"...gives an account of both the journey of a particular British Jew and the journey of millions of women and men through today's perplexing and difficult world. With honesty and integrity Rabbi Tony Bayfield breaks new ground in exploring the meaning of Jewish identity and its relationship to Jewish tradition and belief. He does so from the perspective of a person fully integrated into the modern Western world. The rigorous questions he asks of his Jewishness, Judaism and the Jewish God are therefore substantially the same as those asked by all faiths and none." -- inside front jacket flap.

This book is a study of the Habad Hasidism movement, an influential part of the Hasidic Movement, which originated in the eigteenth century. Habad was founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1813) who established a Hasidic community in Belorussia and who set forth the new Habad doctrine in a book entitled Tanya (Likutey Amarim). This doctrine expounded the mystical ideas underlying the quest for God. Its essential innovation lay in the formulation of a religious outlook which concentrated upon perceiving the divinity: its essence, its nature, the stages of its manifestation, its characteristics, its perfection, its differing wills, its processes, the significance of its revelation and the possibilities of its perception. This conception generated a profound transformation of religious worship and was the cause of great controversy throughout the Jewish world.

Throughout history human beings have been preoccupied with personal survival after death. As a consequence, most world religions proclaim that life continues beyond the grave, and they have depicted the Hereafter in a variety of forms. These various conceptions constitute answers to the most perplexing spiritual questions: Will we remember our former lives in the Hereafter? Will we have bodies? Can bodiless souls recognize each other? Will we continue to have personal identity? Will we be punished or rewarded, or absorbed into the Godhead? These issues serve as the basis of this collection of essays which provide a framework for understanding traditional conceptions of the Hereafter as well as new perspectives.

"Anti-Catholicism has become the last acceptable prejudice in what passes for polite society and has become so obvious and so pronounced that to even repeat the fact seems banal." Columnist, television host, author, and practicing Catholic, Michael Coren examines critical aspects of Catholicism as they are encountered, understood, and more importantly, misunderstood, today. For some, Catholicism is the only permanent, absolute body of truth, while for others it is the last permanent, absolute body that has to be opposed and stopped. Opening with a frank discussion of the abuse scandal, Why Catholics Are Right confronts four key issues in Catholic history-the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and Galileo-often used by critics of the Catholic Church to undermine its position and authority. Michael Coren looks at Catholics and theology, explaining what and why Catholics believe what they do-Papal Infallibility, the Immaculate Conception, the Church rather than the Bible alone. Finally, he sets out the pro-life position, and why it is crucial to the Catholic Faith. In this challenging, provocative, and personal book, Michael Coren draws on history, politics, and theology to present the arguments for the truth of Catholicism, and its vital message for the world. As he comments, "The importance of Catholicism is that in a culture where various forms of religious and atheistic fundamentalism, crass materialism, and clawing decadence eat away at civility and civilization the only permanent, consistent and logically complete alternative is the Roman Catholic Church."

"Born to a Jewish mother and Protestant father in 1923 Berlin, Gregory Baum has devoted his career to a humanistic approach to Catholicism. In The Oil Has Not Run Dry, Baum shares recollections about his lifelong commitment to theology, his atypical views, and his evolving understanding of the Catholic Church's message. Baum's reflects on his groundbreaking work with the Second Vatican Council (1962 65) and how it helped to open the Church to a new understanding of outsiders--one that advocated cooperation with world religions in support of peace and justice and respected secular philosophies committed to truth and social solidarity. Later embracing Latin American liberation theology, he became a leading thinker of the Catholic Left in Canada, adopting radical positions that initially earned support from Canadian bishops in the 1970s. Diverging from official Catholic doctrines regarding women and sexual ethics, Baum eventually left the priesthood, but continued to teach theology and remained active in the Church. The Oil Has Not Run Dry also discusses the contrast between Catholicism in Quebec and English-speaking North America, and the ways in which Baum sees Quebec's culture as more marked by social solidarity. This significant difference has inspired his decision to present in his own writings the original development of Catholic thought in Quebec to an English-speaking readership. Gregory Baum is professor emeritus in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University and the author of Fernand Dumont: A Sociologist Turns to Theology and Truth and Relevance: Catholic Theology in French Quebec since the Quiet Revolution. "--

Jacob Neusner has published more than 1000 books and articles, scholarly and academic, popular and journalistic, and is one of the most published humanities scholars in the world. Over a period of fifty years he has made significant, insightful and challenging contributions to the study of Rabbinic Judaism, particularly in the disciplines covered in the three volumes which make up Neusner on Judaism: the study of history (volume 1), literature (volume 2), and religion and theology (volume 3). These unique volumes of selective writings by Jacob Neusner, with new introductions by the author, offer scholars an invaluable resource in the field of Judaic Studies.

Few luminaries in Jewish history, particularly in modern times, have made such a lasting and profound contribution to our spiritual heritage as Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812). His works embrace the entire spectrum of Jewish thought - mysticism, philosophy, psychology, ethics and law - and represent an expression of unparalled creative genius.This richly detailed biography traces Rabbi Schneur Zalman's life from his childhood and formative years to his trials and triumph as a leader who revolutionized Jewish life. It reveals many hitherto unknown facts, and offers the reader considerable insight into his extraordinary strength of character. Vilified by many of his contemporaries and arrested by the Czar, Rabbi Schneur Zalman emerged victorious; today his teachings continue to inspire and vitalize Jewish life all over the world.

Preface Acknowledgments I. Introduction 1. An Incessantly Gushing Fountain: The Nature of Jewish Theology, Byron Sherwin II. Classical Theologians in the Twentieth Century: Approaches to God 2. Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism, Hermann Cohen 3. The Star of Redemption, Franz Rosenzweig 4. I and Thou 5. A Thirst for the Living God; and The Pangs of Cleansing, Abraham Isaac Kook 6. God as the Power that Makes for Salvation, Mordecai Kaplan 7. God in Search of Men, Abraham Joshua Heschel III. Contemporary Reflections on Traditional Themes A. God 8. Belief in a Personal God: The Position of Liberal Supernaturalism, Louis Jacobs 9. In Search of God, Elliot N. Dorff 10. From God to Godliness: Proposal for a Predicate Theology, Harold M. Schulweis 11. Toward a Feminist Jewish Reconstruction of Monotheism; and Further Thoughts on Liturgy as an Expression of Theology, Marcia Falk 12. Jewish Feminist Theology, Ellen M. Umansky B. Creation 13. The Wings of the Dove: Jewish Values, Science, and Halachah, David W. Weiss 14. Seek My Face, Speak My Name, Arthur Green C. Revelation 15. Revelation in the Jewish Tradition, Emanuel Levinas 16. Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew, Neil Gillman D. Redemption 17. The Natural and the Supernatural Jew, Arthur A. Cohen 18. On Jewish Eschatology, Steven Schwarzschild E. Covenant/Chosenness 19. Renewing the Covenant, Eugene Borowitz 20. The Election of Israel, David Novak 21. The Body of Faith, Michael Wyschogrod 22. Standing Again at Sinai, Judith Plaskow 23. A Jewish Theology of Jewish Relations to Other Peoples, Elliot N. Dorff F. Law 24. Halakhic Man, Joseph Soloveitchik 25. Some Criteria for Modern Jewish Observance, Jakob J. Petuchowski 26. Dynamics of Judaism, Robert Gordis 27. Engendering Judaism, Rachel Adler IV. Two Pivotal Experiences in the Twentieth Century A. The Holocaust 28. Faith after the Holocaust, Eliezer Berkovits 29. After Auschwitz, Richard Rubenstein 30. The Jewish Return into History; and To Mend the World, Emil Fackenheim 31. Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire: Judaism, Christianity, and Modernity after the Holocaust, Irving Greenberg B. The State of Israel 32. Exile as a Neurotic Solution, A.B. Yehoshua 33. The Third Jewish Commonwealth, David Hartman 34. The Religious and Moral Significance of the Redemption of Israel. Yeshayahu Leibowitz 35. Beyond Innocence and Redemption, Marc Ellis V. Looking Toward the Future of Jewish Thought: A Symposium 36. New Directions in Jewish Theology in America, Arthur Green 37. Another Perspective on Theological Directions for the Jewish Future, Rebecca T. Alpert 38. The Nature and Direction of Modern Jewish Theology: Some Thoughts Occasioned by Arthur Green, David Ellenson 39. B'nei Ezra: An Introduction to Textual Reasoning, Peter Ochs Suggestions for Further Reading Biographical Sketches.

"In The Other Judaisms of Late Antiquity the late Alan F. Segal is at his very best. This reissued and expanded edition--now containing his celebrated "Heavenly Ascent in Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity, and Their Environment"--delineates the variegated nature of both Judaism and Christianity in their formative periods. As Segal demonstrates, it is more accurate to speak of Judaisms and Christianities. Through his deft deployment of social-scientific methods and due attention to Jewish primary sources from the Second Temple period, Segal is able to trace the intricate, internecine struggles among Jewish, Christian, and gnostic communities in the earliest days of the Common Era. In doing so, Segal masterfully validates the importance of inductive historical reconstruction and analytical comparative study for illuminating the complex religious world of the first three centuries"--back cover.

Analyzes the views of Jewish philosophers on the problem of evil and suffering of innocents, stressing their philosophical, not merely religious, responses to the problem. In ch. 10 (pp. 185-219), "The Holocaust", the views of post-Holocaust thinkers Elie Wiesel, Richard Rubenstein, Emil Fackenheim, Arthur Cohen, Eliezer Berkovits, and Ignaz Maybaum are examined, as well as some Christian reactions to the Holocaust. Traditional Jewish thought regards God as very remote from the human world; He gave human beings the Law and freedom of choice, but refrains from intervening in human matters. However, the enormity of the Holocaust in comparison to other Jewish disasters presents a serious problem - why did He not intervene in this special case? The philosophers answer basic questions - such as, does God intervene in history at all; where was He during the Holocaust; does He understand our sufferings; did He partake in the tragedy, and if so, what were His intentions - in different ways. They all insist, however, that we must not abandon Judaism. Criticizes weak aspects of each explanation.