The Return of the Kosher Pig: The Divine Messiah in Jewish Thought by Rabbi Itzhak Shapira

pages: 335, with glossary, recommendations for related books and even a couple sleeves for notes.
Book on Amazon

Warning: This book is not for the everyday average reader, let alone the average Christian (if there is such a thing.)  Though I argue that this is an excellent book, filled with a plethora of information and details beyond your wildest dreams-- a lot of the information goes well above a reader's head , dealing with traditional rabbinical views, jewish thought & jewish theology that are well beyond the scoop of a "normal read."

But despite that warning--this book is very intriguing.  It is written by a messianic rabbi *see author above* who discusses how he grew up in  Jewish community in Israel and wants to point from a Jewish prescriptive proof that Jesus was the Messiah found within the Scriptures.  He uses traditional jewish defense and refers to several rabbinical texts to provide proof of his argument about Yeshua (Jesus--he specifically uses this term as he wants to distinguish in this book the Jewish aspects.)

Again I want to emphasize there is A LOT of information in this book. Rabbi Shapira provides several examples of how rabbis interpret certain Messianic scripture, record discussions about the authority, teachings and definition of how Jesus is the claimed Messiah of the Scriptures.  He even refers to rabbis that state truths but then sacrifice their teachings for human agreements to dispute Messianic claims.

There are some claims that go a little beyond standardized thinking... discussions about jewish numerology (there is another term for this but I figured I would simplify it) and how certain messianic affiliated verses add up to the same figured and (as the author argues) gives more support to Jesus as the Messiah.  Thought I do not argue against Jesus as Messiah... I do not think you need every little ounce of defense, including the mystical aspects of belief.  Interesting...but not necessary.

Otherwise, this is an excellent, well documented and informed book about the Messiah in Jewish thought.  Thought it was not written for most believers, I do think any believer could benefit from a reading of this book.

The Atoms of Language: The mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar by Mark Baker

Kindle Edition: 276

Amazon Link: The Atoms of Language

For those of you like me who are interested in how language works and functions, this is an excellent book to get started with.  The book makes the analogy that just as there is a periodic table for the elements in chemistry, there is a "table" of sorts that linguists are putting together that can categorize and structure languages of the world.  Baker discusses how linguistics are forming "parameters" that separate languages from others (usually associated with the subject location, verb, placement of words and verb phrases.)  Bakers implies that these parameters help categorize and structure language as a whole more efficiently than country of origin or cultural difference associated with each language.

Mark Baker does an wonderful job of making linguistics readable for the average person--and yet not sacrificing terms, definitions and examples from the field of linguistics.  Examples include associates between Japanese, English, French, a native-american language from the Iroquois, Mohawk, and discusses other unique languages that one may not readily think of when discussing tongues of the world.

A basic knowledge of English grammar and syntax would be necessary for understanding this book, along with perhaps knowledge of another language other than your own since some topics make sense with some bi-lingual knowledge base.