Books published by Jewish Publication Society

Delves into the stories and messages of Hanukkah as they have unfolded in Jewish literature over the past two thousand years: biblical intimations of the festival, post-biblical writings, selections from the Talmud and midrashim, excerpts from medieval books, home liturgies, laws and customs, observances in different nations, stories and poems, art, and recipes.

Back by popular demand, the classic JPS Holiday anthologies remain essential and relevant in our digital age. The Sabbath Anthology delves into one of the earliest Jewish institutions - the holiday the prophet Isaiah characterized as ""the day of delight"" - elucidating its history, laws, customs and traditions, religious and ethical insights, and observances in different eras.

Examining the entire span of Jewish history by focusing on thirty pivotal moments in the Jewish people's experience from biblical times through the present - essentially the most important events in the life of the Jewish people - Turning Points in Jewish History provides ""the big picture"": both a broad and a deep understanding of the Jewish people's historical experience.

This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut''s classic second volume on the history of the Jewish Reform Movement is a sourcebook of the original writings that shaped the second century of organized liberal Judaism. The Growth of Reform Judaism features a new introduction, a new epilogue, and important additional primary sources documenting the profound changes of the last fifty years.Although the emphasis in this volume is chiefly on the American scene, where the movement had its most notable advances, selections of representative liberal Jewish thought in Europe and to a lesser degree in Israel are included as well. These selections help us to understand the emergence and character, problems and tensions of Reform Judaism as it developed and grew in modern times. In addition to the primary texts new to this edition, David Ellenson''s epilogue considers the developments of the last fifty years that have continued to shape the course of Reform Judaism.Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut (1912-2012) was a longtime rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. The author of more than twenty books on Jewish theology, history, and culture, he is best known for The Torah: A Modern Commentary. Rabbi Jacob K. Shankman (1904-86) was the rabbi of Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New York, and a leader in Reform Judaism. Rabbi Howard A. Berman is the executive director of the Society for Classical Reform Judaism. He lectures at congregations throughout the country on behalf of the society and teaches regularly at Hebrew Union College. Rabbi David Ellenson is chancellor and past president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is the author of Jewish Meaning in a World of Choice: Studies in Tradition and Modernity (JPS, 2014).

This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut's classic volume on the beginnings of the Jewish Reform Movement is updated with a new introduction by Howard A. Berman. The Rise of Reform Judaism covers the first one hundred years of the movement, from the time of the eighteenth-century Jewish Enlightenment leader Moses Mendelssohn to the conclusion of the Augsburg synod in 1871.

This new volume in the JPS Guides series is a fiction reader's dream: a guide to 125 remarkable works of fiction. The selection includes a wide range of classic American Jewish novels and story collections, from 1867 to the present, selected by the author in consultation with a panel of literary scholars and book industry professionals.

When the Nazis take twelve-year-old Jan's family away, Jan ventures into the dangerous streets of the city, where he finds refuge in the old Jewish cemetery and the tomb of Rabbi Loewe. Jan travels back in time. Will he find a way to escape from the fate that was to befall a million and a half Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Europe?

Trudi Berger was literally snatched from the flames of the Holocaust. At the age of fourteen her family was confined to a Lithuanian ghetto. A few years later she and her mother were sent off to the camps, suffering forced labour and the ever-present threat of death. This story of courage, determination, and hope is a powerful and moving memoir.

Few rescue missions have succeeded like "Operation Thunderbolt", the Israeli plan led by Yoni Netanyahu on July 4, 1976, to rescue 105 hijacked Jewish passengers held captive in Uganda's Entebbe Airport. In her gripping biography Speregen introduces young readers to one of Israel's bravest soldiers.

The persistence of anti-Semitism is a phenomenon that challenges Jewish historians to make ethical judgments a part of historical analysis. This title provides insight into the complexities of anti-Semitism.

In the race against Nazi Germany to develop the atomic bomb, who would have suspected that a major league baseball player would take a pivotal role? That very man was Moe Berg-masterful catcher, fluent in nine languages, an Ivy League scholar, an attorney, and a secret agent. Moe Berg's exciting life of mystery and intrigue is sure to captivate young readers. Ages 9 and up.

This book focuses on the forces, events, and personalities that over the past 150 years have shaped the Jewish communities of the Arab world, changing the relations between Jews and Arabs more radically than anything since the rise of Islam nearly 1400 years ago.

The Shema is the central prayer of the Jewish faith. Focusing on the Shema, this title explores the relationship between spirituality and law in Judaism.

Tells the story of Dona Gracia, one of the most remarkable women in Jewish history. This title presents a full-length biography of Dona Gracia in English. It is an epic drama featuring extraordinary characters who risked their lives for freedom of conscience, playing for high stakes among the palaces and political courts of Renaissance Europe.

Uses eight questions found in the Bible to explore the human journey from cradle to grave, confronting such important existential experiences and themes as mortality, responsibility, forbidden knowledge, sin, and the afterlife. By interweaving texts from the Bible, commentaries, philosophy, psychology, and literature with his own experiences, Niles Elliot Goldstein also meditates on midlife.

The streets are eerily empty and everyone in the Jewish community is terrified of Peter the Hermit. His men, the Crusaders, are moving through the town on their way to the Holy Land. They have been known to batter down doors and burn Jewish houses, all in the name of religion. This is not Nazi Germany but Troyes, France, in 1096, as seen through the eyes of funny, feisty, twelve-year-old Elvina.

This JPS ethics series deals with some of the most critical moral issues of our time. Power dynamics affect people on a political level, a social level, and a deeply personal level as well. The newest volume in the Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices series examines these dynamics and includes essays by contributors such as Henry Waxman, Marc Graboff, and James Diamond.

The High Holy Days - Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - are for many Jews the highlight of the Jewish year. The liturgy for the Days of Awe are the longest and most complex of the year. Entering The High Holy Days provides historical background and interpretation of the ideas, practices, and liturgy and lends them contemporary relevance to today's Jews.

A colourful retelling of a fascinating yet little-known time of Jewish-American history

The Psalms have long brought comfort to those who mourn and have helped us find the spiritual in everyday life. This edition presents the new JPS translation, based on the original Hebrew text, as well as the entire range of Psalms interpretation and modern linguistic scholarship.

Explores the role of Jewish women in the synagogue, in the family, and in the secular world. This title offers ways to change Jewish practices so that they more readily reflect feminine equality.

Presents the two-thousand year history of Jewish responses to catastrophe. The cyclical nature of violent regimes and their overthrow is delineated in these recurring images of sin, martyrdom, and retribution that have sustained the Jewish people despite pogroms, massacres, and expulsions - from the destruction of the First Temple through the Holocaust to the eventual return to their homeland.

Provides information a kid could want to know about being Jewish. This title looks at key people and events in Jewish history; at holidays and customs; at the origins of Jewish names; and, more.

A thrilling young adult novel that captures the horrors of the Spanish Inquisistion and the strength and determination of one young girl to preserve her family and culture at any cost.

An indispensable resource to those families considering or affected by adoption, this book takes an informed look at adoption from a Jewish perspective and will prepare readers for the many unforeseen challenges that may arise.

An update and revision of the original 1976 edition. This study presents a two-fold discussion: a basic survey of the structure and functions of the American Jewish community, and a suggestion as to how that community should be understood as a body politic, a collective unit that is not a state but is no less real from a political perspective.

The biography and selected letters of this literary great includes over 60 newly discovered letters written to many other literary giants of the time, including Robert Browning and William Morris.

Sheds light on the surprisingly diverse and shared visions for realizing Israel as a democratic Jewish state. Building on Arthur Hertzberg's classic, The Zionist Idea, Gil Troy explores the backstories, dreams, and legacies of more than 170 passionate Jewish visionaries from the 1800s to today.

Illuminating the ethical legacy of the biblical prophets, Path of the Prophets identifies the prophetic moment in the lives of eighteen biblical figures and demonstrates their compelling relevance to us today. Schwartz introduces the prophets with creative, first-person retellings of their decisive experiences, followed by key biblical narratives, context, and analysis.

Brings to life the realities teenagers in the Middle East face today, as politics and prejudice threaten to tear lives and relationships apart. At the same time, it serves as a testament to the power of love and friendship in an often chaotic world.