Book picks similar to
Ceremony & Celebration: Introduction to the Holidays by Jonathan Sacks
jewish
judaism
judaica
non-fiction
When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry
Gal Beckerman - 2010
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.
The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York
Claudia Roden - 1996
The 800 magnificent recipes, many never before documented, represent treasures garnered bu Roden through nearly 15 years of traveling around the world. 50 photos & illustrations
Pray Big Things: The Surprising Life God Has for You When You're Bold Enough to Ask
Julia Jeffress Sadler - 2019
Sharing her own story of God's life-changing answers to bold prayers--a miraculous journey through infertility, miscarriages, and giving birth to triplets--Julia challenges you to take God at His Word and see Him move like never before. Humorous, practical, and filled with biblical insights, this book will give you the courage to pray big things and watch expectantly for God's even bigger answers.
The Jew in the Lotus
Rodger Kamenetz - 1994
Along the way he encounters Ram Dass and Richard Gere, and dialogues with leading rabbis and Jewish thinkers, including Zalman Schacter, Yitz and Blue Greenberg, and a host of religious and disaffected Jews and Jewish Buddhists. This amazing journey through Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism leads Kamenetz to a renewed appreciation of his living Jewish roots.
In My Father's Court
Isaac Bashevis Singer - 1956
This rememberance of Singer's pious father, his rational yet adoring mother, and the never-ending parade of humanity that marched through their home is a portrait of a magnificent writer's childhood self and of the world, now gone, that formed him.
Permission To Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence
Lawrence Kelemen - 1990
Four Approaches to God's Existence
Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt
Herb Silverman - 2012
He takes the reader from his childhood as an Orthodox Jew in Philadelphia, where he stopped fasting on Yom Kippur to test God’s existence, to his adult life in the heart of the Bible Belt, where he became a legendary figure within America’s secular activist community and remains one of its most beloved leaders. Never one to shy from controversy, Silverman relates many of his high-profile battles with the Religious Right, including his decision to run for governor of South Carolina to challenge the state’s constitutional provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office. Candidate Without a Prayer offers an intimate portrait of a central player in today’s increasingly heated culture wars.
The Talmud: A Biography
Harry Freedman - 2014
It is a highly complex, profoundly logical and frequently impenetrable work with a history like no other. In its 1500 year history the Talmud has been banned, censored and burned, dissected by scholars and rabbis, probed by philosophers, poets, republicans and kings. In The Talmud – A Biography, Jewish scholar Harry Freedman recounts the engrossing story of an ancient classic, the legal and mystical pillar of Judaism and recounts the story of a book which, in many ways, parallels the history of the Jewish people. From its origins as a record of discussions amongst scholars in towns and villages close to modern-day Baghdad, Freedman traces the spiralling paths of the Jewish diaspora and explores the story of the Talmud’s early origins in Babylon, its role during the Enlightenment and its influence over traditional Judaism. A compelling fusion of law, storytelling and spirituality, the Talmud’s story is a fascinating insight into the history of Judaism and Harry Freedman’s The Talmud – A Biography is a remarkable account of one of the most important cultural, historical and religious works of our time.
The Source
James A. Michener - 1965
Through the predecessors of four modern men and women, we experience the entire colorful history of the Jews, including the life of the early Hebrews and their persecutions, the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition, all the way to the founding of present-day Israel and the Middle-East conflict."A sweeping chronology filled with excitement."THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Strong as Death is Love: The Song of Songs / Ruth / Esther / Jonah / Daniel (A Translation with Commentary)
Robert Alter - 2015
As distant in time from the Five Books of Moses as Updike is from Shakespeare, these Late Biblical books are innovative, entertaining literary works. Women often stand center stage. The Song of Songs is a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God or covenant. It offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Queen Esther’s shrewd triumph is also a secular entertainment, with clear traces of farce and sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in Daniel’s feverish night dreams. The apocalyptic strangeness of Daniel echoes in works from the New Testament’s Book of Revelations to the lyrics of Bob Dylan. And Jonah, the tale of a giant fish who, on God’s command, swallows the prophet and imprisons him in his dark wet innards for three days, ends with a question that lingers, unanswered, leaving the reader to ponder the many limitations of humankind.
Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict
John B. Judis - 2014
In Genesis, John B. Judis argues that, while Israelis and Palestinians must shoulder much of the blame, the United States has been the principal power outside the region since the end of World War II and as such must account for its repeated failed diplomacy efforts to resolve this enduring strife.The fatal flaw in American policy, Judis shows, can be traced back to the Truman years. What happened between 1945 and 1949 sealed the fate of the Middle East for the remainder of the century. As a result, understanding that period holds the key to explaining almost everything that follows—right down to George W. Bush's unsuccessful and ill-conceived effort to win peace through holding elections among the Palestinians, and Barack Obama's failed attempt to bring both parties to the negotiating table. A provocative narrative history animated by a strong analytical and moral perspective, and peopled by colorful and outsized personalities and politics, Genesis offers a fresh look at these critical postwar years, arguing that if we can understand how this stalemate originated, we will be better positioned to help end it.
A Field Guide to the Jewish People: Who They Are, Where They Come From, What to Feed Them, What They Have Against Foreskins, How Come They Carry Each Other ... Water, and Much More. Maybe Too Much More
Dave Barry - 2019
In A Field Guide to the Jewish People the authors dissect every holiday, rite of passage, and tradition, unravel a long and complicated history, and tackle the tough questions that have been plaguing the long-suffering Jewish people everywhere for centuries.So gather round your chosen ones, pop open a bottle of Manischewitz, and get ready to laugh as you finally begin to understand the inner-workings of Judaism.
God Needs To Go: Why Christian Beliefs Fail
J.D. Brucker - 2012
It brings comfort, purpose, and sense of pride. These feelings mean so much to the Christian. But are these feelings justified? Do Christians have good reason to trust the truth of their beliefs? Author J. D. Brucker brings forth a short collection of arguments against Christian beliefs, exposing the falsehoods of the faith so many all around the world cherish.
Our Hands Are Stained With Blood
Michael L. Brown - 1992
Book annotation not available for this title...Title: .Our Hands Are Stained With Blood..Author: .Brown, Michael L...Publisher: .Destiny Image Pub..Publication Date: .1992/03/01..Number of Pages: ...Binding Type: .PAPERBACK..Library of Congress: .93233069
War Room Strategies: Developing Effectual Prayers for God's Glory
Michelle Stimpson - 2016
Are your prayers being answered? Do you even know what to pray? Deep down inside, do you feel that prayer is too passive to really accomplish much? If these questions gave you pause, welcome to a new day! War Room Strategies offers a step-by-step, Bible-based approach to prayer that will revolutionize your prayer life! With the Holy Spirit as your ultimate Guide, you will learn to search the scriptures for wisdom as well as check your heart to address ungodly motives before developing a prayer that honors God and bring His Kingdom to bear on everything that deeply concerns you.