Joshua Trachtenberg

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

New York

A Study in Folk Religion

2013 Reprint of 1939 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In the background of what has become known as ceremonial magic is medieval Jewish magic. In turn this was based on the Kabbalah, the Jewish traditions known as Haggadah, and other esoteric beliefs. This is a comprehensive review of Jewish magic from the 10th to the 15th century, including a rich lode of folklore. Many well-known Jewish traditions are explained, such as why a glass is broken at a wedding, and how the expression mazel tov is related to a belief in Astrology. Trachtenberg deals extensively with Golems, Succubi, the Lillim, (from Lilith--Adam's first wife), and other magical creatures, some well known such as werewolves, and others not so well, such as estrie, mare and broxa. There are detailed descriptions of talismans, amulets, charms, and other curious magical objects. There are chapters dealing with dream interpretation, medical beliefs, necromancy, and other forms of divination. There is also a short glossary, so if you are having trouble telling the difference between a Kaddish and a Kiddush, you're in luck. The author, Joshua Trachtenberg (b. 1904, d. 1959) was a reform rabbi on the east coast of the US. This is an elaboration of his Columbia University Ph.D. thesis. Trachtenberg's appreciation of the role of folk-magic in Jewish culture is important for the study of Judaism, and also the roots of modern Pagan beliefs and practices.

Jewish Magic and Superstition

dcaf68f6-0150-42e6-8eeb-3b029d7569ff-1

Zoe Klein

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Washington

Powerful and suspenseful, Zoë Klein's unforgettable debut novel is a richly evocative and boundless love story that reverberates from biblical times to the modern world.Brilliant archaeologist Page Brookstone is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remnants she has unearthed during her twelve years of toiling at Israel's storied battlegrounds of Megiddo has delivered the life-altering message she so craves. Which is why the story of Ibrahim and Aisha Barakat, a young Arab couple who implore Page to excavate the grounds beneath their house in Anatot, instantly intrigues her.The Barakats claim the ghosts of two lovers haunt their home, overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire. Ignoring the scorn of her peers, Page investigates the site, where she is seduced by an undeniable force. Once Ibrahim presents Page with hard evidence of a cistern beneath his living room, she has no choice but to uncover the secret of the spirits.It is not long before Page makes miraculous discoveries -- the bones of the deeply troubled prophet Jeremiah locked in an eternal embrace with a mysterious woman named Anatiya. Buried with the entwined skeletons is a collection of Anatiya's scrolls, whose mystical words challenge centuries-old interpretations of the prophet's story and create a worldwide fervor that threatens to silence the truth about the lovers forever.Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under constant siege from religious zealots and ruthless critics, Page risks her life and professional reputation to deliver Anatiya's passionate message to the world. In doing so, she discovers that to preserve her future in the land of the living, she must shake off the dust of the dead and let go of her own painful past. As poignant and thought-provoking as the beloved bestsellersThe Red TentandPeople of the Book, Zoë Klein's historically rich debut novel is a lyrical and unexpected journey that will stay with readers forever.

Drawing in the Dust

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Christopher De Vinck

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

North Carolina

A WW2 Historical Fiction Inspired by True Events. a Story of Friendship, War and Courage

A heart-wrenching tale of friendship, war and courage.

Ashes

ae9227c2-1a97-464e-9b81-4e3fa1e12dd7-0

#paperback #nonfiction #unorthodox #jewish 

The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

Traces the author's upbringing in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn, describing the strict rules that governed her life, arranged marriage at the age of seventeen, and the birth of her son, which led to her plan to leave and forge her own path in life.

Unorthodox

a78883f0-eada-4ecf-b8ca-5d120aa6d9ed-1

Lola M. Schaefer

Simple text and photographs describe the history of Hanukkah and how it is celebrated.

Hanukkah

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Oscar Israelowitz

New Jersey

Western Europe

Guide to Jewish Europe

07e15ebc-c1f0-4d4b-8140-8945048f88a6-1

Amy Bloom

First edition. Deckled edges. This is an ex library book. The pages are in good condition - no tears or weird smells, but there is a mylar cover and some stickers.

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Georgia

Arriving in America alone after her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom, Lillian Leyb receives word that her daughter Sophie might still be alive and embarks on a risky odyssey that takes her from New York's Lower East Side to Seattle's Jazz District, Alaska, and along the Telegraph Trail toward Siberia to find the missing girl. By the author of Come to Me. 75,000 first printing.

Away

0cb418b8-7e31-45a6-bff1-add7f8480c18-1

Pennsylvania

A Novel

The New York Times bestseller with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite—We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds. “Love in the face of global adversity? It couldn't be more timely.” —Glamour It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety. As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere. An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.

We Were the Lucky Ones

bee82386-cd4f-4aab-b219-8db563569ccf-1

Margaret Leroy

When 17-year-old Stella Whittaker is offered the chance to study at the Academy of Music in Vienna it's a dream come true, made possible by old family friends, Rainer and Marthe Kraus, who offer her a place to live. Seduced by the elegant beauty of the city, Stella explores the magnificent palaces, gardens and fashionable coffee houses, and after a chance meeting in an art gallery, falls in love with Harri Reznik, a young Jewish doctor. But as the threat of war casts a dark shadow over Europe, Stella soon discovers that both the household where she lives, and the city she has come to call home, are not as welcoming as they once seemed.

The English Girl

f0b132b2-3605-4229-9742-a5c658bc36ef-0

Elie Wiesel

Marion Wiesel

Texas

The narrative of a boy who lived through Auschwitz and Buchenwald provides a short and terrible indictment of modern humanity.

Night

d67e18c9-463c-481e-aba0-b674360b002d-1

This book has some small side notes on the side 

Minor creasing on front/back covers near spine and on edges from being on a crammed shelf. Excellent condition otherwise. #paperback #romance #jewish #fiction #romcom #contemporary #cooking #family 

California

A chef's journey to success leads to discovering the perfect recipe for love in this delicious romantic comedy. Sadie is a rising star in the trendy Seattle restaurant scene. Her dream is to create unique, modern, and mouthwatering takes on traditional Jewish recipes. But after a public breakup with her boss, a famous chef, she is sure her career is over-until she lands a coveted spot on the next season of her favorite TV show, Chef Supreme. On the plane to New York, Sadie has sizzling chemistry with her seatmate, Luke, but tells him that she won't be able to contact him for the next six weeks. They prolong their time together with a spontaneous, magical dinner before parting ways. Or so she thinks. When she turns up to set the next day, she makes a shocking discovery about who Luke is.... If Sadie wants to save her career by winning Chef Supreme, she's going to have to ignore the simmering heat between Luke and her. But how long can she do that before the pot boils over?

Sadie on a Plate

bf6577c9-ba96-41c0-916b-9a41efba88ab-1

Henry Roth

A Star Shines over Mt. Morris Park

Mercy of a Rude Streammarks the astonishing return of Henry Roth, sixty years after the publication of his classic novelCall it Sleep. A book of time, memory, and desire, this new novel is set in the New York of World War I: a colorful vibrant, carelessly brutal city where an immigrant boy, Ira Stigmanm is coming of age. Like Joyce's Stephen Dedalus, Ira begins to discover the genius and the burden of his imagination, as he takes his first tentative steps toward adulthood.

A contempoary of the great modernist writers, Roth is being rediscovered by a new generation of readers.


Mercy of a Rude Stream

2795bdd0-ba47-436e-8d62-0e1d89ef052a-1

Virginia

Ted Falcon

David Blatner

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Your plain-English guide to Judaism Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, Judaism For Dummies explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice. In this warm and welcoming book, you'll find coverage of: Orthodox Jews and breakaway denominations; Judaism as a daily practice; the food and fabric of Judaism; Jewish wedding ceremonies; celebrations and holy days; 4,000 years of pain, sadness, triumph, and joy; great Jewish thinkers and historical celebrities; and much more. Updates to the "recent history" section with discussions of what has happened in the first decade of the twenty-first century including: the expansion of orthodox political power in Israel; expansion of interfaith work; unfortunate recent anti-Semitic events; and other news Expanded coverage of Jewish mysticism and meditation, which has become increasingly popular in recent years New coverage on Jewish views of morality, including birth control, homosexuality, and environmental concerns Revised recipes for traditional Jewish cooking, updated key vocabulary, and Yiddish phrases everyone should know Jews have long spread out to the corners of the world, so there are significant Jewish communities on many continents. Judaism For Dummies offers a glimpse into the rituals, ideas, and terms that are woven into the history and everyday lives of Jewish people as near as our own neighborhoods and as far-reaching as across the world. P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, youre probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Judaism For Dummies (9781118407516). The book you see here shouldnt be considered a new or updated product. But if youre in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. Were always writing about new topics!

Judaism for Dummies

306b4b35-2d9f-4d95-b553-159eb1040832-1

Ilana Shamir

Shlomo Shavit

Only a bit of wear on the dust jacket.
Vintage history book, published 1987. Such a great collector’s item!

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Colorado

The Young Readers' Encyclopedia of Jewish History

e90696ed-3315-4402-8f89-dc9c4a016ee6-1

Michael Chabon

For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. Proud, grateful, and longing to be American, the Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant, gritty, soulful, and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. For sixty years they have been left alone, neglected and half-forgotten in a backwater of history. Now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end: once again the tides of history threaten to sweep them up and carry them off into the unknown. But homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. He and his half-Tlingit partner, Berko Shemets, can't catch a break in any of their outstanding cases. Landsman's new supervisor is the love of his life—and also his worst nightmare. And in the cheap hotel where he has washed up, someone has just committed a murder—right under Landsman's nose. Out of habit, obligation, and a mysterious sense that it somehow offers him a shot at redeeming himself, Landsman begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy. But when word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, Landsman soon finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, hopefulness, evil, and salvation that are his heritage—and with the unfinished business of his marriage to Bina Gelbfish, the one person who understands his darkest fears. At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, an homage to 1940s noir, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a novel only Michael Chabon could have written.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

6904af67-d213-4492-85f6-709fb9f717f5-1

#paperback #fiction #debut #funny #orthodox #jewish 

Utah

Follows the uneasy movement of Batsheva--a newly widowed convert to the Jewish faith--as she and her five-year-old daughter, Ayala, unwittingly stir up trouble in the community.

The Ladies Auxiliary

48c4c3a6-9eea-466b-a127-4ad7eab0c5a6-1

Louisiana

Dara Horn

Unread and Annotation free. Smoke-free, cat-friendly home. 

Ohio

While consulting at an Egyptian library, software prodigy Josie Ashkenazi is kidnapped and her talent for preserving memories becomes her only means of escape as the power of her ingenious work is revealed, while at home, her jealous sister Judith takes over her life at home.

A Guide for the Perplexed

2b992907-33ae-4be6-8388-0d83ea625486-1

Sixty Years of Letters from the Lower East Side to the Jewish Daily Forward

For more than eighty years the Jewish Daily Forward's legendary advice column, "A Bintel Brief" ("a bundle of letters") dispensed shrewd, practical, and fair-minded advice to its readers. Created in 1906 to help bewildered Eastern European immigrants learn about their new country, the column also gave them a forum for seeking advice and support in the face of problems ranging from wrenching spiritual dilemmas to petty family squabbles to the sometimes hilarious predicaments that result when Old World meets New. Isaac Metzker's beloved selection of these letters and responses has become for today's readers a remarkable oral record not only of the varied problems of Jewish immigrant life in America but also of the catastrophic events of the first half of our century.

Foreword and Notes by Harry Golden

A Bintel Brief

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Absolutely loved this book! It brings to light events that a lot of people don’t know about especially with the French side of the holocaust! 

Alabama

On the anniversary of the roundup of Jews by the French police in Paris, Julia is asked to write an article on this dark episode and embarks on an investigation that leads her to long-hidden family secrets and to the ordeal of Sarah.

Sarah's Key

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#paperback #jewish #crime #detective #fiction

An Anthology of Jewish Mystery and Detective Fiction

Thirteen stories with Jewish themes span the spectrum of the American Jewish experience, from secular to orthodox

Browse by categories

Save this search

Joshua Trachtenberg

Jewish Magic and Superstition

Zoe Klein

Drawing in the Dust

Christopher De Vinck

Ashes

Deborah Feldman

Unorthodox

Lola M. Schaefer

Hanukkah

Oscar Israelowitz

Guide to Jewish Europe

Amy Bloom

Away

Georgia Hunter

We Were the Lucky Ones

Margaret Leroy

The English Girl

Elie Wiesel; Marion Wiesel

Night

Elie Wiesel; Marion Wiesel

Night

Amanda Elliot

Sadie on a Plate

Henry Roth

Mercy of a Rude Stream

Elie Wiesel (Preface by); Marion Wiesel (Translator)

Night

Ted Falcon; David Blatner

Judaism for Dummies

Ilana Shamir; Shlomo Shavit

The Young Readers' Encyclopedia of Jewish History

Michael Chabon

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Tova Mirvis

The Ladies Auxiliary

Elie Wiesel; Marion Wiesel

Night

Dara Horn

A Guide for the Perplexed

Isaac Metzker

A Bintel Brief

Elie Wiesel; Marion Wiesel

Night

Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah's Key

Mystery Midrash