Reviews (3)

Too slow-moving to be satisfying
As a descendant of the Jewish community of Aleppo, which is rich in tradition, Sabato has many stories to tell. However, this book is simply too slow-moving and discursive to be fully satisfying. As a literary detective story, the first tale is promising but just isn't told in a way that is exciting or dramatic. This book would have been better had Sabato concentrated on keeping his plot moving, or had he written it as a nonfiction memoir of growing up in this unique Jewish civilization.
Religious Tradition and Faith Define Community
What I expected was a volume of short stories about life in Aleppo, Syria ... I found this and much more. What I discovered was a wonderful saga where the religious traditions, the foundation of life in Aleppo, became a golden thread which connected the lives of several generations of descendants from Aleppo, some of whom were faithful and a few who were tempted to stray from religious practice and how they returned to the traditions of their ancestors. In this book the reader discovers how religious values, practice, and faith provides the strength for different generations from this community to live through difficult times, build meaningful lives now and for future generations ... no matter where they live in the world.
A beautiful multifaceted story
In this volume, Rabbi Haim Sabato takes his readers through the maze of traditions, characters, and stories of his native Syrian Jewish heritage. Read more

Subjects:  1. Religion - Judaism    2. Jewish    3. Judaism - History    4. Modern fiction    5. Fiction    6. Judaism    7. Sagas   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. Ancient - Rome    3. History    4. History: World    5. Judaism - History    6. Religion - Judaism    7. ASIA    8. Ancient Greece    9. Ancient World    10. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    11. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    12. History / Ancient / Greece    13. Jewish studies    14. Judaism   

Reviews (5)

thought-provoking
Growing up in the United Methodist Church, we studied the lives of women in the Bible as archetypes of various qualities women (and men) should emulate. This book presents stories of present-day women as well as women of the Bible from another angle: that of the "shiksa". A very surprising number of women in the Bible were non-Jewish women who joined or lived on the periphery of the Jewish community, and this book takes an in-depth view of the ways their lives intersected with major turning points in the history and survival of the Jewish people. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the present-day controversy over intermarriage, both Jews and Gentiles with Jewish friends and neighbors, and anyone who wants to take a look at the way the Bible views and categorizes both Jewish and non-Jewish women of antiquity.

a must for everyone interested in Judaism
Benvenuto's book is a compassionate, critical, excellently written, well argued and thoroughly researched discussion of the role of gentile women in Judaism. Although not a fiction, it reads jut as fast. Benvenuto's is both a scholarly argument and an account of women's life in Judaism. She finds a perfect balance between personal stories (based on a selection of interviews she conducted), Biblical scholarship, journalistic presentation of opposing opinions and contemporary statistics and research. The subject, as the opposing reviews demonstrate, incites passion both for and against the book. It is precisely the negative reactions that prove Benvenuto's point, which is that gentile women still face hostility in some parts of the Jewish community. Yet Shiksa does not present a negative view of Jewish communities. Some of the gentile women she interviewed found their place in Judaism (even to the extent of becoming rabbis). The passion that motivates Benvenuto is a passion for Judaism that survived centuries without strategic exclusion of gentile women (some of the Biblical stories Benvenuto retells are about gentile women who were accepted in Judaism). Intermarriage is not a new phenomenon, Benvenuto argues. It has always existed and it will always exist. What seems to have changed is that in contemporary America, where Judaism is increasingly secularized, definitions of Judaism rely more on vague racial and cultural characteristics than religion. Thus while a gentile woman who converts to Judaism might become a respected rabbi and a Jewish community leader, from a secular point of view she can never become a "real" Jew. Acknowledging this contraditcion is crucial for the survival of Judaism. Let's hope that Benvenuto's book reaches not only the silent shiksas to whomBenvenuto's book gives voice for the first time, but also Jewish communities that can decide that inclusion is a much better policy than exclusion if they care about the preservation of their traditions.

This is a must read
After reading the previous review I decided for myself to figure out whether this title was as bad as they said.All I can say is that this is an astounding work and is going to be a controversial one.Those two responses are certainly not mutually exclusive.Read more

Subjects:  1. Gentile women    2. Identity    3. Jewish converts    4. Jews    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Religion    8. Religion - Judaism    9. Women in Judaism    10. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (1)

SUB ROSA
Ginzberg has, in these volumes, assembled & organized a massive selection of Rabbinic texts that might not otherwise have been open to public scrutiny/appreciation. You'll recognize the stories from sunday school perhaps, but the details are much more esoteric than what you're used to. These were passed down in an oral tradition in whichthose transmitting the knowledge were sworn to an oath not to change so much as "a single iota". They didn't, & the result is as bizarre as it is symbolic & fascinating. Not a Christian or a Jew? No matter. These volumes will be of interest to all who consider themselves mystics. PURE GOLD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible - Stories - Old Testament    2. Bible - Study - Old Testament    3. Judaism    4. Judaism - General    5. Judaism - History    6. Judaism - Sacred Writings    7. Religion    8. Religion - Judaism    9. Jewish studies    10. Myths & mythology    11. Science / Environmental Science   

Subjects:  1. Jewish - Ancient    2. Judaism - History    3. Religion    4. Religion - Judaism    5. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    6. BCE to c 500 CE    7. Cultural studies    8. Israel    9. Judaism    10. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    11. Social history    12. c 1000 CE to c 1500    13. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Reviews (1)

An excellent resource!
This book was first published by Schocken in 1968, and remainsone of the best resources in English for understanding what Jewish Law has to say about birth control and abortion. It's not just a simplistic summary or a laundry list, either!The author explains, in step-by-step detail, the various laws and how they were derived from specific religious texts.Unfortunately, the current hardcover reprint is a bit pricey, to say the least.I'd really like to see a paperback reprint to make it more accessible to more people.Still, if this is your area of interest and you can't find a used copy, then a new one is well worth the price. Read more

Subjects:  1. Abortion (Jewish law)    2. Birth control (Jewish law)    3. Jewish Law    4. Judaism    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Judaism - Rituals & Practice    8. Judaism - Theology    9. Religion    10. Religion - Judaism    11. Religious aspects    12. Sex    13. Birth control, contraception, family planning    14. Jewish studies    15. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (7)

Some good, some really bad, but probably worth the read.
This book gives a decent introduction to a strange scattering of topics in the history of Hebrew. It is worth a read if you'd like to get a taste for the topic, but look elsewhere for high-quality scholarship. I read it over the course of a few hours and thought it was mildly entertaining.
Fascinating and fun to read!

A disappointment
Mr. Hoffman fills many pages telling us what we don't know or don't know for sure about biblical Hebrew, but devotes almost no space to telling the reader in clear, concise language what we do know.There is no simple table telling the reader what the pronunciations were or probably were for each letter at each stage of Hebrew's development.There is no table or list showing how the same thought might have been expressed in early biblical Hebrew, late biblical Hebrew, rabbinic Hebrew and modern Hebrew.The reader must puzzle it all out for himself- and, of course, cannot.And there are some probable errors, such as the idea that the sound of the undageshed tav in biblical Hebrew could realistically have been /s/.The book is also marred by a large number of typographical errors, many of which should have been caught by a simple spell-check program, and the rest by simple proof-reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Hebrew    2. Judaism - History    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Linguistics    5. Religion    6. Foreign Language Study / Hebrew    7. HEBREW LANGUAGE    8. Historical & comparative linguistics   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Exhibitions    4. General    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Palestine    8. Religion    9. Synagogue architecture    10. Synagogues    11. Architecture / History    12. Art & Architecture | History | Ancient    13. Jewish studies    14. Judaism    15. Religious buildings   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Judaism - History    6. Middle East - Egypt    7. Middle East - General    8. Jewish studies    9. Middle East   

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History Of Jews    6. Jewish - General    7. Jews    8. Judaism    9. Judaism - General    10. Judaism - History    11. Religion    12. World - General    13. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    14. Jewish studies    15. World history   

Subjects:  1. Bible.    2. Historiography    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History Of Jews    6. Jewish    7. Jewish - Ancient    8. Jews    9. Judaism - History    10. Literary Criticism    11. O.T.    12. Old Testament Commentary    13. Sources    14. To 586 B.C    15. To 586 B.C.   

Reviews (2)

Interesting but problematic
There are actually two strains of Jewish opposition to Zionism and perhaps a third.Firstly there is the religious objection.Zionism is not based on Torah, it is secular and deocratic, communist sometimes and gives women and gays equal rights, and Arabs and Muslims and Christians.These are not Torah values neccesarily.It doesnt invisage a state governed by Torah sages, such as the chief rabbi and a Sanhedrin and rebuilt temple.Also it is not ordained by the arrival of Messiah.
Zionism does not equal Judaism
Those who criticisize the Israeli state and Zionism,from a moral perspective, are often accused of being Anti-Semites.In this brilliant book,Professor Rabkin shows why such an assertion is nonsense.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History Of Jews    3. History Of Zionist Movement    4. History: World    5. Jewish - General    6. Jewish Studies    7. Judaism - History    8. Social History    9. Sociology    10. Israel    11. Palestine    12. Political activism   

Reviews (1)

The reverse of the medal
The crucial year is Anno Domini 1666 - Hegira 1067.
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Subjects:  1. 1626-1676    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. History    5. History: World    6. Jewish - General    7. Judaism - History    8. Messianic Judaism    9. Rabbis    10. Religious    11. Sabbathaians    12. Shabbethai Tzevi,    13. Turkey    14. Religion / Judaism / History    15. Shabbethai Tzevi    16. Jewish Studies   

Subjects:  1. Bible - General    2. Bible - Study - Old Testament    3. Bibles    4. Biblical teaching    5. Judaism - History    6. Poverty    7. Religion    8. Religion - Biblical Studies    9. Wealth    10. Biblical studies, criticism & exegesis    11. Books of the Old Testament   

Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Criticism, interpretation, etc    3. General    4. History    5. History of doctrines    6. Jewish    7. Job    8. Judaism    9. Judaism - History    10. Judaism - Sacred Writings    11. Middle Ages, 600-1500    12. O.T    13. Philosophy, Jewish    14. Philosophy, Medieval    15. Providence and government of God    16. Religion    17. Religion - Judaism    18. Medieval & Scholastic philosophy    19. Religion & Theology | Judaism    20. Religion / Judaism / Theology   

Reviews (1)

Capsule biographies do not tell us enough
The idea of this work is to give capsule biographies of a large number of Jews from all different areas of human endeavor. This is in itself admirable, but the length of the entries, usually a few brief lines, makes them into telegraphic bits of information, without any element of story.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Dictionaries    4. Jews    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Religion    8. Religious    9. Religion & Theology | Judaism    10. Religion / Judaism / General   

Subjects:  1. Bible - Apocrypha    2. Bibles    3. Religion    4. Religion / Judaism / History    5. Religion / Judaism / Sacred Writings    6. Theology    7. Apocrypha    8. Bible    9. History    10. Judaism    11. Judaism - History    12. Judaism - Sacred Writings    13. Maccabees   

Reviews (4)

Finally a perspective that holds water
Written by an orthodox Rabbi building on the framework of the renouned 18thC. Rav Jacob Emden, the basic idea is that the "Jesus" movement, which seems to have trained Jewish missionaries to convert Gentiles into "Petrine" Noahides (mind-blowing news about Saint Peter in this book) in anticipation of the destruction of the Temple and comming Jewish exile among the nations, operated fully within the orthodox Jewish framework, as a branch or offshoot of the "Elijahistic" Essene Hasidim. The good-guys are Hillelite orthodox & ultra-orthodox Jews, the bad-guys are Romanized Temple Sadducees (not to be confused with Essene Zadokites), and die-hard political Shammite Zealots (who even disputed their venerable teacher!) -whose halakhah was ruled out by heavenly decree and majority. Intruiging notes on the distinction of different people called Yeshu in Jewish writings leave one begging more questions. Packed with solid references from Jewish literature in their contexts, and a jolly good read all the way. Buy one for you and some for your friends. Well worth the money and you won't regret a penny.

Excellent
Rabbi Falk has done a wonderful job of explaining the Jewishness of Jesus, as well as elucidating Mankind's Universal Laws that Jewish tradition teaches govern all non-Jews. It makes total sense that Jesus, who came first to the Jews, would then want the universal laws of God spread throughout the rest of mankind. This book is a blessing for Jews and Christians and all people who want a better understanding of the first century C.E. (A.D.) and the all-inclusive holy teachings for all human beings. For further reading, I highly recommend Michael Dallen's book "The Rainbow Covenant."

A good read with some caveats...
I gave this book a high rating because it is a remarkable attempt to bridge the gap between Judaism and Christianity, and since it comes from the perspective of an orthodox Rabbi, the attempt is that much more welcome and appreciated. However, there is a big misgiving in the overall premise of the book: that Jesus was a good observant Jew who always meant to establish a separate religion for the gentiles.
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Subjects:  1. Bible - Topical Studies    2. Judaism - History    3. Religion - Judaism   

Subjects:  1. Bible - CriticismInterpretation - Old Testament    2. Judaism - History    3. Religion    4. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    5. Judaism   

Subjects:  1. Judaism - History    2. Religion - Judaism