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The gospel writers were masters of 'Midrash', a popular literary
technique in the ancient Jewish world. Midrash enables authors to
promote their ideas by weaving them into well known biblical
themes. The gospels contain coded, midrashic, messages that would
have resonated with their contemporary Jewish audience. Approaching
the "New Testament" from a midrashic perspective leads to a
radically new picture of Jesus as a political leader. Not, as is
often claimed a revolutionary against Roman occupation. One
prominent theme, that of the Holy Grail, which is central to an
understanding of the revolutionary agenda, was virtually (but not
quite) written out the gospels, only to resurface in medieval
Christian folk lore. The failure of Jesus' revolution came about,
not with his crucifixion, but long before with the imprisonment and
subsequent execution of John the Baptist, the only qualifying
candidate for high office in the revolutionary scheme. From this
time forward Jesus and his disciples faced an uphill struggle.
Their ultimate demise was inevitable, and Jesus knew this, as the
narrative bears out.
Jews in Britain have risen to the top of nearly every profession,
they run major companies, sit at the top tables in politics and are
prominent in science, arts and media. Of course there is poverty
and disadvantage, just as there is in any community, but
objectively, British Jews have done well. Particularly when we
consider where they came from: the impoverished, often oppressed
lives that many Jews lived in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire
less than 200 years ago. British Jews have lived safely and
continuously in Britain longer than any other modern Jewish
community has lived anywhere else in the world. Jews are so
ingrained into the national fabric of Britain that they are often
not considered to be a minority at all. They have organised
themselves in a way that serves as a model both to more recent
immigrant communities in Britain and to Jewish communities
elsewhere. Being British, they wear their distinctions lightly,
they don’t trumpet their achievements. But they give back
quietly: Jewish organisations help more recently arrived
minorities, charities draw on the Jewish experience of persecution
to help oppressed people in the developing world, philanthropists
support causes far beyond their own communities’ boundaries.
Based on conversations with Jews from all walks of life,
Britain’s Jews depicts what it is like to be Jewish in 21st
century Britain and why Jewish life is still a subject of
fascination.
'Leonard Cohen taught us that even in the midst of darkness there
is light, in the midst of hatred there is love, with our dying
breath we can still sing Hallelujah.' - The late Rabbi Lord
Jonathan Sacks 'Among the finest volumes on Cohen's life and lyrics
... An exploration which would have intrigued and engaged Leonard
himself.' - John McKenna, writer and friend of Leonard Cohen Harry
Freedman uncovers the spiritual traditions that lie behind Leonard
Cohen's profound and unmistakable lyrics. The singer and poet
Leonard Cohen was deeply learned in Judaism and Christianity, the
spiritual traditions that underpinned his self-identity and the way
he made sense of the world. In this book Harry Freedman, a leading
author of cultural and religious history, explores the mystical and
spiritual sources Cohen drew upon, discusses their original context
and the stories and ideas behind them. Cohen's music is studded
with allusions to Jewish and Christian tradition, to stories and
ideas drawn from the Bible, Talmud and Kabbalah. From his 1967
classic 'Suzanne', through masterpieces like 'Hallelujah' and 'Who
by Fire', to his final challenge to the divinity, 'You Want It
Darker' he drew on spirituality for inspiration and as a tool to
create understanding, clarity and beauty. Born into a prominent and
scholarly Jewish family in Montreal, Canada, Cohen originally
aspired to become a poet, before turning to song writing and
eventually recording his own compositions. Later, he became
immersed in Zen Buddhism, moving in 1990 to a Zen monastery on
Mount Baldy, California where he remained for some years. He died,
with immaculate timing, on the day before Donald Trump was elected
in 2016, leaving behind him a legacy that will be felt for
generations to come. Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius
looks deeply into the imagination of one of the greatest singers
and lyricists of our time, providing a window on the landscape of
his soul. Departing from traditional biographical approaches,
Freedman explores song by song how Cohen reworked myths and
prayers, legends and allegories with an index of songs at the end
of the book for readers to search by their favourites. By the end
the reader will be left with a powerful understanding of Cohen's
story, together with a far broader insight into the mystical
origins of his inimitable work.
As a minority, Jews in Britain are confident, their institutions
competent and mature. And yet within Jewish life in Britain there
is a pervading sense of anxiety. Jews in Britain have done very
well. They have risen to the top of nearly every profession, they
run major companies, sit at the top tables in politics, make their
voices heard in the media, are prominent in science and the arts.
Of course there is serious poverty and gross disadvantage, just as
there is in any community. But on any objective measure, British
Jews have done well. Particularly when we consider where they came
from, the impoverished, often oppressed lives that many Jews lived
in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire less than 200 years ago.
Jews have lived in Britain longer than any other minority. They've
been here so long, and are so ingrained into the national fabric,
that they are often not considered to be a minority at all. Until a
periodic outburst of antisemitism or a flare up in the Middle East,
or both, turns the spotlight on them once again. British Jews have
another distinction too. They have lived safely and securely,
continuously, in Britain longer than any other modern Jewish
community has lived anywhere else in the world. They have organised
themselves in a way that serves as a model both to more recent
immigrant communities in Britain and to Jewish communities
elsewhere. Being British, they wear their distinctions lightly,
they don't trumpet their achievements, in fact they rarely make a
noise at all. But they give back quietly: established Jewish
organisations help more recently arrived minorities to create their
own structures, charities draw on the Jewish experience of
dislocation and persecution to help oppressed people in the
developing world, philanthropists support causes far beyond the
boundaries of their own communities. Britain's Jews is a
challenging look at Jewish life in the UK today. Based on
conversations with Jews from all walks of life, it depicts, in ways
that are at times disturbing, at other times inspiring, what it is
like to be Jewish in 21st century Britain. And why Jewish life is
still a subject of fascination.
This book tells the story of the mystical Jewish system known as Kabbalah, from its earliest origins until the present day. We trace Kabbalah's development, from the second century visionaries who visited the divine realms and brought back tales of their glories and splendours, through the unexpected arrival of a book in Spain that appeared to have lain unconcealed for over a thousand years, and on to the mystical city of Safed where souls could be read and the history of heaven was an open book.
Kabbalah's Christian counterpart, Cabala, emerged during the Renaissance, becoming allied to magic, alchemy and the occult sciences. A Kabbalistic heresy tore apart seventeenth century Jewish communities, while closer to our time Aleister Crowley hijacked it to proclaim 'Do What Thou Wilt'. Kabbalah became fashionable in the late 1960s in the wake of the hippy counter-culture and with the approach of the new age, and enjoyed its share of fame, scandal and disrepute as the twenty first century approached.
This concise, readable and thoughtful history of Kabbalah tells its story as it has never been told before. It demands no knowledge of Kabbalah, just an interest in asking the questions 'why?' and 'how?'
Louis Jacobs was Britain’s most gifted Jewish scholar. A Talmudic
genius, outstanding teacher and accomplished author, cultured and
easy-going, he was widely expected to become Britain’s next Chief
Rabbi. Then controversy struck. The Chief Rabbi refused to appoint
him as Principal of Jews’ College, the country’s premier
rabbinic college. He further forbade him from returning as rabbi to
his former synagogue. All because of a book Jacobs had written some
years earlier, challenging from a rational perspective the
traditional belief in the origins of the Torah. The British Jewish
community was torn apart. It was a scandal unlike anything they had
ever previously endured. The national media loved it. Jacobs became
a cause celebre, a beacon of reason, a humble man who wouldn’t be
compromised. His congregation resigned en masse and created a new
synagogue for him in Abbey Road, the heart of fashionable 1960s
London. It became the go-to venue for Jews seeking reasonable
answers to questions of faith. A prolific author of over 50 books
and hundreds of articles on every aspect of Judaism, from the
basics of religious belief to the complexities of mysticism and
law, Louis Jacobs won the heart and affection of the mainstream
British Jewish community. When the Jewish Chronicle ran a poll to
discover the Greatest British Jew, Jacobs won hands down. He said
it made him feel daft. Reason To Believe tells the dramatic and
touching story of Louis Jacobs’s life, and of the human drama
lived out by his family, deeply wounded by his rejection.
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