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Gates of Emunah: The Principles of Faith by Shimshon Dovid Pincus
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Modern Girls
Jennifer S. Brown - 2016
In 1935, Dottie Krasinsky is the epitome of the modern girl. A bookkeeper in Midtown Manhattan, Dottie steals kisses from her steady beau, meets her girlfriends for drinks, and eyes the latest fashions. Yet at heart, she is a dutiful daughter, living with her Yiddish-speaking parents on the Lower East Side. So when, after a single careless night, she finds herself in a family way by a charismatic but unsuitable man, she is desperate: unwed, unsure, and running out of options. After the birth of five children—and twenty years as a housewife—Dottie’s immigrant mother, Rose, is itching to return to the social activism she embraced as a young woman. With strikes and breadlines at home and National Socialism rising in Europe, there is much more important work to do than cooking and cleaning. So when she realizes that she, too, is pregnant, she struggles to reconcile her longings with her faith. As mother and daughter wrestle with unthinkable choices, they are forced to confront their beliefs, the changing world, and the fact that their lives will never again be the same….
No One Is Here Except All of Us
Ramona Ausubel - 2012
Their tribe has moved and escaped for thousands of years - across oceans, deserts, and mountains - but now, it seems, there is nowhere else to go. Danger is imminent in every direction, yet the territory of imagination and belief is limitless. At the suggestion of an eleven-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger who has washed up on the riverbank, the villagers decide to reinvent the world: deny any relationship with the known and start over from scratch. Destiny is unwritten. Time and history are forgotten. Jobs, husbands, a child, are reassigned. And for years, there is boundless hope. But the real world continues to unfold alongside the imagined one, eventually overtaking it, and soon our narrator - the girl, grown into a young mother - must flee her village, move from one world to the next, to find her husband and save her children, and propel them toward a real and hopeful future. A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, No One Is Here Except All Of Us explores how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths. It marks the arrival of a major new literary talent.
The Highlander Who Saved Me (Heart of a Highlander Collection Book 2)
Allie Palomino - 2015
Revenge is ripe on his tongue, and he means to have it. His younger sister was raped by an English bastard, and he was going to make him pay even if it meant he had to execute his vengeance on the miscreant's younger, innocent sister. An eye for an eye was the way he saw it.Madeleine Wynton lived her life simply. She had her father and three older brothers, whom she loved dearly. Her life was calm, and while it may seem boring to others, it satisfied her and gave her purpose. She aspired to enter the abbey where she would further serve others. A life of service would surely save her and her mother’s souls from purgatory, wouldn’t it? That was the plan, that is, until she was kidnapped for ransom. Luck wasn't always on her side, but fortunately for her that day, it was. A rather large, intimidating, and surly Highlander came to her rescue. He took her back to the Highlands, promising to send word to her father that she was safe and ready to return home. The more time she spent with Connor and his family, though, the more she began to question everything she always held as truth. Connor was going to make the English reprobates pay, and not even those wide innocent eyes resting above that sharp tongue of Maddie's, was going to make him abandon his intentions. He was not only sending word to Maddie’s father in the form of a ransom, but he also intended to seduce the Englishwoman into his bed. The revenge would taste sweeter if she willingly gave herself to him. Regrettably, Connor didn’t anticipate falling for Maddie’s stubbornness, wit, or charm. It was a dilemma further complicated by his need to keep her safe from one man who wanted to kidnap Maddie for ransom, and another who bought her from her father. Connor needed to keep his secret if he wanted to spend his life with Maddie. Secrets have a way of coming to light no matter how hard you try to keep them in the dark, and his will have everyone questioning the life they thought they knew. Can the love Connor and Maddie nurtured on a net of lies survive the fall when the deceit unravels, or will their love be a casualty of vengeance?The Highlander Who Saved Me is a stand-alone historical romance novel that will have you holding on through twists and turns. The Heart of a Highlander…where the only thing fiercer than a warrior’s battle cry, is the way that he loves…
God's Appointed Times: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Celebrating the Biblical Holidays
Barney Kasdan - 1993
He teaches about the major and minor holy days, ever mindful that he is writing to both Jews and Christians. Beginning with the Sabbath, the first holy day revealed in Scripture, he writes about Passover, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, Hanukkah, and Purim (the special day given in the time of Queen Esther). Each chapter offers historical background, traditional Jewish observance, relevance to the New Testament, prophetic significance, and a practical guide for believers, including recipes, songs, and crafts. There are other books on the same subject but this one goes beyond them all. It is written by a Messianic Jew, a Jew who trusts Yeshua (Jesus). Who better to explain God's Appointed Times? 145 pages.
The Wisdom of Not Knowing: Discovering a Life of Wonder by Embracing Uncertainty
Estelle Frankel - 2017
For most of us the unknown is both friend and foe. At times it can be a source of paralyzing fear and uncertainty, and at other times it can be a starting point for transformation, creativity, and growth. The unknown is a deep current that runs throughout all religions and mystical traditions, and it is also the nexus of contemporary psychotherapeutic thought and practice and a key element in all personal growth and healing. InThe Wisdom of Not Knowing, psychotherapist Estelle Frankel shows us that our psychological, emotional, and spiritual health is radically influenced by how comfortable we are at navigating the unknown and uncertain dimensions of our lives. Drawing on insights from Kabbalah, depth psychology, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and ancient myth, Frankel explores how we can grow our souls by tapping into the wisdom of not knowing. She also includes case studies of individuals who have grappled with their fears of the unknown and, as a result, have come out wiser, stronger, and more resilient. Each chapter includes experiential exercises and/or meditations for befriending the unknown. These exercises help convey how we must be willing to "not know" in order to gain knowledge and be able to bear uncertainty so we can be free to enjoy a healthy sense of adventure and curiosity."“This book inspires as it delights. Estelle Frankel’s graceful and authoritative voice--fluent and informed as it seamlessly weaves together religion, psychoanalytic theory, literature, philosophy and modern science—recasts the ‘unknown’ from, a situation of dread to an invitation to ever more liberating awareness.”—Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life“Drawing on insights from the Jewish mystical tradition, as well as Buddhism and psychoanalysis, Estelle Frankel demonstrates the surprisingly positive value of ‘not knowing.’ This book is profound and clear. It will enable you to become more intimate with your own experience, to overcome fear, and to overcome the mental and emotional challenges of daily life.”—Daniel Matt, author of The Essential Kabbalah, God and the Big Bang, and The Zohar: Pritzker Edition“This book bristles with depth and insight, practical stories, and humor as Estelle Frankel takes us on a deep and necessary journey into the via negativa, the land of unknowing. She urges us in a time of darkness and uncertainty to learn from the dark and to grow our courage and our creativity in the process.”—Rev Dr. Matthew Fox, author of A Way to God
Half the Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son
Adam Hochschild - 1986
The author lyrically evokes his privileged childhood on an Adirondack estate, a colorful uncle who was a pioneer aviator and fighter ace, and his first explorations of the larger world he encountered as he came of age in the tumultuous 1960s. But above all this is a story of a father and his only son and of the unexpected peace finally made between them.
Just Perfect
JoMarie DeGioia - 2013
William Chesterton, the Earl of Chester, might be the perfect gentleman, but his feelings for Constance Bridgewater are anything but gentlemanly.Constance Bridgewater, the daughter of the late Earl of Bridgewater, might be the perfect lady, but her feelings for the Earl of Chester are anything but ladylike.They both know that if they were together, everything would be just perfect.So what is keeping them apart?
The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved
Alan M. Dershowitz - 2005
From the division of Jerusalem and Israeli counterterrorism measures to the security fence and the Iranian nuclear threat, his analyses are clear-headed, well-argued, and sure to be controversial. According to Dershowitz, achieving a lasting peace will require more than tough-minded negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. In academia, Europe, the UN, and the Arab world, Israel-bashing and anti-Semitism have reached new heights, despite the recent Israeli-Palestinian movement toward peace. Surveying this outpouring of vilification, Dershowitz deconstructs the smear tactics used by Israel-haters and shows how this kind of anti-Israel McCarthyism is aimed at scuttling any real chance of peace.
Farewell to Salonica: City at the Crossroads
Leon Sciaky - 2003
This Paul Dry Books rediscovered classic includes many photos courtesy of Leon Sciaky's son Peter, who has also written a short biographical sketch of his father's life in America."Farewell to Salonica is a fresh and charming book that throws a kindly light on a sector of human life unknown to most Americans."—New York Times"A gallery of beautiful and quaint sketches, revealing fascinating aspects of civilization in a strange city where East met West and the ancient past met the future…It creates an atmosphere of expectation and wonder and enjoyment. Most of all, an atmosphere of living."—Christian Science Monitor"An altogether charming book, so simply and truthfully written…The Salonica one reads about is not only a fascinating and complex city in which many national and cultural strains run side by side, but it is a critical city of Aegean politics…The breakdown of the Turkish Empire and its consequences for Balkan affairs are better understood when one has read this book. But it is not the political value of the book that should be emphasized so much as its quiet charm, its unpretentious and easy portrayal of a cultural pattern through an account of an engaging family…A warm and softly luminous book."—The Nation"This is a story of one man's intensely happy boyhood, set against the politically seething years at the turn of the century in the ever-coveted prize city of the Balkans, Salonica…written in a charming and effortless manner."—Philadelphia Inquirer"For the gift of a happy youth, Mr. Sciaky has repaid his city handsomely…it recalls Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon…It is an intensely personal story, yet so completely was [the young Sciaky] of his time and place that it is also the story of Salonica in the final phase of its existence; for the city that Sciaky knew, largely dominated by its 70,000 Spanish Jews, has gone…The author has made Salonica a living town, peopled by men and women of flesh and blood, people with all the human faults and weaknesses, but also with the lovable qualities that may be found in humanity everywhere by the man with skill to pick them out"—New York Herald Tribune"A charming portrait of an era."—Honolulu Advertiser"This picture of a Jewish childhood among rich merchants in Salonica has a glow, the radiant sunshine of a protected childhood."—Chicago SunLeon Sciaky was born in 1894, when the Turkish flag still waved over Salonica. His family left their beloved but turbulent homeland in 1915, settling in New York City. Sciaky lived in America—mainly upstate New York—with his wife, Frances, and son until his death in 1958. He taught at a number of progressive schools and camps and, in his last years, owned and operated a school and camp with Frances.
Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People
Jon Entine - 2007
Now in Abraham's Children bestselling author Jon Entine vividly brings to life the profound human implications of the Age of Genetics while illuminating one of today's most controversial topics: the connection between genetics and who we are, and specifically the question "Who is a Jew?"Entine weaves a fascinating narrative, using breakthroughs in genetic genealogy to reconstruct the Jewish biblical tradition of the chosen people and the hereditary Israelite priestly caste of Cohanim. Synagogues in the mountains of India and China and Catholic churches with a Jewish identity in New Mexico and Colorado provide different patterns of connection within the tangled history of the Jewish diaspora. Legendary accounts of the Hebrew lineage of Ethiopian tribesmen, the building of Africa's Great Zimbabwe fortress, and even the so-called Lost Tribes are reexamined in light of advanced DNA technology. Entine also reveals the shared ancestry of Israelites and Christians.As people from across the world discover their Israelite roots, their riveting stories unveil exciting new approaches to defining one's identity. Not least, Entine addresses possible connections between DNA and Jewish intelligence and the controversial notion that Jews are a "race apart." Abraham's Children is a compelling reinterpretation of biblical history and a challenging and exciting illustration of the promise and power of genetic research.
If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need
Jack Jacobs - 2008
Severely wounded, 1st Lt. Jacobs took command and withdrew the unit, returning again and again to the site of the attack to rescue more men, saving the lives of a U.S. advisor and thirteen Allied soldiers. Col. Jacobs received the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor. Here, with candor, humor, and quiet modesty, Col. Jack Jacobs tells his stirring story of heroism, honor, and the personal code by which he has lived his life, and expounds with blunt honesty and insight his views on our contemporary world, and the nature and necessity of sacrifice. If Not Now, When? is a compelling account of a unique life at both war and peace, and the all-too-often unexamined role of the citizenry in the service and defense of the Republic.
Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections
Michael L. Brown - 2000
Provides detailed and satisfying answers to 19 general and 16 historical objections raised by Jews.
The Weight of Ink
Rachel Kadish - 2017
S. Byatt’s Possession and Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book.Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents newly discovered in his home during a renovation. Enlisting the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and in a race with another fast-moving team of historians, Helen embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents’ scribe, the elusive “Aleph.” Electrifying and ambitious, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Weight of Ink is a sophisticated work of historical fiction about women separated by centuries, and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order reconcile the life of the heart and mind.
Who by Fire
Diana Spechler - 2008
Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild-child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again; Alena's remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what's left of their family.Sharp and captivating, Who by Fire deftly explores what happens when people try to rescue one another.