Forty Arguments for the Sake of Heaven

Forty Arguments for the Sake of Heaven PDF

Author: Shmuly Yanklowitz

Publisher:

Published: 2024-03-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781953829474

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Two Jews, three arguments - as the saying goes. But what kinds of topics have Jews disagreed about historically, in the present day, and potentially also in the future? Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz surveys forty major controversies in Jewish culture, and presents how opposing sides have each laid out their arguments in good faith. Disagreements happen between people: Hillel vs. Shammai, Ayn Rand vs. Karl Marx, Tamar Ross vs. Judith Plaskow... but also Abraham vs. God, and God vs. the angels! Movements debate each other: Reform versus Orthodoxy, one- two- and zero-state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, gun rights versus gun control in the United States. The book doesn't shy away from the fundamental questions of existence either. Is life about struggle or about peace? Should we focus on love based on emotions or love based on deeds? What is better: seeking absolute truth, or building compromise? Ultimately, what is the meaning of life? Rabbi Yanklowitz presents difficult and often heated disagreements with fairness and empathy, helping us consider our own truths in a pluralistic Jewish landscape.

A Passionate Pacifist

A Passionate Pacifist PDF

Author: Aaron Samuel Tamares

Publisher: Ben Yehuda Press

Published: 2023-12-31

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1963475003

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The first English-language translation of the Hebrew essays and sermons of Rabbi Aaron Samuel Tamares (1869-1931). An Orthodox rabbi, he served as a delegate to the Fourth World Zionist Congress in 1900, after which renounced nationalism and embraced pacifism as a central Jewish teaching. Readers may not always agree with him, but they will respect his deep, thoughtful insights. This volume also includes a translation of a lengthy Yiddish-language autobiographical essay Rabbi Tamares wrote toward the end of his life. The essay was translated by Ri J. Turner. Tzemah Yoreh also contributed to the translations in this volume. Rabbi Everett Gendler has been bringing Rabbi Tamares to the attention of English readers for more than 50 years. A trailblazing environmentalist, peace activist, and unwavering proponent of social justice, He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1957. Rabbi Gendler led congregations throughout Latin America before serving Jewish communities in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He served as the first Jewish chaplain at Phillips Academy Andover. He was recently awarded the Presidents' Medallion from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion "in recognition of a lifetime commitment to social justice and environmentalism." A collection of Rabbi Gendler's writings was published in 2015 as Judaism for Universalists.

Enlightenment by Trial and Error

Enlightenment by Trial and Error PDF

Author: Jay Michaelson

Publisher: Ben Yehuda Press

Published: 2019-11-18

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13:

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The “spiritual but not religious” are the fastest-growing denomination on America today. Yet what are the roadmaps? What does the spiritual search look like for a seeker in 21st century America, fully plugged-in, online, cynical, and sincere? Enlightenment by Trial and Error is a unique book by bestselling author and Daily Beast columnist Jay Michaelson. Today, Michaelson is a rabbi with a PhD in Jewish Thought, a teacher on the Ten Percent Happier meditation app, and a political columnist read by a quarter million readers per month. But not long ago, Jay was a young spiritual seeker, pursuing mystical experiences (and even enlightenment) with an open heart and restless intellectual curiosity. Drawn from essays written over a ten-year period of questioning and exploration, this book is a unique record of the spiritual search, from the perspective of someone who made plenty of mistakes along the way.

Just Jewish

Just Jewish PDF

Author: Horwitz Rabbi Dan

Publisher: Ben Yehuda Press

Published: 2023-11-10

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1963475011

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For a religion that is hyper-focused on transmitting the Jewish tradition "from generation to generation," "l'dor v'dor" — the notion that Millennials just aren't interested in carrying on Jewish practices or embracing the Jewish commitments of those who came before them poses quite a challenge, both on interpersonal and organizational sustainability levels. As a result, it seems much of the Jewish organizational world is concerned with how to engage Millennials in their offerings. But, if the data collected from reliable sources such as The Pew Research Center are any indication, there is much more work to do. Just Jewish: How to Engage Millenials and Build a Vibrant Jewish Future shares proven techniques and models ready to be adopted by the Jewish world's myriad organizations, touching on everything from branding, to fundraising, to programmatic approaches, to relationship development, and more, extrapolating lessons from The Well so they can be applied to the Jewish community writ large. As more seasoned generations start to take steps back from Jewish communal leadership, the time to meaningfully engage Millennials to ensure future leadership pipelines (both professional and volunteer) and Jewish vibrancy is now, and this book exists to help make it happen! “Terrific and inspiring! I highly recommend you make this important book a must-read together with your professional and lay leadership team.” —Dr. Ron Wolfson, Fingerhut Professor of Education, Author, Relational Judaism “A must-read for Jewish professionals and for anyone who cares about the future of the American Jewish community.” —Sarah Hurwitz, Author, Here All Along “A worthy addition to the new Jewish bookshelf that is catalyzing new thinking and practices for the Jewish future we’re just beginning to build.” —Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism

Arguments for the Sake of Heaven

Arguments for the Sake of Heaven PDF

Author: Jonathan Sacks

Publisher: Jason Aronson Incorporated

Published: 1995-06-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9781568215167

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Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, explores contemporary issues that are creating rifts among the various sects of the Jewish world.

With Heart in Mind

With Heart in Mind PDF

Author: Alan Morinis

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2014-08-26

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0834829770

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Introducing a weekly spiritual practice for developing a strong and open heart—drawn from Judaism's Mussar tradition Mussar is a practice that draws from the vast storehouse of Jewish wisdom, law, revelation, and text, bringing it right home in a way that is completely practical. Judaism teaches that Torah (the collective wisdom of the tradition) provides the blueprint for human experience—and so the more of it we acquire, the more we gain a clearer, truer perspective on life and learn how to navigate its pathways. The phrase “acquiring Torah” is code for the process of internalizing this wisdom to bring about a genuine transformation of the inner self. In short, accessible chapters, this book describes forty-eight methods through which we can acquire Torah—and turns them into a straightforward practice. These methods include cultivating humility, joy, awe, good-heartedness, closeness with friends, not taking credit for oneself, judging others favorably, and so on. The fruit of working through each quality or method is a refined soul and a strong and open heart.

Judaism's Great Debates

Judaism's Great Debates PDF

Author: Barry L. Schwartz

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2012-07-01

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 0827609329

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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.

Covenant and Conversation

Covenant and Conversation PDF

Author: Jonathan Sacks

Publisher: Maggid

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781592640218

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In this second volume of his long-anticipated five-volume collection of parashat hashavua commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny. Chief Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy, and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under Gods sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, Covenant Conversation allows us to experience Chief Rabbi Sacks sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah.

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