Judaism, The e-Book

Table of Contents......Page 2
Introduction......Page 9
The word Judaism and its significance......Page 10
Jewish religion and nationality......Page 11
Different names for Jews and Judaism......Page 12
Part I: The Historical Framework......Page 16
The Biblical Legacy......Page 17
The Hebrew scriptures and their structure......Page 18
Biblical narrative: covenantal history......Page 21
The Second Temple Era......Page 27
Homeland and diaspora......Page 29
Jews and Samaritans......Page 30
Priestly and scholarly leadership......Page 31
Hellenism......Page 32
The Greek-Jewish synthesis of Alexandria......Page 33
The anti-Jewish decrees of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Hasmonean uprising......Page 34
Sectarian divisions in the wake of the Hasmonean victory......Page 36
The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, and the Qumran library......Page 37
The Jesus movement......Page 43
Judaism of the Talmud and Midrash......Page 47
The historical context of rabbinic Judaism......Page 48
The generations of the Tannaitic era: Yavneh, Usha, Tiberias......Page 50
The era of the Amoraim......Page 53
The genres of the oral Torah: midrash and mishnah......Page 54
Halakhah and aggadah......Page 56
The Talmuds: Palestinian and Babylonian......Page 62
Medieval Judaism......Page 69
The significance of "medieval" in Judaism......Page 70
Differences between medieval and ancient Judaism......Page 71
Medieval Jewish Philosophy......Page 79
The rediscovery of Greek philosophy......Page 80
Jewish Kalam......Page 82
Neoplatonism......Page 83
Aristotelianism......Page 85
Abraham Abulafia's mystical path......Page 89
Judah Halevi......Page 90
Kabbalah......Page 95
German pietism (Hasidut Ashkenaz)......Page 97
The Bahir......Page 99
The Zohar......Page 102
The Ra'aya Meheimna and Tikkunei Ha-Zohar......Page 104
The Kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria......Page 106
Shabbetai Zevi......Page 107
Hasidism......Page 109
The Modern Era......Page 117
Emancipation......Page 119
The Jewish Enlightenment......Page 120
Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86): Pioneer of Jewish Enlightenment......Page 121
Religious Reform in Europe......Page 124
Zacharias Frankel and Positive-Historical Judaism......Page 128
Orthodoxy and Neo-Orthodoxy......Page 129
Judaism in the New World......Page 133
Conservative Judaism in America......Page 135
American "Centrist" Orthodoxy......Page 137
Havurat Shalom and Jewish Renewal......Page 139
Part II:Jewish Beliefs and Values......Page 145
Devotion to One God......Page 146
The God of the Hebrew Bible......Page 147
Monotheism and idolatry......Page 149
Divine unity in medieval Jewish philosophy......Page 150
The God of the Kabbalah......Page 153
Heathens and heretics......Page 156
God and the World......Page 163
Nature......Page 164
Science and creation......Page 165
Healing and the sanctity of life......Page 166
Kabbalistic views of creation......Page 168
Miracles......Page 169
Israel's Sacred History......Page 173
Judaism and history......Page 174
Biblical visions of redemption......Page 175
Jerusalem the holy city......Page 177
David and the ideal of monarchy......Page 178
Apocalypse......Page 180
Rationalist eschatologies......Page 181
Redemption according to the Kabbalah......Page 182
Homeland and exile......Page 183
Life After Death......Page 192
Resurrection and reincarnation......Page 193
Medieval and modern views......Page 195
The Mystic Path......Page 198
The work of the chariot......Page 199
Heikhalot literature......Page 200
Kabbalah and mysticism......Page 201
Wisdom and Scholarship......Page 207
The centrality of Torah study as a religious value......Page 209
Ancient Jewish exegesis......Page 210
Biblical study in the rabbinic era: midrash......Page 213
Medieval biblical studies: The rise of literal exegesis......Page 214
The Torah and commandments in Jewish thought......Page 220
Biblical studies in the modern era......Page 221
Talmudic scholarship: commentaries......Page 223
Critical commentaries to the Talmud......Page 226
Codes of Talmudic Law......Page 228
Responsa literature......Page 232
Justice and Morality......Page 237
Sin, repentance and free will......Page 238
Human justice......Page 239
Divine justice, theodicy and Holocaust theology......Page 241
War and peace......Page 244
Part III: Jewish Observances and Institutions......Page 249
Jewish Education......Page 250
Advanced studies: the yeshivah......Page 251
Modern developments......Page 253
Places of Worship: Temple and Synagogue......Page 256
Biblical worship: Temple and priesthood......Page 257
The origins of the synagogue......Page 259
Aspects of communal prayer......Page 261
Piyyut......Page 262
The synagogue in modern times......Page 264
The modern rabbi......Page 265
Judaism and Daily Life......Page 268
Religion in the daily lives of Jews......Page 270
Jewish Women......Page 271
Daily prayer......Page 277
The Tefillah ("Eighteen Blessings")......Page 279
Philosophical attitudes to prayer......Page 280
The significance and purpose of the Jewish dietary laws......Page 281
Definitions of permissible and forbidden species......Page 282
Separation of milk and meat......Page 283
Modern developments in the Jewish dietary laws......Page 284
The Sacred Calendar......Page 290
The structure of the Jewish calendar......Page 291
The Sabbath (Shabbat)......Page 293
The three pilgrimage festivals......Page 294
The penitential season......Page 299
Minor holidays......Page 302
Modern days of commemoration......Page 304
Fast days......Page 305
Life Cycle Observances......Page 309
Birth: Initiation into the covenant of Abraham......Page 310
Adulthood: bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah......Page 312
Marriage, wedding and family......Page 313
Betrothal and wedding......Page 314
Death and Mourning......Page 315
Appendix I......Page 321
Appendix II......Page 324
Glossary......Page 327