Kabbalah and Ecology resets the conversation about ecology and the Abrahamic traditions. David Mevorach Seidenberg challenges the anthropocentric reading of the Torah, showing that a radically different orientation to the more-than-human world of nature leads to a more accurate interpretation of scripture, rabbinic texts, Maimonides, and Kabbalah.

This volume intends to contribute to the nascent discourse on Judaism and ecology by clarifying diverse conceptions of nature in Jewish thought and by using the insights of Judaism to formulate a constructive Jewish theology of nature.

What is nature's place in our spiritual lives? In today's modern culture, we've become separated from the sacredness of the natural world. This book offers a different, eye- and soul-opening way of viewing our religion: A perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for seekers of all faiths. Respect for the holiness of Creation, our duty to protect the natural world, reverence for the land ... a focus on nature is part of the fabric of Jewish thought. Here, innovative contributors bring us a richer understanding of the long-neglected themes of nature that are woven through the biblical creation story, ancient texts, traditional law, the holiday cycles, prayer, mitzvot (good deeds) and community. Ecology & the Jewish Spirit explores the wisdom that the Jewish tradition has to offer all of us, to help nature become a sacred, spiritual part of our own lives. Contributors: Eileen Abrams * Bradley Shavit Artson * Philip J. Bentley * Ellen Bernstein * Ellen Cohn * Eliezer Diamond * Shira Dicker * David Ehrenfeld * Charles Fenyvesi * Shamu Fenyvesi * Dan Fink * Barry Freundel * David Gedzelman * Everett Gendler * Neil Gillman * Neal Joseph Loevinger * Victor Raboy * Debra J. Robbins * Robert Sand * Marc Sirinsky * Jeff Sultar * Marc Swetlitz * Lawrence Troster

An insightful exploration of Jewish mysticism—written especially for Christians. Kabbalah is well known as the foundation of the Jewish mystical tradition, but few are aware that Kabbalah’s spiritual applications extend beyond Jewish life. In this accessible, intelligent guide, Tamar Frankiel, PhD, a leading teacher of Jewish mysticism, demystifies the intricate world of Kabbalah. You will find that the teachings of Kabbalah are not only for Jewish scholars—anyone can incorporate this enduring wisdom into everyday life if they have an open mind and a willing heart. Unlike the faddish books that discuss Kabbalah as simply a “magical system,” this book discusses the evolution of Kabbalah from its origins in Judaism and gives Christian readers the vocabulary and tools to begin to understand this long-standing mystical tradition. It also explores the similarities and differences between Jewish and Christian mysticism, placing both in a larger and more comprehensive framework. Explore the kabbalistic Tree of Life to discover how God is expressed in the world around us. Examine your life and discover how it can be understood as part of an unfolding spiritual path. Travel through your personal and collective histories to find a more personal perspective on the principles of Kabbalah. ... and more

Exploring childbirth from within a Jewish tradition, the author of New Lifedraws on folklore, prayers, folk remedies, and biblical, rabbinical, and mystical literature to discuss Jewish beliefs, values, and customs concerning the birth of a child. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Reprint.

Because of the well-known red string, worn on the left wrist to ward off negative entergy, the color red is often associated with Kabbalah. But green is also a powerful color in this ancient tradition. It represents the central column between right and left, positive and negative, giving and receiving. As such, green signifies the balance that is so important to the survival of the planet. Green is also the color of healing, both of the soul and of the Earth. Kabbalah teaches that eco-consciousness and higher consciousness are inextricably linked and that the forces of environmental destruction can only be overcome through personal transformation on a global scale. Kabbalah on Green gives new meaning to the popular catchphrase “think globally; act locally.” In its pages, readers learn that true environmental consciousness goes far beyond recycling and simple slogans.

An accessible introduction to the Jewish understanding of the natural world and the key concepts central to Jewish environmentalism. At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, this book explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world and the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social/environmental issues. It also shows readers the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution. Offering both an environmental interpretation of Judaism and a Jewish approach to environmentalism, this book examines: What environmentalism is. What the creation stories can teach us about who we are and what nature is. The relevance of Torah and traditional sources.

A new and urgent item on the agenda of churches around the world is the theological and ethical dimensions of the ecological crisis. Highlighted by the United Nations Earth Summit in Brazil, the issues covered in this volume raise unavoidable and fundamental questions of the life-style and Christian witness in the face of threats to the very survival of humankind and planet Earth. The groundbreaking essays by more than two-dozen contributors in this book are divided into five sections: biblical witness, theological challenges, insights from ecofeminism, insights from indigenous people, and ethical implications. Contributors include: JosŽ P. M. Cunanan, Philippines; Margot Kaessmann, Germany; Renthy Keitzar, India; K. C. Abraham, India; Tony Brun, Costa Rica; Milton B. Efthimiou, United States; Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, World Council of Churches; Kwok Pui-lan, Hong Kong; Larry Rasmussen, United States; Samuel Rayan, India; M. Adebisi Sowunmi, Nigeria; Tsehai Berhane-Selassie, Ethiopia; Chung Hyun Kyung, South Korea; Aruna Gnanadason, India; Anne Primavesi, United Kingdom; Rosemary Radford Ruether, United States; Rob Cooper, New Zealand; Stan McKay, Canada; George Tinker, United States; Edward Antonio, Zimbabwe; Leonardo Boff, Brazil; M. L. Daneel, South Africa; David G. Hallman, Canada; Dieter T. Hessel, United States Catherine Keller, United States.

You are invited to enter the new-old pathway of Neo-Hasidism—a movement that uplifts key elements of Hasidism’s Jewish revival of two centuries ago to reexamine the meaning of existence, see everything anew, and bring the world as it is and as it can be closer together. This volume brings this discussion into the twenty-first century, highlighting Neo-Hasidic approaches to key issues of our time. Eighteen contributions by leading Neo-Hasidic thinkers open with the credos of Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Arthur Green. Or Rose wrestles with reinterpreting the rebbes’ harsh teachings concerning non-Jews. Ebn Leader assesses the perils of trusting one’s whole being to a single personality: can Neo-Hasidism endure as a living tradition without a rebbe? Shaul Magid candidly calibrates Shlomo Carlebach: how “the singing rabbi” transformed him and why Magid eventually walked away. Other contributors engage questions such as: How might women enter this hitherto gendered sphere created by and for men? How can we honor and draw nourishment from other religions’ teachings? Can the rebbes’ radiant wisdom guide those who struggle with self-diminishment to reclaim wholeness? Together these intellectually honest and spiritually robust conversations inspire us to grapple anew with Judaism’s legacy and future.

Dreams of Being Eaten Alive plunges the reader deeply into the sensibility of an explosive realm of knowledge that has remained unfamiliar for too long. David Rosenberg, long considered the leading poet-translator of the Bible, now unveils the literary basis for the Kabbalah as the major counter-tradition in Western history. The Kabbalah becomes news once again, as Rosenberg peels back its philosophical grandeur to a bedrock of eroticism. The pleasures of the flesh and the soul become one, and our desire to be devoured by a form of knowledge greater than art itself lies exposed. Dreams of Being Eaten Alive carries the same authority that gave life to Rosenberg's work in the New York Times best-seller The Book of J, in that this is the first time the Kabbalah has been translated into a Western language in a way that reveals its undeniable importance. Unexpectedly, we meet at last the secret sexuality of the Kabbalah. In narratives that challenge our ideas of what makes a modern story, characters evolve in a bewitching and scary realm somewhere between event and insight, at the unnerving center of what we take to be reality. Like the great stories of the twentieth century, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive enriches our literature by stretching our consciousness. A forgotten link between science and religion shines forth as well, as Rosenberg describes the first manifestations of evolutionary thought in the Kabbalist's literary art. Weaving together the mysteries of identity, storytelling, and life after death, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive is a spellbinding journey from the modern world to the world of our origins, finding new meaning in both.