In this collection of essays, Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo looks at the weekly Torah portion through the eyes of philosophy, contemporary controversies, and personal struggles. Written in his unique style, this book offers something for many different types of readers: laymen and clergy, full-time students and intellectually curious practitioners, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Two sisters, their mother, and a Nazi thief. In 1939, a beautiful enameled heirloom menorah was looted by the Nazis, grabbed from the hands of its young Jewish owner. Too beautiful to kill, Aurora herself was singled out by the SS for “special duties”. Eighty years later, Aurora’s daughters Zara and Lilly discover the family menorah in a New York museum. Haunted by their mother’s buried memories, the sisters scheme to get it back—but their quest takes a dangerous turn when the menorah disappears, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem behind it. Aurora’s memories, it turns out, are very much alive; and now her secrets can bind the sisters together or tear them apart.

The art of biblical interpretation is more than just knowing how to understand the deeper meaning of the words and expressions.It is impossible to treat the biblical text as one would any other classical work, because the people of Israel, according to Jewish tradition, are not the authors of this text; the text is the author of the people. Truly learning Torah requires human authenticity. It means standing in front of a mirror and asking yourself the daunting question of who you really are.This collection of essays by a rabbi known internationally as "one of the most thoughtful voices in contemporary Judaism" looks at the weekly Torah portion through the eyes of philosophy, contemporary controversies, and personal struggles. Written in Rabbi Cardozo's characteristic style, this collection offers something for many different types of readers: laymen and clergy, full-time students and intellectually curious practitioners, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Jewish Law as Rebellion is unconventional and controversial in its approach to the world of Jewish Law and its response to religious crises. The book delves into the contemporary application and development of halacha and pointedly protests many accepted methods and ideals, offering new solutions to existing halachic dilemmas. Rabbi Cardozo discusses hot topics such as same-sex marriage, conversion, and religion in the State of Israel and presents a critical analysis and explanation of the application of halacha.

In this unique collection of essays, some of today’s smartest Jewish thinkers explore a broad range of fundamental questions in an effort to balance ancient tradition and modern sexuality In the last few decades a number of factors—post-modernism, feminism, queer liberation, and more—have brought discussion of sexuality to the fore, and with it a whole new set of questions that challenge time-honored traditions and ways of thinking. For Jews of all backgrounds, this has often led to an unhappy standoff between tradition and sexual empowerment. Yet as The Passionate Torah illustrates, it is of critical importance to see beyond this apparent conflict if Jews are to embrace both their religious beliefs and their sexuality. With incisive essays from contemporary rabbis, scholars, thinkers, and writers, this collection not only surveys the challenges that sexuality poses to Jewish belief, but also offers fresh new perspectives and insights on the changing place of sexuality within Jewish theology—and Jewish lives. Covering topics such as monogamy, inter-faith relationships, reproductive technology, homosexuality, and a host of other hot-button issues, these writings consider how contemporary Jews can engage themselves, their loved ones, and their tradition in a way that’s both sexy and sanctified. Seeking to deepen the Jewish conversation about sexuality, The Passionate Torah brings together brilliant thinkers in an attempt to bridge the gap between the sacred and the sexual. Contributors: Rebecca Alpert, Wendy Love Anderson, Judith R. Baskin, Aryeh Cohen, Elliot Dorff, Esther Fuchs, Bonna Haberman, Elliot Kukla, Gail Labovitz, Malka Landau, Sarra Lev, Laura Levitt, Sara Meirowitz, Jay Michaelson, Haviva Ner-David, Danya Ruttenberg, Naomi Seidman, and Arthur Waskow.

On a snowy Thursday night in Chicago, there is a knock on Detective Hank Purcell’s door. Sister Mary Philomena has seen something terrible at Saint Fidelis Church?—?a violation of all she holds sacred. The next Monday, she is found murdered in the convent basement, next to a furnace stuffed with old papers and photographs. And Margaret, Hank’s teenage daughter, has disappeared. Hank and his unconventional partner Marvin Bondarowicz try to force their way through a wall of ecclesiastical silence to find the killer, while their search for Margaret takes them from swank lakeside flats to drug dens to south-side basement blues clubs…and the snow keeps falling.

In other times, they would never have met. They come from different corners of Israeli society, rooted in their own beliefs, busy with their own troubles. Farmers and fishermen, skeptics and believers, immigrants and natives, children and grandparents struggle with faith, loss, jealousy, hope?—?and the turmoil around them only deepens the rifts that divide them. But when the Israeli government orders all Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip destroyed, Neve Adva?—?the settlement some of them call home?—?becomes the unlikely crossroads where all their worlds collide and all their lives are changed forever. Daniella Levy’s magnificent, richly nuanced novel challenges us to step outside our bubbles and question everything we’ve believed about the Other. Disengagement is more than just the story of one fictional settlement. It’s about what it means to disengage?—?from home and surroundings, from friends, neighbors, and family, from opinions and deeply held beliefs. And it’s about how listening to one another and learning from unexpected encounters can help us become connected again.