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Like Angels on Jacob's Ladder: Abraham Abulafia, the Franciscans, and Joachimism by Harvey J. Hames (State University of New York Press: SUNY) explores the career of Abraham Abulafia (ca. 1240-1291), self-proclaimed Messiah and founder of the school of ecstatic Kabbalah. Active in southern Italy and Sicily where Franciscans had adopted the apocalyptic teachings of Joachim of Fiore, Abulafia believed the end of days was approaching and saw himself as chosen by God to reveal the Divine truth. He appropriated Joachite ideas, fusing them with his own revelations, to create an apocalyptic and messianic scenario that he was certain would attract his Jewish contemporaries and hoped would also convince Christians. From his focus on the centrality of the Tetragrammaton (the four letter ineffable Divine name) to the date of the expected redemption in 1290 and the coming together of Jews and Gentiles in the inclusiveness of the new age, Abulafia's engagement with the apocalyptic teachings of some of his Franciscan contemporaries enriched his own worldview. Though his messianic claims were a result of his revelatory experiences and hermeneutical reading of the Torah, they were, to no small extent, dependent on his historical circumstances and acculturation.  More

The Art of Conversion: Christianity and Kabbalah in the Thirteenth Century by Harvey J. Hames (Medieval Mediterranean: Brill Academic) discusses Ramon Llull (ca. 1232-1316), the Christian missionary, philosopher and mystic, his relations with Jewish contemporaries, and how he integrated Jewish mystical teachings (Kabbalah) into his thought system so as to persuade the Jews to convert. Issues dealt with include Llull's attitude towards the Jews, his knowledge of Kabbalah, his theories regarding the Trinity and Incarnation (the Art), and the impact of his ideas on the Jewish community. The book challenges conventional scholarly opinion regarding Christian knowledge of contemporary Jewish thought and questions the assumption that Christians did not know or use Kabbalah before the Renaissance. Further, it suggests that Lull was well aware of ongoing intellectual and religious controversies within the Jewish community, as well as being the first Christian to acknowledge and appreciate Kabbalah as a tool for conversion. For a recent piece of scholarship Hames has done much to revise and clarify interreligious esoteric relationships and influences of Christian monasticism upon the formation of Kabbalah and vice versa. The story is just becoming known and is likely to suggest more surprises in the future.
Ramon Llull lived an interreligious vision, where he took instruction in Sufism and mystical Kabbalah. In his epoch making Book of Lover and Beloved her writes:
“Two lovers met. One of them revealed his beloved and the other understood him.
The question arose as to which of the two was nearer his beloved, and my answer to this the lover had knowledge of the demonstration of the Trinity. More

Intertextuality in the Tales of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav: A Close Reading of Sippurey Ma'asiyot by Marianne Schleicher (Numen Book Series: Brill Academic Publishers) Until 1806, Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810) disseminated his thoughts on redemption through homilies. In 1806, however, Nahman chose the genre of tales as an additional and innovative means of religious discourse. An academic close reading of all of the tales, known as Sippurey Ma'asiyot, has not yet been undertaken. As the first comprehensive scholarly work on the whole selection of tales and contrary to previous scholarship, this book does not reduce the tales to biographical expressions of Nahman's tormented soul and messianic aspirations. Instead, it treats them as religious literature where the concept of "intertextuality" is considered essential to explain how Nahman defines his theology of redemption and invites his listeners and readers to appropriate his religious world-view. More

Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses during and after the Holocaust edited by Steven T. Katz, Shlomo Biderman, Gershon Greenberg (Oxford University Press) (Paperback) this volume presents a wide-ranging, extremely diverse selection of Jewish theological responses to the Holocaust. It is the most complete anthology of its kind, bringing togeth­er for the first time a large sample of ultra-orthodox sources produced during the war and Just after its end, translated from the Hebrew and Yiddish; a substantial selection of essays, originally written in Hebrew, by Israeli thinkers; and a broad sampling of works by Amencan and European philosophers and theologians. These diverse selections represent virtually every significant theological position that has been articulated by a Jewish thinker in response to the Holocaust. More

Rereading the Mishnah: A New Approach to Ancient Jewish Texts by Judith Hauptman (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism: Paul Mohr Verlag) An important historical reworking of the development of the tradition.

There are two main arguments to this volume. The first is that not only are individual passages of the Mishnah based on individual, parallel passages of the Tosefta, but even entire chapters of the Mishnah are based on entire chapters of the Tosefta. If one were to line up all the Tosefta paragraphs that give rise to Mishnah paragraphs, they would join together to form a vast net­work. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that there existed an ordered collection of tannaitic passages that preceded the Mishnah and served as one of its sources. That collection was the Tosefta. More 

Judaism, Science, and Moral Responsibility edited by Yitzhak Berger (The Orthodox Forum: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) Do human beings have free will? Are they genuinely responsible for their actions? These questions have persisted throughout the history of philosophy, but in the twenty-first century they have become more sharply and clearly defined than ever. Indeed, a vivid and mighty tension impacts today's intellectual struggles over free will. On the one hand, the rapid advances of several empirical disciplines, notably neuropsychology and genetics, threaten our instinctive affirmation that free will and moral responsibility exist. On the other hand, the depth and force of our instincts—our powerful intuition that there is free will, that there is moral responsibility—present, for most people, an almost impenetrable barrier against the sweeping denial of free will suggested by empirical research. The chapters in this volume address this tension from a dual vantage point. While drawing heavily upon traditional Jewish texts and teachings, they also offer a blend of scientific, philosophical, psychological, and social insights into this most mystifying of topics. In addition, they illuminate the concept of repentance, a transformation of character that ranks in much of Jewish literature as the highest expression of free will. More

Man and Theogony in the Lurianic Cabala by Daphne Freedman (Gorgias Press) After the establishment of the Zoharic corpus amongst leading rabbis, no major changes took place in Jewish esoterism until the middle of the 16th century, when in Safed (in Upper Galilee, Palestine; present-day Zefat, Israel) a religious centre of extreme importance for Judaism was established, which was mainly inspired by teachers coming from families expelled from Spain. Until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492) and during the two generations that followed it, the Kabbalistic literary output had certainly been abundant, in Spain till the expulsion as well as in Italy and the Middle East; but it was primarily a matter of systematizing or even popularizing the Zohar or of extending the speculation already developed in the 13th century; there were also some attempts at reconciling philosophy and Kabbala. It should be noted that even the traditionalist theologians adopted a careful and rather reserved attitude toward Kabbala.  More

Alef, Mem, Tau: Kabbalistic Musings on Time, Truth, and Death by Elliot R. Wolfson (Taubman Lectures in Jewish Studies: University of California Press) This highly original, provocative, and poetic work explores the nexus of time, truth, and death in the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. Demonstrating that the historical and theoretical relationship between kabbalah and western philosophy is far more intimate and extensive than any previous scholar has ever suggested, Elliot R. Wolfson draws an extraordinary range of thinkers such as Frederic Jameson, Martin Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, William Blake, Julia Kristeva, Friedrich Schelling, and a host of kabbalistic figures into deep conversation with one another. Alef, Mem, Tau also discusses Islamic mysticism and Buddhist thought in relation to the Jewish esoteric tradition as it opens the possibility of a temporal triumph of temporality and the conquering of time through time. More

Language, Eros, Being: Kabbalistic Hermeneutics And Poetic Imagination Eliot Wolfson (Fordham University Press) This long-awaited, magisterial study—an unparalleled blend of philosophy, poetry, and philology—draws on theories of sexuality, phenomenology, comparative religion, philological writings on Kabbalah, Russian formalism, Wittgenstein, Rosenzweig, William Blake, and the very physics of the time-space continuum to establish what will surely be a highwater mark in work on Kabbalah. Not only a study of texts, Language, Eros, Being is perhaps the fullest confrontation of the body in Jewish studies, if not in religious studies as a whole. More

The Book of the Pomegranate: Moses de Leon's Sefer Ha-Rimmon by Elliot R. Wolfson (Brown Judaic Studies) The critical edition of Moses de León's Sefer ha-Rimmon was Wolfson’s Ph.D. dissertation in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University in 1984-86. This study is an edited edition of the Hebrew text with introduction only in English. The author of Sefer ha-Rimmon, Moses ben Shem Tob de León, is best known from the controversy which surrounds him concerning his assumed involvement with either the authorship or editing of the crowning work of medieval Spanish kabbalah, the Zohar. As with many classical and medieval personalities, more is known about de León's literary career than about his personal life. It is assumed that he was born circa 1240 in León and died in 1305 in Arevalo. The first dated piece of biographical information that we know of with certainty, however, is the Hebrew copy of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed which was made for him in 1264. More

Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works by Herbert A. Davidson (Oxford University Press) offers a thorough survey of the life and writings of this most influential Jewish thinker. The work gives a refreshing account of his life and influence with a close survey of all existent writings. In the process some surprising facts about his life and times come to the fore as well as some common myths are dispelled. Important for beginner and scholars alike. More

Likutei Amarim Tanya in Hebrew and English by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Kehot Publication Society) Because the Tanya is considered a 'written Torah'  by Chabad Hassidim it requires, in every generation, an 'oral Torah' to accompany it and to serve as an usher and guide. Written by the great Hasidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in the late eighteenth century, the Tanya is considered to be one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written.  More

Opening the Tanya: Discovering the Moral and Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) is a groundbreaking book that offers a definitive introduction, explanation, and commentary upon the Tanya. For more than two hundred years, the Tanya has been studied by those who know of its insight and wisdom with the devotion and the intensity usually associated with the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita. Now internationally acclaimed author, scholar, and teacher Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has written an illuminating and inspiring introduction to the Tanya. Opening the Tanya offers an overview of the Tanya’s broad philosophical and spiritual messages as well as point-by-point commentary on the text itself. More

Learning From the Tanya : Volume Two in the Definitive Commentary on the Moral and Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) offers a key for unlocking the mysteries of one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written. A seminal document in the study of Kabbalah, the Tanya explores and solves the dilemmas of the human soul by arriving at the root causes of its struggles. Though it is a classic Jewish spiritual text, the Tanya and its commentary take a broad and comprehensive approach that is neither specific to Judaism nor tied to a particular personality type or time or point of view. The internationally celebrated Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who has dedicated his life to the study, teaching, and writing of books that explain Jewish scripture, religious practice, spirituality, and mysticism to Jews and non-Jews throughout the world, is the author of this explanation and line-by-line commentary on the Tanya. As relevant today as it was two hundred years ago, the Tanya helps us to understand the many thousands of complexities, doubts, and drives within us as a single basic problem—the struggle between our Godly soul and our animal soul. More

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey Among Hasidic Girls by Stephanie Wellen Levine (New York University Press) From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls. More

We Jews: Who Are We and What Should We Do by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) Thirteen million Jews throughout the United States and the world are famously divided and contentious about their identity, political position, social role, and spiritual goals. However, if there is one authentic voice of leadership in the Jewish community, it is scholar, teacher, mystic, scientist, and social critic Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. He is internationally regarded as one of the greatest rabbis of this century and of the last. More

On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz: 25 Years of Pre-Dawn Car Trips, Mind-Blowing Encounters, and Inspiring Conversations with a Man of Wisdom by Adin Steinsaltz, Arthur Kurzweil (Jossey-Bass)  Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. He has been lauded by Time magazine as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar” and by Ted Koppel of Night Line as “one of the very few wise men that I’ve ever met.”   More

The Seven Beggars & Other Kabbalistic Tales Of Rebbe Nachman Of Breslov translated by Aryeh Rabbi Kaplan (Jewish Lights Publishing) Rebbe Nachman was a Kabbalist and a mystic, yet at the same time practical and down-to-earth. He told tales of princes and princesses, beggars and kings, demons and saints, and encouraged those around him to live life with faith, honesty, and simplicity. More

Judaism, Physics and God: Searching for Sacred Metaphors in a Post-Einstein World by Rabbi David W. Nelson (Jewish Lights Publishing) Hear the Voices of Ancient Wisdom in the Modern Language of Science: Ancient traditions, whose only claim to authenticity is that they are old, run the risk of becoming old-fashioned. But if an ancient tradition can claim to be not only ancient but also timeless and contemporary, it has a far greater chance of convincing each new, young generation of its value. Such a claim requires that each generation’s retelling use the new metaphors of the new generation. More

The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism by Dana Evan Kaplan (Cambridge Companions to Religion: Cambridge University Press) provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the most important and interesting historical and contemporary facets of Judaism in America. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism is a comprehensive survey that attempts to cover Judaism as a religion in the United States rather than Jewishness as an ethnicity in this country. The title of this volume thus requires a word of explanation. In popular usage today, Judaism usually implies a broad sociological approach to the subject of Jewish life and culture, while the term Jewish religion suggests a more specific concern with beliefs and practices that are somehow associated with a supernatural reality. Although this collection uses the more general term in its title, its focus is on American Jewish religious phenomena. It is, however, an appropriate title, I believe, because the volume's essays describe a quite inclusive Jewish religious experience in America. This includes aspects that frequently have been neglected or ignored or are understood as outside the purview of religion by a largely Christian America, which sometimes draws different and more impenetrable boundaries between the sacred and the secular. Understanding the subject in such broad terms, one can see that Jewish religion in America means much more than just religious ritual or belief. Contributors also discuss the sociology, psychology, theology, and history of American Judaism. A number of essays concentrate on the culture of American Judaism, including musical, artistic, and literary expressions. More

Early Judaism and its Modern Interpreters edited by Robert A Kraft, George W.E. Nickelsburg (The Bible and its modern interpreters: Scholars Press) This volume documents the major developments in the study of "early Judaism" (ca. 330 B.C.E. to ca. 138 C.E.) from about the mid-1940s. Because this field of investigation is not as clearly defined or as well established as the areas covered in the other volumes of this trilogy (Hebrew Bible and New Testament), we have included a lengthy introduction that discusses the field itself and current interest in it, new tools and approaches, major topics and problems, and the types of study we feel are needed in the future. The introductory essay was drafted primarily by George Nickelsburg and edited into its current form by Robert Kraft. More

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy edited by Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy: Cambridge University Press) Influenced originally by Islamic theological speculation, classical philosophers and Christian Scholasticism of the Middle Ages, Jewish thinkers living in Islamic and Christian lands philosophized about Judaism from the ninth to fifteenth centuries. They reflected on the nature of language about God, the creation of the world, the possibility of human freedom and the relationship between divine and human law. This Companion presents major medieval Jewish thinkers in a comprehensive introduction to a vital period of Jewish intellectual history. 

A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy by Isaac Husik (Dover) In this enlightening study, a noted scholar elucidates the distinguishing characteristics of the works of several Jewish thinkers of the Middle Ages. In addition to summaries of the main arguments and teachings of Moses Maimonides, Isaac Israeli, Judah Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daud, Hillel ben Samuel, Levi ben Gerson, Joseph Albo, and many others, the author offers insightful analyses and commentary. Of particular value to beginners, this volume is also an ever-relevant resource for many issues of scholarly debate.

The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue, Volume 1: History and Definition by Sholom Kalib (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art: Syracuse University Press) Volume set fourth a comprehensive introduction to the various forms of worship music in historical perspective. The planned five volume work will be a monument to Eastern European Jewish music and worship practice.

The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue, Volume 2: The Weekday Services by Sholom Kalib (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art: Syracuse University Press) Provides the most comprehensive coverage to date of the intonation of prayers of all services of the Jewish calendar year, except those of the Sabbath and Biblically ordained holidays.  More

Samuel David Luzzatto, Prolegomena to a Grammar of the Hebrew Language by Aaron D. Rubin (Gorgias Press) is primarily an annotated translation of a little-known Italian work about Hebrew grammar by Luzzatto. First published in 1836, Prolegomeni ad una grammatica ragionata della lingua ebraica, is perhaps the most important grammatical work of the influential Italian scholar, Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865). Never reprinted, and never before fully translated, this long inaccessible work has become almost unknown. This book, which was intended to serve as an introduction to a comprehensive grammar of Hebrew, treats the history of Hebrew in a variety of ways. Luzzatto begins with a history of Hebrew scholarship, from Talmudic times through the early nineteenth century, including both Jewish and Christian grammarians. Following this wide-ranging survey, which has yet to be superseded, is a brief history of the Hebrew language itself, from its origins to its later manifestations. The remainder of the book is comprised of chapters on various linguistic phenomena of both Hebrew and Aramaic. Among the subjects treated are the nature of the Hebrew and Aramaic vowels (including Syriac), the development of the pointing tradition, and an important treatment of the accentual system. In each of its various chapters, the book is replete with information and innovative insight that is still valuable to the modern scholar. Moreover, in addition to the translation and copious annotations, the translator has added an appendix containing biographical sketches of the roughly 275 Hebrew scholars mentioned by Luzzatto. The book will be of great use to anyone interested in the Hebrew language and its fascinating history. More

Mishkan T'filah: The New Reform Siddur (CCAR Press) Review pending.

After more than twenty years in development, the CCAR will publish the Mishkan T'filah: The New Reform Siddur  in the Spring of 2005. It succeeds the previous Reform prayer book The Gate of prayer. 

The Mishkan T'filah Introduces a unique design based on inclusivity. Each prayer has a two page spread; the right hand page offers the traditional prayer, with elegant, faithful translation and transliteration, and the left page contains alternative prayers which can be used in place of the traditional. Beneath the liturgy are sources and commentary.

Both its liturgy and commentary celebrate the diversity of our Reform movement. Mishkan T'filah: The New Reform Siddur offers several prayer choices within each service. Its services include a broad range of inspirational material that enables the individual worshipper to locate a prayer that suits him/her self within the page spread, even while the congregation prays another. The cue for turning the page is the chatima, the concluding line of the traditional prayer, which ends each liturgical piece across the page spread.

Meditations and kavanot often lead into a prayer, and at times are designed graphically to enhance the prayer. Each prayer is written lyrically so that it can be set to music; it is hoped that much new music will be inspired by the text even as familiar musical prayers have been included.

Mishkan T'filah: The New Reform Siddur brings Reform liturgy into the twenty-first century. It embraces that which is beloved, including passages from Gates of Prayer and The Union Prayer Book. It includes new liturgy and commentary that reflect the evolving ways in which Reform Jews participate in worship and apprehend God.

Publication Date: Spring 2005

Hardcover, Trim Size: 9" x 7" ...            .. $30.00

Large Print/Pulpit Edition, Trim Size: 11" x 9"    $60.00

Leather Bound Edition, Trim Size: 9" x 7" ...      ....$100.00

AVAILABLE IN HEBREW OPENING ONLY

Rabbis, Congregations and Congregational Judaica Shops will receive a 20% discount.

A Note for Users of Gates of Prayer and Gates of Prayer for Shabbat and Weekdays: These titles will continue in production until three years after the publication date o. and will not be reprinted after that date.

The publication of Mishkan T'filah culminates the most extensive process undertaken in preparation for a congregational prayer book, including a multi-year research project co-sponsored by the Lilly and Cummings Foundations. This project explored how worshipers relate to the worship experience in a variety of settings, through the use of worship journals and participant-observers. From this research and an extensive critique of existing liturgies emerged the criteria underlying the creation of Mishkan T'filah

As services are completed in manuscript, congregations will be invited to participate in broad field-testing; piloting opportunities will also be arranged at rabbinic and congregational kallot and conventions, and conferences of Hillel directors, chaplains, academics, students and other groupings.

Editor: Rabbi Elyse Frishman serves Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, The Barnet Memorial Temple in Franklin Lakes , New Jersey . Ordained in 1981, Rabbi Frishman has edited Haneirot Halallu: These Lights Are Holy, a book for families celebrating Chanukah, and Gates of Prayer for Young People, in addition to her ongoing work with the Liturgy Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She is active in worship transformation in congregation-al life; she and her congregation are one of three featured in the UAHC "Worship With Joy" video. She has served on the faculty of Synagogue 2000 and as a founding participant in the Joint Commission on Religious Living. Rabbi Frishman is married to Rabbi Dan Freelander, and they have three chil­dren, Adam, Jonah and Devra.

Artist: Yori Yanover brings to the Siddur project both his design skills and his deep knowledge of Torah study. Producer and designer of many successful Jewish Web projects, an author and a journalist, Mr. Yanover intelligently intertwines the lofty texts, in both Hebrew and English, with a sense of lightness and a note of whimsy. The relationships he creates between parallel texts is respon­sive not merely to function-a primary concern in a prayer book-but also to the deeper meanings of texts in the different languages. His comfortable lay-outs nicely complement Rabbi Frishman's work.  

Since its founding in 1889, the CCAR has been the publisher of congregational prayer books for the Reform Movement, starting with the Union Prayer Book in 1895 (twice revised), and extending through Gates of Prayer in 1975. CCAR has also published guides to Jewish practice, and numerous liturgies for the Jewish home, including best-selling Passover Haggadot.

The Editorial Committee, chaired by Rabbi Peter Knobel, is broadly represen­tative of the rabbinate and cantorate, and the fields of scholarship, education and worship transformation.