You don't have to be a mystic to enjoy Rabbi Shefa Gold's new commentary on the Song of Songs, but it may make you into one. Rather than address herself to the reader, she speaks directly, and passionately, to God, The Beloved. She invites us to share in her conversation with life itself, with the mystery that wells "at the center of every molecule, at the heart of my being." IN THE FEVER OF LOVE breathes new life into the ancient practice of both Jews and Christians to read the Song as an allegory of the love between God and human beings. This rich, poetic text of can be used for pondering, praying, and perceiving life in a deeper way by people of any faith, but remains deeply rooted in Judaism's down-to-earth approach to the world. Rabbi Gold brings a modern psychological awareness to this ancient text.For those who want specific directions, she appends ten "commandments" from the Song which can be maxims for daily living.

One of the most basic questions for any legal system is that of methodology: how one interprets, analyzes, weighs, and applies a mass of often competing legal rules, precedents, practices, customs, and traditions to reach final determinations and practical guidance about the correct legal-prescribed course of action in any given situation. Questions of legal methodology raise not only practical concerns, but theoretical and philosophical ones as well. We expect law to be more than the arbitrary result of a given decision maker's personal preferences, and so we demand that legal methodologies be principled as well as practical. These issues are especially acute in religious legal systems, where the stakes are raised by concerns for respecting not just human, but divine law. Despite this, the major scholars and codifiers of halakhah, or Jewish law, have only rarely explicated their own methods for reaching principled legal decisions. This book explains the major jurisprudential factors driving the halakhic jurisprudence of Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Epstein, twentieth-century author of the Arukh Hashulchan-the most comprehensive, seminal, and original modern restatement of Jewish law since Maimonides. Reasoning inductively from a broad review of hundreds of rulings from the Orach Chaim section of the Arukh Hashulchan, the book teases out and explicates ten core halakhic principles that animate Rabbi Epstein's halakhic decision-making. Along the way, it compares the Arukh Hashulchan methodology to that of the Mishna Berura. This book will help any reader understand important methodological issues in both Jewish and general jurisprudence.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

As a result of world events over the past few years, Islam has entered our consciousness in an unprecedented way. The Qur'an, guiding text for over one billion Muslims, is being looked to for answers to questions like: does the Qur'an promote peace and harmony or discord and conflict, does it contribute to pluralism or exclusivism, is its message spiritual or fanatical? Based on a profound study of the Sufi perspective of the likes of Ibn Arabi, Rumi and Ghazali, "The Other in the Light of the One" is an attempt to answer the above questions and is an invitation to study the universality that is present in the Qur'an. Its aim is to relate some of the most profound interpretations of the Qur'an to philosophical and spiritual questions concerning interfaith dialogue. 'The Other in the Light of the One' provides the basis for dialogue and mutual enrichment on aspects of religious life and thought that go beyond the outward forms of belief, yielding fruit not only in the practical domain of peaceful coexistence, but also in the fields of metaphysical insight and spiritual realisation. For Muslims, 'The Other in the Light of the One' offers a pioneering view of 'da'wa', in that it illustrates the tangible means of putting into practice the many Qur'anic verses that commend discourse with others in a manner that is 'finest, most beautiful'('ahsan').

In Understanding the Talmud: A Modern Reader's Guide for Study, Rabbi Edward S. Boraz presents a thoughtful introduction to the Talmud designed for study by the untrained reader. Using a unique approach, Rabbi Boraz focuses on a specific selection from one tractate of the Talmud, allowing readers to uncover the moral and theological concerns of the text. The portion he has selected comes from the tractate Bava Metziah and deals with the conditions under which an oath may be administered in a civil lawsuit. On the surface this issue appears mundane and far removed from the domain of holiness. However, when the discourse is studied in relation to passages from Scripture, Midrash, and Mishnah that are also presented, it becomes a spiritual and ethical adventure. Before embarking on this journey of discovery, the reader is given a concise explanation of the rules of logic and the argumentative style utilized in the Talmud. It becomes evident that the Talmud's style is essential to its mission to understand the timeless messages of Torah in the context of the ever-changing world in which we live. Equipped with the necessary background, the reader is prepared to delve into the texts.

The work of the twelfth-century Shi'ite scholar al-Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, is one of the most important works of medieval commentary on the Qur'an, and is still in use today. This work is an in-depth case study of Islamic exegetical methods and an exploration of the nature of scriptural interpretation in Islam. Drawing on a wide variety of sources including unpublished manuscripts, the author examines how exegesis serves to construct, maintain and defend the status of the Qur'an as scripture and to uphold certain ideological agendas, among them the notion of the literary and rhetorical supremacy of God's revelation in Arabic. Focusing on the genre and process of Qur'anic exegesis itself, he treats Qur'an interpretation as part of a category of religious practice recognizable from the history and comparative study of religion. Written in clear and accessible style, Qur'anic Hermeneutics makes Qur'anic exegesis intelligible to specialists in Islam as well as those interested in scripture and its interpretation in general. As such, it will be a valuable reference to scholars of Islamic studies, religion and scripture.

The White Tower. A terrible vision. Her home invaded and precious documents stolen. Lady Isabelle must flee her pursuers, posing as a young male scholar in the New College of St Mary in Oxford. But when she learns she is with child it won't be long until she is discovered amongst their ranks. Can she bring herself to love an infant conceived in evil? And will she ever be reunited with her beloved Richard, or will Sir Henry Lormont's dagger find him first? This deftly plotted 15th century novel traverses the well-trodden pilgrimage routes from Oxford to Rome encountering lepers, assassins, sea rovers and historical figures Lady Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor along the way. Superbly researched by a scholar of the period, Clover blends history with the riveting story of a woman who overcomes the restrictions placed on her sex to create a page-turning novel.

This book presents an inductive account, through systematic inquiry into data, of the hermeneutics of the principal documents of Rabbinic Judaism. It undertakes a hypothetical-logical reconstruction of the thought-processes that generated the category-formations of the Halakhah, that is, the exegesis of the hermeneutics of Halakhic exegesis. To do so, Neusner asks whether a determinate theory of interpretation guides the sages in their exposition of the topics, the category-formations, of Rabbinic Judaism in the documents that expound those formations. His answer is, a hermeneutics of comparison and contrast yielding a hierarchical classification of data governs the selection of data and the interpretation thereof for the entire corpus of category-formations of the Halakhah. Hence 'Halakhic hermeneutics' here bears the primary meaning, 'a hermeneutics of analogical-contrastive analysis.'

With extraordinary range and literary energy, the story of Absalom's rebellion in 2 Samuel ranks as the most elaborate and extensively narrated internal political event in the Hebrew Bible, complete with a host of scandalous and sordid events: illicit sex, murder, cover-up, petty crime, to name a few. For many students approaching the historical books of the Bible, however, texts often fail to address the vitality of this most turbulent period of King David's career. Bodner addresses this shortcoming with his The Rebellion of Absalom, a lively analysis of the early monarchy of Israel, written by a recognized commentator of the Bible's historical books. Concise and insightful, each chapter incrementally focuses on the stages of David's rise to power and Absalom's early life and rebellion. Crucial issues in the development of Israel's monarchy are embedded in this story, including: royal legitimation divine election succession usurpation divine and human punishment. The Rebellion of Absalom is a student-friendly, culturally savvy approach to one of the most important episodes in deciding how the kings of Israel would be determined throughout the monarchic period.

Reading the Qur'an in the Twenty-First Century considers the development of Qur'anic interpretation and highlights modern debates around new approaches to interpretation. It explores how Muslims from various theological, legal, socio-political and philosophical backgrounds think about the meaning and relevance of the Qur'an, and how their ideas apply in the contemporary world. The book: reflects on one of the most dominant approaches to interpretation in the pre-modern period, textualism, and the reaction to that in Muslim feminist readings of the Qur'an today. covers issues such as identifying the hierarchical nature of Qur'anic values, the criteria for the use of hadith in interpretation, fluidity of meaning and ways of ensuring a degree of stability in interpretation. examines key Qur'anic passages and compares pre-modern and modern interpretations to show the evolving nature of interpretation. Examples discussed include: the authority of men over women, the death of Jesus, shura and democracy, and riba and interest. Abdullah Saeed provides a practical guide for interpretation and presents the principal ideas of a contextualist approach, which situates the original message of the Qur'an in its wider social, political, cultural, economic and intellectual context. He advocates a more flexible method of interpretation that gives due recognition to earlier interpretations of the Qur'an while also being aware of changing conditions and the need to approach the Qur'an afresh today.

What would it be like to have complete sovereignty within your own life? To feel confidently aligned with the power of your true Self? The beloved texts at the heart of yoga offer us timeless pathways to this experience, yet without years of formal study, accessing the depths of their wisdom can seem overwhelming. In Sovereign Self, Acharya Shunya demystifies yoga's most influential texts: the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita, making their profound teachings both accessible and immediately practical for modern seekers. The first female lineage holder in a 2,000-year-old line of Vedic spiritual teachers and the first to teach in the West, Shunya has a personal and authentic understanding of these classic scriptures. With Sovereign Self, she shares a comprehensive guide to their essential teachings, expertly adapting their wisdom and spiritual practices for Western students. Filled with hidden insights and engaging guidance, Sovereign Self will help you align with your greater Self - the Self that is always present, all-powerful, ever-joyful, and completely sovereign.

Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World contributes new methods for the study and interpretation of material religion found within literary landscapes. The poets of Hindu devotion are known for their intimate celebration of deities, and while verses over a thousand years old are still treasured, translated, and performed, little attention has been paid to the evocative sensorial worlds referenced by these literary compositions. This book offers a material interpretation of an understudied poem that defined an entire genre of South Asian literature -Tirukkovaiyar-the 9th-century Tamil poem dedicated to Shiva. The poetry of Tamil South India invites travel across real and imagined geography, naming royal patrons, ancient temple towns, and natural landscapes. Leah Elizabeth Comeau locates the materiality of devotion to Shiva in a world unique to the South Indian vernacular and yet captivating to audiences across time, place, and tradition.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1966. This is a study into the question of whether religion in general, and the Christian religion in particular, is to be regarded as an instrument of social stimulation and disturbance, or as a means of social reconciliation and stabilisation by focusing on religious literature of the sixteenth century.

Within the classical Islamic tradition, the field of Qur'anic exegesis, more commonly referred to as tafsir, occupies a revered place among the traditional Muslim sciences. Although tafsir encompasses various approaches to the explication of the Qur'an and these include legal, theological, rhetorical, linguistic, mystical, literary, and philosophical treatments, it is the technical tools and methodologies applied in Qur'anic exegesis and the history of their development which make the discipline so unique in its Islamic context. Given the significance of tafsir within the religious tradition, western academic scholars have devoted considerable attention to the field. This interest remains vigorous today and represents one of the key areas of research in modern Islamic studies. This collection of articles on tafsir provides a definitive overview of the tradition of tafsir in its early, medieval, and modern settings. Tafsir: Interpreting the Qur'an includes works germane to the history and development of exegesis; materials which focus on the tradition's great commentators and their commentaries; articles which look at the genres, themes and contexts of the tafsir tradition; research on exegetical ideas, sources, and constructs; and, finally, articles which examine the hermeneutic tools defined by scholarship for the explication of the sacred text. It is an essential work of reference destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital one-stop research resource.

This is a study of the relationship between two cognate religious components of Judaism, the laws of the Pentateuch and the corpus of Halakhah set forth by the Mishnah-Tosefta-Yerushalmi-Bavli. Both contain normative rules or Halakhah. The four relationships between the Torah and the Halakhah are [1] dependent, the Halakhah simply amplifying the Halakhic topic and proposition of Scripture, [2] autonomous, the Halakhah simply defining its own category-formation and determining the proposition that animates that category-formation, [3] interstitial (in-between) but derivative, and [4] interstitial yet fundamentally original. As to these latter two relationships, in the first of the two, Scripture defines the category-formation and determines the proposition to be explored in that connection. In the second of the two, Scripture supplies the topic, but the Halakhah on its own defines the proposition it wishes to explore in connection with that topic.

Transforming Literature into Scripture examines how the early textual traditions of ancient Israel - stories, laws, and rituals - were transformed into sacred writings. By comparing evidence from two key collections from antiquity - the royal library at Nineveh and the biblical manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls - the book traces the stabilisation of textual traditions in the ancient Near East towards fixed literary prototypes. The study presents a new methodology which enables the quantification, categorisation and statistical analysis of texts from different languages, writing systems, and media. The methodology is tested on wide range of text genres from the cuneiform and biblical traditions in order to determine which texts tend towards stabilised forms. Transforming Literature into Scripture reveals how authoritative literary collections metamorphosed into fixed ritualised texts and will be of interest to scholars across Biblical, Judaic and Literary Studies.

An accessible and accurate translation of the Quran that offers a rigorous analysis of its theological, metaphysical, historical, and geographical teachings and backgrounds, and includes extensive study notes, special introductions by experts in the field, and is edited by a top modern Islamic scholar, respected in both the West and the Islamic world. Drawn from a wide range of traditional Islamic commentaries, including Sunni and Shia sources, and from legal, theological, and mystical texts, The Study Quran conveys the enduring spiritual power of the Quran and offers a thorough scholarly understanding of this holy text. Beautifully packaged with a rich, attractive two-color layout, this magnificent volume includes essays by 15 contributors, maps, useful notes and annotations in an easy-to-read two-column format, a timeline of historical events, and helpful indices. With The Study Quran, both scholars and lay readers can explore the deeper spiritual meaning of the Quran, examine the grammar of difficult sections, and explore legal and ritual teachings, ethics, theology, sacred history, and the importance of various passages in Muslim life. With an introduction by its general editor, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, here is a nearly 2,000-page, continuous discussion of the entire Quran that provides a comprehensive picture of how this sacred work has been read by Muslims for over 1,400 years.