[ha-Safran]: June Newsletter from Jerusalem Books
Dear Friends, We are pleased to announce that the Lieberman Institute has published the latest, (second) volume of the Talmud HaIgud, on tractate Shabbat, by Dr. Stephen Wald. This is another in the new, landmark series in Talmud scholarship. This volume displays the critical and scientific approach to Talmud scholarship which has been the hallmark of the Lieberman Institute as developed and perfected by Prof. Shama Friedman. The analysis employed by Dr. Wald goes far beyond the traditional analysis of the sugiyot and kushiyot, issues and difficulties, both textual and logical. Rather a comparison to Mishna, Mesorot, Aggada, Tosefta and Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi reveals the core and origins of many talmudic principles. The analysis of the debates and disputes of the Talmud, particularly on such an important subject as Sabbath and the prohibition against works on the Sabbath teaches much about rabbinic, tanaitic and amoraic thinking, about logical principles in Jewish Law including comparisons of different infractions against halakha and different circumstances and culpabilities. Equally important is the systematic analysis which reveals much about what are rabbinic prohibitions, (de rabbanan) and what are forbidden by the Torah, ( Av Melakhot), (De oraita). The work naturally includes copious footnotes and cites and also a significant English language abstract of 35 pages. We, at Jerusalem Books ltd., highly recommend this work for any library or scholar of Jewish Studies, Thought or Talmud. Cat. #63791 $ 39.00 Modern Israeli Hebrew Literature is naturally, a beloved and important field for all of us at Jerusalem Books ltd. It is not only the growth and flowering of the Hebrew Language it is also a window and stage for Jewish and Israeli society, culture and politics in modern times. As if this were not enough, we find the history of Jews and Jewish communities on all (the inhabited) continents over past years and centuries and ultimately much world history as well. Ilan Sheinfeld has published his latest novel entitled, Maase Be-Tabaat, A Tale of a Ring, which chronicles the lives of Jewish prostitutes and pimps in ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags /Argentina from 1870 1930. The masterful tale, published by Keter will be a noted part of many modern Hebrew collections. Isbn 965 07 1530 4, Cat. # 63689 $ 24.00 Recently, Kinneret published a novel by Gavriella Avigur Rotem, entitled, Adom Atik, as in an old red wine. The book, which has historical components reflected in characters and events in mandatory Palestine but is as well a rich depiction of human and family relationships. An interesting detail is that the author was born in Argentina in 1946 and immigrated to Israel in 1950. Cat. #63792 $ 27.00 Sifriat Poalim (Hakibutz Ha-Meuhad) has re-released, Mikhtavim Me-Nisiya Medume, Letters From an Imaginary Journey, by Lea Goldberg. The book was originally published in 1937. Isbn 965-0300-02-01. Cat. # 63137 $22.50 Lastly, for now, since we want to be as nearly perfect as we can we must mention, Hayim Shelamin, An Entire Life, by Aharon Appelfeld. Published by Keter, 2007, ISBN 965 07 1522 3.Cat. # 63165 $ 26.00 All of us at Jerusalem Books ltd. wish you a pleasant summer and thank you for your interest and efforts. Sincerely, Jeff Spitzer I look forward to seeing all of you at the upcoming AJL in Phoenix or here in Jerusalem whenever you can come. Sincerely, Jeff Jerusalem Books, pob 26190 Jerusalem 91261, Israel http://www.jerusalembooks.co.ilwww.jerusalembooks.co.il tel/fax 972-2-643-3580 Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
Perhaps this book review will be of interest.
Grains of Sand: A Novel by 16-Year-old Gush Katif Historian by Hillel Fendel Arutz-7 Book Review: A new historical novel, written in English by an Israeli teenager who was there, vividly awakens dormant memories of the expulsion of 2005. The nearly 2,000 families of Gush Katif were what Israelis call the salt of the earth - unpretentious, pioneering, and connected-to-the-Land Jews. They built Jewish towns where none had stood before, they brought forth vegetables and flowers from previously barren and sterile sandy earth, and raised their children on the Jewish values that govern meaningful and productive lives. Most of this came to an end in August 2005. Black-uniformed Israeli soldiers marched in and scooped up men, women and children from their homes, deposited them in buses, and declared their houses 'clean' - so that bulldozers standing by could fell them, one by one, to the ground. The buses did not take the dazed patriots to anywhere specific; the unwitting passengers merely knew that they were being taken away - away from their homes, from their communities, from their lives. What type of people were they? How did they live? What did they think before the catastrophe befell them, and how did they react as it began to take shape? Children are the best observers; children who have grown into youths and are aware of what they are observing, and are able to put what they see into sentences and paragraphs, are better yet. Sixteen-year-old Shifra Shomron - formerly of N'vei Dekalim, now of Nitzan, just north of Ashkelon - has done it. Having lived through the months leading up to the Disengagement of 2005, having experienced the highs and lows of strong faith, intense hope, energizing public action, and bitter disappointment, she was still able throughout to retain a sense of perspective - the fruits of which she has produced in the form of a book, Grains of Sand. In fact, Grains of Sand is the only English book about Gush Katif written as a first-hand account by someone who lived in and was expelled from Gush Katif. It is a gripping, moving story that brings the reader right back to the months and weeks and days leading up to the tragic expulsion - and into the salon of a family living through it. Terrorism Before Disengagement Of Grains of Sand's three parts, the first shows Gush Katif's largest town N'vei Dekalim in its 'Golden Era' before Arab terrorism even began - followed by a section on how the family deals with the day-to-day terrorism of mortar shelling and roadside attacks. This period was an intense and difficult time during which many residents were murdered - and many others miraculously survived. Other books have been published chronicling the many miracles experienced by Gush Katif residents during this time; readers can only imagine the fears and agitation suffered by those who never knew whether they would be targeted next. The third part of Grains of Sand, the most transfixing and emotional of all, leads up to and includes the actual expulsion itself. Grains of Sand alternates between a narrative of events from the standpoint of Efrat Yefet, a young girl in a religious high school, and entries in her own diary. The main characters in her life are her parents and her younger brother - who, like the narrator, is sometimes fiercely idealistic, and sometimes downright resentful of having to share his personal struggle with strangers who have come to help. Efrat's father is a kashrut inspector for one of Gush Katif's many thriving vegetable greenhouses. The painful process of having to decide whether to plan for a future in Gush Katif or without Gush Katif ended with him on the latter side. I don't want my family to end up in a tent or in a hotel for G-d knows how long, he tells his children with a twinge, explaining why he has agreed to look into the pre-fab homes the government is offering in Nitzan. I'd have failed as head of the family. Efrat, the book's heroine, tends to agree. Reacting to those who see entertaining the possibility that G-d might allow the expulsion to happen as a lack of faith, Efrat rails out, But why should G-d stop it? If we are stupid and sinful enough to dream up such a plan and seek to carry it out, then why shouldn't G-d punish us by letting such a plan happen? ... I don't agree at all with what they think! Her brother Yair is somewhat more optimistic: Sure I realize that it can happen, he told his father. I see how the army is preparing and how the army is egging it on. But I'm hopeful that road-blockings, or soldiers refusing orders, or people coming to Gush Katif, or some combination of the above and others will prevent it from happening. When his father says, As long as you realize that it can happen. I don't want you to be all shocked and broken up if it does happen, Yair responds that if it occurs, we will all be shocked and broken up - even you, who expects it to happen. The
