The Skeptic And The Rabbi

Download or read book The Skeptic and the Rabbi written by Judy Gruen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Judy Gruen walked down the aisle and into her Orthodox Jewish future, her bouquet quivered in her shaky hand. Having grown up in the zeitgeist that proclaimed, “If it feels good, do it,” was she really ready to live the life of “rituals, rules, and restraints” that the Torah prescribed? The Skeptic and the Rabbi is a rare memoir with historical depth, spirituality, and intelligent humor. Gruen speaks with refreshing honesty about what it means to remain authentic to yourself while charting a new yet ancient spiritual path at odds with the surrounding culture, and writes touchingly about her family, including her two sets of grandparents, who influenced her in wildly opposite ways. As she navigates her new life with the man she loves and the faith she also loves—surviving several awkward moments, including when the rabbi calls to tell her that she accidentally served unkosher food to her Shabbat guests—Gruen brings the reader right along for the ride. Reading this wry, bold and compelling memoir, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and when you’re finished, you may also have a sudden craving for chicken matzo ball soup—kosher, of course.

Download or read book Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism written by Dennis Prager and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1986-04-21 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you have ever wondered what being born Jewish should mean to you; if you want to find out more about the nature of Judaism, or explain it to a friend; if you are thinking about how Judaism can connect with the rest of your life -- this is the first book you should own. It poses, and thoughtfully addresses, questions like these: Can one doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew? Why do we need organized religion? Why shouldn't I intermarry? What is the reason for dietary laws? How do I start practicing Judaism? The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism was written for the educated, skeptical, searching Jew, and for the non-Jew who wants to understand the meaning of Judaism. It has become a classic and very widely read introduction to the oldest living religion. Concisely and engagingly, authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin present Judaism as the rational, moral alternative for contemporary man.

Download or read book The Tragedy Test written by Richard Agler and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-10-25 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When tragedy strikes we want to know: Why did this happen? How could it have happened? Where is life's justice and fairness? When tragedy strikes we need to know: What still makes sense. What paths lead to healing. How to deal with the timeless questions. When Rabbi Richard Agler's twenty-six-year-old daughter Talia was struck and killed by a motor vehicle, his understanding of tragedy failed him. This book is an account of a journey, one he had no choice but to take, leading from unimaginable grief to (at least partial) recovery. In clear and compelling language, with references to both ancient and modern sources of wisdom, Rabbi Agler offers insight for everyone who has, or who one day might, experience painful loss. The Tragedy Test may give you enhanced clarity on some of humanity's most profound questions. It may lead you to reimagine the nature of our universe. It may fundamentally challenge your understanding of the God you thought you knew. It will not leave you unmoved or unchanged.

Download or read book On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz written by Arthur Kurzweil and published by . This book was released on 2020-12 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz was internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. He was lauded by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar" and by Ted Koppel of Night Line as "one of the very few wise men that I've ever met." Arthur Kurzweil -- himself a Jewish scholar, author, teacher, and publisher -- a disciple of Rabbi Steinsaltz's for more than 35 years, as well as the rabbi's designated chauffer in the United States. While stuck in countless traffic jams and attending the rabbi's lectures at universities, government agencies, synagogues and seminars, Arthur Kurzweil has had the rare opportunity of personally learning from his inspired teacher and has become intimately familiar with the rabbi's wisdom and teachings. On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz presents an intimate portrait of this wise and holy man as he has never been seen before as Kurzweil shares the rabbi's most personal, humorous, and inspiring tales. You will feel like a backseat passenger in Arthur's car as he and Rabbi Steinsaltz discuss provocative issues such as: How can we develop a personal relationship with God? What are some of the sublime ideas contained in Kabbalah? Why has God created a world with so much suffering in it? Can we be religious and live fully in the world? How can we tell what is important and what is unimportant in this life? Can we be religious and keep our sense of humor? Throughout the book Arthur Kurzweil also shares Rabbi Steinsaltz's views and teachings on Jewish identity and the role of Jews in modern society. So grab your overcoat and come along for a ride with Rabbi Steinsaltz and Arthur Kurzweil-a ride that could very well change your life.

Download or read book Eclipse of God written by Martin Buber and published by Humanities Press International. This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The condition Buber calls the 'eclipse of God' is the reality that modern life and the teachings of many scholars have in many ways destroyed the opportunity for intimacy with an eternal, ever-present, Thou, or God. Based in part on a series of lectures he gave in the United States in 1951, this book examines Buber's interpretations of Western thinking and belief around this notion of lost intimacy or direct contact with the Divine, focusing particularly on the relationships between religion and philosophy, ethics, and Jungian psychology." --Reference and Research Book News

Download or read book Soul Construction written by Ruchi Koval and published by . This book was released on 2021-07 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Self-help fads come and go but the timeless Jewish practice of mussar, a strategy for ethical and spiritual character refinement, has been helping perceptive and purposeful people live fulfilling and happy lives for generations. After years of teaching mussar classes and workshops and marveling at the dramatic changes in participants' lives, Ruchi Koval provides a roadmap for all, filled with clear explanations and illustrative anecdotes guiding readers through eight practical and powerful steps to a better version of themselves.

Download or read book The December Project written by Sara Davidson and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Jewish Book Award Finalist In the tradition of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture, New York Times bestselling author Sara Davidson met every Friday with 89-year-old Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, the iconic founder of the Jewish Renewal movment, to discuss what he calls The December Project. "When you can feel in your cells that you're coming to the end of your tour of duty," he said, "what is the spiritual work of this time, and how do we prepare for the mystery?" Davidson, who has a seeker's heart and a skeptic's mind, jumped at the chance to spend time with him. She'd long feared that death would be a complete annihilation, while Reb Zalman felt certain that "something continues." He said he didn't want to convince her of anything. "What I want is to loosen your mind." Through their talks, he wanted to help people "not freak out about dying," and enable them to have a more heightened and grateful life. For two years, they met every week, and this is Davidson's memoir of what they learned and how they changed. Interspersed with their talks are sketches from Reb Zalman's extraordinary life. He barely escaped the Nazis, became an Orthodox rabbi in the US, was married four times and had eleven children, one from a sperm donation to a lesbian rabbi, and formed friendships with leaders of other faiths, such as Thomas Merton and the Dalai Lama. Breaking with the Orthodox, he founded the Jewish Renewal Movement to encourage people to have a direct experience of God. During their time together, Davidson was nearly killed by a suicide bomb, and Reb Zalman struggled with a steep decline in health. Together they created strategies to deal with pain and memory loss, and found tools to cultivate simplicity, fearlessness, and joy—at any age. Davidson includes twelve exercises so that readers may experience what she did—a sea change in facing what we all must face: mortality.