In You Never Call, You Never Write, Joyce Antler provides an illuminating and often amusing history of one of the best-known figures in popular culture-the Jewish Mother. Whether drawn as self-sacrificing or manipulative, in countless films, novels, radio and television programs, stand-up comedy, and psychological and historical studies, she appears as a colossal figure, intensely involved in the lives of her children. Antler traces the odyssey of this compelling personality through decades of American culture. She reminds us of a time when Jewish mothers were admired for their tenacity and nurturance, as in the early twentieth-century image of the "Yiddishe Mama," a sentimental figure popularized by entertainers such as George Jessel, Al Jolson, and Sophie Tucker, and especially by Gertrude Berg, whose amazingly successful "Molly Goldberg" ruled American radio and television for over 25 years. Antler explains the transformation of this Jewish Mother into a "brassy-voiced, smothering, and shrewish" scourge (in Irving Howe's words), detailing many variations on this negative theme, from Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks to television shows such as "The Nanny," "Seinfeld," and "Will and Grace." But she also uncovers a new counter-narrative, leading feminist scholars and stand-up comediennes to see the Jewish Mother in positive terms. Continually revised and reinvented, the Jewish Mother becomes in Antler's expert hands a unique lens with which to examine vital concerns of American Jews and the culture at large. A joy to read, You Never Call, You Never Write will delight anyone who has ever known or been nurtured by a "Jewish Mother," and it will be a special source of insight for modern parents. As Antler suggests, in many ways "we are all Jewish Mothers" today.

Sounding Authentic considers the intersecting influences of nationalism, modernism, and technological innovation on representations of ethnic and national identities in twentieth-century art music. Author Joshua S. Walden discusses these forces through the prism of what he terms the "rural miniature": short violin and piano pieces based on folk song and dance styles. This genre, mostly inspired by the folk music of Hungary, the Jewish diaspora, and Spain, was featured frequently on recordings and performance programs in the early twentieth century. Furthermore, Sounding Authentic shows how the music of urban Romany ensembles developed into nineteenth-century repertoire of virtuosic works in the style hongrois before ultimately influencing composers of rural miniatures. Walden persuasively demonstrates how rural miniatures represented folk and rural cultures in a manner that was perceived as authentic, even while they involved significant modification of the original sources. He also links them to the impulse toward realism in developing technologies of photography, film, and sound recording. Sounding Authentic examines the complex ways the rural miniature was used by makers of nationalist agendas, who sought folkloric authenticity as a basis for the construction of ethnic and national identities. The book also considers the genre's reception in European diaspora communities in America where it evoked and transformed memories of life before immigration, and traces how many rural miniatures were assimilated to the styles of American popular song and swing. Scholars interested in musicology, ethnography, the history of violin performance, twentieth-century European art music, the culture of the Jewish Diaspora and more will find Sounding Authentic an essential addition to their library.

"In the wake of the Enlightenment...the suddenness with which Jews began to appear and make a mark in numerous...areas...is nothing short of astounding. It seemed as if a huge reservoir of Jewish talent, hitherto dammed up behind the wall of Talmudic learning were suddenly released to spill over into all fields of Gentile cultural activity." -Raphael Patai, The Jewish Mind "Quite suddenly, around the year 1800, this ancient and highly efficient social machine for the production of intellectuals began to shift its output. Instead of pouring all of its products into the closed circuit of rabbinical studies, where they remained completely isolated from general society, it unleashed a significant and ever growing proportion of them into secular life. This was an event of shattering importance in world history." -Paul Johnson, History of the Jews The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement chronicles the astonishing record of one people's disproportionate achivements and the causes behind it. The stunning performance of Jews over the last 125 years can only be compared with that of the Italians during the Renaissance, the Greeks during the era of Pericles, or the Dutch during their own Golden Age. The Golden Age details that record in more than 60 exhibits covering the range from Nobel prizes to Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame awards, from Pulitzer Prizes to chess champions, from philanthropy to Supreme Court Justices and more. But more intriguing is the question, "Why has this happened?" (the question posed by Rabbi Harold N. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People). Through fascinating stories, such as "Lev Leviev and the Soviet Jews" (at the start of Chapter 20) and "The Jazz Singer" (at the start of Chapter 13) the book illustrates the life and circumstances of hundreds of remarkable Jews before drawing its perspective together in Chapter 25 - Why? Timely, the book raises notions advanced by Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and recent debates over "Jewish genes" as well as Charles Murray's 2007 Commentary article where he argued for natural selection. The Golden Age makes the case for culture. It explains how the evolution of Judaism, coupled with a tortured 2,000 year history has shaped a unique combination of cultural values which have made Jews into the world's most successful tribe of Outliers. For example, they were history's first tribe to mandate literacy for all of their people. The book challenges natural selection, second generation immigrant status, and other theories which have been advanced over the years to explain the phenomenon. The Golden Age research is detailed in the extensive exhibits, end notes, bibliography and index containing more than 4,000 entries. But it is the stories and the thought provoking analysis that makes The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement a compelling and much discussed read.

In the summer of 2006, the author received a message that read, Love the Nazis, and KILL THE JEWS DEAD. And that was the trigger that launched internationally known scholar Falk into work on this book. Anti-Semitism has once again become a worldwide phenomenon, growing largely during the last decade of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st. Among the spurs for this are the migration of Muslim populations and the ongoing Israeli-Arab wars. In this far-reaching and comprehensive volume, Falk delves deeply into the current events, history, and literature on anti-Semitism, integrating insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, and political science. The result is an absorbing exploration of one of the oldest scourges of humanity, spotlighting the irrational and unconscious causes of anti-Semitism. In the summer of 2006, the author received a message that read, Love the Nazis, and KILL THE JEWS DEAD. And that was the trigger that launched internationally known scholar Avner Falk into work on this book. Anti-Semitism has once again become a worldwide phenomenon, growing largely during the last decade of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first. Among the spurs for this are migration of Muslim populations and the ongoing Israeli-Arab wars. In this far-reaching and comprehensive volume, Falk delves deeply into the current events, history and literature on anti-Semitism, integrating insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, and political science. The result is an absorbing exploration of one of the oldest scourges of humanity, spotlighting the irrational and unconscious causes of anti-Semitism. This book also features chapters on the psychodynamics of racism, fascism, Nazism, and the dark, tragic, and unconscious processes, both individual and collective, that led to the Shoah. Holocaust denial and its psychological motives, as well as insights into the physical and psychological survival strategies of Holocaust survivors, are explored in depth. There are also chapters on scientific anti-Semitism including eugenics.

Why did dance and dancing became important to the construction of a new, modern, Jewish/Israeli cultural identity in the newly formed nation of Israel? There were questions that covered almost all spheres of daily life, including "What do we dance?" because Hebrew or Eretz-Israeli dance had to be created out of none. How and why did dance develop in such a way? Dance Spreads Its Wings is the first and only book that looks at the whole picture of concert dance in Israel studying the growth of Israeli concert dance for 90 years-starting from 1920, when there was no concert dance to speak of during the Yishuv (pre-Israel Jewish settlements) period, until 2010, when concert dance in Israel had grown to become one of the country's most prominent, original, artistic fields and globally recognized. What drives the book is the impulse to create and the need to dance in the midst of constant political change. It is the story of artists trying to be true to their art while also responding to the political, social, religious, and ethnic complexities of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary 'Jewish' role of the region which now has only a few thousand Jewish occupants amongst its residents.

Moroccan Jews can trace their heritage in Morocco back 2000 years. In French Protectorate Morocco (1912-56) there was a community of over 200,000 Jews, but today only a small minority remains. This book writes Morocco's rich Jewish heritage back into the protectorate period. The book explains why, in the years leading to independence, the country came to construct a national identity that centered on the Arab-Islamic notions of its past and present at the expense of its Jewish history and community. The book provides analysis of the competing nationalist narratives that played such a large part in the making of Morocco's identity at this time: French cultural-linguistic assimilation, Political Zionism, and Moroccan nationalism. It then explains why the small Jewish community now living in Morocco has become a source of national pride. At the heart of the book are the interviews with Moroccan Jews who lived during the French Protectorate, remain in Morocco, and who can reflect personally on everyday Jewish life during this era. Combing the analysis of the interviews, archived periodicals, colonial documents and the existing literature on Jews in Morocco, Kristin Hissong's book illuminates the reality of this multi-ethnic nation-state and the vital role memory plays in its identity.

Psalms of Solomon is an ancient Jewish writing from the Second Century BC. As a primary source written by a Jewish writer living during the turmoil of the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria, who forced Jews to eat non-kosher food, abstain from circumcision, and break the Sabbath Day, Psalms of Solomon accurately depicts the angst and trepidation that seized the whole Jewish populace in Jerusalem. Although the poet-composer of Psalms of Solomon witnessed the eventual victory of Jews over the Syrians in Jerusalem along with other Jewish survivors, he did not see the victory of the Hasmonean Revolt and the Maccabees as a total victory. The Maccabees kicked out the Zadokite priests from the leadership of the Jerusalem Temple when they rededicated the Temple. This Temple leadership of the descendants of Zadok, who was the first High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple, was established by King Solomon and maintained by the descendants of King Solomon. It was understood that the Zadokites continue to be the leaders of the Jerusalem Temple in the Second Temple Period, after returning from the Exile and rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by the Babylonians. King David and his descendants would rule over Israel forever, and the Zadokites would be the High Priests of the Jerusalem Temple forever. When the Hasmoneans rededicated the Jerusalem Temple without Zadokite priests in Jerusalem Temple leadership, it was going against tradition held for hundreds of years. But the Jerusalem Jewish populace went along with the Maccabean program of placing their own in the office of the High Priest and top leadership in the Jerusalem Temple against long-held Jewishtradition. The military victory over Syrians made them untouchable heroes. And in the lapse of continuity with past tradition in terms of Jerusalem leadership, the Hasmoneans were not only able to seize the office of the High Priest, but they managed to set in motion the usurpation of kingship by the Hasmoneans. Psalms of Solomon was written by a Zadokite in protest of all that was happening in Jerusalem. The poet-composer wanted the Zadokites back in position in the Jerusalem Temple, as has been the tradition for hundreds of years. But the Zadokite poet-composer could not write a blatant condemnation of the Hasmoneans because the Hasmoneans were already entrenched in their power positions. Thus, the Zadokite poet-composer wrote Psalms of Solomon using metaphors and symbolic language that couched his propaganda for the Zadokites.

This important study is the first to offer a sustained look at a variety of early modern Yiddish masterworks--and their writers and readers--paying particular attention to their treatment of supernatural themes and beings.

View the Table of Contents.
Read the Introduction.

"Lively tales of girls who long for the lives of male scholars, and rebels who visit strip clubs, smoke pot, and dream of high-powered careers."--"Books to Watch out For"

"Stephanie Levine's book is full of surprises."--"Midstream"

"A fascinating read for anyone interested in youth culture."
--"Youth Today"

"In an era seemingly plagued with sex, anorexia and depression among our nation's girls, a page from "Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers" is a refreshing peek into the possibilities for growth, strength and self."--"The Jewish New Weekly of Northern California"

"At all times, Levine's genuine respect for the community shines through. The book is eminently readable and undoubtedly fascinating."--"Jewish Chronicle"

"A vivid portrayal of the Lubavitcher community."
--" Library Journal"

"[Levine's] empathy is palpable in each one of the profiles. Levine has a natural, artful style and writes with a lively and keen vision."
--"Moment magazine"

"Her findings are fascinating."
--"Jewish Telegraph"

"Levine treats all her subjects with respect. At the core, this is a popularly written academic study."
-- "KLIATT"

"Levine vividly portrays these girls, their hopes and their struggles, as well as her own feelings towards Orthodoxy and the Lubavitch way of life."
--"JOFA Book Corner"

"Levine's portraits provide a cross-section of the very human faces of these ultra-religious girls."
--"New Jersey Times"

"Stephanie Wellen Levine's suggestions are obviously heartfelt and perhaps sensible....at turns charming and scandalous."
--"The Jerusalem Report"

"Levine takes readersinto an unfamiliar world of girls who were raised in the Lubavitcher sect of Hasidim in Crown Heights, Brooklyn...One intriguing paradox she explores is how these girls created distinct personalities while living in a very closed society."
--"Choice"

"Levine does a splendid job of presenting how the girls cope, and paints vivid pictures of Shabbat around their family tables."
--" The Jerusalem Post Literary Quarterly"

"Stephanie Wellen Levine has written an intriguing and joyous account of the lives of young adult Hasidic women."
--" Jewish Book World"

"Eminently readable."
--" Jewish Journal Book Review"

"Levine steps back and lets the girls speak for themselves; their voices, layered with determination, yearning, confusion and wonder, emerge clearly."
--" Na'amat Woman Book Reviews"

"This absorbing ethnography acts as one subculture's corrective to "Reviving Ophelia," in that it offers a refreshing portrait of adolescent girls who are far from insecure."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.

Lubavitcher Hasidim are famous for their efforts to inspire secular Jews to become more observant and for their messianic fervor. Strict followers of Orthodox Judaism, they maintain sharp gender-role distinctions.

Levine spent a year living in the Lubavitch community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, participating in the rhythms of Hasidic girlhood. Drawing on many intimate hours among Hasidim and over 30 in-depth interviews, Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers offers rich portraits of individual Hasidic young women and how they deal with the conflicts between the regimented society in which they live and the pull of mainstream American life.

This superbly crafted book offers intimate stories from Hasidic teenagers' lives, providing an intriguing twist to a universal theme: the struggle to grow up and define who we are within the context of culture, family, and life-driving beliefs.

According to narratives in the Bible the threats of the people's end come from various sources, but the most significant threat comes, as learned from the Pentateuch, from God himself. What is the theological meaning of this tradition? In what circumstances did it evolve? How did it stand alongside other theological and socio-political concepts known to the ancient authors and their diverse audience? The book employs a diachronic method that explores the stages of the tradition's formation and development, revealing the authors' exegetical purposes and ploys, and tracing the historical realities of their time. The book proposes that the motif of the threat of destruction existed in various forms prior to the creation of the stories recorded in the final text of the Pentateuch. The inclusion of the motif within specific literary contexts attenuated the concept of destruction by presenting it as a phenomenon of specific moments in the past. Nevertheless, the threat was resurrected repeatedly by various authors, for use as a precedent or a justification for present affliction.

Jewish life in Europe has undergone dramatic changes and transformations within the 20th century and also the last two decades. The phenomenon of the dual position of the Jewish minority in relation to the majority, not entirely unusual for Jewish Diaspora communities, manifested itself most distinctly on the European continent. This unique Jewish experience of the ambiguous position of insider and outsider may provide valuable views on contemporary European reality and identity crisis. The book focuses inter alia on the main common denominators of contemporary Jewish life in Central Europe, such as an intense confrontation with the heritage of the Holocaust and unrelenting antisemitism on the one hand and on the other hand, huge appreciation of traditional Jewish learning and culture by a considerable part of non-Jewish Europeans. The volume includes contributions on Jewish life in central European countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, and Germany.

While Jews have long had a presence in Ethiopia and the Maghreb, Africa's newest Jewish community of note is in Nigeria, where upwards of twenty thousand Igbos are commonly claimed to have adopted Judaism. Bolstered by customs recalling an Israelite ancestry, but embracing rabbinic Judaism, they are also the world's first "Internet Jews."William Miles has spent over three decades conducting research in West Africa. In /Jews of Nigeria: An Afro-Judaic Odyssey, /he shares life stories from this spiritually passionate community, as well as his own Judaic reflections as he celebrates Hanukka and a bar mitzvah with "Jubos" in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. A concluding encounter with laureate Chinua Achebe reveals unexpected family connections to one of the most intriguing Jewish and African communities to emerge in modern times.

For five horrifying years in Vilna, the Vilna ghetto, and concentration camps in Estonia, Herman Kruk recorded his own experiences as well as the life and death of the Jewish community of the city symbolically called "The Jerusalem of Lithuania." This unique chronicle includes many recovered pages of Kruk's diaries and provides a powerful eyewitness account of the annihilation of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. This volume includes the Yiddish edition of Kruk's diaries, published in 1961 and translated here for the first time, as well as many widely scattered pages of the chronicles, collected here for the first time and meticulously deciphered, translated, and annotated. Kruk describes vividly the collapse of Poland in September, 1939, life as a refugee in Vilna, the manhunt that destroyed most of Vilna Jewry in the summer of 1941, the creation of a ghetto and the persecution and self-rule of the remnants of the "Jerusalem of Lithuania," the internment of the last survivors in concentration camps in Estonia, and their brutal deaths. Kruk scribbled his final diary entry on September 17, 1944, managing to bury the small, loose pages of his manuscript just hours before he and other camp inmates were shot to death and their bodies burnt on a pyre. Kruk's writings illuminate the tragedy of the Vilna Jews and their courageous efforts to maintain an ideological, social, and cultural life even as their world was being destroyed. To read Kruk's day-by-day account of the unfolding of the Holocaust is to discern the possibilities for human courage and perseverance even in the face of profound fear. Co-published with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

This book offers a fresh reflection on The Book of Questions by the French-Egyptian Jewish writer Edmond Jabes and its readings, and proposes to re-contextualize Jabes' enigmatic prose through the lens of the author's manuscripts. Addressed are the main prisms through which Jabes' oeuvre has been read since its publication in 1963: Jewishness, the Shoah, intertextuality with Midrash and Kabbalah, hermeticism and interpretation. It analyzes their shapes and their becoming in the work-in-progress, reveals the dynamics and the contexts of their evolution from the pre-texts to the text and beyond, and reflects on the relationship between creation, interpretation, and writing as a process. It seeks to rethink our reading of The Book of Questions and the poetics and hermeneutics of enigmatic writing.