Psychology in the Talmud uncovers important insights from the Jewish tradition and offers tools for success, joy, growth, and inspiration. Timeless ideas are elaborated on from the writings of classical Torah commentaries as well as current leaders in the fields of psychology and personal growth. Short summaries enable readers to more easily implement these crucial concepts into their lives.
Where do we turn to better understand ourselves? For many people, the insights of modern psychology provide a way to be in touch with the inner-workings of their minds. However, for those familiar with traditional Jewish literature, the penetrating psychological insight of the Talmudic Sages provides a framework for spiritual and personal growth through profound self-understanding. In this volume, Ethan Eisen, a Yeshiva University- ordained rabbi and clinical psychologist, explores the seeds of contemporary psychology that are woven through the pages of the Talmud and its commentators. Based on passages from Maseches Berachos, Rabbi Dr. Eisen takes the reader on an illuminating journey through many topics-procrastination, bullying, mindfulness, and microaggressions, among many others-bringing traditional Jewish sources side by side with findings of modern psychology. He concludes each chapter with a life-enhancing practical lesson that emerges from these two mutually enriching sources of knowledge and wisdom.
What does rabbinical Judaism have to teach us about the way the mind works? How do the rabbis of the Talmud, Middle Ages, and our own time shed light on emotional disturbances, and on the cognitive-behavioral therapies used to treat them? In this panoramic view of rabbinical Judaism, psychiatrist Ronald Pies MD shows how cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) rely on psychological principles found in both ancient and modern Judaic writings. “The interplay between thought and deed is a central feature of Judaic affirmation. Control the thought and the deed will follow. Dr. Ronald Pies’s book explores this connection in depth, and the inter-relationships that he weaves are at once illuminating and empowering.” –Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka
Pirkey Avoth is divided into six chapters. The first five deal with different dimensions of existence, including the transmission of Jewish values, the direction of one's "life-path," the means of keeping sanctity in one's life, the values that become part of one's personality, and how Torah is and should be expressed in life.
Sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most difficult problems in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although it is a present-day bone of contention, its roots go back into the distant past. Israelites, Christians, and Muslims had fought over this holy site, and built on it a succession of shrines. The book leads the reader into the intricate history, geography, and politics of this unique site. It relates the roots of its holiness, describes the succession of temples built on it, and explains how in the twentieth century its sanctity become interwined with the national aspirations of both Jews and Arabs. It explains why the Temple Mount is considered the holiest site for the Jews, and how it became holy also to the Muslims. The book also explores the role of evangelical Christians, who, alongside a segment of the Jewish population, see the Temple Mount as the center of messianic aspirations, fed by the myriad of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legends and myths which evolved around it. The book is richly illustrated with photographs, sketches, maps, and plans.
Where do we turn to better understand ourselves? For many people, the insights of modern psychology provide a way to be in touch with the inner-workings of their minds. However, for those familiar with traditional Jewish literature, the penetrating psychological insight of the Talmudic Sages provides a framework for spiritual and personal growth through profound self-understanding. In this volume, Ethan Eisen, a Yeshiva University-ordained rabbi and clinical psychologist, explores the seeds of contemporary psychology that are woven through the pages of the Talmud and its commentators. Based on passages from Maseches Berachos, Rabbi Dr. Eisen takes the reader on an illuminating journey through many topics-procrastination, bullying, mindfulness, and microaggressions, among many others-bringing traditional Jewish sources side by side with findings of modern psychology. He concludes each chapter with a life-enhancing practical lesson that emerges from these two mutually enriching sources of knowledge and wisdom. I have known Rabbi Dr. Ethan Eisen, since his high-school days in our Yeshiva. His intelligence, yiras shamaim, and extraordinary mentchlichkeit, make him an ideal candidate for producing a work offering insights on so vital a dimension to understanding all aspects of this vital area of Torah. - Rabbi Ahron Shraga Lopiansky, Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington Dr. Eisen astutely compares a wide range of contemporary psychological insights with traditional Jewish thought. He writes with articulate clarity, and reflects in his work a mastery of both Talmudic and psychological concepts. In highlighting the congruence of ancient rabbinic texts with modern psychological knowledge, Dr. Eisen makes an important contribution to both the fields of Judaica and contemporary psychology. - Dr. Yisrael Levitz, Founding Executive Director at The Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim
In much of Western literature and Greek mythology, women have an evident lack of purpose; a woman needs to either enter or leave a relationship in order to find herself and her own identity. Matthew Schwartz and Kalman Kaplan set out to prove that the converse is true in the text of the Hebrew Bible. Examining the stories of women in Scripture -- Rebecca, Miriam, Gomer, Ruth and Naomi, Lot's wife, Zipporah, and dozens more -- Schwartz and Kaplan illustrate the biblical woman's strong feminine sense of being crucial to God's plan for the world and for history, courageously seeking the greatest good for herself and others whatever the circumstances. Empowering, illuminating, and fascinating, The Fruit of Her Hands makes a singular contribution to the fields of biblical and women's studies.
