In this unusual and provocative book, Victor Erlich uncovers the origins of the national idea in the Hebrew Bible. Through a series of sensitive and original readings of well-known biblical episodes, Erlich argues that ancient Zionism was not an ideological construct but rather a unique marriage of literary imagination and ethnic pride.

Medieval collections of Jewish biblical lore and legend. From Volume 4 of The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East. This volulme includes the Tanhuma Midrash, poems of Judah Halevi, the Book Cusari, Commentaries of Rabbi Ben Ezra, Advice of Maimonides, and The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela.

In 70 CE, the Jews were an agrarian and illiterate people living mostly in the Land of Israel and Mesopotamia. By 1492 the Jewish people had become a small group of literate urbanites specializing in crafts, trade, moneylending, and medicine in hundreds of places across the Old World, from Seville to Mangalore. What caused this radical change? The Chosen Few presents a new answer to this question by applying the lens of economic analysis to the key facts of fifteen formative centu...

Who were the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire?What lasting lessons does their spiritual life provide for future generations?“How did the Judeo-Spanish-speaking Jews of the Ottoman Empire manage to achieve spiritual triumph? To answer this question, we need to have a firm understanding of their historical experience…. We need to be aware of the dark, unpleasant elements in their environments; but we also need to see the spiritual, cultural light in their ...

How the rise of Christianity profoundly influenced the development of Judaism in late antiquityIn late antiquity, as Christianity emerged from Judaism, it was not only the new religion that was being influenced by the old. The rise and revolutionary challenge of Christianity also had a profound influence on rabbinic Judaism, which was itself just emerging and, like Christianity, trying to shape its own identity. In The Jewish Jesus, Peter Schäfer reveals t...

The clear and compelling wisdom of the rabbinic sages canbecome a companion for your own spiritual journey.At the heart of Judaism is an ethical imperative to live life from your true self, as the image and likeness of God. To do this, you must see the greatness of God manifest in all things, and therefore engage each moment with grace, humility, and justice. This imperative flowers in the words of the early Rabbis (250 BCE–250 CE), who captured God’s call t...

"The prayer book is our Jewish diary of the centuries, a collection of prayers composed by generations of those who came before us, as they endeavored to express the meaning of their lives and their relationship to God. The prayer book is the essence of the Jewish soul." My People's Prayer Book provides diverse and exciting commentaries to the traditional liturgy, written by some of today's most respected scholars and teachers from all perspectives of the Jewish world. They explore the tex...

Reform Judaism has been tested by the spiritual torments and ideological upheavals of the last two centuries. Now, Reform Judaism for the Rest of Us brings into discussion key tenets and opinions that shape current thinking within the faith and introduces ideas for its future development. Author Alexander Maller believes that the core message of Reform Judaism, a modern faith inspired by the Jewish heritage and the Jewish and American Enlightenment, is entering a new phase in its ...

Rabbi Jamie Korngold has always loved the outdoors, the place where humankind first met with God. Whether it’s mountaineering, running ultramarathons, or just sitting by a stream, she finds her spirituality and Judaism thrive most in the wilderness. In her work as the Adventure Rabbi, leading groups toward spiritual fulfillment in the outdoors, Korngold has uncovered the rich traditions and lessons God taught our ancestors in the wild. In God in the Wilderness Korngold uses rabbin...

This book is the result of a lifetime of study of the Hebrew Bible by a mature scholar whose love of the Tanakh, and especially of the Psalter, shines through on every page.

An intimate collection of Jewish family recipes spanning three generations.Unlike many in her generation, Doris Schechter was lucky enough to grow up knowing one of her grandparents. Polish by birth, Leah Goldstein-or Oma, as Doris called her-was a capable, nononsense woman and an amazing cook. Through times of great upheaval, fleeing Vienna for Italy, before eventually coming to America, Oma's table was always plentiful, with delicious home-cooked meals that broug...

A major new Jewish contribution to 12-Step spirituality.Claim the spiritual freedom that waits beyond the suffering and slavery of addiction."One of the important similarities between AA and Jewish spirituality is the statement in Step 12, 'to practice these principles in all our affairs....' There is no dichotomy of sacred versus secular. Jewish spirituality applies to how we eat, sleep, work, socialize and recreate. There is nothing that is external to the...