Kabbalah and Ecology resets the conversation about ecology and the Abrahamic traditions. David Mevorach Seidenberg challenges the anthropocentric reading of the Torah, showing that a radically different orientation to the more-than-human world of nature leads to a more accurate interpretation of scripture, rabbinic texts, Maimonides, and Kabbalah.

Exploring childbirth from within a Jewish tradition, the author of New Lifedraws on folklore, prayers, folk remedies, and biblical, rabbinical, and mystical literature to discuss Jewish beliefs, values, and customs concerning the birth of a child. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Reprint.

An insightful exploration of Jewish mysticism—written especially for Christians. Kabbalah is well known as the foundation of the Jewish mystical tradition, but few are aware that Kabbalah’s spiritual applications extend beyond Jewish life. In this accessible, intelligent guide, Tamar Frankiel, PhD, a leading teacher of Jewish mysticism, demystifies the intricate world of Kabbalah. You will find that the teachings of Kabbalah are not only for Jewish scholars—anyone can incorporate this enduring wisdom into everyday life if they have an open mind and a willing heart. Unlike the faddish books that discuss Kabbalah as simply a “magical system,” this book discusses the evolution of Kabbalah from its origins in Judaism and gives Christian readers the vocabulary and tools to begin to understand this long-standing mystical tradition. It also explores the similarities and differences between Jewish and Christian mysticism, placing both in a larger and more comprehensive framework. Explore the kabbalistic Tree of Life to discover how God is expressed in the world around us. Examine your life and discover how it can be understood as part of an unfolding spiritual path. Travel through your personal and collective histories to find a more personal perspective on the principles of Kabbalah. ... and more

Dreams of Being Eaten Alive plunges the reader deeply into the sensibility of an explosive realm of knowledge that has remained unfamiliar for too long. David Rosenberg, long considered the leading poet-translator of the Bible, now unveils the literary basis for the Kabbalah as the major counter-tradition in Western history. The Kabbalah becomes news once again, as Rosenberg peels back its philosophical grandeur to a bedrock of eroticism. The pleasures of the flesh and the soul become one, and our desire to be devoured by a form of knowledge greater than art itself lies exposed. Dreams of Being Eaten Alive carries the same authority that gave life to Rosenberg's work in the New York Times best-seller The Book of J, in that this is the first time the Kabbalah has been translated into a Western language in a way that reveals its undeniable importance. Unexpectedly, we meet at last the secret sexuality of the Kabbalah. In narratives that challenge our ideas of what makes a modern story, characters evolve in a bewitching and scary realm somewhere between event and insight, at the unnerving center of what we take to be reality. Like the great stories of the twentieth century, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive enriches our literature by stretching our consciousness. A forgotten link between science and religion shines forth as well, as Rosenberg describes the first manifestations of evolutionary thought in the Kabbalist's literary art. Weaving together the mysteries of identity, storytelling, and life after death, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive is a spellbinding journey from the modern world to the world of our origins, finding new meaning in both.

A new and urgent item on the agenda of churches around the world is the theological and ethical dimensions of the ecological crisis. Highlighted by the United Nations Earth Summit in Brazil, the issues covered in this volume raise unavoidable and fundamental questions of the life-style and Christian witness in the face of threats to the very survival of humankind and planet Earth. The groundbreaking essays by more than two-dozen contributors in this book are divided into five sections: biblical witness, theological challenges, insights from ecofeminism, insights from indigenous people, and ethical implications. Contributors include: JosŽ P. M. Cunanan, Philippines; Margot Kaessmann, Germany; Renthy Keitzar, India; K. C. Abraham, India; Tony Brun, Costa Rica; Milton B. Efthimiou, United States; Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, World Council of Churches; Kwok Pui-lan, Hong Kong; Larry Rasmussen, United States; Samuel Rayan, India; M. Adebisi Sowunmi, Nigeria; Tsehai Berhane-Selassie, Ethiopia; Chung Hyun Kyung, South Korea; Aruna Gnanadason, India; Anne Primavesi, United Kingdom; Rosemary Radford Ruether, United States; Rob Cooper, New Zealand; Stan McKay, Canada; George Tinker, United States; Edward Antonio, Zimbabwe; Leonardo Boff, Brazil; M. L. Daneel, South Africa; David G. Hallman, Canada; Dieter T. Hessel, United States Catherine Keller, United States.

Ritual Dynamics in Jewish and Christian Contexts investigates questions that arise in modern ritual studies concerning Jewish and Christian religious communities: How did their religious rituals develop? Where did different ritual communities and their ritual texts interact? How did religious communities and their authoritative texts respond to change, and how did change influence religious rituals? The volume is a product of the interdisciplinary and international research efforts taken by the Research Centre “Dynamics of Jewish Ritual Practices in Pluralistic Contexts from Antiquity to the Present” at the Universität Erfurt (Germany) and unites the voices of important senior and emerging scholars in the field. It focuses on antiquity and the medieval period but also considers examples from the early modern and modern period in Europe

Ecologically oriented visions of God, the Sacred, the Earth, and human beings. The proposed handbook will serve as the definitive overview of these exciting new developments. Divided into three main sections, the books essays will reflect the three dominant dimensions of the field. Part I will explore