A Heart of Many Rooms
Celebrating the Many Voices within Judaism
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- $24.99
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
“This work is not addressed only to scholars of Judaism or theologians, but also, and primarily, to all Jews and non-Jews who would like to share the thoughts and struggles of a person who loves Torah and Halakhah, who is committed to helping make room for and celebrate the religious and cultural diversity present in the modern world, and who believes that a commitment to Israel and to Jewish particularity must be organically connected to the rabbinic teaching, ‘Beloved are all human beings created in the image of God.’”
—from the Introduction
With clarity, passion, and outstanding scholarship, David Hartman addresses the spiritual and theological questions that face all Jews and all people today. From the perspective of traditional Judaism, he helps us understand the varieties of twentieth-century Jewish practice and shows that commitment to both Jewish tradition and to pluralism can create bridges of understanding between people of different religious convictions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a series of eloquent essays, some published 30 years ago, Hartman (A Living Covenant) celebrates the great diversity that exists within contemporary Judaism. Raised as a Torah-observant Jew, Hartman learned from his early religious teachings that all human beings are loved because they are created in God's image. Early in his rabbinic career, Hartman began seeking ways to reconcile what he saw as the exclusionist tendencies of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, secular Zionists and non-Israelis. Most of the essays collected here focus on the author's "continuing belief in the possibility and necessity of building educational bridges between different sectors of the population in Israel and throughout the Jewish world." In a section on "Family and Mitzvah Within an Interpretive Tradition," he contrasts what he calls two different approaches to Jewish spirituality--Torah and secular spirituality--and explores the great joy that Torah study brings to Judaism and to the Jewish family. In another section, "Educating Towards Inclusiveness," Hartman advocates creating a shared language for education in Israel and among the Diaspora. Other essays in the collection include a paean to Abraham Joshua Heschel, "A heroic witness to religious pluralism"; an "Open letter to a Reform rabbi"; reflections on the conversion law; and "Zionism and the continuity of Judaism." In each of his essays, Hartman's incisive wit, passionate heart and loving soul animate his desire for religious diversity and understanding.
