The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student in wartime Berlin who not just survived but resisted—and retained his infectious zeal for life. Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars, and have plenty of romances -- all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma’s fake ID's ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich. Beautifully written and deeply satisfying, Two Wheels to Freedom is a story of survival and resistance unlike any other. Arthur J. Magida captures Cioma’s exuberance, charm, spunk and courage. His was a life lived with wonderment, one that the author sets seamlessly against the horrors of history while never losing sight of Cioma’s “wily ways, his zest for life, and his appetite for improbable adventures—all of them delighting in the magic that’s beyond the ordinary and the staid.” Two Wheels to Freedom is an exhilarating read that by turns illuminates and inspires.
A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book of 2020 A Padma Lakshmi Favorite Read of 2021 The captivating story of the valiant Noor Inayat Khan, daughter of an Indian Sufi mystic and unlikely World War II heroine. Raised in a lush suburb of 1920s Paris, Noor Inayat Khan was an introspective musician and writer, dedicated to her family and to her father’s spiritual values of harmony, beauty, and tolerance. She did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazi violence and the German occupation of France, Noor joined the British Special Operations Executive and trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. She returned to Paris under an assumed identity immediately before the Germans mopped up the Allies’ largest communications network in France. For crucial months of the war, Noor was the only wireless operator there sending critical information to London, significantly aiding the success of the Allied landing on D-Day. Code-named Madeleine, she became a high-value target for the Gestapo. When she was eventually captured, Noor attempted two daring escapes before she was sent to Dachau and killed just months before the end of the war. Carefully distilled from dozens of interviews, newly discovered manuscripts, official documents, and personal letters, Code Name Madeleine is both a compelling, deeply researched history and a thrilling tribute to Noor Inayat Khan, whose courage and faith guided her through the most brutal regime in history.
A fascinating true-crime narrative about the first rabbi ever accused of murder and what the case says about the role of clergy in America. On the evening of November 1, 1994, Rabbi Fred Neulander returned home to find his wife, Carol, facedown on the living room floor, blood everywhere. He called for help, but it was too late. Two trials and eight years later, the founder of the largest reform synagogue in southern New Jersey became the first rabbi ever convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a gripping examination of the misuses of the pulpit and the self-delusions of power, Arthur J. Magida paints a devastating portrait of a manipulative man who used his position of trust in the temple to attract several mistresses -- and to befriend a lonely recovering alcoholic, whom he convinced to kill his wife "for the good of Israel." The Rabbi and the Hit Man straddles the juncture of faith and trust, and confronts issues of sex, narcissism, arrogance, and adultery. It is the definitive account of a charismatic clergyman who paid the ultimate price for ignoring his own words of wisdom: "We live at any moment with our total past ... What we do will stay with us forever.
The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student in wartime Berlin who not just survived but resisted—and retained his infectious zeal for life. Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars, and have plenty of romances -- all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma’s fake ID's ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich. Beautifully written and deeply satisfying, Two Wheels to Freedom is a story of survival and resistance unlike any other. Arthur J. Magida captures Cioma’s exuberance, charm, spunk and courage. His was a life lived with wonderment, one that the author sets seamlessly against the horrors of history while never losing sight of Cioma’s “wily ways, his zest for life, and his appetite for improbable adventures—all of them delighting in the magic that’s beyond the ordinary and the staid.” Two Wheels to Freedom is an exhilarating read that by turns illuminates and inspires.
World War I left Berlin, and all of Germany, devastated. Charlatans and demagogues eagerly exploited the desperate crowds. Fascination with the occult was everywhere – in private séances, personalized psychic readings, communions with the dead – as people struggled to escape the grim reality of their lives. In the early 1930s, the most famous mentalist in the German capital was Erik Jan Hanussen, a Jewish mind reader originally from Vienna who became so popular in Berlin that he rubbed elbows with high ranking Nazis, became close with top Storm Troopers, and even advised Hitler. Called "Europe's Greatest Oracle Since Nostradamus," Hanussen assumed he could manipulate some of the more incendiary personalities of his time just as he had manipulated his fans. He turned his occult newspaper in Berlin into a Nazi propaganda paper, personally assured Hitler that the stars were aligned in his favor, and predicted the infamous Reichstag Fire that would solidify the Nazis' grip on Germany. Seasoned with ruminations about wonder and magic (and explanations of Hanussen's tricks), The Nazi Séance is a disturbing journey into a Germany as it descends into madness—aided by a "clairvoyant" Jew oblivious to the savagery of men who pursued a Reich they fantasized would last 1,000 years.
20th anniversary sequel to a seminal book of the Jewish renewal movement. Deals with spirituality in relation to personal growth, marriage, ecology, feminism, politics and more. Outlines original ways to merge “religious” life and “personal” life today.
A welcoming introduction to the most important ideas in Judaism. In an age of fluid identity, many people are honestly asking the question “Why be Jewish?” What in this religious and ethnic legacy is worth preserving? Does Judaism have something unique to offer a contemporary seeker free to choose a way of life and a system of values? Here is the answer of a leading spiritual teacher who has faced these questions in conversation with generations of students. With warmth, humor, personal and rabbinic stories and down-to-earth explanations, Arthur Green presents the ideas in Judaism that kept him loyal to the tradition passed on to him. The result is an enticing look into timeless Jewish wisdom that will encourage you to explore further and search out the riches of Judaism for yourself.
How does the story of the Exodus echo in our own generation and in our own lives? "For us to hear the Oneness of God, we must grow into a place where the cosmic and the political are deeply the same truth." —from Part V The story Jews retell on Passover is about rising up against tyranny, about the triumph of the God who sides with the despised against a resplendent emperor. Exploring how this tale applies to our own time enriches the ancient account—and it expands and transforms the community for which Exodus is a collective family story. Exodus is not only the saga of the escape from slavery, but also a story of courage, celebration, rebirth and community from which people of all faith traditions have learned and can continue to learn. Calling us to relearn and rethink the Passover story, Rabbi Arthur O. Waskow and Rabbi Phyllis O. Berman share: The enduring spiritual resonance of the Hebrews' journey for our own time Social justice, ecological and feminist perspectives on the Exodus How the Passover story has been adapted and used by African American as well as Christian and Muslim communities to provide insight and inspiration. With contributions by Dr. Vincent Harding: “Exodus in African America: A Great Camp Meeting” Dr. S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana: “Exodus in the Qur’an: Mercy, Compassion, and Forgiveness” Ched Myers and Russell Powell: “Exodus in the Life and Death of Jesus”
Judaism itself is a language, a group's way of expressing beliefs, longings, aspirations and dreams. The vocabulary of Jewish life is the framework that Jews use to hand their past down to their children. It is, also, the vocabulary that people of other faiths need to know to understand Judaism and Jewish life. In this revised edition of the ultimate Jewish primer, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time takes readers on a historical and spiritual journey through Judaism.
He preaches a dynamic message of African-American empowerment and self-reliance, offering discipline and hope to those most in need. At the same time, he outrages mainstream America with his fiery rhetoric and unrestrained criticism of whites, Jews, and Catholics, whom he blames for the ongoing oppression of blacks. He is the Reverend Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and his voice shakes the nation.Prophet of Rage penetrates the rhetoric that surrounds this enigmatic figure to reveal his personal story, tracing his life from his birth as Eugene Walcott in the Bronx through his childhood in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, his training as a classical violinist, and his career as a calypso singer. It then follows his remarkable political career, recounting his indoctrination into the Nation of Islam, during which time he took the name “Louis X”; explaining his involvement with the assassination of Malcolm X; and chronicling his rise to power as a powerful orator, political leader, and self-proclaimed prophet.
World War I left Berlin, and all of Germany, devastated. Charlatans and demagogues eagerly exploited the desperate crowds. Fascination with the occult was everywhere – in private séances, personalized psychic readings, communions with the dead – as people struggled to escape the grim reality of their lives. In the early 1930s, the most famous mentalist in the German capital was Erik Jan Hanussen, a Jewish mind reader originally from Vienna who became so popular in Berlin that he rubbed elbows with high ranking Nazis, became close with top Storm Troopers, and even advised Hitler. Called "Europe's Greatest Oracle Since Nostradamus," Hanussen assumed he could manipulate some of the more incendiary personalities of his time just as he had manipulated his fans. He turned his occult newspaper in Berlin into a Nazi propaganda paper, personally assured Hitler that the stars were aligned in his favor, and predicted the infamous Reichstag Fire that would solidify the Nazis' grip on Germany. Seasoned with ruminations about wonder and magic (and explanations of Hanussen's tricks), The Nazi Séance is a disturbing journey into a Germany as it descends into madness—aided by a "clairvoyant" Jew oblivious to the savagery of men who pursued a Reich they fantasized would last 1,000 years.
This bold, pioneering book explores rites of passage in America by sifting through the accounts of influential thinkers who experienced them. Arthur J. Magida explains the underlying theologies, evolution, and actual practice of Jewish bar and bat mitzvahs, Christian confirmations, Hindu sacred thread ceremonies, Muslim shahadas and Zen jukai ceremonies. In rare interviews, renowned artists and intellectuals such as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, holistic guru Deepak Chopra, singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), actress/comedienne Julia Sweeney, cartoonist Roz Chast, interfaith maven Huston Smith, and many more talk intimately about their religious backgrounds, the rites of passage they went through, and how these events shaped who they are today. Magida compares these coming of age ceremonies' origins and evolution, considers their ultimate meaning and purpose, and gauges how their meaning changes with individuals over time. He also examines innovative rites of passage that are now being "invented" in the United States. Passionate and lyrical, this absorbing book reveals our deep, ultimate need for coming-of-age events, especially in a society as fluid as ours. Conversations with: Bob Abernethy, Huston Smith, Julia Sweeney, Roz Chast, Harold Kushner, Ram Dass, Elie Wiesel, Deepak Chopra, Robert Thurman, Coleman Barks, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), And others
He preaches a dynamic message of African-American empowerment and self-reliance, offering discipline and hope to those most in need. At the same time, he outrages mainstream America with his fiery rhetoric and unrestrained criticism of whites, Jews, and Catholics, whom he blames for the ongoing oppression of blacks. He is the Reverend Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and his voice shakes the nation.Prophet of Rage penetrates the rhetoric that surrounds this enigmatic figure to reveal his personal story, tracing his life from his birth as Eugene Walcott in the Bronx through his childhood in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, his training as a classical violinist, and his career as a calypso singer. It then follows his remarkable political career, recounting his indoctrination into the Nation of Islam, during which time he took the name “Louis X”; explaining his involvement with the assassination of Malcolm X; and chronicling his rise to power as a powerful orator, political leader, and self-proclaimed prophet.
In twenty-first century, multi-cultural Britain, we are increasingly likely to be invited to the wedding, funeral or other religious occasion of a friend, relative or co-worker whose faith is different from our own. Naturally, we are delighted to be asked
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