A Muslim curator and archivist who preserves in his native Timbuktu the memory of its rabbi. An evangelical Kenyan who is amazed to meet a living ""Israelite."" Indian Ocean islanders who maintain the Jewish cemetery of escapees from Nazi Germany. These are just a few of the encounters the author shares from his sojourns and fieldwork. An engaging read in which the author combines the rigors of academic research with a ""you are there"" delivery. Conveys thirty-five years of social science fieldwork and reverential travel in Sub-Saharan Africa. A great choice for the ecumenical-minded traveller.

Judaic reasoning is discussed from the standpoint of modern logic. Andrew Schumann defines Judaic logic, traces Aristotelian influence on developing Jewish studies in Judaic reasoning, and shows the non-Aristotelian core of fundamentals of Judaic logic. Further, Schumann proposes some modern approaches to understanding and formalizing Judaic reasoning, including Judaic semantics and (non-Aristotelian) syllogistics.

Jewish thought is, in many ways, a paradox. Is it theology or is it philosophy? Does it use universal methods to articulate Judaism's particularity or does it justify Judaism's particularity with appeals to illuminating the universal? These two sets of claims are difficult if not impossible to reconcile, and their tension reverberates throughout the length and breadth of Jewish philosophical writing, from Saadya Gaon in the ninth century to Emmanuel Levinas in the twentieth. Rather than assume, as most scholars of Jewish philosophy do, that the terms "philosophy" and "Judaism" simply belong together, Hughes explores the juxtaposition and the creative tension that ensues from their cohabitation, examining adroitly the historical, cultural, intellectual, and religious filiations between Judaism and philosophy. Breaking with received opinion, this book seeks to challenge the exclusionary, particularist, and essentialist nature that is inherent to the practice of something problematically referred to as "Jewish philosophy." Hughes begins with the premise that Jewish philosophy is impossible and begins the process of offering a sophisticated and constructive rethinking of the discipline that avoids the traditional extremes of universalism and particularism.

With exacting scholarship and fecund analysis, Manuel Oliveira probes through the lens of Martin Buber (1878-1965) the theological and political ambiguities of Israel's divine election. These ambiguities became especially pronounced with the emergence of Zionism. Wary, indeed, alarmed by the tendency of some of his fellow Zionists to conflate divine chosenness with nationalism, Buber sought to secure the theological significance of election by both steering Zionism from hypertrophic nationalism and by a sustained program to revalorize what he called alternately "Hebrew Humanism." As Oliveira demonstrates, Buber viewed the idea of election teleologically, espousing a universal mission of Israel, which effectively calls upon Zionism to align its political and cultural project to universal objectives. Thus, in addressing a Zionist congress, he rhetorically asked, "What then is this spirit of Israel of which you are speaking? It is the spirit of fulfillment. Fulfillment of what? Fulfillment of the simple truth that man has been created for a purpose (...) Our purpose is the upbuilding of peace (...) And that is its spirit, the spirit of Israel (...) the people of Israel was charged to lead the way to righteousness and justice."

Louis Ginzberg's great compendium of Jewish legends, myths and ancient lore challenge readers to understand the civilization behind the greatest prophecies and holy writings ever written. Volume One begins with the years of creation, detailing God's creation of the Earth and all the lands and creatures upon it. Man's creation, and the story of Adam and Eve, are duly related, as are the ten generations which separated Adam from Noah. Volume Two, roughly corresponding with the Biblical Books of Exodus and Job, begins with the life and death of Joseph. His life and the lives of Jacob's sons - the founders of the Jewish tribes - are likewise told. Volume Three commences with Moses finally deciding to lead the Jews out of Egypt, the oppression of the Pharaoh having become too much to bear. Volume Four opens with the story of Joshua, who was the servant of Moses and one of the twelve spies who scouted the lands of Canaan at Moses' behest.

The widespread assumption that Jewish religious tradition is mediated through words, not pictures, has left Jewish art with no significant role to play in Jewish theology and ethics. "Judaism and the Visual Image" argues for a Jewish theology of image that, among other things, helps us re-read the creation story in Genesis 1 and to question why images of Jewish women as religious subjects appear to be doubly suppressed by the Second Commandment, when images of observant male Jews have become legitimate, even iconic, representations of Jewish holiness. Raphael further suggests that 'devout beholding' of images of the Holocaust is a corrective to post-Holocaust theologies of divine absence from suffering that are infused by a sub-theological aesthetic of the sublime. Raphael concludes by proposing that the relationship between God and Israel composes itself into a unitary dance or moving image by which each generation participates in a processive revelation that is itself the ultimate work of Jewish art.

Economic Morality and Jewish Law compares the way in which welfare economics and Jewish law determine the propriety of an economic action, whether by a private citizen or the government. Espousing what philosophers would call a consequentialist ethical system, welfare economics evaluates the worthiness of an economic action based on whether the action would increase the wealth of society in the long run. In sharp contrast, Jewish law espouses a deontological system of ethics. Within this ethical system, the determination of the propriety of an action is entirely a matter of discovering the applicable rule in Judaism's code of ethics. This volume explores a variety of issues implicating morality for both individual commercial activity and economic public policy. Issues examined include price controls, the living wage, the lemons problem, short selling, and Ronald Coase's seminal theories on negative externalities. To provide an analytic framework for the study of these issues, the work first delineates the normative theories behind the concept of economic morality for welfare economics and Jewish law, and presents a case study illustrating the deontological nature of Jewish law. The book introduces what for many readers will be a new perspective on familiar economic issues. Despite the very different approaches of welfare economics and Jewish law in evaluating the worthiness of an economic action, the author reveals a remarkable symmetry between the two systems in their ultimate prescriptions for certain economic issues.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, several thousand impoverished young Jewish women from Eastern Europe were forced into prostitution in the frontier colonies of Latin America, South Africa, India, and parts of the United States by the Zwi Migdal, a notorious criminal gang of Jewish mobsters.

Isabel Vincent, acclaimed author of "Hitler's Silent Partners," tells the remarkable true story of three such women--Sophia Chamys, Rachel Liberman, and Rebecca Freedman--who, like so many others, were desperate to escape a hopeless future in Europe's teeming urban ghettos and rural shtetls. "Bodies and Souls" is a shocking and spellbinding account of a monumental betrayal that brings to light a dark and shameful hitherto untold chapter in Jewish history--brilliantly chronicling the heartbreaking plight of women rejected by a society that deemed them impure and detailing their extraordinary struggles to live with dignity in a community of their own creation.

Reform Judaism has been tested by the spiritual torments and ideological upheavals of the last two centuries. Now, "Reform Judaism for the Rest of Us" brings into discussion key tenets and opinions that shape current thinking within the faith and introduces ideas for its future development. Author Alexander Maller believes that the core message of Reform Judaism, a modern faith inspired by the Jewish heritage and the Jewish and American Enlightenment, is entering a new phase in its history.

Free from the defunct extremist ideologies of the last centuries, American Reform Judaism can expand its reach into the new millennium if it strengthens its grassroots appeal to be of, by, and for the Reform congregants. It must also have a strong Jewish divine faith orientation, be open-minded to the realities of modern living, bear a deep love of Zion, and uphold a strong defense of the Constitution.

The arguments brought forth in this study stem from the author's position as a lay congregant. They also arise from the fact that he is a participant in and an observer of the continuous dialogue between rank-and-file congregants and clergy, as well as among congregations and various denominations of faith. "Reform Judaism for the Rest of Us" encourages congregants to adopt a sustainable, modern, deity-based orientation inspired by Jewish heritage and the American spirit.

The father-daughter dyad features in the Hebrew Bible in all of narratives, laws, myths and metaphors. In previous explorations of this relationship, the tendency has been to focus on discrete stories - notable among them, Judges 11 (the story of Jephthah's human sacrifice of his daughter) and Genesis 19 (the dark tale of Lot's daughters' seduction of their father). By taking the full spectrum into account, however, the daughter emerges prominently as (not only) expendable and exploitable (as an emphasis on daughter sacrifice or incest has suggested) but as cherished and protected by her father. Depictions of daughters are multifarious and there is a balance of very positive and very negative images. While not uncritical of earlier feminist investigations, this book makes a contribution to feminist biblical criticism and utilizes methods drawn from the social sciences and psychoanalysis. Alongside careful textual analysis, Johanna Stiebert offers a critical evaluation of the heuristic usefulness of the ethnographic honour-shame model, of parallels with Roman family studies, and of the application and meaning of 'patriarchy'. Following semantic analysis of the primary Hebrew terms for 'father' ( ) and 'daughter' ( ), as well as careful examination of inter-family dynamics and the daughter's role vis-a-vis the son's, alongside thorough investigation of both Judges 11 and Genesis 19, and also of the metaphor of God-the-father of daughters Eve, Wisdom and Zion, Stiebert provides the fullest exploration of daughters in the Hebrew Bible to date.

Though fifteen-year-old Nepos lost his parents at an early age, he is brave and adventurous, with a thirst for knowledge. Living in the Roman Empire, he has been raised by his grandfather Philo Curtius, the founder and owner of a Roman newsletter. At Nepos's request, Curtius calls in some favors, and the boy is allowed to accompany General Tarquitius and his entourage on a trip to Judea. Nepos believes this is his chance to prove to everyone he is ready to become both a man and a reporter.

The itinerary calls for the entourage to visit cities close to the sea, such as Syracuse in Sicilia, Corinth and Athens in Achaia, Thessalonica in Macedonia, Philippi in Thrace, Ephesus in Asia Minor, Myra in Lycia, Tarsus in Cilicia, Antioch in Syria, and finally Jerusalem in Judea. Nepos is exposed to the great culture of all these places, but when the general is robbed, Nepos is sent to report on a wedding in Cana. There, he witnesses a man called Jesus turning water into wine.

Intrigued, Nepos sets out to discover who Jesus really is. Nepos is eager to discover more about the "Son of God."

This is a monograph about the medieval Jewish community of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Through deep analyses of contemporary historical sources, mostly documents from the Cairo Geniza, life stories, conducts and practices of private people are revealed. When put together these private biographies convey a social portrait of an elite group which ruled over the local community, but was part of a supra communal network.

A Novice's Guide Through the Jewish Holidays explores the traditions, historical events along with Hebrew blessings in transliteration of the holidays for all people of diverse faiths and learning skills. The book engages and encourages the reader to become comfortable practicing the observances of the holidays. This guide will inspire and enlighten multi-generational and interfaith families to learn together. There are recipes and decorations to enhance the richness and beauty of each holiday. The special gift of this book is to bring a better understanding of the Jewish people's rich heritage. May your thirst for knowledge never be quenched