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  The Shochet: A Memoir of Jewish Life in Ukraine and Crimea (Vol. 1)

  Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn and Michoel Rotenfeld

  Set in Ukraine and Crimea, this unique autobiography offers a fascinating, detailed picture of life in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Tsarist Russia. Goldenshteyn (1848-1930), a traditional Jew who was orphaned as a young boy, is a master storyteller. Folksy, funny, streetwise, and self-confident, he is a keen observer of nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, both Jewish and non-Jewish. His accounts are vivid and readable, sometimes stunning in their intensity. The memoir is brimming with information; his adventures shed light on communal life, persecution, family relationships, religious practices and beliefs, social classes, local politics, interactions between Jews and other religious communities (including Muslims, who formed the majority of Crimea’s populace), epidemics, poverty, competition for resources, migration, war, modernity and secularization, holy men and charlatans, acts of kindness and acts of treachery. In chronicling his own life, Goldenshteyn inadvertently tells a bigger story—the story of how a small, oppressed people, among other minority groups, struggled for survival in the massive Russian Empire.

  Until now, only a small circle of Yiddish-speaking scholars had access to this extremely significant primary source. This translation is a game-changer, making this treasure trove of information accessible to academics and ordinary readers alike. Informed by research in Ukrainian, Israeli, and American archives and personal interviews with the few surviving individuals who knew Goldenshteyn personally, The Shochet is a magnificent new contribution to Jewish and Eastern European history.

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  May It Please the Campus: Lawyers Leading Higher Education

  Patricia E. Salkin

  This is a groundbreaking study on the important and little known role that lawyers have played as leaders in higher education.

  The book traces the history of lawyer campus presidents from the 1700s to present, exploring dozens of topics such as: where lawyer presidents went to law school; the percentage of lawyer presidents serving at public, private, community, HBCUs, and religiously affiliated institutions; geographic concentrations of campuses led by lawyers, women lawyer presidents, pathways to the presidency for lawyers, commonalities in backgrounds, and more. The author explores reasons for an exponential increase in lawyers serving as campus leaders examining the growth of legal education and myriad legal and regulatory issues confronting higher education.

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  Beyond the Courtroom: Resolving Disputes through Agreement. Collected Articles and Essays by Hal Abramson

  Harold I. Abramson

  Beyond the Courtroom provides a compilation of articles and chapters by a dispute resolution scholar who has made remarkable contributions over his thirty-year career. Professor Abramson has focused his research and practice on parties trying to resolve their own disputes. This book includes publications that have contributed to launching the then new field of mediation representation with special attention on how attorneys, as gate keepers to mediation, can effectively represent clients. The book also includes his original publications that have contributed to the emerging field of intercultural and international mediation and the already robust and mature field of negotiations.

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  Defenders of the Faith: Studies in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodoxy and Reform

  Judith Bleich

  The Emancipation of European Jewry during the nineteenth century led to conflict between tradition and modernity, creating a chasm that few believed could be bridged. Unsurprisingly, the emergence of modern traditionalism was fraught with obstacles. The essays published in this collection eloquently depict the passion underlying the disparate views, the particular areas of vexing confrontation and the hurdles faced by champions of tradition.

  The author identifies and analyzes the many areas of sociological and religious tension that divided the competing factions, including synagogue innovation, circumcision, intermarriage, military service and many others. With compelling writing and clear, articulate style, this illuminating work provides keen insight into the history and development of the various streams of Judaism and the issues that continue to divide them in contemporary times.

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  Discourses on Business Education at the College Level: On the Boundaries of Content and Praxis

  Sabra E. Brock and Peter J. McAliney

  Drawing from doctoral-level research on how best to teach business education in college, Discourses on Business Education at the College Level illustrates new and proven ideas for engaging students. Sixteen authors from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development describe their experiences in upgrading and expanding the quality of the business education experience. Business school instructors can use this edited collection to draw inspiration and learn specific techniques to bring their courses to the cutting edge of curriculum. Topics range from teaching accounting, financial literacy, marketing, and teamwork to gamification, improving international student and intern experience, not-for-credit education, and virtual workplace learning.

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  Geoarchaeology of Israel

  Howard R. Feldman

  This book includes an analysis of the Jehoash Inscription Tablet, which describes renovations made to the First Temple and is considered the only written evidence of its existence. At the same time, a new technique for authenticating artifacts is described: this is especially important in determining the authenticity of artifacts collected from unprovenanced sites. Other subjects treated in the book are: the only known stone oil lamp with שבעת המינים carved onto seven nozzles, which was archaeometrically analyzed to verify its authenticity, and is thought to have been used during the Second Temple Period in rituals that necessitated that laws of purity be followed; and the James Ossuary, displaying the Aramaic inscription Ya'akov bar-Yosef akhui diYeshua (James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus), which, if genuine, might provide archaeological evidence for Jesus of Nazareth and indicate that the ossuary was that of James the Just, the older brother of Jesus.

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  A Century of Jewish Life in Shanghai

  Steve Hochstadt

  For a century, Jews were an unmistakable and prominent feature of Shanghai life. They built hotels and stood in bread lines, hobnobbed with the British and Chinese elites and were confined to a wartime ghetto. Jews taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, sold Viennese pastries, and shared the worst slum with native Shanghainese. Three waves of Jews, representing three religious and ethnic communities, landed in Shanghai, remained separate for decades, but faced the calamity of World War II and ultimate dissolution together.

  In this book, we hear their own words and the words of modern scholars explaining how Baghdadi, Russian and Central European Jews found their way to Shanghai, created lives in the world’s most cosmopolitan city, and were forced to find new homes in the late 1940s.

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  Palestine to Israel: Mandate to State, 1945-1948, Volume II: Into the International Arena, 1947-1948

  Monty Noam Penkower

  Seventy years after the creation of the State of Israel, Palestine to Israel: Mandate to State, 1945-1948 offers the definitive narrative of the achievement of Jewish sovereignty in the beleaguered Promised Land. Professor Monty Noam Penkower explores developments in Palestine and in the Arab states, including how the Palestine quagmire became a pawn in inter-Arab feuds; British and American responses both official and public; the role of Holocaust survivors; the context of the Cold War; and the saga as it unfolded in the corridors of the United Nations. Joining extensive archival research to a lucid prose, the two volumes offer a riveting conclusion to his Palestine in Turmoil and Decision on Palestine Deferred.

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  Palestine to Israel: Mandate to State, 1945-1948, Volume I: Rebellion Launched, 1945-1946

  Monty Noam Penkower

  Seventy years after the creation of the State of Israel, Palestine to Israel: Mandate to State, 1945-1948 offers the definitive narrative of the achievement of Jewish sovereignty in the beleaguered Promised Land. Professor Monty Noam Penkower explores developments in Palestine and in the Arab states, including how the Palestine quagmire became a pawn in inter-Arab feuds; British and American responses both official and public; the role of Holocaust survivors; the context of the Cold War; and the saga as it unfolded in the corridors of the United Nations. Joining extensive archival research to a lucid prose, the two volumes offer a riveting conclusion to his Palestine in Turmoil and Decision on Palestine Deferred.

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  Dynamics of Continuity and Change in Jewish Religious Life

  Simcha Fishbane, Eric Levine, Alan H. Kadish, Judith Bleich, and Zvi Jonathan Kaplan

  While the oft-quoted saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” seems to aptly describe the nature of social life, the reverse may be equally accurate: the more things stay the same, the more they change. Indeed, the recognized institutions of human society, of which religion is a primary example, are both sources of stability and continuity as well as innovation and change. The dynamics of Jewish religious continuity and change are presented in this book through a group of distinguished scholars from the fields of sociology, history, medicine, religion, and Jewish studies examining key cases and themes in religious life, emphasizing illustrations of the maintenance of tradition and facing of trends pressing for transformation.
  
  This volume demonstrates the importance of case studies and historical, ideological, and philosophical surveys in understanding the actions of individual, organizational or communal actors attempting to create, maintain, or disrupt religious institutions, across geographical boundaries and time frames. This research has the potential not only to positively affect scholarly discussions, but also to generate greater understanding and dialogue among those who study Jewish life and those who work in Jewish organizations and live and function in religious communities. Indeed, the book brings a sophisticated understanding of Jewish law, religious texts, communities and institutions, of the interplay of internal and external social and ideological forces, of the impact of organizations, and of the potential for individuals and groups to shape their religious environments.

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  Jewish Law and American Law: A Comparative Study, Volume 1

  Samuel J. Levine

  These volumes contribute to the growing field of comparative Jewish and American law, presenting twenty-six essays characterized by a number of distinct features. The essays will appeal to legal scholars and, at the same time, will be accessible and of interest to a more general audience of intellectually curious readers. These contributions are faithful to Jewish law on its own terms, while applying comparative methods to offer fresh perspectives on complex issues in the Jewish legal system. Through careful comparative analysis, the essays also turn to Jewish law to provide insights into substantive and conceptual areas of the American legal system, particularly areas of American law that are complex, controversial, and unsettled.

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  Jewish Law and American Law: A Comparative Study, Volume 2

  Samuel J. Levine

  These volumes contribute to the growing field of comparative Jewish and American law, presenting twenty-six essays characterized by a number of distinct features. The essays will appeal to legal scholars and, at the same time, will be accessible and of interest to a more general audience of intellectually curious readers. These contributions are faithful to Jewish law on its own terms, while applying comparative methods to offer fresh perspectives on complex issues in the Jewish legal system. Through careful comparative analysis, the essays also turn to Jewish law to provide insights into substantive and conceptual areas of the American legal system, particularly areas of American law that are complex, controversial, and unsettled.

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  The Unique Judicial Vision of Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk: Selected Discourses in Meshekh Hokhmah and Or Sameah

  Yitshak Cohen, Meshulam Gotlieb, and Herbert Basser

  This book analyzes the exceptional normative impact of R. Meir Simcha Hacohen’s Biblical commentary, Meshekh Hokhmah, and his halakhic commentary, Or Sameah. It examines the reliance of the poskim on R. Meir Simcha’s innovations and hermeneutic methods as well as their view of his interpretations that broadened or narrowed the scope of Maimonides’ rulings. The book explores the broad-based judicial principles underlying R. Meir Simcha’s legal decisions and approach to Jewish law. It further examines how his legal creativity was impacted by metahalakhic principles that guided him in addressing changing historical and social realities. The book also considers R. Meir Simcha’s unique attitudes toward gentiles. His approach attests to his innovativeness and his halakhic moderation, as he tried to rule as leniently as possible on matters concerning non-Jews. In this book, R. Meir Simcha is shown to be a truly influential rabbi whose contributions will long be a source of study and discussion.

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  Contention, Controversy, and Change: Evolutions and Revolutions in the Jewish Experience (Volume I)

  Simcha Fishbane and Eric Levine

  Conflict and change are fundamental elements of social reality and of the Jewish historical experience. This collection presents the work of a distinguished group of scholars exploring the themes of social, political, religious, intellectual, and institutional movements and change in Jewish history. These scholars demonstrate that social change throughout Jewish life has assumed many different manifestations, and can occur in revolutionary and dramatic ways as well as in more common gradual and evolutionary processes. In the first volume, the essays revolve around two themes: “Mobilizations and Contentious Politics,” and “Social Trends, Communal and Institutional Change.” The second volume is devoted to “Developments in Philosophy, Ideology, and Religious Practice.” Taken together, these two volumes present scholarship rich with both historical and contemporary relevance, of interest to academics and students in Jewish studies and the social sciences, communal leaders and policy makers, and anyone intrigued by the Jewish experience.

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  Contention, Controversy, and Change: Evolutions and Revolutions in the Jewish Experience (Volume II)

  Simcha Fishbane and Eric Levine

  Conflict and change are fundamental elements of social reality and of the Jewish historical experience. This collection presents the work of a distinguished group of scholars exploring the themes of social, political, religious, intellectual, and institutional movements and change in Jewish history. These scholars demonstrate that social change throughout Jewish life has assumed many different manifestations, and can occur in revolutionary and dramatic ways as well as in more common gradual and evolutionary processes. In the first volume, the essays revolve around two themes: “Mobilizations and Contentious Politics,” and “Social Trends, Communal and Institutional Change.” The second volume is devoted to “Developments in Philosophy, Ideology, and Religious Practice.” Taken together, these two volumes present scholarship rich with both historical and contemporary relevance, of interest to academics and students in Jewish studies and the social sciences, communal leaders and policy makers, and anyone intrigued by the Jewish experience.

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  Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Commentary on Books 3-5 of Psalms: Chapters 73-150

  H. Norman Strickman

  Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s commentary is one of the great biblical exegeses produced by medieval Jewry. His commentary accompanies almost every version of the Rabbinic Bible, and his influence on biblical studies continues to this very day. Ibn Ezra sought to provide the literal meaning of the biblical text. However, he did more than that. His commentary is saturated with insights into Hebrew grammar, medieval philosophy, and astrology. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s Commentary on Books 3–5 of Psalms: Chapters 73–150 completes the publication of the translation and annotation of Ibn Ezra’s commentary to Psalms, making it available to both scholars and general readers.

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  Paleontology and Geology of the Martinsburg, Shawangunk, Onondaga and Hornerstown Formations (Northeastern United States) with Some Field Guides

  Howard R. Feldman

  The chapters in this book will cover the paleontology and geology of some important rock formations (Paleozoic and Paleogene) in the northeastern United States. The emphasis will be on brachiopod paleontology, specifically taxonomy, but will also include comments on morphologic variation and community analysis. The Martinsburg formation in the lower mid-Hudson Valley has been studied for many years but recently yielded numerous marine fossils that shed new light on the community ecology of the formation in the region. The Middle Silurian Shawangunk Formation near New Paltz, New York, is an important ridge-maker that extends toward the southwest into Pennsylvania. Recently discovered rare trace fossils in the Shawangunk will be discussed along with the depositional environment of the conglomerate. The Onondaga Limestone is a well-known formation that crops out from Port Jervis, northeast toward Albany and the westward to Buffalo. The brachiopods and community structure of the formation will be covered in some detail. The paleoecology of the Paleogene Hornerstown Formation of New Jersey will also be discussed, including a biostrome of large terebratulid brachiopods.

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  Intellectual Journeys of Recent, Mostly "Defunct" Economists

  Michael Szenberg and Lall B. Ramrattan

  This book looks into the creative minds of some recent, mostly “defunct” economists. Many of the authors, such as Samuelson, Friedman, Galbraith, and Heilbroner, have penned popular works, while their scientific contributions were limited to the most specialized scholars. Others, such as Nobel Prize winners Modigliani, Debreu, Becker, Aumann, and Allais, delved into complex issues in human organization, economic growth and planning, socio-economic theory, and model building. Economists such as Keynes and Lowe represent world-class paragons whose influences continue to percolate in current research programs. Here we unearth their best scientific work, revealing gems that might otherwise be overlooked.

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  Palestine in Turmoil: The Struggle for Sovereignty, 1933–1939: Volume I

  Monty Noam Penkower

  This comprehensive account examines the growing conflict between Arab and Jew in Palestine that first surfaced clearly in the pivotal years 1933–1939, and which proved to be an irreconcilable rift once the leadership of both peoples refused to accept minority status. A compelling narrative, lucidly written and rooted in extensive archival sources, explores the deadly clash of two rival nationalisms against the broader backdrop of rising antisemitism across Europe, the intervention of Arab states, and international realpolitik. The various suggestions then advanced for resolving the Palestine dilemma, as well as the internal divisions which beset the two rivals for political independence, are also reviewed in these pages. The two volumes, one devoted to the years 1933–1936 and the second to the years 1937–1939, serve as a riveting prequel to Professor Penkower's Decision on Palestine Deferred: America, Britain and Wartime Diplomacy, 1939–1945.

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  Palestine in Turmoil: The Struggle for Sovereignty, 1933–1939: Volume II

  Monty Noam Penkower

  This comprehensive account examines the growing conflict between Arab and Jew in Palestine that first surfaced clearly in the pivotal years 1933–1939, and which proved to be an irreconcilable rift once the leadership of both peoples refused to accept minority status. A compelling narrative, lucidly written and rooted in extensive archival sources, explores the deadly clash of two rival nationalisms against the broader backdrop of rising antisemitism across Europe, the intervention of Arab states, and international realpolitik. The various suggestions then advanced for resolving the Palestine dilemma, as well as the internal divisions which beset the two rivals for political independence, are also reviewed in these pages. The two volumes, one devoted to the years 1933–1936 and the second to the years 1937–1939, serve as a riveting prequel to Professor Penkower's Decision on Palestine Deferred: America, Britain and Wartime Diplomacy, 1939–1945.

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  At the Intersection of Education, Marketing, and Transformation

  Sabra Brock

  There have been significant changes in the last decade in the fields of education and marketing. Both have been transformed by technology and globalization. Attention spans have been shortened due to accelerated delivery of entertainment. A new global cyber culture has emerged. Social networking sites have changed the way we get information. The web and mobile apps have emerged as major players in both education and marketing. Prominent educator Dr. Sabra Brock has examined the foundations of these transformations and written about emerging trends in marketing and post-secondary education. This book is a collection of pieces she has authored and co-authored. These articles may provide insights for educators and educational administrators, as well as business practitioners, especially marketers.

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  Invertebrate Paleontology of Israel and Adjacent Countries with Emphasis on the Brachiopoda

  Howard R. Feldman

  This book consists of a series of papers that help to unravel the taxonomy of the phylum Brachiopoda and describe associated marine communities in the Levant. These faunas inhabited shallow shelf environments near the boundary of the Indo-African and Tethyan faunal realms near the Jurassic equator along the southern Tethyan margin. This research is part of a long term project that aims to delineate the distribution of brachiopods across faunal realm boundaries and reconstruct the biogeographic history of the region. The work provides a more detailed analysis of the endemism that is characteristic of the faunas of northern Sinai, the Negev and Jordan, and will also aid in the construction of a biogeographic framework for Jurassic strata in the Middle East. It represents an important contribution to our knowledge of the evolution of modern marine communities because their roots lie in the ecological diversifications of the Jurassic.

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  Judaism Examined: Essays in Jewish Philosophy and Ethics

  Moshe M. Sokol

  Are there theoretical grounds for tolerance in the classical Jewish tradition? Is human autonomy endorsed by Judaism? What is the range of attitudes towards pleasure that have found their expression in Jewish sources? What does Maimonides have to say about joy, and what does Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik teach about human suffering? This volume of essays examines these and many other key questions about Judaism from the rigorous perspective of philosophical analysis. Unlike most scholarship in Jewish philosophy, which approaches the field primarily from the perspective of intellectual history, this volume also engages in active philosophical dialogue with the texts and thinkers it addresses. Judaism Examined is a much-needed voice to the perennial questions of Jewish philosophy.

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  Carmi Sheli: Studies on Aggadah and Its Interpretation Presented to Professor Carmi Horowitz

  Arnon Atzmon, Avraham Grossman, Nahem Ilan, Michael Shmidman, and Joseph Tabory

  This volume contains fifteen articles, many in Hebrew, by leading scholars. The articles cover a broad range of subjects, from an analysis of biblical narratives as expounded in the midrash and by medieval commentators, through a discussion of Maimonides’ attitude towards midrash and an analysis of talmudic aggadah as expounded by oriental scholars, to polemics concerning the attitude to aggadah in the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, and culminating with an analysis of interpretation of aggadah by latter-day talmudic scholars. There are also articles about the essence of aggadah, its literary conventions and its relation to law, and two articles which deal with a passage in the Passover Haggadah. The participants include: E. Eizenman, N. Ilan, G. Blidstein, Y. Blau, M. Bregman, A. Grossman, H. Davidson, C. Horowitz, O. Viskind-Elper, H. Mak, A. Atzmon, A. Kadari, A. Rozenak, M. Shmidman, and J. Tabory.

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  Nasi Be-Amcha: Words of Inspiration-Divrei Hesped in Memory of Harav Dr. Bernard Lander, zt"l

  Michael Shmidman

  A collection of more than forty tributes delivered at the funeral and subsequent shloshim assemblies in memory of Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, the remarkable Founder and first President of Touro College. The tributes contained within this volume paint an insightful portrait of this preeminent leader of twentieth century Jewry, and serve as a source of inspiration for the reader.