Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition

Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition PDF Author: Dovid Sears
Publisher: Jason Aronson
ISBN: 9780765799876
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
For many Jews and non-Jews, the Torah, the Talmud and other rabbinic writings have long been interpreted as saying that the Jews alone are God's chosen people. According to Sears, The Path of the Baal Shem Tov, such readings have led to a struggle among Jews between assimilation--losing their particular Jewish identity--and withdrawal--preserving their particular Jewish identity and surviving as a people. Sears contends that this struggle between particularism and universalism is often misguided, for he argues that the particularism of Judaism engenders a "model of spirituality and moral refinement that will inspire the rest of the world to turn to God of its own accord." In order to demonstrate the depth from which Judaism speaks in a universalistic voice, Sears collects a wide range of sources from a number of periods in Jewish history. In the section on "Judaism and Non-Jews," the Talmudic teaching of Rabbi Yochanan, "Whoever speaks wisdom, although he is a non-Jew, is a sage," urges respect for the wisdom of other traditions. In the section on "The Chosen People," two Midrash passages demonstrate the idea of Israel as spiritual model: "God gave the Torah to the Jewish people so that all nations might benefit by it"; "Just as the sacrifice of the dove] atones for transgression, Israel atones for the nations of the world." Finally, in a section on "Messianic Vision," Sears argues that Jewish writings state that it is the Messiah's primary task to return the "entire world" to God and God's teachings. Sears's extensive sourcebook is a rich collection of primary writings on the role of compassion in the Jewish tradition. (Sept.) --Publisher's Weekly

Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition

Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition PDF Author: Dovid Sears
Publisher: Jason Aronson
ISBN: 9780765799876
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Get Book

Book Description
For many Jews and non-Jews, the Torah, the Talmud and other rabbinic writings have long been interpreted as saying that the Jews alone are God's chosen people. According to Sears, The Path of the Baal Shem Tov, such readings have led to a struggle among Jews between assimilation--losing their particular Jewish identity--and withdrawal--preserving their particular Jewish identity and surviving as a people. Sears contends that this struggle between particularism and universalism is often misguided, for he argues that the particularism of Judaism engenders a "model of spirituality and moral refinement that will inspire the rest of the world to turn to God of its own accord." In order to demonstrate the depth from which Judaism speaks in a universalistic voice, Sears collects a wide range of sources from a number of periods in Jewish history. In the section on "Judaism and Non-Jews," the Talmudic teaching of Rabbi Yochanan, "Whoever speaks wisdom, although he is a non-Jew, is a sage," urges respect for the wisdom of other traditions. In the section on "The Chosen People," two Midrash passages demonstrate the idea of Israel as spiritual model: "God gave the Torah to the Jewish people so that all nations might benefit by it"; "Just as the sacrifice of the dove] atones for transgression, Israel atones for the nations of the world." Finally, in a section on "Messianic Vision," Sears argues that Jewish writings state that it is the Messiah's primary task to return the "entire world" to God and God's teachings. Sears's extensive sourcebook is a rich collection of primary writings on the role of compassion in the Jewish tradition. (Sept.) --Publisher's Weekly

Jewish Spiritual Parenting

Jewish Spiritual Parenting PDF Author: Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
ISBN: 1580238211
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Spiritually nourishing approaches to help you become more insightful, inspired parents and raise soulfully engaged children. Kipnes and November share their hard-won parenting techniques and spirit-filled activities, rituals and prayers to help you cultivate strong Jewish values and cherished spiritual memories in your own family.

Compassionate Judaism

Compassionate Judaism PDF Author: Rabbi Marc Gopin
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781976549960
Category : Jewish ethics
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
In his theological and philosophical analysis of the ideals of Samuel David Luzzatto, Marc Gopin critically examines the process that brought Luzzatto to his revolutionary conclusions about the compassionate nature of Judaism. Unlike his contemporaries, Luzzatto wasn't content with the division of secular Enlightenment thinking and traditional religious values. He believed that these schools of thought and their moral implications could synergize; in fact, he found a basis for honoring universal moral commitments within the construct of rabbinical Judaism. Learn how Luzzatto reconciled his passion for scientific reasoning, enlightened thought, and universal humanitarianism with his staunch religious conviction. The process of reaching such an unprecedented marriage of beliefs is uncovered by Gopin's study. He explores the influence of moral sense theory, a precursor to modern scientific approaches to ethics, on Luzzatto's premises. Luzzatto believed that compassion, not tribalism, was the medium by which we all might learn to live in peace. In a modern world plagued by hatred, destruction, and war, it is sometimes necessary to look to the past for a way to move forward. ""Marc Gopin in Compassionate Judaism has brought to American public awareness the passionate life and work of the Jewish religious and Enligtenment thinker, Samuel David Luzzatto, as a model of the possibility and vital importance of integrating and reconciling the life of traditional faith with a commitment to both the universal value of compassion toward all and to a respect for empirical and scientific inquiry and outlook. This book serves as the underlying bedrock and spring of Gopin's own passionate commitment and, I must say also, noble life devoted to bringing different and opposing religious figures and communities together into compassionate and practical mutual understanding and common projects in his ongoing practice and teaching of Citizen Diplomacy. I recommend this book most highly to anyone and everyone who cares about of resolving world conflicts." -- Heidi M. Ravven, Ph.D., Bates & Benjamin Professor of Classical & Religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Philosophy, Chair, Department of Religious Studies, Hamilton College Fellow in Neurophilosophy, Integrative Neurosciences Research Program, Vilayanur Ramachandran and Kjell Fuxe, Co-Directors

An Early History of Compassion

An Early History of Compassion PDF Author: Françoise Mirguet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107146267
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
An Early History of Compassion explores the role of the emotional imagination within the context of Roman imperialism.

The Hand of Compassion

The Hand of Compassion PDF Author: Kristen Renwick Monroe
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691127735
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Through moving interviews with five ordinary people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, Kristen Monroe casts new light on a question at the heart of ethics: Why do people risk their lives for strangers and what drives such moral choice? Monroe's analysis points not to traditional explanations--such as religion or reason--but to identity. The rescuers' perceptions of themselves in relation to others made their extraordinary acts spontaneous and left the rescuers no choice but to act. To turn away Jews was, for them, literally unimaginable. In the words of one German Czech rescuer, "The hand of compassion was faster than the calculus of reason." At the heart of this unusual book are interviews with the rescuers, complex human beings from all parts of the Third Reich and all walks of life: Margot, a wealthy German who saved Jews while in exile in Holland; Otto, a German living in Prague who saved more than 100 Jews and provides surprising information about the plot to kill Hitler; John, a Dutchman on the Gestapo's "Most Wanted List"; Irene, a Polish student who hid eighteen Jews in the home of the German major for whom she was keeping house; and Knud, a Danish wartime policeman who took part in the extraordinary rescue of 85 percent of his country's Jews. We listen as the rescuers themselves tell the stories of their lives and their efforts to save Jews. Monroe's analysis of these stories draws on philosophy, ethics, and political psychology to suggest why and how identity constrains our choices, both cognitively and ethically. Her work offers a powerful counterpoint to conventional arguments about rational choice and a valuable addition to the literature on ethics and moral psychology. It is a dramatic illumination of the power of identity to shape our most basic political acts, including our treatment of others. But always Monroe returns us to the rescuers, to their strong voices, reminding us that the Holocaust need not have happened and revealing the minds of the ethically exemplary as they negotiated the moral quicksand that was the Holocaust.

Judaism and Global Survival

Judaism and Global Survival PDF Author: Richard Schwartz
Publisher: Lantern Books
ISBN: 1590567072
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Judaism and Global Survival discusses the challenges facing humanity and the Jewish teachings related to these challenges, in order to galvanize Jews to help repair the world (tikkun olam), as required by Jewish law. It argues that we don’t need to discover new values and approaches to address current global threats. What is needed is a rediscovery and application of basic Jewish teachings and mandates, such as to pursue peace and justice, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to act as co-workers with God in protecting and preserving the world. Judaism and Global Survival is meant to be a wake-up call, the strongest that one can make, on the urgency of addressing climate threats and other environmental threats, and the importance of Jews applying Jewish values in addressing these threats. Among the issues discussed in the book are the following: Jews are to guardians of the earth, partners and co-workers with God in working toward tikkun olam, the healing repair and proper transforming of the world; climate change is an existential threat to the world and the only hope to avert a climate catastrophe is through a major shift to plant-based diets, as that would enable reforestation of the vast areas now used for animal agriculture, reducing atmospheric CO2 to a much safer level; vegetarianism, and even more so veganism, is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings on preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and helping hungry people.

Compassion

Compassion PDF Author: Philip J. Larkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191008389
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Since the efforts of Dame Cicely Saunders and the founders of the modern hospice movement, compassion has become a fundamental part of palliative care. In this ground-breaking book, international experts give their critical thoughts on the essence and role of compassion, in both palliative and hospice care over the past half-century. Compassion: The essence of palliative and end-of-life care provides insight into the motivations for, and practice of, compassionate palliative and hospice care, featuring the reflections of leading healthcare professionals, social workers, chaplains and educators. Chapters utilise case examples and first-hand experiences to explore the historical and contemporary discourse surrounding the concept of compassion in palliative medicine. This book is relevant to a multidisciplinary audience of palliative care practitioners, including undergraduate and graduate students in sociology, psychology and theology, and healthcare professionals in oncology and gerontology.

A Code of Jewish Ethics

A Code of Jewish Ethics PDF Author: Joseph Telushkin
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 1400048362
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
Presents the first major code of Jewish ethics to be written in English, offering examples from the Torah, the Talmud, rabbinic commentaries, and modern stories to show how ethical teachings can influence daily behavior.

A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2

A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2 PDF Author: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0307451747
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
“Jewish thinkers don’t talk all that much about love. All too often we leave that to Christian theologians. But in this excellent volume, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin puts the commandment to love at the center of Jewish theology and experience. This is a book that will change the way you think about–and practice–Judaism.” –Professor Ari L. Goldman, Columbia University, and author of The Search for God at Harvard “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the best-known commandment in the Bible. Yet we rarely hear anyone talk about how to apply these words in daily life. In this landmark work, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the premier scholars and thinkers of our time, gives both Jews and non-Jews an extraordinary summation of what Jewish tradition teaches about putting these words into practice. Writing with great clarity and simplicity as well as with deep wisdom, Telushkin covers topics such as love and kindness, hospitality, visiting the sick, comforting mourners, charity, relations between Jews and non-Jews, compassion for animals, tolerance, self-defense, and end-of-life issues. This second volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics written in the English language is breathtaking in its scope and will undoubtedly influence readers for generations to come. It offers hundreds of practical examples from the Torah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and both ancient and modern rabbinic commentaries–as well as contemporary anecdotes–all teaching us how to care for one another each and every day. A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself is a consummate work of scholarship. Like its acclaimed predecessor, which received the National Jewish Book Award, it is rich with ideas to contemplate and discuss, while being primarily a book to live by. Nothing could be more important in these strife-torn times than learning how to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message of this book is as vital and timely now as it has been since time immemorial.

Judaism and Global Survival

Judaism and Global Survival PDF Author: Richard H. Schwartz
Publisher: Lantern Books
ISBN: 9781930051874
Category : Judaism and social problems
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
This book discusses the challenges facing humanity and the Jewish teaching related to these challenges, in order to Galvanize Jews to help repair the world, as required by Jewish law.