Judaism Theology

Dr. Moshe Finkelman emerges as an expert on Jewish faith in his book God Is Not Dead: Man’s Pursuit of Faith in Judaism. For the first time since the 18th century’s The Path of the Upright of Rabbi Luzzatto, there is a book that describes a system of growth in faith, from the initial level to the ultimate level of knowledge of God, leading to closeness to God. Dr. Finkelman gradually and convincingly takes the listener through steps of growth in faith, leaving no argument unsettled and no subject unexplained.

We are witnessing things today that the prophets of Israel longed to see. God is fulfilling his word in our generation! If you want to understand what God is doing in these last days, you must understand what he is doing with Israel. It is here that the Bible's prophecies regarding the end of the age will all unfold.

In the eighth century, a debate between Sergius the Stylite and a Jew occurred. The discussion was conveniently titled Debate against a Jew. It records arguments about the relevance of biblical texts to Christians and the Jewish people. The anti-Jewish perspectives of Sergius are not surprising. The response given by his Jewish interlocutor is, however. The Jew noted that he was surprised by the number of Christians who attended his synagogue, contributed to it, and celebrated various Jewish holidays alongside Jews.

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?

Almost every religious tradition includes a form of prayer or meditation. That being the case, what exactly characterizes prayer as Jewish? Jewish prayer utilizes the idioms and expressions of the Hebrew Bible and the sages of Israel. In short, traditional Jewish prayer expresses the fundamental values and beliefs of Judaism.

The relationship between Judaism and Christianity has been acrimonious throughout most of history. Often confronted with persecution, with arguments of Divine rejection, and with religious practices and beliefs that appeared pagan and even idolatrous to them, most rabbis viewed Christianity negatively. However, quite surprisingly, not all rabbis viewed Christianity in this light.

Das Buch Hiob ist einer der schönsten und bekanntesten Teile des Alten Testaments. Es erzählt von Hiobs glücklichem Leben und seiner Frömmigkeit, die durch Gott geprüft wird, indem er ihm all sein Hab und Gut, seine Verwandten und Freunde nimmt.

"The Disputation at Barcelona" was a pivotal event in 1263 where Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, a prominent Jewish scholar, engaged in a formal debate with Pablo Christiani, a Jewish convert to Christianity, in the court of King James I of Aragon.

Joseph (Yossel) Green was a college student who was sure he knew everything - including that the Divine has no control over the world - until the day when his zaidy asked him to elaborate. Conversations with Zaidy is a journey through the deepest fundamentals of Judaism, framed as a conversation between a grandfather and grandson exploring various common questions that people have about belief in God.

God is not boring. He is not dull, dry, nor bland. Yet many have failed to see this. What if the scriptures reveal a God who thinks and acts outside of the box? What if the God of the Bible does things that are odd to our finite human minds? This book explores the lesser known aspects of God's character that might offend your intellect while intriguing your spirit. Be invited to go on this journey of discovering The Wild, Weird and Wonderful Ways of Yahweh.

Das Hohelied der Liebe ist einer der ungewöhnlichsten Texte der jüdischen und christlichen Religionsgeschichte...

Peter Menkin of The Church of England Newspaper conducted significant interviews with three Rabbis on the topic of religious education. These interviews are unique due to the new success of Internet education and its use in Jewish learning and the teaching of the Torah, as well as Orthodox Jewish adult education.

Mystics Magazine: Jewish Mystical Theology - A Conversation with Rabbi Simeon.

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.

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.

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.