This listing or recent faculty() and HUC-JIR publications reflects our mission as the center for advanced scholarly research. Most of these publications may be ordered on-line through our website: www.huc.edu/newspubs/press or www.huc.edu/faculty

 

Archaeology

 Dan I: A Chronicle of the Excavations, the Pottery Neolithic, the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age Tombs, Edited by Avraham Biran (Jerusalem: Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology).
Following the successful publication of findings from the Tel Gezer excavations, Dan I inaugurates a new series that will explore the significance of the historic site excavated by Biran and HUC-JIR for over 32 years.
 

Art, Literature and Music

  Artistic Expressions of Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, by Dr. Jamal Al-Henaid, Judith Lucas, and Abby Schwartz (Cincinnati: Taft Museum).
An exhibition catalog, introducing religious art of the three Abrahamic traditions gathered from the Skirball Museum Cincinnati Branch, the Taft Museum, the Cincinnati Museum of Art, and the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, which won a First Place Visual Communications Award from the Ohio Museums Association.

  Words in My Lovesick Blood, Poems by Haim Gouri, Translated and Edited by Stanley F. Chyet (Michigan: Wayne State University Press).
An introduction to the beloved Israeli poet Gouri, who documents the spirit of the Palmach generation and the vicissitudes of Israeli existence.

  With All Your Heart and With All Your Soul -- Four Liturgical Selections by Israel A. Goldstein (New York: Sacred Music Press).
Music compositions for "V'ahavta," "Tzur Yisraeil," "Shomeir Yisraeil," and "Eil Maleh Rachamim."
 

Bibliographica

Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, Vol. 20, Dedicated to its founder, Dr. Herbert C. Zafren.
The 20th volume in this distinguished publication series of research in the field of Jewish bibliography, including manuscripts, books, and other publications of Jewish interest, features articles on musical notations of Shabbat songs in an 18th century manuscript, the Ben-Zvi Institute siddur, Solomon H. Jackson's The Jew, the Fink/Liebermann visit to the Kaifeng Jews, the agenda in Karaite printing in the Crimea in the 19th century, a fifteenth century Hebrew book list, Jewish library culture in the United States from 1850 to 1910, and the correspondence of Dr. Abraham Ibn Sanchi.

  Was Gutenberg Jewish? And Other Conundrums, by Herbert C. Zafren (New York: National Foundation for Jewish Culture/Council of Archives and Research Libraries in Jewish Studies).
A discussion of Jewish contributions to early European printing originally presented in the Council of Archives and Research Libraries in Jewish Studies' Rosaline and Meyer Feinstein Foundation Lecture, "Exploring the Margins of Jewish Bibliography."
 

Education

  Portraits of Schooling: A Survey and an Analysis of Supplementary Schooling in Congregations, by Samuel K. Joseph (New York: UAHC Press).
An analysis of trends, strengths and weaknesses revealed by the first survey of Reform religious schools in twenty years, for the UAHC-CCAR-NATE Commission on Reform Jewish education, in which 30% of UAHC congregations participated.

  Common Schools, Uncommon Futures: A Working Consensus for School Renewal, Edited by Barry S. Kogan (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University).
Twelve essays on America's declining public schools, policy solutions (vouchers, business partnerships), and the values of public education, drawn from the presentations at the 1994 HUC-UC Ethics Center symposia on educational finance and rethinking public education.

  Communities of Learning, Edited by Sara Lee (Los Angeles: Rhea Hirsch School of Education).
Strategies for more effective Jewish education emerging from two ongoing Hirsch school projects: the Experiment in Congregational Education and Day Schools for the 21st Century, with an epilogue by Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman.
 

Gender Studies

  Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics, by Rachel Adler (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society).
Grappling with both Jewish text and ritual to "engender" Judaism so that women's full inclusion transforms the understanding and practice of Jewish law, prayer, sexuality, and marriage.

  Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Blood in Rabbinic Judaism, by Lawrence A. Hoffman (Illinois: University of Chicago Press).
Tracing the symbolism of circumcision through Jewish history to analyze the ways rabbinic texts define gender.

  Women Rabbis: Exploration and Celebration, Papers Delivered at an Academic Conference Honoring Twenty Years of Women in the Rabbinate 1972-1992, Edited by Gary P. Zola (Cincinnati: HUC-JIR Rabbinic Alumni Association Press).
Essays by rabbis and scholars examining the significance of women in the modern rabbinate and their impact on Reform Judaism, the Jewish community, liturgy, theology, Jewish identity, and Jewish communal leadership.

Jewish History

  A Light in the Prairie: Temple Emanuel of Dallas 1872-1997, by Gerry Cristol (Fort Worth: Texas Christian University).
This detailed history of the landmark Texan synagogue features a section on Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman and the years of his distinguished tenure at the temple.

Ideals Face Reality: Jewish Law and Life in Poland, 1550-1655, by Edward Fram (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
Case studies drawn from the ordinances of Polish Jewry's political leadership, Polish legal records, talmudic and legal exegesis, and rabbinic legal decisions show how Polish jurists responded to the complexities that arose between halakhah and contemporary Jewish life in the 16th and 17th centuries.

No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry, 1935-1939, by Emanuel Melzer (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
The efforts of Polish Jewry to secure its existence and advance its interests in the late 1930s, when the radicalization of antisemitism became an increasingly prominent theme in the country's political life.

  German-Jewish History in Modern Times, 1600-1945, Edited by Michael A. Meyer (New York: Columbia University Press).
This landmark four-volume set, a project of the Leo Baeck Institute, encompasses Tradition and Enlightenment, 1600-1780, Emancipation and Acculturation, 1780-1871 (which won the 1997 American Jewish Book Award for History), Integration in Dispute, 1871-1918, and Renewal and Destruction, 1918- 1945.
 

Liturgy

"Were Our Mouths Filled With Song" Studies in Liberal Jewish Liturgy by Eric L. Friedland (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
An exploration of the ways in which the Siddur, Mahzor, and Haggadah have been transformed to reflect modern Jews' understanding of themselves and their place in society during the mid-19th through late 20th centuries.

  The Sh'ma And Its Blessings and The Amidah, Edited by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman (Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing).
The first and second volumes in My People's Prayer Book, a seven-volume series that will cover the major sections of the siddur; these volumes examine the Sh'ma and analyze how the Amidah evolved over thousands of years, and include commentaries from ancient rabbinic, modern theological, feminist, halakhic, Talmudic, linguistic, biblical, Chasidic, mystical, and historical perspectives.

To Worship God Properly: Tensions Between Liturgical Custom and Halakhah in Judaism by Ruth Langer (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
Approaching Jewish liturgy from anthropological and historical vantage points to investigate the rabbinical reinterpretations of legal theory and custom and provide an understanding of the history of Jewish liturgy and prayer customs, as well as of rabbinic leadership and laws.

"Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn" Themes and Texts in Traditional Jewish Preaching by Marc Saperstein (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
Continuing the exploration of the Jewish sermon begun in Jewish Preaching 1200-1800, and illustrating the importance of the sermon as an indispensable resource for understanding Jewish history, spirituality, and thought.

American Jewish Liturgies: A Bibliography of American Jewish Liturgy from the Establishment of the Press in the Colonies through 1925 by Sharona R. Wachs (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
A compilation of nearly 1300 American Jewish prayer books, synagogue dedication services, devotionals, memorials, childrenUs prayers, special events, hymnals, and scores from the 18th century to 1925, with library holdings and references to other bibliographies for each.
 

Memoirs

Memoirs of Nahum Glatzer, Edited and presented by Michael Fishbane and Judith Glatzer Wechsler (Cincinnati: HUC Press).
A collection of 78 memoir entries tracing the geographic, spiritual, and intellectual journeys of Nahum Glatzer (1903-1990) -- prolific scholar, Brandeis University professor, and editor of the Schocken publishing house.
 

Philosophy

  A Life of Reason -- Ahad Ha-Am and His Work, by Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk, Translated by Professor Xu Xin, University of Nanjing, Edited by Professor Xun FiHun (Inner Mongolia: PeopleUs Publishing House).
An analysis of the influence of Maimonides, Nachman Krochmal, and the French and English Schools of positivism on Ahad Ha-Am's cultural Zionism.
 

Spirituality

  Israel -- A Spiritual Travel Guide, A Companion for the Modern Jewish Pilgrim, by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman (Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing).
Ancient blessings, medieval prayers, biblical references, and modern poetry explore the spiritual meaning of the ancient -- and modern -- sites of Israel.

  Jewish Spiritual Journeys: 20 Essays Written to Honor the Occasion of the 70th Birthday of Eugene B. Borowitz, Edited by Lawrence A. Hoffman and Arnold J. Wolf (New Jersey: Behrman House).
In tribute to Dr. Eugene Borowitz's influence on Jewish theology and rabbinic education, twenty former students share their personal spiritual autobiographies.

  Life is on the Wire, by Norman B. Mirsky (California: Pastoral Services).
Eighteen sermons by Mirsky, of blessed memory, illuminating how the risks in life and relationships may be confronted with acceptance and understanding.

  Jewish Spiritual Guidance: Finding Our Way to God, by Carol Ochs and Kerry Olitzky (San Francisco: Jossey Bass).
Placing spiritual journey in a Jewish context, this volume helps prepare those called to become spiritual guides.
 

Text Studies

  Theological Terms in the Talmud, A First Book, Edited by Eugene B. Borowitz (New York: The Ilona Samek Institute at HUC-JIR).
Student papers from the Ilona Samek Institute of HUC-JIR which present a study of eight theological Talmudic terms (single words and phrases), including reviews of the biblical usage of the terms and analyses of words that derive from identical roots.

  Voices From Genesis: Guiding Us Through The Stages of Life, by Norman J. Cohen (Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing).
Contemporary midrash, in which Erik Erikson's eight stages of human development provide insight into the wisdom of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs.

  What Crucified Jesus? Messianism, Pharisaism, and the Development of Christianity, by Ellis Rivkin (New York: UAHC Press).
An examination of the writings of Josephus and the New Testament to shed light on the historical movements and political concerns surrounding Jesus's life and ministry.

  The Original Torah: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by S. David Sperling (New York: New York University Press).
Combining archaeological evidence with critical reading to conclude that many Torah narratives were originally composed as allegories for a distinct political purpose.