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The Jewish Home: A Guide for Jewish Living 6 reviews
Daniel B. Syme
Urj Press, 2003
Excellent Quick Resource
This book is like a "cliff notes" for the jewish home. It includes the appropriate prayers for hanging the mezuzah, shabbot etc... and it does a nice job of explaining the holidays and pointing out the difference b/w reform and conservative jewish observance. I have read this book over and over again and will use it for years to come. I plan to read the stories to my children before each ...
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Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice 5 reviews
Mark Washofsky
Urj Press, 2000
The Best of its Kind
Dr. Washofsky outlines contemporary Reform Jewish practice within the context of Jewish tradition. His explanations are clear and informative, the topics covered nearly exhaustive. This work far exceeds any other attempts to define a Reform Jewish practice thus far. This is a "must have" for every Reform household.
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Aleph Isn't Enough: Hebrew for Adults (Book 2 Teacher's Guide) 7 reviews
Linda Motzkin
Urj Press, 2002
Remedial Hebrew for the language impaired
I am rubbish with learning new languages, but this series of books has been very helpful. My current goal is simply to be able to read Hebrew, and these books help me to do that on my own. I suppose if you want to learn to speak it properly as well, you might want to look for another book as this one does not come with any kind of recording.
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Choosing Judaism6 reviews
Lydia Kukoff
Urj Press, 2005
Enjoyed it very much
I am a bit surprised about the other reviews, and since I checked out the Amazon reviews before reading the book, I decided not to buy it and instead borrowed it from the library. I will buy it now, not because it is a "must have" reference book - it is not- but because it left me with such a nice feeling I want to have the book in my new and growing Jewish library. I am attending an Intro to ...
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Learn Hebrew Today: Alef-Bet for Adults27 reviews
Howard I. Bogot
Urj Press, 1992
Easy and very user-friendly for the right type of student
I absolutely loved this book and it was perfect for me. I just want to add one thing. Know what TYPE of learner you are. Do you tend to remember things best when you HEAR them or when you READ them (or, perhaps, a combination)? I ask because most of us tend to be learn better one way or the other.
For those who learn from looking at words on a page, going over thing, taking time to read about ...
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The Torah: A Women's Commentary12 reviews
URJ Press, 2007
The Best of Women's Torah Scholarship
The Torah: A Women's Commentary is a compilation of the most recent Torah scholarship that also includes a woman's perspective. Introductory essays by Carol Meyers, Judith R. Baskin and Ellen Umansky are outstanding in orienting the reader to the world of Torah history and post biblical analysis. Alterative perspectives enrich this multi-dimential effort. This volume produced by the Women of ...
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Introduction to Judaism: A Source Book2 reviews
Lias A. Edwards
Urj Press, 1999
Intro to Judaism: A Source Book
This book is full of pearls of wisdom, as well as information that clears up lots of misunderstandings. My husband and I took the Intro class as well with Rabbi Einstein, and of the various texts we studied, this one was a great information source not only for the class, but after whenever questions arise around the various traditions/holidays. A true primer for those who want to tune-up their ...
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Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics (Modern Commentary On) (Modern Commentary On)2 reviews
Leonard Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky
Urj Press, 1993
Valuable book for any Judaic collection.
I have many different editions of Pirke Avot. I am, at this time, using this in a class I'm taking at our shul with the rabbi. The Kravitz/Orlitzky are very good.
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Aleph Isn't Tough: An Introduction to Hebrew for Adults, Book 17 reviews
Linda Motzkin
Urj Press, 2000
Excellent Book for Adults Learning Hebrew
I found this book to be very clear, with useful exercises in reading and writing Hebrew. The letters are not taught in alphabetic order, but rather in logical groupings that are often used together in words. The vowels are added one or two at a time, and though I felt challenged, I was not overwhelmed. I found it fun, and even reading right to left seemed natural as I became familiar with how ...
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An Invitation to Shabbat: A Beginner's Guide to Weekly Celebration3 reviews
Ruth Perelson
Urj Press, 1997
Concise, helpful, and comes with a CD
I bought this book because I wanted to not only learn about Shabbat, but I also wanted to learn how to pronounce some of the words typically sung in Shabbat songs. The back of the book has sheet music from several traditional Shabbat songs as well as the transliterated Hebrew words. Unfortunately, the English translations are not included. The book comes with a CD with various soloists singing ...
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Out of the Whirlwind: A Reader of Holocaust Literature1 review
Albert H. Friedlander
Urj Press, 1999
Amazing book for teaching or learning about the 6,000,000
I first read this book in college in a course on Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Later, when I became a teacher, I have used it as a reference countless times. The recent events in Rwanda, Somalia, Cambodia, Bosnia and in many other places makes this book even more relevant. It has excerpts from Wiesel, Frank, Levi, etc. and is organized chronologically. BUY THIS BOOK!!! Use it to educate ...
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The God Around Us: A Child's Garden of Prayer2 reviews
Mira Pollak Brichto
Urj Press, 1999
This Is A Truly Beautiful Book
This book contains the brachas in Hebrew, English, and transliteration and beautiful illustrations. This is a book for every Jewish child.
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The Art of Torah Cantillation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Chanting Torah8 reviews
Marshall Portnoy, Josee Wolff
Urj Press, 2000
All you need to chant Torah
I studied for 6 months with this book/CD combo and mastered the trope (Reform version) well enough to have chanted Torah for my synagogue twice in the last couple of months and am preparing for a 3rd parsha. You won't find every possible combination of cantillation marks here, but you will find 95+ % of what you'll ever run into in the Torah (including special sections for High Holidays, Song of ...
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What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death3 reviews
Rifat Sonsino, Daniel B. Syme
Urj Press, 1990
I learned something
My gentile friends (and my less educated Jewish ones) occasionally ask me what Jews think about the afterlife. After reading this book, I know the answer. The answer is: there's no consensus. Certainly Jews don't have the precise picture of Heaven and Hell that some fundamentalists have. There is (outside the leftward fringes of Reform Judaism) a consensus that there is some sort of afterlife ...
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Finding God: Selected Responses2 reviews
Rifat Sonsino and Daniel B. Syne
Urj Press, 2002
Finding God in a Jewish religious and perhaps not Jewish religious way
This book is a very clear exposition of various Jewish approaches to God.
It is written in a very understandable way, and provides basic principles rather than detailed commentary. It has chapters on 'God in the Bible' ' God in Rabbinic Literature' ' Philo's Spiritual Monotheism' 'The Neo- Aristotelianism of Maimonedes' ' The Pantheism of Spinoza' 'The Philosphy of Dialogue of Buber' 'The ...
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Bet Is for B'Reishit: Hebrew for Adults, Book 3 (Introduction to Hebrew for Adults) (Introduction to Hebrew ...1 review
Urj Press, 2003
Learning Again
This book is well prepared and presented. It is being used in a Hebrew class for adults with friends. Only faults with this series is they look as if they are comic books (which may not be a bad aspect).
Richard
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A Torah Commentary for Our Times3 reviews
Harvey J. Fields
Urj Press, 1995
Accessible and thought-provoking
My wife and I recently decided we'd like to give our young children a more explicit introduction to moral values and figured that the torah would be an excellent vehicle (plus it would introduce the kids to torah). The problem was that neither my wife nore I is by any means a torah scholar - I'm a reform Jew and hadn't really done any bible study since hebrew school many, many years ago. I don't ...
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A Taste of Hebrew
Aaron Starr
URJ Press, 2006
Curious about Hebrew but not ready to take the full plunge? A Taste of Hebrew is the perfect way to learn the letters and vowels without being overwhelmed by exercises and drills. Rabbi Starr includes interesting extras like brief commentaries related to the letters and tidbits on the prayers that you can peruse as you study. A prequel to Aleph Isn’t Tough and the rest of the Hebrew for Adults series, this slim volume makes it easy to learn ...
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The Haftarah Commentary5 reviews
W. Plaut
Urj Press, 1996
At Long Last! An Organized Commentary !
Plauts's Haftarah Commentary is a MOST welcome addition to my library of materials for B'nei Mitzvah preparation. The page layout for text and translation is pleasing to the eye and the gleanings and essay sections help to illuminate main ideas to be discussed. In addition, there is a concise and well written bio for each prophet and description of the times they lived in as well as the Torah ...
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A Year of Jewish Stories: 52 Tales for Young Children and Their Families9 reviews
URJ Press, 2004
a heritage embracing experience
This beautifully illustrated collection of stories is a must have for every Jewish home and would be highly recommended for any home with inquisitive children who wish to understand Jewish heritage.
The tales included draw from Jewish traditions and folklore while keeping today's modern child in mind. Stories borrowed from the Bible, Talmud and traditional teachings are freshened up, sprinkled ...
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