Real Davvening is about the spiritual side of Jewish prayer-- the traditional teachings about how to pray so that you have a spiritual experience; something happens. This book is for beginners as well as people who have been davvening their whole life. The key insight is to realize that davvening is a form of meditation that is not silent but verbal using textual and personal prayers to focus on the Eternal. Buxbaum explains how to enter a sacred private space and also how to connect deeply with fellow worshippers. Simple Jewish meditation techniques for davvening can lift your praying immeasurably higher until you experience the nearness of God. This book will open the gates before you to one of the most important Jewish spiritual practices: prayer.

Foreword by Efraim Halevy, former chief of the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence service. This book presents and analyses fatwas -- rulings of Islamic law -- issued by religious sages and clerics on issues of war and peace in regard to the actual or future possibility of conducting a peace agreement between Muslim states and Israel. The analysis highlights Islamic law's adaptation to changing political realities to the modern model of international relations; the changing concept of jihad and the current role of political fatwas. It deals with the shari'a interpretations regarding war and peace in theory and practice; the Hudaybiyya Pact of 628 between the prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh infidels; Egyptian fatwas from 1947 to 1979 regarding peace with Israel; the 1995 debate between the late mufti of Saudi Arabia 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz and the popular Islamist scholar Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi over the Oslo Accords; the Hamas hudna concept; the debate between Saudi Arabian muftis and Hezbollah sages over Israel's second war in Lebanon (2006); and a comparative study of the agreements that were signed between the Algerian leader 'Abd al-Qadir and the French in the 1830s. Features: Details those Muslim religious scholars and leaders who present pragmatic interpretations and envision the natural relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds as a state of peace; Sheds light on the built-in pluralism in Islam; And exposes the need of moderate Arab-Muslim rulers for pragmatic muftis and fatwas in order to contend with radical Muslim factions to soften and limit Arab public opposition to signing a peace agreement with Israel, and to enable normal relations with Israel after signing the agreement. The rulings of Islamic law cited in this book are likely to serve as a textual and intellectual basis for the public discourse on peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab states.

During the last 20 years, Israel has reached unprecedented prosperity, yet it is haunted by existential fears for its future, identity, and survival. Israel's legitimacy is under assault from within and without by a coalition of left-wing radicals, Palestinians and their sympathizers, and Muslim fundamentalists. All these groups deny the existence of a Jewish nation and argue that Jews do not need a nation state. Hence, Israel should either disappear completely or become 'a state of all its citizens' devoid of any Jewish symbol or identity. The origins of this campaign are twofold. One derives from the traditional opposition that has accompanied Zionism from its inception. The second is contemporary, articulating the post-ist fads that swamped the West since the 1980s. The past occupies a prominent place in this crusade that aims at the present and future. Traditional historiography, scientific and pseudo-scientific, and the new vogue of memory and narrative, that claims to be the true history of human experience, are equally abused to delegitimize Israel. This book follows these two paths, while avoiding disputes over current political issues. First, it portrays the disciplinary background - the evolution of the modern history discipline. Subsequently, it focuses on the conflicting approaches to the cardinal issue of Zionism's essence: Is it a national liberation movement of European origin that offered a solution to the modern Jewish Question in a world of nationalities? Or is it a colonial movement that oppressed equally Arabs and oriental Jews?

Yoel Hoffmann's novel The Christ of Fish, revolving around its heroine Aunt Magda, offers a heart-stopping view into the soul of things. Hoffmann makes a beautiful, epiphanic mosaic out of 233 pieces of Aunt Magda's life in Tel Aviv. Originally from Vienna, still speaking German after decades in Israel, and a widow, Aunt Magda has "divided her life into two periods: 'When my husband was alive' and 'now.'" "Now," ever elusive and ever inclusive in Hoffmann's work, contains her childhood, her marriage, her nephew, her best friend Frau Stier, Wildegans' poetry, apple strudel, two stolen handbags, Bing Crosby, a favorite cafe, and a gentleman admirer. Spontaneous and dreamlike, Hoffmann's images of reality shift in currents of "realness,"creating moments of absolute clarity -- life, seized as it is and of itself-- from the "cotton reels of memory." One reel concerns the title fish: "At the beginning of the fifties (Food was scarce in those days. Once a month, in exchange for government stamps, we ate a yellow chicken.) on Passover Eve, Aunt Magda's friend Berthe came to visit her and brought her from the Jordan Valley a large carp in a metal bucket....Aunt Magda filled the bath with water and put the carp in it. Two whole days the carp swam up and down the length of the bath. On the third day, Aunt Magda declared that the carp 'thinks just like we do, ' and sent Uncle Herbert (an expert in Sanskrit) 'to put the fish back in the sea.'"

Siberia has no history of independent political existence, no claim to a separate ethnic identity, and no clear borders. Yet, it could be said that the elusive country 'behind the Urals' is the most real and the most durable part of the Russian landscape. For centuries, Siberia has been represented as Russia's alter ego,as the heavenly or infernal antithesis to the perceived complexity or shallowness of Russian life. It has been both the frightening heart of darkness and a fabulous land of plenty; the 'House of the Dead' and the realm of utter freedom; a frozen wasteland and a colourful frontier; a dumping ground for Russia's rejects and the last refuge of its lost innocence. The contributors to Between Heaven and Hell examine the origin, nature, and implications of these images from historical, literary, geographical, anthropological, and linguistic perspectives. They create a striking, fascinating picture of this enormous and mysterious land.

In this memoir, dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer traces her personal and artistic coming of age. Feelings Are Facts (the title comes from a dictum by Rainer's one-time psychotherapist) uses diary entries, letters, program notes, excerpts from film scripts, snapshots, and film frame enlargements to present a vivid portrait of an extraordinary artist and woman in postwar America. Rainer tells of a California childhood in which she was farmed out by her parents to foster families and orphanages, of sexual and intellectual initiations in San Francisco and Berkeley, and of artistic discoveries and accomplishments in the New York City dance world. Rainer studied with Martha Graham (and heard Graham declare, "when you accept yourself as a woman, you will have turn-out"--that is, achieve proper ballet position) and Merce Cunningham in the late 1950s and early 1960s, cofounded the Judson Dance Theater in 1962 (dancing with Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton, David Gordon, and Lucinda Childs), hobnobbed with New York artists including Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Morris (her lover and partner for several years), and Yoko Ono, and became involved with feminist and anti-war causes in the 1970s and 1980s. Rainer writes about how she constructed her dances--including The Mind Is a Muscle and its famous section, Trio A, as well as the recent After Many a Summer Dies the Swan--and about turning from dance to film and back to dance. And she writes about meeting her longtime partner Martha Gever and discovering the pleasures of domestic life. The mosaic-like construction of Feelings Are Facts recalls the composition-by-juxtaposition of Rainer's work in film and dance, displaying prismatic variations from what she calls her "reckless past" for our amazement and appreciation.

We can read Exodus as an allegory of the psychological bondage we experience until we each find a way to the "promised land" of the spirit. Based on Biblical text, traditional material, and Jewish folklore, this book is an interesting read for Jewish and Christian scholars, and people on a spiritual path.

The interpretations in A Heart Afire are as rich and meaningful as the teachings and tales themselves in this intimate guided tour of Hasidism and Hasidic storytelling led by Reb Zalman, an old-world Hasidic elder who is also profoundly connected to modern culture. As a bridge between both worlds, Reb Zalman, and his co-author and student Netanel Miles-Yepez, introduce the reader to rare and unique translations of Hasidism with their own personal reflections on their meaning. This book gives the readers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Hasidic wisdom and narrative and in the teachings of a modern Hasidic master.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is one of the most innovative and inspiring rabbis in the Jewish world today. Often considered the "grandfather of the Havurah movement" and the most influential advocate of the rapidly growing movement of Jewish Renewal, Reb Zalman (as he is known by his countless students and admirers) has earned a reputation as a courageous, profoundly spiritual contemporary master. Jewish Renewal, as Reb Zalman explains it, is based on Kabbalah, Hasidism, and other forms of Jewish mysticism. "Jewish Renewal does not want to abandon sacred and cherished traditions", teaches Reb Zalman. Rather, the "paradigm shift" advocates of Jewish Renewal call for asks that we recognize - as we have in the past - that there are newly emerging ways of looking at reality. Just as humankind had to adjust to the knowledge that the earth is not the center of the universe, so too do we today have to recognize that our understanding of our world has undergone significant change. Reb Zalman teaches that we must let go of the old paradigms rather than cling to these obsolete ways of thinking. In this book, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi offers what he calls "the journey of my own recontextualization of Judaism as helped by Jewish mysticism". Reb Zalman points out that Judaism has undergone several "paradigm shifts" throughout its long history, such as the period after the destruction of the First and Second Temples, when, as Reb Zalman explains, "all of our practice and belief had to be reframed". Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, in addition to being a record of the major teachings of Reb Zalman over the past thirty years, is a call for Jewish renewal once again. A passionate teacher of kabbalistic tradition, Reb Zalman offers a unique blend of Jewish mystical ideas as they encounter the forces and sensibilities of today. A book of great power and profundity, Paradigm Shift is one of the most creative and inspiring volumes to be published in years.

Presents a legal novel dealing with the parent-child relationship.

For two generations Rabbi Soloveitchik exemplified an existential approach to Jewish though and a mastery of the arcana and profundities of Jewish law and philosophy that are seldom matched. His essays, The Lonely Man of Faith and Halakhic Man have provided the modern Jew with an understanding of man's place in the world and in religion, which have defined the parameters of modern Orthodox thought. In this compelling analysis of his thought, Zvi Kolitz examines the existential strains in Rabbi Soloveitchik's religious and philosophical system. Thus, Kolitz stresses man's dual task of shaping Creation and thereby shaping himself. His purpose in the world corresponds to deeply felt needs within himself.

" . . . a chronicle of man's bestiality to man, and therefore the few exceptional instances of courage and humanity shine forth with particular brightness." —The Russian Review "Essential reading for any holocaust course." —Religious Studies Review Bitter Legacy collects scholarship from America, Israel, Russia, Germany, and the Ukraine on the perpetration of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and its lasting consequences from the postwar period through post-Soviet times. Newly accessible wartime archives in the former Soviet Union provide chilling details of what happened, of collaboration with the Nazis, and of rescue efforts, too.

"We have long since lost our faith in the idea that human beings could achieve human happiness in some future ideal state, a state that Thomas More, writing five centuries ago, tied to a topos, a fixed place, a land, an island, a sovereign state under a wise and benevolent ruler. But while we have lost our faith in utopias of all hues, the human aspiration that made this vision so compelling has not died. Instead it is re-emerging today as a vision focused not on the future but on the past, not on a future-to-be-created but on an abandoned and undead past that we could call retrotopia. The emergence of retrotopia is interwoven with the deepening gulf between power and politics that is a defining feature of our contemporary liquid modern world ? the gulf between the ability to get things done and the capability of deciding what things need to be done, a capability once vested with the territorially sovereign state. This deepening gulf has rendered nation-states unable to deliver on their promises, giving rise to a widespread disenchantment with the idea that the future will improve the human condition and a mistrust in the ability of nation-states to make this happen. True to the utopian spirit, retrotopia derives its stimulus from the urge to rectify the failings of the present human condition - though now by resurrecting the failed and forgotten potentials of the past. Imagined aspects of the past, genuine or putative, serve as the main landmarks today in drawing the road-map to a better world. Having lost all faith in the idea of building an alternative society of the future, many turn instead to the grand ideas of the past, buried but not yet dead. Such is retrotopia, the contours of which are examined by Zygmunt Bauman in this sharp dissection of our contemporary romance with the past"--

A new translation by Sergio E. Serrano of this inspirational book containing sound advice on the art of living by the late historian, biographer, and philosopher, Andre Maurois. ?Our lives are works of art, expressions of inner beauty, conceived and created by our inner selves, tested by the circumstances and experiences of life, perfected and modified by the learning and growth resulting from these experiences. Few authors have expressed these timeless principles with more eloquence than Andr Maurois (1885-1967), one of the most celebrated and prolific French writers of the 20th century. An Art of Living was first published in France in 1939. It is divided into five sections: The Art of Thinking, The Art of Loving, The Art of Working, The Art of Leadership, and The Art of Growing Old. Each section contains very profound, timeless, wisdom about the most important aspects we face in life. Maurois was an erudite, an acclaimed scholar, a historian, and a deep observer of human nature and psyche. The real value of An Art of Living, is that the sentences are not merely a collection of words to convey a practical thought, but a communication to the spirit of the reader. Maurois speaks to the soul of the reader. The principles he conveys remain as valid and as useful in the 21st century as they were in the 20th. There is so much insight in this book! Maurois accurately predicts the ultimate failure of all social revolutions; the necessity of slow change in human customs and attitudes as a key to lasting changes; the technological development and implementation of robots in large assembly lines; the characteristics of a reasonable and effective government; the inner virtues to cultivate in order to successfully overcome the adversities of life; the qualities to seek in order to maintain stable, loving, relationships; the attributes to encourage as an effective manager; the essentials by which to plan a long and enjoyable retirement; and the principles behind an effective educational system. The book speaks to young and old alike. An Art of Living remained out of print for several decades. This new translation intends to resurrect this little treasure of a book for the English readers of today; it remains faithful to the original French edition and to the style of the author.

1877. Bret Harte's witty, sometimes heart-rending tales of frontier California earned him acclaim during the 1860s as the new prophet of American letters. His books, The Luck of Roaring Camp, The Outcasts of Poker Flat and M'liss, helped establish the foundations of western American fiction. The volume contains the prose drama of Two Men of Sandy Bar. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Dahlberg, Edward ; [ SIGNED ]; THE CARNAL MYTH - A Search Into Classical Sensuality; Weybright & Talley; New York; 1968; First Edition;