Archive-name: judaism/reading-lists/general Posting-Frequency: Monthly Selected Sources for Additional Reading on Judaism Part I: Introduction, General Sources, Torah, Talmud, and Mishnah [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/08 18:00:10 $ $Revision: 2.1 $] [Last Post: Sun May 9 11:00:04 1993] There is nothing more uniquely characteristic of the style of Jewish religious life than the great love Jews have for holy books. [Sie73] The message is intended to provide the readers of soc.culture.jewish with suggestions for books discussing various Jewish topics, especially the subject of Jewish law and practice. While no book can substitute for a formal course of instruction guided by one's Rabbi, these books are useful as reference material for the knowledgeable, and as an introduction for the not-yet-knowledgeable about Judaism. It is difficult to separate what is now termed "Orthodox" judaism from the collective term "Judaism". The practices of Orthodoxy tend to be the traditional practices. Furthermore, Orthodoxy is not organized as a movement in the same sense as Reform or Conservative; although Orthodox organizations exist, congregations do not need to join them to be considered Orthodox. This list is by no means intended to be exhaustive, and it is designed to lean toward traditional Judaism, although some of the sources included under the GENERAL headings included references to liberal movements. Please note: All parts of this list should be undigestifyable via gnus or other news readers. Each subpart begins with it's own Subject: for easy reference. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Organization This list consists of 11 parts. Each part is subdivided into a number of subheadings, each beginning with a line of 60 dashes and a Subject:. This allows digestification by programs such as gnus. The organization of these parts is as follows: o Part I: Introduction and General I.1. Where Can I Get These Books From? I.2. But The List is So Long, Where Should I Start? I.3. For Non-Jewish Readers I.4. General Judaism I.5. General Jewish Thought I.6. General Jewish History I.7. Noachide Laws I.8. Torah and Talmud I.9. Mishnah and Talmud I.10. Torah and Talmudic Commentary I.11. Midrash I.12. Halachic Codes I.13. Becoming An Observant Jew I.14. Women and Judaism I.15. Science and Judaism o Part II: Traditional Liturgy, Practice, Lifestyle, Holidays II.1. Traditional Liturgy II.2. Traditional Philosophy and Ethics II.3. Prayer II.4. Traditional Practice II.5. The Household II.6. Life, Death, and In-Between II.7. The Cycle Of Holidays o Part III: The Messiah, Kaballah and Chasidism III.1. The Messiah III.2. Chasidism III.3. Kaballah and Mysticism o Part IV: Reform Judaism IV.1. Reform Beliefs IV.2. Reform Rituals IV.3. Reform Liturgy IV.4. Reform Responsa IV.5. Reform History IV.6. The Bible o Part V: Conservative Judaism V.1. Conservative Beliefs V.2. Conservative Practices V.3. Conservative History V.4. Conservative Liturgy o Part VI: Reconstructionist Judaism VI.1. Philosophy Of Movement VI.2. Reconstructionist Education VI.3. Reconstructionist Liturgy o Part VII: Humanistic Judaism VII.1. Philosophy Of Movement VII.2. Other Related Reading o Part VIII: Zionism VIII.1. Zionism and The Development Of Israel VIII.2. The Founders VIII.3. Zionistic Movements VIII.4. Judaism in Israel o Part IX: Antisemitism IX.1. Antisemitism IX.2. What Led to The Holocaust IX.3. Medieval Oppression IX.4. Antisemitism Today (Including Dealing with Hate Groups) IX.5. Judiasm and Christianity o Part X: Intermarriage X.1. So You're Considering Intermarriage? X.2. The Traditional Viewpoint X.3. Conversion X.4. You've Done The Deed. Coping With Life As An Intermarried o Part XI: Periodicals XI.1.a. Topical General Interest Periodicals XI.1.b. General Interest Periodicals focused on Tradition and Home XI.1.c. General Interest Periodicals focused on Jewish Scholarship XI.1.d. Other General Interest Periodicals XI.2. Publications Targeted For Specific Movements XI.3. Rabbinic Journals XI.4. Local Publications The reader is also referred to the excellent chapter on "Creating a Jewish Library" in the first volume of _The (First) Jewish Catalog_. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Archival and Credits This list is based on an original list developed by Rob Levine, which was last posted to the net in February of 1991. Rob's list was culled from s.c.j. postings as well as the bibliographies of some of the books on this list. This original list has been augmented based on bibliographic research done by D. Faigin at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, as well as contributions from readers of s.c.j, mail.jewish, and mail.liberal-judaism. It is also based on suggestions found in the excellent _Jewish Catalog_ [**] series, which would serve anyone well as a sourcebook on Judaism. Contributions to the list have also been made by: Steven Abrams, Rabbi Charles Arian, Jim Eggert, Ari Epstein, David A Guberman, Douglas Jones, David Kaufmann, Jack Love, Hillel Markowitz (both alone and in consultation with Rabbi Yirmiyahu Kaganoff of Baltimore), Rabbi Josh Segal, Steven Seidman, and Andrew Tannenbaum. As usual, suggestions for additions or deletions are welcome, as are *brief* annotations for any entry. Entries in the GENERAL sections may reflect non-Orthodox viewpoints; entries in the other sections should reflect the traditional view. Where appropriate, entries reflecting non-traditional views will be clearly marked as such; I will entertain suggestions with respect to the non-GENERAL sections that the reference more properly belongs in another reading list (Reform, Conservative, etc.). All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory: ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory: pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism The following files make up the reading lists and are in the "reading-lists" subdirectory: general, traditional, chasidism, reform, conservative, reconstructionist, humanistic, zionism, antisemitism, intermarriage, periodicals. The following files make up the FAQ and are in the "FAQ" subdirectory: 01-FAQ-intro, 02-Who-We-Are, 03-Torah-Halacha, 04-Observance, 05-Worship, 06-Jewish-Thought, 07-Jews-As-Nation, 08-Israel, 09-Antisemitism, 10-Miscellaneous. The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following line in the body of the message: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname) Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames; for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: I.1. WHERE CAN I GET THESE BOOKS FROM? I can't tell you where to get all of these books, but a good Jewish bookstore should be a good starting place. Many of these books are published by the Jewish Publication Society * 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 800 * Philadelphia PA 19102 * 800-234-3151; this is indicated by . Another significant general publishers is Mesorah, 4401 Second Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11232 (1-800-MESORAH). Both have good catalogs. Some of the books are published by the publishers of the various Jewish movements; addresses may be found in the particular sections: Kehot, Sichos in English Part III (Chasidism) UAHC, CCAR Part IV (Reform) World Union for Progressive Judaism Part IV (Reform) JTS, USA, USCJ Part V (Conservative) Reconstructionist Press Part VI (Reconstructionist) SHJ Part VII (Humanistic) If you can't find them elsewhere, books marked with may be ordered from The Isaac Nathan Publishing Co, 7106 Owensmouth Avenue, Canoga Park CA 91303, 818/346-1410, FAX 818/346-4236. Another source would be Pinskers Bookstore in Pittsburgh PA (1-800-JUDAISM), or contacting the individual publishers. According to a post from backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL a while back, the Stanford University Bookstore has its database on the Internet; telnet to forsythetn.stanford.edu, login as "socrates" and select bookstore. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.2. BUT THE LIST IS SO LONG, WHERE SHOULD I START? For a basic understanding of Judaism, start with Prager and Telushkin's _The Nine Questions People ask about Judaism_ , as well as Telushkin's _Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About Judaism_ . As mentioned above, the _Jewish Catalog_ series (3 volumes) provides more than enough information, as well as providing pointers to even more sources. Siegel and Rheins _The Jewish Almanac_ also provides useful high-level information. For a deeper understanding, continue with Donin's _To Be a Jew_ and _To Pray as a Jew_. For some historical perspective, read Prager and Telushkin's _Why the Jews?_. General history is covered well in Grayzel's _A History of the Jews_ and Wein's _Triumph of Survival: The Story of Jews in the Modern Age, 1650-1990_. For a discussion of the emotional, social, and lifestyle aspects of becoming an observant Jew, read Steinsaltz's _Teshuvah_. Readers are also urged to explore Jewish audio-tape lending libraries, such as those run by Aish HaTorah, Etz Chayim, Chabad, Beis Chana in Minnesota and various other Jewish outreach groups. Tape series on Jewish History, Jewish Law, (all levels), Torah, Talmud, and other subjects are available. For those of you with backgrounds in Liberal Judaism, audio-tapes are also available from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Contact your local Rabbi, or the library at a local synagogue, for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.3. FOR NON-JEWISH READERS You'll probably find the texts listed may be a little too deep if you just want to learn what Judaism is. Consider the following instead: [Clo87] Clorfene, Chaim and Yaakov Rogalsky. _The Path of the Righteous Gentile_. Smithfield, MI: Targum Press, 1987 [Ein??] Einstein, Stephen J. and Kukoff, Lydia. _Every Person's Guide to Judaism_. UAHC Press #142610. ISBN 0-8074-0434-9. [Non-Orthodox. Guide to Judaism that recognizes that study is only the first step to learning and living as a Jew.] [Gar89] Garfiel, Evelyn. _Service of the Heart: a Guide to the Jewish Prayer Book_. Jason Aronson, Northvale (NJ), 1989, ISBN 0-87668-873-3. You should also explore _The Jewish Almanac_, _The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism_, the excellent books by Donin (_To Be A Jew_, _To Pray as a Jew_) and the _Jewish Catalog_ series. You'll find a discussion of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism in the supplemental Antisemitism reading list. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.4. GENERAL JUDAISM [Bla66] Blau, Joseph L. _Modern Varieties of Judaism_. Columbia Univerity Press, New York NY. 1966. [Ein??] Einstein, Stephen J. and Kukoff, Lydia. _Every Person's Guide to Judaism_. UAHC Press #142610. ISBN 0-8074-0434-9. [Non-Orthodox. Guide to Judaism that recognizes that study is only the first step to learning and living as a Jew.] [Fri90] Friesel, Evyatar. _Atlas of Modern Jewish History_ Oxford University Press. 1990. [Contains demographics of the American Jewish population, including employment categories, intermarriage rates, maps, etc.] [Gla72] Glazer, Nathan. _American Judaism_. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL. 1982. [Gre??] Greenbert, Irving. _The Jewish Way_. [Her61] Hertzberg, Arthur. _Judaism_. Braziller, New York. 1961. Washington Square, New York (paperback). [Non-Orthodox source] [Neu74] Neusner, Jacob. _The Way of Torah: An Introduction to Judaism_. Dickenson Publishing Company, Encino CA. 1974. [Not universally accepted, non-Orthodox point of view] [Neu75] Neusner, Jacob, ed. _Understanding American Judaism_. Volume Two: Sectors of American Judaism: Reform, Orthodoxy, Conservativism, and Reconstructionism. Ktav Press, New York. 1975. [Not universally accepted, non-Orthodox point of view] [New??] Newman, Y. and Sivan, G. _A-Z Illustrated Lexicon of Judaism_. World Zionist Organization Torah Education Dept. [Pra81] Prager, Dennis and Telushkin, Joseph. _The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism_. Schuster, New York. 1981. ISBN 0-671-62261. [Ros7?] Rosenthal, G. _Many Faces of Judaism_ Behrman House, 197? [Contains a descriptive comparison of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism. It is intended as a low end high school text and although still good, it is beginning to show its age.] [Rot72] Roth, Cecil, Ed. _Encyclopedia Judaica_. 16 Vols. Keter, Jerusalem. 1972. [Sie73] Siegel, Richard; Strassfeld, Michael; Strassfeld, Sharon. _The First Jewish Catalog: A Do-It Yourself Kit_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. 1973. [Catalog 1 covers Symbols of the Home, Kashrut, Candles, Kippah, Tallit, Tefillin, the Shofar, Jewish travel, the Jewish year cycle, Weddings, Tumah and taharah, Death and burial, scribal arts, gematria, music, film, the Jewish press, creating a jewish library, and relationships between man, women, and the community] [Sie80] Siegel, Richard and Rheins, Carl. _The Jewish Almanac_. Bantam Books, New York. 1980. [Sil56] Silver, Abba Hillel. _Where Judaism Differed_. Macmillan, New York. 1956. [Reform point of view] [Ste47] Steinberg, Milton. _Basic Judaism_. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York. 1947. ISBN 0-15-610698-1. [Conservative] [Str76] Strassfeld, Sharon and Strassfeld, Michael, eds. _The Second Jewish Catalog_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. 1976. [Catalog 2 covers the life cycle in more depth, aspects of study, synagogue and prayer, and the arts. The Jewish Yellow Pages are out of date, quite likely.] [Str80] Strassfeld, Sharon and Strassfeld, Michael, eds. _The Third Jewish Catalog_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. 1980. [Catalog 3 covers justice, community, genealogy, dispersion, exile, surroundings, and israel. It also talks about how to be a mentsh, and includes a cumlutive index to all three catalogs] [Sym??] Syme, Daniel B. _Jewish Mourning_. UAHC Press #388494. ISBN 0-8074-0332-6. [Non-Orthodox, but offers both traditional and liberal Jewish attitudes towards death-related issues.] [Tel??] Telushkin, Joseph. _Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About Judaism_. [Wou59] Wouk, Herman. _This is my G@d_. Dell, NY. 1959. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.5. GENERAL JEWISH THOUGHT [Ber73] Berkovits, Eliezer. _Faith after the Holocaust_. Ktav Publishing House, New York. 1973. [Ber79] Berkovits, Eliezer _G@d, Man and History_. Jonathan David, New York. 1979. [Dor92] Dorff, Elliot. _Knowing God: Jewish Journeys to the Unknowable_. Jason Aronson. 1992. [R. Dorff is provost and professor of philosophy at the University of Judaism (Conservative)] [Gil90] Gillman, Neil. _Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew_. Jewish Publication Society. 1990. [A National Jewish Book Award winner; R. Gillman is professor of philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary] (Conservative) [Gre92] Green, Arthur. _Seek My Face, Speak My Name: A Contemporary Jewish Theology_. Jason Aronson. 1992. [R. Green, who recently left the presidency of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College for a chair at Brandeis, is regarded as a leading exponent of neo-Hasidism] (Reconstructionist) [Har85] Hartman, David. _A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism_. Free Press. 1985. [R. Hartman is director of the Shalom Hartman Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, and a student of Rav Soloveitchik z"l] [Hes55] Heschel, Abraham Joshua. _God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism_. Harper Torchbook. 1966. [One of Heschel's more accessible major works.] [Kap79] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Handbook of Jewish Thought_. Maznaim Publishing Corp., 4304 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219, 718-438-7680, New York/Jerusalem, 1979. [Pel84] Peli, P. _Soloveitchik on Repentance: The Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik_. Paulist Press. 1984. [the Rav as presented by the late chair of Hebrew Studies at Ben Gurion University] [Sol??] Soloveitchik. _Halachic Man_. JPS: Philadelphia PA. ???. ISBN 0-8276-0222-7. [Sol91] Soloveichik, Rabbi Ahron, _Logic of the Heart, Logic of the Mind_. Judaica Press/Genesis Jerusalem Press, 1991, ISBN 0-9630936-0-6 [Son??] Sonsino, Rifat and Syme, Daniel B. _What Happens After I Die: Jewish Views of Life after Death_. UAHC #571201 ISBN 0-8074-0356-3. [Addresses a spectrum of responses to the question, including philosophies from biblical rabbinic commentators to contemporary thinkers in the Jewish community.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.6. GENERAL JEWISH HISTORY [Bam70] Bamberger, Bernard. _The Story of Judaism_. Schocken Books, New York. 1970. [Bar52] Baron, Salo W. _A Social and Religous History of the Jews_. 18 Vols to date. Columbia University Press, New York. 1952-. [Comprehensive, organized topically, not strictly chronologically. This book is very extensive, and may be difficult to read. Not for the beginner.] [Ben71] Ben-Sasson, H.H. & Ettinger, S. (eds.). _Jewish Society Through the Ages_. Schocken Books. 1971. [a survey of Jewish life edited by two distinguished Hebrew University professors and commissioned by UNESCO] [Ben76] Ben-Sasson, H. H. (ed.). _A History of the Jewish People_ (by scholars at the Hebrew U, Jerusalem). English translation: Harvard University Press, 1976. Hebrew: Dvir Publishing House, Tel Aviv, 1969. 1170 pp. ISBN 0-674-39730-4. [Dim62] Dimont, Max. _Jews, G@d, and History_. Signet Books, New York. 1962. [Note: May not be completely reliable] [Fin38] Finkelstein, Louis. _The Pharisees: The Sociological Background of Their Faith_. Jewish Publication Society. 1938. [a two volume classic] [Fin71a] Finkelstein, Louis (ed.). _The Jews: Their History_. Schocken Books. 1971 (4th ed.). [a comprehensive description of Judaism and the Jews, edited by the late Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary] [Fin71b] Finkelstein, Louis (ed.). _The Jews: Their Religion and Culture_. Schocken Books. 1971 (4th ed.). [a comprehensive description of Judaism and the Jews, edited by the late Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary] [Fin71c] Finkelstein, Louis (ed.). _The Jews: Their Role in Civilization_. Schocken Books. 1971 (4th ed.). [a comprehensive description of Judaism and the Jews, edited by the late Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary] [Goi74] Goiten S.D. _Jews and Arabs: Their Contacts Through the Ages_. Schocken Books. 1974 (3ed.) [a classic historical survey] [Gra67] Grayzel, Solomon. _A History of the Jews_. Jewish Publishing Society, Philadelphia. 1967. ISBN 0-8276-0142-5. [Good overview. A good general perspective on Jewish history. Not Orthodox.] [Hal84a] Hallo, William, Ruderman, David, & Stanislawski (eds.). _Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (Source Reader)_. Praeger Publishers. 1984. [primary materials designed to parallel the TV series; Hallo is professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature at Yale, Ruderman chairs Yale's Judaica Department, Stanislawski is professor of Jewish History at Columbia] [Hal84b] Hallo, William, Ruderman, David, & Stanislawski. _Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (Study Guide). Praeger Publishers. 1984. [primary materials designed to parallel the TV series; Hallo is professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature at Yale, Ruderman chairs Yale's Judaica Department, Stanislawski is professor of Jewish History at Columbia] [Isa89] Isaacs, Jacob. _Our People_ 6 vols. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1989. [History up unto the modern era from the traditional point of view] [Rot66] Roth, Cecil. _A History of the Jews_. Schocken, New York. rev. ed. 1966. also in paperback. [Sel80] Seltzer, Robert. M. _Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History_. Macmillan Publishing Co, New York, 1980. ISBN: 0-02-408940-8. [An intellectual history. Shows the development of Jewish ideas and concepts. On the level of an advanced undergrad or grad textbook and is not always easy going.] [Wei90] Wein, Berel. _Triumph of Survival: The Story of Jews in the Modern Age, 1650-1990_. Shaar Press, NY (Yeshivah Shaarei Torah, 36 Carlton Rd, Suffern NY). 1990. [A fine history from the Orthodox perspective.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.7. NOACHIDE LAWS [Clo87] Clorfene, Chaim and Yaakov Rogalsky. _The Path of the Righteous Gentile_. Smithfield, MI: Targum Press, 1987 [Gal--] Gallin, Aryeh. _The Root and Branch Noachide Guide_. Root and Branch Association, Ltd, 504 Grand Street, #E51, New York, NY 10002-4101. [Lic81] Lichtenstein, Aaron. _The Seven Laws of Noah_. The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, New York. 1981. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.8. TORAH AND TALMUD Note: There's lots of information on Torah and Talmud (understatement of the year), and one should contact a competent rabbi for guided study. [JPS17] Jewish Publication Society. _The Holy Scripture According to the Masoretic Text_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. 1917. [JPS62] Jewish Publication Society. _The Torah: The Five Books of Moses_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. 1962. ISBN 0-8276-0015-1. [JPS69] Jewish Publication Society. _The Five Megilloth and Jonah: A New Translation_. Introduction by H L Ginsberg. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. 1969. ISBN 0-8276-0045-3. [JPS85] Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 0-8276-0252-9 (cloth) 0-3276-0264-2 (leatherette).[0-8276-0283-9] [Abr91] Abrams, Judith. _Talmud for Beginners_. 2 vols (Part I and II). Jason Aaronson, New York. 1991 and 1993. [Selections of Jewish Book Club, designed as "pre-steinsaltz", i.e., introduction to Talmud for those with no background in it at all.] [Hes62] Heschel, Abraham Joshua. _The Prophets_. JPS, Philadelphia. 1962. [Her76] Hertz, J. H. _The Pentateuch and Haftorahs_. Soncino, London. 1976. [Hir63] Hirsch, S. R. _The Pentateuch_. Translated from the German by Isaac Levy. Irish University Press. 1963. [Isa50] ben Isaiah, (Rabbi) Abraham, and Sharfman, (Rabbi) Binyamin, in collaberation with Dr. Harry M. Orlinsky and Rabbi Dr. Morris Charner. _The Pentateuch and Rashi's Commentary: A Linear Translation into English_. 5 vols. SS&R Publishing Co., JPS, Philadelphia PA. 1950. [A very useable translation as the wording and linear translation are broken up to make both the Hebrew and English readable together. The Rash is printed in started Hebrew print with the vowels put in besides the linear translation.] [Jud??] Judaica Press. _Prophets and Writings_. Judaica Press, NY. [A new, modern, traditional translation of text and classic commentaries, including all of Rashi, with Hebrew text.] [Kap??a] Kaplan, Aryeh. _The Living Torah_, translated and with commentary. Moznaim, NY. [This book deserves special mention as a study text. Many groups, including Reform, use him as a source because of this superiority.] [Kap8-] Kaplan, A. _The Torah Anthology_. 19 vols. Moznaim, NY. 198-. [Volumes cover the Torah, with separate ones on megillahs and Psalms, translated from the classic Ladino work Me'Am Loez. An amazing compendium of insights and commentary. See note above.] [Ros34] Rosenbaum, M. and Silbermann, A. M. _Pentateuch with Targum Onkelos, Hapthraroth and Rashi's Commentary_. 5 vols. Hebrew Publishing Company, New York. 1934. [Sac91] Sachs, Jonathan. _Torah Studies_ Kehot, NY. 1991. [From the Chasidic point of view, short essays on the weekly Torah reading based on talks of the Lubavitch Rebbe.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.9. MISHNAH AND TALMUD Artscroll Series. Mesorah Publications, 4401 Second Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11232. Artscroll has some highly recommended series on Mishnah and Talmud, as well as a series on Chumash and Nach. One contributer to the list said: "The only reason [I] cannot say that the Artscroll texts are ``head and shoulders'' above the rest is that the others do not come up to Artscroll's shoulders. The translation and commentary are so superior to others such as Soncino as to make it no comparison." [Alb52] Albeck, H. and Yalon, H. _Shisha Sidre Mishnah_. 6 vols. Bialik Institute, Jerusalem. 1952-1956. [Esp35] Epstein, Isidore, ed. _The Babylonian Talmud with Introduction and Commentary_. Soncino Press, London. Vol 1-36. 1935-1952. Kahati, Pinchas. _Elucidated Mishna Series_. World Zionist Organization Torah Education Dept. [An English translation of his Mishna Mevueres series which has become extremely popular. His scholarship and clarity make it an extremely useful sefer.] [Lie55a] Lieberman, Saul. _The Tosefta_. 3 vols to date. Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. 1955-. [Note: for those with good Hebrew skills] [Lie55b] Lieberman, Saul. _Tosefta ki-Feshutah_. 11 vols to date. Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. 1955-. [Note: for those with good Hebrew skills] [Ste69] Steinsaltz, Adin, ed. _The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition_. 8 vols. to date. Israel Institute of Talmudic Publications, Jerusalem. 1969-. [So far, 5 volumes of Tractate Bava Metzia, and 3 volumes of Tractate Ketubot have been published.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.10. TORAH AND TALMUDIC COMMENTARY [Cha76] Chavel, Charles B. (trans.). _Ramban (Nachmanides) Commentary on the Torah_. Shilo Publishing, NY, 1976; ISBN# 0-88328-010-8 [A translation of the 2nd most used commentary (after Rashi)] [Cha8-] Chavel. _The Commandments_ Soncino, London. 198-. [A translation of Maimonides's Sefer HaMitzvot, a list and explaination of the 613 commandments. Won lots of awards.] [Chi74] Chill, Abraham. _The Mitzvot: The Commandments and Their Rationale_. Bloch, New York. 1974. [CohA75] Cohen, A. _Everyman's Talmud_. Dutton, New York. 1948. (hardback) Schocken, New York. 1975. (paperback) [JPS??] Jewish Publication Society. _The JPS Torah Commentary_. 5 vols. JPS: Philadelphia PA. ISBNs 0-8276-0326-6 (Gen), 0-8276-0328.2 (Lev), 0-8276-0329-0 (Num), 0-8276-0327-4 (Exo), 0-8276-0330-4 (Deut.). . [Mie69] Mielziner, Moses. _Introduction to the Talmud_. Bloch, New York. 1969. [New80] Newman, Aryeh. _Studies in the Pentateuch_ (by Prof. Nechama Leibowitz). World Zionist Organization Torah Education Dept. 1980 [This is based on Professor Leibowitz's weekly Parsha study sheets that were mailed all over the world in the fifties. They contain a set of discussions of each parsha with basic concepts learned from the meforshim.] [Rab??] Rabinowich, N.D. _Translation of the Iggeres of Rav Sherira Gaon_. Moznaim Press. [Written in Aramaic in 4747 (987 CE), it is a history of the mesorah from Sinai until his day. Translated into both Hebrew and English] [Ste76] Steinsaltz, Adin. _The Essential Talmud_. Basic Books, New York. 1976. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.11. MIDRASH [Bra??] Braude, William G. and Kapstein, Israel J. (trans.) _Tanna Debe Eliyyahu: The Lore of the School of Elijah_. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia PA. ??? ISBN 0-8276-0174-3. [Gin46] Ginzberg, Louis, _Legends of the Jews_. 7 vols. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. 1946. ISBNs 0-8276-0340-1 (Creation to Jacob), 0-8276-0341-X (Joseph to Exodus), 0-8276-0342-8 (Exodus to Death of Moses), 0-8276-0343-6 (Joshua to Esther), 0-8276-0344-4 (Notes to Vols I and II), 0-8276-0345-2 (Notes to Vols III and IV), 0-8276-0346-0 (Index). [Gla??] Glatzer, Nahum N. ed. _Hammer on the Rock: A Midrash Reader_. Schocken, New York. Paperback. [Lau??] Lauterbach, Jacob Z. (ed., trans.) _Mekilta De-Rabbi Ishmael_. JPS: Philadelphia PA. ??? ISBN 0-8276-0078-X. [Mon70] Montefiore, C.G. and Loewe, H. eds. _The Rabbinic Anthology_ Schocken Press, New York. 1970. [Has some strange sources/references] [Wei80] Weissman, Rabbi Moshe. _The Midrash Says_. (5 vols). Benei Yakov Publications. Brooklyn, NY. 1980. [Adaptation of midrashim on each Torah section, with sources. Extremely faithful to the original, recommended among the Orthodox and used by observant teachers. Probably the best English language source for the range of Midrashic material. Also available in a children's edition, _The Little Midrash Says_, which includes Joshua.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.12. HALACHIC CODES Note: This section assumes a level of knowledge of Hebrew and general halacha. Consult your local Rabbi. [Mai??] Maimonides, Moses. _Mishneh Torah_. Various editions. [A new edition into Hebrew from the original Arabic with lengthy discussions by Y. Shilat is available from Ma'aliyot Press (that's the hesder Yeshiva in Ma'alei Adumim). It is supposed to be extensively cross indexed and well done]. [Ash??] ben Asher, Jacob. _Arbaah Turim_. Various editions. [Kar??] Karo, Joseph. _Shulhan Arukh_. Various editions. [Note that the _Mapah_ of R. Moshe Isserles (the Ramah) is actually printed as parenthetical text in the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yoseph Karo. The Ramah printed his comments to show the standard Ashkenazic determinations especially where they differed from the Sefardic customs of R' Karo. As a result, the Shulchan Aruch serves as the standard halachic source text of both Sephardim (R. Karo's original) and Ashkenazim (as modified by the Ramah).] [Gol??] Goldin. _The Code of Jewish Law_. [This is an English translation of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, which is a completely different work from the Shulchan Aruch. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch was written in the late 1800's by Rabbi Shlomo Gantzfried and is a summary collection of Halachah for every day practice divided into categories. The Jewish Catalog cautions against using the _Kitzur Shulhan Arukh_ of Shlomo Ganzfried, which it states is "a collection of ultrastringent views often without firm basis in halakhic sources". However, other contributors think it provides lots of information on specific practices, but can be overwealming. As usual, it is probably best to ask your Rabbi.] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.13. BECOMING AN OBSERVANT JEW Note: Books such as Donin's _To Be A Jew_ and _To Pray As A Jew_ are also a good place to start Teshuvah. You'll also find good information in the _Jewish Catalog_ series, especially the 2nd and 3rd volumes. Quoting from the "Guide to Baalei Teshuvah" in the 2nd volume of the Jewish Catalog: "Jewish tradition places an emphasis on the role of belief and allegiance. Thus the baal teshuvah -- master of repentance; one who turns -- often begins his/her trek back to an effective and gratifying Jewish consciousness through the renewed acceptance of neglected observances and symbols". [Sei87] Steinsaltz, [Rabbi] Adin. _Teshuvah: A Guide for the Newly Observant Jew_.Jerusalem: The Domino Press, 1982. (English Translation: The Free Press, 1987.) [Tat??] Tatz, Akiva. _Anatomy of a Search_. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.14. WOMEN AND JUDAISM [Ble??] Bletter, Diana (interviews), Grinker, Lori (photos). _The Invisible Thread: Portraits of American Jewish Women_. JPS: Philadelphia PA. 1989. ISBN 0-8276-0333-9 (Cloth) -7 (Paper). [Fra92] Frankiel, Tamar. _The Voice of Sarah_. Harpercollins, San Francisco, 1992. [A feminist and observant Jew wrestles with the Jewish feminine mystique]. [Gre??] Greenberg, Blu. _On Women and Judaism: A View From Tradition_. JPS: Philadelphia PA. ???. ISBN 0-8276-0226-X. [Mei78] Meiselman, Moshe. _Jewish woman in Jewish law_. Ktav Publishing House, New York. 1978. [Wen??] Wenkart, Henny (ed.). _Sarah's Daughters Sing, a Sampler of Poems_. Ktav. ??? ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: I.15. SCIENCE AND JUDAISM [Car76] Carmell, Aryeh and Domb, Cyril, eds. _Challenge: Torah Views on Science_. New York: Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists/Feldheim Publishers, 1976. [Kap93] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Immortality, Resurrection, and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View_. Ktav Publishing (Hoboken, NJ) in association with the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists (New York, NY). 169 pages. 1993. ISBN 0-88125-345-6. [In five essays, the late physicist and Torah educator Kaplan draws on traditional sources to show how Torah and science are consonant in relation to the issues of the age of the universe, the fossil record, longevity, immortality, and resurrection.] [Lan91] Landa, Judah. _Torah and Science_. Ktav Publishing (Hoboken, NJ). 1991. [Focuses on Torah and technology: Basic Geometry, Special Numbers, The Earth, The Heavenly Bodies, The Seasons, The Moon, Celestial Visitors, Laws of Nature, Creation vs Evolution, and the Universe.] ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Please mail additions or corrections to me at faigin@aero.org. End of Judaism Reading List Part I (General) Digest ************************** ------- -- [W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228 [Email]:faigin@aerospace.aero.org [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149 "And as they say, the rest is compost"