This volume concludes the edition, translation, and commentary of the first order of the "Jerusalem Talmud". It contains four small but important tractates. The first, Ma'aser Seni, deals with Second Tithe (Deut. 14:22-27) and the fourth-year fruit of a newly planted tree (Lev. 19:24). This is sanctified food, to be consumed by the laity at the holy precinct, for which redemption is expressly authorized. The tractate deals in large part with the problems of redemption of dedicated food. In addition, there is a long section on the interpretation of dreams, and a detailed description of the ceremony of presentation of the tithe in the Temple. The second tractate, Hallah, details the application of the general rules of heave to the Cohen's part of any bread dough. The third tractate, 'Orlah, the fruit of a newly planted tree during the first three years (Lev. 19:23), treats this as paradigm for all food whose usufruct is forbidden, and most of the tractate discusses the problems that may arise if any such food is not immediately disposed of. The last tractate, Bikkurim, describes the rules for selection and presentation of First Fruits in the Temple on or after Pentecost. The rite is given in detail, with an excursus on the honor due elders. A first appendix shows the position of the Tosephta as intermediary between Yerushalmi and Babli tradition, with a distinct slant towards Babylonian positions. A second appendix tries to identify the main authors of the tractates of this first order.

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 this study Jurgen Becker presents a new historically grounded explanation of the phrases "kingdom of God" and "God's reign" - the central terms of Jesus' proclamation. He draws on a range of sources to trace Jesus'special position within early Judaism. At the same time, he retains his focus on Jesus' ministry, viewed as the beginning of the history of early Christianity. The proclamation of the kingdom is thus seen by Becker as the founding moment of a distinct community of faith.

What accounts for the seemingly atypical pattern of scriptural exegesis that Paul uses to interpret Exodus 34 in 2 Cor 3:7-18? While previous scholars have approached this question from a variety of angles, in this monograph, Michael Cover grapples particularly with the evidence of contemporaneous Jewish and Greco-Roman commentary traditions. Through comparison with Philo of Alexandria's Allegorical Commentary, the Pseudo-Philonic homilies De Jona and De Sampsone, the Anonymous Theaetetus Commentary, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Seneca's Epistulae morales, and other New Testament texts, Paul's interpretation of Exodus emerges as part of a wider commentary practice that Cover terms "secondary-level exegesis." This study also provides new analysis of the way ancient authors, including Paul, interwove commentary forms and epistolary rhetoric and offers a reconstruction of the context of Paul's conflict with rival apostles in Corinth. At root was the legacy of Moses and of the Pentateuch itself, how the scriptures ought to be read, and how Platonizing theological and anthropological traditions might be interwoven with Paul's messianic gospel.

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."

The early 1930's were a period of dire foreboding for the entire world. The dark clouds of World War II were rapidly gathering, as the Jewish population of Europe was becoming especially vulnerable to the most hideous form of genocide that had ever been devised. It was with this background that a young boy made his way to school on the morning after Kristalnacht. In the fascinating and absorbing chapters that follow, the author, Norbert Weinberg, vividly describes how his family made it to the shores of America, via a year in London. Dressed in European-style knickers and hardly able to speak English, the boy tackles his social and educational challenges. His success is apparent when he is ordained as a rabbi at Yeshiva University in New York. Many captivating incidents and situations are discussed as the rabbi meets with personages such Senator Edward Kennedy, President Jimmy Carter and opens a session of the House of Representatives with an invocation. But the heart of the book lies in his warm relationships with congregants, members of other faiths and family. The pages are infused with humor as when, for example, the rabbi is housed in a small hotel in Quebec City, Canada, for a rabbinical interview. A brooding portrait of Jesus stares at him from over his bed. How do they get along? Or when, in that same city, he was invited to a formal event at which everyone raised a glass of wine to toast the Queen and his wine was not kosher. Was this a soluble predicament? The poignant pages of this book promise to warm the heart of every reader.

This volume features powerful essays by Edward Alexander on the phenomenon of anti-Zionism on the part of the Jewish intelligentsia. It also analyses the explosive growth of traditional anti-Semitism, especially in Europe, among intellectuals and Muslims. Alexander notes that anti-Zionism has established a presence even in Israel, where it frequently takes the form of intellectuals sympathizing with their country's enemies and perversely apologizing for their own existence. Alexander begins with an examination of the origins of Jewish self-hatred in nineteenth-century Europe. He then explores the mindset of disaffected Jews in reacting, or failing to react, to the two events that shape modern Jewry: the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel. The book concludes with a focus on contemporary anti-Zionism, including three essays about the role played by Jews in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement to expel Israel from the family of nations. A final essay addresses the need for American Jews to decide whether they are going to judge Judaism by the standards of The New York Times or The New York Times by the standards of Judaism.

"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."

This book is the first greater attempt to construct a dialogical theology from a Jewish point of view. It contributes to an emerging new theology that promotes the interrelatedness of religions in which encounter, openness, hospitality and permanent learning are central. The monograph is about the self and the other, inner and outer, own and strange; about borders and crossing borders, and about the sublime activities of passing and translating. Meir analyses and critically discusses the writings of great contemporary Jewish dialogical thinkers and argues that the values of interreligious theology are moored in their thoughts. In his view interreligious dialogue supposes attentive listening, humility, a critical attitude towards oneself and others, a good amount of self-relativism and humor. It is about proximity, dialogical reading, engagement and interconnectedness.

This is the fourth volume of the hard-copy edition of a journal that has been published online (www.jgrchj.net) since 2000. Volume 1 was for 2000, Volume 2 was for 2001-2005, Volume 3 is for 2006, and Volume 4 for 2007. As they appear, the hardcopy editions will replace the online materials. The scope of JGRChJ is the texts, language and cultures of the Graeco-Roman world of early Christianity and Judaism.The papers published in JGRChJ are designed to pay special attention to the 'larger picture' of politics, culture, religion and language, engaging as well with modern theoretical approaches.

Offers a compelling look at how Orthodox Jewish LGBT persons in Israel became more accepted in their communities. Until fairly recently, Orthodox people in Israel could not imagine embracing their LGBT sexual or gender identity and staying within the Orthodox fold. But within the span of about a decade and a half, Orthodox LGBT people have forged social circles and communities and become much more visible. This has been a remarkable shift in a relatively short time span. Queer Judaism offers the compelling story of how Jewish LGBT persons in Israel created an effective social movement. Drawing on more than 120 interviews, Orit Avishai illustrates how LGBT Jews accomplished this radical change. She makes the case that it has taken multiple approaches to achieve recognition within the community, ranging from political activism to more personal interactions with religious leaders and community members, to simply creating spaces to go about their everyday lives. Orthodox LGBT Jews have drawn from their lived experiences as well as Jewish traditions, symbols, and mythologies to build this movement, motivated to embrace their sexual identity not in spite of, but rather because of, their commitment to Jewish scripture, tradition, and way of life. Unique and timely, Queer Judaism challenges popular conceptions of how LGBT people interact and identify with conservative communities of faith.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

This textbook provides an introduction to the Second Temple period (520 BCE-70 CE), the formative era of early Judaism and the milieu of Jesus and of the earliest Christians. By paying close attention to original sources--especially the Bible, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus--Frederick J. Murphy introduces students to the world of ancient Jews and Christians. "Early Judaism: The Exile to the Time of Christ," designed to serve students and teachers in the classroom, will also be of great interest to anyone looking for an entree into this pivotal period. It contains suggestions for primary readings, bibliographies, maps, illustrations, glossaries, and indexes.

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.

"

Islam prides itself on being "the religion of facility". Muslim sources are unanimous in assigning to Judaism the role of counterweight in this regard, pronouncing it a system of "burdens and shackles" by which the Jews "oppressed their souls". This neat polarity both fueled, and was the product of, a fascinating reciprocal process: at the same time that shari'a was being created in the negative image of halakha, halakha was being retroactively re-imagined by Muslim jurists and exegetes as the antipode of shari'a . Although scholarly studies of the intertexture of Islam and Judaism abound, few have touched upon the Muslim tradition's perception and utilization of Jewish law, and none has done so in depth. This book aims to fill that lacuna and further our understanding of the age-old embrace and grapple between the two faiths.

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