Dr. Vigilante II


Alberto Hazan - 2016
    For the sex trade? Or for something worse?They soon learn that something from hell has moved into the sacred Mayan ruins at Kundal.As Robert plunges like an arrow into the heart of this darkness, he must also diagnose a mysterious coma in order to save his friend, and fight his fierce desire to return to New York and Sharon Reede, the love of his life.

The Dream Stitcher


Deborah Gaal - 2018
     Hard times are forcing Maude Fields to take in her estranged mother, Bea, whose secrets date to World War II. Bea arrives with a hand-embroidered recreation of La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde, the iconic 11th century Bayeux Tapestry. The replica contains clues to the identity of Maude’s father and the mythical Dream Stitcher, Goldye, a Jewish freedom fighter who helped launch the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. With the help of her pregnant daughter Rosie, Maude is determined to unravel decades of family deception to learn the truth about her parentage. With Poland on the brink of invasion by Nazi Germany, Goldye discovers—with the guidance of imaginary friend Queen Mathilda—that she can embroider dreams that come true. She becomes an apprentice at Kaminski Fine Fabrics, where she gains a reputation for creating wedding dresses for Aryan brides that bring their dreams to reality. She becomes known as the Dream Stitcher. Goldye meets and falls in love with Lev, a freedom fighter who wants to unite Jews and Poles to fight the Germans. Goldye sews images to help him. And she creates a powerful symbol for the resistance of the common people: a stitched hummingbird that spreads hope. Goldye leaves the ghetto to live with her sewing mentor, Jan Kaminski, who gains identity papers for Goldye as his Aryan niece. A Nazi commandant takes Jan and Goldye on a dangerous trip to France to decipher the symbols in The Bayeux Tapestry. The Nazis hope images in the Bayeux will reinforce Germany’s right to world domination. In California, Maude’s quest for the truth leads to family she didn’t know she had, and perhaps, love.

A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself


Joseph Telushkin - 2009
    All too often we leave that to Christian theologians. But in this excellent volume, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin puts the commandment to love at the center of Jewish theology and experience. This is a book that will change the way you think about–and practice–Judaism.”–Professor Ari L. Goldman, Columbia University, and author of The Search for God at Harvard“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the best-known commandment in the Bible. Yet we rarely hear anyone talk about how to apply these words in daily life. In this landmark work, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the premier scholars and thinkers of our time, gives both Jews and non-Jews an extraordinary summation of what Jewish tradition teaches about putting these words into practice.Writing with great clarity and simplicity as well as with deep wisdom, Telushkin covers topics such as love and kindness, hospitality, visiting the sick, comforting mourners, charity, relations between Jews and non-Jews, compassion for animals, tolerance, self-defense, and end-of-life issues. This second volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics written in the English language is breathtaking in its scope and will undoubtedly influence readers for generations to come. It offers hundreds of practical examples from the Torah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and both ancient and modern rabbinic commentaries–as well as contemporary anecdotes–all teaching us how to care for one another each and every day.A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself is a consummate work of scholarship. Like its acclaimed predecessor, which received the National Jewish Book Award, it is rich with ideas to contemplate and discuss, while being primarily a book to live by. Nothing could be more important in these strife-torn times than learning how to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message of this book is as vital and timely now as it has been since time immemorial.

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.

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..

Adventures of Mottel the Cantor's Son


Sholom Aleichem - 1961
    Nothing daunts him. His spirit soars above the cruelties, the world has not grown any gentler since this book was written. Sholom Aleichem's wit and humanity enrich any age and any language."--"New York Times.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut: Essays and Observations


Jill Kargman - 2011
    Hedgefund and Wolves in Chic Clothing firmly believes in Woody Allen’s magical math equation: Comedy = Tragedy + Time. Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut is a delightful collection of essays and observations based on Jill Kargman’s family, her phobias (vans, mimes, clowns), and her ability to use humor as a tool to get past life’s obstacles, making the fun times funnier and the tough times bearable. Fans of David Sedaris, Sloane Crosley, and Nora Ephron will rejoice, howl, and sympathize

One God Clapping


Alan Lew - 1999
    Rabbi Alan Lew is known as the Zen Rabbi, a leader in the Jewish meditation movement who works to bring two ancient religious traditions into our everyday lives. One God Clapping is the story of his roundabout yet continuously provoking spiritual odyssey. It is also the story of the meeting between East and West in America, and the ways in which the encounter has transformed how all of us understand God and ourselves.Winner of the PEN / Joseph E. Miles Award Like a Zen parable or a Jewish folk tale, One God Clapping unfolds as a series of stories, each containing a moment of revelation or instruction that, while often unexpected, is never simple or contrived. One God Clapping, like the life of the remarkable Alan Lew himself, is a bold experiment in the integration of Eastern and Western ways of looking at and living in the world.

Hating Women: America's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex


Shmuley Boteach - 2005
    A wake-up call about the growing trend of misogyny in our culture-as evidenced by the flood of reality TV shows, ads, and lyrics that portray women as brainless bimbos, or worseShmuley Boteach, the social commentator and outspoken relationship guru, shares his grave concerns about our society's growing contempt for women. Turn on the television: Reality TV shows such as The Bachelor, For Love or Money, and Average Joe boost their ratings by showing attractive women in competition for one man, one man's money, or both. On a "quest for true love," these women quickly devolve into a pit of vipers-and millions of Americans tune in each week for more. During commercial breaks, women are objectified to sell beer, cars, and every other product under the sun. Flip on the radio: Women are bitches, hos, and gold diggers, at least if you listen to the rap lyrics pumping out into our mass consciousness. And female pop stars like Britney and Madonna, says Boteach, have pushed the envelope past provocative and into the downright pornographic. 'Tween girls across the country follow their lead, and standards for how women should be treated plummet.Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of this trend, he says, is women's complicity in their own degradation. Either they've become resigned to base stereotypes, or worse, they've bought into these mass market values (hence the deluge of shows like The Swan and Extreme Makeover, on which female contestants insist they need a new nose, teeth, or boobs to feel a positive sense of self-esteem). "There are strong consequences," writes Boteach, "in a world where men have no respect for women and women have no respect for themselves."Greedy gold diggers, brainless bimbos, publicity prostitutes, and backstabbing bitches-are these the stereotypes we want our sons and daughters bombarded by as they grow up? Hating Women offers a vision of how we can correct this downward spiral-along with a strong argument for why we absolutely must.

The Big Book of Jewish Humor


William Novak - 2006
    "Where are you going?" says the first man."To Minsk," says the second."To Minsk, eh? What a nerve you have! I know you're telling me you're going to Minsk because you want me to think that you're really going to Pinsk. But it so happens that I know you really are going to Minsk. So why are you lying to me?"Four men are walking in the desert.The German says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have a beer."The Italian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine."The Mexican says, "I'm tired and thirsty.I must have tequila."The Jew says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes."

The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice


Rami M. Shapiro - 2006
    This inspiring, practical guidebook provides you with the tools you need to realize the divinity within yourself, recognize the divinity within others, and act on the obligation to manifest God's infinite compassion in your own life.Guided by Rabbi Rami Shapiro, you will explore Judaism's Thirteen Attributes of Lovingkindness as the framework for cultivating a life of goodness. Shapiro translates these attributes into practices--drawn from the teachings of a variety of faith traditions--that allow you to actualize God's glory through personal deeds of lovingkindness. You will enrich your own capacity for lovingkindness as you: * Harvest kindness through compassionate honesty * Make room in your heart for reality * Recognize the manifestations of God * Embrace the paradoxical truth of not-knowing * Be present in the moment * Do right by othersWith candor, with and honesty, Shapiro shows you that by choosing to act out of love rather than fear, with kindness rather than anger, you can transform how you perceive the world and ultimately lead a more complete spiritual life.

Of Metal and Earth


Jennifer M. Lane - 2018
    He loses his friends and returns home alone, surviving the town's pity by hiding in the bar. Emotionally scarred, he only finds the determination to lift himself up when he realizes what remains to be lost. He buys a little green Jeep, like the one that gave him shelter in the war, and hopes it will lead to salvation again. But the fortune it brings tarnishes, and James is left to sacrifice the thing that gave him hope for the people who need him most.Over the next thirty years, the Jeep changes hands, passing between friends, family, strangers, and lovers. A single mother who buys a car for her reckless son nearly destroys a friendship with a man who silently loved her for two decades. An insecure youth at the start of his career learns that the most important lessons are the ones you never set out to learn. A family torn apart by their differences finds that love can be the hardest road to take. And a city architect must choose between the easy way to restoration or a difficult path that could save more than a rusty old Jeep.Readers of Mitch Albom, Nicholas Sparks, Jeep owners everywhere, and viewers of This is Us will enjoy this heart-warming tale of restoration and redemption, a must read book for anyone inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit.Winner of the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Award for First Novel. Finalist in the 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards in the category of Literary / General Fiction!"I am sitting here trying to find the words to convey what an absolutely incredible novel this is...The writing was flawless...I can't think of a specific audience that would enjoy this novel, it is simply a must-read for everyone." - Dandelions Inspired

Central America


Carolyn McCarthy - 2010
    Whether one wants to explore ancient Maya ruins, zip through rainforest canopies, or search out the best surf breaks, this seventh edition is the key to adventure in Central America.

The Forest of Souls: A Walk Through the Tarot


Rachel Pollack - 2002
    Join celebrated Tarot author, artist, and scholar Rachel Pollack on a magical walk through the mysteries, archetypes, and dream-like images of the Tarot. In the tradition of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, Rachel draws upon symbols, myths, and folk tales both ancient and modern, to illuminate the spiritual truths behind the Tarot's symbols. The Forest of Souls unfolds like a dream, in a series of musings upon the confluence of the sacred and the mundane. How can a simple deck of 78 cards become keys unlocking life's greatest secrets? While the most common use of Tarot is for divination, Rachel shows how to use the cards for readings of an entirely different nature. Asking improbable, even impossible questions, she plays with the sacred possibilities and answers that the Tarot gives us. What nourishes my soul? What is soul? What is Tarot? What plan did God follow to create the universe? We now know that the Tarot was almost certainly not originally designed to include Kabbalistic and other occult correspondences. Yet such systems can greatly enhance our understanding of and relationship with the cards. Embracing paradox and non-linear thinking allows us to push the boundaries of the known and venture into the unknown. It is in that sacred space that we open ourselves to wonder and mystery.

The Origin of Sorrow


Robert Mayer - 2010
    Once notorious, this Judengasse--Jews Lane--a passionate place infused with love and hate, with frustration, ambition and desire, has been largely forgotten. Now, in this dramatic, moving and at times wildly comic novel, Robert Mayer brings to vivid life in fictional form what is essentially a true story: how a 16-year-old girl named Guttle Schnapper married a 26-year-old coin dealer named Meyer Rothschild, bore him ten living children--and how, incredibly, from this sordid ghetto, emerged the richest family in the history of the world, before or since.