The Mini Midrash and a Maaseh


Book Description

An illustrated anthology of stories in prose and rhyme on the weekly Torah portion, for children and the entire family. Entertaining, amusing, and enriching. 2-volume gift-boxed set. Individual volumes not sold separately.




The Believer and the Modern Study of the Bible


Book Description

A first attempt to bring scholars and rabbis together around the question of how religious belief in the divine revelation at Sinai can be combined with critical Bible study. The volume contains twenty-one essays by contemporary Jewish academics and thinkers on the relationship between faith and the source-critical study of the Bible.




The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha


Book Description

Since the Brit Chadasha in Yirmeyeh 31:31-34 was given to Orthodox Jews (the passage is found in the Hebrew Bible, is it not?), and since most Orthodox Jews are in New York City, particularly Brooklyn it seems, then it surely must also be appropriate to make available a translation of the Brit Chadasha from the best original manuscripts in language devoid of goyishe (and non-frum) style. The following is a passage from this new translation, specifically from "The Besuras haGeulah According to Mattityahu (Matthew)" chp 28:19-20, and is illustrative of what we at AFII are doing and what we believe:




The Guide of the Perplexed, Volume 2


Book Description

This monument of rabbinical exegesis written at the end of the twelfth century has exerted an immense and continuing influence upon Jewish thought. Its aim is to liberate people from the tormenting perplexities arising from their understanding of the Bible according only to its literal meaning. This edition contains extensive introductions by Shlomo Pines and Leo Strauss, a leading authority on Maimonides.




Thinking God


Book Description

This work is the first study in any language of the thought and writings of Rabbi Zadok HaKohen of Lublin (1823-1900), who created a blend of ecstatic Hasidism and intellectual Talmud study. With extensive citations of his writings, it will be an entry point to his thought for many American readers. To illuminate R. Zadok's innovative spiritual path, in which one attains mystical experience through intellectual study of Torah, Brill explores the realm of spiritual psychology with particular attention to individual growth, sin, determinism, and pluralism. He shows that R. Zadok's thought combined mystical, Aristotelian, and psychological elements. This work also sheds important light on Lithuanian talmudic intellectualism and Polish Hasidism. It is the first book to present a critical, analytical portrait of hasidic theology. Particular attention is paid to R. Zadok's teacher, Rabbi Mordekhai Leiner of Izbica, whose individualistic philosophy undergirds R. Zadok's teachings on the subject of free will. Finally, this superb study addresses the question of how a Jewish thinker in a traditional milieu was able to derive a theology with many elements we would consider modern, even though he was largely insulated from and, in theory, opposed to contemporary Western, non-religious thinkers. Published in association with Yeshiva University Press




Judaism and Other Religions


Book Description

With insight and scholarship, Alan Brill crisply outlines the traditional Jewish approaches to other religions for an age of globalization. He provides a fresh perspective on Biblical and Rabbinic texts, offering new ways of thinking about other faiths. In the majority of volume, he develops the categories of theology of religions for Jewish text and arranges the texts according classification widely used in interfaith work: inclusivist, exclusivist, universalist, and pluralist. Judaism and Other Religions is essential for a Jewish theological understanding of the various issues in encounters with other religions. With passion and clarity, Brill argues that in today's world of strong religious passions and intolerance, it is necessary to go beyond secular tolerance toward moderate and mediating religious positions.




Gates of Light


Book Description

This central text of Jewish mysticism was written in thirtenth-century Spain, where Kabbalah flourished. Considered to be the most articulate work on the mystical Kabbalah, Gates of Light provides a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the Names of God and their mystical applications. The Kabbalah presents a unique strategy for intimacy with the Creator and new insights into the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Kabbalah, aspects of God emanate from a hierarchy of Ten Spheres interconnected by channels that may be disrupted or repaired through human activity.




Jewish Meditation


Book Description

Students of mediation are usually surprised to discover that a Jewish mediation tradition exists and that it was an authentic and integral part of mainstream Judaism until the eighteenth century. Jewish Meditation is a step-by-step introduction to meditation and the Jewish practice of meditation in particular. This practical guide covers such topics as mantra meditation, contemplation, and visualization within a Jewish context. It shows us how to use meditative techniques to enhance prayer using the traditional liturgy—the Amidah and the Shema. Through simple exercises and clear explanations of theory, Rabbi Kaplan gives us the tools to develop our spiritual potential through an authentically Jewish meditative practice.




The Secret of the Torah


Book Description

Ibn Ezra addresses the importance of the knowledge of grammar, stating that one cannot fully understand the text of the Torah without it. He also discusses the study of the Bible and the Talmud, arguing that one cannot properly comprehend the Talmud if one does not know the sciences, for there are many passages in the Pentateuch and the Talmud that are either incomprehensible or given to misinterpretation by one who has no prior knowledge of the sciences.




Meditation and Kabbalah


Book Description

Meditative methods of Kabbalah. A lucid presentation of the meditative methods, mantras, mandalas and other devices used, as well as a penetrating interpretation of their significance in the light of contemporary meditative research.