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Lubavitcher Women in America offers a rare look at the world of Hasidic women activists since World War II. The revival of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in the second half of the twentieth century has baffled many assimilated American Jews, especially those Jewish feminists hostile to Orthodox interpretations of women's roles. This text gives voice to the lives of those Hasidic women who served the late Lubavitcher Rebbe as educators and outreach activists, and examines their often successful efforts to recruit other Jewish women to the Lubavitcher community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Central to this book is how Lubavitcher women have "talked back" to American feminist thought. Arguing that American feminism cannot liberate Jewish women—that a specifically Jewish spirituality is more appropriate and fulfilling—Lubavitcher women have helped to swell the ranks of their Rebbe's followers by aggressively promoting the appeal of traditional, structured Jewish observance. The book thus offers a unique look at female anti-feminist religious rhetoric, articulately presented by Jewish "fundamentalists."
In Esther in Diaspora, Tsaurayi Kudakwashe Mapfeka presents a new approach to the book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He argues that, whereas previous interpretations have emphasised an association with the Jewish festival of Purim, a theory-nuanced concept of diaspora offers the key for reading Esther. Alongside the relatively new approach of Diaspora Studies, the author makes use of the more traditional analogical reasoning, seeing parallels between the community behind Esther and the Zimbabwean diaspora community in the United Kingdom, of which he is a member. The two-fold methodological application results in an innovative and stimulating reading of the book. Overall, the book reflects a deep awareness not only of issues surrounding Esther but of the broader fields of the study of the Bible and of the ancient Near East.
Nearly decimated in the Holocaust and repressed in the Soviet Union, Hasidism has experienced an extraordinary revival. Hasidic communities, now settled primarily in North America and Israel, have reversed the losses they suffered and are growing exponentially. With powerful attachments to the past, mysticism, community, tradition, and charismatic leadership, Hasidism seems the opposite of contemporary Western culture, yet it has thrived in the democratic countries and culture of the West. How? Who Will Lead Us? reveals the answers in the fascinating story of five contemporary Hasidic dynasties and their handling of the delicate issue of leadership and succession. Revolving around the central figure of the rebbe, the book explores two dynasties with too few successors, two with too many successors, and one that believes their last rebbe continues to lead them even after his death. Samuel C. Heilman, recognized as a foremost expert on modern Jewish Orthodoxy, here provides outsiders with the essential guide to continuity in the Hasidic world.
Tests, rules, team tryouts, dating, injuries, illnesses, bullies—stress is with young adults every day. This highly readable book looks at the causes and consequences of stress, covering topics such as the health effects of stress, stresses specifically faced by teens, and practical advice on how to manage stress.
Digital Diversities is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary study of the social, social-psychological, philosophical and political ramifications of the ‘digital turn’ in human affairs. Focusing, in particular, on connections between the saturation of everyday life by digital communication technologies and 21st century global mobility, it offers fresh and original accounts of the interface between online communication practices and the negotiation of increasingly complex social experience. It provides critical studies of, among other things, the consequences of the widespread shift to remote rather than embodied relationships, the day-to-day management of intercultural encounters in unprece...
Tangled, by Gitty Gold, presents a fascinatingly fresh and unconventional glimpse at the orthodox life in ultra-orthodox Bnei Brak, Israel. With four siblings over twenty unmarried, including himself, the protagonist, Gavriel, becomes a successful matchmaker, a sure winner for good reading. There is much humor, insight, philosophy on life and people in a book with lots of interesting surprises which include a trip to the salt mines of Romania, a Nazi criminal hunt, a well kept family secret and many other unexpected tangled strands of a yarn to lead the reader on and on to a satisfying ending. Other Books by Gitty Gold Hints from Paris A Peek Into My Life A Strong Opinion A Family Like This To My Daughters, With Love Tangled (English Version)
If, as John Rawls famously suggests, justice is the first virtue of social institutions, how are we to understand the institution of contract law? This book proposes a Rawlsian theory of contract law. It argues that justice requires that we understand contract rules in terms of the idea of reasonable, terms of interaction – that is, terms that would be accepted by reasonable persons moved by a desire for a social world in which they, as free and equal, can cooperate with others on terms they accept. On that basis, the book explains the main doctrines of contract law, including those governing third parties, in both the Common Law and the Civil Law.