""The Ten Commandments"" by Joseph Lewis is an in-depth exploration of the origins and significance of the Decalogue, also known as the Ten Commandments. The book delves into the historical and cultural context in which the commandments were first given, and examines their relevance to modern society as a code of conduct. Lewis analyzes each of the commandments individually, exploring their ethical and moral value and providing insights into how they can be applied in contemporary life. The book also addresses questions of interpretation and translation, and offers a critical examination of the role of religion in shaping moral values. Overall, ""The Ten Commandments"" is a thought-provoking and informative study of one of the most enduring and influential texts in Western civilization.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.

In the English-speaking world, it is generally believed that there are very few Jews living and thriving in Germany. Yet, there has been an unlikely postwar history 1945-2001 that has been somewhat repressed in North America and the United Kingdom. While most people are well-informed about the Holocaust and the consequences that this tragic event has had for the world, very few people know that there has been a steady increase in the population of Jews in Germany since 1945 and that there is a flourishing 'Jewish' culture, certainly a relatively strong Jewish presence, in Germany today. Does this development mean that Jews are playing a significant role in German social life? Does this mean that the great German-Jewish relationship, often referred to as a kind of symbiosis, has re-emerged despite the odds against it? The sixteen essays in this book written by the leading critics in the field cover the fascinating changes that have been made in German society since 1945 in the Jewish communities, literature, theater, film, architecture, and other areas of interest including an examination of the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Austria. For anyone interested in reading about the unpredictable transformations in German-Jewish relations since 1945, Unlikely History will provide information and insights into a history that needs to be told to bring about greater understanding of Jews and Germans in contemporary Germany.

World Without War is a book written by J. D. Bernal, which explores the idea of creating a world without war. The book is a philosophical and political treatise that examines the root causes of war and proposes solutions to prevent it. Bernal argues that war is not a natural or inevitable part of human existence, but rather a product of specific historical and social conditions. He believes that these conditions can be changed, and that it is possible to create a world without war. The book is divided into three parts. The first part explores the causes of war, including economic factors, nationalism, and the arms race. The second part proposes solutions to prevent war, including disarmament, international cooperation, and the creation of a world government. The third part examines the implications of a world without war, including the possibility of a more peaceful and prosperous world, and the challenges of building a new global order. Throughout the book, Bernal draws on a wide range of sources, including history, philosophy, and science. He argues that war is not only destructive but also irrational, and that it is in the interest of all people to work towards a world without war. World Without War is a thought-provoking and inspiring book that challenges readers to think critically about the root causes of war and to imagine a better future for humanity.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.

When a beautiful stranger comes to hear him preach, Pastor Daniel Vedra soon finds himself falling in love with another man's wife. With the brilliance and humanity that have made him a major figure in world literature, Ivan Klima explores the universal themes of love, adultery and God.

Is the Bible actually a love story between a deity and a people? And what does this love story have to do with the modern world? In With All Thine Heart distinguished cultural critic Ilan Stavans speaks to freelance writer Mordecai Drache about love in the Bible. Presented in an engaging, conversational format and touched with striking artwork, the textured dialogue between Stavans and Drache is meant to show how the Bible is a multidimensional text and one that, when considered over the course of history, still has the power to shape our world. The theme of love provides the connective tissue that binds this work. Addressing a wide range of topics, from biblical archaeology and fundamentalism to Hollywood movies, lexicography, and the act of praying, With All Thine Heart suggests that the Hebrew Bible is a novel worth decoding patiently, such as one does with classics like Don Quixote de la Mancha, In Search of Lost Time, and Anna Karenina. Similar to the protagonists in these tales, biblical characters, although not shaped with the artistic nuance of modern literature, allow for astonishing insight. This exploration of love through the pages of the Bible--organized chronologically from Genesis to Exodus and followed by insightful meditations on the Song of Songs and the Book of Job--is a delightful intellectual and spiritual treat . . . Shema Ysrael!

"Ilan Stavans has emerged as Latin America’s liveliest and boldest critic and most innovative cultural enthusiast," states the Washington Post. And the New York Times described him as "the czar of Latino literature in the United States." But his influential oeuvre doesn’t address Hispanic culture exclusively. It has also opened fresh new vistas into Jewish life globally, which has prompted the Forward to portray Stavans as "a maverick intellectual whose canonical work has already produced a whole array of marvels that are redefining Jewishness." Neal Sokol devoted almost a decade to the study of Stavans’s work. He applies his substantial knowledge to this candid, thought-provoking series of eight interviews. In them Stavans is caught at the vortex where his Mexican, Jewish, and American heritages meet. He discusses everything from the formative influences that shaped his worldview to anti-Semitism, Edmund Wilson, sexuality in Latin America, Gabriel García Márquez, and the fate of Yiddish. He also contrasts the role of intellectuals in advanced and developing societies, dwells on his admiration for Don Quixote and his passion for dictionaries, and reflects on his groundbreaking, controversial research on Spanglish—the hybrid encounter of English and Spanish that infuriates the Royal Academy in Madrid and also makes people describe Stavans as "the Salman Rushdie of the Hispanic world." Sokol shrewdly tests Stavans’s ideas and places them in context. By doing so, he offers a map to the heart and mind of one of our foremost thinkers today—an invaluable tool for his growing cadre of readers.

Unlock the provocative insights of "College Prolongs Infancy" by Horace Meyer Kallen, a timeless exploration of education's impact on personal growth and societal progress. After decades out of print, this thought-provoking classic is now beautifully restored and republished by Alpha Editions, offering a fresh perspective for today's and future generations. Kallen's incisive critique challenges the conventional wisdom of higher education, questioning whether it truly prepares individuals for the complexities of adult life or merely extends the dependency of youth. With eloquent prose and sharp analysis, Kallen invites readers to reconsider the role of college in shaping mature, independent thinkers. This edition is more than a reprint; it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure, meticulously restored to preserve its original brilliance. Whether you're a casual reader or a classic literature aficionado, this book promises to engage your mind and stir your soul. Dive into a work that remains as relevant today as when it first sparked debate, and discover why "College Prolongs Infancy" is a must-have for any discerning reader's collection.

This is the second volume of the publication series of the Israeli Sociological Society, whose object is to identify and clarify the major themes that occupy social research in Israel today. Studies of Israeli Society gathers together the best of Israeli social science investigation, which was previously scattered in a large variety of international jour�nals. Each book in the series is in�troduced by integrative essays. The contents of volume two focus on the sociology of a unique Israeli social institution--the kibbutz. Kib�butz society constitutes an impor�tant laboratory for the investigation of a variety of problems that have been of perennial concern to the social sciences. Topics in this volume include relevant contem�porary issues such as the dynamics of social stratification in a "classless" society, the function and status of the family in a revolutionary society, relations between generations, industrializa�tion in advanced rural communities, and collective economies versus the outside world. The questions of the concept and development of the kib�butz, social differentiation and socialization, and work and produc�tion within the kibbutz possess a significance far beyond their im�mediate social context. Does the kibbutz offer a model for an alter�native, communal lifestyle for the modern world? How has the kibbutz changed over the past decadeswithin the context of a rapidly modernizing Israeli society? Emphasizing the "nonfailure" of the kibbutz experiment and con�trasting it with many socialist, cooperative, and communal ex�periments that clearly did fail, Martin Buber, in his analysis, attributes this success to the kib-but/'s undogmatic character, its ability to adapt structures and in�stitutions to changing conditions, while preserving its essential values and ideals. This volume presents an excellent review of the social research under�taken on the kibbutz in the past decades, and provides an introduc�tion to the growing scientific literature on the kibbutz. Contributors: Melford E. Spiro, Menachem Rosner, Martin Buber, Joseph Ben-David, Daniel Katz, Naftali Golomb, Erik Cohen, Arye Fishman, Michael Saltman, S.N. Eisenstadt, Eva Rosenfeld, Amitai Etzioni, Ephraim Yuchtman, Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Nissim Cohen, Yonina Talmon-Garber, Joseph Shepher, Lionel Tiger, Edward C. Devereux, Reuben Kahane, Ivan Vallier, David Barkin, John W. Bennet, Yehuda Don, Uri Leviatan, Eliette Orchan, Shimon Shur and David Glanz.

Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) was the seventh and seemingly last Rebbe of the Habad-Lubavitch dynasty. Marked by conflicting tendencies, Schneerson was a radical messianic visionary who promoted a conservative political agenda, a reclusive contemplative who built a hasidic sect into an international movement, and a man dedicated to the exposition of mysteries who nevertheless harbored many secrets. Schneerson astutely masked views that might be deemed heterodox by the canons of orthodoxy while engineering a fundamentalist ideology that could subvert traditional gender hierarchy, the halakhic distinction between permissible and forbidden, and the social-anthropological division between Jew and Gentile. While most literature on the Rebbe focuses on whether or not he identified with the role of Messiah, Elliot R. Wolfson, a leading scholar of Jewish mysticism and the phenomenology of religious experience, concentrates instead on Schneerson's apocalyptic sensibility and his promotion of a mystical consciousness that undermines all discrimination. For Schneerson, the ploy of secrecy is crucial to the dissemination of the messianic secret. To be enlightened messianically is to be delivered from all conceptual limitations, even the very notion of becoming emancipated from limitation. The ultimate liberation, or true and complete redemption, fuses the believer into an infinite essence beyond all duality, even the duality of being emancipated and not emancipated--an emancipation, in other words, that emancipates one from the bind of emancipation. At its deepest level, Schneerson's eschatological orientation discerned that a spiritual master, if he be true, must dispose of the mask of mastery. Situating Habad's thought within the evolution of kabbalistic mysticism, the history of Western philosophy, and Mahayana Buddhism, Wolfson articulates Schneerson's rich theology and profound philosophy, concentrating on the nature of apophatic embodiment, semiotic materiality, hypernomian transvaluation, nondifferentiated alterity, and atemporal temporality.

Growing up in Soviet Russia, Kat Knopman worships her parents, Jewish intellectuals who teach literature at a Moscow school, run a drama club, and dabble in political radicalism. When Kat is diagnosed with rapidly-progressing scoliosis, the trajectory of her life changes and she finds herself at a different institution-- a school-sanatorium for children with spinal ailments. Confined to a brace, surrounded by unsympathetic peers, Kat embarks on a quest to prove that she can be as exceptional as her parents despite her physical limitations, her Jewishness, and her suspicion that her beloved parents are in fact flawed.

Previous studies of nineteenth-century Egypt have often been premature in identifying the existence of an independent nation state. In a way which will permanently affect our view of Egyptian history, this book argues that in the mid-nineteenth-century period Egypt was still an Ottoman province, with a provincial Ottoman elite which was only gradually becoming Egyptian. Part one discusses the creation of a dynastic order in Egypt, especially under Abbas Pasa (1848-1854), and the formation of an Ottoman-Egyptian ruling class. Part two deals with the non-elite groups, the vast majority of Egypt's population. A final chapter offers a convincing picture of the social and cultural life of the period in a way which has never before been attempted in a Middle East context. The author's valuable knowledge of Ottoman and Arabic as well as European documents and his use of a wide variety of sources, including police and court records, chronicles and travel literature, have enabled him to make an important contribution to a neglected period of Egyptian history and indeed to our understanding of other provinces and dependencies in the region.

This textbook aims to provide, in accessible form, a full history of Jewish religion and tradition. Within a broad outline of the history and religion of the Jewish people, this volume highlights cultural and spiritual developments which have shaped Jewish self-consciousness through the centuries. Beginning with an account of the history and religion of the ancient Near East, the book focuses on the influence of ancient Near Eastern civilization on the Hebrew scriptures. This discussion is followed by an outline of ancient Israelite history, emphasizing the role of the patriarchs, the exodus from Egypt, the rise of monarchy and the emergence of prophecy. The book then examines later biblical history, the development of Judaism in Hellenistic times, and the emergence of classical Rabbinic literature and theology. The Medieval period in Islamic and Christian lands is also investigated, giving special attention to the rise of Jewish philosophy, theology and mysticism. Turning to the modern period, the rise of Hasidism is examined as is the emergence of religious reform. Finally, the study concentrates on the development of Jewry in the 19th and 20th centuries, and concludes with a discussion of the future of Judaism as a living faith. Through this overview of the Jewish heritage, the reader is asked to approach Judaism in an appreciative spirit - to examine sympathetically its beliefs, doctrines and ideals in an historic context. The book aims to provide both factual information about the development of the Jewish tradition and a survey of a range of Jewish issues through the centuries to the present day.

A nineteenth-century epistolary novel about a vengeful woman, available to modern readers for the first time. In The Passions (1811), Countess Appollonia Zulmer, beautiful, rich, and popular, can have any man she wants, at least until she meets Count Wiemar, who rejects her in favor of Julia, a simple and obedient woman. Despondent and then furious, Appollonia vows revenge on the couple, leading to madness, suffering, and death. An epistolary novel about the destructive power of emotion, The Passions offers new insights into early feminism, romance, and early nineteenth-century religion. It is an engrossing, powerful work of literature, featuring one of the most memorable female villains of all time. This edition makes the engrossing novel available to modern readers for the first time.

The publication of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles has unveiled a vast yet unexplored domain in ancient Christian literature. These Acts, particularly the oldest ones, provide insights into second-century Christianity. They are vital for understanding early Christian worship practices and offer a glimpse into divine services held in homes, complementing the Acts of the Apostles. They also hold significance in the history of Christian poetry, notably within Gnostic circles. Despite their mix of fact and fiction, these Acts are relevant to educators, preachers, missionaries, and historians. The oldest and most significant Acts are presented in this volume. These Acts are crucial for early Church literature and provide valuable insights into Christian history. Bernhard Pick (1842–1917) was a German-American Lutheran pastor and prolific scholar, studied at New York City's Union Theological Seminary. He contributed extensively to theological encyclopedias, provided critical indexes, and delved into hymnology. This Reader's Edition is based on a public domain text. This text has been thoroughly spellchecked and proofread to correct errors that appear in the public domain edition. The formatting has also been altered to provide a cleaner, more readable experience. Introductions and footnotes not native to the text have been removed to avoid interruptions to and distractions from the text. Many readers find that this allows them a greater ability to focus on the text itself. It is our hope that this Reader's Edition will provide you with the best possible reading experience of this classic text. Our mission is to breathe new life into the pages of the past by removing barriers between the reader and the text.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

In this study - the fruit of a lifelong critical and imaginative engagement with W H. Auden's works - Anthony Hecht identifies and traces consistent habits of thought and belief within the poet's extensive and varied writings and through his celebrated conversions and repudiations, literary and otherwise. Hecht acknowledges that Auden's poems "both invite the intrusive scrutiny of the cryptographer and deny him access." Yet the readings he offers of poems from every phase of Auden's career, along with dramatic works and critical essays, manage to explicate and illuminate Auden's rich (and often cryptic) allusiveness without murdering to dissect. Among the themes that connect Auden's works are his deep interest in the workings of language; his notion of the ultimate frivolity of art; his interest in the nature of heroism; his understanding of the relation of public to private life; the development of his religious thought; and what Auden called the "hidden law" that governs human existence - a strict and retaliatory force, something like poetic justice, that gives form to our best literature and shapes our personal fates. Hecht identifies these preoccupations in Auden's work - and shows how they cut across the many genres in which he wrote - without losing sight of each poem's individual history and context. As one of Auden's most distinguished poetic heirs, Anthony Hecht is uniquely qualified to illuminate both the reading and the writing of these essential works of twentieth-century literature.

"Philosophy and literature enjoy a close, complex relationship. Elucidating the connections between these two fields, this book examines the ways philosophy deploys literary means to advance its practice, particularly as a way of life that extends beyond literary forms and words into physical deeds, nonlinguistic expression, and subjective moods and feelings"--

Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham was a little-known scholar from the heretical Jewish group, the Karaites, who lived during the late 16th century in Troki, a suburb of Vilna (Vilnius), which by turns was in Poland or Lithuania. In 1593, the last year of his life, he wrote an incisive, cogent polemic against Christianity, which over the centuries has had an impact in Christian and Jewish circles that far exceeds what might have been predicted based on its obscure origins. A kind of underground, samizdat classic of religious criticism, Rabbi Isaac's critique of Christianity has been translated into Spanish, German, Latin, Yiddish, Ladino, and English, among other languages, and has influenced English deism, reform Judaism, the beginnings of Higher Criticism and the quest for the historical Jesus, and even Christian evangelical outreach programs that exist to this day. Now historian and philosopher Richard Popkin has edited a critique of Christianity, originally published in 1813 by a 19th-century Harvard graduate named George Bethune English, which includes the first publication in English of a central portion of Rabbi Isaac's text. The book was part of the discussion surrounding the founding of Unitarianism in New England. Popkin provides a fascinating commentary that notes many points of historical interest involving this unusual work. For example, Voltaire on a visit to England in 1724 learned of the work from an associate of the Reverend Anthony Collins, an English deist. The work was also used in debates about the merits of Christianity between Unitarian minister Joseph Priestly and Anglo-Jewish theologian David Levi. German scholars Hermann Samuel Reimarus and Ephraim Gotthold Lessing referred to the work in their early publications initiating the Higher Criticism movement examining the historical origins of Christianity. And the work also had an influence on Abraham Geiger, the founder of Reform Judaism; on David Deutsch, the defender of Orthodox Judaism; and on Evangelical Christian leader Hermann Strack of Berlin, whose use of excerpts from Rabbi Isaac's work can still be found in Evangelical Christian literature today.Anyone interested in philosophy of religion or the history of dialogue between Christians and Jews will find this work to be of great value.

Essays on the art and craft of writing by some of the nation's finest writers make up this rich collection, from Louise Bogan's meditation on popular and unpopular poetry, to Saul Bellow's assessment of the future of fiction, to Francie du Plessix Gray's reflection on womenand Russian literature. Spanning five decades of writing, the essays address topics both timely and timeless in nature, and cover both the process and the product of writing. These essays were originally presented at the Hopwood Lecture series at the University of Michigan in conjunction with the annual awarding of the Hopwood Prizes in creative writing. The internationally recognized awards are granted by the bequest of playwright Avery Hopwood (1884-1928), who sought to encourage student work in the fields of dramatic writing, fiction, poetry, and the essay. The essays speak to the apprentice writer, finding their focus in a twinned discussion of the craft of prose and the art of poetry. The authors share an assumption that literature matters, and vitally, to the culture it reports on and sustains.

"A young Jewish boy strolls through Vienna and witnesses acts of anti-Semitism during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. At night he dreams of a superhero, Judah Maccabee, who appears to defend Vienna's Jews. When he awakes, he knows there will be no Maccabean rescue and he weeps. Years pass, the boy, now an old man, returns to Vienna and sees the Jewish community and the Temple have been restored. He looks for the eternal light in his Temple and can't find it. Then suddenly it becomes clear to him: The light was there all the time; it was in his own heart"--