The political upheavals, the leadership crisis, and the ideological frustration which the Israeli Labour party went through in the first two decades of the 21st century led it to an unprecedented electoral decline. What happened to the formerly dominant party which established the state? What kind of intrinsic changes did it undergo in the late modernity and due to new sociological generations? What kind of new or old ideological discourses were formed within it? And how can we characterize its renewed ideological discourse? These questions stood at the background of this ethnographic study. The study focuses on young, idealistic activists who joined the Israeli Labour Party during 2006-2009 and asked to promote a social-democratic agenda. The book is based on multi-arena fieldwork and it enables a rare ethnographic reflection on the way macro level political changes take shape and are embodied in interpersonal interactions on the micro level.

Few articles in this issue: Gilad Shapira | Hermenautics as Poetics: The Case of Midrash HaGadol Moshe Shoshan | The Road to Lydda: A Survivor's Story: Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai's Flight from Jerusalem According to Eicha Rabba 1:5 Richard Hidary | Why Are There Lawyers in Heaven?: Rabbinic Aggadot on the Divine Courtroom Kedem Golden | Solving a Riddle of Judah Halevi Idit Einat-Nov | 'Everybody wants to live': A Literary Reading of the Maqama by Yehuda Al-Harizi, 'The Rooster'

The exercise book accompanying the textbook Hebrew: Take 2 was written in order to provide further exercises than those offered in the textbook. It contributes to the comprehension of the texts in the book and enriches the learning process with vocabulary exercises and oral and written capability exercises. The exercise book was written to serve both students and teachers, who expressed the need for such a book. The exercises are arranged by the order of the chapters and texts and by linguistic subject. Students and teachers can find further ideas for learning and teaching, as well as visual content for the different chapters on the Instagram account ivritb2hebrewbook.

The book traces contested visions and representations of al-Andalus/Sepharad in modern Jewish discourse through an in-depth analysis of the work of Sephardi intellectual network in the turn of the twentieth century Palestine/Land of Israel. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous political and social events of that period, and processes of national, ethnic, and religious partitions, the book explores the ways in which these Sephardi intellectuals fundamentally challenged the nationalistic and monolingual ideologies and looks at their efforts to establish a shared Jewish-Arab society based on a symbolic return to the Sephardi/Andalusian medieval legacy of Hebrew-Arabic bilingualism and a Judeo-Muslim joint cultural heritage. By exploring these contested representations of Sephardi identity and culture the book re-examines some fundamental issues that emerged at the turn of the twentieth century and which still accompany us to this day: the national conflict between Jews and Palestinians, the contacts and splits between Hebrew and Arab culture and the formation of ethnic hierarchies between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim. The book aims to contribute to the growing interest in modern Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewish history and to broaden the scope of “Jewish studies” beyond the European Jewish experience.

The Western musical tradition has produced not only music, but also countless writings about music that remain in continuous—and enormously influential—dialogue with their subject. With sweeping scope and philosophical depth, A Language of Its Own traces the past millennium of this ongoing exchange. Ruth Katz argues that the indispensable relationship between intellectual production and musical creation gave rise to the Western conception of music. This evolving and sometimes conflicted process, in turn, shaped the art form itself. As ideas entered music from the contexts in which it existed, its internal language developed in tandem with shifts in intellectual and social history. Katz explores how this infrastructure allowed music to explain itself from within, creating a self-referential and rational foundation that has begun to erode in recent years. A magisterial exploration of a frequently overlooked intersection of Western art and philosophy, A Language of Its Own restores music to its rightful place in the history of ideas.

These two collections of Yiddish letters date from the second half of the 17th century and are being published here in full for the first time. The opening five-letter collection was archived together with extensive information about three Jews from Hamburg-Altona, who had been arrested and investigated in Copenhagen in August 1666. The second collection consists of eighteen letters exchanged between Hamburg-Altona and Copenhagen in January 1678. They concern the family and business affairs of a range of people, among them some of Glikl Hamel’s relatives, business associates and acquaintances. Together, the two collections provide a wealth of illuminating new details about the economic, cultural, social, and family life of early modern Ashkenazi Jews in Northern Europe, and also shed light on the practice of Yiddish letter-writing at the time. The English section consists of an introduction followed by a synopsis of each letter, while the Hebrew section comprises a transcription of the original texts as well as their facsimile images.

MA‘ARAG: The Israel Annual of Psychoanalysis is a democratic, refereed annual publication, evaluated and edited by academicians, intellectuals in related fields, and clinicians. The journal, dedicated to research in psychoanalytic theory, practice and criticism, is the fruit of the initiative and cooperation of the Sigmund Freud Center for the Study and Research in Psychoanalysis of the Hebrew University, the Israeli Association for Self Psychology and the Study of Subjectivity, Israel Society for Analytical Psychology, Israel Psychoanalytic Society, Clinical Division of the Israel Psychological Association, Israel Institute for Group Analysis, Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology, The Sigmund Freud Chair of Psychoanalysis of the Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University, Tel-Aviv Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, The Winnicott Center in Israel and the New Israeli Jungian Association. Few articles in this issue: Merav Roth | FROM “FUNES THE MEMORIOUS” TO FORGETFUL AGNES: ON DEAD REMEMBERED MEMORIES AND THE ALIVE FORGOTTEN Emmanuel Amrami | ON SEXUALITY IN PSYCHOANALYSIS: TWO PHASES, THREE FACES, AND A BRIEF GLANCE TOWARD LOVE Anat Tzur-Mahalel | “WRITING LIKE A DOG DIGGING A HOLE; A RAT DIGGING ITS BURROW:” NARRATIVES OF SEPARATION THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVE OF FREUD’S PATIENTS Rakefet Efrat (Levkovich) Holzer | “YOUR ENDLESS UNRETURN”: MELANCHOLY AND ABYSMAL DOUBLE NEGATION Ayelet Naeh | THE SELF THAT IS NOT ONE: ON THE REFLECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE SELF AND AWARENESS THROUGH A KABBALISTIC PERSPECTIVE

The First and Foremost set is designed for students of the Hebrew language at the beginners level. It was written along the principles of the communicative language approach. The contents of this book deal with the world and Israel, reflecting the varied aspects of the Israeli culture and aspiring to create a dialogue between the student and the many faces of Israeli culture, enabling a multicultural dialogue. It touches upon subjects that relate to the individual, society, and community. It includes translated instructions and the workbook includes a dictionary of all the words required at this level, as well as translated explanations of the linguistic issues. The set is accompanied by complementary teaching materials for the student and teacher: dictionaries, presentations, teacher’s guide, and more. First and Foremost - Teacher's Guide accompanies the set. It contains detailed lesson plans, suggestions and ideas for teaching methods and enrichment of the texts, conversations, exercises and the rest of the material in the textbook. The guide is designed to serve both beginning and experienced teachers. The guide includes references to the material in the various parts of the set: the presentations, audio files, and others.

Prof. Shraga Abramson was the most important scholar of his time in the field of Geonim literature and the teacher of most of the proceeding generation in this field of study. This book is the third collection of his studies pertaining to the Geonim period. The two others are considered mandatory for those interested in this formative and fascinating period. It contains studies published in his lifetime, which were not included in other compilations, as well as some studies found in his estate. The articles deal with various aspects of the Geonim literature.

This book describes the increasing interactions between wildlife and people in human settlements in Israel and beyond.

Student feedback video The updated version of this widely-used Modern Hebrew grammar textbook is now available in print and digital formats. The book includes easy-to-understand explanations of Hebrew grammar in English, with examples in Hebrew with English translations. The chapter on full spelling has been updated in accordance with the new guidelines of the Hebrew Language Academy. Highly recommended as an accompaniment to classroom, online or independent study and as a guide for teachers. The topics covered are those studied at the beginning and intermediate levels. Many advanced students and teachers have found Easing to be an important reference tool. The book features: - Explanations in non-technical English - Examples in Hebrew accompanied by English translations - Frequent use of vowel signs and transcriptions to aid in pronunciation - Color for highlighting the focus of discussion - Ample exercises with answers for self-check - Helpful charts and lists for easy reference - Easy access to topics through chapter Previews, English Subject Index and Hebrew Word Index

Rav Pe'alim, Hebrew Verbs for Advanced Levels: Part 2 is intended for students learning verbs at Level Heh (according to the system taught at the Hebrew University's International School). The book contains not only diverse verb form exercises but also explanations and exercises aiming to enrich students' vocabulary and improve their adequacy in the meanings of the roots and forms. The book also provides grammatical explanations and strategies for solving verb exercises.