Recent items:

The Temple of Jerusalem : past, present, and future, by John M. Lundquist. (2007)
Lundquist (chief librarian, Asian & Middle Eastern Div., NYPL) does a thorough, but not tedious, job of tracing the four phases of the Temple Mount (aka Al-Haram As-Sharif) in Jerusalem—its original construction, its reconstruction in 516 B.C.E., its expansion during the reign of the Idumean King Herod, and its destruction in 70 C.E. and ongoing survival in the minds of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. The book is strengthened by Lundquist's referencing of a wide variety of ancient primary sources, his placing of archaeology and meaning in clear historical context, and his presentation of the issues and conflicts surrounding the Temple as well as of its current political, secular, and religious meaning. A well-researched and carefully presented work; (drawn from Library journal review, courtesy of Syndetics)

Doing Jewish theology : God, Torah & Israel in modern Judaism, by Neil Gillman. (2008)
Gillman, a National Jewish Book Award winner, explores the six basic themes of Judaism: How can we know anything about God? What can Judaism teach us about God? What is the source of authority for what we believe and how we live? What is Torah and why is it so sacred? What, if at all, is God's role in human suffering? What happens to us after we die? Gillman submits that his identification with the thinking of Mordecai Kaplan and Paul Tillich represented his gradual shift toward religious naturalism. His book is one of the most enlightening studies of a complex subject. (Drawn from Booklist review, courtesy of Syndetics).

A time to every purpose : letters to a young Jew, by Jonathan D. Sarna. (2008)
"In these 13 letters to his daughter, the author discusses the major themes of Jewish life as expressed in a year of holidays - from Passover in the spring to Purim 11 months later. He explains the origins of the holidays and the issues that each illuminates. The holidays include Passover (freedom), Yom ha-Shoah (the Holocaust), Shavout (the Torah), Rosh Hashanah (judgment), Yom Kippur (the individual and the community), Sukkot (making choices and improving the world), Hanukkah (assimilation and anti-assimilation), and Purim (continuity and happiness). (drawn from Booklist review, courtesy of Syndetics)

Jewish literacy : the most important things to know about the Jewish religion, its people, and its history, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
""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" --www.harpercollins.com

How to read the Bible, by Marc Zvi Brettler. (2003)
Brettler, who chairs the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis, begins with the complicated web of doctrine, history and myth that is the Hebrew Bible and untangles it until a clear and beautifully drawn picture emerges. His mode of interpretation is the "historical-critical" method—reading the text in its historical setting, employing critical methodology to explicate and, when possible, harmonize "the multiple ancient perceptions of God, preserved in our composite Bible." Written for the beginning reader as well as the scholar, this is an outstanding introduction to the Hebrew Bible and the history of Israel... (drawn from Publishers Weekly)

What I wish my Christian friends knew about Judaism, by Robert Schoen. (2004)
Written at a "Layman" rather than academic level, this is in the style of a guidebook on the different streams of Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. Introductory explanations of Jewish holidays, synagogue life and worhsip, and beliefs. Although he focuses on differences between Christianity, whatever the reader's background this is an easy to read introduction to Judaism.

The Sabbath : its meaning for modern man, by Abraham Joshua Heschel ; with wood engravings by Ilya Schor.
First published in 1951, this book is considered a classic of Jewish spirituality, and argues that Judaism is a religion of time and not space. The author focuses on the essentials of what the Sabbath is and how humanity is to relate to God by it.

Essential Judaism : a complete guide to beliefs, customs and rituals, by George Robinson. (2002)
An indispensable one-volume guide to the religious traditions, everyday practices, philosophical beliefs, and historical foundations of Judaism. Robinson's background as a journalist proved to be an asset as his research is written in laymen's language. Robinson is sensitive to the many perspectives of contemporary Judaism. (drawn from Amazon)

The mystery of the Kaddish : the powerful story of Judaism's most moving prayer, by Leon H. Charney and Saul Mayzlish. (2008)
Charney and Mayzlish trace the origin, history, and growth of the Kaddish, traditionally thought to be a prayer for the dead, to meet the spiritual needs of Jews across the ages.

What do Jews believe?, by Edward Kessler. (2006)
"Judaism is not simply a series of beliefs. It is a practice and a way of life. What Do Jews Believe? explores the variety of ways Jews live their lives; religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Jews in Israel and Jews who live in the diaspora. It asks what Judaism is and what it means to be a Jew." (book jacket)

The Exodus decoded.
"After six years of unprecedented research, host Simcha Jacobovici and a team of renowned archaeologists, Egyptologists, and theologians shed revelatory new light on the Exodus and the era's ruling Egyptian dynasty. Their new theory pushes events hundreds of years earlier than previously believed, allowing age-old stories to sparkle with new perspectives and startling historical impact. Using elaborate, state-of-the art CGI, 'The Exodus decoded' offers a stunning virtual account of stories like the birth of Moses, the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea."--Case slick.

101 things everyone should know about Judaism : beliefs, practices, customs, and traditions, by Richard Bank. (2005)
Major biblical events, concepts, liturgy and prayer, practices and cultural elements.

The five books of Moses : a translation with commentary, by Robert Alter. (2004)
"Alter's translation conveys the music and the meaning of the Hebrew text in a lyrical, lucid English. His accompanying commentary illuminates the text with learned insight and reflection on its literary and historical dimensions". (Amazon)

Themes and issues in Judaism, edited by Seth D. Kunin. (2000)
The themes and issues explored in this text include moral decision-making, worship, myth and history, the role of women, as well as beliefs about human nature, rites of passage, sense of the sacred.

Women and Jewish law : the essential texts, their history, and their relevance for today, by Rachel Biale.
"Gives contemporary readers access to the central texts of the Jewish religious tradition on issues of special concern to women... combining a historical overview with a thoughtful feminist critique".

God in search of man : a philosophy of Judaism, by Abraham Joshua Heschel. (originally, 1955)
Discusses not man's search for God but God's for man - the notion of a Chosen People".

A Rabbi talks with Jesus - an intermillennial, interfaith exchange, by Jacob Neusner. (2001)
The author argues that the Torah was and is perfect and that there is no need for the teachings of Jesus.

Reference books

The Encyclopedia of Judaism, editor-in-chief Geoffrey Wigoder. (1989)
Fifteen hundred specially commissioned articles cover Jewish history and culture, including festivals, rituals, important individuals of the past, and prominent synagogues. (Amazon)

Online databases & articles

Database articles:

Wellington City Libraries subscribe to a number of different online databases that provide news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Below you'll find some links to recent articles on Judaism, selected by our librarians.

If you have signed on to EBSCO (one of our magazine databases) in the last month, the article links below will take you straight in to the database to view the article. Otherwise, you'll be prompted to use your library card number and surname details to log in and view the articles. If you'd like to discover what our databases have to offer on topics other than Judaism, visit our online databases section, www.mygateway.info.

• 1st Black Woman Rabbi's Journey To History, by Melody Hoffman, in Jet, 6/7/2009, Vol. 116 Issue 1, p16-18.
  Follows Alysa Stanton, the first African-American woman to be ordained a rabbi in the history of Judaism.

• Samela's Shammash by Lizzie Widdicombe, in New Yorker, 11/5/2009, Vol. 85 Issue 13, p36-37.
  Discusses the sale of a menorah given to musician Sammy Davis, Jr. by the women's division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in 1965.

Journal titles:

• Commentary
  Presents articles dealing with current events, with an emphasis on politics, social science and culture, with special interest in Jewish affairs.
  
• Judaism
  Articles, reviews, fiction and poetry; creative discussion and exposition of the religious, moral and philosophical concepts of Judaism and their relevance to the problems of modern society.

Useful websites

• Civilization and the Jews
  A great general site featuring an interactive timeline, lesson plans, teacher sources, excellent illustrations.
• Judaism and Jewish resources
  A good starting place. The content owner explains his basis for choosing the links.
• Jewish encyclopedia.com
  This website contains the complete full-text contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, originally published between 1901-1906.
• Judaism 101
  The goal is to make freely available a wide variety of basic, general information about Judaism, written from a traditional perspective in plain English.
• Maven
  The largest directory of Jewish and Israel resources on the Internet. Searchable and categorized by subject. More than 9,000 links, many annotated.
• Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Wellington
  The Congregation is "traditional orthodox" and is affiliated with the Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth. Jews from all around the world have combined to make this a thriving Jewish community, of about 1000 members.
• Wellington Progressive Jewish Congregation