YU PRESS
The Anatomy of Jewish Law: A Fresh Dissection of the Relationship Between Medicine, Medical History & Rabbinic Literature
Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman
In this novel and innovative work, Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman traces the medical understanding of anatomy, physiology, and therapeutics across time and genres of rabbinic literature. The accumulated literature of centuries of Jewish legal discourse on medical topics serves as the foundation for contemporary Jewish bioethics. As these writings span the chronological gamut of scientific and medical discovery, it is essential to view each source in its proper historical context. Marshaling a vast array of sources from multiple disciplines, Reichman demonstrates the importance of the historical dimension not only for medical halakhic research but to better understand the unique relationship of Judaism and medicine throughout the centuries.
The Final Exam: Letters to Our Students
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman
At the end of our days, the Talmud teaches, we will be asked questions about how we spent our time here in this world. Our answers to these questions will describe the way in which we lived, worked, loved, studied, and built a better tomorrow. How well we do on this final exam is determined by our choices today. In The Final Exam, Yeshiva University President and Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, presents the core Torah values that inspire a life of wisdom, contribution, and purpose through the powerful medium of personal letters. With penetrating analyses of foundational Jewish texts, the perspectives of his own teachers, and stories of his journey through and to Yeshiva University, Rabbi Berman offers a compelling, multi-valenced prism that honors Torah U-Madda as an educational philosophy while expanding it into a worldview that also embraces truth, dignity, and compassion. He encourages his readers to integrate these values into a life of faith and religious integrity that sets as its goal a path to redemption.
Dialogues of Love and Fear: A Rabbi's Daughter, a Kes's Son, and Hope for the Future
Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom
Dialogues of Love and Fear is a work of imagination and insight that addresses fraught issues of our times in new and refreshing ways. The author, whose own dramatic life journey has taken him from shepherd to professor, from refugee to IDF officer, and from student of a kes (religious leader) to rabbi of an Ashkenazi synagogue, brings the many facets of his identity into dialogue in these brilliantly imagined conversations between two characters. Through them it provides a window into the world of Ethiopian Jewry, their challenges, and the deep questions that every complex relationship carries with it. Covering a huge breadth of topics, this heart-warming, optimistic book offers a transformative perspective that is tolerant, accessible, and committed to Jewish tradition.
The Samaritans: A Biblical People
Edited by Dr. Steven Fine
The Samaritans: A Biblical People celebrates the culture of the Israelite Samaritans, from biblical times to our own day. An international team of historians, folklorists, a documentary filmmaker and contemporary artists have come together to explore ways that Samaritans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have interacted, often shunned and always interpreted one another across the expanse of western civilization.
Places in the Parasha: Biblical Geography and Its Meaning
Dr. Yoel Elitzur
For the past two hundred years, adventurers, scholars, and other curious travelers have made their way to the Land of Israel to see and experience the places written about in the Bible. Many have tried to locate landmarks mentioned in the Bible, but were not always successful. Yet the encounter with the biblical texts in the places where the events actually took place has always inspired the hearts of those who read and study Tanakh, and offers exciting new possibilities for appreciating and understanding the biblical text. This unique work, Places in the Parasha, is the brainchild of Professor Yoel Elitzur, a leading expert in the fields of Bible and Talmud, biblical and historical geography, and Hebrew and Semitic languages.
Semitic, Biblical, and Jewish Studies In Honor of Richard C. Steiner
Aaron J. Koller, Mordechai Z. Cohen, Adina Moshavi (editors)
This book presents a collection of aticles by renowned scholars in honor of Prof. Richard C. Steiner. The articles are in Hebrew and English. The English section includes the following divisions: Semitic and Near Eastern Studies; Biblical Language and Other Biblical Studies; and Rabbinic Literature and Medieval Studies.
"In the Dwelling of a Sage Lie Precious Treasures": Essays in Jewish Studies in Honor of Shnayer Z. Leiman
Edited by by Yitzhak Berger and Chaim Milikowsky
For over fifty years, Shnayer Leiman-prolific scholar of Jewish Studies, renowned lecturer, dedicated mentor and colleague, and individual of exceptional character-has enriched the lives and minds of scholars and laypeople, contributing to a wide range of academic specialties and imparting fascinating discoveries to the wider public. Consistent with the breadth of its honoree, the present volume features stimulating essays that span a range of fields: Bible and philology, Masorah, biblical interpretation, Jewish philosophy and theology, halakhah and pilpul, works of art and their connection to Jewish law and thought, and the social and intellectual history of medieval and modern Jews of diverse regions and cultures.
An Oasis in Time: Seven Thoughts for the Seventh Day
Benji Levy
An Oasis in Time explores seven thoughts for the seventh day, illuminating Shabbat as an expression of personal liberty, a spiritual encounter, an opportunity for connection, and a protest against injustice as an anchor to our past and a window into the future. In his unique style, Rabbi Benji Levy shares profound insights into the multifaceted nature of Shabbat, offering the opportunity to transform this sacred day from a passive period of rest into an enriching experience of restoration.
Iran, Israel, and the Jews Symbiosis and Conflict from the Achaemenids to the Islamic Republic
Dr. Aaron Koller and Dr. Daniel Tsadik
Iran, Israel, and the Jews have a relationship that is in the news all the time. But it cannot be understood just in modern terms. Its roots are 2,500 years old. This volume surveys that history through case studies and broad overviews--from the first intensive contacts under Cyrus the Great, through Persian influence on Judaism evident in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Babylonian Talmud, into the Middle Ages and the flourishing of Judeo-Persian literature and culture, and finally into modern times, when the political, social, and cultural ties are multifaceted and profound. Written by experts in both Iranian and Jewish studies, these essays convey the richness and complexity of a long and tumultuous relationship between two ancient and great civilizations, which continues to shape the world today.
In the Company of Prophets: Reflections on Joshua, Judges, Samuel & Kings
Moshe Sokolow
The books of the Early Prophets (“Nevi’im Rishonim”) speak of our national and political history and destiny. These biblical books relate the deeds and decisions of Joshua, Samuel, David, Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha. In these biblical books, we learn about our leaders’ objectives, conflicts, triumphs, and occasional shortcomings. We are enriched when we learn to extract and distill the moral, ethical, and religious messages embedded in their actions. The three principal manners in which those messages are sought have been labeled as historical-philological, traditional-exegetical, and literary-critical. All three have been utilized in these reflections, in order to provide diversity in interpretation, and an appeal to the broadest possible audience. This methodology is rooted in a conviction that it is only through the amalgamation of all three that the enduring value of Nevi’im Rishonim can be transmitted.
Gleanings:
Reflections on Ruth
Rabbi Dr. Stuart W. Halpern (Editor)
A wide-ranging collection of essays inspired by the Book of Ruth. In this volume, contemporary scholars, educators, and community leaders offer their readings of Ruth and insights into its themes, through the prisms of their respective academic interests and professional fields. The topics of these essays range from poetry to populism, social work to American history, elder care to conversion to contemporary immigration.
Creation: The Story of Beginnings
Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Grossman
In Creation: The Story of Beginnings, Jonathan Grossman unveils the hidden meaning of the first eleven chapters of Genesis. His insightful and creative literary analysis interweaves theology, psychology, and philosophy, extracting a fresh and refreshing understanding of the biblical text. Drawing upon the words of the sages and the great medieval commentators, and employing contemporary literary tools, Grossman journeys back to the beginning of creation to show how human initiative goes hand in hand with both sin and progress. This volume is part of the Maggid Tanakh Companion series and is published in partnership with YU Press.
Constant Challenge: Sports and American Judaism
Jeffrey S. Gurock
For American Jewish historian Jeffrey S. Gurock, the sports metaphor highlights the challenges that Jewish life has faced in modern American society. Although athletics were once seen as the incursion of a foreign cultural phenomenon into Jewish life, attitudes have shifted in recent generations. What was once branded as an unproductive questionable activity has entered into the American Jewish experience, and has captured the allegiance of Jews on the track, gridiron, diamond, and court. Constant Challenge: Sports and American Judaism brings together nine intriguing essays that explore the different approaches to athletic activities within Jewish life. Together, this anthology identifies and discusses how Jewish communities cope with these challenges, navigating the delicate balance between religious identification and American sports culture.
Ennoble and Enable
Essays in Honor of Richard M. Joel
Ennoble and Enable: Essays in Honor of Richard M. Joel is a rich collection of forty-five essays that explore ideas relating to the central themes of the leadership and legacy of Yeshiva University President Emeritus Richard M. Joel. These essays are presented with a deep expression of gratitude to President Joel, a master Jewish leader and educator, who devoted a lifetime of service to the Jewish people. In particular, they are meant to express particular appreciation to the individual who led Yeshiva University with wisdom, dedication, and single-minded, all-encompassing commitment for fourteen years.
