In this second volume of the classic CCAR publication, you'll find a compilation of multiple commentaries written by CCAR members on every parashah, including holiday portions. A great resource for d'var Torah preparation for lay leaders and clergy alike, this volume makes a great gift for students, teachers, and congregational leaders.

The most powerful Hasidic teachings made accessible—from some of the world's preeminent authorities on Jewish thought and spirituality. "The teachings of Torah, from beginning to end, are read here as a path toward liberation, a way of uplifting your soul and allowing it to journey homeward, back to its Source in the oneness of all being. Or, even better, to discover that oneness right here, in a loving but transformative embrace of both world and self." —from "To the Reader" While Hasidic tales have become widely known to modern audiences, the profound spiritual teachings that stand at the very heart of Hasidism have remained a closed book for all except scholars. This fascinating selection—presented in two volumes following the weekly Torah reading and the holiday cycle, and featured in English and Hebrew—makes the teachings accessible in an extraordinary way. Volume 1 covers Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, and includes a history of early Hasidism and a summary of central religious teachings of the Maggid's school. Volume 2 covers Numbers and Deuteronomy and the holiday cycle, and includes brief biographies of the Hasidic figures. Each teaching is presented with a fresh translation and contemporary commentary that builds a bridge between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries. And each teaching concludes with a dynamic round-table discussion between distinguished Jewish scholar Arthur Green and his closest students—the editors of this volume. They highlight the wisdom that is most meaningful for them, thus serving as a contemporary circle's reflections on the original mystical circle of master and disciples who created these teachings. Volume 2 of a 2-volume set

In The Heart of Torah, Rabbi Shai Held's Torah essays--two for each weekly portion--open new horizons in Jewish biblical commentary.

This monument of rabbinical exegesis written at the end of the twelfth century has exerted an immense and continuing influence upon Jewish thought. Its aim is to liberate people from the tormenting perplexities arising from their understanding of the Bible according only to its literal meaning. This edition contains extensive introductions by Shlomo Pines and Leo Strauss, a leading authority on Maimonides.

Can we re-imagine our relationship to the earth—using the viewpoints and texts of the last four millennia? Human responses to the natural world stretching back through the last 4,000 years come to life in this major new resource providing a diverse group of ecological and religious voices. It gives us an invaluable key to understanding the intersection of ecology and Judaism, and offers the wisdom of Judaism in dealing with the present environmental crisis. Both intelligent and accessible, Torah of the Earth is an essential resource and a reminder to us that humans and the earth are intertwined. More than 30 leading scholars and experts enlighten, provoke, and provide a guided tour of ecological thought from four major Jewish viewpoints: Vol. 1: Biblical Israel: One Land, One People Rabbinic Judaism: One People, Many Lands Vol. 2: Zionism: One Land, Two Peoples Eco-Judaism: One Earth, Many Peoples

Whether you are studying the Bible for the first time or you're simply curious about its history and contents, you will find everything you need in this "accessible, well-written handbook to Jewish belief as set forth in the Torah" (The Jerusalem Post). George Robinson, author of the acclaimed Essential Judaism, begins by recounting the various theories of the origins of the Torah and goes on to explain its importance as the core element in Jewish belief and practice. He discusses the basics of Jewish theology and Jewish history as they are derived from the Torah, and he outlines how the Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries have enhanced our understanding of the Bible. He introduces us to the vast literature of biblical commentary, chronicles the evolution of the Torah’s place in the synagogue service, offers an illuminating discussion of women and the Bible, and provides a study guide as a companion for individual or group Bible study. In the book’s centerpiece, Robinson summarizes all fifty-four portions that make up the Torah and gives us a brilliant distillation of two thousand years of biblical commentaries—from the rabbis of the Mishnah and the Talmud to medieval commentators such as Rashi, Maimonides, and ibn Ezra to contemporary scholars such as Nahum Sarna, Nechama Leibowitz, Robert Alter, and Everett Fox. This extraordinary volume—which includes a listing of the Torah reading cycles, a Bible time line, glossaries of terms and biblical commentators, and a bibliography—will stand as the essential sourcebook on the Torah for years to come.

Find inspiration for a satisfying spiritual life of practice through the combination of contemporary mindfulness meditation and classical Hasidic spirituality. The soul yearns to feel connected to something greater and to know happiness despite personal suffering and seemingly endless need. Surprisingly, the perspectives of the late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Hasidic spiritual teachers offer a radically different Jewish theology that speaks directly to today's spiritual seekers whose faith has been shattered by both modernity and the Holocaust. These masters taught of interdependence, interconnectedness, selflessness, service and joy, anticipating the insights of contemporary science and twenty-first-century spirituality. Bringing together the teachings of beloved Hasidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev (1740–1809) and the practice of mindfulness meditation, Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater reveals a new entrance into Jewish spiritual life. Covering the Five Books of Moses, these two volumes present accessible translations of selections from Kedushat Levi, R. Levi Yitzhak's Hasidic Torah commentary, which emphasizes our spiritual capacity to transform consciousness and so our life experience. The selections are paired with Rabbi Slater's commentaries to illuminate their message.

Magical World is a collection of essays and poems, interwoven with the personal story of a mystic. Rabbi Sara Brandes draws from the ancient wisdom of Jewish tradition to craft a life of meaning in this magical world of ours.

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