Books published by Brandeis University Press

A history of Israel in the context of the modern Jewish experience and the history of the Middle East

Eminent social historian Jacob Katz examines the rise and transformation of Jewish communal leadership in Central Europe. It is a story of fragmentation and polarization that sheds light on the tensions within the 19th-century Jewish community in Central Europe as it struggled to respond to the promises and perils of modernization.

Brandeis University is the United States' only Jewish-sponsored nonsectarian university, and while only being established after World War II, it has risen to become one of the most respected universities in the nation. The faculty and alumni of the university have made exceptional contributions to myriad disciplines, but they have played a surprising formidable role in American politics. Stephen J. Whitfield makes the case for the pertinence of Brandeis University in understanding the vicissitudes of American liberalism since the mid-twentieth century. Founded to serve as a refuge for qualified professors and students haunted by academic antisemitism, Brandeis University attracted those who generally envisioned the republic as worthy of betterment. Whether as liberals or as radicals, figures associated with the university typically adopted a critical stance toward American society and sometimes acted upon their reformist or militant beliefs. This volume is not an institutional history, but instead shows how one university, over the course of seven decades, employed and taught remarkable men and women who belong in our accounts of the evolution of American politics, especially on the left. In vivid prose, Whitfield invites readers to appreciate a singular case of the linkage of political influence with the fate of a particular university in modern America.

Essays examining the emergence of Jewish scholarship during the period 1818 - 1919, concentrating on the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.

Richard Wagner's anti-Semitism considered in the context of his time, place, and aspirations rather than in relation to his later appropriation by the Nazis.

The only biography of Louis Bamberger-department store magnate, merchandising genius, enlightened philanthropist, and Newark's leading citizen

A rich autobiographical novel of the sentimental education of one of modern Israel's foremost literary talents

Sarah M. Ross brings together scholarship on Jewish liturgy, U.S. history, and musical ethnology to describe its roots and development, focusing on the work of songwriters such as Debbie Friedman and Linda Hirschhorn.

Written by the core faculty of the Hebrew Written by the core faculty of the Hebrew Program at Brandeis University, Brandeis Modern Hebrew is an accessible introduction to the Hebrew language for American undergraduates and high school students.

Orit Rozin focuses on the construction of citizenship in Israel during the state's first decade, revealing the historical circumstances and the pressures that limited the freedoms of Israeli citizens and, as well as showing the capacity of the bureaucracy for flexibility and of the populace for protest against unjust and humiliating measures.

In this carefully researched book, Weinstein uncovers sketches and routines filled with Jewish phrases, allusions, jokes, songs, and stories. His music and comedy not only shaped the history of popular entertainment, but also provide a foundation for ongoing efforts to redefine Jewish culture and build community in contemporary America.

Evocative readings of the Torah through the lens of transgender experience, exploring the ways trans perspectives can enrich our understanding of religious texts, traditions, and God

The story of the greatest prewar Jewish library in Europe

A study of place and creative inspiration

The first comprehensive biography of America's great mid-century impresario

An illuminating anthology that traces the trajectory of Jewish thought in twentieth-century France

Anthology of writings about Jewish law in the modern world

How the Zionist movement and the Yishuv actively sought to help Polish and other European Jews in the 1930s

A passionate and provocative assessment of the decline of performing arts institutions in the United States and how to save them

An astonishing analysis of Jewish mother-daughter relations before, during, and after the Shoah as described in daughters' memoirs