A Touch of the Sacred

by Schwartz, Frances

• ISBN13: 9781580234160
• ISBN10: 158023416X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-15
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Pub

Summary

For the first time, Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz, the ¿dean¿ of liberal Jewish theologians,opens his heart as well as his mind as he talks about the mix of faith and doubt, of knowing and not knowing¿the elements of Jewish belief¿in an easily accessible style. In these pages, Borowitz shares with you his rich inner life which draws from both the rational and mystical Jewish thought that have inspired two generations of rabbis, cantors, and educators, and will now inspire you. With him, you will explore: ¿ Seeking the Sacred One ¿ Doing Holy Deeds ¿ Creating Sacred Community ¿ Reading Sacred Texts ¿ Learning from Holy Thinkers ¿ and much, much more¿

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Seeking the Sacred One
We Can't Talk about God but We Must	p. 3
Where Is God? Answering a Nine-Year-Old	p. 7
God and Mystery	p. 11
The Many Meanings of "God Is One"	p. 15
IsOur God Experience Authentic?	p. 18
The Jewish Idea(s) of God	p. 21
Relating to God: Substance or Style?	p. 25
Accepting the World God Willed	p. 29
Doing Holy Deeds
Being Close to God	p. 35
The Act and Art of Praying	p. 39
Moses' Prayer for Healing-and Ours	p. 43
How Shall We Comfort the Mourner?	p. 47
Traditional Words of Condolence	p. 50
A New Phase in Jewish Piety	p. 53
The Power of Creating New Religious Customs	p. 57
Fanaticism and Zeal	p. 61
Who is a Mentsh?	p. 65
Creating Sacred Community
A Mystical Model for Leaders	p. 71
How an Agnostic Community Came to Seek Spirituality	p. 74
The Appeal of Transdenominational Judaism	p. 79
A Conflict over Interfaith Dialogue	p. 83
How Liberal and Orthodox Jews Can Coexist	p. 88
The Special Risk of Liberalizing Judaism	p. 91
Catholic-Jewish Dialogue: An Autobiographical Note	p. 95
The Historical Case for Interfaith Dialogue	p. 99
Building a Community of "God-Fearers"	p. 103
Reading Sacred Texts
Letting the Psalms Speak to You	p. 109
Reliving the Sinai Experience Each Year	p. 114
"Weighing" the Texts That Instruct Us	p. 118
Putting Texts in Context	p. 122
Religious Authority in Judaism	p. 126
Integrating Jewish Law and Jewish Ethics	p. 131
Jewish Decision Making	p. 135
Innovation in Judaism: Yesterday and Today	p. 139
Thinking about Holiness
Why Do We Need Theology?	p. 147
Theology as an Afterthought	p. 151
Why Historical Theology Won't Do	p. 154
Jewish God-Talk's Four Criteria	p. 158
The Brain-Heart Interplay in Faith	p. 161
Four Ways to Understand "God Says ..."	p. 165
Clarifying Some Feminist Ideas	p. 168
Jewish Beliefs about Evil	p. 172
The Messianic Hope Today	p. 176
Life after Death	p. 180
Learning from Holy Thinkers
Why I Am a Theologian Rather than a Philosopher	p. 187
Seven People Who Shaped Modern Jewish Thought	p. 191
Rationalist Thinkers and What They Can Teach Us	p. 196
Two Misunderstood Messages of Martin Buber	p. 200
Mordecai Kaplan: Ethnicity in Modern Judaism	p. 204
The Greatest Contemporary Orthodox Jewish Philosopher	p. 208
The Ethics "Mystery" and Abraham Joshua Heschel	p. 213
Covenant Theology: An Autobiographical Note	p. 218
Glossary	p. 222
Bibliography of Titles Mentioned in This Book	p. 228
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