Download or read book Judaism s Great Debates written by Barry L. Schwartz and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of this book possible: David Lerman and Shelley Wallock; D. Walter Cohen, Wendy and Leonard Cooper; Rabbi Howard Gorin; Gittel and Alan Hilibrand; Marjorie and Jeffrey Major; Jeanette Lerman Neubauer and Joe Neubauer; Gayle and David Smith; and Harriet and Donald Young. Ever since Abraham’s famous argument with God, Judaism has been full of debate. Moses and Korah, David and Nathan, Hillel and Shammai, the Vilna Gaon and the Ba’al Shem Tov, Spinoza and the Amsterdam Rabbis . . . the list goes on. Jews debate justice, authority, inclusion, spirituality, resistance, evolution, Zionism, and more. No wonder that Judaism cherishes the expression machloket l’shem shamayim, “an argument for the sake of heaven.” In this concise but important survey, Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz presents the provocative and vibrant thesis that debate and disputation are not only encouraged within Judaism but reside at the very heart of Jewish history and theology. In his graceful, engaging, and creative prose, Schwartz presents an introduction to an intellectual history of Judaism through the art of argumentation. Beyond their historical importance, what makes these disputations so compelling is that nearly all of them, regardless of their epochs, are still being argued. Schwartz builds the case that the basis of Judaism is a series of unresolved rather than resolved arguments. Drawing on primary sources, and with a bit of poetic license, Schwartz reconstructs the real or imagined dialogue of ten great debates and then analyzes their significance and legacy. This parade of characters spanning three millennia of biblical, rabbinic, and modern disputation reflects the panorama of Jewish history with its monumental political, ethical, and spiritual challenges.

Download or read book Great Jewish Debates and Dilemmas written by Albert Vorspan and published by Urj Press. This book was released on 1980 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vorspan presents contemporary concerns of the total community, not just the Jewish community and asks that the moral values of Judaism be applied to them. age I2 and up.

Download or read book Great Jewish debates and dilemmas written by Albert Vorspan and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Arguing about Judaism written by Peter Cave and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguing about Judaism differs from other introductions to Judaism. It is unique, not solely in its engaging dialogues between a Reform rabbi and a humanist, atheist philosopher, but also in its presentation of and challenges to the fundamental religious beliefs of the Jewish heritage and their relevance to today’s Jewish community. The dialogues contain both Jewish narratives and philosophical responses, with topics ranging from the nature of God to controversies over sexual relations, animal welfare and the environment — from antisemitism to the state of Israel and Zionism. Although the rabbi and philosopher argue strongly, clearly enjoying the cut and thrust of debate, they do so with sensitivity, charm and respect, revealing the rich intricacies of the Jewish religion and contemporary Jewish life. While essential reading for those studying Judaism and Jewish history, the book aims to stimulate debate more generally amongst Jews and non-Jews, the religious and the atheist — all those with a general interest in religion and philosophy.

Download or read book Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism written by Dana Evan Kaplan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a ground breaking collection of essays that takes a hard look at the Reform Movement today. Opening essays look at the problem of building a religous community, the competition in the "spiritual marketplace," and why people join or do not join a Reform synagogue. Other contributors look at a host of controversial issues including Patrilineal Descent, Outreach, Intermarriage, gender issues, gay and lesbian participation, and others.

Download or read book Struggle for the Jewish Mind written by Jacob Neusner and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Noted scholar Jacob Neusner records skirmishes in an ongoing battle within the field of Judaic Studies between ethnic and academic scholars. On the one side, Neusner argues, ethnic scholars assume the interest in and importance of the Jewish and Judaic data and regard incremental erudition, whether or not formed for a purpose, as self-evidently interesting. On the other side, academic scholars address issues of humanistic learning and treat the Jewish or Judaic data as exemplary of broader issues in the humanities and social sciences. Taken together, the skirmishes constitute a widening gap between these two academies on the essential question of how to conduct scholarship about the Jews and Judaism. By bringing together book reviews and essays of debate, Professor Neusner addresses the works of colleagues and critics and presents as a whole a corpus of criticism. Co-published with Studies in Judaism.

Download or read book The Great Latke Hamantash Debate written by Ruth Fredman Cernea and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting a collection of the funniest, most thought-provoking writing produced for the University of Chicago's annual academic farce where Nobel laureates debate whether the potato pancake or the triangular Purim pastry is the worthier food.

Download or read book The Great Christ Debate written by Etomar Ben Roffman and published by . This book was released on 1978-10-01 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Jews and the American Public Square written by Alan Mittleman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2002 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jews and the American Public Square is a study of how Jews have grappled with the presence of religion, both their own and others, in American public life. It surveys historical Jewish approaches to church-state relations and analyzes Jewish responses to the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The book also explores how the contemporary sociological and political characteristics of American Jews bear on their understanding of the public dimensions of American religion. In addition to a descriptive and analytic approach. the volume is also critical and polemical. Its contributors attack and defend prevailing views, raise critical questions about the political and intellectual positions favored by American Jews, and propose new syntheses. This book captures the current mood of the Jewish community: both committed to the separation of church and state and perplexed about its scope and application. It provides the necessary background for a principled reconsideration of the problem of religion in the public square.

Download or read book Judaism in Late Antiquity written by Jacob Neusner and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-12-14 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of systematic Auseinandersetzungen articulates difference and spells out what is at issue. Learning atrophies when political consensus substitutes for criticism, and when other than broadly-accepted viewpoints, approaches, and readings find a hearing only with difficulty, if at all. The editors therefore have invited colleagues systematically to outline their views in an Auseinandersetzung with contrary ones. The several participants explain how, in broad and sweeping terms, they see the state of learning in their areas of special interest. The editors invited leading players in the USA, Europe, and the State of Israel, in the study of ancient Judaism, both in Second Temple Times and after 70 C.E. The work commences with a thoroughly fresh perspective of a theoretical question: what, in a religion so concerned with social norms and public policy, can we possibly mean by "law" when we speak of law in Judaism. It then proceeds with two chapters on Second Temple Judaism, and two on the special subject of the Dead Sea library. The two papers in the present part provide an overview of matters and a systematic, critical account of the fading consensus, respectively. The next set of papers ought to stand as the definitive account of the diverse viewpoints on a basic question of method. Because of the willingness of contending parties to meet one another in a single frame of discourse, the work is able to portray with considerable breadth the presently-contending viewpoints concerning the use of Rabbinic literature for historical purposes. Then proceed a number of other accounts of how matters look from the perspective of major participants in scholarly debate. At the same time as the requirements of historical-critical reading of the Rabbinic literature precipitated sustained and vigorous debate, other problems have attracted attention. Among these a critical issue emerges in the hermeneutics to govern the reading of the documents for the purposes of other-than-historical study, feminist interests, for example.

Download or read book Open Judaism written by Barry L. Schwartz and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2023-07 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Open Judaism offers a big-tent welcome to all Jews and Judaism. It is at once an invitation to the spiritually seeking Jew, a clarion call for a deeply pluralistic and inclusive Judaism, and a dynamic exploration of the remarkable array of thought within Judaism today. In honest, engaging language Barry L. Schwartz, a practicing rabbi and writer, presents traditional, secular-humanistic, and liberal Jewish views on nine major topics--God, soul, Torah, halakhah, Jewish identity, inclusion, Israel, ethics, and prayer. Teachings from many of Judaism's greatest thinkers organically reveal and embellish foundational ideas of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism. The conclusion sets forth core statements of belief in Judaism for believers, atheists, and agnostics, thereby summarizing the full spectrum of thought and enabling readers to make and act on their own choices.

Download or read book Controversy and Dialogue in the Jewish Tradition written by Hanina Ben-Menahem and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-24 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Controversy is the main instrument by which Judaism develops and shapes its philosophy, theology and law. The rabbinical literature speaks with many voices, debating virtually every subject, and failing to reach a consensus on many. However, this willingness to condone controversy is accompanied by much deliberation. Controversy, and its legal, philosophical and social ramifications, was and remains of unparalleled concern to the rabbis. Today, we are also witness to a burgeoning academic interest in controversy and pluralism in Jewish law. This book is an anthology of passages from the rabbinical literature that address the phenomenon of controversy in Jewish law, affording the English-speaking reader the opportunity for a first-hand encounter with this fascinating material. An extensive analytical introduction contextualizes the material from a philosophical perspective. For more information, please visit www.controversy-dialogue.org.

Download or read book Handbook of Israel The Major Debates written by Julius H. Schoeps and published by De Gruyter Akademie Forschung. This book was released on 2016-02 with total page 1200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pioneering handbook is presenting Israel in its intellectual controversies regarding Zionism, the making of the State of Israel and contemporary Israeli society. In more than a dozen of thematic sections, a wide range of perspectives is covered. Among the debated key topics are Israel and Democracy, Religion and State, and Zionism vs. Post-Zionism. The Handbook constitutes a major reference work for anyone dealing with Israel."

Download or read book Ancient Judaism written by Jacob Neusner and published by Neusner Titles in Brown Judaic. This book was released on 1984 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Handbook of Israel Major Debates written by Eliezer Ben-Rafael and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-10-24 with total page 1330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Israel: Major Debates serves as an academic compendium for people interested in major discussions and controversies over Israel. It provides innovative, updated and informative knowledge on a range of acute debates. Among other topics, the handbook discusses post-Zionism, militarism, democracy and religion, (in)equality, colonialism, today’s criticism of Israel, Israel-Diaspora relations, and peace programs. Outstanding scholars face each other with unadulterated, divergent analyses. These historical, political and sociological texts from Israel and elsewhere make up a major reference book within academia and outside academia. About seventy contributions grouped in thirteen thematic sections present controversial and provocative approaches refl ecting, from different angles, on the present-day challenges of the State of Israel. Other Major Works by the Editors: Eliezer Ben-Rafael Is Israel One? Religion, Nationalism and Ethnicity Confounded, Brill (2005) Ethnicity, Religion and Class in Israel, Cambridge University Press (paperback) (2007) Julius H. Schoeps Begegnungen. Menschen, die meinen Lebensweg kreuzten. Suhrkamp (2016) Pioneers of Zionism: Hess, Pinsker, Rülf. Messianism, Settlement Policy, and the Israeli-Palestinan Conflict. De Gruyter (2013) Yitshak Sternberg World Religions and Multiculturalism: A Relational Dialectic. Brill (2010). Transnationalism. Brill (2009) Olaf Glöckner Being Jewish in 21st Century Germany. De Gruyter (2015, with Haim Fireberg) Deutschland, die Juden und der Staat Israel. Olms (2016, with Julius H. Schoeps)

Download or read book The New Jewish Canon written by Yehuda Kurtzer and published by Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and. This book was released on 2020-07-14 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New Jewish Canon is both text and textbook of the Jewish intellectual and communal zeitgeist for the contemporary period. With both primary sources and analytical essays by leading scholars, this book offers a conceptual roadmap to make sense of the mass production and proliferation of new Jewish ideas in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Download or read book Ancient Judaism written by Jacob Neusner and published by Studies in the History of Juda. This book was released on 1993 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Subtitled Essays on the formation of Judaism, dating sayings, method in the history of Judaism, the historical Jesus, publishing too much, and other current issues. Among the topics of the 18 essays are a phenomenological theory of the historical formation of normative Judaism, the conception of the Original Tradition, and the Mishnah in philosop