Vote for the Jewish Music Blogger Awards

This years Jewish Music Blogger Awards are being hosted by the team at the Jewish Music Report. The nominees are up so go and vote for your favorites in eight categories!

You can vote here

Is $10,000 still considered Hiddur Mitzvah?

You've got to give Eichlers credit for being one of the best Jewish bookstores out there, but every time I go to there website lately my eyes immediately go directly to the solid gold kiddush cup that they now have back up on their homepage. The availability of this item isn't new (DovBear had a post on this back in 2007) but I've started to ask myself some questions about who exactly is the intended customer for such a gift. The tag line for the item is "Have you ever wondered what to get the special person who has everything?" Sure, but $10,500 for a kiddush cup seems to be a bit extravagant for a gift, even if it is for the honorees at your school fund-raising dinner or for a big Chassidishe Rebbe (I can't imagine any Rav accepting such a gift). Particularly nowadays when many families can't afford the money to do many other mitzvos, like marrying off their children or buying teffillin for a Bar Mitzvah boy, we should first give money towards those areas before purchasing such an item. Although, I can't help but imagine that this beautiful cup would be perfect for the Melech HaMoshiach when he arrives.

The Week in Books

New Releases:

-The Neshama Should Have an Aliyah, by Rabbi Tzvi Hebel
-Rav Schwab on Yeshayahu, by Rabbi Shimon Schwab
-Duties of the Heart: The Gate of Trust, by Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Finkel
-Feminine Faith: L`Hovin Inyan Rosh Chodesh- Chassidic Heritage Series
-Channeling the Divine: Issa Bemidrash Tillim-Chassidic Heritage Series

Upcoming Releases:

-Copyright in Jewish Law, by Rabbi Nachum Menashe Weisfish
-Checkmate, by Ester Toker
-The Life and Times of Rabbi Yonason Steif: Living in the Illuminated Shadow, by Esther Shulamis (Stief) Bleier
-Aleinu L'Shabei'ach: Shemos, by Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein

SOY Seforim Sale Date Announced!

The date for the annual YU SOY Seforim sale has been announced:

January 24, 2010 - February 15, 2010

The S.O.Y. Seforim Sale, the largest Jewish book sale in North America, is operated by the students of Yeshiva University. The sale provides discounted prices on the widest selection of rabbinic and academic literature, cookbooks, children's books, music and lecture CDs, and educational software.

This is the best sale of the year! G-d willing we'll try to keep you up to date on further happenings regarding the seforim sale.

Their website is: www.soyseforim.org/

Kehot's 50% Off Hei Tevet Sale

Coffee Table Books Are Here

Coffee table books are often nice gifts and the Jewish book market has just seen an increase of four new books in that category, just in time for Chanukah. Check them out below:

Great Jewish Letters:

For millennia, the Jewish sages have shared their vast treasury of knowledge with us through their Torah works. Less well known, however, is the storehouse of wisdom available to us in letters that the great Torah scholars wrote to their families, disciples, and to the Jewish People.

In this unique collection Rabbi Moshe Bamberger, a respected scholar and educator, shares with us 120 great Jewish letters, translated into flowing English from their original Hebrew. Spanning the centuries from the Gaonic period to today, these letters contain fascinating historical insights and profound ethical truths. Some of the letters are classics, others not well-known, but all share a sense of both intimacy and eternity, a message from a father to a son, from a teacher to a student, from a leader to his people. The letters are arranged by topic, and each is prefaced by a brief biographical sketch of the author and is presented in its historical context.

From the Rambam, to the Alter of Slabodka; from the Gaon of Vilna to Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach; from Rashi to the Gerrer Rebbe and Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, here are the authentic voices of Torah greatness, in their own beautifully-phrased words.

Lavishly designed with both photos and illustrations, Great Jewish Letters is an elegant and important work of both Jewish history and Torah thought.

The Beit HaMikdash. The Holy Temple.

The center of Jewish longing and aspiration.

In this visually stunning, meticulously researched work, the Temple Mount and the Beit HaMikdash — the place where Heaven touches Earth, where mortals can feel eternity — comes to vivid life.

A breathtaking trip through history.

Here, deep beneath the sacred earth, stands the Foundation Stone, where Creation began. Here Abraham bound Isaac upon the altar, and King Solomon built the first Temple. From this mountaintop the magnificent Second Temple cast its light to the world, and it was here that the Roman legions burned and plundered the Temple's treasures.

Forgotten and neglected by the rest of the world, Jewish eyes and hearts have always turned to this holy mountain.
Now, the Temple Mount comes to life before our eyes.

An important work of scholarship and research.

Rabbi Zalman Menachem Koren brings to this groundbreaking work a profound knowledge of the Mishnah, Talmud, and the classic commentaries, and a deep familiarity with modern archaeological findings. A respected scholar, he has devoted decades to studying the Temple and the Temple Mount.

An heirloom edition, to be treasured by generations.

• Hundreds of magnificent photographs
• Pull out, panoramic diagrams of the Temple from many different perspectives
• Detailed descriptions of the various parts of the Beit HaMikdash: their dimensions, locations, and functions
• History and legends of the Western Wall
• A unique visual tour of the Temple

Book of Amazing Facts and Feats

The Creator's World and All That Fills It

The Only Word That Describes This Book Properly Is...WOW!

Step aside, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and make room for a book that really makes a Jewish jaw drop! How big is the world's largest tallis? Which letter appears most in Tanach? Which animals can fly without wings? What is the driest place on Earth? Faster than you can say, "Wow!", these facts and feats will dazzle and amaze you, with full-color pictures to enhance the experience. This book attests to the might and wonder of our Creator's world, giving a rich and colorful picture of the remarkable things that surround our everyday existence.





The Shmuz on the Parsha
Life Transforming Insights on the Weekly Torah Reading

Powerful Life-Changing Messages in a few, short minutes of reading!

The Shmuz is an engaging, motivating shiur that deals with real-life issues. Its unique style captivates listeners while inspiring growth and change - almost effortlessly!

The Shmuz on the Parsha packs the same powerful, life-changing message into a few short minutes of reading. It will allow you to motivate and inspire the people at your Shabbos table to greater levels of spiritual achievement and growth.

Review: "Rabbi Sherer"

Anybody who has happened to see the many recent advertisements for Artscroll's newest biography, "Rabbi Sherer" by Yonoson Rosenblum, would be right to be impressed. As someone who saw the ads mentioned to me, "ten years in the making? What kind of biography takes ten years?!" Now that I have read "Rabbi Sherer" I would have to answer, "an exceptionally good biography takes ten years and that is exactly what this is."

"Rabbi Sherer" is the comprehensive biography of the life and activism of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, the man of whom it can truthfully be said deserves much of the credit for making Agudath Israel the forefront Jewish organization that it is today. The term "askan," literally defined who he was and perhaps if if were to be found in Webster's dictionary would have to include Rabi Sherer as the ideal demonstration of the term. Rarely has such a necessary biography been published. Necessary because there are still too many people who are not aware of how much hakaras hatov we must accord to Rabbi Sherer. As I carried around this book for the past two weeks I encountered two types of reactions from people who asked to see what I was reading. Those who were familiar with Rabbi Sherer started to sing his praises, describing to me what a wonderful person he was. There were certain people, however, who just looked at me and said, "I've never heard of him before." If this monumental biography were to only familiarize the second group of people with all that Rabbi Sherer accomplished in his lifetime of work it would more than serve it's purpose, but I believe that this book has an additional potential, namely to give both groups of people an eye opening view of what it means to give your life to work for Klal Yisroel.

This book is filled with historical pictures and letters that attest to the closeness that both Gedolim and political leaders felt between themselves and Rabbi Sherer. From Rav Aharon Kotler to New York Senator Jacob Javitz, all trusted him with confidence and pride. Two words that came to mind when thinking how to describe the book were insightful and thrilling. Thrilling stood out the most for me because there aren't too many biographies that come to mind that fulfill that description. The thrill comes from watching Rabbi Sherer encounter challenge after challenge and then rectifying them all with an incredible grace and ease. I literally couldn't put down this book because the stories engrossed me entirely. Rabbi Sherer's eloquence and professionalism are often stressed in the book along with his additional positive characteristics that molded him into becoming a once in a lifetime leader. Perhaps two sentences alone, from a chapter describing how Rabbi Sherer was as a boss, could sum up his entire philosophy as well as that of Agudath Israel. When a new secretary started her first day at the Agudath Israel office, Rabbi Sherer asked her who she worked for. After she answered the name of one of the senior staff Rabbi Sherer corrected her and said, "No, you work for Klal Yisroel. All of us here work for Klal Yisroel." All I can say is, wow.

This book has ten years of work written all over it and if you are looking for something enjoyable and inspiring to read I would definitely recommend "Rabbi Sherer."

Judaica Press Chanukah Sale