From a prominent rabbi, an inspiring book about the power of community based on one of her most impactful sermons.

In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society?

Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time, as instinctual as it is counter-cultural, is to find our way to one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To show up for each other in moments of joy and pain, vulnerability and possibility, to invest in relationships of shared purpose and build communities of care.

Brous contends that it is through honoring our most basic human instinct-- the yearning for real connection-- that we reawaken our shared humanity and begin to heal. This kind of sacred presence is captured by the word amen, a powerful ancient idea that we affirm the fullness of one another’s experience by demonstrating, in body and word: “I see you. You are not alone.”

An acclaimed preacher and story-teller, Brous pairs heart-driven anecdotes from her experience building and pastoring to a leading-edge faith community over the past two decades with ancient Jewish wisdom and contemporary science. The result is a clarion call: the sense of belonging engendered by our genuine presence is not only a social and biological need, but a moral and spiritual necessity.

With original insights and practical tools, The Amen Effect translates foundational ideas into simple practices that connect us to our better angels, offering a blueprint for a more meaningful life and a more connected and caring world.

Survival in Auschwitz: If This Is a Man is a book written by the Italian author, Primo Levi. It describes his experiences in the concentration camp at Auschwitz during the Second World War.

Levi, then a 25-year-old chemist, spent 10 months in Auschwitz before the camp was liberated by the Red Army. Of the 650 Italian Jews in his shipment, Levi was one of only twenty who left the camps alive. The average life expectancy of a new entrant was three months.

This truly amazing story offers a revealing glimpse into the realities of the Holocaust and its effects on our world.

In 1896, Rabbi Solomon Schechter of Cambridge University stepped into the attic of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo and there found the largest treasure trove of mediaeval and early manuscripts ever discovered. He had entered the synagogue's genizah - its repository for damaged and destroyed Jewish texts - which held nearly 300,000 individual documents, many of which were over 1,000 years old.

In The Intellectual History and Rabbinic Culture of Medieval Ashkenaz, author Ephraim Kanarfogel challenges the dominant perception that medieval Ashkenazic rabbinic scholarship was lacking in intellectualism or broad scholarly interests. While cultural interaction between Jews and Christians in western Europe was less than that of Sephardic Jews, Kanarfogel's study shows that the intellectual interests of Ashkenazic rabbinic figures were much broader than Talmudic studies alone. Kanarfogel begins by highlighting several factors that have contributed to relatively narrow perceptions of Ashkenazic rabbinic culture and argues that the Tosafists, and Ashkenazic rabbinic scholarship more generally, advocated a wide definition of the truths that could be discovered through Torah study. He explores differences in talmudic and halakhic studies between the Tosafist centers of northern France and Germany, delves into aspects of biblical interpretation in each region, and identifies important Tosafists and rabbinic figures. Kanarfogel also examines the composition of liturgical poetry (piyyut) by Tosafists, interest in forms of (white) magic and mysticism on the part of a number of northern French Tosafists, and a spectrum of views on the question of anthropomorphism and messianism. Overall, Kanarfogel demonstrates that the approach taken by Tosafists was broader, more open, and more multi-disciplinary than previously considered. Medieval and Jewish history scholars will appreciate Kanarfogel's volume, which is the culmination of several decades of research on the subject.

A comprehensive discussion of texts concerning the goddess Asherah, as she is portrayed in texts from Ugarit (both epic and ritual texts, as well as the lists of sacrifices), Israel (the Khirbet el-Qom and Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions) and the Old Testament. The main theses of the book are that two or more divinities carrying the same name but separated by several hundred years are not necessarily to be identified; that Asherah is probably not a name, but rather a title, carried by the main goddess in ancient Syria-Palestine; that the Asherah of the Old Testament and the Israelite texts was indeed the consort of Yahweh; and that the relationship between the text-groups discussed is of a nature that demands great caution, if one wishes to work comparatively with them.>

In time for Pope Francis's new initiatives. We now have the potential to end two thousand years of hostility will we succeed? New in paperback

With keen wisdom and a masterful understanding of history, Rabbi James Rudin, an acclaimed authority in the field of Jewish-Christian relations, provides the context necessary for Christians and Jews to recognize the critical challenges posed by the past and the future of their two religions.

Spanning twenty centuries of controversy, horror and promise, Rudin s narrative examines:

The sources of both conflict and commonality between the two religions The need to address and redress past wrongs The agenda required to create a shared future free of bigotry

It includes proven approaches for successful interreligious dialogues, including tips on session organization, project ideas and a discussion guide to enhance Christians and Jews knowledge of each other."

Patriarchal religion was distinct from both ancient Near Eastern and Israelite religions, and compatible only with the patriarchal lifestyle portrayed in Genesis. Since Wellhausen, the study of patriarchal religion has been chiefly confined either to the divine names or to the social and legal practices attested in Genesis and has neglected the patriarchal cultic practices-altars, pillars, tithes, vows and purifications-frequently attested there. In this study, Pagolu investigates such aspects in the light of second-millennium ancient Near Eastern and Israelite parallels, concluding that the patriarchal practices bore no comparison to those of the ancient Near East or of Israel, in that the patriarchs themselves offered sacrifices, conducted prayer, raised pillars and offered worship, all without the aid of an established cult. Thus patriarchal religion was distinct both from ancient Near Eastern religions and from the religion of Israel itself. It is peculiar to the world of Genesis.

In this fertile collection of essays, prominent theologians, philosophers, historians, and social scientists explore the mutual entanglements of religious identity with political activity in religiously plural societies. Four essays are devoted to each of the three great religions of "The Book, " evidencing the variety of conceptions of such a relation within the same religious tradition and demonstrating how they came to be so conceived. In addition, the three sections together display intriguing similarities between the conceptions that are pertinent to the different traditions. These range from definant theocracy to religious sanction of the liberal, secular state.

"We can battle insensitivity, immorality, and dishonesty in our lives individually and collectively as a people. We have a wonderful road map in the Torah and its traditions. It is time to think seriously about our reputation in the world and what we can do to enhance it, not because we want to look good but because we want to be good." from Chapter 6.

What should we do when we see other Jews behaving badly?

Most Jews are good, upstanding people who live by a strong moral code and follow Isaiah's words to be a light to others. But when Jews in the public sphere make headlines for being caught in scandals, their actions can provoke anger, shame and a sense of betrayal in the larger Jewish community.

In this insightful and timely book, Jewish scholar Dr. Erica Brown presents an intentional, disciplined framework to explore the emotions provoked in the Jewish community by reports of Jews committing crime. She proposes that we transform our sense of shame into actions that inspire and sustain a moral culture. Drawing from the Hebrew Bible, Talmud and our centuries-long Jewish commitment to ethics, she outlines ways you can activate and operate your personal moral compass, and shows how you can empower yourself with sacred obligation, responsibility, kindness and knowledge to increase Jewish pride."

Fifty years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls there have been many advances in the field of Qumran Studies. Yet much work remains undone. In particular the study of the scrolls has continued to follow long established historical critical methods while largely falling to incorporate recent advances in literary, ideological and sociological approaches. The essays collected here are the result of the Bristol Colloquium on the Dead Sea Scrolls held in September 2003. Here, ten scholars working in a diversity of areas demonstrate how these recent advances in scholarship increase our knowledge of the scrolls, their historical context, and their impact on modern critical scholarship. The contributors consider a wide range of approaches, ranging across discussions in sociology, anthropology, literary studies, post-colonialism and ideological criticism. These essays will help to take Qumran Studies forward in new and creative ways. This is volume 52 in the Library of Second Temple Studies series (formerly the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement series).

The present volume is based on a conference held in October 2019 at the Faculty of Theology of Humboldt University Berlin as part of a common project of the Australian Catholic University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Humboldt University Berlin. The aim is to discuss the relationships of "Jews" and "Christians" in the first two centuries CE against the background of recent debates which have called into question the image of "parting ways" for a description of the relationships of Judaism and Christianity in antiquity. One objection raised against this metaphor is that it accentuates differences at the expense of commonalities. Another critique is that this image looks from a later perspective at historical developments which can hardly be grasped with such a metaphor. It is more likely that distinctions between Jews, Christians, Jewish Christians, Christian Jews etc. are more blurred than the image of "parting ways" allows. In light of these considerations the contributions in this volume discuss the cogency of the "parting of the ways"-model with a look at prominent early Christian writers and places and suggest more appropriate metaphors to describe the relationships of Jews and Christians in the early period.

Why did the Gentile church keep Old Testament commandments about sex and idolatry, but disregard many others, like those about food or ritual purity? If there were any binding norms, what made them so, and on what basis were they articulated?In this important study, Markus Bockmuehl approaches such questions by examining the halakhic (Jewish legal) rationale behind the ethics of Jesus, Paul and the early Christians. He offers fresh and often unexpected answers based on careful biblical and historical study. His arguments have far-reaching implications not only for the study of the New Testament, but more broadly for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

"The Chosen" explores Judaism's key defining concept and inquires why it remains the central unspoken and explosive psychological, historical, and theological problem at the heart of Jewish-Gentile relations. Crisscrossing the twin cultural and theological divides between Judaism, Christendom, and Islam, "The Chosen" explains how the Jews, of all people, have come to represent at once the epitome of both the good and the odious. Beker covers not only the great stories of how the Jews came to be chosen and the Christian, Muslim, and Nazi efforts to appropriate the title, but also the key role "chosenness" plays in contemporary anti-Semitism and in the current Middle East conflict over the Land of Israel and the chosen city of Jerusalem.

A Profound and Stirring Call to Action in Our Troubled World from One of America's Great Religious Leaders

"Conscience may be understood as the hidden inner compass that guides our lives and must be searched for and recovered repeatedly. At no time more than our own is this need to retrieve the shards of broken conscience more urgent." from the Introduction

This clarion call to rethink our moral and political behavior examines the idea of conscience and the role conscience plays in our relationships to government, law, ethics, religion, human nature and God and to each other. From Abraham to Abu Ghraib, from the dissenting prophets to Darfur, Rabbi Harold Schulweis probes history, the Bible and the works of contemporary thinkers for ideas about both critical disobedience and uncritical obedience. He illuminates the potential for evil and the potential for good that rests within us as individuals and as a society.

By questioning religion's capacity and will to break from mindless conformity, Rabbi Schulweis challenges us to counter our current suppressive culture of obedience with the culture of moral compassion, and to fulfill religion s obligation to make room for and carry out courageous moral dissent."

"Avi doesn't only talk the talk, or even walk the walk. He writes the instruction manual. This book shows a way, perhaps not the only way but one indispensable way, of being an activist on behalf of the Jewish people. Read it and learn." from the Foreword by Alan M. Dershowitz I

n this age of perpetual strife and conflict, we need now more than ever to find out how to be proactive in repairing our broken world. Rabbi Avraham Weiss's provocative and challenging guidebook will show you just that and so much more.

With easy-to-follow steps, accessible explanations of the principles of spiritual activism and an exploration into the foundations of spiritual activism as rooted in the Torah, Weiss offers more than simply a user manual he provides an in-depth approach to changing your role in the world.

Topics include: Why, How and When Do We Engage in Spiritual Activism? Choosing the Cause Making Partners Designing the Strategy Leading Other People Seeing the Big Picture And more "

The first comprehensive resource for pastoral care in the Jewish tradition and a vital resource for counselors and caregivers of other faith traditions.

The essential reference for rabbis, cantors, and laypeople who are called to spiritually accompany those encountering joy, sorrow, and change now in paperback. This groundbreaking volume draws upon both Jewish tradition and the classical foundations of pastoral care to provide invaluable guidance.

Offering insight on pastoral care technique, theory, and theological implications, the contributors to Jewish Pastoral Care are innovators in their fields, and represent all four contemporary Jewish movements.

This comprehensive resource provides you with the latest theological perspectives and tools, along with basic theory and skills for assisting the ill and those who care for them, the aging and dying, those with dementia and other mental disorders, engaged couples, and others, and for responding to issues such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and disasters.

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A peculiar aspect of High Holy Day liturgy is the medieval poetry that expands the number of prayerbook pages with lessons and imagery that most modern worshipers find baffling. At the top of this list is Un'taneh Tokef, a warning that at every New Year, God establishes, in advance, "who will live and who will die ... who by fire and who by water"not to mention by such deaths as "strangulation and warfare." To be sure, "repentance, prayer and charity" can help, but how? With actual relief from dire fate? That hardly rings true to people who lost loved ones in tragic events such as 9/11, for example; or to cancer at a tragically young age. How then can we even say this most famous of New Year prayers?

Who By Fire, Who By Water examines the prayer's theology, authorship, and poetry through a set of lively essays, all written in accessible language by over thirty contributors who span three continents and all major Jewish denominations. They are men and women; scholars and rabbis, arti

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.

How can a Jewish approach to social justice offer positive change for America?

"Ancient texts offer significant wisdom about human nature, economic cycles, the causes of inequality, and our obligations to each other. These insights can inform our own approaches to current issues, challenge our assumptions, and force us to consider alternative approaches. The conversation between our texts and our lives can enrich our experience of both." from the Introduction

Confront the most pressing issues of twenty-first-century America in this fascinating book, which brings together classical Jewish sources, contemporary policy debate and real-life stories.Rabbi Jill Jacobs, a leading young voice in the social justice arena, makes a powerful argument for participation in the American public square from a deeply Jewish perspective, while deepening our understanding of the relationship between Judaism and such current social issues as:

Poverty and the Poor Collection and Allocation of Tzedakah Workers, Employers and Unions Housing the Homeless The Provision of Health Care Environmental Sustainability Crime, Punishment and Rehabilitation

By creating a dialogue between traditional texts and current realities, Jacobs presents a template for engagement in public life from a Jewish perspective and challenges us to renew our obligations to each other."

Rabbi Harvey's First Book-Length Adventure and Toughest Challenge

In his colorful career on the Rocky Mountain frontier, Rabbi Harvey has matched wits with a variety of villains most notably the sweet-faced "Bad Bubbe" Bloom, and the self-proclaimed genius Big Milt Wasserman. In this exciting new volume, these two formidable foes team up to try to rid the West of Rabbi Harvey once and for all. The key to their evil scheme: Bad Bubbe s darling son, Rabbi Wisdom Kid Rubin, newly arrived from back East. He s young. He s clever. He s eager to take Harvey s place. But is he fast enough on the draw the wisdom draw, that is to take the town from Rabbi Harvey?

The hilarious, action-packed plot draws on classic Jewish folktales, Talmudic teachings and the timeless wisdom of the wise men of Chelm. As always, Rabbi Harvey protects his town and delivers justice, wielding only the weapons of wisdom, wit and a bit of trickery. He also gets a bit of help from Abigail, the town s quick-thinking school teacher a woman, it appears, who just may have captured his heart."

Are you facing the kind of illness that makes you think about your life? Are you a caregiver for a loved one? Are you a medical professional who wants to do more than aid a person's body? Are you struggling with what the word "God" might mean when your life has been changed by illness?

Through the lenses of personal stories and Jewish tradition, this guide can help you cope with the difficulties of disease, whether you are facing illness yourself, serving as a caregiver, or simply questioning where God is when we get sick. The sages of Judaism advocated having realistic expectations about illness while also seeking out the spirituality of relationships.

Judaism has traditionally understood healing to not only be a physical process but also a spiritual journey. While it is easy to be overwhelmed by the physical nature of illness, also neglecting the human spirit allows our sense of self to become threatened. To address these realities, Jewish tradition asks us to bring both those who

An inspiring way to reclaim your integrity and renew your sense of moral purpose.

"Like water, teshuvah is both destructive and creative. It dissolves the person you were but simultaneously provides the moisture you need to grow anew. It erodes the hard edges of your willfulness but also refreshens your spirit. It can turn the tallest barriers of moral blindness into rubble while it also gently nourishes the hidden seeds of hope buried deep in your soul. Teshuvah, like water, has the power both to wash away past sin and to shower you with the blessing of a new future, if only you trust it and allow yourself to be carried along in its current." from Part VII

In this candid and comprehensive probe into the nature of moral transgression and spiritual healing, Dr. Louis E. Newman examines both the practical and philosophical dimensions of teshuvah, Judaism's core religious-moral teaching on repentance, and its value for us Jews and non-Jews alike today. He exposes the inner logic of teshuvah as well as the beliefs about God and humankind that make it possible. He also charts the path of teshuvah, revealing to us how we can free ourselves from the burden of our own transgressions by: Acknowledging our transgressions Confessing Feeling remorse Apologizing Making restitution Soul reckoning Avoiding sin when the next opportunity arises"