Movements Books - Page 5

Halakhic Mind

Joseph B. Soloveitchik

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Towards a Jewish philosophy based on Halakhah 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is from the book- jacket." This work .. articulates for the first time Rabbi Soloveitchik's attitude toward Western culture and modern scientific values. He shows how twentieth century science and philosophy, under the influence of Bergson, gave rise to a wholesome epistemological and methodological pluralism that has recast the entire enterprise of metaphysics. A newfound(or newly recognized) appreciation of the role of choice and creativity in the forging of useful and coherent world-systems offers the first hope in modern times of creating a comprehensive and intelligible God- oriented and God- worshipping metaphysical system.Religion can now look at science not as an intellectual rival or threat, but as a model for the important act of constructing a world - view based on spiritual values and tenets of faith.
Drawing upon examples of Jewish practiceRabbi Soloveitchik shows how fine points of Halkahah deal with the most essential aspects of human existence, contributing to the necessary and wholesome task of constructing a universe congenial to the God- worshipping individual."

The Unfolding Tradition: Jewish Law After Sinai

Elliot N. Dorff

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

First guide to understanding a systematic view of Jewish law 5 out of 5 stars.
26 of 26 people found this review helpful.

What is halakha (loosely translated as "Jewish law".) This book systematically discusses questions such as: Where does it come from? Are Jews obligated to obey it? If so, why? What does it mean to be obligated? How does one decide questions of Jewish law?

Unfortunately, most Orthodox authors do not study philosophy, and make no attempt to systematically describe their approach of halakha. On the other extreme, Reform authors do not view halakha as authoritative in any way. They have produced no systematic view of Jewish law, and wildly disagree themselves over whether any part of should be normative at all.

In contrast, it is Jews affiliated with Conservative, Traditional and Masorti Judaism who have thus produced the most intelligble and systematic writings on this subject. Not only does Rabbi Dorff systematically present his own philosophy in regards to the above questions, but he presents the views of many other Jewish thinkers, both inside Conservative Judaism, as well as Reform and Orthodoxy.

Dorff presents a serious philosophical critique of every theory of law discussed: What are the strengths of each position, and what are the weaknesses. No partisan polemicist, he is equally critical of his own theory of law as he is of other people's theories. Why should anyone care about this subject? Rabbi Dorff writes:

"A theory of law describes how the author understands the nature of human beings and human society, the role of law for people and societies construed in that way, the sources of authority of the law, the ways in which the law can retain authority and yet change over time to remain relevant to current circumstances, and the relationship between law and morality, religion, and custom. The reason why one should care about such matters is because the way you understand such matters has a critical effect on how you understand yourself and your community, the role of law in your life and that of your community, and the ways in which law can and should remain the same or change over time."

This book includes readings by Zachariah Frankel, Solomon Schechter, Mordecai Kaplan, Robert Gordis, Jacob Agus, Abraham Joshua Heschel, David M. Gordis, Louis Jacobs, Joel Roth, Neil Gillman, Edward Feld, Alana Suskin, Raymond Scheindlin and Gordon Tucker, as well as theorists on the right and the left of the Conservative movement. The book also compares Jewish and American law, and asks questions about the nature of legal systems, the relationship between law and religion, and the evolution of law.

Editorial Review:

This volume analyzes the biblical and rabbinic roots of Jewish law, as interpreted by leading rabbis of the Conservative movement and beyond. This long-awaited work is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the roots, development and interpretation of Jewish law in general, and for those who wish to know how Conservative Judaism evolved and what it represents.

Conservative Judaism: The New Century

Neil Gillman

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The best popular history of Conservative Judaism 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

This book answers every question you wanted to know about how Conservative Judaism developed, what its theological and legal principles are, and how it differs from the other Jewish movements (Reform, Orthodox and Reconstructionist). More importantly, it starts off with a summary of how all how the Jewish movements we know today developed. Many readers will be surprised to learn that Orthodox Judaism isn't the oldest movement - Reform Judaism is! Reform Judaism developed in the early 1800s in reaction to the Enlightment movement and Emancipation. Due to the radical positions taken by its founders, a reaction took place in the rest of the Jewish community. One reaction led to Samson Rapahel Hirsch developing Neo-Orthodoxy, the progenitor of Modern Orthodox Judaism. Another led to Agudah Yisrael and Haredism (Ultra-Orthodox). And most importantly (for this reader), the next step was the most vital. In response to the extremes taken by both the Reformers and Orthodox, Positive-Historical Judaism was then developed by Zechariah Frankel (Germany). This was the progentor of Conservative Judaism. Indeed, the Conservative movement is still sometimes called the Positive-Historical school of Judaism. This book is written by an insider, a professor of philosophy at the movement's primary seminary, and it is surprisingly frank and objective. The movements inherent tensions, strengths and weaknesses are all analyzed and discussed. Issues such as Zionism, women as rabbis, homosexuality, and the observance of the laity are discussed in an open fashion. For those who enjoy this book, or are interested in Conservative Judaism, I would also strongly suggest these two books: "A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice" by Rabbi Issac Klein, and, "Conservative Judaism: Our ancestors to our descendents", published by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), by Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff

Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy: The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, 1884-1966

Marc B. Shapiro

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Honest and insightful biography of a great Torah scholar 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg 1884-1966 was one of the Torah giants of this century. He was the preeminent European posek(Halachic decisor) in the post- war period. This biography tells his own personal life story but also provides an insight into the struggles of various streams within the Orthodox world for position and predominance during his lifetime. A product of the world of the Yeshivot and of the Mussar movement he also was educated as a scholar at the University of Giessen. There he was taken under the wing of a great Gentile scholar of Judaism Paul Kahle. There too he taught a class in Torah to non- Jewish students .His immense learning won him the respect of scholars throughout the world of Jewish learning. Shapiro makes it clear that Weinberg was an advocate of what he himself exemplied the combination of Torah learning and higher secular studies. And that Weinberg was troubled in his last days at the thought of a Jewish world of learning so narrowly focused as to lose its capacity to have influence in the real world. He believed for instance that certain kinds of secular knowledge would be necessary to make the state of Israel viable and independent. Shapiro does not provide a deep psychological analysis of Weinberg's character but does tell the basic biographical story including that of his unfortunate marriage. He indicates that Weinberg lived his life in great loneliness,especially in his last post- war years in Montreux where he headed a small Yeshiva.
This is in a way an unusual biography of a Torah giant as it not a hagiography, but provides a solid historical accounting. It is again especially instructive in the picture it gives of the Orthodox Jewish world, its divisions and conflicts.
Weinberg is presented as a human figure capable of error(As in his initial support of the Nazis when they first came to power. An opinion he rapidly changed) but also as a great Torah scholar dedicated to the ideal of Jewish learning and the preservation and enhancing of the Torah world.

Editorial Review:

Using previously unpublished material, including private correspondence, Shapiro (Judaic Studies, U. of Scranton, Pennsylvania) discusses the many aspects of the life and thought of Rabbi Weinberg (1884-1966), an important ideologue of modern Orthodoxy. The author focuses on his evolving philosophical orientation, from his early years in Poland, his years in Germany, Lithuania, and Poland from WWI through the Nazi era, and his post-war years in Switzerland.

Zion in the Desert: American Jews in Israel's Reform Kibbutzim (Suny Series in Israel Studies)

William F. S. Miles

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Editorial Review:

The first book about the only two Reform Movement kibbutzim in Israel.

Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Ellen Singer

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Editorial Review:

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is one of the most innovative and inspiring rabbis in the Jewish world today. Often considered the grandfather of the Havurah movement and the most influential advocate of the rapidly growing movement of Jewish Renewal, Reb Zalman (as he is known by his countless students and admirers) has earned a reputation as a courageous, profoundly spiritual contemporary master. Jewish Renewal, as Reb Zalman explains it, is based on Kabbalah, Hasidism, and other forms of Jewish mysticism. Jewish Renewal does not want to abandon sacred and cherished traditions, teaches Reb Zalman. Rather, the paradigm shift advocates of Jewish Renewal call for asks that we recognize - as we have in the past - that there are newly emerging ways of looking at reality. Just as humankind had to adjust to the knowledge that the earth is not the center of the universe, so too do we today have to recognize that our understanding of our world has undergone significant change. Reb Zalman teaches that we must let go of the old paradigms rather than cling to these obsolete ways of thinking. In this book, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi offers what he calls the journey of my own recontextualization of Judaism as helped by Jewish mysticism. Reb Zalman points out that Judaism has undergone several paradigm shifts throughout its long history, such as the period after the destruction of the First and Second Temples, when, as Reb Zalman explains, all of our practice and belief had to be reframed. Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, in addition to being a record of the major teachings of Reb Zalman over the past thirty years, is a call for Jewish renewal once again. A passionate teacher of kabbalistic tradition, Reb Zalman offers a unique blend of Jewish mystical ideas as they encounter the forces and sensibilities of today.