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Stuart Schoffman
Havruta No. 4
2010 English
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Contents Letter to our Readers By Stuart Schoffman, Lessons from the Garden: Economic Uncertainty and Moral Growth By Donniel Hartman, The Business of Ethics: Tradition and Crisis in the 21st Century, A Symposium, “By Us, This is Forbidden”: A Tale of Jewish Ethics and Indian Spices By Zvi Zohar and Nathan Katz, The Ethics Of Memory: Religious Amnesia and Social Justice By Menachem Fisch, Two Sides of the Coin: Rabbi Nahman and the Problem of Wealth By Melila Hellner-Eshed and Orr Scharf,
Plump Chickens and Cold Comfort: Balancing Tzedek and Tzedakah By Yitzhak Benbaji, Promises to Keep: Religious Vows and Moral Conscience By Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Afikoman - Old Texts for New Times: Slings and Arrows: Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and Jewish Money By Stuart Schoffman
For more information, click here. Click here for Havruta home page
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Stuart Schoffman
Havruta No. 3
2009 English
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The Spiritual Quest: Myth, Mysticism and Meaning
Including an essay by Zvi Mark about the Jerusalem poet Zelda, Melila Hellner-Eshed on a famous rabbinic legend about the sun and moon, Alfredo Borodowski journeys from Harry Potter and The Celestine Prophecy to Kabbalah and Maimonides in an intriguing meditation on the postmodern quest for God. A roundtable of six scholars and rabbis offers opinions about the much-noted rise in spirituality among American Jews. Rani Jaeger, co-founder of the secular Tel Aviv synagogue Beit Tefilah, demystifies the mindset of secular Israelis who avidly seek Jewish spiritual fulfillment without. Moshe Idel, Hebrew University professor, Israel Prize laureate, and senior fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, is interviewed about his award-winning book on the idea of the son in Jewish mystical thought, and more. Click here for additional details Click here for Havruta home page
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Stuart Schoffman
Havruta No. 1
2009 English
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Contents Introduction to Havruta, By Stuart Schoffman Covenant and moral sensibility: An interview with David Hartman Sharing Jewish space: Membership, conversion, and the search for community, By Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman Membership: An arcane debate turned a searing headline, a symposium featuring commentary by A.B. Yehoshua, Michael Walzer, Binyamin Ish-Shalom, Einat Ramon, Avi Sagi, Zvi Zohar, Ed Feinstein, Benjamin Lau, David Ellenson Ritual, renewal, and prophecy: Visions of an old-new age, By Jonathan Garb The Jewish poet and the Jewish prime minister Beyond apologetics: Orthodox feminism in the 21st century, By Hannah Kehat Philistines and the future of Zionism: The redemptive scenario of Rabbi Zvi Tau, By Yoske Achituv
‘Tough are gerim’: Conversion to Judaism in medieval Europe, By Avraham Reiner Click here for Havruta home page
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Havruta No. 2
2009 English
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Contents
The Significance of Israel for the Future of Judaism, by David Hartman The Tribes of Israel: Jewish Identities in the Jewish State, By Donniel Hartman Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State Theory and Practice after Sixty Years: A Symposium, By Moshe Halbertal, Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Adi Ophir, Alexander Yakobson, Orit Kamir, Yedidia Z. Stern, Menachem Lorberbaum Shabbat, Shmitta and Slavery: Human Freedom and the Yoke of Heaven, By Israel Knohl Freedom, Liberty and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, By Ariel Picard Redemptive Fictions: Holiness, Heresy, and the Ironies of Zionism, By Stuart Schoffman “The Beauty of Yefet in the Tents of Shem”: Gentiles and Jews in the Thought of Rav Kook, By David Dishon Afikoman - Old Texts for New Times: Truth, Confusion and Bread: A Polemic from the Dawn of Zionism, By Orr Scharf Click here for Havruta home page
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AD”I: Democratic Values and Judaism
2008 Hebrew
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This curriculum – “Democratic Values and Judaism” – aims to deepen knowledge of the value system at the basis of modern democratic thought and of the Jewish sources that fit with these values in a way that will strengthen the mutual linkage between democratic values and the Jewish tradition. By confronting a wide range of text from the Bible, Talmud, halakha (Jewish law) and Jewish philosophy of the Middle Ages that express democratic thinking, a greater understanding of the democratic values included in classical Jewish sources is possible. This curriculum focuses on the intersection between democratic values and Jewish values and aims to transform its readers into partners in building and strengthening the bridge between these worlds. The book is made up of four parts, with each one focusing on an aspect of democracy: the foundational values of democracy, relationship between the majority and minority, pluralism and tolerance, and social and civil rights in a democracy. Click here for Hebrew
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Magic of the Mishna
2008 Hebrew
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More than 2,000 years ago, the Jewish sages developed a system of laws that served to structure a society based on justice and morality. This system of law, called halakha, deals with all aspects of Jewish life: the sacrificial work of the Temple, prayer, festivals and Shabbat, lifecycle ceremonies, relationships between husbands and wives, between individuals and their neighbors, between employers and employees, and matters affecting the entire community. The sages developed the halakhic system and transmitted it orally from generation to generation over hundreds of years, until about 200 CE, when this oral wisdom was compiled by Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi into a comprehensive book called the Mishna. This curriculum – “Magic of the Mishna” - introduces students to the world of the mishna, presenting chosen passages and chapters from its different tractates and orders and offering pedagogical tasks at the beginning and end of each section. Click here to read an article about this book. Click here for Hebrew
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Circles of Belonging
2008 Hebrew
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Modern life is characterized by an ever-increasing advancement of the individual in his or her private life. Hand in hand with this personal advancement, many also feel a need to be part of a large group that provides support, significance and a framework in which the individual can realize his or her potential. Whoever lives and is educated in the Israeli-Jewish reality grows up within the context of such a group, and the aspiration to clarify the meaning of this belonging is only natural. As a way of thinking about this question, the students are presented with six circles, each one representing a different aspect of belonging to the Jewish nation. Recognizing the circles and the tensions among them is achieved through a scrutiny of classic Jewish texts and contemporary sources. The educational journey presented in "Circles of Belonging" aims to enable the students to develop a personal answer to the question: What is the meaning of belonging to the Jewish nation? Click here for Hebrew
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Jewish Values Through The Holidays
2007 Hebrew
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“Jewish Values Through The Holidays” is a curricular textbook on Jewish heritage and tradition, written for middle school students (grades 7 and 8) in Israel’s non-religious schools. Officially approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the textbook explores a wide range of core Jewish values through the lens of Jewish and Israeli holidays and festivals. Recognizing that Jewish and Israeli holidays and festivals have evolved over the course of history, the textbook focuses on longstanding holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, while also addressing more recently adopted days of celebration and commemoration, such as Hannukah, the Tenth of Tevet, and the Ninth of Av. In addition, the textbook explores Israel’s national days of celebration and mourning such as Independence Day, Family Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers, and Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day. The textbook presents the underlying values reflected in these important days, which play a significant role in shaping Jewish Israeli culture. Following the Jewish calendar as an organizing timeline, Jewish Values Through The Holidays provides opportunities for middle school students to grapple with the meaning of core Jewish values by way of individual introspection, creative activities and class discussion. Click here for Hebrew
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Individual and Society
2007 Hebrew
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“Individual and Society” is a curriculum textbook in the area of Talmud, written for students in the upper high school grades (grades 10-12) in Israel’s non-religious schools. Adopted by the Ministry of Education and Culture as the official textbook for upper grade Talmud studies, Individual and Society goes beyond merely introducing students to Talmudic scholars and thought; the textbook explores the ways in which Jewish values and laws enable us to better understand ourselves as individuals and as a collective. The textbook’s five chapters address a wide spectrum of issues relevant to individuals and collectives, from individual worth to social responsibility, property issues and interpersonal relationships. Click here for Hebrew
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