I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes

Afflicted with cerebral palsy, the author recounts the story of the misdiagnosis that landed her in a state facility for years, her long struggle for release and a normal life, and her eventual triumph

Sienkiewicz-Mercer, Ruth

Kaplan, Steven B.

Biographies & Memoirs

Avon/Books

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

...balanced and well informed...a striking piece of scholarship aimed at demythologizing the origins of the Ethiopian Falasha. -Foreign AffairsKaplan's definitive treatment will be of interest to students and scholars of Jewish history, African history, and comparative religion, as well as anyone interested in Jewish affairs and the modern Middle East. The Midwest Book ReviewKaplan's conceptualizations are judicious and clearly expressed...incisive and well documented... and provides essential background for the process of assimilation now taking lace in Israel. -The International Journal of African Historical Studies Kaplan's able interdisciplinary approach is of great value for persons interested in religion, civilization, and process of change. -Religious Studies Review Kaplan's well-written, lucid presentation make[s] this important, competent contribution accessible to all levels of readers. Highly recommended.ChoiceInsightful and thorough, a welcome contribution.Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Professor of Music, Harvard UniversityUndoubtedly the most detailed, most scholarly, and most dispassionate argument of Falasha history hitherto published. [T]his work deserves ... the most careful study by all those (and in particular in Israel) who have any practical or scholarly connection with the Beta Israel. -- Edward UllendorffEmeritus Professor of Ethiopian Studies, University of LondonFellow of the British AcademyGiven Kaplan's facility with both written and oral sources, he is in a unique position to synthesize and reconcile the new historical findings of ethnographers with the written sources and differing conclusions of earlier historians and linguists. His work is insightful and thorough, a welcome contribution. -- Kay Shelemay, Wesleyan University The origin of the Black Jews of Ethiopia has long been a source of fascination and controversy. Their condition and future continues to generate debate. The culmination of almost a decade of research, The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia marks the publication of the first book-length scholarly study of the history of this unique community. In this volume, Steven Kaplan seeks to demythologize the history of the Falasha and to consider them in the wider context of Ethiopian history and culture. This marks a clear departure from previous studies which have viewed them from the external perspective of Jewish history. Drawing on a wide variety of sources including the Beta Israel's own literature and oral traditions, Kaplan demonstrates that they are not a lost Jewish tribe, but rather an ethnic group which emerged in Ethiopia between the 14th and 16th century. Indeed, the name, Falasha, their religious hierarchy, sacred texts, and economic specialization can all be dated to this period. Among the subjects the book addresses are their links with Ethiopian Christianity, the medieval legends concerning their existence, their wars with the Ethiopian emperors, their relegation to the status of a despised semi-caste, their encounters with European missionaries, and the impact of the Great Famine of 1888-1892. Kaplan's definitive treatment will be of interest to students and scholars of Jewish history, African history, and comparative religion, as well as anyone interested in Jewish affairs and the modern Middle East.

The Beta Israel: Falasha in Ethiopia: From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century

History

Africa

NYU Press

On May 25, 1991, a Boeing 747 packed with over 1,000 Ethiopians left the besieged capital of Addis Ababa for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. In the next 36 hours, 13,000 more Ethiopians were to depart for Israel in what became known as Operation Solomon. After generations of praying and years of diplomatic wrangling, Ethiopia's Jews were at last going to the Promised Land. In the last twelve years, 40,000 Ethiopian Jews have left their native land and emigrated to Israel. Rarely in human history has an entire community been transplanted in such a short period from one civilization to another. This is not a book about the journey of the Ethiopian Jews; rather, it is a chronicle of their experiences once they reached their destination. The focus of this work is the crucial issue of family life, examining how the personal relationships of the Ethiopian Jews are being radically transformed as they become assimilated into Israeli society. Thrust from isolated villages without electricity or running water into the urban bustle of modern, post-industrial society, they have seen their marriages challenged by the ongoing redefinition of gender and roles, their children increasingly Westernized, and their specific practice of Judaism closely scrutinized. This engrossing and handsomely illustrated volume is the tale of their struggle and the emotional saga of their experiences in the Promised Land.

Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition

Westheimer, Dr. Ruth K.

World

Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer was born in 1950. She has never spoken a word; never walked, never fed herself, never combed her own hair. Trapped in a body that is functionally useless, her mind works perfectly. This is her story. Absorbing and heartbreaking, it was written with the collaboration of Ruth's friend, Steven Kaplan. Without any self pity Ruth recounts her early childhood with a loving family and some happy years at a rehabilitation center, then virtual incarceration at the notorious Belchertown State School in Massachusetts. After 16 years she was released and now she enjoys a life of purpose and personal triumph. I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes will permanently alter your perception of the severely disabled and it will inspire you with the extraordinary power of love, thought, and the human spirit.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Whole Health Books

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Books by Kaplan, Steven B.