Jewish Thought and Practice

Beyond the Golden Rule

A Jewish Perspective on Dialogue & Diversity
Rabbi David A. Kunin

“Erudite, subtle, careful, but also courageous, intimate and honest, David Kunin’s Beyond the Golden Rule points the way beyond ‘kumbaya’ celebrations of religious similarities toward more authentic, more complex and more respectful engagement with religious traditions other than our own. He also calls on Jews to re-examine and emend parts of our own liturgy and our own thinking about non-Jews. If not now, when?”—Andrew Gow, Professor of History and Director of the Program in Religious Studies, University of Alberta.

 

 

 

 

A Hidden Light

Stories and Teachings of Early HaBad and Bratzlav Hasidim

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi with Netanel Miles-Yepez

Winner, Best Book Award 2012New Mexico /Arizona Book Awards

A Hidden Light tells the history of early Hasidism through stories about the Rebbes, describing their values and spirituality.

 

 

 

All Breathing Life Adores Your Name

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi with Michael Kagan

This is a collection of Psalm/prayers that Reb Zalman translated into vernacular English. “It is hard to pray for more than a few sentences in Hebrew if you don’t know what you’re saying...Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the master davvener of our age has delivered a vital book, one that enables people to actually davven, not just pray, in English. Many have promised such a book, but this one delivers.” —Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Author of Jewish Literacy and A Code of Jewish Ethics

 

 

 

 

The Mosaic Within

Kabbalah and Alchemy of Healing Self & Soul
Susan Vorhand, Ph.D.

“The interface between the physical and the spiritual world and the balance between the two resonate thoughtfully and clearly in Dr. Susan Vorhand’s work. The inner workings and challenges of body, soul, mind and matter are interwoven so neatly, to allow the reader entry into God’s upper spheres and man’s life long struggles and goals. Dr. Vorhand’s book is scholarly as well as sensitive and personal, balancing well between the teachings of the greatest Jewish minds and the approaches of the finest healers.” —Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, Vice President, Orthodox Union, Kashruth Division, New York

 

 

Counting the Omer

 

 

A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide

Rabbi Min Kantrowitz

“Rabbi Min Kantrowitz has created a method for one who wants to prepare consciously for the inner receiving of the Torah. Helping the spiritual pilgrim at every station of the transforming road to a more intentional life she provides a sure roadmap.” —Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, z”l

 

 

Living Wisely

Levi Ben-Shmuel

“Living Wisely offers the reader transformative spiritual guidance that flows out of the deep wisdom of Kabbalah and Tai Chi directly into our day to day life. The book is a blessing.” — Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Executive Religion Editor, The Huffington Post.

 

 

 

 

Judaism

Religion, Culture and History
Ron D. Hart

In Judaism God created the world and gave people the power of choice over their behavior, and that element of choice introduced morality. When people make wrong choices, they bring evil into the world. Jewish tradition celebrates the oneness and goodness of God, but at the same time it introduces human agency in the moral and religious choices the individuals make. Judaism has its origins in the covenant that Abraham made with God, an act of faith by one man in one God which became the guiding principle for that man’s beliefs and behaviors.

 

 

 

 

Defying Odds

Theodore H. Lehman

This is a compelling historical novel about the experience of a teen-age Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz who was sent into the SS slave labor system. It is written for adult and young adult readers and tells the dramatic story of how this young man was not allowed to complete elementary school, have a Bar Mitzvah, nor attend high school. This is a story of hope by a teen-ager who defied the odds and lived even though he was a prisoner in the political whirlwind of one of Europe’s most powerful and sophisticated countries turning into an evil empire. This moving story narrates his life as a laborer in a Krupp Industries’ artillery factory, as he learned to survive constant SS brutality and death threats.