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``JEWISH LIFE, JEWISH HUMOR''

Name: ``JEWISH LIFE, JEWISH HUMOR''
Author: Sidney Brichto
ISBN: 1-929074-01-8

A GUIDE TO JEWS AND JEWISH LIFE

by Sidney Brichto & illustrated by David Myers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 1999

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Former executive vice president of England’s Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, American-born Rabbi Brichto has written a lighthearted but substantial book. In answering those questions that “non-Jews wish to have answered but do not feel comfortable about asking their Jewish friends or associates,” this volume takes on touchy issues: Jews’ reputation for being cheap and oversexed, Jewish thinking about Jesus and Christianity, Jewish attitudes toward the Holocaust. Brichto has a curious occasional blind spot when it comes to women. In “Jewish Husbands and Wives,” he unpacks the overbearing Jewish mother stereotype, but he fails to adequately address the Jewish American Princess. He occasionally betrays hostility towards Orthodox Judaism (see, for example, his description of Orthodox Sabbath observance). On other points, though, he handles tricky issues with care, explaining that “choseneness” doesn’t mean Jews think they are better than everyone else and describing how he negotiates feeling loyal to Israel and America and England. In addition to dispelling stereotypes and assumptions about Jews, Brichto provides some useful basics for non-Jews (and Jews not too learned about Judaism): he explains why mirrors are covered during mourning and why the groom breaks a glass at a Jewish wedding. Kudos to Brichto for answering many sensitive questions. (illustrations)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999

ISBN: 1-929074-01-8

Page Count: 188

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.