Judaism's Great Debates

Judaism's Great Debates PDF Author: Barry L. Schwartz
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0827609329
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
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.

Judaism's Great Debates

Judaism's Great Debates PDF Author: Barry L. Schwartz
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0827609329
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 125

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Great Debates in Jewish History

Great Debates in Jewish History PDF Author: Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Jews
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Debate and disputation are not only encouraged within Judaism but reside at the very heart of Jewish history and theology. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) presents Great Debates in Jewish History, a six-session course exploring six fundamental conflicts that pit the greatest Jewish minds against each other--six instances of vastly divergent perspectives from throughout our history, including several that remain questions for us today. Discovering ver a stirring and surprising account of Judaism's intellectual history, from the ancient to the modern-day; as you relive epochs rich in narrative that provide fascinating context for six of the most monumental intellectual and theological debates in our history.

Great Jewish Debates and Dilemmas

Great Jewish Debates and Dilemmas PDF Author: Albert Vorspan
Publisher: Urj Press
ISBN:
Category : Jews
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
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.

Great Jewish debates and dilemmas

Great Jewish debates and dilemmas PDF Author: Albert Vorspan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism

Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism PDF Author: Dana Evan Kaplan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136055746
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
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.

Judaism's Great Debates Lesson Plan Manual

Judaism's Great Debates Lesson Plan Manual PDF Author: Behrman House
Publisher: Behrman House Publishing
ISBN: 9780874418538
Category : Judaism
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Includes 24 ready-to-use lesson plans that accompany the textbook.

The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate

The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate PDF Author: Ruth Fredman Cernea
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226100234
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
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.

Judaism on Trial

Judaism on Trial PDF Author: Hyam Maccoby
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1909821454
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
'A superb work of committed scholarship . . . a work full of interest to those already familiar with the material it contains, and compelling reading for those who are not. Maccoby has done a fine job in recapturing the intellectual and social drama of the confrontations.' Jonathan Sacks, Jewish Journal of Sociology Hyam Maccoby's now classic study focuses on the major Jewish—Christian disputations of medieval Europe: those of Paris (1240), Barcelona (1263), and Tortosa (1413-14).

Defending the Faith

Defending the Faith PDF Author: Ronald H. Isaacs
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description


Jewish History

Jewish History PDF Author: David N. Myers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199912858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
How have the Jews survived? For millennia, they have defied odds by overcoming the travails of exile, persecution, and recurring plans for their annihilation. Many have attempted to explain this singular success as a result of divine intervention. In this engaging book, David N. Myers charts the long journey of the Jews through history. At the same time, it points to two unlikely-and decidedly this-worldly--factors to explain the survival of the Jews: antisemitism and assimilation. Usually regarded as grave dangers, these two factors have continually interacted with one other to enable the persistence of the Jews. At every turn in their history, not just in the modern age, Jews have adapted to new environments, cultures, languages, and social norms. These bountiful encounters with host societies have exercised the cultural muscle of the Jews, preventing the atrophy that would have occurred if they had not interacted so extensively with the non-Jewish world. It is through these encounters--indeed, through a process of assimilation--that Jews came to develop distinct local customs, speak many different languages, and cultivate diverse musical, culinary, and intellectual traditions. Left unchecked, the Jews' well-honed ability to absorb from surrounding cultures might have led to their disappearance. And yet, the route toward full and unbridled assimilation was checked by the nearly constant presence of hatred toward the Jew. Anti-Jewish expression and actions have regularly accompanied Jews throughout history. Part of the ironic success of antisemitism is its malleability, its talent in assuming new forms and portraying the Jew in diverse and often contradictory images--for example, at once the arch-capitalist and revolutionary Communist. Antisemitism not only served to blunt further assimilation, but, in a paradoxical twist, affirmed the Jew's sense of difference from the host society. And thus together assimilation and antisemitism (at least up to a certain limit) contribute to the survival of the Jews as a highly adaptable and yet distinct group.