Best History of Judaism Books
Here you will get Best History of Judaism Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything
Author: by Viktor E. Frankl
English
136 pages
080700555X
Find hope even in these dark times with this rediscovered masterpiece, a companion to his international bestseller Man’s Search for Meaning. Eleven months after he was liberated from the Nazi concentration camps, Viktor E. Frankl held a series of public lectures in Vienna.
The psychiatrist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience, and the importance of embracing life even in the face of great adversity. Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl’s words resonate as strongly todayas the world faces a coronavirus pandemic, social isolation, and great economic uncertaintyas they did in 1946.
He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim Live as if you were living for the second time, and he unfolds his basic conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. Despite the unspeakable horrors of the camps, Frankl learned from the strength of his fellow inmates that it is always possible to say yes to lifea profound and timeless lesson for us all.
2. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Newly Expanded Paperback Edition)
Author: by Simon Wiesenthal
Schocken
English
289 pages
A Holocaust survivor’s surprising and thought-provoking study of forgiveness, justice, compassion, and human responsibility, featuring contributions from the Dalai Lama, Harry Wu, Cynthia Ozick, Primo Levi, and more. While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS.
Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to-and obtain absolution from-a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion and justice, silence and truth, Wiesenthal said nothing. But even years after the way had ended, he wondered: Had he done the right thing?
What would you have done in his place? In this important book, fifty-three distinguished men and women respond to Wiesenthal’s questions. They are theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors, and victims of attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, China and Tibet.
3. The Books of Enoch: The Ancient Apocryphal Books: Fallen Angels, Giants Nephilim and The Secrets of Enoch
Author: by History Academy
B08HTBB4QW
English
188 pages
The study of Enoch’s words awakened the desire to explore spiritual dimensions in a deeper way. Enoch once said: I write not for my own, but for the extreme future generations, for you human beings who will come. Enoch, the seventh of Adam’s descendants describes his journey through the seven heavens, where he receives revelations like when he is described the creation of the world and the secrets of the future.
Enoch’s journey culminates with the encounter with God after a life that lasted 365 years. From the mists of time he has shown humanity a luminous path to follow. Enoch goes back to the causes of evil and great are his sufferings for human wickedness and his exhortations to cultivate good and wisdom.
All his writings, which are reported alongside the interpretation of History Academy, were found and collected in the time before the birth of Christ. Not recognized by the Church and ignored in the Old Testament collection, they are now published for everyone to read.
4. Jerusalem: The Biography
Author: by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Vintage
English
784 pages
This is an essential book for those who wish to understand a city that remains a nexus of world affairs. Booklist (starred)Jerusalem is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, fanaticism, bloodshed, and coexistence, from King David to the 21st century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the center of the world and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life.
Jerusalem’s biography is told through the wars, love affairs, and revelations of the men and women who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan.
5. The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai's Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom
Author: by Os Guinness
IVP (May 11, 2021)
English
288 pages
In these stormy times, loud voices from all fronts call for revolution and change. But what kind of revolution brings true freedom to both society and the human soul? Cultural observer Os Guinness explores the nature of revolutionary faith, contrasting between secular revolutions such as the French Revolution and the faith-led revolution of ancient Israel.
He argues that the story of Exodus is the highest, richest, and deepest vision for freedom in human history. It serves as the master story of human freedom and provides the greatest sustained critique of the abuse of power. His contrast between “Paris” and “Sinai” offers a framework for discerning between two kinds of revolution and their different views of human nature, equality, and liberty.
Drawing on the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Guinness develops Exodus as the Magna Carta of humanity, with a constructive vision of a morally responsible society of independent free people who are covenanted to each other and to justice, peace, stability, and the common good of the community.
6. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Author: by Karen Armstrong
0345384563
English
496 pages
English
240 pages
Price:
$37.51
as of Jul 13, 2021
(6:28 pm)
This book tells a story to shake the conscience of the world. It is the catalogue of the first-ever traveling exhibition about the Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1. 1 million peoplemostly Jews, but also non-Jewish Poles, Roma, and otherslost their lives. More than 280 objects and images from the exhibition are illustrated herein.
Drawn from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and other collections around the world, they range from the intimate (such as victims’ family snapshots and personal belongings) to the immense (an actual surviving barrack from the Auschwitz IIIMonowitz satellite camp); all are eloquent in their testimony.
An authoritative yet accessible text weaves the stories behind these artifacts into an encompassing history of Auschwitzfrom a Polish town at the crossroads of Europe, to the dark center of the Holocaust, to a powerful site of remembrance. Auschwitz: Not long ago.Not far away.
Is an essential volume for everyone who is interested in history and its lessons.
8. A Fortress in Brooklyn: Race, Real Estate, and the Making of Hasidic Williamsburg
Author: by Nathaniel Deutsch
English
408 pages
0300231091
The epic story of Satmar Hasidic Williamsburg, from the decline of New York to the gentrification of Brooklyn”Groundbreaking…. To fully understand Satmar, of course, one has to be born into it. But to understand how political prowess and real-estate know-how shaped the group’s current iteration in Brooklyn, it would be wise to start with this outstanding book.”Laura E.
Adkins, LA Review of Books The Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is famously one of the most separatist, intensely religious, and politically savvy groups of people in the entire United States. Less known is how the community survived in one of the toughest parts of New York City during an era of steep decline, only to later resist and also participate in the unprecedented gentrification of the neighborhood.
Nathaniel Deutsch and Michael Casper unravel the fascinating history of how a group of determined Holocaust survivors encountered, shaped, and sometimes fiercely opposed the urban processes that transformed their gritty neighborhood, from white flight and the construction of public housing to rising crime, divestment of city services, and, ultimately, extreme gentrification.
9. Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom–and Revenge
Author: by Edward Kritzler
Anchor
English
352 pages
In this lively debut work of history, Edward Kritzler tells the tale of an unlikely group of swashbuckling Jews who ransacked the high seas in the aftermath of the Spanish Inquisition. At the end of the fifteenth century, many Jews had to flee Spain and Portugal.
The most adventurous among them took to the seas as freewheeling outlaws. In ships bearing names such as the Prophet Samuel, Queen Esther, and Shield of Abraham, they attacked and plundered the Spanish fleet while forming alliances with other European powers to ensure the safety of Jews living in hiding.
Filled with high-sea adventuresincluding encounters with Captain Morgan and other legendary piratesJewish Pirates of the Caribbean reveals a hidden chapter in Jewish history as well as the cruelty, terror, and greed that flourished during the Age of Discovery.
10. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith
Author: by Ann Spangler
ISBN: 978-0310330691
Published at: Zondervan; Unabridged edition (February 6, 2018)
A rare chance to know Jesus as his first disciples knew him. What would it be like to journey back to the first century and sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus as one of his Jewish disciples? How would your understanding of the gospel have been shaped by the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the Jewish culture in which you lived?
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus will change the way you read Scripture and deepen your understanding of the life of Jesus. It will also help you to adapt the rich prayers and customs you learn about to your own life, in ways that both respect and enrich your Christian faith.
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus takes you on a fascinating tour of the Jewish world of Jesus, offering inspirational insights that can transform your faith. Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg paint powerful scenes from Jesus’ ministry, immersing you in the prayers, feasts, history, culture, and customs that shaped Jesus and those who followed him.
In these pages, you will:Hear the parables as they must have sounded to first-century Jews, powerful and surprising. Join conversations among the rabbis of Jesus’ day. Watch with new understanding as the events of Jesus’ life unfold. Experience new excitement about the roots of your Christian faith.
11. I Escaped from Auschwitz: The Shocking True Story of the World War II Hero Who Escaped the Nazis and Helped Save Over 200,000 Jews
Author: by Rudolf Vrba
B0847SV2FF
Racehorse (April 21, 2020)
April 21, 2020
The Stunning and Emotional Autobiography of an Auschwitz Survivor April 7, 1944This date marks the successful escape of two Slovak prisoners from one of the most heavily-guarded and notorious concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The escapees, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, fled over one hundred miles to be the first to give the graphic and detailed descriptions of the atrocities of Auschwitz.
Originally published in the early 1960s, I Escaped from Auschwitz is the striking autobiography of none other than Rudolf Vrba himself. Vrba details his life leading up to, during, and after his escape from his 21-month internment in Auschwitz. Vrba and Wetzler manage to evade Nazi authorities looking for them and make contact with the Jewish council in Zilina, Slovakia, informing them about the truth of the unknown destination of Jewish deportees all across Europe.
This first-hand report alerted Western authorities, such as Pope Pius XII, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the reality of Nazi annihilation campsinformation that until then had only been recognized as nasty rumors. I Escaped from Auschwitz is a close-up look at the horror faced by the Jewish people in Auschwitz and across Europe during World War II.
12. The Torah
Author: by Rodney Mariner
1857333802
Kuperard
English
This edition brings together one of the most beautiful renderings of the Hebrew Bible in the English language with a wealth of Jewish art and imagery. The classic 20th century translation by the Jewish Publication Society is illustrated with ancient frescoes, medieval illuminated manuscripts, and paintings by contemporary Jewish artists.
Bound in blue cloth with an illuminated gold foil front cover, this book is an ideal gift and would grace any home. A ‘synoptic contents’ is included to help the reader locate the better-known events and their themes among the Torah’s five books.
The Hebrew texts as they appear in the Torah scroll have also been included for several significant passages. An introduction by Rabbi Mariner sets the tone of this elegant edition.
13. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity
Author: by John Bergsma
Image (September 10, 2019)
English
272 pages
A major new work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest sacred documents of Judaism, which reveals their surprising connections to early Christianity. A luminous treatment of a fascinating subject!Highly recommended! Scott Hahn, author of The Fourth Cup From award-winning scholar John Bergsma comes an intriguing book that reveals new insights on the Essenes, a radical Jewish community predating Christianity, whose existence, beliefs, and practices are often overlooked in the annuls of history.
Bergsma reveals how this Jewish sect directly influenced the beliefs, sacraments, and practices of early Christianity and offers new information on how Christians lived their lives, worshipped, and eventually went on to influence the Roman Empire and Western civilization. Looking to Hebrew scripture and Jewish tradition, Bergsma helps to further explain how a simple Jewish peasant could go on to inspire a religion and a philosophy that still resonates 2,000 years later.
In this enriching and exciting exploration, Bergsma demonstrates how the Dead Sea Scrollsthe world’s greatest modern archaeological discoverycan shed light on the Church as a sacred society that offered hope, redemption, and salvation to its member. Ultimately, these mysterious writings are a time machine that can transport us back to the ancient world, deepen our appreciation of Scripture, and strengthen our understanding of the Christian faith.
14. Jewish Literacy Revised Ed: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History
Author: by Joseph Telushkin
William Morrow
English
800 pages
What does it mean to be a Jew? How does one begin to answer so extensive a question? In this insightful and completely updated tome, esteemed rabbi and bestselling author Joseph Telushkin helps answer the question of what it means to be a Jew, in the largest sense.
Widely recognized as one of the most respected and indispensable reference books on Jewish life, culture, tradition, and religion, Jewish Literacy covers every essential aspect of the Jewish people and Judaism. In 352 short and engaging chapters, Rabbi Telushkin discusses everything from the Jewish Bible and Talmud to Jewish notions of ethics to antisemitism and the Holocaust; from the history of Jews around the world to Zionism and the politics of a Jewish state; from the significance of religious traditions and holidays to how they are practiced in daily life.
Whether you want to know more about Judaism in general or have specific questions you’d like answered, Jewish Literacy is sure to contain the information you need. Rabbi Telushkin’s expert knowledge of Judaism makes the updated and revised edition of Jewish Literacy an invaluable reference.
15. The New Complete Works of Josephus
Author: by William Whiston
English
1152 pages
082542948X
No source, other than the Bible itself, provides more relevant information on the first century than the work of Flavius Josephus. This newly edited version updates the original 18th century language; includes commentary by the award winning author and historian, Dr. Paul L.
Maier; features over forty photos of ancient sites and artifacts mentioned by Josephus; cross references numbers throughout to the Greek text of Josephus in the Loeb Classical Library; and offers revised indexes of subjects and Old Testament texts.
16. The Secret Book of Dzyan: Unveiling the Hidden Truth about the Oldest Manuscript in the World and Its Divine Authors (Sacred Wisdom)
Author: by Zinovia Dushkova
English
81 pages
560405867X
Have you heard of the secret Book of Dzyan? Generations of Truth-seekers have been searching for this mysterious manuscript of untold antiquity that conceals the entire wisdom of the world, yet only a chosen few have ever gained access to it.
Thus, in 2015, Zinovia Dushkova, Ph.D., published a new excerpt from the Book of Dzyan in The Book of Secret Wisdom that revealed the future and destiny of humanity. At that time, however, she was not allowed to disclose anything more about the Book of Dzyan than Helena Blavatsky had already done in her time.
But now, for the first time ever, Dr. Dushkova, who is named as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2020 by Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit, has been permitted to cast more light on the Book of Dzyan and answer the following questions:Who are the authors of the Book of Dzyan?
Where was it stored in the past, and where is it now? What are its structure and contents? When was the Book of Dzyan written? Why is it now of such great significance, even in your own life? In addition, you will also learn about the attempt that the Masters of Wisdom made to enlighten the world in the 20th century and what challenges face humanity in the 21st century.
