----------------------- Message requiring your approval ---------------------- From: Stuart Schnee <s...@stuartschnee.com> Subject: New Titles of Jewish Thought - from Urim Publications
Jewish Thought – from Urim Publications Urim is pleased to announce the publication of new quality books of Jewish thought. These titles are available through Baker and Taylor, directly from the distributor Lambda (Tel: 718-972-5449 fax: 718-972-6307) or from booksellers. Exodus and Emancipation: Biblical and African-American Slavery by Kenneth Chelst Hardcover, 446 pages (includes a dozen pages of b/w photos and an index) ISBN 13: 978-965-524-020-7 publication: 2009 A new perspective on the saga of the Jewish people’s enslavement and departure from Egypt by comparing it with the African-American slave experience in the United States, their emancipation and subsequent fight for dignity and equality. The comparison is designed to enrich the reader’s understanding of both experiences. Both peoples suffered centuries-long oppression, with the African-American slave population at the time of emancipation in the 1860s roughly double that of the Israelites at the biblical Exodus. Chelst dives deeply into the Biblical narrative, using classical and modern commentaries to explore the social, psychological, religious, and philosophical dimensions of the slave experience and mentality. He draws on slave narratives, published letters, eyewitness accounts, recorded interviews of former slaves, together with historical, sociological, economic and political analyses of this era. He explores the five major needs of every long-term victim, and journeys through these five stages with the Israelite and the African-American slaves towards physical and psychological freedom. He weaves the two sets of narratives into a rich multi-dimensional collage of parallel and contrasting experiences. "Dr. Kenneth Chelst, a distinguished academic, and a wide-ranging and profound scholar of Jewish thought has produced a compelling and utterly original study comparing the biblical account of the enslaved Israelites with the experience of African-American slavery. Dr. Chelst, it would seem, has read and considered everything of consequence that has been written on both subjects, and Exodus and Emancipation is filled with page after page of stunning and illuminating insights." -Rabbi Joseph Telushkin Halakhic Man, Authentic Jew: Modern Expressions of Orthodox Thought >From Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits by Ira Bedzow Hardcover, 191 pages ISBN 13: 978-965-524-029-0 publication: 2009 A comparative study of the thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits about what constitutes a model Jew and the understanding and presentation of Halakha in a modern era. "With intellectual honesty and disarming humility, Bedzow sheds much light on the complex interplay of Orthodoxy and modernity. Any thinking Jew will be delighted by this sophisticated and insightful study." –Henry Abramson, Ph.D., Dean of Academic Affairs, Touro College South Shabbat: The Right Way by Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen Hardcover, 203 pages ISBN 13: 978-965-524-021-4 publication: 2009 Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen provides both the answers to questions on Shabbat observance and a look at the process by which the answers are derived. He also analyzes contemporary, controversial Shabbat issues. There are many books that address questions of Shabbat observance. Shabbat: The Right Way differs in that it provides definitive direction as well as openly sharing the analysis. For the person seeking to understand Jewish law, this book offers the opportunity to learn why Jews do certain things. For those already familiar with halachah, this book will serve as a springboard for deeper study, and all readers will come away with a sense of what is at the heart of Judaism. The Path of Torah: The Introduction to Ha'amek She'elah by Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (The Netziv) Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Elchanan Greenman Hardcover, 394 pages ISBN 13: 978-965-524-030-6 publication: 2009 Darkah Shel Torah, also known as Kadmas Ha’amek, was originally published as a preface to the Netziv’s magnum opus, Ha’amek Sh’alah. This work, consisting of three sections, strives to demonstrate how the true path of Torah becomes realized through the proper application of analysis and the development of the proper character and attitude for discovering God’s truth. With such an approach, the Jew becomes closest to God through the study of Torah, as both the Jewish Nation and the Torah emanate from the same Divine source. To facilitate understanding, this translation contains numerous footnotes that cite the Netziv’s other works, the sources he used, as well as explanations of the Netziv’s numerous references. Summaries have been provided to guide the reader in the more difficult chapters. Stuart Schnee Public Relations, Marketing & Sales US Tel: 973-796-2753 Israel Tel: +972-54-790-9120 Fax: +972-2-561-0943
