Judaism
Jesus’ earliest followers were Jewish, too
Paula Fredriksen challenges popular assumptions about the first generation of Christians.
A personal discipline of Talmud study
Ilana Kurshan shows how the practice of Daf Yoni gave structure to a life made formless and void.
How a doctor finds hope at a Jerusalem hospital
Pediatric oncologist Elisha Waldman explores a city's complexities as he reflects on his patients' spiritual needs.
Judaism’s deep roots and new offshoots in Africa
Practices drawn from the Hebrew Bible are not new to the continent. Seeking full conversion to rabbinic Judaism is.
Zionism’s competing visions of Israel
by David Heim
The many lives of Adam and Eve
Stephen Greenblatt weaves an impressive—but incomplete—tapestry of interpretations of the story of the Fall.
Jewish history through Christian eyes
Must Christianity always define itself against Judaism? The Didache didn't.
by Erika Tritle
What’s behind the New Testament?
There is abundant documentation of the intertestamental period. We just haven't read it.
by Tony Jones
Nicole Krauss’s love letter to (an imagined) Kafka
A breathtaking novel that bleeds existential urgency from every page
by Beth Benedix
The art of (Jewish) pastoral counseling
This book taught me about phylacteries. More importantly, it taught me about myself.
Dreaming in Israel
In Aharon Appelfeld's novel, a teenage Holocaust survivor sleeps, remembers, and learns to speak anew.
A novel at the edge of faith
It’s rare to encounter a female protagonist in theological fiction.
by Amy Frykholm
Questions in Genesis
A book of essays asks, is the Bible literature? How is a blessing like an oath? And what if Eve was just hungry?
A rabbi’s memoir of making a family
Anyone with a complicated life and family—all of us—will find a home in Susan Silverman’s story.
Hanukkah picks
Eight days of presents? Here are some of my literary picks.
After One-Hundred-and-Twenty, by Hillel Halkin
Part history and part memoir, this volume gently immerses readers in Jewish traditions surrounding death.
One Abraham or three? The conversation between three faiths
Can "Abrahamic" replace "Judeo-Christian"? And without sacrificing the integrity of three different traditions?
Episode 8: Lizzi Heydemann
Matt talks to the founder of Mishkan Chicago about Protestant vs. Jewish preaching, how to avoid a cult of personality, and what churches can learn from a Jewish faith community’s success.
Unexpected ancestors
Few secrets are as devastating as those that make us rethink our identity. Heidi Neumark discovered one when her daughter Googled their name.
by Trudy Bush