The book is permeated with the burning faith and spiritual experience of the author and cannot fail to inspire the sensitive reader. Here the student is told in simple language the why, when and how to act. This differs from any other work on a similar theme, and to date, nothing like it has yet appeared in this kind of literature. Chapters of rare spiritual beauty adorn the contents to bring solace in the worldly struggle, and to delight and uplift any reader who sincerely wants to start a new and better life beyond the reach of inner troubles.Highlights include: - Powerful enlightening prayers- Effective exorcisms- An interdenominational character

In The Jewish Dietary Laws in the Ancient World Jordan D. Rosenblum explores how cultures critique and defend their religious food practices. In particular he focuses on how ancient Jews defended the kosher laws, or kashrut, and how ancient Greeks, Romans, and early Christians critiqued these practices. As the kosher laws are first encountered in the Hebrew Bible, this study is rooted in ancient biblical interpretation. It explores how commentators in antiquity understood, applied, altered, innovated upon, and contemporized biblical dietary regulations. He shows that these differing interpretations do not exist within a vacuum; rather, they are informed by a variety of motives, including theological, moral, political, social, and financial considerations. In analyzing these ancient conversations about culture and cuisine, he dissects three rhetorical strategies deployed when justifying various interpretations of ancient Jewish dietary regulations: reason, revelation, and allegory. Finally, Rosenblum reflects upon wider, contemporary debates about food ethics.

As an old proverb puts it, 'Two Jews, three opinions.' In the long, rich, tumultuous history of the Jewish people, this characteristic contentiousness has often been extended even unto Heaven. Arguing with God is a highly original and utterly absorbing study that skates along the edge of this theological thin ice_at times verging dangerously close to blasphemy_yet also a source of some of the most poignant and deeply soulful expressions of human anguish and yearning. The name Israel literally denotes one who 'wrestles with God.' And, from Jacob's battle with the angel to Elie Wiesel's haunting questions about the Holocaust that hang in the air like still smoke over our own age, Rabbi Laytner admirably details Judaism's rich and pervasive tradition of calling God to task over human suffering and experienced injustice. It is a tradition that originated in the biblical period itself. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and others all petitioned for divine intervention in their lives, or appealed forcefully to God to alter His proposed decree. Other biblical arguments focused on personal or communal suffering and anger: Jeremiah, Job, and certain Psalms and Lamentations. Rabbi Laytner delves beneath the surface of these 'blasphemies' and reveals how they implicitly helped to refute the claims of opponent religions and advance Jewish doctrines and teachings.

Nous Chantons Nous Restons Ensemble (We Sing We Stay Together): Prieres du service du matin de Shabbat est un recueil de prieres a chanter pour le service a la synagogue du matin de Shabbat (samedi), tres facile a utiliser, avec une translitteration en caracteres romains, une traduction et une explication du service. Son principal objectif est de faciliter au possible l'apprentissage des prieres en ecoutant et en chantant sur les 64 pistes musicales du CD du meme nom ; mais il represente aussi, en lui-meme, un outil didactique qui donne la signification des mots et du service. Nos prieres juives sont de beaux chants d'amour, pleines de bonte, d'affection, d'adoration, d'espoir, de bienveillance et de generosite. Elles sont notre ADN, meme si nous ne les connaissons pas, car ces prieres, notre religion, ont faconne le peuple juif, notre facon de penser, notre education, qui nous sommes et ce que nous representons. Le judaisme c'est etre bon et positif envers soi-meme, la famille, la communaute, le monde en general - tout ceci par respect et par amour pour Hashem. Cela me remplit de gratitude, d'humilite et de fierte. Notre heritage est une benediction intellectuelle, culturelle, spirituelle et religieuse - mais nous avons besoin d'un acces facile. Je n'ai jamais pu prendre part, encore moins prendre plaisir, a un service du matin de Shabbat, mais j'aimais ces moments ou la communaute se rassemble et chante quelques courtes prieres aux melodies touchantes. Il n'y en avait simplement pas assez, il nous fallait plus de chants, bien plus ! La communaute tourne autour de la famille et des amis, et nous sommes tous amis, c'est meme ecrit dans l'une de nos prieres. Nos prieres demandent a etre chantees avec beaucoup de joie, clairement et harmonieusement. Les prieres communes servent a renforcer les liens, a partager, ce qui n'est possible que si nous pouvons tous participer de facon egale, et pour ce faire il nous faut des paroles clairement enoncees qui soient faciles a apprendre et agreables a chanter. Je dedie cet ouvrage de mise en musique des prieres du matin de Shabbat et de redaction d'un recueil des paroles de ces prieres a tous ceux qui aiment et se soucient de la Continuite Juive, de la Torah et de l'Etat-Nation du Peuple Juif, Israel ; ainsi qu'a tous nos merveilleux amis, les justes parmi les nations. Souvenez-vous de vous souvenir que lorsque nous chantons ensemble, nous restons ensemble. AM ISRAEL CHAI - le peuple d'Israel vit. Avec amour et espoir pour nos enfants, Richard Collis.

An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, third edition, offers a comprehensive study of a contemporary form of Hinduism. Begun as a revival and reform movement in India 200 years ago, it has now become one of the fastest growing and most prominent forms of Hinduism. The Swaminarayan Hindu transnational network of temples and institutions is expanding in India, East Africa, the UK, USA, Australasia, and in other African and Asian cities. The devotion, rituals, and discipline taught by its founder, Sahajanand Swami (1781-1830) and elaborated by current leaders in major festivals, diverse media, and over the Internet, help preserve ethnic and religious identity in many modern cultural and political contexts. Swaminarayan Hinduism, here described through its history, divisions, leaders, theology and practices, provides valuable case studies of contemporary Hinduism, religion, migrants, and transnationalism. This new edition includes up-to-date information about growth, geographic expansion, leadership transitions, and impact of Swaminarayan institutions in India and abroad.

This brief introduction to Hinduism is designed to help readers understand this important religious tradition. With both nuance and balance, this text provides broad coverage of various forms of Hinduism with an arresting layout with rich colors. It offers both historical overviews and modern perspectives on Hindu beliefs and practices. The user-friendly content is enhanced by charts of religious festivals, historic timelines, updated maps, and a useful glossary. It is ideal for courses on Hinduism and South Asian religions and will be a useful, concise reference for all readers eager to know more about this important religious tradition and its place in our contemporary world.

Ritualized violence is by definition not haphazard or random, but seemingly intentional and often ceremonial. It has a long history in religious practice, as attested in texts and artifacts from the earliest civilizations. It is equally evident in the behaviors of some contemporary religious activists and within initiatory practices ongoing in many regions of the world. Given its longevity and cultural expanse, ritualized violence presumably exerts a pull deeply into the sociology, psychology, anthropology, theology, perhaps even ontology of its practitioners, but this is not transparent. This short volume will sketch the subject of ritualized violence, that is, it will summarize some established theories about ritual and about violence, and will ponder a handful of striking instantiations of their link.

In this timely study Gavin D'Costa explores Roman Catholic doctrines after the Second Vatican Council regarding the Jewish people (1965 - 2015). It establishes the emergence of the teaching that God's covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable. What does this mean for Catholics regarding Jewish religious rituals, the land, and mission? Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People after Vatican II establishes that the Catholic Church has a new teaching about the Jewish people: the covenant made with God is irrevocable. D'Costa faces head-on three important issues arising from the new teaching. First, previous Catholic teachings seem to claim Jewish rituals are invalid. He argues this is not the case. Earlier teachings allow us positive insights into the modern question. Second, a nuanced case for Catholic minimalist Zionism is advanced, without detriment to the Palestinian cause. This is in keeping with Catholic readings of scripture and the development of the Holy See's attitude to the State of Israel. Third, the painful question of mission is explored. D'Costa shows the new approach safeguards Jewish identity and allows for the possibility of successful witness by Hebrew Catholics who retain their Jewish identity and religious life.

The interpretation of animal sacrifice, now considered the most important ancient Greek and Roman religious ritual, has long been dominated by the views of Walter Burkert, the late J.-P. Vernant, and Marcel Detienne. No penetrating and general critique of their views has appeared and, in particular, no critique of the application of these views to Roman religion. Nor has any critique dealt with the use of literary and visual sources by these writers. This book, a collection of essays by leading scholars, incorporates all these subjects and provides a theoretical background for the study of animal sacrifice in an ancient context.

In A Collage of Customs, Mark Podwal's imaginative and inventive interpretations of woodcuts from a 16th-century Sefer Minhagim (Book of Customs) allow us to see these historic images in a new light. Podwal brings humour and whimsy to religious objects and practices, while at the same time delivering profound and nuanced commentary on Jewish customs and history, both through his art and through his insightful accompanying text. The book appears in concert with an exhibition of Podwal's renderings at the Cincinnati Skirball Museum.

This is the first book-length study of the emergence of Medina, in modern Saudi Arabia, as a widely venerated sacred space and holy city over the course of the first three Islamic centuries (the seventh to ninth centuries CE). This was a dynamic period that witnessed the evolution of many Islamic political, religious and legal doctrines, and the book situates Medina's emerging sanctity within the appropriate historical contexts. The book focuses on the roles played by the Prophet Mu ammad, by the Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphs and by Muslim legal scholars. It shows that Medina's emergence as a holy city, alongside Mecca and Jerusalem, as well as the development of many of the doctrines associated with its sanctity, was the result of gradual and contested processes and was intimately linked with important contemporary developments concerning the legitimation of political, religious and legal authority in the Islamic world."

In a time of social distancing and isolation, a meditation on the beauty of solitude from renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor A Los Angeles Review of Books "Best of the Year" selection "Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it. A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life."-Kirkus Reviews "Elegant and formally ingenious."-Geoff Wisner, Wall Street Journal When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth. This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. Spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca, and training himself to keep an open, questioning mind have all contributed to Batchelor's ability to be simultaneously alone and at ease. Mixed in with his personal narrative are inspiring stories from solitude's devoted practitioners, from the Buddha to Montaigne, from Vermeer to Agnes Martin. In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.

Originally published in 1994, Jewish Views of the Afterlife is a classic study of ideas of afterlife and postmortem survival in Jewish tradition and mysticism. As both a scholar and pastoral counselor, Raphael guides the reader through 4,000 years of Jewish thought on the afterlife by investigating pertinent sacred texts produced in each era. Through a compilation of ideas found in the Bible, Apocrypha, rabbinic literature, medieval philosophy, medieval Midrash, Kabbalah, Hasidism and Yiddish literature, the reader learns how Judaism conceived of the fate of the individual after death throughout Jewish history. In addition, this book explores the implications of Jewish afterlife beliefs for a renewed understanding of traditional rituals of funeral, burial, shiva, kaddish and more. This newly released twenty-fifth anniversary edition presents new material on little-known Jewish mystical teachings on reincarnation, a chapter on "Spirits, Ghosts and Dybbuks in Yiddish Literature", and a foreword by the renowned scholar of Jewish mysticism, Rabbi Arthur Green. Both historical and contemporary, this book provides a rich resource for scholars and laypeople and for teachers and students and makes an important Jewish contribution to the growing contemporary psychology of death and dying.

Modern archaeology has amassed considerable evidence for the disposal of the dead through burials, cemeteries and other monuments. Drawing on this body of evidence, this book offers fresh insight into how early human societies conceived of death and the afterlife. The twenty-seven essays in this volume consider the rituals and responses to death in prehistoric societies across the world, from eastern Asia through Europe to the Americas, and from the very earliest times before developed religious beliefs offered scriptural answers to these questions. Compiled and written by leading prehistorians and archaeologists, this volume traces the emergence of death as a concept in early times, as well as a contributing factor to the formation of communities and social hierarchies, and sometimes the creation of divinities.

Although research on contemporary pilgrimage has expanded considerably since the early 1990s, the conversation has largely been dominated by Anglophone researchers in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, and religious studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Northern Europe. This volume challenges the hegemony of Anglophone scholarship by considering what can be learned from different national, linguistic, religious and disciplinary traditions, with the aim of fostering a global exchange of ideas. The chapters outline contributions made to the study of pilgrimage from a variety of international and methodological contexts and discuss what the 'metropolis' can learn from these diverse perspectives. While the Anglophone study of pilgrimage has largely been centred on and located within anthropological contexts, in many other linguistic and academic traditions, areas such as folk studies, ethnology and economics have been highly influential. Contributors show that in many traditions the study of 'folk' beliefs and practices (often marginalized within the Anglophone world) has been regarded as an important and central area which contributes widely to the understanding of religion in general, and pilgrimage, specifically. As several chapters in this book indicate, 'folk' based studies have played an important role in developing different methodological orientations in Poland, Germany, Japan, Hungary, Italy, Ireland and England. With a highly international focus, this interdisciplinary volume aims to introduce new approaches to the study of pilgrimage and to transcend the boundary between center and periphery in this emerging discipline.