Book Notes

Book Notes B~ook Notes 183 Annotations of books in German were written by Editor Joseph Haberer and are identified by the initials J.H. American Jewish Life Schmoozing: The Private Conversatipns ofAmerican Jews, by Joshua Halberstam. New York: Perigee, 1997. 272 pp. $13.00. ISBN 0-399-52157-7. The author reveals what Jews think about money, intelligence, body image, I intermarriage, gender, guilt, an~ sex; he examines the stereotypes that have defmed Jews and examines what Jews; themselves think about them and how well they might fit the reality. Ancient World and Archaeology Aramaic Ostraca ofthe Fourth Century BCfrom Idumaea, by Israel Eph'al and Joseph I Naveh. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, ]997. 100 pp. $20.00 (p). ISBN 965-223-958-5. Literary documentation on southern Palestine from the end of the Persian period and the beginning of the Helleristic period is scarce. Hence recently discovered Aramaic ostraca dating 361-31 ~ BC are the almost exclusive source for the study of ethnic structure and economic life in these periods. Containing Aramaic words, unknown from other sources, !they also bear linguistic significance. The book contains the photographs, transliteration, and translation with a commentary of 201 ostraca. It also contains an introduction about the substantial and historical I significance of the ostraca, as well as a glossary and an index of the proper names. Tolerance and Intolerance in Early Judaism and Christianity, edited by Graham N. Stanton and Guy G. Stroumsa. New:York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 320 pp. $59.95. ISBN 0-521-59037-X. The essays in this book conside~ issues oftolerance and intolerance faced by Jews and Christians between 200 BOE and 200 CEo Several essays are concerned with I aspects of early Jewish-Christian relationships, several discuss ways Jews and Christians defmed themselves a~ainst the pagan world, and several consider issues of tolerance that arose in rival groups within early Judaism and within early Christianity. 184 Art, Music, and Film SHOFAR Spring 1998 Vol. 16, No.3 Jewish Music: Its History, People, and Song, by Ronald H. Isaacs. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997. 264 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-7657-5966-7. Intended as a broad introduction to Jewish music, this volume includes an anthology ofJewish musical terms and issues; an exploration ofbiblical music and the Psalms; the talmudic rabbis' opinions on music; the role of music in Jewish legends and stories; discussion of musical chants in the liturgy and the role of the chazan (cantor); notable music-related quotations; and the recent popularity of Jewish liturgical folk musIC. Biblical and Rabbinic Literature Genesis: World ofMyths and Patriarchs, by Ada Feyerick. New York: New York University Press, 1996. 256 pp. $55.95. ISBN 0-8147-2668-2. Drawing upon the great archaeological discoveries in the Middle East over the past century, this book takes a look at the civilizations that formed the background of the first book of the Bible. The everyday life of the people of Genesis is viewed through politics, arts, nomadic migrations, commerce, religion, and moral values. Les symboles des reves dans la Bible (The Symbols of Dreams in the Bible), by Albert Soued. Paris: Jacques Grancher, 1997. 422 pp. 139 FF. ISBN 2-733905-65-1. The author analyzes all the dreams and most ofthe visions in the Bible, and he tries to respond to questions about the prophetic spirit and angels: What differentiates a prophet from a seer? a prophet from an angel? What is a false prophet and how can the prophetic spirit be deflected or stimulated? What does the word "intermediary" signify? In the process of interpreting more than 60 dreams and visions, the author shows us the threads which connect them, their meaning, and their historical import. (French) History and Politics Britain and the Holy Land, 1838-1914: Selected Documentsfrom the British Consulate in Jerusalem, by Mordechai Eliav. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, co-published with Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1997. 430 pp. $35.00. ISBN 965-217-139-5. Great Britain, the first European power to establish a consulate in Jerusalem, was forced to close its doors late in 1914, after the outbreak of World War I. Consular records were subsequently burnt to avoid their discovery by Turkish...