Since its discovery and the initial efforts toward its critical edition, the Paippaladasamhita of the Atharvaveda (PS) has attracted the attention of Vedic scholars and Indologists for several reasons. It constitutes a precious source for the study of the development of the earliest language. The text contains important information about various rites and magical practices, and hints about the oldest Indo-Iranian and Indo-European myths. All of this makes the PS a text of inestimable value for the study of Indian language and culture.

The interpretation of certain key texts in the Bible by two Dominican Friars: the celebrated preacher and author Timothy Radcliffe and the Director of the Biblical Institute in Jerusalem Lukasz Popko. When the Lord first spoke to Samuel in the Old Testament, he did not understand. So it is in the modern secular world that we too have muffled our ears. How are we, like Samuel, to hear God speaking to us in the words of hope and joy in a way that will make our ears tingle? As the Psalmist says, we have 'ears and hear not'. Some people dismiss such sentiments in the Bible as products of long-dead cultures that have nothing to do with us. As with other religions, which have sacred texts, many hear them as celestial commandments demanding unthinking submission. But God does not address us through a celestial megaphone. Revelation is God's conversation with his people through which they may become the friends of God. The novelty of Biblical revelation consists in the fact that God becomes known to us through the dialogue which he desires to have with us. How can we learn to listen to our God and join Him in the conversation?

The study of Islam's origins from a rigorous historical and social science perspective is still wanting. At the same time, a renewed attention is being paid to the very plausible pre-canonical redactional and editorial stages of the Qur'an, a book whose core many contemporary scholars agree to be formed by various independent writings in which encrypted passages from the OT Pseudepigrapha, the NT Apocrypha, and other ancient writings of Jewish, Christian, and Manichaean provenance may be found. Likewise, the earliest Islamic community is presently regarded by many scholars as a somewhat undetermined monotheistic group that evolved from an original Jewish-Christian milieu into a distinct Muslim group perhaps much later than commonly assumed and in a rather unclear way. The following volume gathers select studies that were originally shared at the Early Islamic Studies Seminar. These studies aim at exploring afresh the dawn and early history of Islam with the tools of biblical criticism as well as the approaches set forth in the study of Second Temple Judaism, Christian, and Rabbinic origins, thereby contributing to the renewed, interdisciplinary study of formative Islam as part and parcel of the complex processes of religious identity formation during Late Antiquity.

The Islamic prophet Muhammad initiated a theological program in theocratic form. The Qur'an challenges Christians and Jews in many ways and invites them to take a stance. This is why an explicitly theological response is legitimate and necessary. This book draws on current scholarly research on Islam and discusses the sources of the Qur'an, the fundamental features of its relationship with Judaism, and its perception of Jesus. This leads to a realistic assessment of Islam and stimulates a renewed Christian self-understanding. The fourth chapter presents the largely unknown insights of the German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig and the theologian Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI on Islam. They provide an important perspective - beyond submission.

Enter into the mystery of the Sabbath, into the wonder and light of the seventh day.

"We live in a world dominated by speed and distraction, with demands for our attention at every turn . We frequently forget the restorative blessing of stillness, our desperate need for rest a rest that brings us back to the center of existence, a calm that allows us to reconnect with the divine breath at the soul of All." from the Introduction

Enrich your spiritual experience of Shabbat by exploring the writings of mystical masters of Hasidism. Drawing from some of the earliest teachings in the family of the Ba'al Shem Tov through late nineteenth-century Poland and the homilies of the Sefat 'Emet, Eitan Fishbane evokes the Sabbath experience from candle lighting and donning white clothing to the Friday night Kiddush and the act of sacred eating. Fishbane also translates and interprets a wide range of Hasidic sources previously unavailable in English that reflect the spiritual transformation that takes place on the seventh day one that can shift your awareness into the realm that is all soul. Personal prayers of the Bratzlav (Breslov) Hasidic tradition express the spiritual dimension of Shabbat in the language of devotional and individual yearning."

These ancient stories whisper truth to your soul.

Great stories have the power to draw the heart. But certain stories have the power to draw the heart to God and awaken the better angels of our nature. Such are the tales of the rabbis of the Talmud, colorful, quirky yarns that tug at our heartstrings and test our values, ethics, morality and our imaginations.

In this collection for people of all faiths and backgrounds, Rabbi Burton Visotzky draws on four decades of telling and teaching these legends in order to unlock their wisdom for the contemporary heart. He introduces you to the cast of characters, explains their motivations, and provides the historical background needed to penetrate the wise lessons often hidden within these unusual narratives.

In learning how and why these oft-told tales were spun, you discover how they continue to hold value for our lives."

The promise of land and progeny to the patriarchs-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-is a central, recurring feature of the Pentateuch. From the beginning of the story of Abraham to the last moment of Moses's life, this promise forms the guiding theological statement for each narrative. Yet literary and historical inquiries ascribe the promise texts to a variety of sources, layers, and redactions, raising questions about how the promise functioned in its original manifestations and how it can be used to understand the formation of the Pentateuch as a whole. Joel S. Baden reexamines the patriarchal promise in its historical and contemporaneous contexts, evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of both final-form and literary-historical approaches to the promise. He pays close attention to the methodologies employed in both documentary and non-documentary analyses and aims to bring source-critical analysis of the promise to bear on the understanding of the canonical text for contemporary readers. The Promise to the Patriarchs addresses the question of how the literary-historical perspective can illuminate and even deepen the theological meaning of the Pentateuch, particularly of the promise at the heart of this central biblical corpus.

The Qur'anic verses 18:60-82 in Surat al-Kahf present the story of Khidr and Moses as a lesson on the modalities of being and of knowing. Traditionally, the story is seen from a variety of vantage points which include historical, textual, literary, and allegorical, each of which is framed differently depending upon the religio-cultural context. This book, in addition to examining the theological sources, traces the story's mythical, mystical, and popular interpretations engendered by the Qur'anic story. The author argues that the story's major contribution is its ability to communicate the importance of cultivating humility - a fundamental goal for any person of faith. Despite his importance in the Qur'an, Moses is not the main hero in this story; instead, he is being used to point to an even higher truth pertaining to the spiritual dimensions of faith. This book suggests that Khidr's Qur'anic story symbolizes these truths by providing a perspective on the tension between materiality and spirituality, the zahir (exoteric) and the batin (esoteric), and human and divine forms of knowledge. Additionally, in this work the Khidr narrative is viewed as a source of nourishment for theories that speak to the intersectionality between Islam and other religious traditions.

The term desire in the Hebrew Bible covers a wide range of human longings, emotions, and cravings. The direct and explicit term of desire is nevertheless limited to only two roots found in the Decalogue-the verb forms of the lexical roots and , which reflect not only the dynamics of desire occurring in human beings, but also in God. With an comprehensive semantic analysis and an overview of the synonyms and antonyms, the author shows that the verb form of the lexical root denotes a variety of needs related to human existence including aspiration for God while the verb form of the lexical root denotes the desire to acquire material wealth and possessions beyond basic needs. All the findings are compared on two levels-in relation to human beings (objects and people) and in relation to God-and ultimately serve for the interpretation of the roots in both versions of the Decalogue (Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21) to resolve questions concerning the meaning of the desire in Tenth Commandment and substantiate whether the answers to life's questions provided by the Bible correspond to modern society.

A Glossary of the Quran is a ready reckoner for those who are interested to know the spirit of the Quran but are discouraged by the lack of knowledge of the Arabic language. The author has compiled the most common words used in the Quran so that one is able to grasp the gist of the Quran without learning the intricacies of the Arabic language. The book will be an ideal tool for those who are interested in reading and understanding the Holy Qur'an.

Unexplainable coincidences abound in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew. For example, the Hebrew words for ear and balance are derived from the same philological root. But it was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that scientists discovered that the human body s balancing mechanism resides in the ear. Coincidences in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew details scores of such incidents, including:

Words in Hebrew that show intent to convey a message
Coincidences in the Hebrew language that show intent to convey hidden information, and occasionally information that could not be expected to be known in biblical times
Passages in the Bible that convey or assume information or knowledge unlikely to have been known in biblical times
Other coincidences from Jewish tradition or Jewish history

In this second edition, author Haim Shore discusses two types of coincidences-those that can be considered just that, and others that are subject to rigorous statistical analysis. Altogether, nineteen analyses have been conducted with highly significant results. Simple plots that accompany the analyses clarify their meanings and implications so that no prior statistical know-how is required. Genesis creation story is statistically analyzed.

"Speaking of Gods in Figure and Narrative" analyzes the figurative-narrative creation of gods, their heavenly abodes, and behaviors, reaching back to the beginning of history in Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, and Greece, and continuing through a biblical tradition that includes the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an. Each culture leaves its linguistic residue for the next to incorporate into its sacred texts, resulting in the perpetuation and validation of ancient imagining, attitudes, and ideas.

Though he has no formal rabbinical training, Ephraim Sobol began teaching a weekly parsha class in his community. In two years time, the class grew as his students shared their excitement. He began writing "Two Minutes of Torah," a weekly Dvar Torah email based on his class. These emails took on lives of their own, and soon they were a much sought after read. Appealing to audiences with a broad spectrum of knowledge, Two Minutes of Torah offers original and concise insights into the parsha. To help students connect with the lessons, he has woven many of his real-world experiences into his essays.In the third volume of his popular series of books on the parsha, Sobol completes that which he set out to do: provide a constant companion for those seeking insights on the parsha every week. Now spanning the entire Torah, these works have become an essential component of many Shabbos tables.Using a folksy and inviting manner Sobol provides fresh, deep insights into an ancient text.