Judaism Books - Page 14

God's Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms

Ben Patterson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Illuminating look at the Book of Psalms 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

God's Prayer Book by Ben Patterson is a beautifully written guide and encouragement to praying the Psalms. The book of Psalms was used by the Jewish people for hundreds of years as a way to praise God, appeal to him, and beg his forgiveness, and we can do the same thing. Patterson really opens up the book with Biblical history, Scripture, and deep insight into why they were written and why they are still applicable today. I have loved reading this book. Sometimes my prayers feel stale or worn, but reading these Psalms with new eyes has allowed me to pray for my country, my family, my church, and my soul in new ways. Each chapter feels like a refreshing dip in warm water: comforting, cleansing, uplifting, renewing. Patterson lists several different ways to pray through the Psalms, making them your own personal prayer book so they will never grow old and will always offer new wisdom and comfort. Jesus quoted from Psalm 31 in his final words on the cross, "Father, into your hands, I entrust my spirit." Patterson says that some biblical scholars believe that Psalm 31: 5 was one of the earliest prayers Jewish mothers taught their children to pray for sleep each night. I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God. Knowing that Jesus prayed that prayer before death, a child's prayer before slipping into slumber, brings the Psalm to life and lodges it firmly in my heart. Full of depth, heart and wisdom, this is a book I will reread again and again.

Editorial Review:

There is no better place in all of Scripture than the Psalms to learn to be with God and see with the eyes of faith the face of the One who longs to form us fully in his image. The psalms often stretch and perplex as they teach, but they open a divine window on prayer. How could it be otherwise? The Psalms are God's prayer book, and they teach us to talk to God in his own language.
Features meditations for more than 75 psalms, arranged in numerical order, Scripture and topical indexes. Each devotional includes the complete text of the Psalm(s) from the New Living Translation, a "devotional window" (brief meditative thoughts and/or background on the Psalm), a prayer route (one or more key phrases or verses from the Psalm, followed by suggested ways to use the Psalm in prayer).

Tanach: The Stone, Student Size Black

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tanach: Exceptional! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Tanach (Old Testament in both Hebrew and literal English translation), Stone Edition, makes the Jewish scriptures even more useable with the added feature of commentary from various scholars. Its compact size allows for conservation of space and ease of use. While visiting a worship service at a local synagogue shortly after this purchase, my assistant and I showed the rabbi a Tanach. Before we could ask his opinion, he said, "Oh, excellent! Superb!" I couldn't say it any better. For those interested in in-depth study, but who are not proficient in Hebrew, the Tanach will be a marvelous aid. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

All 24 books of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings are now at your fingertips in one magnificent volume, as interpreted by the classic sages of Talmudic and Rabbinic literature. This is a remarkable achievement. It enables everyone to obtain a basic knowledge of the entire Tanach from "In the beginning" to the return to Eretz Yisrael. For home, for office, for synagogue, for gifts this is an indispensable Book for the People of the Book. Edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in collaboration with an international team of scholars.

Newly set, accurate, carefully researched Hebrew text
Crisp, clear introductions
New English translation, based on the research of an international team of Torah scholars
Illuminating notes and comments
All Haftarahs clearly indicated
Explanatory charts, illustrations and maps
Full index of topics
Stunningly beautiful page layout
Specially-milled bible paper
Reinforced binding; ribbon place-markers

Great Prayers of the Old Testament

Walter Brueggemann

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Christmas Tapestry

Patricia Polacco

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Christmas Tapestry - a heart warmer 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Christmas Tapestry will warm the cockles of your heart, soul, and mind. I'm not sure if it's based on a true story or not, but it sure could be. It appealed to me, as a Christian, (as it would to a Jewish person) because it shows that God is in control, and He works out His purposes, even when we don't understand what's going on.

If you like these heart-tuggers, also try The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

Amazing Story 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a very special Christmas story. It is timeless in it's message of hope and caring. It will be a story to read every Christimas with your family.

A Truly Beautiful Story 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This story is a wonderful story anytime of year. This may be my all time favorite Patricia Polacco story. It will touch your heart and leave you with a feeling of optimism and joy.

Editorial Review:

When a leak ruins the sacristy wall in his father’s church, Jonathan Jefferson Weeks thinks Christmas Eve service will be ruined. Luckily he and his father find a beautiful tapestry, perfect for covering the damaged wall and giving the church a festive look! But then, an old Jewish woman recognizes the beautiful cloth. Her discovery leads to a real miracle on Christmas Eve.

Overcoming Life's Disappointments

Harold S. Kushner

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Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is outstanding. a great source in learning to deal with and overcoming the hardest knocks life can throw at you. in my opinion Harold Kushner is one of the wise authors of our time. must read for anyone and everyone. a great clear voice in times of despair and hardship.

Editorial Review:

From Harold S. Kushner, author of the inspirational #1 bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People, comes a book that shows us how to be our best selves even when things don’t turn out as we had hoped.

Kushner turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of strength and faith — the lesson that teach us how to overcome the disappointments that life inherently brings. From the examples of his remarkable resilience, we can learn how to meet all disappointments with faith in ourselves and the future, and how to respond to heartbreak with understanding rather than bitterness and despair. With Kushner’s signature warmth, Overcoming Life’s Disappointments is a book of spiritual wisdom — as practical as it is inspiring.

The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters–a new book of practical spirituality, of inspiration and encouragement gleaned from what may be the best-known and best-loved chapter in the Bible: the Twenty-third Psalm.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” So begins the psalm that, for millennia, has been a source of comfort in grief and of courage in fear. Now Harold Kushner discovers what it has to teach us about living our day-to-day lives. Each chapter discusses one line of the psalm in the context of both the time when it was written and the present day, and illuminates the life lessons contained within it. For example, Kushner shows us that the phrase “My cup runneth over” is a declaration of our gratitude for what life has given us and a rejection of the envy we may feel for what others have. And he draws on the ideas and thoughts of various spiritual figures–from G. K. Chesterton to Martin Buber to Paul Tillich–to further expand our understanding of this great psalm and help us benefit from its everyday spiritual wisdom.


From the Hardcover edition.

American Judaism: A History

Jonathan D. Sarna

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Could not put it down 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Jonathan Sarna's book is the first American Jewish History that I could not put down. Should be required reading for all American Jews. I have read Jewish history and studied in college under Arthur Hertzberg, Arnie Eisen, Michael Stanislawski, so that little here was actually new to me. The book, however, put everything into proper perspective and traced trends in a logical readable way -- beautiful analysis of the origins, history and current status of the major movements of Judaism.

In case Dr. Sarna reads this -- here are my gripes: Personalities, such as Zalman Schachter-Shalomi merit too much of Sarna's attention. Similarly, Rebbetzin Jungreis is interesting but not far reaching in impact. Hadassah, and the extent to which it went hand in hand with Sisterhood's domination of suburban women's lives, barely gets passing mention. So too with the Soviet Jewry movement.

While Sarna does a beautiful job tracing the origins and sequelae of Orthodoxy's shift "to the right," he makes a few important omissions in describing other movements, such as Conservative Judaism. For example, he neglects to point out that the Movement's Law Committee had already approved Women's ordination before the Rabbinical Assembly voted to include women or the JTS faculty put it to a vote. Sarna suggests that the JTS faculty decision was purely expedient and not based on halachic considerations, which at least institutionally if not to the lay people, remains crucial. Similarly, at one point, Sarna notes that there is little distance today between left-wing Conservative and right-wing Reform. Quite true. But also worthy of note is the little distance between left-wing Orthodox "Modern orthodox" and right -wing Conservative, both of those last groups a vanishing breed.

Note too, Dr. Sarna, that Joe Leiberman carefully avoided describing himself as "Orthodox," preferring the word "observant."

All in all, an absolutely magnificent work.

Editorial Review:

This magisterial work chronicles the 350-year history of the Jewish religion in America. Tracing American Judaism from its origins in the colonial era through the present day, Jonathan Sarna explores the ways in which Judaism adapted in this new context. How did American culture—predominantly Protestant and overwhelmingly capitalist—affect Jewish religion and culture? And how did American Jews shape their own communities and faith in the new world?
Jonathan Sarna, a preeminent scholar of American Judaism, tells the story of individuals struggling to remain Jewish while also becoming American. He offers a dynamic and timely history of assimilation and revitalization, of faith lost and faith regained.

The first comprehensive history of American Judaism in over fifty years, this book is both a celebration of 350 years of Jewish life in America and essential reading for anyone interested in American religion and life.

The Works of Philo

of Alexandria Philo

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

While it would not be correct to say that Philo's works have been "lost"—scholars have always known and used Philo—they have essentially been "misplaced" as far as the average student of the Bible is concerned. Now the translation of the eminent classicist C. D. Yonge is available in an affordable, easy-to-read edition, with a new foreword and newly translated passages, and containing supposed fragments of Philo's writings from ancient authors such as John of Damascus. The title and arrangement of the writings have been standardized according to scholarly conventions.

A contemporary of Paul and Jesus, Philo Judaeus, of Alexandria, Egypt, is unquestionably among the most important writers for historians and students of Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. Although Philo does not explicitly mention Jesus, or Paul, or any of the followers of Jesus, Philo lived in their world. It is from Philo, for example, that we learn about how, like the Gospel of John, Jews (and Greeks) in the Greco-Roman world spoke of the creative force of God as God's Logos. Philo, too, employs interpretive strategies that parallel those of the author of Hebrews. Most scholars would agree that Philo and the author of Hebrews are drawing from the same, or at least similar, traditions of Hellenistic Judaism. With these kind of connections to the world of Judaism and early Christianity, Philo cannot be ignored.

The Psalms of David

James S. Freemantle, Stephen Freemantle

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Psalms of David

James S. Freemantle
Foreword by Stephen Freemantle

Back in print, The Psalms of David is a unique, beautifully illustrated edition of the revered religious work, also known as the Book of Psalms.

The lifework of a little known genius, this facsimile edition of a magnificent hand-painted illumination of the Psalms of David is a stunning tribute to love and spiritual devotion.

Born in India, James Freemantle traveled through the Middle East during his years in the British Army. Shortly after his second marriage, he began this hand-lettered, illustrated volume for his beloved bride, Clara. For the next thirty years, he periodically worked to transfer the psalms into a book that would physically match the lyrical beauty of the poetry.

Throughout the book one finds the brilliantly colored blooms of India: the jacaranda, the flame-of-the-forest, huge yellow laburnums, brilliant poinsettias, and highly scented mimosa. The pages are alive with kingfishers and larks, drummers and hoppie butterflies, storks and pheasants. There are pictures of the lake near Freemantle's home, the nearby Brahmin temple, and the view from the train as he went up to school in the hills. Scenes from his travels in the army, Middle Eastern harbors and villages, and copies of illustrations from Victorian travel books reveal his draftsman's training in the accuracy of every detail.

A labor of love, a work of art, a volume to treasure, this illuminated edition of the King James version of the Psalms of David is the perfect gift for all seasons.

Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service

Reuven Hammer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A good book for understanding Jewish worship and theology 5 out of 5 stars.
30 of 30 people found this review helpful.

This is much more than a "how-to" guide; Rabbi Hammer here deals with the basic issues in prayer, the historical compilation of the Siddur, and the orchestration of the daily, Sabbath, and festival prayers. The themes of special prayers, such as the Blessing After Meals and the Kaddish are explained lucidly. This book makes one aware of the essential experience of making prayer a vital part of one's life. A nice feature is that it explains differences between the liturgy of each of the Jewish movements prayerbooks.

A great aid to finding your way in Jewish prayer services. 4 out of 5 stars.
23 of 24 people found this review helpful.

The Siddur is a precious, age-old resource of Jewish spirituality, and the prayer service is an anchor for Jewish community. But it is complex. Rabbi Hammer helps us find our way, historically and in the synagogue services of today. A good companion book is MINDING THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL, which adds meditations and movements you can do in your own home. With these, you can enrich your prayer life, your community life, and your relationship to God.

Editorial Review:

This engaging and informative book provides an introduction to the liturgy of the Siddur--the Jewish prayerbook. More than a "how-to" guide, this resource deals with basic issues for the modern worshiper, the historial compilation of the Siddur, and much more.