Art Judaism

Normon Solomon's succinct book is an ideal introduction to Judaism as a religion and way of life. Demonstrating the diverse nature and ethnic origin of Jewish people, Solomon explores how the religion has developed in the 2,000 years since the days of the Bible.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), the Lubavitcher Rebbe, took an insular Chasidic group that was almost decimated by the Holocaust and transformed it into one of the most influential and controversial forces in world Jewry. This superbly crafted biography draws on recently uncovered documents and archives of personal correspondence, painting an exceptionally human and charming portrait of a man who was well known but little understood.

In this profound and revealing essay, Borges and Judaism explores the intimate and persistent relationship between one of the most universal writers of the 20th century and one of humanity’s most ancient cultures. Through his stories, poems, and essays, Borges engages in dialogue with the Kabbalah, reimagines the myth of the Golem, reflects on the Holocaust through symbolism, and turns exile and memory into keys for reading the world. This book traces the explicit and invisible links between Borges’ universe and Jewish thought, from Spinoza to the wandering characters of his fictions.