Jewish Meditations on the Meaning of Death

Jewish Meditations on the Meaning of Death
Author: Chaim Z. Rozwaski
Publisher: Jason Aronson, Incorporated
Total Pages: 230
Release: 1994-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1461734533

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Death in Jewish Life

Death in Jewish Life
Author: Stefan C. Reif
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2014-08-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110377489

Jewish customs and traditions about death, burial and mourning are numerous, diverse and intriguing. They are considered by many to have a respectable pedigree that goes back to the earliest rabbinic period. In order to examine the accurate historical origins of many of them, an international conference was held at Tel Aviv University in 2010 and experts dealt with many aspects of the topic. This volume includes most of the papers given then, as well as a few added later. What emerges are a wealth of fresh material and perspectives, as well as the realization that the high Middle Ages saw a set of exceptional innovations, some of which later became central to traditional Judaism while others were gradually abandoned. Were these innovations influenced by Christian practice? Which prayers and poems reflect these innovations? What do the sources tell us about changing attitudes to death and life-after death? Are tombstones an important guide to historical developments? Answers to these questions are to be found in this unusual, illuminating and readable collection of essays that have been well documented, carefully edited and well indexed.

Jewish Views of the Afterlife

Jewish Views of the Afterlife
Author: Simcha Paull Raphael
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 153810346X

Originally published in 1994, Jewish Views of the Afterlife is a classic study of ideas of afterlife and postmortem survival in Jewish tradition and mysticism. As both a scholar and pastoral counselor, Raphael guides the reader through 4,000 years of Jewish thought on the afterlife by investigating pertinent sacred texts produced in each era. Through a compilation of ideas found in the Bible, Apocrypha, rabbinic literature, medieval philosophy, medieval Midrash, Kabbalah, Hasidism and Yiddish literature, the reader learns how Judaism conceived of the fate of the individual after death throughout Jewish history. In addition, this book explores the implications of Jewish afterlife beliefs for a renewed understanding of traditional rituals of funeral, burial, shiva, kaddish and more. This newly released twenty-fifth anniversary edition presents new material on little-known Jewish mystical teachings on reincarnation, a chapter on “Spirits, Ghosts and Dybbuks in Yiddish Literature”, and a foreword by the renowned scholar of Jewish mysticism, Rabbi Arthur Green. Both historical and contemporary, this book provides a rich resource for scholars and laypeople and for teachers and students and makes an important Jewish contribution to the growing contemporary psychology of death and dying.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present
Author: Dara Horn
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0393531570

Winner of the 2021 National Jewish Book Award for Con­tem­po­rary Jew­ish Life and Prac­tice Finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Wall Street Journal, Chicago Public Library, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A startling and profound exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture—and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks—Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present. Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life—trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious ten-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study—to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an antisemitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past—making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity. Now including a reading group guide.

JFK's Death and the Kabbalah

JFK's Death and the Kabbalah
Author: Joseph Scovitch
Publisher: Fultus Corporation
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2009
Genre: Cabala
ISBN: 1596821310

Basic psycho-pop retelling of the JFK-Dallas story of 1963. We find here strong emphasis on alternative aspects and elements of the Sefirotic Kabbalah, mystic esoterica, meta-history, crypto-spiritualism, quasi-eidetic imagery, secret arcane formula, and related akashic trivia. A remarkable and unforgettable reading assignment and literary investigation, with many new insights, noetic asides, and unexpected surprises.

The Death of Death

The Death of Death
Author: Neil Gillman
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1997
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1580230814

Does death end life, or is it the passage from one stage of life to another? In The Death of Death, noted theologian Neil Gillman offers readers an original and compelling argument that Judaism, a religion often thought to pay little attention to the afterlife, not only presents us with rich ideas on this subject--but delivers a deathblow to death itself. Combining astute scholarship with keen historical, theological and liturgical insights, Gillman outlines the evolution of Jewish thought about bodily resurrection and spiritual immortality. Beginning with the near-silence of the Bible on the afterlife, he traces the development of these two doctrines through Jewish history. He also describes why today, somewhat surprisingly, more contemporary Jewish scholars--including Gillman--have unabashedly reaffirmed the notion of bodily resurrection. In this innovative and personal synthesis, Gillman creates a strikingly modern statement on resurrection and immortality. The Death of Death gives new and fascinating life to an ancient debate. This new work is an intellectual and spiritual milestone for all of us interested in the meaning of life, as well as the meaning of death.

Divination, Magic, and Healing

Divination, Magic, and Healing
Author: Ronald H. Isaacs
Publisher: Jason Aronson
Total Pages: 216
Release: 1998
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780765799517

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Index to Jewish Periodicals

Index to Jewish Periodicals
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 734
Release: 1997
Genre: Jewish literature
ISBN:

An author and subject index to selected and American Anglo-Jewish journals of general and scholarly interests.

Judaism

Judaism
Author: Dan Cohn-Sherbok
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1048
Release: 2017-03-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317432029

This newly revised all-encompassing textbook is a guide to the history, beliefs and practice of Judaism. Beginning with the ancient Near Eastern background, it covers early Israelite history, the emergence of classical rabbinic literature and the rise of medieval Judaism in Islamic and Christian lands. It also includes the early modern period and the development of Jewry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Extracts from primary sources are used throughout to enliven the narrative and provide concrete examples of the rich variety of Jewish civilization. Specially designed to assist learning, Judaism: • Introduces texts and commentaries, including the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic texts, mystical literature, Jewish philosophy and Jewish theology • Provides the skills necessary to understand these step-by-step with the help of a companion website • Explains how to interpret the major events in nearly four thousand years of Jewish history • Supports study with discussion questions on the central historical and religious issues, and includes key reading for each chapter, an extensive glossary and index • Illustrates the development of Judaism, its concepts, observances and culture, with maps, photos, paintings and engravings • Links each chapter to a free companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/cohnsherbok which provides things to think about, things to do and tips for teachers as well as other online resources

The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying

The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying
Author: Sogyal Rinpoche
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2012-02-29
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1448116953

25th Anniversary Edition Over 3 Million Copies Sold 'I couldn't give this book a higher recommendation' BILLY CONNOLLY Written by the Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Sogyal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and complete introduction to the practice of meditation, but also advice on how to care for the dying with love and compassion, and how to bring them help of a spiritual kind. But there is much more besides in this classic work, which was written to inspire all who read it to begin the journey to enlightenment and so become 'servants of peace'.