Bøger udgivet af Gefen Publishing House

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld remembers the Yom Kippur of his childhood surrounded by the mournful cries of his fellow worshippers, so it is not surprising that he grew up with an image of Yom Kippur as a purely solemn day. Yet his book emphasizes a different aspect of Yom Kippur, the most important holiday of the Jewish faith: it is not a day of mourning, but a day of celebrating. According to the Talmud, it is the happiest day of the Jewish year. This book explains why Yom Kippur is such a joyous day, and explores the implications of this approach to the holiday as it relates to our entire religious experience.

Dr Avraham Albert Ticho was a Viennese-trained ophthalmologist who immigrated to Ottoman-ruled Jerusalem in 1912. There he married his cousin, the artist Anna Ticho, and together they made their mark on the history of the Land of Israel. In Days of Ticho, the Tichos'' story is told in all its fascinating detail. Their personal history is presented against the backdrop of a variety of historical perspectives -- histories of medicine, art, civilian institutions, governments, and war; the struggles and growth of the Yishuv, the Jewish community in Palestine; and the conflicts that arose between Jews and their Arab neighbours. Among the stories in this book are Dr Ticho''s supervision of the first nurses in Palestine and the early years of Hadassah Hospital, as well as the near-fatal stabbing of Dr Ticho by an Arab would-be assassin in November 1929, during the murderous riots that took place throughout Palestine. Those riots were an important turning point in Jewish-Arab relations, the harbinger of problems that remain the focus of world attention until today. The Ticho House in Jerusalem was dedicated in May 1984 as a downtown annex of the Israel Museum, and it welcomes thousands of visitors every year. This book further contributes to the Tichos'' legacy while advancing an understanding of their times and ours.

Rabbi Eli Fishman began writing about his experiences in the Shoah over sixty years ago, soon after his liberation from Dachau. Mindful of the fact that his hometown of Rachov, Poland, was totally destroyed and that no Jew lived there since the expulsion of the towns Jews in October 1942, Rabbi Fishman felt that it was imperative to preserve a record of his hometown, a community that had contributed so much to the religious and social development of the Jews. In 1946, however, he felt he was too close to the tragic events of the time to evaluate the true dimensions and implications of the calamity. After the passage of more than half a century, Rabbi Fishman has resurrected the painful memories to soberly and dispassionately evaluate for history the barbaric acts that resulted in the near annihilation of the Jewish population of Europe. The story of Rabbi Fishman''s extraordinary tenacity and faith in the face of stark suffering while still in his teens will inspire the reader to value life as the most precious commodity, and to keep faith no matter how difficult the situation.

There is a missing page in Jewish history. We tend to assume that Jewish history is to be found in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the Americas - but not in the Far East. Pepper, Silk & Ivory has discovered that missing page, revealing the amazing stories of Jews who both benefitted from and contributed to the Far East.

The powerful stories in Living Beyond Terrorism are testimony to their inner strength and determination and inspire each of us as we meet the challenges in our lives.

This is the story of Jackie Semha, a young girl born in Tunisia to a loving family and community, yet one in which only boys are celebrated. Her journey from Tunisia, to France, Israel, Canada and finally the United States forces her to confront the disparity between the land of her birth and the land of her mature years. Her transition from a learning-handicapped tomboy sheltered in the womb of a loving community to a successful professional in a foreign land with an unfamiliar language and alien customs and values is heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. The words of her teacher, Madame Sabban: Si tu veux, tu peux If you want to succeed, you can succeed gave Jackie strength and inspired her to help others find the faith in themselves to achieve greatness. Jackie s story is brought to life through a collection of superbly written vignettes with the help of the writer Hillary S. Liber.

This gripping memoir tells the personal story of a man who has lived at the epicenter of the major events of modern Jewish history. From the ashes of Auschwitz to statehood and theingathering of the exiles, Rabbi Sholom Gold has lived through the most traumatic, tragic, and majestic period in the four-thousand-year saga of thr Jewish people.

This is the story of the fighting underground of the Jews of Kovno, Lithuania, in World War II. The authors, Zvie A. Brown and Dov Levin, were themselves members of the underground, and this well-researched book based on documentary material, verbal and written testimonies, memoirs of witnesses, is supplemented by the authors own accounts.

When veteran broadcaster Sara Manobla represented Israel at an international conference of journalists in Moscow in 1977, little did she realize that her contact with the Jews of the Soviet Union would become the start of her own voyage of self-discovery.

Judaism today is radically different from the Judaism described and mandated in the Torah, writes Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin, a noted authority on Jewish life, history and thought. Around the time of the destruction of the Temple, rabbinic reinterpretation changed both the observance and the religious significance attributed to the festivals. Thus, the biblical day of Passover on Nissan 14 was totally eliminated and the seven-day holiday called the Festival of Matzot, beginning Nissan 15, was renamed Passover. Likewise, the biblical holidays Yom Teruah and Yom Hakippurim were transformed into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The practice of building huts during Sukkot is likely more tied to the lack of lodging space in Jerusalem during the harvest festival than any biblical origin, says the rabbi.This book challenges some of the basic assumptions about Judaism, showing how many of them are nowhere to be found in the Hebrew Bible, and some even have their origins in pagan cultures. It will surprise readers to hear, for example, about bizarre wedding practices, the Queen of Sheba myths, or the fact that classical religious sources are not always right. At its core, , the book stridently challenges discriminatory practices against women, such as the seclusion of women during religious services and the problem of the aguna, women held in failed marriages by husbands who will not provide a religious divorce.. With topics spanning the range of religious practice, Mysteries of Judaism will astonish and enlighten readers as it reveals the complex relationship between biblical and rabbinic Judaism.

Ruth Abraham and Maria Nickel would never have met each other if it hadn't been for the Shoah. But when Hitler turned Germany into a cauldron of anti- Semitism, Maria Nickel decided that morality and ethics were more important than even life itself.This story of unbridled compassion made world headlines in May, 2000 in Berlin, Germany when Ruth, then 87 and recovering from heart bypass surgery, met her friend Maria, 90, for the last time.In 1942 Ruth, eight months pregnant, and on her way to certain death, was stopped by a German woman in a gray coat who offered her food, saying, Take this. It's the Christmas rations for Germans. I can't have Christmas with my family knowing that you are carrying a baby and don't have enough to eat. Their long and arduous journey together reached its climax when Maria and her husband gave their identity papers to Ruth and Walter and with it the precious gift of life.Reha Sokolow, the daughter of Ruth and Walter, tells the story of her parents' escape from death using the voice of both Maria and Ruth so that the reader begins to understand the many levels of fear, trepidation, and love that was an integral part of the lives of both the savior and the saved.

Original painter and set designer, throughout his career David Sharir has creatively combined painting and theater. Now the public can enjoy the artist s entire collection of interpretive paintings on the psalms, beautifully showcased in this stunning book. An intriguing blend of straightforward meaning and artistic exegesis, Sharir s paintings produce fascinating interpretations of the psalms poignant scenes.

Israel has won its wars, or at the very least, stopped its destruction by the opposing Arab armies. However, in another war, the war of words (i.e. hasbara), Israel is in serious trouble. No government of Israel has been able to handle hasbara properly, and that is the aim of this book. In a discussion between American President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Begin said that (The Hashemite Kingdom of) Jordan had been a part of the Palestine Mandate. Carter turned to his foreign policy advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski for corroboration, and Brzezinski confirmed Begin's statement. Additionally, Jordan presently has seventy-nine per cent of that mandate which stated that it was to become the Jewish homeland. Why isn't this point emphasized more? The Golan Heights, which the Syrians claim as theirs was also a part of the Palestine Mandate, but was given away to the then-French Mandate for Syria. British' Lord Carradon, the major drafter of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, has stated more than once that no one expects Israel to go back to the 1967 border, yet Carradon's name, and his statement never appear in Israeli hasbara efforts. The Fourth Geneva Convention, frequently alluded to as prohibiting Israeli settlement in areas captured in the Six Day War, has absolutely no applicability to this situation, yet nobody ever discusses that. King David purchased the Temple Mount as an everlasting possession of the Jewish people, and this is never mentioned.

My father's personality was shaped by his struggle to survive, and his soul was tortured because he could have tried to save his family, but he did not. But there were ways to avenge their deaths.

A story of sacrifice and heroism, Sane in Damascus tells the compelling and engaging tale of Amnon Sharon, an officer in the Israel Defense Forces who fell captive during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and was held in a Syrian prison for eight long months. In his book, Sharon details the brutal treatment and interrogations that he experienced in prison. Though Sharon was tortured, though he had no idea what was happening, he held strong through the power of prayer and faith. In his heart he believed that God could save him, that there would be some way out - he never gave up. And despite four months of solitary confinement during which the only human faces he saw were those of his torturers, he held onto sanity, living for the day when he could return to his pregnant wife and young son. The book Sane in Damascus is an unforgettable documentation of determination and willpower and the ultimate display of strength against a fearful enemy. This book is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to save the State of Israel in one of the most difficult periods in her history.

Seventh printing includes more gangsters! Newly footnoted and expanded bibliography! New FBI documents! More detailed information about the alleged plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler! Gangsters dealt with in this book include Louis Lepke Buchalter, Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, Arthur Dutch Schultz Flegenheimer, Meyer The Little Man Lansky, Chalie King Solomon, Max Boo Boo Hoff and Abner Longy Zwillman. Over 10,000 sold. Also available in Hebrew.

Through its professionalism, daring, and creativity, the Israeli Intelligence community has made important contributions to intelligence services around the world in the struggle against global terrorism. But how much is known about it? How does it work, and how was it built? Who were the leaders and driving forces of the community? What were the defining events in its history? What are its areas of activity what are the secrets of its success? Israel''s Silent Defender is the first book of its kind an inside look at the Israeli intelligence community over the last sixty years. It is a compilation of the writings of those officers who served and some who still do in the highest positions of the Israeli intelligence community.

This is an anthology of Another Tack columns which originally saw light in recent years on the weekend pages of the Jerusalem Post, where they have been a regular weekly feature since 1999. These columns have gained an extraordinarily popular following, with many readers turning to Another Tack before perusing the rest of the paper. Their basic concept is to truly follow another tack and approach current events from novel directions and uncommon points of view. Thereby Another Tack often flies hard in the face of the prevailing bon ton and debunks conventional wisdom, the diktats of opinion-molders and trendy groupthink. This is primarily achieved by contextualization, by placing controversies and issues in their historical contexts and refreshing the readers memories, encouraging them to consider what the tendentious media often prefers they sideline or forget outright. Another Tack s readers are never spoon fed; they are challenged. The contextual backdrop may include historical references, cultural, political, and even meanderings into the realms of the arts, folklore, religion, showbiz, humor, philosophy, psychology and much more. All sorts of unexpected allusions and anecdotes may crop up in Another Tack. The final product is laced with wit and irony, kowtowing to no one but invariably expressing deep love for the Jewish people.