A vivid novelistic account that details a crucial period in the evolution of Polish Hasidism, translated from Yiddish.Half a century after Hasidism blossomed in Eastern Europe, its members were making deep inroads into the institutional structure of Polish Jewish communities, but some devotees believed that the movement had drifted away from its revolutionary ideals. Menashe Unger's A Fire Burns in Kotsk dramatizes this moment of division among Polish Hasi...

Awarded Honorable Mention for the Jordan Schnitzer Book Award In nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, the Jewish-run tavern was often the center of leisure, hospitality, business, and even religious festivities. This unusual situation came about because the nobles who owned taverns throughout the formerly Polish lands believed that only Jews were sober enough to run taverns profitably, a belief so ingrained as to endure even the rise of Hasidism's robust drinking culture. A...

Hasidism, a kabbalah-inspired movement founded by Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (c1700-1760), transformed Jewish communities across Eastern and East Central Europe. In Men of Silk, Glenn Dynner draws upon newly discovered Polish archival material and neglected Hebrew testimonies to illuminate Hasidism's dramatic ascendancy in the region of Central Poland during the early nineteenth century. Dynner presents Hasidism as a socioreligious phenomenon that was shaped in crucial ways by its Poli...

Among scholars of Jewish Studies, the process, history, and literature of exiting one’s native religious community is increasingly recognized as a new area within the field which, ironically, has a history stretching back to antiquity. By presenting scholarship from a diverse range of disciplines—including history, sociology, psychology, and gender studies—this volume deepens and broadens readers’ understanding of the complexity of the topic of taking leave of the Orthodox community in whi...

The Jewish inn (żydowska karczma) was a central pillar of economic and social life in Polish lands before the Second World War. While its primary role was to provide hospitality, it also functioned as a multifaceted hub for business, leisure, and religious festivities, reflecting its vital role in the community.In The Jewish Inn: Between Practice and Phantasm, editors Halina Goldberg and Bożena Shallcross present 11 captivating articles that delve into the inn's s...

The work of Elliot R. Wolfson has profoundly influenced the fields of Jewish studies as well as philosophy and religion more broadly. His radically new approaches have created pioneering ways of analyzing texts and thinking about religion through the lens of gender, sexuality, and feminist theory. The contributors to New Paths in Jewish and Religious Studies: Essays in Honor of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars, hearken from diverse fi...

Have you ever heard of Two-Gun Cohen? Did you know that the artist Man Ray was Jewish? And what happened to Elisha ben Abuya that the other Talmudic sages began to refer to him as "Acher," which means "Other"? Jewish Treats: 99 Fascinating Jewish Personalities is an enlightening and enjoyable anthology of mini-essays on Jews from all walks of life. From the familiar figures of the Bible to little-known war heroes and even modern day novelists, these biographies have been culled from the po...

What does it mean to be a Jew? How does one begin to answer so extensive a question?In this insightful and completely updated tome, esteemed rabbi and bestselling author Joseph Telushkin helps answer the question of what it means to be a Jew, in the largest sense. Widely recognized as one of the most respected and indispensable reference books on Jewish life, culture, tradition, and religion, Jewish Literacy covers every essential aspect of the Jewish people and Judaism. In 352 sho...

When, if ever, should lying be permitted?If you've damaged a person's reputation unfairly, can the damage be undone?Is a person who sells weapons responsible for how those weapons are used?if the fetus is not a life, what is it? How, as an adult, can one carry out the command to honor one's parents when they make unreasonable demands?What are the nine biblical challenges a good person must meet?What do the great Jewish writings of the last 3,500 year...

Historically, Jews have thought of themselves in terms of the biblical phrase, 'The people that dwells alone.' In the current global environment, this is dangerous. It leads to the isolation of Jews, Judaism and Israel. Too much contemporary Jewish writing is self-referential: Jews talking to Jews, preaching to the converted. Yet Jews cannot cure anti-Semitism alone. We need to persuade Jews and non-Jews alike that Jews, Judaism and Israel have something unique to contribute to the future....

Throughout history, the Jewish people have faced catastrophe after catastrophe. They have been expelled, ghettoised, murdered and forcibly converted. The question that Jonathan Sacks asks in this original and compelling book is not how Judaism survived four thousand years of persecution, but how it found ways to flourish and thrive.Originally written as a wedding gift for his son over twenty years ago, now featuring a new foreword by Natan Sharansky, this revised edition is a remin...

Imprisoned and eventually executed for his opposition to Hitler's regime, the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer continues to fascinate and inspire Christians across the world. His life epitomizes authenticity, commitment, and sacrifice. Devine writes, “When a man willingly exposes himself to suffering and death for his faith and for others, we take notice and with good reason. While martyrdom neither proves nor produces a spiritual giant, the possibility does arise, and this piques a distinctive...