Booknotes

138 SHOFAR Winter 1995 Vol. 13, No.2 BOOKNOTES Annotations written by Walter Hirsch and Nancy Lein, both of Purdue University, are identified by their initials. American Jewish Life Alternatives to Assimilation: The Response ofReformJudaism to American Culture, 1840-1930, by Alan Silverstein. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1995. 275 pp. $42.00 (c). ISBN 0-76451-694-3. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, Alan Silverstein focuses on the growth of the Reform movement, at both the local and national levels, as one of the major catalysts of change. He places the movement into a cultural and historical context, revealing the extent to which it participated in and responded to larger issues and trends in American life. The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed, edited by Jack Wertheimer. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1995. 452 pp. $19.95 (P). ISBN 0-87451-709-5. First published in 1987 and now in paperback, The American Synagogue combines broad overviews of denominational differentiation with case studies from many geographical regions. Themes range from the effects of immigration on synagogue life to the changing roles of women. And They Shall Be My People: An American Rabbi and His Congregation, by Paul Wilkes. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1994. 348 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-87113-561-2. Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum of Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester, MA is the focus of this book. The author follows Rabbi Rosenbaum on his daily rounds and also interviews the rabbi, his wife, and his congregants , some of whom feel the rabbi has enriched their spiritual lives, but many of whom are offended by his persistent efforts to make them more observant Jews. Book Notes 139 Jews and the New American Scene, by Seymour Martin Upset and Earl Raab. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995. 256 pp. $22.95. ISBN 0-674-47493-7. The authors bring scholarship, anecdotes, and statistical research to bear on the question of whether the hospitable environment of the United States will lead to the Jews' assimilation and loss of cultural identity. Ancient World and Archaeology Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and ArchaeologicalData, edited by Dan Urman and Paul V. M. Flesher. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994. 300 pp. $77.25. ISBN 90-04-09904-2. This book brings together essays from Israeli, British, and American scholars to explore the development of the ancient synagogue. The book focuses on two central questions. First, what were the origins of the earliest synagogues and where did they achieve the greatest growth in the early centuries? And second, what role did the early synagogue play within the Jewish community? Babylone et la Bible: Entretiens avec Helene Monsacre (Babylon and the Bible: Conversations with Helene Monsacre), by Jean Bottero. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1994. 316 pp. 125 FF. ISBN 2-251-44026-7. The Mesopotamians are the first great historical culture-they invented writing 5000. years ago-and the subject of Jean Bottero's research. In these conversations, presented as a stroll through his life and work, Bottero discusses ancient semitic religions, biblical languages, and the history of the Bible itself as it is found in cuneiform writing on clay tablets. (French) (N.L.) The Community of the Renewed Covenant: The Notre Dame Symposium on the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Eugene Ulrich and James VanderKam. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994. 272 pp. $29.95 (c). ISBN 0-268-00807-3. The contributors offer scholarly assessments of the most current research on the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as discussions of the future of Scrolls studies. 140 SHOFAR Winter 1995 Vol. 13, No.2 Computer Aided Text-Reconstruction and Transcription: CATTManual, by Armin lange. Tiibingen: J. c. B. Mohr, 1993. 200 pp. ISBN 3-16-146149-5. Antique or medieval manuscripts confront their readers with a text that may be deteriorated in many ways. One of the most difficult tasks for a scholar is the reconstruction of such damaged texts. Computer Aided Text-Reconstruction and Transcription (CATI) is a method that uses the enlarged capacities of the new generation of desktop computers and image editing software to reconstruct photographs of manuscripts or inscriptions using techniques that can otherwise only...