Book Reviews

When Yaakov Avinu knew that he was about to move his family down to Mitzraim, his first priority was to establish a yeshiva. Ever since then, educating our young has continued to be a lifelong challenge and commitment for every Jew.

Readers of Clayton’s short stories know that he is not only a master craftsman, but that his stories are inquires into the purpose of life; he is a moral philosopher.

There are three kinds of travelers: there are tourists, there are businesspeople, and then there are historians like Ben G. Frank. The last kind doesn’t simply go from here to there. They try to relive history and find the real meaning behind what they experience.

God's Favorite Prayers, by Tzvee Zahavy, makes for fascinating reading. It is an intelligent, sometimes amusing, and always highly readable essay addressed first and foremost to those who know "everything" - those so familiar with the prayers that they don't really need a siddur to follow the service.

In recent years, the attitude dubbed "orthopraxy", the notion that holds that fulfillments of halakha is sufficient on its own terms without serving, or being subordinate to, any higher purpose , has become fashionable in some circles. Most famously advocated by the late distinguished Israeli scientist Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Orthopraxy - which has become accepted practically if not avowedly by many Orthodox Jews, both in the US and Israel - has found a number of other proponents as well, a disproportionate number of whom are among the intellectual elite.

For today's Jew seeking to grow spiritually, there's mussar, and then there is modern psychology. Armed with 20th century research on how behaviors develop and how humans create internal change, today's Jewish do-gooder has an arsenal of tools beyond Pirkei Avos and the mussar masters to work on problems like, say, gossiping or overeating.

Every medical school in the world should have this book on the syllabus: once during first-year medical studies and again at residency. Pages 63-67 pretty much sum up the brutality of a given medical staff member's offhand remarks and intentional insensitivity in the presence of patients. They crush the spirits of otherwise valiant people struggling to live. Med students who assume superiority to their needy patients need not have airs. They're not G-d and not about to become His rival, either. Medical interventions have limits. And condescension kills people as much as disease can.

The proof will be in your hands: some self-published books are remarkably wonderful. Lisa Aiken's The Family Guide to Touring Israel is a 382-page paperback with essentials even native Israelis need to know.

Savor the flavor and laugh along with the author as Reyna Simnegar teaches you about Persian cookery and life. Feldheim Publishing has done an outstanding job of presenting a handsome cookbook with references to normal human interactions in dating and marriage rather than pretending everyone adheres to "Three Dates and You're Done" behavior. Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride is as much about the author's cross-country courtship and marital adjustments as it is about food. The bonus is that you'll eat wonderfully aromatic, delicious food by following the author's simple recipes and her cheerful path to a well-adjusted life.

Behind "the news" there's almost always a story that isn't being reported, and certain kinds of phenomenon occur almost simultaneously all over the world in almost every era.

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, founder and director of Project YES, an organization dedicated to guiding troubled teens, is trying to put himself out of business.

Nachas Ruach: Torah-based Psychotherapy and Tools for Growth & Healing is Dr. Naftali Fish's 309-page explanation of a treatment model utilizing Torah values for emotional and mental health. As noted on page 5, the Nachas Ruach Treatment Model tool is " validated by changing trends within the field of psychotherapy increased openness and motivation to discover or to develop alternative ways to understanding the nature of health and healing "

Kosher cookbooks have come a long way to being what women need. Flimsy paperbacks and poorly bound hard covers with yellowed, deteriorating pages that kept falling out have become beautiful, helpful and long-lasting. With Kosher Elegance, author Efrat Libfroind brings classic culinary skills to the table with clear directions and illustrative photos that portray aroma and taste. You'll want to eat the pictures!

Readers and nervous newshounds wondering how to become more spiritual in a hurry can take steps toward meeting that goal by studying The Light of Thirty-Six: Accessing the Hidden Light of Creation on a Daily Basis. Read and re-read the book. Invest time, effort and thought into your spirituality-seeking process so you can act on the book's lessons seriously, not superficially.

Holy emunah, Not Just Another Scenario 2 is a riveting read. Rabbi Pinchas Winston's revised Not Just Another Scenario holds a plot, corroborated by recent headlines, underscoring ancient prophecies coming true in one hugely happy ending.

Whether this is a memoir or autobiography or whether this book was written as an article of regional diplomacy, King Abdullah does come across in this book as a quite sincere person making a valiant effort at regional diplomacy, who is trying to quell terrorism in the Mideast and raise the social and economic levels of his countrymen.

As we all know, time is of essence to transmit the saga of our parents' suffering in the Holocaust before there are no more witnesses alive to tell their stories. Chavi Diamond, a daughter of survivors, is a woman with a mission. She feels this urgency keenly and has initiated a groundbreaking series of Holocaust children's books geared to ages 6-12.

Since the invention of the printing press, thousands of books have promised to contain the secret to life's most elusive goal: happiness. In the secular world, they call them self-help books, but in our world, we know that the Torah view is the place to look for answers.

Expressing gratitude to Hashem for all the bounty He provides us is a Biblical mitzvah that is incumbent upon men and women when they finish a meal. We call this "bentching," most commonly known as "Grace after Meals." Unfortunately, for many of us it has turned into the "Race after Meals."

Rabbi David Fohrman of the Hoffberger Institute for Torah Study is an engaging speaker and astonishing interpreter of Torah texts, captivating his devoted listeners and readers for decades. The Queen You Thought You Knew: Unmasking Esther's Hidden Story is his most recent publication, unrolling the Megillah with the excitement of a blockbuster.

For many years now, Shaul Stampfer has been recognized as an authority in all things dealing with nineteenth-century Jewish Eastern Europe. In his newest book we have a collection of numerous essays representing more than twenty years of his scholarship, including one essay published for the first time (The Missing Rabbis of Eastern Europe).

A healthy Purim treat for very little ones has actually been released. Author Bracha Goetz has added a new volume to her bestselling What Do You See? board book series. This is the seventh bright and colorful word-and-picture book that helps teach toddlers basic vocabulary, while happily familiarizing them with objects they see around them in their own lives.

Feldheim's motto, "Torah Literature of Quality," is well-suited to Purim and the Persian Empire: A Historical, Archaeological & Geographical Perspective. Written by Yeshivat Itri graduate Rabbi Yehuda Landy, this magnum opus is wonderfully prepared, informative and valuable to a wide range of readers. Landy teaches at Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim and is a certified tour guide in Israel. His credentials served his research efforts well.

And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones can take you far from your expectations of a book about losing a child to cancer. The amazingly clear, honest prose can ennoble you no matter what you believe before reading the memoir. Listen as Susan Petersen Avitsour narrates - in her words and her daughter Timora's - the drama leading up to, during and beyond Timora's diagnosis. The family had learned it days before her bat mitzvah.

University presses often publish dense academic books that elicit little interest from the masses. Popular publishing houses sometimes take the opposite route, producing light, aesthetically-pleasing works that some people like calling "fluff." Join the two together, however, and one hopefully gets books that both nourish the soul and please the eye. Such is the nature of a recent collaboration between Yeshiva University Press and Maggid Books (an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem).

Blow your mind bigger and better as you improve upon preconceived ideas about the High Holidays. This slim paperback holds 87 pages full of wisdom, insight, and keys to personal improvement!

This 381-page paperback belongs in Jewish homes and libraries. It would make a nice textbook for classrooms, too. Rabbi Jonathan Shooter's skill at interpreting archaic language, then presenting it in contemporary parlance, is a gift from Heaven.

Jews around the world are reflecting on the Jewish New Year season that recently passed. It seems that everybody is struggling with their resolutions to be better and to do better. All of us are worrying about the daunting lead-up to life's next chapter: Thanksgiving season. Xmas parties. Awkward situations, she'elot that make you blush to ask them. Bills. More bills. Tempers. Fourth quarter reports. Bosses cut losses by firing staff. Fear. Panic. You wonder what was gained by going through the Yamim Noraim. I have good news for you: The Spirit of the Seasons by Rabbi Jonathan Shooter can show you insights into the Yamim Tovim to soothe your soul and psyche.

The "Collection of Imaginative Stories" in HaMalach HaGoel and Other Bedtime Stories is a bit on the high-minded side with a few clich?s tossed in the mix. Nevertheless, the lap-sized hardcover explains to its readers how to become mature, responsible individuals of integrity. The life lessons are for children aged eight and up.

The Alternative, by Rabbi Yehuda Schwartz, outspoken "Inside View" columnist, is his first book since retiring from The Jewish Press more than 20 years ago. In it, he describes the cosmological connection between Israel and the nations and looks into the future on the subject of Messianism.