Eliyahu S Branches

"After decades of research, a noted Israeli genealogist has produced a book about the Vilna Gaon that contains a rare portrait of the illustrious 18th-century Eastern European sage, a discussion of his substantial influence on the Jewish world and a thoroughly-documented family tree listing more than 20,000 descendants of the rabbi and his siblings ... Besides exploring the life and times of the Vilna Gaon, the 704-page book identifies, provides documentation for more than 20,000 descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his siblings. There is an index listing all persons in the book. The Gaon's descendants seem as diverse as the Jewish people itself, Freedman said. Some descendants were prominent rabbis and academicians. Some were involved in a rare agricultural settlement experiment in Russia, while others variously served in the American Civil War and emigrated to places like England and Australia well before the mass migrations of the 1880s.

Chronic alcoholism afflicts approximately 7% of the adult population of the United States and an even larger proportion in some other countries. Among the most devastating health problems associated with alcoholism are increased morbidity and mortality from infections and cancer. Alcohol, Immunity, and Cancer is the first book devoted entirely to presenting up-to-date comprehensive reviews on how the deleterious effects of alcohol consumption impact the immune system and increase the risk of developing many types of cancer. Topics covered include the effects of alcohol on cytokine activity, the modulation of natural killer cell activity by alcohol, fetal alcohol exposure and immunity, alcohol and hepatic carcinogenesis, and alcohol and cancer of the pancreas. Alcohol, Immunity, and Cancer will be invaluable for immunologists, pathologists, toxicologists, microbiologists, biochemists, endocrinologists, and neuroscientists interested in alcohol research. It will also benefit medical experts and general practitioners who need to know the role alcohol may play in the health and disease of their patients.

This is the first book about both normal development of the nervous system and how early exposure to alcohol and nicotine interferes with this development. The developing nervous system is highly dynamic and vulnerable to genetic and epigenetic factors that can be additive or synergistic. Disruption of normal brain development leads to an array of developmental disorders. One of the most common of these is mental retardation, the prime cause of which is prenatal exposure to alcohol. As chapters in this book show, alcohol has direct effects on the developing neural system and it affects genetic regulation. Another common neurotoxin is nicotine, and it is discussed in this book for three reasons: (1) the number of adolescents who smoke cigarettes is rising in some populations; (2) prenatal exposure to nicotine affects neurotransmitter systems that are critical for normal brain development and cognition; and (3) prenatal exposure to nicotine is often accompanied by prenatal exposure to alcohol.LThe mature brain is the culmination of an orderly sequence of the basic ontogenetic processes--cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and death. Neural stem cells and progenitors proliferate in discrete sites; then, young neurons migrate long distances to their residences where they form neural networks. During this sequence many immature cells die, presumably eliminating unsuitable or non-competitive cells. Each process is regulated by genetic and environmental factors. When this regulation goes awry, a dysmorphic and dysfunctional brain results. Though this can be tragic in clinical settings, in experimental contexts it provides keen insight into normal brain development.LThe book is divided into three parts. The first describes neural ontogeny in the normal brain. The second and third deal with the consequences of early exposure to alcohol and nicotine. Though there are similarities in the effects of these two toxins, there are also intriguing differences. The commonalities reflect the plasticity and resilience of the developing brain while the differences point to the targeted effects of the two toxins. Exploring these effects brings a richer appreciation of brain development. The book will be of interest to neuroscientists, developmental biologists, teratologists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, and to their students and trainees.

This book endeavors to fill a lacuna in the literature on early twentieth-century kabbalah, namely the lack of a comprehensive account of the traditional kabbalah in Jerusalem from 1896 to 1948.

In Western religious traditions, God is conventionally conceived as a humanlike creator, lawgiver, and king, a being both accessible and actively present in history. Yet there is a concurrent and strong tradition of a God who actively hides. The two traditions have led to a tension between a God who is simultaneously accessible to humanity and yet inaccessible, a God who is both immanent and transcendent, present and absent. Western Gnostic, esoteric, and mystical thinking capitalizes on the hidden and hiding God. He becomes the hallmark of the mystics, Gnostics, sages, and artists who attempt to make accessible to humans the God who is secreted away. 'Histories of the Hidden God' explores this tradition from antiquity to today. The essays focus on three essential themes: the concealment of the hidden God; the human quest for the hidden God, and revelations of the hidden God.

For the Shabbat Table is an in-depth study of the weekly Torah portions and holidays. They are taken from the treasury of the Torah, Talmud, Midrash, as well as from the writings of famous commentators. The author's explanations are incorporated throughout. Rabbi Chaim Wilschanski was a student of the Frankfurt and Gateshead Kollel HaRabanim, headed by the renowned Rabbi Dessler, z"l. He was the founder and Rabbi of the Hampstead Garden suburb Beth HaMidrash, London.

One night in March 2012, the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) aroused me from sleep and told me to write a book about acharit-hayamim, which means end-times in Hebrew. I am a Messianic Jew. The Ruach HaKodesh has been leading me to scriptures about the acharit-hayamim for many months prior to giving me this message. As always, I did not question the Ruach HaKodesh. I must be obedient to the Holy One of Isra'el! Miraculously, I completed this book in three weeks with the guidance of the Ruach HaKodesh. The Ruach HaKodesh was with me the entire time. I give all praise and glory to the Holy One of Isra'el, who is the only true living G-d. Without the Holy One of Isra'el I can do nothing. I am just a worm of a vessel who will return to the dust of the ground. Hallelu-YAH!