The Wisdom of Solomon and Us
The Quest for Meaning, Morality and a Deeper Relationship with God
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Can an ancient king supply a salve for our modern spiritual restlessness?
"King Solomon wisely taught that we must live each stage of our lives in a constructive way. As long as we have goals and aspirations, we are alive; we are growing; we are using the gift of time in a meaningful way."
―from Chapter 1, “When There Is Life―Live!”
Rabbi Marc D. Angel, PhD, mines the biblical literature attributed to King Solomon, the Hebrew Bible's model of wisdom, for the answers to life’s important questions.
Ecclesiastes―What is life’s meaning and mission? What is my significance in the vastness of space and the eternity of time?
Proverbs―How can I help maintain a healthy society, with a focus on truth, compassion and moral courage?
The Song of Songs―How can I achieve a genuine, soul-satisfying relationship with God?
More than biblical commentary, Rabbi Angel shows us how Solomon’s wisdom can soothe the contemporary disquiet of all of us seeking a thoughtful, challenging and spiritually vibrant approach to life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Angel (Maimonides, Spinoza, and Us) successfully parses excerpts from the biblical books of Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and the Song of Songs to present a traditional but intellectually honest approach to the most important questions of life. He begins with the traditional rabbinic view that these three books reflect different developmental stages in the wisdom of the biblical King Solomon. However, though the prevailing opinion is that Ecclesiastes was the work of Solomon's cynical old age, Angel adopts the view of a 16th-century rabbi that Ecclesiastes was the youthful work of the king as he was striving after life's meaning. This was followed in Solomon's prime by the morally focused Proverbs, and then the spiritual longing of the allegorical Song of Songs in his old age. Based on this ordering, Angel constructs a three-tiered approach to exploring the question of how one may lead a meaningful, ethical, and spiritually connected life. Even those who don't believe that the biblical King Solomon was the author of these books can nevertheless appreciate the wisdom contained in Angel's volume, gleaned and clarified by study over the course of a vibrant rabbinic career. This analysis will appeal to Jews and non-Jews seeking answers to some of life's most basic and sticky questions.
