English translations of over fifty stories from the Israel Folktale Archives.In The Power of a Tale: Stories from the Israel Folktale Archives, editors Haya Bar-Itzhak and Idit Pintel-Ginsberg bring together a collection of fifty-three folktales in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Israel Folktale Archives (IFA) at the University of Haifa. Established by the folklorist Dov Noy in the 1950s, the IFA is the only archive of its kind in Israel and serve...

This study presents a unique selection of folk narratives of Moroccan Jews in Israel.Jewish Moroccan Folk Narratives focuses on two central elements: textual research to examine the aesthetic qualities of the narrative, their division into genres, the various versions and their parallels, and acculturation in Israel, as well as contextual research to examine the performance art of the narrator and the role of the narrative as a communicative process in the...

In physics, the idea of extra spatial dimensions originates from Nordstöm’s 5-dimensional vector theory in 1914, followed by Kaluza-Klein theory in 1921, in an effort to unify general relativity and electromagnetism in a 5 dimensional space-time (4 dimensions for space and 1 for time). Kaluza–Klein theory didn’t generate enough interest with physicist for the next five decades, due to its problems with inconsistencies. With the advent of supergravity theory (the theory that unifies general...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization takes us on another "captivating...persuasive as well as entertaining" journey into history (The New York Times), recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today.The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions a...

Rabbi Small takes a break from murder to discuss religious mysteries in this thought-provoking novel from the New York Times –bestselling author.Edgar Award–Winning AuthorIn Conversations with Rabbi Small, the rabbi finds himself taking a well-deserved vacation at a Jewish retreat in the mountains, where he reads, plays cards, and furthers his studies, which have been languishing for too ...

A snapshot of Israel and the West Bank in the 1980s, through the voices of its inhabitants, from the National Jewish Book Award–winning author of Judas.Notebook in hand, renowned author and onetime kibbutznik Amos Oz traveled throughout his homeland to talk with people—workers, soldiers, religious zealots, aging pioneers, desperate Arabs, visionaries—asking them questions about Israel's past, present, and future. Observant or secular, rich or poor, native-...

"There is humor and heartbreak in these pages. . . . [Kurshan] immerses herself in the demands of daily Talmud study and allows the words of ancient scholars to transform the patterns of her own life." — The Wall Street JournalAt the age of twenty-seven, alone in Jerusalem in the wake of a painful divorce, Ilana Kurshan joined the world's largest book club, learning daf yomi, Hebrew for "daily page" of the Talmud, a book of rabbinic teachings spanning about...

Learning to read a language with a foreign alphabet can be an intimidating challenge. Even before you can start to study the vocabulary and grammar, you must first decipher this strange new script.But learning a new alphabet does not have to be so difficult.Other language courses start by showing a table of the alphabet and then immediately proceed to dialogues and grammatical descriptions. This is not the ideal way to teach a foreign alphabet, and...

"Powerful" essays from a founder of the Peace Now movement and advocate for a two-state solution ( Library Journal).The haunting poetry of [Oz's] prose and the stunning logic of his testimony make a potent mixture." — Washington Post Book WorldAmos Oz was one of the first voices of conscience to advocate for a two-state solution. As a founding member of the Peace Now movement, Oz has spent over thirty-five years speaking out on this issue, a...

Is Islam a religion of peace or of violence?Islam is a religion we can no longer afford to ignore. It is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. Newspapers and television news regularly bring stories from the Middle East, but more importantly, the Muslim world has come to us. Between 5 and 7 million Muslims currently live in America, and that number is growing.Recognizing the importance of understanding Islam, R. C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb had a series of convers...

The acclaimed author presents "three passionate lectures about the state of politics in Israel" in this "humorous, mournful, enraged, and uplifting" volume ( Kirkus).A National Jewish Book Award FinalistIsraeli author Amos Oz has won numerous awards for his novels capturing the cultural and political complexities of his country, including the Frankfurt Peace Prize, the Primo Levi Prize, and the National Jewish Book Award. But these...

Buried Hope or Risen Savior? argues for the credibility of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, engaging the issue in relation to the recent “Jesus Family Tomb” claims that continue making headlines around the world.Among the contributors, Steve Ortiz (professor of Biblical Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) discusses the general background of this type of tomb and the archaeology of the Talpiot tomb site. Craig Evans (New T...