One of India's greatest epics, the Ramayana pervades the country's moral and cultural consciousness. For generations it has served as a bedtime story for Indian children, while at the same time engaging the interest of philosophers and theologians. Believed to have been composed by Valmiki sometime between the eighth and sixth centuries BC, the Ramayana tells the tragic and magical story of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, an incarnation of Lord Visnu, born to rid the earth of the terrible demon Ravana. An idealized heroic tale ending with the inevitable triumph of good over evil, the Ramayana is also an intensely personal story of family relationships, love and loss, duty and honor, of harem intrigue, petty jealousies, and destructive ambitions. All this played out in a universe populated by larger-than-life humans, gods and celestial beings, wondrous animals and terrifying demons. With her magnificent translation and superb introduction, Arshia Sattar has successfully bridged both time and space to bring this ancient classic to modern English readers.

By employing the same basic methodologies used to establish the currently accepted chronology, it has been possible for a group of young archaeologists, including David Rohl, to create a New Chronology which resolves many of the problems permeating ancient world studies. In particular, one model has been developed which has major implications for Old Testament research. Through the revision of the master chronology of ancient Egypt they have unlocked the key to biblical history - the epic events of the Bible really did happen as recorded in the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles - the problem was that we had previously been looking for them in completely the wrong place in time.

Many of the conundrums of the past are explained, and legendary figures such as Joseph, Moses, David and Solomon find their true political setting. Exodus and Conquest will be restored to history and the magic of legend will begin to make its great comeback.

You are invited to spend a year with the inspirational words, ideas, and counsel of the great twentieth-century thinker Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, through his meditations on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and eleven Jewish holidays. A pioneer of ideas and action-teaching that "Judaism is a civilization" encompassing Jewish culture, art, and peoplehood; demonstrating how synagogues can be full centers for Jewish living (building one of the first "shuls with a pool"); and creating the first-ever bat mitzvah ceremony (for his daughter Judith)-Kaplan transformed the landscape of American Jewry. Yet much of Kaplan's rich treasury of ethical and spiritual thought is largely unknown. Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, who studied closely with Kaplan, offers unique insight into Kaplan's teachings about ethical relationships and spiritual fulfillment, including how to embrace godliness in everyday experience, our mandate to become agents of justice in the world, and the human ability to evolve personally and collectively. Quoting from the week's Torah portion, Reuben presents Torah commentary, a related quotation from Kaplan, a reflective commentary integrating Kaplan's understanding of the Torah text, and an intimate story about his family or community's struggles and triumphs-guiding twenty-first-century spiritual seekers of all backgrounds on how to live reflectively and purposefully every day.

Post 9/11, sales of translations of the Qur'an have greatly increased. Students and general readers alike are increasingly interested in the sacred writings of Islam. But the Qur'an can often make difficult reading. It lacks continuous narrative, and different types of material dealing with different topics are often found in the same chapter. Also, readers often attempt to read the book from start to finish and without any knowledge of the life and experiences of both Muhammad and the community of Islam. Introductions to the Qur'an attempt to make interpretation of these complex scriptures easier by discussing context, history and different interpretations, and presenting selective textual examples. Bennett's new introduction takes a fresh approach to studying the Qur'an. By reordering parts of the Qur'an, placing its chapters and verses into a continuous narrative, the author creates a framework that untangles and elucidates its seemingly unconnected content. Through this new approach the reader will come to understand various aspects of the Qur'an's interpretation, from Muhammad's life, to Muslim conduct and prayer, to legal considerations.

The Psalms have long brought comfort to those who mourn and have helped us find the spiritual in everyday life. This edition presents a translation based on the original Hebrew text, as well as the entire range of Psalms interpretation and modern linguistic scholarship.

One of the world's foremost experts on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran community that produced them provides an authoritative new English translation of the two hundred longest and most important nonbiblical Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran, along with an introduction to the history of the discovery and publication of each manuscript and the background necessary for placing each manuscript in its actual historical context.

The Midrash: An Introduction sets forth the way in which Judaism reads the Hebrew Bible. In this masterful presentation, the reader is introduced to the classics of Jewish Bible interpretation, with special attention to the way in which the ribbis of Talmudic times read the Pentateuch, the Book of Ruth, and Song of Songs. The seven Midrash compilations are introduced with a lucid account of their main points, accompanied by selections that give the reader a direct encounter, in English, with the Bible as Judaism understands it. The word midrash, based on the Hebrew root DaRaSH ("search"), means "interpretation" or "exegesis." Midrash also more formally refers to the compilations of such interpretations of Scripture. As Dr. Jacob Neusner explains, these compilations "reached closure and conclusion in the formative stage of Judaism, that is, the first seven centuries of the Common Era, the time in which the Mishnah (ca. 200), Talmud of the Land of Israel (ca. 400), and Talmud of Babylonia (ca. 600) were written." Midrash is not so much about Scripture as it is a subordinate part of Scripture: "They did not write about Scripture," Dr. Neusner says. "They wrote with Scripture ... much as painters paint with a palette of colors." The Midrash: An Introduction is the second volume in Dr. Jacob Neusner's series of introductory volumes on classical rabbinic literature. As with the first volume - The Mishnah: An Introduction - this book offers the layperson a concise description of the religious literature and, drawing on Dr. Neusner's own translations of the texts, walks readers through the selections, providing them with firsthand experience with the document itself. As Dr. Neusner says in his preface to The Midrash: An Introduction, "In these pages I mean to make it possible for readers to know one such compilation from the other and so to begin studying their own."

"This is a very significant, original, and daring book. It illuminates an important era in the history of the Jewish people as well as the background of Christianity, making full use of the new Qumran material."--Professor Emanuel Tov, Editor-in-Chief, Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project

"The importance of this thesis for the understanding and interpretation of the historical Jesus is something of which all students of Christian Origins should take careful note. The book places a square challenge before those persuaded by a less apocalyptic/messianc view of the man and his times. I am convinced this book will become a pioneering classic in terms of the slot it fills in the field."--James D. Tabor, author of "Why Waco?

"This is a work of very high quality. . . . Knohl convincingly points out the historical event of a Messiah who predated the more famous one, Jesus Christ. . . . This is one of the most fascinating findings regarding the history of Jewish Messianism and the understanding of the emergence of Christianity. . . I am confident that it will mark a new phase in research of ancient Judaism."--Moshe Idel, author of "Messianic Mystics

"This tiny book will turn many heads. Israel Knohl sifts through a vast range of ancient texts in order to weave together a new chapter in the story of Jewish Messianism."--Gary A. Anderson, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Harvard University

"Israel Knohl established himself as a first-rate scholar with his first book, "The Sanctuary of Silence, on a classic problem of Pentateuchal studies. Here he ventures into entirely different territory and displays impressive erudition not only in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Talmud but also in classicalantiquity. His bold and provocative theories are sure to elicit a storm of controversy."--John J. Collins, author of "Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora and Jewish Wisdom in Helleniatic Age

"Fascinating. . . .Knohl's book is an original piece of research that defies some of the most solid beliefs of our time."--Avraham Burg, Chairman of the Keneset (Israeli Parliament).

Secrets of oriental sexuology are recorded in the book and one can not fail to be intrigued by a number of headings throughout the volume with titles such as "The Lady and the Barber", "The Bath-Keeper Who Lent His Wife", "Passion Gone Mad", "Forth-Eight Erotic Postures"...The writing of this treatise is a credit to Jalal Addin Al-Siyuti and the book was translated from the Arabic at the beginning of the century by an English Bohemian. It was originally published in France as a limited edition of only 300 copies. An imaginative translation has been accomplished in a fascinating style which will attract many new readers. Some interesting poems are contained in the book and the introductory lines of just one entitled "The Squire" written by the Earl of Harrington are quoted. "Last night, when to your bed I came, You were a novice at the game, I've taught you now a little skill But I have more to teach you still,...(page 152)

Today, 23 percent of the global population is Muslim, but ignorance and misinformation about Islam persist. In this fascinating and useful book, the acclaimed writer Perry Anderson interviews the noted scholar of Islam Suleiman Mourad about the Qur'an and the history of the faith. Mourad elucidates the different stages in Islam's development: the Qur'an as scripture and the history of its codification; Muhammad and the significance of his Sunna and Hadith; the Sunni-Shi'a split and the formation of various sects; the development of jihad; the transition to modernity and the challenges of reform; and the complexities of Islam in the modern world. He also looks at Wahhabism from its inception in the eighteenth century to its present-day position as the movement that galvanized modern Salafism and gave rise to militant Islam or jihadism. The Mosaic of Islam reveals both the richness and the fissures of the faith. It speaks of the different voices claiming to represent the religion and spans peaceful groups and manifestations as well as the bloody confrontations that scar the Middle East, such as the Saudi Arabian and Iranian intervention in the Yemen and the collapse of Syria and Iraq.

Throughout the last several decades professional biblical scholars have adapted concepts and theories from the social sciences - particularly social and cultural anthropology - in order to cast new light on ancient biblical writings, early Jewish and Christian texts that circulated with the Scriptures, and the various contexts in which these literatures were produced and first received. The present volume of essays draws much of its inspiration from that same development in the history of biblical research, while also offering insights from other, newer approaches to interpretation. The contributors to this volume explore a wide range of broadly social-scientific disciplines and discourses - cultural anthropology, sociology, archaeology, political science, the New Historicism, forced migration studies, gender studies - and provide multiple examples of the ways in which these diverse methods and theories can shed new and often fascinating light on the ancient texts. The fruit of scholarly work that is both international in flavour and truly collaborative, this volume provides fresh perspectives not only on familiar portions of Jewish and Christian Scripture but also on select passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi library and previously untranslated French texts.

For too many Jewish young people, bar/bat mitzvah has been the beginning of the end of their Jewish journeys. When students perceive the Torah as incomprehensible or irrelevant, many form the false impression that Judaism has nothing to say to them. Enter the game-changer: the JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. The narrative summaries, "big" ideas, model divrei Torah, haftarot commentaries, and discussion questions will engage teens in studying the Torah and haftarot, in writing divrei Torah, and in continuing to learn Torah throughout their lives-making it the book every rabbi, cantor, parent, and tutor will also want to have. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. Weekly portion pamphlets are now available for every parasha of The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary!

"I grew up reading the Qur'an on my mother's lap," writes Ziauddin Sardar. "It's an experience I share with most Muslim children. And so it is that our connection to the Qur'an is infused with associations of the warmest and most enduring of human bonds." In Reading the Qur'an, Sardar--one of Europe's leading public intellectuals--laments that for far too many Muslims, the Qur'an he had learned in his mother's lap has become a stick used for ensuring conformity and suppressing dissenting views. Indeed, some find in the Qur'an justification for misogyny, validation for hatred of others, an obsession with dress and mindless ritual, rules for running modern states. Arguing passionately but reasonably against these trends, Sardar speaks out for a more open, less doctrinaire approach to reading the Qur'an. He contends that the Qur'an is not fixed in stone for all time, but a dynamic text which every generation must encounter anew, and whose relevance and implications for our time we have yet to fully discover. The words of the Qur'an imply movement: the religious life, it tells us, is not about standing still but always striving to make our life, our society, the entire world around us a better place for everyone. Sardar explores the Qur'an from a variety of perspectives, from traditional exegesis to hermeneutics, critical theory, and cultural analysis, drawing fresh and contemporary lessons from the Sacred Text. He also examines what the Qur'an says about such contemporary topics as power and politics, rights of women, suicide, domestic violence, sex, homosexuality, the veil, freedom of expression, and evolution. Ziauddin Sardar opens a new window on this remarkable Sacred Text, in a book that will engage all devout Muslims and will interest anyone curious about the Qur'an and Islam today.

Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo documents an important collection of master drawings donated by an individual to the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, including five drawings by the celebrated Venetian genius Giambattista Tiepolo and sixteen drawings by his most famous son, Domenico Tiepolo. Twelve of the sixteen form part of Domenico's most important drawing series-his exhaustive visual exploration of the New Testament. Also included are two drawings discovered after the 2006 publication of Domenico Tiepolo: A New Testament and seen here for the first time. Gealt and Knox are world-renowned experts on the Tiepolos and this book will serve as a useful reference to understanding their work as draftsmen. This beautiful illustrated volume will appeal to art lovers, biblical scholars, and those who value the unique work of the Tiepolos.

Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., Judaism faced a serious crossroads. The rabbis of late antiquity spent the next few centuries in extensive debates in an effort to create an ethical and practical basis for a Torah-based faith. Their extensive discussions constitute the bulk of what we now know as the Talmud. This collection is not only massive; it is forbiddingly difficult and has accumulated numerous commentaries over the centuries since it first appeared. Recent translations have made it somewhat more accessible to English-language readers, but textual difficulties remain. This volume looks at tractate Zevachim (Sacrifices), which is mostly concerned with meat offerings slaughtered and presented at the Temple (when it stood). Joshua A. Fogel approaches the text, page by page, commenting with doses of humor and comparisons in a manner meant to explain and humanize the text for contemporary readers.

This is accessible and reliable survey of Kabbalah's key elements, uniquely exploring the contemporary phenomena of its popularity and the notoreity of some its modern purveyors. "Kabbalah: A Guide for the Perplexed" is a concise and accessible introduction to the major elements of the prevalent metaphysical system of Judaism, Kabbalah. The book covers the historical and theoretical essence of Kabbalah, offering a clear definition of the term and the limitations of what Kabbalah is and is not. Pinchas Giller provides an overview of the history of the movement, reflecting the sweep of Jewish history as a whole, and examines its metaphysical system, the advanced mythos of early and later Luria, doctrines of the soul, and the mysteries of Jewish religious practice and law. The book concludes with a summary of the contemporary kabbalistic phenomena, particularly in light of the notoriety of some modern purveyors of Kabbalah. As cogent and objective as possible, this is the ideal companion for those wishing to gain a sound understanding of this often perplexing mystical aspect of Judaism. "Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

The Rabbis of classical Judaism, in the first six centuries of the Common Era, commented on the teachings of ancient Israel's prophets and shaped, as much as they were shaped by, prophecy. They commented on much of the Scriptural heritage and they made it their own. This collection of the Rabbinic comments on biblical books makes easily accessible the Rabbinic reading of the prophetic heritage and opens the way to the study of how normative Judaism responded to the challenge of the prophetic writings.

The Rabbis of classical Judaism, in the first six centuries of the Common Era, commented on the teachings of ancient Israel's prophets and shaped, as much as they were shaped by, prophecy. They commented on much of the Scriptural heritage and they made it their own. This collection of the Rabbinic comments on biblical books makes easily accessible the Rabbinic reading of the prophetic heritage and opens the way to the study of how normative Judaism responded to the challenge of the prophetic writings.

The Rabbis of classical Judaism, in the first six centuries of the Common Era, commented on the teachings of ancient Israel's prophets and shaped, as much as they were shaped by, prophecy. They commented on much of the Scriptural heritage and they made it their own. This collection of the Rabbinic comments on biblical books makes easily accessible the Rabbinic reading of the prophetic heritage and opens the way to the study of how normative Judaism responded to the challenge of the prophetic writings.

This is a translation of the 1911 Biblisch-Talmudiesche Medizin , an extensively researched text that gathers the medical and hygienic references found in the Jewish sacred, historical, and legal literatures, written by German physician and scholar Julius Preuss (1861-1913).

In this systematic and accessible analysis, Harold Coward carefully explores the scriptures - written and spoekn - of six major world faiths. He examines their interpretation, their role in devotion and education, and their relationships with each other.

Josephus (AD 37-?100), a pro-Roman Jew closely associated with the emperor Titus, is one of the earliest systematic commentators on the Bible, as well as one of the foremost historians of the beginning of the Christian era. Politically, Josephus was pro-Roman, and although he had no sympathy for extreme Jewish nationalism, he was a zealous defender of Jewish religion and culture. This text examines the principles that guided Josephus in his understanding of the Bible, investigating his creative contribution in the writing of biblical accounts. The study evaluates Josephus as a historian and demonstrates the originality and consistency of his work as an author.