"Bold, deeply learned, and important, offering a provocative thesis that is worked out through legal and archival materials and in subtle and original readings of literary texts. Absolutely new in content and significantly innovative in methodology and argument, Stumbling Blocks Before the Blind offers a cultural geography of medieval blindness that invites us to be more discriminating about how we think of geographies of disability today." ---Christopher Baswell, Columbia University "A challenging, interesting, and timely book that is also very well written . . . Wheatley has researched and brought together a leitmotiv that I never would have guessed was so pervasive, so intriguing, so worthy of a book." ---Jody Enders, University of California, Santa Barbara Stumbling Blocks Before the Blind presents the first comprehensive exploration of a disability in the Middle Ages, drawing on the literature, history, art history, and religious discourse of England and France. It relates current theories of disability to the cultural and institutional constructions of blindness in the eleventh through fifteenth centuries, examining the surprising differences in the treatment of blind people and the responses to blindness in these two countries. The book shows that pernicious attitudes about blindness were partially offset by innovations and ameliorations---social; literary; and, to an extent, medical---that began to foster a fuller understanding and acceptance of blindness. A number of practices and institutions in France, both positive and negative---blinding as punishment, the foundation of hospices for the blind, and some medical treatment---resulted in not only attitudes that commodified human sight but also inhumane satire against the blind in French literature, both secular and religious. Anglo-Saxon and later medieval England differed markedly in all three of these areas, and the less prominent position of blind people in society resulted in noticeably fewer cruel representations in literature. This book will interest students of literature, history, art history, and religion because it will provide clear contexts for considering any medieval artifact relating to blindness---a literary text, a historical document, a theological treatise, or a work of art. For some readers, the book will serve as an introduction to the field of disability studies, an area of increasing interest both within and outside of the academy. Edward Wheatley is Surtz Professor of Medieval Literature at Loyola University, Chicago.

Bold, deeply learned, and important, offering a provocative thesis that is worked out through legal and archival materials and in subtle and original readings of literary texts. Absolutely new in content and significantly innovative in methodology and argument, Stumbling Blocks Before the Blind offers a cultural geography of medieval blindness that invites us to be more discriminating about how we think of geographies of disability today.---Christopher Baswell, Columbia University"A challenging, interesting, and timely book that is also very well written . . . Wheatley has researched and brought together a leitmotiv that I never would have guessed was so pervasive, so intriguing, so worthy of a book."---Jody Enders, University of California, Santa BarbaraStumbling Blocks Before the Blind presents the first comprehensive exploration of a disability in the Middle Ages, drawing on the literature, history, art history, and religious discourse of England and France. It relates current theories of disability to the cultural and institutional constructions of blindness in the eleventh through fifteenth centuries, examining the surprising differences in the treatment of blind people and the responses to blindness in these two countries. The book shows that pernicious attitudes about blindness were partially offset by innovations and ameliorations---social; literary; and, to an extent, medical---that began to foster a fuller understanding and acceptance of blindness.A number of practices and institutions in France, both positive and negative---blinding as punishment, the foundation of hospices for the blind, and some medical treatment---resulted in not only attitudes that commodified human sight but also inhumane satire against the blind in French literature, both secular and religious. Anglo-Saxon and later medieval England differed markedly in all three of these areas, and the less prominent position of blind people in society resulted in noticeably fewer cruel representations in literature.This book will interest students of literature, history, art history, and religion because it will provide clear contexts for considering any medieval artifact relating to blindness---a literary text, a historical document, a theological treatise, or a work of art. For some readers, the book will serve as an introduction to the field of disability studies, an area of increasing interest both within and outside of the academy.Edward Wheatley is Surtz Professor of Medieval Literature at Loyola University, Chicago.

David J. Rudolph raises new questions about Paul's view of the Torah and Jewish identity in this post-supersessionist interpretation of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Paul's principle of accommodation is considered in light of the diversity of Second Temple Judaism and Jesus' example and rule of accommodation.

This book challenges us to take a broad and ethical view of economic behavior, which includes all forms of exchange and human interaction, from how we spend our money to how we fulfill our role as responsible human beings in a global economic framework. Drawing on Jewish ethical teachings, mystical lore, and tales of the Hasidic masters, Bonder explores a wide range of subjects including competition, partnerships, contracts, loans and interest, tipping, and giving gifts.

The incredible bestselling book from the author of No Barriers and The Adversity Advantage Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life. In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done). From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous. "An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air

50 Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Manager of All Time Today's rapidly changing global business arena has made undaunted leadership as fleeting as yesterday's software. Yet the wisdom of one reluctant leader -- Moses -- has grown more relevant with each passing millennium. In Moses On Management, Rabbi David Baron -- a nationally renowned spiritual leader and successful entrepreneur-draws surprising parallels between the world of Moses and our own. Through Bible passages, amusing anecdotes, interviews with visionary leaders, and his own insights, Rabbi Baron conveys fifty powerful lessons for today's business managers, including: how to bring your staff out of the slave mentality why negotiating face-to-face brings optimum results why symbols of strength inspire extraordinary effort why crises are an open door to change -- and empowerment how to use the willing minority to motivate others why it's essential to make your staff into believers how to balance zero tolerance with 100 percent compassion In a time of downsizing, mergers, and increasing uncertainty in the market place, Moses On Management is an in valuable resource for finding and sustaining a deeply satisfying balance between life and livelihood.

A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy – and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was. Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn’t gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off? Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.

This study applies several linguistic approaches to the book of Samuel in order to investigate the defining features of metaphor and the way metaphor and other forms of figurative language operate in biblical narrative. The book begins with an exploration of how to identify and interpret the metaphors in 1 Samuel 25. Next, the metaphors in 2 Samuel 16:16-17:14 are compared with other tropes, primarily metonymy and simile. Then the notion of “dead” metaphors is challenged while examining the figurative language in 1 Samuel 24. An in-depth analysis of the figurative language in these texts results in a better understanding of the mechanics of metaphor, and a richer, more nuanced reading of these stories, their characters, and language.

"The world is a surreal pageant," writes Stephen Kuusisto. "Ahead of me the shapes and colors suggest the sails of Tristan's ship or an elephant's ear floating in air, though in reality it is a middle-aged man in a London Fog rain coat which billows behind him in the April wind." So begins Kuusisto's memoir, Planet of the Blind, a journey through the kaleidoscope geography of the partially-sighted, where everyday encounters become revelations, struggles, or simple triumphs. Not fully blind, not fully sighted, the author lives in what he describes as "the customs-house of the blind", a midway point between vision and blindness that makes possible his unique perception of the world. In this singular memoir, Kuusisto charts the years of a childhood spent behind bottle-lens glasses trying to pass as a normal boy, the depression that brought him from obesity to anorexia, the struggle through high school, college, first love, and sex. Ridiculed by his classmates, his parents in denial, here is the story of a man caught in a perilous world with no one to trust--until a devastating accident forces him to accept his own disability and place his confidence in the one relationship that can reconnect him to the world--the relationship with his guide dog, a golden Labrador retriever named Corky. With Corky at his side, Kuusisto is again awakened to his abilities, his voice as a writer and his own particular place in the world around him. Written with all the emotional precision of poetry, Kuusisto's evocative memoir explores the painful irony of a visually sensitive individual--in love with reading, painting, and the everyday images of the natural world--faced with his gradual descent into blindness. Folded into his own experience is the rich folklore the phenomenon of blindness has inspired throughout history and legend.

An excellent source of information and ideas on the relationship between disability and spirituality—and how to improve it This one-of-a-kind collection explores the relationship between spirituality and disability from a variety of Australian religious and spiritual viewpoints. Authors from a wide range of backgrounds—some with disabilities, some without—draw remarkable insights from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist (and even non-religious) spirituality. These uniquely Australian perspectives provide practical and spiritual lessons that can be applied in any part of the world. Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under presents an unflinching look at the shortcomings of many established church ministries when it comes to serving people with disabilities. There’s also an extraordinary interview with a severely disabled nonreligious woman in the final stage of her life and her caretaker, which presents a very revealing look at the essence of human spirituality as it exists even in the absence of religious dogma. In addition, you’ll find a revealing case study focusing on the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), which looks at the gap between its official theology and its actual policy and practice, and outlines a project designed to move the Church forward to more inclusive practices. Additionally, Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under: Outback to Outfront examines: why platitudes that are intended to give comfort, like “God has chosen this for you,” “It’s a test of your faith,” or “We all have our crosses to carry” are at best problematic, and at worst damaging—with suggestions for pastoral responses that offer alternatives to “God-is-on-your-side” clichés the spiritual meaning and importance of community for people with disabilities, and the impact of community on their vitality and resiliency the Buddhist teaching called sunyata, or emptiness, and its potential to positively impact the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and those who know them wisdom contained in the ancient Jewish system of laws called Halacha—and its potential for empowering people with disabilities today how a pastoral care program that is flexible, accommodating, and relevant for disabled people was created at a small metropolitan school in New South Wales—and the effect of the program on the community the work of the Personal Advocacy Service, which recruits volunteers to be companions to people with intellectual disabilities the role of religion and philanthropy in the creation of educational programs for blind or vision-impaired students and more