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The Rabbi in the Attic: And Other Stories
by Eileen PollackIn an age of minimalists, Eileen Pollack is a writer of rare generosity. The women and men in The Rabbi in the Attic are complex, vivid people to whom something happens. Their stories take place in small towns in the Catskills, a laboratory of mutant mice in nowhere Tennessee, the backwoods of New Hampshire, the "City of Five Smells" in America's heartland--worlds rendered with such love and intensity that the simplest objects seem magical. Many of the narrators look back on their pasts. But don't expect to be lulled by nostalgia. Expect to laugh. To be jolted. And to be moved. Like most of us, these characters are struggling to understand what they have gained and lost by abandoning the passions and moral certainties of youth. As the narrator of the first story discovers when "barbarian" rock fans invade her town, it can be terrifying to be knocked from the "tiny fixed orbit" of conventional life. But if a person can stretch her imagination far enough, she might also be able to glimpse an "elsewhere" beyond the boundaries of ordinary human limitations. This battle between the real and ideal is taken to mythic heights in the title novella, in which a novice rabbi must try to evict her Orthodox predecessor from the house provided by her prickly congregation. Only when she tempers her enthusiasm for the new ways with compassion for those who follow the old ways can Rabbi Bloomgarten begin to care for their souls. Eileen Pollack writes from a Jewish point of view, but her subject is the search for principles that we must all undertake in a world in which religious truths are no longer handed down from parent to child. Just as one of her characters decides to become a "value assessor," the author herself helps us to sort through the jumble of objects, ideas, and memories in our own attics. In doing so, she appeals to our minds and our hearts. Her characters teach us that imagination and empathy are our best hope if we are to understand--and perhaps transcend--the pain in our world. Her language is lyrical, rhythmic, and lush. The images in her stories--a chef's severed hand, a plummeting air conditioner, a village sunk beneath a reservoir--will stay in your mind long after you have finished her book.
The Rabbi of 84th Street: The Extraordinary Life of Haskel Besser
by Warren KozakAlways wearing an easy smile, Hasidic rabbi Haskel Besser spreads joy wherever he goes, enriching the lives of his many friends and congregants with his profound understanding of both Orthodox Judaism and humannature.With warmth and admiration, journalist Warren Kozak writes about the rabbi's extraordinary life—from his family's escape to Palestine in the late 1930s to his witnessing of Israel's rebirth in 1948, to his move to New York City, where he lives today.A rare window into the normally closed world of Hasidic Jews, The Rabbi of 84th Street is also the story of Judaism in the twentieth century; of the importance of centuries-old traditions; and of the triumph of faith, kindness, and spirit.
The Rabbi of Lud
by Stanley ElkinA small-town Rabbi&’s quiet life is turned upside down when his only daughter drops a bombshell The only long-term occupants of Lud, New Jersey, reside in its cemeteries,a fact that suits Rabbi Jerry Goldkorn just fine. Never particularly passionate about his religious calling, Rabbi Goldkorn spends his days officiating funerals and burying the dead in the local cemetery. His life is simple by design—until one day his daughter&’s scandalous rebellion threatens to send his world spinning wildly out of control. Spiked with Elkin&’s characteristic wit, The Rabbi of Lud is a poignant satire of religious culture—and the story of one man&’s struggle with morality, mortality, and the meaning of life. This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate and from the Stanley Elkin archives at Washington University in St. Louis.
The Rabbi's Daughter
by Reva MannIn this honest, daring, and compulsively readable memoir, Reva Mann paints a portrait of herself as a young woman on the edge—of either revelation or self-destruction. Ricocheting between extremes of rebellion and piety, she is on a difficult but life-changing journey to inner truth. The journey began with an unhappy childhood in a family where religion set the tone and deviations from it were not allowed. But Reva, a granddaughter of the head of the Rabbinic Council of Israel and daughter of a highly respected London rabbi, was a wild child and she rebelled, spiralling into a whirlwind of sex and drugs by the time she reached adolescence. As a young woman, however, Reva had a startling mystical epiphany that led her to a women’s yeshivah in Israel, and eventually to marriage to the devoutly religious Torah scholar who she thought would take her to ever greater heights of spirituality. But can the path to spiritual fulfillment ever be compatible with the ecstasies of the flesh or with the everyday joys of intimacy and pleasure to which she is also strongly drawn? With unflinching candor, Reva shares her struggle to carve out a life that encompasses all the impulses at war within herself. An eye-opening glimpse into the world of the ultra-Orthodox and their elaborately coded rituals for eating, sleeping, bathing, and lovemaking, as well as a deeply personal rumination on identity, faith, and self-acceptance, this is at its heart a universal story. For those of any faith who have grappled with their own spiritual longings, and for anyone fascinated by traditional religion and its role in modern society, Reva Mann’s chronicle of a journey toward redemption is an unforgettable read.
The Rabbi’s Wife: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life
by Shuly Rubin Schwartz2006 National Jewish Book Award, Modern Jewish ThoughtLong the object of curiosity, admiration, and gossip, rabbis' wives have rarely been viewed seriously as American Jewish religious and communal leaders. We know a great deal about the important role played by rabbis in building American Jewish life in this country, but not much about the role that their wives played. The Rabbi’s Wife redresses that imbalance by highlighting the unique contributions of rebbetzins to the development of American Jewry.Tracing the careers of rebbetzins from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present, Shuly Rubin Schwartz chronicles the evolution of the role from a few individual rabbis' wives who emerged as leaders to a cohort who worked together on behalf of American Judaism. The Rabbi’s Wife reveals the ways these women succeeded in both building crucial leadership roles for themselves and becoming an important force in shaping Jewish life in America.
The Race (Golden Filly #1)
by Lauraine SnellingTricia learns to trust in God as she deals with the problems of her father's serious illness and her mother's disapproval of Tricia's involvement with horse racing.
The Race for God
by Brian HerbertWho needs Heaven? God, it turns out, lives on the planet Tananius-Ofo in the distant galaxy 722C12009. And now, after countless millennia, He’s invited us to come visit Him. Not everybody, mind you. Just an odd assortment of heathens, heretics, pantheists, perverts, and true believers of every sect and creed—all crammed into a single white spaceship piloted by a slightly crazed biocomputer. Each pilgrim is determined to be the first to reach God and learn His secrets . . . If they don’t all kill each other on the way there
The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades
by Paul M. CobbIn The Race for Paradise, Paul M. Cobb offers a new history of the confrontations between Muslims and Franks we now call the "Crusades," one that emphasizes the diversity of Muslim experiences of the European holy war. There is more to the story than Jerusalem, the Templars, Saladin, and the Assassins. Cobb considers the Arab perspective on all shores of the Muslim Mediterranean, from Spain to Syria. In the process, he shows that this is not a straightforward story of warriors and kings clashing in the Holy Land, but a more complicated tale of border-crossers and turncoats; of embassies and merchants; of scholars and spies, all of them seeking to manage a new threat from the barbarian fringes of their ordered world. When seen from the perspective of medieval Muslims, the Crusades emerge as something altogether different from the high-flying rhetoric of the European chronicles: as a cultural encounter to ponder, a diplomatic chess-game to be mastered, a commercial opportunity to be seized, and as so often happened, a political challenge to be exploited by ambitious rulers making canny use of the language of jihad.
The Race to Reach Out: Connecting Newcomers to Christ in a New Century
by Doug Anderson Michael J. CoynerMost church members would tell you that theirs is a friendly congregation, eager to welcome visitors and new members into their midst. Yet far too many of these same congregations have trouble translating this intention into action. Offering a friendly greeting to a new face is important, but it is only the first of many steps that congregations must take in order to turn visitors into members, and new members into committed disciples.The authors believe that to assimilate newcomers into the life and ministry of the congregation, the whole church system must be involved. Anderson and Coyner demonstrate how to identify and respond to visitors in a nonthreatening, yet interested way; how to share information about them with the leaders of those ministries and programs in which they would be most interested; how best to help them in their decision to become church members; and how to help them understand and fulfill their own call to ministry in the congregation. They insist that churches be motivated, not by a desire for institutional survival or advancement, but by a passion for people and their place in the kingdom of God.
The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope
by Helen Lee Michelle Ami ReyesA timely resource to equip Christian parents to better understand the roots of racism and provide practical guidance on addressing issues of race within their families &“This is a landmark work for our generation!&”—Dorena Williamson, bestselling authorIf you wonder how to help your children understand today&’s racial dynamics and respond in God-honoring ways, you&’re not alone. Practical and engaging, The Race-Wise Family offers immediately applicable action steps to help you raise kingdom-minded kids who will stand against racial injustice as an outpouring of their relationship with God. Deeply rooted in Scripture, The Race-Wise Family includes • key biblical insights for understanding a theology of race • discussion questions, prayers, and conversation starters for your whole family • age-appropriate ideas for discussing current events with your kids and teens • guidance for addressing the roots of racial bias in the world and your own heart • activities and resources you can use with kids of all ages to be part of hope and healing in your community The Race-Wise Family helps you and your kids celebrate the diversity of God&’s kingdom as you take small steps at home today that can make a difference in the world for generations.
The Race: A Novel
by Richard North PattersonTOBEY GRACE-A HANDSOME AND CHARISMATIC senator from Ohio-is plunged by an act of "terrorism into a fierce presidential primary battle with the favorite of the party establishment and a magnetic leader of the Christian right. A decorated Gulf War pilot, Grace insists on voting his own conscience rather than the party line, and this stubborn independence-together with his growing romance with Lexie Hart, an African-American movie star-has earned him a reputation as an unpredictable iconoclast. But Grace is still haunted by a tragic mistake buried deep in his past, and now his integrity will be put to the test in this most brutal of political contests, in which nothing in his past or present life is off-limits. A vivid and sometimes frightening depiction of contemporary power politics, The Race also takes on the most incendiary issues in American culture: racism, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, gay rights, and the rise of media monopolies with their own agendas and lust for power. As the pressure of the campaign intensifies, Grace encounters betrayal, excruciating moral choices, and secrets that can destroy lives. Ultimately, the race leads to a deadlocked party convention where Grace must resolve the conflict between his feelings for Lexie and his presidential ambitions-and decide just who and what he is willing to sacrifice. As compelling as it is timely, The Race is the best political novel in years.
The Race: Discovering and Following God's Plan for Your Life
by Jackson EkwugumAre You Ready to Run? …let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. --HEBREWS 12:2 In The Race: Discovering and Following God’s Plan for Your Life, author Jackson Ekwugum offers heavenly insight into the race of Christian life, what it takes to run, and how to overcome the inevitable setbacks to win the prize. The biblical illustrations and real-life examples in this book will help you to: - Discover and prepare for each of the three stages of the Christian race - Know the seven tests every Christian must face - Understand the sacredness of “secular” work - Learn the importance of following God’s plan for your life - Avoid the traps of the enemy - Make your life count for eternity Whether you are called to serve in the business world or on the mission field, in an operating room or a classroom, The Race will equip you to complete the incredible journey set before you, fulfill your God-given destiny, and win the ultimate prize!
The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom
by Sahar F. AzizWhy does a country with religious liberty enmeshed in its legal and social structures produce such overt prejudice and discrimination against Muslims? Sahar Aziz’s groundbreaking book demonstrates how race and religion intersect to create what she calls the Racial Muslim. Comparing discrimination against immigrant Muslims with the prejudicial treatment of Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and African American Muslims during the twentieth century, Aziz explores the gap between America’s aspiration for and fulfillment of religious freedom. With America’s demographics rapidly changing from a majority white Protestant nation to a multiracial, multireligious society, this book is an in dispensable read for understanding how our past continues to shape our present—to the detriment of our nation’s future.
The Racialisation of Disorder in Twentieth Century Britain (Research in Ethnic Relations Series)
by Michael RoweThis book develops the concept of racialisation. It argues that a full understanding of racialized discourse must pay attention to both the particular local circumstances in which they appear, and well-established themes which have unfolded over time. An important aspect of the study is the examination of other discourses with which racialized ideas have co-joined, reflecting the way in which notions of 'race' are socially constructed. The final part of the book returns to debates of the 1980’s and argues that the racialisation of unrest in that decade was closely intertwined with conservative perspectives which sought to deny socio-economic causes in favour of explanations based upon the supposed cultural or personal proclivities of those involved.
The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan (The Modern Jewish Experience)
by Mel Scult&“An important and powerful work that speaks to Mordecai M. Kaplan&’s position as perhaps the most significant Jewish thinker of the twentieth century.&” (Deborah Dash Moore coeditor of Gender and Jewish History) Mordecai M. Kaplan, founder of the Jewish Reconstructionist movement, is the only rabbi to have been excommunicated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment in America. Kaplan was indeed a radical, rejecting such fundamental Jewish beliefs as the concept of the chosen people and a supernatural God. Although he valued the Jewish community and was a committed Zionist, his primary concern was the spiritual fulfillment of the individual. Drawing on Kaplan&’s 27-volume diary, Mel Scult describes the development of Kaplan&’s radical theology in dialogue with the thinkers and writers who mattered to him most, from Spinoza to Emerson and from Ahad Ha-Am and Matthew Arnold to Felix Adler, John Dewey, and Abraham Joshua Heschel. This gracefully argued book, with its sensitive insights into the beliefs of a revolutionary Jewish thinker, makes a powerful contribution to modern Judaism and to contemporary American religious thought. &“An interesting, stimulating, and well-done analysis of Kaplan&’s life and thought. All students of contemporary Jewish life will benefit from reading this excellent study.&” —Jewish Media Review &“The book is highly readable―at times almost colloquial in its language and style―and is recommended for anybody with a familiarity with Kaplan but who wants to understand his thought within a broader context.&” —AJL Reviews
The Radical Cross: Living The Passion Of Christ
by A. W. TozerThe way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness. So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way. Do not allow yourself to be patted to sleep in a comfortable church, void of power and barren of fruit. Do not paint the cross nor deck it with flowers. Take it for what it is, as it is, and you fill find the rugged way to death and life. Let it slay you utterly.– A. W. Tozer, from "Coddled or Crucified?&” in The Radical CrossIn this collection of short essays, Tozer considers with piercing conviction the offense and power of the cross. May you venture unguarded into this book, that you might be utterly changed.
The Radical Cross: Living The Passion Of Christ
by A. W. TozerThe way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness. So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way. Do not allow yourself to be patted to sleep in a comfortable church, void of power and barren of fruit. Do not paint the cross nor deck it with flowers. Take it for what it is, as it is, and you fill find the rugged way to death and life. Let it slay you utterly.– A. W. Tozer, from "Coddled or Crucified?&” in The Radical CrossIn this collection of short essays, Tozer considers with piercing conviction the offense and power of the cross. May you venture unguarded into this book, that you might be utterly changed.
The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling
by John StottWhat is a life of radical discipleship? At the root, it means we let Jesus set the agenda of our lives. We aren't selective. We don't pick and choose what is congenial and stay away from what is costly. No. He is Lord of all of life. In the last book by the leading evangelical churchman of the twentieth century, John Stott opens up what it means to truly be a follower of Jesus. In a refreshing and accesible style, he explores eight aspects of Christian discipleship which are too often neglected and yet deserve to be taken seriously: non-conformity, Christ-likeness, maturity, creation-care, simplicity, balance, dependence and death. Here, including the last public sermon he ever preached, Stott offers wisdom gained from a lifetime of consistent Christian commitment. In addition, he poignantly reflects on his last years of life and ministry. The message is simple, classic and personal: Jesus is Lord. He calls. We follow.
The Radical Orthodoxy Reader
by John MilbankThe Radical Orthodoxy Reader presents a selection of key readings in the field of Radical Orthodoxy, the most influential theological movement in contemporary academic theology. Radical Orthodoxy draws on pre-Enlightenment theology and philosophy to engage critically with the assumption and priorities of secularism, modernity, postmodernity, and associated theologies. In doing so it explores a wide and exciting range of issues: music, language, society, the body, the city, power, motion, space, time, personhood, sex and gender. As such it is both controversial and extremely stimulating; provoking much fruitful debate amongst contemporary theologians. To assist those encountering Radical Orthodoxy for the first time, each section has an introductory commentary, related reading and helpful questions to encourage in-depth understanding and further study.
The Radical Path of Somatic Dharma: Radiant Body, Radiant Mind
by Will Johnson• Shares practices to show how sitting meditation can be reconnected to lived, bodily experience and help you rediscover your natural somatic radiance• Explores how the modern thought-focused frame of mind introduces patterns of holding and tension into our bodies• Draws on techniques from the Buddhist, Sufi, and somatic wisdom traditions as well as insights from the author&’s own teachers and collaborators, including Ida Rolf and Judith AstonThe modern practice of seated meditation is in serious need of reformation. What began as a living, vibrant, and felt practice—the primary practice of the Buddhist path to spiritual realization—has painted itself into a corner of frozen stillness, divorced from lived, bodily experience.Presenting an accessible and deeply felt guide to sitting meditation as an active exploration, Will Johnson offers a revitalized understanding of this essential spiritual practice through deeper connection with the body. Johnson argues that the thought-focused mode of consciousness of modern rigid seated meditation introduces patterns of holding and tension into our bodies and virtually guarantees that awakening will not occur. He explains how our focus on thought, rather than embodied experience, results in a numbing of our connection to our physical self and the dimming of the body&’s natural somatic radiance, which in turn leads to the nagging presence of chronic pain, a general sense of malaise, and the inability to get comfortable in our own bodies.However, this &“consciousness of separation&” can be overcome. Johnson presents a wide range of practices, including 14 meditations, to support the awakening of breath and presence in the body, drawing on techniques from Buddhist, Sufi, and somatic wisdom traditions as well as methods from his studies with Ida Rolf and Judith Aston.Through the radical path of conscious sitting, Johnson shows how to transform your sitting meditation practice into a fully natural mudra of greater grace from which radiance will naturally flow. As the egoic perspective is dissolved, and chronic pain and discomfort are lessened, practitioners begin to feel a new, enlightened, bodily radiance—what Johnson calls &“The Great Wide Open.&”
The Radical Pursuit of Rest: Escaping the Productivity Trap
by John KoesslerEvangelical Christian Publishers Association Top Shelf Book Cover Award
The Radical Question and A Radical Idea
by David PlattChallenge the Status Quo The Radical Question offers a compelling introduction to Radical's challenge to the contemporary church. In this concise message, Platt asks, "What is Jesus worth to you?" Then he explores what a commitment to Jesus would actually look like in action. The Radical Idea extracts key passages in Radical Together, the follow up to Radical, to show readers that church is not built on places, performances, programs, or professionals, but on people. Platt argues that those of us in the pews are meant to be active and intentional in spreading the good news of the gospel because when ordinary believers mobilize in everyday ministry, communities and church families change dramatically. "The goal of the church is never for one person to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ. The goal is always for all of God's people to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ."--David Platt
The Radical Question: What is Jesus Worth to You?
by David PlattSpecial 10-pack, ideal for church giveaways, welcome packets or small group distribution. What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, Jesus said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses dailyhellip; But who do you know who lives like that? Do you?
The Radical Reformation, 3rd ed. (Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies #15)
by George Huntston WilliamsGeorge Williams' monumental The Radical Reformation has been an essential reference work for historians of early modern Europe, narrating in rich, interpretative detail the interconnected stories of radical groups operating at the margins of the mainline Reformation. In its scope—spanning all of Europe from Spain to Poland, from Denmark to Italy—and its erudition, The Radical Reformation is without peer. Now in paperback format, Williams' magnum opus should be considered for any university-level course on the Reformation.
The Radical Reformation, 3rd ed. (Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies)
by George Huntston WilliamsGeorge Williams' monumental The Radical Reformation has been an essential reference work for historians of early modern Europe, narrating in rich, interpretative detail the interconnected stories of radical groups operating at the margins of the mainline Reformation. In its scope—spanning all of Europe from Spain to Poland, from Denmark to Italy—and its erudition, The Radical Reformation is without peer. Now in paperback format, Williams' magnum opus should be considered for any university-level course on the Reformation.