Best jewish literary criticism books according to redditors

“Behind the Fence” by Chaim Nachman Bialik is an excellent late 19th century example. It’s included here: https://www.amazon.com/Random-Harvest-Novellas-C-Bialik/dp/0813367115

Thanks! Right now I am still trying to build a basic vocabulary by learning some Anki decks, but eventually I hope to move on to reading ynet and haaretz, and then eventually writing. I am also thinking about buying https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0764137484/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8 and https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LZ8RQTH/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1516171666&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hebrew+grammar&dpPl=1&dpID=41kWZonU27L&ref=plSrch. I already try to listen to כאן (via TuneIn) daily, even if I can still only pick out a few words like אכשיו, בקר, לילה תוב (:. At the moment I only listen ג (mostly music), but hopefully in the future I will be able to listen to and actually understand most of what is said on א!

I would start with reading this book: https://www.amazon.com/Pray-Jew-Prayer-Synagogue-Service/dp/1541674030

Originally written in the late 60s, I think, but still applicable

http://www.amazon.com/The-Myth-Of-Nazareth-Invented/dp/1578840031 Goes into great detail of the archaeological at Nazareth and the why is wasn't inhabited until around 70CE. Also has a bibliography.

The range of Jesus's birth would be non-cannon christian writings prior the official cannon in the 4th century when other writings were branded heresy. I believe there are 50 some odd gospels. Oddly, the four gospels they picked can't even agree on the day Jesus was crucified on. John has his crucified when the lambs were being slaughtered for Passover, which eliminates the last supper.

As far as Herod dying in 4BCE, tons of historical sources, including Josephus all agree on this.

Paul's vision of demons crucifying Christ in heaven is in 1st Corinthians I think.

Gotta go do work, but I could write all day about Paul and his vision of Christianity, that doesn't involve a human Christ and is completely unrecognizable to what we think of Jesus today....and he wrote the earliest documents on Christianity we have.

> aka by people heavily invested into and having careers built upon Jesus being non-mythical.

As opposed to the other side? aka people who [sell books on amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Myth-Of-Nazareth-Invented/dp/1578840031/ref=pd_sim_b_18?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Q25CVBES7RRJ3E90PYP) about their shit? They don't have careers built upon Jesus being mythical?

I'd highly recommend [The Greatest Jewish Stories Ever Told] (https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Jewish-Stories-Ever-Told/dp/0824603990), it has several sections and can give you some fluency in Jewish tales, from the Midrashic to the Hassidic to the Folktales.

I don't think I am being asked that, since (if I remember right) the person I replied to mentioned Nazareth before I did. The onus would be on the original claim (of nonexistence) first. But that it existed at some point in time is easy - it exists now! It's been there since well before I was born, so there's a string of times when it existed. its present existence makes the claim that it never existed flat out false.

What I have seen is mention of the position that Nazareth was
unoccupied at the time Jesus was supposed to be alive, or that it didn't exist until well after he supposedly died.


edit: some references that appear to relate to this --

René Salm, The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus, (2008).

See also this link, and this

W. B. Smith, "Meaning of the Epithet Nazorean (Nazarene)" The Monist (1904) 26.

T. Cheyne "Nazareth" Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899).

R. Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus. New York: Penguin Books, (1997) p. 952.


(edits: added a couple of small additional bits of info, and a change of my second sentence to better respond what you actually said, rather than what I originally read it to say)

> Carrier, Richard (2012). Proving History: Bayes's Theorem and the Quest for the Historical Jesus. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. p. ch. 1. ISBN 978-1-61614-560-6. ...attempts to ascertain the 'real' historical Jesus have ended in confusion and failure. The latest attempt to cobble together a method for teasing out the truth involved developing a set of critera. But it has since been demonstrated that all those criteria, as well as the whole method of their employment, are fatally flawed. Every expert who has seriously examined the issue has already come to this conclusion.

This looks like a good read too.

• Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament. The Book of Joshua (19.10,16) – in what it claims is the process of settlement by the tribe of Zebulon in the area – records twelve towns and six villages and yet omits any 'Nazareth' from its list.
• The Talmud, although it names 63 Galilean towns, knows nothing of Nazareth, nor does early rabbinic literature.
• St Paul knows nothing of 'Nazareth'. Rabbi Solly's epistles (real and fake) mention Jesus 221 times, Nazareth not at all.
• No ancient historian or geographer mentions Nazareth. It is first noted at the beginning of the 4th century.

Judaica Press also has both Job (here) and Ecclesiastes (though I couldn't find it either on Amazon or their website, so it may be out of print or only available with the complete set).

On Job there is the commentary by R' Chaim Dov Rabinowitz and a commentary based on the Malbim titled, Fine Lines of Faith.

On Ecclesiastes, there is the Torah Anthology and an English adaptation of the commentary of the Dubno Maggid.

I would stress that I am simply listing products that are available. I am not specifically recommending any of these items, as I am not personally that familiar with them (though the Judaica Press series is generally very good).

Or for a less contentious view:

http://www.humanreligions.info/christmas.html


Which focuses more on how Christians adapted existing traditions, yet the period of festivals here was not uncommon in numerous cultures.

The author themselves have been challenged in other texts for their assumptions or lack of proper academic background, this author even goes so far to challenge them about their apparent lack of academic qualifications opposed to what is claimed

https://www.amazon.com/Strictly-Kosher-Reading-Literature-Contemporary/dp/1936235374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317915276&sr=8-1

Hmm. Why do you need one? I haven't used any, but this one looks pretty solid.

Somewhat tangential, but similar in flavor, is Strictly Kosher Reading