Jewish Theology

Contemporary Jews. The book is at once a beginner's invitation to the profundity of Jewish spirituality and a rich rethinking of texts and positions for those who have already walked some distance along the Jewish path.

This volume, the first of its sort, takes issue with scholars who believe that the terms biblical theology and Jews contradict rather than approximate each other. Without saying so, they automatically confirm Otto Procksch’s assertion that “alle Theologie ist Christologie.” In recent decades, however, there is increasing interest in earlier and current Jewish biblical theologies. A new generation of Jewish scholars demonstrate great interest in and actively engage in Hebrew Bible theology. They strive to make Jewish biblical theology a legitimate subdiscipline of biblical studies and develop it separately and independently from the Christian theology. Also, many Christian scholars are interested in understanding the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament and its various themes from Jewish theological perspectives. Thus, in response to continual interest from all sides, Isaac Kalimi presents this volume for the benefit of all. Jewish Bible Theology comprises a number of essays that raise substantial, methodological, and historical questions, while others focus on particular topics from the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Altogether, they reflect fresh and current thinking on important issues in Jewish religious and intellectual world views.

A powerful and challenging examination of what Jews believe today--by a new generation's dynamic and innovative thinkers. At every critical juncture in Jewish history, Jews have understood a dynamic theology to be essential for a vital Jewish community. This important collection sets the next stage of Jewish theological thought, bringing together a cross section of interesting new voices from all movements in Judaism to inspire and stimulate discussion now and in the years to come. Provocative and wide-ranging, these invigorating and creative insights from a new generation's thought leaders provide a coherent and inspiring picture of Jewish belief in our time. Contributors: Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL * Rabbi Rachel Sabath * Beit-Halachmi, PhD * Rabbi Daniel M. Bronstein, PhD * Simon Cooper, PhD * Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove, PhD * Rabbi Jonathan Crane, PhD * Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum * Eitan Fishbane, PhD * Rabbi Jeremy Gordon * Rabbi Shai Held * Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels * Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky * Rabbi Naamah Kelman * Rabbi Asher Lopatin * Rabbi Michael Marmur, PhD * Rabbi Evan Moffic * Rabbi Leon A. Morris * Rabbi Daniel Nevins * Rabbi William Plevan * Rabbi Or N. Rose * Benjamin Sax, PhD * Marc B. Shapiro, PhD * Benjamin D. Sommer, PhD * Rabbi Eliyahu Stern

'Shahak subjects the whole history of Orthodoxy ... to a hilarious and scrupulous critique.' --Christopher Hitchens, The Nation

Explores the religious experience of Judaism through the perceptions and teachings of ordinary Jews and the creative elite.

Explores the history of the Chinese Jews and how their theology's focus on love, rather than fear of a non-anthropomorphic God, may speak to contemporary liberal Jews. By the mid-eighteenth century--cut off from Judaism elsewhere, synagogues destroyed, their community impoverished and dispersed by a civil war--their Judaism became defunct.

The theological problems facing those trying to respond to the Holocaust remain monumental. Both Jewish and Christian post-Auschwitz religious thought must grapple with profound questions, from how God allowed it to happen to the nature of evil. The Impact of the Holocaust on Jewish Theology brings together a distinguished international array of senior scholars—many of whose work is available here in English for the first time—to consider key topics from the meaning of divine providence to questions of redemption to the link between the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. Together, they push our thinking further about how our belief in God has changed in the wake of the Holocaust. Contributors: Yosef Achituv, Yehoyada Amir, Ester Farbstein, Gershon Greenberg, Warren Zev Harvey, Tova Ilan, Shmuel Jakobovits, Dan Michman, David Novak, Shalom Ratzabi, Michael Rosenak, Shalom Rosenberg, Eliezer Schweid, and Joseph A. Turner.

A comprehensive review of the entire tradition of Jewish Theology from the Bible to the present from leading world scholars.