In 1885, few Jews in Israel used the holy language of their ancestors, and Hebrew was in danger of being lost—until Ben Zion and his father got involved. Through the help of his father and a community of children, Ben modernized the ancient language, creating a lexicon of new, modern words to bring Hebrew back into common usage. Historically influenced dialogue, engaging characters, and colorful art offer a linguistic journey…
It’s October 1942, in Oslo, Norway. Fifteen-year-old Ilse Stern is waiting to meet boy-next-door Hermann Rod for their first date. She was beginning to think he’d never ask her; she’s had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But Hermann won’t be able to make it tonight. What Ilse doesn’t know is that Hermann is secretly working in the Resistance, helping Norwegian Jews flee the country…
Two neighbors one Jewish, one Muslim have always been best friends. When they both fall on hard times, can they find a way to help each other? In Fawzia Gilani’s retelling of this folktale which has both Jewish and Arab origins differences are not always causes for conflict and friendship can overcome any obstacle. From The Book of Life podcast Yaffa and Fatima, Shalom, Salaam by Muslim author Fawzia Gilani-Williams…
After enjoying decades of acclaim in the pages of the acclaimed weekly newspaper, THE JEWISH PRESS, the lovable, side-splitting tales from the legendary town of Chelm have been collected in the world’s first encyclopedia of Chelm stories. This new treasury of Jewish wit and whimsy brims with over 150 stories straight out of the fabled town of Chelm – the place where solving life’s practical problems was never a straightforward…
Translator Yaacov David Shulman Lights of Teshuvah is a new translation of Orot Hateshuvah, the quintessential work of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), first Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land and one of the most important Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik calls this book “Rav Kook’s most philosophically developed work,” and points out its “most significant innovation as being that teshuvah (‘return’) is not connected to…
Motti knows that war is coming. Israel is only nineteen years old the same age as Motti’s brave older brother, Gideonand the tiny country is surrounded by enemies. It’s only a matter of time before Egypt, Jordan and Syria attack. When Motti’s best friend’s family flees the country and his brother goes off to fight, Motti realizes this war isn’t a game. His family is in danger, and Israel’s very…
In Meant to Be, Rabbi Hier recounts the events of his dazzling life: the miraculous birth and growth of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Moriah Films, and the Museums of Tolerance; the hunt for the Nazi Angel of Death, Josef Mengele; encounters with renowned Jewish sages Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and the Gerrer Rebbe; his friendship with Jordan’s King Hussein; his meetings with every American president from Jimmy Carter…
The newest episode of The Book of Life Podcast, hosted by librarian Heidi Rabinowitz, features an interview with the director of PJ Our Way, Catriella Freedman. PJ Our Way, an outgrowth of PJ Library, sends free Jewish books to middle grade readers. PJ Our Way is an initiative of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that gives free chapter books to Jewish families with middle grade readers. It’s an outgrowth of PJ…
Translator Yaacov David Shulman Jewish Spiritual Growth is a translation into English of one of the great Jewish spiritual treasures of the twentieth century, which was miraculously rescued after the Holocaust. This book was written by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, one of the great Hasidic masters of the twentieth century, living in pre-World War II Warsaw (author of the famed Aish Kodesh). Seeking to revitalize the Hasidic movement, Rabbi Shapira…
2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved classic From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go,…