Books of Interest: New Publications on Tefilla by Shlomo Brody

The Orthodox book market has been blessed with a few new important books on the history of Jewish prayer, each of which are worthy of study and further reflect larger questions for study.  Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber’s book, On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations (Urim Publications, 2010) is a thought-provoking work on the [...]

Books of Interest: Jacob’s Family Dynamics by Gad Dishi

Gad Dishi, Jacob’s Family Dynamics:  Climbing the Rungs of the Ladder, Devorah Publishing/Urim Publications, 2010. This is an impressive first work on the story of Yaakov, focusing on the life and development of Yaakov and the central characters in his life.  Drawing upon a range of commentators – old and modern alike – as well [...]

Books of Interest: Important Studies on Repentance

Two recent book on teshuva are genuine must-reads. The first, Takanat Ha-Shavim (2007) by Prof. Nahum Rakover, discusses all aspects relating to the rehabilitation of criminals in halakha.  He discusses when and how we limit the reinstatement of offenders (especially if they had a public position) as well as the debates regarding how to demonstrate [...]

Books of Interest: Rambam

Moshe Halbertal’s Hebrew biography of the Rambam (Merkaz Zalman Shazar) is characteristically brilliant.  Although the first and longest chapter, nearly 70 pages, chronicles the Rambam’s life and his role as a communal leader, the book is primarily an intellectual biography, based on Rambam’s major works.  Each chapter is sharp and probing, providing thoughtful insights into the Rambam’s [...]

Books of Interest: Rav Soloveitchik Kinot and Other Books About Prayer

The hottest new publication in the Orthodox book world (I admit we’re not exactly talking about a NYTimes best seller, but nonetheless…) is clearly the Koren Mesorat Ha-Rav Kinot published by Koren and OU Press and edited by Rabbi Simon Posner.  It features a running commentary of the kinot based on the teachings of Rav [...]

Books of Interest: Festchrifts for Rabbi Haskel Lookstein and Rabbi Bernard Lander

Rav Chesed:  Essays in Honor of Rabbi Dr. Haskel Lookstein, ed. Rafael Medoff, Ktav Publishing, 2009 (2 volumes). Turim:  Studies in Jewish History and Literature Presented to Dr. Bernard Lander, ed. Michael A. Shmidman, Touro College Press / Ktav, 2008 (2 volumes). Two recent two-volume festchrifts were recently released in honor of two important Jewish communal [...]

From Our Archives: Pesach

The Ten Plagues by Norman Fredman (20:4, Winter 1982) Rav Safra and the Second Festival Day: Lessons About the Evolution of the Jewish Calendar by J. Jean Ajdler (38:4, Winter 2004) The Odd and Instructive Habits of Non-Observant Jews: A Look at Berit Milah and Pesah by Emanuel Feldman (41:2, Summer 2008) Review Essay: Digesting [...]

Books of Interest: Pesach Related Works

Rabbi Norman Lamm, The Royal Table:  A Passover Haggadah, ed. Joel B. Wolowelsky, OU Press, 2010. The Commentators’ Bible:  The JPS Miqra’ot Gedolot (Exodus and Leviticus), ed. Michael Carasik, Jewish Publication Society, 2009. Kenneth Chelst, Exodus and Emancipation:  Biblical and African-American Slavery, Urim Publications, 2009.  Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, אחריך נרוצה, Yediot Aharonot Press [Hebrew]. OU Press [...]

Books of Interest: Recent Works in Halakha

Rabbi Elyashiv Knohl, The Marriage Covenant:  A Guide to Jewish Marriage and A Guide to Marital Relations From a Torah Perpsective, Ein Tzurim:  Yeshivat Kibbutz Ha-Dati, 2008.  297 pages + 57 pages pamphlet.  [Translation of 2002 Hebrew edition.] Rabbi Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch, Shu”t Siach Nachum, Maaleh Adumim:  Machon Ma’aliyot, 2008.  405 pages + index.  [Hebrew] [...]

Books of Interest: New Writings on the Torah

Joshua A. Berman, Created Equal:  How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought, Oxford University Press, 2008. 222 pages + bibliography & indeces. Yitzchak B. Gottlieb, Order in the Bible (Yesh Seder La-Mikra): The Arrangement of the Torah in Rabbinic and Medieval Jewish Commentary,  Bar Ilan University Press & Magnes Press, 2009.  423 pages + biblioraphy [...]

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