Judaism Books

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewKolbrener's work is an erudite and remarkably thoughtful demonstration of a pivot in method that yields a new vision of a well-known Jewish intellectual. * Religious Studies Review *The Last Rabbi is a learned, compelling, and challenging read, not only about Soloveitchik's work, but about the person, and the struggles of being "the last rabbi." * AJS Review *Kolbrener's provocative work offers an insightful new interpretation of a major twentieth-century religious thinker. * Religious Studies Review *The author, William Kolbrenner, a professor of English at Bar Ilan University, weaves his interests in Jewish thought and literature into his powerful examination, providing readers with a 'thought biography' that challenges us to consider Rabbi Soloveitchik as the 'reluctant modern.' * Jewish Book Council *Recommended. * Choice *Kolbrenner masterfully weaves a portrait of a very brilliant and complex individual who both successfully and unsuccessfully straddled the lines between the Yeshiva World and the world of Philosophy. * Jewish History Channel *The Last Rabbi provides a refreshingly new and different understanding of this enigmatic figureAlthough much of Kolbrener's foray into Soloveitchik's psyche is speculative, it does provide an innovative and fascinating new perspective on one of the most important, yet elusive, Jewish thinkers of the past century. For those interested in Jewish though, this is certainly a thought-provoking read. * Times Higher Education *This revolutionary work offers a powerful lens through which to read the writings of the pioneering 20th-Century talmudist and Jewish philosopher, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, the driving force behind American modern OrthodoxyKolbrener's work musters a dazzling panoply of Jewish and general sources to re-examine the life and works of the most influential American talmudist. The Last Rabbi is a challenging, yet rewarding, read and ironically raises the threshold for future studies of Soloveitchik to the extent that this work may itself be the "last". * Jewish Chronicle *Table of ContentsAbbreviations of WorksPreface Introduction: The Making of Joseph Soloveitchik and the Unmaking of Talmudic TraditionPart I: Talmudic Tradition: Mourning 1. Hermeneutics of Rabbinic Mourning 2. Pluralism, Rabbinic Poetry and Dispute Part II: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik: Melancholy Interlude: Primal Scene in Pruzhna 3. Love, Repentance, Sublimation 4. Joseph Soloveitchik, A Melancholy Modern 5. Beyond the Law: Repentance and Gendered Memory 6. From Interpretive Conquest to Antithetic Ethics Conclusion: The Last Rabbi and Talmudic Irony Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAlthough at times potentially difficult for the lay reader, this book is worth reading for its explanation of how and why Auschwitz became central in the Irving-Lipstadt trial, as well as why the gas chambers have become so important for Holocaust denial. It is a significant contribution to the Holocaust canon. * Jewish Book Council *Readers of this book, which will become the sine qua non of all writing about the Holocaust, should be warned that it describes the gruesome nature of Holocaust history, and the equally gruesome role of those who have sought to deny it. * The Jerusalem Post *Fascinating insights into the conduct of the case and the main personalities . . . * Jewish Chronicle *The bulk of the book is the methodical and chilling presentation of materials presented at the trial . . . interwoven with Irving's testimony and defense. Van Pelt has arranged an enormous amount of complex material succinctly and to great effect. Read as a whole, the book is a stunning courtroom drama and a vital document of historical evidence. This is an important addition to Holocaust literature and 20th-century history. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *The Irving case has done for the new century what the Nuremberg tribunals or the Eichmann trial did for earlier generations. * The Daily Telegraph *The newly released paperback version of Van Pelt's definitive 2002 book The Case of Auschwitz: Evidence from the Irving Trial shows that the best defense against malicious efforts to doubt the obvious is exhaustive familiarity with sources coupled with simple logic. . . . These are just two small examples from Van Pelt's massive study, whose overwhelming empirical heft leaves no doubt about Auschwitz's harrowing historicity. * Jewish Review of Books *Table of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents:Preface and Acknowledgments1. The Negationists' Challenge to Auschwitz2. Marshaling the Evidence3. Intentional Evidence4. Confessions and Trials5. "Witnesses Despite themselves"6. Auschwitz at the Irving TrialAbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewOverall, Moses Mendelssohn's Living Script represents an exciting revival of sophisticated scholarly interest in the ''German Socrates''' philosophical-theological contributions. . . . The book is a must-read for students of Judaism, German intellectual history, and the hermeneutic tradition, and it may be hoped that more of its kind will follow. * Toronto Journal of Theology *With scholarly acuity and philological sophistication, Sacks offers us an elegant historical examination of Mendelssohn's own historical consciousness, capturing the philosopher's enduring relevance for the present and future. * The Journal of Religion *Highly recommended. * Choice *Sacks has written an accessible book that will help students who read Jerusalem to better understand Mendelssohn's intellectual methods and objectives as well as his contributions to the development of modern religious forms of Judaism. Mendelssohn's Living Script is also an important book that makes a valuable contribution to debates that will continue to engage the next generation of scholars of Mendelssohn. * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsTranslations and AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. The "Living Script": Jerusalem's Perplexing Arguments2. Conceptual Disfiguring: Jewish Practice and Philosophical History3. The Felicity of the Nation: Jewish Practice and Social History4. "The Strict Obedience We Owe": Jewish Practice and the Study of History5. Rethinking Mendelssohn: Mendelssohn's Historical JudaismConclusion: Beyond Mendelssohn: History, Modernity, and Religious PracticeBibliography

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDreams Deferred is a convenient general guide to the multi-faceted Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as a valuable aid to understanding the contentious debates surrounding the BDS movement on American campuses and elsewhere. * Reading Religion *Nelson's book is worth the read because it is full of concise overviews and insightful arguments that can serve as launching points for further discussions about the many important topics addressed within. * H-Net *The book empowers readers to be informed participants in conversations and debates about developments that increasingly touch all of our lives. Its sixty concise but detailed essays give facts and arguments to assist all who seek justice for both Israelis and Palestinians and who believe the two-state solution can yet be realized. * European Association for Jewish Studies *A rare blast of cogent analysis, reliable information, and just good sense about an issue desperately in need of all three. -- Eric Alterman * Media Columnist, The Nation *This critical dictionary of anti-Israeli mendacities will be a sword in the hands of anybody who wants to cut through the dogmas and the intimidations of the BDS movement. It restores the disputation to first principles and first facts. It documents a foul intellectual bankruptcy. Slanders are refuted and clichés are shattered on its every page. Dreams Deferred is an important intervention in an important battle of ideas. I hope it finds many readers, especially on campus. Israel is not perfect, but enough is enough. -- Leon WieseltierIf you're sending a child off to college this fall, you'd do well to make sure they pack a copy of Dreams Deferred. . . . From apartheid to Zionism, there are definitions and descriptions that will help a student cope with today's anti-Israel environment prevalent on so many campuses. No less important, it will inform and clarify their own opinions and strengthen their positions. * Chicago Jewish Star *Dreams Deferred will be a tremendous resource for anyone who is upset by slanders against Israel, who shudders for the present reality of Israelis and Palestinians, or who yearns for a better future. * Reform Judaism *In this timely book of 60 essays, Nelson examines the boycott, sanctions, and divestment (BDS) movement, arguing that such policy has been divisive and counterproductive and undermines the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *Along with an array of contributors, Nelson tackles 60 major issues concerning the conflict, condensing them into clear and concise essays that as a collection create a logical and intricate link of events, concepts, phenomena, and ideologies that give the reader an inclusive picture of the conflict's dynamics today. * Middle East Journal *Offering brief, but cogent points on each topic, it is a particularly appropriate book for people engaged in dialogue with people highly critical of Israel, whether on campus or in the workplace. * The Jewish News *For all of us who hope for a decent peace between Israelis and Palestinians, who oppose the occupation and the BDS movement, who defend, against all odds, the two state solution, this book is powerful intellectual armor and an intellectual sword. -- Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced StudyWhether you agree with Nelson's Zionist philosophy or not, he has edited a book that gives pro-Zionist, pro-Israel, and anti-BDS activists, and particularly those within the academy, much food for thought and much valuable information that will be of material help in the major task of confronting contemporary anti-Zionism and BDS in all its forms. * International Society for Research on Aggression Blog *Easily accessible and highly enlightening, Dreams Deferred is a must-read for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the issues and history surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. * The Louis D. Brandeis Center *Readers of the book may come to understand what's at stake and the serious problems that need to be overcome to reach Mideast peace. And the knowledge they acquire may empower them to take part in the debate about Israel's future. * Washington Jewish Week *The quality of the prose is great and so is the level of historical and contemporary knowledge of Israel displayed therein. . . . It's quite an achievement to tackle such a wide range of topics, each of which could easily fill a short book. * Fathom *This work is highly useful as background for debates and discussions. The editor urges small steps to ease tensions until an agreement can be reached that 'validates the national narratives of both peoples. * Jewish Book Council *396 pages of essential information for anyone who cares about the delegitimization of Israel . . . the book's thoroughness and ease of use will be an asset for anyone dedicated to Israel. * Jewish United Fund *Table of ContentsTopics include ACADEMIC BOYCOTTS //ANTI-IMPERIALISM // ANTI-JEWISH BOYCOTTS IN HISTORY // ANTI-NORMALIZATION // ANTI-ZIONISM AS ANTI-SEMITISM // APARTHEID // BDS (BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS): A BRIEF HISTORY // BDS AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES // BDS AND CHRISTIAN CHURCHES // BI-NATIONALISM // COORDINATED UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL // CULTURAL BOYCOTTS // DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS // ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS // FATAH // "FROM FERGUSON TO PALESTINE" // GAZA // HAMAS // HEZBOLLAH // HOLOCAUST INVERSION // THE INDIGENOUS PALESTINIAN // THE INTIFADAS // ISRAEL: DEMOCRATIC AND JEWISH // ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITY COOPERATION // THE ISRAELI RIGHT AND RELIGIOUS SETTLER POLITICS // JEWISH ANTI-ZIONISM: THREE VIEWS // THE "JEWISH CONSPIRACY" // JEWISH HISTORY BEFORE ZIONISM // JIHAD // THE LEBANON WARS (1978, 1982, 2006) // THE 1948 WAR // THE ONE-STATE SOLUTION // ORIENTALISM & THE ATTACK ON ENLIGHTENMENT VALUES // THE OSLO ACCORDS // THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) // THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA) // THE PALESTINIAN RIGHT OF RETURN // PALESTINIANS IN ISRAELI HIGHER EDUCATION // THE PEACE PROCESS // PINKWASHING (LGBTQ) // PROPORTIONALITY AND ASYMMETRIC WARFARE // THE SECURITY BARRIER // SETTLER COLONIALISM // THE SOCIAL JUSTICE MANDATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION // TEACHING FEMINISM IN ISRAEL // THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION // THE WEST BANK // WORLD WAR II AND THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL // ZIONISM AS PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE // INDEX

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDreams Deferred is a convenient general guide to the multi-faceted Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as a valuable aid to understanding the contentious debates surrounding the BDS movement on American campuses and elsewhere. * Reading Religion *Nelson's book is worth the read because it is full of concise overviews and insightful arguments that can serve as launching points for further discussions about the many important topics addressed within. * H-Net *The book empowers readers to be informed participants in conversations and debates about developments that increasingly touch all of our lives. Its sixty concise but detailed essays give facts and arguments to assist all who seek justice for both Israelis and Palestinians and who believe the two-state solution can yet be realized. * European Association for Jewish Studies *A rare blast of cogent analysis, reliable information, and just good sense about an issue desperately in need of all three. -- Eric Alterman * Media Columnist, The Nation *This critical dictionary of anti-Israeli mendacities will be a sword in the hands of anybody who wants to cut through the dogmas and the intimidations of the BDS movement. It restores the disputation to first principles and first facts. It documents a foul intellectual bankruptcy. Slanders are refuted and clichés are shattered on its every page. Dreams Deferred is an important intervention in an important battle of ideas. I hope it finds many readers, especially on campus. Israel is not perfect, but enough is enough. -- Leon WieseltierIf you're sending a child off to college this fall, you'd do well to make sure they pack a copy of Dreams Deferred. . . . From apartheid to Zionism, there are definitions and descriptions that will help a student cope with today's anti-Israel environment prevalent on so many campuses. No less important, it will inform and clarify their own opinions and strengthen their positions. * Chicago Jewish Star *Dreams Deferred will be a tremendous resource for anyone who is upset by slanders against Israel, who shudders for the present reality of Israelis and Palestinians, or who yearns for a better future. * Reform Judaism *In this timely book of 60 essays, Nelson examines the boycott, sanctions, and divestment (BDS) movement, arguing that such policy has been divisive and counterproductive and undermines the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *Along with an array of contributors, Nelson tackles 60 major issues concerning the conflict, condensing them into clear and concise essays that as a collection create a logical and intricate link of events, concepts, phenomena, and ideologies that give the reader an inclusive picture of the conflict's dynamics today. * Middle East Journal *Offering brief, but cogent points on each topic, it is a particularly appropriate book for people engaged in dialogue with people highly critical of Israel, whether on campus or in the workplace. * The Jewish News *For all of us who hope for a decent peace between Israelis and Palestinians, who oppose the occupation and the BDS movement, who defend, against all odds, the two state solution, this book is powerful intellectual armor and an intellectual sword. -- Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced StudyWhether you agree with Nelson's Zionist philosophy or not, he has edited a book that gives pro-Zionist, pro-Israel, and anti-BDS activists, and particularly those within the academy, much food for thought and much valuable information that will be of material help in the major task of confronting contemporary anti-Zionism and BDS in all its forms. * International Society for Research on Aggression Blog *Easily accessible and highly enlightening, Dreams Deferred is a must-read for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the issues and history surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. * The Louis D. Brandeis Center *Readers of the book may come to understand what's at stake and the serious problems that need to be overcome to reach Mideast peace. And the knowledge they acquire may empower them to take part in the debate about Israel's future. * Washington Jewish Week *The quality of the prose is great and so is the level of historical and contemporary knowledge of Israel displayed therein. . . . It's quite an achievement to tackle such a wide range of topics, each of which could easily fill a short book. * Fathom *This work is highly useful as background for debates and discussions. The editor urges small steps to ease tensions until an agreement can be reached that 'validates the national narratives of both peoples. * Jewish Book Council *396 pages of essential information for anyone who cares about the delegitimization of Israel . . . the book's thoroughness and ease of use will be an asset for anyone dedicated to Israel. * Jewish United Fund *Table of ContentsTopics include ACADEMIC BOYCOTTS //ANTI-IMPERIALISM // ANTI-JEWISH BOYCOTTS IN HISTORY // ANTI-NORMALIZATION // ANTI-ZIONISM AS ANTI-SEMITISM // APARTHEID // BDS (BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS): A BRIEF HISTORY // BDS AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES // BDS AND CHRISTIAN CHURCHES // BI-NATIONALISM // COORDINATED UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL // CULTURAL BOYCOTTS // DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS // ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS // FATAH // "FROM FERGUSON TO PALESTINE" // GAZA // HAMAS // HEZBOLLAH // HOLOCAUST INVERSION // THE INDIGENOUS PALESTINIAN // THE INTIFADAS // ISRAEL: DEMOCRATIC AND JEWISH // ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITY COOPERATION // THE ISRAELI RIGHT AND RELIGIOUS SETTLER POLITICS // JEWISH ANTI-ZIONISM: THREE VIEWS // THE "JEWISH CONSPIRACY" // JEWISH HISTORY BEFORE ZIONISM // JIHAD // THE LEBANON WARS (1978, 1982, 2006) // THE 1948 WAR // THE ONE-STATE SOLUTION // ORIENTALISM & THE ATTACK ON ENLIGHTENMENT VALUES // THE OSLO ACCORDS // THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) // THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA) // THE PALESTINIAN RIGHT OF RETURN // PALESTINIANS IN ISRAELI HIGHER EDUCATION // THE PEACE PROCESS // PINKWASHING (LGBTQ) // PROPORTIONALITY AND ASYMMETRIC WARFARE // THE SECURITY BARRIER // SETTLER COLONIALISM // THE SOCIAL JUSTICE MANDATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION // TEACHING FEMINISM IN ISRAEL // THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION // THE WEST BANK // WORLD WAR II AND THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL // ZIONISM AS PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE // INDEX

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSarah Imhoff's Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a long-awaited and much-needed addition to the fields of Jewish studies, American studies, and gender studies. * H-Judaic *Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a book both focused in its scope and broad in its ambition; it should be a key point of reference for scholars working in any of the diverse fields of study that it deftly weaves together. * Gender & History *[Imhoff] goes out of her way to render gender theory accessible, making the book appropriate for undergraduates and non-academics as well as scholars in the fields of religious studies, gender studies, and American Jewish history. * American Jewish History *This creative, thought-provoking, and innovative book offers a fresh addition for scholars of gender and sexuality, religion, and American history. * Reading Religion *Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a significant achievement and deserves the attention of scholars of American Jewish studies and American religion. It helps that the book is exceptionally well written. Imhoff demonstrates that one need not sacrifice readability, grace, and style for historical depth and methodological sophistication. * American Historical Review *The study of gender in Jewish studies, and in particular of Jewish masculinities still requires more research. Sarah Imhoff's book offers a substantial inspiration and insight to carry this further. * Medaon *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: An American Religion1. The Reasonableness of Judaism: An American Theology2. Manly Missions: Jews, Christians, and American Religious MasculinityPart II: The Healthy Body and the Land 3. Go West, Young Jew: The Galveston Movement, Immigrant Men, and the Pioneer Spirit4. Israelite-Indian Identification: Claiming a Manly Past for American Judaism5. Afternoon Calisthenics at Woodbine: Jewish Agriculture, Religious Ambivalence, and the Male Body6. The Courageous Diaspora: Masculinity and the Development of American ZionismPart III: The Abnormal and the Criminal7. Soft Criminals: Theodore Bingham and the Gender of Jewish Crime8. Leo Frank and Jewish Sexuality9. Bad Jews: The Leopold and Loeb HearingConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSarah Imhoff's Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a long-awaited and much-needed addition to the fields of Jewish studies, American studies, and gender studies. * H-Judaic *Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a book both focused in its scope and broad in its ambition; it should be a key point of reference for scholars working in any of the diverse fields of study that it deftly weaves together. * Gender & History *[Imhoff] goes out of her way to render gender theory accessible, making the book appropriate for undergraduates and non-academics as well as scholars in the fields of religious studies, gender studies, and American Jewish history. * American Jewish History *This creative, thought-provoking, and innovative book offers a fresh addition for scholars of gender and sexuality, religion, and American history. * Reading Religion *Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism is a significant achievement and deserves the attention of scholars of American Jewish studies and American religion. It helps that the book is exceptionally well written. Imhoff demonstrates that one need not sacrifice readability, grace, and style for historical depth and methodological sophistication. * American Historical Review *The study of gender in Jewish studies, and in particular of Jewish masculinities still requires more research. Sarah Imhoff's book offers a substantial inspiration and insight to carry this further. * Medaon *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: An American Religion1. The Reasonableness of Judaism: An American Theology2. Manly Missions: Jews, Christians, and American Religious MasculinityPart II: The Healthy Body and the Land 3. Go West, Young Jew: The Galveston Movement, Immigrant Men, and the Pioneer Spirit4. Israelite-Indian Identification: Claiming a Manly Past for American Judaism5. Afternoon Calisthenics at Woodbine: Jewish Agriculture, Religious Ambivalence, and the Male Body6. The Courageous Diaspora: Masculinity and the Development of American ZionismPart III: The Abnormal and the Criminal7. Soft Criminals: Theodore Bingham and the Gender of Jewish Crime8. Leo Frank and Jewish Sexuality9. Bad Jews: The Leopold and Loeb HearingConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewShaina Hammerman's Silver Screen, Hasidic Jews makes a valuable contribution to a growing body of scholarly work on Jewish visibility in cinema. * American Jewish History *Silver Screen, Hasidic Jews is an essential inclusion for any course on Jewish film, as its analyses of Hasidic images say as much about cultural Judaism as religious. It is also an important read for any scholar thinking about Jewish cultural productions of the late-twentieth century to the present through the prism of gender. * Journal of Jewish Identities *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: When Jews are Like Jews1. The Yarmulke beneath the Cowboy Hat: Signifying Jewishness in the Hasidic Western2. The Jewish Type and le juif typique: Typologies of Jewishness in Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob3. Hard-Core Jews: Woody Allen's Religious Women and Men4. Cinema judéité: Projecting Jewish-Muslim Romance5. What Lies beneath the Wig: Hester Street and AdaptationEpilogue: Hijab, Habit, and HasidFilmography and BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewShaina Hammerman's Silver Screen, Hasidic Jews makes a valuable contribution to a growing body of scholarly work on Jewish visibility in cinema. * American Jewish History *Silver Screen, Hasidic Jews is an essential inclusion for any course on Jewish film, as its analyses of Hasidic images say as much about cultural Judaism as religious. It is also an important read for any scholar thinking about Jewish cultural productions of the late-twentieth century to the present through the prism of gender. * Journal of Jewish Identities *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: When Jews are Like Jews1. The Yarmulke beneath the Cowboy Hat: Signifying Jewishness in the Hasidic Western2. The Jewish Type and le juif typique: Typologies of Jewishness in Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob3. Hard-Core Jews: Woody Allen's Religious Women and Men4. Cinema judéité: Projecting Jewish-Muslim Romance5. What Lies beneath the Wig: Hester Street and AdaptationEpilogue: Hijab, Habit, and HasidFilmography and BibliographyIndex

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Book Synopsis1. This book is one of the first Jewish theological treatments of motherhood and childrearing. 2. It is among the first feminist works to treat maternal experience as theologically productive. 3. It was awarded the 2017 Cashmere Subvention Grant in Jewish Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies from the AJS Women's Caucus.Trade ReviewIn this elegantly written, provocative, scholarly, and accessible work, Mara Benjamin contributes to the growing body of literature using maternal experience as a source for theology and religious ethics. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *It is rare to find an academic text that is so creative, honest, and thoughtful, and uniquely contributes to multiple fields of inquiry—in this case, Jewish theology, feminist theory, and parenting. Bringing together a wide variety of resources in an artful display of academic research that is both intellectually stimulating and personally vulnerable, readers will find Benjamin's offering to be a continued reservoir for reflecting on what unites humanity perhaps more universally than anything else: that we have all been parented and most of us will also, at some point, embark on the risky, adventurous, deeply enriching journey of parenting. * Journal of Jewish Identities *In The Obligated Self: Maternal Subjectivity and Jewish Thought, Mara H. Benjamin offers a thought-provoking (and often humorous) meditation on motherhood as a prism for one's relationship with God. Inspired by Jewish thinkers, including Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas, Benjamin argues that relationships can be "theologically productive." -- Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern * YU News - Yeshiva University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart IChapter 1: ObligationChapter 2: LoveChapter 3: PowerChapter 4: TeachingPart IIChapter 5: The OtherChapter 6: The ThirdChapter 7: The NeighborEpilogueBibliographyIndex

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Book Synopsis1. This book is one of the first Jewish theological treatments of motherhood and childrearing. 2. It is among the first feminist works to treat maternal experience as theologically productive. 3. It was awarded the 2017 Cashmere Subvention Grant in Jewish Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies from the AJS Women's Caucus.Trade ReviewIn this elegantly written, provocative, scholarly, and accessible work, Mara Benjamin contributes to the growing body of literature using maternal experience as a source for theology and religious ethics. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *It is rare to find an academic text that is so creative, honest, and thoughtful, and uniquely contributes to multiple fields of inquiry—in this case, Jewish theology, feminist theory, and parenting. Bringing together a wide variety of resources in an artful display of academic research that is both intellectually stimulating and personally vulnerable, readers will find Benjamin's offering to be a continued reservoir for reflecting on what unites humanity perhaps more universally than anything else: that we have all been parented and most of us will also, at some point, embark on the risky, adventurous, deeply enriching journey of parenting. * Journal of Jewish Identities *In The Obligated Self: Maternal Subjectivity and Jewish Thought, Mara H. Benjamin offers a thought-provoking (and often humorous) meditation on motherhood as a prism for one's relationship with God. Inspired by Jewish thinkers, including Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas, Benjamin argues that relationships can be "theologically productive." -- Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern * YU News - Yeshiva University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart IChapter 1: ObligationChapter 2: LoveChapter 3: PowerChapter 4: TeachingPart IIChapter 5: The OtherChapter 6: The ThirdChapter 7: The NeighborEpilogueBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA bold, contemporary assessment of Hermann Cohen's philosophical and religious commitments as a way to challenge today's political and social disenchantment with liberalism.Trade ReviewRecommended. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Religion, Reason, and the Enchanted Public Sphere1. Minor Protest(ant)s: Cohen and German-Jewish Liberalism2. The Dialectic of Enchantment: Science, Religion, and Secular Reason-ing3. Rights, Religion, and Race: Cohen's Ethical Socialism and the Specter of Anti-Semitism 4. Enchanted Reasoning: Self-Reflexive Religion and MinorityConclusion: Some Minor Reflections of EnchantmentIndex

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Book SynopsisA microhistory of the Zionist utopian project, its broader theoretical debates, and its struggles through the idea of melancholy for democratic opposition or dissent.Trade ReviewLebovic reveals a great deal about the work of Zarchi and the melancholic mindset of an entire generation of contemporary Israelis. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *Lebovic's main line of argumentation in the book is original and interesting. The monograph is a compelling contribution to the literary history of Hebrew prose. . . . The monograph . . . subtly unearths a voice in Hebrew literature that resonates with Israeli left-winged politics while differing from its major standpoints. * Political Theology *It is the unique nature of Zarchi's melancholy that Lebovic aims to explore and explicate. This literary and, for Lebovic, political topic here receives scholarly attention for the first time. -- Orit Rozin, Tel Aviv University * Hebrew Studies *While Zarchi's sizable oeuvre garnered critical attention, no systematic study of his life and work exists. Nitzan Lebovic's Zionism and Melancholy: The Short Life of Israel Zarchi helps fill this gap, and through an exploration of Zarchi's archive and interviews with family members, it presents previously unknown information about Zarchi's life and work. Lebovic's book is noteworthy for this reason alone. * Reading Religion *Lebovic's book reflects (not without irony) his own attempt to restore Zarchi's work and offers a new reading of his oeuvre. The result is a splendid essay, learned and diligent. * Psychoanalysis and History *Table of ContentsList of Israel Zarchi's Works under Discussion PrefaceIntroduction1. The History of a Failure2. The Early Novels3. Jerusalem, Messianism, Emptiness4. Political Theology and Left-Wing Melancholy5. In an Unsown Land6. The History and Theory of the Melancholic Discourse7. The Revival of Hebrew: Utopia, Indistinction, RecurrenceAfterwordSelected BibliographyIndex

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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 SynopsisTrade Review[Jews and the Mediterranean] takes aim in part at a trope in Mediterranean studies that plays up the integration of minorities across communities, with character types of cosmopolitanism, fluidity, and diversity. The papers examine what made Jews and Jewish communities distinctive, even as they interacted with their Muslim and Christian neighbors and business partners. * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *Studious, erudite, and highly recommended. * Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Jewish History in the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean in Jewish History / Jessica Marglin and Matthias Lehmann1. Globalization or Culture: The Ancient Jews and the Mediterranean / Seth Schwartz2. The New Melting Pot? Mediterraneanism and the Study of Jewish History / Jonathan Ray3. Can we Speak of a Geographical Axis in Medieval Jewish Culture? / Andrew Berns4. Jews and the Early Modern Mediterranean Slave Trade / Daniel Hershenzon5. Religious Boundaries in Italy during an Era of Free Trade, 1550-1750: The Case of Livorno / Corey Tazzara6. A Father's Consolation: Intra-Cultural Ties and Religion in a Trans-Mediterranean Jewish Commercial Network / Francesca Bregoli7. Soap and the Making of a Short Distance Network in the Nineteenth-Century Adriatic / Constanze Kolbe8. A Guide to the Jewish Mediterranean: Le Guide Sam and the Shaping of an Interwar Mediterranean Diaspora / Devi Mays9. A New Myth of Coexistence? The Jewish Mediterranean Dream and the Three Ages of Nostalgia / Clémence BoulouqueIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[Jews and the Mediterranean] takes aim in part at a trope in Mediterranean studies that plays up the integration of minorities across communities, with character types of cosmopolitanism, fluidity, and diversity. The papers examine what made Jews and Jewish communities distinctive, even as they interacted with their Muslim and Christian neighbors and business partners. * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *Studious, erudite, and highly recommended. * Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Jewish History in the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean in Jewish History / Jessica Marglin and Matthias Lehmann1. Globalization or Culture: The Ancient Jews and the Mediterranean / Seth Schwartz2. The New Melting Pot? Mediterraneanism and the Study of Jewish History / Jonathan Ray3. Can we Speak of a Geographical Axis in Medieval Jewish Culture? / Andrew Berns4. Jews and the Early Modern Mediterranean Slave Trade / Daniel Hershenzon5. Religious Boundaries in Italy during an Era of Free Trade, 1550-1750: The Case of Livorno / Corey Tazzara6. A Father's Consolation: Intra-Cultural Ties and Religion in a Trans-Mediterranean Jewish Commercial Network / Francesca Bregoli7. Soap and the Making of a Short Distance Network in the Nineteenth-Century Adriatic / Constanze Kolbe8. A Guide to the Jewish Mediterranean: Le Guide Sam and the Shaping of an Interwar Mediterranean Diaspora / Devi Mays9. A New Myth of Coexistence? The Jewish Mediterranean Dream and the Three Ages of Nostalgia / Clémence BoulouqueIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shmuel Feiner gives us a capacious and methodologically innovative volume on the "modernity" of the Jewish eighteenth century by juxtaposing myriad events across disparate regions recounted through a captivating panoply of personalities."—David Sorkin, Lucy G. Moses professor of Jewish history at Yale University"Shmuel Feiner has synthesized the work of the best modern scholars of a half-century of European Jewish history and combined it with his own, original research, to tell the story of a period little known to non-specialists. The result is a narrative that is as authoritative as it is entrancing."—Allan Arkush, Jewish Review of Books"Extraordinarily erudite and compulsively readable, this book transforms everything we thought we knew about the Jewish eighteenth century. A remarkable achievement."—Yair Mintzker, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Happy Times? The First Century in the Modern AgeI. 17001. Pictures from Married Life: Glikl the daughter of Leib between Hamburg and Metz2. "Rise up and Succeed": Absolutism and Court Jews in Baroque Culture3. Jews in the News: The Angry Masses, a Holy Society, and "Judaism Unmasked"4. Between Enlightened Thought and an Imaginary UniverseII. 1701–17255. "Everyone Wants to be Happy: Dangers and Amusements6. "Our Miserable Brethren": Jews in Time of War7. Melancholy, Career, and Travels: Five Life Stories8. Christians versus Jews: Bitter and Violent Relations9. From London to Jerusalem: Confrontations and Disputes10. The Challenge of Sabbateanism: The Storm over the "Hypocritical Serpent"11. Competition over the Picture of the World: Witches and Human KnowledgeIII. 1725-175012. To Silence the "Fellow from Padua": Moses Haim Luzzatto and the Great Awakening13. Criticism and Ambition: From Gulliver to the Baal Shem Tov and Jew Süss14. Contradictory Tendencies: Hostility, Violence, and "True Happiness"15. "An Indelible Stain": War and Expulsion16. A Vision of the Future: Ascent of the Soul, a Path for the Just, and a Teacher of the Perplexed17. Toward Mid-Century: The Awakening of ShameIndex

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Book SynopsisThe eighteenth century was the Jews' first modern century. The deep changes that took place during its course shaped the following generations, and its most prominent voices still reverberate today. In this first volume of his magisterial work, Shmuel Feiner charts the twisting and fascinating world of the first half of the 18th century from the viewpoint of the Jews of Europe. Paying careful attention to life stories, to bright and dark experiences, to voices of protest, to aspirations of reform, and to strivings for personal and general happiness, Feiner identifies the tectonic changes that were taking place in Europe and their unprecedented effects on and among Jews. From the religious and cultural revolution of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) to the question of whether Jews could be citizens of any nation, Feiner presents a broad view of how this century of upheaval altered the map of Europe and the Jews who called it home.Trade Review"Shmuel Feiner gives us a capacious and methodologically innovative volume on the "modernity" of the Jewish eighteenth century by juxtaposing myriad events across disparate regions recounted through a captivating panoply of personalities."—David Sorkin, Lucy G. Moses professor of Jewish history at Yale University"Shmuel Feiner has synthesized the work of the best modern scholars of a half-century of European Jewish history and combined it with his own, original research, to tell the story of a period little known to non-specialists. The result is a narrative that is as authoritative as it is entrancing."—Allan Arkush, Jewish Review of Books"Extraordinarily erudite and compulsively readable, this book transforms everything we thought we knew about the Jewish eighteenth century. A remarkable achievement."—Yair Mintzker, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Happy Times? The First Century in the Modern AgeI. 17001. Pictures from Married Life: Glikl the daughter of Leib between Hamburg and Metz2. "Rise up and Succeed": Absolutism and Court Jews in Baroque Culture3. Jews in the News: The Angry Masses, a Holy Society, and "Judaism Unmasked"4. Between Enlightened Thought and an Imaginary UniverseII. 1701–17255. "Everyone Wants to be Happy: Dangers and Amusements6. "Our Miserable Brethren": Jews in Time of War7. Melancholy, Career, and Travels: Five Life Stories8. Christians versus Jews: Bitter and Violent Relations9. From London to Jerusalem: Confrontations and Disputes10. The Challenge of Sabbateanism: The Storm over the "Hypocritical Serpent"11. Competition over the Picture of the World: Witches and Human KnowledgeIII. 1725-175012. To Silence the "Fellow from Padua": Moses Haim Luzzatto and the Great Awakening13. Criticism and Ambition: From Gulliver to the Baal Shem Tov and Jew Süss14. Contradictory Tendencies: Hostility, Violence, and "True Happiness"15. "An Indelible Stain": War and Expulsion16. A Vision of the Future: Ascent of the Soul, a Path for the Just, and a Teacher of the Perplexed17. Toward Mid-Century: The Awakening of ShameIndex

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Book SynopsisIn The Memory Work of Jewish Spain, Daniela Flesler and Adrián Pérez Melgosa explore new trends and activities aimed at reclaiming and reconnecting with Spain's Jewish heritage.Trade Reviewa wide-ranging book that analyzes the ways in which public imaginary has taken form in heritage sites throughout Spain. * Sephardic Horizons *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Memory Work of Jewish Spain1. The Long Journey of Sephardi Myths 2. Tourism and the Embracing of Spain's Jewish Legacy3. Loss, Rescue, and Converso Dissonances at the Sephardi Museum of Toledo4. Exhibiting Jewish Heritage at the Local and Regional Levels 5. Memory Entanglements: Hervás's Jewish Inheritance and the Francoist Repression6. Returns to Sepharad Conclusion: Memory and the FutureBibliography

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Book SynopsisIn The Memory Work of Jewish Spain, Daniela Flesler and Adrián Pérez Melgosa explore new trends and activities aimed at reclaiming and reconnecting with Spain's Jewish heritage.Trade Reviewa wide-ranging book that analyzes the ways in which public imaginary has taken form in heritage sites throughout Spain. * Sephardic Horizons *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Memory Work of Jewish Spain1. The Long Journey of Sephardi Myths 2. Tourism and the Embracing of Spain's Jewish Legacy3. Loss, Rescue, and Converso Dissonances at the Sephardi Museum of Toledo4. Exhibiting Jewish Heritage at the Local and Regional Levels 5. Memory Entanglements: Hervás's Jewish Inheritance and the Francoist Repression6. Returns to Sepharad Conclusion: Memory and the FutureBibliography

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Book SynopsisHow to Measure a World? examines the vastness of the Jewish philosophical record and the full intellectual scope and range of Emmanuel Levinas's claim that Judaism is best understood as an anachronism.Trade ReviewAn introductory study that will have enormous appeal for both students and non-specialist general readers, How to Measure a World?: A Philosophy of Judaism is as informative as it is thought-provoking, and very highly recommended * Midwest Book Review *Overall, this book is a valuable contribution to not only modern Jewish studies, but also the broader field of continental philosophy of religion. With a clear mastery of his sources, Shuster carefully weaves his thesis through deeply complicated figures in a way that is both artful and textually sound. -- Josiah Solis * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionHaving a World1. Wonder and World: Maimonides's Phenomenology2. Suffering and World: Adorno's NegativityPreconditions of Having a World3. History and World: Benjamin and Adorno on Ethical Depth4. Language and World: Levinas and Cavell on Ethical FoundationsConclusionWorks CitedIndex

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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 SynopsisTrade Review"Shmuel Feiner gives us a capacious and methodologically innovative volume on the "modernity" of the Jewish eighteenth century by juxtaposing myriad events across disparate regions recounted through a captivating panoply of personalities."—David Sorkin, Lucy G. Moses professor of Jewish history at Yale University"Extraordinarily erudite and compulsively readable, this book transforms everything we thought we knew about the Jewish eighteenth century. A remarkable achievement."—Yair Mintzker, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I: 1750–17631. Three Astounding Proclamations: Class Division, Pressure from the State, and a Rift in the Rabbinical Elite2. The Specter: Earthquake, the Horror of War, and Patriotism3. The Pursuit of Honor and the Masked Ball: Azulai and Geldern Wander About in Europe and the East4. Get Out, Jews! Tests for Tolerance between London, Zhitomir, Yampol, and Rome5. Blood for Blood: The Frankist Scandal and the Subversiveness of Religious Awakening6. Intimate Life: Bodily Ailments, Quarrels, Crime, and Emigration7. "We Are All Citizens of the World": The Jewish Question in the Age of the PhilosophesPart II: 1764–17808. "The Great Change": The Crisis in Poland, Awareness of Progress and Humanistic Sentiment9. "They Made My Flesh and Blood Fair Prey": Tolerance and Fissures in the Walls of Society10. 1772: A Year That Challenged the Old Order11. "Let Every Man Do as He Pleases": The Winds of Revolt12. Curing the "Malady of My Nation": Days of Individualism and ReformPart III: 1781–180013. "Great Thoughts Bubble Up and Awaken": The Tangle of the Years 1781–178214. The Eve of Revolution: "The Happiest Period" or "The Great Confusion"?15. From the Boxing Ring to the Halls of Parliament: Confrontations and Initiatives for Regeneration and Citizenship16. "A Generation of Upheavals": Euphoria, Terror, and the Rebellion of the Young in the 1790s17. The Future of the Jews: A New Politics, a Religion in Dispute, and Freedom of the Individual18. The Three Last Years: "We Have Reason to Congratulate Ourselves, That We Were Born in This Enlightened Period"Conclusion: "No More Fear, No Shame . . . I Live in Peace with Everything around Me"Index

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating study of the demographic, cultural, and socioeconomic condition of East Central European Jewry.Trade Review" ... a carefully crafted and important book ... a first-class contribution to the literature on modern Europe." American Historical Review " ... valuable ... the first historical work to attempt a 'synthetic sketch' of the problems indicated in the title." Journal of Polish Jewish StudiesTable of ContentsList of MapsPrefaceIntroduction1. Poland2. Hungary3. Czechoslovakia4. Romania5. Lithuania6. Latvia and EstoniaConcluding RemarksNotesBibliographical EssayIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to be a Jew in America? What opportunities and what threats does the great melting pot represent for a group that has traditionally defined itself as 'a people that must dwell alone'? This title charts the attempts of American Jewish thinkers to adapt the notion of chosenness to an American context.Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPart One: IntroductionI. A Part and ApartPart Two: The Second Generation (1930-1955)II. Nation, People, Religion-What Are We?III. Reform Judaism and the Mission unto the NationsIV. Mordecai Kaplan and the New Jewish VocationV. Conservatism, Orthodoxy, and th Affirmation of ElectionPart Three: The Third Generation (1955-1980)VI. Ambassadors at HomeVII. Children of the Halfway CovenantPart Four: ConclusionVIII. The Lessons of Choseness in AmericaNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisRachel Bella Calof defies the nostalgia of the cheerful oLittle House on the PrairieO homestead; her story is instead one of real families handling daily stresses, competing needs, and interpersonal accommodations.Trade ReviewI came upon Laura Ingalls Wilder's prairie stories as an adult, while reading them to my son. I was as captivated by Rachel Calof's autobiography Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains . . . which I read in one sitting, mesmerized by a Jewish pioneer spirit as strong and as compelling as that of her Christian counterpart. . . . This beautifully written testament is a reminder that we have much to bless, every day, for a world with washing machines and sewage systems and separate rooms to put mothers-in-law.Fall 2009 -- C. Devora (Viva) Hammer * Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Brandeis University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Development of Jewish Farm Settlements in the Heartland and North DakotaMy Story—A Life Worth Living by Rachel Bella CalofEpilogue by Jacob CalofRachel Calof's Life as Collective History by Elizabeth JamesonIndex

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Book SynopsisAs the first studio film to deal directly with the enormity of the Holocaust, "Schindler's List" attempts to provide the popular imagination with a narrative about the Holocaust. This work discusses a variety of issues including the representation of history by cinema and popular culture, and the right to dramatize the 'unrepresentable'.Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of ContributorsIntroduction1. Every Once in a While: Schindler's List and the Shaping of History Barbie Zelizer2. Spielberg's Oskar: Hollywood Tries Evil Omer Bartov3. The Cinema Animal Geoffrey Hartman4. Schindler's List is not Shoah: Second Commandment, Popular Modernism and Public Memory Miriam Hansen5. Holocaust Others: Spielberg's Schindler's List versus Lanzmann's Shoah Yosefa Loshitzky6. But is it Good for the Jews? Spielberg's Schindler and the Aesthetics of Atrocity Sara R. Horowitz7. The Image Lingers: The Feminization of the Jew in Schindler's List Judith E. Doneson8. Schindler's Discourse: America Discusses the Holocaust and its Mediation, from NBC's Miniseries to Spielberg's Film Jeffrey A. Shandler9. The Tale of the Good German: Reflections on the Israeli Reception of Schindler's List Liliane Weissberg10. The Great Taboo Broken: Reflections on the Israeli Reception of Schindler's List Haim Bresheeth11. Between Obsession and Amnesia: Reflections on the French Reception of Schindler's List Natasha Lehrer12. The Uncertain Certainty of Schindler's List Bryan Cheyette

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Book SynopsisDraws on the body of historical writing, testimonial literature, monuments and memorials, theological reflections, and documentary and imaginative poetry, prose, film, and drama on the Holocaust to assess the impact of the Holocaust on postwar consciousness and to analyze the varied responses to the Holocaust across the disciplines of scholarship.

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Book SynopsisConsiders how we remember historical instances of suffering and atrocity, framing its central questions to show larger cultural shifts in how we position ourselves in relation to history, performance, and memory.Trade Review"This is the first extended study I know of what the author calls a 'Holocaust performative'...[The author] asks what a 'holocaust performative' might look like and how such a study might illuminate 'events of this particular genocide that are unrepresentable and outside the parameters of representation itself' ...[Patraka] contributes an important and possibly contentious dimension to Holocaust studies." -- James YoungTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Shattered Cartographies: Fascism, the Holocaust, and Tropes about Representation2. Reproduction, Appropriation, and Binary Machinery: Fascist Ideology and Theatricalization3. Feminism and the Jewish Subject: Holocaust Theatre and the Politics of Difference and Identity4. Realism, Gender, and Historical Crisis: Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine and "Julia"5. Theatre of Injury and Injustice: Staging the Body in Pain6. Spectacular Suffering: Performing Presence, Absence, and Witness at U.S. Holocaust MuseumsNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisA personal meditation on the meaning of Judaism, and a vision for revitalising Jewish community and tradition in America.Trade Review"... persuasive... Eisen's aspirations strike a note of hope and longing." --Hadassah Magazine "[Eisen] offers the reader not an academic volume but a personal struggle in a lifelong journey ... a truly helpful book ..." --Jewish Book World "This encouraging work is essential reading for anyone concerned with issues of Jewish faith and the future of Judaism in America." --Jewish Book News "Arnold M. Eisen offers a personal plea for--and a vision of--the revitalising of American Judaism through a renewed relationship to Jewish tradition and the strengthening of Jewish communities." --Jewish Book News " ... required reading for Jewish communal professionals, Taking Hold of Torah spells out the discontents and dreams of the baby boomers and their children who are reinventing Jewish communal life for the modern world." --Jewish Exponent "Melding autobiography with biblical exegesis, philosophical speculation and a program for Jewish educational reform, the book is an unbuttoned riff on what's ailing modern Jews." - Forward " ... a personal story of a modern Jew trying to make sense of Judaism in a time when Jews can choose whether and how to be Jewish ..." --The Jewish AdvocateTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Genesis: Taking on Tradition2. Exodus: History, Faith, and Covenant3. Leviticus: Ritual and Community4. Numbers: Politics in the Wilderness5. Deuteronomy: Legacies

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Book SynopsisAn illustrated survey of the lives and history of Jews in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the post-Soviet era.Trade Review"Anyone with even a passing interest in the history of Russian Jewry will want to own this splendid ... book." Janet Hadda, Los Angeles Times "... illuminated by an extraordinary collection of photographs that vividly reflect the hopes, triumphs and agonies of Russian Jewish life." David E. Fishman, Hadassah Magazine "Wonderful pictures ... An uplifting [book] for a broad and general audience." Alexander Orbach, Slavic ReviewTable of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents:Introduction1. Creativity versus Repression: The Jews in Russia, 1881-19172. Revolution and the Ambiguities of Liberation3. Reaching for Utopia: Building Socialism and a New Jewish Culture4. The Holocaust5. The Black Years and the Gray, 1948-19676. Soviet Jews, 1967-1987: To Reform, Conform, or Leave?7. The "Other" Jews of the Former USSR: Georgian, Central Asian, and Mountain Jews8. The Post-Soviet Era: Winding Down or Starting Up Again?9. The Paradoxes of Post-Soviet Jewry

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Book SynopsisFocusing on the problem of objectivity, the experience of the transcendent, and the relationship between redemption and politics, this title argues that the outcome for Jews is a pragmatic style of religiosity that has abandoned traditional conceptions of Judaism and is searching for new ones, a condition that he describes as 'interim Judaism'.Trade ReviewThe three chapters in this book—the 1999 Samuel Goldenson Lectures delivered at Hebrew Union College—reveal the cumulative knowledge of a core debate in Judaism on the dilemma between reason and revelation and its effect on contemporary American Jewish life and thought. Morgan (philosophy and Jewish studies, Indiana Univ.) focuses on three strands of intellectual fabric, namely, the problem of objectivity, the question of transcendence in the human experience, and the view of redemption in historical life, which he calls the problem of messianism and politics. Through a variety of sources and spokespeople, Jew and non-Jew, he stitches religious, political, and philosophical thinking through patches of history and eternity, but there is no clear pattern showing whether the religionist (fundamentalist, existentialist) or the modernist (humanist, naturalist, secularist) patch came from the original cloth. The hand that weaves Jewish civilization, is it divine or human or both? What is seen in American Judaism at the start of a new century is a pragmatic Judaism less of rationalism and more of spirituality without clear concepts of redemption and revelation, made necessary by Auschwitz and Zion. Why? The former eclipsed biblical monotheism and rabbinic Geistesgeschichte, and the latter provided a legitimate and justified Jewish return to history. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and researchers.Z. Garber, Los Angeles Valley College, Choice, December 2001"... this book... reveal[s] the cumulative knowledge of a core debate in Judaism on the dilemma between reason and revelation and its effect on contemporary American Jewish life and thought." —Choice, December 2001Table of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents: Introduction1. The Problem of Objectivity Before and After Auschwitz2. Revelation, Language, and the Search for Transcendence3. Messianism and Politics: Incremental RedemptionConclusion: Judaism Before TheoryNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisExplores cinematic representations of the "Jew" from film's early days to the presentTrade ReviewIn this important work, Omer Bartov examines how the cinematic representations of the 'Jew' as 'perpetrator', 'victim', 'hero' and 'anti-hero' emerge not only throughout the course of film history, but also within a larger cultural practice of stereotyping Jewish identity. His central concern is 'the manner in which the cinematic ''Jew'' reflects the popularization, transformation, resistance to, and reintroduction of anti-Semitic imagery'.Vol. 43, no. 2, 2009 -- Noah Shenker * Ph.D. candidate in Critical Studies at the School of Cinematic Arts,USCLA *A noted Holocaust scholar, Bartov (history, Brown) has written an extended analytical essay—as distinguished from an encyclopedia study—on the treatment of the figure of the Jew in some 70 European, American, and Israeli motion pictures. He examines these depictions under four separate categories: Jew as perpetrator, victim, hero, and antihero. As the subtitle indicates, the movies studied range chronologically from the 1920 German silent classic The Golem to Don't Touch My Holocaust (1994) and several others produced in Israel and dealing with current Jewish-Arab relations. Most of the films inevitably relate to the Shoah, its origins or aftereffects, and Bartov notes that Gentleman's Agreement (1947) managed to avoid mentioning the Holocaust almost entirely even though it deals with a journalist who posed as a Jew in order to investigate anti-semitism. Bartov's evaluations of individual films are perceptive and often provocative. He calls the television miniseries Holocaust (1978) one of the best cinematic productions ever made on this allegedly unrepresentable event despite its aesthetic limitations and occasional lapses into kitsch, and he is critical of accounts that distort historical reality by focusing on exceptional cases (The Pianist, Schindler's List) because they impede understanding and perpetuate stereotypes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.July 2005 -- L. D. Stokes * emeritus, Dalhousie University *Bartov's style is refreshingly free of theoretical jargon and accessible to a wide audience. . . . a rich, deeply historicized, thoughtful, and provocative reading of a wide range of world cinema that grapples with the representation of Jewishness on screen. * Shofar *Table of ContentsContentsIntroductionList of Abbreviations1. The "Jew" as Perpetrator2. The "Jew" as Victim3. The "Jew" as Hero4. The "Jew" as Anti-HeroNotesIndexo

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Book SynopsisJewish philosophy as a dynamic literary, cultural, and social practiceTrade ReviewAaron W. Hughes presents a study of dialogue as a Jewish philosophical practice. Examining connections between Jewish philosophy, the literary form in which it is expressed, and the culture in which it is produced, Hughes shows how Jews understood and struggled with their social, religious, and intellectual environments. He addresses various themes associated with the literary form of dialogue as well as its philosophicalreception: Why did various thinkers choose dialogue? What did it allowthem to accomplish? How do the literary features of dialogue construct philosophical argument? As a history of philosophical form, context, and practice, this book will interest scholars and students working at the intersections of religious studies, philosophy, and literature.Joseph Haberer, Book Editor, SHOFAR, Volume 27, Number 2, Winter 2009At the beginning of his important new book, The Art of Dialogue in Jewish Philosophy, Aaron Hughes notes that the academic study of Jewish philosophy has traditionally centered "on great men … and their great texts" (p. 2). Hughes’s work, by contrast, is part of a recent trend in scholarship that seeks to broaden these traditional parameters by examining "less important" or "epigonic" thinkers, as well as a wide variety of "secondary forms," such as biblical commentaries, sermons, encyclopedias, and polemical works. Thus, Hughes’s book takes for its subject the rather neglected genre of the Jewish philosophical dialogue, in which context he looks not only at such major figures as the twelfth-century Spanish poet and critic of philosophy Judah Halevi, the sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance humanist Judah Abravanel, and the eighteenth-century German Enlightenment thinker Moses Mendelssohn, but also at such "lesser" figures as Shem Tov ibn Falaquera and Isaac Polleqar, both staunch exponents and defenders of the medieval Jewish rationalist tradition active in Spain, the former in the thirteenth century, the latter in the fourteenth. Hughes’s focus on the genre of the dialogue leads him to take note of the interplay between the literary features of such works and their more strictly philosophic argumentation, again in contrast to the traditional approach of Wissenschaft des Judentums that placed "prime emphasis on ideas, often divorced from specific textual contexts" (p. 2). Finally, his emphasis with regard to these dialogues on the subtle exchanges and interactions, sometimes collegial, sometimes adversarial, between their various characters enables Hughes to bring to light not just these dialogues’ literary dimensions, but also their oftentimes polemical aspects and their engagement with the burning religious, cultural, and intellectual issues of their day. Hughes’s book thus bridges the divide separating the history of philosophy from intellectual history. The Art of Dialogue in Jewish Philosophy is framed by an introductory chapter, "Expanding the Canon of Jewish Philosophy," in which Hughes sets forth the book’s main goals (briefly discussed in our opening paragraph) and outlines its contents, and an epilogue, "From Dialogue to Dialogic," in which he briefly traces and attempts to account for the uncertain and rather modest fortunes of the Jewish philosophical dialogue in modern times. The body of the book consists of five chapters, each devoted to examining a dialogue--in one case two dialogues--from the five above-mentioned philosophers, beginning with Halevi’s Kuzari (1140), then moving on to Falaquera’s Epistle of Debate (c. 1250) and Book of the Seeker (1263 [?]), Polleqar’s Ezer ha-Dat (c.1350), Abravanel’s Dialoghi d’amore (1511-1512 [?]), and concluding with Mendelssohn’s Phaedon (1767). In each chapter Hughes follows a similar structure, first "situating a particular dialogue in its historical, social and intellectual environments," then proceeding to "situate the author of each dialogue against this backdrop," and finally moving to an examination of "the particular text in question" (p. 24).Hughes’s presentation is clear, thoughtful, and learned, and readers will learn much from it. On the whole, the book is successful in achieving its goals. Certainly Hughes convincingly shows the importance of the Jewish literary dialogue for any comprehensive study of the history of medieval and early modern Jewish philosophy. His analyses of the polemical functions of Falaquera’s Epistle of Debate and Polleqar’s Ezer ha-Dat are particularly strong, and he skillfully locates these works in the ongoing controversy over the role of philosophy in Judaism in the wake of the writings of Maimonides, with Falaquera representing an earlier stage of the debate, defending philosophy against the criticisms of traditional Talmudists, while Polleqar represents a later stage, defending philosophy against the two-pronged attack of Kabbalists and astrologers. Hughes also makes good on his claim that paying closer attention to the interplay between the literary features of a dialogue and its more strictly philosophic argumentation will lead to a deeper and more accurate philosophic understanding of the work. Thus, in his discussion of Book 2 of Ezer ha-Dat, consisting of a debate between a young, rather radical exponent of philosophy who argues that only philosophy is the source of truth, and an older anti-philosophical, Kabbalistically inclined traditionalist who argues that only religion is the source of truth, Hughes notes that the eminent historian of Jewish philosophy Shlomo Pines sees the young philosopher as a stand-in for the author (p. 193, n. 86), as a result of which Pines ends up attributing radical proto-Spinozistic views to Polleqar. In truth, Hughes points out, a literary analysis of the book indicates that Polleqar sides neither with the young philosopher nor with the old traditionalist, but with the king who appears on the scene to arbitrate the dispute and seeks to harmonize the views of the two antagonists.The book, however, is not free from weaknesses, and Hughes at times presses his arguments too far. Thus while, as noted above, Hughes skillfully limns the polemical functions of Falaquera’s Epistle of Debate and Polleqar’s Ezer ha-Dat, his claims regarding the polemical functions of Abravanel’s Dialoghi and Mendelssohn’s Phaedon carry less conviction. Hughes shows that in the Dialoghi Abravanel develops a Jewish version of the popular Renaissance "literary genre known as the tratatto d’amore (treatise on love)" (p. 115), while in the Pheadon Mendelssohn "articulate[s] the soul’s immortality in ways that were completely divorced from contemporaneous theological (i.e., Christian perspectives)" (p. 154). He is on shakier ground, however, when he proceeds to argue that the Dialoghi is a "Jewish response to some of the decidedly Christocentric features of Renaissance humanism" (p. 132) and similarly that the Phaedon is a "polemical work designed to demonstrate to a primarily Christian audience that Christianity is not a prerequisite to felicity of the soul after corporeal death" (p. 140). Here Hughes places too much weight on what, when all is said and done, are arguments from silence.Even more problematic is Hughes’s claim that the Kuzari should be seen as a polemic against the spiritualist Muslim movement known as Isma‘ilism. Hughes correctly points out that the Kuzari argues for the superiority of ‘amal (action) over niyya (intention), and goes on to maintain that the Isma‘ilis argue for a reverse evaluation. Similarly, he correctly points out that Isma‘ili texts argue for the superiority of the batin, the inner, esoteric core of religion over its zahir, its outer, exoteric form, and goes on to maintain that the Kuzari argues for a reverse evaluation. But in none of the Isma‘ili texts that Hughes cites are the terms ‘amal and niyya so juxtaposed, and in none of the texts from the Kuzari that Hughes cites are the terms batin and zahir so juxtaposed. Indeed, in the Kuzari 3:73, the rabbinic sage, here clearly a spokesman for Halevi, in discussing problematic rabbinic Aggadot states that they are impossible only according to their zahir, their external sense. By implication they should be understood according to their batin! Here Halevi uses the zahir/batin distinction in an Isma‘ili-like manner, though he limits the distinction to problematic rabbinic Aggadot, while the Isma‘ilis apply it to religion as a whole. In any event, the matter is more complex than would appear from Hughes’s discussion.Moreover, in places Hughes’s literary analysis requires further refinement. Thus, to return to the previous example, while Hughes is correct in asserting that in Book 2 of Ezer ha-Dat, Polleqar sides neither with the young philosopher nor with the old traditionalist, but with the king who appears on the scene and seeks to harmonize the views of the two antagonists, he is incorrect in asserting that the king "attempts to harmonize the truths of philosophy and religion" (p. 96: emphasis mine). Rather, the king states that philosophy is the source of true knowledge, while religion "seeks to straighten [our] deeds, and direct our attention toward good and beautiful works." The clear implication is that religion itself is not a source of truth. In this regard the king sides with the young philosopher. Polleqar appears here to be carefully covering his tracks, giving the impression that the king splits the difference between the young philosopher and the old traditionalist, when in truth he is considerably closer the former. Perhaps, then, Polleqar’s position is not that far removed from Spinoza after all! (One difference might be that Polleqar, unlike Spinoza, does not seem to admit the possibility of a purely philosophical ethics, even for philosophers themselves.) Beyond these reservations regarding the larger issues of Hughes’s analyses of the polemical functions of these dialogues and the interplay between their literary features and their more strictly philosophic argumentation, I have some reservations regarding more specific points. Thus, Hughes maintains that Abravanel in the Dialoghi "celebrates sensual love as the gateway to cosmic or spiritual love" (p. 130). But in the passage that Hughes cites in support of this claim Abravanel celebrates not sensual love, but physical beauty. And while I agree with Hughes that Mendelssohn’s synthesis of Judaism and Enlightenment values is fragile, I do not agree with his contention that the Phaedon is a good example of that fragility. Hughes offers two arguments in support of this view. First he notes that in his Hebrew version of the Phaedon, the Sefer ha-Nefesh, Mendelssohn cites liberally from biblical prooftexts. Such citations attest, Hughes goes on to claim, that in that work "Mendelssohn... does not hesitate to make appeals to revelation to buttress his claims, something he did not do in the Pheadon" (p. 164). Setting to the side the fact that it would obviously be absurd for "Socrates" in the Phaedon to cite biblical prooftexts, can Mendelssohn’s citations of such texts in the Sefer ha-Nefesh be described as "appeals to revelation"? Here I would point to a passage in Jerusalem where Mendelssohn states that while scripture certainly contains "an inexhaustible treasure of rational truths and religious doctrines," these "excellent propositions," in addition to their being purely rational, "are presented to us for our consideration without being forced upon our belief." In light of this passage, the biblical prooftexts attesting to the immortality of the soul, cited by Mendelssohn in the Sefer ha-Nefesh, rather than constituting "appeals to revelation" "forced upon our belief," are just examples of scripture’s "inexhaustible treasure of rational truths... presented to us for our consideration." Second, Hughes cites an excerpt from a letter to Hartwig Wessely "in which Mendelssohn seems to apologize for ever having written Phaedon" (p. 165).One would never know from Hughes’s description that this letter was written to Wessely thanking him for expressing an interest in translating the Phaedon into Hebrew. In the excerpt cited by Hughes Mendelssohn is describing what he had initially assumed would be the likely reaction of Wessely to the Phaedon. Mendelssohn knew that Wessely was not very philosophically inclined, and he had feared that Wessely might not approve of his having written the Phaedon, deeming the philosophic demonstration of such a fundamental principle "of our holy faith" as that of the immortality of the soul to be unnecessary, perhaps even dangerous. But in truth, as Mendelssohn goes on to write in a passage not cited by Hughes, in light of Wessely’s interest in translating the Phaedon into Hebrew, he now sees that Wessely approves of those "who engage in philosophic inquiry," providing they "‘give heed to the works of the Lord’ (cf. Ps. 28:5) in sincerity." Thus, far from "apologizing for ever having written Phaedon," Mendelssohn took comfort in the fact that the non-philosophical Wessely, who was well known and highly regarded as an outstanding Hebraist, appeared to approve of the Phaedon. This was an encouraging sign, confirming, in Mendelssohn’s view, the solidity--not the fragility--of his synthesis. It need not be said that the reservations I have raised require further discussion and analysis and that this is not the place for such an undertaking. It also need not be said that none is intended to detract from the importance of Hughes’s book, a work which consistently enlightens and informs, even if it does not always convince.Lawrence Kaplan, McGill University, H-Judaic, January 2009"With this work Aaron Hughes has established himself as a prominent member of a new wave of Jewish scholars who... are charting exciting new directions for Jewish philosophy." —Jim Kanaris, McGill University, Studies in Religion / Sci Rel, Vol. 38.1 2009"[R]epresents an important new trend in Jewish philosophy, and moves the field one step closer to a complete social, cultural, and literary history." —James Robinson, University of Chicago Divinity SchoolTable of ContentsContentsAcknowledgments1. Expanding the Canon of Jewish Philosophy: Toward an Appreciation of Genre2. Judah Halevi: The Dialogue of Subversion3. Shem Tov ibn Falaquera: Dialogues of Reconciliation and Dissemination4. Isaac Polleqar: The Dialogue of Disputation5. Judah Abravanel: The Dialogue of Desire6. Moses Mendelssohn: The Dialogue of FragilityEpilogue: From Dialogue to DialogicNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisExamines the emergence of a new generation of Jewish immigrant authors in America, most of whom grew up in formerly communist countries. This collection chronicles and clarifies issues of personal and cultural dislocation and loss, but also affirms the possibilities of reorientation and renewal.Trade ReviewThis engrossing volume brings evocative personal accounts of displacement—physical, emotional, and particularly linguistic—by contemporary writers like Norman Manea, Lara Vapnyar, and Geoffrey Hartman.Spring 2009 * Jewish Book World *What binds the writers in this book together, despite their varied approaches to exile and emigration, is that they all moved from one place and ideological system - the Soviet Union and Communist eastern Europe - to another, the United States, where they each have found quite successful personal and professional homes as writer, thinkers and tenured professors. This is no small feat for a fiction writer. . . Perhaps this is one of the volume's unwitting arguments: late twentieth/early twenty-first-century America is now or has once again become the cosmopolitan reservoir of so much Jewish literary creativity.Vol. 39.2 August 2009 -- David Shneer * University of Colorado *[T]his is an immensely valuable collection of truly stimulating essays. Vol. 28, no. 1, 2009 * SHOFAR *[T]his is a worthwhile read. . . . Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers.March 2009 * Choice *Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction / Alvin H. RosenfeldNomadic Language / Norman ManeaOn Norman Manea's The Hooligan's Return / Matei CalinescuWriting about Uprootedness / Henryk GrynbergExile as Life after Death in the Writings of Henryk Grynberg and Norman Manea / Katarzyna JerzakThe Writer as Tour Guide / Lara VapnyarQuestions of Identity: The New World of the Immigrant Writer / Morris DicksteinA Displaced Scholar's Tale: The Jewish Factor / Geoffrey HartmanExile: Inside and Out / Bronislava VolkováFrom Country to Country: My Search for Home / Zsuzsanna OzsvathFinding a Virtual Home for Yiddish Poetry in Southern Indiana / Dov-Ber KerlerAfterword / Eva HoffmanList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisIs religious conservatism compatible with tolerance and pluralism? Why are religious tolerance and pluralism so difficult to achieve? Why is the often violent fundamentalist backlash against them so potent? This book suggests a way to deal with the intractable problem of religiously motivated and justified violence.Trade ReviewThe contemporary values of tolerance and pluralism are particularly acute within and for inter-religious interaction between the three Abrahamic-monotheistic religions. However, if monotheistic religions are ever to overcome their antagonistic tensions towards the Other, then critical measures 'must originate and find their basis within these traditions themselves.' Erlewine (Illinois Wesleyan Univ.) indicates that John Hick's and Jurgen Habermas's program--'mutual respect and recognition between citizens, between self and Other,' have been considered and found wanting. As a consequence, traditionalist Jewish and Christian theologians have elaborated political theologies that prioritize revelation while rejecting the Kantian-Enlightenment legacy as filtered through Hick and Habermas. Erlewine articulates his thesis of the religion of reason trajectory, which fuses the integrity of monotheism with the intellectual sustainability of the Enlightenment. The religio-philosophical tradition that he traces, derived from Moses Mendelssohn, Immanuel Kant, and Hermann Cohen, seeks to ameliorate monotheistic intolerance without vitiating the structure of Judaism and Christianity. This religion of reason trajectory engages the three Abrahamic monotheisms, yet is deeply rooted in European philosophy and the Enlightenment. Whether the religion of reason extends to Islam is outside the purview of this book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. -- ChoiceG. M. Smith, Delaware County Community College, October 2010 "An important corrective to recent discussions of the relation between monotheism and tolerance." -Leora Batnitzky, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsContentsAcknowledgementsPart 1. Overcoming the Current Crisis 1. Monotheism, Tolerance, and Pluralism: The Current Impasse 2. Learning from the Past: Introducing the Thinkers of the Religion of ReasonPart 2. Mendelssohn: Idolatry and Indiscernability 3. Mendelssohn and the Repudiation of Divine Tyranny 4. Monotheism and the Indiscernible OtherPart 3. Kant: Religious Tolerance 5. Radical Evil and the Mire of Unsocial Sociability 6. Kant and the Religion of TolerancePart 4. Cohen: Ethical Intolerance 7. Cohen and the Monotheism of Correlation 8. Cohen, Rational Supererogation, and the Suffering ServantConclusion: Revelation, Reason, and the Legacy of the EnlightenmentNotesWorks CitedIndex

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Book SynopsisTranslation, Jewish philosophy, and social and cultural historyTrade ReviewThe intertwined goals of this ambitious monograph by Hughes (Univ. of Buffalo--SUNY) are expressed in the work's full title: to discern patterns that connect three discrete subjects--Bible, philosophy, and translation--and to explore their contributions to the development of Jewish identity. The author's success results largely from his creativeapproach, first by making his centerpiece the analysis of Bible translation within the context of Jewish philosophy. Second, he selects seven individuals from six distinct periods and cultures, each of whom has been a worthy subject for at least one book-length study; among them are Saadya Gaon, Maimonides, and Franz Rosenzweig. He then allows these individuals to converse, as it were, with each other, jarringly out of chronological order but with surprisingly productive results. Thus, not only can one study Rosenzweig (late 19th-early 20th century) in terms of the influence of Saadya (tenth century).... But one can also see Saadya himself in a new light (or, many new lights) through the lens of Rosenzweig. This is not a book for the beginner or even for the expert who is faint of heart. But for those with the requisite background and fortitude, it offers rich intellectual rewards. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty. --ChoiceL. J. Greenspoon, Creighton University, December 2011"Shows how Bible translation strategies verify claims about the constant need for self-making that are usually associated with existentialism, claims about the constructedness of 'tradition' that are usually associated with postmodernism, and claims about the need to construct 'tradition' that are usually associated with cultural theorists." —Martin Kavka, Florida State University"Translation, as Hughes perceives it, becomes a major cultural monument rather than merely a philological exercise in transferring the semantics and syntax of one language into those of another." —Kalman Bland, Duke University"This is not a book for the beginner or even for the expert who is faint of heart. But for those with the requisite background and fortitude, it offers rich intellectual rewards." —ChoiceTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments 1. Introductory and Interpretive Contexts2. The Forgetting of History and the Memory of Translation3. The Translation of Silence and the Silence of Translation: The Fabric of Metaphor4. The Apologetics of Translation5. Translation and Its Discontents6. Translation and Issues of Identity and TemporalityConclusions: Between SpacesNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTSI. CAIRO AND JERUSALEM: THE MYTHII. EGYPT AND ISRAEL: THE TWO CULTURESIII. ARABIC VERSUS HEBREWIV. ISRAELIS AND EGYPTIANS FACE TO FACEV. WHEN DETERRENCE FAILSVI. OBSTACLES TO NEGOTIATIONVII. DEADLOCK: ISRAEL AND EGYPT NEGOTIATEVIII. CONCLUSIONNOTESINDEX

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Book SynopsisPoints the way to Judaism's renewal in a world and an age in which all of our notions - about God, humanity, and revelation - have been severely challenged. This title tests the resources within Judaism for healing the breach between secularism and revelation after the Holocaust.Trade Review"This subtle and nuanced study is clearly Fackenheim's most important book." Paul Mendes-Flohr " ... magnificent in sweep and in execution of detail." Franklin H. Littell "This is a monumental book by a Jew possessed of an intellect equalled only by his love of the Jewish people ... " Jewish Book NewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface to the Second EditionPreface to the Midland EditionAuschwitz as Challenge to Philosophy and TheologyI. Introduction1. Introductions2. Systems3. Revelation4. The Holocaust5. "Foundations of Future Jewis Thought": Genesis of a Plan6. "Foundations": From Plan to Execution7. Napoleonic and Related Strategies8. Language9. Toward Future Jewish ThoughtII. The Problematics of Contemporary Jewish Thought: From Spinoza Beyond Rosenzweig1. Introducting Spinoza and Rosenzweig2. Baruch Spinoza3. Franz Rosenzweig4. Spinoza and Rosenzweig Today5. ConclusionIII. The Shibboleth of Revelation: From Spinoza Beyond Hegel1. Rosenzweig on Hegel2. Hegel on Judaism and Spinoza3. Revelation as Shibboleth4. The Basis of Hegel's Mediating Thought-Activity5. Spinoza dn Hegel on Revelation6. The Core of the Hegelian Mediation7. Hegel's Mediation between Spinoza and Judaism8. The Failure of Hegel's Mediation and Its Dialectical Results9. The Move toward the Extremes10. The End of the Constantinianism and the Turn to Dialogical Openness11. Catastrophe12. The Shibboleth of Revelation in Jewish ModernityIV. Historicity, Rupture, and Tikkun Olam ("Mending the World"): From Rosenzweig Beyond Heidegger1. Spinoza, Rosenzweig, and Heidegger on Death2. Historicity3. Historicity and Transcendence4. The Ontic-Ontological Circle5. 1933: Year of Decision6. The Age of Technology and the Age of Auschwitz7. Unauthentic Thought after the Holocaust8. The Spectrum of Resistance during the Holocaust: An Essay in Description and Definition9. Resistance as an Ontological Categary: An Essay in Critical Analysis10. Rupture, Teshuva, and Tikkun Olam11. Historicity, Hermeneutics, and Tikkun Olam after the Holocaust12. On Philosophy after the Holocaust13. Concerning Post-Holocaust Christianity14. Jewish Existence after the Holocaust15. EpilogueV. Conclusion: Teshuva Today: Concerning Judaism After the Holocaust1. The Problematics of Teshuva in Our Time2. Rosenzweig after Heidegger3. Yom Kippur after the Holocaust4. The Message of Beit Ha-Tefutsot5. The Sharing of Teshuva after the HolocaustAbbreviationsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow did Theodor Herzl, an assimilated German nationalist in the 1880s, suddenly in the 1890s become the founder of Zionism? This novel offers an explanation in Herzl's struggle to resolve his own personal conflict over his Jewish identity. It charts Herzl's intellectual development against the background of Austrian political history.Trade Review"An original and brilliant thesis, exposing a long misunderstood figure. A great book." Bernard Avishai "Excellent ... a highly revealing portrait that demolishes Herzl-the-icon." Michael Marrus "Other biographers ... have illuminated aspects of [Herzl's] life, but none has been able to produce the kind of intellectual biography that we have here. Jacques Kornberg has done an admirable job of plumbing the depths of Herzl's mind to try to come to an understanding of just why he became a Zionist and why he was literally consumed with promoting Zionist goals." Cithara "With compassion and critical balance, placing his subject well within his Austrian milieu, Kornberg analyzes Herzl's rhetoric, tergiversations, and profound ambivalence over his politics and identity." Choice " ... a masterful display of the sources ... "American Historical Review " ... stimulating, provocative and agreeably iconoclastic ... powerful and compelling." German HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: From Austro-German Assimilationist to ZionistPart IHerzl in the 1880s1. Herzl as Assimilationist2. Herzl as German Nationalist3. Herzl, an Ambivalent JewPart IIVienna in the 1890s4. Herzl and Vienna, the New Capital of AntisemitismPart IIIHerzl in the 1890s5. The Reabsorption of the Jews6. The New Ghetto7. The Jewish State8. The Dreyfus LegendAbbreviationsNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisDescribes the perpetration of the Holocaust in the USSR and probes the political and social consequences of the mass destruction of Soviet Jews.Table of Contents1. Soviet Jewry Before the Holocaust Zvi Gitelman2. Politics and the Historiography of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union Zvi Gitelman3. The Holocaust and Ukrainian Jews Shmuel Spector4. The Ukrainian Population and the Nazi Genocide of the Jews M. I. Koval5. Metropolitan Andrei Sheptyts'kyi and the Complexities of Ukrainian-Jewish Relations Shimon Redlich6. Antisemitism in Ukraine toward the End of the Second World War Mordechai Altshuler7. From White Terror to Holocaust in Lithuania: Nazi Policy towards the Jews in the Reichskommissariat Ostland, June-December 1941 Michael MacQueen8. "Inventing" the Holocaust for Latvia: New Research Hans-Heinrich Wilhelm9. Jewish Refugees from Poland in the USSR, 1939-1946 Yosef Litvak10. Jewish Warfare and the Participation of Jews in Combat in the Soviet Union: Soviet and Western Historiography Mordechai Altshuler11. Jewish-Lithuanian Relations during World War II: History and Rhetoric Sara Shner-Neshamit12. Lithuanian-Jewish Relations in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Some Recent Lithuanian Discussions Introduced and annotated by Sima Ycikas13. The Holocaust and the Armed Struggle in Belorussia as Reflected in Soviet Literature and Works by Emigres in the West Shalom Cholawski14. Soviet Jews under Nazi Occupation in Northeastern Belarus and Northern Russia Daniel RomanovskyDocuments15. German Orders16. Implementation17. Eyewitness Accounts18. Rescue19. Collaboration and Resistance20. Antisemitic Legacy of the HolocaustIndex

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Book SynopsisTraces the origins of Israeli militarism and examines the sociological phenomenon of the civilian adoption of military solutions to political problems. This title sheds light on the charged relations, especially between Israel's founding fathers and the omilitarized' native-born generation that came of age in the 1930s and 40s.

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Book SynopsisA lively tour of the landscape of modern Jewish memory sites from the Old and New Worlds and the Land of Israel.Trade ReviewRoskies (Jewish Theol. Seminary) shows that the Jewish present is not evolving as a simple continuation of the past nor, contrary to what is often claimed, is it emerging from a radical break with the past. It sits, rather, upon what Roskies calls memory sites, images of the past recreated from the ashes of destruction and the potentially debilitating sense of Jewish loss these catastrophes create. How are such memory sites created? Roskies illustrates the process through careful and engaging examinations of, among other topics, Jewish chronicles of the Warsaw Ghetto, of Jewish rethinking of Jewish participation in the early socialist and Zionist movements, and of the function of the concept of holy space for secular Israelis. These studies, each a gem unto itself, together reveal how Jews cope with loss and catastrophe and illustrate that it is exactly by coping with loss and tragedy that Jews create a usable past and, in the process, define their present and shape their future. Recommended for general readers and for faculty and researchers. —A. J. Aver -- Peck * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments1. The Jewish Search for a Usable Past2. The Library of Jewish Catastrophe3. Ringelblum's Time Capsules4. The Shtetl in Jewish Collective Memory5. Rabbis, Rebels, and the Lost Art of the Law6. The Golden Peacock: The Art of Song7. A Culture Set in Stone: The Art of Burial8. A City, a School, and a Utopian Experiment9. Zionism, Israel, and the Search of a Covenantal SpaceConclusionNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisFor more than a century, the Lower East Side of New York City has been recognised and scrutinised as having been the largest and most vibrant immigrant Jewish neighbourhood in America when East European Jews flocked to American shores. This book explores the dynamics of Lower East Side memory.Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction — Remembering the Lower East Side: A Conversation Hasia R. Diner, Jeffrey Shandler, and Beth S. WengerPart 1. The Dynamics of Remembrance1. On the Onomastics of the Lower East Side, or How the Lower East Side Got Its Name Moses Rischin2. Photographing the Lower East Side: A Century's Work Deborah Dash Moore and David Lobenstine3. Beyond Place and Ethnicity: The Uses of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Paula Hyman4. The Ghetto Girl and the Erasure of Memory Riv-Ellen Prell5. Constructions of Memory: The Synagogues of the Lower East Side David Kaufman6. The One-Way Window: Public Schools on the Lower East Side Stephan Brumberg7. Recreating Recreations on the Jewish Lower East Side: Restaurants, Cabarets, Cafes and Coffeehouses in the 1930s Suzanne WassermanPart 2. Contemporary Recollections8. Turfing the Slum: New York City's Tenement Museum and the Poltics of Heritage Jack Kugelmass9. "Send a salami to your boy in the army": Sites of Jewish Memory and Identity at Lower East Side Restaurants Eve Jochnowitz10. Tripping down Memory Lane: Walking Tours on the Jewish Lower East Side Seth Kamil11. The Lower East Side in the Memory of New York Jewish Intellectuals: A Filmmaker's Experience Joseph Dorman12. Performing Memory: "The Matzoh Factory" on the Lower East Side Aviva Weintraub13. Translating Abraham Cahan, Teaching the Lower East Side: A View from Italy Mario MaffiContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisIs Judaism a timeless, universal set of beliefs or, rather, is it historical and contingent in its relation to different times and places? Do Jewish beliefs derive their meaning from texts and revelation or from rational argument and experience? This title addresses major Jewish thinkers who have wrestled with the moral and theological dilemmas.Trade Review"Michael Morgan has served up an intellectual treat. These subtle and carefully reasoned essays explore the dilemmas of the post-modern Jew who would take history seriously without losing the commanding presence Israel heard at Sinai... It is a pleasure to be nourished by a fresh mind exploring the tension between reason and revelation, history and faith."- Rabbi Samuel Karff "This is without doubt one of the most significant works in modern Jewish thought and a must for a thoughtful student of contemporary Jewish philosophy." - Rabbie Sheldon Zimmerman "This may well mark the next stage in the long history of Jewish self-understanding." - Ethics " ... rigorous history of modern Jewish thought ... " - ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1 Overcoming the Remoteness of the Past: Memory and Historiography in Modern Jewish ThoughtChapter 2 History and Modern Jewish Thought: Spinoza and Mendelssohn on the Ritual LawChapter 3 Liberalism in Mendelssohn's JerusalemChapter 4 The Curse of Historicity: The Role of History in Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Jewish PhilosophyChapter 5 Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Jewish PhilosophyChapter 6 Judaism and Peter Berger's Heretical ImperativeChapter 7 Jewish Ethics after the HolocaustChapter 8 Historicism, Evil, and Post-Holocaust Moral ThoughtChapter 9 Philosophy, History, and the Jewish Thinker: Jewish Thought and Philosophy in Emil Fackenheim's To Mend the WorldChapter 10 Franz Rosenzweig, Objectivity, and the New ThinkingChapter 11 Jewish Philosophy and Historical Self-ConsciousnessChapter 12 Contemporary Jewish Thought in AmericaNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisOffers a radical interpretation of the writings of Moses Hess, a nineteenth-century German Jewish intellectual figure who was at times religious and secular, traditional and modern, practical and theoretical, socialist and nationalist. This study contributes to the diverse fields of Jewish history, philosophy, Zionism, and religious studies.Trade Review"Koltun-Fromm's reading of Hess is of crucial import for those who study the construction of self in the modern world as well as for those who are concerned with Hess and his contributions to modern thought...a reading of Hess that is subtle, judicious, insightful, and well-supported." --David EllensonTable of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. Hess and Modern Jewish Identity Hess and Modern Jewish Identity Categories of Modern Identity Outline of Chapters 2. Conceptions of Self and Identity in Hess's Early Works and Rome and Jerusalem Rome and Jerusalem as Socialist and Zionist Manifesto Conceptions of Self and Identity in Hess's Socialist and Scientific Works Conceptions of Self and Identity in Rome and Jerusalem 3. Hess's "Return" to Judaism and Narrative Identity Discontinuity and Resolution in Hess's "Return" to Judaism The Reading of Hess's "Return" as Resolution Narrative Identity 4. Inescapable Frameworks: Emotions, Race, and the Rhetoric of Jewish Identity Evocative Language in Rome and Jerusalem Spinoza as Model for Passionate Philosophy Hess's Racial Theory Inescapable Frameworks 5. Traditions and Scars: Hess's Critique of Reform and Orthodox Judaism Identity and Difference: Hess's Critique of Bildung and Jewish Reform Traditions: Race and Scars Identity and Creativity: Hess's Critique of Jewish Orthodoxy 6.Innocence and Experience in Rome and Jerusalem Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExplores Ottoman Sephardic culture through a study of rabbinic texts written in Ladino, the vernacular language of the Ottoman Jews. This book covers the modernization of Sephardic Jewry in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 19th century. It offers readings of works that examine issues such as social inequality, gender, and secularization.Trade ReviewScholars of the late Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East more generally will undoubtedly find within this work a number of striking parallels between the responses of other individuals and groups to the growing Western influence in the region and those of the vernacular rabbis portrayed in Lehmann's study. The unexpected consequences precipitated by these rabbis' attempts to preserve their religious universe in the face of change similarly offer fruitful points of comparison. Ladino Rabbinic Literature and Ottoman Sephardic Culture will therefore also be welcomed by scholars interested in broader debates about the role religion played in the emergence of modernity and about the various ways that religious thinkers became modern, even despite themselves.March 2010 -- Julia Phillips Cohen * Vanderbilt University *Lehmann's book is clear and didactic, containing ... some eye-opening conclusions.April 2011 * American Historical Review *. . . [a] detailed and profound study . . . . Lehman's book is an important comtribution to the study of Ottoman Jewry as well as of Middle Eastern social and cultural history in general.Vol. 40 2008 -- Rachel Simon * Princeton University Library *. . . an incisive examination of rabbinic authors and their readers that highlights the importance of vernacular musar literature as a valuable and underutilized resource for the reconstruction of Ottoman Jewish culture. . . . [T]his book is a welcome addition to the burgeoning field of Sephardic and Mizrahi studies, and it should appeal to anyone interested in the interplay between religion and culture in the modern world. * AJS Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Historical BackgroundPart I Vernacular Musar Literature as a Cultural Factor2 Print and the Vernacular: The Emergence of Ladino Reading CulturePart II Authors, Translators, Readers3 The Translation and Reception of Musar4 "Pasar la Hora" or "Meldar"? Forms of SociabilityPart III Musar Literature and the Social Order5 The Construction of the Social Order6 Three Social Types: The Wealthy, the Poor, the Learned7 The Representation of GenderPart IV Exile and History8 Understanding Exile, Setting Boundaries9 The Impossible Homecoming10 Reincarnation and the Discovery of HistoryPart V The Challenge of Modernity11 Scientific and Rabbinic Knowledge and the Notion of Change12 ConclusionsNotesBibliographyIndex

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