"Strongly recommended for people interested in history who would also like to go on a journey of discovery."-Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur According to the Talmud, the doors of return are always open, and the restored and preserved synagogues, cemeteries, and mikvehs in Germany await visitors-both Jew and Gentile-with wide open doors. This important work, complete with full-color photographs, describes significant sites mentioned in no other guidebook. With more Jewish historical points of interest than any country outside of Israel, Germany contains not only the relics of the past but also the origins of rituals and traditions that continue to the present day. Anyone researching family names, the Yiddish language, or Ashkenazi traditions may find their beginnings here. Germany offers many noteworthy Jewish sites, somber and sacred, even for those not interested in scholarly or personal investigation. In the Jewish cemetery on Ilandskoppel in Hamburg is a memorial to the Nazis' victims that includes an urn from Auschwitz. In Augsburg remains what is probably the only surviving German Jugendstil synagogue. A museum located in the synagogue complex contains a rich collection of ritual and secular objects from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. Whether travelers are searching for history, religion, or their roots, they will not be disappointed by the countless discoveries to be made with this key to the doors of Jewish Germany.

"A priceless asset to any traveler whose goal is to explore the Jewish past of these two historical countries." --The Jewish Advocate The author follows in the footsteps of his namesake, the rabbi explorer of the twelfth century, Benjamin of Tudela, to create the first all-encompassing guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine, with stops in Bulgaria and Romania. Until Communism fell, the Jews of Russia and Ukraine had been suppressed and denied human and religious rights. Today, not only are they reborn, but they are rebuilding a new, vibrant community for the twenty-first century. Frank explores this rebirth and guides both first-time and experienced travelers to Jewish and historical sites. He profiles synagogues, monuments, and schools that can be found in such cities as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, and even Kishinev in Moldava. Approximately 120 years ago, the majority of the world's Jews lived in what was called the "Pale of Settlement" in the Russian Empire. Most American Jews today trace their ancestry to Russia and the surrounding territories, especially Ukraine. A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine will aid those visiting places where relatives once lived, as well as those simply in search of history.

A Travel Guide to the Jewish Caribbean and South America is a tremendous work encompassing history, culture, and modern travel to some of the most important sites in these places. This is a practical, anecdotal, and adventurous journey including kosher restaurants, cafes, synagogues, and museums, plus cultural and heritage sites. Though many understand American Jewish history as beginning with the East European mass immigration of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Jews in the Americas planted roots as early as 1654, when twenty-three Jews fleeing the Inquisition arrived in New Amsterdam. While the European roots of American Jews are often explored, less discussed are the still-vibrant Jewish communities throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Explored here are the oldest surviving synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, Mikve Israel in Curaçao; the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, in Puerto Rico; the three synagogues in Havana, Cuba; the Israeli cafe in Cuzco, Peru, near the historic Inca site, Machu Picchu; and other Jewish sites from Buenos Aires to Mexico City. Also included are general travel information and tips.

"Countless men and women around the world today think of themselves as "Bialystokers," whether by birth or inheritance. In recent years, growing numbers of them have taken the trouble to make their way to northeastern Poland to visit - or revisit - the region that has been called "the heart of European Jewry," This Guide for Yesterday and Today is for them, as well as for students everywhere of the lost Jewish heritage of Poland. At the outbreak of World War II, more than three-quarters of all the Jews in the world either lived in Poland, or on former Polish lands, or were descendants of Jews who had lived there. The city of Bialystok alone counted at least 50,000 Jews, and refugees from the German invasion of Western Poland nearly tripled that number by November 1939. Today, only half a dozen Jews live in Bialystok...This ... book, which contains: the history of Białystok, Tykocin, and 30 nearby towns and villages; tours of Białystok by foot and auto to suit various time schedules; individual names and dates from cemeteries and and an old guidebook; a chronology of Jewish life in Białystok, starting in the 15th century; short biographies of notable Białystok Jews; 77 photographs and 25 maps... "--Back cover.

This is an indispensable resource about the role of Jewish women from post-biblical times to the twentieth century. Unique in its approach, it is structured so that each chapter, which is divided into three parts, covers a specific period and geographical area. The first section of the book contains an overview, explaining how historical events affected Jews in general and Jewish women in particular. This is followed by a section of biographical entries of women of the period whose lives are set in their economic, familial, and cultural backgrounds. The third and last part of each chapter, "The World of Jewish Women," is organized by topic and covers women's activities and interests and how Jewish laws concerning women developed and changed. This comprehensive work is an easy-to-use sourcebook, synopsizing rich and diverse resources. By examining history and analyzing the dynamics of Jewish law and custom, it illuminates the circumstances of Jewish women's lives and traces the changes that have occurred throughout the centuries. It casts a new and clear light on Jewish women as individuals and sets women firmly within the context of their own cultural and historical periods. The book contains illustrations, boxed text, extensive endnotes, and indices that list each woman by name. It is ideal for women's groups and study groups as well as students and scholars.