Studies in the Meaning of Judaism

by Borowitz, Eugene B.

• ISBN13: 9780827607217
• ISBN10: 0827607210
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

Noted educator, author, and speaker Eugene Borowitz delivers the fruits of his scholarship with grace in this new addition to the JPS Scholar of Distinction series. Gathered in this single volume are 33 essays covering the themes of Modern Jewish Theology, Education, the History of Reform Judaism in America, Jewish Law, Ethics, and Religious Dialogue. This collection will appeal to a wide audience, including rabbis; scholars; and readers of religion, modern Jewish thought, and liturgy.

Among the articles in this volume are "Existentialism's Meaning for Judaism, " "Judaism and the Secular State, " Tzimtzum: A Mystic Model for Contemporary Leadership, " "The Authority of the Ethical Impulse in Halakhah, " "The Critical Issue in the Quest for Social Justice: A Jewish View, " "Please, God, Heal Her, Please, " and "Jewish Education as an Act of Faith." New to the series format are Dr. Borowitz's freshly written introductory paragraphs, providing thematic links between the articles.

Table of Contents

``... Who has brought us to this day...''
Acknowledgments	xi
Preface	xv
A GLIMPSE: WHEN AGNOSTICISM AND RATIONALISM COULD NO LONGER GROUND OUR VALUES	1	(94)
1950 Theological Conference Cincinnati, 1950: Reform Judaism's Fresh Awareness of Religious Problems	7	(10)
1956 Creating Commitment in Our Religious Schools	17	(14)
1957 The Idea of God	31	(16)
1959 Existentialism's Meaning for Judaism: A Contemporary Midrash	47	(12)
1961 Crisis Theology and the Jewish Community	59	(10)
1963 Faith and Method in Modern Jewish Theology	69	(16)
1964 Creative Worship in the Computer Age	85	(4)
1964 Why We Went: A Joint Letter from the Rabbis Arrested in St. Augustine	89	(6)
A TRACK: LEADING ON FROM GOD, THE GROUND OF OUR VALUES	95	(140)
1966 On Celebrating Sinai	101	(14)
1970 The Problem of the Form of a Jewish Theology	115	(18)
1970 The Postsecular Situation of Jewish Theology	133	(16)
1971 Education Is Not I-Thou	149	(8)
1974 Tzimtzum: A Mystic Model for Contemporary Leadership	157	(14)
1978 A Jewish Response: The Lure and Limits of Universalizing Our Faith	171	(8)
1982 The Authority of the Ethical Impulse in Halakhah	179	(14)
1983 Recent Historic Events: Jewish and Christian Interpretations	193	(22)
1984 The Autonomous Jewish Self	215	(20)
A WAY: THE POSTMODERN EXPLICATION OF JEWISH SELFHOOD	235	(140)
1986 Hillul Hashem: A Universalistic Rubric in the Halakhah	241	(14)
1986 The Ideal Jew	255	(20)
1986 The Critical Issue in the Quest for Social Justice: A Jewish View	275	(14)
1987 The Blessing over a Change of Wine: A Study in the Development of a Jewish Law Published in Honor of the Eightieth Birthday of Nathaniel E. Hess	289	(28)
1987 Co-Existing with Orthodox Jews	317	(10)
1992 Dynamic Sunyata and the God Whose Glory Fills the Universe	327	(14)
1997 ``Please, God, Heal Her, Please''	341	(10)
2000 ``Im ba'et, eyma''---Since You Object, Let Me Put It This Way	351	(24)
A PAUSE: TO LOOK BACK BEFORE MOVING ON	375	(60)
2000 A Life of Jewish Learning: In Search of a Theology of Judaism	379	(36)
2002 ``Halakhah'' in Reform Jewish Usage: Historic Background and Current Discourse	415	(20)
Glossary	435	(8)
Bibliography of the Writing of Eugene B. Borowitz	443	(24)
Index	467