Black Jews in Africa and the Americas by Tudor Parfitt, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; ISBN 978-0-674-06698-4 ©2013, $29.95, p. 170, plus notes and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel, fell after a two-year siege under the command of its king, Sargon II in 722 BCE. The [...]
Jews and Words by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, ISBN 978-0-300-15647-8 ©2012, $25.99, p. 204, plus source listing and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The Hebrew Bible announces that God created the heaven and the earth. How did God form them? Through the spoken word, which [...]
Trialogue and Terror: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam after 9/11 by Alan L. Berger, ed., Cascade Books, Eugene, OR; ISBN 978-1-60899-546-2 ©2012, $30.00, p. 255, plus index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Domestic stories primarily covered the front page of the New York Times on September 10, 2001. Succeeding days and months would be [...]
Maimonides: Essential Teachings on Jewish Faith & Ethics, the Book of Knowledge & the Thirteen Principles of Faith Annotated & Explained by Rabbi Marc D. Angel, PhD, Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, VT; ISBN 978-1-59473-311-6 ©2012, $18.99, p. 172, plus notes and selected bibliography By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — By the mid-twelfth century, conditions [...]
The Sons of Pigs and Apes: Muslim Antisemitism and the Conspiracy of Silence by Neil J. Kressel, Potomac Books, Washington, D.C.; ISBN 978-1-59797-702-9 ©2012, $29.95, p. 206, plus addenda and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The word “anti-Semitism” is a relatively new word to the English language, being coined sometime after 1860. [...]
The Fed-Up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy and Suffering by Shmuley Boteach, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-606-1 ©2012, $24.95, p. 340, plus addenda By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — World-renown Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in his latest book The Fed-Up Man of Faith, continues on the path [...]
Torah of Reconciliation by Sheldon Lewis, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, New York, ISBN 978-965-229-541-5 ©2012, $24.95, p. 340, plus addenda By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — The Torah, the Five Books of Moses, has been commented about so many times that one wonders if anything new can be found within its text. Yet, Rabbi [...]
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — A news story under the byline of Jonathan Mizrahi has been making its way around the Internet. The story says that this year will be the only time that Chanukah will fall on Thanksgiving. So, is the story true? Yes and no. President Lincoln in 1863 proclaimed a [...]
Struggling Over Israel’s Soul byElazar Stern, Gefen, Jerusalem, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-576-7 ©2012, $18.00, p. 373, plus notes and indices. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The struggle for Israel’s soul is hardly new. From without, the Hellenists fought for it from the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Israel until their defeat [...]
The Philosophy of the Hebrew Scripture by Yoram Hazony, Cambridge University Press, New York; ISBN 978-0-521-17667-5 ©2012, $24.99, p. 273, plus notes and indices. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –Placing the word “philosophy” next to the expression “Hebrew Scriptures” seems to be incongruous; after all, philosophy is about using reason to find “truths” to [...]