Judaism Theology

What happens when a person recognizes that there is more to life than making money, travelling, and keeping busy? What happens when we realize - or simply sense - that there is more? The purpose of this book is to tackle these questions. Now what? Now that I know there is more, what should I do to get on the path of connecting to my soul and maximizing my eternal life without making radical changes and turning my whole life upside down?

Has the final countdown to the end days begun? Are the heavens telling us we are nearing the end? Astronomers have noticed it is coming. Historians have noted its significance. From the discovery of the New World to the creation of modern-day Israel, these years of the four blood moons have truly been turning points in history. Bible prophecy describes the moon being darkened and turned to blood. What is the significance of these signs in the skies? What will the future bring?

In another of the ongoing series with Anglican and Christian poets this religion writer chose to interview Jewish poet and translator Peter Cole. One of his agents suggested a Jewish poet, though Ofer Ziv of Blue Flower Arts knew the series was made up of Christians and Anglicans. The mystic, poet, and secular Jewish married man of letters who is a scholar is reticent to use the word God in an interview, and even reticent to admit to a belief in the Almighty. Yet this religious and spiritual scholar and poet has a recent book of translations of works from the Kabbalah in the book titled The Poetry of Kabbalah: Mystical Verse from the Jewish Tradition.

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.

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.

Das Hohelied Salomos -- ein unvergänglicher Lobgesang auf die Liebe und die Schönheit und eine Poesie erotischer Wonnen.

Some revivals in church history, such as the Reformation and the Great Awakening, were somewhat similar to the events described in the Book of Ezra and by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. When a remnant left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem bearing the vessels of the Lord, they restored the altar, laid the foundation, and rebuilt the house of the Lord. The Book of Nehemiah, however, is in a different setting. Years have gone by, and things are no longer well in Jerusalem. The “wall” is broken down and the “gates” are burned with fire.

The Hiddenness of God addresses the problem of divine hiddenness which concerns the ambiguity of evidence for God's existence, the elusiveness of God's comforting presence, the palpable and devastating experience of divine absence and abandonment, and more; phenomena which are hard to reconcile with the idea, central to the Jewish and Christian scriptures, that there exists a God who is deeply and lovingly concerned with the lives of humans. Michael C. Rea argues that divine hiddenness is not a problem to be explained away but rather a consequence of the nature of God himself.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.