All But My Life: A Memoir Review

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(More customer reviews)These lasts words, Gerda Weissmann hears ring out over the crowd of Jews as they are herded away like cattle to an uncertain end. The person shouting them is her mother who is about to be ripped from her life. The Nazi's have taken everything she holds dear, family, home, friends and now she will fight for all that remains, her life and dignity.
This book is a remarkable slice of time and life, written by a true survivor who lived through the times that tried men's souls. As she wades through the atrocities of a Nazi occupation, concentration camps, and a death march amidst freezing temperatures, to be liberated by her one true love, she is true to her mother's request. This is an amazing story that will stay a part of you forever. I am astonished at her strength of spirit and her continued belief in the future. A book doesn't get much better than this. Kelsana 6/19/01

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All But My Life is the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein's six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. From her comfortable home in Bielitz (present-day Bielsko) in Poland to her miraculous survival and her liberation by American troops--including the man who was to become her husband--in Volary, Czechoslovakia, in 1945, Gerda takes the reader on a terrifying journey. Gerda's serene and idyllic childhood is shattered when Nazis march into Poland on September 3, 1939. Although the Weissmanns were permitted to live for a while in the basement of their home, they were eventually separated and sent to German labor camps. Over the next few years Gerda experienced the slow, inexorable stripping away of "all but her life."By the end of the war she had lost her parents, brother, home, possessions, and community; even the dear friends she made in the labor camps, with whom she had shared so many hardships, were dead. Despite her horrifying experiences, Klein conveys great strength of spirit and faith in humanity. In the darkness of the camps, Gerda and her young friends manage to create a community of friendship and love. Although stripped of the essence of life, they were able to survive the barbarity of their captors. Gerda's beautifully written story gives an invaluable message to everyone. It introduces them to last century's terrible history of devastation and prejudice, yet offers them hope that the effects of hatred can be overcome.

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Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History Review

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(More customer reviews)A Rabbi once joked to me about learning about Judaism. He noted that some folks promote their religions by giving out pamphlets from fold-up tables. He noted, "If someone asked a Jew about Judaism, he'd have to do this," and he plunked down a stack of about 10 books on his desk with a loud whack.
That's how it gets after 3500 years, I'm afraid.
Well, here it is for your perusal; Judaism between two covers. It's not complete, but it's pretty much the best damn overview of Judaism that I have ever seen. It's well-written, concise, informative, and thorough. There is very little authorial agenda in the book, and he clearly tries to treat potentially hot "political" issues (such as the divisive "Who is a Jew" issue) as even-handedly as possible (Telushkin is an Orthodox Rabbi). Further, the book is laid out in such a way, like encyclopedia entries, that a person looking for information on a particular topic--such as the Jewish take on Jesus, say--can find it quickly and easily.
If you are interested in learning about Judaism at all, or if you are a Jew yourself who wants a good starting point for educating yourself, I highly recommend this book.

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Hillel: If Not Now, When? (Jewish Encounters) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hillel may be the only ancient rabbi that most Jews, and many non-Jews, have heard of. The Jewish outreach program on many university campuses is named after this famous rabbi. And many people have also heard (part of) Hillel's famous statement summarizing the Torah while standing on one foot: "What is hateful to you, do not do unto others." But, as Rabbi Joseph Telushkin lucidly explains, there is a very great deal more to Hillel's life and work.
And not only is there more, Rabbi Telushkin argues, much of Hillel's core teaching is a) more relevant to the Jewish condition than it has been at any other time in the past 2000 years, and b) most Jews, including perhaps even most practicing rabbis, do not appreciate or act upon these core teachings.
Hillel taught many important lessons. I will discuss only one of them here. To learn about the others, and to learn far more detail than I can mention here, I urge you to read Rabbi Telushkin's well-written book Hillel: If Not Now, When? (For those familiar with his recent works on ethics, this book is much shorter, and although it will reward careful study, can be read through like a biography.)
Hillel is best-known for the above quoted statement of the golden rule. But as Rabbi Telushkin observes, the context of the quote, as well as the complete quote, are much less well-known.
The context is that Hillel is responding to a pagan who has approached him and requested that Hillel convert him to Judaism, and explain the Torah to him while standing on one foot. Hillel agrees! While such openness to conversion might not surprise a Christian, it does surprise most Jews, including most rabbis, today. Rabbi Telushkin is obviously troubled by the modern Jewish antipathy toward interested non-Jews. Citing Hillel, Telushkin argues that in societies that permitted it, Jews were very open to potential converts.
With the Roman destruction of the second Temple in the year 70, and the subsequent expulsion of the Jews from the Land of Israel, Jews found themselves almost everywhere among more or less hostile hosts. For much of this time, in both Christian and Muslim lands, conversion to Judaism was punishable by death. In fact, still today, conversion out of Islam is punishable by death in many parts of the Muslim world. Over these many centuries of oppression, Jews adopted the idea of resistance to accepting converts.
Telushkin presents a strong case, based on Hillel, that this resistance, while understandable, is an aberration. In addition to the famous one-foot story, Telushkin presents two other similar stories in which Hillel quickly accepts people who wish to convert. However, in each case, it is clearly understood that once they convert, they will need to learn more.
In fact, this immediate acceptance, before learning or study, is how most Jews alive today became Jews: they were immediately accepted into the Covenant knowing little or nothing about it, and they were then expected to learn about it. That is simply another way of saying that Judaism accepts young children as Jews if they happen to be born to a Jewish mother. These Jews, having been immediately accepted before they study extensively, remain Jews, regardless of whether they ever learn or practice anything Jewish.
Rabbi Telushkin is gently observing that the practice of being hostile to converts, as so many Jews today are, is a) inconsistent with historical teaching and practice pre-Roman-expulsion b) inconsistent with the often stated goal of keeping the Jewish community thriving and c) unfair and hurtful, since it discriminates against some people based on an accident of birth.
The close of the famous one-foot story is: "Now go an learn." A good place to start is Hillel: If Not Now, When?


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Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers Review

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(More customer reviews)Like many of my most valued books, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's `Jewish Wisdom' arrived by accident, not through deliberate choice, but rather as a result of my having missed the reply deadline for one of my book clubs.
The full title of the book gives a greater sense of the scope of this 650+ page book: `Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers'. This statement in the subtitle comes very close to an encapsulation of the Jewish faith for me -- it is an ethical way of life; it is a spiritual way of life; it is a way of life with high regard for history; it is a way of life with high regard to teaching and learning; it is a way of life that has accomplished great works and produced great thinkers. All of these things benefit the whole of humankind. `Two thousand years ago, when a non-Jew asked Hillel, the leading rabbi of his age, to define Judaism's essence, the sage could have responded with a long oration on Jewish thought and law, and an insistence that it would be blasphemous to reduce so profound a system to a brief essence. Indeed, his contemporary, Shammai, furiously drove away the questioner with a builder's rod. Hillel, however, responded to the man's challenge: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour: this is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary; now go and study" -- a model statement that has defined Judaism's essence ever since. As Hillel knew, the right words at the right time can inspire people for generations.'
Rabbi Telushkin has written or edited literally hundreds of books, and many of them consist of collections of writings or quotations. One of the things that sets this apart from other books of quotations and writings, both Jewish and non-Jewish, is the running commentary that speaks to the importance in the ongoing development of Jewish life and faith of the writings presented here. Indeed, some quotations appear more than once, because they have a relevance to more than one topic.
Rabbi Telushkin concludes with a fifteen-page bibliography, which reads as a 'best of' list of Jewish literature (and is a frequently-addressed reference source for me when looking up Jewish information of almost any field). At the front of this bibliography, he starts by listing the top-ten collections of Jewish quotes and texts -- what other book of quotations references even one, much less ten, other such collections?
A truly inspiring book, a wonderful reference, a thoughtful and insightful collection -- this book will not gather dust on the shelf. For those who are not Jewish, this book contains the key to following Hillel's instruction to 'go and study'. For those who are Jewish, this will serve as a solid addition to the library of essential facts and useful opinions and impressions from culture and history.

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Honey from the Rock Anniv Ed PB Review

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(More customer reviews)A reprint of "Honey from the Rock: Ten Gates of Jewish Mysticism", with an added preface and foreword, this is a book I've treasured and read many times since I bought the first edition in 1983.
It's poetic, with a warmth and humanity that touches the heart an illuminates the mind. Its 10 chapters are broken down into short pieces (93 in all), and when quoting from the Torah or a rabbinical saying, the original Hebrew is written below the quote.
This slim volume could easily be read in one day, but I don't think you would want to...it's a book to savor and reflect upon, because in its simplicity, there is much depth.
"The begining was seeing for even one moment
That there was something more to reality
Than meets the eye.
The end is seeing for even one moment
That the apparent multiplicity
Is in reality a unity"
...

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Sage Tales: Wisdom and Wonder from the Rabbis of the Talmud Review

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(More customer reviews)Rabbi Visotsky, the author of this volume, is a professor at The Jewish Theological Seminary and has been involved in studying and teaching the subject of Jewish Midrash, the ancient tales, parables, and teachings of Judaism, for over forty years. There are twenty-two chapters filled with interesting information told in an easy to read, frequently humorous manner. The title Sage Tales could mean stories filled with wisdom, tales told by wise men, or a history of ancient intellectuals. Visotsky uses the title in all three ways, because he gifts us well-told wise tales and informs us about the history of the times and the men who told the tales.
His opening chapter, for instance, explains what prompted the many unforgettable stories about the appearance of the biblical prophet Elijah long after his death, always appearing as a miraculous helper to people in distress. He tells his own story of how he was lost in Uzbekistan and was unable to communicate with people on the street since he couldn't speak or understand their language. But then a man suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and took him to the house he was seeking, even though he never told the man the address of the house. When he turned around within seconds to thank him, he couldn't find him. He disappeared. Was he Elijah the Prophet? He tells three stories from the Talmud where the rabbis relate similar instances and say that the stranger was Elijah, and he explains why they said so. One is how Elijah caught a man who jumped off a roof to commit suicide and dissuaded him from repeating his mistake. One tells how Elijah replenished a man's sack of jewels that a thief stole and arranged suitable punishment for the thief. Still another has the ubiquitous theme of Elijah disguised as a beggar who knocks on a door begging for alms. He explains how these folktales and others like them are constructed and what they are designed to accomplish. He admits that the "legends were told about people who really lived, but the events may not have happened as described in the narrative."
In his second chapter, to offer another example, he introduces five sages, tells us what they thought on a host of subject, what their teacher said about each of them, what posterity thought of them long after their death, and the tale of how and why the best them, smarter and more loved than the rest, went astray. While his colleagues are mentioned frequently in the Talmud, little is known of him other than his early wise statements and his teacher's accolades.
In the next chapter, to cite a third illustration, he tells how the idea of rewriting and expanding on previously-told ancient stories is an age-old well-accepted practice not only of Jews but of ancient Greeks. The Greeks did it with the Odyssey and the Iliad. The Jews did it frequently as when the tales in the book Pirkei Avot, called Ethics of the Fathers in English, were expanded with new stories in Avot deRabbi Nathan. He gives other interesting demonstrations. In the fourth chapter, our final example, he shows how the Bible itself uses this technique. I am reminded of the title Nathaniel Hawthorn used, Twice Told Tales, although it would be more precise to say "tales told and retold many times."
Visotsky includes two appendices. One, of twenty pages, recapitulates the tales alone without comments so that readers can find them easily and review them. The second, a four page Who's Who, identifies the people mentioned in his discussions. There is also a glossary that defines terms and a section Suggestions for Further Reading.



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