Jewish Thought

“Be a blessing, my child, be a blessing.” They were words whispered from a father to his child as she confronted the horrors of the Holocaust. That child would grow up to be the world’s beloved Rebbetzin, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis.

Be a Blessing shows us how she chose to “be a blessing” in the darkest of times and most horrific of places. In Bergen-Belsen. In a Swiss boarding school, as a penniless refugee, separated from her family. In a hospital bed in San Diego.

Written as she recovered from a difficult and painful accident, Be A Blessing sings out with faith, hope, even in times of despair.

In these pages we will hear Rebbetzin Jungreis speaking in Madison Square Garden, in a U.S. Airforce base, in a hospital room where she lies in terrible pain. We will hear her speaking to individuals looking for help or comfort. We will hear her speaking to herself, a young Holocaust survivor. And, most importantly, we will hear her speaking to each one of us, our concerns, our hopes and fears and questions.

From the Rebbetzin we will gain tips for a better marriage and for being better parents. We will learn how to find the mission our Creator has chosen for each individual, and how to make room for Hashem in our hearts. And we will discover how to take our personal mission, use it to “be a blessing” and convert darkness to rays of light.

In Jewish tradition, before parents journey to the next world, they bless their children. In this, the Rebbetzin’s final book before her passing, she has blessed all of us – because she felt all of G-d’s people were her children –with the greatest blessing of all: To be a blessing.

The guidance and principles of Chovos HaLevavos, written nearly a thousand years ago, continue to resonate with our generation. Of all the vast scope of this work, Shaar HaBitachon (Reliance on Hashem) is perhaps the section that most eloquently addresses us today, living in a world where the ways of Hashem are hidden.

Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman is a Rav, maggid shiur and author. He has taught Shaar HaBitachon to scholars and layman and — as a master teacher — he is able to convey its lessons clearly and succinctly.

As a work of one of the early Rishonim, Chovos HaLevavos quotes and alludes to the full range of Tanach and the Talmud. A reader can easily lose track of the author’s complex thought, and miss his point. In this work, Rabbi Klugman selects the guidance and principles of Shaar HaBitachon, using the author’s own words.

Rabbi Klugman also prepared a comprehensive topic and source index, which makes the wealth of life-changing issues unusually accessible.

The Concise Shaar HaBitachon addresses the countless perplexing challenges that confront every Jew in the contemporary world. For any Jew who wants to come closer to Hashem, The Concise Shaar HaBitachon is required reading. For the English-speaking reader it is perhaps the most understandable and helpful guide to emunah, bitachon, and many other issues in a confusing and challenging world.

A little over half a century ago, there came about a remarkable change in the Catholic Church’s attitude to the Jewish people. Once an accursed nation, responsible for the death of the Redeemer, Jews became the blessed elder brother of Christianity. Nostra Aetate traces the process of this revolutionary change in detail, through its primary Catholic and Jewish sources.

In an easy and concise format, this highly praised and comprehensive book is designed for daily learning. With hundreds of practical examples, you will come to know what is and isn’t lashon hara, and develop a greater sensitivity to positive speech…in just 3 minutes a day!

Following the footsteps of the bestselling Learn Shabbos in Just 3 Minutes a Day, Learn Hilchos Lashon Hara in Just 3 Minutes a Day is guaranteed to be an indispensable reference for everyone!

“This work has been presented with wisdom and clear thinking, and will certainly bring enormous benefit to those who wish to grow.”

Rav Moshe Sternbuch, Ra’avad of Jerusalem

“Rabbi Braude has once again created a collection of halacha in bite-size segments enabling one to acquire a comprehensive working knowledge of complicated halacha in a relatively short period of time. Additionally, the clear practical style makes the thought of observing Shmiras Halashon so much more realistic.”

Rav Yitzchak Berkowits, Rosh Kollel, Rosh Yeshiva, and Posek

“It is written with clarity and insight. It is succinct, yet at the same time comprehensive. It serves both the beginner and advanced Torah Scholar alike.”

Rav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, Av Beis Din, UK Beis Din, Federation

“Rabbi Braude’s ability to present the Halachos, the ideas behind them, and relevant practical examples, is phenomenal. I highly recommend this work as both a means for one to initially familiarize oneself with the laws of Lashon Hara, and even to those who have learned the Halachos from the original sources as a very concise method of review.”

Rav Zev Leff, Rosh Yeshiva

Following The People and the Books, which "covers more than 2,500 years of highly variegated Jewish cultural expression" (Robert Alter, New York Times Book Review), poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch now turns to the story of modern Jewish literature. From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience.

Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith. With discussions of major books by over thirty writers--ranging from Franz Kafka to Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel to Tony Kushner, Hannah Arendt to Judith Plaskow--he argues that literature offers a new way to think about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. With a wide scope and diverse, original observations, Kirsch draws fascinating parallels between familiar writers and their less familiar counterparts. While everyone knows the diary of Anne Frank, for example, few outside of Israel have read the diary of Hannah Senesh. Kirsch sheds new light on the literature of the Holocaust through the work of Primo Levi, explores the emergence of America as a Jewish home through the stories of Bernard Malamud, and shows how Yehuda Amichai captured the paradoxes of Israeli identity.

An insightful and engaging work from "one of America's finest literary critics" (Wall Street Journal), The Blessing and the Curse brings the Jewish experience vividly to life.

"All beginnings require that you unlock new doors."--Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

In this short and inspiring text, Rabbi David J. Wolpe addresses all who seek to enlarge the spiritual side of their lives. For those considering a return to the faith of their forebears, for those drawn to conversion, Why Be Jewish? is a learned, graceful, and welcoming introduction beckoning readers into the heart of this venerable and enduring religion.