Secular Judaism Faith, Values and Spirituality

by Malkin, Yaakov; Wine, Rabbi Sherwin T.

• ISBN13: 9780853035121
• ISBN10: 0853035121
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Vallentine Mitchell

Summary

The majority of Jews throughout the world are secular. However, few can define their secular beliefs. Secular Judaism: Faith, Values, and Spirituality attempts to articulate these beliefs and the practice of Secular Judaism. It discusses Secular Humanist values, Judaism as Culture and examines Judaism as both a religion and a "nation". It also raises the "Who is a Jew?" issue and presents the Bible as source of collective memory and the foundation of Jewish culture and civilization, going on to examine classic texts and the secular view on "God as Literary Hero." The idea of pluralism as being not merely desirable, but as having existed in accord with ancient life and tradition is dealt with and the Talmudic mechanisms of debate and implied democratic values are described. Finally the difference between pluralism and relativism and the danger of the latter is discussed together with a secular humanistic perspective on the need for "spirituality," with emphasis on community and principles of education. Secular Judaism proposes an orientation and guidelines for a curriculum in "Judaism as Culture" studies and deals with both theoretical issues and practical experiences of secular Jewish communities.

Author Biography

Yaakov Malkin is Professor of Aesthetics, Rhetoric, and Cinema and is the Editor of the journal Free Judaism and Founder and Academic Director of Meitar, the College of Judaism as Culture, Jerusalem.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine	vii
Introduction What do Secular Humanist Jews Believe?	1	(6)
Chapter 1 Who is a Jew? Jewish Identities and Their Differences	7	(9)
Chapter 2 Humanism, Nationality and Secular Jewish Culture	16	(21)
Chapter 3 The Spirituality of Secular Jews	37	(30)
Chapter 4 God and Other Literary Characters	67	(6)
Chapter 5 Humanistic Values versus Relativism	73	(4)
Chapter 6 Judaism as Culture: Pluralist and Ever-evolving	77	(17)
Chapter 7 Pluralism: A Guiding Principle and Salient Characteristic of Judaism	94	(9)
Chapter 8 Judaism from a Secular Perspective - An Educational Program	103	(22)
Glossary	125	(20)
Index	145