Crisis And Covenant

Discusses various issues in contemporary Jewish theology. Ch. 2 (p. 25-53), "The Valley of the Shadow", is dedicated to the theological interpretation of the Holocaust. The Holocaust poses several problems to Jewish thought: Is God present in the post-Auschwitz world? Did the Holocaust renew the Covenant or did it survive intact? May the Holocaust be interpreted in terms of punishment, or is its meaning different, maybe inexplicable, in the extant categories of human ethics? May the Holocaust be regarded as a necessary transitional point on the way to the Jewish state? What lessons may be extracted from the Holocaust? Presents various solutions of modern-day Jewish theologians. Argues that the only lesson of the Holocaust is the reality of a common Jewish fate.

Explores how Jewish American writers have grappled with the enormity of the Holocaust.

A cautionary account of climate change and the global water supply. “You will not turn on the tap in the same way after reading this book.” —Robert Redford In a book hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “passionate plea for access-to-water activism,” Blue Covenant addresses an environmental crisis that—together with global warming—poses one of the gravest threats to our survival. How did the world’s most vital resource become imperiled? And what must we do to pull back from the brink? In “stark and nearly devastating prose”, world-renowned activist and bestselling author Maude Barlow—who is featured in the acclaimed documentary Flow—discusses the state of the world’s water. Barlow examines how water companies are reaping vast profits from declining supplies, and how ordinary people from around the world have banded together to reclaim the public’s right to clean water, creating a grassroots global water justice movement. While tracing the history of international battles for the right to water, she documents the life-and-death stakes involved in the fight and lays out the actions that we as global citizens must take to secure a water-just world for all (Booklist). “Sounds the water alarm with conviction and authority.” —Kirkus Reviews “This book proves that water deserves another destiny.” —Eduardo Galeano “Blue Covenant will inspire civil society movements around the world.” —Vandana Shiva

Crisis, Covenant and Creativity deals with some of the most widely discussed issues in contemporary Jewish religious life. How do religious people deal with tolerance of different beliefs? How can devout living lead to a greater awareness of the mystery and beauty of life? What is the meaning of Jewish authenticity and identity in light of anti-Semitism?

A new paradigm for relations between religions, one of acceptance and collaboration, requires not only a willingness to move beyond a tradition of hostility and competition but also significant theological rethinking. Within Jewish Orthodoxy there have been very few voices that have advanced and justified a vision of other faiths in this light: to this day, the reigning paradigm is one of practical collaboration while avoiding theologically based engagement or reflection. Two of the most important Orthodox Jewish voices advocating change have been those of Irving Yitz Greenberg and Jonathan Sacks. This book presents the theological, moral, and social views of these two leading rabbis. It focuses on the significance of covenant for both, and how they adapt this concept to enable the development of a Jewish view of other religions. In considering how they may have influenced each other, it also studies the limitations and internal contradictions that characterize their work as they attempt to point the way forward, in a spirit of dialogue, to continuing theological reflection on Judaism’s approach to world religions.

Tocqueville, Covenant, and the Democratic Revolution examines the intellectual and institutional context in which Alexis de Tocqueville developed his understanding of American political culture, with its profound influence on his democratic theory. This book also examines Tocqueville's claim that religious beliefs are among the most important determinants of a people's social structure and political institutions.

The Puritan Cosmopolis traces a sense of kinship that emerged from within the larger realm of Puritan law and literature in late seventeenth-century New England. Nan Goodman argues that these early modern Puritans-connected to the cosmopolis in part through travel, trade, and politics-were also thinking in terms that went beyond feeling affiliated with people in remote places, or what cosmopolitan theorists call "attachment at a distance." In this way Puritan writers and readers were not simply learning about others, but also cultivating an awareness of themselves as ethically related to people all around the world. Such thought experiments originated and advanced through the law, specifically the law of nations, a precursor to international law and an inspiration for much of the imagination and literary expression of cosmopolitanism among the Puritans. The Puritan Cosmopolis shows that by internalizing the legal theories that pertained to the world writ large, the Puritans were able to experiment with concepts of extended obligation, re-conceptualize war, contemplate new ways of cultivating peace, and rewrite the very meaning of Puritan living. Through a detailed consideration of Puritan legal thought, Goodman provides an unexpected link between the Puritans, Jews, and Ottomans in the early modern world and reveals how the Puritan legal and literary past relates to present concerns about globalism and cosmopolitanism.