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by Ze'ev Orzech (Author)
In a collection of 110 easy-to-read mini-essays, Professor Ze'ev Orzech offers a glimpse into the rich depths of Jewish religion, history, culture and traditions. Do you know... why is there no hell in the Jewish Bible - and no devil? what language the snake used to tempt Eve with the apple in Paradise - and was it really an apple? why is it bad luck to go in stocking feet and good luck to start a trip on Tuesday? why Jews place pebbles instead of flowers on gravestones? how a Jewish spy ring helped the British defeat the Ottoman Empire in World War I? From Aleph to Ze'ev answers these questions and many more. A life-long student and teacher of Judaism, Orzech invites his readers to explore with him the fascinating nooks and crannies of the Jewish world. Divided into eight broad categories including sections on Jewish history, the Hebrew language, anti-Semitism, Jewish customs and ritual, and even Jewish superstition, no subject is too sacred or mundane to be lovingly examined and questioned. The book's witty, non-academic style disguises the extensive research supporting these excursions. Jews and non-Jews alike will find From Aleph to Ze'ev a thoroughly rewarding read.
Author Biography
Ze'ev Orzech was born in 1926 in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 1936, when attending public school as a Jewish child became impossible, his parents enrolled him in a Jewish boarding school in Bex-les-Bains, Switzerland. In 1938, he rejoined his family on their way to Eretz Israel (then Palestine). After graduating from Balfour College in Tel Aviv in 1947 he came to the United States to study economics at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1957, he and his wife, Mimi, moved to Corvallis, Oregon, where he began a teaching career at Oregon State University from which he retired after thirty-two years. In 1974, Mimi and Ze'ev were among the founding members of Beit Am, the Jewish Community in Corvallis and have been much involved in its activities ever since. After retirement, Ze'ev started editing Kol Ha'am, the monthly community newsletter, from whose columns this book was created.
