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Book Rabbi Akiva s Letters

    Book Details:
  • Author : HaRav HaSofer Ron Yeshaya
  • Publisher : CreateSpace
  • Release : 2012-04-01
  • ISBN : 9781468155426
  • Pages : 90 pages

Download or read book Rabbi Akiva s Letters written by HaRav HaSofer Ron Yeshaya and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Torah comes to life in a book your children will want to have fun reading over and over again. The classic Midrash is found in the Introduction to the Zohar. Rabbi Akiva himself teaches the 22 letters backwards from Tov to Alef unlocking the mystery of each letter as a building block of creation. Each letter requests from the Master Of The World to be the first letter to begin the Torah and lead the rest. Follow along as the order of the letters unfolds before your very eyes with content of over 50 commonly used Hebrew words!

Book Rabbi Akiva

Download or read book Rabbi Akiva written by Barry W. Holtz and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling and lucid account of the life and teachings of a founder of rabbinic Judaism and one of the most beloved heroes of Jewish history Born in the Land of Israel around the year 50 C.E., Rabbi Akiva was the greatest rabbi of his time and one of the most important influences on Judaism as we know it today. Traditional sources tell how he was raised in poverty and unschooled in religious tradition but began to learn the Torah as an adult. In the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., he helped shape a new direction for Judaism through his brilliance and his character. Mystic, legalist, theologian, and interpreter, he disputed with his colleagues in dramatic fashion yet was admired and beloved by his peers. Executed by Roman authorities for his insistence on teaching Torah in public, he became the exemplar of Jewish martyrdom. Drawing on the latest historical and literary scholarship, this book goes beyond older biographies, untangling a complex assortment of ancient sources to present a clear and nuanced portrait of Talmudic hero Rabbi Akiva.

Book Letters of Light

Download or read book Letters of Light written by Aaron L. Raskin and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a carpenter employs tools to build a home, so G-d utilized twenty-two letters of the Alef-Bais to form the heaven and earth. They are the metaphorical wood, stone and nails, the cornerposts and crossbeams of our earthly and spiritual existence.In Letters of Light, Rabbi Aaron Raskin explores the essence of these holy letters, and how by their very nature they continue to be a source of creation, reflection, prayer and inspiration in our everyday lives. Each letter is examined in terms of its graphic design, its Gematria and its Hebrew meaning. Rabbi Raskin?s insights are themselves guided by the rich foundation of Chassidus and particularly by the illuminations of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe. The result is an original and insightful examination of how Torah ? indeed the very letter of the law ? can inform every aspect of our lives, both religious and secular.

Book Akiva

    Book Details:
  • Author : Reuven Hammer
  • Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
  • Release : 2015
  • ISBN : 0827612486
  • Pages : 232 pages

Download or read book Akiva written by Reuven Hammer and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The legendary Akiva ben Yosef has fascinated Jews for centuries. Arguably the most important of the Tannaim, or early Jewish sages, Akiva lived during a crucial era in the development of Judaism as we know it today, and his theology played a major part in the development of Rabbinic Judaism. Reuven Hammer details Akiva's life as it led to a martyr's death and he delves into the rich legacy Akiva left us. That legacy played an extraordinarily important role in helping the Jewish people survive difficult challenges to forge a vibrant religious life anew, and it continues to influence Jewish law, ethics, and theology even today. Akiva's contribution to the development of Oral Torah cannot be overestimated, and in this first book written in English about the sage since 1936 Hammer reassesses Akiva's role from the period before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE until the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE. He also assesses new findings about the growth of early Judaism, the reasons why Akiva was so outspoken about "Christian Jews," the influence of Hellenism, the Septuagint, and the canonization of the Hebrew Bible. Ultimately Hammer shows that Judaism without Akiva would be a very different religion.

Book The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book

Download or read book The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book written by Marvin J. Heller and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-12-05 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book is a bibliographic work describing books printed with Hebrew letters in that century, covering the gamut of Hebrew literature, encompassing liturgical works, Bibles, commentaries, Talmud, Mishnah, halakhic codes, kabbalistic works, fables, and belles-lettres. Each of the 455 entries has a descriptive text page comprised of background on the author, a description of the book’s contents and physical makeup, and is accompanied by a reproduction of the title or a sample page. There is an extensive introduction with an overview of Hebrew printing and a discussion of aspects of the Hebrew book in the sixteenth century, as well as detailed back matter. It is a necessary work for bibliographers, historians, and students of Jewish literature. The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004129764).

Book Letters to a Buddhist Jew

Download or read book Letters to a Buddhist Jew written by Akiva Tatz and published by Feldheim Publishers. This book was released on 2004 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book A Sage   s Fruit  letters of Baal HaSulam

Download or read book A Sage s Fruit letters of Baal HaSulam written by Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag and published by Laitman Kabbalah Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greatest Kabbalist of the 20th century, Rav Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, who wrote the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, had very few students. A prolific writer, he spent almost all of his time at his desk, so the students that he did have were precious. When spending time away from home and from his students, Rav Yehuda Ashlag would write elaborate letters to provide them with guidance and encouragement. Today these letters offer a window into the special relationships cultivated between the great teacher and his devoted students. A Sage’s Fruit: letters of Baal HaSulam is a compilation of those letters, which are now being presented to English speaking readership for the first time. The unique style and tone that Rav Ashlag uses in his letters offer inspiration and guidance to any seeker of spiritual advancement. The nature of this book is such that it changes a person. Regardless of how many times one may read the text, it constantly takes on new forms, as if reading it for the very first time. Now that these letters have been revealed, it is unclear how we could perceive spiritual advancement without them.

Book Above the Zodiac

    Book Details:
  • Author : Matityahu Glazerson
  • Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
  • Release : 1997
  • ISBN : 1568219350
  • Pages : 142 pages

Download or read book Above the Zodiac written by Matityahu Glazerson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1997 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Above the Zodiac: Astrology in Jewish Thought uncovers the profound connection between Jewish mysticism and classic astrology by citing the many references scattered throughout Jewish literature to the influence of the stars on human destiny. Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson gives a month-by-month rendering of Jewish astrology according to kabbalah, summarizing the complex system of elements in Jewish thought that correlates to each astrological sign. The book also explains the unique relationship the Jewish people have to astrology, and under what circumstances astrological consultations are permitted to individuals.

Book What Can a Modern Jew Believe

Download or read book What Can a Modern Jew Believe written by Gilbert S. Rosenthal and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'What Can a Modern Jew Believe?' is an attempt to present to intelligent, contemporary Jews a brief summation of basic beliefs and tenets of Judaism. Divided into sixteen chapters and an introduction, the book deals with salient principles of faith: Why Religion? What Can a Modern Jew Believe? What Can We Believe About God? Can We Believe in Revelation? What Is a Human Being? Are Jews the Chosen People? Halakhah: Divine or Human? Why Ritual? Why Pray? Why Eretz Yisrael? Tolerance? Pluralism? Which? Why Evil? Can We Repair the World? How Can Jews Relate to Other Faiths? Messiah: Fact or Fancy? Is There an Afterlife? Each chapter analyzes traditional interpretations of the themes, citing appropriate biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern texts. The chapters also include the views of contemporary Jewish thinkers as well as the positions of the various modern Jewish religious movements. The author critiques the diverse opinions and then offers his own insights as to the significance and relevance of these principles for contemporary Jews. Points to Ponder follow each chapter and are designed to stimulate discussion and further reading and thinking.

Book The Sacred Power of Language in Modern Jewish Thought

Download or read book The Sacred Power of Language in Modern Jewish Thought written by Shira Wolosky and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-07-24 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Judaic cultures have a commitment to language that is exceptional. Language in many form – texts, books and scrolls; learning, interpretation, material practices that generate material practices – are central to Judaic conduct, experience, and spirituality. In this Judaic traditions differ from philosophical and theological ones that make language secondary. Traditional metaphysics has privileged the immaterial and unchanging, as unchanging truth that language can at best convey and at worst distort. Such traditional metaphysics has come under critique since Nietzsche in ways that the author explores. Shira Wolosky argues that Judaic traditions converge with contemporary metaphysical critique rather than being its target. Focusing on the work of Derrida, Levinas, Scholem and others, the author examines traditions of Judaic interpretation against backgrounds of biblical exegesis; sign-theory as it recasts language meaning in ways that concord with Judaic textuality; negative theology as it differs in Judaic tradition from those which negate language itself; and lastly outline a discourse ethics that draws on Judaic language theory. This study is directed to students and scholars of: Judaic thought, religious studies and theology; theory of interpretation; Levinas and other modern Jewish philosophical writers, placing them in broader contexts of philosophy, theology, and language theory. It is shown how Jewish discourses on language address urgent problems of value and norms in the contemporary world that has challenged traditional anchors of truth and meaning.

Book The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature written by Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-28 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume introduces students of rabbinic literature to the range of historical and interpretative questions surrounding the rabbinic texts of late antiquity. The editors, themselves well-known interpreters of Rabbinic literature, have gathered an international collection of scholars to support students' initial steps in confronting the enormous and complex rabbinic corpus. Unlike other introductions to Rabbinic writings, the present volume includes approaches shaped by anthropology, gender studies, oral-traditional studies, classics, and folklore studies.

Book The Principles of Judaism

    Book Details:
  • Author : Samuel Lebens
  • Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
  • Release : 2020-06-30
  • ISBN : 0198843259
  • Pages : 350 pages

Download or read book The Principles of Judaism written by Samuel Lebens and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Samuel Lebens takes the three principles of Jewish faith, as proposed by Rabbi Joseph Albo (1380-1444), in order to scrutinize and refine them with the toolkit of contemporary analytic philosophy. What could it mean for a perfect being to create a world from nothing? Could our world be anything more than a figment of God's imagination? What is the Torah? What does Judaism expect from a Messiah, and what would it mean for a world to be redeemed? These questions are explored in conversation with a wide array of Jewish sources and with an eye towards diverse fields of contemporary research, such as cosmology, philosophical logic, the ontology of literature, and the metaphysics of time. The Principles of Judaism articulates the most fundamental axioms of Orthodox Judaism in the vernacular of contemporary philosophy.

Book Akiva

    Book Details:
  • Author : Reuven Hammer
  • Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
  • Release : 2015-10-01
  • ISBN : 082761215X
  • Pages : 268 pages

Download or read book Akiva written by Reuven Hammer and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book."

Book Scripture and Tradition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Azzan Yadin-Israel
  • Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
  • Release : 2015-01-06
  • ISBN : 0812246438
  • Pages : 320 pages

Download or read book Scripture and Tradition written by Azzan Yadin-Israel and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is a book in rabbinics. It looks at the Rabbi Akiva school of interpetation with respect to Sifra, which comprises the midrashim on Leviticus"--

Book The Burnt Book

    Book Details:
  • Author : Marc-Alain Ouaknin
  • Publisher : Princeton University Press
  • Release : 2024-05-14
  • ISBN : 0691268371
  • Pages : 355 pages

Download or read book The Burnt Book written by Marc-Alain Ouaknin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A profound look at what it means for new generations to read and interpret ancient religious texts In this book, rabbi and philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin offers a postmodern reading of the Talmud. Combining traditional learning and contemporary thought, Ouaknin dovetails discussions of spirituality and religious practice with such concepts as deconstruction, intertextuality, undecidability, multiple voicing, and eroticism in the Talmud. On a broader level, he establishes a dialogue between Hebrew tradition and the social sciences, which draws, for example, on the works of Lévinas, Blanchot, and Jabès as well as Derrida. The Burnt Book represents the innovative thinking that has come to be associated with a school of French Jewish studies, headed by Lévinas and dedicated to new readings of traditional texts. The Talmud, transcribed in 500 C.E., is shown to be a text that refrains from dogma and instead encourages the exploration of its meanings. A vast compilation of Jewish oral law, the Talmud also contains rabbinical commentaries that touch on everything from astronomy to household life. Examining its literary methods and internal logic, Ouaknin explains how this text allows readers to transcend its authority in that it invites them to interpret, discuss, and recreate their religious tradition. An in-depth treatment of selected texts from the oral law and commentary goes on to provide a model for secular study of the Talmud in light of contemporary philosophical issues. Throughout, the author emphasizes the self-effacing quality of a text whose worth can be measured by the insights that live on in the minds of its interpreters long after they have closed the book. He points out that the burning of the Talmud in anti-Judaic campaigns throughout history has, in fact, been an unwitting act of complicity with Talmudic philosophy and the practice of self-effacement. Ouaknin concludes his discussion with the story of the Hasidic master Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, who himself burned his life achievement—a work known by his students as "the Burnt Book." This story leaves us with the question, should all books be destroyed in order to give birth to thought and renew meaning?

Book Six Memos from the Last Millennium

Download or read book Six Memos from the Last Millennium written by Joseph Skibell and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A storyteller’s take on the Talmud and the timeless wisdom contained within its tales provides “a fresh look at an ancient source” (Kirkus Reviews). A thief-turned-saint, killed by an insult. A rabbi burning down his world in order to save it. A man who lost his sanity while trying to fathom the origin of the universe. A beautiful woman battling her brother’s and her husband’s egos to preserve their family. Stories such as these enliven the pages of the Talmud, the great repository of ancient wisdom that is one of the sacred texts of the Jewish people. Comprised of the Mishnah, the oral law of the Torah, and the Gemara, a multigenerational metacommentary on the Mishnah dating from between 3950 and 4235 (190 and 475 CE), the Talmud presents a formidable challenge to understand without scholarly training and study. But what if one approaches it as a collection of tales with surprising relevance for contemporary readers? In Six Memos from the Last Millennium, Joseph Skibell, critically acclaimed author of A Blessing on the Moon and other novels, reads some of the Talmud’s tales with a storyteller’s insight, concentrating on the lives of the legendary rabbis depicted in its pages to uncover the wisdom they can still impart to our modern age. He unifies strands of stories that are scattered throughout the Talmud into coherent narratives or “memos,” which he then analyzes and interprets from his perspective as a novelist. In Skibell’s imaginative and personal readings, this sacred literature frequently defies our conventional notions of piety. Sometimes wild, rude, and even bawdy, these memos from the last millennium pursue a livable transcendence, a way of fusing the mundane hours of earthly life with a cosmic sense of holiness and wonder.