Download or read book A Philosophy of Mitzvot written by Gersion Appel and published by Lambda. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What divine purpose do the mitzvot, the Biblical commandments, serve? What moral and spiritual goals do the mitzvot envision? The Sefer ha-Hinnukh, one of the principal works in Jewish ethical and halakhic literature, is a primary source for ta'amei ha-mitzvot, the reasons and purpose of the divine commandments in the Torah. A Philosophy of Mitzvot by Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel sets forth the Hinnukh s objectives and his approach to revealing the religious and ethical meaning of the mitzvot. In his wide-ranging study, the author presents a comprehensive view of Jewish philosophy as developed by the Hinnukh and the classical Jewish philosophers. The Hinnukh emerges in this study as a great educator and moral and religious guide, and his classic work as a treasure-trove of Jewish knowledge, religious inspiration, and brilliant insight in the molding of human character.
Download or read book The Mitzvot written by Abraham Chill and published by Urim Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognized as a classic in the field, this book is a pioneering study dealing with the traditional rationale behind the 613 commandments, or mitzvot, in the Torah. The author draws on the considerable literature to present the interpretation of the great rabbinical thinkers on each biblical commandment throughout the ages. Excerpts from the key commentaries are given in English translation. The book provides easy reference for the student interested in the systematic study of the mitzvot and for anyone interested in additional information on a particular commandment.
Download or read book The Divine Commandments written by Nissan Mindel and published by . This book was released on 2010-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Way am I here? Do my actions make a differene? Can I change my future? These age old questions receive fresh answers in The divine commandments, a philosophical analysis of the concept ot a mitzvah. The study of the mystical dimension of G-d's commands and the potential in human action to influence the world gives new purpose to life and new joy to living.
Download or read book A Philosophy of Mizvot written by Gersion Appel and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Philosophy of Mitzvot by Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel sets forth the Hinnukh's objectives and his approach to revealing the religious and ethical meaning of the mitzvot. In his wide-ranging study, the author presents a comprehensive view of Jewish philosophy as developed by the Hinnukh and the classical Jewish philosophers. The Hinnukh emerges in this study as a great educator and moral and religious guide, and his classic work as a treasure-trove of Jewish knowledge, religious inspiration, and brilliant insight in the molding of human character.
Download or read book Problems and Parables of Law written by Josef Stern and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1998-07-10 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rigorous analysis of Maimonides' and Nahmanides' explanations of the Mosaic commandments that challenges received notions of the relation between these two seminal thinkers.
Download or read book Problems and Parables of Law written by Josef Stern and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central topic in medieval Jewish philosophy and thought was the explanation of the Mosaic commandments. From Philo and Saadiah on, thinkers sought to uncover "reasons for the commandments" (ta'amei ha-mitzvot) both to demonstrate the rationality of divine legislation and to motivate performance of the commandments. Like many received topics, this enterprise was radically transformed in the hands of Maimonides. In this first book-length treatment of a subject that has been relatively overlooked by scholars since Isaac Heinemann's classic work in the 1950s, Josef Stern offers an original analysis of two major themes in Maimonides' explanation of the Law and its impact on Nahmanides. The first theme is Maimonides' reconceptualization of the huqqim, those commandments that were traditionally asserted either to have no reason or a reason that is unknown or unknowable. The second theme is Maimonides' application of his method of multi-leveled interpretation that treats texts as parables with "external" and "internal" meaning to the explanation of commandments with multiple reasons. Both of these innovative modes of explanation are adopted by Nahmanides, who refined and adapted Maimonides' structures of interpretation to express diametrically opposed contents. From this perspective there emerges a picture of the relation between these two seminal figures of medieval Judaism that is much more subtle than the received opinion that bluntly opposes them, the radical arch rationalist against the mystical traditionalist. Inquiry into ta'amei ha-mitzvot served as a locus for discussion of a broad range of philosophical topics: the attributes of God, the grounds of law and legal obligation, the structure of explanation and interpretation, idolatry, friendship and love, the status of astrology and magic, and attitudes toward the body. Stern demonstrates both the philosophical importance of these topics in Maimonides' and Nahmanides' thought and the relevance of their writings to contemporary philosophical discussions.
Download or read book Jewish with Feeling written by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and published by Jewish Lights Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A how-to for Jewish spirituality that works. "A spiritual seeker is a person whose soul is awake. In this book I make no assumptions about how much you know about Judaism, what holidays you keep, or whether you believe in God. I want us to start from your soul's experience and carry on from there." --from the Introduction "Virtually anyone remotely affiliated with Judaism should read this book," wrote Publishers Weekly, which listed Jewish with Feeling among its Best Religion Books of the Year. "Without question the best, most readable introduction to Reb Zalman's philosophy of Judaism, it is also the best beginner's guide to Jewish spirituality available today," wrote the Forward, "the perfect book for both the spiritual seeker and the curious skeptic." Taking off from basic questions like "Why be Jewish?" and whether the word God still speaks to us today, Reb Zalman lays out a vision for a whole-person Judaism. This is not only Sinai then but Sinai now, a revelation of the Torah inside and all around us. Complete with many practical suggestions to enrich your own Jewish life, Jewish with Feeling is "a mystical masterpiece filled with spiritual practices and an exciting vision of the future" (Spirituality & Health). Spiritual experience, as Reb Zalman shows, repays every effort we make to acquire it.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Joseph B Soloveitchik written by Heshey Zelcer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a concise but comprehensive overview of Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s larger philosophical program, this book studies one of the most important modern Orthodox Jewish thinkers. It incorporates much relevant biographical, philosophical, religious, legal, and historical background so that the content and difficult philosophical concepts are easily accessible. The volume describes his view of Jewish law (Halakhah) and how he takes the view to answer the fundamental question of Jewish philosophy, the question of the "reasons" for the commandments. It shows how numerous of his disparate books, essays, and lectures on law, specific commandments, and Jewish religious phenomenology, can be woven together to form an elegant philosophical program. It also provides an analysis and summary of Soloveitchik’s views on Zionism and on interreligious dialogue and the contexts for Soloveitchik’s respective stances on two issues that were pressing in his role as a leader of a major branch of post-war Orthodox Judaism. The book provides a synoptic overview of the philosophical works of Joseph B. Soloveitchik. It will be of interest to historians and scholars studying neo-Kantian philosophy, Jewish thought and philosophy of religion.
Download or read book Jewish Theology and Process Thought written by Sandra B. Lubarsky and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection constitutes the first extended discussion of the relationship between Judaism and process thought. In the last half century the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne have become important sources for contemporary theological reflection. Recently, a number of Jewish thinkers have examined process thought as a potentially valuable resource for postmodern Jewish theology. This book brings together many Jewish thinkers who have pioneered this discussion. Jewish thinkers who have found process thought to be a useful framework for contemporary Jewish thought discuss issues that are primarily theological, such as God's transcendence and immanence, the problem of evil, the idea of revelation. Also included is a dialogue between Jewish and Christian thinkers on the appropriateness of process thought for their religious traditions. Critical reflection on the continuities and discontinuities between Judaism and the process model is also covered.
Download or read book Medieval Jewish Philosophy written by Dan Cohn-Sherbok and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surveys the writings of leading Jewish thinkers, attempting to place them in an historical context and describe their contributions to the history of Jewish medieval thought in simple and lucid terms.
Download or read book Problems and Parables of Law written by Josef Stern and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation A comparative examination of two Jewish philosophers views on Old Testament laws. Arguing that the two are not as radically opposed as has previously been argued, the author explore the impact of two elements of the Maimonidean revolution on the thought of Nahmanides. The first is Maimonides' idea of the problematic (or arbitrary) commandment, which he viewed as having reasons related to contingent historical context. The second, related idea was that explanations for all commandments should be modelled after the multilevel interpretations of parables, because often reasons were hidden from the people lest the commandments lose their impact. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Download or read book Maimonides and Philosophy written by S. Pines and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the year 1985, presumed to mark the 850th anniversary of Maimonides' birth, the Sixth Jerusalem Philosophical Encounter was dedicated to Maim onides as philosopher. We did not enter into the other aspects of his work, rabbinical, legal, medical, etc., except in so far as the relation between his philosophy and his work in halakha (Jewish law) is itself a philosophical question. That no one is quite certain about Maimonides' date of birth is symbolic of the state of his philosophy as well. Maimonides' thought poses various enigmas, lends itself to contradictory interpretations and gives rise today, as it did in the Middle Ages, to sustained controversies. Some of the contribu tions to the present volume deal with these and cognate topics. Others deal with certain aspects of the philosophical tradition in which Maimonides was rooted, with some traits peculiar to the Islamic society in the midst of which he lived, and with his influence on Christian scholasticism. Maimonides' thought had many facets, and for this and other reasons the question as to his place and stature in the history of philosophy admits of no simple answer. In this volume an attempt has been made to draw atten tion to some of these complexities.
Download or read book Jewish Philosophy written by Leon D. Stitskin and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rambam written by Moses Maimonides and published by Schocken Books Incorporated. This book was released on 1977 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moses Maimonides, known by the acronym "Rambam," was unquestionably the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism. Born in Cordova, Spain, forced at an early age to conceal his faith, he emigrated to Morocco and then Palestine before settling in Egypt, where financial necessity compelled him to study medicine and where he eventually became personal physician to Saladin. Although his medical skills were renowned and his writings in this field were widely studied throughout the Western world in the following centuries, Maimonides' primary interest was theology. He devoted ten years to preparing Mishnah Torah and fifteen years to The Guide to the Perplexed - the first written in Hebrew, the second in Arabic. These studies of Jewish law were first considered radical in their efforts to reconcile religious and scientific thought, but later became pillars of traditional Jewish faith. Dr. Lenn Goodman has prepared new translations from these works, arranging the extensive excerpts by topic to focus on Maimonides' principal contributions to philosophy. These are accompanied by commentary and analysis, clarifying the complexities of his thought and providing the historical and religious background required by the modern lay reader. The introduction details Rambam's life and evaluates his role in history and theology. The study of Maimonides is essential to the understanding of Judaism and Western culture. Rambam makes his writings accessible to those who cannot work from the original texts, and meaningful to those who have not had extensive previous exposure to medieval theology. — Publisher description.
Download or read book Two Models of Jewish Philosophy written by Daniel Rynhold and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2005-03-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a work that illustrates how Jewish philosophy can make a genuine contribution to general philosophical debate, Daniel Rynhold attempts to formulate a model for the justification of practices by applying the methods of modern analytic philosophy to approaches to the rationalization of the commandments from the history of Jewish philosophy. Through critical analysis of the methods of Moses Maimonides and Joseph Soloveitchik, Rynhold argues against propositional approaches tojustifying practices that he terms Priority of Theory approaches and offers instead his own method, termed the Priority of Practice, which emphasizes the need for a more pragmatic take on this whole issue.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Purpose written by Samuel Belkin and published by . This book was released on 1958 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Covenantal Thinking written by Paul E. Nahme and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2024-03-01 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The philosophy and theology of David Novak, one of the most prominent and creative contemporary Jewish thinkers, grapples with Judaism, Christian theology, the tradition of natural law, and the Western philosophical canon. Never shying away from contested ethical and religious themes, Novak’s original insights and intellectual spirit have spanned voluminous publications and inspired Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinkers to engage concepts such as religious liberty, covenantal morality, and the importance of theological reasoning. Written primarily by scholars in the field of Jewish thought, Covenantal Thinking is a collection of essays dedicated to Novak’s work. The book examines topics such as election, natural law, Jewish political thought, Zionism, and the relation between reason and revelation. This collection is unique because it includes Novak’s replies to his critics, including his clarifications of his philosophical and theological positions. Offering a vital contribution to contemporary Jewish thought, Covenantal Thinking illuminates Novak’s contributions as a scholar who trained, conversed with, and inspired the next generation of philosophical theologians.
