Aviv Press (eBooks only)

About Aviv Press

Aviv Press, was an imprint of the Rabbinical Assembly, that published high quality Jewish books that are geared for readers of all faiths and denominations wishing to engage in an intellectually dynamic consideration of Jewish texts and traditional approaches to spirituality.

The Boy on the Door on the Ox: An Unusual Spiritual Journey Through the Strangest Jewish Texts

boyondooronoxMartin S. Cohen
ISBN: 978-0-916219-40-6
Pages: 314 

The ancient Jewish text of the Mishnah is not often thought of as a source for spiritual guidance, but in this groundbreaking work, Rabbi Martin Cohen uses the sketchy characters found in the Mishnah as personal spiritual guides.  He defines the concept of Mishnah as escort – “Virgil to every Jew's inner Dante.” This meditation on finding meaning in the Mishnah is steeped in scholarship, yet salted with wit and a distinctly modern slant. For readers of Rabbi Cohen's other popular books, this book offers a rare glimpse into the life of a scholar and rabbi whose career has been informed by a personal engagement with ancient Jewish texts.

Kindle / Nook ($4.99)

Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy: A Guide to Their Beauty, Power & Meaning

psalmsglazerMiriyam Glazer 
ISBN 0-916219-31-3
Pages: 260 

In this study of the psalms of the Jewish liturgy, Rabbi Miriyam Glazer brings these well-known psalms alive. She focuses on each psalm's pathos, power, richness of imagery, and spiritual beauty. This work concentrates on the psalm-as-prayer, showing how lines are connected with one another and how each psalm can take its reader on an inner journey. The author also explains the role each psalm plays in its liturgical setting. This volume is essential for anyone seeking to understand Jewish prayer, and the liturgical role of the psalms.

Our Haven and Our Strength: The Book of Psalms

cohenhavenstrengthMartin S. Cohen
ISBN: 0-916219-22-4 
Pages: 504

Throughout the generations, the Book of Psalms has been a perennial source of inspiration and solace for the Jewish community. Our Haven and Our Strength: The Book of Psalms, featuring the Hebrew text with a fresh gender-neutral translation, invites readers to experience fully the poetry of each psalm. Martin Samuel Cohen's probing commentary focuses on each psalm's spiritual intent, thus bridging the gap between the worldview of the psalmist and the perspective of the modern reader. Appropriate for devotional and study use, this book inspires readers to embrace the beauty of the Psalms in their individual quests for spirituality and faith.

Kindle / Nook ($6.99)

A Responsible Life The Spiritual Path of Mussar

responsiblelife

Ira F. Stone
ISBN: 0-916219-31-3
Pages: 320

“Love your neighbor” is the central obligation of Jewish life. Mussar, a late 19th century Jewish renewal movement, focused on this precept as a means of self-improvement and spiritual growth. Through the practical applications of Mussar, one can learn how to awaken to a spirituality that is compassionate, moral, and generous. In this book, Rabbi Ira Stone provides a contemporary theological framework for understanding Mussar and describes how participation in a Mussar group can offer support and guidance for this powerful spiritual practice.

Kindle / Nook ($4.99)

The Eternal Journey: Meditations on the Jewish Year

eternaljourney

Jonathan Wittenberg
ISBN: 0-916219-25-9
Pages: 300

"All people seek the secret of their own continuity," writes Jonathan Wittenberg. "The light of where we come from shines into the uncertainty of who we are. For where we come from is always at the heart of who we are, and until we understand the greater journey of our family and people we cannot recognize the direction of our own life." In this series of lyrical essays organized around the Jewish calendar, Rabbi Wittenberg engages with moral and theological questions - the relationship between God and the Holocaust, humanity's responsibility for its actions, the transience of life - in language that is both precise and passionate. His meditations on the wonders of the natural world and the impact of intergenerational memory invite readers to consider the religious essence of everyday life. Weaving in quotations from Isaac Babel, Osip Mandelstam, Wordsworth, Keats, and Coleridge, as well as biblical and talmudic insights, Rabbi Wittenberg sheds a universalistic light on the particularities of Jewish tradition. Taken as a whole, this series of provocative essays touches on themes that are not only reflective of the Jewish community's eternal journey, but on the eternal journey shared by all of humanity.

Kindle / Nook ($4.99)