Blending the deep traditions of Jewish humanism with modern philosophical expressions, this book argues that Jewish values are not fixed propositions embedded in written form that can be easily handed off from one generation to the next.

Rabbi Safran's compelling book about the need to incorporate the traditional view of modesty if we are to save our children from the superficiality, the decadence and the damaging influences of our modern, "progressive" society, opens with a simple question, "What can an Orthodox rabbi tell me about my children or my life?"
In his book, Rabbi Dr. Safran goes on to make clear that an Orthodox rabbi has quite a bit to say about the modern world, the power of spirituality, and the particularly powerful religious worldview of Judaism. Rabbi Safran presents the traditional view of modesty in the context of Judaism's unique way of looking at the world. For Judaism, seeks an appropriate balance between the physical and the spiritual, denying neither and recognizing that the beauty of God's creative wisdom inhabits both.
Rabbi Safran presents the traditional Jewish view of modesty, tzniut, by first questioning the "benefit" that the modern world has bestowed upon us. Indeed, he takes the strong position that our modern world has sought to turn our children into "commodities" that serve to benefit a corporate bottom line, but not the best interests of our children.
The superficiality of the modern world, with its emphasis on body image, has done a profound disservice to us and to our children. There are ever more young people turning to illicit sexual encounters, alcohol and drug abuse, and who suffer from psychological struggles like eating disorders. In this context, Rabbi Safran does not present tzniut as a "quick fix." Far from it. He establishes the textual, spiritual and historical context for modesty and demonstrates with candor

Kali Kaula is a practical and experiential journey through the land of living magickal art that is Tantra, guided by the incisive, inspired and multi-talented hands of Jan Fries. By stripping away the fantasies and exploring the roots, flowers and fruits of Tantra, the author provides an outstandingly effective and coherent manual of practices. Acknowledging the huge diversity of Tantric material produced over the centuries, Jan Fries draws on several decades of research and experience and focuses on the early traditions of Kula, Kaula and Krama, and the result is this inimitable work which shines with the light of possibility. Unique in style and content, this book is more than a manual of tantric magick, it is a guide to the exploration of the inner soul. It contains the most lucid discussions of how to achieve liberation in the company of numerous Indian goddesses and gods, each of whom brings their own lessons and gifts to the dedicated seeker. It is also an eloquent introduction to the mysteries of the great goddess Kali, providing numerous views of her manifold nature, and showing the immense but hidden role played throughout history by women in the development and dissemination of tantric practices and beliefs.Jan Fries explores the spectrum of techniques from mudra to mantra, pranayama to puja, from kundalini arousal to purification to sexual rites, and makes them both accessible and relevant, translating them out of the Twilight Language of old texts and setting them in the context of both personal transformation and the historical evolution of traditions. The web of connections between Tantra and Chinese Alchemy and Taoism are explored as the author weaves together many of the previously disparate strands of philosophies and practices. This book challenges the reader to dream, delight, and develop, and provides an illustrated guidebook on how to do so. Bliss awaits those who dare.

The human mind is inherently free. It neither affirms nor denies. It is not constrained by the conflict of the opposites, like right and wrong or self and others. An awakened mind knows that the dynamic unity between self and others forms part of an integrated whole. Having direct knowledge of this mind brings profound peace. The teachings of the Buddha point the way to acquire this knowledge through direct personal experience.

In this intriguing and enlightening collection of stories, three Zen students reflect on their personal journeys and share how their lives subsequently transformed because of the practice. Under the direction of Zen Master Kido Inoue, they share their doubts, their difficulties, their amazement, and the transformations that they experienced in their lives. The ultimate aim of Zen is to break out of the constraints of ego and have direct personal experience of the absolute infinity of our being. It is to awaken to the truth of our nature beyond the ego. In a nutshell, Zen focuses on the essence of mind.

Jewish customs and traditions about death, burial and mourning are numerous, diverse and intriguing. They are considered by many to have a respectable pedigree that goes back to the earliest rabbinic period. In order to examine the accurate historical origins of many of them, an international conference was held at Tel Aviv University in 2010 and experts dealt with many aspects of the topic. This volume includes most of the papers given then, as well as a few added later. What emerges are a wealth of fresh material and perspectives, as well as the realization that the high Middle Ages saw a set of exceptional innovations, some of which later became central to traditional Judaism while others were gradually abandoned. Were these innovations influenced by Christian practice? Which prayers and poems reflect these innovations? What do the sources tell us about changing attitudes to death and life-after death? Are tombstones an important guide to historical developments? Answers to these questions are to be found in this unusual, illuminating and readable collection of essays that have been well documented, carefully edited and well indexed.

This book will offer an account not so much of God's Providence an sich, but rather of divine providence as experienced by believers and unbelievers. It will not ask questions about whether and how God knows the future, or how suffering can be accounted for (as is the case in the treatments by William Lane Craig, Richard Swinburne, or J. Sanders), but will focus on prayer and decision-making as a faithful and/or desperate response to the perception of God as having some controlling influence. The following gives an idea of the ground to be covered: The patristic foundations of the Christian view of Providence; The medieval synthesis of 'objective' and 'subjective' views; Reformational and Early Modern: the shift towards piety; Modern Enlightenment: Providence and Ethics; Barth and the Sceptics; The sense of Providence in the Modern Novel and World.

This book presents a systematic approach to the literary analysis of cultural practices. Based on a postcolonial framework of diaspora, the book utilizes literary theory to investigate cultural phenomena such as food preparation and song. Razia Parveen explores various diverse themes, including the female voice, genealogy, space, time, and diaspora, and applies them to the analysis of community identity. This volume also demonstrates how a literary analysis of oral texts helps to provide insight into women's lived narratives. For example, Parveen discusses how the notion of the 'third space' creates a distinctly feminine spatiality.

This is the first full-scale scholarly study of a fourteenth-century English confessor's manual. It contributes significantly to the European-wide research on pre-Reformation confessional practice and clerical training. On another level, the Memoriale Presbiterorum's peculiarly intense concern with social morality affords pungent commentary on contemporary English society.

The paradigmatic Buddhist is the monk. It is well known that ideally Buddhist monks are expected to meditate and study-to engage in religious practice. The institutional structure which makes this concentration on spiritual cultivation possible is the monastery. But as a bureaucratic institution, the monastery requires administrators to organize and manage its functions, to prepare quiet spots for meditation, arrange audiences for sermons, or simply to make sure food is available, and rooms and bedding provided. The valuations placed on such organizational roles were, however, a subject of considerable controversy among Indian Buddhist writers, with some considering them significantly less praiseworthy than meditative concentration or teaching and study, while others more highly appreciated their importance. Managing Monks, as the first major study of the administrative offices of Indian Buddhist monasticism and of those who hold them, explores literary sources, inscriptions and other materials in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan and Chinese in order to explore this tension and paint a picture of the internal workings of the Buddhist monastic institution in India, highlighting the ambivalent and sometimes contradictory attitudes toward administrators revealed in various sources.

Prayer is effective when we observe biblical proceedings and respect the laws of God; it is warfare against the enemy of our life and destiny. Curses can be defeated and destroyed when we submit ourselves to scriptural truth. Seeking solutions to matters that are curse-oriented demands that one engage the enemy involved in warfare. Wars cannot be fought to finish instantly without major preparations, and the enemy cannot be defeated or destroyed without effective strategies.

For those facing this type of conflict "Strategic Deliverance Solutions: Discover and Destroy Ancestral Curses" contains the essentials for a rewarding prayer life. Dr. Pauline Walley-Daniels informs, trains, and equips God's army before marching us off to spiritual wars. She writes to the heart of the matter in this guide, based upon the study of the book of Esther from the Bible. She explores the meaning and the impact of curses and considers how to break and uproot curses in the realm of warfare and confrontation.

"Strategic Deliverance Solutions: Discover and Destroy Ancestral Curses" explains how to trace the root, and source of affliction. It also teaches on how to undertake a solution-oriented mission in order to conquer the problem.

This book by renowned scholar and recognised authority on Islam, Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, is a discourse on the legal position of celebrating the Mawlid al-Nabi (birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)) within Islam. Most notably, the author has comprehensively compiled evidences from the authentic source texts and classical authorities to prove not only the permissibility of celebrating the Mawlid al-Nabi within the bounds of the Shari'a (Islamic Law) but also that it is divinely ordained and was a Sunna (practice) of the Prophet himself. The author presents unique and compelling arguments showing why celebrating Mawlid al-Nabi is not only an act of righteousness, but a need of our time. Tackling the various criticisms of this act head on, he specifically addresses the issue of why the first generation of Muslims did not celebrate the Mawlid, and clarifies that labelling the Mawlid as an bid'ah (innovation) betrays a fundamental and serious flaw in the understand of the Islamic concept of bid'ah.

THIS BOOK is based on the dialogue between the Shulamite Maiden and the Bridegroom in the Song of Solomon and is written as a devotional book with a verse-by-verse dialogue of the writer's conversations with God.

The author invites you to peer into her intimate dialogues with God, and as you do so, you may find yourself opening your heart to receive what God is saying to you. Then, when you turn the Scripture into personal prayer, recording in your own journal the secret longings and prayers of your heart as well as the things that God says to you, you may find to your amazement that God is "crazy in love with you" and passionately pursuing you as a lover of God.

Embracing the love of the Bridegroom for yourself, you discover the joy of embarking

on your own enjoyable journey to the high places of intimacy with God, your love relationship with God ignited into passionate desire for His presence

?Divine Entreaty is a great resource for all who are called upon to offer prayer for gatherings that include people from diverse backgrounds. The prayers written by Dr. Menz provide us with sensitivity training and show that he is both a verbal artist and philosopher. Suellen Mazurowski, JD; Hilton Head, SC Teach us to pray? was the elementary request of the first disciples of Jesus. Yet their desire is a universal one; a spiritual longing at the heart of persons of all religions and cultures. In this remarkable little volume Dr. Menz captures both the complexity of cultural sensitivity and also the commonality of public prayer. This is a resource for both guiding those who are called upon to articulate a prayer in our diverse world and encouraging business and civic leaders who feel the need for the prayers of the people to be voiced.? ?James Gebhart, PhD, clinical psychologist; Columbus, Ohio ?Bob Menz and I have a friendship that goes back twenty-plus years revolving around human resource conferences and issues. Bob has shared prayers with people for decades and I would like to thank him for giving others a place to begin as we seek communication with our Creator.?Bill Henry, human resources manager; Ava, Missouri ?We live and work in a culturally, religiously, and spiritually diverse world. For those of us who are challenged by issues of diversity every day, Dr. Menz's volume, Divine Entreaty, is a welcome resource calling our attention to the necessity of inclusiveness. Both the famous prayers of the past and those for public and diverse settings will enlighten your own sense of oneness with humanity. Carl Kyle, DMin, board-certified chaplain; Jacksonville, Florida Divine Entreaty offers a collection of inclusive prayers for leadership in civic, business, education, politics, ministry, and other disciplines to adopt or modify when communities seek to clarify their purpose and capture the moment.