Jewish humor--it's the gold star standard.

Let's face it, some comedy is unequivocally, unabashedly, hysterically, and uniquely Jewish. Award-winning author Marnie Winston-Macauley has created a collection of some of the best Jewish jokes and anecdotes.

The Joy of Jewish Humor 2013 Day-to-Day Calendar includes topics such as Don't Ask!, "Murphosky's" Laws, and WouldJew Believe, along with contributions from other outstanding Jewish writers and comedians.

Jewish Igbo scholar Remy Ilona presents and analyzes Judaic practices and concept within the Igbo culture of Nigeria.

The Igbos and Israel: An Inter-cultural Study of the Oldest and Largest Jewish Diaspora, is essentially a compilation of Igbo cultural practices. A comparison of Igbo culture with Jewish culture, and somehow a commentary on the Tanach (Hebrew Bible), undertaken from an Igbo perspective.

During this time of year, when we examine ourselves for the purpose of improving our character, can there be anything more helpful to that end than the Psalms of David whose 150 psalms--besides the praises of, and petitions to, God--contain tremendous wisdom, inspiration, and guidance. But in the past, the lack of a road map kept that treasure hidden. Now however, in the recently released A Guide to the Psalms of David by Steven Rosner, the first ever detailed Taxonomy classifies each and every psalm into the meaningful categories of theme, purpose, mood, and for whom intended, so you can find the right psalm easily, whether as an individual for comfort, inspiration, prayer or to affirm your faith, as a scholar for research purposes, or as clergy for a prayer service and/or a sermon,

As important, its modern English translation (with each psalm beginning on a new page and centered for readability) is geared to engage one's heart--so as to be a resource for an individual who is suffering and/or directionless, helping one find solace, gain wisdom, receive a new awareness and/or be transformed. And with a biography of David and a chapter that describes the events that resulted in the composition of 19 psalms, one gains a perspective of David that is not readily obvious, how despite tremendous adversity, he always retained his faith in God.

A Guide to the Psalms of David is available on-line at Amazon and Barnes & Noble or can be ordered through your local book store. Or as a special for "Schmooze" Subscribers, purchase it at www.guidetothepsalms.com (and "Look Inside" to view 50+ pages) for a 25% discount by entering the Coupon Code "SCHMOOZE"

Please visit us and see The Psalms come alive in a book you will refer to again and again for many years to come.

Divine Kosher Cuisine
“Catering to Family & Friends”
Winner of
 The 17th Annual Tabasco/McIlhenny Award-
Middle Atlantic Region &
The Solomon Schechter Gold Award of Excellence
Divine Kosher Cuisine: $20 per copy plus shipping

            Divine Kosher Cuisine. Our acclaimed cookbook was created after public urging by our synagogue’s all-volunteer kosher catering service, As You Like It Kosher Catering, located at Congregation Agudat Achim in Schenectady, New York.

            Divine Kosher Cuisine is enjoying an outstanding response from food writers across the country who have featured it in their syndicated columns as well as impressive endorsements from Rabbis including Rabbi Moshe Bomzer, who serves as supervising Rabbi of Vaad Hakashruth Kashruth Bureau. It has already received the prestigious Tabasco/McIlHenny award for the Mid-Atlantic Region as well as the Solomon Schechter Gold Award of Excellence for Fundraising.  Our book contains over 450 recipes and 200 spectacular photographs and illustrations and includes 70 gluten free (non-g’brochts) and 300 lactose free (pareve) recipes.

 Divine Kosher Cuisine contains countless one-of-a-kind features.  Because we have been premier kosher caterers for over 35 years, we have developed superb pareve and gluten free recipes in response to the very nature and needs of our kosher cooking as well as the needs of the growing populous requiring gluten and dairy free recipes. Our book literally contains dozens of Passover recipes and Jewish holiday fare.  A most unique feature of our book is the last chapter, Catering to Family and Friends, which serves as a Home Entertainment Guide.  It contains even more spectacular recipes, grids scaled for 10-60 guests, simple garnish making, display building, menus (even for the shiva meal), advice galore and so much more. . .
www.divinekosher.com
518-344-1190

This book is aimed at those readers who are just beginning to explore their family history. It will also be a valuable source of reference for readers with more experience of the subject.

If you are just beginning your family history and would like to know more, ‘Tracing your Jewish Ancestors – A Guide for Family Historians’ published in July 2008 by Pen and Sword (Family History) Books, will take you through the entire process of research. The book starts with a brief social history of the Jewish presence in Britain, with descriptions of the principal communities all over the country. There is a concise account of the history of genealogy and practical issues of research – how to get started, how to organise the work, how to construct a family tree and how to use the information obtained to enlarge upon the social history of the family. There are links to the Internet, chapters on the Armed Forces and Jewish Heraldry. Described in detail are the many sources that researchers can go to for information on their ancestors both in the UK and abroad. There are vivid case studies which will show how the life stories of individuals can be reconstructed with only a small amount of initial information. The book may be purchased through the Publishers (website below), through Amazon, or through any bookshop in the UK or abroad.

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER READING    

‘Tracing Your Jewish Ancestors, A Guide for Family Historians’
Rosemary Wenzerul (ISBN 9781844157884)
Price: £12.99. Published: July 2008
Pen and Sword Books (http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk).
 Located on their website under the heading of ‘Family History’

After two years of intense negotiations President John F. Brander has succeeded in bringing together Israel and the Palestinians to sign a peace accord-the mission that has eluded even the most determined statesmen for more than 60 years. Resolving this bitter conflict-at the epicenter of Islamic hostility towards the West-will mark the beginning of the end of the world's clash of civilizations.

As the parties iron out final details in preparation for a ceremony on the White House lawns, David Dekel, a handsome young researcher in geological remote sensing at Israel's Ben-Gurion University makes a remarkable discovery that throws the entire process into a spin. Fifty meters below the surface of the soon-to-be-surrendered West Bank town of Jenin, Dekel discovers an oil trap large enough to meet Israel's energy needs for the next 100 years.

From the Author by Marnie Winston-Macauley We've all heard them. The Jewish mother stereotypes, borne of ridicule, heightened by Borscht belt comics, portrayed in media. And so, we have become the "cartoon." The prototype of the overzealous, over-involved, over-worried, over-protective, over-nurturing, over-bearing presence that has invaded popular culture. In every stereotype, there is an element of truth. I recall my late mother ripping the heads off photos of boys who dumped me. My grandmother's entire reason for living after the death of my grandfather, was "to move in" - with us. From her mission came stories and anecdotes only a Carl Reiner could write. Yes, my grandmother sounded selfish. But then we look beyond at Gram. A woman who bribed border guards to get to America before the Nazis took over, leaving her birth family behind - forever.

Many Jewish Mother stereotypes are about intrusion, child-first suffocation, lack of boundaries. Yet these "traits" are also the very qualities: protection, education, nourishment and survival, during pogroms, throughout the Holocaust and other incalculable calamities, that have kept us alive and intact these 5,000 years.

In this work, I hope you will see the special soul of Jewish motherhood through the sacrifices, the extraordinary belief in the future through our children that Jewish women over the centuries have possessed. You will also read fascinating facts, anecdotes and yes, humor that was vital and kept us going while we were running - always running. Jewish women, simply - are funny.

What do Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Jon Stewart, Bette Midler, and Natalie Portman have in common with this book? A Jewish mother.

Is there such a thing as a Jewish mother? And if so, who is she? For the first time, best-selling Jewish author and humorist Marnie Winston-Macauley examines all aspects of the Jewish mother. Chronicling biblical Jewish mothers to modern-day Yentls, she creates a compendium using celebrity interviews, anecdotes, humor, and scholarly sources to answer these questions with truth and humor.

To order go to http://tinyurl.com/244f4b

Great resource for Jewish Values as told through various stories and parables.

MESSAGES of the CHOFETZ CHAIM: 100 STORIES and PARABLESBy Rabbi Marvin I. Bash …. First Time Ever Translated from the Yiddish.Published by iUniverse , available from www.BarnesandNoble.com

Order direct from author, click here: marvinbash@yahoo.com
$14.95, .75 sales tax, S&H $2.00

This is the first book to describe the significant contributions of Jewish Americans to law enforcement and police work beginning as early as 1657 in New Amsterdam. It portrays Jewish American men and women in the police departments of New York City and Los Angeles, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security who stepped forward in momentous times to save the nation from peril. Combining first hand interviews with contextual research, this book illuminates the heroes of the past and present who share a common Jewish American heritage. The book can be seen or ordered at:

http://www.cambriapress.com/cambriapress.cfm?template=4&bid=17

The novel begins—the same way that Philip Roth launched The Plot Against America—with a fascinating historical footnote: what if, as Franklin Roosevelt proposed on the eve of World War II, a temporary Jewish settlement had been established on the Alaska panhandle? Roosevelt's plan went nowhere, but Chabon runs the idea into the present, back-loading his tale with a haunting history. Israel failed to get a foothold in the Middle East, and since the Sitka solution was only temporary, Alaskan Jews are about to lose their cold homeland. The book's timeless refrain: "It's a strange time to be a Jew. "Into this world arrives Chabon's Chandler-ready hero, Meyer Landsman, a drunken rogue cop who wakes in a flophouse to find that one of his neighbors has been murdered. With his half-Tlingit, half-Jewish partner and his sexy-tough boss, who happens also to be his ex-wife, Landsman investigates a fascinating underworld of Orthodox black-hat gangs and crime-lord rabbis. Chabon's "Alyeska" is an act of fearless imagination, more evidence of the soaring talent of his previous genre-blender, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Eventually, however, Chabon's homage to noir feels heavy-handed, with too many scenes of snappy tough-guy banter and too much of the kind of elaborate thriller plotting that requires long explanations and offscreen conspiracies.Chabon can certainly write noir—or whatever else he wants; his recent Sherlock Holmes novel, The Final Solution, was lovely, even if the New York Times Book Review sniffed its surprise that the mystery novel would "appeal to the real writer."

To buy this book go to http://tinyurl.com/2k6bvm

Titled "The Book of King Solomon," it chronicles the life of the celebrated monarch--his adulterous father (King David), his youth, his rivals for the throne, his accomplishments as ruler, his wise judgments, his many wives, his visits to the Cave of the Ages, his magic ring, his association with Asmodeus (king of the jinn), his building of the Temple, his speaking with birds, his encounter with Goliath, Jr., his meeting with the Queen of Sheba, his excursions on a flying carpet, his wandering as a beggar, his final days. The Book of King Solomon A life of King Solomon, written by his court historian! Such, apparently, were the contents of an old Hebrew manuscript, handed on to Professor Solomon by an elderly relative. Its brittle pages were filled with the story of the king: his adulterous father (King David), his youth, his rivals for the throne, his accomplishments as ruler, his wise judgments, his many wives, his visits to the Cave of the Ages, his magic ring, his association with Asmodeus (king of the jinn), his building of the Temple, his speaking with birds, his encounter with Goliath, Jr., his meeting with the Queen of Sheba, his excursions on a flying carpet, his wandering as a beggar, his final days.

Whatever the case, it is an engaging book—highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about “the wisest of men,” his place in history, and his relevance today.

446 pages. Illustrated.

To download a free copy of the book, go to:
www.professorsolomon.com/kingsolomonpage.html

It is a PDF file (22 MB), with illustrations

Pre-denominational in its thinking, this book returns Judaism to the individual Jew to find his or her own way through the treasure of biblical and rabbinic tradition.

For more information, see www.judaisminsideout.com or contact Rabbi Joshua Chasan directly at rabbi@ohavizedek.com.

First time in print in the United States. For fast shipping, go straight to our printer's link below.

Those Were The Years
by Mikhail Sadovsky

Translated from the Russian
by John Woodsworth

www.lulu.com/mystavalon

From the translator, John Woodsworth...

...As, indeed, do the many and varied faces in the parade of characters marching across the pages of Those were the years. The three introductory stories (especially “Mitenka”) sharpen our own sensors of curiosity and prepare our thought to spend an extended period observing post-war Russian life through the eyes of one lad in particular. Thanks to Mikhail Sadovsky’s literary talents, by the end of our year-long ‘stay’ in this Moscow suburb, we feel we have come to know, on an individual basis, not only his young hero Venka but, through Venka’s perceptive sensibilities, a miniature cross-section of Russian life of the late 1940s in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.

It is perhaps fortunate that Venka is both extraordinarily naïve and at the same time extraordinarily curious about life. He is a personage we as readers ? especially readers not brought up in a Russsian culture ? can readily identify with, as we try to come to grips with the perplexing complexities of a society that culturally attracts its minorities even as it politically repels them. His questions are our questions. His dilemmas are ours, too. And, like him, we feel gnawing inside us an ever-growing longing to find answers, even to the point of traveling to the ends of the earth in search of them.”