Description The challenge of this book has been to rethink prevailing ideas about the social map of Jewish society during the rabbinic period in Israel. New insights were made possible by using anthropological theories and tools. The book explores the rich and complex relationships among the sages, priests, and laymen who competed in social, cultural, and political arenas for hegemony. It demonstrates that this struggle was not a simple case of displacement of the priestly elite by a new scholarly elite. In the process of constituting a counter-hegemony of the sages, there was a complex push-pull process: attraction-rejection, imitation-denial, and co-operation-confrontation. They undermined the old order by using the old hegemonic priestly discourse. Whereas the sages proposed a new order based on intellectual achievement, they nevertheless created on top of the earlier hegemonic order a new order of group nepotism, endogamy, ritual purity, and secret knowledge and education provided only to the proper social classes. Ben-Zion concludes that even in the process of resistance and disengagement from the priestly hegemony, the sages could not free themselves from the bondage of the priestly discourse and praxis.

#2 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Bring Your Human to Work comes an indispensable guide to taking your employee engagement to the next level. In Bring Your Human to Work, Erica Keswin laid down the rules and protocols of a human workplace. Now, in Rituals Roadmap, she shows us how to further employee engagement, explaining that workplace rituals foster a sense of belonging and help workers connect with one another and their work. From our morning cup of coffee to the standing Wednesday morning meeting with our team, our lives are steeped in rituals. Rituals Roadmap combines cutting-edge scientific research with examples from the most human companies, like Starbucks, Microsoft, Chipotle and LinkedIn, showing how they establish rituals during meetings, employee onboarding procedures, and daily interactions among coworkers. Whether you choose to pass around a stuffed penguin at your weekly meeting to express gratitude like Aria Finger of DoSomething, or decide to make lunchtime a daily ritual with your team in the same way one top performing team at Douglas Elliman does, rituals create community and change us in a way that conjures lifelong commitments. If you’re serious about employee engagement, Rituals Roadmap is your blueprint for creating a workplace full of engaged, connected employees who drive revenue and stay at their jobs long term.

After a deadly medical mistake sent a navy sailor to the presence of Jesus, he returned from his near-death experience with new eyes to see the kingdom of heaven in this life. Now he wants to help you experience heaven on earth today. For years Steve Musick kept his amazing story to himself, afraid no one would believe or understand it. A major allergic reaction had stopped his heart, hurling him into a five-week coma and a powerful experience of heaven. After returning to life, he couldn’t forget the memory of that vibrant place—and, most of all, the loving words and touch of Jesus. But that was only the beginning. An amazing series of miracles, dreams, and other supernatural events had been set in motion, showing Steve that heaven was close, even in this life. God was calling him to discover echoes of heaven in the here and now—echoes that can happen at any moment, to anyone—that bring overwhelming joy. At last Steve is ready to tell the story of his journey of a lifetime—two lifetimes. In it you’ll learn the secret of bringing heaven to earth in your everyday world, and how to nurture a relationship with God so real and intimate that you’ll feel his nearness as strongly as Steven did. Experience one man’s incredible vision of heaven—and learn how you can live in God’s presence and power today.

Our culture has a lot to say about heaven. But too much of it is based more on imaginative speculation or "supernatural" experiences than on the Bible itself. In the latest addition to the Theology in Community series, Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson have assembled an interdisciplinary team of evangelical scholars to explore the doctrine of heaven from a variety of angles. Among other contributors, Ray Ortlund examines the concept of heaven in the Old Testament, Gerald Bray explores the history of theological reflection about heaven, and Ajith Fernando looks at persecuted saints' special relationship to heaven in the New Testament. This team of first rate scholars offers modern readers a comprehensive overview of this often misunderstood topic—shedding biblical light on the eternal hope of all Christians. Part of the Theology in Community series.

Whether you realize it or not, you play a part in the divine plan of creation. Once you recognize this, you can gain access to the immense power in the universe. It’s simple: when you engage the right celestial helpers, anything becomes possible. In Hiring the Heavens, Jean Slatter shares how she learned to hire the Heavens and offers a fresh, revitalized way of bringing spirituality back into your everyday life. Whether the task is large or small, whether you want to manifest your dreams, find a soul mate, improve your finances, or simply get through your days without stress and worry, the Heavens are ready to help. With their assistance, you become cocreator and codirector of your life, experiencing more joy and more serendipity every day.

We can see the injustice and inequality in our lives and in the world. But how, exactly, does one reconcile? Based on her extensive work with churches and organizations, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has created a roadmap to show us the way. This revised and expanded edition shows us how to take the next step into unity, wholeness, and justice.