Religious violence has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. Robert Eisen provides the first comprehensive analysis of Jewish views on peace and violence by examining texts in five major areas of Judaism - the Bible, rabbinic Judaism, medieval Jewish philosophy, Kabbalah, and modern Zionism. He demonstrates that throughout its history, Judaism has consistently exhibited ambiguity regarding peace and violence. To make his case, Eisen presents two distinct analyses of the texts in each of the areas under consideration: one which argues that the texts in question promote violence toward non-Jews, and another which argues that the texts promote peace. His aim is to show that both readings are valid and authentic interpretations of Judaism. Eisen also explores why Judaism can be read both ways by examining the interpretive techniques that support each reading. The Peace and Violence of Judaism will be an essential resource not only for students of Judaism, but for students of other religions. Many religions exhibit ambiguity regarding peace and violence. This study provides a model for analyzing this important phenomenon.
Medieval Jewish philosophers have been studied extensively by modern scholars, but even though their philosophical thinking was often shaped by their interpretation of the Bible, relatively little attention has been paid to them as biblical interpreters. In this study, Robert Eisen breaks new ground by analyzing how six medieval Jewish philosophers approached the Book of Job. These thinkers covered are Saadiah Gaon, Moses Maimonides, Samuel ibn Tibbon, Zerahiah Hen, Gersonides, and Simon ben Zemah Duran. Eisen explores each philosopher's reading of Job on three levels: its relationship to interpretations of Job by previous Jewish philosophers, the way in which it grapples with the major difficulties in the text, and its interaction with the author's systematic philosophical thought. Eisen also examines the resonance between the readings of Job of medieval Jewish philosophers and those of modern biblical scholars. What emerges is a portrait of a school of Joban interpretation that was creative, original, and at times surprisingly radical. Eisen thus demonstrates that medieval Jewish philosophers were serious exegetes whom scholars cannot afford to ignore. By bringing a previously-overlooked aspect of these thinkers' work to light, Eisen adds new depth to our knowledge of both Jewish philosophy and biblical interpretation.
This study is a pioneering exploration of how rabbis in the religious Zionist community in Israel constructed a body of Jewish law on war. It focuses on five leading rabbis in this camp and how they dealt with a number of key moral issues that the waging of war raised.
In Jews, Judaism, and Success, Robert Eisen attempts to solve a long-standing mystery that has fascinated many: How did Jews become such a remarkably successful minority in the modern Western world? Eisen argues that Jews achieved such success because they were unusually well-prepared for it by their religion – in particular, Rabbinic Judaism, or the Judaism of the rabbis. Rooted in the Talmud, this form of Judaism instilled in Jews key values that paved the way for success in modern Western society: autonomy, freedom of thought, worldliness, and education. The book carefully analyses the evolution of these four values over the past two thousand years in order to demonstrate that they had a longer and richer history in Jewish culture than in Western culture. The book thus disputes the common assumption that Rabbinic Judaism was always an obstacle to Jews becoming modernized. It demonstrates that while modern Jews rejected aspects of Rabbinic Judaism, they also retained some of its values, and these values in particular led to Jewish success. Written for a broad range of readers, Jews, Judaism, and Success provides unique insights on the meaning of success and how it is achieved in the modern world.
Gersonides was one of the intellectual giants of the medieval Jewish world, a thinker of remarkable diversity and ingenuity. In the light of Gersonides' thought on providential suffering and on inherited providence, this book analyzes his position on one of the cardinal principles of Judaism: the concept of the Chosen People.
This book is intended to help manage the messiness of adulthood. Serving as a crossing guard at a local elementary school, the author found himself moved and inspired by the experiences and encounters that greeted him each and every day. This book is a record of his reflections on those moments and how they led him to a deeper understanding of the concise ambiguity of what it means to be an adult. He watched his charges and wondered not “Why did the chicken cross the road?” but, rather, “What are all these chickens going to do once they get there?” Life is an effort to “cross the road,” and we do so every day. Now that we are there, what, and how, are we going to do so that our lives are “more than long”? Using especially his experience as a pulpit rabbi for over four decades, the author offers answers to those questions that can help everyone put one foot in front of the other and move forward confidently—once the crossing guard says that it is okay to go!
This book is intended to help manage the messiness of adulthood. Serving as a crossing guard at a local elementary school, the author found himself moved and inspired by the experiences and encounters that greeted him each and every day. This book is a record of his reflections on those moments and how they led him to a deeper understanding of the concise ambiguity of what it means to be an adult. He watched his charges and wondered not “Why did the chicken cross the road?” but, rather, “What are all these chickens going to do once they get there?” Life is an effort to “cross the road,” and we do so every day. Now that we are there, what, and how, are we going to do so that our lives are “more than long”? Using especially his experience as a pulpit rabbi for over four decades, the author offers answers to those questions that can help everyone put one foot in front of the other and move forward confidently—once the crossing guard says that it is okay to go!
John Ridgeway, an only child born in 1918 to a poor working-class family, grew up in the shadow of New York City. His father died when he was ten, and despite the obstacles and hardships of the Great Depression, John excelled in school. His perseverance and hard work was rewarded by earning a scholarship to college. In 1938, he experienced the Long Island Express, a destructive Cape Verde hurricane named for its sudden arrival without much warning. This event left a lasting impression on John. John, having graduated from college, fell in love with Ellen, whom he met at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and they wedded a year and a half later. With war looming on the horizon and the United States entry almost certain, John enlisted in the navy's newly created officer candidate school. Upon graduation, he was appointed to Fort Schuyler as an instructor but, after almost two years of teaching, felt he had to do more, so he applied for sea duty and was assigned to the battleship South Dakota. In his first two months, he experienced enough battle action to last a lifetime. Severely damaged, the South Dakota returned to New York for repairs, but a reunion with Ellen was not to be. John was transferred to the destroyer Warrington as executive officer and spent the next two years shuttling supplies between islands in the Pacific. The Warrington, in dire need of a maintenance overhaul, returned to New York, and John had the reunion with Ellen that was stolen when he transferred from the South Dakota. The Warrington's repairs were mostly superficial, but the ship's fate was determined by forces beyond her control. The ship sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, despite a weather alert about a hurricane off the Bahamas. John expressed his concern about this foolhardy decision to the captain but was powerless to change the course of events. The Warrington sailed into the maelstrom of the Great Atlantic Hurricane.
This Element explores the potential in Judaism to incite Jews to engage in violence against non-Jews. The analysis proceeds in historical fashion, with sections devoted to the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic Judaism, medieval and early modern Judaism, and modern Zionism. The last topic is given special attention because of its relevance to the current Middle East conflict. This Element also draws on insights from social psychology to explain Jewish violence - particularly Social Identity Theory.
Peter Lampe's work has covered a wide range of fields, the common denominator being his interest in contextualizing belief systems. Mirroring his multifaced work, the authors pursue his interest from different interdisciplinary angles, addressing the interdependence between religious expressions and their situations or contexts. The application of theoretical models to texts examples flanks the inspiring theoretical – epistemological and methodological – reflections. Studies in socio-economic and political history adjoin archaeological, epigraphic, papyrological and iconographic investigations. (Social-)psychological interpretations of texts complement rhetorical analyses. The hermeneutical reception of biblical materials in, for example, the Koran and Christian Chinese or Orthodox contexts, as well as in religious education and homiletics, rounds off the volumes.
I am honored and pleased, as Chancellor of JTS, to welcome you to the FJMC's Learners' and Experiential/Interpretative minyan curriculum. This guide wisely meets people where they are. It does not assume knowledge of or comfort with the synagogue service, and yet has much to offer even veteran shul-goers. You will find helpful hints to synagogue choreography ("we rise here"), suggestions that may enhance your experience of tefilah ("some find that humming a niggun during this section is meaningful"), and precious re-assurance that your personal questions about prayer are widely-shared ("you don't need to say everything ") Ample room is left for individual prayer-leaders and participants to supply their own suggestions, interpretations, kavanot and pedagogy. " - Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor, The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Editor's note: “Voices of Yellowstone’s Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness” edited by Traute N. Parrie and Jesse A. Logan was the 2020 Big Sky Award winner for best book in any category by a Montana Author; a finalist the 2020 High Plains Book Awards nonfiction category; and a Independent Publishers 2020 Gold Medal winner for best regional (Rocky Mountain) non-fiction. "...whether you've been to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness or not, whether you live nearby or not, this book conveys the spirit and allure of beloved high country anywhere on the planet." Todd Wilkinson, Mountain Journal Purchase from your local, independent bookseller, or at the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation Website: https://abwilderness.org/ All proceeds from the sale got to support the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation https://abwilderness.org/
This book is both a personal and a philosophical autobiography of Robert S. Hartman, the creator of formal axiology. After experiencing first-hand the horrible effects of World War I and the beginnings of Nazism in Germany, Hartman wondered what could be done to organize goodness instead of badness - for a change. First, the concept of good must be defined. Next, different kinds of goodness, like intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic, must be differentiated. Then this understanding must be used to comprehend and to change the world, including its economic, political, military, religious, educational, intellectual, and psychological dimensions. By telling his own story, Hartman gives his readers a glimpse of the form of the good and of a much better world.
One of the great series in the history of the American detective story gets even better when Spenser is hired by a jilted bride to follow a cheating husband, only to cross paths with a detective hired to tail the two-timing wife. They aren't the most trusting couple in town, but as it turns out, they are the most dangerous.
Argues that Eisenhower was a stronger president than previously believed and was responsible for many important accomplishments in the area of foreign policy and the quest for peace.
Waging Peace offers the first fully comprehensive study of Eisenhower's "New Look" program of national security, which provided the groundwork for the next three decades of America's Cold War strategy. Though the Cold War itself and the idea of containment originated under Truman, it was left to Eisenhower to develop the first coherent and sustainable strategy for addressing the issues unique to the nuclear age. To this end, he designated a decision-making system centered around the National Security Council to take full advantage of the expertise and data from various departments and agencies and of the judgment of his principal advisors. The result was the formation of a "long haul" strategy of preventing war and Soviet expansion and of mitigating Soviet hostility. Only now, in the aftermath of the Cold War, can Eisenhower's achievement be fully appreciated. This book will be of much interest to scholars and students of the Eisenhower era, diplomatic history, the Cold War, and contemporary foreign policy.
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