William Kolbrener

Open Minded Torah

Of Irony, Fundamentalism and Love

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

In essays as likely to turn to baseball, Denzel Washington, and the NASDAQ as to Macbeth, quantum physics and psychoanalysis, William Kolbrener provides powerful - and often surprising - insights into how open mindedness allows for authentic Jewish commitment in an age otherwise defined by fundamentalism and unbelief. Open Minded Torah presents - on topics ranging from parenting a son with Down syndrome to Biblical criticism to Talmudic interpretation of dreams - a perspective on Torah which emphasizes scepticism, creativity and the need to embrace difference. Through a personal synthesis of Western and Jewish learning, popular culture and philosophy, Kolbrener offers a compelling new vision where being open minded allows for a non-dogmatic and committed Jewish life. Informed by Kolbrener's considerable erudition, but always accessible, the essays show that scepticism informs belief, commitment grounds creativity, and non-defensive receptiveness makes individual autonomy possible. For every person, it is said, there is a corresponding letter in the Torah: this innovative collection shows Kolbrener writing his letter, and providing the inspiration for others to write their own.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury Academic
• Seitenzahl: 200
• Erscheinungstermin: 17. März 2011
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 195mm x 129mm x 18mm
• Gewicht: 233g
• ISBN-13: 9781441118660
• ISBN-10: 1441118667
• Artikelnr.: 31704120

Autorenporträt

William Kolbrener

Inhaltsangabe

Prologue: Velvel, Govorovo, 1939 \ I. Desire and Self \ 1 Making Exceptions
\ 2 Do it Again Denzel: Fantasy and Second Chances \ 3 Caught in the Act:
Torah and Desire \ 4 Just Dreamin': The Talmud and the Interpretation of
Dreams \ 5 The Big Game: Baseball, John Milton and Making Choices \ 6 Of
Rabbis and Rotting Meat \ 7 Identity is Out! \ 8 Isaac's Bad Rap \ 9
Cheeseburger \ 10 Writing an Inspirational Story \ 11 Eros and Translation
\ 12 Swaying Towards Perfection: Torah, Worldliness and Perversion \ 13
Jacob's Scar: Wounding and Identity \ 14 Torah and the Pleasure Principle \
II. Dispute and Community \ 15 Oedipus in a Kippa \ 16 Open Minded Torah I:
Judaism and Fundamentalism \ 17 Irony Über Alles: An Episcopal Passover \
18 Of False Kabbalists and Conjurers: Parenting and Idolatry \ 19 From
Sinai to the Uzi: New and Old Zionisms \ 20 Modernity is Hell: Korah and
Hobbes \ 21 Lost and Found \ 22 The Poetry of the World: God's Place \ 23
Open Minded Torah II: Judaism and Postmodernism \ 24 Stepping Up \ 25
Prayer and the People: A New Siddur \ 26 A Religion for Adults? \ 27 Of
Fundamentalists, Rabbis and Irony \ 28 Don't Take Away My Mitzva! \ 29 Fear
and Loathing in Jerusalem \ 30 Open Minded Torah III: Between
Fundamentalism and Postmodernism \ III. Time and Memory \ 31 Carpe Diem,
Dude \ 32 The Antidote for Religion: Fear of God \ 33 Speech in Exile and
the Voice of the Shofar 34 Back to the Future: Yom Kippur and Creative
Repentance \ 35 Shades of Faith: My Sukka is Not Insured by AIG \ 36 'A
Special Conversation': Freud, the Maharal and the Sabbath \ 37 Lighting Up:
The Beauty of Hanuka \ 38 Whose Letter is it Anyway: Esther, Aristotle and
the Art of Letter-Writing \ 39 Cosmic Consciousness: The Beatles, Passover
and the Power of Storytelling \ 40 Trauma's Legacy: On Israel's Memorial
Day \ 41 Why I Gave Up Biblical Criticism and Just Learned to Love \ 42
Faceless: the Ninth of Av \ Epilogue: Shmuel, Jerusalem, 2011 \ Citations \
Select Bibliography \ Index