THE Talmud, exclusive of the vast Rabbinic literature attached to it, represents the uninterrupted work of Judaism from Ezra to the sixth century of the common era, the resultant of all the living forces and of the whole religious activity of a nation. If we consider that it is the faithful mirror of the manners, the institutions, the knowledge of the Jews, in a word of the whole of their civilization in Judea and Babylonia during the prolific centuries preceding and following the advent o...

The following passage from the biography of Arsene Darmesteter, prefixed to Volume I of his Reliques Scientifiques, deserves quotation, both on account of its criticism of Emanuel Deutsch's brilliant article on the Talmund, which originally appeared in the quarterly review for October, 1867, and as an illustration of the phenomenon, often noted in the scientific world, that investigators, wholly independent and perhaps in ignorance of each other, publish work of similar import simultaneous...

Based on the researches of the best Jewish scholars, these works are all accessible to the general reader and give us a bird's-eye view of the salient features in Jewish culture. This premium edition contains writings by Israel Abrahams, reader Talmudic literature at the University of Cambridge, Arsène Darmesteter, distinguished philologist co-founder of the Société des Études Juives in France, and Joshua Abelson, principal of the Jewish theological preparatory school Aria College and mini...

In 70 CE, the Jews were an agrarian and illiterate people living mostly in the Land of Israel and Mesopotamia. By 1492 the Jewish people had become a small group of literate urbanites specializing in crafts, trade, moneylending, and medicine in hundreds of places across the Old World, from Seville to Mangalore. What caused this radical change? The Chosen Few presents a new answer to this question by applying the lens of economic analysis to the key facts of fifteen formative centu...

How the rise of Christianity profoundly influenced the development of Judaism in late antiquityIn late antiquity, as Christianity emerged from Judaism, it was not only the new religion that was being influenced by the old. The rise and revolutionary challenge of Christianity also had a profound influence on rabbinic Judaism, which was itself just emerging and, like Christianity, trying to shape its own identity. In The Jewish Jesus, Peter Schäfer reveals t...

The oldest of the world’s major faiths, Judaism as practiced today represents a tradition that goes back nearly 6,000 years. Accessible and wide-ranging, Judaism: The Basics is a must-have resource covering the stories, beliefs and expressions of that tradition.Key topics covered include:the TorahIsrael – the state and its peoplePassoverReform Judaism, Orthodox Judaism and Zionismthe impact of the Holocaust....

Symbols of the Kabbalah: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives provides a philosophical and psychological interpretation of the major symbols of the theosophical Kabbalah. It shows that the Kabbalah, particularly as it is expressed in the school of Isaac Luria, provides a coherent and comprehensive account of the cosmos, and humanity's role within it, that is intellectually, morally, and spiritually significant for contemporary life.

In Becoming the People of the Talmud, Talya Fishman examines ways in which circumstances of transmission have shaped the cultural meaning of Jewish traditions. Although the Talmud's preeminence in Jewish study and its determining role in Jewish practice are generally taken for granted, Fishman contends that these roles were not solidified until the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. The inscription of Talmud—which Sefardi Jews understand to have occurred quite early, and A...

Women in the Hebrew Bible presents the first one-volume overview covering the interpretation of women's place in man's world within the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Written by the major scholars in the field of biblical studies and literary theory, these essays examine attitudes toward women and their status in ancient Near Eastern societies, focusing on the Israelite society portrayed by the Hebrew Bible.

In a planet with a life-span of 6,000 years we are in year 5,767, leaving 233 years left on this earth. Man can achieve salvation or hasten destruction. This book offers insights into the universe and that have never been presented before. A finite definition of love and mans connection to God are all presented. A Linguistic approach is used to connote powerful ideas that will change your understanding of the universe. A new definition of wisdom is elaborated upon and the strength of the R...

Biblical in origin, the expression "eclipse of God" refers to the Jewish concept of hester panim, the act of God concealing his face as a way of punishing his disobedient subjects. Though this idea is deeply troubling for many people, in this book Martin Buber uses the expression hopefully—for a hiding God is also a God who can be found.First published in 1952, Eclipse of God is a collection of nine essays concerning the relationship between religion and philosoph...

A fascinating—and stimulating—look at "the other Talmud" and the possibilities for Jewish life reflected there.“The difference between the Bavli and the Yerushalmi is something like the difference between making a movie for a regular theater versus making one for a 3-D theater and/or an IMAX theater. It's still the story of Judaism and the Jewish people. But the colors are richer, the action is bigger, the effects are more powerful in the 3-D/IMAX...