Fred Reiss is a retired educator and a freelance writer based in Winchester, California.
His books, available on Amazon, include:
The Sons of Pigs and Apes: Muslim Antisemitism and the Conspiracy of Silence by Neil J. Kressel, Potomac Books, Washington, D.C.; ISBN 978-1-59797-702-9 ©2012, $29.95, p. 206, plus addenda and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The word “anti-Semitism” is a relatively new word to the English language, being coined sometime after 1860. […]
Book examines Muslim anti-Semitism Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastThe Fed-Up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy and Suffering by Shmuley Boteach, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-606-1 ©2012, $24.95, p. 340, plus addenda By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — World-renown Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in his latest book The Fed-Up Man of Faith, continues on the path
Challenging God in the face of tragedy Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionTorah of Reconciliation by Sheldon Lewis, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, New York, ISBN 978-965-229-541-5 ©2012, $24.95, p. 340, plus addenda By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — The Torah, the Five Books of Moses, has been commented about so many times that one wonders if anything new can be found within its text. Yet, Rabbi
The Torah teaches reconciliation Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — A news story under the byline of Jonathan Mizrahi has been making its way around the Internet. The story says that this year will be the only time that Chanukah will fall on Thanksgiving. So, is the story true? Yes and no. President Lincoln in 1863 proclaimed a
Truly rare occurence: Chanukah-Thanksgiving Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionStruggling Over Israel’s Soul byElazar Stern, Gefen, Jerusalem, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-576-7 ©2012, $18.00, p. 373, plus notes and indices. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The struggle for Israel’s soul is hardly new. From without, the Hellenists fought for it from the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Israel until their defeat
Israeli general’s social commentary is an eye opener Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD
The Philosophy of the Hebrew Scripture by Yoram Hazony, Cambridge University Press, New York; ISBN 978-0-521-17667-5 ©2012, $24.99, p. 273, plus notes and indices. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –Placing the word “philosophy” next to the expression “Hebrew Scriptures” seems to be incongruous; after all, philosophy is about using reason to find “truths” to
Shepherds vs farmers: a queston of biblical philosophy Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionThe Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492 by Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ; ISBN 978-0-691-14487-0 ©2012, $39.50, p. 273, plus appendix, bibliography, and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — How many Jewish doctors and lawyers do you know? How many Jewish farmers? I would hazard
How an educational edict helped shape the Jewish people Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionThe Future of the Jews: How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel, and Its Relationship with the United States by Stuart E. Eizenstat, Rowman & Littlefield, New York; ISBN 978-1-44422-1627-3 ©2012, $37.50, p. 318, plus notes and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–Stuart Eizenstat author of The Future of the Jews, from
Eizenstat peers into a Jewish crystal ball Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastThe Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible by Matti Friedman, Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC; ISBN 978-1-61620-040-4 ©2012, $24.95, p. 277, plus notes By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Unlike the Cairo Geniza, whose vast treasure of medieval correspondence came to light accidentally late in the
Who hid the Aleppo Codex– and why? Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionYoung Israel At 100: An American Response to the Challenge of Orthodox Living, 1912-2012; by Yaakov Kornreich, Joel Saibel, Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald Strober; National Council of Young Israel, New York; ISBN 978-1-4751-5792-5 ©2012, $24.95, p. 237 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — To believe that during most of its history, Judaism represented
Movement still ‘Young’ Israel at 100 Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionEinstein’s Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion by Steven Gimbel; Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland; ISBN 978-1-4214-0554-4 ©2012, $24.95, p. 245, including endnotes, bibliography, and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — In 1922, a year after winning the Nobel Prize in physics for what we know today as
Einstein at the crossroads of science and religion Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Science, Medicine, & EducationDeterminism or Free Will by Chapman Cohen; Literary Licensing LLC, Whitefish, MT; ISBN 978-1-2581-2881-4 ©2012 reprint of a book published in 1919, $25.95, p. 127 Free Will by Sam Harris; Free Press, New York ISBN 978-1-4516-8347-0 ©2012, $9.99, p. 81, including notes and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–Judaism provides no help in settling
So do we have free will or don’t we? Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionA Universe from Nothing: Why is there Something Rather than Nothing? by Lawrence M. Krauss; ISBN 978-1-4516-2445-8 ©2012, $24.99, p. 202 The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe is Not Designed for Us by Victor J. Stenger; ISBN 978-1-61614-443-2 ©2012, $28.00, p. 341, including notes, bibliography, and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California
Scientists contemplate universe’s origin Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionSacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza by Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole; ISBN 978-0-8052-4258-4 ©2012, $26.95, p. 384, including notes Reviewed by Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The word geniza, from the Hebrew root gimmel, nun, zion, means a hidden treasure, an appropriate name for a millennium’s worth of
‘Sacred Trash’ tells story of Cairo Geniza Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion