God in Search of Man : A Philosophy of Judaism . Abraham Joshua Heschel was one of the most revered religious leaders of the 20th century, and God in Search of Man and its companion volume, Man Is Not Alone, two of his most important books, are classics of modern Jewish theology. God in Search of Man combines scholarship with lucidity, reverence, and compassion as Dr. Heschel discusses not man’s search for God but God’s for man–the notion of a Chosen People, an idea which, he writes, “signifies not a quality inherent in the people but a relationship between the people and God.” It is an extraordinary description of the nature of Biblical thought, and how that thought becomes faith. See details
Archive for the 'Theology' Category
02
Apr
12
God’s Favorite Prayers
God’s Favorite Prayers invites the reader into the heart of Jewish spirituality, to learn about its idiom and imagery, its emotions and its great sweeping dramas. It invites the reader to meet six ideal personalities of Jewish prayer and to get to know some of God’s favorite prayers.
Critical praise for the book:
“God’s favorite prayers have all been right in plain sight for centuries, though never before experienced like this. With his characteristic blend of chutzpah and humor, Professor Rav Zahavy makes finding spiritual experiences into a real page turner! A fun, fascinating and totally refreshing way to finally learn how to pray.”
–Dr. Arlene Rossen Cardozo, author of Sequencing, Woman at Home and Jewish Family Celebrations
“Tzvee Zahavy’s artful melding of memoir, analysis, and typology enriches our understanding of liturgical experience and encourages us to emulate him by reflecting more thoughtfully on our own prayer lives.”
–Rabbi Eliezer Diamond Ph.D., Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, Jewish Theological Seminary. See details
02
Apr
12
The Jewish Gospels
The Jewish Gospels . In July 2008 a front-page story in the New York Times reported on the discovery of an ancient Hebrew tablet, dating from before the birth of Jesus, which predicted a Messiah who would rise from the dead after three days. Commenting on this startling discovery at the time, noted Talmud scholar Daniel Boyarin argued that “some Christians will find it shocking—a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology.”
Guiding us through a rich tapestry of new discoveries and ancient scriptures, The Jewish Gospels makes the powerful case that our conventional understandings of Jesus and of the origins of Christianity are wrong. In Boyarin’s scrupulously illustrated account, the coming of the Messiah was fully imagined in the ancient Jewish texts. Jesus, moreover, was embraced by many Jews as this person, and his core teachings were not at all a break from Jewish beliefs and teachings. Jesus and his followers, Boyarin shows, were simply Jewish. What came to be known as Christianity came much later, as religious and political leaders sought to impose a new religious orthodoxy that was not present at the time of Jesus’s life.
In the vein of Elaine Pagels’s The Gnostic Gospels, here is a brilliant new work that will break open some of our culture’s most cherished assumptions. See details
02
Apr
12
Kosher Jesus
Kosher Jesus is a project of more than six years research and writing. The book seeks to offer to Jews and Christians the real story of Jesus, a wholly observant, Pharisaic Rabbi who fought Roman paganism and oppression and was killed for it. While many Christians will be confused by its assertion that Jesus never claimed divinity and not only did not abrogate the Torah but observed every letter of the Law, they will find comfort in my tracing most of Jesus principal teachings back to Jewish sources, this before he was stripped of his Jewishness by later writers who sought to portray him as an enemy of his people. This is especially true of Jesus’ most famous oration, the Sermon on the Mount, which is a reformulation of the Torah he studied and to which he was committed. A small sampling: Continue reading ‘Kosher Jesus’
11
Jul
10
Jewish Theology in Our Time
Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief . The number of non-Orthodox Jews is decreasing and many Orthodox Jews are turning from the practices of their parents toward the more fundamentalist views of their great grandparents. It is therefore a good time to rethink what Judaism means and try to show how the religion is relevant in our time. This volume, with two dozen articles from rabbis and scholars of all Jewish denominations, males and females, attempts to do so. The writers focus on different aspects of Judaism, such as its beliefs, morality, practices, and how the writers feels affected by their views of Judaism, and how they changed over time, and their ideas about God and how God functions in the universe, if at all. Each writer offers his or her own opinion. Thus, readers will find a wide spectrum of thought-provoking ideas. See details
Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition . How do we articulate a religious vision that embraces evolution and human authorship of Scripture? Drawing on the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah and Hasidism, path-breaking Jewish scholar Arthur Green argues that a neomystical perspective can help us to reframe these realities, so they may yet be viewed as dwelling places of the sacred. In doing so, he rethinks such concepts as God, the origins and meaning of existence, human nature, and revelation to construct a new Judaism for the twenty-first century. See details
The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time . “Everyone curls up inside a Sabbath at some point or other. Religion need not be involved.”
The Sabbath is not just the holy day of rest. It’s also a utopian idea about a less pressured, more sociable, purer world. Where did this notion come from? Is there value in withdrawing from the world one day in seven, despite its obvious inconvenience in an age of convenience? And what will be lost if the Sabbath goes away?
In this erudite, elegantly written book, critic Judith Shulevitz weaves together histories of the Jewish and Christian sabbaths, speculations on the nature of time, and a rueful account of her personal struggle with the day. Shulevitz has found insights into the Sabbath in both cultural and contemporary sources—the Torah, the Gospels, the Talmud, and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, as well as in the poetry of William Wordsworth, the life of Sigmund Freud, and the science of neuropsychology. Continue reading ‘The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time’
When Bad Things Happen to Good People . Offers a moving and humane approach to understanding life’s windstorms.Raises many questions that will challenge your mind and test your faith regarding the ultimate questions of life and death.
Rarely does a book come along that tackles a perennially difficult human issue with such clarity and intelligence. Harold Kushner, a Jewish rabbi facing his own child’s fatal illness, deftly guides us through the inadequacies of the traditional answers to the problem of evil, then provides a uniquely practical and compassionate answer that has appealed to millions of readers across all religious creeds. Remarkable for its intensely relevant real-life examples and its fluid prose, this book cannot go unread by anyone who has ever been troubled by the question, “Why me?” See details
Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery Of Harmony Between Modern Science And The Bible. Schroeder’s insight helps to bridge the gap between science and the bible (particularly Genesis). After the first days of creation, the bible very much follows the geological and historical record, so why is Genesis so seemingly out of alignment? (for me, this has always been a tough nut to crack) This book presents a viable explanation of the reconciliation of the two opposing viewpoints, utilizing astrophysics, the Theory of Relativity, and the theory of the Big Bang to hypothesize a secular model that might overlay on the traditional theistic belief of the six days of creation. This book may be based on principals and equations that are not for the layman, Schroeder does an excellent job of presenting the case for a marriage of the secular and theistic viewpoints that anyone can easily grasp. He is also an unquestionable authority in his field, with an impeccable reputation. See details
30
Jul
08
What is a Jew?
What is a Jew? Kertzer, who died in 1984, wrote the first edition of this book in 1953. He revised it three times, most recently in 1978. Now his nephew, also a rabbi and professor at the Hebrew Union College, has revised the book again. Originally intended to “guide non-Jews to a better understanding of their fellow Jewish Americans” as well as to “enable Jews themselves to rediscover forgotten roots of tradition and belief,” the book still serves this purpose admirably, addressing all of the traditional questions: What in general do Jews believe? What are Orthodox Jews? What is Torah? Also addressed are newer concerns: What is the Jewish attitude toward feminism? According to Judaism, do animals have rights? Why do Jews persist in remembering the Holocaust? About half the material in this revised edition is new; the entire book is written from a calmly instructional, nonevangelical viewpoint and in an engaging style that will appeal to young people and old, Jews and non-Jews. Highly recommended for all public and school libraries. See details
