SHULA JACOBS,
NEW and BRILLIANT Upload!Originally published in The Jewish Gazette, 11 August 1972. We read in this week’s sidra of a special functionary called by the rabbis mashuach milchamah, ‘the one anointed for battle’. The duty of this high dignitary was to address the soldiers ... Continue Reading ➨
Hermann Cohen, ‘Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism. By Hermann Cohen, translated by Simon Kaplan. Introduction by Leo Strauss. Frederick Ungar. New York. 1972. $15. The Jacket blurb of this book ... Continue Reading ➨
Anthony Gibbs, ‘Oh My God, Is That You?’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 21 July 1972. Oh My God, Is That You? By Anthony Gibbs. Allan Wingate. London, 1972. £1.75. This book, expensive for its size (102 pages together with a few photographs) defines faith as “an ... Continue Reading ➨
Clifford Rhodes, ‘The Necessity for Love: The History of Interpersonal Relations’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. The Necessity for Love: The History of Interpersonal Relations. By Clifford Rhodes, Constable, London. £3.25. Somebody once said that most of the words in English for the really important things are ... Continue Reading ➨
Korach – A Man of Straw
Originally published in The Jewish Gazette, 16 June 1972. The dramatic story of Korah’s rebellion against Moses begins with the words ‘And Korah took’. But the verb ‘took’ has no object. What did he take? Some English versions supply ‘men’ as ... Continue Reading ➨
‘Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Today’s English Version’, Fontana Books
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 16 June 1972. Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Today's English Version, Fontana Books, Collins, 1972, 20p. To have the Psalms in modern English is not to everyone's taste but those who are attracted ... Continue Reading ➨
Jacques Monod, ‘Chance and Necessity’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 16 June 1972, p. 16. Chance and Necessity. By Jacques Monod. Collins. £1.75. This book, published in French in 1970 and now in an English translation, is the work of a Nobel Prizewinner whose field ... Continue Reading ➨
Women in Synagogues
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 9 June 1972, p. 22. The news that the Chief Rabbi had apparently given his unqualified approval to women serving on the boards of management of synagogues must have been received with acclaim in many ... Continue Reading ➨
Ronald S. Clements, ‘Exodus: Commentary’; Carlo Suares, ‘The Song of Songs: The Canonical Song of Solomon Deciphered According to the Original Code of the Qabala’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. Exodus: Commentary. By Ronald S. Clements. Cambridge University Press, 1973. £2.20. The Song of Songs: The Canonical Song of Solomon Deciphered According to the Original Code of the Qabala. By Carlo ... Continue Reading ➨
Isadore Twersky, A Maimonides Reader
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. A Maimonides Reader. By Isadore Twersky, Behrman House, N.Y. $12.50. People who try to read Maimonides’ “Guide for the Perplexed” in order to discover answers to their own religious difficulties ... Continue Reading ➨
El-Am Talmud, Bava Metzi’a (III Hammaphqid), ed. Rabbi Dr A. Ehrman
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 14 July 1972. The Talmud, Bava Mezi’a (III Hammaphqid), El-Am-Hotza’a Leor Israel, Jerusalem—Tel Aviv, 1969. The El-Am translations and commentaries have justifiably become famous as the best ... Continue Reading ➨
Robert Gordis, ‘The Biblical Text in the Making’; Jacob Needleman, ‘The New Religions’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. The Biblical Text in the Making: A Study of the Kethib-Qere. Augmented Edition with a Prolegomenon by Robert Gordis. Ktav, 1971. The New Religions. By Jacob Needleman. Allen Lane. The Penguin Press. ... Continue Reading ➨
Whitall N. Perry, ‘A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 14 April 1972. A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom. By Whitall N. Perry. George Allen & Unwin. London, 1971. £7.50. The “wisdom” referred to is that of the Philosophia Perennis and the book ... Continue Reading ➨
What’s in it for me? – Shabbat Hagadol
Originally published in The Jewish Gazette, 24 March 1972. “You have said: ‘It is useless to serve God: what do we gain from the Lord of Hosts by observing His rules and behaving with deference?’” (Malachai 4: 14) In the Haftarah for Shabbat ... Continue Reading ➨
Harry Guntrip, ‘Psychology for Ministers and Social Workers’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. Psychology for Ministers and Social Workers. Third edition, fully revised and brought up to date. By Harry Guntrip. Allen & Unwin. £3.25. The author of this interesting book is a psychotherapist ... Continue Reading ➨
Solomon B. Freehof, ‘Modern Reform Responsa’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 4 February 1972. Modern Reform Responsa. By Solomon B. Freehof, Hebrew Union College Press, 1971. $7.50. Rabbi Freehof has not only pioneered the study of the Responsa (in his The Responsa ... Continue Reading ➨
Chaim Raphael, ‘A Feast of History: The drama of Passover through the ages’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 3 March 1972. A Feast of History: The drama of Passover through the ages with a new translation of the Haggadah for use at the Seder. By Chaim Raphael. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1972. £4. It ... Continue Reading ➨
Freedom in Hebrew accent
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 24 March 1972. After the defeat of Nazism and the world’s realisation of the horrors of this obscene philosophy, decent men and women everywhere had come to believe that antisemitism would never again ... Continue Reading ➨
Bo – The Jewish Heart
Originally published in the Jewish Gazette, 21 January 1972. The sidra begins with the reference to the hardening of Pharoah’s heart. The theological difficulties in God hardening a man’s heart have often been discussed but need not concern us ... Continue Reading ➨
Reflection on the Affair in the Jewish Telegraph, 1980
Originally published in the Jewish Telegraph, 5 September 1980. Aubrey Rosen examines the split which rocked Anglo-Jewry 20 years ago. It is about twenty years ago that Louis Jacobs all but succeeded in splitting the Anglo-Jewish community over his ... Continue Reading ➨