Mipeninei Noam Elimelech

How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love? In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regarding virtue and character) explores the diverse ways seventy-eight modern Jewish thinkers understand ten virtues: honesty and love of truth; curiosity and inquisitiveness; humility; courage and valor; temperance and self-restraint; gratitude; forgiveness; love, kindness, and compassion; solidarity and social responsibility; and justice and righteousness. These thinkers--from the Musar movement to Hasidism to contemporary Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Humanist, and secular Jews--often agree on the importance of these virtues but fundamentally disagree in their conclusions. The juxtaposition of their views, complemented by Geoffrey Claussen's pointed analysis, allows us to see tensions with particular clarity--and sometimes to recognize multiple compelling ways of viewing the same virtue. By expanding the category of musar literature to include not only classic texts and traditional works influenced by them but also the writings of diverse rabbis, scholars, and activists--men and women--who continue to shape Jewish tradition, Modern Musar challenges the fields of modern Jewish thought and ethics to rethink their boundaries--and invites us to weigh and refine our own moral ideals.

As a carpenter employs tools to build a home, so G-d utilized twenty-two letters of the Alef-Bais to form the heaven and earth. They are the metaphorical wood, stone and nails, the cornerposts and crossbeams of our earthly and spiritual existence.In Letters of Light, Rabbi Aaron Raskin explores the essence of these holy letters, and how by their very nature they continue to be a source of creation, reflection, prayer and inspiration in our everyday lives. Each letter is examined in terms of its graphic design, its Gematria and its Hebrew meaning. Rabbi Raskin?s insights are themselves guided by the rich foundation of Chassidus and particularly by the illuminations of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe. The result is an original and insightful examination of how Torah ? indeed the very letter of the law ? can inform every aspect of our lives, both religious and secular.

Basic manual, based on the teachings of the Rambam (Maimonides) and other Chachamim about what, how and when to eat, applied to our days.The Rambam Diet (Maimonides)

For more than a generation, Rabbi Michael L. Munk, as a sidelight to his busy schedule of educational and communal work, has fascinated audiences with his learned and provocative lectures on the Hebrew alphabet. In the process of opening eyes and raising eyebrows, he has convinced countless people that his contention is true: the Hebrew alphabet abounds in scholarly and mystical meaning. He has developed and proven a profound thesis. The alphabet -- if correctly understood -- is a primer for life. Ethical conduct, religious guidance, philosophical insights, all are nestled in the curls, crowns, and combinations of the Hebrew letters. This is one of those rare books that is both interesting and profound, learned and readable. The wisdom and compassion of the author is evident in those subtle ways that do not intrude on the reader, but give him the satisfaction of knowing that a rich, warm, productive lifetime of experience is flavoring the text.