Exploring childbirth from within a Jewish tradition, the author of New Lifedraws on folklore, prayers, folk remedies, and biblical, rabbinical, and mystical literature to discuss Jewish beliefs, values, and customs concerning the birth of a child. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Reprint.

The translation of Aggadic (non-legal) selections from the Jerusalem Talmud with analytical commentary.

Back by popular demand, the classic JPS holiday anthologies remain essential and relevant in our digital age. Unequaled in-depth compilations of classic and contemporary writings, they have long guided rabbis, cantors, educators, and other readers seeking the origins, meanings, and varied celebrations of the Jewish festivals. The Passover Anthology describes the varied experiences of the Jewish Passover throughout the lands and the ages: the story, the many facets of its celebration in the Jewish home and community, the laws and the prayers, the seder plate and the songs, the art and the dances, and--of course--the games. Showcasing modern writings by Winston Churchill, Heinrich Heine, Hayyim Nahman Bialik, and others, the volumeis a rich resource that today's reflective readers will not wish to pass over.

In the Jewish tradition, reading of the Torah follows a calendar cycle, with a specific portion assigned each week. Following on this ancient tradition, Torah Queeries brings together some of the world's leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah through a "bent lens." This incredibly rich collection unites the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight-allied writers, including some of the most central figures in contemporary American Judaism. All bring to the table unique methods of reading and interpreting that allow the Torah to speak to modern concerns of sexuality, identity, gender, and LGBT life. Torah Queeries offers cultural critique, social commentary, and a vision of community transformation, all done through biblical interpretation. Written to engage readers, draw them in, and at times provoke them, Torah Queeries charts a future of inclusion and social justice deeply rooted in the Jewish textual tradition. A labor of intellectual rigor, social justice, and personal passions, Torah Queeries is an exciting and important contribution to the project of democratizing Jewish communities, and an essential guide to understanding the intersection of queerness and Jewishness.

For many queer Jews, Jewish tradition seems like a rich tapestry which at best ignores them and at worst rejects them entirely. In reality, queerness and queer Judaism have been a constant subplot of Jewish history, if only we care to look. Spanning almost two millennia and containing translations from more than a dozen languages, Noam Sienna's new book, A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts From the First Century to 1969, collects for the first time more than a hundred sources on the intersection of Jewish and queer identities. Covering poetry, drama, literature, law, midrash, and memoir, this anthology suggests that Jewish texts are not just obstacles to be overcome in the creation of queer Jewish life, but also potential resources waiting to be excavated. Through an unprecedented examination of the histories of gender and sexuality over two millennia of Jewish life around the world, this book inspires and challenges its readers to create a better future through a purposeful reflection on our past.