The Jewish Intellectual Tradition: A History of Learning and Achievement (Judaism and Jewish Life)

<p><div> <p>The Jewish intellectual tradition has a long and complex history that has resulted in significant and influential works of scholarship. In this book, the authors suggest that there is a series of common principles that can be extracted from the Jewish intellectual tradition that have broad, even life-changing, implications for individual and societal achievement. These principles include respect for tradition while encouraging independent, often disruptive thinking; a precise system of logical reasoning in pursuit of the truth; universal education continuing through adulthood; and living a purposeful life. The main objective of this book is to understand the historical development of these principles and to demonstrate how applying them judiciously can lead to greater intellectual productivity, a more fulfilling existence, and a more advanced society.&nbsp;</p> </div></p>

History

Kadish, Alan

Shmidman, Michael A.

Fishbane, Simcha

World

Academic Studies Press

<p>Different branches of Judaism can be distinguished by the degree to which they identify either with the rational or with the mystical schools within Jewish philosophy. In this edition, we focus on these two distinct types of thought but also examine how they are often found in tandem, merged in the minds and works of great thinkers. “Pahad Yitzhak: A Joyful Song of Affirmation” studies the classic work of Rav Yitzhak Hutner which combines the Brisker approach with the mysticism of Maharal and Hassidic Masters to “produce a theological/psychological system that incorporates elements of many strands of Jewish thought” that “form the essential elements of an optimistic, humanistic message.” In “Kabbalah—Escape from Reality or Affirmation of Life?” the author responds to a well-argued article that claims that Jewish mysticism poses dangers to contemporary Jewish society with the counter argument that “Jewish mysticism in the hands of an ethical genius such as a Rav Kook… invigorates rather than vitiates our existence.” Two articles in a special section on free choice argue that the rationalism of science complements man’s search for answers that are in the realm of the mystical. In “God, Man, Chaos and Control: How God Might Control the Universe” the author posits that modern scientific theory can be used to explain the mechanism by which G-d allows for free choice. The author writes, “As our scientific knowledge grows, we have faced criticism and concern from some religious thinkers who believe that science is an affront to religion. However, an educated approach to these big questions reveals that not only is there a history of using scientific lenses to better understand religion, an advanced knowledge of the complexities of our world magnifies the awesomeness of God.” Another essay, entitled “The Jewish Idea of Freedom,” maintains that the Jewish concept of freedom, rooted in creation and man’s free choice, is the first such concept in human history “and still the most radical.” The author goes on to explain how, in the modern era, the Jewish idea of freedom was reborn in the political sphere through the 17th-century revolution in political thought that preceded the American Revolution. But more surprisingly, he demonstrates “the contribution of biblical and rabbinic thought to the contemporaneous scientific revolution.” The importance of understanding the difference between scientific principles and mystical ideas is investigated in “Misinterpreting Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi,” where the author shows that charges of racism against R. Yehudah Ha-Levi are based on confusing the concept of “inyan Eloki” with modern genetics. The misinterpretation of the views of R. Yehuda Ha-Levi is central to another article, “What Must a Jew Believe? Dogma and Inadvertent Heresy, Revisited,” where the author notes that Ha-Levi accepts the view that Jewish identity is defined by belief in certain key principles. “In fact, not only staunch rationalists like Rambam, but also ‘anti-rationalists’ like Ha-Levi, Nahmanides, and Maharal expounded what they saw to be the principles of Judaism.” Tradition and Innovation is the focus of other articles in this volume. In our History of Halakhah section, in an essay entitled “A Short History of the Jewish Fixed Calendar,” the author presents evidence against the traditional view that the Jewish calendar was fixed 1800 years ago, detailing how the discovery of new documents in the Cairo Genizah seemingly disproves this belief, and demonstrates the changes that he believes occurred in different eras until the calendar came into its present form. A Jewish Law article, “Torah Authority,” examines the sources of authority that allow the Rabbis to legislate the calendar as well as other decrees. Similarly, “The Mysterious Origin of Lag Ba-Omer” claims that the holiday was a late innovation, not an age-old tradition related to Rabbi Akiva and Rav Shimon ben Yochai.</p>

Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought

Religion & Spirituality

Elman, Yaakov

Buchman, Asher Benzion

Strickman, H. Norman

First, Mitchell

Goldman, David P.

Leibowitz, Aryeh

Naor, Bezalel

Krakowski, Eliyahu

Ajdler, J. Jean

Judaism

Hakirah

In "Talmud Study: From Proficiency to Meaning," a noted educator proposes a method of teaching and studying Gemara in today's world. In contrast, a scientist uses quantum theory to answer the age-old dilemma between G-d's omniscience and man's free will. In "Seeing Silence..." the author sees in the work of a contemporary artist the spirit of ma'aseh hoshev and mahaseh horash of the mishkan. In "Marah: Preparing for Kabbolas HaTorah," the author uses the allegorical interpretation of midrash to demonstrate the fundamental principles that Israel needed to understand in order to be prepared for receiving the Torah. In "Rabbinic strategies for dealing with redundant legal passages in Scripture" the author contrasts how the Hachmei HaTalmud and the Rishonim dealt with this issue. In "The Mishneh Torah's Structure and its Meaning," the author asserts "that Maimonides based the Mishneh Torah's 14-book structure on his cosmology". In "The Miracle of the Answered Prayer" the authors ask, "can one ask God to do a miracle that violates natural law to heal a sick individual?... and if we cannot pray for a miracle, what is the focus of our prayers to heal the sick?" In "Bati le-Gani": A Comparison of Discourses by Rabbis Schneersohn and Hutner," the author discerns a discourse between two great leaders expressing their differing philosophies for encountering the modern world. In "On Changes in Liturgy and Customs in General," a noted scholar responds to a Hakirah article and argues for the legitimacy of changes in both Liturgy and Customs. The author of the review responds that the issues in question are those of halakhah and not minhag. In "The Origin of the Custom of Chai Rotl." The author seeks to uncover the source for an ever increasingly popular segulah and concludes that "What began as a spontaneous vow by a childless man in the 1800s has now become a cure-all segulah and fundraising tool directed at a population that is fundamentally unaware that this segulah never existed." In "Is Parchment Klaf?" the author calls for "restoring the original method for producing skins" for the writing of Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot. In "Genetically Modified Organisms" the author concludes that genetic modification based on non-kosher species will not affect the kashrut of kosher animals. An abbreviated translation of an article in Chitzei Giborim deals with a new Ben Asher codex that may actually have been the original upon which the Aleppo Codex was compiled. In "A Synagogue on Har Habayit in the 7th Century: Dream or Historical Fact?" the author concludes that "there is overwhelming evidence that there was an active synagogue on the Temple Mount during the Early Muslim period." In "The Itinerary of Emmanuel Levinas’ Thought," a leading expert introduces readers to his work, and shows how it changed over time, while also focusing on the Jewish dimension of his thought. In "Isaac Breuer’s Utopia," the author translates a passage from Rav Isaac Breuer's novel "Falk Neft's Homecoming," which provides insight into the understanding of Torah im Derech Eretz and the attitude to Zionism of this great Jewish writer and philosopher.

Sperber, Daniel

Aviezer, Nathan

Frimer, Aryeh H.

Gillis, David

Kaplan, Lawrence

Haberman, Moshe

Brandes, Yehuda

Loike, Jphn D.

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