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 assembles "for the first time a representative statement of Judaic learning on the Old Testament as it is studied today by many of the most important Jewish Bible scholars of the age." A host of internationally known scholars - American, European, and Israeli - here present a variety of rich perspectives on the study and interpretation of the Scriptures revered by both Judaism and Christianity. These studies make clear that no single "Jewish school" of biblical scholarship exists. Rather there is a "Jewish approach," involving appreciation for Hebrew as a living language; the reality of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel; the continuity of Scripture in the life of Israel, the Jewish people, and the state of Israel; and a complete and healthy adaptation of the critical perspectives of contemporary scholarship. This unique and stimulating volume vividly demonstrates the importance and value of critical scholarly discourse on the Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) by Jewish scholars for both Christian and Jewish communities.

Thirteen foremost scholars describe the views of death, life after death, resurrection, and the world-to-come set forth in the literary evidence for late antique Judaism. The volume covers the vie w of Scripture as a whole as against other Israelite writings; distinct parts of Scripture such as Psalms and the Wisdom literature; apocalyptic and the non-apocalyptic pseudepigraphic literature, Philo; Josephus; the Dead Sea Scrolls; earliest Christianity (the Gospels in particular); the Rabbinic sources; the Palestinian Targums to the Pentateuch; and, out of material culture, the inscriptional evidence. The result is both to highlight the range of available perspectives on this important issue and to illuminate a central problem in the study of Judaism in late antiquity, phrased neatly as "One Judaism or many?" Here we place on display indicative components of Judaism in their full diversity, leaving it for readers to determine whether the notion of a single, coherent religion falls under the weight of a mass of documentary contradictions or whether an inner harmony shines forth from a repertoire of largely shared and only superficially-diverse data.

In this clearly written book, Jacob Neusner answers the central questions about the world of Judaism in which Christianity was born. He gives an overview of the history and religion of Israel and an analysis of the Judaic legacy as it endured among those who did not become Christians. He also discusses the troubling issue of the Pharisees and investigates the identity of the "historical Hillel." This accessible book aims to speak directly to every student who is concerned with both the early and contemporary meanings of the Jewish and Christian faiths.

The renewed perception of Judaism's influenceJudaism today is too often thought to represent a religious backwater, a highly particularistic, religion with its own esoteric tales and traditions, practices and norms. First Christians, then Jews themselves, have succumbed to this characterization, resulting in dismissal of Judaism's universal religious significance. Bereft of its religious import, Judaism is increasingly thought merely an ethnic designationand a quickly dissipating one at that. Neusner pleas for vindication of "the universal character and appeal of Judaic monotheism in the mainstream of humanity." Of the three great monotheistic religions, only Judaism has survived without political power, military might, or great numbers of adherents and has done so because its method and message aim to persuade the world of God's dominion and the marks of God's rule.

An eminent scholar of the history of Judaism, Jacob Neusner shows in this work how Judaism changed from a philosophy to a religion between 200 and 400 C.E. 'The Transformation of Judaism' is a work both revolutionary in its method and unprecedented in its results. Comparing earlier and later sets of Judaic writings, Neusner sets forth how philosophy - abstract, elegant, orderly, and intellectual - turned into religion - tangible, down-to-earth, chaotic, and concrete. In the process, he offers an account of the birth of Judaism that has become normative. Moreover, Neusner's methodology can be applied to the study of religions other than Judaism because it examines the underpinnings of how a society sees the world (philosophy), orders itself (politics), and sustains itself (economics).

What happens when four guys confront the enormity of being thirty? If it’s Sandy Stern, he worries about the fact that he’s a down-and-out artist about to lose both his apartment and his girl. If it’s Joel Harlowe, a materialistic drug dealer, his charmed life in the fast lane is leading to a dead end. If it’s Edmund Black, he’s crushed by the weight of the past, seeking a precarious refuge in madness. And if it’s George Wells, he’s a waiter with a unfinished Ph.D., trying to cope with the impending death of his once powerful politician father. So when Joel Harlowe plans the biggest, most outrageous Halloween party ever to hit Excelsior Springs, New York, all hell breaks loose. A series of absurd and tragic events reveals each of these men’s most secret dreams, hopes and fears, and transforms his life in this once elegant upstate town. Four friend emerge from the illusions of youth to discover who ther really are in this unforgettable chronicle of life in a typical American town, 80s style James Howard Kunstler, author of five critically acclaimed novels, has created a masterfully drawn tragi-comic universe, poignant and devastating

James Lasdun's new book of poems, his first since his acclaimed collection Landscape with Chainsaw , applies his characteristic blend of the celebratory and the elegiac to a rich variety of new themes and old obsessions. At once personal and political, Water Sessions brilliantly registers the shock waves of global tumult in the most intimately domestic of settings, while at the same time constantly feeling its way outward through private experience into the larger arenas of social and civic drama. Fathers and sons, men and women, desire and repression, art and silence, form the book's central polarities. Recurrent motifs of water and gardens give its wide-ranging subjects a satisfying coherence while also supplying its sometimes darkly urgent poems with a note of intense lyrical beauty. Much praised for the wit and tensile strength of his line, Lasdun moves in this volume from the tight formality of 'Stones' through the highly original patient/therapist dialogue form of the title poem, to the exuberant free verse of 'Dog Days', with a versatility and intelligence that ensure his standing as one of the most gifted poets writing today.

For more than a decade, the oil industry and energy policy have been a central issue in Canadian economic and political life. Oil and Gas offers an overview of these turbulent years and fresh insight into the real motivates of the main players: Ottawa, Alberta and the other producing provinces, the oil majors such as Imperial, the Canadian companies like Petro-Canada, the OPEC cartel and the U.S. government.

Brief essays discuss incidents in American history, offer profiles of prominent individuals, and look at the labor and civil rights movements.

Title: The Beauties of England and Wales; or, Delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each country. Embellished with engravings. (vol. 1-6 by E. W. Brayley and J. Britton; vol. 7 by E. W. Brayley; vol. 8 by E. W. Brayley; vol. 9 by J. Britton; vol. 10, pt. 1, 2, by E. W. Brayley; vol. 10, pt. 3 by the Rev. Joseph Nightingale; vol. 10, pt. 4 by J. Norris Brewer; vol. 11 by the Rev. J. Evans and J. Britton; vol. 12, pt. 1 by the Rev. J. Hodgson and Mr. F. C. Laird; vol. 12, pt. 2 by J. N. Brewer; vol. 13 by the Rev. J. Nightingale; vol. 14 by Frederic Shoberl; vol. 15 by J. Britton, J. Norris Brewer, J. Hodgson, F. C. Laird; vol. 16 by John Bigland; vol. 17 by the Rev. J. Evans; vol. 18 by Thomas Rees.) L.P. Publisher: British Library, Historical Print Editions The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. The HISTORY OF BRITAIN & IRELAND collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. As well as historical works, this collection includes geographies, travelogues, and titles covering periods of competition and cooperation among the people of Great Britain and Ireland. Works also explore the countries' relations with France, Germany, the Low Countries, Denmark, and Scandinavia. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Britton, John; Bigland, John,Braley; Wedlake, Edward 1801 18 vol. ; 8º. 10368.w.41.

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.

"Anti-Jewish pogroms rocked the Russian Empire in 1881-2, plunging both the Jewish community and the imperial authorities into crisis. Focusing on a wide range of responses to the pogroms, this book offers the most balanced and comprehensive study of the crisis to date. It presents a nuanced account of the diversity of Jewish political reactions and introduces a wealth of new sources covering Russian and other non-Jewish reactions to these events. Seeking to answer the question of what caused the pogroms' outbreak and spread, the book provides a fuller picture of how officials at every level responded to the national emergency and irrevocably lays to rest the myth that the authorities instigated or tolerated the pogroms. This is essential reading not only for Russian and Jewish historians but also for those interested in the study of ethnic violence more generally"--Provided by publisher.

My Less Than Secret Life is the companion volume to Jonathan Ames's first memoirish endeavor, "the mildly perverted and wildly amusing" (Vanity Fair) What's Not to Love? This collection of the cult author's fiction and essays includes Ames's public diary, the bi-weekly columns he penned for the New York Press. The entries of this diary are a record of his mad adventures: his ill-fated debut as an amateur boxer fighting as ‘The Herring Wonder', a faltering liaison with a Cuban prostitute, his public outing of George Plimpton as a Jew, his discussion with Eve Ensler about his dear friend The Mangina, a renegade mission as a Jew into the heart of Waspy Maine, and other such harrowing escapades. Whether trying to round up a partner for an orgy, politely assisting in an animal sacrifice, or scamming tickets to the WWF's Royal Rumble for his son, Jonathan Ames proves himself a ballsier Everyman whose transgressions and compassionate meditations will satisfy the voyeur and encourage the halfhearted. But be warned. As Jonathan says, "I don't like to be a bad influence. It's bad enough that I have influence over myself." "...Ames has always been one of my favorite contemporary writers ... for his ... fearless commitment to the most demanding psychosexual comedies."—Rick Moody

Writing, the subject of much innovative scholarship in recent years, is only one half of what we call literacy. The other half, reading, now finally receives its due in these groundbreaking essays by a distinguished group of anthropologists and literary scholars. The authors challenge the still-prevalent notion that societies "progress" along a universal sequence from orality, or preliteracy, to literacy. Almost all the contributions focus on the fact that orality and textuality, far from being opposite ends of a continuum, interact in complex, multidirectional ways. The reading situations described here range from Anglo-Saxon England to contemporary Indonesia, and from ancient Israel to the Kashaya Pomo Indian reservation. Some essays investigate what reading is in exotically cross-cultural contexts, while others demonstrate that in certain Western contexts reading is still very much a social activity. Some analyze the long historical transition from reading as a collective, oral practice in the West to the private, silent one it is regarded as today. Filled with insights that enhance our understanding of "literacy," this collection offers new perspectives for readers in anthropology, literature, history, and philosophy, as well as in religious, gender, and cultural studies.