Tea leaf reading is an age-old form of divination that has followed the tea trade around the globe, touching many cultures along the way. The Stranger in the Cup will teach you the secret lore of tea cup magic, including how to select a cup, how to choose the best tea for a reading, how to brew the tea, and how to give amazing tasseomantic readings. With a full dictionary of more than 800 tea leaf symbols, plus dozens of sample cup interiors that will show you exactly what the leaves reveal, this book will guide you from beginner to expert cup reader in no time. Along the way, you will learn the history of tea, the history of tea leaf reading, and the history of the rare tea cups specially marked for cartomancy, numerology, and astrology readings, as well as the history of the woman-led Tea Room Movement of the 20th century that made tea leaf reading the preferred fortune-telling method of the radical Suffragettes. Profusely illustrated, beautifully laid out, and deeply descriptive, this is a book to treasure or to share with a special friend.

This book presents the fantastic myths about the angels who were lured to sin and the proud angel who rebelled against God and was cast down as Satan. The author traces the history of these beliefs in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and assembles a variety of tales and superstitions - some grotesque, others quaint and humorous. The presentation also reveals a basic divergence between Judaism and Christianity. "In the sense that he instigated the sin of Adam, we may call the Devil the source of all sin. But individual sins have a variety of causes, and are not all the work of Satan. Some of the causes of sin are internal - ignorance, malice, passion. The external causes of sin are said to be God, the Devil and human tempters. St. Thomas denies that God can be the cause of sin. He is indeed the cause of all acts, insofar as they possess being and activity, but sinfulness is always in the nature of a deficiency, resulting not from God's will, but from man's free choice."

One of the richest & fullest lives of recorded ancient history is that of David, King of Israel. David's story has instructed, moved, inspired, & enchanted listeners & readers throughout the centuries. Barbara Cohen recounts David's story with a different purpose than that of the biblical writers. Her interest is in David the man, the human being who was poet, soldier, politician, administrator, lover, father, & religious leader to the united kingdoms of Judah & Israel. She tells his story in modern language, using the perspective of today's knowledge of archaeology, history, psychology, & politics, to bring him to life as an individual.

A challenging look at two great Jewish philosophers, and what their thinking means to our understanding of God, truth, revelation and reason. Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) is Jewish history's greatest exponent of a rational, philosophically sound Judaism. He strove to reconcile the teachings of the Bible and rabbinic tradition with the principles of Aristotelian philosophy, arguing that religion and philosophy ultimately must arrive at the same truth. Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) is Jewish history's most illustrious "heretic." He believed that truth could be attained through reason alone, and that philosophy and religion were separate domains that could not be reconciled. His critique of the Bible and its teachings caused an intellectual and spiritual upheaval whose effects are still felt today. Rabbi Marc D. Angel discusses major themes in the writings of Maimonides and Spinoza to show us how modern people can deal with religion in an intellectually honest and meaningful way. From Maimonides, we gain insight on how to harmonize traditional religious belief with the dictates of reason. From Spinoza, we gain insight into the intellectual challenges which must be met by modern believers.

Essays examining the emergence of Jewish scholarship during the period 1818 - 1919, concentrating on the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.

Join renowned historian Max I. Dimont in his exploration of the history and roots of Judaism. Among many provocative subjects he investigates are:; The Transformation of the British Anglicans into Hebraic Puritans; The Rise and Fall of German Scientific Judaism; The Tidal Waves of Russian Immigration (1880--1940); The Romantic Revolution; The Great Awakening; The Shaping of Modern Judaism; Jews, God, and Destiny

Through his hundreds of lectures, Rabbi Wein has brought the Torah perspective on history to thousands of listeners. In this original work, he paints a magnificent, panoramic picture of our people in the centuries that shaped us and our world. This major work has the touches of luxury you expect in books of this magnitude, including a ribbon place-marker and embossed foil-stamped jacket. Large 8-1/2 x 11 coffee-table format. Beautifully written and illustrated, it is accurate and incisive, yet personal and passionate. It is informative, provocative, and inspiring. Seldom is must reading so enjoyable.

Ever wonder why Christmas is on Dec. 25 or why the Catholic Church set this date for the Nativity? The Talmud states that the truest Jewish prophets were born during Passover and died during Passover. Since the gospels inform us that Jesus was crucified during a Passover, it can be reasoned that, as a Jewish prophet, he was also born during a Passover. Therefore, Jesus lived an integral life, or one of perfection with time. This is not a new idea. Many of the early Church Fathers thought about this concept, but the political climate of the period halted its full development--that is, until now.

""Moses Mendelssohn an die Freunde Lessings: Ein Anhang zu Herrn Jacobi Briefwechsel �����ber die Lehre des Spinoza"" ist ein Buch von Moses Mendelssohn, das im Jahr 1786 ver������ffentlicht wurde. Das Buch enth�����lt einen Brief von Mendelssohn an seine Freunde, in dem er auf die Lehre des Philosophen Spinoza eingeht. Dieser Brief ist ein Anhang zu einem Briefwechsel zwischen Jacobi und Mendelssohn �����ber die Lehre des Spinoza. In dem Brief diskutiert Mendelssohn die Beziehung zwischen Vernunft und Offenbarung sowie die Frage, ob Spinozas Philosophie mit der j�����dischen Religion vereinbar ist. Das Buch ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Diskussion �����ber die Philosophie des Spinoza und hat einen gro�����en Einfluss auf die j�����dische Aufkl�����rung und die Entwicklung der j�����dischen Philosophie gehabt.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

From Simon & Schuster, Faith or Fear is Elliott Abrams' guide to how Jews can survive in a Christian America. "In an erudite and fascinating way, Elliott Abrams explores the immense but amazingly under-appreciated changes in Christian attitudes towards Jews as well as the failure of communication between orthodox and more secular Jews, arguing that American Jewry can only survive as a 'religious' community." —Edward Koch, former mayor of New York City

Referring to the chosen-ness of the Jewish people, Paul, the Apostle, ?For God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable? (Rom. 11: 29). This messenger to the Gentiles understood the unique calling of his people, Israel. So does Daniel Juster. In The Irrevocable Calling, he expands Paul's words, showing how Israel was uniquely chosen to bless the world and how these blessings can be enjoyed today.

In the first book to explore Pope John Paul II's view on interreligious dialogue, leading scholars from Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism respond to his writings and speeches on their respective traditions, and the relationship between those faiths and Catholicism. Contributors: -Pope John Paul II -The XIV Dalai Lama -Robert Aitken -Masao Abe -Jose Ignacio Cabezon -David M. Gordis -Mahmoud Ayoub -Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi -Michael L. Fitzgerald -Wayne Teasdale

"The bardo of waking life is a meditation on the Tibetan Buddhist bardo realm, which is viewed as the bridge between lives, the state people enter after death and before rebirth. This book examines waking life and its history and language as if it were a bardo state rather than ultimate reality. Bardo is at once prose poetry, intimate memoir, and anthropological inquiry"--Provided by publisher.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

""Steven Fine's This Holy Place is a comprehensive treatment of the synagogue as a place of sanctity in Late Antiquity. This book is essential for an understanding of how the synagogue became the central Jewish communal institution and how it served as a substitute for the destroyed Jerusalem Temple during the long period of Jewish exile from the Land of Israel. Fine's mastery of both archaeological evidence and a wide variety of literary sources makes this a major contribution to the field."" --Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University ""Fine has mastered an unusually wide range of disciplines--rabbinical sources, archaeology, art and epigraphy. . . . His book is thoroughly researched, well written, and engagingly presented. It should be required reading for anyone interested in how this most central institution of Jewish life was perceived and presented."" --Lee I. Levine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem ""I read [This Holy Place] with the greatest profit and enjoyment. It is an important contribution to the entire nature of late antique civilization and not only to Jewish studies."" --Peter Brown, Princeton University Steven Fine is the Dean Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University.

Is there a sharp dividing line that separates Europe into "East" and "West"? This volume brings together prominent scholars from the United States, Canada, France, Poland, and Russia to examine the evolution of the concept of Europe in the two centuries between the French Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Inspired by the ideas of Martin Malia, the contributors take a flexible view of the "cultural gradient"-the emergence, interaction, and reception of ideas across Europe. The essays address three dimensions of the gradient-the history of ideas, regimes and political practices, and the contemporary political and intellectual scene. In exploring the movement of ideas throughout Europe, The Cultural Gradient brings a new historical perspective to the field of European studies.

This volume collects the best of recent research and classic essays on the Primeval History, including several articles that have not appeared heretofore in English. The articles provide students and scholars with easy access to significant scholarship illuminating both the world outside the text and the world within the text.

Originally published in 1986, From Berlin to Berkeley is an intellectual portrait of one of America's leading 20th century social scientists, Reinhard Bendix, and his father, Ludwig Bendix. It discusses cultural identity and assimilation and provides a profound account of Ludwig Bendix's life as a lawyer and critic of the German judicial system, his identification with German culture and his emigration to Palestine during Hitler's regime. Bendix then examines the relationship with his father and details his youth in Germany, his emigration to America, and his early career as a scholar. Covering the period from 1877 to the 1980s, Bendix shows how the two lives were touched by the culture of Imperial Germany, the German legal profession, World War I, the revolution of November 1918 in Germany and subsequent inflation, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the crisis of the Weimar Republic, the Hitler regime, emigration to Palestine and the United States, World War II, the division of Germany, and the world-political role of the United States. A moving exploration which melds sociological case study and family history, the book is a significant measure of a family and a civilization.

An American professor of history finds his roots in a personal journey through Israel -- and through assimilated America, academia, baseball, and family -- headlong into deep tensions and ambivalence about country, culture, identity and religion. Worried about the commitment of Jews to their heritage, Jerold Auerbach (renowned author of Unequal Justice) shares his story and musings with insight, irony, and intensity. A personal journey, literally and spiritually, to Israel by one of the most recognized legal historians in the United States.