Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
The collection of essays in this first volume of a two-volume set devoted to the examination of sacred time and space in Judaism represents the exquisite work of renowned Judaic scholars. The excellent scholarship represented in this and the volume to follow are expressive of the commitment to intellectual inquiry and the transmission of knowledge. These essays ask and examine such essential questions as: What constitutes holiness, sacredness, sanctity? What do our foundational texts say about holiness? How has the Jewish people understood the notion of the sacred throughout history? What constitutes a holy people? Is that quality an intrinsic or created, or even an earned status? The contributors to these volumes grapple with these and many other challenging questions as they seek to contribute to the continued flourishing of Jewish life and the quest of the Jewish people individually and collectively to seek a sacred existence in space and time.
“We are in the debt of Simcha Fishbane and Eric Levine, who have produced yet another excellent collection in Jewish studies. This is an outstanding set of essays addressing one of the most significant themes in Jewish thought. The book combines clear, concise and detailed discussion of many approaches to understanding the notion of sacred space and sacred time in Judaism. It is a bracing and exhilarating experience to read the writing of the esteemed contributors to this volume. The fortunate reader of Sacred Space, Sacred Time in Judaism is treated to the rich wisdom of an impressive group of rabbinic and academic scholars. From the opening preface through the eight subsequent chapters, the authors analyze and conceptualize the notion of holiness and the sacred from the perspectives of history, sociology, philosophy, textual studies and religious law, ritual practice and faith. This is the first book of a planned two volume set and we eagerly await the release of the second publication devoted to essays teaching us about holiness and sanctity in Judaism.”
— Israel Singer, Professor, Contemporary Jewry and Political Science
“Contemporary science understands space and time to be a continuum, treating these concepts as a single, interwoven fabric. The present volume, in a very effective way, strives to draw the attention of students of Judaism toward an understanding of Judaic sacred space and time as a seamless continuum. The editors and contributors to this volume, focusing on different aspects and issues with respect to of sacred space and time in Judaism, have created a whole that goes far beyond the sum of its parts.”
— Ira Robinson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Concordia University
Simcha Fishbane, PhD, is Professor of Jewish Studies at the Touro University Graduate School of Jewish Studies. He has been a rabbi, scholar, and educator for many years. Fishbane is the author of numerous books and articles and has received numerous honorary doctorates, including from Jewish University Moscow and Linguistic University in Moscow. Fishbane received his Rabbinical Ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and his PhD from Concordia University.
Eric Levine, DSW, is Assistant Professor and Director, Social Work Alumni Engagement at the Touro University Graduate School of Social Work. He has held leadership roles in the nonprofit sector, has published widely and is a member of the Board of Copy Editors for the International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics. He is the Chairperson of the National Association of Social Workers New York Chapter Ethics Committee and is a co-editor of a forthcoming textbook on social work ethics.
Preface: To Seek the Sacred
Eric Levine
Introduction: The Meaning of Sanctity
Mervin F. Verbit
Believing But Not Waiting: Observations on Chapter 11 of Maimonides’s Hilkhot Melakhim
Michael A. Shmidman
Sacred Space: Myth and Ritual in the Halakhot Concerning Jerusalem
Meir Bar-Ilan
Individual and Community Sacred Space and Life in Judaism
John D. Loike and Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser
Finding Sacred Spaces in the Darkest of Places: Jewish Observance During the Holocaust
Karen Sutton
Between the Sacred and Rational: Moses Mendelssohn's Religious Perspective of Non-Jews
Zvi Jonathan Kaplan
Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Mapped Topographies of Sacred Space in Emerging Early Judaism to ca. 220 CE, a Proposed Conceptual Framework
Jack N. Lightstone
Se’udat Mitzvah: Obligatory Feasts and Their Typologies
Simcha Fishbane
Index