A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse reveals how Jews navigated this space with ease and confidence, engaging with Roman bath culture rather than avoiding it. In this landmark interdisciplinary work of cultural history, Yaron Eliav uses the Roman bathhouse as a social laboratory to reexamine how Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. He reconstructs their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the baths and the activities that took place there, documenting their pleasures as well as their anxieties and concerns. Archaeologists have excavated hundreds of bathhouse facilities across the Mediterranean. Graeco-Roman writers mention the bathhouse frequently, and rabbinic literature contains hundreds of references to the baths. Eliav draws on the archaeological and literary record to offer fresh perspectives on the Jews of antiquity, developing a new model for the ways smaller and often weaker groups interact with large, dominant cultures. A compelling and richly evocative work of scholarship, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.

Gives the testimony of both Holocaust survivors and their liberators. Contributors are all Boston-area residents.

Focuses on the lives of nine Jews who survived as children in Theresienstadt. They spent 1942-44 with their "madrich" or leader, 20-year-old Franta (Francis Maier), as part of a group of 40 Nesharim (Eagles). After a short discussion on various aspects of the camp, pp. 55-171 present interviews taken by the author, the wife of one of the "boys". The survivors, including Franta, relate their experiences during and after the Holocaust. Despite the horrors of ghetto life, that were felt more by their parents, these boys were mostly concerned with sports activities and their lessons. They were greatly influenced by Franta's idealism. Their reunions decades later and the contacts between them testify to the communal values they internalized as Nesharim. The boys are mentioned by their nicknames: Špulka (Erich Spitz), Kikina (George Repper), Míša (Michael Gruenbaum), Pajík (Paul Weiner), Pavel (Paul Huppert), Gorila (Jan Strebinger), Majošek (Martin Mayer), Robin (Robert Herz), and Extrabuřt (Hanuš Holzer). Franta, Pavel, Gorila, and Robin were eventually deported to other camps and Majošek was sent on a transport to Switzerland. Two additonal Nesharim survived the war but, unlike the others, remained in Czechoslovakia; they died before they could be interviewed.

The Little Peshitta (hardcover edition) containing the seven books of the smaller canon of Scripture used in the first century and after (including the Gospel of Matthew, Epistle of James, Hymns, various prayers for daily devotions, etc.). Faithfully translated from the original Aramaic and Hebrew into English. Includes appendix with articles concerning the Peshitta.

An author and subject index to selected and American Anglo-Jewish journals of general and scholarly interests.

Legacies, Lies and Lullabies: The World of a Second Generation Holocaust Survivor is a smorgasbord of history, memoirs, interviews, poems, recipes and cultural tidbits. It explores the rise of Hitler, the perils of life in Terezin, the soap opera of Eastern European relatives, and the invisible baggage of the second generation. A riveting must-read for anyone who hungers for a slice of humanity.