In an era when too many heroes have been toppled from too many pedestals, Sandy Koufax stands apart and alone, a legend who declined his own celebrity. As a pitcher, he was sublime, the ace of baseball lore. As a human being, he aspired to be the one thing his talent and his fame wouldn't allow: a regular guy. A Brooklyn kid, he was the product of the sedate and modest fifties who came to define and dominate baseball in the sixties. In Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, former award-winning Washington Post sportswriter Jane Leavy delivers an uncommon baseball book, vividly re-creating the Koufax era, when presidents were believed and pitchers aspired to go the distance. He was only a teenager when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley proclaimed him "the Great Jewish Hope" of the franchise. But it wasn't until long after the team had abandoned Brooklyn that the man became the myth. Old-fashioned in his willingness to play when he was injured and in his acute sense of responsibility to his team, Koutax answered to an authority higher than manager Walter Alston. When he refused to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, he inadvertently made himself a religious icon and an irrevocably public figure. A year later, he was gone -- done with baseball at age thirty. No other sports hero had retired so young, so well, or so completely. Despite Sandy Koufax's best efforts to protect his privacy, his legend has grown larger ever since. Part biography, part cultural history, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy gets as close to that legend as he will allow. Through meticulous reporting and interviews with five hundred of his friends, teammates, and opponents, Leavy penetrates the mythology to discover a man more than worthy of myth.

Biblical Excavations Volume 1 For Such A Time: A Study of Esther 4:14 The Biblical book of Esther brings ancient history to life as it focuses on one pivotal moment during the Jewish Exile in Persia. Biblical Excavations’ most recent study digs into the conflict, the courage, the timing, and the hidden Hero of this exciting book. Esther’s story of sacrifice and salvation will inspire readers to seek God in hidden places, notice His handiwork, and take advantage of the opportunities He provides. This short study includes four lessons that may be completed by a student within one week or within a small study group over the course of several weeks. It is also appropriate for families with a range of ages. The questions provide opportunities for deep thought and examination of the text, while the activities are adaptable for groups and individuals. There is even a set of paper dolls included for young ones to cut or cut and color while they listen to the discussion and learn about Esther’s choice to move from passivity to brave activity. The Greatest Commandment Biblical Excavations is excited to introduce their latest Bible study: The Greatest Commandment. Families, small groups, and students are all invited to grab their Bibles and a favorite sweet treat to learn how we love God by loving others. This study includes five lessons, Hebrew context culture and words, multiple activities, and plenty of discussion and journal prompts. Together, we will follow the thread of God’s call to love starting with Moses, continuing through the Prophets right into the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark and Luke, and to us today. Come explore the richness of God’s love for us and others as we excavate ancient Biblical nuggets from the Truth of God’s Word.

I Am Who Loves the Prophets is a beautiful and haunting meditation on exile, a central experience in the history of the Jewish people but now experienced by diverse peoples and faiths around the world. For Jewish theologian Marc H. Ellis, exile began when he found his voice of dissent after the Holocaust and after what Israel has done and is doing to the Palestinian people. In these meditations, Ellis brings us to an intimate encounter with God as his exile deepens and he finds meaning in the everyday joys and anxieties of life. Ellis's meditations are also conversations with exiles of all stripes, an eclectic group of writers--Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett, Adrienne Rich--and spiritual guides--Thomas Merton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Simone Weil, Shunryu Suzuki. Shall we join the conversation?