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Posts Tagged jewish books
The 59th Annual Jewish Book Awards
Posted by Carol in Jewish Books on March 11, 2010
My goodness, what a week: first, the Oscars on Sunday night, and then the Jewish Oscars on Tuesday! The Jewish book Oscars, that is: the 2009 National Jewish Book Awards.
Jewish Book Council
Dozens of Jewish literary notables were there: Joseph Telushkin, James Kugel, Lawrence Schiffman, Ari Goldman, Alana Newhouse, Yitz and Blu Greenberg, just for starters. Lots of other familiar faces, too, including two former JPS interns Naomi Firestone and Miri Pomerantz Dauber, now with the Jewish Book Council, which hosted the event.
It was quite a night for JPS, with more award winners than any other publisher: Editor Emerita Ellen Frankel and Avi Katz took a prize for the best Illustrated Children’s Book, for their JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible; Paul Steinberg and Janet Greenstein Potter’s Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays won for best Jewish Family Literature, Judy Klitsner’s Subversive Sequel in the Bible took the award for Scholarship. Frauke von Rohden’s Meneket Rivkah: A Manual of Wisdom and Piety for Jewish Women was a finalist for in the Scholarship category, and Frankel and Katz also were finalists in Jewish Family Literature. Below you can view a slideshow of our winners at the event!
I’m a big fiction fan, so I’ve added Joseph Kertes’ Gratitude: A Novel, the fiction award winner, to my (50+ book!) reading list. If you want to add winners to your reading list, check out wwww.jewishbookcouncil.org and add your comments and suggested book list titles below in response to this posting.
-Carol Hupping, Interim Director
Reviving the classics!
Posted by Alx in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on January 28, 2010
We’re going back to basics! As a part of our spring 2010 collection, we have re-launched five of JPS’s classic books! These classic books are for readers of all ages, and we hope that by bringing them back to the shelves, readers will be reminded of some timeless ideas that are essential to Judaism.
Lessons learned in these classic books carry as much weight as ever, containing information that, believe it or not, may be directly applicable to our lives today.
Here is a list of JPS works revived in 2010:
- Judaism as a Civilization by Mordecai Kaplan
This book introduced a new way of looking at Judaism, and is considered the origin of the Reconstructionist Movement. Kaplan felt that all Jews – traditional and liberal, religious and secular – could play a part in this “reconstruction.”
2. Book of Tradition by Abraham ibn Daud (author) and Gerson D. Cohen (translator)
This epic on Jewish history from ancient times to the 12th century eulogized Spanish Jewry and reminded readers of a once-thriving culture. No one before had ever attempted to write such a broad history of Jewish civilization, and this unique book is one of the first examples of Jewish historiography
3. Genesis: The Beginning of Desire by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Ph.D.
This epic breathes new life into the stories of Adam and Even, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Essau, Rachel, and Joseph. Zornberg brings biblical, midrashic, and literary sources together, illuminating the tensions that grip human beings as they search for an encounter God
4. The Life of Gluckel of Hameln by Beth-Zion Abrahams
Gluckel of Hameln’s memoir is widely viewed as one of the earliest major works written by a Jewish woman and has become a classic. This JPS book is the only English translation of Gluckel’s story from the original Yiddish and is widely considered the most accurate and complete translation available
5. Modern Poems on the Bible by David Curzon
This is a collection of imaginative and engaging contemporary responses to the Bible. Guided by the classic rabbinic genre of midrash conceived 1,500 years ago, Curzon chooses poems from Jewish and non-Jewish writers alike and places them besides the biblical passages that were their inspiration.
After all, Albert Einstein once said: “Somebody who reads only newspapers and at best the books of contemporary authors’ looks to me like an extremely nearsighted person who scorns eyeglasses.” We’ve certainly learned a lesson or two from Albert, so perhaps we should take his advice!
-Emily
Follow our authors on tour!
Posted by Alx in Jewish Books on January 26, 2010
The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2010 recipients with a blog tour February 1-5, 2010!
What is a blog tour, you ask? A blog tour is like a virtual book tour. So instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author speak, you go to a website on or after the assigned date, and read the author’s interview
in the comfort of your own home (or office!) Imagine that – being up close and personal with our winning authors without even leaving your chair!
JPS authors that will be a part of the blog tour are Judy Vida, author of Naomi’s Song (winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the teen readers category), and Ellen Frankel, author of the JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible (notable Sydney Taylor Book in the category of all ages). The interview with Juda Vida will be posted on The Book Nosher on February 3rd, 2010. The interview with Ellen Frankel will be posted on the Deo Writer on February 5th, 2010.
Make sure you tune in to see what our accomplished authors have to say!
-Emily
Think You Know Everything About Judaism? Think Again!
Posted by Sarah in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on January 11, 2010
Mara W. Cohen Ioannides, author of the JPS book A Shout in the Sunshine, guest blogs for JPS about the many forgotten cultures within Judaism.
Jews often forget that we are a multi-cultural community. American Jews, I believe, are particularly guilty of this, which is quite amazing considering the quilt of cultures we wrap ourselves in. We view American Jewishness as Yiddishkeit, and forget about the other ethnic groups that make up the community of Jews, like Yemini, Sephardi, etc. Before you pooh-pooh this idea, list Jewish ethnic food. Did you list: matzah balls, bagels, pastrami, rye bread, mandel brot, challah, or honey cake? Then you are an Eastern European ethnic Jew. What ever happened to humus, lahana, or halvah?
I grew up at a time when Sephardic Jews were only mentioned in history books (and I lived an hour from Mikveh Israel in the historic district of Philadelphia) and the only books for children about American Jewish children were the All of a Kind Family series. I loved those books, mostly because I imagined my grandmothers and their sisters as those girls. However, as I grew up I really wondered about all those other Jews. I wanted to know what Jews all over the world were like and there weren’t really books about them.
When I became a mother of a daughter with a Greek father, I desperately wanted her to know all of her history. I could find nothing for children about Greek Jewry. This began my series of novels. We know that Jews lived throughout history in almost every part of the world, but we don’t really understand what their lives were like. Here’s my pick of books for young and old that should get you started on seeing another part of Jewish culture:
1. I Remember Rhodes by Rebecca Amato Levy is a wonderful book of the author’s reminiscences about her childhood in the pre-Holocaust Jewish quarter of Rhodes. It is filled with celebrations, sayings, and songs. You can read it in English or Ladino! This woman was a foundation of the Rhodalisi community in California and started me on my interest in Greek Jewry.
2. Zayda Was a Cowboy by June Levitt Nislick, who would have thought? No, I’m serious. One of my grandfathers was a factory worker and the other, a postal worker, both lived in Brooklyn. Who had Jewish grandfathers who were cowboys? Never underestimate a children’s book. They may be short, but the story is just as good.
3. The Book of Jewish Food: An odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden was another inspiration for me. Anyone who has read my book knows there is an incredible amount of food in it. Every Jewish holiday is about food, even the fast days. My rabbi says that every time she reads my book she gets hungry. If you want to try making the food in my novel, get this book! This cookbook is amazing! The stories about the recipes are just as yummy as the recipes themselves.
4. The Life of Glückel of Hameln is a classic in women’s and Jewish studies. I love reading this memoir begun in 1690 by Glückel, a widow and mother of 14. Yes, I know, it is about an Eastern European Jew, but how many memoirs by women of this period are there? And how often do you get to read about life in the early 18th century. This book is part of the canon and should be on everyone shelves, just like Sydney Taylor’s books.
5. Rashi’s Daughters: Rachel, the third in Maggie Anton’s series, is another powerful look at cultural diversity. In this finale, Rachel’s husband lives in both France and Spain and there are few books where the comparison between the golden ages of the Sephardim and the Ashkenazim are so dynamically paralleled. I was especially intrigued by the internal conflicts of husband and wife over the question of polygamy, which was practiced by the Sephardim and not the Ashkenazi.
Have I reached my five? There are so many good books out there. I could write for days about the books I have sitting on my shelves and those I wish I did. Whatever you do, don’t forget to get yourselves some excellent CDs of music. Sephardic music is much sought after by scholars of medieval Spanish. Did you know that the language still spoken which is closest to medieval Spanish is Ladino? No? All the more reason to take the opportunity to discover the hidden sides of Jewish culture!
Gelt and Candles and Goblins, Oh My!
Posted by Sarah in Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on December 10, 2009
Celebrating Hanukkah can be rough. I know, I know. You’re probably wondering how 8 days of presents could possibly be a hardship. Well, maybe that part isn’t bad, but as Jews we walk around stores inundated with Christmas decorations hoping for just a little glimmer of some Hanukkah cheer too.
A few weeks ago, I walked into Barnes & Noble and was browsing in the children’s section (shocker, I know). Despite being one of my favorite stores, it was depressing to see all the classic Christmas stories displayed throughout the room with only one side of a book carousel devoted to Hanukkah stories.
It’s true, there aren’t many famous Hanukkah stories. But, if you’re looking for a classic this season and the bookstore isn’t giving you the options you need, look no further! I know the best Hanukkah story, one that blows all others out of the water – Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. My mom used to read this to me when I was little, and to this day, I still believe that it is by far the best Hanukkah story around. So, here are five reasons why Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is the only book you need this Hanukkah season!
1. Goblins – What could be better than mixing Hanukkah and goblins? These fantasy creatures add spice to any story and are sure to draw in both kids and adults (the evidence being that I still love this story).
2. The Illustrations – While a little darker than your typical children’s story, the drawings in this book are amazing. Kids are drawn into an entirely different world and able to visualize the story’s crazy creatures and their actions.
3. Hershel – The main character is a really clever guy! Apparently based on a real person, he may not be your typical hero, but he fills the shoes quite nicely.
4. The Tools of Trickery – Hershel uses everything from a menorah to hardboiled eggs to a game of dreidel to a jar of pickles to outwit the goblins in this story. This strange arsenal is not only funny but effective, allowing Hershel to save Hanukkah for the villagers.
5. The Moral – The story is entertaining and readers will certainly be drawn into the alternate reality. But, even better, this tale has an amazing message: nothing should stop you from celebrating those things that are important to you. While a Jewish story, this great lesson makes Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins great for everyone!
-Sarah
40% off All JPS Books for 3 days!
3-Day Blowout End-of-Year Sale!
40% off any JPS books Wednesday-Friday ONLY
On December 2, 3, and 4, 2009 ONLY — enjoy tremendous savings when you shop at www.jewishpub.org
Enter code 40off at checkout
* Excludes Etz Hayim Standard and Gift editions, books in our “Classic Backlist” section, gift certificates, and membership. Cannot be combined with any other offer including membership discounts and gift certificates that begin with the letter E.
Are the Jewish People a Mythical Group?
Posted by Sarah in Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge, Publishing on December 2, 2009
Are the Jewish People real? Or did someone invent them?
These may seem like crazy questions. Certainly there are those out there who consider themselves Jews. And, there are people who know those who practice Judaism. So, where’s the debate?
Look no further than Shlomo Sand’s book, The Invention of the Jewish People. A controversial bestseller in Israel for the past year, Sand’s book is hitting the U.S. with its first English printing. In it, Sand questions historical beliefs most would consider fact. According to David Goldberg from The 
Jewish Community Online,
Legends about the Patriarchs, the Exodus and King David are what Sand calls “mythistories”, a word coined by the Greek writer George Sefiris to describe those embellishments with which every people seeks to glorify its origins. For the Romans it was Romulus; for the French, Charlemagne; for the Prussians, the medieval Teutonic knights.
Even with this challenge of Jewish history, Goldberg says that Sand’s book isn’t as radical as the cover implies. While I find Sand’s topic intriguing, it’s a specific argument that interests me most. In the end, Sand’s books contends that most Jews are descendants from converts, and that while large groups chose to follow Judaism, some of those once considered Jewish turned to something else.
Even if this is the case, my question is, does that make the Jewish people an invention?
Goldberg seems to be thinking along similar lines:
No one today, unless a simpleton, believes that all Jews are descended in an unbroken chain from Abraham to the present.
So, if most acknowledge the existence of converts, what’s the problem? Are they any less Jewish than those with Jewish mothers?
Don’t get me wrong, Sand’s ideas are certainly interesting, and if true, they continue to shed light to one of the oldest religions today. Still, I can’t help but wonder what point he is trying to make.
-Sarah
Read a book in your PJs!
Posted by Naomi in JPS Books, Jewish Books on November 19, 2009
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago recently announced that the PJ Library is launching its free book program in the city. Each month for three years, the PJ Library will send a new, free book to thousands of young Jewish families in the Chicago area. Children receive the gift of a great, age-appropriate Jewish storybook, and families receive the gift of being able to enrich their children’s Jewish learning experiences, and of feeling embraced by the broader Jewish community. Chicago, in fact, is only one of 100-plus communities throughout North America where PJ Library operates – each month, the program reaches over 50,000 children! According to the Chicago Federation announcement,
In each community where it is available, the PJ Library receives enthusiastic praise from parents and grandparents who cite the high quality of the books, and the thoughtful accompanying guides for parents to provide background on topics, among their favorite aspects of the program.
[...]And then, there is the excitement felt by children each month when an envelope arrives in the mail addressed to them, and the joy the parents feel when they watch their children’s faces light up when they learn something new. “The program isn’t just free—that it makes learning about Judaism fun, is priceless,” commented Deborah Cooper, PJ Library program director.
The books that PJ Library selects are age-appropriate and are meant to engage a broad spectrum of Jewish families. Themes tend of focus on Jewish holidays, the Bible, Jewish values, and folklore. Their list even includes a few JPS titles (!), including Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks, and A Coat for the Moon (you can browse through the full list of books here).
Wishing all the littlest residents of the Windy City happy reading,
Naomi
What is a Jewish Word?
Posted by Sarah in JPS Books, Jewish Books on November 17, 2009
This article by Joyce Eisenberg & Ellen Scolnic is crossposted from Interfaithfamily.com.
When a sportscaster on local network news reports that a baseball player has a lot of chutzpah asking for a salary increase, you know that Jewish words have made their way into mainstream conversation. “It represents the integration of Jews and Judaism into American culture,” says Rabbi Robert Rubin of Congregation Adath Israel in Merion, Pennsylvania. “When different peoples and cultures live together, words are often borrowed from one language to another.” But not everyone knows what all these different words mean. What is a “Jewish” word anyway? Judaism is a religion and a culture. How can a word be Jewish?
It’s a question we debated for more than a year, as we compiled a list of 1,400 words to include in our book, The Dictionary of Jewish Words: A JPS Guide. We defined “Jewish words” –whether Hebrew, Yiddish, English, or even one Hungarian word–as those associated with some aspect of Jewish life: holidays, rituals, life-cycle events, prayer, modern Israel and food, of course.
We wrote the dictionary for people like us. We’re Jewish moms, married to nice Jewish guys, raising Jewish kids. We’re both published writers, editors and researchers, but we’re not fluent in Hebrew and we’re not scholars or rabbis. Although we consider ourselves fairly knowledgeable and moderately observant, we kept coming across unfamiliar Jewish words. For example, when the flyer came home from Hebrew school asking us to participate in Mitzvah Day, we knew what tzedakah projects (raising money for charitable causes) were, but we were unsure about derekh eretz (respect for peers).
To continue reading, visit Interfaithfamily.com!
Blessing the People – From the Commentator’s Bible
Posted by Sarah in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on November 10, 2009
Michael Carasik, author of the Commentator’s Bible series, guest blogs for JPS in a post discussing the priestly benediction and the commentary surrounding it.
The scene is the inauguration of the Tabernacle—the Tent that housed the Ark during the Israelites’ journeys through the wilderness. It’s also the first day of operation for the newly ordained priests: Aaron and his four sons.
So first Aaron blessed the people; then Aaron and Moses went into the Tent, came back out, and blessed the people again. But how did they do it?
The commentators disagree. Now, you can find out how and why, in the Leviticus volume of my Commentators’ Bible series—just published by JPS. This post will introduce you to three of them: Rashi, Nahmanides, and Abraham ibn Ezra (we’re giving Rashi’s grandson, Rashbam, the day off today).
Rashi says the blessing Aaron recited in v. 22 was this:
But when Moses and Aaron came out of the Tent, they offered a different blessing, according to Rashi. The Bible does not give its text here, but the text is found in the Bible, in Psalm 90, which is identified in v. 1 as “A prayer of Moses.” In v. 17 of his prayer, Moses says, “May the favor of the LORD, our God, be upon us!”
Rashi explains why:
Nahmanides always takes Rashi’s explanations seriously:
He often disagrees with them, however:
Ibn Ezra takes a more practical interest in Aaron’s “lifting his hands”:
Says Nahmanides:
The Torah is not a book to pick up and read from beginning to end, once and be done with it, but a book that Jews return to over and over again to learn new insights. The Commentators’ Bible is intended to bring a deeper level of Torah study within the reach of more English-speaking Jews than ever before.
I am looking forward to learning with you!
bible, books, Commentator's Bible, education, jewish books, jewish history, Jewish Publication Society, JPS, Leviticus, Michael Carasik, religion, tanakh, text study, tradition
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