This book deals with the nature and development of Jewish myth from the Talmudic period through Kabbalah to Hasidism. It describes the changes in this myth in its various stages and the external influences on it. The author shows that myth is in the essence of the Jewish religion and that, rather than being created out of external influences, Kabbalah is one of its manifestions. The book also deals with the related subject of Messianism, and delves into the special spiritual personalities of some messianic figures in Jewish history to show how myth was incarnate in them.

From the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Jews were a conquered nation. Yet Jewish sages and holy works preached a doctrine of both interior and exterior virtue that allowed the Jewish people to feel and believe in the dignity and nobility of their earthly condition. Neusner's book explores the attitudes in Jewish canonical writings and asks how these virtues relate to the politics of the Jews as a vanquished people. Jacob Neusner, the author of over 166 books on Judaism and Jewish history, is a frequent lecturer both in America and throughout the world. He has been a Fulbright Fellow at the Hebrew University, and twice has been a Guggenheim Fellow.

About the Book Books on Jewish History discuss the development of the Jewish culture and religion over more than three millennia. Jews were dispersed through in Babylonian, Egypt, throughout the Roman Empire, and later throughout Europe and much of the world. The Zionist movement of the late 19th century was formed with the aim of re-establishing a Jewish homeland. European Jewry suffered greatly in the Holocaust in Nazi-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 40s. The State of Israel, established in 1949, provided that homeland. Titles include: The History of Jerusalem A. D. 1180, Fragments from Græco-Jewish Writers, Jews and Judaism in the nineteenth century, Juden als Erfinder und Entdecker, Juden und Judenverfolgungen im Alten Alexandria, Die Judenfrage; eine ethische Frage, The true story of the Exodus of Israel, The Jews in America, The English Jew and his religion, The Jews in China, The Jews of Asia, Anti-Semitism, its cause and cure, and Israel's inalienable possessions. About us Trieste Publishing's aim is to provide readers with the highest quality reproductions of fiction and non-fiction literature that has stood the test of time. Our titles are produced from scans of the original books and as a result may sometimes have imperfections. To ensure a high-quality product we have: thoroughly reviewed every page of all the books in the catalog repaired some of the text in some cases, and rejected titles that are not of the highest quality. You can look up "Trieste Publishing" in categories that interest you to find other titles in our large collection. Come home to the books that made a difference!

Historians of the European Jewish experience have long marginalized the intellectual achievement of Jews in England, where it was assumed no seminal figures contributed to the development of modern Jewish thought. In this first comprehensive account of the emergence of Anglo-Jewish thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, David Ruderman impels a reconsideration of the formative beginnings of modern European Jewish culture. He uncovers a vibrant Jewish intellectual life in England during the Enlightenment era by examining a small but fascinating group of hitherto neglected Jewish thinkers in the process of transforming their traditional Hebraic culture into a modern English one. This lively portrait of English Jews reformulating their tradition in light of Enlightenment categories illuminates an overlooked corner in the history of Jewish culture in England and Jewish thought during the Enlightenment. Ruderman overturns the conventional view that the origins of modern Jewish consciousness are located exclusively within the German-Jewish experience, particularly Moses Mendelssohn's circle. Independent of the better-known German experience, the encounter between Jewish and English thought was incubated amid the unprecedented freedom enjoyed by Jews in England. This resulted in a less inhibited defense of Jews and Judaism. In addition to the original and prolific thinkers David Levi and Abraham Tang, Ruderman introduces Abraham and Joshua Van Oven, Mordechai Shnaber Levison, Samuel Falk, Isaac Delgado, Solomon Bennett, Hyman Hurwitz, Emanuel Mendes da Costa, Ralph Shomberg, and others. Of obvious appeal and import to students of Jewish and English history, this study depicts the challenge of defining a religious identity in the modern age.

Hannah Rochel Verbermacher, a Hasidic holy woman known as the Maiden of Ludmir, was born in early-nineteenth-century Russia and became famous as the only woman in the three-hundred-year history of Hasidism to function as a rebbe—or charismatic leader—in her own right. Nathaniel Deutsch follows the traces left by the Maiden in both history and legend to fully explore her fascinating story for the first time. The Maiden of Ludmir offers powerful insights into the Jewish mystical tradition, into the Maiden’s place within it, and into the remarkable Jewish community of Ludmir. Her biography ultimately becomes a provocative meditation on the complex relationships between history and memory, Judaism and modernity. History first finds the Maiden in the eastern European town of Ludmir, venerated by her followers as a master of the Kabbalah, teacher, and visionary, and accused by her detractors of being possessed by a dybbuk, or evil spirit. Deutsch traces the Maiden’s steps from Ludmir to Ottoman Palestine, where she eventually immigrated and re-established herself as a holy woman. While the Maiden’s story—including her adamant refusal to marry—recalls the lives of holy women in other traditions, it also brings to light the largely unwritten history of early-modern Jewish women. To this day, her transgressive behavior, a challenge to traditional Jewish views of gender and sexuality, continues to inspire debate and, sometimes, censorship within the Jewish community.

" . . . scrupulous, fair-minded and richly-detailed study . . . the book charts one of the most remarkable intellectual careers of the 20th century's latter half. . . . What is most heartening about Mr. Alexander's biography is its exemplary civility and nuance in discussing ideas across the lines of political difference." ―Nathan Glick, Washington Times "Anyone interested in Howe's varied career, and the historical context that has given it its particular shape―American radicalism, the Cold War and anticommunism, the New Left, literary modernism, Jewish life―will profit handsomely from reading Alexander's respectful book." ―Wilson Quarterly "Edward Alexander's captivating study of Irving Howe is illuminating and scrupulous; it is also temperate, generous, and deeply fair-minded. If Howe were alive, he would thank the author―and even now, in Paradise, he is surely doing so (while hotly continuing the discussion)." ―Cynthia Ozick " . . . a singular achievement." ―Jerusalem Post " . . . a masterpiece" ―National Jewish Post and Opinion ". . . meticulous scholarship, felicitous writing style and a literate feistiness." ―Chicago Jewish Star "An excellent work of insight and criticism, recommended for academic libraries." ―Library Journal "An insightful, balanced contribution . . ." ―Booklist "Edward Alexander's estimable intellectual biography . . . studiously avoids both undue sentimentality and overly harsh censure." ―Sanford Pinsker, Philadelphia Inquirer "Edward Alexander's well-informed and engaging portrait of Irving Howe does full justice to the complexities of mind and the political passions of one of this country's leading intellectuals. This bracing, perceptive study honors Howe's admirable career by treating it with the same high degree of moral seriousness that characterized Howe's own work at its best." ―Alvin H. Rosenfeld Irving Howe, author of World of Our Fathers, the prize-winning history of American Jewish immigrant culture, and founding editor of the influential magazine Dissent, was for over 50 years a dominant―and controversial―figure in American intellectual life. Through a clear and eloquent study of Howe's politics, writings, and thought, Edward Alexander constructs a sympathetic yet critical intellectual biography of this complex individual.

Amy Levy(1861-89) was born in London to a relatively wealthy Anglo-Jewish family. At the age of 15 she was sent to Brighton High School and later attended Cambridge University where she was the first Jewish student at Newnham College. She left Cambridge without taking her degree but became a prolific writer of poetry, essays and articles and in 1888 published her first novel The Romance of a Shop. The central theme of Reuben Sachs, also published in 1888, is the relationship between Reuben and Judith Quixano, but some understanding of the history of the Jewish community in England is necessary for a full appreciation of this deeply moving novel. Much progress had been made and economic prosperity achieved since Jews returned to England in the 1650s, having been expelled by Edward 1 in 1290. A significant theme of the novel is the difference between the so-called Sephardi Jews (from Spain via Amsterdam) and Ashkenzi Jews (from Poland and Eastern Europe). Reuben Sachs is Ashkenazi while Judith Quixano is Sephardi. Amy Levy did not shrink from criticising some features of the Jewish community, which she consistently refers to in Reuben Sachs as ‘the tribe’. He frankness led to her being accused by some of anti-semitism. She in turn was openly critical of what she considered to be an inaccurate and over-romanticised view of British Jews as portrayed in the novel Daniel Deronda published by George Elliott in 1876. She was particularly critical of Elliot’s portrayal of Jews as orientals yearning for a return to Palestine

VI give me time I said and note my grace in loving you let me divide and ornament you touch you above and below circle around your key note enter your fifth dimension and perfect your cadence let me feel your greater and lesser thirds modulate your modes and minor your majors VII I want to trill your renaissance way beginning sure and supreme on your given, written note and flirt my way across distance to the note above taking you into history with me in dissonance Michelene Wandor's new poetry collection excels in the richness of its subject matter, the witty and sensuous language, the musicality of its rhythms and the way in which she is able to combine sophistication with accessibility. She is as comfortable with Italian Renaissance music as she is with the poignancy of the history of Europe's Jewish populations. Her retelling of the "Book of Esther" is a tour de force of Midrashic free-form poetry, and her speculation on Shakespeare's "Dark Lady of the Sonnets" is a tribute to both Elizabethan poetry and a mischievous imagination.

Jewish Law and Sanitary Science explores the intersection of Jewish religious law (halakha) and the principles of public health and hygiene. Authored by Jacob Snowman, this work delves into the historical and practical aspects of how Jewish legal tradition has addressed matters of sanitation, cleanliness, and disease prevention. Examining a range of topics from ritual purity to dietary laws, the book illuminates the ways in which Jewish law has contributed to the safeguarding of communal health. This book will be of interest to scholars and general readers interested in the history of medicine, public health, and the Jewish tradition. 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 was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. 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. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

"This volume celebrates the literary oeuvres of David Shrayer-Petrov-poet, fiction writer, memoirist, essayist, and literary translator (and medical doctor and researcher in his parallel career). Author of the refusenik novel Doctor Levitin, Shrayer-Petrov is one of the most important representatives of Jewish-Russian literature. Published in the year of Shrayer-Petrov's eighty-fifth birthday, thirty-five years after the writer's emigration from the former USSR, this is the first volume to gather materials and investigations that examine his writings from various literary-historical and theoretical perspectives. By focusing on many different aspects of Shrayer-Petrov's multifaceted and eventful literary career, the volume brings together some of the leading American, European, Israeli and Russian scholars of Jewish poetics, exilic literature, and Russian and Soviet culture and history. In addition to fifteen essays and an extensive interview with Shrayer-Petrov, the volume features a detailed bibliography and a pictorial biography"--

"The collection of well-researched essays assesses the uses and misuses of history 25 years after the collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe. As opposed to the revival of national histories that seemed to be the prevailing historiographical approach of the 1990s, the last decade has seen a particular set of narratives equating Nazism and Communism. This provides opportunities to exonerate wartime collaboration, casting the nation as victim even when its government was allied with Germany. While the Jewish Holocaust is acknowledged, its meaning and significance are obfuscated. In their comparative analysis the authors are also interested in new practices of 'Europeanness'. Therefore their presentations of Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Slovenian post-communist memory politics move beyond the common national myths in order to provide a new insight into transnational interactions and exchanges in Europe in general. The juxtaposition of these politics, the processes in other parts of Europe, the modes of remembering shaped by displacement and the transnational enable a close encounter with the divergences and assess the potential of the formation of common, European memory practices" -- From the publisher

The State of the Jews examines the current predicament of the Jewish people and the land of Israel, both of which still stand at the storm center of history, because Jews can never take the right to live as a natural right. The volume comprises celebrations and attacks. Edward Alexander celebrates writers like Abba Kovner, Cynthia Ozick, Ruth Wisse, and Hillel Halkin, who recognized in the foundation of Israel shortly after the destruction of European Jewry one of the few redeeming events in a century of blood and shame. He attacks Israel's external enemies�busy planners of boycotts, brazen advocates of politicide, professorial apologists for suicide bombing�and also its internal enemies. These are "anti-Zionist" Jews, devotees of lost causes willfully blind to the fact that Israel's creation was an event of biblical magnitude. Indifference to Jewish survival during World War II was the admitted moral failure of earlier American-Jewish intellectuals, but today's "progressives" and "New Diasporists" call indifference virtue, and mistake cowardice for courage. Because the new anti-Semitism, tightening the noose around Israel's throat, emanates mainly from liberals, Alexander analyzes both antisemitic and philosemitic strains in three prominent Victorian liberals: Thomas Arnold, his son Matthew, and John Stuart Mill. The main body of Alexander's book is divided generically into history, politics, and literature. At a deeper level, its chapters are integrated by the book's pervasive concern: the interconnectedness between the state of Israel and the spiritual state of contemporary Jewry.

My China is a memoir and informal history of the little known community of Russian Jews who lived in the remote eastern Chinese cities of Harbin, Shanghai and Tientsin.

The story of modern Orthodox Judaism is usually told only from the perspective of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Ellenson’s work, a thorough examination of the life and work of one of Hirsch’s contemporaries, Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer, reveals another important contributor to the creation of a modern Jewish Orthodoxy during the late 1800s. like Hirsch, Hildesheirmer felt the need to continue certain traditions while at the same time introducing certain innovations to meet the demands of a modern society. This original study of an Orthodox rabbinic leader shows how Hildesheirmer’s flexible and pragmatic approach to these problems continues to be relevant to modern Judaism. The way in which this book draws upon response literature for its comprehension of Hildesheimer makes it a distinctive work in modern Jewish historiography and sociology.

This book of photographs, accompanied by poetic insights, shed light on our search for meaning in the contemporary world. The backdrop is exile, that ancient and modern reality that afflicts many in our search for justice and compassion. Whether our leave-taking is geographic, political, cultural or religious, exile is our plight. The prophetic, our difficult guide, is also our companion. Those in exile find hope in what the author calls the New Diaspora, the community whose exiles gather and find new life. The New Diaspora seeks a vision of beauty amid the ruins, hope among despair. Walking the beach of Cape Canaveral and traveling to troubled spots around the world, the author's images of the New Diaspora are startling. We are encouraged to reflect on our own journey and join our prophetic exile with others around the world.

Examines the evolution of the concept that Moses received two versions of the Torah at Sinai, one written and one oral, and that the oral version has been passed down, mouth-to-mouth, to the present day. Follows the chain of documents on the written side, looks at how the two Torah differ, and compares how the difference has been understood in various contexts. No index or bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.