Nefesh HaTzimtzum, Volume 2

Nefesh HaTzimtzum, Volume 2 PDF Author: Avinoam Fraenkel
Publisher: Urim Publications
ISBN: 965524363X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 683

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Book Description
Nefesh HaTzimtzum provides the single most comprehensive and accessible presentation of the teachings and worldview of the Vilna Gaon's primary student, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin. It is focused on Rabbi Chaim's magnum opus, Nefesh HaChaim, a work that has lain in almost total obscurity for nearly two centuries due to its deep Kabbalistic subject matter. Nefesh HaTzimtzum opens up the real depth of the ideas presented in Nefesh HaChaim together with all of Rabbi Chaim's related writings, making them accessible to the public for the first time in any language. In addition to the complete English translation of Nefesh HaChaim, Nefesh HaTzimtzum includes the full Hebrew text of Nefesh HaChaim and many other writings by Rabbi Chaim (with correspondingly hyperlinked English and Hebrew texts), along with in-depth explanations, an informative historical overview, an easily consumable innovative presentation layout and a full index. After centuries of confusion, extensive clarification is provided of the central Kabbalistic concept of Tzimtzum, or the secret of how an infinite God occupies a finite world. Most importantly, it unequivocally demonstrates that the key Kabbalists, including the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin and the Baal HaTanya, all unanimously agreed on the underlying principles of the concept of Tzimtzum and that contrary to widespread historical misunderstanding, there was no fundamental dispute about the philosophical principles of Judaism between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim. Based on this Nefesh HaTzimtzum shows that both Nefesh HaChaim and Sefer HaTanya present the same methodology for serving God which is rooted in their identical understanding of the concept of Tzimtzum. Nefesh HaTzimtzum is published in two volumes which are sold separately. This companion volume presents a number of important concepts, including the concept of Tzimtzum, which together enable the true depth of Nefesh HaChaim to be understood. It also adds valuable insight by providing the translation of all of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin's published writings which are related to Nefesh HaChaim. Additional related writings are also included together with detailed outlines and a full index for both volumes.

Nefesh HaTzimtzum, Volume 2

Nefesh HaTzimtzum, Volume 2 PDF Author: Avinoam Fraenkel
Publisher: Urim Publications
ISBN: 965524363X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 683

Get Book Here

Book Description
Nefesh HaTzimtzum provides the single most comprehensive and accessible presentation of the teachings and worldview of the Vilna Gaon's primary student, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin. It is focused on Rabbi Chaim's magnum opus, Nefesh HaChaim, a work that has lain in almost total obscurity for nearly two centuries due to its deep Kabbalistic subject matter. Nefesh HaTzimtzum opens up the real depth of the ideas presented in Nefesh HaChaim together with all of Rabbi Chaim's related writings, making them accessible to the public for the first time in any language. In addition to the complete English translation of Nefesh HaChaim, Nefesh HaTzimtzum includes the full Hebrew text of Nefesh HaChaim and many other writings by Rabbi Chaim (with correspondingly hyperlinked English and Hebrew texts), along with in-depth explanations, an informative historical overview, an easily consumable innovative presentation layout and a full index. After centuries of confusion, extensive clarification is provided of the central Kabbalistic concept of Tzimtzum, or the secret of how an infinite God occupies a finite world. Most importantly, it unequivocally demonstrates that the key Kabbalists, including the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin and the Baal HaTanya, all unanimously agreed on the underlying principles of the concept of Tzimtzum and that contrary to widespread historical misunderstanding, there was no fundamental dispute about the philosophical principles of Judaism between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim. Based on this Nefesh HaTzimtzum shows that both Nefesh HaChaim and Sefer HaTanya present the same methodology for serving God which is rooted in their identical understanding of the concept of Tzimtzum. Nefesh HaTzimtzum is published in two volumes which are sold separately. This companion volume presents a number of important concepts, including the concept of Tzimtzum, which together enable the true depth of Nefesh HaChaim to be understood. It also adds valuable insight by providing the translation of all of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin's published writings which are related to Nefesh HaChaim. Additional related writings are also included together with detailed outlines and a full index for both volumes.

Sanctified Sex

Sanctified Sex PDF Author: Noam Sachs Zion
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0827618727
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 690

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Book Description
Sanctified Sex draws on two thousand years of rabbinic debates addressing competing aspirations for loving intimacy, passionate sexual union, and sanctity in marriage. What can Judaism contribute to our struggles to nurture love relationships? What halakhic precedents are relevant, and how are rulings changing? The rabbis, of course, seldom agree. Underlying their arguments are perennial debates: What kind of marital sex qualifies as ideal--sacred self-control of sexual desire or the holiness found in emotional and erotic intimacy? Is intercourse degrading in its physicality or the highest act of spiritual/mystical union? And should women or men (or both) wield ultimate say about what transpires in bed? Noam Sachs Zion guides us chronologically and steadily through fraught terrain: seminal biblical texts and their Talmudic interpretations; Talmud tales of three unusual rabbis and their marital bedrooms; medieval codifiers and mystical commentators; ultra-Orthodox rabbis clashing with one another over radically divergent ideals; and, finally, contemporary rabbis of varied denominations wrestling with modern transformations in erotic lifestyles and values. Invited into these sanctified and often sexually explicit discussions with our ancestors and contemporaries, we encounter innovative Jewish teachings on marital intimacy, ardent lovemaking techniques, and the art of couple communication vital for matrimonial success.

Entry into the Spiritual Degree

Entry into the Spiritual Degree PDF Author: Rav Yehuda Leib Ashlag
Publisher: Laitman Kabbalah Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
Covid-19 required profound changes and quick adaptations from people all over the world. We, too, in Bnei Baruch, quickly responded by adjusting our daily Kabbalah lessons. All over the world, we entered the virtual realm to study together in a single room, and the need for new observations and precise insights led us to choose unique topics for the lessons, to help us focus the spiritual work of each student, and of all of us together as a world group. Every topic is a whole world in itself, with its own nature and a wealth of meaningful perceptions. Every excerpt was selected with care from a wide variety of Kabbalistic texts, with an emphasis on the “two great lights”: Baal HaSulam and RABASH. These excerpts solidify us and strengthen the connections among us students. The excerpts we read helped us grasp the thoughts of the kabbalists and the unique spirit that streams out of their words. This book is a rare collection of excerpts from the writings of the kabbalists that we learned with our teacher, Dr. Michael Laitman. For us, it is a fountain of living water, and reading it arouses a unique spiritual inspiration in us. This collection transcends time and space, and you are invited to join us, quench your thirst with it, and grasp some more of the profound wisdom of Kabbalah.

Expanding the Palace of Torah

Expanding the Palace of Torah PDF Author: Tamar Ross
Publisher: Brandeis University Press
ISBN: 168458051X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Expanding the Palace of Torah offers a broad philosophical overview of the challenges the women’s revolution poses to Orthodox Judaism, as well as Orthodox Judaism’s response to those challenges. Writing as an insider—herself an Orthodox Jew—Tamar Ross confronts the radical feminist critique of Judaism as a religion deeply entrenched in patriarchy. Surprisingly, very little work has been done in this area, beyond exploring the leeway for ad hoc solutions to practical problems as they arise on the halakhic plane. In exposing the largely male-focused thrust of the rabbinic tradition and its biblical grounding, she sees this critique as posing a potential threat to the theological heart of traditional Judaism—the belief in divine revelation. This new edition brings this acclaimed and classic text back into print with a new essay by Tamar Ross which examines new developments in feminist thought since the book was first published in 2004.

A History of Kabbalah

A History of Kabbalah PDF Author: Jonathan Garb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108882978
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
Jonathan Garb's A History of Kabbalah: From the Early Modern Period to the Present Day is a lucid and sophisticated account of the multifaceted nature of Jewish mysticism, focusing on its development from the spiritual revolution that took place in Safed in the sixteenth century until the present. Opening the secrets of the kabbalah to a wider audience, Garb judiciously argued that how important the mystical and esoteric tradition has been in Jewish history and in the cultural and intellectual life of Europe more generally. One of the more methodologically innovative aspects of Garb's book is his contention that kabbalah became a major factor in the religious life of Jews in the modern age due to print and others forms of rapid communication, a process that has magnified significantly in recent years due to the digital revolution. Informative and provocative, A History of Kabbalah will surely be of interest to a wide readership.

From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi

From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi PDF Author: Daniel Lasker
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 904744227X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This study challenges the oft-repeated assertion that Karaite thought remained unchanged throughout the Middle Ages. It discusses major Karaite thinkers and their writings, in addition to the impact of Karaism on Rabbanite Judaism, especially on the thought of Maimonides.

Jewry in Music

Jewry in Music PDF Author: David Conway
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139505351
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
David Conway analyses why and how Jews, virtually absent from Western art music until the end of the eighteenth century, came to be represented in all branches of the profession within fifty years as leading figures – not only as composers and performers, but as publishers, impresarios and critics. His study places this process in the context of dynamic economic, political, sociological and technological changes and also of developments in Jewish communities and the Jewish religion itself, in the major cultural centres of Western Europe. Beginning with a review of attitudes to Jews in the arts and an assessment of Jewish music and musical skills, in the age of the Enlightenment, Conway traces the story of growing Jewish involvement with music through the biographies of the famous, the neglected and the forgotten, leading to a radical contextualisation of Wagner's infamous 'Judaism in Music'.

Tracing Your Jewish Ancestors

Tracing Your Jewish Ancestors PDF Author: Rosemary Wenzerul
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526712989
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
This fully revised second edition of Rosemary Wenzerul's lively and informative guide to researching Jewish history will be absorbing reading for anyone who wants to find out about the life of a Jewish ancestor. In a clear and accessible way she takes readers through the entire process of research. She provides a brief social history of the Jewish presence in Britain and looks at practical issues of research – how to get started, how to organize the work, how to construct a family tree and how to use the information obtained to tell the story of a family. In addition she describes, in practical detail, the many sources that researchers can go to for information on their ancestors, their families and Jewish history.

Ceremonial Synagogue Textiles

Ceremonial Synagogue Textiles PDF Author: Bracha Yaniv
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 178962505X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
A richly illustrated and documented survey of the evolution of synagogue textiles spanning fifteen centuries, offering a detailed analysis of the design and production of mantles, wrappers, Torah scroll binders, and the Torah ark curtain and valance, including the text of inscriptions marking the circumstances of donation.

Waste Not

Waste Not PDF Author: Tanhum S. Yoreh
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438476698
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Traces the development of bal tashḥit, the Jewish prohibition against wastefulness and destruction, from its biblical origins to the contemporary environmental movement. Bal tashḥit, the Jewish prohibition against wastefulness and destruction, is considered to be an ecological ethical principle by contemporary Jewish environmentalists. Waste Not provides a comprehensive intellectual history of this concept, charting its evolution from the Bible through classical rabbinic literature, commentaries, codes of law, responsa, and the works of modern environmentalists. Tanhum S. Yoreh uses the methodology of tradition histories to identify pivotal moments in the development of the prohibition—in particular, its transition into an economic framework. He finds that bal tashḥit’s earliest stages of conceptualization connect the prohibition against wastefulness with avoidance of self-harm. This connection is commonplace within contemporary environmental thought and a universalizing Jewish principle with important contributions to be made to Jewish and general societal ecological discourse. Yoreh’s narrative provides a foundation for understanding bal tashḥit as an environmental ethic for today and tomorrow. “The book’s argument, well grounded as it is in firm textual evidence, displays a sound familiarity with rabbinic sources and communicates it in a manner suitable for readers whose familiarity with those sources may vary. There is a drama implicit in the presentation, having to do with the religiously and environmentally pressing question of how Jewish sources show up under close historical and environmental examination.” — Martin D. Yaffe, University of North Texas