Books

While books like this are great introductory texts, the cursory overview of the topics, many of them which warrant numerous volumes on their own, can give the reader too far a superficial view of the topic.

For people like me, who already have quite the cookbook collection, Best of Kosher is a great resource, saving me endless minutes of thumbing through book after book in search of a favorite recipe.

The book does not hold back. The honesty of its prose is as refreshing as it is validating.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to walk around with autocorrect syndrome, thinking that in life, it’s okay to mess up because no one will ever realize we made a mistake if we just move on; autocorrect will just take care of it.

As I matured, the counterexamples to the authority of gematria grew more numerous, more amusing, and naughtier.

For another scholarly compendium related to Jews and Non-Jews during the Holocaust in the USSR

By teaching us mindfulness exercises for the beginner, and the expert, Polen helps us to build perspective, setting the stage for a mindful observance of Shabbos.

Like the lecturer who begins with a joke as a way to warm up his audience, Rabbi Kurland intends for the humorous anecdotes to make the reader more receptive to the words of mussar that follow.

An essential scholarly volume on the Shoah

As a pulpit rabbi, Friedman said that he found that the biggest obstacle for most people is that they struggle to find meaning in their Torah learning.

Targeting late elementary school, this book is a great way to learn about history in such a way that can’t be learned from a textbook.

That experience of the daf yomi framing individual interpretations and personal epiphanies is captured beautifully by Hillel Broder’s ambitious new collection of poems Daily Blessings.

While Basseva is aware of an inquisition of Conversos under suspicion that they are secretly reverting to Jewish practices, she has no reason to believe that she, the daughter of a well-respected wealthy Jewish man, is in danger.

I am sure that once the borrower reads this small-yet-powerful book, it won’t be returned for quite a while, if ever – because I can’t imagine anyone wanting to part with it!

With so many excellent choices, there’s no time like the present to instill a love of reading in your children and with wonderful books like these, you might just find yourself borrowing a few of them to enjoy on your own.

One of the best parts of this book is that along with the footnoted, scholarly answers, the author provides practical suggestions for different portions of prayer.

There is something so profound when reading Kayla’s notebook/sefer. She approaches in a way that is similar to that which Dovid HaMelech aspired to.

The beauty of this sefer is that Rabbi Jachter wrote a brilliant masterpiece in a simple refined language that can be understood by a layman, but also incorporates the original source texts (in both Hebrew and English), and detailed footnotes for the most experienced poskim and rabbeim.

What’s in Tuli’s Box? mirrors questions children themselves would ask – about this box-like object that gets fed coins from time to time, is empty, full and then empty again – and about the purpose of those coins inside.

While the Talmud is 2,711 pages, in a little over 200 pages, Kirsch does a good job of detailing the main topics and themes of the various tractates.

Of Medicine, Miracles, and Mindsets, is a first-person account of Rabbi Elie and Chaya Rochel Estrin and their child Yossi, written mostly from Rabbi Elie’s perspective.

Consistent with that fear was a reticence about sharing his Torah. He wanted to work on things a bit longer, always wanted to make sure he was not overstating or misstating.

Following a brief biography of Rav Kook, Rav Sinclair proceeds to trace and then weave disparate strands from the abundant storehouse of Rav Kook’s thoughts, uniting and bringing these to bear on the subject matter to illuminate, for the English-speaking world, the breathtaking tapestry that is Shabbat Ha’Aretz.

Tension reigned. They were watched by the Soviet security services. The KGB often would search their rooms and suitcases. They were threatened and warned and targeted in shuls.

Our religion has a lot of rules – about eating, about the Sabbath, about how to relate to other people – but the point of all of them is to create a special relationship between us and Hashem.

This is a book about friendship, responsibility, chesed, family and the challenges Hashem gives us.

The feature that most immediately grabs the reader’s attention is the presentation of the sources. The authors do not just bring sources as footnotes or endnotes – rather, they meticulously focus on the sources.

There’s so much to say about Torah Goes Forth from Zion that it would require a small book to properly review it all.

The book serves as a brief, yet simultaneously detailed, overview of many broad components of Karaite Judaism, rather than focusing on a single detail in-depth – a tactic which would better serve seasoned Karaite scholars.

Time and time again, Rav Asher exhorts his followers, and anyone else inclined to heed his halachic pronouncements, to ‘follow the science’ and adhere to the recommendations of recognized physicians and the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.