Permission To Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence


Lawrence Kelemen - 1990
    Four Approaches to God's Existence

Open Doors


Gloria Goldreich - 2008
    After a lifetime spent utterly devoted to her soul mate and their marriage, Elaine is now tetherless, faced with widowhood and all the decisions that come with it, not least of which is what to do with her rambling, now-empty family home. Anxious to console their mother in her time of grief, Elaine's four grown children urge her to put everything on hold and spend some healing time with them. But visiting each unique and complicated child opens Elaine's eyes to the fact that the children she raised have become adults she hardly knows: Sarah, who abandoned Western life for an orthodox enclave in Jerusalem; Lisa, Sarah's accomplished twin and polar opposite, who will do anything for a child of her own; Peter, trapped in a hollow marriage in California; and Denis, the youngest, who just wants Elaine to accept his gay lifestyle.As Elaine tries to bridge the physical and emotional miles, her eyes are opened to the startling truths of her own family, and what she must do to come to terms with her kids' lives—and a future that's completely, wonderfully…hers.

My 15 Grandmothers


Genie Milgrom - 2012
    Having been brought up in a Roman Catholic family in Havana, Cuba and descending from Spanish ancestry did not ensure that her life would be lived within that realm. In response to strong feelings and an affinity towards Judaism, her search for her family's past, took on a deeper significance as she researched her maternal lineage and not only discovered but documented and verified her Pre-Inquisition Spanish Roots to Fifteenth Century Spain and Portugal where they lived first as Jews, then as Crypto Jews and finally as Roman Catholics. She was able to unravel the web of lies and deceit that her family had spun around themselves in order to survive the Spanish Inquisition .They lived with one foot in each world as they converted to Catholicism openly while secretly practicing their own religion underground. Genie was fortunate enough to grab the brass ring that was thrown in the air over 500 years ago.

To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service


Hayim Halevy Donin - 1991
    Unexcelled for beginners as well as the religiously observant, To Pray as a Jew is intended to show the way, to enlighten, and hopefully to inspire.

Living Inspired


Akiva Tatz - 1993
    Living Inspired Akiva Tatz Ever wondered why there is no parking on Golders Green Road on Wednesday nights? Because Wednesday night is Coffee Lounge and Deluxe Desserts with..

Life Is a Test: How to Meet Life's Challenges Successfully


Esther Jungreis - 2006
    Whether counseling a searching soul or addressing a packed house in Madison Square Garden, her message is elegantly universal. In Life Is A Test, the Rebbitzen's insights on faith, her soul-stirring wisdom, and her palpable love of all people saturate every page. Life Is A Test is really three books in one, each bearing a particular focus to help readers look for the message embedded in any difficulty. The book begins with tests of self-discovery and then examines the challenging realm of interpersonal relationships, concluding with a section on perceiving the Divine Design in the big picture of global events, as well as in one's own world. Regardless of age or experience, people of all persuasions will find meaningful substance in Life Is A Test. Rebbitzen Jungreis has captured so many of our deep-seated questions, and has graciously provided us with a decipherable answer key.

My Rebbe


Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz - 2014
    During his forty years of leadership, Rabbi Schneerson transformed Chabad into a global movement marked by extensive outreach activities and a closeknit network of emissaries stationed around the world. His passionate devotion to education, social change, and acts of charity and kindness inspired countless people to embrace spirituality in their daily lives.In My Rebbe, celebrated author and thinker Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz shares his firsthand account of this extraordinary individual who shaped the landscape of twentieth-century religious life. Written with the admiration of a close disciple and the nuanced perceptiveness of a scholar, this biography-memoir inspires us to think about our own missions and aspirations for a better world.

If you were God / Immortality and the soul / A world of love


Aryeh Kaplan - 1983
    Three of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's notable essays: If You Were G-d, Immortality and the Soul, and A World of Love.

The Koren Sacks Siddur: Hebrew/English Prayerbook for Shabbat & Holidays with Translation and Commentary


Jonathan Sacks - 2009
    The Siddur marks the culmination of years of rabbinic scholarship, exemplifies Koren's tradition of textual accuracy and intuitive graphic design, and offers an illuminating translation, introduction and commentary by one of the world's leading Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Halakhic guides to daily, Shabbat, and holiday prayers supplement the traditional text. Prayers for the State of Israel, its soldiers, and national holidays, for the American government, upon the birth of a daughter and more reinforce the Siddur's contemporary relevance. A special Canadian Edition is the first to include prayers for the Canadian government within the body of the text.

If You Awaken Love


Emuna Elon - 2007
    Set in Israel between the Six Day War and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, 'If You Awaken Love' is an intensely moving story of a stormy and spiritual young girl and her love-hate relationships with her childhood sweetheart, with her father, and with God.

The Other Hand


Andrew Kane - 2019
    As a prominent rabbi in the Orthodox Jewish enclave of Lawrence, NY, he and his wife had raised three wonderful children, and his congregation was thriving. If anything, his 30 years of success had found him growing a little restless. That, of course, was before. Before his son came out as gay. Before he and the community learned his daughter was dating a man named Raj, who was rumored to be a Muslim. Before his good friend and strongest ally, real estate mogul Benjamin Marcus, was indicted for fraud. Before his position was on the line. His family now in crisis, his congregation in revolt, Jonathan is forced to square his suddenly chaotic reality with the traditions and beliefs he has practiced and preached his entire life. Facing daunting questions about the true meanings of once-simpler notions—love, family, and faith—he must embark on a path he could never have imagined to encounter a man he might never have known. From Andrew Kane, author of Joshua: A Brooklyn Tale, Rabbi, Rabbi, and The Night, the Day, this latest offering is an emotionally stirring novel that takes the reader on a journey of devotion, discord, despair and discovery.

The Tears of Monterini


Amanda Weinberg - 2020
    1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life, Etruscan tales and the growth of Benito Mussolini. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives amidst and perhaps because of the fear and uncertainty. When Angelo discovers their liaison he suggests they marry but life is complicated and tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship. When war is declared on the day of Bella's wedding to Michele a fellow Jew, the peaceful village they live in is torn apart, and the Levis find themselves displaced and fighting for their lives. Will life ever be the same again?The Tears of Monterini is a story of love and betrayal, loyalty and friendship. Inspired by true events in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, this beautifully written debut will appeal to readers interested in history, Italy, romance, family dynamics and conflict.

One People, Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them


Ammiel Hirsch - 2002
    What resulted is this book: an honest, intelligent, no-holds-barred discussion of virtually every “hot button” issue on which Reform and Orthodox Jews differ, among them the existence of a Supreme Being, the origins and authenticity of the Bible and the Oral Law, the role of women, assimilation, the value of secular culture, and Israel.Sometimes they agree; more often than not they disagree—and quite sharply, too. But the important thing is that, as they keep talking to each other, they discover that they actually like each other, and, above all, they respect each other. Their journey from mutual suspicion to mutual regard is an extraordinary one; from it, both Jews and non-Jews of all backgrounds can learn a great deal about the practice of Judaism today and about the continuity of the Jewish people into the future.From the Hardcover edition.

The Kalinka Affair: A Father's Hunt for His Daughter's Killer


Joshua Hammer - 2012
    Suspicions of murder began to surround her stepfather, a German doctor named Dieter Krombach, but Bamberski could only hope the truth would prevail. But when the authorities gave up their pursuit, he knew he had to act. So against the odds, Bamberski embarked on an obsessive quest to capture and punish his daughter’s killer. In this riveting true story by Joshua Hammer, a father travels to the limits of law in search of justice.

Did Jew Know?: A Handy Primer on the Customs, Culture, and Practice of the Chosen People


Emily Stone - 2013
    Jews, lapsed Jews, and their spouses and friends will surely learn a thing or ten while devouring this addictively readable mix of practical information, fun facts and figures, and amusing trivia. Including information on key figures from Saul to Seinfeld, a lesson in proper Jew-fro care, and a basic guide to all those second-tier holidays no one ever celebrates, this engaging compendium is perfect for gifting or for simply learning more while being thoroughly entertained.