10,000-856 B.C.E. (Amikhai Mazar, The Anchor Bible Reference Library)
The Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian Periods, B.C.E. 732-332 (Amikhai Mazar, Vol. 2, The Anchor Bible Reference Library)
A Historical Geography (Yokhanan Aharoni), translated by Anson F. Rainey.
What Archaeology Can Tell Us abut the Reality of Ancient Israel (William G. Dever).
Qumran Cave 4 · V; Miqsat Ma·ase ha-Torah (Elisha Qimron, Professor of Linguistics, Bën-Guryon University of the Negev in Beersheba and John Strugnell; 352 pp.)
Dead Sea Scroll 4Q MMT proves that all religious Jews of the first century considered the Oral Law central to Torah. The Qumran Tzәdoqim author of MMT contrasts Ma·aseh against Halakhah. He implored the apostate pseudo-Tzәdoqim Hellenist sycophants of the Romans, who controlled the Beit ha-Miqdâsh to turn from the codification of their interpretations of Oral Law (their 'Book of Decrees') to return to Ma·aseh. Optional, and difficult, reading for non-scholars.
(Rabbi Nosson Scherman; 7' x 10' 2,200 pages)
Hebrew and English on facing pages, with occasional brief commentary from the Sages; maps & charts. Includes the standard Parashot Shavua, Haphtarot and aliyot.
Obtain price, details and order from: Dykler Bookstore, Rekhov Allenby 97, Tel Aviv; Tel. (972) (3) 566-0939
(Based on the Commentaries of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch; edited by Matityahu Clark; 352 pp.
English definitions and explanations. (See also Maskilon Dictionary)
(Chaya Kushnir; 112 pp.)
Beginner's workbook for learning to write Hebrew script
English Speakers Hebrew Dictionary
Set of books with 1640 verb roots and 158 conjugation tables, grammar & dictionary with idioms and abbreviations. See also Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew.
Fully conjugated in all tenses, soft-cover, 425 pp.
Fully conjugated in all tenses, soft-cover, 910 pp.
201 Hebrew Verbs is laid out more clearly and understandable, although this has more verbs.
History and Archaeology of the Judaeo-Christians (Bellarmino Bagatti, The Church from the Circumcision, Yәrushâlayim: Franciscan Press, 1971,)
A Study in the Origins of Antisemitism (James Parkes)
The seminal scholarly investigation by the late Oxford scholar, and world-acclaimed expert on antisemitism, James Parkes. Absolutely essential must-read. You may be able to find this book in your local library, particularly via inter-library loan. The original paperback price was $5.95 Beware of scalpers. We believe the public has a right to access to this book. Until someone republishes it, we will make it available at the original cost plus the currency exchange and credit card transaction fees. (Click on the title above.)
Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (Louis H. Feldman; paperback, 679 pages)
The definitive work about relations between Jews and Gentiles in the Graeco-Roman world from B.C.E. 4th-century to 5th-century C.E.
See also, Louis H. Feldman, The Omnipresence of the G*o*d-Fearers, Biblical Archeology Review, 86.09-10, pp. 58-69.
The true story of an event that changed human history (Geza Vermes, prof. emeritus of Jewish Studies, Univ. of Oxford, Penguin, 130 pp. ISBN 0 141 02132 2)
'Vermes, furthermore, flatly rejects as halakhically unthinkable the New Testament notion of [Ribi Yehoshua] being tried by the Sanhedrin on Pessah eve. Rather, Vermes argues, he was arrested as a troublemaker and delivered after cursory questioning to the Romans by the 'quisling' Jewish high priest…' (The Jerusalem Post, þ2005.04.29).
From its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile (Yehezkel Kaufmann; translated [into English] and abridged by Moshe Greenberg, 486 pp.)
Could you, without even being aware of it, be harboring pagan influences (demonic forces)? How can you know? Feelings and intuition? (All religions experience 'spiritual confirmation' and even 'spirtual ecstasy.') Miracles? (All religions experience anecdotal miracles, and Torah explicitly says that miracles by false prophets merely test your faith [Devarim 13.2-6].) How does monotheistic Judaism differ from paganism? Christians (and many Jews, even a few superstitious Orthodox rabbis) fail to grasp some of these crucial differences. This is the classic scholarly text exploring the many differences which could easily trip you up. Written in a scholarly style and vernacular, this (along with Parkes) is intellectually challenging yet essential reading.
The Reason for Antisemitism (Dennis Prager & Joseph Telushkin; 2003.08)
'The idea that Jew-hatred is related to Judaism may seem obvious, but in modern times tends not to be considered, even by many Jews…' Prager's and Telushkin's thesis is that there are reasons for antisemitism, and that the reasons have differed over time, but always relate to one or more components of Judaism: God, Jewish law, and Jewish nationalism (or as they are called in Judaism: God, Torah, and Israel). Roman and Greek pagans hated Jews for believing in one God, and for refusing to bow to their idols and emperors. Christianity, Judaism's daughter religion, has always felt threatened by the fact that Jews have refused to become Christians, most clearly through their adherence to Jewish law…'
'This is where most books on this topic would end, but Prager and Telushkin continue with concluding sections that are perhaps the most useful and thought-provoking part of the book. In the chapter 'Eight Lies About Israel,' the authors state Israel's case with such power, confidence and succinctness that even those who defend Israel regularly will find an important resource…' The true answers to antisemitism, the authors argue, are fighting back, seeking converts, and succeeding in the Jewish mission (of which many Jews are unaware) of spreading ethical monotheism…'
'In a truly original section, the authors explain that seeking converts lessens antisemitism in four ways: by making the Jewish people stronger, by ensuring that more non-Jews have Jewish relatives, by spreading Jewish values, and by helping dispel the notion that Jews are ethnic chauvinists. They further show that the negative attitudes that many Jews think Judaism has toward seeking converts are a forced artifact of antisemitism itself, which crushed the traditional positive approach to conversion' (Jerusalem Post, 2003.09.12, p. B13).
(Strassfeld, et al.; 319 pp.) Introduction to Jewish life ranging from Shabbat to festivals and blessings, kashrut, mezuzot, tephilin, etc.
Insights into the Mitzvah of Bikur Cholim [Visiting the Sick] (Chana Shofnos OTR & Bat Tova Zwebner, Southfield, MI: Targum Press, 1989), Distributed abroad by Philipp Feldheim, distributed in Israel by Nof Books
(Strassfeld, et al.; 464 pp.) Introduction to Jewish life ranging from b'rit milah (circumcision) to Bar Mitzvah, etc. with an excellent introduction to the synagogue and liturgy that Ribi Yehoshua and the original Netzarim knew, practiced and taught before the Church of 135 CE even came into existence. The core of this liturgy dates back to Har Sinai.
The What, How, and Why of Jewish Life; by Rabbi Mordechai Becher (ISBN: 1-42260-030-0).
(R. Avraham Chill; 508 pp.). Introductory overview of the 613 mitzwot (may be out of print)
A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life (R. Hayim Halevy Donin; 336 pp.).
Laws and Customs: the Sabbath / Dietary Laws / Family Life / Prayer / the Synagogue / Holy Days and Festivals / Hanukah / Passover; Special Occasions of Life: Birth / Naming / Adoption / Conversion / Bar Mitzvah / Marriage / Divorce / Death / Mourning.
A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service (R. Hayim Halevy Donin)
(R. Maurice Lamm; also available on CD).
(R. Maurice Lamm)
(R. Maurice Lamm)
Conversations on Being Jewish (Rabbi Emanuel Feldman)
Discusses faith, covenant, chosen people, ethics, love, G-d, sin, prayer, food and countless other matters.
About Jewish Matters (Doron & Sarah Tikvah Kornbluth; 180 pp.)
Women who practice Torah today and the issues that affect her.
(Sarah Finkel; 340 pp.). 350 recipes by a chef-caterer.
A Summary of Laws for Jewish Living (Rabbi Zeev Grinvald; 448 pp.)
Among the many topics included in this work are the daily routine, prayer, tzitzit ('tzitzis'), and tephilin, blessings, Shabat, Festivals and special days, the dietary laws, and mourning.
This is an ultra-Orthodox 'glatt kosher' book, which the reader should keep in mind is occasionally (not routinely) too 'ultra' and minutiae-oriented. However, some books under-treat halakhah, leaving students entirely unaware of many halakhic issues they will encounter and have to deal with (including the many ultra-Orthodox Jews who are in the Jewish community) — unprepared. It's essential that students understand, and be able to accommodate, even ultra-Orthodox positions with which we disagree and regard as extreme; i.e. not justifiable as halakhah.
Readers of this book should keep in mind that, since Mosheh, what constitutes correct halakhah has always been the core of the most heated debate within the Jewish community. This is the primary lesson demonstrated in Dead Sea Scroll 4Q MMT. However, there are two caveats: [1] non-Jews have no part in that debate, and [2] the authority of halakhah itself remains unquestioned in the legitimate Jewish community. What is correct halakhah has occupied the center of Jewish debate for millennia, but the authority of halakhah has never been questioned, and may not be questioned, in the legitimate Jewish community.
Readers should also be aware that halakhah itself acknowledges that, second only to the Jewish Bible, logic, the endowment of ha-Sheim, occupies the supreme priority in determining correct halakhah. Rabbinic authority reposes not in their title but entirely in their ability to justify their positions in logic. Further, the frequent assertion that the consensus of the Orthodox religious public defines halakhah is contradicted by the many accounts in Scripture in which the consensus of Israel was to stray — most notably, the incident of the Golden Calf.
It is better for students to have in-hand, in this book, the questions of halakhah they will undoubtedly encounter and, whenever something in the book strikes them as extreme, ask the Netzarim whether it's justified and why. This is the only process that ensures the reader is exposed to, and prepared for, the many issues of halakhah that he or she needs to know in daily practice. The alternative is to be left unaware of many halakhic issues, and spend the rest of one's life encountering, and wrestling with, halakhic issues of which he or she was never made aware.
Louis H. Feldman, the relationship of non-Jews to Judaism from the Biblical era to Hellenist 1st century CE Judea. BAR magazine states: "There is simply no one in the world who has a better grasp of Hellenistic Jewish literature than Louis Feldman" Biblical Archaeology Review, XII:5 (86.09-10), 45, 58-69.
Encyclopedia Judaica
Please obtain these videos from the copyright holders if possible. If this is impossible we will make a copy available for $39.95 (indicate which TV system you need: NTSC-US or PAL- Europe).
Khât-Tut-Moses was the only notable female Paroh in history before Cleopatra. Was Khât-Tut-Moses, the 12-year-old daughter of Paroh Tut-Moses I, the princess who found & raised Sen-en-mut Tut-Moses?
Twenty years after inexplicably stepping down from the throne, Khât-Tut-Moses mysteriously just 'disappeared' along with her daughter. Was it merely coincidence that this is exactly when her behind-the-scenes strategist, Sen-en-mut Tut-Moses) also mysteriously vanished?
Subsequently, her son, Paroh Tut-Moses III, aggressively erased his mother from the Egyptian historical record, engraved in stone on the walls of the Temple at Karnak. Scholars have no explanation why he would wait 20 years after she stepped down, or what motivated him to erase her historical record 20 years after she stepped down. This erasure of her historical record occurred within a window of archeological uncertainty that includes the same estimated time in which the Yәtziah occurred — which would explain all of the perplexing 'mysteries' perfectly. That, including the volcanic eruption at Santorini/Thera, mathematically defies coincidence — while archeological dating is notoriously unreliable and frequently found to be wrong, even very wrong.
Was Sen-en-mut Tut-Moses, raised in the royal Pharaonic household and certainly known by the Tut-Moses surname, known confidant and lover of Khât-Tut-Moses (Egyptian royalty was strictly protective of "royal bloodline"; i.e., incestuous), actually the full Egyptian name of Moses? Was Khât-Tut-Moses erased from Egyptian history because she followed her beloved Moses in the Yәtziah?