Supple but crunchy, sweet but tart—with its strange construction of seeds filled with delicious garnet juice so vibrant it’s hard not think it is some otherworldly blood—no wonder the pomegranate has appealed so much to the human imagination throughout the centuries. Holding aloft this singular fruit in the light of human history, Damien Stone offers a unique look at an alluring fruit that has figured in our culinary consciousness from the gardens of the ancient world to the health-food section of supermarkets. Stone takes us back to the early polytheistic religions and the important role that pomegranates had in their rituals. From there he shows how they came to be held in high esteem in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike, examining exciting new findings that further cement their importance: for instance, many historians believe now that it was a pomegranate, not an apple, that was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Stone examines the allure that the pomegranate has had to a fascinating cast of famous figures, from ancient Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal to Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn, from Sandro Botticelli to Salvador Dalí. Drawing on text, image, and taste, Pomegranate is a cornucopia of strange and fascinating stories about a very special fruit.

200 Pomegranates empowers and inspires readers to develop their God-given talents and contribute something that makes a difference in the world, be it through construction or counseling, doing people’s taxes carefully and ethically, or raising and teaching children. Even if your contribution seems to go unnoticed by others, you can rest assured that God sees and values your work. Readers follow the story of obscure Old Testament figure Huram of Tyre, an artist putting the finishing touches on Solomon's temple. He honed his craft and contributed something of beauty and excellence, though some of his best work was thirty feet off the ground, where few people would notice its intricacies. Likewise, we have the ability and opportunity to create something of worth, be it for the lasting enjoyment of others or for God's eyes only. We may not all be artistic in the traditional sense, but we are nonetheless creators, made in the image of the world's Creator and endowed with skills and talents that can honor God and impact our world. Every good mom is an artist, molding her children as creations of God. Every ethical businessperson leaves a legacy of people seeing God through his or her careful work. Every after-school teacher makes a mark on the young people whose parents are busy just making ends meet. All talents, skills, and work to be creative and potentially God-honoring, from teaching and chemical engineering to number-crunching and packing a child's lunch. Readers will gain leadership and life-management skills, while being inspired for daily living. They will walk away saying, "I am an artist. By being the best parent, coach, teacher, welder, pastor, husband, aunt, (fill in the blank!), I can be, I am creating something beautiful in the eyes of God."

Learn the ancient wisdom of the Qabalah from one of the most influential magical teachers of modern times and two of his personal students. Illustrations.

Colleagues, students, and friends honor Professor Milgrom by celebrating his contributions to biblical and Near Eastern scholarship with special emphasis on his primary areas of expertise. The first section of the book, Ritual, Law, and Their Sources, contains thirty-five essays on cultic and legal issues found in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, and texts from Qumran. The second section, Other Literary, Historical, and Linguistic Studies, includes twenty-four essays, primarily dealing with interpretive issues in the Hebrew Bible.

Love and Pomegranates: Artists and Wayfarers on Iran is a series of testimonials from people who have journeyed into the heart of the "enemy" and found themselves identifying with the "other." More than a collection of essays to acquaint readers with Iran, it is a model for citizen diplomacy. It is a maiden voyage on the path to greater understanding.

"Unexpected, rare, and a revelation . . . Sarah Kafatou has given us a gentle-paced, keen-eyed lesson, day by day, in how to live as we get older.”―Rachel Hadas, author of Strange Relation: A Memoir of Marriage, Dementia, and Poetry and Poems for Camilla Pomegranate Years, an intimate account of three years lived on the island of Crete, documents a turbulent, stressful time of economic and political crisis in Greece. It is also deeply concerned with illness and death, as the author's husband Fotis Kafatos, a distinguished scientist, is increasingly affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Fotis remains a full human being, authentic and resilient despite his impairments. Sarah reflects on his situation, as well as on the vicissitudes of daily life, the practice of art, and current events in Greece, Europe, and the US. She takes long walks in the Cretan mountains and discovers hidden aspects of the island. Talks with friends, and her own historical awareness, provide her with a rich sense of belonging. As an account of a solitude, a couple, a family, and a culture, Pomegranate Years is concerned with the question of how to live well at any age, but especially as one grows older and a beloved life draws almost imperceptibly nearer to its end. "Pomegranate Years is full of the deepest questions: How should we live? How do we choose what to do—in our hours, in our lives, and in the days when the one we love is dying? What should we learn? (At this point in the author’s life, Beethoven and Arabic, among many other things.) Gorgeous descriptions of hiking in Crete interweave with thoughts on painting, piano (both playing and composition), poetry, fiction, literary translation (particularly Pushkin), history, and politics. Kafatou’s voice is compelling, inviting one to read further, read again. And with each re-reading one sees new ways to think about one’s own life. This brilliant and evocative memoir is an inspiration."—Grace Dane Mazur, author of The Garden Party

Take a journey into the life of two thirteen-year-old girls, born in different eras, in the rural village of Abadi, Iran. At thirteen, Fati was married and looking forward to being a wife and mother. This was the life that all Abadi girls were groomed for and desired to live, and she was ready to begin her adult life with Alborz, her husband. But her excitement is abruptly turned into terror when after a traumatic near rape, the religious leader of Abadi, Sharif Akhlaghi, and his followers accuse her of having an affair and order her to be stoned to death.Zoom forward thirty years, and enter Mina?s world, another Iranian girl also in Abadi. For Mina, each year finding the first cracked pomegranate in the garden of her home was a time of great excitement, for it marked her birthday and the new school year. But Mina isn?t looking forward to finding any cracked pomegranates this year because she will be thirteen, which means that her formal education years will cease and her father will marry her off, as he did with her two older sisters. But Mina will stop at nothing to stall her parents? attempts at marrying her and to continue her quest for higher education, throughout the seventh grade.There is a common thread that weaves the lives of Fati and Mina together in their home village, Abadi. There is Sharif Akhlaghi, the fanatic religious leader.