|
|
Rabbi Zemel's Recommended Books
Rabbi Zemel's Recommendations for 2007:
- American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, Chris Hedges. Even as I was reading this book, I knew that I wanted to meet the author who through the book’s pages shows himself to be a thoroughly decent and compassionate person of faith who loves his country. Read the book and come hear him speak on Dec 15 at the temple.
- The Wicked Son, David Mamet. A provacative book on anti-Semitism and Jewish self hatred.
- In Search of Memory, Eric Kandel. A beautiful memoir by a Nobel Prize winning scientist. His humble sense of self and Jewish identity are deeply moving.
- Evolving God, Barbara King. An anthropologist explores our instinct for God.
- The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza and the Fate of God in the Modern World, Matthew Stewart. Great book on how these two great thinkers created the philosophical back drop for modernity.
- Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution, Kenneth R. Miller. Want an easy to read primer on Darwin? Want to learn about Darwin and the possibilities of faith in a post Darwin world? Want to read the scientific work of a sensitive soul? This is your book.
- Honey From the Rock: Samson, a Myth, David Grossman. Beautiful exploration of a biblical text and an understanding of myth.
- Jews and Power, Ruth Wisse. A political understanding of Jewish survival through history and our entry into modernity.
- A Land of Two Peoples, Martin Buber. Some brilliant Buber is here. Buber the Zionist. Buber the humanist. Buber’s complete correspondence with Ghandi in this volume.
- What is a Jew?, Morrris Kertzer and Lawrence Hoffman. A real classic- Arguably the best one volume introduction to Judaism available.
return to top
Rabbi Zemel's Recommendations for 2005:
- Tales of Love and Darkness. Amos Oz. Oz tells the story of growing up in the early days of the State of Israel, the social and intellectual climate of Jerusalem; the story of his family, his move to the kibbutz. An absolutely beautiful book by one of the Israel's greatest writers.
- Days of Awe. S. Y. Agnon. A great classic. If you are going to read one book each year to prepare for the high holy days, this classic by Israel's only Nobel laureate for literature is without doubt the one.
- Common Prayers. Harvey Cox. Simply a fascinating book on Jewish life by one of America's leading Protestant theologians who is married to a Jewish women.
- The Sabbath. Abraham Joshua Heschel. This small book is a theological masterpiece - a timeless interpretation of what Shabbat is all about for Jews and Judaism.
- My People's Prayer Book. Lawrence Hoffman, editor. Any volume. The best commentary available in English on the prayer book as well as the unsurpassed insights into what the prayer experience is all about.
- In the Beginning. Joel Hofman. A short history of the Hebrew language. Just what it says, a fascinating book.
- I Am Jewish. Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl. Another really interesting book that reflects the variety and complexity of Jewish identity today.
- The Jewish Century. Yuri Slezkine. An interesting and provocative take on Judaism and modernity.
- The Book of Jewish Values. Joseph Telushkin. A Jewish value for every day.
- We Jews: Who We Are and What Should We Do. Adin Steinsaltz. The only book on the list I have not read, but one I am going to read very soon. Steinsaltz is always brilliant.
return to top
Rabbi Zemel's Recommendations for a Basic Jewish Library:
- The Jewish Bible: Tanakh- The Holy Scriptures.; This is available in paperback, published by JPS
- On the Doorposts of Your House, Chaim Stern editor, CCAR Press: This is THE home prayerbook for every Reform Jewish home
- Gates of Shabbat- A Guide for Observing Shabbat, CCAR Press
- Living Judaism by Wayne Dosick. I think the best basic Judaism book avalable- I prefer this to Telushkin's basic Judaism book
- The Torah- A Modern Commentary, UAHC [now URJ] Press
- The Jews in America by Arthur Hertzberg. After 12 years still the best history and theology of American Judaism
- The Zionist Idea by Arthur Hertberg. In so far as Zionism is the major Jewish idea of the 20th century, this book is the classic on the movement and its divergent ideologies
- Choices in Modern Jewish Thought by Eugene Borowitz. A great survey of 20th century Jewish theology and a must read for someone who is trying to discover modern Jewish faith
- Jewish People Jewish Thought by Robert Seltzer. THE best one volume Jewish history book available
- The Jewish Experience, Edited by Judah Goldin. Simply a wonderful collection of essays on a variety of topics by some of the leading Jewish scholars of the 20th century
Other Great Books:
- Renewing the Covenant by Eugene Borowitz
- Taking Hold of Torah by Arnie Eisen
- When Night Fell by Raphael and Raphael
- Quest For God by A. J. Heschel
- Any book of poetry by Yehuda Amichai
return to top
Rabbi Zemel's Recommendations (Zemel's Zingers) for 2004:
- I Am Jewish by Daniel Pearl
- Essential Kabbalah by Daniel Matt
- American Judaism by Jonathan Sarna
- As A Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg
- The Five Books of Moses (Translation and Commentary) by Robert Alter
- Common Prayers by Harvey Cox
- What Do Jews Believe by David Ariel
- The Sabbath by Abraham Heschel
- Unsettled: An Anthropology of Judaism by Melvin Konner
- Double or Nothing by Sulvia Barak Fishman
- The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis
- The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
return to top
Rabbi Zemel's recommendations from 2003:
- The God of Old by James Kugel
- In America's Court by Thomas Geohagen
- Girl Meets God by Laura Winner
- Judaism in America by Marc Raphael
- Common Prayers by Harvey Cox
- Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman
- Wittgenstein's Poker by David Edmonds and John Eidinow
- A Moral Reckoning by Daniel Goldhagen
- Rubber Bullets by Yaron Ezrahy
- Peace Like a River by Lief Enger
- A Trumpet in the Wadi by Sami Michael
return to top
Rabbi's recommendations from 2002:
- My People‚s Prayerbook v 1-5 by Lawrence Hoffman
- Salvaged Pages by Alexandra Zapruder
- What Went Wrong by Bernard Lewis
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
- His Brother‚s Keeper by Yossi Beilin
- Common Prayers by Harvey Cox
- Rubber Bullets by Yaron Ezerahi
- The Popes Against the Jews by David Kertzer
- Must a Jew Believe Anything by Menachem Kellner
- Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavey
- Six Days of War by Michael Oren
- From Herzl to Rabin by Amnon Rubenstein [Note: Danny mentioned at high holidays that "If you were going to buy one Jewish book this year, this would be the one."]
return to top
|
|
