Well well well... I never read the book. But I had a course with Dr. Joseph Ginat and he told me he was never been to Syria.
I am just curious how a person can write about a country, especially as complicated as Syria, if he has never been there ???
I think 3 stars are too generous for this book.

In Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule To Pivotal Role In The Middle East, Moshe Ma'oz, Joseph Ginat, and Onn Winckler collaborate to identify and explain the social, economic, and political issues that face the modern nation of Syria, and explore the historical reasons behind Syria's pivotal role in Middle East issues. Modern Syria outlines the country's grand ideological and strategic goal to achieve all-Arab unity and the political, military, and economic obstacles it encountered. Attention is paid to the Islamic op=position to the Ba'th regime; the loss of Soviet support; Israeli military superiority; the breaking of security protocols with Turkey; increasing Syrian involvement in Lebanon; the struggle for the return of the Golan Heights, and much more. Modern Syria is highly recommended reading for students of Middle Eastern affairs, Syrian history, culture, and politics; Islam and the pan-Arabic movement; and the United States involvement as a peace broker in the Israeli-Arab conflict in general, and Israeli-Syrian diplomacy in particular.

This book doesn't have all or (should I say) doesn't have the correct info on who Melchizedek was or is.

First of all, Melchizedek is a title. According to the founder of the Ancient Mystic Order of Melchizedek, Dr. Malachi York, aka Malachizodok York-El, who is an incarnation of Melchizedek, the word means "King of Righteousness". He is also the Archangel Michael and in the Sumerian is Murdock, son of Enqi and Ninqi. In the Bible Melchizedek is known as the Ancient Of Days, having no beginning nor end, nor father and mother. In the book of Hebrews, even Yashua was initiated in the Order of Melchizedek, which makes you want to ask, if Yashua was God, why would he be initiated in a sacred order?

The book doesn't go to much into detail about the chakras or the 7 planes of heaven. And also, Yahweh is not God's name, it's also a title, meaning, "He Who Is Whom He Is" which is a title that can be applied to any man who is worthy of the title. If you're curious who the God of the Bible is it is Tammuz, a member of the Anunnaki, son of Ishtar and Dammuzi.

Melchizedek's galactic name is Yanaawn, and he's one of the Igigi, 24 Elders of Revelations, along with the likes of Matatron, Sananda, Gabrial, Urial, Raphael, and others.

The rest of the book is nothing more than motivational speaking, which doesn't make since, (I mean, it does has its place) but the mysteries of Melchizedek are way more complex than what this book is saying.

This book, and it's companion for Yom Kippur, make the High Holy Days approachable for novice or otherwise no- to low-Hebrew speaking Jews. The transliterations are literally a G_d-send. This book made my second RH/YK more communal, as I could chant the prayers with the congregation - sometimes better than many others there. I held it next to my Machzor and read the english along with the transliteration to understand the words, although many of them I know from Shabbat siddur. My friends who are learning Hebrew also appreciated it, as they find it difficult to quickly sound out the Hebrew for an unfamiliar prayer. I have "sold" several copies to other congregants and newly converted / baal tshuvah's through example.

A big benefit is, being more Orthodox in orientation, this book has just about everything that could be done in a service - you are getting the whole megillah here, excuse the misplaced holiday joke.

Another nice touch are the interspersed vignettes, which are thought provoking and help focus on the major themes of the season.

The only little flaw is that the Birnbaum combined Machzor my conserviative congregation used did not correlate to the "BC" page numbers in the book (we use a fairly modern one; don't know the press date - ours was shorter than the one Moshe correlated to). Fortunately it was not too difficult to just follow along the normal course of the service. A minor annoyance which did not detract from the overwhelming value of the book, and one which I can graciously overlook, given the truly gallant attempt to correlate this book to at least 5 different denominational Machzors!

And one appeal: Moshe, please do one more mitzvah by writing one of these books for the Shabbat service too! (although since many of the HH prayers are also observed on Shabbat, this book has already helped me learn and participate in the chanting for Shabbat services)

Yasher Koach!

If there is one thing that is for certain it is that there will always be uncertainty in our lives. In "Coping With Uncertainty: 10 Simple Solutions" the authors provide the reader with a framework for dealing with uncertainty. Often with uncertainty comes feelings of vulnerability, loss of control, depression, and fear. The ten solutions offered are 1) Accept Uncertainty as Part of Life, 2) Evaluate Your Real Risks, 3) Change Obsessive Thoughts, 4) Restore Inner Harmony, 5) Release Tension, 6) Improve Your Tolerance for Frustration, 7) Develop Healthy Self-Acceptance, 8) Learn to Forgive, 9) Connect with Others and Create Meaning, and 10) Learn to Be Flexible. As you can see they are not really ten separate solutions, but ten principles for a complete solution. Each chapter covers one of the ten solutions in detail and how to apply it in life.

Although at 137 pages it is a fairly small book compared to others of this genre it is tightly written with very little fluff. Written by professionals in the field of psychology and based on years of experience it is a recommended read for anyone having difficulty dealing with uncertainty.

This book was one of my references for a course in the Religion of Biblical Israel. It was helpful as one of a collection of references.

Having read this dictionary from the beginning to the end more than once, I could not avoid being impressed by the attention to detail and precision of the definitions which indicates Moshkovitz's breadth of comprehension of the professional terminology he defines so well. I believe that the inclusion of illustrations would have enhanced the look and feel of the book. I understand that a new book by Moshkovitz is due out in April and am curious to see how he deals with his new subject "The Virtual Studio"

Professor Rosman succeeds at portraying the Ba'al Shem Tov, Israel ben Eliezer of Miedzyboz, in his environment of the Polish-Lithuanian shtetls and in the midst of the politics and economics of the Jewish kahal, and the Polish, post-Russo-Swedish War nobility. He also succeeds in separating the BeShT fables from the realities, and succinctly disproves the authenticity of the "BeShT's letters." The author also delves into the roots of the Besht's power and his role in the community.

It was interesting to read about the fights for power between butchers and merchants (and tailors); the kahal's issuance of residency permits to only working Jews; Miedzyboz's mid Century recession (1745); and the fact that one-sixth of Jewish households were led by widowed women. Rosman lays a good foundation in his biography by placing the idea of ecstatic religions and the mystical healers into historical context. It was not uncommon for Ba'al Shemtovs and practical Kabbalists to exist in early 18th Century Europe. For example, Rabbi Hirsh Frankel of Ansbach, Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschuetz, Hillel Ba'al Shem, Joel Halpern of Zamosc, Samuel Essingen and Joseph of Jerusalem were a few other contemporary healers, amulet makers, and exorcists. Rosman also discusses the pre-Besht existence of hasidim. These separatist and ascetic hasidim existed prior to the Beshtian brand of new Hasidism. I think that this book may be a new foundation for future studies in Hasidism, and will be up there with Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem's works.

According to Mr. Elie Wiesel: Rabbi Moshe Weiss' journey to post-Auschwitz, Poland is a stirring personal document. Read it and you will learn about Jewish dreams, hopes and prayers that turned into ashes in Oswiecim, Majdanek and Treblinka. You will hear unknown stories abaut Hasidic miracles and Jewish faith, as well as some shocking acounts of a Jew who worked with Himmler. Above all, you will accompany to author on his pilgrimage, looking for Jews but finding antisemites. Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Lublin,Przemysl: What remained of a community of three and a half million Jews? Some cemeteries, a handful of survivors, many memories and infinite sadness." Elie Wiesel

Moshe Idel isn't a light read, to say the least, but if you are interested in the golem or in Jewish mysticism in general, it is possible for a dedicated reader without much background in the area to get through the book. If you're a scholar, you should have even better luck. Idel's thesis, according to the back of the book, is "that the role of the golem concept in Judaism was to confer an exceptional status to the Jewish elite by bestowing it with the capability of supernatural powers deriving from a profound knowledge of the Hebrew language and its magical and mystical powers." The work surveys golem traditions from ancient to modern, and quite thoroughly.

I read this book in the hope that I would find a political and diplomatic history of Israel as told by a player and I have to say that I was not disappointed. It is a superbly written piece of work told by Ambassador Raviv a former Israeli diplomat who was at the centre of many crises both political and military. The reader will get surprising insights into many of the diplomatic and political events ranging from Suez in 1956 right up to the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s. The book moves the reader quite quickly through events without missing any of the essential detail required to tell what is a complicated story.