TITLE AUTHOR
Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict Mitchell Bard
Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul. Dov Peretz Elkins
Revenge: A Story of Hope Laura Blumenfeld
Judaism for Everyone: Renewing Your Life Shmuley Boteach
Through the Vibrant Lessons of the Jewish Faith.
Walking the Bible Bruce Feiler
The Way into Encountering God in Judaism Neil Gillman
Does the Soul Survive? Elie Kaplan Spitz
The Tanakh (The Holy Scriptures) Jewish Publication Society
Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary Michael Strassfield
Seasons For Celebration* Fox & Miller
Entering Jewish Prayer Reuven Hammer
Entering The High Holidays Reuven Hammer
Days of Awe S. Y. Agnon
The Sabbath Abraham Joshua Heschel
To Be A Jew Hayyim Donin
To Pray As A Jew Hayyim Donin
To Raise A Jewish Child Hayyim Donin
Jewish Catalogue, Vol I, II, and III Siegel, Strassfeld & Strassfeld
The Jewish Book of Why, Vol I and II Alfred Kolatch
Putting God On the Guest List Lee Salkin
Embracing Judaism Simcha Kling
A Jewish Reader: In Time and Eternity Nachum Glatzer
Biblical Literacy Joseph Telushkin
When Bad Things Happen to Good People Harold Kushner
To Life! A Celebration of Jewish Being & Thought Harold Kushner
Why Be Jewish? David Wolpe
Teaching Your Children About God David Wolpe
The Torah For Family Reading* Joseph Gaer
A History of the Jews Abram Sachar
History of the Jewish Experience Leon Trepp
The Source James Michener
As A Driven Leaf Milton Steinberg
Wanderings Chaim Potok
Heritage Abba Eba
The Holocaust Nora Levin
The War Against The Jews Lucy Dawidowicz
The Israelis Amos Elon
Genesis:1948 Dan Kurzman
Israel: An Echo of Eternity Abraham Joshua Heschel
World of our Fathers Irving Howe
Night/Dawn/ Day Eli Wiesel
Exodus Leon Uris
The Hope Herman Wouk
The Glory Herman Wouk
While Standing On One Foot* Nina Jaffee & Steve Zeitlin
Jewish Stories One Generation Tells Another* Peninnah Schram
* Appropriate for families with young children
People often ask me for a suggested reading list or set of texts they might use to learn more about Judaism. The following list was prepared for the American Jewish Committee's Jewish Life Commission. Please print it out for your own benefit.
Howard Lifshitz
Atlases, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias
* A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present, Eli Barnavi
* The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, R.J. Zwi Werblowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder
* The Jewish Religion: A Companion, Louis Jacobs
* Jewish Encyclopedia - CD Rom
Bibles
* The Jewish Study Bible, Adele Berline and Marc Zvi Brettler, Michael Fishbane
* Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow
* Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (Paperback)
* The Torah: A Modern Commentary Revised, W. Gunther Plaut
* The Chumash: The Stone Edition, Nosson Scherman
Siddurim
* Siddur SimShalom for Shabbat and Festivals, Rabbinical Assembly and United Synangogue of Conservative Judaism
* Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays, Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagoguge of Conservative Judaism
* Gates of Prayer, Central Conference of American Rabbis
* Shabbat Vehagim: Kol Haneshamah Prayerbook
* Artscroll Siddur Ashkenaz
Introduction to Judaism
*Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People, Leo Schwartz
The Bible
* The Art of Biblical Narrative, Robert Alter
* The Art of Biblical Poetry, Robert Alter
* Who Wrote the Bible?, Richard Elliot Friedman
* Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible, Jon D. Levenson
Rabbinic Judaism
* Talmud Bavli, Schottenstein Edition
* The Book of Legends: Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash, Hayim Nahman Bialik and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky, Translated by William G. Braude
* Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg
Understanding Rabbinic Judaism
* Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman's Voice, Judith Hauptman
* Rabbinic Stories, Jeffrey Rubenstein
* Invitation to the Talmud: A Teaching Book, Jacob Neusner
History
* The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book: 315-1791, Jacob Rader Marcus
* The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History, Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz
Understanding Jewish History
* A History of the Jewish People, H.H. Ben Sasson
* American Judaism: A History, Jonathan Sarna
Israel & Zionism
* The Jerusalem Anthology: A Literary Guide, Reuven Hammer
* The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader, Arthur Hertzberg
* A History of Israel (2 volumes), Howard M. Sachar
Philosophy & Theology
* The Jewish Philosophy Reader, Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman, and Charles H. Manekin
Understanding Jewish Philosophy and Theology
* Choices in Modern Jewish Thought: A Partisan Guide, Eugene Borowitz
Law, Ethics, and Observance
* Not in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakha, Eliezer Berkovits
* Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader, Elliot N. Dorff and Louis E. Newman
* A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Isaac Klein
Spirituality and Mysticism
* The Schocken Book of Jewish Mystical Testimonies, Louis Jacobs
* The Religious Thought of Hasidism: Text and Commentary, Norman Lamm
* The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism, Daniel Matt
Prayers and Holy Days
* Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service, Reuven Hammer
* The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays, Irving Greenberg
Women and Gender
* On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader, Susannah Heschel
* Daughters of the King: Women and the Synagogue, Susan Grossman and Rivka Haut
August 11, 2006
