Greenberg Families Library

Spinoza, Atheist by Steven Nadler

In 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was accused of unspecified “horrifying heresies,” but the precise reasons for his expulsion remain a mystery. When he published his Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, which was condemned as “the most atheistic book ever written,” he began to reveal to the world what his heresies may have been.

Yet ever since the eighteenth century, most readers and scholars have assumed that Spinoza was a pantheist—even a “God-intoxicated man,” as the poet Novalis put it. After all, how could a person whose books are suffused with talk of God be an atheist?

In Spinoza, Atheist, Steven Nadler, one of the world’s leading authorities on the philosopher, aims to settle the question and show that that’s exactly what he was. Nadler makes a powerful case that there is no real divinity for Spinoza. God is nature and isn’t an object of worshipful awe or religious reverence but can only be understood through philosophy and science. There is nothing supernatural—no mystery, ineffability, or sublimity.

Spinoza does speak of “blessedness” and “salvation,” but these, too, are to be understood in natural and rational terms, as the peace of mind and happiness that come from understanding ourselves and the world. Whether Spinoza believed in God is a fascinating and enduring controversy. Spinoza, Atheist promises to transform our understanding of his views and to make clear just how radical a thinker he was and remains.

William Greenberg Desserts Bakes Vegan: Plant-Based Recipes from an Iconic New York Bakery by Carol Becker

William Greenberg Desserts has been a New York City staple for more than seventy years. Now those following a plant-based diet can partake in their fabulous treats, including soft and gooey Cinnamon Rolls, a fabulous Apricot Cheesecake, classic Thumbprint Cookies, and more.

Home bakers will be delighted to find recipes for a variety of cookies, bars, cakes, tarts, breads, halva, and even some savory snacks, all made without dairy or eggs. This cookbook will carry on the tradition Mr. Greenberg started decades ago while making the delightful baked goods available to those following vegan, dairy-free, and Parve diets.

Author Carol Becker writes, “It was essential to me that if these recipes were to have the Greenberg name on them, they had to be every bit as delicious as their full-dairy counterparts.”

Try them out for yourself!

On the Road to Happy by Goldy Moldavsky

Gigi and her older sister, Yasmin, are spending the summer at a Jewish bungalow colony in upstate New York, thanks to their dad, who will be the handyman there. Sure, there will be day camp to go to, and the forest to explore, and maybe new friends to make.

But Gigi doesn’t feel she fits in. Despite the fact that she’s Jewish too, she can’t help but feel that her Judaism is totally different from the other kids’. It doesn’t help that Mom isn’t around to talk to—she’s back in Brooklyn working. Yasmin has her own friends, and even though her dad speaks five languages, he and Gigi never seem to be speaking the same one.

There’s only one thing Gigi can do—escape. So, she hatches a plan to run away. But unexpected surprises keep drawing her back. Like, why do the boys at the camp keep doing flips? What kind of lake has fish with mustaches? Can Gigi sneakily use her dad’s tools to build a secret treehouse?

Try as she might, Gigi can’t figure out why everyone else loves this place so much. Will she eventually find her way back home, or will she—just maybe—discover something special hidden within the colony?

Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman

Every month Ms. Madeleine creates a special cookie of the month for her bakery. And her best customer, a little girl named Cookie, is always the first to try it. Ms. Madeleine’s sweet treats never disappoint.

When June arrives, Cookie and her two moms stop in and taste the best cookie yet: a heart-shaped, rainbow-striped, crunchy, frosted confection that Ms. Madeleine baked especially for Pride.

But Rainbow Cookies make some people in the neighborhood angry. They write harsh notes. They cancel orders. Ms. Madeleine is afraid her Rainbow Cookie might be her last.

But Cookie is not about to let that happen. With great determination and a fabulous idea, she gathers friends and neighbors to support Ms. Madeleine. Together they show the whole town how colorful and fun and celebratory and delicious the combination of love, Pride, and cookies can be!