In "Peace of Mind," Rabbi Liebman tries to present some answers that have proved helpful to him about the universal human dilemmas of conscience, love, fear, grief, and God - crucial problems that present themselves in every kind of society, and, he believes, will present themselves as long as man is man. Whether under capitalism, socialism, or communism, men and women will still face the purely personal and profoundly individual issues of life and death as well as the tangled interpersonal relations of parent and child, brother and sister, husband and wife. Personal experience plus rich and varied contacts in the author's ministry led him to believe that a book written by a religionist explaining just what modern psychology has discovered about human beings, why we sometimes hate ourselves and hate others, why we grow afraid, why we lose faith in life and in God, might be of real help to perplexed moderns. This science also tells us what we can do to change ourselves and our mental attitudes in relation to our own personalities and in interrelations with other human beings. "Peace of Mind" attempts to distill the helpful insights about human nature that psychology has discovered and the encouraging news from the scientific clinic about man's infinite capacity to change and improve himself, as well as to correlate these latest scientific discoveries with the truest religious insights and goals of the ages.

Toward a Meaningful Life is a spiritual road map for living based on the teachings of one of the foremost religious leaders of our time: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Head of the Lubavitcher movement for forty-four years and recognized throughout the world simply as "the Rebbe," Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who passed away in June 1994, was a sage and a visionary of the highest order. Toward a Meaningful Life gives people of all backgrounds fresh perspectives on every aspect of their lives--from birth to death, youth to old a≥ marriage, love, intimacy, and family; the persistent issues of career, health, pain, and suffering; and education, faith, science, and government. We learn to bridge the divisions between accelerated technology and decelerated morality, between unprecedented worldwide unity and unparalleled personal disunity. Although the Rebbe's teachings are firmly anchored in more than three thousand years of scholarship, the urgent relevance of these old-age truths to contemporary life has never been more manifest. At the threshold of a new world where matter and spirit converge, the Rebbe proposes spiritual principles that unite people as opposed to the materialism that divides them. In doing so, he continues to lead us toward personal and universal redemption, toward a meaningful life, and toward God.

Halakhic Man--originally published in Hebrew in 1944 and appearing for the first time in English translation--is considered to be Rabbi Soloveitchik's most important statement. A unique, almost unclassifiable work, its pages include a brilliant exposition of Mitnaggedism, of Lithuanian religiosity, with its emphasis on Talmudism; a profound excursion into religious psychology and phenomenology; a pioneering attempt at a philosophy of Halakhah; a stringent critique of mysticism and romantic religion--all held together by the force of the author's highly personal vision. Exuding intellectual sophistication and touching upon issues fundamental to religious life, Rabbi Soloveitchik's exploration, in sum, seeks to explain the inner world of the Talmudist--or as he is referred to typologically, halakhic man--in terms drawn from Western culture. This book brings to the English-reading world a significant work by one of the most profound Jewish thinkers of this century.

2010 Reprint of 1939 Edition. In Moses and Monotheism, Freud speculates that Moses was not Jewish, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was perhaps a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist. Freud further suggests that Moses led only his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history and that his followers subsequently killed Moses in rebellion afterward. Freud speculates that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.

Here is an accessible and inspiring introduction to the Jewish spiritual tradition known as Mussar. Well known in the Orthodox Jewish world, Mussar is an illuminating, approachable, and highly practical set of teachings for cultivating personal growth and spiritual realization in the midst of day-to-day life. The ultimate goal of Mussar is to become a more whole and holy person. The path is simple: learn to be a mensch, a deeply good and decent human being, or what has been called an "extraordinary ordinary person." The core teaching of Mussar is that our deepest essence is inherently pure and holy, but this inner radiance is obscured by extremes of emotion, desire, and bad habits. Our work in life is to uncover the brilliant light of the soul. The Mussar masters developed transformative teachings and practices—some of which are contemplative, some of which focus on how we relate to others in daily life—to help us to heal and refine ourselves. Alan Morinis, founder of the Mussar Institute, presents these teachings in terms that anyone can understand and put to use. Everyday Holiness features short chapters on eighteen key character traits that the Mussar masters emphasize, including humility, generosity, gratitude, trust, patience, and enthusiasm. Morinis also explains how to make Mussar practice part of our daily lives. Here is a welcome resource for all those who are interested in reinvigorating their religious lives, exploring contemplative spirituality, and making spirituality part of everyday life. For more information on Mussar and the author, Alan Morinis, visit www.mussarinstitute.org.

Enrich your spiritual practice with a deeper understanding of Hebrew blessing. A Hebrew blessing is a powerful thing--a short, deeply meditative exercise exploring the nature of God and the dynamic relationship between God, human consciousness and the unfolding universe. Written in clear, illuminating prose, this book will guide you through the opening words of a Hebrew blessing--six words which embody the depth of Jewish spirituality--revealing how the letters and words combine to promote joy and appreciation, wonder and thankfulness, amazement and praise. Each word becomes an invitation to discover the Presence of God flowing through even the smallest actions of our lives. Examine the deeper meaning behind: Barukh Ata Adonay Eloheynu Melekh Ha'Olam In the ancient language of the Jewish mystical tradition and the modern language of hasidism, creation theology and psychology, The Path of Blessing brings the words of the Hebrew invocation dramatically alive.

What do Joyce Brothers and Sigmund Freud, Rabbi Harold Kushner and philosopher Martin Buber have in common? They belong to a group of pivotal and highly influential Jewish thinkers who altered the face of modern America in ways few people recognize. So argues Andrew Heinze, who reveals in rich and unprecedented detail the extent to which Jewish values, often in tense interaction with an established Christian consensus, shaped the country's psychological and spiritual vocabulary. Jews and the American Soul is the first book to recognize the central role Jews and Jewish values have played in shaping American ideas of the inner life. It overturns the widely shared assumption that modern ideas of human nature derived simply from the nation's Protestant heritage. Heinze marshals a rich array of evidence to show how individuals ranging from Erich Fromm to Ann Landers changed the way Americans think about mind and soul. The book shows us the many ways that Jewish thinkers influenced everything from the human potential movement and pop psychology to secular spirituality. It also provides fascinating new interpretations of Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Western views of the psyche; the clash among Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish moral sensibilities in America; the origins and evolution of America's psychological and therapeutic culture; the role of Jewish women as American public moralists, and more. A must-read for anyone interested in the contribution of Jews and Jewish culture to modern America.

What do Joyce Brothers and Sigmund Freud, Rabbi Harold Kushner and philosopher Martin Buber have in common? They belong to a group of pivotal and highly influential Jewish thinkers who altered the face of modern America in ways few people recognize. So argues Andrew Heinze, who reveals in rich and unprecedented detail the extent to which Jewish values, often in tense interaction with an established Christian consensus, shaped the country's psychological and spiritual vocabulary. Jews and the American Soul is the first book to recognize the central role Jews and Jewish values have played in shaping American ideas of the inner life. It overturns the widely shared assumption that modern ideas of human nature derived simply from the nation's Protestant heritage. Heinze marshals a rich array of evidence to show how individuals ranging from Erich Fromm to Ann Landers changed the way Americans think about mind and soul. The book shows us the many ways that Jewish thinkers influenced everything from the human potential movement and pop psychology to secular spirituality. It also provides fascinating new interpretations of Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Western views of the psyche; the clash among Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish moral sensibilities in America; the origins and evolution of America's psychological and therapeutic culture; the role of Jewish women as American public moralists, and more. A must-read for anyone interested in the contribution of Jews and Jewish culture to modern America.

In You Never Call, You Never Write, Joyce Antler provides an illuminating and often amusing history of one of the best-known figures in popular culture--the Jewish Mother. Whether drawn as self-sacrificing or manipulative, in countless films, novels, radio and television programs, stand-up comedy, and psychological and historical studies, she appears as a colossal figure, intensely involved in the lives of her children. Antler traces the odyssey of this compelling personality through decades of American culture. She reminds us of a time when Jewish mothers were admired for their tenacity and nurturance, as in the early twentieth-century image of the "Yiddishe Mama," a sentimental figure popularized by entertainers such as George Jessel, Al Jolson, and Sophie Tucker, and especially by Gertrude Berg, whose amazingly successful "Molly Goldberg" ruled American radio and television for over 25 years. Antler explains the transformation of this Jewish Mother into a "brassy-voiced, smothering, and shrewish" scourge (in Irving Howe's words), detailing many variations on this negative theme, from Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks to television shows such as "The Nanny," "Seinfeld," and "Will and Grace." But she also uncovers a new counter-narrative, leading feminist scholars and stand-up comediennes to see the Jewish Mother in positive terms. Continually revised and reinvented, the Jewish Mother becomes in Antler's expert hands a unique lens with which to examine vital concerns of American Jews and the culture at large. A joy to read, You Never Call, You Never Write will delight anyone who has ever known or been nurtured by a "Jewish Mother," and it will be a special source of insight for modern parents. As Antler suggests, in many ways "we are all Jewish Mothers" today.

Told for the first time in their own words, What Are Blind Men Dreaming? is the account of three generations of women--mother, daughter, granddaughter--and the history that shaped them. This collective, yet singular story of survival spans genre, geography, and time to reflect on the legacy of the Holocaust on modern Jewish identity.

"In a work Freud characterized as "brilliant," the author, an acknowledged pioneer in the study of the psychology of religion, analyzes a variety of rituals - couvade, puberty rites, the prayers and religious customs of modern Jews - in order to reconstruct the nature of the original impulses from which ritual is derived. He applies psychoanalytic methods of investigation to some of the most highly valued products of civilization - a task Freud called a "scientific duty." Connecting the superstitious beliefs of prehistoric times with contemporary practices, Dr. Reik illuminates the significance of modern and ancient religion. The author's lively style, combined with his scholarly documentation, makes this a book that will appeal alike to psychiatrists, psychologists, and students of comparative religion" -- Back cover.

Here is a Spiritual Practice for developing a strong and open heart-drawn from Judaisms Mussar tradition. Mussar draws from the vast storehouse of Jewish wisdom, law, revelation, and text and brings it right home in a way that is completely practical. Judaism teaches that Torah (the collective wisdom of the tradition) provides the blueprint for human experience-and so the more of it we acquire, the more we gain a clearer, truer perspective on life and learn how to navigate its pathways. The phrase "acquiring Torah" is code for the process of internalizing this wisdom to bring about a genuine transformation of the inner self. In short, accessible chapters, this book describes forty-eight methods through which we can acquire Torah-and turns them into a straightforward practice. These methods include cultivating humility, joy, awe, goodheartedness, closeness with friends, not taking credit for oneself, judging others favorably, and so on. The fruits of working through each quality or method are a refined soul and a strong and open heart. Book jacket.

A Landmark Exploration of Jewish History and Cultur e First published in 1977, The Jewish Mind provides a penetrating insight into the complex collective reality of the Jewish people. Raphael Patai examines how six great historical encounters, spanning three millennia, between the Jews and other cultures led to both change and continuity in Jewish communities throughout the global diaspora. A Timeless Analysis by a Prominent Scholar Patai, a noted cultural anthropologist and historian, drew on a lifetime of research and personal experience to explore the contemporary Jewish mind in its many manifestations, including an exploration of the notion of Jews as a race, an investigation into Jewish intelligence and talents, a discussion of Jewish self-hate, and a profile of Jewish personality and character. An Insightful New Foreword by Ari L. Goldman Bestselling author and journalist Ari L. Goldman places the book in the context of recent turbulent events, especially in the Middle East, and confirms Patai’s conclusion that Judaism remains of enormous value to humankind. Goldman calls the book “a brilliant and absorbing survey of everything poured into the Jewish mind over the millennia.” The Jewish Mind is a towering work of scholarship that remains relevant to anyone trying to understand Jewish culture and society around the world today.

The central theme of this book is modesty, a notion so simple and common that most of us would dismiss it as irrelevant to our daily lives. But Rabbi Manis Friedman asks us to look again. And as we do he explains, clearly and succinctly, how modesty can become a powerful tool for change.Gently and with humor, Rabbi Friedman helps us redirect our thinking about sexuality and refocus our ideas about intimacy. In so doing, he moves us toward a truer understanding of ourselves and how we can cope with the changing world around us.

Exploring the convictions and confusions of Jewish life, the author examines the ways in which American Jews grapple with concepts such as the Holocaust, Israel, and God and the imperative of Jewish survival.

A study of the 12th-century evolution of innovative anti-Jewish stereotypes and their impact on subsequent Western thought. The 12th century was a period of significant change and dislocation in the West; it witnessed the interaction of new societal circumstances and a prior ideational legacy, similar to events in the 19th-20th centuries. This interaction produced an innovative view of Jews which was fated to influence anti-Jewish perceptions up to the present. In the period of societal change, persecutory patterns emerged, directed at diverse societal outgroups, among them the Jews. The 12th-century stereotypes were permanently absorbed into the historic legacy of Christian anti-Jewish thinking. These stereotypes were based on a perception of Jewish hatred of Christianity and Christians, and that Jews commit acts of anti-Christian violence generated by this purported hatred (e.g. ritual murder, abuse of Christian symbols, moneylending abuses). The most pernicious anti-Jewish imagery involves stereotypes alleging mortal threats posed by Jews. States that every new stage in the evolution of anti-Jewish thinking is marked by dialectical interplay between a prior legacy of negative stereotypes and the realities of a new social context.

"You shall be holy," teaches the Bible. The masters of the Jewish Mussar tradition have crafted a roadmap to help people approach that lofty goal. Mussar is a system of introspective practices that can help you identify and break through the obstacles to your inherent holiness, using methods that are easy to integrate into daily life. Every Day, Holy Day is an essential companion for anyone who wants to experience the life-changing gifts of Mussar. The program laid out in this book focuses on 26 traits ( middot )—such as loving-kindness, strength, generosity, compassion, honor, and equanimity—each of which takes center stage for a week of contemplation and exercises, in order to develop and refine that quality in yourself. Alan Morinis invites you to follow the Mussar path with him for a year. It is remarkably simple, and also remarkably effective in helping you overcome negative tendencies and strengthen positive ones—and to reveal your innate holiness in the process.

"Providing a religious lens on the topic, this book directly addresses the problem of spousal abuse in the Jewish community. Rabbi Twerski's book was one of the first titles to break open the issue, and this new edition relates the recognition of abuse, the warning signs, and how to respond. With new preface"--