Mystery Midrash


Book Description

Confront murder, mayhem--and your own mysteries of being. From a corporate giant's kidnapping of a rabbi, to the disappearance of the clarinetist in a klezmer band, to four rabbis' use of their text interpretation skills to help a detective solve a murder that one of them has committed, this unique collection of mysteries will enlighten you at the same time it intrigues and entertains. While featuring enough death and deception to keep the detective protagonists on their toes, each story presents the uncertainties that are a part of contemporary Jewish identity--inviting us all to confront our own mysteries of being. Throughout the stories' tangled puzzles and suspenseful adventures, the characters solve not only the "whodunit"-type mysteries, but also struggle to solve the mystery of their spiritual lives. Mystery Midrash will be a lasting delight for mystery buffs of all faith traditions. Contributors include: Joel Siegel * Lawrence W. Raphael * Toni Brill * Howard Engel * Richard Fliegel * Michael A. Kahn * Stuart M. Kaminsky * Faye Kellerman * Ronald Levitsky * Ellen Rawlings * Rabbi Bob Sloan * Janice Steinberg * James Yaffe * Batya Swift Yasgur




Mystery Midrash


Book Description

Confront murder, mayhem—and your own mysteries of being. From a corporate giant's kidnapping of a rabbi, to the disappearance of the clarinetist in a klezmer band, to four rabbis' use of their text interpretation skills to help a detective solve a murder that one of them has committed, this unique collection of mysteries will enlighten you at the same time it intrigues and entertains. While featuring enough death and deception to keep the detective protagonists on their toes, each story presents the uncertainties that are a part of contemporary Jewish identity—inviting us all to confront our own mysteries of being. Throughout the stories' tangled puzzles and suspenseful adventures, the characters solve not only the "whodunit"-type mysteries, but also struggle to solve the mystery of their spiritual lives. Mystery Midrash will be a lasting delight for mystery buffs of all faith traditions.




Criminal Kabbalah


Book Description

This anthology of 13 mystery stories touches on various aspects of Judaism, with selections from Kinky Friedman, Stuart Kaminsky and more.




The Family Book of Midrash


Book Description

This collection gives the reader a taste of the thousands of stories one can find in the treasure house of rabbinic literature. Some of these stories are humorous, some mysteriuos, some tense with drama or adventure, some filled with the joy of a miracle and the beauty of faith. All of these stories come from either the Talmud or the Midrash. This collection shows that these rabbinical stories are not old and outdated, but alive and timeless, for future generations to continue to enjoy.




Criminal Kabbalah


Book Description

An intriguing Anthology of Jewish Mystery & Detective Fiction Terence Ball, The Banality of Evil Sandra Levy Ceren, Silver Is Better Than Gold Martin S. Cohen, Death Has Beckoned Richard Fliegel, The Golem of Bronx Park East Michael A. Kahn, Truth in a Plain Brown Wrapper Stuart M. Kaminsky, The Tenth Man Rochelle Krich,Bitter Waters Ronald Levitsky,Thy Brother’s Bloods Lev Raphael, Your Papers, Please Shelley Singer, Reconciling Howard Janice Steinberg, Hospitality in a Dry Country Batya Swift Yasgur, Without a Trace All-new stories from twelve of today’s masters of mystery and detective fiction—sure to delight mystery buffs of all faith traditions, and fans of the award-winning Mystery Midrash: An Anthology of Jewish Mystery & Detective Fiction.




The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories


Book Description

In the tradition of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction, The World's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, First Annual Edition finally fills the void for those with a hunger for the best mystery and suspense stories of the past year. Including such bestselling authors as Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth George, Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Ed McBain, Anne Perry, and Ruth Rendell, plus many, many others, this volume will positively blow the competition away. For, unlike the other various mystery anthologies, The World's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories collects stories from writers around the globe, including Britain's Silver Dagger short-fiction award winners. It will also be almost twice as big, weighing in at more than 200,000 words, and will arrive two months before the competition. This comprehensive anthology promises to be the definitive annual collection of the very best mystery and suspense stories the world over. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.




Believing and Its Tensions


Book Description

An intimate and candid examination of the changing nature of belief and where it can lead us--from the life experience of one of Judaism's leading thinkers. For over five decades, Rabbi Neil Gillman has helped people think through the most challenging questions at the heart of being a believing religious person. In this intimate rethinking of his own theological journey he explores the changing nature of belief and the complexities of reconciling the intellectual, emotional and moral questions of his own searching mind and soul. If what we have in recognizing, speaking of and experiencing God is a wide-ranging treasury of humanly crafted metaphors, what, then, is the ultimate reality, the ultimate nature of God? What lies beyond the metaphors? If humanity was an active partner in revelation--if the human community participated in what was revealed and gave it meaning--what then should be the authority of Jewish law? How do we cope--intellectually, emotionally and morally--with suffering, the greatest challenge to our faith commitment, relationship with God and sense of a fundamentally ordered world? Death is inevitable but why is it built in as part of the total life experience?




The Mystery Readers' Advisory


Book Description

Three librarians from Scottsdale, Arizona provide library staff with an introduction to the mystery genre and offer tips and techniques for providing advice to mystery readers in the library. They include some of their own bibliographies, but refer readers elsewhere for fuller ones. They also include a brief history of the genre to pass on to readers new to it.




Meaning & Mitzvah


Book Description

Delve deeper into spiritual practice to find the power and meaning waiting there for you. “Spiritual practice reveals that the Garden of Eden is right where you are standing and helps you to be here, now. Therefore, Jewish spiritual practices cultivate joy, hope, resilience and understanding so that you can undertake your soul’s work in this lifetime with vision, passion and integrity.” from the Introduction This innovative guidebook makes accessible Judaism’s spiritual pathways, principles and applications, and empowers you to test their value within your own life. Each chapter provides step-by-step, recipe-like guides to a particular Jewish practice or group of practices, gives examples of how they might unfold inside your life, and shows how each can help refuel your spirit throughout the day. You’ll discover: Prayer practices for embracing the body and creation with awe, limbering up your mind, and preparing for compassionate action How to draw sustenance from the Great Mystery, the inexplicable and unknowable Source of Life How to mine the Torah’s stories, commentaries, symbols and metaphors for meaning Ways to develop your Hebrew vocabulary so you can formulate your own interpretations of sacred text How to explore and practice mitzvot as meaningful, compelling parts of your spiritual life How to view the Jewish people as a precious human resource and as a model for resilience ... and much, much more.




The Seven Beggars


Book Description

Rejoice in the stories of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov—for their insight into the human condition and the realm of the mysterious. When Rabbi Nachman first started telling his stories, he declared: "Now I am going to tell you stories." The reason he did so was because in generations so far from God the only remedy was to present the secrets of the Torah—including even the greatest of them—in the form of stories. —from the Preface For centuries, spiritual teachers have told stories to convey lessons about God and perceptions of the world around us. Hasidic master Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810) perfected this teaching method through his engrossing and entertaining stories that are fast-moving, brilliantly structured, and filled with penetrating insights. This collection presents the wisdom of Rebbe Nachman, translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan and accompanied by illuminating commentary drawn from the works of Rebbe Nachman's pupils. This important work brings you authentic interpretations of Rebbe Nachman’s stories, allowing you to experience the rich heritage of Torah and Kabbalah that underlies each word of his inspirational teachings.