Customer Reviews:
A New Encyclopedia Judaica - Modern Judaic Scholarship advances..........2007-08-06
The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, their faith, Judaism, History and Culture. It's a cumulative result of over three decades of prodigious study and research by about 2,200 contributors and 250 editors around the world and includes approximately 21,000 entries with 2,700 new entries by 1,200 new contributors. Its Scholarship, comprehensive scope, authority, and widespread availability make it a great first and often indispensable resource for Rabbis, Scholars and laypeople.
Three valid critiques of the new edition are 1. prominent scholars decry the wholesale reprinting of many outdated entries. Current scholarship is shortchanged... 2. Minor and marginal Jewish figures and events, are still included, while major figures and movements are absent or minimized. 3. A difference between the first edition of the 72' Encyclopaedia Judaica and the second edition of the New Encyclopaedia Judaica is the paucity of visual images though the new editions are in color.
Nevertheless, it is recommended by the Library of Congress and by the Association of Jewish Libraries for use in determining the authoritative romanization of names of Jewish authors. Furthermore it's guidelines for transliterating Hebrew into English are followed by many academic books and journals. Additionally there are many improvements such a separate category of Jewish Law, reducing Legendary material, Scholem's classic essay on Kabbalah, greater material on Hasidim, Many new findings in Archeology, Israel and Post-Holocaust material, etc. In sum, it is an indispensable reference purchase for Universities, colleges, seminaries, Libraries and all who care about Modern Judaic scholarship. Highly Recommended and still indispensable.
A Series of Disappointments.......2007-04-11
My first disappointment: The wealth of illustration of the first edition is virtually gone. You can still find a treatment of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, of course, but you will not see the great picture of him with his wife Hemdah, taken in 1912. Nor will you find the many other similar pictorial treasures of the first edition. If you must buy this edition, be sure to find a place on your shelves for the old one as well.
My second disappointment: The shoddy treatment of bibliographies. There are, to be sure, lists of books that are appended to the various articles. But there is no annotation. A bibliography without annotation, as it has been said so well, is like a body without a soul. These lists of books will not make it easy for anyone in search of knowledge to find the more helpful sources. But here the new editors have an excuse, if that is what you would call it: the first edition was just as bad in this regard.
My third disappointment: The new knowledge of the last 35 years, insofar as it finds its way into this new work, is often just appended as additions to the old articles. Even where new knowledge revolutionizes the old, the old is still accorded honor of precedent. What was obviously called for is a complete reworking, but this is not what the editors have done.
My fourth disappointment: At least some of the newer material is so superficial that it is useless for any scholarly purpose. I looked up "Exodus," hoping to find what archaeologists and historians have to say about the Biblical account. The article says, flatly, that it is the scholarly consensus that the Biblical Exodus is "unhistorical," meaning, I suppose, that it never happened. The article gives no reference to any archaeologist or historian, nor to any book or other article that would throw light on the subject. What can a student make of this ? Simply take on faith the word of the EJ II ? This is no way to write a work of reference. The writer of this article would receive a failing grade, easily, if he presented it for credit at a university.
There are of course many good things in this new work, and I am sure that with more time and perhaps more inclination I could have found many more than I did.
One good set of articles is about the Ethiopian Jews, even though it is not easy to find it unless you happen to know that the group is now called Beta Israel. The articles are by Steven Kaplan and his associates. Kaplan undoubtedly knows more about the subject than almost anyone else. But even here the EJ II's sloppy method of documentation gets in the way. As it happens, there is a small number of other scholars who have made seminal contributions to this subject, notably Kay Shelemay and James Quirin. Neither of these is mentioned by EJ II.
This work is serious enough - just - to constitute a required purchase for any general research library. If it was the aim of the editors to achieve this minimum, they have succeeded. But it does not seem that they will win any warm admiration of scholars. That, in my book, makes the work a failure, a squandered opportunity.
UNIQUE AND MONUMENTAL WITH ONE CAVEAT.......2007-03-30
I bought EJ #1 when it was published about 30 years ago, and have now already bought #2.
My problem with giving away (which I will probably soon donate to a large local university which just recently formed a Jewish Studies program), is the reason for witholding the last star:
IT HAS NO ILLUSTRATIONS! The brochure for EJ 1 stated 'over 2000 photos, maps, diagrams and illustrations', while the description of EJ 2 states '600 maps and diagrams'. This is a tremendous loss -- just look up 'illustrated manuscripts' or 'incunabula' in the older and see what you are missing in the newer. [Even Pinsk (now Belarus), my father's birthplace, has four photos (two showing the interior and exterior of its [previously] largest synagogue
while #2 shows none.
The project is better organized and has its basis in three parts: (1) Exact duplication from #2 where no update is needed; (2) Reproduction of #1 plus updates (even the bibligraphy makes the distinction between the older and newer references; and (3) Totally new subject matter.
Each of these three types of entries are clearly indicated.
I paid almost $500 for the older one in the late 70s, and if you look hard you can find this set for $1850 plus $8 (!!) shipping.
Contrary, for what is worth, the present edition took four years, not two as mentioned in the earlier ?analysis. However, it is as thorough as if it was written yesterday, which can be evidenced by its very current bibliography.
It is an outstanding contribution in all aspects relative to Jews/Judaism, and at a reasonable price.
Buy it, by all means, if this degree of information interests you and if you can afford its reasonable price.
A preliminary report on a vital reference work for all those who take interest in the Jewish world .......2007-02-21
I am writing this preliminary review of 'Judaica' in the hope that it can be of some help to potential purchasers and future readers of the work. No one asked me to write this review but the readers of it should know that I wrote five relatively small entries for the Encyclopedia, and am not thus a wholly unbiased reviewer.
Primarily though I do not so much intend to present my opinion but rather to report on one of the Encyclopedia's principal editors, Michael Berenbaum has to say about the Encyclopedia. I will I hope accurately paraphrase remarks he made about the 'Encyclopedia' in a talk given at the 'Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs' on February 19, 2007.
Michael Berenbaum says that the editors aimed to preserve the quality of the original Judaica while accurately reflecting the major changes that have taken place in the past thirty- five years in the Jewish world. In this regard one full- volume of the Encyclopedia is dedicated solely to dynamic and rapidly developing Israel. Berenbaum stressed that the Encyclopedia strongly reflects the changes that Feminism have brought in the past thirty- five years. There are three hundred new entries devoted to Jewish women. Many major entries such as the Gershom Scholem entry on 'Jewish Mysticism' were republished but augmented by a report on the work that has occurred since. In the 'Jewish Mysticism ' area Scholem's work was complemented by the work of a leading figure in the field. Prof. Moshe Idel.
Berenbaum said that the world of Jewish learning has vastly expanded in the past thirty - five years. In 1972 there were only a few universities which had Jewish Studies programs. Now there are hundreds of scholars in the area. This means new work is being done in many different areas.
Berenbaum stresses the vastness of the world of Jewish learning, the impossibilty of any single scholar comprehending it. He is however filled with admiration for the creativity in all areas of life displayed by the Jewish people and believes this is reflected within the 'Encyclopedia' itself.
Berenbaum compliments the chief - editor of the work Fred Skolnik who he calls a Renaissance Man of Jewish studies. He notes that this update was done in two years but that it could have taken twenty. The relative speed is in part attributable to the new technologies ( Internet, E-mail, Fax) which did not exist thirty- five years ago
I cannot at this point honestly vouch for the quality of the work which has been done.I expect however that in months and years ahead I will be turning to the New Judaica. As one interested in the 'Jewish world' I cannot count the number of times the 1972 Edition provided vital information for my own work. I expect the new Judaica will do the same for many thousands of researchers, and readers.
Average customer rating:
- Night/Dawn/Day
- The Fire! The Furnace! Look, over there!
- The most emotional account of the Holocaust
|
Night, Dawn, and Day (B'Nai B'Rith Judaica Library)
Elie Wiesel
Manufacturer: Jason Aronson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Jewish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Judaism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Wiesel, Elie
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0876688970 |
Customer Reviews:
Night/Dawn/Day.......2006-04-11
This was one bound volume of Wiesel's first three books, which concern the Holocaust, survival, and humanity. Night is Wiesel's personal memoir, which relates his personal story before and during World War II, as he and his father are separated from his mother and sister and interned in a series of concentration camps. Dawn is the story of a member of the movement to free Palestine from British occupation and Day concerns how one could move from a past that consumes one's every thought (or even if one should).
Quote: "Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."
I read Night in high school, and always think of it as being a particularly long book, which it is not. Wiesel manages to pack more than I would think possible into a little over a hundred pages, which relates the story of himself and his family during the Holocaust. It is a beautifully written work that relates a terrible story. I found the story of Wiesel's loss of faith and the relationship he had with his father particularly memorable. If you somehow missed this in high school, pick it up, if you didn't, find it again. It's worth it. Dawn and Day are not as catching as the first work, but are still interesting in their own way.
The Fire! The Furnace! Look, over there!.......2000-06-01
The cries of a madwoman on an Auschwitz-bound cattle car are just one of many portents shepherding doomed souls on their way to Nazi furnaces. In "Night", the first of three books in this collection, Elie Wiesel recounts his deportation to the death camps where the rest of his family perished. The tragic weight of his witness to this obscene cruelty burdens the reader with the fates of the inmates and his reflections on the meaning of evil. Wiesel questions his god and his faith. He sees sons kill fathers: "Meir. Meir, my boy! Don't you recognize me? I'm your father... you're hurting me... you're killing your father! I've got some bread... for you too... for you too..." (p.106), and becomes intimate with death.
In "Dawn", Wiesel has migrated to Palestine and faces the duty to execute a captured prisoner. His long night of contemplation and uncertainty exposes his preoccupation with killing and killers and again with death: "Death," Kalman, the grizzled master, told me, "is a being without arms or legs or mouth or head; it is all eyes. If ever you meet a creature with eyes everywhere, you can be sure that it is death." (p.140). It is a preoccupation to be squeezed only from one who has not fully lost his faith or his humanity. A beggar explains the face of the night: "Listen," he said, digging his fingers into my arm. "I'm going to teach you the art of distinguishing between day and night. Always look at a window, and failing that look into the eyes of a man. If you see a face, any face, then you can be sure that night has succeeded day. For, believe me, night has a face." (p.126) Fear, night, suffering, and evil are his companions, and he explores them constantly. "Being afraid is nothing. Fear is only a color, a backdrop, a landscape." (p.174).
Until, in "Day", he survives a terrible accident and is faced with his own complacent acceptance of mortality. He struggles with the urge to explain to his talented young doctor the futility of fighting against death, and reaches an epiphany when he understands the tragedy of splashing others with his suffering. "Suffering brings out the lowest, the most cowardly in man. There is a phase of suffering you reach beyond which you become a brute: beyond it you sell your soul - and worse, the souls of your friends - for a piece of bread, for some warmth, for a moment of oblivion, of sleep." (p.247).
These stories are powerful and frightening,. Death is an implacable enemy, but also a partner for life who never goes away and will always win in the end. Wiesel has stared at evil, his stories are wrenching.
The most emotional account of the Holocaust.......2000-04-25
This book should simply be read by everyone interested in Judiasm or the Holocaust. Just read it!
Book Description
Jewish History of over 5,000 years in a year by year format, with heavy cross-referencing and exhaustive index.
Easy reading - a browsers delight, with little snippets of fascinating facts.
Documents - in a scholarly manner - the ancestral history of Biblical and Talmudic eras, and provides meticulous and erudite bibliography-references.
Customer Reviews:
From Publisher: Zichron Press.......2007-04-27
A Chronological Index of Jewish History Covering 5764 years of Biblical, Talmudic, & post-Talmudic History
Book includes:
-30 New maps (most full color)
-21 Charts
-Much more information throughout
-Jewish history all the way to 2004
Put your arms around Jewish History.
For most people five thousand years of history boggles the mind. So many names and places. Years and events. It can be overwhelming and confusing. This book---with its clever and thoughtful organization---is keenly structured to enable everyone to grasp the larger picture and to focus in on detail.
Those familiar with this author's previous history work (Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia) will recognize some of the features---and of course history doesn't change with time.
However, don't be fooled. This is not just an updated re-run.
This is a new book by Kantor, an experienced articulator of crisp and crystal-clear history. It is a rare type in history books---because one could read a couple of entries before going to sleep, and not have the need to continue from the same spot next time. This book is chock-full of delightful snippets.
It is a browsers delight, and a students vital imperative. It is a scholarly work with a dazzling array of references. Skip over them if you wish (they are in small print)---but the erudition is more than impressive.
Oh yes. There are charts, graphics, plain maps, full color maps and antique maps.
All these (and other) numerous features make this an important work that is bound to be a classic.
About the Author: Rabbi Mattis Kantor...
Australian born Rabbi Mattis Kantor studied in Yeshivot in Cleveland, Israel and then New York, where he received Rabbinical ordination from the Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in 1966, and a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from Fordham University in 1970. He is a noted author and lecturer who has held a number of educational positions in the United States and Australia. He has recently retired as the rabbi of Congregation Zichron Moshe in Monsey New York, and is currently writing new works.
He is the author of three major works; all have been featured as a MAIN SELECTION OF THE MONTH by the Jewish Book Club in the USA.
A Guide for the Entangled; CHASSIDIC INSIGHTS was first published in 1978. It is a system of contemporary religious hashkafa philosophy with a mystical Kabala blend.
A Guide for the Entangled; TEN KEYS FOR UNDERSTANDING HUMAN NATURE was published in spring of 1994. It is a system of personality analysis based on the Kabala.
THE JEWISH TIME LINE ENCYCLOPEDIA was first published in 1989. The exceptional organization of this work and its traditional approach to Jewish history have won it some remarkable acclaim for its brief---yet comprehensive, and simple scholarly, style. It has seen three editions.
Best Jewish History Book.......2006-06-27
I've read many Jewish history books and this one is by far the best and most accurate.
Average customer rating:
- This author really knows her stuff and presents it well.
|
The Paradoxical Ascent to God: The Kabbalistic Theosophy of Habad Hasidism (S U N Y Series in Judaica)
Rachel Elior
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Judaism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Hasidism
| Judaism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Kabbalah
| Sacred Writings
| Judaism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Orthodox
| Movements
| Judaism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0791410455 |
Customer Reviews:
This author really knows her stuff and presents it well........1998-03-03
Elior has studied Jewish mysticism in general, and Habad mysticism in particular, for the last several decades. Her teacher and mentor was the great Gershom Sholem, pioneer in the field. She presents the material logically, clearly, and, most of all, entertainingly and in a way the general public can understand. Read it!
Customer Reviews:
Chumash Stone Editon - a wonderful translation.......2006-07-18
First, I would like to say that I received this item sooner than anticipated, which was my first surprise. Second, upon opening the package I find my books are truly beautiful. The embossed front cover is a wonderful work of art. The paper is of a fine quality, and the print is easy to read, both in Hebrew as well as in English. The commentary is astounding in its insights and quality. I would highly recommend this treasure to any who was asking for the word's of Hashem in English as well as in His Holy language.
Book Description
A fascinating history of the Jews, told by a master novelist, here is Chaim Potok's fascinating, moving four thousand-year history. Recreating great historical events, exporing Jewish life in its infinite variety and in many eras and places, here is a unique work by a singular Jewish voice.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant and engaging, even page-turning, overview of the history of the Jews and Judaism.......2007-08-15
"Each time the light returns and we are able to see the new world that has been created on the ruins of the old, we discover familiar elements of the overthrown civilization in the creativity of the new" (p. 379). Although specifically referring in this passage to those Germanic tribes who conquered and assimilated the Roman empire, this comment is a succinct encapsulation of Potok's larger narrative about the Jewish people. *Wanderings* demonstrates that the history of the Jews and of Judaism is a palimpsest in which the central theme of covenant relationship with God has been regularly reinvented, overthrown as it were and creatively reconstructed, so that it may maintain its relevance in a changing world.
For those of us whose knowledge of the Jewish people and the religion of Judaism effectively begins with "Genesis" and ends with "Malachi," this book is indispensable. It seems equally indispensable for those raised within contemporary Jewry who wrestle, like Jacob, to reconcile the idea of a God who operates in history through his chosen people with a reality that is multi-faith and often seemingly without purpose. It does not hurt that Potok, an acclaimed novelist as well as an ordained rabbi, infuses his historical narrative with a pace and lyrical grace more in keeping with an epic novel than a work of nonfiction.
Potok's narrative begins, in a manner similar to contemporary accounts, with those first great Mesopotamian civilizations, Sumer and Akkad. Against this background of cuneiform and clay, Bronze Age technology, extraordinary civilizational creativity, and the constant threats of catastrophic flood and drought, wanders Abraham of Ur, first of the Hebrew patriarchs. Even in the earliest recorded tales of this wanderer and his descendants, we are told, "the basic themes of the Hebrew Bible-covenant, liberation, redemption; the search for insight into a world assumed to be meaningful-remain essentially the same..." (P. 40) . The wandering tribes descended from Abraham-called Hapirus-mingled with their new Canaanite (aka Phoenician) neighbors; slowly made their way into the Black Land of the Nile to escape famine; were enslaved by the native Egyptians when their Semitic relatives, the Hyksos, were driven from the pharaoh's throne; were liberated when one of their own, a man named Moses, received a call from their God; returned to the land of Canaan, their "Promised Land," with the goal of conquest; established a kingdom under Saul, and then the shepherd boy David; built a magnificent temple under the reign of David's son Solomon; watched all these accomplishments fade under one weak and corrupt king after another; and finally found themselves taken captive by the Babylonians. In short, we follow the rise and fall of the first great Jewish civilization, all while keeping in sight the religious thread that connects these victories and calamities. "The Israelites saw each of these crucial encounters between God and man through the filtering vision of covenant relationships" (p. 141). While all of these stories are familiar to those who have read the Old Testament, Potok ingeniously retells them with a novelist's sensibility and a scholar's insight, making the oftentimes two-dimensional characters of scripture come to life and resonate with the contemporary reader.
The Babylonian captivity was not the end of the Jewish people or their religion, although that is all too often assumed by those whose only knowledge of the Jews and Judaism comes from the Christian Bible. Instead, those who were allowed to return to their homeland after almost a century in captivity began the slow transition to the second great Jewish civilization, that of Rabbinic Judaism. Potok discusses the influences of Greek philosophy and Roman political domination on Jewish thought and practice; the origins of the conservative Sadducees and liberal Pharisees; the destruction of the Temple and, later, of Jerusalem by the Romans; the expulsion of the Jews from Judea; the creation of the Talmud in Palestine and Babylon; the high Sephardic civilization of Al-Andalus in Muslim Spain; the difficulties and discrimination faced by Jews on the margins of Christendom; and the ultimate unraveling of the 1,500-year old rabbinical civilization with the coming of the Enlightenment. All along the journey, Potok discusses the regular reinvention of what it means to be one of God's chosen people: from the early days of the doctrine of dual Torah and the Pharisaic emphasis on ethics; to the Kabbalistic notion that keeping God's commandments is a way of restoring the cosmos to its original sacred integrity; to Isaac Luria's conception of God sharing Israel's exile in the process of creation; to the joyous celebration of life itself expounded by the founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov; to the Enlightenment's questioning of the very need for a sense of Jewish identity.
In short, *Wanderings*, in brilliant and engaging, even page-turning, prose, reveals Judaism to be a dynamic and fluid faith whose drive to find meaning in the world and willingness to change even that which seems most essential has allowed it to survive, and even to thrive, on the margins of civilizations whose views of the Jewish people have vacillated between begrudging respect to genocidal hatred. This book (I almost wrote "novel") is a remarkable achievement.
Comprehensive historic account.......2007-03-05
In this work, Potok outlines the narrative of Jewish history against the canvas of world history. The Jewish people have influenced and been influenced by the world in equal measure.
Book One outlines the struggle of the Hebrew Nation, against the backdrop of ancient paganism. He discusses the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia, before introducing Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew Nation, who migrated from Ur in southern Mesopotamia, to Canaan, as recorded in the Biblical narrative.
Each chapter explains the history of the dominant civilization of the time, in which the struggles and contributions of the Nation of Israel took place, before describing the role played by the Jews and their specific history. There are chapters on the struggles of the Jews under the Mesopotamian , Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman and Islamic Empires, and the long exile of a large portion of the Jewish people in Christian Europe.
There is other ancient documentation, as sources for the ancient history of Israel, describing how the word 'Hapiru' was first used in Egyptian records during the reign of Amenhotep II, who ruled Egypt from about 1440 to 1415 BCE.
Much of this epic account deals with the unique contribution of the Jewish people to world civilization. Hence we discover that the Biblical recognition of a slave as an individual with rights, though he still lacks the status of a free man, has no parallel in the laws of Mesopotamia or any other ancient civilization, and was indeed a Judaic initiative.
Egyptian accounts record the presence of the Israelites in Canaan, around the year 1220 BCE.
The town of Shechem (now called Nablus by the Arabs) is nowhere claimed to have been conquered by the Israelites under Joshuah, and was most likely a Hebrew enclave all through the centuries of the enslavement in Egypt.
One's attitude to the Jews and Israel is a very good litmus test for the character of people, entities and nations.
In some instances, their general actions have preceded their actions against the Jews, and in other instances what has begun with the Jews has not ended with them.
A foretaste of the cultural genoicide of the Moslem Arabs, against the cultures of lands they invaded, was the burning of the ancient libararies of Alexandria, Egypt by Arab Moslem invaders in 647 CE, described by the author.
The Land of Israel retained a Jewish majority long after the destruction of the Second Temple, by the Romans in 70 CE, and probabely until the Arab invasion of the Land of Israel in 634 CE. Like all the lands that came under the Arab Moslem domination, attempts were made by the Arab Moslem invaders to eradicate all presence of the indigenous cultures.
Hence on the site of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism, the Moslems erected the Dome of the Golden Rock, in 691 CE.
The author explains the roots of Christian and Islamic anti-semitism, and the massacres that took place against Jews, during the crusades, across Europe through the ages, the horrific genocide of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, by the marauding Cossacks of Bogdan Chmielnicki, in 1648 and the Kishinev massacre of Jews in 1905.
The Chmielnicki massacre is recounted by a letter written during that period about the capture of some Jewish towns by the Cossacks: "They slaughtered eight hundred noblemen, together with their wives and children as well as seven hundred Jews, also with their wives and children. Some were cut into pieces, others were ordered to dig graves into which Jewish women and children were thrown and buried alive. Jews were given rifles and ordered to kill each other."
The author also discusses the numerous repeated blood libels and accusation of host desecration: "Mystery plays depicted the Jews as Christ killers, demonic allies of Satan, and blood-sucking moneylenders".-libels being repeated under new guises in the early 21st century, in the climate of the new anti-semitism-vicious anti-Israel hate and hysteria.
The book details the life of Jews in exile in mediaeval Spain, Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe. We learn about great Jewish thinkers and writers like Judah HaLevi, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Ben of Tudela, and the great religious influences of such luminaries as the Baal Shem Tov the Vilna Gaon, and Moses Mendehlson.
The final chapter deals with the blight of Secularism on the Jewish people. The author aptly describes secular humanism (or modern paganism) as thus:"
It is probabely the most creative, the most liberated, the wealthiest, most dehumanizing and most murdeous civilization in the history of our species. Among those who suffered the most from it's excesses is the Jew. Ironically Jews helped to mould this civilization"
Most secular humanists today display the most breathtaking hypocrisy on issues such as human rights, especially under it's offshoot-the cult of political correctness.
Under the enlightenment a new form of anti-semitism came into being, shaped by the likes of Voltaire and Karl Marx-the mother of the new anti-semitism of today, prevalent at university campuses , media houses and leftist NGOs.
Finally the author writes about the founders of modern Zionism the return of Jews to the Land of Israel, and the struggle for the rebirth of a Jewish State.
It is inpiring to read of Herzl's journey to the Land of Israel in 1898: "Beneath the hot Medittaranean sun he was greeted by Jews who established the new settlements in the land. He saw tanned Jewish children, and men at ease on galloping horses. He saw groves of trees and new houses and grass on sand dunes..."
Potok deals too briefly with the subjects of the Holocaust and the rebirth of the Jewish Nation, with the refoundation of the State of Israel.
But he succeeds in putting across how Israel is a warmth for Jews, everywhere , how we fear for her, tremble when her people are hurt and support her.
The world lost a third of it's Jewish population during the Holocaust, and now almost half of world Jewry live in Israel (including hundreds of thousands of the descendants of holocaust survivors). The survival of Israel is the survival of the Jewish people.
Great Book.......2006-12-31
I really enjoyed this book. Chaim really hits the nail right on the head. So elloquent and educated, a great story teller.
The Narrative wanders also.......2006-11-02
This is one of two historical works written by the great Jewish novelist Chaim Potok. While Potok's novels are wonderful, his writing style oddly doesn't lead itself to the writing of history. This book is perhaps the lesser of the two non-fiction works he wrote: the text meanders all over the place, spending 15-20 pages on digressions that have nothing to do with the main story that he's relating. At times, it's very tedious.
Potok's main point seems to be his pride in the Jews for maintaining their faith, and to a lesser extent their culture, through all of their tribulations. I salute him for that: Judaism, after all, really has been through the wringer, and for the most part Jews are a peaceful people who only want to be left alone. I'm afraid that this didn't make up for enough of the rest of the book for me, so that it loses two stars. I only regard it well provisionally: it took me much longer to read than I think it should have.
I would only recommend this book to those interested in the subject, and warn them about the prose and style and other oddities of the narrative.
the KEY that unravels much of world history, i.e., the perennial conflict between FAITH & REASON.......2006-04-30
WANDERINGS (a history of the Jews) by Chaim Potok
It was Mark Twain's quotes, that acquainted me with the stunning fact that Jews constitute only a tiny percentage of the world's population, yet they constitute by far the majority of the world's genius. What was clear to me at the time, was that Jews celebrated FAMILY, of which I had none when growing up in a public institution. I wanted that very badly.
Other elements of Judaism stand out to me:
1. At the core of Judaism is the idea of GOD.
2. Jews do not "teach" HATE
Potok's clarification of the perennial conflict between FAITH & REASON, made sense of all the ideological conflicts in world history. [The Alcoholics Anonymous "BIG BOOK" contains this clarification also, which I think is cute.] Potok shows how the two great cultures of civilized history, the Greek & the Hebrew, have evolved in the context of what some philosophers have termed "The Great Dichotomy" or "The Eternal Duad". The Greeks perfected REASON, which eventually codifies in the body of knowledge known to us as SCIENCE. The Jews perfected FAITH, which eventually codifies in the general idea of religion and metaphysics.
Whereas in fact there are grey areas where Greek & Hebrew culture create a philosophical common ground [both cultures embraced the idea of "soul"] ....the ideological divisions come down to us even today, such that the conflict between FAITH & REASON manifests in two common conflicts, which are now recognized by everyone.
(1)
The conflict concerning ABORTION, which articulates a conflict between Science and Religion
(2)
The conflict concerning Evolutionary Theory and it's teaching in public schools, which also articulates a conflict between Science and Religion
When our foggy minds clear, and we understand this, we finally come to know what Solomon meant when he says, in Ecclesiastes, that "...there is nothing new under the sun". There are no NEW ideas in conflict in our world, but OLD ideas dressed up and offered again and again in perennial conflict.
Whereas there will always be those who, in their wisdom, HARMONIZE the distinct spheres of SCIENCE & FAITH, there will always be those who see the world in extremes of a BLACK and WHITE dichotomy. It does us no earthly good, to deny that some of humanity cannot resolve or balance the two KEY elements of our nature, the physical & spiritual, and who always seem to offer up an ALL or NOTHING model for human understanding.
I would venture to say that the Jews were the people who first stopped running from reality, merely because of persecution. All nations have suffered invasion and conquest, but the Jews have endured it better than anybody.
We, in our personal lives, must learn to stop running from reality also. There comes a time when individuals, like nations, must hold themselves accountable for what they say, and what they do.
I went on to read Potok's novels:
"My Name is Asher Lev" and "The Chosen"
Both of which I can recommend as well.
Book Description
Sometimes your memories are not your own.
Just as Art Spiegelman's Maus presented a dramatic new framework from which to view the Holocaust, Mendel's Daughter combines an unforgettable true story with elegant, haunting illustrations to shed new light on one of history's darkest periods. In 1989, Martin Lemelman videotaped his mother, Gusta, as she opened up about her childhood in 1930s Poland and her eventual escape from Nazi persecution. Now, in Mendel's Daughter, Lemelman lovingly transcribes his mother's harrowing testimony, and he brings her narrative to life with his own powerful black-and-white drawings, interspersed with reproductions of actual photos, documents and other relics from that unsettled era. The result is a wholly original, authentic and moving account of hope and survival in a time of despair.
Mendel's Daughter opens with a picture of shtetl life, filled with homey images that evoke the richness of foods and flowers, of family and friends and Jewish tradition. Soon, however, Gusta's girlhood is cut short as her family becomes witness to the rise of Hitler, rumors of war, invasion, occupation, roundups and pogroms. We follow Gusta into flight, hiding and survival into the unfolding uncertainty of those terrible times.
As solemn and as hopeful as a prayer, Mendel's Daughter is Martin Lemelman is testament to Gustas bravery and a celebration of her perseverance. The devastatingly simple power of a mother's words and a son's illustrations combine to create a work that is both intensely personal and universally resonant.
Customer Reviews:
A book with love inside .......2007-07-18
Martin Lemelman has created a beautiful memoir, with his mother's voice speaking to the reader (you can hear her adorable accent!) and tender drawings that recreate her life as a young Jewish girl in Ukraine, a life that was torn apart by Nazi invasion.
I almost left this book on the shelf because - sometimes you don't want to hear another story like this. But one look at the pictures and I had to read it. I could see this book would not be like any graphic novel or any holocaust novel that I read before.
Somehow you finish this book, despite the story, feeling unexpectedly happy. Why is that when there is so much sadness, when you expect only grief or rage? Well, on every page you can feel Lemelman's love for his mother and you just feel happy that this beautiful book was made for her, and that her story is shared with us.
By the way, I was reading to see whether I might share this book with young people. If you find yourself beginning to approach the story of the Holocaust, I definitely recommend Mendel's Daughter.
Wonderful book club selection.......2007-06-01
Our book club read this wonderful book and everyone agreed (which was a miracle) that it was an amazing experience. From the lovely illustrations to "hearing" Gusta's voice, it was a totally memorable read. The author, Martin Lemelman, accepted our invitation to speak to our book club and he added even so much more to this story. His gentle manner was in direct contrast to the horrors of the stories he told us. Reading the book then having Martin speak to us about researching and writing it, was a definite highlight for all of us.
Richie's Picks: MENDEL'S DAUGHTER.......2007-02-05
MENDEL'S DAUGHTER details the harrowing story of Martin Lemelman's mother and her family during the Holocaust. It is a story that Lemelman grew up knowing very little of. But in 1989, after his mother, Gusta, dropped a frozen chicken on her foot (causing it to be broken), Lemelman brought her to stay at his house in Pennsylvania. In part to curtail her efforts to do all of the cooking and cleaning at his house with her broken foot, and in part to have a family history that he would be able to pass along to his own children, Lemelman persuaded his mother to finally share her story. He wisely videotaped her. After her death a decade ago, he watched the recording, edited the story Gusta related by reorganizing it chronologically and augmenting her accounts with those of his Uncle Isia, who also survived. He then illustrated it with hundreds of drawings interspersed with actual documents and some little black and white photos his mother had saved from her childhood.
Gusta Mendel grew up in a prosperous and well-regarded Jewish family in a portion of Poland that is now part of the Ukraine. This was a region that during World War II was invaded first by the Communists and then by the Nazis. We know from the outset of this memoir that this is a story of survival, that Gusta made it through the Holocaust. Following the historical and personal events that are depicted in this book, Gusta would eventually come to America and, with her husband, raise Lemelman and his brother in the back of their Brooklyn candy store.
The rest of the Mendel family was murdered by the Nazis, but Gusta, Isia, Yetala, and another sibling, Simon, lived. The four siblings survived in the woods through two winters, digging themselves a series of underground shelters, burying the potatoes and sugarbeets they'd steal from fields in the middle of the night, and getting some help from a few people who were sympathetic to their plight.
"For us, the war ended in March-April 1944.
"Who could believe that the German army coming back to Germakivka would be the beginning of our liberation? This time, thanks God, they was coming from the East, running away from Russia."
The result of Lemelman's labor of love is the real deal: an illustrated memoir which, while technically published as an adult book, will be incredibly approachable, engaging, and memorable to middle school and high school age readers.
A Heartbreaking and Heartwarming Story of Survival.......2006-12-19
I picked up Martin Lemelman's book, "Mendel's Daughter," and did not put it down until I had read through to the last page. The story is familiar, yet new--a testimony to the spirit, faith, and tenacity of those who did whatever they could, whatever they had to do to survive the atrocities of the Holocaust. Yet it is much more than a tale of survival or an account of the fate of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis. It is a touching, poignant story of a family that although divided by circumstances, remains whole and committed to surviving, supporting each other, reuniting, and, throughout, holding tight to their beliefs and traditions. The beautiful artwork that pictorially weaves this tale brings the characters to life, and the reader cannot help but feel their pain and anguish, their struggle to survive, their love and their joy. The drawings, the photographs, and the text of "Mendel's Daughter" all combine to create a timeless memorial to a family, a people, and a period in our history that must never be forgotten or dismissed.
Unusual Holocaust testimony.......2006-12-12
As an Interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Foundation, I have heard many moving testimonies, but Mendel's Daughter: A Memoir touched a raw nerve. Through his drawings, Lemelman was able to convey not only his mother's story, but his emotional reaction to it as well.
Average customer rating:
|
Haym Salomon: American Patriot
Susan Goldman Rubin , and
David Slonim
Manufacturer: Abrams Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Colonial & Revolutionary
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Jewish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Henry's Freedom Box
-
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel
ASIN: 081091087X |
Book Description
The story of one of America's first true patriots
Everyone knows Revolutionary War figures George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere, but Haym Salomon was also an important hero, and his accomplishments are finally gaining recognition in this biography that will entertain as it introduces its unique subject. Haym was one of the few Jewish patriots of the time. His knowledge of languages and currencies made him an exceptional man in pre-Revolution New York. Incredibly valuable to the revolutionary cause, Haym risked his life and his fortune, went to prison, and was forced to abandon his home and family—all for the sake of American independence. Acclaimed author Susan Goldman Rubin, along with illustrator David Slonim, brings Haym's remarkable story to life.
Customer Reviews:
A heroic book.......2007-06-18
Reviewed by Eric Zeda (age 8) for Reader Views (6/07)
This story is about a man named Haym Salomon. He helped George Washington win the war against the British troops. Haym traveled a lot and knew many languages. He used his abilities to help the American troops win independence. He joined a group called Sons of Liberty and helped raise money to help the soldiers that needed food, uniforms and boots. Haym was an American patriot who loved and protected his country. He got sick and died January 6, 1785.
I liked this book because it was about war. It showed how the soldiers lived and how they suffered. I didn't know about Haym. It was nice to read about what he did for the soldiers. I also like the colorful pictures in "Haym Salomon: American Patriot."
Books:
- Fisher-Price, 1931-1963: A Historical, Rarity, Value Guide (Fisher-Price: a Historical, Rarity & Value Guide, 2nd ed)
- Franciscan: An American Dinnerware Tradition
- Guitar Player Repair Guide
- His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Successful Proposal Strategies for Small Business: Using Knowledge Management to Win Government, Pri
- History: Fiction or Science
- Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films
- Beth Manners' Magic Spanish for Kids: ages 2-6
- Coombs' Printed Circuits Handbook
- Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets
- Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds
- A Foreign Exchange Primer
- Accounting, Budgeting, and Policiesand Procedures Set
- The Cattle Car: Including "Letter to a Little Girl"
A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar
The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 (Nazi Germany and the Jews)
How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now
