Book Recommendations from Aaron Gerber LIbrary

This week’s book recommendations from Ilka Gordon, Librarian, Aaron Garber Library

26500 Shaker Boulevard, Library Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 9-4. All are welcome to borrow books.

The Theresienstadt Deception: The Concentration Camp the Nazis Created to Deceive the World by Vera Schiff

Vera Schiff an inmate of the notorious concentration camp describes the social structure, created by the prisoners, the library, banks, schools, orchestra, medical facilities, and economic life. Schiff provides her personal experiences both before and after her internment.  Recommended for those who are interested in personal memoirs of the Holocaust.

 The Trial of the Talmud Paris, 1240 by John Friedman, Jean Connell Hoff, Robert Chazan

 The Talmud was put on trial in Paris in 1240.  The Trial of the Talmud Paris, 1240 is a translated compilation of the primary sources written by the church and rebutted by Rabbi Yehiel of Paris.  The dirge of Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg is translated in the appendix.  Recommended for serious scholars of the history of Christian church as relates to the Talmud.

 Menachem Begin : A Life by Yoram Sharett

 This riveting biography is based on wide-ranging research among archival documents and on testimonials and interviews with Begin’s closest advisors. It presents a detailed new portrait of the founding leader.  From the book jacket

 Becoming Frum : How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism by Sarah Bunin Benor

 When non-orthodox Jews become frum, they encounter much more than dietary laws and Shabbat prohibitions.  They find themselves in the midst of a whole new culture.  Becoming Frum brings insight into the phenomenon of adopting a new identity based on ethnographic and sociolinguistic research among men and women in an American orthodox community.

 The Intellectual History and Rabbinic Culture of Medieval Ashkenaz by Ephraim Kanarfogel

 Ephraim Kanarfogel, Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University, explores differences in Talmudic and halakhic studies between the Tosafist centers in northern France and Germany.  The book also examines the composition of piyut (liturgical poetry), mysticism and messianism.