Judaism Theology

The year was 1391. Spring was about to turn into summer. By the end of the summer, 80 Jewish communities in Castile and Aragon were torn by violence. A third of the Jewish community had been murdered. Perhaps another third of the Jewish community had converted. Only a third of the Jewish population remained intact. While their conversions had initially been met with a grand celebration by their Christian neighbors, those Jews who had yielded to baptism to rescue their lives and those of their families eventually proved a thorn in the side of the church. Could they be trusted?

Jewish identity is complicated because it entails religious, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and national components. Each of these contributes to the identity of who is a Jew. This book surveys biblical and rabbinic views on what constitutes Jewish identity within traditional Judaism but also reviews the positions of Reform and Conservative Judaism.

The idea of a distinctive Messiah, with a specific role, was not definitively established across all the Jewish movements of the Second Temple era. Some groups expected multiple messiahs, and some did not expect one at all. Our focus is on the topic of the Messiah and how different groups understood this office. We can draw some understanding regarding an expectation of a Messiah. The Messiah is generally understood to be a person who at the end of history or the present world order will bring salvation to Israel.

How do I live a more meaningful life? In an era when we can choose our own identities, why might we choose to identify as Jews? These are just some of the questions Zack Bodner addresses as he thoughtfully shifts from asking “Why be Jewish?” to “Why do Jewish?” Through a combination of personal stories, insights from some of the world’s greatest teachers, and contemporary analysis, Why Do Jewish? takes one of our oldest wisdom traditions and provides an accessible guide for anyone looking for answers to life’s most important questions.

Is it possible to stay hopeful—and to keep a sense of humor—while your deepest desire is threatened? When you're falsely accused? When people you trust advise you to hide your heritage? Melanie Herz Promecene, who faced each of those challenges while trying to adopt a child, is walking proof that the answer is yes. In this staggeringly honest, often hilarious, always hopeful memoir, Promecene takes listeners with her through the terror of 9/11 in New York, the floods of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, the winding streets of Beijing, and a beautiful day in Florence.

In 1942, in Kaunas, Lithuania, the occupying German forces decreed that any pregnant Jewish woman would be summarily executed. On August 26, 1942, a Jewish woman realized she was pregnant and approached her rabbi, Ephraim Oshry, seeking advice. He determined that an abortion was necessary to save her life. The situation was something no woman or rabbi should have to face. But the scenario was real, and Rabbi Ephraim Oshry ruled based on Jewish law.

Samuel Usque in The Consolations for the Tribulations of Israel examines the trials and misfortunes of the Jewish people in an effort to both comfort and encourage Anusim (forced or coerced converts to Christianity). For Usque, in the context of his audience, “history” serves to alleviate their pain, to convince them of the reasons for their current predicament, and to convince them that an immanent redemption was soon to be realized. The Consolations have often proven inaccessible to many readers. This work focuses on providing a review of the key concepts.

This book explores some of the prevailing attitudes and ideas held by Maimonides, or the Rambam, i.e., Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, and Benedictus (Baruch) Spinoza on the subject of knowing God. A hypothetical dialogue between these two philosophers and I is presented.

In traditional Judaism, the revelation of the Torah at Sinai was a miraculous event. It is the foundational event of the Jewish people as a nation. The rabbis perceived God's continued involvement in creation, but also saw limitations on how divine intervention functioned in the realm of Jewish law. Discover the fascinating manner in which Torah and prophecy were understood and how each had its proper domain.

What Am I Missing? illuminates the difficult life lesson that everyone is missing something in their lives. This truth includes six significant characters of the Hebrew Bible: Abraham and Rachel; Moses and Miriam; and David and Esther. Using texts from the Hebrew Bible as our source of interpretation, we search for the meaning of "what is missing" in each of them and ourselves. These challenges provoke questions that have no simple answers and stimulate us to reflect on being a human with purpose and hope today.

Have you ever wondered how a dialogue with a Jewish person on whether or not the Messiah is God would develop? Now there is no need to wonder. This book contain an actual exchange of letters between a Jewish man and a Messianic Jew. A dialogue of this type can take many different directions and is usually based on the comments of the other party.

In 2006, I was attending several week-long classes at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago. One of the classes was titled “Who is a Jew?” and was taught by my doctoral advisor, Rabbi Dr. Byron Sherwin, of blessed memory. The course discussed biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern perspectives on the question. As Rabbi Sherwin was accustomed to doing, he typically included unusual cases for us to consider. Decades before, a student at the Spertus Institute had stirred some controversy.

Theology is meant to cause you to think unto God, and then, when the right understanding of God (and the good news) makes its way into your heart, theology is meant to cause you to rise up singing and praising him for who he is and for what he has done, and will do, in your life.

Why should any Jew in their right mind wish to consider or perhaps reconsider, Christianity from a different vantage point? It is a fair question. There are potentially many reasons. Intellectual honesty is an important one. This book seeks to explore alternative approaches to Christianity that permit Jews to consider it as something else besides idolatry without abandoning traditional Jewish theology.

Cada tradición religiosa incluye una forma de oración ó meditación. Siendo este el caso. ¿Qué es exactamente lo que caracteriza a la oración judía como Judía? La oración utiliza los modismos de la Biblia hebrea y de los sabios de Israel. La Biblia hebrea es el fundamento de la fé Judía. La meta de este libro es proporcionar al lector una introducción general a lo que es la oración judía, además de algunas de las prácticas que se llevan a cabo dentro de la misma asociadas con ciertas oraciones las cuales son fundamentales.

The term "kashrut" refers to the Jewish religious dietary laws derived from the Torah. The term "kashrut" is derived from the Hebrew word "kasher" meaning "fit" or "acceptable". From the word "kasher", we derive the word "kosher" in its anglicized form. But before we discuss what kosher is, let’s discuss some ideas as to “why” kosher exists. Why, after all, would a religious faith be concerned about what people eat? This audiobook provides the student or curious individual with the basics of what kosher is and why it is observed by religious Jews around the world.