Ben Yehuda Press Chanukah 2021 Gift Guide header

Chanukah 2021 gift guide

New and classic selections from our catalog.
Remember: Gift wrapping is free, as is U.S. shipping.
And for a limited time, if you buy 2 books, you can have a 3rd for free!

Jewish Feminism

The Hebrew Priestess by Rabbi Jill Hammer

From before the days of Miriam the Prophetess and Deborah the Judge, Jewish women have offered their talents as religious leaders. The Hebrew Priestess tells their stories, often reading between the lines of the Bible and Talmud to rediscover the women that rabbinic editors downplayed and perhaps even tried to erase. The Hebrew Priestess further builds on this rich past to offer uniquely feminine forms of spiritual leadership for our time.

Monologues from the Makom

A collection of first-person poetry and prose designed to break the observant Jewish community’s taboo against open discussion of female sexuality.

“A great step forward in our work towards a Jewish world where women’s experiences and voices are heard and valued.”
—Rabbanit Leah Sarna

Jewish mysticism

Return to the Place by Rabbi Jill Hammer

In Return to the Place, Rabbi Jill Hammer has taken an ancient Jewish mystical text and transformed it into a contemporary guide for meditative practice. Rabbi Hammer guides the reader through the story of creation as the ancient text of the Sefer Yetzirah draws readers in and invites them to become participants in the book’s vibrant incantations, bringing the Creator’s sacred energy into the world.

On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz

An intimate look at one of the most influential rabbis of our time. You will feel like a backseat passenger in Arthur Kurzweil’s car as he and Rabbi Steinsaltz discuss such topics as developing a personal relationship with God, the ideas contained in Kabbalah, why God created a world with so much suffering, and how can we be religious and live fully in the world while keeping our sense of humor.

Jewish stories for our time

An Angel Called Truth
and Other Tales from the Torah

A collection of engaging micro-tales for each of the portions of the Torah and one for each of the Jewish festivals as well.

These tales are told from the perspective of young people who feature in the Biblical narrative, young people who feature in classic Rabbinic commentary on our Biblical narratives and young people just made up for this book.

The perfect companion for your family Shabbat table, each story concludes with discussion questions to spark conversation.

“A delightful, accessible, engaging introduction to midrash for kids.” –Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of Nurture the Wow

Tales of Tikkun
New Jewish Stories to Heal the Wounded World

With this book of new Jewish tales fashioned from ancient stories, Rabbis Berman and Waskow aim to repair our past, renew our future, and captivate our imaginations.

Drawing from and expanding the midrashic tradition of Jewish creativity, these stories include a mythical quest by Noah and his wife Na’amah to save the world from modern-day rising oceans, a retelling of the Sarah and Hagar story that makes it whole and healing, and even an imaginative yet shockingly plausible vision of the Messianic age.

Written for adults, but some of these tales are suitable for reading to children.

Jewish calendars for 5782

For Yiddish lovers and Yiddish learners

The Canvas and other stories
by Salomea Perl

A bilingual Yiddish-English text featuring the only known stories Perl wrote and published in the various Yiddish newspapers of her time. Uncovered after two years of research and translated by Ruth Murphy, the book presents the original Yiddish text and English translation in a side-by-side format. Murphy’s translations present Perl’s voice to English readers, while Perl’s rich, authentic Yiddish brings readers back to the Jewish, Yiddish-speaking streets of turn-of-the-century Poland.

George Der Naygeriker
Curious George (Yiddish Edition)
Dos iz George.
Er hot a mol gevoynt in Afrike.
Er iz geven a voyl malpele
Un tomid zeyer a naygeriker.

Thus begins the classic children’s book of the curious monkey and the man with a yellow hat, as translated into Yiddish by Dr. Zackary Sholem Berger.

With its text written in both alef-bais and transliteration, and an alphabet chart to help those not yet proficient, George der Naygeriker is the perfect book for anyone just a bissel naygerik — a little curious — about Yiddish.

Eyn Fish Tsvey Fish Royter Fish Bloyer Fish (One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish in Yiddish)

Eyn fish
Tsvey fish
Royter fish
Bloyer fish

Thus begins the classic children’s book of Dr. Seuss’s imaginative menagerie, now translated into Yiddish, the language that brought the world gefilte fish.

Featuring a rhyming mamaloshen translation by Dr. Zackary Sholem Berger.

Jewish books for a time of plague

Torah in a Time of Plague: Historical and Contemporary Jewish Responses

This collection of essays uses Torah – broadly understood to include any canonical Jewish text or tradition – to illuminate, explore, bemoan, or grapple with our current moment of plague.

This is not the first episode of plague for humanity that Judaism has had to figure out how to navigate. But, at least in our lifetimes, this contemporary period presents unprecedented challenges for sustaining Jewish communities and Jewish meaning. Therefore, it is an opportunity for reflection reaching into the reservoir of literature, theology, liturgy, history, sociology, law, story-telling, and Jewish learning to see if there is any light Torah can shed in this dark time.

Strange Fire: Jewish Voices from the Pandemic

In this anthology, award-winning essayist and cultural critic T.S. Mendola presents a collection of previously unpublished art, poetry, essays, and short stories that explore our more-or-less heretical relationship to Judaism in times of crisis. Strange Fire: Jewish Voices from the Pandemic leans into the crack between the faith we are supposed to practice and the faith we do. 

From a Jewish sex worker’s essay exploring her relationship to her work as holy, to art poems made from pages ripped out of the artist’s childhood siddur, to death magic one step removed from witchcraft, Strange Fire is by turns defiant, tender, and blasphemous. 

Jews vs Zombies

Your reminder that as plagues go, it could be worse.

In Jews vs Zombies, editors Lavie Tidhar and Rebecca Levene have gathered together brand new stories from the light-hearted to the profound, with authors ranging from BSFA Award winner Adam Roberts to best-selling author Sarah Lotz, all asking, for the first time, the question you didn’t even know you wanted answered – what happens when the Chosen People meet the Living Dead?

“If you will it, it is no dream!” as Theodor Herzl said, and no doubt he had just such an anthology in mind.

All royalties go to support UK charity Mosac.