Jonathan L. Friedmann

William Sharlin (1920-2012) was a cantor, synagogue composer, teacher and musicologist. Raised in an Orthodox household, he turned toward Universalism and the liberal Reform movement. A member of the first graduating class of the first cantorial school in America, he was a founding member...

In the Hebrew Bible and stories loyal to it, Goliath is the stereotypical giant of folklore: big, brash, violent, and dimwitted. Goliath as Gentle Giant sets out to rehabilitate the giant's image by exploring the origins of the biblical behemoth, the limitations of the...

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma on January 24, 1848, initiated one of the largest migrations in US history. Between 1849 and 1855, hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in Northern California hoping to find gold in the foothills of thAuthor:...

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma on January 24, 1848, initiated one of the largest migrations in US history. Between 1849 and 1855, hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in Northern California hoping to find gold in the foothills of the...

Since the early 1950s, local and regional historicalsocieties have been an important part of the American Jewish landscape, providing community outreach, housing archives, fostering research, andpublishing historical studies. This book charts the development, undertakings, successes, shortcomings, and possible future of local and regional Jewishhistorical...

The first known Jewish resident of the Mexican Pueblo de Los ngeles arrived in 1841. When California entered the Union in 1850, the census listed just eight Jews living in Los Angeles. By 1855, the fledgling city had a Hebrew Benevolent Society and a...

The first known Jewish resident of the Mexican Pueblo de Los ngeles arrived in 1841. When California entered the Union in 1850, the census listed just eight Jews living in Los Angeles. By 1855, the fledgling city had a Hebrew Benevolent Society and a...

Music research has entered something of a Golden Age. Technological advances and scholarly inquiry have merged in interdisciplinary studies--drawing on psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, anthropology and other fields--that illuminate the musical nature of our species. This volume develops, supports and challenges that body of...

Music in the Hebrew Bible investigates musical citations in the Hebrew Bible and their relevance for our times. Most biblical musical references are addressed, either alone or as a grouping, and each is considered from a modern perspective. The book consists of one hundred...

Nondenominational Judaism collects essays from faculty, administrators, and alumni from the Academy for Jewish Religion California and other institutions engaged in pluralistic, nondenominational, and transdenominational Jewish professional and higher education.Contributors were asked to share personal, academic, and/or philosophical reflections on their experiences learning, teaching,...

From biblical times until today the shofar has served an array of practical purposes and communicated a range of symbolic meanings. The roughly seventy references to the shofar in the Hebrew Bible show four stereotypical functions: announcing the divine presence, accompanying sacred ceremonies, proclaiming...

Songs of Sonderling is the story of Jacob Sonderling's unique contributions to Jewish liturgical music. Rabbi Sonderling was many things: a descendant of Chassidic rebbes, a rationalist, a Reform rabbi, a Zionist, an army chaplain, a celebrated orator, an artistic soul. From his early...

As the twenty-first century continues to bring rapid changes to Judaism and Jewish affiliation, and as major challenges continue to mount within and well beyond the Jewish world, effective leadership increasingly requires familiarity and dexterity in multiple ethical areas: interpersonal, social, political, environmental, medical,...