Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity
Circumventing the Law probes the rabbinic logic behind the use of loopholes, the legal phenomenon of finding and using gaps within law to achieve otherwise illegal outcomes. The logic of ha'aramah, a subset of rabbinic legal circumventions mostly defined as a tool for private life, underpins both well-known circumventions, such as selling leaven ......
Scholars have long argued that early Hasidic teachings introduced a psychological dimension to kabbalistic traditions and revitalized modern Judaism. Focused on the inner soul, Hasidism encouraged worshippers to experience joy and delight through their enthusiastic practices. In this new work grounded in the historical study of emotions, Leore ......
Examines the meaning of Jewish politics in Israel In one of the first books to ask head-on what it means for Israel to be a Jewish state, Yaacov Yadgar delves into what the designation "Jewish" amounts to in the context of the sovereign nation-state, and what it means for the politics of the state to be identified as Jewish. The volume ......
The Origin, Development, and Enduring Meaning of the Jewish Sabbath
This book begins by exploring the mysterious origins of an institution so familiar that most of us never wonder where it came from-the seven-day week. Jon D. Levenson then focuses on the historical development of the Jewish Sabbath and the rich range of theological and ethical meanings it has acquired over the centuries. Levenson evaluates the ......
Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity
Circumventing the Law probes the rabbinic logic behind the use of loopholes, the legal phenomenon of finding and using gaps within law to achieve otherwise illegal outcomes. The logic of ha'aramah, a subset of rabbinic legal circumventions mostly defined as a tool for private life, underpins both well-known circumventions, such as selling leaven ......
The concern for purity was the cornerstone of the religious culture of ancient Judaism. Purity and Identity in Ancient Judaism explores how this concern shaped the worldview of Jews during the Second Temple period as well as their daily practices and social relations. It examines how different groups offered competing visions and methods for ......
Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, studies four different rebbes in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe, delving into their lives, their work, and their impact on the Hasidic movement and beyond. In Four Hasidic Masters and Their Struggle against Melancholy, Jewish author, philosopher, and humanist Elie Wiesel presents the stories of ......
The Bible says that YHWH alone is God and that there is none like him-but texts and artwork from antiquity show that many gods looked very similar. In this volume, scholars of the Hebrew Bible and its historical contexts address the problem of YHWH's ancient look-alikes, providing recommendations for how Jews and Christians can think theologically ......
In the minds of many American evangelicals today, Judaism exists in two places: the pages of the Bible and the modern nation of Israel. In Separated Siblings, John Phelan offers to fill in the gaps of this limited understanding with the larger story of Judaism, including its long history and key facets of Jewish thought and practice. Phelan shows ......
