Hasidism Incarnate
Hasidism Incarnate

Author: Shaul Magid

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2014-12-10

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0804793468

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Hasidism Incarnate contends that much of modern Judaism in the West developed in reaction to Christianity and in defense of Judaism as a unique tradition. Ironically enough, this occurred even as modern Judaism increasingly dovetailed with Christianity with regard to its ethos, aesthetics, and attitude toward ritual and faith. Shaul Magid argues that the Hasidic movement in Eastern Europe constitutes an alternative "modernity," one that opens a new window on Jewish theological history. Unlike Judaism in German lands, Hasidism did not develop under a "Christian gaze" and had no need to be apologetic of its positions. Unburdened by an apologetic agenda (at least toward Christianity), it offered a particular reading of medieval Jewish Kabbalah filtered through a focus on the charismatic leader that resulted in a religious worldview that has much in common with Christianity. It is not that Hasidic masters knew about Christianity; rather, the basic tenets of Christianity remained present, albeit often in veiled form, in much kabbalistic teaching that Hasidism took up in its portrayal of the charismatic figure of the zaddik, whom it often described in supernatural terms.

Interfaith Activism
Interfaith Activism

Author: Harold Kasimow

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2015-11-04

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 1498224806

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Abraham Joshua Heschel was the towering religious figure of American Jewry in the twentieth century. In Interfaith Activism, Harold Kasimow, who is known for his work on Heschel and on interfaith dialogue between Jews and members of other faiths, presents a selection of his essays on Heschel's thought. Topics include Heschel's perspective on the different religious traditions, Heschel's three pathways to God, his deep friendship with Maurice Friedman and Martin Luther King Jr., and his surprising affinity to the great Hindu Vedantist Swami Vivekananda and to Pope Francis. A new essay examines Heschel's struggle with the Holocaust. Since the late 1950s, when Kasimow was Heschel's student, he has wrestled with Heschel's claim that "in this eon, diversity of religions is the will of God" and Heschel's belief that there must be dialogue "between the river Jordan and the River Ganges."

Workers of Wonders
Workers of Wonders

Author: Byron L. Sherwin

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0742514935

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Why do people follow a leader, particularly a religious leader? And why, given that Americans are still an overwhelmingly religious people, is the clergy declining in influence? Byron Sherwin argues that what is missing is the perception that religious leaders today are capable of working wonders. Sherwin leads the reader through five periods of Jewish history: the era of biblical prophets, Jesus and first-century Israel; Babylonian rabbis of the third and fourth centuries; the east European Hasidic Masters of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and twentieth century North African rabbis. In all cases, the moral authority of the leaders came primarily from popular belief in their power to work wonders for the people. Sherwin applies history to the current situation. If the clergy is to be re-empowered, to reclaim leadership and authority as holy people, they must reassert the ability to work wonders. This is a book that every member of the clergy and every religious leader should read, ponder and take to heart.

Modern Musar
Modern Musar

Author: Geoffrey D. Claussen

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2022-04

Total Pages: 518

ISBN-13: 0827618883

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How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love? In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regarding virtue and character) explores the diverse ways seventy-eight modern Jewish thinkers understand ten virtues: honesty and love of truth; curiosity and inquisitiveness; humility; courage and valor; temperance and self-restraint; gratitude; forgiveness; love, kindness, and compassion; solidarity and social responsibility; and justice and righteousness. These thinkers—from the Musar movement to Hasidism to contemporary Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Humanist, and secular Jews—often agree on the importance of these virtues but fundamentally disagree in their conclusions. The juxtaposition of their views, complemented by Geoffrey Claussen’s pointed analysis, allows us to see tensions with particular clarity—and sometimes to recognize multiple compelling ways of viewing the same virtue. By expanding the category of musar literature to include not only classic texts and traditional works influenced by them but also the writings of diverse rabbis, scholars, and activists—men and women—who continue to shape Jewish tradition, Modern Musar challenges the fields of modern Jewish thought and ethics to rethink their boundaries—and invites us to weigh and refine our own moral ideals.

Spiritual Masters of the World's Religions
Spiritual Masters of the World's Religions

Author: Victoria Kennick

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-12-28

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1438444990

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What is a spiritual master? Spiritual Masters of the World's Religions offers an important contribution to religious studies by addressing that question in the context of such themes as charismatic authority, role models, symbolism, and categories of religious perception. The book contains essays by scholar-practitioners on the topic of spiritual masters in Judaic, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist traditions. It provides a full spectrum of exemplars, including founders, spiritual masters who highlight cultural themes, and problematic figures of modern times. To define spiritual master, the work of Max Weber, Mircea Eliade, Daniel Gold, and Bruce Lincoln is referenced to provide a balanced notion that includes both religionist and reductionist perspectives. This book takes readers from the past spiritual masters to the future of masters of any sort, posing food for thought about the future of master-disciple relationships in an emerging age of egalitarian sentiments.