Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Germany    3. History - General History    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Jews    7. Jews, German    8. Judaism - History    9. Religion    10. United States - State & Local - Midwest    11. American history: from c 1900 -    12. Jewish studies    13. Religion / Judaism / History    14. The Americas    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (5)

An excellent introduction into Jewish religious thinking!
One must hang on one's lips when a wise Jew is talking about God. It is as if Einstein is speaking abou physics, Mozart composing music, van Gogh painting. Read carefully and with open heart!

Reality & Checks
Many, many years have passed since I was assigned to read this book in college.It makes me laugh when I reflect on that which we read in class to develop "critical thinking" skills and how much more it all resonates once we experience life and gain smarts that don't come from classrooms and the regurgitation of facts.
Mysticism and Monotheism
Heschel's interpretation of Judaism is that of MYSTICISM AND MONOTHEISM, the ineffable and unexplainable, the allusiveness that can only point us to the inner certainty of God.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Judaism    3. Judaism - Theology    4. Religion    5. Religion - Judaism    6. Jewish studies    7. Religion / General    8. Theology   

Reviews (2)

Intractably flawed, meaningless analysis
Admirably, Professor Cohen proposes "..a broad investigation of Medieval Islamic-Jewish and Christian-Jewish relations that builds on comparative insights..". A serious, objective comparison of these, or any other similar historical relationships requires, at minimum (1) a valid research design; (2) inclusion of ALL the relevant data. Unfortunately, Professor Cohen's scholarship fails to satisfy either of these basic criteria, rendering his analyses completely invalid. Under Crescent and Cross
It has often been asserted that in medieval times, Jews living in the Muslim lands had it better than their co-religionists in Christendom. Is that assessment accurate? Cohen, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, attempts an answer in this first-ever book on the comparative history of Jewish life in the two civilizations.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History: World    4. Jewish - General    5. Medieval    6. Art and Architecture    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500    8. History / Jewish    9. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    10. Jewish Studies    11. Middle East    12. Middle Eastern Studies    13. Mind, Body, Spirit    14. World history   

Reviews (7)

Not bad, but shows bias in places
Overall, this is not a bad book at all. It does have a slight tendency to show bias.For example, the author is completely willing to believe (with soemwhat illogical support.) that the Baal Shem Tov came up with this ideas but that everyone elese was influenced by other parts of culture.Other than this, th ebook is good and worth reading.

A Helpful Guide to Undestanding Judaism in Jesus' day
Knowledge of the Jewish faith is essential to any serious study of the Christian scriptures. Stephen Wylen's THE JEWS IN THE TIME OF JESUS is an essential tool in understanding the Judaism of the days of Jesus Christ. The book is written in a manner that is both academic and personal. The author is a rabbi by profession but also has a keen understanding of Christianity. His writings are meant to educate Christian readers about Judaism but at time it also confronts misconceptions about Judaism. Useful reading, with limitations
This is indeed a good book for the non-scholar who wishes to disentangle some of the history relating to the time of Jesus. It does not assume that the reader has great knowledge of the subject. Read more

Subjects:  1. 168 B.C.-135 A.D    2. History    3. History Of Jews    4. History Of Judaism    5. Jews    6. Judaism    7. Judaism - History    8. Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-2    9. Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D    10. Religion    11. Religion - Judaism    12. Early Church   

Reviews (1)

Descriptions of a collage of unusual Jewish communities.
This book is a collection of essays describing Jewish communities in unlikely corners of the world, written by laypeople and rabbis who have sought these communities out to help them (re)-establish connections to therest of the Jewish people.Kulanu (Hebrew for "all of us"), theorganization that Karen Primack works with, is dedicated to finding andsupporting communities that are rediscovering their Jewish roots or areestablishing themselves as Jews by choice.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History Of Judaism    4. Jewish - General    5. Jewish diaspora    6. Judaism - General    7. Latin America    8. Proselytes and proselyting, Je    9. Religion    10. Sephardim    11. Sociology   

Subjects:  1. History - General History    2. Humor    3. Jewish - General    4. Jews    5. Topic - Religion    6. Humor / General   

Reviews (9)

A pleasant mishmash
Aside from the Yiddish - English dictionary the book has many features explaining various aspects of Yiddish culture. It provides real insight into the cultural world and life of Yiddish speakers. An excellent browsing book.

GETin on the business language
Today the business world has inherited the language of Yiddish. This is because most small businessmen used to be Jewish or worked with Jewish people. In today's world the businesman might be hispanic or black, but everyone still throws in Yiddish words. Meshuggenary
It is always a pleasure to get a little extra.It's even better to get a lot extra!When I read Meshuggenry, not only did it explain many Yiddish expressions that are as American as bagels, I also got a seasoning of the life and spirit that fermented in the world of Yiddish.Take Klezmer music.In a few pages you get a history of its origins and its continual and present reincarnations.Take Yiddish Food and Cooking.A little history, a nosh of Yiddish food terms and some mouth-watering recipes.There are chapters on Yiddish humor and theater, but it's the insight to the Yiddish language and soul that makes this very readable concise book very special.That's the little extra!Meshuggenary is not only enjoyable to read, you are let into Yiddish insights that are still evolving.After wandering for many years from Brooklyn, to New Jersey, to California, it was good to read about my roots.Get off your tokhes and order a copy of Meshuggenary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language Study    2. General    3. Jewish - General    4. Jews    5. Judaism - General    6. Language    7. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    8. Languages    9. United States    10. Yiddish    11. Yiddish Language    12. Yiddish literature    13. Classical languages    14. Language & Linguistics    15. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (1)

Will be the leading work in the field, Blows Your Conception
Lee Levine is a Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and this is a fresh perspective on the ancient synagogue (gathering place).According the Levine, the synagogue was not just a replacement for the Temple that was destroyed.It was not only a center of learning and prayer that faced Jerusalem. According to Levine, prayer was not even the primary function.It was a community center that even served meals.Prayer was not done according to the Talmud and its leadership had nothing to do with rabbis. As is done today, the benefactors of early synagogues even had their names displayed in gold on plaques.The early synagogues were embellished by paintings and mosaics of birds and icons, including pagan and non-Jewish astrological signs.More money was spent on large synagogues than on the schools and academies. (the more things change the more they stay the same, no?)Levine writes that there is no verification that females were ever separated into galleries.Greek and Aramaic were the predominant languages in the early synagogues. They did not become prayer centers til about the fourth century.In the words of the Times Literary Supplement, this is a weighty and meaty book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Jewish Studies    3. Judaism - History    4. Religion - Judaism    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. ASIA    8. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    9. Judaism    10. Religion / Judaism / History    11. Religious communities & monasticism    12. Social history   

Reviews (1)

Shea Caps His Lifelong Project
Shea, formerly at St. Louis University and now at the College of Holy Cross, has penned his magnum opus. With evident erudition and a full command of the sources, he traces the undulating relationship between the various strains of Evangelism with those of the Roman Catholic Church. No longer today does blind bigotry and outright rejection reign in this delicate balanceRead more

Subjects:  1. Catholic Church    2. Christianity - Catholicism    3. Christianity - Denominations    4. Christianity - Evangelism    5. Church history    6. Evangelicalism    7. History    8. History: World    9. Jewish - General    10. Relations    11. Religion    12. Religion - Classic Works    13. United States    14. Religion & Theology | American    15. Religion / Catholicism    16. Religion: general   

Reviews (2)

has little to add to the old testament
This is a great book, very readable and scholarly. There exists one problem though: this book has practically nothing to add to what is written, just as clearly and just as easily accessible, in the old testament. A Nice Introduction to Ancient Israel
J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes' A History of Ancient Israel and Judah provides a solid introduction to the methods and problems of studying the development of the kingdoms that came to be known as Israel and Judah.Thebook deals with events from the time of Israel's origins (the Late Bronzeand Early Iron Ages) to the work of Ezra and Nehemiah (the fifth and fourthcenturies BCE).On the whole, A History is more cautious with the biblicaltexts than other histories of ancient Israel, such as John Bright's AHistory of Israel. Miller and Hayes spend less time offering guesses aboutthe more speculative aspects of Israel's history, such as the patriarchsand exodus, and concentrate their efforts on the later period (tenth tofifth centuries BCE) for which conclusions are more certain. From itsbeginning, this study is very much set within the geographical, political,economic, and religious context of the ancient Near East and Egypt as awhole.Perhaps the most attractive feature of this work is the inclusionof both photographs and fairly complete translations of extra-biblicaldocuments pertinent to various stages of Israel's history.A History isdivided into chronological segments, and the authors proceed by summarizingthe biblical texts germane to the time period, critically examining theseaccounts along with extra-biblical and archaeological evidence, and thendrawing conclusions.If the book has a major weakness, it is the absenceof either footnotes or endnotes, but the authors provide a sizable topicalbibliography at the conclusion of the book, and overall, A History ofAncient Israel and Judah is sound, readable scholarship. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Bible    3. Bible.    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History of Biblical events    7. Israel - History    8. Jews    9. O.T    10. O.T.    11. Religion    12. To 70 A.D    13. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    14. Israel    15. Jewish studies   

Subjects:  1. Biblical teaching    2. Jewish Studies    3. Judaism    4. Judaism - General    5. Judaism - Theology    6. Justice    7. Justice (Jewish theology)    8. Religion    9. Religious aspects    10. Social justice    11. Sociology   

Reviews (25)

Easy to understand and quite instructive
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is without a doubt the most notorious and infamous anti-Semitic text ever written. Originally a piece written as a response to Napoleon III, it was later re-written and given a new title by the Russians, who used it in their anti-Semitic propaganda. Adolf Hitler too used it, mentioned it in his speeches, and talked about it in Mein Kampf, and even though the falsification has been exposed repeatedly it's still being used today, by among others dubious New Age prophets.
An important topic buta static presentation
Eisner is justly remembered as a graphic innovator and the topic here; portraying the true origins of this contemptible "document" is admirable, so why didn't this work better? The basic problem is that the history of the protocols does not lend itself to creativity in presentation. Like a textbook THE PLOT serves an important purpose and Eisner does his best to add some drama to the basic tale of how a petty group of Russian bureaucrats decided to create this foul work to support their political agenda and from there groups all over the world have used it to foster hatred; but the material is too dry to support anything but the facts. Eisner gives it a try but basically the book is a series of talking heads, and no matter what approach Eisner uses it never really becomes anything more than that. It just doesn't make for an exciting read in this medium. Despite my complaints it is my hope that like Nast's cartoons helped bring down Tammany Hall, THE PLOT too will serve its purpose and enlighten people to the lies behind the protocols of Zion.

The lie that wouldn't die.
Will Eisner was one of the greatest story tellers in the history of comics, and is credited with creating the graphic novel.This book was his last finished work.It is the story of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", an anti-Jewish tract that purports to tell of the Jews' plot to take over the world.The whole thing was a hoax, but that didn't stop anti-Semites from using it to justify discriminating against Jews.Eisner does an effective job of showing, through words and pictures, how this dangerous document influenced (and continues to influence) the world negatively. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antisemitism    2. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Jewish - General    8. Judaism - History    9. Modern - 20th Century    10. Protocols of the wise men of Zion    11. History / Modern / 20th Century    12. Jewish studies    13. Nationalism    14. Russia   

Reviews (13)

one of the most poignant and informative books I have ever read
Amos Elon opens this book describing Moses Mendelsohn entry as an impoverished and uneducated teen into Berlin through a gate reserved for "swine, oxen and Jews," and ends it by describing how renowned Jewish literati left Berlin by train hours ahead of the Gestapo.
Fascinating!! Likely the best book, of the 1000, I've ever read
This book is truly one of a kind. It's detail and clarity is unprecedented and its topic very engaging as Elon does an amazing job in taking his readers through the 200-year journey and labyrinth of a mostly unexplored period of Jewish history. Awesome! Truly the best thing since sliced bread. Besides being a fabulous historical treatise, it answers many questions.......many many questions and problems and does it so wholesomely and so didactically and flawlessly.
One of the best
One of the best history books I read (and I read quite a few):
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Subjects:  1. 1800-1933    2. 18th century    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Intellectual life    9. Jewish - General    10. Jews    11. History / Germany   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Comic books, strips, etc    7. Fine Arts    8. General    9. Historical - Holocaust    10. Holocaust    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Jewish - General    13. Jews    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Personal narratives    16. Social conditions    17. Ukraine    18. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (10)

A Journey Into Lives
Konin, subtitled A Quest, is indeed exactly that. It is Theo Richmond's quest across time, place, culture, and humanity. It is his quest to learn where he came from, to understand the place his older relatives spoke of so often in his youth, but which he started out knowing rather little about. Crowning achievement
Yes, this is another Holocaust archival work and yes, it is brilliantly researched and written. But Richmond's crowning achievement, I propose, is his ability to create a lengthy work as this, about people many readers could never know, without ever letting it lapse into sentimentality or a wearisome litany of names, faces and facts. And yes, I have tearfully walked the streets of Konin with those Shoah survivors who now live in England, the US, and Israel.Richmond has ensured that the Nazi attempt to relegate Jewish Konin to oblivion has been thwarted. And we are much the better for it."For the dead and the living we must bear witness."Thank you Mr Richmond.You have witnessed for the murdered of Kazimierz forest and all the other killing fields of Nazi Europe.

Read It
There is little I can add to the existing reviews save yet another resounding confirmation of this book's brilliance. Konin is a superbly written, award-winning thing translated into Polish, Hebrew, German and Italian. Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - Poland    2. History - General History    3. History: World    4. Jewish - General    5. History / Europe / Eastern   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Rome    2. Byzantine Empire    3. Empire, 284-476    4. Germanic Invasions, 3rd-6th centuries    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Jewish - General    9. Rome    10. To 527    11. Ancient Rome    12. History / Ancient / Rome    13. ROME_HISTORY_EMPIRE, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.    14. ROME_HISTORY_GERMANIC INVASIONS, 3RD-6TH CENTURIES    15. World history: BCE to c 500 CE    16. World history: c 500 to C 1500   

Subjects:  1. Aggada    2. Commentaries    3. History and criticism    4. Jewish    5. Jewish - General    6. Judaism - Sacred Writings    7. Midrash    8. Religion - Judaism    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Women in rabbinical literature    12. Women's Studies - General    13. Social Science / Women's Studies    14. Women's studies   

Reviews (16)

And you thought YOUR parents were weird?
Dr. Nuland thought his immigrant father was simply weird or peculiar or just never adjusted to life in America until he was well into medical school, and diagnosed his father's tertiary syphilis by reading about it in a textbook.It explained everything, and in the tradition of the day, his father was never told the truth - not that anything could have been done.By the time he received treatment, his nervous system was already permanently damaged.
A Winner
Haven't read this one yet, but my friend & neighbor said that this is the best book that she ever read!!

Moving, marvelous reading
A most moving, thoughtful, disarmingly candid, disarmingly honest perusal of what it was to grow with an immigrant father apparently deffective in every respect, however full of love for a son both as he was and as he came to be, almost a dissection of human emotions yet a most loving one; we share the awe, mixed love-shame and adventure of the author in discovering the scope of what is a human being and what a human being can be, as he uncovers a past ultimately bountiful with the reward for him of overcoming hindrances and prejudices in a new world. I don't think the author aimed to show this, but by overcoming hindrances and prejudice he ends gaining his own rightful place in that new world and in the process makes his father triumph. The book, and the journey, is a triumph of the human spirit. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Ethnic Cultures - General    6. Family relationships    7. Father and child    8. Historical - General    9. Jewish Studies    10. Jews    11. New York    12. New York (N.Y.)    13. New York (State)    14. Nudelman, Meyer    15. Nuland, Sherwin B    16. Regional Subjects - MidAtlantic    17. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Reviews (6)

The Best Bar Mitzvah Guide I've Seen
My parents were kind enough to send me this wonderful book on Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations!I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the book -- in particular, it's ability to retain a focus on what the event is all about.My husband and I have always believed that this is an event that comes with its own theme and we've been working very hard on planning a day that celebrates our daughter and her accomplishments, and that feels grounded in Judaism.My copy of the book is already tabbed on many pages with ideas that will help us to do just that.

Soup to nuts guide
The book is exquisitely detailed as a guide.Additionallyhistorical and religious considerations of the meaning of the celebration are intertwined in the text.The authors have been involved in food and catering and include recipes.

A truly useful guide to an "authentic" celebration
We're an interfaith couple with children now 9 and 11 so we have two bar mitzvah's coming up.We've been to many bar/bat mitzvahs we've found uninspiring from a spiritual perspective, although certainly not lacking in glitz and expense.Read more

Subjects:  1. Bar mitzvah    2. Bat mitzvah    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Judaism    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - Rituals & Practice    7. Manners And Customs    8. Religion    9. Religion - Judaism    10. Jewish studies    11. Religion / Judaism / Beliefs, Practices, Rituals    12. Religious instruction & preparation   

Features

• Unabridged
• Audiobook

Reviews (5)

Phenomenal Documentary of a Long Lost Era...
Fortunately, if you've forgotten all the Yiddish you grew up hearing, or never grew up hearing Yiddish at all, you'll still be able to enjoy this INCREDIBLE radio documentary about the (virtually) lost world of Jewish/Yiddish radio (in NYC) and vanishing Yiddish-American culture in general. Enlisting top name actors (such as Eli Wallach, Carl Reiner, Jerry Stiller, Christopher Lloyd and others) for the first time you can hear the famous MO AND JOE Barton Brother's parody fully translated in all its blue galore... you meet a whole case of long gone, recently gone and a few still living charactors from one men ad agencies and program directors, Yiddish Swing singers, a RABBI who was the first JUDGE WAPNER long before JUDGE WAPNER, hear a radio broadcast in which a holocaust survival is reunited with his father in a THIS IS YOUR LIFE type broadcast, a Yiddish soap opera type radio drama fully re-enacted in English, and commercials for products anyone who grew up in a Jewish household will be quite familiar with (and shocked at the sales tactics... wow whoever knew that Matzah had more powers than a York Peppermint Patty !) - - The story is brilliantly told, through actually recordings, re-enactments in English, and narratives by those who lived it.- - I don't this this INCREDIBLE documentary won any awards, but it shuold have...It tells lot's of stories and is a peak into a world nostalgic for some, long forgotten by others... and for those who grew up in the "post assimilation era" or who aren't even Jewish, the documentary is an amazing look into the challenges of one ethnic culture balancing between its own identity and the influences of assimilating and incorporating the influences of a then new World for most Jews called America.
Great even without nostalgia
I enjoyed this thoroughly even though I didn't have any memories of Yiddish radio growing up.

disappointing
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950's, my Father's radio was always tuned to WEVD (or WQXR). As such, I expected more of the lingua franca that the CD purports to contain. Enlish ditties sung by Jewish personalities is cute but not enthralling.I kept waiting to hear actual Yiddish and especially the voice of Zvi Scooler.I cannot imagine any collection of this sort not containing the voice of Zcooler.Maybe I expected too much. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. History    4. Jewish - General    5. Radio - General    6. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    7. History / General