Fred Reiss is a retired educator and a freelance writer based in Winchester, California.
His books, available on Amazon, include:
SAN DIEGO (Staff report)– With worldwide media focused on the Gaza Flotilla, we at San Diego Jewish World have been experiencing an upsurge in email messages containing links to musical commentaries. Fred Reiss, Ed.D, who often reviews books for us, was moved by a YouTube presentation of a song declaring, “I am a Jew”. Ulla […]
Gaza flotilla prompts musical messages on Internet Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastEmpowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us About Building Vibrant Jewish Communities by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Jewish Lights Publishing, ISBN 978-1-58023-412-2, ©2010, $18.99, p. 161 + appendices. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–The word minyan in Jewish ritual corresponds to the idea of a quorum. Minyan means having at least ten men assembled together
Independent minyanim: a growing Generation Y phenomenon Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdDYehuda Halevi by Hillel Halkin, Nextbook/Schocken, New York; ISBN 978-0-8052-4206-5, ©2010, $25.00, p. 353. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California– Give me the names of three medieval Jewish poets … Okay, I’ll take just two … Can you name just one? If you’re like most people, all you heard was the sound of silence. Our
Book places Halevi and his poetry in context Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdDScribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible By Karel van der Toorn, Harvard University Press, Cambridge ISBN 978-0-674-03254-5, $18.95, 265 pages plus 125 pages of notes and selected bibliography By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, that is, the so-called Old Testament? Jewish tradition says that Moses wrote
Looking at who wrote the Bible — from the scribes' viewpoints Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdDThe Jewish Body by Melvin Konner, Nextbook, New York; ISBN 978-0-8052-4236-2, $22.00, 255 pages * By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California–The Jewish people are obsessed with the body. While the Sumerians, Egyptians, Canaanites, and others prayed and sacrificed to idols, the embodiment of their gods, the Hebrews announced to the world that God is invisible.
Book examines the images Jews have of their own bodies Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastThe God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture by Darrel W. Ray, Ed.D., IPC Press, Bonner Springs, Kansas, ISBN 978-0-9709505-1-2, $15.95, 234 pages. Reviewed by Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–In the mid-1970, Richard Dawkins shook up the fields of biology and genetics with his book, The Selfish Gene. In this work, Dawkins argues
'The God Virus' analyzes religion from disapproving standpoint Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD
The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran by Robert Spencer, Regnery Publishing, Washington, DC ISBN 978-1-59698-104-1, 2009, $19.95, p. 232 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WESTMINSTER, California–President George W. Bush, in December 2006, issued greetings to the Muslim world on the occasion of the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha, which commemorates both the Hajj and Abraham’s
In hands of extremists, Koran justifies Ft. Hood massacre Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, San Diego Calendar, USA