Arthur J. Magida

During the critical summer months of 1943, Noor Inayat Khan was the only wireless operator transmitting secret messages from Nazi-occupied France to the Special Operations Executive in England. She was a most unlikely spy. As the daughter of an Indian mystic, raised in a household devoted to peaceful reflection on the outskirts of Paris, Khan did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazism, she could not look away. She volunteered to help the British; was trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance; and returned to France under cover of night with a new identity and a code name: Madeleine. Khan transmitted countless details crucial to the Allies' success on D-Day, until she was captured and imprisoned by the Gestapo. She attempted two daring escapes before being sent to prison in Germany. Three months after the Allied invasion of France, she was executed at Dachau. Her last word was "liberté."

A Sufi Spy in Nazi-Occupied Paris

Code Name Madeleine

World War I left Berlin, and all of Germany, devastated. Charlatans and demagogues eagerly exploited the desperate crowds. Fascination with the occult was everywhere – in private séances, personalized psychic readings, communions with the dead – as people struggled to escape the grim reality of their lives. In the early 1930s, the most famous mentalist in the German capital was Erik Jan Hanussen, a Jewish mind reader originally from Vienna who became so popular in Berlin that he rubbed elbows with high ranking Nazis, became close with top Storm Troopers, and even advised Hitler. Called "Europe's Greatest Oracle Since Nostradamus," Hanussen assumed he could manipulate some of the more incendiary personalities of his time just as he had manipulated his fans. He turned his occult newspaper in Berlin into a Nazi propaganda paper, personally assured Hitler that the stars were aligned in his favor, and predicted the infamous Reichstag Fire that would solidify the Nazis' grip on Germany. Seasoned with ruminations about wonder and magic (and explanations of Hanussen's tricks), The Nazi Séance is a disturbing journey into a Germany as it descends into madness—aided by a "clairvoyant" Jew oblivious to the savagery of men who pursued a Reich they fantasized would last 1,000 years.

The Strange Story of the Jewish Psychic in Hitler's Circle

The Nazi Séance

A fascinating true-crime narrative about the first rabbi ever accused of murder and what the case says about the role of clergy in America. On the evening of November 1, 1994, Rabbi Fred Neulander returned home to find his wife, Carol, facedown on the living room floor, blood everywhere. He called for help, but it was too late. Two trials and eight years later, the founder of the largest reform synagogue in southern New Jersey became the first rabbi ever convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a gripping examination of the misuses of the pulpit and the self-delusions of power, Arthur J. Magida paints a devastating portrait of a manipulative man who used his position of trust in the temple to attract several mistresses -- and to befriend a lonely recovering alcoholic, whom he convinced to kill his wife "for the good of Israel." The Rabbi and the Hit Man straddles the juncture of faith and trust, and confronts issues of sex, narcissism, arrogance, and adultery. It is the definitive account of a charismatic clergyman who paid the ultimate price for ignoring his own words of wisdom: "We live at any moment with our total past ... What we do will stay with us forever."

A True Tale of Murder, Passion, and Shattered Faith

The Rabbi and the Hit Man

Explores the religious rites of passage in America and their underlying theories, evolution, and actual practice through the accounts of influential thinkers who experienced them, in a collection that includes interviews with Huston Smith, Harold Kushner, Ram Dass, Elie Wiesel, Deepak Chopra, Bob Abernethy, and others representing a variety of religious backgrounds.

Reflections on Religious Rites of Passage

Opening the Doors of Wonder

Stuart M. Matlins

A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies

How to be a Perfect Stranger

We live in a remarkably diverse society, and it is increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral or other religious service of a friend, relative or co-worker whose faith is different from our own. Originally published by Jewish Lights Publishing, this easy-to-use guidebook helps the well-meaning guest feel comfortable, participate to the fullest extent possible, and avoid violating anyone's religious principles. Newly revised North American edition now includes Canadian statistics and information.

How to Be a Perfect Stranger Volume 2

We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral or other religious service of a friend, relative or coworker whose faith is different from our own. Originally published by Jewish Lights Publishing, this easy-to-use guidebook helps the well-meaning guest feel comfortable, participate to the fullest extent possible, and avoid violating anyone's religious principles. Newly revised North American edition now includes Canadian statistics and information.

The indispensable guidebook to help the well - meaning guest when visiting other people's religious ceremonies - updated and revised. New edition We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral or other religious service of a friend, relative or coworker whose faith is dif...

Arthur J. Magida

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