We are delighted to announce that the Littman Foundation has become partners with PJ Library in the UK. Given the Foundation’s commitment to Judaism and literature, this partnership feels like a natural progression. They also support the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, founded by Louis Littman, for the express purpose of publishing classic scholarly works.
Founded by Louis Littman in memory of his father to explore, explain, and perpetuate the Jewish heritage, the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization published its first book in 1965. It has gone on to publish many highly regarded titles and has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading publishers in the field. Littman's academic books are selected for their outstanding scholarship, objectivity, and new insights. Many are considered definitive in their field. Littman’s more general titles, written in an accessible style, aim to make important ideas available to a readership concerned with the state of the Jewish world.
The Littman Library have identified three titles that PJ Library parents may be interested in reading, which are outlined below. The full list can be found here.
One People? Tradition, Modernity, and Jewish Unity by Jonathan Sacks. This book is a study of the major problem confronting the Jewish future: the availability of a way of mending the schisms between Reform and Orthodox Judaism, between religious and secular Jews in Israel and between Israel itself and the diaspora. It also examines the underlying philosophy of Jewish law.
“A tour de force. Brilliantly documented and skilfully presented, it looks honestly at the Jewish experience of the past in order to find a resolution to the problems that today threaten the Jewish people with dissolution.” - Sidney Brichto, Jewish Chronicle
Rediscovering Traces of Memory: The Jewish Heritage of Polish Galicia by Jonathan Webber. This ground-breaking book convincingly demonstrates the complexity of the Jewish past in Polish Galicia and the attempts to memorialize its heritage, as well as the unexpected revival of Jewish life. It contains a hundred contemporary colour photographs from the acclaimed Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków.
“Chris Schwarz and Jonathan Webber have poignantly captured the ruins of memory. Tradition, religion, culture, language, architecture, homes, places of worship, and cemeteries, all beautifully photographed, clearly explained. Their work is a fitting memorial to the Jews of Galicia, who survive only through these whispered traces.” - Stephen Smith, Chair, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, UK
Undercurrents of Jewish Prayer by Jeremy Schonfield. Even those who lavish close attention on talmudic and halakhic writings have rarely studied the Jewish prayer-book. Its dense and apparently impenetrable texts are here subjected to close analysis that exposes the messages and covert concerns implicit in the underlying narrative. The controversial conclusions establish the prayer-book as one of the greatest achievements of Jewish literary creativity.
“Schonfield asserts his undeniable right to be accepted into the first rank of Jewish liturgical scholars . . . no-one who completes this superb book will be able to look at a prayer book in the same way again.” - Charles Middleburgh, Jewish Chronicle
January 20, 2021