Books on Religion

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Notes from the Lampert Library
This month we’ll talk about the meat of a Judaic library: the books on religion. These books and many, many more are available in our Lampert Library. They are clustered in the 100 and 200 sections, but can be found everywhere in the collection.

Abram, Judith Z. The Other Talmud: Yerushalmi, unlocking the secrets of the Talmud of Israel for Judaism today. I had the pleasure of hearing Rabbi Abrams lecture about this oft-ignored gem. With great passion, she extolled the charms, logic, and historicity of the Talmud that was eclipsed by the Babylonian Talmud while the Mediterranean basin was under Roman subjugation.

Band, Debra Arise! Arise! Deborah, Ruth, Hannah. This beautifully illustrated book takes a new look at three famous biblical women who were instrumental in the story of Israel, both the people and the nation.

Bennett, Roger Unscrolled: 54 Artists and Writers Wrestle with the Torah. Scores of artists, writers and thinkers have come together to create a unique Torah commentary and interpretive work. Each parashah uses a different way of looking at the text: poem, essay, sketch, memoir, scripts, and graphic novel. Pharaoh even uses the Internet to search for the plagues. This is a different–but totally legitimate–way of looking at Torah.

Harris, Maurice D. Moses: A Stranger Among Us. We all know the Moses who stands holding the tablets, his long beard, hair and white robes blowing in the wind. However, this book tries to look beyond that stereotyped image to the real Moses: the outsider, the hot-tempered man with the speech impediment who reluctantly took on the job asked of him by God.

Olitzky, Rabbi Kerry M. Jewish Men Pray: Words of Yearning, Praise, Petition, Gratitude and Wonder from Traditional and Contemporary Sources. Sometimes we are at a loss for words as we try to approach God. This book draws from mystical, traditional, biblical, Talmudic and other sources to find prayers that will help on one’s spiritual journey.

Saks, Jeffrey and Joel B. Wolowelsky, eds. To Mourn a Child: Jewish Responses to Neonatal and Childhood Death. There are few tragedies worse than the death of a child, when the world and the natural order of things appears to be turned upside down. The essays in this book were written by parents who learned how to cope with their grief and seek to provide ways to deal with the unthinkable: the death of a child.

Salkin, Rabbi Jeffrey K. The Gods are Broken: The Hidden Legacy of Abraham. Every child learns the story of Abraham shattering the idols in his father’s shop. Many people believe that the story is from the Torah itself. The author uses this Midrashic tale to formulate his view of Jewish existence and Jewish comfort with rebelliousness.

Wolfson, Dr. Ron Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community. Sociologists and religious thinkers are constantly looking for new ways to make synagogue life and religious commitment more attractive. One of the latest theories is that one’s affiliation is based not on theology but on the attachments one has and the relationships that develop. In light of the Pew survey, this is worth reading.

Zakovitch, Yair Jacob: Unexpected Patriarch. Jacob is one of the most complex of the biblical patriarchs. He lies, he is greedy, he is manipulated by his mother. Is this a man to be admired? The author looks at Jacob as presented in the Bible and then, through scholarly sleuthing, looks at other tales about Jacob to create a complete picture of the man who wrestled with God.

Next month the Lampert Library column will look at books for young readers and the latest award winning books.

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