JPS Spring 2013 Newsletter

March, 2013

Dear Friends of JPS,

In a time when the very notion of the word is under attack; when a Twitter, Facebook and text message-dominated universe of discourse threatens to reduce ideas to monosyllables, JPS is one of the foremost guardians of the Jewish word. Whether those words exist on paper or the screen, the ideas imbedded in those words are sacred. JPS reminds us that every manifestation of Torah "implants within us eternal life."

-Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin

With these words my colleague and friend concluded a study session with the JPS Board of Trustees last month. We are very pleased to be publishing this renowned rabbi and writer's latest book, which I believe is an important and provocative examination of Abraham's legacy to us all.

Rabbi Salkin's words aptly express the motivation that characterizes the wonderful donors that stand behind every major JPS project, none more generous than the Rubin family of Chicago. The Commentators' Bible: The Rubin JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot, now three-fifths completed, brings the classic Bible commentary of Rashi, Nachmanides, Ibn Ezra and others to the English reading world in compelling fashion.

So too do Rabbi Salkin's words apply to the legacy of two great scholars who passed away in Israel last month: former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon and Rabbi David Hartman. We are proud to have published their great works on Jewish Law and Maimonides. May their memories be for a blessing.

Finally I thought you would like to know that an upcoming JPS author, Ruth Calderon, one of the first women in Israel to earn a PhD in Talmud, was just elected to the Israeli Knesset! At the same time we will also be publishing the work of another rising star, Micah Goodman, a student of Rabbi Hartman's, whose own book on Maimonides has hit the bestseller list in Israel.

With warm greeting for a joyful Pesach,

signature of Rabbi Barry L Schwartz
Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz
Director
The Jewish Publication Society

JPS Proudly Announces the Release of

The Gods Are Broken!
Abraham and the Hidden Legacy of Judaism

by Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin

"Can a single story unfold the history of a nation and some of the deepest truths of tradition? Yes, if that story is the Rabbis' tale of Abraham and its interpreter is Rabbi Salkin. There is much to learn in this absorbing, important book."

- Rabbi David Wolpe

image of The Gods Are Broken! The Gods Are Broken! explores Judaism's most famous non-biblical story-Abraham's shattering of his father's gods and describes how this story has become a template for how Jews view the world. By examining the legend and understanding its implications, Salkin offers a radical view of Jewish existence. Abraham's idol shattering was not a one-time occurrence. It has happened in every generation, and it has helped the Jews to develop a unique identity. The Gods Are Broken! combines biblical text, archeology, rabbinic insights, Hasidic texts (some never before translated), philosophy, history, poetry, contemporary Jewish thought, sociology, and popular culture into a journey through 2000 years of Jewish life and intellectual endeavor.