New Books Network

About Michael Morales

NBN Episodes hosted by Michael:

Biblical Studies December 23, 2021

The Reception of Exodus Motifs in Jewish and Christian Literature

"Let My People Go!"

Beate Kowalski and Susan E. Docherty

Hosted by Michael Morales
The account of the exodus of Israel out of Egypt led by Moses has shaped the theology and community identity of both Jewish people and Christians across the centuries, blossoming …
Jewish Studies December 14, 2021

The Koren Standard Tanakh Maalot

Magerman Edition

Jonathan Sacks

Hosted by Michael Morales
A decade in development, the new KOREN TANAKH offers an eloquent, faithful, and masterful translation of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings with the renowned Koren Hebrew text. Translation for the Pentateuch …
Biblical Studies November 19, 2021

Engaging the Doctrine of Israel

A Christian Israelology in Dialogue with Ongoing Judaism

Matthew Levering

Hosted by Michael Morales
What does it mean to be the people of God? Is it possible for Jewish and Christian people to engage in fruitful dialogue about their faiths, with integrity and mutual …
Jewish Studies November 17, 2021

The Zohar

Daniel C. Matt

Hosted by Michael Morales
Emerging some seven hundred years ago in Spain, the Zohar is considered 'the great medieval compendium of mysticism, myth, and esoteric teaching' and perhaps 'the highest expression of Jewish literary …
Biblical Studies October 29, 2021

Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy

Jason Gile

Hosted by Michael Morales
Did the ideas of Deuteronomy influence the prophecies of Ezekiel? Jason Gile says Yes. His recent monograph argues that Deuteronomy's ideas influenced Ezekiel's response to the crisis surrounding the fall …
Jewish Studies October 27, 2021

The Steinsaltz Tanya V3: Sha'ar Hayihud Veha'emuna and Iggeret Hateshuva

Adin Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Tanya, a hugely influential 18thcentury work of Hasidic philosophy and spirituality, is at the foundation of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, indeed, written by the movement’s founder, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of …
Jewish Studies October 15, 2021

The Prince and the Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince

Dov Zakheim

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times …
Jewish Studies October 12, 2021

The Soul of the Mishna

Yakov Nagen

Hosted by Michael Morales
As the foundational text of the Oral Torah in Judaism, the Mishnah is generally analyzed to understand Jewish law and the workings of the halakhic system. But Yakov Nagen, in …
Biblical Studies September 1, 2021

Memoir of Moses

The Literary Creation of Covenantal Memory in Deuteronomy

A. J. Culp

Hosted by Michael Morales
Memory plays a central role in the book of Deuteronomy, meant to shape Israel’s life as a nation in the land. In Memoir of Moses: The Literary Creation of Covenantal …
Jewish Studies August 27, 2021

The Essential Talmud

Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Talmud ‘is the central pillar supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice of Jewish life’—so wrote Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. Not only did Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz publish an English …
Jewish Studies August 10, 2021

Shadal on Leviticus

Samuel David Luzzatto's Interpretation of the Book of Vayikra

Samuel David Luzzatto

Hosted by Michael Morales
Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), known by his Hebrew acronym Shadal, was the leading Italian Jewish scholar of the 19th century. A linguist, educator, and religious thinker, he devoted his talents …
Biblical Studies July 29, 2021

Jesus

The Incarnation of the Word

David C Mitchell

Hosted by Michael Morales
Did the prophets foretell a priestly Messiah? Who was the mysterious figure of Melchizedek? In his new book, Jesus: The Incarnation of the Word, David Mitchell uses exegetical acumen and his …
Jewish Studies July 27, 2021

Nahmanides

Law and Mysticism

Moshe Halbertal

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194–1270), known in English as Nahmanides and by the acronym the Ramban, was one of the most creative kabbalists, one of the deepest and most original …
Jewish Studies July 14, 2021

Samuel

The Making of the Monarchy, Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel

David Arnovitz

Hosted by Michael Morales
Samuel: The Making of the Monarchy, a volume of The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel with Koren Publishers, offers an innovative and refreshing approach to the Hebrew Bible. By fusing …
Jewish Studies July 14, 2021

Lamentations

Faith in a Turbulent World

Yael Ziegler

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Biblical book of Lamentations contains a whirlwind of emotional responses to tragedy and suffering—expressing anger, doubt, and confusion—and yet its central message is one of deep hope and trust …
Jewish Studies July 8, 2021

Talks on the Parasha

Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 1937 – 7 August 2020), an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, author, and translator, has been compared to Rashi and Maimonides in terms …
Biblical Studies June 23, 2021

Luke's Jewish Eschatology

The National Restoration of Israel in Luke-Acts

Isaac W. Oliver

Hosted by Michael Morales
Does the author of Luke-Acts write off the Jewish people, or does his presentation demonstrate that hopes for the restoration of Israel were very much still alive within the early …
Biblical Studies May 28, 2021

Earthquakes and Eschatology in the Gospel According to Matthew

Brian Carrier

Hosted by Michael Morales
In Earthquakes and Eschatology in the Gospel According to Matthew (Mohr Siebeck, 2020), Brian Carrier provides a comprehensive analysis of the role that seismic language plays within the Matthean Gospel narrative. After …
Jewish Studies May 17, 2021

The Erez Concise Guide Series

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Erez Series is comprised of the Concise Guides to the full gamut of Jewish thought, from the Torah to modern halakha (Jewish law) and Mahshava (Jewish philosophy). The late …
Biblical Studies May 13, 2021

Yahweh

Origin of a Desert God

Robert D. Miller II

Hosted by Michael Morales
Recognizing the absence of a God named Yahweh outside of ancient Israel, this study addresses the related questions of Yahweh's origins and the biblical claim that there were Yahweh-worshipers other …
Christian Studies April 30, 2021

Spiritual Direction from Dante

Volume 2: Ascending Mount Purgatory

Paul Pearson

Hosted by Michael Morales
Although Dante’s Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of spiritual writing, it is seldom appreciated as such since most readers never venture beyond the first volume, Inferno, to continue the spiritual journey …
Literary Studies March 30, 2021

Spiritual Direction from Dante

Avoiding the Inferno

Paul Pearson

Hosted by Michael Morales
Most people, even those familiar with his classic, do not realize that Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy, aside from all of its history and politics, is a masterpiece of spiritual writing …
Biblical Studies January 11, 2021

Exploring the Composition of the Pentateuch

Roy E. Gane

Hosted by Michael Morales
For many years, the historical-critical quest for a reconstruction of the origin(s) and development of the Pentateuch or Hexateuch has been dominated by the documentary hypothesis, the heuristic power of …
Historical Fiction July 2, 2020

Lethal Pursuit

Will Thomas

Hosted by Michael Morales
London, 1892. Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn have been tasked by the Prime Minister to deliver a satchel to the Vatican. The satchel contains a document desperately …