Best jewish theology books according to redditors
We found 39 Reddit comments discussing the best jewish theology books. We ranked the 18 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 39 Reddit comments discussing the best jewish theology books. We ranked the 18 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Korrekt, Kirken idag er ligesom public-service, det ikke for folket selvom de påstår det, det istedet blevet et kulturmarxistisk propaganda foretagende.
https://www.amazon.de/Kabbalah-Secrets-Christians-Need-Know/dp/1095680005
https://www.amazon.com/Kabbalah-Meditation-Nations-Yitzchak-Ginsburgh/dp/9657146127
https://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Hope-History-World-Time/dp/094500110X
https://www.saxo.com/dk/the-culture-of-critique-an-evolutionary-analysis-of-jewish-involvement-in-twentieth-century-intellectual-and-political-movements_kevin-macdonald_haeftet_9780759672222
Looks like standard apologetics intended to reassure people who already believe.
(Actually, your quote is not from Romans, but from Titus 1:9.)
I don’t understand why you chose to ignore what I write then chose to lecture me, but I will write here plainly:
1.) I do trust scripture – with my life. I believe and confess it is the inerrant word of God.
2.) I do not trust, or put my salvation, in your interpretation of it.
It’s naïve to think that we clearly understand every beautiful nuance and detail that is held within the Torah. I explained that the entire six days in Genesis is described in 31 sentences and a few hundred words. All I’m asking, is not to project a total understanding of those few sentences in a simple reading of an English translation viewed through 21st century eyes. Even Solomon alluded to looking deeper into the Torah: “A word well spoken is like apples of gold in a silver dish.” (Proverbs 25:11) Maimonides in The Guide for the Perplexed interprets this proverb: The silver dish is the literal text of the Torah, as seen from a distance. The apples of gold are the secrets held within the silver dish of the Torah Text. Thousands of years ago we learned that there are subtleties in the text that expand the meaning way beyond its simple reading.
Examples for you:
The origin of the Biblical calendar. The Jewish year is figured by adding up the generations since Adam. Additionally, there are six days leading up to the creation to Adam. So where did Jewish scholars make the zero point? On Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the Neshama (the soul of human life). So we start counting our 5700-plus years from the creation of the soul of Adam. We have a clock that begins with Adam, and the six days of creation are separate from this clock. The Bible has two clocks. In an expansion of the Talmud (Midrash Vayikra Rabba 29:1) all the Sages agree that Rosh Hashana commemorates the soul of Adam and that the six days of Genesis are separate.
Why were the six days taken out of the calendar? Perhaps because time is described differently in those six days of Genesis (e.g. see my references to days/generations.) The world sees 15 billion years – the Torah says six days. They both may be correct. The Bible tells us what happened on each of those six days and you can take cosmology, paleontology, archaeology, and see whether or not they match up day-by-day. They match up close enough to send chills up your spine.
If you are in the least interested, you may wish to read Genesis and the Big Bang and The Science of God both by Gerald Schroeder.
Please note: I asked politely that you not to put words in my mouth. I did not write or imply “yea, that’s what it says, but I refuse to believe that’s what it says". If you continue with this posturing, this ceases to be a civil discussion and unfortunately I will be forced to end the discussion. I’m asking you again to please be respectful.
Gerald Schroeder has two great books on it. The Science of God and Genesis and the Big Bang.
He provides one possible framework showing that Creationism and Evolution are not at odds. He also has audio version available at Aishaudio.com.
Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed
Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism
Epistle to Yemen
[Let's Get Biblical](https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Get-Biblical-Judaism-Christian/dp/0996091300/
)
>Name me fucking one.
I said I would, and I am:
Why God Won't Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty?
Why There Almost Certainly Is a God: Doubting Dawkins
Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies
Nonsense of a High Order:: The Confused World of Modern Atheism
The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions
Against Atheism: Why Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris Are Fundamentally Wrong
The Atheist Delusion
Furthermore though, Christian rehtoric is often explicitly anti-atheist in its messaging without having to be specifically about that. They attiribute morality to themselves and imply that atheists are necessarily immoral or that their values are the only true way to think. If you want proof of this, you need look no further than how much prejudice there still is against atheists in the U.S. statistically.
> they all play this game of "us vs them" in the beginning
No, they don't. In fact Christianity in particular did not start with this. The original position was that we are all one in Christ. There is no "them", just all humanity. As for Judaism, throughout the Hebrew Bible, non-Jews are frequently portrayed as decidedly more moral than Jews. For example, Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, to gain his blessing. Rehab was not Jewish, and yet was spared by God.
For a full rebuttal, I highly recommend Not In God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence. It gives an in-depth response to this, and similar other claims aimed at religions.
Also, cults are very different in structure. They are far closer to pyramid schemes than established religions. Debate, and interpretation is quashed within cults, whereas they are actively encouraged within religions (e.g. the Jewish Talmud). In fact, the various branches of church give the lie to monotheism being cults. They stem from having differing interpretations of the source texts, something a cult would not allow.
I attended my shul's pre-mincha learning chevra where the rabbi reads and discusses chapters from Aryeh Carmell's "Masterplan." Chapter 37 in this book says that one of the biggest kinds of gemillot chassadim (acts of loving-kindness) is preparing the dead for internment, as in washing their bodies. I'm thinking of volunteering for the local chevra kadisha/mortuary. Anybody have any experience with that?
A lot of it is borrowed from surrounding ancient cultures and adapted to tell a Jewish story.
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The mabul was a popular story. It shows up in the Epic of Gilgamesh and other places. But where in Gilgamesh, the gods bring the Flood because people are noisy and annoying them, in the Torah's version it's a morality tale.
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Shimshon = Heracles, right down to the lion skin he wears.
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The Gan Eden story is borrowed from a story about the god Enki and the Goddess Inanna, in which Enki becomes sick after eating forbidden plants in Inanna's garden, and Inanna created goddesses to help heal him, including Ninsurtu, the Lady of the Rib.
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Yetzias Mitzrayim probably really did happen - sort of. Not millions of people leaving after ten plagues and all that, but there were Semetic slaves in Egypt, and small groups did occasionally escape. Many of them went to the Canaanite highlands and joined a group known as the Habiru. It's possible that one such group had some sort of religious experience in the desert, and that was the seed that grew into the story we have now.
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I go into a lot of detail on Yetzias Mitzrayim in my book, if you're interested, though that's not the focus.
https://www.amazon.com/Reasonable-Doubts-Breaking-Second-Son/dp/1690831723/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia?keywords=kuzari&pd_rd_i=1690831723&pd_rd_r=9bf82796-c25c-4830-ac4a-5751bd71b17d&pd_rd_w=etflI&pd_rd_wg=YKhwe&pf_rd_p=1cb3f32a-ccfd-479b-8a13-b22f56c942c6&pf_rd_r=8Z3EGTQSGS3SR2Z1W1N3&psc=1&qid=1573922229
Not a direct answer to your questions but if you are interested in the perspective of the Rambam as endorsing post-rational mysticism check out Hakham José Faur's book:
and the following essays by David Blumenthal:
There is a greatly great book, Genesis and the Big Bang, that discusses 15 billion years in seven days as a possible product of Relativity, and points out that the order of events after the Big Bang is more or less the same as in the first story of Creation in Genesis.
I'm just gonna drop this video of the wonderful scholar Daniel C. Matt (a leader in the academic study of Jewish mystical movements) here along with his book.
>I wouldn't have thought the Sufism of Rabbeinu Avraham Ben HaRambam would be a neat fit, but I haven't really studied his works at all
I think if you read the More Nevukhim with Hamadpiq le-Ovdei Hashem (The Guide to Serving God, by R. Abraham ben Harambam), there is a clear picture about the purpose of the mitzvoth, which is perfecting the self and society, and to encounter the divine in this world (i.e. "nevoua"). That ties in with both Shaddal's view that compassion is the divine trait the Torah means to instill and Benamozegh's universality in what he calls "Hebraism." I'm sure people would disagree with my take away.
>Benamozegh I've heard before but don't really know anything about
Israel and Humanity is the work that encapsulates his worldview.
>Sabato Morais not at all
He was the minister of Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, one of the founders of JTS (at the time, an Orthodox institution), the only Orthodox rabbi to support Abolition, and a major proponent of Sephardic religious Humanism. He was also Livornese, like Benamozegh.
>Shadal I feel I know something about, but perhaps not very much.
I suggest Compassionate Judaism, which is a study of Shaddal's thought.
>Lol, that's a fun mix of cultures, I like the idea of humans beating the boxes and labels. African ancestry, S&P minhagim but Teimani nusach (and it seems you draw from the rest of the spectrum of 'Sephardim' too) and now you're culturally yekke and a fan of Hirsch? If anyone still thinks they can put you in a simple box... (Aside from Jewish, which perhaps includes all these for each person.) Hope this isn't offensive in any way.
The Portiguese and Yemenite have to do with the history of Judaism in West Africa and the diaspora. I've spent a lot of time studying both African-American religious use of Judaism and historically documented communities.
The German thing is just due to my approach to services (mainly Shabbat and Yom Tov): begin on time, comport yourself with dignity, for the love of all that's holy, don't rush through prayers; I enjoy the ceremony of it all. And of course, TIDE. The Portuguese rite, like the German, is formal, even the hazzanut leans toward Baroque, Classical, and Romantic. Both Portuguese and German rites are very western, and when if you compare them to their respective eastern counterparts, I think you'd see why the Germans are the Portuguese Ashkenazim and the Portuguese the German Sephardim.
And no, I'm not offended at all.
The canon of the Hebrew bible is basically the same as that for mainstream Jews, minus the book of Esther:
http://www.talmidi.co.il/htm/bible/bible1.htm
This is our only scriptural authority. There is no ‘favoured translation’. Of Jewish translations, I find the JPS translation is good, and out of Christian translations, the NASB is generally faithful to the Hebrew.
However, to enable us to read about the Jewish teachings of Yeshua without having to run the gauntlet of Paullist theology, we have ‘The Exhortations’, which is our equivalent of the ‘New Testament’:
https://www.amazon.com/Exhortations-Shmuel-ben-Naftali/dp/168907650X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=168907650X&qid=1567502231&s=books&sr=1-1
It has no scriptural authority, and it is not used to prove anything. It is a de-Christianised and re-Judaised collection of the gospels and ancient ‘Jewish-Christian’ writings, which were collected and put together in the 1980’s. It is used to keep us focussed on Yeshua’s spiritual and ethical emphases (the Kingdom of God, the practice of religion with humility and compassion), also to protect us from Paul, and inspire us to the same faith as that of the first Jewish, non-Paullist followers of Yeshua.
As an introduction to the faith, there are 2 books: An Introduction to Modern ‘Jewish-Christianity’ (Talmidaism):
Book 1:
https://www.amazon.com/WAY-Introduction-Jewish-Christianity-Talmidaism-Re-interpreting/dp/1976844371/ref=sr\_1\_1?keywords=talmidaism&qid=1568207665&s=books&sr=1-1
Book 2:
https://www.amazon.com/WAY-Introduction-Jewish-Christianity-Talmidaism-Teaching/dp/1982958081/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=talmidaism&qid=1568207689&s=books&sr=1-2
As to the question of ‘Are modern Christians still viewed as “real” Christians if they don’t follow Jewish law?’ I have to say that we don’t really engage in such arguments; we are respectful of the spiritual choices of other faiths. By way of information however, we view the term ‘Christianity’ as referring to the religion of Paul of Tarsus based on his beliefs and teachings, and so we really don’t like to be called, ‘Jewish-Christians’. We call ourselves, ‘Followers of the Way’, or ‘Talmidis’ (from the Hebrew/Aramaic word for ‘follower/disciple’, talmid). Ebionites are just one of our sects.
Our view of history is this: Paul began Christianity in Antioch. From the very beginning, he insisted that his Believers should not follow Torah or Jewish customs. In the 'Book of Acts', the council of Jerusalem in 49 CE is portrayed as having reconciled the Jewish leadership with Paul, but we view 'Acts' as being pro-Paullist propaganda, and so take this view with a pinch of salt. Our view is that the council formally defined Paul’s Believers as non-Jewish, but still exhorted them to live an ethical way of life (Acts 15:19-20, 28-29). The Jerusalem leadership did NOT see Paul’s ministry as a way of taking Judaism to Gentiles, but rather as a way of spreading monotheism and Jewish ethical values to Gentiles (Yeshua’s core values are, after all, the values of the Israelite religion and the Hebrew Prophets – they didn’t begin with Yeshua). Initially Jerusalem approved of Paul’s ministry. However, when news reached Jerusalem that Paul was telling Jews in synagogues across the Mediterranean to abandon Torah, that was when the Jerusalem leadership withdrew their approval. Christianity therefore departed/split from Talmidaism in 49 CE.
In short, we pass no judgment on any faith. If Christians wish to follow the ethical principles and teachings of Yeshua, we have no objection whatsoever. Christianity is the religion based on the teachings and beliefs of Paul of Tarsus, and Talmidaism is the faith inspired solely by the teachings of Yeshua (ie his teachings give our community our emphases). The Ebionites are just one of our sects.
I'm just gonna leave the link here and you can do with it as you please.
https://www.amazon.com/Reasonable-Doubts-Breaking-Second-Son/dp/1690831723
There was never a period of time where genesis (bereshith) was taken literally. There was always two accounts of creation. The written allegorical account, and maaseh bereshith, literally the way of creation. What actually happened. The rambam stated that maaseh bereshith means physics, and notes the lack of controversy about that. Every ancient commentary on the genesis follows a physical, nonmystical account, that seems to be frighteningly accurate. This is my favorite quote of Nachmanides teaching in the 13th century.
> At the briefest instant following creation all the matter of the universe was concentrated in a very small place, no larger than a grain of mustard. The matter at this time was very thin, so intangible, that it did not have real substance. It did have, however, a potential to gain substance and form and to become tangible matter. From the initial concentration of this intangible substance in its minute location, the substance expanded, expanding the universe as it did so. As the expansion progressed, a change in the substance occurred. This initially thin noncorporeal substance took on the tangible aspects of matter as we know it. From this initial act of creation, from this etherieally thin pseudosubstance, everything that has existed, or will ever exist, was, is, and will be formed.
I highly recommend a very thin, very cheap book, Genesis and the Big Bang by Dr. Schroeder. This was written by a physicist and explains the account of genesis in light of modern science, and using only ancient commentary. He does this to demonstrate that it is not science influencing theology, but rather theology predicting science.
Derekh haShem (Path of God) - R. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto - Kabbalah/Musar
God in Search of Man - R. Abraham Joshua Heschel - Conservative
The Thirteen Petalled Rose - R. Adin Steinsaltz - Chasidic (Lubavitch)
Israel and Humanity - R. Eliyahu Benamozegh - Sefardi/Kabbalah
A great resource is the original foundational document of the Mussar Movement, Rav Yisrael Salanter's Ohr Yisrael, and his Iggeres HaMussar. He explains what Mussar is and how to do it, and there's a very good translation of both in one volume with some other stuff.
> Russian Jew raised secular want to learn about my people but not be
> indoctrinated.
This pretty much won’t happen no matter what you read. Judaism has been a non-proselytising religion for getting on to 2,000 years now.
Among the Orthodox, the standing rule is to turn those looking to convert away at least three times before you even begin to start talking about the process and whether it’s something they should undertake.
Among the Conservative and Reform and Reconstructionist, things aren’t quite so daunting, but the basic underlying theology — that one’s relationship with divinity (assuming there is one: Reconstructionists are atheists, for example) is not dependent in any fashion on whether you are an MoT or not — still informs the process. Conversion is, of course, possible, but it’s not considered necessary in any sense.
Even in Judaism’s ancient sort-of-proselytising days it was mostly a ‘give it a try, you might like it’ kind of sales pitch.
> Book recommendations?
Oi, where to start?
Jews aren’t called ‘the people of the book’ for nothing. We’ve been writing everything down for thousands of years. So there’s a lot of history to explore and there are literally thousands of histories out there to read.
The list below is not in a particular order. And it is idiosyncratically chosen. It is, quite literally, a list of what I can see on my shelves from where I’m currently working that immediately makes me think ‘oh, yeah, that’s got something for the new reader’.
The story of the Jews: finding the words (1000 BCE – 1492 CE)
Simon Schama, 2014.
The story of the Jews: when words fail (1492 – present day)
Simon Schama, 2015.
The Talmud — a biography: banned, censored and burned. The book they couldn’t suppress
Harry Freedman, 2014.
Pirkei Avot (the sayings of the fathers): a modern commentary on Jewish ethics
Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky (eds), 1993.
The essential Kabbalah: the heart of Jewish mysticism
Daniel C Matt, 2009.
Engendering Judaism: an inclusive theology and ethics
Rachel Adler, 1999.
Hillel: if not now, when
Joseph Telushkin, 2010.
The new joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten, 2003.
Other lists to meander through:
A best world Jewish history books list on GoodReads.
The top 100 Jewish books according to Rabbi Miriam Spitzer.
The 18 essential texts every Jew should read as put together for Huffington Post back in 2011 (and chosen by people who are relatively eclectic but entirely American).
Hope this is at least diverting, if not helpful.
Just depends on your interpretation of the bible. Fundamentalist doctrine says everything in the bible is literal, so genesis is literal. Honestly that position seems more intellectually honest than saying stupid shit like genesis is an account of the big bang.
well the church messed up.
nowhere in the bible it says evolution is false, the earth is not 7000 years old.
evolution and age of the earth in science is compatible with old testament go ahead and read this book.
only uninformed misinformed people who think they are smartsy science guys think that.
http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Big-Bang-Discovery-Harmony/dp/0553354132 read that book
Genesis and the Big Bang by nuclear physicist Gerald Schroeder is more well known and accessible. Challenge has some bigger names, but I wasn't all that impressed with it's content. Still an interesting book. 19th century German Jewish leader, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch actually talks a lot about the intersection of science and Torah, including evolution and cosmology in his Collected Writings and Horeb but they're very dense and can be difficult to get through.
I read this biography a while back and learned a lot from it.
https://www.amazon.com/Rav-Kook-Mystic-Revolution-Jewsh/dp/0300164246/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=kook+mystic&qid=1550774558&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
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There are also some good English translations of some of his work, including this: https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Teshuvah-Rabbi-Avraham-Yitzchak/dp/1546425829/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=kook+teshuvah&qid=1550774573&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
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I also highly recommend this amazing biography of R' Aryeh Levin, which often mentions his special relationship with Rav Kook:
https://www.amazon.com/Tzaddik-Our-Time-Rabbi-Aryeh/dp/1598262491/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=tzaddik+in+our+time&qid=1550774685&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
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I always found that Mesilat Yesharim comforted me in times where I was unsure of myself or the world around me, it gave me focus. I am weird so I'm sure this is not universal.
You can buy it on Amazon here: Link.
In no particular order, I'd recommend: The Early Kabbalah, The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis, Meditation and Kabbalah, Lessons in Tanya, 138 Openings of Wisdom, Anatomy of the Soul, Sefer Yetzirah, and A Tapestry for the Soul.
Have you read Genesis and the Big Bang?
The Science of God and Genesis and the Big Bang might be of interest to you.
>conflicts between science and religion
By religion I mean the texts that make up a religion - not the popular interpretations of those texts. (This argument works for Judaism, Christianity and Islam - it may not hold true for other religions)
So there are three possibilities:
So there is not really any conflict between science and religion, there is only conflict in heads of those who cling to dogma rather than use their capacity for reason.
You might find these books interesting:
Genesis and the Big Bang
God According to God
I only have a few religious books. Here's some that I remember.
This book is written by Abraham Joshua Heschel, an amazing and relatively contemporary Jewish author. Therefore, it has a bit of a Jewish focus, but his words of wisdom really resonate with me. It's one of my top two books on this list... got it after opening and reading snippets of random books in a book store. One of his other books looks really good as well, God in Search of Man, which I plan on getting eventually.
The second of my top two. Going through the old testament in particular tends to require a commentary/mentor of some sort (for historical, cultural and even language translation challenges), and this is one of the best I've found.
Jewish mysticism isn't too bad, but the Kabbalah in particular really confused me. This book helped take it slow and introduce high-level things in a digestible, readable format.
One of the churches I went to gave out copies of this book. It's a pretty decent text about how to transform your faith into an active force in your life. In short, if you're not living your faith, or not sure how - this book might be able to help.
I was going to read this book for a study group, and I read parts of it.. but kind of lost interest in it. It's a little basic. Might be more well geared to high school kids or to go through on a retreat.
Oh how I detest this book. Me and someone else read some of it, we went on one date, and then she got pregnant on a one-night stand with some random guy named Nick (that's all she told me). The last thing she said to me was 'are you surprised?'... I detest this book because it brings back those memories, even though that might not be a fair assessment of the text itself.