Prof. Hayim Tawil’s An Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew  is the fruit of many years of intensive effort. In this book, which will serve as an essential reference tool in the fields of Biblical studies and Semitic languages, Dr. Tawil provides etymological equivalents between Biblical Hebrew and Akkadian, as well as semantic and idiomatic relationships between words in the two languages. Thus, hundreds of Biblical words and idioms are offered new meanings in context through examination of the Akkadian in similar usage.

It is the richness of extant Akkadian literature and hence vocabulary which enabled Prof. Tawil, on the basis of previous scholarly work, to build his "Lexical Companion."  The reader may expect virtually every page to provide some fresh perspectives on Biblical words or expressions, some previously obscure and others now newly interpreted.

Posted by Zvi Erenyi

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The Archaeology of Cult in Middle Bronze Age Canaan :  the Sacred Area at Tel Haror, Israel, by Jill Katz. Gorgias Press, 2009.

The Archaeology of Cult in Middle Bronze Age Canaan is Dr. Jill Katz’s book-form publication of her doctoral dissertation. In it she reviews different theories on the origins of ancient religions and cultic practices and develops a series of archaeological correlates to determine how to evaluate and draw conclusions from archaeological evidence. She then tests these correlates against the findings of archaeological investigations in Tel Haror and thirteen other Middle Bronze Age sites in Canaan. At the end she includes maps of the sites, graphs of collected data and pictures of representative types of artifacts.

Posted by Moshe Schapiro

The popular Otzar HaHochma database of over 41,000 traditional Hebrew publications is once again available at Yeshiva University.  The present version may be accessed on campus only, from University computers – YULIS computers in the Mendel Gottesman and Hedi Steinberg Libraries, as well as faculty and staff computers.  The functionality of the Otzar software is significantly enhanced.

If you wish to access OTZAR from your office you must install the software.  See Instructions for Installing Otzar HaHochma.  The Otzar administration is developing a web accessible version that does not require downloads.  The availability date for that version has not yet been announced.

Dr. Allan Barsky - Ethics and Values in Social Work: An Integrated Approach for a Comprehensive Curriculum, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Sara Diament - Talking to Children About Intimacy: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Parents. Xlibris Corporation, 2009.
 
Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Meir Goodman - Great Torah Lights.   Devorah Publishing, 2008.

Rabbi Dr. David Hartman - Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest, expanded edition. Jewish Publication Society, 2009.

Rabbi Aryeh Leibowitz - Hashgacha Pratis: An Exploration of Divine Providence and Free Will.  Targum Press, 2009.

Sol Steinmetz - Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings.  Random House, 2008.

Doreen Winter - Delivery from Darkness: A Jewish Guide to Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Postpartum Depression.  Feldheim Publishing, 2009.

Dr. Efraim Zuroff - Operation Last Chance: One Man’s Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

The Library schedule has been updated.  Click Library hours for service hours during Reading Period, Final Exams and Intersession. 

Lana Schwebel Collection

Her taste in literature– from Shakespeare to murder mysteries – showed a highly cultured and curious mind. Lana Schwebel had begun a promising career as Professor of English at Stern College for Women before her fatal accident two summers ago, during a bus tour through Russia.

Rabbi Philip and Lilly Schwebel have kindly presented their late daughter’s collection to Stern College’s Hedi Steinberg Library. Focusing on the humanities, this eclectic gift will enrich the library in many fields. Titles include contemporary fiction such as Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses; scholarly works such as S.A.J. Bradley’s Anglo-Saxon Poetry; and items of Jewish interest such as Michael Pollak’s Jews of Dynastic China.

Herskowitz Collection

Sylvia Herskowitz, recently retired director of the Yeshiva University Museum, presented the Hedi Steinberg Library with her personal book collection.  There are numerous art books, both secular and Jewish, such as retrospective volumes on the works of Picasso and Monet, and pictorials of synagogues and ceremonial objects. In addition, there are Holocaust memoirs and classics in philosophy and psychology.

Posted by Hallie Cantor

Jewish Ethics as Dialogue: Using Spiritual Language to Re-imagine a Better World, by Moses L. Pava. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Jewish Ethics as Dialogue is an innovative discussion of the translation and adaptation of the core moral and ethical values of Judaism to the modern, secular culture of society in general and the business community in particular. It provides a framework for thinking about the interaction of ancient traditions with the progressive worldviews of the contemporary western world. Dr. Pava's essays are both enlightening and thought-provoking. 

Posted by Moshe Schapiro
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Catalogue of the Cairo Geniza Fragments in the Westminster College Library, Cambridge, by Elazar Hurvitz. Cairo Geniza Institute, Yeshiva University, 2006.

The two volumes of Dr. Elazar Hurvitz's catalogue of Cairo Geniza fragments held in the Westminster College Library of Cambridge (UK) represent the first installment of a monumental project.

The first volume describes the discovery of the Geniza and its subsequent dispersal to a variety of libraries and collections throughout the world. It also presents an analysis of the content, significance and dating of the fragments, and a thorough treatment of the history of the Ben-Ezra Synagogue, where most of the Geniza was housed, and other synagogues in Old Cairo and Memphis (Egypt).  The second volume offers an identification (or a description where identification is impossible) and a bibliography for each of the 2,500 fragments in the collection, and correlates the fragments with similar material in other collections. A third volume is in preparation; it will contain selected texts from the Geniza at Westminster College, supplemented by related material from elsewhere.

Posted by Zvi Erenyi

The Library schedule has been updated.  Click Library hours for the latest schedule.

Neo-Babylonian Court Procedure, by Shalom E. Holtz. Brill, 2009.

In his new book, Neo-Babylonian Court Procedure, Professor Shalom Holtz has transformed his doctoral dissertation into a sophisticated monograph on the subject of legal procedure in one of the regions of ancient Mesopotamia. The book begins by presenting a comprehensive classification of the text-types that made up the "tablet trail" of records of the adjudication of legal disputes in the Neo-Babylonian period. In presenting this text-typology, it considers the texts' legal function within the adjudicatory process. Based on this, the book describes the adjudicatory process as it is attested in private records as well as in records from the Eanna at Uruk. This book will be an important addition to the scholarship of Ancient Near Eastern studies.

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Revealed Texts, Hidden Meanings : Finding the Religious Significance in Tanakh, by Hayyim J. Angel. Ktav, 2009.

Revealed Texts, Hidden Meanings is a collection of essays dealing with different personalities in the Bible, literary techniques of the prophets and questions of methodology in biblical interpretation. Each essay is a self-contained unit, but read together, they present a wide-ranging and deeply penetrating analysis of biblical exegesis and the theological lessons that can be derived from the text. Both in content and form these essays are fascinating and thought-provoking.   

Posted by Moshe Schapiro.