The synagogue remains a central institution in Jewish life as a place of study, worship, and assembly, but each day brings word of a new challenging development within each of the larger movements to which synagogues belong—Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist. Jewish religious communities today share a number of challenges, from the increase in secular or unaffiliated Jews to emerging Jewish spiritual communities forming outside the synagogue. There has never been a more ...

When Dylan doesn't get off to a good start at his new school and gets in trouble for fighting, he has to join the soccer team with a group of immigrant and refugee students who play on a rough, gravel field. Mocked by his old team, Dylan becomes determined to bring his new team to the championship finals. Getting to know his teammates opens Dylans eyes about hardship, and shows him the value of a goal that wins in sudden-death play — a golden goal.Golden Goal is one of fou...

In this young reader novel set at the beginning of the 19th century, Libby is placed in chains and transported to London’s notorious Newgate Prison after which, in a show trial, she is found guilty of helping her brother escape justice for attacking a Peer of the Realm after he beat her. Her punishment? Death by hanging. But while living in the horrific conditions of Newgate Prison, she is befriended by Elizabeth Fry, a woman who is famous for her work with English prisoners. For reasons L...

In this thrilling sequel to The Nor’Wester, Duncan Scott returns to England from Canada to search for his long-lost sister, Libby. Arriving on the Liverpool docks, Duncan learns that his sister’s fate has captivated the entire country. He also learns a name: Elizabeth Fry, a prison reformer who helped Libby and who holds the key to her location. But before he can meet Fry and find his sister once and for all, Duncan is kidnapped by a Press Gang in a dockside inn. Forced to take the “King’s...

Welcome, and thank you for accompanying us, David and Francesca, on our inner space travels.Together, we will guide you on a soul journey to energetically expand into your best spiritual gifts. You don't need a ship to explore space; your body is a ship, and by using your consciousness, you can energetically travel anywhere in the Omniverse.There are those living life on auto-pilot, and there are those of us harnessing our source energy, evolving the world a little more eac...

Fourteen-year-old Madeline Snow is the star goalie and captain of her girls rep hockey team in Burnaby, British Columbia. So when her RCMP sergeant father moves the family to his new posting in Fort St. James, a remote town in northern BC, she feels like she is losing a lot.In her new town Maddie is more unhappy than ever. Things begin to turn around when she discovers she has made the town's only Bantam team, a boys team called the Stars, but since they have a skilled goalie in Co...

"Current and delivering an important message, Last Pick is a must-read. Highly recommended." — CM: Canadian Review of MaterialsLast Pick shows how determination can help overcome obstacles — even bullying. Growing up with a developmental condition that left her clumsy in both movement and speech, Jazz was teased and never had the chance to play team sports. Now rid of her symptoms, Jazz is ready to play basketball...

In Like Joyful Tears, readers see first-hand the trauma and havoc wreaked by civil war. Victoria Deng of southern Sudan is sixteen when her school is attacked by northern soldiers and everyone but herself and her sister Mary are massacred. The girls are soon rescued by southern rebel soldiers, who are escorting hundreds of children on the harrowing and dangerous cross-desert journey to a refugee camp. Twenty years later in Vancouver, Canada, restless UBC student Abena Walker, look...

This gripping novel for young readers begins in 1805, when fifteen-year-old Duncan Scott and his sister Libby lose their parents in a Glasgow cotton mill fire. Their tragedy is compounded when, through one reckless act of grief, the Scott children become fugitives as well as orphans, and must flee Scotland. Across the border in England, Duncan and Libby are betrayed by their travelling companion. In a desperate attempt to save Duncan from the gallows, Libby sacrifices her freedom for her b...

THERE was once a great mountain which rose from the shore of the sea, and on its flanks it bore a mighty forest. The slopes of the mountain were green with soft grass and white s and rosy with the flowers of spring. But beyond the crest the mountain grew harsh and wild, then ridges and gullies, peaks and chasms, springs and torrents. Farther on lay a sandy desert, which stretched its monotonous breadth to the shore of a wide, swift river. What lay beyond the river no one knew, because its ...

In "California and the Californians," David Starr Jordan constructs a captivating narrative that intricately weaves the rich tapestry of California's diverse landscapes, cultures, and societal values. As a pioneering work in regional studies, this text exhibits Jordan's characteristic eloquence and keen observational style, blending scientific observations with eloquent descriptions to convey the uniqueness of California in the late 19th century. The book serves as both an exploration of t...

In "Life's Enthusiasms," David Starr Jordan crafts a poignant and introspective exploration of the wonders of life and the persistent pursuit of knowledge. Through a series of eloquent essays punctuated by lyrical prose, he reflects on nature, science, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Set against the backdrop of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time of scientific awakening and philosophical questioning, Jordan'Äôs work embodies the spirit of the era, merging person...