Random House New Releases - Religion - Judaism - Orthodox

Running the Books by Avi Steinberg

2010-10-19T00:30:00-05:00

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
Written by Avi Steinberg

Hardcover, 416 pages | Nan A. Talese | Social Science - Penology; Biography & Autobiography - Personal Memoirs; Religion - Judaism - Orthodox | $26.00 | 978-0-385-52909-9 (0-385-52909-0)

Avi Steinberg is stumped. After defecting from yeshiva to Harvard, he has only a senior thesis essay on Bugs Bunny to show for his effort. While his friends and classmates advance in the world, he remains stuck at a crossroads, unable to meet the lofty expectations of his Orthodox Jewish upbringing. And his romantic existence as a freelance obituary writer just isn’t cutting it. Seeking direction—and dental insurance—Steinberg takes a job as a librarian in a tough Boston prison.

The prison library counter, his new post, attracts con men, minor prophets, ghosts, and an assortment of quirky regulars searching for the perfect book and a connection to the outside world. There’s an anxious pimp who solicits Steinberg’s help in writing a memoir. A passionate gangster who dreams of hosting a cooking show titled Thug Sizzle. A disgruntled officer who instigates a major feud over a Post-it note. A doomed ex-stripper who asks Steinberg to orchestrate a reunion with her estranged son, himself an inmate. Over time, Steinberg is drawn into the accidental community of outcasts that has formed among his bookshelves — a drama he recounts with heartbreak and humor. But when the struggles of the prison library — between life and death, love and loyalty — become personal, Steinberg is forced to take sides.

Running the Books is a trenchant exploration of prison culture and an entertaining tale of one young man’s earnest attempt to find his place in the world while trying not to get fired in the process.

Running the Books by Avi Steinberg

2010-10-19T00:30:00-05:00

Running the Books
Written by Avi Steinberg

eBook, 336 pages | Anchor | Social Science - Penology; Biography & Autobiography - Personal Memoirs; Religion - Judaism - Orthodox | $11.99 | 978-0-385-53373-7 (0-385-53373-X)

From the Hardcover edition.

Running the Books by Dustin Rubin

2010-10-19T00:30:00-05:00

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
Written by Avi Steinberg
Read by Dustin Rubin

Unabridged Audiobook Download | Random House Audio | Social Science - Penology; Biography & Autobiography - Personal Memoirs; Religion - Judaism - Orthodox | $22.50 | 978-0-307-87642-3 (0-307-87642-X)

From the Hardcover edition.

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak-Sahm

2010-09-21T00:30:00-05:00

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak-Sahm

Trade Paperback, 272 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Judaism; Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Social Science - Women's Studies | $20.00 | 978-0-8070-7746-7 (0-8070-7746-1)

For Orthodox Jews, immersion in a ritual bath—the mikveh—is the cornerstone of family life and is central to Jewish women’s practice of their faith. Yet women from across the Jewish spectrum frequent the mikveh, often for surprising personal reasons. Roused by her own immersion experience, for years Varda Polak-Sahm, a secular Jew, patiently observed and interviewed women at the mikveh, gaining unprecedented access to this hidden world. The House of Secrets offers a richly nuanced, uncensored look at an experience that is for some holy and for others coercive, ultimately illuminating the remarkable power of ritual immersion.

Every Day, Holy Day by Alan Morinis

2010-08-10T00:30:00-05:00

Every Day, Holy Day 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of Mussar
Written by Alan Morinis

Trade Paperback, 416 pages | Trumpeter | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Religion - Judaism - Beliefs, Practices, Rituals; Religion - Judaism | $17.95 | 978-1-59030-810-3 (1-59030-810-7)

"You shall be holy," teaches the Bible. The masters of the Jewish Mussar tradition have crafted a roadmap to help people approach that lofty goal. Mussar is a system of introspective practices that can help you identify and break through the obstacles to your inherent holiness, using methods that are easy to integrate into daily life.

Every Day, Holy Day is an essential companion for anyone who wants to experience the life-changing gifts of Mussar. The program laid out in this book focuses on 26 traits (middot)—such as loving-kindness, strength, generosity, compassion, honor, and equanimity—each of which takes center stage for a week of contemplation and exercises, in order to develop and refine that quality in yourself.

Alan Morinis invites you to follow the Mussar path with him for a year. It is remarkably simple, and also remarkably effective in helping you overcome negative tendencies and strengthen positive ones—and to reveal your innate holiness in the process.

Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis

2008-12-02T00:30:00-05:00

Everyday Holiness The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar
Written by Alan Morinis

Trade Paperback, 352 pages | Trumpeter | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Religion - Judaism - Beliefs, Practices, Rituals; Religion - Judaism | $18.95 | 978-1-59030-609-3 (1-59030-609-0)

Mussar is an illuminating, approachable, and highly practical set of teachings for cultivating personal growth and spiritual realization in the midst of day-to-day life. Here is an accessible and inspiring introduction to this Jewish spiritual path, which until lately has been best known in the world of Orthodox Judaism. The core teaching of Mussar is that our deepest essence is inherently pure and holy, but this inner radiance is obscured by extremes of emotion, desire, and bad habits. Our work in life is to uncover the brilliant light of the soul. The Mussar masters developed transformative teachings and practices—some of which are contemplative, some of which focus on how we relate to others in daily life—to help us to heal and refine ourselves.

Climbing Jacob's Ladder by Alan Morinis

2007-05-08T00:30:00-05:00

Climbing Jacob's Ladder One Man's Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual Tradition
Written by Alan Morinis

Trade Paperback, 240 pages | Trumpeter | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Religion - Judaism - Beliefs, Practices, Rituals; Religion - Judaism | $17.95 | 978-1-59030-366-5 (1-59030-366-0)

Jewish by birth, though from a secular family, Alan Morinis explored Hinduism and Buddhism as a young man. But in 1997, in the face of personal crisis, he turned to his Jewish heritage for guidance. In his reading he happened upon a Jewish spiritual tradition called Mussar. Gradually he realized that he had stumbled upon an insightful discipline for self-development, complete with meditative, contemplative, and other well-developed transformative practices designed to penetrate the deepest roots of the inner life.

Eventually reaching the limits of what he could learn on his own, he decided to seek out a Mussar teacher. This was not an easy task, since almost the entire world of the Mussar tradition had been wiped out in the Holocaust. In time, he found an accomplished master who stood in an unbroken line of transmission of the Mussar tradition, and who lived in the center of a community of Orthodox Jews on Long Island. This book tells the story of Morinis’s journey to meet his teacher and what he learned from him, revealing the central teachings and practices that are the spiritual treasury and legacy of Mussar.

Unchosen by Hella Winston

2006-11-15T00:30:00-05:00

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
Written by Hella Winston

Trade Paperback, 216 pages | Beacon Press | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Social Science - Jewish Studies; Religion - Blasphemy, Heresy & Apostasy | $16.00 | 978-0-8070-3627-3 (0-8070-3627-7)

Honorable Mention in the 2012 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism

When Hella Winston began talking with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn for her doctoral dissertation in sociology, she was surprised to be covertly introduced to Hasidim unhappy with their highly restrictive way of life and sometimes desperately struggling to escape it. Unchosen tells the stories of these "rebel" Hasidim, serious questioners who long for greater personal and intellectual freedom than their communities allow. In her new Preface, Winston discusses the passionate reactions the book has elicited among Hasidim and non-Hasidim alike.

Named one of Publishers Weekly's Ten Best Religion Books of 2005.

Unchosen by Hella Winston

2006-11-15T00:30:00-05:00

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
Written by Hella Winston

eBook | Beacon Press | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; Social Science - Jewish Studies; Religion - Blasphemy, Heresy & Apostasy | $17.00 | 978-0-8070-3628-0 (0-8070-3628-5)

Honorable Mention in the 2012 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism

When Hella Winston began talking with Hasidic Jews for her doctoral dissertation in sociology, she was excited to be meeting members of the highly insular Satmar sect. While several Jewish journalists and scholars have produced largely admiring books describing the Lubavitch way of life and that group's outreach efforts to unaffiliated Jews, very little has been written about the many other Hasidic sects in the United States. Unlike Lubavitchers, members of these other groups are raised to avoid all unnecessary contact with outside society, including contact with other Jews. Winston's access was all but unprecedented.

As a nonobservant Jew with little prior exposure to the Hasidic world, she never could have guessed what would happen next-that she would be introduced, slowly and covertly, to Hasidim from Satmar and other sects who were deeply unhappy with their highly restrictive way of life and sometimes desperately struggling to leave their communities. First there was Yossi, a young man who, though deeply attached to the Hasidic culture in which he was raised, longed for a life with fewer restrictions and more tolerance. Yossi's efforts at making such a life, however, were being severely hampered by his fourth grade English and math skills, his profound ignorance of the ways of the outside world, and the looming threat that pursuing his desires would almost certainly lead to rejection by his family and friends. Then she met Dini, a young wife and mother whose decision to deviate even slightly from Hasidic standards of modesty led to threatening phone calls from anonymous men, warning her that she needed to watch the way she was dressing if she wanted to remain a part of the community. Someone else introduced Winston to Steinmetz, a closet bibliophile worked in a small Judaica store in his community and spent his days off anxiously evading discovery in the library of the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary, whose shelves contain non-Hasidic books he is forbidden to read but nonetheless devours, often several at a sitting. There were others still who had actually made the wrenching decision to leave their communities altogether.

Already called a "must read" by Hasidic blogger "Shtreimel," Unchosen tells the fascinating stories of these and other rebel Hasidim, serious questioners who long for greater personal and intellectual freedom than their communities allow. In so doing, Unchosen forces us to reexamine the history of these communities and asks us to consider what we choose not to see when we romanticize them.

From the Hardcover edition.

The Rebbe's Army by Sue Fishkoff

2005-01-04T00:30:00-05:00

The Rebbe's Army Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch
Written by Sue Fishkoff

Trade Paperback, 368 pages | Schocken | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox; History - Jewish; Social Science - Jewish Studies | $16.00 | 978-0-8052-1138-2 (0-8052-1138-1)

“Excuse me, are you Jewish?” With these words, the relentlessly cheerful, ideologically driven emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch approach perfect strangers on street corners throughout the world in their ongoing efforts to persuade their fellow Jews to live religiously observant lives. In The Rebbe’s Army, award-winning journalist Sue Fishkoff gives us the first behind-the-scenes look at this small Brooklyn-based group of Hasidim and the extraordinary lengths to which they take their mission of outreach.

They seem to be everywhere—in big cities, small towns, and suburbs throughout the United States, and in sixty-one countries around the world. They light giant Chanukah menorahs in public squares, run “Chabad houses” on college campuses from Berkeley to Cambridge, give weekly bible classes in the Capitol basement
in Washington, D.C., run a nonsectarian drug treatment center in Los Angeles, sponsor the world’s biggest Passover Seder in Nepal, establish synagogues, Hebrew schools, and day-care centers in places that are often indifferent and occasionally hostile to their outreach efforts. They have built a billion-dollar international empire, with their own news service, publishing house, and hundreds of Websites.

Who are these people? How successful are they in making Jews more observant? What influence does their late Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (who some thought was the Messiah), continue to have on his followers? Fishkoff spent a year interviewing Lubavitch emissaries from Anchorage to Miami and has written an engaging and fair-minded account of a Hasidic group whose motives and methodology continue to be the subject of speculation and controversy.

From the Hardcover edition.

Sparks of Light by Zalman Schachter

2001-09-11T00:30:00-05:00

Sparks of Light
Written by Edward Hoffman and Zalman Schachter

Trade Paperback, 200 pages | Shambhala | Religion - Judaism - Sacred Writings; Religion - Judaism - Kabbalah & Mysticism; Religion - Judaism - Orthodox | $19.95 | 978-1-57062-695-1 (1-57062-695-2)

Hasidism—a mystical branch of Judaism that is today the object of renewed interest—traditionally has as its leaders well-trained masters whose way of counseling their followers may be of interest to those in other helping disciplines. Sparks of Light examines the history and techniques of their advising people on the problems of everyday life—health, finances, family—as well as more spiritual concerns.

Schachter and Hoffman take a close look at the techniques of the Hasidic masters—dream interpretation, shock, problem solving, and the prescription of spiritual exercises to unlock the door of the mind. They also focus on such intriguing topics as how Hasidic masters are trained, the range of difficulties for which struggling Jews seek their help, the intuitive methods of counseling that are used, and the kinds of mystical and practical advice offered in response to life's challenges. This book—based on original translations of Hasidic tales and writings, many never before translated—will appeal to those in the helping profession, as well as readers of Jewish history.

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman by Martin Buber

1999-06-01T00:30:00-05:00

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman
Written by Martin Buber

Trade Paperback, 250 pages | Humanity Books | Religion - Judaism - Orthodox | $28.99 | 978-1-57392-453-5 (1-57392-453-9)

Random House New Releases - Religion - Judaism - Orthodox

Running the Books by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison LibrarianWritten by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books Written by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books by Dustin Rubin

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison LibrarianWritten by Avi Steinberg Read by Dustin Rubin

The House of Secrets by Varda Polak-Sahm

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the MikvehWritten by Varda Polak-Sahm

Every Day, Holy Day by Alan Morinis

Every Day, Holy Day 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of MussarWritten by Alan Morinis

Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis

Everyday Holiness The Jewish Spiritual Path of MussarWritten by Alan Morinis

Climbing Jacob's Ladder by Alan Morinis

Climbing Jacob's Ladder One Man's Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual TraditionWritten by Alan Morinis

Unchosen by Hella Winston

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic RebelsWritten by Hella Winston

Unchosen by Hella Winston

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic RebelsWritten by Hella Winston

The Rebbe's Army by Sue Fishkoff

The Rebbe's Army Inside the World of Chabad-LubavitchWritten by Sue Fishkoff

Sparks of Light by Zalman Schachter

Sparks of Light Written by Edward Hoffman and Zalman Schachter

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman by Martin Buber

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman Written by Martin Buber

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
Written by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books
Written by Avi Steinberg

Running the Books The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
Written by Avi Steinberg
Read by Dustin Rubin

The House of Secrets The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Written by Varda Polak-Sahm

Every Day, Holy Day 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of Mussar
Written by Alan Morinis

Everyday Holiness The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar
Written by Alan Morinis

Climbing Jacob's Ladder One Man's Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual Tradition
Written by Alan Morinis

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
Written by Hella Winston

Unchosen The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
Written by Hella Winston

The Rebbe's Army Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch
Written by Sue Fishkoff

Sparks of Light
Written by Edward Hoffman and Zalman Schachter

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman
Written by Martin Buber