Judaism Books

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Book SynopsisAn accessible and engaging treatment of the experience of Jewish summer camps. This book tells the story of how Jewish camps have emerged as creators of positive spiritual experiences for Jewish youth in North America. When Jewish camps began at the dawn of the twentieth century, their leaders had little interest in creating Jewish spiritual experiences for their campers. Yet over the course of the past century, Jewish camps have gradually moved into providing primal Jewish experiences that diverse campers can enjoy, parents appreciate, and alumni fondly recall. Making Shabbat Real explores how Shabbat at camp became the focal point for these primal Jewish experiences, providing an interesting perspective on changing approaches to Jewish education and identity in North America. Trade Review“Making Shabbat: Celebrating and Learning at American Jewish Summer Camps, Reimer’s account of Shabbat at three highly regarded non-Orthodox Jewish summer camps, is another example of slow and deliberate Jewish educational research and the insights it can yield. . . . In drawing attention to how Shabbat is made at camp, Reimer uncovers how seemingly banal actions can set a foundation for rich experiences. . . . [This] book . . . exemplifies exactly the sort of rich and insightful scholarship necessary for nurturing vibrant, lived North American Judaism.” * Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas *“This gracefully written book is an outstanding ethnographic account of how Shabbat is created and transmitted at three different camps, which highlights the power of the quotidian of music, dance, prayer, community, and leadership. Reimer offers a rich and detailed understanding of what learning and education mean in these different contexts that vastly enlarges previous scholarship on summer camps… An especially timely work, as religious life is changing dramatically, and Reimer has offered many insights that should be helpful to anyone interested in how meaning is made and transmitted in religion.” -- Riv-Ellen Prell, Professor Emerita, Department of American Studies, University of Minnesota“From ruach mosh pits to post-havdalah hugs, Shabbat practices at camp differ from year-round Jewish life. This smart, engaging book sheds light on this phenomenon through historical analysis, rich ethnographic descriptions, and beautiful photographs from three contemporary camps of diverse denominations. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Jewish education - and camp alumni who want to take a trip down memory lane (or dirt path).” -- Sarah Bunin Benor, author of Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps"This book is for anyone who has experienced Shabbat at a Jewish camp and wondered what made it so special. After describing in detail how Shabbat is observed at three different camps, Reimer unpacks the core values of each camp, and the ‘rituals’ that allow some seemingly conflicting values to co-exist. Finally, he brings in key theoretical constructs to explain how lore and ritual intertwine to make Shabbat at camp so memorable.” -- Isa Aron, Professor Emerita of Jewish Education, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of ReligionTable of Contents1. IntroductionPart 1: Creating Shabbat at Camp2. Developing Shabbat at Jewish Camps: 1920-20003. Shabbat at Three Jewish CampsPart 2: Celebrating Shabbat at Camp4. Preparing for Shabbat5. Greeting the Shabbat6. Intensifying Shabbat Joy7. Skill-Building and Concluding ShabbatPart 3: Learning from Shabbat at Camp8. What Camp Leaders Can Learn9. What Jewish Celebration Can Be

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Book SynopsisThe Jewish religion is grounded in belief about the nature of God and his relation to the world, and this expertly written volume offers an accessible account of the Jewish faith, its core beliefs and practices. It introduces the reader to the God of the Jews, describing his transcendence, omnipotence and goodness, and his eternal covenant with Israel. The main festivals, celebrations and practices are explored in depth, including Sabbaths, home ceremonies and personal piety, as well as rites of passage and Jewish high days and holidays. With over 300 informative photographs, this is a fascinating guide to an immensely rich and complex religion.

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Book SynopsisA lively, thoughtful history of America's Jews, exploring their complex relationships with national culture, identity, and politics-and each other. You can be called a Bad Jew-by the community or even yourself-if you don't keep kosher, don't send your children to Hebrew school, or enjoy Christmas music; if your partner isn't Jewish, or you don't call your mother enough. But today, amid fears of rising antisemitism, what makes a Good or Bad Jew is a particularly fraught question. There is no answer, argues Emily Tamkin. Several million now identify as American Jews; but they don't all identify with one another. American Jewish history, like all Jewish history, has been about transformation-and full of discussions, debates and hand-wringing over who is Jewish, how to be Jewish, and what it means to be Jewish. Bad Jews is a rich, absorbing reflection on 100 years of American Jewish identities and arguments. Tamkin's fascinating, diverse interviews explore the complex story of American Jewishness, and its evolving, conflicting positions, from assimilation, race, and social justice; to politics, Zionism, and Israel. She pinpoints the one truth about Jewish identity: It's always changing.Trade Review'Journalist Tamkin illuminates in this vibrant study the multifaceted nature of the Jewish experience in America...Heartfelt, nuanced, and empathetic, this revelatory ethnography is a must-read.' * Publishers Weekly, starred review * 'Engaging...reflects the author's experience as a skilled journalist and storyteller.' * Kirkus Reviews * 'Emily Tamkin's Bad Jews is a fascinating and compelling exploration of Jewish American history, and the fault lines that have divided every generation of American Jews along lines of class, ethnicity, theology and ideology. Thoughtful and moving, Tamkin's own personal journey anchors the reader through complexities that few others are willing to contemplate. And as Tamkin shows, to answer the question "who are the bad Jews?" is, more than a description of others, to define oneself and what it means to be Jewish.' -- Adam Serwer, author of The Cruelty Is the Point 'Anything Emily Tamkin writes will be thoughtful, well-researched, and engaging. Her new book is no exception. It grabs you from page one and every time I put it down, it was with reluctance. This book is so smart, timely, and relevant, that you forget Tamkin is sounding a clarion bell about the very real dangers of our time.' -- Celeste Headlee, author of Speaking of Race 'With compelling narrative and piercing historical analysis, Emily Tamkin grapples with the big questions of group identity and authenticity and their relationship to inclusion in a diverse nation. She invites readers on a journey of the Jewish experience in the United States and explores the ways culture, intolerance, and perseverance have shaped it. An essential commentary on identity and belonging in America, Tamkin's Bad Jews is necessary reading for a changing country struggling to live its creed.' -- Theodore Johnson, author of When the Stars Began to Fall 'Like the host of the world's greatest Passover seder, Emily Tamkin invites everyone in-the idealists, the skeptics, and the dreamers-and gets them talking about all the thorniest issues. With curiosity, chutzpah, and a lot of heart, Bad Jews welcomes us all into the conversation American Jews need to have right now.' -- Josh Lambert, Sophia Moses Robison Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and English, Wellesley College, author of The Literary Mafia and co-editor of How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish 'The world may think that Jews are a homogeneous group. They are anything but. Tamkin's compelling narrative illuminates as it entertains, distilling Jewish in-fighting to the bone in the process. An essential read.' -- Keren McGinity, author of Still Jewish 'To take stock of one's own people as a journalist and historian is no simple task, but Emily Tamkin rises to the occasion with aplomb. In Bad Jews, Tamkin has pieced together a vital, sober, and - most importantly - empathic accounting of the American Jewish story. The volume of Tamkin's research was clearly astounding, and it pays off in the form of a book that is both eminently readable and appropriately provocative. Whether you're Jew or Gentile, radical or conservative, kosher or lobster-loving, Bad Jews is sure to enthral and educate you.' -- Abe Riesman, author of True Believer

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Book SynopsisFilled with motivational quotes from Jewish figures and celebrities, profound proverbs and thoughtful affirmations in both Hebrew and English, Mazel Tov! is the perfect way to show your appreciation for your friend of the faith. This uplifting book is about celebrating their achievements and encouraging them to continue pursuing their goals.

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Book SynopsisIn this clear and authoritative guide, Lavinia and Dan Cohn-Sherbok concisely examine the Jewish faith and its practices and explore what it really means to be a Jew today. From the nature of God to the divisions within Judaism and from worship to everyday customs, this introduction covers all the topics essential to an informed understanding of this highly influential 3000-year-old faith and its enduring traditions.

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Book SynopsisThere is a story about a Jew who travels from Israel to the United States. When he returns, he tells his friend some of the amazing things he has seen. 'I met a Jew who had grown up in a yeshiva and knew large sections of the Talmud by heart. I met a Jew who was an atheist. I met a Jew who owned a large business and I met a Jew who was an ardent communist.' 'So what's so strange?' the friend asks. 'America is a big country and millions of Jews live there.' 'You don't understand,' the man answers. 'It was the same Jew.' Judaism is not simply a series of beliefs. It is a practice and a way of life. What Do Jews Believe? explores the variety of ways Jews live their lives: religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Jews in Israel and Jews who live in the Diaspora. It asks what Judaism means and what it means to be a Jew. It also asks how and why such a small number of people, totalling no more than 20 million worldwide, have played such a significant role in our history.Trade Review'An excellent series of short books on beliefs in the modern world' The Bookseller Currently available in the series (April 06)- Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Druids

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Book SynopsisThe shocking massacre of the Jews in York, 1190, is here re-examined in its historical context along with the circumstances and processes through which Christian and Jewish neighbours became enemies and victims. The mass suicide and murder of the men, women and children of the Jewish community in York on 16 March 1190 is one of the most scarring events in the history of Anglo-Judaism, and an aspect of England's medieval past which is widely remembered around the world. However, the York massacre was in fact only one of a series of attacks on communities of Jews across England in 1189-90; they were violent expressions of wider new constructs of the nature of Christian and Jewish communities, and the targeted outcries of local townspeople, whose emerging urban politics were enmeshed within the swiftly developing structures of royal government. This new collection considers the massacreas central to the narrative of English and Jewish history around 1200. Its chapters broaden the contexts within which the narrative is usually considered and explore how a narrative of events in 1190 was built up, both at the timeand in following years. They also focus on two main strands: the role of narrative in shaping events and their subsequent perception; and the degree of convivencia between Jews and Christians and consideration of the circumstances and processes through which neighbours became enemies and victims. SARAH REES JONES is Professor, and SETHINA WATSON Senior Lecturer, in History at the University of York. Contributors: Sethina Watson, Sarah Rees Jones, Joe Hillaby, Nicholas Vincent, Alan Cooper, Robert C. Stacey, Paul Hyams, Robin R. Mundill, Thomas Roche, Eva de Visscher, Pinchas Roth, Ethan Zadoff, Anna Sapir Abulafia, Heather Blurton, Matthew Mesley, Carlee A. Bradbury, Hannah Johnson, Jeffrey J. Cohen, Anthony BaleTrade ReviewThe contributions offering insights into Jewish life in Angevin England are particularly interesting . . . but they all give a clearer sense of the triangular relationship of crown, Jews, and Christians-a pattern visual elsewhere in Europe well into recent centuries. * STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE TEACHING *For all scholars of twelfth- and thirteenth-century England there is much to learn from this book. ... The editors and Press are to be congratulated on producing such an impressive and stimulating volume... York Medieval Press has, since 1999, added impressively to our knowledge of the history, literature and culture of the Middle Ages both in Britain and on the Continent. * NORTHERN HISTORY *A scholarly and stimulating volume. * YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL *Through its new approach to old sources and examination of new sources, the collection provides important insights into Christian attitudes toward Jews, as well as moments of violence against Jews and their everyday lives in medieval England. * JOURNAL OF CHURCH AND STATE *The volume as a whole makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the history of the Jewish community in medieval England and its relationship with the Christian population and English royal government. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *An impressive and rich collection of articles. Each and every one.repays careful attention. The reader gets filled up with a very solid mixture of facts about the inner workings of Jewish life in Angevin England as well as an appetite for more. * MEDIEVAL HISTORIES *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Moment and Memory of the York Massacre of 1190 - Sethina Watson Neighbours and Victims in Twelfth-Century York: A Royal Citadel, the Citizens and the Jews of York - Sarah Rees Jones Prelude and Postscript to the York Massacre: Attacks in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, 1190 - Joe Hillaby William of Newburgh, Josephus and the New Titus - Nicholas Vincent 1190, William Longbeard and the Crisis of Angevin England - Alan Cooper The Massacres of 1189-90 and the Origins of the Jewish Exchequer, 1186-1226 - Robert C. Stacey Faith, Fealty and Jewish 'Infideles' in Twelfth-Century England - Paul Hyams The 'archa' System and its Legacy after 1194 - Robin Mundill Making Agreements, with or without Jews, in Medieval England and Normandy - Thomas Roche An Ave Maria in Hebrew: The Transmission of Hebrew Learning from Jewish to Christian Scholars in Medieval England - Eva De Visscher The Talmudic Community of Thirteenth-Century England - Pinchas Roth and Ethan Zadoff Notions of Jewish Service in Twelfth and Thirteenth-Century England - Anna Sapir Abulafia Egyptian Days: From Passion to Exodus in the Representation of Twelfth-Century Jewish-Christian Relations - Heather Blurton 'De Judaea, Muta et Surda': Jewish Conversion in Gerald of Wales's Life of Saint Remigius - Matthew M. Mesley Dehumanizing the Jew at the Funeral of the Virgin Mary in the Thirteenth Century [c.1170 - c.1350] - Carlee Bradbury Massacre and Memory: Ethics and Method in Recent Scholarship on Jewish Martyrdom - Hannah Johnson The Future of the Jews of York - Jeffrey Jerome Cohen Afterword: Violence, Memory and the Traumatic Middle Ages - Anthony Bale Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories tells the story of how cartoonist Asaf Hanuka illustrates both universal and particular narratives. Through close readings of Hanuka’s entire catalogue of comics and graphic narratives, Hanuka’s work is situated within the broader story of his own experiences of being an insider (as a Jew and Israeli) and an outsider (as a Mizrahi, or Judeo-Arab) in Israeli society. By moving chronologically through Hanuka’s works, the book traces how Hanuka navigates these disparate particular identities alongside more universal concerns about how to be a present partner to his spouse and to his children.Trade Review“Asaf Hanuka has long been one of Israel’s most provocative cartoonists and voices of dissent, and in these pages Matt Reingold’s terrifically incisive criticism illuminates compelling dimensions of Hanuka’s eclectic artistry, whether commemorating the Shoah, the insider-outsider identity of Mizrahi Israelis, anxieties about Israel’s faltering democracy, militarism, and human rights record, or the perils of fatherhood and masculinity. Hanuka’s vibrant graphic storytelling ranges from the fantastical and grotesque to the mundane, and Reingold captures all of it splendidly, demonstrating why Hanuka’s edgy work resonates both in Israel and internationally. An indispensable, captivating guide for both scholars and the classroom to a brilliant artist at the forefront of contemporary visual culture.”— Ranen Omer-Sherman, Editor of Amos Oz: The Legacy of a Writer in Israel and Beyond“The Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories significantly contributes to contemporary scholarship on the diversity of Israeli identities in visual media by providing the first thorough examination of the cartoons, comics, and graphic narratives of the award-winning Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka. Reingold’s compelling book captures how Hanuka’s oeuvre spanning over two decades has offered an increasingly nuanced and sharp critique of contemporary Israeli society, especially the erosion of democracy and the unfair treatment of its minorities, one which mirrors the evolution of the artist’s understanding of his own intersectional Israeli, Mizrachi, Jewish, and gendered identities. This is an indispensable book for everyone interested in the evolution of Israeli comics and identity issues.”— Dana Mihăilescu, University of Bucharest“This fascinating in-depth study of the work of Asaf Hanuka fluidly demonstrates the political, social, cultural, and artistic range of the cartoonist’s vision. Drawing upon Hanuka's hybrid background, Reingold shows the ways in which constructs of identity shape his richly figured comics. This is an important book that situates Hanuka’s comics in a narrative of social and political critique and speaks to the significant and enduring influence of this groundbreaking cartoonist.”— Victoria Aarons, O.R. & Eva Mitchell Distinguished Professor of Literature, Trinity University“This is a robust, layered reading that helps the reader understand Hanuka’s work in its Israeli context and helps to reveal what is truly groundbreaking about it. I enjoyed it immensely.”— Kevin Haworth, author of The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets“Matt Reingold’s close examination of Eisner Award winning cartoonist Asaf Hanuka's entire body of work adeptly analyzes the artist-writer’s diverse subjects and styles. Expanding our understanding of the comics’ landscape, this penetrating study fleshes out the many dimensions of Israeli society, Jewish identity, and Mizrahi heritage through Hanuka’s artistic navigation of that complex universe.”— Samantha Baskind, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Cleveland State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Collaborating on Projects and Developing an Artistic Voice2. Autographics in The Realist3. Responsible Adulting in The Divine4. Narrating the Near and Distant Past in Hayehudi Haʿaravi5. Concluding The Realist and Pursuing New ProjectsBibliography

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Book SynopsisA timely, progressive collection of essays on the Jewish relationship to Zionism and exile.What is exile? What is diaspora? What is Zionism? Jewish identity today has been shaped by prior generations’ answers to these questions, and the future of Jewish life will depend on how we respond to them in our own time. In The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance, celebrated rabbi and scholar Shaul Magid offers an essential contribution to this intergenerational process, inviting us to rethink our current moment through religious and political resources from the Jewish tradition.On many levels, Zionism was conceived as an attempt to “end the exile” of the Jewish people, both politically and theologically. In a series of incisive essays, Magid challenges us to consider the price of diminishing or even erasing the exilic character of Jewish life. A thought-provoking work of political imagination, The Necessity of Exile reclaims exile as a positive stance for constructive Jewish engagement with IsraelPalestine, antisemitism, diaspora, and a broken world in need of repair.

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses psychological aspects of dehumanization and of the human tendency to dominate, control and potentially murder those considered less than or “other” by the dominant group. It explores how increasingly severe dehumanization resulted in the genocide of six million Jews in the second World War. Psychological and behavioral strategies Nazi aggressors and ordinary citizens used to mislead themselves during this process are described. Understanding the sequence of events from dehumanization to murder has implications for the apparent tendency of human beings to harm and potentially kill those who appear “different”, or who are made into the “other”. Efforts to prevent genocide should actively challenge dehumanization of weaker populations whenever possible, even when dehumanization appears mild, “insignificant,” or “innocuous.”Trade Review“This informative and accessible contribution to the burgeoning literature on dehumanization is the first and only book in the English language focusing specifically on the dehumanization of Jews during the Nazi regime. Highly recommended! “— David Livingstone Smith, author of Making Monsters: Dehumanization and How to Resist It“This volume explores ways in which intolerance and enmity perniciously result in the dehumanization of individuals and groups, setting the stage for nothing less than the mass murder of entire groups and cultures. The author effectively shows ways in which othering and objectification wears away at any empathy and identification, an alienation that allows for nothing less than Genocide, a neologism invented only after the Shoah. The insidious nature of this turn is explored by the author using historical texts and individual stories. A compelling and necessary read for historians, mental health professionals, and students of history, sociology, psychohistory, and Jewish studies.”— Emily Kuriloff, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, Psychoanalyst, and author of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and the Legacy of the Third Reich: History, Memory, Tradition. Routledge, 2014“Dr. Gabel, a child psychiatrist and historian, takes on the inexplicable. He probes what makes for and sustains history’s horrific genocides. ‘Behavior serves a purpose’ helps in understanding motivations, including murder. But Dr. Gabel goes further with his core insight: that ‘dehumanization’ opens intrinsic psychological doors to allow for the progression from violence to murder to genocide. This is a deeply considered and scholarly book about what we have not been able to face.”— Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, Adjunct Professor, Columbia School of Public HealthTable of ContentsIntroduction A Brief History of the Jews from Antiquity through the Middle Ages Antisemitism and Dehumanization of the Jews in the Modern Period. Enlightenment and Emancipation. Political Antisemitism Dehumanization. Research. Definitions. Examples in the Nazi Era The Human Propensity toward Violence, Destruction, and Murder. Prohibitions against Killing Other Humans. Examples of the Tendency toward Violence and Murder in the Nazi Era The Progression from Dehumanization to Murder and Genocide in the Nazi Era Dehumanization of School-Aged Children in Nazi Germany Medical Implementation of Aryan Ideology: Sterilization, Euthanasia, Experimentation Summary and Conclusions. Alternative Approaches. Addressing Dehumanization ReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisEmet le-Ya‘akov comprises a collection of essays celebrating the career and achievements of Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, who has served the American and international Jewish community with distinction in his roles as a synagogue rabbi, university professor, and public intellectual. These articles, like the honoree, recognize the importance of both history and memory, emphasize the necessity of accuracy in historiography, and do not shy away from inconvenient truths. They are divided into three categories that help frame the discussion around “facing the truths of history”: Textual Traditions, Memory and Making of Meaning, and (Re)Creating a Usable Past. The volume also includes a brief sketch of Schacter’s life and work and a bibliography of his publications.Table of Contents“For Truth Is More Precious than Anything Else” Zev Eleff and Shaul Seidler-FellerBibliography of the Writings of Jacob J. SchacterMenachem ButlerTextual Traditions1. Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah on the Messianic Age: Reactions and Controversies through the AgesDavid Berger2. A New Paradigm of the Jew/Gentile Relationship: Maimonides’s Analysis of the Miẓvah le-HaḥayotoAri Berman3. In the Ecumenical Footsteps of Rabbi Jacob Emden: The Curious Case of Pinchas LapideMark Gottlieb4. Rationalizing Kerei u-Ketiv: Radak’s Methodology in His Biblical CommentariesNaomi Grunhaus5. “The Law Follows the Lenient View in Mourning”: The History and Reconsideration of a Talmudic PrincipleShmuel Hain6. A Community for the Sake of Heaven: Emden’s Understandings of Christianity and IslamSusannah Heschel7. Tosafist Collections in the Writings of Ḥayyim Joseph David Azulai (Ḥida): The Case of Tosefot ShittahEphraim Kanarfogel8. Grandfather and Grandson: Teachers and Interpreters in Hebrew Ben Sira and Greek SirachAri Lamm9. Rabbi Jacob Joshua Falk’s Final Salvo in the Emden-Eibeschuetz Controversy: Ḥarvot ẒurimShnayer Leiman10. The Taboo against “Next Year in Jerusalem” in the American Haggadah (1837–1942)Jonathan D. Sarna11. Twentieth-Century American Orthodox Responses to Living in a Malkhut shel ḤesedElana Stein Hain12. Reception of Malachi’s Temple Critique in JudaismShlomo Zuckier Memory and the Making of Meaning13. The Last Trial of Jacob Emden: Community, Memory, AuthorityElisheva Carlebach14. Papering Over an Era of American Orthodox Pragmatism: The Case of CollegeZev Eleff and Menachem Butler15. Cultural Memory, Spiritual Critique, and PiyyutMichael Fishbane16. “A Faithful Home in Israel”? Jewish Dis/Connections in Contemporary American Jewish LiteratureSylvia Barack Fishman17. Who Is Not a Jew? Notes on the Reception of the Principle “Though He Sinned, He Remains an Israelite”Matt Goldish18. New York Jewish History and Memory: Opportunities and ChallengesJeffrey S. Gurock19. Inscribing Communal Memory: Memorbücher in Early Modern and Modern EuropeDebra Kaplan20. Pilgrims’ Progress? Ḥakham Ẓevi and the History of Visitors to Israel Observing One Day of Yom TovYosie Levine21. Herschel Schacter’s Encounter with Mordecai KaplanRafael Medoff(Re)Creating a Usable Past22. Remember, Research, Commemorate: The (Re)Making of a Holocaust Research InstituteJudith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz23. Prayer in a Time of Pandemic: Loneliness, Liturgy, and Virtual CommunityLois C. Dubin24. Or Nogah and the Uses of History: Blidstein, Petuchowski, and the Diverse Readings of a Nineteenth-Century Reform Halakhic TextDavid Ellenson25. From Rabbiner Doktor to Rabbanit Doctor: Academic Education and the Evolution of Israeli Religious LeadershipAdam S. Ferziger26. Why Was Titus Killed by a Gnat? Reflections on a Rabbinic LegendSteven Fine27. Anchor to Springboard: Uses and Revaluations of Masorah in Medieval AshkenazTalya Fishman28. Ḥasdai Crescas, Royal Courtier: A ReappraisalBenjamin R. Gampel29. The Slifkin Affair: Contexts, Texts, and Subtexts of Israeli and American Orthodox ResponsesBenjamin J. Samuels30. A Guide for Today’s Perplexed? The Changing Face of Maimonidean ScholarshipDavid Shatz31. The Image of the Gra in the Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. SoloveitchikJeffrey R. WoolfContributors

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Book SynopsisIn Collected Studies (Volume 4): Jews in the Medical Profession, Joseph Shatzmiller, the prominent scholar of Provence Jewry, presents a fascinating glimpse into the world of Jewish doctors and medicine in medieval Western Europe. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources and intellectual history, Shatzmiller delves into the lives and experiences of Jewish physicians who played a crucial role in the medical profession during the Middle Ages. From their scientific collaborations with Christian colleagues to their role as leaders within the Jewish community, this book provides a rich portrait of the complex and dynamic world of medieval medicine. The book covers topics such as the Jewish students in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier, Jewish women in medicine, doctors’ salaries, pharmacology, and medical books. With its insightful analysis and meticulous research, Jews in the Medical Profession is a valuable contribution to the history of medicine and Jewish studies.“The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts. The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne. The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties’ administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated. At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence.”— Joseph ShatzmillerTrade Review“Joseph Shatzmiller, the foremost expert on Provençal Judaism, has throughout the course of his career provided a rich and powerful mosaic of Jewish society in Provence. Known for his insightful analysis of historical documents and primary sources, Shatzmiller’s research consistently illuminates the significance of Provence Jewry within the larger framework of Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and western Europe during the Middle Ages. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources and intellectual history, his work is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Jewish communities in medieval Europe.”— Ram Ben-Shalom, Professor of the History of the Jewish People, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; author of The Jews of Provence and LanguedocTable of ContentsI The Making of Jewish Doctors1 On Becoming a Jewish Doctor in The High Middle Ages* 2 Apprenticeship or Academic Education: The Making of Jewish Doctors3 Livres médicaux et éducation médicale : à propos d’un contrat de Marseille en 1316 II Attending the Medieval University 1 Un cercle de savants de Montpellier vers 1300 : Contacts et Échanges entre erudits juifs et chretiens2 Étudiants juifs à la faculté de médecine de Montpellier, dernier quart du XIVe siècle 3 La faculté de médecine de Montpellier et son influence en Provence: Témoignages en hébreu, en latin et en langue vulgaireIII Activity North and South 1 Notes sur les médecins juifs en Provence au Moyen ge2 Médecins municipaux en Provence, Catalogne et autres régions de l’Europe méridionale (1350–1400)3 Jewish Physicians in Sicily 4 Doctors and Medical Practice in Germany around the Year 1200: The Evidence of Sefer Hasidim5 Doctors and Medical Practices in Germany around the Year 1200: The Evidence of Sefer AsaphIV The Medicalization of Society1 Femmes médecins au Moyen ge: Témoignages sur leurs pratiques (1250–1350)2 Doctors’ Fees and Their Medical Responsibility: Evidence from Notarial and Court Records*3 Médecins et expertise médicale dans la ville médiévale: Manosque 1280–13484 The Jurisprudence of the Dead Body: Medical Practitioners at the Service of Civic and Legal AuthoritiesV The Range of Medical Services 1 Médecine et gynécologie au Moyen- ge : un exemple provençal 2 Soigner le corps souffrant : Pratiques médicales au tournant du XIVe siècle3 Soins de beauté, image et image de soi : le cas des juifs du Moyen ge4 Herbes et drogues dans la médecine provençale du Moyen ge5 Roger Bacon’s Critique of the Pharmaceutics of His Day

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Book SynopsisThe editors of The Jewish Annotated New Testament show how and why Jews and Christians read many of the same Biblical texts - including passages from the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Psalms - differently. Exploring and explaining these diverse perspectives, they reveal more clearly Scripture’s beauty and power.   Esteemed Bible scholars and teachers Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler take readers on a guided tour of the most popular Hebrew Bible passages quoted in the New Testament to show what the texts meant in their original contexts and then how Jews and Christians, over time, understood those same texts. Passages include the creation of the world, the role of Adam and Eve, the Suffering Servant of Isiah, the book of Jonah, and Psalm 22, whose words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” Jesus quotes as he dies on the cross. Comparing various interpretations - historical, literary, and theological - of each ancient text, Levine and Brettler offer deeper understandings of the original narratives and their many afterlives. They show how the text speaks to different generations under changed circumstances, and so illuminate the Bible’s ongoing significance. By understanding the depth and variety by which these passages have been, and can be, understood, The Bible With and Without Jesus does more than enhance our religious understandings, it helps us to see the Bible as a source of inspiration for any and all readers.  

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Book SynopsisWhen, if ever, should lying be permitted? If you''ve damaged a person''s reputation unfairly, can the damage be undone?Is a person who sells weapons responsible for how those weapons are used?if the fetus is not a life, what is it? How, as an adult, can one carry out the command to honor one''s parents when they make unreasonable demands?What are the nine biblical challenges a good person must meet?What do the great Jewish writings of the last 3,500 years tell us about these and all other vital questions about our lives? Rabbi Joseph Telushkin has devoted his life to the search for answers within the teachings of Judaism. In Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Telushkin, the author of the highly acclaimed Jewish Literacy, weaves together a tapestry of stories from the Bible and Talmud, and the insights of Jewish commentators and writers from Maimonides, Rashi, and Hillel to Einstein, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Elie Wiesel. A richer source of crucial lif

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Book SynopsisPortrays four charismatic leaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth-century Hasidic movement in Eastern Europe.Trade Review"Elie Wiesel is one of the great writers of this generation." —New York Review of Books“Wiesel brings a journalist’s optimism to his studies of the Hasidic saints who set Eastern European Jewry alight in the 18th century with the faith that brought it through the last, worst centuries of persecution.” —The Boston Globe“As always, Wiesel’s characters are infused with the breath of life; these extraordinary men are fully human, whether reeling in spiritual ecstasy or pondering their existential melancholy, the loneliness that accompanies vision and greatness. . . . These tales make inspiring and fascinating reading for all.” —Library Journal“‘Friendship’ and ‘concern’ are the key motifs of this book. For Wiesel, Hasidism is not a theology or a philosophy. It is not an abstract system of ideas or a conception of the Deity. It is a friendship and a concern for people and for God. Hasidism is the opposite of solitude. It is a sense of begin bound up together with all other human beings in their joy and in their distress and of being bound up with God in his joy and in his distress.” —Commonweal"Another beautifully written and prepared word by one of the fine writers of our time." —Jewish Post and Opinion". . . There is more help for the troubled in these stories than in many books programmed for self-help." —Christian Century"This delightful work, in the by now well-known manner of Elie Wiesel, continues his recounting of Hasidic tales begun in Souls on Fire (1972). . . .The present volume recounts tales of four great Hasidic masters: R. Pinchas of Koretz, R. Baruch of Medzebozh, R. Yaacov Yitzchak Horowitz-the Holy Seer of Lublin-and R. Naphtali of Ropshitz." —Choice

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Book SynopsisThe Kennicott Bible is among the most celebrated Hebrew Bibles that survive from the Middle Ages. Originating from La Coruña in northern Spain, it features lavish carpet pages, gold leaf silhouettes and abundant marginal decorations. This extraordinary manuscript is a treasure chest of history, culture, devotion, art and cross- cultural collaboration. The story of its survival is a remarkable one and its sumptuous images have delighted readers since its creation in 1476. This book features a collection of all of the decorated pages from this stunning manuscript – accompanied by four chapters authored by experts in the fields of Bible study, book history and medieval Jewish art. They discuss the main themes from several perspectives, including the Hebrew text of the Bible, the scribe who created the pages, the layout and palaeography, and the illuminator who produced the decoration and its imagery. There is also an analysis of the early medieval commentary on the Old Testament, the Masorah. Richly illustrated throughout, this beautiful book makes available the key pages from a treasure of Jewish book art together with the latest scholarship on its origins, provenance and creation.Table of ContentsFOREWORD vi Martin J. Gross INTRODUCTION 1 Katrin Kogman-Appel CONTENTS, STRUCTURE & ORGANIZATION 11 Javier del Barco MATERIAL DESCRIPTION & LAYOUT 23 Javier del Barco THE MASORAH 35 María Teresa Ortega-Monasterio ARTISTIC EMBELLISHMENTS 53 Katrin Kogman-Appel PLATES 77 captions to plates 241 notes 246 bibliography 252 contributors 255 picture credits 256 index 257

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive book covers the theoretical and practical aspects of citron trees and fruit. The citron (Citrus medica L.), one of the three primary species ancestral to most citrus types, is used for traditional medicine and is highly revered in the Jewish religion during the Tabernacles feast, referred to by the name 'Etrog'. This book’s three sections address biology (botany, genomics, Chinese and Mediterranean citrons, diseases, pests, and horticulture), tradition (Talmudic discourse, mysticism, medicine, literature, art, food, and beverages) and history (archaeology, trade, grafting controversies); these sections are supplemented by a glossary and pictorial album. The 22 chapters, some new and some translated and considerably expanded from the 2018 Hebrew edition, were written by world-renowned specialists from Israel, Italy, France, the U.S.A., China and Australia. The book is written in an accessible scientific style aimed at a wide range of readers. Table of ContentsThe Biology of the Citron.- Citron Genomics.- Citron Phytochemistry.- Selected Aspects of Commercial Production in Etrog Orchards.- Preserving Etrog Quality After Harvest: Doctrine and Practice.- Citron Arthropod Pests in the Mediterranean, Their Origin and Notes On Their Biology and Management.- Diseases of the Etrog Citron and Other Citrus Trees.- The Citron ( Citrus medica L.) in China.- The Citron in Italy and Its cultivation in Calabria.- The Citron in Corsica.- The Citron in the United States.- The Citron in Mediterranean Food and Beverages.- 'Fruit of the Goodly Trees’: The Talmudic Discourse on the Etrog Citron.- From Theophrastus to the Present: The Citron in Medicine.- The Etrog Citron in Art.- The Etrog Citron in Midrashic and Kabbalistic Literature.- From ‘An Etrog’ to ‘One's Etrog’: A Literary Analysis of S.Y. Agnon’s Story.- History of the Citron in Ancient Israel and the Near East.- The Etrog Citron Trail to the North: Genoa and Trieste.- The Corfu Etrog Citron Polemic.- The Grafted Etrog Citron Controversy.- Etrog Citrons of the Land of Israel in Modern Times.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Recent decades have seen the yeshiva recreated as an institution for all Jewish men, and in some places for Jewish women as well. Yet in its origin the yeshiva was an elite institution, for men who were prepared to devote themselves to years of Torah study. The most outstanding of the yeshivas were found in Lithuania, and the period between the two World Wars saw important developments in these schools, developments that continue to reverberate in Orthodox society. Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky has made great use not merely of the memoir literature and academic sources, but has immersed himself in archives in order to offer us the first scholarly study of the yeshivas during the interwar years. For those seeking to understand where the yeshivas came from, how they functioned, what ideals guided them, and how unfortunately they came to their end in Eastern Europe, there is no better guide than Klibansky."—Marc B. Shapiro, Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies, University of Scranton"Through a thorough and rigorous study of numerous sources, Ben Tsiyon Klibansky demonstrates that interwar Poland, rightly characterized as an age of decline to Orthodox Judaism, was an age of thriving to one of its major institutions: the Yeshiva. The complete destruction of the Lithuanian yeshivas in World War II, first by the Soviet occupation and then by the Nazi Holocaust, put an end to this thriving institution, but, as Klibansky concludes, they remained a source of inspiration to the renewed yeshivas of the postwar period."—Benjamin Brown, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem"Nowadays the term "Lithuanian Yeshiva" is used for a type of yeshivas that emerged in Lithuania in the nineteenth century and developed a special "school" of learning and a code of living and dressing, which is still existent. Yet, knowledge about yeshivas in Lithuania itself, especially in the twentieth century up till and into the Holocaust, is unknown. Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky's The Golden Age of the Lithuanian Yeshivas bridges this lack in knowledge and uncovers in a fascinating way and based on in-depth research the general picture of this period as well as its particulars. Klibansky successes in depicting and analyzing the renewal and vitality of the Yehiva world vis-à-vis the deep political, social, religious and cultural changes of the first decades of the twentieth century, and by doing so also re-emphasizes the enormous loss to Jewry, Judaism and Yiddishkeit caused by the Holocaust."—Dan Michman, Head, The International Institute for Holocaust Research, Yad Vashem; Professor (Emeritus) of Modern Jewish History, Bar-Ilan Universit"Few institutions influenced the world of European Jewry as did the yeshivas. The fact that the yeshiva framework was 'emulated' in the United States, Israel, England, France, and elsewhere by newly coalescing traditionalist communities is proof of its lasting significance. At the same time, few institutions were so misunderstood as were the yeshivas. The pious attempts that were written to describe how they functioned missed the key points – usually out of ignorance. Klibansky's magnum opus transforms our understanding of how the traditionalist Jews created structures to maintain adherence. It is no less significant in explaining what the self-conscious modernists in Europe were responding to. In short, it is one of those transformative works that are basic texts for both understanding a world that was destroyed and a new world that was created."—Shaul Stampfer, Sandrow Professor of Soviet and East European Jewish History (emeritus), Hebrew University of Jerusalem"Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky has stepped into a historiographical void of the interwar East European Jewish experience with his The Golden Age of the Yeshivas, a study of all facets of the Lithuanian yeshiva world: leadership, student body, curriculum, economics, and self-image. Through a rare combination of historical empathy and judicious use of sources, Klibansky has reconstructed the interwar Lithuanian yeshivas in all their panoramic commonalities and granular specificities. In so doing, he has parsed the central paradox of the phenomenon of a golden age of the Lithuanian yeshivas, set against the background of Jewish secularization, educational practicality, and political and economic crisis."—Joshua Karlip, Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Associate Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva UniversityTable of ContentsIntroductionSection I: Consolidation and Expansion1. The Renewal of the Yeshiva World after the First World War2. Expansion Trends in the Yeshiva WorldSection II: Aspects of the Yeshiva World3. Economy4. Studies5. Leadership6. The TalmidimSection III: The Beginning of the End7. Return to Wandering8. Under Soviet RuleEpilogueBrief BiographiesGlossaryBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisAs the title testifies, students were sworn to secrecy before being given access to this magic text and only a few manuscripts have survived. Bits of its teachings, such as the use of the magic whistle for summoning spirits, are alluded to in other texts. Another key element of its ritual, the elaborate Seal of God, has been found in texts and amulets throughout Europe.Interest in THE SWORN BOOK OF HONORIUS has grown in recent years, yet no modern translations have been attempted - until now.Purporting to preserve the magic of Solomon in the face of intense persecution by religious authorities, this text includes one of the oldest and most detailed magic rituals. It contains a complete system of magic including how to attain the divine vision, communicate with holy angels and control aerial, earthly and infernal spirits for practical gain.Largely ignored by historians until recently, this text is an important witness to the transmission of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism to European Hermeticists.

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Book SynopsisRevealing how the ancient spiritual tradition known as the Kabbalah can be applied to the art of writing, award-winning author Sherri Mandell presents a mystical system for developing creativity and harnessing divine inspiration in your storytelling and other written works. Sharing insight from her own spiritual journey and her years of teaching writing, Mandell explains how the characteristics of the 10 sefirot--the channels of divine creative life force that make up the elemental spiritual structure of the world--can be used to think about and develop writing in a profound way and give you the power to grow as a person and a writer. She explores each sefira in detail and how it can be used to manifest creative visions through words. Showing how writing can be healing and redemptive, she provides writing exercises and imaginative techniques to help you create a writing practice that allows you to appreciate the richness of life, retrieve its divine beauty, and share your unique wisdom. Revealing how writing can become a spiritual path, a pilgrimage to discover the sacred stories within, Mandell shows that sharing your inner truth and expressing your personal gifts of imagination through writing is part of your individual spiritual mission as well as an essential part of the spiritual evolution of the world.Trade Review"Mandell offers an inventive exploration of the Kabbalah as a resource to help readers improve their memoir and essay writing practices, and to discover the 'divine beauty' of their lives. This thoughtful guide balances practical advice with emotional insight, without being overtaken by mystic overtones. Aspiring writers with a spiritual bent will appreciate Mandell’s unique approach." * Publishers Weekly *“Whether you are new on your spiritual path or think you have seen and read it all, The Kabbalah of Writing will guide you down fascinating new avenues of spiritual awakening using simple, easy-to-accomplish tools and writing prompts to help you create the life of your dreams. A treasure trove of a book just waiting to be discovered by those ready to take their spiritual understanding and practices to brilliant new heights!” * Royce Christyn, author of Scripting the Life You Want *“Sherri Mandell is brilliant, captivating, and relentlessly honest. Her book is a must for anyone who loves to write and wants to learn to write better.” * Brian Kiley, comedian, Emmy Award-winning writer, and head monologue writer for Conan O’Brien *“Sherri Mandell takes us on a breathtaking journey through the spiritual energy of the ten sefirot and shows how each one opens a new doorway into the practice of writing. This is a world where kindness honors our inner voices, boundaries help us edit and focus, and harmony creates moments of insight. Mandell collects guidance from poets, essayists, psychologists, philosophers, and sages alike in a conversation that engages literary wisdom with sacred texts. Bursting with wisdom and practical advice, inspiration and writing prompts, Mandell shows us how to reveal and give voice to our own unique stories.” * Jane Medved, author of Deep Calls to Deep and Olam, Shana, Nefesh *“The Kabbalah of Writing is rich with the most practical suggestions for writers, simple to follow, and abundant with possibility. Mandell shows us by example how to live a reading and writing life every day. Her book is a welcome guide for anyone seeking to link spiritual growth with literary experiment.” * Ilana M. Blumberg, Ph.D., author and associate professor of English at Bar-Ilan University *“The Tree of Life is a map of the Divine’s creative process, and a core Kabbalistic teaching is that we are partners with the Divine in completing and perfecting our part in that process. Sherri Mandell has given writers a great gift as she teaches us how to use the Tree of Life in our creative process, revealing our work to be the holy partnership that it is and enabling us to reach new creative depths and heights.” * Mark Horn, author of Tarot and the Gates of Light *“I have never read a book that accomplishes so many goals without overwhelming the reader or oversimplifying the material. The Kabbalah of Writing incorporates a serious treatment of the sefirot interspersed with an illuminating survey of ‘writers writing about writing,’ peppered with personal anecdotes that warm the heart, and topped with an adventurous array of writing exercises.” * Sarah Yehudit Schneider, author of Kabbalistic Writings on the Nature of Masculine and Feminine *“Highly original, beautifully conceived, The Kabbalah of Writing is a gift not only to aspiring writers but to anyone seeking to enhance their creative and spiritual potential.” * Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute *“Such poetic, light, penetrating wisdom riffles through these pages like an evening breeze in Jerusalem. This book contains just about everything I need to know to write better and live more richly.” * Ruchama King Feuerman, author of In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist *“This book is a psycho-spiritual manual that applies the wisdom of the sefirot to the sacred art of creative writing. Freewheeling anecdotes, from personal experience, from Torah, and a multitude of celebrated writers, are sure to help us live more deeply, with greater courage and humor.” * Jean-Pierre Weill, author of The Well of Being *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Will / Keter 2 Inspiration / Chochmah 3 Comprehension / Bina 4 Kindness / Chesed 5 Boundaries / Gevurah 6 Harmony / Tiferet 7 Endurance / Netzach8 Surrender / Hod9 Creativity / Yesod 10 Rulership / Malchut A Final WordBibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisA definitive account of the great revolt of Jews against Rome and the destruction of the Jerusalem TempleTrade Review“Through his close analysis of the war, making extensive critical use of Josephus’s works, [Rogers] raises and resolves important questions about the nature of a revolt whose ripples can still be felt in our own time.”—David Abulafia, Catholic Herald“In his excellent new book . . . Guy MacLean Rogers tries to figure out precisely what compelled the Jews of the first century to rebel against the Roman Empire.”—Simeon Cohen, Times of Israel“A beautifully produced and thought-provoking book. . . . Fascinating questions [are] debated within these pages.”—Sara Jo Ben Zvi, Segula: The Jewish History MagazineCHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2022“A remarkable achievement. Guy Rogers provides a powerful, moving reconstruction of the scale, scope, and consequences of the great Jewish war against Rome. Thoughtful, careful, and thorough, this is a major contribution to scholarship. Rogers’ lively and engaging style makes it eminently accessible to a broad audience.”—Erich S. Gruen, University of California at Berkeley“Guy Rogers brings a profound grasp of the Roman world, historical flair, and fine judgment to this new, in-depth political and military study of the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome. This is an important and exciting book about an event that changed the course of history and that has a perennial hold on our emotions and imagination.”—Tessa Rajak, University of Oxford“Written with passion and wit, this patient and remarkably detailed reconstruction offers fresh interpretations of matters large and small, leading persuasively to the view of the war as a profound crisis with far-reaching and lasting consequences, whose meaning has been urgently debated to this very day.”—Jonathan Price, Tel Aviv University“Rogers provides a sweeping and detailed overview. This important work, written by a leading authority, will immediately become the standard reference on the First Jewish Revolt against Rome.”—Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill“Guy Rogers provides a lucid yet terrifying account of the ‘Jewish War’—the uprising of the Jews in 66 CE, and the Roman empire’s savage response, in a story that stretches from Rome to Jerusalem. It is characterized by inter- and intra-communal violence, desperate acts of resistance and bravery, and imperial repression, culminating in the destruction of the Temple, the execution of the brilliant Jewish military commander Simon bar Giora, and the capture of Masada. But Rogers is also a great historian: his narrative is a clinical, forensic examination of context, background, political culture, causality, contingency, and sources—especially the extraordinarily intimate view of events provided by the figure of the Jewish aristocrat, leader and turncoat Josephus.”—John Ma, Columbia University “Guy Rogers has retold the story of the Jewish revolt of AD 66–73/4, a turning point in Jewish history, taking full account of modern scholarship, in a style aimed at a wide audience, vividly painting the heroism and tragedy of the clash between civilizations, whose impact survived to this very day in the ethos of modern Israel.”—Hannah Cotton, Hebrew University in Jerusalem

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Book SynopsisExamining the complex confrontation between Jewish fundamentalism and Israeli political sovereignty, this study discusses Orthodoxy's divergent positions on Zionism, which range from radical condemnation to virtual beatification.

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Book SynopsisThe Torah is both hidden and revealed there is a secret meaning to the holy Torah that is not written down explicitly or explained in it' This selection offers a comprehensive survey of the ''Kabbalah'', the body of writings in the Jewish mystical tradition. It features texts from a variety of literary forms, from the earliest biblical sources through to the early twentieth century, with a section on ''practical kabbalistic knowledge and procedure'' to appeal to the modern market.

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Book SynopsisHailed by philosopher Martin Buber as the true teacher, pioneer, philosopher and dreamer, Aharon David Gordon (1856--1922) is increasingly being recognized as the first Jewish environmentalist. Long before global warming became a major threat, Gordon warned against the mounting dangers of human assault on nature and urged us to open ourselves to nature and re-attune with it. Rather than trying to conquer nature, Gordon argued, we should merge with it; rather than being a master or slave of nature, we should become nature''s friend and ally. Since childhood, nature fertilized and shaped Gordon''s mindscape, as it eventually did his philosophical writings. Gordon''s fresh insights on critical contemporary issues--such as ecology, gender, social justice, and post-secularism--have inspired not only a rapidly growing body of scholarly literature, but also communal readings and study among young readers whose imagination has been captured by Gordon''s thoughts and dreams.The First Jewish Env

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Book SynopsisErasmus of Rotterdam was the greatest Christian humanist scholar of the Northern European Renaissance, a correspondent of Sir Thomas More and many other learned men of his time, known to his contemporaries and to posterity for subtlety of his thought and the depth of his learning. He was also, according to some modern writers, an anti-Semite. In this complete analysis of all of Erasmus' writings on Jews and Judaism, Shimon Markish asserts that the accusation cannot be sustained. For Markish, to ask whether Erasmus was a friend or enemy of the Jews is to ask a modern question of a sixteenth-century man, whose attitude can best be called asemitism. Erasmus' chief preoccupation was with the future of the true philosophy of Christ; he had little interest in the Jewish community of his own time. Erasmus and the Jews discusses Erasmus' critique of Mosaic law and his view of the conflict between Judaism as legalistic morality and Jesus' teaching; his judgment on the Pharisees of Jesus' time; his emphasis on the importance of the study of Hebrew; and his opinions of sixteenth-century Jews. This meticulous analysis reveals an Erasmus who defended his vision of true piety by rejecting Judaizing Christians more than Jews and who saw the Old Testament as integral to the Christian worldview. As a Christian, he regretted nonbelief and pitied unbelievers, without vicious hostility toward any single people. His theological opposition to a form of religious thought which he identified with Judaism was not translated into crude prejudice against actual Jews. In general, his calm consideration of the strange and the foreign and his willingness to restrict his judgments to the philosophical realm were, Markish argues, early and significant steps toward enlightened toleration. Markish's discussion of Erasmus is supplemented with an Afterword by theologian and philosopher Arthur A. Cohen, who offers a variant interpretation of Erasmus' writings and attitudes. The juxtaposed arguments of the two scholars make this an especially illuminating work for any student of Erasmus and his influence. Erasmus and the Jews also gives a necessary clarity to our understanding of the meaning of anti-Semitism and the history of religious toleration. Markish's profound knowledge of Erasmus allows him to demonstrate thefundamentalimportance of putting arguments and terminology in the context of a thinker's work and hisown time.

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Book SynopsisIn this original work, Moshe Halevi Spero makes a two-pronged effort to integrate the psychological and religious perspectives of contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory with the system of Jewish ethics known as Halakhah. Religious Objects as Psychological Structures represents the first comprehensive theoretical and clinical integration of psychology and Judaism within the larger understanding of the religious nature of psychotherapy and the psychotherapeutic nature of religion. By constructing a halakhic metapsychology within which psychological phenomena can be given specific halakhic identities, Spero arrives at a unique perspective on the development of religious objects and God representations. He traces two lines of development: one for relationships between humans, anthropocentric, and another for relationships between God and humans, deocentric. The second aspect of his argument is that these two distinct but parallel lines allow one to conceptualize the revolution

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Book SynopsisElliot R. Wolfson intervenes in the debate over Martin Heidegger and Nazism from a unique perspective, as a scholar of Jewish mysticism and philosophy who has been profoundly influenced by Heidegger’s work. He reveals crucial aspects of Heidegger’s thinking that betray an affinity with dimensions of Jewish thought.Trade ReviewIf Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe was right when stating that the ‘secret of Nazism is buried in Heidegger,’ we must face down this troubled legacy. Elliot Wolfson leads us to the uncomfortable zone of true thinking. Without condemnation but on the razor’s edge of incessant probing, the work calls up a recasting of political engagement. Mere condemnation or strategies of avoidance can no longer cut it. -- Avital Ronell, New York UniversityThe Duplicity of Philosophy's Shadow represents one of the most sustained and creative engagements with the legacy of Heidegger. Rather than marginalize Heidegger and ostracize those who engage his writings, Wolfson instead opts for critical engagement and intellectual honesty. His poetic wrestling is simultaneously exciting and timely. -- Aaron W. Hughes, University of RochesterIn The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow, Wolfson gathers together immense amounts of documentation and compresses it into a lively, readable analysis that combines scope and comprehensiveness with incisive focus on the core issues. He has the talent and the patience to deliver the painstaking labor necessary to provide such syntheses. Wolfson’s scholarly expertise deeply impresses this work with his own signature. -- William Franke, Vanderbilt UniversityNeither apologetic nor denunciatory, Wolfson masterfully summons the lucidity of a philosopher, the erudition of a scholar, and the profoundness of a mystic to face one of modern thought’s most disturbing riddles: how could Heidegger bring so much philosophical light and evince so much political darkness? In this powerful, crepuscular display, Heideggerian and kabbalistic insights on the ambiguity of truth converge to elucidate the philosopher’s very darkness as the shadow of his philosophical radiance. -- Elad Lapidot, Free University of BerlinThis rich scholarly treatment of Heidegger's social, political, and philosophical life adds a voice to Heideggerian studies that should not be missed....Highly recommended. * Choice *Elliot Wolfson’s The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow: Heidegger, Nazism, and the Jewish Other is, in my opinion, the most sophisticated engagement with the 'problem' of Martin Heidegger’s Nazism in the English language * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsPreface: Calculating Heidegger’s Miscalculation1. Barbaric Enchantment: From Existential Ontology to Abyssal Meontology2. Nomadism, Homelessness, and the Obfuscation of Being3. Jewish Time and the Historiographical Eclipse of Historical Destiny4. Being’s Tragedy: Heidegger’s Silence and the Ring of Solitude5. Political Disavowal: Truth and Concealing the Unconcealment6. Heidegger, Balaam, and the Duplicity of Philosophy’s ShadowAfterwordNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn this interesting and original book, Brian J. Horowitz focuses on Vladimir Jabotinsky's transformation from a supporter of liberalism in Russia to a Zionist who advocated extreme conservatism in the mid- 1920s. -- Abraham Ascher * Studies in Contemporary Jewry An Annual XXXII *In this latest, absorbing book [Vladimir Jabotinsky's Russian Years, 1900-1925] Horowitz focuses on Jabotinsky's years in Russia, drawing on detailed Russian and Hebrew sources. -- Colin Shindler * The Jewish Chronicle *In his careful intellectual history, Vladimir Jabotinsky's Russian Years, 1900-1925, Brian Horowitz shows that Jabotinsky's Revisionist Zionist congress was the crowning glory of his "Russian period," when the Russian-speaking journalist and intellectual enshrined a vision of a Jewish home with a Jewish majority in British Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. -- David Shneer, University of Colorado, Boulder * Russian Review *It is Horowitz's personal opinion that Jabotinsky's "outsize image deflates considerably when one compares him to Ben-Gurion". However, a careful, dispassionate reading of this book most probably will convince the objective reader otherwise. And for that result, Horowitz deserves praise. -- Yisrael Medad - Menachem Begin Heritage Center * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *Horowitz's book, a critical rethinking of Jabotinsky's Russian years, is a valuable addition to this scholarship, which makes a significant con- ceptual and factual contribution to the historiography of both Russia and her Jews. -- Vassili Schedrin - Queen's University * AJS REVIEW *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Vladimir Jabotinsky and Russia 1. A Zionist in Odessa, circa 1900–03 2. Zionism Before 1905 3. In Revolution and Counterrevolution, 1905–06 4. The Decade between the Revolution of 1905 and World War I (1907–1914) 5. Political Alliances Break, Jabotinsky Goes His Own Way (1907–1914) 6. The Jewish Legion's Russian Inspiration, 1915–1917 7. Post-War Disappointments, Palestine 1918–1922 8. Russian-Jewish Emigration and the Path to Zionist Revisionism, 1923–1925 9. Russia in the Life and Work of Jabotinsky After 1925 ConclusionBibliography Index

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Book SynopsisPresents an account of the religious dimension of Jacques Derrida's thought.Trade Review"... the most thorough and illuminating study to date of the decisive role played by the religious within Jacques Derrida's writings." Journal of Religion "The question of the relation between Derrida and religion has gradually been attracting attention. Caputo ... offers us here what may be the definitive study of this issue... Highly recommended." Choice "The book is a feast of wordplay, but it is wordplay the mind can feed on... a landmark publication." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Caputo's book is riveting... A singular achievement of stylistic brio and impeccable scholarship, it breaks new ground in making a powerful case for treating Derrida as homo religiosis... There can be no mistaking the importance of Caputo's work." -- Edith Wyschogrod "No one interested in Derrida, in Caputo, or in the larger question of postmodernism and religion can afford to ignore this pathbreaking study. Taking full advantage of the most recent and least discussed writings of Derrida, it offers a careful and comprehensive account of the religious dimension of Derrida's thought." -- Merold WestphalTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction: A Passion for the ImpossibleA Map for the PerplexedI. The Apophatic1. God Is Not différance2. Dreaming the Impossible Dream: Derrida and Levinas on the Impossible3. Affirmation at the Limits: How Not to Speak4. Save the Name: Wholly Other Towards a General Apophatics Edifying Divertissement No. 1. Bedeviling FaithII. The Apocalyptic5. Viens!6. Messianic Time: Derrida and Blanchot7. An Apocalypse sans Apocalypse, To Jacques of El Biar8. The Secret Edifying Divertissement No. 2. From Elea to Elohim: God of the Same, God of the OtherIII. The messianic9. Of Marx and the Messiah10. Messianic Passion and the Religion of Saint Jacques11. Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone (Almost)IV. The Gift12. The Time of Giving and Forgiving Edifying Divertissement No. 3. Traditions and the World-Play13. Abraham's Gift14. Abraham and the Pharisees Edifying Divertissement No. 4. Deconstruction and the Kingdom of GodV. Circumcision15. Hegel and the Jews Edifying Divertissement No. 5. Deferring Incarnation—and Jesus the Jew16. Circumcision17. Is Deconstruction Really a Jewish science?VI. Confession18. The Son of These Tears: The Confession of Jacques de la Rue-Augustin Edifying Divertissement No. 6. A Prayer19. These Weeping Eyes, Those Seeing Tears: The Faith of Jacques DerridaConclusion: A Passion for GodBibliography on Derrida and Religion

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Book SynopsisThe complete history of the Operation Reinhard death camps.Trade ReviewWith meticulous scholarship and precise exposition Tel Aviv historian and Yad Vashem director Arad recounts all facets of Operation Reinhard, the destruction of 1.5 million Jews in occupied Poland from 1941 to 1943. . . . This comprehensive, judicious, and moving history is a remarkable contribution to Holocaust studies and is strongly recommended * Library Journal *Drawing on a wealth of evidence . . . Arad lets the terrible record speak for itself... Mr. Arad reports as a controlled and effective witness for the prosecution . . . Mr. Arad's book, with its abundance of horrifying detail, reminds us of how far we have to go. * New York Times Book Review *This is the authentic, exhaustive, definitive account of the least known death camps of the Nazi era. -- Raul HilbergTable of ContentsPART ONE THE EXTERMINATION MACHINE1. The Final Solution: From Shooting to Gas2. Operation Reinhard: Organization and Manpower3. Belzec: Construction and Experiments4. Construction of Sobibor5. Construction of Treblinka6. Preparing for the Deportations7. Expulsion from the Ghettos8. The Trains of Death9. Belzec: March 17 to June, 194210. Sobibor: May to July, 194211. Treblinka: July 23 to August 28, 194212. Reorganization in Treblinka13. The Mission of Gerstein and Pfannenstiel14. Jewish Working Prisoners15. Women Prisoners16. Improved Extermination Techniques and Installations17. The Annihilation of the Jews in the General Government18. Deportations from Bialystok General District and Ostland19. Transports from Other European Countries20. The Extermination of Gypsies21. The Economic Plunder22. Himmler's Visit to SObibor and Treblinka23. The Erasure of the CrimesPART TWO LIFE IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH24 Portraits of the Perpetrators25 The Prisoners' of Daily Life26 The Prisoners and the Deportees27 Faith and Religion28 Diseases, Epidemics, and Suicide29 Social LifePART THREE ESCAPE AND RESISTANCE30 The Cognizance and Reaction of the Victims in Occupied Poland31 Escapes from the Trains and Spontaneous Acts of Resistance32 Escapes from the Camps33 The Underground in Teblinka34 The Plan for the Uprising in Treblinka35 August 2, 1943: The Uprising in Treblinka36 Pursuit and Escape from Treblinka37 Ideas and Organization for Resistance in Sobibor38 The Underground in Sobibor39 The Plan for Uprising in Sobibor40 October 14, 1943: The Uprising in Sobibor41 Pursuit and Escape from Sobibor42 Survival amoung the Local Population43 Reports about the Death Camps in Polish Wartime Publications44 An Evaluation of the Uprisings and Their Results45 Operation Erntefest46 The Liquidation of the Camps and the Termination of Operation ReinhardEpilogueAPPENDIX A The Deportation of the Jews from the General Government, Bialystok General District, and OstlandAPPENDIX B The Fate of the Perpetrators of Operation ReinhardBibliographic Key to the NotesNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe Invention of Ancient Israel shows how the history of ancient Palestine has been obscured by the search for Israel. Keith W. Whitelam argues that ancient Israel has been invented by scholars in the image of a European nation state. He explores the theological and political assumptions which have shaped research into ancient Israel by Biblical scholars, and contributed to the vast network of scholarship which Said identified as 'Orientalist discourse'.Keith W. Whitelam's groundbreaking study argues that Biblical scholars, through their traditional view of this region, have contributed to dispossession of both a Palestinian land and a Palestinian past. This is important reading for historians, biblical specialists, social anthropologists and all those who are interested in the history of ancient Israel and Palestine.Trade Review'Anyone who feels K's work 'can be safely ignored' will only show himself up as a fool.' - History Geography and Society'An important contribution to the history of scholarship.' - Expository Times'This is a brave, fascinating and important book ... constantly thought provoking and controversial.' - Sunday Times'Keith Whitelam's work serves to remind us what a vital if fraught exercise it still is to engage explicitly with the unique cultural influence of the Old Testament on the contemporary world.' - The Friend'It is a masterly, courageous work, the result of careful reading, focused reflection and the appropriate moral passion, which richly deserves wide exposure and will surely prompt siginificant discussion.' - Heythrop Journal'Whitelam can (and will) be criticized for introducing politics into 'ancient Israel', he is merely exposing it - and the Palestinians are after all the major victims of a zionizing European and American biblical scholarship. This book should be in paperback, and compulsory reading.' - Journal for the Study of the Old TestamentTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Silencing of Palestinian History, 1. Partial Texts and Fractured Histories, 2. Denying Space and Time to Palestinian History, 3. Inventing Ancient Israel, 4. The Creation of an Israelite State, 5. The Continuing Search, Reclaiming Palestinian History, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

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Book SynopsisGerbern S. Oegema is Professor of Biblical Studies at McGill University, Canada. Henry W. Morisada Rietz is Professor of Religious Studies at Grinnell College, USA. Loren T. Stuckenbruck is Professor of New Testament at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany.Trade ReviewThe essays [the contributors] have produced to honor their teacher and colleague are a smorgasbord of scholarly delights. This book belongs in every theological library. Its essays will be valued by both beginning and experienced biblical scholars, and it is a fitting tribute to someone who exemplifies the best in biblical scholarship. * The Bible Today *Framed as a letter from the editors to the honoree, Fountains of Wisdom exhibits the kind of academic exchange and dialogue that characterizes Professor Charlesworth’s career. Each essay engages some aspect of his monumental and wide-ranging contributions to the fields of Hebrew Bible and New Testament, Greco-Roman and Jewish world, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, and more. As a Festscrhift this is a fitting tribute to a scholar whose four decades of work have shaped much of the conversation within these disciplines. As a collection of essays it contains important contributions by an international group of thirty-four talented women and men speaking to essential topics with a wide breadth of scholarly inquiry. * Daniel M. Gurtner, Centre for the Study of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity, St Mary's University, UK *It is a pleasure to commend this volume in which a formidable line up of writers have produced essays on various aspects of Second Temple Judaism, in conversation with and in honor of James Charlesworth, who has made such major, fundamental contributions to the field. * James Claire VanderKam, University of Notre Dame, USA *Table of ContentsPreface A Selection of Major Works by James H. Charlesworth Contributors I. Hebrew Bible and New Testament 1. The Interpretation of Genesis 4:10 in Early Jewish Literature - John R. Levinson, SMU Perkins School of Theology, USA 2. Abraham et l’abrahamisme: Mythe ou réalité? - Simon C. Mimouni, École Pratique des Hautes Études, France 3. Hebrews, the Aqedah, and Early Scriptural Interpretation - C.D. Elledge, Gustavus Adolphus College, USA 4. The Etymology of Belial Once Again: A Case of Tabooistic Deformation? - Brent A. Strawn, Duke Divinity School, USA 5. Just What We Need: Another Allusion in Luke 1? - John B.F. Miller, McMurry University, USA 6. Repentance and Turning as a Unified Motif in Luke-Acts - Kindalee Pfremmer De Long, Pepperdine University, USA 7. Do Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11 Belong in Our Bibles? A Case Study in the Intersection of Textual Criticism and Canonical Considerations - Loren L. Johns, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, USA 8. Reconsidering the Poor: A Fresh Translation of Matthew 5:3 - Johan Ferreira, Melbourne School of Theology, Australia 9. Christology in John’s Crucifixion Quotations - Michael A. Daise, College of William & Mary, USA 10. Touching the Risen Jesus: Did Jesus Allow Thomas to Do What He Refused to Mary? - Lidija Novakovic, Baylor University, USA 11. Who Is My Brother? Study of the Term adelfós in the Acts of the Apostles - Claire Pfann, University of the Holy Land, Israel 12. How Much of Israel will be saved—a Remnant or all of Israel? A fresh look at Romans 9-11 - Stephen J. Pfann, University of the Holy Land, Israel 13. Jesus Tradition, Christian Creeds, and the New Testament Canon - Lee Martin McDonald, Acadia Divinity College, Canada II. Greco-Roman and Jewish World 14. When Ontology Meets Eschatology: A Platonized Reading of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 - Gregory E. Sterling, Yale Divinity School, USA 15. On John the Baptist at the Jordan River: Geohistorical and Archaeological Considerations - Shimon Gibson, UNC Charlotte, USA 16. Greco-Roman and Jewish Historiography as Backdrop for the Gospels - Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary, USA 17. From, To, In, and Through Caesarea: Herod’s Imperial City as Significant Narrative Setting and Literary Linking Device in the Acts of the Apostles - Jonathan E. Soyars, Westminster College, Cambridge, UK 18. Metatron and Naar: Combining Titles and Rev 3:21 as a Probable Riddle-Solver - Konstantinos Th. Zarras, University of Macedonia, Macedonia 19. Some Considerations on Ethics in Early Jewish Theologies and the New Testament - Gerbern S. Oegema, McGill University, Canada III. Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 20. The Pseudepigrapha and Second Temple Judaism - John J. Collins, Yale Divinity School, USA 21. Enoch’s Prayer for Rescue from the Flood: 1 Enoch 83-84, with a New Translation and Notes - Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany 22. Cain and the Example of the Birds - Christfried Böttrich, University of Greifswald, Germany 23. Die Bedeutung der Assumptio Mosis für die Erforschung des frühen Christentums - Jan Dochhorn, University of Durham, UK 24. Neither Deuteronomic nor Priestly: The Psalms of Solomon as the Original Answer of Learned Scribes to the Wickedness of High Priest - Patrick Pouchelle, Centre Sèvres, Paris, France IV. Dead Sea Scrolls 25 Contextual Textual Errors in 1QISa a : How the Scribe Was Impacted by His Textual Environment - Donald W. Parry, Brigham Young University, USA 26. Psalmenhandschriften in den Qumrantexten - Hermann Lichtenberger, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany 27. ‘Luxury Scrolls’ from the Judean Desert - Emanuel Tov, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 28. Qumran Readings in Agreement with the Septuagint against the Masoretic Text. Part Four: 2 Samuel - Corrado Martone, University of Turin, Italy 29. When Prophecy Fails: Apocalyptic Schemes for Dating the ‘Appointed Time of the End’ in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jesus Movement - James D. Tabor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA 30. Science Fiction in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Case of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Nephilim - Helen R. Jacobus, University of Manchester, UK V. History of Scholarship 31. Of Moses, Mountains, and Models: Joseph Smith’s Book of Moses in Dialogue with the Greek Life of Adam and Eve - David Calabro, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, USA 32. Paul Fiebig’s Reply to Arthur Drews on the Miracles of Jesus and Apollonius of Tyana - Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University, USA 33. The Contribution of Italian Scholarship on Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins, from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century - Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan, USA Indices Index of Authors Index of Passages Index of Subjects

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Book SynopsisThe Didache as a mediating document between Jewish and gentile Christians, advocating Mosaic law without full conversion.Trade Review'In this stimulating and original monograph, Nessim argues that the author of the Didache mandated the same Torah followed by the Jewish people for gentiles, insofar as it was deemed to apply to them. The claim is controversial, but in arguing it, Nessim touches on an array of issues pertinent to the study of Jewish and Christian identity and their relationship to each other.' - James Carleton Paget, University of Cambridge 'Much has been written since the rediscovery of the Didache on its relationship to Judaism and Torah, but most of the work has been piecemeal, focusing on particular texts and problems. . . . In this book Daniel Nessim has provided a plausible and holistic account of its background in the historical context of the failed revolt against Rome and its aftermath in Antioch, drawing particularly on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish sources. He locates the struggle in the emergence of the earliest movement of Jesus believers around the position of Torah, God's covenant with Israel, and continuing Jewish ethnic identity in mixed communities of Jesus believers. . . . His study provides intriguing possibilities for rethinking relations today between Jesus-believing Jews and gentiles who identify with and wish to live and worship in common with them.' - Jonathan Draper, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 'A fresh and measured study of how the Didache understood the application of the Torah to Gentile followers of Jesus and Jews respectively. I highly recommend it!' - David Rudolph, The King's University, Southlake, TexasTable of ContentsPreface | ix Abbreviations | xi Introduction | xiii Part One: Didache and Torah | 1 1. The Didache and the Torah: A Literature Review | 3 2. Text and Transmission | 22 Part Two: A Comprehensible and Authoritative Teaching | 45 3. Crisis and Community | 47 4. Two Ways and the One Way of Torah | 74 5. An Authoritative Torah and Teacher | 90 Part Three: Torah for the Lord's Community | 113 6. The Two Ways Choice | 115 7. The Sectio, Jesus, and the Torah | 129 8. The Sectio and the Two Ways | 140 9. The Torah and the Two Ways | 158 10. The Yoke of the Lord | 177 11. The Two Ways Disciple | 196 Conclusion | 221 Bibliography | 225 Author Index | 243 Subject Index | 247 Index of References | 253

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Book SynopsisThe advent of Islam in the seventh century brought profound economic changes to the Jews living in the Middle East, and Talmudic law, compiled in and for an agrarian society, was ill equipped to address an increasingly mercantile world. In response, and over the course of the seventh through eleventh centuries, the heads of the Jewish yeshivot of Iraq sought precedence in custom to adapt Jewish law to the new economic and social reality.In Maimonides and the Merchants, Mark R. Cohen reveals the extent of even further pragmatic revisions to the halakha, or body of Jewish law, introduced by Moses Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah, the comprehensive legal code he compiled in the late twelfth century. While Maimonides insisted that he was merely restating already established legal practice, Cohen uncovers the extensive reformulations that further inscribed commerce into Jewish law. Maimonides revised Talmudic partnership regulations, created a judicial method to enable JewishTrade Review"Maimonides and the Merchants opens a new window onto Maimonides' unprecedentedly systematic and comprehensive code of law. Cohen's exceptionally clear and cogent readings of Mishneh Torah, balanced against previous rabbinic legal writings on the one hand and Geniza evidence on the other, successfully establish Mishneh Torah as a social-political endeavor addressed to a real-life audience." * Islamic Law and Society *Table of ContentsNotes and Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. Codification and Legal Change Chapter 2. Halakha and the Custom of the Merchants Chapter 3. Updating the Halakha Chapter 4. Partnership Chapter 5. Commercial Agency (Suhba) Chapter 6. Suhba-Agency in the Code Chapter 7. Proxy Legal Agency Chapter 8. Sale and Contract Chapter 9. Judicial Autonomy Conclusion. Legal Change and Originality Notes Works Cited Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisAgainst the commonly held opinion that ancient Judaism was an artless culture, this sumptuously illustrated book offers new ways of looking at art in Jewish antiquity. Leading experts, under the editorship of Sarah Pearce, skilfully explore different functions of images in relation to their prohibition by the Second of the Ten Commandments.Trade ReviewThe contributors are all specialist scholars, in a range of fields, and their essays represent the latest scholarship in English on this tantalising and complex subject. -- Standpoint Standpoint

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Book SynopsisThe first study to treat the history of claims to an Israelite identity as an ongoing historical phenomenon from biblical times onwards. From an expert on the history of traditions about the twelve tribes of Israel, this volume brings a long-term comparative approach to biblical and nonbiblical Israelite histories.Table of Contents1. Judah's Israels: The twelve tribes of Israel in the Hebrew Bible; 2. The tribes that were not lost: The Samaritans; 3. Across the River Sambatyon: The lost tribes of Israel in medieval legends; 4. Becoming Israel in America: The Mormons and the new Jerusalem; 5. A lost tribe returns: The beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel.

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