. Matnitin and Tosefta are dense, compact passages in which heavenly heralds chide humanity for its spiritual slumber, rousing people to learn the mysteries of holiness. Packed with neologisms and hortatory in tone, these passages are spurs to pietistic devotion and mystical insight.

    "The true artist does not create art as an end in itself. He creates art for human beings. Humanity is the goal."--Bronislaw HubermanAt fourteen, Bronislaw Huberman played the Brahms Violin Concerto in Vienna-- winning high praise from the composer himself, who was there. Instantly famous, Huberman began touring all over the world and received invitations to play for royalty across Europe. But after witnessing the tragedy of World War I, he committed his phenomenal talent and celebrity to aid humanity.After studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Huberman joined the ranks of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein in calling for peace through the Pan European Movement. But when hope for their noble vision was destroyed by the rise of Nazism, Huberman began a crusade that would become his greatest legacy--the creation, in 1936, of the Palestine Symphony, which twelve years later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.In creating this world-level orchestra, Huberman miraculously arranged for the very best Jewish musicians and their families to emigrate from Nazi-threatened territories. His tireless campaigning for the project--including a marathon fundraising concert tour across America--ultimately saved nearly a thousand Jews from the approaching Holocaust. Inviting the great Arturo Toscanini to conduct the orchestra's first concert, Huberman's clarion call of art over cruelty was heard around the world. His story contains estraordinary adventures, riches and royalty, politicians and broken promises, losses and triumphs. Against near impossible obstacles, Huberman refused to give up on his dream to create a unique and life-saving orchestra of exiles which was one of the great cultural achievements of the 20th century.Includes Photographs

    Long description: Loneliness is pervasive in our society but is rarely addressed. It comes in many forms, from the loneliness of loss to that of sickness; from single life to marriage to divorce. In fact, even the most successful among us are not immune. Even achievement can be an avenue to loneliness. Through sensitivity, compassion and insight, this book provides the stories and tools we need to begin addressing loneliness in our lives and the lives of those we love. With masterful storytelling, Rabbi Marc Katz uses the pains of our ancestors to show us the unique ways loneliness appears in our lives. Drawing on the stories of Isaac and Rachel, King Uzziah and Tamar, Jeremiah and Honi, Hagar and Aaron, Rabbi Katz helps readers understand the nuances of loneliness in their own lives. He helps them understand that although their pain may feel like an island, others have walked there before them. Thoughtful insights on loneliness also help family and friends have a better sense of how and why their friends, children, parents and co-workers suffer. Then, using the tools of the Jewish tradition, Rabbi Katz looks at concrete ways as individuals and as community members we may help those who are lonely in our midst. This book is for anyone who is or has suffered from the pain of loneliness as well as those loved ones who stand on the sideline feeling ill equipped to address the alienation they see.

    The prophets Haggai and Zechariah spoke of imminent redemption − yet most Jews remained in exile. Prophecy ceased with Malachi, and a chapter in Jewish history came to an end, paving the way for a new era with the Oral Law at its heart: the era of the rabbis. At the end of the age of the prophets, hope mixed with disappointment as the people of Israel tried to come to terms with this partial salvation, wondering what it meant for the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. Often overlooked, the books of the final prophets hold the key to understanding the monumental transition that overtook the Jewish world at the beginning of the Second Temple Era and that ushered in the postbiblical age. In Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty, Rabbi Hayyim Angel brings to life one of the least understood eras of Jewish history. In this work, Rabbi Angel takes the reader through a tumultuous world of joy mingled with insecurity in the twilight of prophecy.

    When the soul is full of pain, there is prayer. When it seems there is no one to talk to or nothing to say, there is prayer. Jewish prayer gives wings to our emotions and words to our yearnings. It has the power to uplift, articulate, and clarify. Formal prayer is crucial. In addition, praying informally, personally, and often, can be a deeply rewarding exercise in spirituality and in our relationship with Hashem. In this meaningful, touching, and deep book, Ruchi Koval has explained and added personal connection to some of the most fundamental Jewish prayers, as well as created and adapted some new ones for contemporary Jewish women - all written for all Jewish women, whether observant , just Jewish , or just beginning to daven. A brief introduction precedes each prayer explaining when it is said and it's purpose. Each prayer includes the original Hebrew text, as well as transliteration, and a translation that brings out it's essence. Following the prayer is a "takeaway" which makes the prayer personal and help internalize it's message. Tefillah is referred to as service of the heart. With this unique book, we can open our hearts to G-d, our families, and ourselves.

    Modern history teaches otherwise. Reimagining citizenship as a legal spectrum along which individuals can travel, Extraterritorial Dreams explores the history of Ottoman Jews who sought, acquired, were denied or stripped of citizenship in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—as the Ottoman Empire retracted and new states were born—in order to ask larger questions about the nature of citizenship itself. Sarah Abrevaya Stein traces the experiences of Mediterranean Jewish women, men, and families who lived through a tumultuous series of wars, border changes, genocides, and mass migrations, all in the shadow of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the ascendance of the modern passport regime. Moving across vast stretches of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, she tells the intimate stories of people struggling to find a legal place in a world ever more divided by political boundaries and competing nationalist sentiments. From a poor youth who reached France as a stowaway only to be hunted by the Parisian police as a spy to a wealthy Baghdadi-born man in Shanghai who willed his fortune to his Eurasian Buddhist wife, Stein tells stories that illuminate the intertwined nature of minority histories and global politics through the turbulence of the modern era.

    And yet there are many points of contact, and much common ground. This short book is designed to help both Christians and whole churches understand more about the variety of Jewish people we might work with, meet or know, and to reach out to them with the good news of the gospel. Written at a level that everyone can understand, this book emphasizes the importance of forming loving, honest and open relationships as part of the way we engage with our Jewish friends.

    Through personal narrative and letters preserved for decades, Béla’s Letters tells the remarkable story of a large Eastern European family torn apart by war and the Holocaust, the extraordinary circumstances that each family member endures, and the survivors’ struggle to come to terms with the feelings of guilt, hatred, fear, and abandonment that haunt them.

    Written in a lyrical Aramaic, the Zohar, a masterpiece of Kabbalah, features mystical interpretation of the Torah, from Genesis to Deuteronomy.The tenth volume of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition presents Midrash ha-Ne'lam on the Torah, the earliest texts of the Zoharic corpus and first fruits of the Zoharic world. In contrast to the main body of the Zohar, Midrash ha-Ne'lam is composed in both Aramaic and Hebrew; its style combines philosophical allegory and kabbalistic midrash.Particularly noteworthy is the extended allegorical interpretation of the patriarchal narratives. They are read as an account of the descent of the soul, its adventures on earth, and its wandering journey after death, finally culminating in its reunion with the perfected body following resurrection. Quintessential Zoharic motifs such as "walking on the way" and the "nocturnal delight in the Garden of Eden" make their first appearances here. The volume also includes many short narratives featuring the "Masters of Mishnah," a group of sages possessing esoteric knowledge of the soul and the cosmos, the forerunner of the Zoharic fellowship.

    But its current state, like that of many other formerly glorious regions, is nothing like its earlier status. Forgotten about and exhausted, much of its structural environment has been left to decay. The Borscht Belt, which features essays by Stefan Kanfer and Jenna Weissman Joselit, presents Marisa Scheinfeld's photographs of abandoned sites where resorts, hotels, and bungalow colonies once boomed in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York.The book assembles images Scheinfeld has shot inside and outside locations that once buzzed with life as year-round havens for generations of people. Some of the structures have been lying abandoned for periods ranging from four to twenty years, depending on the specific hotel or bungalow colony and the conditions under which it closed. Other sites have since been demolished or repurposed, making this book an even more significant documentation of a pivotal era in American Jewish history.The Borscht Belt presents a contemporary view of more than forty hotel and bungalow sites. From entire expanses of abandoned properties to small lots containing drained swimming pools, the remains of the Borscht Belt era now lie forgotten, overgrown, and vacant. In the absence of human activity, nature has reclaimed the sites, having encroached upon or completely overtaken them. Many of the interiors have been vandalized or marked by paintball players and graffiti artists. Each ruin lies radically altered by the elements and effects of time. Scheinfeld s images record all of these developments."

    Some view the Temple as a building that was destroyed in the first century but will be built again to fulfill the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Others think the Temple is irrelevant because Yeshua’s (Jesus) sacrifice replaced it. Some are waiting for a new Temple to appear out of the heavens while others are taking steps to build it here on earth. Some see the Temple in abstract and spiritual terms while others see only a physical building that was destroyed. Dr. Dinah Dye explores the ancient understanding of the temple from the birth of time. She takes the reader back to the "beginning" and shows its enduring relevance for today’s family.

    By most measures, it is even longer than the large-scale settlement of Jews in the land of Israel which was interrupted several times in Jewish history. Legends ascribe the arrival of the earliest settlers to the days of the biblical prophet Obadiah, but archeologically speaking, the first record of Jews is much later. This book includes an overview of Jewish life in the Iberian Peninsula from its early days through the Expulsion. It includes a special focus on the rise of the Conversos, Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity.

    Perfect for anyone, regardless of age or experience, this comprehensive book presents thirteen soul traits--ranging from humility and gratitude to trust and honor--and the simple daily actions you can take to develop them.Drawing on universal principles and providing grounded instruction, The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions helps you explore soul traits through daily techniques and exercises, including mantras, mindful observation, and journaling. Nurture your spirit with inspiring stories and build a soul trait profile to better understand yourself. By dedicating two weeks of practice to each trait, you'll see major changes in how you approach the world and feel empowered to be your best self.Praise: The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions opens wide the doors to a traditional Jewish spiritual practice that has the power to transform your life.--Alan Morinis, Dean, The Mussar Institute and author of Everyday HolinessWeaving ancient wisdom with twenty-first-century circumstances, Greg Marcus beautifully presents how the teachings of Mussar can bring you a deeper sense of purpose and a better life.--Tiffany Shlain, Emmy-nominated filmmaker and creator of The Making of a Mensch

    

    No longer are women rabbis a unique phenomenon, rather they are part of the fabric of Jewish life. In this anthology, rabbis and scholars from across the Jewish world reflect back on the historic significance of women in the rabbinate and explore issues related to both the professional and personal lives of women rabbis. This collection examines the ways in which the reality of women in the rabbinate has impacted on all aspects of Jewish life, including congregational culture, liturgical development, life cycle ritual, the Jewish healing movement, spirituality, theology, and more"--

    Many texts in this volume are drawn from episodes of conflict that helped form Modern Orthodox Judaism. These include the traditionalists’ response to the early expressions of Reform Judaism, as well as incidents that helped define the widening differences between Orthodox and Conservative Judaism in the early twentieth century. Other texts explore the internal struggles to maintain order and balance once Orthodox Judaism had separated itself from other religious movements.   Zev Eleff combines published documents with seldom-seen archival sources in tracing Modern Orthodoxy as it developed into a structured movement, established its own institutions, and encountered critical events and issues—some that helped shape the movement and others that caused tension within it. A general introduction explains the rise of the movement and puts the texts in historical context. Brief introductions to each section guide readers through the documents of this new, dynamic Jewish expression.

     The mysterious group of people called the 'Erev Rav' have stayed hidden in the shadows of Jewish history for more than three millenia. For the first time, this book pieces together some of the deepest Jewish sources and commentaries to paint a picture of the Erev that's complex, engaging and occasionally disturbing. In these pages, you'll find the answer to questions like: > Who are the Erev Rav? > How are they really connected to the Jewish people? > Why have they got such a bad name? > How do they behave? > Why are they still a problem for the Jewish people, even in our modern times? > How are they connected to global redemption, and the coming of Moshiach? > What can we do, to meet the challenge they pose to us and our communities? This book is like reading a mystery thriller about the Jewish people, just so much better.

    In an orderly manner the Ramchal discusses the precise system through which HaShem directs every aspect of existence - addressing the oneness of HaShem, HaShem s concealment, the body-soul relationship, the way HaShem directs the world of good and evil, prophecy, the world s ultimate perfection, and much more. With a superlative new translation, complete with extensive commentary and convenient summary sections, this beautiful, bi-lingual edition is a must-read sefer for those who wish to fortify their emunah and successfully face the challenging times in which we live.

    Long description: Many of our human existential struggles stem from the sense of disconnection, alienation and loneliness that comes from a fragmented view of reality. The typical concept of "self" creates a profound sense of isolation from other beings, leaving us feeling lost and hopeless. But the practice of mindfulness, combined with the teachings of Torah, offer a direct path to liberate ourselves from alienation, awaken to the truth of the present moment and create a new relationship with God. Drawing on the insight and audacity of Jewish mystics, and rooted in a rich understanding of Torah, Rabbi Jeff Roth helps readers overcome this sense of separation and reconnect with a more harmonious flow of life. He equips spiritual seekers of all faiths--or none--with powerful techniques rooted in Jewish mystical practices: using the raw material of sacred texts as building blocks for the construction of new worlds, and experiencing the present through mindfulness meditation and loving attention to each moment. By letting go of our old notions of reality, we can recognize the undivided nature of the world and enter into a transformative divine awareness.

    We've looked at each service, thinking through how it was put together, how the tradition around it developed, what customs were dropped that can be reincorporated, and what contemporary ideas can respond to the text. Siddur Lev Shalem is designed for use by individuals as well as for congregations, in the home and in the synagogue. In the tradition of Mahzor Lev Shalem, the siddur includes an extraordinary array of sources and commentary -- historical, halakhic, and spiritual. While the siddur includes all the traditional prayers, psalms, and songs that are familiar from previous Conservative siddurim, it serves also as an anthology, offering a wide array of readings that can be used to celebrate Shabbat as well as material for study about Shabbat: poems both ancient and modern, Hasidic wisdom, rabbinic midrashim, and commentary on the history and diversity of the liturgy. Today, as in the medieval synagogue, each community and individual can choose from the variety of texts offered, adding our own voices to the harmonious and lavishly textured "Song of Shabbat."

    In the very moment of revolution, these sentiments were put to the test as antisemitic pogroms swept the former Pale of Settlement. The pogroms posed fundamental questions of the Bolshevik project, revealing the depth of antisemitism within sections of the working class, peasantry and Red Army. Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution offers the first book-length analysis of the Bolshevik response to antisemitism. Contrary to existing understandings, it reveals this campaign to have been led not by the Party leadership, as is often assumed, but by a loosely connected group of radicals who mobilized around a Jewish political subjectivity. By examining pogroms committed by the Red Army, Brendan McGeever also uncovers the explosive overlap between revolutionary politics and antisemitism, and the capacity for class to become racialized in a moment of crisis.

    It is the only comprehensive and authoritative history of the Alter Rebbe in English. Explanatory footnotes, references, a glossary, chronology, maps and more are added to enrich the reader’s experience of the first Lubavitcher Rebbe. From the Rebbe's birth, to his bar mitzvah and marriage, through his arrest, liberation, and finally his histalkus the reader will gain an invaluable view into the fascinating life of the founder of Chabad Chassidus. This book will serve as an invaluable reference as well as an entertaining biography for anyone who has a connection to Lubavitch Chabad, whether expert or novice.

    Jewish organizational life is inundated with publications on organizational change and effective leadership, but from mutually exclusive sources: business and organizational studies, on the one hand; and Jewish studies, on the other. One addresses leadership but not the religious soul. The other speaks from its Jewish soul but is only secondarily engaged in the study of leadership. More Than Managing thoughtfully combines both to be immediately applicable to Jewish organizational life.Inspired by thirty years of pioneering work by retail giant Leslie Wexner's philanthropic focus on Jewish leadership, More Than Managing brings together diverse and remarkable thinkers to address challenges facing communal life and the skills and strategies demanded by them. Contributors include professors at Harvard University's Center for Public Leadership and the Harvard Business School who have worked over the past three decades with Israel's rising leadership in the public sector. These internationally known voices are matched by alumni and faculty of The Wexner Foundation's professional and volunteer programs, who lead and advise Jewish communities throughout North America and Israel. The book features diverse strategies for twenty-first-century leadership, critical lessons for organizational and communal success, and the questions vital to our changing and challenging times.Questions include how leaders may overcome the mediocrity of bureaucratic organizations; how organizations can harness volunteer leadership for transformative change; and how professionals can sustain core values in the midst of daily routine. Its diverse array of writers with international reputations in their fields makes it the only book of its kind.Potential readers include leaders of any religious not-for-profits--not just Jewish. The almost 50 contributors, including Leslie Wexner, combine secular insights on leadership with innovative insights drawn from Judaism's spiritual heritage.

    Exploring the Modern Atheistic movement in its failed attempts to confront the baffling scientific mysteries of the Origin of Life and Human Consciousness, Man's Search for Meaning, and the relentless human drive to seek coherent abstract Moral Principles; Rabbi Averick demonstrates conclusively that nearly everything that modern atheist thinkers have to say about God is simply nonsense. A powerful and compelling presentation that reclaims the intellectual high ground for the rational believer in God in the 21st Century. Using razor-sharp logic, a rapier wit, and irony-laced humor, Rabbi Averick exposes the gaping flaws in atheistic ideology in general, and in the modern "militant atheism" of writers like Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris, in particular.

    In this series, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s well-organized, clear, and concise writing style brings the halakha, from principle to practical detail, to readers of all backgrounds. With over 500,000 copies in circulation, Peninei Halakha stands as one of the most popular and useful halakha series in Israel today.

    A Future Without Hate or Need brings to life the rich and multi-layered lives of a dissident political community, their shared experiences and community-building cultural projects, as they attempted to weave together their ethnic particularity – their identity as Jews – with their internationalist class politics.

    As such, the book offers a corrective view in the form of social history, one that commands attention and demands respect for the vitality and activism of the generation of Polish Jews so brutally annihilated by the barbarism of the Nazis.In Warsaw, a city with over 300,000 Jews (one third of the population), Bernstein was the Jewish Labor Bund’s “enforcer,” organizer, and head of their militia—the one who carried out daily, on-the-street organization of unions; the fighting off of Communists, Polish anti-Semitic hooligans, and antagonistic police; marshaling and protecting demonstrations; and even settling family disputes, some of them arising from the new secular, socialist culture being fostered by the Bund.Goldstein’s is a portrait of tough Jews willing to do battle—worldly, modern individuals dedicated to their folk culture and the survival of their people. It delivers an unparalleled street-level view of vibrant Jewish life in Poland between the wars: of Jewish masses entering modern life, of Jewish workers fighting for their rights, of optimism, of greater assertiveness and self-confidence, of armed combat, and even of scenes depicting the seamy, semi-criminal elements. It provides a representation of life in Poland before the great catastrophe of World War II, a life of flowering literary activity, secular political journalism, successful political struggle, immersion in modern politics, fights for worker rights and benefits, a strong social-democratic labor movement, creation of a secular school system in Yiddish, and a youth movement that later provided the heroic fighters for the courageous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

    One of Mendelssohn's main concerns was how to conceive of the relationship between Judaism, philosophy, and the civic life of a modern state. Elias Sacks explores Mendelssohn's landmark account of Jewish practice—Judaism's "living script," to use his famous phrase—to present a broader reading of Mendelssohn's writings and extend inquiry into conversations about modernity and religion. By studying Mendelssohn's thought in these dimensions, Sacks suggests that he shows a deep concern with history. Sacks affords a view of a foundational moment in Jewish modernity and forwards new ways of thinking about ritual practice, the development of traditions, and the role of religion in society.

    In his acclaimed trilogy, author Stephen Birmingham paints an engrossing portrait of Jewish American life from the colonial era through the twentieth century with fascinating narrative and meticulous research.   The collection’s best-known book, “Our Crowd” follows nineteenth-century German immigrants with recognizable names like Loeb, Sachs, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. Turning small family businesses into institutions of finance, banking, and philanthropy, they elevated themselves from Lower East Side tenements to Park Avenue mansions. Barred from New York’s gentile elite because of their religion and humble backgrounds, they created their own exclusive group, as affluent and selective as the one that had refused them entry.  The Grandees travels farther back in history to 1654, when twenty-three Sephardic Jews arrived in New York. Members of this small and insulated group—considered the first Jewish community in America—soon established themselves as wealthy businessmen and financiers. With descendants including poet Emma Lazarus, Barnard College founder Annie Nathan Meyer, and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, these families were—and still are—hugely influential in the nation’s culture, politics, and economics.   In “The Rest of Us,” Birmingham documents the third major wave of Jewish immigration: Eastern Europeans who swept through Ellis Island between 1880 and 1924. These refugees from czarist Russia and Polish shtetls were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the “old country” to be accepted by the well-established German American Jews. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined. Their incredible rags to riches stories include those of the lives of Hollywood tycoon Samuel Goldwyn, Broadway composer Irving Berlin, makeup mogul Helena Rubenstein, and mobster Meyer Lansky.   This unforgettable collection comprises a comprehensive account of the Jewish American upper class, their opulent world, and their lasting mark on American society.

    But apocalyptic has meant different things to different scholars. Even the assertion of an apocalyptic Paul has been contested: does it mean the invasive power of God that breaks with the present age (Ernst Ksemann), or the broader scope of revealed heavenly mysteries, including the working out of a many-staged plan of salvation (N. T. Wright), or something else altogether? Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination brings together eminent Pauline scholars from diverse perspectives, along with experts of Second Temple Judaism, Hellenistic philosophy, patristics, and modern theology, to explore the contours of the current debate. Contributors discuss the history of what apocalypticism, and an apocalyptic Paul, have meant at different times and for different interpreters; examine different aspects of Pauls thought and practice to test the usefulness of the category; and show how different implicit understandings of apocalypticism shape different contemporary presentations of Paul's significance.

    Drawing on archival sources, including a collection of over five hundred oral histories, the book explores how Jewish Oregonians both contributed to and were shaped by the “Oregon Story,” a political shift that fueled Oregon’s—and particularly Portland’s—emerging reputation for progressivism and sustainability. Six chapters examine a community grappling with, and increasingly embracing, change—from the dramatic national shifts in women’s roles and inter-group relations to local issues such as the razing of the historic South Portland Jewish neighborhood. An original community musical, Whatever Happened to Old South Portland?, frames the creation of a new Portland Jewish identity, emerging out of the ashes of South Portland and tapping ethnic expression as an antidote to suburbanization and assimilation. A peek behind the scenes exposes the crucial role of women’s voluntarism and traces the impact of women entering the workforce and winning acceptance as equals in organizational and ritual life. Chapters on involvement in liberal politics and advocacy for Israel explore communal engagement that reflected national trends, but, beginning in the 1980s, were increasingly shaped by emerging local progressivism. A final chapter charts recent shifts in Oregon Jewish geography, demographics, and organizational life, exploring the rebirth of smaller communities and the embrace of post-denominational Jewry, spirituality, and an ethos of environmentalism and inclusion.The Jewish Oregon Story will be of great interest to the Jewish community in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and will appeal broadly to all readers of American, Western, and Oregon history, particularly those interested in questions of ethnicity and identity.Published in Cooperation with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

    Following on from his 2006 work, Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus, Gmirkin takes up his theory that the Pentateuch was written around 270 BCE using Greek sources found at the Great Library of Alexandria, and applies this to an examination of the biblical law codes. A striking number of legal parallels are found between the Pentateuch and Athenian laws, and specifically with those found in Plato's Laws of ca. 350 BCE. Constitutional features in biblical law, Athenian law, and Plato's Laws also contain close correspondences. Several genres of biblical law, including the Decalogue, are shown to have striking parallels with Greek legal collections, and the synthesis of narrative and legal content is shown to be compatible with Greek literature.All this evidence points to direct influence from Greek writings, especially Plato's Laws, on the biblical legal tradition. Finally, it is argued that the creation of the Hebrew Bible took place according to the program found in Plato's Laws for creating a legally authorized national ethical literature, reinforcing the importance of this specific Greek text to the authors of the Torah and Hebrew Bible in the early Hellenistic Era. This study offers a fascinating analysis of the background to the Pentateuch, and will be of interest not only to biblical scholars, but also to students of Plato, ancient law, and Hellenistic literary traditions.

    This work of midrash, interpretive stories, opens with: Before God began to create anything, before there was heaven or earth, night or day, good or bad, in or out, up or down, God said, ""I must create Myself."" and heads toward its conclusion with: It was late afternoon. Tirzah, the designated messiah for our planet, was sitting in her study, up in sixth heaven. These are two of the ways in which this book is different. Liturgist and midrash writer Andrew Ramer not only reinvents Jewish history. He also reinvents his own family, the Talmud, and the Hebrew Bible, adding excerpts from texts by some of our ancient women sages, inviting you to ask yourself, ""What does it mean to be a Jew in the twenty-first century? What grounds me and guides me in our tradition? And what gives me hope and dreams in a troubled world of trembling possibilities?"" ""Andrew Ramer has opened doors of the heart to words and worlds of Torah that have been waiting for our discovery and exploration. This masterful work invites each of us to discover, dream, dance, and sing new Torah, new truth, revealing new sources of strength for living in our magnificent, complex, challenging, heartbreaking, beautiful world."" --Sue Levi Elwell, Rabbi, Scholar in Residence, Washington Hebrew Congregation ""Part memoir, part deep dive into text, and part wild invention, Andrew Ramer's stories captivate, instruct, and always, always delight."" --David Wolpe, Rabbi; Author of David: The Divided Heart ""Andrew Ramer has produced a lucid, beautifully crafted work of extraordinary imagination and learning. Reading in-between the lines of biblical and post-biblical texts, he opens these up in ways whimsical and earnest, and consistently compelling."" --Steven J. Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University ""In this book biblical figures find themselves clothed in new daring stories. And figures who should have been there to begin with now leap forth to greet and invite us into their life; thanks to them and to Andrew, we find ourselves traversing new worlds. These are journeys not to be missed."" --Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Rabbi, The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History, Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion Andrew Ramer is the author of Queering the Text: Biblical, Medieval, and Modern Jewish Stories, and a co-author of the international best seller Ask Your Angels. The world's first ordained interfaith maggid (sacred storyteller), he teaches in the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco.

    The rabbinate's monopoly on opinions and interpretations prevents rabbis from expressing their individual positions out of fear of delegitimization. The current structure gives the public a negative impression of the rabbinic establishment. The Importance of the Community Rabbi strives to describe and delineate key requirements for a good rabbi, i.e., one who can provide socially acceptable halachic solutions within the parameters of Orthodox thinking. Rabbi Sperber elucidates the halachic techniques and mechanisms that may be used toward this goal. These are further illustrated with stories from rabbinic literature and examples from various responsa.