Library Bibliography

Recorded July 6, 2017 on the Line of Fire broadcast. As human beings, we don’t like to admit that we are wrong, and we especially don’t like to admit that we are sinners. But we do like to feel special, important and valuable. Our human nature loves. Walking In The Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life. Zondervan, 2012. Hearing Our Rabbi’s Words With New Ears 1. Brushing Away the.

• Frank, Wollheim The Book of Jewish Books 1986 Bibliography

• BIOGRAPHY:
  • Alexy, Trudi The Mezuzah and the Madonna’s Foot 1993 Biography
  • Apte, Helen J. Heart of a Wife: Biography of a Southern Jewish Woman 1998 Biography
  • Conran, Paul An Orphan in History 1982 Biography
  • David, Jay Growing Up Jewish 1996 Biography
  • Dershowitz, Alan Chutzpah 1991 Biography
  • Ehrlich, Elizabeth Miriam’s Kitchen 1997 Biography/Cooking
  • Firestone, Rabbi Tirzal With Roots in Heaven 1998 Biography
  • Friedman, Maurice Martin Buber 1958 Biography
  • Gilbert, John Famous Jewish Lives 1970 Biography
  • Gordon, Haim The Other Martin Buber 1988 Biography
  • Gray, Martin For Those I loved 1971 Biography
  • Hoffman, Judy Joseph and Me in the Days of the Holocaust 1979 Biography
  • Levin, Michael Journey to Tradition: The Odessey of a Born Again Jew 1986 Biography
  • Omer, Devorah Rebirth: Biography of Elizer Ben-Yehuda 1972 Biography
  • Pearl, Chaim Rashi 1988 Biography
  • Schiffman, Lisa Generation J 1999 Biography
  • Sharansky, Natan Fear No Evil 1988 Biography
  • Sleter, Elinor and Robert Great Jewish Women 2001 Biography
  • Solomon, Hannah The Fabric of My Life 1974 Biography
  • Vermes, Paula Buber 1988 Biography
  • Weisgal, Deborah A Joyful Noise 1999 Biography
  • Yezierska, Anzia Bread Givers 1975 Biography
  • Young-Bruehl, Elizabeth Hannah Arendt 1982 Biography

• CHILDREN:
  • Abrahams, Robert The Sound of Bow Bells (David Salomons) 1962 Children’s biography
  • Adler, David A Picture Book of Hanukkah 1982 Children’s Holiday
  • Bahat, Dan Twenty Centuries of Jewish Life In the Holy Land 1975 Children’s History
  • Bamberger, Davis A Young Persons History of Israel 1985 Children’s History
  • Beiner, Stan Class Acts: Plays and Skits for Jewish Setting 1992 Children’s Education
  • Brinn, Ruth Lets Have a Party: Ideas for Holidays 1981 Children’s Holiday
  • Burns, Marylin The Hanukkah Book 1981 Children’s Holiday
  • Burstein, Chaya The Jewish Kid’s Catalog 1985 Children’s Jewish Life
  • Cerdarbaum, Davis and Braverman, Libbie Teach Me to Pray 1957 Children’s Prayer
  • Citron, Samual Dramatics the Year Round: Plays and Operettas 1956 Children’s Education
  • Coopersmith, Harry The New Jewish Song Book 1965 Children’s Education
  • Daniel, David The Jewish Beginning from Creation to Joshua 1971 Children’s History
  • Disney Winnie the Pooh and the Hanukkah Dreidel 1998 Children’s holiday
  • Drucker, Malka Grandma’s Latkes 1992 Children’s Holiday
  • Feinberg, Miriam and Rotenberg, Rena Lively Legends-Jewish Values 1993 Children’s Literature
  • Fine, Helen At Camp Keetov 1965 Children’s Literature
  • Freehof, Lilian Starlight Stories 1952 Children’s Literature
  • Gamoran, Mamie Hillel’s Calendar 1960 Children’s Biblical
  • Gamoran, Mamie Hillel’s Happy Holidays 1939 Children’s Holiday
  • Gildar, Carol My First Little Hanukkah Pop Up Book 1994 Children’s Holiday
  • Goldberg, Itche Yiddish Stories for Young People 1966 Children’s Literature
  • Hayward, Linda Noah’s Ark 1987 Children’s Biblical
  • Hollander, Betty Bible Stories for Little Children 1986 Children’s Biblical
  • Karp, Deborah Heroes of Modern Jewish thought Vol I and II 1966 Children’s History
  • Kimmelman, Leslie Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights 1992 Children’s Holiday
  • Kunin, Claudia My Hanukkah Alphabet 1993 Children’s Holiday
  • Kushner, Lawrence The Book of Miracles 1987 Children’s Biblical
  • Lurie, Rose The Great March 1950 Children’s History
  • Pessin, Deborah History of the Jews in America 1957 Children’s History
  • Phillips, Pheobe My Favorite Hanukkah Book with Cassette Tape 1998 Children’s Holiday
  • Rossel, Seymor Journey Thorough Jewish History1990 Children’s History
  • Rossel, Seymore When Jew Prays 1973 Children’s Service
  • Rosten, Norman The Wine Glass: A Passover story 1978 Children’s Holiday
  • Scharfstein, Ben Ami The Five Books of Moses 1944 Children’s Biblical
  • Shostak, Myra Rainbow Candles: A Chanuka Counting Book 1986 Children’s Holiday
  • Warshawsky, Gale Creative Puppetry for Jewish Kids 1985 Children’s education
  • Weilerstein, Sadie K’tonton’s Sukkot Adventure 1993 Children’s Holiday
  • Weilertstein, Sadie K’tonton’s Yom Kippur Kitten 1995 Children’s Holiday
  • Willson, Sarah The Rugrats Book of Chanukah 1997 Children’s Holiday
  • Peter and the Wolf in Hebrew 1979 Children’s Hebrew
  • Matzah Meals Children’s Cookbook
  • Jewish Child’s Activity Fun Book 1960 Children’s Education

• CRAFTS:
  • Aber, Ita The Art of Judaic Needlework 1979 Crafts
  • Temko, Florence Jewish Origami 1991 Crafts

• FAITH:
  • Ovakin, Marc-Alain Mysteries of the Kabbalah 2000 Faith

• FOLKLORE:
  • Ben-Amos, Dan and Mitz, Jeome In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov 1970 Folklore
  • Frank, Helena Yiddish Tales 1912 Folklore
  • Gaer, Joseph The Burning Bush 1929 Folklore
  • Gray, John Neareastern Mythology 1969 Folklore
  • Nahmad, H.M. A Portion in Paradise and Other Jewish Folktales 1970 Folklore
  • Patai, Raphael Gates to the City 1988 Folklore

• HASIDISM:
  • Eisenberg, Robert Boychicks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic Underground 1995 Hasidism
  • Fishkoff, Sue The Rabbi’s Army 2003 Hasidism
  • Landau, David Piety and Power: The World of Jewish Fundamentalism 1993 Hasidism

• HEBREW:
  • Anderson, Joseph Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way 1985 Hebrew
  • Bereshis/Godberg (trans) Linear Chumash 1987 Hebrew
  • Jofen, Jean Hebrew for Beginners 1975 Hebrew
  • Neusner, Jacob Learn Mishna 1978 Hebrew
  • Neusner, Jacob Learn Talmud 1979 Hebrew

• HISTORY:
  • Aron, Robert The God of the Beginnings 1966 Biblical History
  • Ausubel, Nathan Pictorial History of the Jewish People 1954 History
  • Ben-Sasson, HH A History of the Jewish People 1976 History
  • Brecher, Elinor Schindler’s Legacy 1994 History
  • Cahill, Thomas The Gifts of the Jews 1999 History
  • Ellison, Elaine Krasnow Voices from Marshall Street 1994 History
  • Engelmann, Bernt In Hitler’s Germany 1986 History
  • Fast, Howard The Jews: Story of a People 1968 History
  • Gilbert, Martin Jerusalem: Rebirth of A City 1985 History
  • Gilbert, Martin Jerusalem history Atlas 1977 History
  • Gilles, Anthony The People of the Book 1983 History
  • Gold, Michael Jews Without Money 1930/1999 History
  • Goldstein, Charles The Bunker 1970 History
  • Graziani and Haman Where There’s a Women 1967 History
  • Haffner, Sebastian The Meaning of Hitler 1979 History
  • Horowitz, Edward How the Hebrew Language Grew 1960 History
  • Jewish Museum of Frankfurt Collection Inventory History
  • Kantor, Mattis The Jewish Timeline Encyclopedia 1989 History
  • Kenyon, Kathleen Royal Cities of the Old Testament 1971 History
  • Lehman, Emil Israel: Ideal and Reality 1961 History
  • Libo, Kenneth and Irving Howe We Lived there Too; Pioneer Jews 1630-1939 1984 History
  • Neusner, Jacob From Politics to Piety The Emergence of Pharsaic Judaism 1973 History
  • Neusner, Jacob Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine 1987 History
  • Nicholson, Adam God’s Secretaries 2003 History
  • Niezabitowska, Malgorzata Remnants of the Last Jews in Poland 1986 History
  • Perelmuter, Hayim Siblings: Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity 1989 History
  • Pessin, Deborah The Jewish People books 1,2,3 1952 History
  • Sachar,Howard M. History of Israel 1979 History
  • Schapps, Morris A Documentary History of the Jews in the US: 1654-1875 1971 History
  • Shapira, Avraham The Seventh Day 1970 History
  • Silver, Hillel Where Judaism Differed 1987 History
  • Singer, Katie The Wholeness of a Broken Heart 1999 History
  • St. John, Robert Shalom Means Peace 1949 History
  • Steinsaltz, Adin Holocaust Denial 1993 History
  • Tamarin, Alfred Revolt in Judea: The Road to Masada 1968 History
  • Telushkin, Rabbi Joseph The Golden Land: The Story of Jewish Immigration to America 2002 History
  • Urofsky, Melvin American Zionism from Herzl to the Holocaust 1976 History
  • Holocaust Remembrance History
  • Israel 1965 History

• HOLIDAY:
  • Kolatch, Alfred A Family Seder 1991 Holiday
  • Solis-Cohen, Emily Hanukkah: A Feast of Lights 1960 Holiday Literature

• HOLOCAUST:
  • Gotfryd, Bernard Anton the Dove Fancier 1990 Holocaust
  • Grer, Mier Anne Frank Remembered 1987 Holocaust
  • Lipstadt, Deborah Denying the Holocaust 1994 Holocaust
  • Seger, Tom The Israelis and the Holocaust 1991 Holocaust
  • Sichrorsky, Peter Born Guilty 1988 Holocaust
  • Taylor, Kresmann Address Unknown 1995 Holocaust

• INTERFAITH EXCHANGE:
  • Neusner, Jacob A Rabbi Talks with Jesus 1993 Interfaith Exchange

• ISRAEL:
  • Bauer, Yehuda From Diplomacy to Resistance 1970 Israel
  • Gordis, Daniel If a Place Can Make You Cry 2002 Israel
  • Horovitz, David A Little Too Close to God 2000 Israel
  • Adler, Bill Israel: A Reader 1968 Israeli Lit

• JEWISH LAW:
  • Aruchm, Kitzur S. The Concise Code of Jewish Law 1977 Jewish Law, Ceremony
  • Lamm, Norman The Good Society: Jewish Ethics in Action 1974 Jewish Law
  • Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph B. Halakhic Man 1983 Jewish Law
  • Ephraim The Halakhah 1986 Jewish Law

• JEWISH LIFE:
  • Berkowitz, Rabbi Patti Embracing the Covenant: Converts talk about How and Why 1995 Jewish Life
  • Boorstein, Sylvia That’s Funny You Don’t Look Buddhist 1997 Jewish Life
  • Diamant, Anita Living a Jewish Life 1991 Jewish Life
  • Gillman, Neil Conservative Judaism in the New Centure 1993 Jewish Life
  • Goldin, Hyman The Jew and His Duties 1953 Jewish Life
  • Goldin, Judah The Jewish Expression 1970 Jewish Life
  • Gross, David the Jewish People’s Almanac 1988 Jewish Life
  • Hertzberg, Arthur Judaism 1962 Jewish Life
  • Jungk, Peter Shabbat: A Right of Passage in Jerusalem 1985 Jewish Life
  • Kolatch, Alfred Jewish Information Quiz Book 1980 Jewish Life
  • Kolatch, alfred The Jewish Home Advisor 1990 Jewish Life
  • Kozodoy, Ruth The Book of Jewish Holidays 1981 Jewish Life
  • Neusner., Jacob There We Sat Down 1972 Jewish Life
  • Prager, Dennis and Joseph Telushkin The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism 1975 Jewish Life
  • Scholem, Gershom Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 1974 Jewish Life
  • Silver, Rabbi Samuel A Treasury of Jewish Thoughts 1964 Jewish Life
  • Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph Reflections on the Rav 1981 Jewish Life
  • Steinsaltz Talmud I, II, III and reference guides 1989 Jewish Life
  • Steinsaltz, Adin Teshuva: Guide for the Newly Observant Jew 1982 Jewish Life
  • Straussfeld, Sharon and Michael The Jewish Catalog #2 1976 Jewish Life
  • Syme, Daniel The Jewish Home 1988 Jewish Life
  • Weber, Rabbi Douglas and Jessica The Jewish Baby Handbook 1990 Jewish Life
  • Wouk, Herman This is My God 1974 Jewish Life

• LITERATURE:
  • Bukilt, Melvin Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex 1999 literature, Short
  • Englander, Nathan For the Relief of Unbearable 1999 Literature, short
  • Eve, Nomi Family Orchard 2000 Literature
  • Goldstein, Rebecca Mazel 1995 Literature
  • Goodman, Allegra The Family Moskowitz 1997 Literature
  • Kranzler, Gershon Galuth Melodies 1965 Literature; Short
  • Mindel, Nissan The Storyteller 1981 Literature, Short
  • Mirvis, Tova The Ladies Auxillary: A Novel 1999 Literature
  • Potok, Chaim My Name is Asher Lev Literature
  • Potok, Chaim The Gift of Asher Lev Literature
  • Potok, Chaim In the Beginning Literature
  • Potok, Chaim Old Men at Midnight 2001 Literature
  • Ribner, Irving The Jew of Malta: A Criticism 1970 Literature
  • Schaeder, Grete The Hebrew Humanism of Martin Buber 1973 Lit/Biography
  • Schlink, Bernhard The Reader 1995 Literature
  • Siager, Isaac More Stories from My Fathers 1956 Literature
  • Siager, Isaac The Collected Stories 1983 Literature
  • The Jewish Woman: An Anthology 1973 Literature

• LITURGY:
  • Goldin, Judah The Living Talmud 1957 Liturgy
  • Goodspeed, Edgar The Apocrypha 1959 Liturgy

• PICTORIAL:
  • Aron, Bill From the Corners of the Earth Photos 1985 Pictorial
  • Ausubel, Nathan Pictorial History of the Jewish People Pictorial
  • Bravnavi, Eli A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People 1998 OS
  • Furman, Jacob Treasury of Jewish Art 1997 Art/OS
  • Grinberg, Itamar Israel from the Air 2002 Pictures
  • Lubevichar The Rebbe 1979 Pictorial
  • Mem, Michael The Illustrated Torah 2000 OS
  • Wigoder, Geoffrey The Story of the Synagogue 1986 Museum Book

• PHILOSOPHY:
  • Glatzer, Nahum Hillel the Elder 1959 Philosophy
  • Greenberg, Sydney Light From Jewish Lamps 1986 Philosophy
  • Heschel, Abraham God In Search of Man 1987 Philosophy
  • Minkin, Jacob The World of Moses Maimonides 1957 Philosophy
  • Rosen, Jonathon The Talmud and the Internet 2002 Philosophy

• POETRY:
  • Levy, Isaac The World Stood Silent: Sephardic Poetry of the Holocaust 1989 Poetry

• PRAYER:
  • Donin, Rabbi Hayim To Pray as Jew 1980 Prayer
  • Ephron, Benjamin Pathways Through the Prayer Book 1962 Prayer
  • Garfiel, Evelen Service of the Heart 1989 Prayer
  • Goldin, Judah The Wisdom of the Father: Talmud Commentary 1957 Prayer
  • Hertz, J.H. The Authorized Daily Prayerbook 1980? Prayer
  • Idelsohn, A.Z. Jewish Liturgy and Its Development 1995 Prayer
  • Mielziner, Moses Introduction to the Talmud 1969 Prayer
  • Pelcovitz, Rabbi Raphael Sforno: Commentary on the Torah 1989 Torah
  • Posner, Raphael Jewish Liturgy 1975 Prayer
  • Steinsaltz, Essential Talmud 1976 Prayer

• YIDDISH:
  • Kogos, Fred 1001 Yiddish Proverbs 1974 Yiddish
  • Roskies, David Against the Apocalypse 1984 Yiddish Literature

• ZIONISM:
  • Simon, Leon Selected Essays of Ahad Ha-‘Am 1970 Zionism

In this book, Jewish Prof. Neusner interacts with Christianity by imaginatively projecting himself to first century Palestine. The interactions are with the text of Matthew. He proposes the Torah as the shared “given” from which argument can proceed, and poses the question, would he have become a follower based on contemporaneous interaction with Jesus?

Summary

The chief division is between exposition of the law (through chap. 5) and the “main thing”: holiness. Within this structure, Neusner finds things to praise in Jesus’ teaching, such as the intensification of the 6th and 7th commandments to include anger and lust (e.g. p. 40). But two main strands of criticism soon become evident: the aim of Jesus’ teaching at the individual rather than the community of Israel (e.g. 45, 52, 54, 58, 69, 96, 130, 161); and directing the focus to himself, Jesus, rather than to Torah (e.g. 47, 65, 84, 100, 131). Thus, regarding the “he who loves father more than me,” Neusner sees a rejection of community (58) in favor of devotion to a single person. “Family destroyed… villages abandoned” (158). And in Jesus’ attitude to Sabbath, Neusner sees a rejection of something beautiful: the imitation of God acted out in community (74,75).

Both sides of the dual critique apply in the story of the rich young ruler. Neusner discovers a similar discussion in the rabbis, but there, the renunciation is for the sake of becoming wise in the Torah; here, it is to follow a person (Jesus), and Neusner cannot see conformity to Torah in this, the less so when coupled with the renunciation of community, implied by “sell all and follow.” Moreover, he objects to the demand for perfection: the Torah is more tolerant (92).

In opposing the Pharisees, Neusner grants Jesus validity in ranking love above washing hands. But the rites of cleanness have to do with Temple service, not ethics; and the Pharisees’ deepest intent was to extend Temple cleanness to all of life. The mutual criticism was thus at cross-purposes (139). Neusner sees a definitive contrast between themes of holiness and salvation, Torah favoring the former, Jesus the latter.

Evaluation

Neusner’s project is original and the goal is in principle promising. His descriptions of community and Sabbath-keeping have words of stinging beauty. But one senses a false dilemma—even his hypothetical Jesus hints at this in the dialogue on p. 153, and many Christians have seen the message of Jesus as relevant to an integrated life of family, farm, and village. Moreover, Neusner might have given a bit of consideration to the high view of the Sabbath held by the Scottish reformers, and by most American Christians until about 1970. Granted, he wants to stick to the text of Matthew; but the question is, has he correctly divined Jesus’ actual teaching on the question of Sabbath?

Neusner is attracted to the vividness of Jesus’ exposition of the Law, but he tends to reduce this to mere fence-building: “by seeking chastity in thought, I make a fence against adultery in deed” (40; cf. 70). Occasionally he notices that this is not so much building a fence, as drilling to the center (e.g. p. 54), but he doesn’t extrapolate. Examining the Jewish traditions in view of the Law as actually given by Moses would have made Jesus’ critique seem more plausible. Regarding Sabbath breaking, the rabbis discerned exactly 39 rubrics, including “making two loops, weaving two threads,..tying a knot.” R. Meir says, “None is accounted culpable because of any knot which can be untied with one hand.” But anyone can see immediately that the latter has nothing whatever to do with imitating God in Creation, in the “here and now,” or with building community. By ignoring this kind of citation in his extensive use of rabbinical sources, Neusner both poisons the well and misses the heart.

He says “the Torah tells me nothing about how the children of the Kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness” (129). But what about the conditionality of the covenant, as in Deut. 28? “Eternal Israel,” mentioned an uncountable number of times but never defined, neglects the notion of a remnant within the elect nation that can already be seen in the Torah. Most of the prophets were killed by people who were part of collective Israel. God’s permanent removal of the ten northern tribes—was that a “word for eternal Israel”? Whatever wonderful things can be said about community, it still analyzes into individual family units. Thus “choose ye… but as for me,” Josh 24:15. Moreover, not just the 4th and 5th commandments have “community” implications –- ask an aggrieved wife or an innocent man framed if the 7th and 9th don’t have a community aspect. The claim that calling individuals to reform is not “a torah for the people” (e.g. 51) is simply without warrant or coherence.

Criticizing Jesus for demanding “perfection” (92 ff.) ignores the word to Abraham: “I am Almighty God: walk before me, and be blameless”, Gen. 17:1. The dire strait Adam’s “minor” deviation left humanity in, should have clued Neusner into the divine demand of perfection. Neusner’s implication that Torah was given to Israel on account of her purity (131-132) turns a blind eye to the history of rebellious Israel as actually recorded in the Torah. The history of the sons of Jacob, and Jacob’s shrewd evaluation of them (Gen 49) gives the lie to such a notion. The last prophet locates the covenant in God’s character, not Israel’s: “For I am Jehovah, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal 3:6). As Rabbi Paul observed, “the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane…” (I Tim 1:9a). The Talmudist’s mistake is finally self-righteousness, a poison that leads finally to self-worship, even if sublimated into worship of his tribe.

Above all, the promised Seed that would crush the snake’s head (Gen 3:15) should have made him at least open to a Person, not eo ipso closed to it.

A Rabbi Talks With Jesus Summary

If the laws of sacrifice teach anything, it is that holiness, for sinners, presupposes salvation. How could these be set in contrast? Moreover — and this point brings us again to the anachronistic use of later rabbis –, no note is made that those writings were entirely post-Temple. Though Phariseeism is justified in terms of the Temple, it is as if the Temple finally is optional. Its glaring absence is simply not mentioned—is plastered over with the question-begging idea that “a merciful and forgiving God will do the rest” (92).

There is ambiguity and worse on account of his defining Torah variously as (a) the writings of Moses (19,21,22), (b) the entire OT (24), (c) to include the Mishnah, which is both “authoritative and canonical yet (?) “after the Torah” (38); yet (d) the Mishnah and the Talmuds “are regarded as part of the Torah” (102). If Jesus’ exposition was correct, then, at least, it should have been included in the subsequent tradition. To accept the negative of subsequent history and treat the negative as itself “part of the Torah” begs the question “was Jesus right in terms of the Torah?”, and thus violates the terms of the thought-experiment in an essential way.

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Jacob Neusner A Rabbi Talks With Jesus

Jacob Neusner. A Rabbi Talks With Jesus (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2000)