Sacred Writings Books - Page 6

Kabbalah: A Love Story

Lawrence Rabbi Kushner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Kabbalah: A Love Story 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A wonderful connection between the teachings of Kabbalah and a modern love story. The book makes the complex easier to understand. Our book group has decided to make this book our topic of discussion at our next meeting.

Editorial Review:

Sometime, somewhere, someone is searching for answers . . .
. . . in a thirteenth-century castle
. . . on a train to a concentration camp
. . . in a New York city apartment

Hidden within the binding of an ancient text that has been passed down through the ages lies the answer to one of the heart’s eternal questions. When the text falls into the hands of Rabbi Kalman Stern, he has no idea that his lonely life of intellectual pursuits is about to change once he opens the book. Soon afterward, he meets astronomer Isabel Benveniste, a woman of science who stirs his soul as no woman has for many years. But Kalman has much to learn before he can unlock his heart and let true love into his life. The key lies in the mysterious document he finds inside the Zohar, the master text of the Kabbalah.

The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis

Leon R. Kass

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As ardent debates over creationism fill the front pages of newspapers, Genesis has never been more timely. And as Leon R. Kass shows in The Beginning of Wisdom, it’s also timeless.

Examining Genesis in a philosophical light, Kass presents it not as a story of what happened long ago, but as the enduring story of humanity itself. He asserts that the first half of Genesis contains insights about human nature that “rival anything produced by the great philosophers.” Kass here reads these first stories—from Adam and Eve to the tower of Babel—as a mirror for self-discovery that reveals truths about human reason, speech, freedom, sexual desire, pride, shame, anger, and death. Taking a step further in the second half of his book, Kass explores the struggles in Genesis to launch a new way of life that addresses mankind’s morally ambiguous nature by promoting righteousness and holiness.

Even readers who don’t agree with Kass’s interpretations will find The Beginning of Wisdom a compelling book—a masterful philosophical take on one of the world’s seminal religious texts.

“Extraordinary. . . . Its analyses and hypotheses will leave no reader’s understanding of Genesis unchanged.” —New York Times

“A learned and fluent, delightfully overstuffed stroll through the Gates of Eden. . . . Mix Harold Bloom with Stephen Jay Gould and you’ll get something like Kass. A wonderfully intelligent reading of Genesis.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
 
“Throughout his book, Kass uses fruitful, fascinating techniques for getting at the heart of Genesis. . . . Innumerable times [he] makes a reader sit back and rethink what has previously been tediously familiar or baffling.”—Washington Post
 
“It is important to state that this is a book not merely rich, but prodigiously rich with insight. Kass is a marvelous reader, sensitive and careful. His interpretations surprise again and again with their cogency and poignancy.”—Jerusalem Post

The Dead Sea Scrolls - Revised Edition: A New Translation

Michael O. Wise, Martin G. Abegg, Edward M. Cook

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

It may take me the rest of my life to reflect on and discern the amazing writ! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

"In their great variety and stunning richness, the Dead Sea Scrolls as captured in this groundbreaking translation offer modern readers an unprecedented glimpse of the complex roots of modern Christianity... texts encompass poetry and prose, teaching parables and magical tales, astrology, apocalyptic visions,..., stories of messiahs and antichrists,"



After Three Decades:
I followed the saga of DSS since I read in 1970 Wilson's account of the discovery, two decades later. I strove to get any information, even John allegro's imaginary cults, but not until the siege was overcome, that few years later I could read, all in one compendium, the text of the Scrolls in plain English. It took its place, in my library, next to The Coptic Gnostic texts. It may take me the rest of my life to reflect on and discern the amazing writ!
Three scholars of the second DSS generation offer a new translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, integrated with material never published or translated before. The book includes newly published Psalms (151) attributed to David, non-Biblical texts claiming Moses as their author, previously unknown fables about Abraham and Jacob, and many other writings that shed light on non-Temple Jewish thought, parallels showing the Jewish origins of Christianity and the close relationship between Judaism and early Christianity. Some of its amazing texts are, The Damascus Document (Geniza manuscripts), The vision of the Son of God, Psalm 151 (Chanted in the Coptic Church for 17 centuries), The War of the Messiah, Rule of Initiation, between many amazing poetry and prose.

Recent Developments in DSS:
The Dead Sea Scrolls represent a non-rabbinic type of Judaism enhancing our understanding of Second Temple Judaism and of early Christianity. They DSS provide textual treasures for New Testament scholars, and have been called the evolutionary link between Judaism and Christianity, demonstrating a variety of important parallels to Jesus ministry, showing that the Gospel message to be based on, and rooted in Judaism. The major intact texts, from Caves 1 & 11, now housed in the Shrine of the Book museum in Jerusalem, were published by the late fifties. Since then, mostly fragments from Cave 4, about 40% of the Scrolls remained unpublished and were not accessible until 1991.
Almost half of a century after the initial discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, when the academic pressure for publication mounted, general access was granted through the photographs of the Scrolls. Late 1991 the photos were made available by the Biblical Archaeological Society in a computer reconstruction, based on a concordance. A nonofficial edition was announced, and the Huntington Library microfilm files of the scroll photographs were made accessible. In "The Current State of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Are There More Answers than Questions?" L. Grabbe stresses the need for Qumran scholarship to recognize how uncertain is much of our present knowledge of the Qumran material. Following are some issues which enhance your interest in this collection.

Psalm of thanksgiving: A:
I give Thee thanks, Adonai!
For Thou hast placed my soul in the bundle of life,
and Thou has protected me from all the snares of the pit.
And the violent sought my soul, when I trusted in Thy covenant.

The Damascus Document:
In 1896, in Ezra Karaite Synagogue, built Ca. 882 AD in Old Cairo, near Babylon fortress, the Damascus document was discovered amongst other ancient Hebrew manuscripts. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, half a century later, and the consequent publication of the Cave I first scrolls, marked a turning point in the scholars views on the Damascus Document. The similarity in language between the Qumran material and the Cairo Geniza manuscripts removed all doubt that the Damascus Document was composed during the Second Temple period.

War Scroll and the Essenes:
"The principal defining differences ...are the following: (1) the peace-loving Essenes contrast with the warlike spirit evident in some of the scrolls, especially the War Scroll; (2) the Essenes were mostly celibate, whereas the scrolls include many laws concerning women, children and even sexual intercourse; (3) the Essenes abhorred slavery, while the scrolls legislate the practice; (4) the Essenes took no oaths except when entering the group, whereas the scrolls contain numerous regulations for the taking and voiding of oaths; (5) the Essenes owned no private property, whereas the scroll-writers did; and (6) there are significant differences between the Essenes and the relevant Dead Sea Scrolls regarding entry procedures for new members. Cansdale concludes that the scrolls probably issued from one of the many Jewish sects whose names are not recorded in the meager sources at our disposal, perhaps a sect related to the Sadducees." Michael O Wise

The DSS and Hebrew Bible:
The Scrolls and the Scriptures provides much extensive and helpful information on careful studies of the Qumran documents. Proper study underlines that these documents reflect a much larger community and thought pattern than that of the small Qumran community earlier portrayed by DSS scholars. The scrolls may help us to understand and better interpret the OT Scriptures and the various ways in which these record eschatological and messianic ideas.
The basic problems concerned with the historical and literary context of the scrolls.
In an essay is by P. Davies, "Qumran and the Quest for Historical Judaism," records the uncertainties of our knowledge of who wrote the scrolls and the true meanings of the diversity of this collection, warning against reading them in the light of the rigid notions of late antiquity Judaism.

The DSS and Christianity:
"Those few scholars who persist in the view that a direct link can be made between Qumran and the New Testament are probably constructing an approach to the evidence which cannot be sustained. those links between the Qumran and the New Testament are more likely to be indirect." George Brooke
C. Evans reviews the role of the David figure in the scrolls, stressing how the virtues, achievements and promises of David contribute much to the Messianic character of the scrolls and how these provide a background for the understanding of the early Christian belief of Jesus. In " 'Son of God' as 'Son of Man' in the Dead Sea Scrolls? A Response to John Collins on 4Q246," J. D. G. Dunn contends that the figure of the "son of God" in this document refers to the descendant of David in the messianic prophecy of 2 Sam 7:14.


The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts With English Translations : Pseudepigraphic and Non-Masoretic Psalms and Prayers (Dead Sea Scrolls)

Editorial Review:

A fully revised and updated edition of our translation of the complete Dead Sea Scrolls, making it the definitive translation of the Scrolls in English.

With new texts, updated introductions, a glossary of terms, and other new additions, this will become the definitive translation of the Scrolls, and the lead companion to our other Dead Sea Scrolls Guides: The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible.

Back To The Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent introduction to classic texts 4 out of 5 stars.
87 of 87 people found this review helpful.

"Back to the Sources" provides a superb introduction to the classic Jewish texts: the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, medieval Bible commentaries (legal codes are discussed in the chapter on Talmud), medieval philosophical works, Zohar and other kabbalistic works, Hasidic teachings, and the prayer book. Each chapter is written by a different scholar, who is an expert in the text or texts at hand. All of the authors write clearly for non-experts and provide superb guidance, whether you are planning to start reading the texts or simply want to know more about them. Each chapter ends with helpful suggestions for further reading (although these are now somewhat out of date, since the book was published in 1984).

There is an interesting divide half way through the book: the first four chapters (on Bible, Talmud, Midrash and commentaries) focus on the literary characteristics of those texts: how they are organized, how style contributes to meaning, what knowledge they assume, how to read them, and so on. Each chapter does an excellent job of walking you through an extended passage of the text under consideration. Other than these analyses of particular passages, however, there is no systematic attempt to discuss or summarize the content of the work, much less consider its meaning or impact.

The last four chapters, on the other hand (covering philosophy, kabbala, Hasidic teaching and the Siddur), are much more focused on content, on what the texts are saying and what impact that has had in the development of Judaism. These chapters still include close-reading of significant passages of text, but they also provide extraordinarily helpful overviews of what these texts, as a whole, are trying to accomplish. The chapters on medieval philosophy and kabbala are particularly good -- even if I never get around to studying these texts, I now feel like I have a reasonably good grasp of what they are about.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in these texts or in Jewish intellectual history, even if you have no plans to study the texts themselves.

God's Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms

Ben Patterson

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Illuminating look at the Book of Psalms 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

God's Prayer Book by Ben Patterson is a beautifully written guide and encouragement to praying the Psalms. The book of Psalms was used by the Jewish people for hundreds of years as a way to praise God, appeal to him, and beg his forgiveness, and we can do the same thing. Patterson really opens up the book with Biblical history, Scripture, and deep insight into why they were written and why they are still applicable today. I have loved reading this book. Sometimes my prayers feel stale or worn, but reading these Psalms with new eyes has allowed me to pray for my country, my family, my church, and my soul in new ways. Each chapter feels like a refreshing dip in warm water: comforting, cleansing, uplifting, renewing. Patterson lists several different ways to pray through the Psalms, making them your own personal prayer book so they will never grow old and will always offer new wisdom and comfort. Jesus quoted from Psalm 31 in his final words on the cross, "Father, into your hands, I entrust my spirit." Patterson says that some biblical scholars believe that Psalm 31: 5 was one of the earliest prayers Jewish mothers taught their children to pray for sleep each night. I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God. Knowing that Jesus prayed that prayer before death, a child's prayer before slipping into slumber, brings the Psalm to life and lodges it firmly in my heart. Full of depth, heart and wisdom, this is a book I will reread again and again.

Editorial Review:

There is no better place in all of Scripture than the Psalms to learn to be with God and see with the eyes of faith the face of the One who longs to form us fully in his image. The psalms often stretch and perplex as they teach, but they open a divine window on prayer. How could it be otherwise? The Psalms are God's prayer book, and they teach us to talk to God in his own language.
Features meditations for more than 75 psalms, arranged in numerical order, Scripture and topical indexes. Each devotional includes the complete text of the Psalm(s) from the New Living Translation, a "devotional window" (brief meditative thoughts and/or background on the Psalm), a prayer route (one or more key phrases or verses from the Psalm, followed by suggested ways to use the Psalm in prayer).

Tanach: The Stone, Student Size Black

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Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tanach: Exceptional! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Tanach (Old Testament in both Hebrew and literal English translation), Stone Edition, makes the Jewish scriptures even more useable with the added feature of commentary from various scholars. Its compact size allows for conservation of space and ease of use. While visiting a worship service at a local synagogue shortly after this purchase, my assistant and I showed the rabbi a Tanach. Before we could ask his opinion, he said, "Oh, excellent! Superb!" I couldn't say it any better. For those interested in in-depth study, but who are not proficient in Hebrew, the Tanach will be a marvelous aid. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

All 24 books of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings are now at your fingertips in one magnificent volume, as interpreted by the classic sages of Talmudic and Rabbinic literature. This is a remarkable achievement. It enables everyone to obtain a basic knowledge of the entire Tanach from "In the beginning" to the return to Eretz Yisrael. For home, for office, for synagogue, for gifts this is an indispensable Book for the People of the Book. Edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in collaboration with an international team of scholars.

Newly set, accurate, carefully researched Hebrew text
Crisp, clear introductions
New English translation, based on the research of an international team of Torah scholars
Illuminating notes and comments
All Haftarahs clearly indicated
Explanatory charts, illustrations and maps
Full index of topics
Stunningly beautiful page layout
Specially-milled bible paper
Reinforced binding; ribbon place-markers

Great Prayers of the Old Testament

Walter Brueggemann

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Overcoming Life's Disappointments

Harold S. Kushner

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Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From Harold S. Kushner, the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, a book that shows us how to be our best selves even when things don’t turn out as we had hoped—that is, how we can overcome life’s disappointments.

Kushner turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of strength and faith. Moses towers over all others in the Old Testament: he is the man on the mountaintop to whom God speaks with unparalleled intimacy, and he leads his people out of bondage. But he is also deeply human, someone whose soaring triumphs are offset by frustration and longing: his people ignore his teachings, he is denied entrance to the Promised Land, his family suffers. But he overcomes.

From the life of Moses, Kushner gleans principles that can help us deal with the problems we encounter. Through the example of Moses’ remarkable resilience, we learn how to weather the disillusionment of dreams unfulfilled, the pain of a lost job or promotion, a child’s failures, divorce or abandonment, and illness. We learn how to meet all disappointments with faith in ourselves and the future, and how to respond to heartbreak with understanding rather than bitterness and despair.

This is a book of spiritual wisdom—as practical as it is inspiring.

The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm

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Editorial Review:

From the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters–a new book of practical spirituality, of inspiration and encouragement gleaned from what may be the best-known and best-loved chapter in the Bible: the Twenty-third Psalm.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” So begins the psalm that, for millennia, has been a source of comfort in grief and of courage in fear. Now Harold Kushner discovers what it has to teach us about living our day-to-day lives. Each chapter discusses one line of the psalm in the context of both the time when it was written and the present day, and illuminates the life lessons contained within it. For example, Kushner shows us that the phrase “My cup runneth over” is a declaration of our gratitude for what life has given us and a rejection of the envy we may feel for what others have. And he draws on the ideas and thoughts of various spiritual figures–from G. K. Chesterton to Martin Buber to Paul Tillich–to further expand our understanding of this great psalm and help us benefit from its everyday spiritual wisdom.


From the Hardcover edition.