Becoming Jewish

My Library To Date -

Of course, you could keep up on my library as catalogued on LibraryThing, but I pulled out just the books I've tagged as "judaism" for a quick reference list. [And the book covers are in this doc converted to PDF: My Library To Date (pdf).]

The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year, Scott-Martin Kosofsky, 2004 - Great medieval woodcuts decorate this modern adaptation of a guide from the middle ages. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it's a really nice reference book. And it gave me a better understanding of how services are structured -- which elements are in the order of worship services at different times of day, week, or year.

Choosing a Jewish Life : A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends, Diamant, Anita, 1998 - This book completely impressed me when I first read it, and it's meaning something completely different now in the 2nd reading. It was the first purchase I added to my Jewish library. And I first read to understand what it's like to *be* Jewish and/or to *choose* Judaism. It's very good, and I highly recommend this book.

Dictionary of Jewish Words (JPS Guides), Eisenberg, Joyce, 2006 - Huh. I don't even remember buying this book, let alone reading it. I better go look at my bookcase.

Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals, Robinson, George, 2001 - This is a large paperback tome, and a great reference book more than casual reading.

Essential Talmud, Steinsaltz, Adin, 1984 - I've only set this book out on my "read soon" shelf, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hebrew for Dummies, Jacobs, Jill Suzanne, 2003 - Disappointingly low-common denominator audience, but it came with a CD so I bought it for the recordings more than the book content.

In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language, Hoffman, Joel, 2006 - This is such a WONDERFUL linguistics research book that I ran out and bought a gift of this book for a friend. I'll be re-reading this book several times, I'm sure.

An Intelligent Person's Guide to Judaism, Boteach, Shmuley, 1999 - This book didn't sit well in the first reading, and I cannot remember why. I'll need to look at it again some day.

The Jewish Book of Why, Kolatch, Alfred J., 1981 - This one is enjoyable and I like going back to it every now and then.

The Second Jewish Book of Why, Kolatch, Alfred J., 1995 - I cannot remember if I've started reading book 2, but I like book 1.

The Jewish Heritage Cookbook, Spieler, Marlena, 2002 - I'm such a sucker for good looking cookbooks, and I've skimmed the introduction, but I'm really lame at getting around to cooking from recipes.

Jewish Holidays: A Brief Introduction for Christians, Olitzky, Rabbi Kerry M., 2006 - I remember also thinking that this book was a little light-weight. I'll have to look at it again.

Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History, Telushkin, Joseph, 1991 - I'm absolutely adoring this book right now. It's my "current-reading" title.

A Jewish Understanding of the New Testament, Sandmel, Samuel, 2005 - This was another watershed book where I had several "ah ha!" moments of grasping and understanding the Jewish perspective in the world.

The Jewish World: 365 Days, Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, 2004 - One of my favorite art books on my shelf. I love reading through this book regularly, and staring closely at the details in the photos. There are several medieval artifacts in here I want to recreate!

Little Book of Hanukkah (Miniature Editions), Zorn, Steven, 2000 - This is one of those cute 2" books and I love using it to enjoy candle-lighting home alone.

Living a Jewish Life : Jewish Traditions, Customs and Values for Today's Families, Diamant, Anita, 1996 - So far I love all the books of Anita Diamant, and although I don't remember the details of this book much, I know I enjoyed reading it last year.

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World, Marks, Gil, 2004 - Again, I'm a sucker for beautiful cookbooks. And I also live with a vegetarian roomie, so this helps me find ideas for group potluck dinners.

Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child: How Interfaith Parents Can Give Children the Best of Both Their Heritages, Gruzen, Lee F., 2001 - This book has really helped me sort out my Christian upbringing and heritage, and how to incorporate it into my self understanding and my love for my past and my upbringing.

Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible, Toorn, Karel van der, 2007 - Also a *facinating* linguistics and anthropological approach to issues with language and history. I love this book. I'll be re-reading it over the years.

A Taste of Challah, Ansh, Tamar, 2007 - A birthday gift, and very inspirational. I plan to eventually learn how to bake challah with the proper prayers and the "separating" itself.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, Feiler, Bruce, 2005 - The original book that made me ask the original two questions, "I know why I'm Christian" and "What would the world be like if I'd been raised Jewish?" which later turned into "I don't know why I'm not Jewish."

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses, Feiler, Bruce, 2005 - By the same author as the above book, but I haven't really looked at this book yet.

What Do Jews Believe?: The Spiritual Foundations of Judaism, Ariel, David, 1996 - A very scholarly approach, and I remember enjoying the book immensely.

What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about Judaism, Schoen, Robert, 2004 - I remember being disappointed at the shallow simplicity of this book. This one made me think, "But I already know this stuff."

Why Be Jewish?, Wolpe, David J., 1995 - A simple small paperback that was really powerful, spiritually. I ran out and bought a copy for a friend, because the book made me think of him.

Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History, Klinghoffer, David, 2006 - This book made me uncomfortable the first time I read it, but I'm looking forward to re-reading it and thinking about it differently now. I wasn't ready to read it a year ago.

And just for fun, there's this little humor piece:

If you're familar with Jewish law, this one is *VERY* funny... and it's intended to be a joke, so please enjoy in that manner:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/6661/other/xmas.html