Philosophy

The first English-language translation of the Hebrew essays and sermons of Rabbi Aaron Samuel Tamares (1869-1931). An Orthodox rabbi, he served as a delegate to the Fourth World Zionist Congress in 1900, after which renounced nationalism and embraced pacifism as a central Jewish teaching. Readers may not always agree with him, but they will respect his deep, thoughtful insights.

This volume also includes a translation of a lengthy Yiddish-language autobiographical essay Rabbi Tamares wrote toward the end of his life. The essay was translated by Ri J. Turner. Tzemah Yoreh also contributed to the translations in this volume.

Rabbi Everett Gendler has been bringing Rabbi Tamares to the attention of English readers for more than 50 years. A trailblazing environmentalist, peace activist, and unwavering proponent of social justice, He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1957. Rabbi Gendler led congregations throughout Latin America before serving Jewish communities in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He served as the first Jewish chaplain at Phillips Academy Andover. He was recently awarded the Presidents' Medallion from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion "in recognition of a lifetime commitment to social justice and environmentalism."

A collection of his writings was published in 2015 as Judaism for Universalists.

Have you ever wondered... why?

• Why do we need science if everything is contained in the Torah?
• Why are there so many scientists who are atheists and non-believers?
• Why did G-d create such a huge universe?
• Why don’t the medicinal remedies mentioned in the Talmud work nowadays?

If you have, then ABCs of Torah and Science is for you! Here are just a few of the many benefits you will gain by reading this one-of-a-kind book:

• Fulfill the mitzvos of ahavas and yiras Hashem by reflecting upon the profound wisdom contained in the universe.
• Strengthen your emunah.
• Enrich the meaningfulness of your tefillos and berachos.
• Understand science ― from a Torah-first approach rather than a science-first perspective.

Real world questions. Real Jewish answers.

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz loves answering questions and it's what he does best. Now "Rabbi Jack" has hand-curated the most urgent, eternal, and in some cases bizarre questions he's received in twenty years at the job, and collected them here for the first time. If you've ever wondered what Judaism has to say about Zionism, Chosenness, Social Justice, Gun Rights, Marijuana, DNA testing, Environmentalism, Tattoos, Witchcraft, Ghosts, Aliens, Alternate Dimensions, Zombies, COVID-19, then this book is for you.

Not every single question out there has an answer that we can grasp, but if the answer is out there, Rabbi Abramowitz likely will have it. - Allison Josephs, Founder, Jew in the City

Rabbi Jack's answers are thought-provoking and balanced, and often blended with a touch of wit and humor. Most of all, his writings are nuanced and informed by Torah values. And if you're an experienced educator looking for optimal ways to teach traditional values in the classroom or from the pulpit, here's the book you've been waiting for. It's great to have questions. But it's better to have answers. Now's the time to Ask Rabbi Jack!

Rabbi Abramowitz is a Judaic treasure and I know that you will love his new book of Jewish answers to questions we all have. - Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO, Aish HaTorah

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz is a virtuoso of Torah teaching. He conveys Torah concepts that require years to master in language that is understandable and enjoyable. - Rabbi Gil Student, Editor-in-Chief, Torahmusings.com

One of the great Chassidic masters of the early nineteenth century, Rav Avraham Dov Ber Auerbach of Avritch, the Bat Ayin, was a disciple of some of the premier students of the Maggid of Mezritch, and served for many decades as a rabbinic authority and Chassidic leader in various Ukrainian towns and cities. Ultimately, he settled in Eretz Yisrael, where he became a heroic and legendary leader of the Jewish community of Tzefat.

With each passing year, an ever-growing number of people discover the teachings of the Bat Ayin and receive tremendous inspiration from his deeply thoughtful lessons. Now, for the first time, in clear and annotated English, readers can delve into the deep and moving teachings of the Bat Ayin on the parashiyot and holidays, encountering a veritable guide to avodat Hashem.

The Beis HaLevi, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, is revered as the founder of the Brisker dynasty, Rosh Yeshivah of “the mother of yeshivahs” - Yeshivas Volozhin - and author of the classics Beis HaLevi Responsa and Beis HaLevi al HaTorah.

Among his writings is a brilliant essay on bitachon, trust in Hashem. It was not published during his lifetime, and remained in a manuscript form with family members for close to a century, before it was made available to the public by his great-grandchildren.

Now, at last, English-speaking readers can access the treasures of faith and trust that were hidden away for so many years. The Beis HaLevi on Bitachon includes the entire original text; a flowing, elucidated translation; a wide-ranging commentary that explores the many facets of emunah and bitachon, drawing upon the works of dozens of Torah sages; and an Overview by Rabbi Nosson Scherman. “Insights” appear throughout the book, bringing a contemporary focus to bitachon, and fundamental topics are dealt with more in depth in the appendix section.

The Maharal discussed the importance of reciting pesukim about bitachon every day. This volume includes a special section with such pesukim compiled by Rav Zundel of Salant, together with a prayer for strengthening our bitachon.

The Beis HaLevi on Bitachon gives us clear answers to many of life's most important questions. What is the proper balance between hishtadlus, effort, and bitachon, trust? How should a person react in times of trouble? Why does fear have no place in a Jew's life? What are the many benefits of bitachon - in this world and the next?

The Beis HaLevi on Bitachon is the hidden treasure - finally revealed! - which will bring us to the faith and trust so vital to our lives.

As the rabbi of a Sephardic synagogue for over twenty years who is himself of Ashkenazic descent and trained in Ashkenazic yeshivot, Rabbi Haim Jachter has a unique vantage point from which to observe the differences in customs and halachot between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. In Bridging Traditions, Rabbi Jachter applies his wide-ranging expertise to explicating an encyclopedic array of divergences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic halachic practice, while also capturing the diversity within different Sephardic communities. Bridging Traditions is essential reading for Jews of all origins who are interested in understanding their own practices and appreciating those of their brethren, and in seeing the kaleidoscope of halachic observance as a multi-faceted expression of an inner divine unity.

'I have tried to say what happiness is, how we make it, how we lose it, and how we sometimes walk past it without recognising it. Happiness isn't somewhere else, it's where we are. It isn't something we don't have, we do. It isn't fantasy, it's reality experienced in a certain way. Happiness is a close relative of faith.'

Following the painful loss of his father, former Chief Rabbi Sacks began to learn how to celebrate life in a new way. He discovered where happiness lives, often in unexpected places, through family, community, friendship and responsibilities. He also found it through a renewed relationship with God who spoke to his deepest needs. Based, in part, on his columns in the UK's Times newspaper, Celebrating Life is for people of all faiths and none. It shows us how to be human and, in becoming so, how we can touch the divine.

Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira was the last Rebbe in the Warsaw Ghetto. From there he was taken to Treblinka where he was murdered in 1943. But during his lifetime, he invested immense time and energy to education. His focus was to unleash the potential in the heart, mind, and soul of each and every student.

He recorded his views and insights into the only text he published during his lifetime: Chovas HaTalmidim The Student s Obligation.

This classic work has long been a standard, self-development guide for students of Torah the world over, held in high regard for the encouraging way in which it provides a spiritual roadmap for character development, success in learning Torah, and living a life of service to God.

This beautifully-crafted translation now enables English speaking students to also benefit from this classic work.

The text also features three major discourses from Rabbi Shapira, as well as an inspiring biographical essay profiling this great luminary s life.

THIS IS A HEBREW ONLY VOLUME!

Written at different times and for different audiences - some for scholars of rabbinic literature, some for laymen or for scholars not necessarily Jewish - the essays gathered together in this volume nevertheless have an inner coherence. They reflect the author's lifetime interest in the history of halakhah - not as intellectual history per se, but rather a concern to identify measurable deflection in the unfolding of halakhic ideas that could point to an undetected force at work. What was it that stimulated change, and why? What happened when strong forces impinged upon halakhic observance, and both the scholarly elite and the community as a whole had to grapple with upholding observance while adapting to a new set of circumstances? Haym Soloveitchik's elegant presentation shows skilfully that the line between adaptation and deviance is a fine one, and that where a society draws that line is revelatory of both its values and its self-perception.

Many of the articles presented here are well known in the field but have been updated for this publication (the major essay on pawnbroking has been expanded to half again its original size); some have been previously published only in Hebrew, and two are completely new. An Introduction highlights the key themes of the collection and explains the underlying methodology. Having these essays in a single volume will enable scholars and students to consult all the material on each theme together, while also tracing the development of ideas. The opening section of the volume is a brief description and characterization of the dramatis personae who figure in all these essays: Rashi and the Tosafists. It covers the halakhic commentaries and their authors; the creativity of Ashkenaz; and the halakhic isolation of the Ashkenazic community. The second section focuses on usury and money-lending, including the practice of pawn-broking, while the third section deals with the ban on Gentile wine and
how that connected to the development of money-lending.

The final section presents general conclusions in the form of four studies of the communal self-image of Ashkenaz and its attitude to deviation and change.

Every Hollywood epic follows the same plot outline: a cosmic struggle of good and evil that pits a little hero against a big bad guy (think Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader, Frodo Baggins vs. Saruman, Harry Potter vs. Voldemort). The odds are totally stacked against the hero, yet as the story unfolds, his strengths are revealed, and in the final showdown he triumphs. All these movies follow this plot because it is deeply ingrained in our subconscious that this is the way the story is supposed to happen. This may be fiction and fantasy in the movies, but in reality it is the story of the Jewish people and the real plot of human history.

This book walks the reader through the central themes in Jewish history: the impact of Jewish values on civilization, Jewish drive and the disproportionate impact of the Jewish people, antisemitism and its message, the Jewish view of history and conception of time and the End of Days. These themes allow the reader to see the striking parallel between the reality of Jewish history and the universal plot of these epic movies that everyone loves. The metaphor is enhanced with striking fold-out movie storyboards depicting Jewish history in movie form. The reader will come away with an understanding of the unique role and mission of the Jewish people in history and its very special destiny.

Every Hollywood epic follows the same plot outline: a cosmic struggle of good and evil that pits a little hero against a big bad guy (think Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader, Frodo Baggins vs. Saruman, Harry Potter vs. Voldemort). The odds are totally stacked against the hero, yet as the story unfolds, his strengths are revealed, and in the final showdown he triumphs. All these movies follow this plot because it is deeply ingrained in our subconscious that this is the way the story is supposed to happen. This may be fiction and fantasy in the movies, but in reality it is the story of the Jewish people and the real plot of human history.

 

This book walks the reader through the central themes in Jewish history: the impact of Jewish values on civilization, Jewish drive and the disproportionate impact of the Jewish people, antisemitism and its message, the Jewish view of history and conception of time and the End of Days. These themes allow the reader to see the striking parallel between the reality of Jewish history and the universal plot of these epic movies that everyone loves. The metaphor is enhanced with striking fold-out movie storyboards depicting Jewish history in movie form. The reader will come away with an understanding of the unique role and mission of the Jewish people in history and its very special destiny.

European Jews, argues Iris Idelson-Shein, occupied a particular place in the development of modern racial discourse during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Simultaneously inhabitants and outsiders in Europe, considered both foreign and familiar, Jews adopted a complex perspective on otherness and race. Often themselves the objects of anthropological scrutiny, they internalized, adapted, and revised the emerging discourse of racial difference to meet their own ends.

Difference of a Different Kind explores Jewish perceptions and representations of otherness during the formative period in the history of racial thought. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including philosophical and scientific works, halakhic literature, and folktales, Idelson-Shein unfolds the myriad ways in which eighteenth-century Jews imagined the exotic Other and how the evolving discourse of racial difference played into the construction of their own identities. Difference of a Different Kind offers an invaluable view into the ways new religious, cultural, and racial identities were imagined and formed at the outset of modernity.

European Jews, argues Iris Idelson-Shein, occupied a particular place in the development of modern racial discourse during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Simultaneously inhabitants and outsiders in Europe, considered both foreign and familiar, Jews adopted a complex perspective on otherness and race. Often themselves the objects of anthropological scrutiny, they internalized, adapted, and revised the emerging discourse of racial difference to meet their own ends.

Difference of a Different Kind explores Jewish perceptions and representations of otherness during the formative period in the history of racial thought. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including philosophical and scientific works, halakhic literature, and folktales, Idelson-Shein unfolds the myriad ways in which eighteenth-century Jews imagined the "exotic Other" and how the evolving discourse of racial difference played into the construction of their own identities. Difference of a Different Kind offers an invaluable view into the ways new religious, cultural, and racial identities were imagined and formed at the outset of modernity.