The holidays are over, the coffee-table books have all been unwrapped and set aside, and winter isn't going anywhere for a while. In short, it's time to settle in for some good reading. The literary critic D. G. Myers here presents the 38 best Jewish books of 2011, all of which merit your attention.
Plum Street Temple, Cincinnati.
Halloween is most certainly no Jewish holiday; yet its spooky mood is curiously congruent with the ambience that overcomes American synagogues this time of year.
Death of Moses, Alexandre Cabanel, 1851.
The Torah begins with a bang—the Big Bang, the creation of the universe. But it ends with a whimper, albeit a whimper concealed by a very loud noise of another kind. Let me explain.
Lieberman, Horowitz.
The High Holy Days are traditionally a time for introspection. Even the sturdiest soul must pause with trepidation over the more harrowing passages in the somber liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Who shall live, and who shall die?
Exodus 13:17–17:16
By David Hazony
The stories in this week's reading may seem disjointed, but in fact they form a single unit. A modern editor, looking for a groovy chapter title, might have called the collection, "Ancient Israel's Bipolar Moment." Or, even more flippantly, "Hands Up!"
Exodus 10:1–13:16
By Moshe Sokolow
Our parashah begins: "God said to Moses: 'Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order to place these signs of mine in his midst.'" Indeed, this motif of the hardened heart already appeared in last week's portion and recurs nearly a dozen times in the context of the ten plagues. The problem, however, is this: If Pharaoh and the Egyptians were denied free will in their dealings with Moses, how can their subsequent punishment be justified?
Exodus 6:2–9:35
By Michael Carasik
In last week's column, Moshe Sokolow pointed out that the name of the portion was Sh'mot, a word that itself means "names." He took that as an opportunity to mention some of the more interesting Jewish surnames and their meanings. I cannot resist adding my own favorite: Remba, an acronym taken from Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the schemes of the human mind."
Exodus 1:1–6:1
By Moshe Sokolow
"These are the names of the children of Israel": Despite having designated them by name during their lifetimes, [Scripture] enumerates them again, posthumously, to indicate how beloved they were. (Rashi 1:1)
While the traditional English title of Sh'mot is "Exodus," the word translates literally as "names." This presents us with the opportunity to explore the significance the Bible attaches to names, in general, and the meaning of one individual name, in particular.
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