Judging by today's bestseller lists, one would think that religion is either irrational or extreme. What's missing is a genuine debate between the atheists and fanatics; someone to point out that religion has value in the modern world. "Why Faith Matters" is an articulate defense of religion in America. It makes the case for faith and shows its relationship to history and science. Refuting the cold reason of the atheists and the hatred of the fanatics with a vision of religion informed by faith, love, and understanding, Rabbi David J. Wolpe follows in a literary tradition that stretches from Cardinal Newman to C. S. Lewis to Thomas Merton--all individuals of faith who brought religion and culture together in their own works. Drawing on the personal and powerful story of his battle with cancer, Wolpe offers a moving statement in support of religion today. In a poignant response to the new atheists, Wolpe takes readers through the origins and nature of faith, the role of the Bible in modern life, and the compatibility of God and science. He concludes with a powerful argument for the place of God, faith, and religion in today's world.

"The most honored discussion of American religion in mid-twentieth century times is Will Herberg's Protestant-Catholic-Jew . . . . [It] spoke precisely to the mid-century condition and speaks in still applicable ways to the American condition and, at its best, the human condition."—Martin E. Marty, from the Introduction "In Protestant-Catholic-Jew Will Herberg has written the most fascinating essay on the religious sociology of America that has appeared in decades. He has digested all the relevant historical, sociological and other analytical studies, but the product is no mere summary of previous findings. He has made these findings the basis of a new and creative approach to the American scene. It throws as much light on American society as a whole as it does on the peculiarly religious aspects of American life. Mr. Herberg. . . illumines many facets of the American reality, and each chapter presents surprising, and yet very compelling, theses about the religious life of this country. Of all these perhaps the most telling is his thesis that America is not so much a melting pot as three fairly separate melting pots."—Reinhold Niebuhr, New Yorks Times Book Review

Tobias Schneebaum here tells the remarkable story of his four years among the Asmat of New Guinea, a jungle-dwelling people rumored to have killed Michael Rockefeller. Instead of ferocious cannibals, Schneebaum found a regal, gentle people who freely accepted him and initiated him into a way of life no outsider had ever seen before.

Beginning in 1947, when 'India and Pakistan were born to conflict', renowned India scholar Stanley Wolpert provides an authoritative, accessible primer on what is potentially the world's most dangerous crisis. He concisely distills sixty-three years of complex history, tracing the roots of the relationship between these two antagonists, explaining the many attempts to resolve their disputes, and assessing the dominant political leaders. While the tragic Partition left many urgent problems, none has been more difficult than the problem over Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan. This intensely divisive issue has triggered two conventional wars, killed some 100,000 Kashmiris, and almost ignited two nuclear wars since 1998, when both India and Pakistan openly emerged as nuclear-weapon states. In addition to providing a comprehensive perspective on the origin and nature of this urgent conflict, Wolpert examines all the proposed solutions and concludes with a road map for a brighter future for South Asia.

The Sword of Moses: An Ancient Book of Magic by M. Gaster is a comprehensive study of an ancient Jewish magical text known as the Sword of Moses. The book explores the origins, history, and contents of this fascinating text, which is believed to date back to the 6th or 7th century CE. The Sword of Moses contains a variety of magical spells and incantations, including those for healing, protection, and divination. The book also includes detailed analysis of the text's language, structure, and symbolism, as well as its relationship to other Jewish magical traditions. The author provides extensive historical and cultural context for the Sword of Moses, drawing on a wide range of sources from Jewish and non-Jewish traditions. The Sword of Moses: An Ancient Book of Magic is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of Jewish magic and mysticism.1896. From a unique manuscript. With introduction, translation, an index of mystical names, and a facsimile. A Gnostic text, originally in Hebrew, discusses the names of God, which are thought by Kabbalists to have magical powers. With a complete original version and a facsimile of the original papyrus.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.

Martin Buber, a political visionary who accurately predicted the escalation of violence in the Middle East, was politically active from the 1910s until his death in 1965. His insistence on the possibility of practical solutions that would satisfy the needs of both Jews and Arabs set him apart from the more pragmatic politicians of his day. This hope, reflected in the essays, speeches, letters, and unpublished writings collected here, is Martin Buber's legacy, a legacy that should continue to influence negotiations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

A feminist approach to Judaism offers a critique of the religion as a patriarchal tradition and analyzes potential changes in Jewish thought based on feminist definitions and understanding

It should be no surprise that the various highly classified Operation Majestic 12 (or Majic-12 or MJ-12) documents have been attacked since their existence was first made public.Equally unsurprising is the fact that a number of phony or hoax or fraudulent MJ-12 documents have been released as well.But if the original documents, such as the Eisenhower Briefing Document of November 18, 1952, the Truman-Forrestal Memo of Sept. 24, 1947, and the Cutler Twining Memo of July 14, 1954 (found in July, 1985, in Box 189 of Entry 267 of Record Group 341 at the National Archives by Jaime Shandera and William Moore) are genuine, then the consequences are enormous: aliens are visiting Earth, the government has recovered at least one crashed saucer and several alien bodies,and a very significant group of outstanding American scientists and military leaders has collected, reviewed, evaluated, and kept secret all kinds of information about the visitors. Under such a scenario, mankind is NOT alone, and the government has covered up the biggest story of the millennium and perhaps history in general.Ten years after the 1984 receipt of a roll of exposed 35mm film by Jaime Shandera at his Burbank, California home, and his efforts with William Moore and Stanton Friedman to evaluate them, a new roll of film showed up in the mailbox of aviation and science writer (and longtime ufologist) Don Berliner.This contained many pages of SOM 1-01: Majestic 12 Group SPECIAL OPERATIONS MANUAL: "Extraterrestrial Entities and Technology, Recovery and Disposal." Ufologists and UFO buffs alike owe it to themselves to look seriously at the material gathered here by Friedman, and decide for themselves whether or not we need to continue pushing for Disclosure and the truth.

"Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a prolific scholar, impassioned theologian, and prominent activist who participated in the black civil rights movement and the campaign against the Vietnam War. He has been hailed as a hero, honored as a visionary, and endlessly quoted as a devotional writer. In this sympathetic, yet critical, examination, Shai Held elicits the overarching themes and unity of Heschel's incisive and insightful thought. Focusing on the idea of transcendence - or the movement from self-centeredness to God-centeredness - Held puts Heschel into dialogue with contemporary Jewish thinkers, Christian theologians, devotional writers, and philosophers of religion"--From publisher's website

Sobibor traces the life of Berek (later Bernard) Schlesinger from his Polish shtetl childhood to his life during the Holocaust - hiding in the woods, finding refuge with non-Jews, confinement in Sobibor, escape during the uprising, working with partisans' documents. A physician after the war, he follows a relentless, unfulfilled pursuit of retribution for Nazi war criminals through the courts. The Sobibor uprising and its leaders, Alexander Pechersky, are pivotal to the novel. The author, Michael Lev, a product of Soviet Jewish culture, avoids loud rhetoric and heroic pathos, keeping the narration within the limits of realism. A flowing, masterful read.

Why religion must be separated from politics if democracy is to thrive around the world For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work. Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans―and so few Europeans―see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of "Western values" and "multiculturalists," and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary. Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible―but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart.

Over 150 tales from the Talmud, the Zohar, Jewish folktales, and Hasidic lore.

Originally published in Hebrew in 2021, Hillel Cohen's Enemies, a Love Story argues that to understand the ongoing conflict in Palestine/Israel we need to examine the interactions among three identity groups: Mizrahim, Ashkenazim, and Arabs. Refusing to treat Jewish society as a monolith, Cohen shows how the ethnic divide between Ashkenazim (Jews of European descent) and Mizrahim (Jews of Middle Eastern origin) can inform and complicate how we view the wider picture of nationalism, religiosity, and oppression in this part of the world. Cohen considers how and why Ashkenazi-Arab and Mizrahi-Arab relations have metamorphosed over time, from the final decades of the Ottoman Empire into the Mandate period, from the Nakba and its aftermath to the Six Day War of 1967, and from the political upheaval of the 1970s to the rise of the right-wing Likud party and the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. The author challenges widespread beliefs that "Mizrahi" is synonymous with rigid nationalism and "Ashkenazi" with progressivism and support for reconciliation, showing how religiosity and socioeconomic status have shaped Israeli attitudes toward Palestinians. Readers interested in Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East should find tremendous value in this timely book on a sensitive issue.

"Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia--the law of the traditional Islamic state--in the modern Muslim world. Feldman goes back to the roots of classical Islamic law, under which executive power was balanced by the scholars who interpreted and administered the sharia. That balance was destroyed under Ottoman rule, resulting in the unchecked executive dominance that continues to distort politics in so many Muslim states. Feldman argues that a modern Islamic state could provide political and legal justice to today's Muslims through sharia--but only if new institutions emerge that restore this constitutional balance of power. In a new introduction, Feldman discusses developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other Muslim-majority countries since the Arab Spring and describes how Islamists must meet the challenge of balance if the new Islamic states are to succeed."--P. [4] of cover.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about the moon and more. From the very earliest time, people have watched the moon's mysterious and fascinating nocturnal sky show with amazement and intrigue. Even in today's modern, busy world there are many of us who have taken a step back, looked upward, and wondered: What is it made of? How was it formed? What does it look like up close? In Moon Watcher's Companion, urban shaman, writer, and teacher Donna Henes enlivens the imaginations of those who have contemplated the moon by providing poems, drawings, stories, ancient wisdom, and scientific findings from a diverse blend of people and cultures throughout the world. Bringing together a wide range of writings about the moon, from Mother Goose to Joseph Campbell, Galileo to Audre Lorde, Sappho to Black Elk, as well as providing a comprehensive encyclopedia of lunar terminology, a timeline of lunar explorations, and three sections that detail the moon's faces, phases, and known facts, author Henes has created a fascinating compendium of lunar science, myth, folklore, poetry, curious facts, and old wives' wisdom culled from cultures throughout the ages.

In the wake of the Hamas attack of October 7 and the Israeli response, historian and current affairs commentator Yakov Rabkin brings together his writings that shed light on the violence in Palestine since the creation of the State of Israel. For decades, Yakov Rabkin has drawn attention to the danger Israel has posed to both Palestinians and Jews, both in Israel and in other countries. Far from protecting Jews, the State of Israel has contributed to creating and aggravating a situation that over time has become increasingly intractable. The author describes Palestine as it was on the eve of Zionist colonisation, recalling how Jews initially reacted to the Zionist movement and its goals. He highlights how Zionism, disdaining Jewish tradition, created a "new Hebrew man" steeped in a powerful mix of victimhood and exclusive nationalism and therefore oblivious to the fate of the Palestinians. He reminds us that Jewish identity is traditionally based on a spiritual commitment open to all races, the concept of Israel denoting not so much a geographical region but a community of believers. A return to the Land of Israel achieved by political and military means is antithetic to the Jewish tradition. In fact, Zionism has well-documented Protestant and Anglo-Saxon roots, which explains the massive support Israel enjoys among millions of Evangelical Christians around the world, and, on the other hand, why Jews have played such a prominent role in the pro-Palestinian protests sparked by violence against Gaza. At the same time, it shows how since 1967, there emerged a new national Judaism to provide religious legitimacy to the Zionist state. Avoiding polemics and sensationalism, this book allows the reader to reconsider the nature of the Israel/Palestine tragedy that has spilled over beyond Israel/Palestine. The book is rather short and targets the general reader. It requires no previous expertise in the subject, yet shows deeper and less known aspects of the conflict and, thus, opens perspectives on novel approaches to peace. This book has also been published in French, Japanese and Spanish language editions

This is the original German edition of Der Judenstaat by Theodor Herzl, republished by Comprehendible Classics. For our new modern English translation, please visit our Author Page. "The Jewish State" (“Der Judenstaat”) by Theodor Herzl is considered one of the most important texts of modern Zionism. Written in 1896, this work significantly influenced the Zionist movement and the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Herzl, a Jewish journalist and political thinker from Austria, argued that the best way to avoid the widespread and rampant antisemitism was to create an independent Jewish state. In The Jewish State, Herzl paints a vivid picture of a homeland for the Jewish people, and shares intricate details about the foundations of this envisioned nation. He also explores the topic of identity and the relentless pursuit of a place to belong. Herzl's vision is a testament to the extraordinary capacity of an individual's ideas to mold the course of history. In fact, he's often called the father of modern political Zionism, and is officially referred to as "the spiritual father of the Jewish State" in the Israeli Declaration of Independence. This is a republication by Comprehendible Classics. We are on a mission to breathe new life into old books that have shaped our society. We believe that the most thought-provoking, inspiring and even controversial texts should be accessible to everyone. As part of our mission we also republish the original work in its original language, for anyone who wishes to compare the two, or simply is on the lookout for the original text. You can find all our titles and stay up to date with new releases by following us on social media @comprehendibleclassics or subscribing to our Amazon author page.

The Essays In This Volume Seek To Introduce A Higher Level Of Theoretical Analysis By A Close Reading Of Situations In Which Women Are Given Or Denied Authority In Ritual And Interpretive Contexts. This Approach Encompasses Not Only How Women Are Represented, But Also Studies How They Are Depicted As Negotiating Or Resisting Certain Kinds Of Authority In Specific Colonial And Post-Colonial Situations.