An innovative yet practical guide to greater mindfulness
that brings spirituality into our everyday lives for any lifestyle.

Judaism offers a rich tradition for the spiritual seeker: its spirituality infuses daily activities with holiness and purpose. While relating the spiritual journey to a typical day in your life, we will walk with you through brief sections that discuss Jewish thought and tradition. These are followed by sections that include methods, activities, devotions, and blessings to enrich your spiritual practice. Every page offers the reader another step, another area of focus, another perspective to bring the sacred into everyday life. from the Introduction

In every moment of each day, we have the opportunity to bring the sacred into our everyday lives. We can perform acts of mindfulness and thanksgiving that can transform our lives and help us repair the world. Stepping Stones to Jewish Spiritual Livingprovides spiritual activities, meditations, prayers, and simple rituals to accommodate any lifestyle and daily routine, giving us a chance to embrace God s creation throughout the day.

Coauthored by a rabbi and a psychotherapist, it bridges the gap between faith and healing, tradition and innovation, acceptance of the past and transformation for the future. Chapters are arranged according to the cycle of each day from sunrise to midnight and feature creative new rituals, inspiring passages from traditional Jewish texts, prayers, poems, blessings, acts of "kavanah" (spiritual intention), and more: SunriseRenewing our bodies with meditation and mindful breathing. Morning Contributing to "tikkun olam" (repairing the world) by ethically pursuing our livelihoods and recognizing our social responsibility. Afternoon Giving thanks with blessings at meal times, and extending hospitality to family, friends, and community. Evening Combining study and prayer with relaxation and leisure. Night Confronting pain, loss, and death with rituals for healing and renewal for the future.

Includes special sections dealing with the sacred aspects of relationships, love and sexuality, mourning and loss, Kabbalah, and more. By transforming our days, "Stepping Stones "shows us how we can transform our lives to practice mindfulness all day, every day and transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Suppose there is something going on in the universe which is to ordinary, everyday reality as our unconcious is to our daily lives? Softly, but unmistakably guiding it. Most of the time, we are unaware of it. Yet, every now and then, on account of some fluke, we are startled by the results of its presence. We realize we have been part of something with neither consciousness nor consent. It is so sweet and then it is gone. You say, But I don t believe in God. And I ask, What makes you think it matters to God?" from

Lawrence Kushner, whose previous books have opened up new spiritual possibilities, now tells us stories in a new literary form.

Through his everyday encounters with family, friends, colleagues and strangers, Kushner takes us deeply into our lives, finding flashes of spiritual insight in the process. Such otherwise ordinary moments as fighting with his children, shopping for bargain basement clothes, or just watching a movie are revealed to be touchstones for the sacred.

This is a book where literature meets spirituality, where the sacred meets the ordinary, and, above all, where people of all faiths, all backgrounds can meet one another and themselves. Kushner ties together the stories of our lives into a roadmap showing how everything ordinary is supercharged with meaning if we can just see it.

This is an examination ofthe eschatological and messianic elements in the first twelve chapters of LXX Isaiah. The focus is on this section because it represents a discrete unit within the book and contains several pericopes which were significant in the development of early Jewish and Christian eschatological and messianic ideas.The first part of the book surveys the discussion of eschatology and messianism in LXX Isaiah and the outlines the issues involved. There is also a study of the book's translation technique, focusing on the question of contextual interpretation and actualization, and attempting to identify the mechanism by which eschatological traditions are imprinted in the translation. In the second part, the author analyses the rendering of the well-known messianic oracles of LXX Isaiah 1-12, namely, 7:14-16, 9:5(6)-6(7), and 11:1-5. Besides the close exegetical analysis of the specific passages, there is also a study of their immediate context.This monograph suggests that the primary goal of the translator was to communicate the meaning of the text, as he understood it, rather than to make it the vehicle of his own ideology. A number of renderings that have been seen as theologically motivated could be explained simply on linguistic and co-textual grounds, and, while there is theological interpretation in individual cases, is not possible to identify any conscious systematization. In the light of this study, the eschatological and messianic hopes of the translator of LXX Isaiah 1-12 can be said to come only partly into view in his translation.

The Tractate Ketubot ("marriage contracts") discusses inter alia the sum specified at the time of marriage to be paid in the event of divorce or the husband's death, together with the mutual obligations of man and wife, the wife's property, the law of inheritance in the female line and the widow's rights. The Tractate Nidda ("Female impurity") regulates conduct during menstruation (cf. Lev 15:19ff) and after birth (Lev 12); further topics are women's life stages, puberty and various medical questions.

We all are growing older. "A Heart of Wisdom "shows us how to understand and meet the challenges of our own process of aging and the aging of those we care about from a Jewish perspective, from midlife through the elder years.

How does Jewish tradition influence our own aging? What are the tasks and the meaning of aging? How does being Jewish inform our relationships with the elderly? How does living, thinking and worshipping as a Jew affect us as we age? How can Jewish tradition help us retain our dignity as we age?

Over 40 contributors people who themselves are dealing with the unique life passages that aging brings; their loved ones; and the rabbis, social workers, and other professionals who assist them offer their insights about the changes and new perspectives that come with aging, retiring, growing, learning, caring for elderly parents, living, and dying. By sharing experiences in direct and personal narratives, poems, ceremonies, and stories, they help us explore: What traditional religious texts have to teach us about aging. Ways to cherish the integrity of the aging process. Women's unique roles as they age in our changing society. Advice for all generations on how to meet the opportunities and difficulties of aging. Creative ceremonies to mark milestones in our lives and in the lives of senior citizens.

Offering enlightenment from Jewish tradition, " A Heart of Wisdom" is not just for the middle-aged, the old or the soon-to-be old. It is for all of us.

This book is a practical and inspirational companion to the conversion process for Jews-by-Choice and their families. Written primarily for the person considering the choice of Judaism, it provides highly personal insights from over 50 people who have made this life-changing decision.

But it also will speak to their families the non-Jewish family that provided his or her spiritual beginnings and the Jewish "family" which receives the convert and help them understand why the decision was made.

Said to have lived from 640-609 BC, King Josiah of Judah is a figure of extraordinary importance for the history of Israel. Using synchronic and diachronic analyses of the Deuteronomistic History, Deuteronomy, and selected prophetic books, Marvin Sweeney reconstructs the ideological perspectives of King Josiah's program of religious and national restoration.

How do I find greater wholeness in my life and in my family s life?

"To appreciate the importance of the Bible and gain insight about ourselves from it, both Jews and Christians can use the process of "midrash: " The attempt to find contemporary meaning in the biblical text. The term "midrash" comes from the Hebrew root "darash" which means to seek, search, or demand (meaning from the biblical text). The starting point of our search for personal meaning is the Bible itself. Each generation, each reader, can approach the text anew and draw meaning from it." from "Self, Struggle & Change"

The stress of late-20th-century living only brings new variations to timeless personal struggles. The people described by the biblical writers of Genesis were in situations and relationships very much like our own, and their stories still speak to us because they are about the same basic problems we deal with every day.

Learning from Adam and Eve, can we find the courage not only to face our other side, but to draw strength from it? Learning from Leah and Rachel, can we stop competing with our loved ones, and begin to accept them and find ourselves? Sarah, Hagar, Lot, Ishmael and Isaac, Rebekkah, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau this vibrant cast of characters offers us new ways of understanding ourselves and our families and healing our lives.

A modern master of biblical interpretation brings us greater understanding of the ancient biblical text, and of the insights its characters give us about ourselves and our families today.

By bringing the people in Genesis to life husbands and wives, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters "Self, Struggle & Change" shows us how to find wholeness in our lives.

This new spiritual approach to physical health introduces us to a spiritual tradition that affirms the body and enables us to reconceive our bodies in a more positive light. Using Kabbalistic teachings and other Jewish traditions, it shows us how to be more responsible for our own spiritual and physical health.

Each chapter explores the meaning of traditional Jewish prayers, providing a framework for new thinking about body, mind, and soul. Simple exercises and movements help our bodies "understand" prayer, and show how the body's energy centers correspond to the Kabbalistic concept of the ten divine "rays of light," the "Sefirot." And meditations and visualizations allow us to further enhance our spiritual awareness.

Using the structure of the Prayer Wheel, readers can move step by step toward wholeness of body, mind and spirit: Modeh Ani Awakening our body and our soul Mah Tovu Creating a temple for our soul Asher Yatzar Focusing on the gift of our body Bircat HaTorah Balancing our mind through the gift of Torah Elohai Neshamah Connecting with the soul using the "Sefirot" Elu D'varim Walking on a God-centered path

Clearly illustrated with photos and diagrams to guide readers, this active, creative approach allows us to tap the power of the Jewish tradition to awaken the body, balance the mind, and connect with the soul.

A complete, one-of-a-kind resource for parents-to-be searching for a perfect name for their child.

Nearly 1,000 boys' and girls' names, both traditional and creative, from the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible, each with a: Translation from the original languageCitation of where the name appears in the BibleDescription of its meaning

Bible Baby Names gives and overview of the trends in baby names and explains why the Bible has been a rich source of names through the ages while it helps you make modern choices from ancient text. For all who want their child's name to be special, spiritual, and full of meaning, Bible Baby Names offers a treasure-trove of choices.

Sacrifice is a well known form of ritual in many world religions. Although the actual practice of animal sacrifice was largely abolished in the later history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it is still recalled through biblical stories, the ritual calendar and community events. The essays in this volume discuss the various positions regarding the value of sacrifice in a wide variety of disciplines such as history, archaeology, literature, philosophy, art and gender and post-colonial studies. In this context they examine a wide array of questions pertaining to the 'actuality of sacrifice' in various social, historical and intellectual contexts ranging from the pre-historical to the post-Holocaust, and present new understandings of some of the most sensitive topics of our time.

Marilyn Salmon's persuasive and practical work helps preachers to identify the ways that Christian preachers perpetuate the long tradition of Christian anti-Judaism. She situates the Gospels precisely as Jewish literature then addresses specific thorny issues that arise in preaching: supersessionism; portrayals of the Law; the Pharisees; the relationship between the Testaments; preaching the Passion; and misrepresentations of Judaism. Using examples from many sermons, she shows how to avoid the pitfalls of misportraying the people of Jesus.

There is no doubt about Baeck's contribution to Jewish theology in the twentieth century: it has been significant. Without ever departing completely from the ancient wellsprings of orthodoxy, he was a studious observer of the intellectual currents of his time and ambience; under theinfluence of liberal Jewish theology, he drew on and reworked those currents, weaving them into his own theological thought. A special aspect of Baeck's work is that he remained in critical confrontation with Christianity throughout his life, acting as a kind of builder of bridges between the two faiths." (From the Introduction.) It is on this aspect that the author focuses his study inwhich he examines Leo Baeck's critical evaluation of Martin Luther and Protestantism. At the same time Homolka shows how close the intellectual links between liberal Christian and liberal Jewish theology had become before the Holocaust: both sides attempted a new definition of the "essence" of their faiths and were searching for a new identity in an increasingly pluralistic and secular society.

Although women constitute half of the Jewish population and have always played essential roles in ensuring Jewish continuity and the preservation of Jewish beliefs and values, only recently have their contributions and achievements received sustained scholarly attention. Scholars have begun to investigate Jewish women's domestic, economic, intellectual, spiritual, and creative roles in Jewish life from biblical times to the present. Yet little of this important work has filtered down beyond specialists in their respective academic fields. Women and Judaism brings the broad new insights they have uncovered to the world.

Women and Judaism communicates this research to a wider public of students and educated readers outside of the academy by presenting accessible and engaging chapters written by key senior scholars that introduce the reader to different aspects of women and Judaism. The contributors discuss feminist approaches to Jewish law and Torah study, the spirituality of Eastern European Jewish women, Jewish women in American literature, and many other issues.

Contributors: Nehama Aschkenasy, Judith R. Baskin, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Harriet Pass Freidenreich, Esther Fuchs, Judith Hauptman, Sara R. Horowitz, Renee Levine, Pamela S. Nadell, and Dvora Weisberg.

"Michael Rosenak is the world's preeminent philosopher of Jewish education. His new book is a deep and imaginative exploration of the relationship between the great texts of the Jewish pastand the most profound issues of contemporary Jewish education. It is a marvelous accomplishment." . Berry W. Holtz, Jewish Theological Seminary of America "Michael Rosenak has written a beautiful, wise and knowing book ... Jewish educators of diverse commitments will all find themselves addressed in the book, and enlightened by it. Non-Jewish educators will learn that for them, too, the sources of Judaism carry urgent lessons for moral and religious education at the start of the twenty-first century. A truly important book." . Arnold Eisen, Stanford University Is Jewish education simply an ancient and archaic type of socialization into "customs and ceremonies" or a sophisticated practice, based on rich cultural conceptions of the educated individual, the decent society and the relationship of knowledge and virtue? This author, rather than offering a dry analysis, takes the reader on a leisurely yet careful excursion into the world of Jewish tradition in order to discover models of the educated human being within it. In the process, the reader discovers dialogues between Western philosophy and Talmudic Midrash and is offered a fresh view of culture, faith and identity. Contents: Education, "Language" and "Literature" - A Philosopher of Judaism for Jewish Education - The "Fear of Heaven" God's Treasure - Jewish Values: The Evil Inclination and Beyond - Becoming an Insider: Initiation and Commitment - The Jewish Educator and Jewish Sources. Michael Rosenak is Mandel Professor of Jewish Education, Hebrew University and a Member of the Academic Board, The Jerusalem Fellows, Jerusalem.

First Order: Zeraim / Tractates Terumot and Ma'serot is the forth volume in the edition of the Jerusalem Talmud, a basic work in Jewish Patristics. The volume presents the fundamental Jewish texts on obligatory gift to priests, and tithes to Levites, and the poor. In addition, it contains the main health regulations developed within Jewish ritual law, the rules of Jewish solidarity, and a discussion of the rules, taken for granted in the Babylonian Talmud, under which minute amounts of inadvertently added forbidden material may be disregarded.

The Jews of the former Soviet Union have always been the subject of intense controversy. In the past 25 years, however, they have become more puzzling. How many of them are there? How strongly so they identify themselves as Jews? How do they perceive antisemetism in their countries? Will they leave, where will they go? Theses ate among the questions that have enlivened the discussions of Jews in republics known as the Commonwealth of Independent States. they have sparked debate because they have deep policy implications for Russia, Israel, the United States, and other countries. They are the questions which this book seeks to examine. Too little fact has informed this debate, and even less theory. Until very recently, surveys of the actual intentions, perceptions, motivations, and fears of Jews in the region were out of the question. This is now beginning to change. Here is the first book based on an on site survey of a representative sample of Jews in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In addition to providing data in the Jews of Moscow, Kiev, and Minsk- who collectively account for 28% of all Jews residing in the three Slavic republics of the CIS- the author places the survey results in their social and historical context. He explains why ethnic distinctiveness persisted and even became accentuated in the Soviet era and also describes the position of Jews in Soviet and post-Soviet society and some of the dilemmas they face. This book will be crucial reading for anyone interested not only in the general situation of the Jews of the former Soviet Union but also in their perceptions, worldviews, and plans for the future.

This book provides a standard reference of the major medieval Jewish philosophers, as well as an eminently readable narrative of the course of medieval Jewish philosophical thought, presented as a response to the spiritual-intellectual challenges facing Judaism in that period. The accounts of Saadia, Bahya, Halevi, Maimonides, and Crescas are among the fullest available in English. Other thinkers discussed in depth include Israeli, Ibn Gabirol, Gersonides, and Albo; the work also includes capsule summaries of Bar Hiyya, Falaquera, Albalag, Duran, Abravanel and others. All of the summaries place the philosophical thought of these important thinkers in the context of the historical challenges and religious concerns of their age. This book is also available in hardcover.

This book is an analysis of the affinities and interactions between Indic and Judaic civilizations from ancient through contemporary times. The contributors to this volume come together to propose new and global understanding of patterns of commerce and culture, to reconfigure how we understand the way great cultures interact, and to present a new constellation of diplomacy, literature, and geopolitics.