What does it mean to be a Jewish woman today? To an Orthodox woman, it means living a religious way of life in which serving God totally defines her self-perception and her role as wife and mother. For the secular woman, it means having a sense of belonging, although not necessarily to a specific Jewish community. Most contemporary Jewish women fall somewhere in between, but at the core of all of their identities is a complex interweaving of religious and ethnic elements, a shared history, and a collective memory of periods of prejudice, persecution, wandering, and resettlement.

Focusing on Jewish women in the United States and Britain, Adrienne Baker examines such issues as women's role in religious law, the spectrum of synagogue observance, the mother's role as conveyor of tradition, conversion and inter- faith marriages, and sexuality. In particular, the book examines the impact of feminism on Jewish women and their culture, uncovering the counterinfluences of tradition and new freedoms on women's lives.

Brutally honest, beautifully written, THE RABBI'S DAUGHTER is the compulsive story of a woman trying to find love, and struggling to make peace with her faith, her parents, and ultimately herself.

Reva Mann was a wild child. Granddaughter of the Chief Rabbi of Israel and daughter of a highly respected London Rabbi, she rebelled strongly and so began a desperate search to discover who she was. In a whirlwind of sex and drugs, Reva strove to leave her strict family life behind her and find her own path.

When, years later, Reva decides she wants to return to her Jewish faith, she leaves London and enters a woman's yeshiva in Jerusalem. Driven by a strong yearning to return to a higher level of spirituality, she is determined to find a strictly orthodox holy man to marry and have children. So Reva begins a new life, wanting to suppress her former desires and needs, and to find her way to God.

In this honest and often shocking memoir, Reva presents to us the secret world of ultra Orthodox Judaism. Fascinating insights into modern day matchmakers, ritual baths, sexual codes of conduct and Jewish practice are depicted, and Reva's journey is brought to life in stunning detail.

The life and times of a treasured book read by generations of Jewish families at the seder table Every year at Passover, Jews around the world gather for the seder, a festive meal where family and friends come together to sing, pray, and enjoy traditional food while retelling the biblical story of the Exodus. The Passover Haggadah provides the script for the meal and is a religious text unlike any other. It is the only sacred book available in so many varieties-from the Maxwell House edition of the 1930s to the countercultural Freedom Seder-and it is the rare liturgical work that allows people with limited knowledge to conduct a complex religious service. The Haggadah is also the only religious book given away for free at grocery stores as a promotion. Vanessa Ochs tells the story of this beloved book, from its emergence in antiquity as an oral practice to its vibrant proliferation today. Ochs provides a lively and incisive account of how the foundational Jewish narrative of liberation is remembered in the Haggadah. She discusses the book's origins in biblical and rabbinical literature, its flourishing in illuminated manuscripts in the medieval period, and its mass production with the advent of the printing press. She looks at Haggadot created on the kibbutz, those reflecting the Holocaust, feminist and LGBTQ-themed Haggadot, and even one featuring a popular television show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ochs shows how this enduring work of liturgy that once served to transmit Jewish identity in Jewish settings continues to be reinterpreted and reimagined to share the message of freedom for all.

The Rhetoric of Midwiferyoffers new insights into understanding these questions within the context of our present-day medical system.As a point of departure, Mary M. Lay analyzes the public discussion over non-academically trained-or direct-entry-midwives within Minnesota. From 1991-1995, that state held public hearings about the possible licensing of traditional midwives. Lay focuses on these debates to examine the complex relationships of power, knowledge, and gender within the medical profession. Lay examines the hearings and provides a framework for appreciating the significance of these debates. She also details the history of midwifery, highlighting ongoing concerns that have surfaced ever since the profession was created, centuries ago. In the remaining chapters, she focuses on the key testimonies offered during the debates. Capturing the actual testimony of midwives, home-birth parents, nurses, physicians, and attorneys, The Rhetoric of Midwifery reveals how the modern medical profession seeks to claim authority about birth. Lay bolsters her argument by culling from such sources such as historical documents, an internet discussion group, and conversations with modern midwives

Every year, Jews, and the folks who love them, gather around the Seder table with family and friends to read from the Haggadah, the story of Jewish ancestors who were enslaved in Egypt and their journey to freedom. It's a time not only to remember the past but also to make the Seder experience relevant, relatable, and personal, incorporating new and up-to-date interpretations and interests. It doesn't matter if you've read the entire Talmud ten times in Aramaic or if your religious education consists of a few episodes of Seinfeld--The Passover Haggadah is for everyone. It's about making the Seder experience one's own. Ask the Four Questions in Hebrew or English. Learn about the Ten Plagues and "The Modern Ten Plagues" as told by Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan. Other contributions include "My Big Gay Seder Wedding" by Wayne Hoffman, Tablet's executive editor, and "The Blessings of an Interfaith Passover" by Molly Yeh, award-winning food blogger. Sing "Dayenu" together and take turns answering the question "What do you have in your life that, if you had nothing else, would be enough?" Encouraging messages can be found throughout the book, including a very important one that follows the second cup of wine, which is "Take a big, happy sip. Food is nearly at hand." Original illustrations round out this beautiful package. From start to finish, the Seder is a joyful gathering that will only be enhanced by this special keepsake.

NOW A NETFLIX SERIES Called "brave and riveting" by Jeannette Walls, Deborah Feldman's New York Times bestselling memoir of escaping from a strict Hasidic community includes a new afterword by the author detailing the circumstances of her life after leaving her husband and forging new beginnings for herself and her young son. As a member of the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Deborah Feldman grew up under a code of relentlessly enforced customs governing everything from what she could wear and to whom she could speak to what she was allowed to read. Yet in spite of her repressive upbringing, Deborah grew into an independent-minded young woman whose stolen moments reading about the empowered literary characters of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott helped her to imagine an alternative way of life among the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Trapped as a teenager in a sexually and emotionally dysfunctional marriage to a man she barely knew, the tension between Deborah's desires and her responsibilities as a good Satmar girl grew more explosive until she gave birth at nineteen and realized that, regardless of the obstacles, she would have to forge a path-for herself and her son-to happiness and freedom. Remarkable and fascinating, this "sensitive and memorable coming-of-age story" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) is one you won't be able to put down.

Jewish and Christian apocalypses have captivated theologians, writers, artists, and the general public for centuries, and have had a profound influence on world history from their initial production by persecuted Jews during the second century BCE, to the birth of Christianity - through the demise of the Western Roman Empire and the medieval period, and continuing into modernity. Far from being an outlier concern, or an academic one that may be relegated to the dustbin of history, apocalyptic thinking is ubiquitous and continues to inform nearly all aspects of modern-day life. It addresses universal human concerns: the search for identity and belonging, speculation about the future, and (for some) a blueprint that provides meaning and structure to a seemingly chaotic world. The Cambridge Companion to Apocalyptic Literature brings together a field of leading experts to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject.

'Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years' - Philippe Sands, Guardian Books of the Year A prescient interwar masterpiece, available in English for the first time 'Absolutely, definitively alone', a young Jewish student in Romania tries to make sense of a world that has decided he doesn't belong. Spending his days walking the streets and his nights drinking and gambling, meeting revolutionaries, zealots, lovers and libertines, he adjusts his eyes to the darkness that falls over Europe, and threatens to destroy him. Mihail Sebastian's 1934 novel was written amid the anti-Semitism which would, by the end of the decade, force him out of his career and turn his friends and colleagues against him. For Two Thousand Years is a lucid, heart-wrenching chronicle of resilience and despair, broken layers of memory and the terrible forces of history.

When Christ, wearied by the heavy burden of the cross, leaned for a moment against a stranger's doorway, the stranger drove him away and cried, "Walk faster " To this, Christ replied, "I go, but you will walk until I come again " So began the legend of the Wandering Jew, which has recurred in many forms of literature and folklore ever since. George K. Anderson, in a book first published in 1965 and immediately hailed as a classic, traces this enduring legend through the ages, from St. John through the Middle Ages to Shelley, Eugene Sue, and the antisemitism of Hitler to recent movies and novels. Though the main elements of the legend are a constant, Anderson shows how changes in emphasis and meaning reflect civilization's shifting concerns and attitudes over time.

Rabbi Stern, the master of modern Jewish liturgy, offers the Passover seder that runs itself in this revision of his best-selling classic, Gates of Freedom. The text is clearly marked so that families with young children can shorten the service, while those who want to deepen their seder experience can enhance it with both traditional and contemporary readings. A dazzling array of commentaries, anecdotes, poems, and songs enrich the Gates of Freedom service, and the compelling computer-generated graphics add the exciting dimension of visual interpretation. Rabbi Eugene Borowitz's inspiring Introduction sets the stage for the evening drama. All the Passover traditions are explained with clarity and insight. Seder participants will find renewed delight in the Passover celebration, as they experience the familiar rituals and text, and discover new meaning, relevance, and inspiration.

Customers in Europe should contact Combined Academic Publishers to order a copy of this book.

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The Hebrew Bible is only part of ancient Israel's writings. Another collection of Jewish works has survived from late- and post-biblical times, a great library that bears witness to the rich spiritual life of Jews in that period. This library consists of the most varied sorts of texts: apocalyptic visions and prophecies, folktales and legends, collections of wise sayings, laws and rules of conduct, commentaries on Scripture, ancient prayers, and much, much more.

While specialists have studied individual texts or subsections of this vast library, Outside the Bible seeks for the first time to bring together all the major components into a single collection, gathering portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the biblical Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha, and the writings of Philo of Alexandria and Josephus.

The editors have brought together these diverse works in order to highlight what has often been neglected; their common Jewish background. For this reason the commentaries that accompany the texts devote special attention to references to Hebrew Scripture and to issues of halakhah (Jewish law), their allusions to motifs and themes known from later Rabbinic writings in Talmud and Midrash, their evocation of recent or distant events in Jewish history, and their references to other texts in this collection.

The work of more than seventy contributing experts in a range of fields, Outside the Bible offers new insights into the development of Judaism and Early Christianity. This three-volume set of translations, introductions, and detailed commentaries is a must for scholars, students, and anyone interested in this great body of ancient Jewish writings.

The collection includes a general introduction and opening essays, new and revised translations, and detailed introductions, commentaries, and notes that place each text in its historical and cultural context. A timeline of the Second Temple Period, two appendixes (Books of the Bible; Second Temple Literature), and a general subject index complete the set.

How to transform the model of twentieth-century Jewish institutions into twenty-first-century relational communities offering meaning and purpose, belonging and blessing.

"What really matters is that we care about the people we seek to engage. When we genuinely care about people, we will not only welcome them; we will listen to their stories, we will share ours, and we will join together to build a Jewish community that enriches our lives." from the Introduction

Membership in Jewish organizations is down. Day school enrollment has peaked. Federation campaigns are flat. The fastest growing and second largest category of Jews is Just Jewish. Young Jewish adults are unengaged and aging baby boomers are disengaging. Yet, in the era of Facebook, people crave face-to-face community.

It's all about relationships. With this simple, but profound idea, noted educator and community revitalization pioneer Dr. Ron Wolfson presents practical strategies and case studies to transform the old model of Jewish institutions into relational communities. He sets out twelve principles of relational engagement to guide Jewish lay leaders, professionals and community members in transforming institutions into inspiring communities whose value-proposition is to engage people and connect them to Judaism and community in meaningful and lasting ways."

Abby Chava Stein was raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, profoundly isolated in a culture that lives according to the laws and practices of an eighteenth-century Eastern European enclave, speaking only Yiddish and Hebrew and shunning modern life. Stein was born as the first son in a rabbinical dynastic family, poised to become a leader of the next generation of Hasidic Jews. But Stein felt certain at a young age that she was a girl. Without access to TV or the internet and never taught English, she suppressed her desire for a new body while looking for answers wherever she could find them, from forbidden religious texts to smuggled secular examinations of faith. Finally, she orchestrated a personal exodus from ultra-Orthodox manhood into mainstream femininity-a radical choice that forced her to leave her home, her family and her way of life.

Take your child on a colorful adventure to share the many ways Jewish people celebrate Shabbat around the world. Shabbat Shalom Beginning in an old Jerusalem market Friday morning, shopping for foods to make Shabbat meals specialSetting a beautiful Sabbath table in Australia Friday afternoonLighting Shabbat candles with a family in TurkeySinging zemirot with relatives in RussiaMaking hamotzi as a congregation in the United StatesParading the Torah scrolls at Shabbat morning services in a synagogue in GermanyRelaxing in the peace of Shabbat day in CanadaEnjoying a special Sabbath afternoon meal in Morocco

From Israel to Thailand, from Ethiopia to Argentina, you and your children are invited to share the diverse Sabbath traditions that come alive in Jewish homes and synagogues around the world each week and to celebrate life with Jewish people everywhere."

Antisemitism has been on the rise in recent years, with violent attacks, increased verbal insults, and an acceptability in some circles of what would hitherto have been condemned as outrageous antisemitic discourse. Yet despite the dramatic increase in debate and discussion around antisemitism, many of us remain confused. In this urgent and timely book, Rabbi Julia Neuberger uses contemporary examples, along with historical context, to unpack what constitutes antisemitism, building a powerful argument for why it is so crucial that we come to a shared understanding now.

IT ALL STARTED WITH A SIMPLE NOTE The ordeal reads like a mystery novel. But, this is not fiction. In early 2005, Israel's most venerated Orthodox Rabbi, Yitzhak Kaduri, claimed he had met the true, soon-coming Messiah. He also made a public announcement that he had written Messiah's name in a note. He said he would turn that note over to his ministry officials to be kept secret and locked away until one year after his death. Then, after that time, the note was to be posted on his website at kaduri.net. Just a few months later, Kaduri was dead. Little did the world know what revelation awaited them. Finally, the note was posted. JESUS is Messiah. That's when the global spiritual and political firestorm erupted. Several of the key players in this story are immersed in vicious abandon, attempting to bring the stunning revelation to a grinding halt. And they have already proven that they will stop at almost nothing. Critically acclaimed Amazon Top 60 bestselling author Carl Gallups has now teamed up with Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat, director of Messiah of Israel Ministries (Tel Aviv, Israel), and together they have dared to bring before the world the long-hidden and mysterious details of this story that won't die. You will be shocked by the gravity of the new information and the intrigue that this profusely updated story brings to your fingertips. Prepare yourself - there are treasures of amazing biblical treats in this book that, at times, will simply take your breath away. This is a gripping page turner that will be practically impossible to walk away from. In THE RABBI, THE SECRET MESSAGE, AND THE IDENTITY OF MESSIAH You Will Discover: - The global media cover up of the ages. - The death threats, ritualistic curses, and purposed obfuscation perpetrated by very powerful groups and personalities. - Never-before-told secrets, eyewitness testimonies, and supernatural back stories to this epic account. - The connectivity of this event to current geopolitical affairs, prophetic revelations, and to your daily life. - The number of shocking biblical mysteries that are, in these uniquely prescient days, finally being unveiled - right onto your lap. - The purposed attempts to change biblical and Israeli history, important word-meanings, and long-hidden truths about the "real" name of God. - The direct connections that the authors have with Rabbi Kaduri, his ministry organization, and several important figures within the Israeli government. Connections that lend significant authority to this story.