Green’s Well or Be’er is a contemporary and personal commentary on the traditional Hebrew prayerbook.\nContemporary Jews, including those who attend synagogue regularly, are well aware of the wide gap between the text of the siddur, composed over the course of many centuries, and their own beliefs. Over the course of the past century, there have been many attempts to alter the language of the prayerbook in order to “update” it.\nBut that is not the way of Jewish tradition. The Jewish path has always been that of maintaining the ancient forms, with their deep echo-chamber of antiquity, and updating their meaning by the ongoing process of reinterpretation.\nThat is the purpose of this volume. It works with the traditional Hasidic prayerbook, skipping nothing. Green is a scholar of Hasidism and Jewish mysticism, but also an open-minded and inquiring seeker. His own faith is deeply shaped by monism, the belief that all is one within God, that we exist as part of an ever-flowing divine universe, manifest in the natural world and alive in each human soul.\nBut how do we pray to such a God? How do we do so while reading from a book written by biblical psalmists, ancient and medieval poets, philosophers and kabbalists, all of whom belonged to another age? Following an introduction that deals with all these questions, Green’s commentary goes through the entire liturgy, offering comments meant to inspire and to stimulate thought.\nThe book begins with the daily liturgy and will be especially helpful to those who engage with it regularly. It is meant to be used as a companion to the prayerbook itself. It then goes on to deal with the prayer services for shabbat, for holidays (including sections on the hallel psalms and the Passover haggadah) and the High Holy Days.\nWell of Living Insight is a must for rabbis, cantors, and other leaders of Jewish prayer. But it is really written for seekers, within the Jewish community and beyond, who long to mine the ancient wisdom of Judaism to shape a contemporary spirituality that is both intellectually rigorous and religiously inspiring.

Well of Living Insight: Comments on the Siddur

Religion & Spirituality

Green, Arthur

Band, Debra

Judaism

Be'er Press

BIBLICAL WOMEN ILLUMINATED! THE MOST MEANINGFUL BAT MITZVAH GIFT The artwork is beautiful and the description of Debra Band’s process and inspiration is fascinating. Highly recommended! —Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews This luminously illustrated volume… is clearly a labor of love on every level… three genuine biblical heroines about whom there is much to say. But most of all we appreciate the variety and originality of her artistic styles. This is a volume to put on your coffee table and to bring to synagogue. —Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Journal With Arise! Arise!, her third visual and literary commentary on the Bible, Debra Band is firmly established as a scholar and artist who can enlighten and delight. —Hadassah Magazine <ul>
<li>The biblical women’s stories of ancient Israel in art and verse</li> <li>Vivid original paintings by master artist, Debra Band, illustrate the biblical verses</li> <li>
Commentaries reveal the subtleties of the biblical texts and meanings of the symbolic paintings</li> </ul>
Shimmering with gold and rich color, Debra Band's illuminated Hebrew/English paintings illustrate three biblical stories of Jewish biblical women who stood up at crucial moments to take actions that not only preserved the young nation of Israel but also shaped its character. Truly a Jewish study bible—with exquisite art—Arise! Arise! interprets the tales of biblical Deborah, Ruth and Hannah through imagery drawn from Jewish lore, academic bible studies, archeology and science, creating an aesthetically luscious and intellectually vibrant visual midrash of these three women's tales from the Hebrew Bible. Debra Band’s commentaries on every painting offer clear explanations of their symbolism and spiritual meaning. Literary commentary by renowned scholar of Hebrew literature, Arnold J. Band, helps readers fully enjoy the skill of the biblical authors. <ul>
<li>Buy it for Rosh Hashanah, when Jews across the world read the story of Hannah in synagogue!</li> <li>Celebrate Deborah in winter when we read Parshat Beshallach, the Crossing of the Red Sea and its companion haftarah, Deborah’s story and song!</li> <li>Cherish it on Shavuot, when we read the Megillat Rut, the Book of Ruth!</li> </ul> The perfect gift for all your beloved strong women!

Arise! Arise! Deborah, Ruth and Hannah

Arts & Photography

Band, Arnold J.

Religious

Honeybee in the Garden

BRING NEW SPIRITUAL ENERGY TO YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT SHABBAT CELEBRATION! Debra Band’s new volume…is both visually breathtaking and conceptually very ambitious…This is a book designed to encourage hiddur mitzvah, the amplification of the beauty of carrying out a mitzvah and the deepening of its meaning….It should be invited, like the Sabbath queen, into our homes and Shabbat dinner tables to enliven and deepen our appreciation of Shabbat. —Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Journal LOOK, LEARN AND BE ILLUMINATED! <ul>
<li>Original illuminated paintings present every ecstatic prayer, song and custom in the Kabbalat Shabbat service (Ashkenazi tradition), in this Friday night siddur—from before candlelighting through the Grace after Meals.</li> <li>Debra Band’s commentaries on each painting explain their symbolism, interpreting each prayer in the light of both Kabbalah and modern cosmology, physics and biology.</li> <li>New translations and literary commentaries by leading scholar of medieval Hebrew poetry, Raymond P. Scheindlin, enhance your appreciation of the prayers.</li> <li>Preface by beloved scholar of Kabbalah, Arthur Green, explains the origin of the Kabbalat Shabbat tradition.</li> <li>Graceful foreword about the importance of the Kabbalat Shabbat tradition and this book by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.</li> <li>Perfectly accompanied by its own bencher edition, Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, At the Sabbath Table.</li> <li>Lovingly produced for your enjoyment at the Sabbath table and study throughout the week!</li> </ul>
AN ELEGANT JEWISH HOSTESS GIFT! As Sabbath arrives on Friday evening, Jewish tradition exults in the completion of Creation. Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification is a full-color illustrated book, essentially a Friday night siddur, offering vivid new Hebrew and English illuminated paintings illustrating the full Sabbath eve liturgy and customs by Debra Band, flowing in traditional Hebrew order, translations and commentary by celebrated scholar of Hebrew poetry and Jewish liturgy, Raymond P. Scheindlin and explanations of the paintings by Debra Band. With imagery drawn from Kabbalah, midrash, the sciences and archeology, the book celebrates the spiritual glory of Creation and the wonder of its physical embodiment as we now see it through the lens of modern science. An inspirational source for prayer, spiritual study and visual pleasure, a glowing and unforgettable gift. A LIFE-LONG GIFT FOR YOUR FAVORITE BAR- AND BAT-MITZVAH!

Kabbalat Shabbat: The Grand Unification

Scheindlin, Raymond P.

Individual Artists

ENLIVEN YOUR SHABBAT DINNER WITH ART, SONG AND SPIRIT AN ELEGANT and LASTING SABBATH HOSTESS GIFT!  All the songs, rituals and blessings for the Jewish Shabbat table Lightweight and sturdy paperback, in a comfortable size for all to enjoy Clearly legible print and art Packaged in sets of 4, for all at table to enjoy Best enjoyed with a copy of Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification at the table.  Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification: At the Sabbath Table is the smaller companion dinner-table version of Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification. Now everyone at table can share the beauty and spirit of this unique Friday evening siddur. This "bencher" style book, sold in sets of four copies, offers all of the full book’s songs, blessings and traditions of the traditional Jewish Friday evening Shabbat dinner. Together, this colorful bencher and brilliant illuminated book enhance the Sabbath celebration of the spiritual and physical glories of Creation inspired by Kabbalah, and the wonder of its physical embodiment as we now see it through the lens of modern science. TAKE IT ALONG TO YOUR NEXT SHABBAT DINNER!

Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification: At the Sabbath Table

A loving Jewish birth-gift, a delicious surprise for adults of all ages! From beginning Hebrew learners to Torah scholars, this stunning book will delight all who explore its pages. —Association of Jewish Library Reviews Graceful and dreamlike encounters with nature…recommended as a point of entry to Jewish spirituality through environmental consciousness —Jewish Book Council A fabulous Jewish gift book for children of 3 to 93! For all Bible-lovers! <ul>
<li>Cosy bed-time reading for children and the grown-ups who love them</li> <li>Voice your own personal spiritual awe in the natural world</li> <li>Learn the Hebrew alphabet and enjoy the original Hebrew of the Bible</li> </ul>
This sparkling full color illuminated Jewish children’s picture-book is inspired by the charming medieval Jewish work, Perek Shira (Chapter of Song). From the moment you open the gate-like covers of All the World Praises You, you’ll be enchanted as wonders of the natural world exclaim biblical praises of God, many from beloved psalms offering hours of warm delight for young children and parents, and inspiration for older students, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and adults seeking fresh spirituality—a book to which adults and children will return throughout their lives. Loving spirituality, Jewish environmental ethics and the aleph-bet enchant the eye and refresh the soul. New translations and transliterations make the book delightfully accessible to all English readers, regardless of Hebrew skills. Take a look inside! Open the covers and experience <ul>
<li>Beloved praises of God in Nature</li> <li>Compelling introductions to environmental science</li> <li>Witty and loving paintings in brilliant color and gold</li> <li>Hunting for hidden dahlias and honeybees in every painting</li> </ul>
The book’s website (shown in the book) offers free enrichment materials developed for readers of all ages, including in-depth insights into the biblical verses and links to exciting citizen science programs. Make this totally fun Jewish gift book yours!

All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book

Children's Books

Religions

How to live a life of wisdom and fulfillment in a far-from-perfect world? Philosopher Menachem Fisch and artist Debra Band together probe Qohelet’s inquiry into the value of life "under the sun" in this brilliant work―the first illuminated manuscript of the entire biblical text, the first philosophical analysis tracing the coherent path of this biblical thinker’s full argument. Whereas modern readers influenced by the famous declaration "vanity, vanity, all is vanity" from the 1611 King James Bible have commonly understood that Qohelet found only futility and hopelessness in human life, Fisch restores the literal meaning, "vapor," to Qohelet’s key word, hevel, with implications that reveal Qohelet’s path to wisdom and even serenity. Through linguistic precision and careful unfolding of the book’s philosophical argument, Fisch uncovers Qohelet’s twin concerns: life is short, and situated as we are, far below the heavens, we can never be assured of comprehending our world, or understanding divine will and intent. He reveals Qohelet’s understanding that since we can never fully predict or understand our fortunes or the heritage we leave behind us, the best we can do is to live our lives fully, relating to others attentively, always aware of the limits of human life. 
In her glowing, immersive, and discursive illuminated paintings of the entire text, Band imagines Qohelet’s teachings, employing the grandest of palaces, the Alhambra, as the central metaphor for the beauty and impermanence of human life and accomplishments. She fills its halls and gardens with often surprising imagery, symbolism, and related poetry, creating a visual midrash that reveals the relationship of Qohelet’s thought to other biblical texts and Jewish lore and its reverberations across the centuries and cultures of Western civilization, from ancient Israel to today’s America. Each illuminated page is complemented by lucid commentary explaining its full meaning. Renowned scholars Ellen F. Davis and Moshe Halbertal crown the work with a penetrating foreword and preface. 
"Illuminated manuscripts have a rich tradition to which this gem adds creatively. Not only does Debra Band’s exquisite micrography, calligraphy, and artwork invite us to marinate in and meditate on Qohelet’s suggestive composition, Menachem Fisch adds a unique and penetrating philosophical analysis. This work takes us from the ancient world of the Bible through medieval traditions of illumination and into a reading of Qohelet as a harbinger of post-modern thinking."―Peter A. Pettit, Teaching Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa 
"‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,’ wrote the mysterious author of the biblical Qohelet―Ecclesiastes, in English, from the Greek. ‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ For generations, the meaning of this haunting outlier text seemed clear and even merciless: in its endless cycling, nothing in the cosmos lasts, so nothing matters. Even if God is real, human life is in the end unreal and can have no real purpose. Resignation is the only valid response: at best, ‘living for the moment;’ at worst, existential despair. But what if there were something new under the sun? In this fresh approach to Qohelet, philosopher Menachem Fisch and scholar-artist Debra Band radically re-vision a text whose interpretation was ‘settled.’ Through exciting exposition that ranges from the history of rabbinical thought to analytical philosophy to the pain of personal loss, and illumined by Band’s glowing paintings, the authors return us to the original Hebrew word on which Qohelet pivots: hevel. When hevel is not read ‘figuratively’ but is restored to its literal meaning as ‘vapor’ or ‘mist,’ an unexpected theology is revealed. What if the text were never a meditation on absurdity after all, but instead ‘a vivid portrayal of the limits of human knowledge?’ These limits can inspire us to return to our deepest human challenge: how should we live? Fisch and Band show how we can take

Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living

Fisch, Menachem

Christian Books & Bibles

Baylor University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Band, Debra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Band, Debra