Then she meets Roger Ashkenazi, a mathematician studying fractals and starting to question his own atheist ideas. Their insights into the world’s repeating patterns cannot prepare them for the coming disaster of their marriage—or its impact on their daughters, one an average child and the other a genuine genius. The rivalry between Judith Ashkenazi and her wildly successful sister Josie, who invents a software program to catalog every kind of memory, will fuel the page-turning plot of Dara Horn’s critically acclaimed novel A Guide for the Perplexed.String Theory takes its readers to the farthest edges of knowledge and the limits of freedom, on a journey from doubt to faith and back again. In its double helix of free will and fate, it anticipates the terrifying consequences, borne out in A Guide for the Perplexed, of asking children to fulfill their parents' dreams.

    He had entered the synagogue's genizah--its repository for damaged and destroyed Jewish texts--which held nearly 300,000 individual documents, many of which were over 1,000 years old.Considered among the most important discoveries in modern religious history, its contents contained early copies of some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, early manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, and other sacred literature. The importance of the genizah's contents rivals that of the Rosetta Stone, and by virtue of its sheer mass alone, it will continue to command our attention indefinitely.This is the first accessible, comprehensive account of this astounding discovery. It will delight you with its fascinating adventure story--why this enormous collection was amassed, how it was discovered and the many lessons to be found in its contents. And it will show you how Schechter's find, though still being "unpacked" today, forever transformed our knowledge of the Jewish past, Muslim history and much more.

    Raised by a poor immigrant family in a tiny Tel Aviv apartment, baby Itzhak was transformed by the sounds from his family’s kitchen radio—graceful classical symphonies, lively klezmer tunes, and soulful cantorial chants. The rich melodies and vibrant rhythms spoke to him like magic, filling his mind with vivid rainbows of color. After begging his parents for an instrument, Itzhak threw his heart and soul into playing the violin. Despite enormous obstacles—including a near-fatal bout of polio that left him crippled for life—Itzhak persevered, honing his extraordinary gift. When he performed on the Ed Sullivan Show sat only 13, audiences around the world were mesmerized by the warmth, joy, and passion in every note. Gorgeously illustrated with extensive back matter, this picture-book biography recounts Itzhak’s childhood journey—from a boy with a dream to an internationally acclaimed violin virtuoso.

    Annie Johnson has worked hard to raise her daughter, Andrea. She is shocked, therefore, when 22-year-old Andrea calls from Israel and announces that she has joined an extreme right-wing Orthodox Jewish group and will be seeking an arranged marriage.

     Five hundred years later, Alma Ben-Ami journeys to Madrid to fulfill her ancestor’s final wish. She has recruited an unlikely research partner: Manuel Aguilar, a young Catholic Spaniard whose beloved priest always warned him about getting too friendly with Jews. As their quest takes them from Greenwich Village to the windswept mountain fortresses of southern Spain, their friendship deepens and threatens to cross boundaries sacred to them both; and what they finally discover in the Spanish archives will force them to confront the truth about who they are and what their faiths mean to them. At times humorous, at times deeply moving, this beautifully written and meticulously researched book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Inquisition-era Spain, Sephardic Jews, or falling in love. "Engaging characters, a 500-year-old family mystery, and romance — what more could a reader want? I had a hard time putting it down!" — Maggie Anton, award-winning author of the Rashi’s Daughters trilogy “A well-researched and engaging debut — By Light of Hidden Candles is an enchanting read!” — Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of multiple-award-winner Even in Darkness

    A month later, Haim returns alone, on his first leave home. Struggling to come to terms with his experiences he wonders what happened to Dov during those fateful days.

    But help is nearby -- Prince Ivan searching the nearby tangled wood for food, finds the young women and vows to save them. And with some help from the powerful and mischievous Firebird, as well as with much true courage from within, Prince Ivan will slay a horde of demons and Kostchei himself in order to free the damsels.Jane Yolen's rich, mystical narrative is based on both the well-known Russian folktale and the famous Balanchine/Stravinsky ballet. Enhancing that theme, Vladimir Vagin has created exquisite paintings with a double focus: The folktale takes center stage, while intricate vignettes of the ballet serve as a border. The result is a seamlessly woven multilayered tapestry of story and art that will make this book a treasure for ballet lovers new and old.

    A boy who suffers anti-Semitic abuse at the hands of a classmate during his ninth and tenth grade years plots revenge against his tormentor.

    In this gorgeously illustrated book, storyteller Chris Smith shows how two brothers find peace by seeing themselves in each other.

    The controversy was never merely academic. The legal status and security of Jews—often their very lives—depended on the answer. In WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS, David Klinghoffer reveals that the Jews since ancient times accepted not only the historical existence of Jesus but the role of certain Jews in bringing about his crucifixion and death. But he also argues that they had every reason to be skeptical of claims for his divinity. For one thing, Palestine under Roman occupation had numerous charismatic would-be messiahs, so Jesus would not have been unique, nor was his following the largest of its kind. For another, the biblical prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were never fulfilled by Jesus, including an ingathering of exiles, the rise of a Davidic king who would defeat Israel’s enemies, the building of a new Temple, and recognition of God by the gentiles. Above all, the Jews understood their biblically commanded way of life, from which Jesus’s followers sought to “free” them, as precious, immutable, and eternal.Jews have long been blamed for Jesus’s death and stigmatized for rejecting him. But Jesus lived and died a relatively obscure figure at the margins of Jewish society. Indeed, it is difficult to argue that “the Jews” of his day rejected Jesus at all, since most Jews had never heard of him. The figure they really rejected, often violently, was Paul, who convinced the Jerusalem church led by Jesus’s brother to jettison the observance of Jewish law. Paul thus founded a new religion. If not for him, Christianity would likely have remained a Jewish movement, and the course of history itself would have been changed. Had the Jews accepted Jesus, Klinghoffer speculates, Christianity would not have conquered Europe, and there would be no Western civilization as we know it. WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS tells the story of this long, acrimonious, and occasionally deadly debate between Christians and Jews. It is thoroughly engaging, lucidly written, and in many ways highly original. Though written from a Jewish point of view, it is also profoundly respectful of Christian sensibilities. Coming at a time when Christians and Jews are in some ways moving closer than ever before, this thoughtful and provocative book represents a genuine effort to heal the ancient rift between these two great faith traditions.

    From contemporary master of suspense Daniel Easterman comes a heart-stopping new novel of political terror and intrigue, pitting an extraordinary individual against the darkest agents of human depravity in a battle for the very sanity of our species.A young boy is kidnapped and his captors make outrageous ransom demands.Desperate, the boy's father calls upon his estranged brother-in-law for help.Yosef Abuhatseira is the perfect man for the job: an Israeli patriot, a born hunter, a one-man army of survival skills.Yet nothing Yosef has ever experienced can prepare him for what the rescue mission reveals.The kidnapping, it seems, is only the beginning.Soon a series of killings leads Yosef to the sickening realization that someone is murdering survivors of Auschwitz.Now he must penetrate the deadly wall of secrecy that surrounds the organization responsible, before they can let loose another Final Solution on humanity.An expert blend of history, suspense, and modern-day reality, The Final Judgment is a frighteningly compelling journey into the enigmatic and twisted realm of neo-Nazism, and the battle that must be waged against hatred and intolerance before it once again threatens to consume the world.

    Covering ancient civilizations in the form of a daily newspaper written at the time, this innovative and acclaimed News series presents historical nonfiction in a unique, kid-friendly format. As accessible as your morning paper, THE EGYPTIAN NEWS gives young readers the unforgettable sense of actually being members of an ancient civilization.

    Once upon a time,"there was an old lady who swallowed a fly"...Well, the fly is back!He's bigger.He's badder.And he wants revenge!

    This warm story, illustrated by rich watercolors, comes complete with recipes for all the items that Pablo helps his parents make. Full color.

    With warmth and sensitivity, Joanna Cole and Maxie Chambliss guide young boys though the challenges and rewards potty training—from the first steps to the joy of graduating to big boy underpants! A helpful "Note to parents" is included.