Judaism's Great Debates: Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl

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.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Judaism's Great Debates: Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl

  • 2012-07-01
  • 124 pages
  • Paperback
  • U of Nebraska Press

Similar books

• 

  An American Carpenter's Story: One baby boomers life changing spiritual journey

  By William Darroch

  After just a year or so, my father saw several lots for sale in the small village of Timberlake, Ohio, just thirty minutes from Cleveland.

• 

  Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love

  By Bishop William H. Willimon

  “Barack Obama,” “Hillary Clinton,” “Britney Spears,” and “Justin Timberlake” found their places somewhat to the left of the really, really good “Teresa” and ...

• 

  Running With The Horses: Living The Gospel

  By William Mitchell

  ... Gregory Pritchard, Robert Clarke and Donald Wester of philosophy; from the religion faculty, James Timberlake, Rowena Strickland, Dan Holcomb, ...

• 

  Darkness is as Light

  By EDITH ADHIAMBO, ANDREA BAILEY, CHRISTINA BAKER

  walked over the frost-brittled grass, my long skirt swishing it dryly. I'd come to weep below the willows, to let the sound of the stream carry my lament ...

• 

  Women in New Religions

  By Laura Vance

  Frost, Gavin, and Yvonne Frost. The Good Witch's Bible. 7th ed. ... Gordon, Lynn D., ed. Gender and Higher Education in the Progressive Era.

• 

  The Making of a Mature Disciple

  By Kenneth S. Todd

  Kenneth S. Todd. Reasons. to. Obey. God. Let's discuss four reasons why we should obey God. The first two deal with how we personally deal with God.

• 

  Being God's Man by Pursuing Friendships

  By Stephen Arterburn, Kenneth L. Luck, Todd Wendorff

  God's word is clear about the importance of godly friendships. This edition shows men how valuable those friendships are to spiritual growth.

• 

  English Ministry Crisis in Chinese Canadian Churches: Towards the Retention of English-Speaking Adults from Chinese Canadian Churches through Associated Parallel...

  By Matthew Richard Sheldon Todd

  In 2011, Thom S. Rainer published some research project results in a volume ... projecting the top challenging issue they deal with in bicultural settings ...

• 

  Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit

  By John Pearson

  " Based on Pearson's 48-hour Management Buckets Workshop Experience, Mastering the Management Buckets offers detailed implementation tools, including 99 practical takeaways that a leader could implement immediately, plus nine management ...

• 

  Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit

  By John Pearson

  " Based on Pearson's 48-hour Management Buckets Workshop Experience, Mastering the Management Buckets offers detailed implementation tools, including 99 practical takeaways that a leader could implement immediately, plus nine management ...