Torah for today / Esther R. Taus ; foreword by Zev Garber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Taus, Esther R., 1914-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Pentateuch.

Judaism--Customs and practices.

Judaism.

Bible. Pentateuch--Miscellanea.

Bible.

Miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xiv, 197 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : University Press of America, [2008]

Summary:

Torah for Today is composed of a series of articles written by Esther R. Taus for the monthly Temple publication, the Bulletin. Compiled over twenty-two years of writing, this work deals with the practical application of biblical principles and contemporary concerns. The essays are both informative and challenging. They mediate between the technical world of contemporary religious scholarship and the everyday reality of ethical decisions and piety.

The order of presentation of the essays follows the reading program of Reform Judaism, which starts with the High Holy Days (usually in September) and continues for a twelve-month study of the Pentateuch (Bible). Every year different sections of the Bible are studied, and the cycle is repeated.

While the book addresses primarily secular readers, people of all faiths and backgrounds are encouraged to discover, or re-discover, the understanding of religions through this extensive analysis of Judaism.

Contents:

1 September 1

Selichot, The Beginning of the High Holidays 1

The Days of Awe and the Phillistines 3

The High Holy Days and the Endangered Specie, The Russian Jew 8

Natural Evil, Moral Evil and Satan 14

2 October 20

Archeology Defines Abraham the Hebrew 20

Christopher Columbus, A Marrano 24

Noah and the Flood 29

Charging Interest 32

Sukkot 34

3 November 39

Balfour Declaration and the Jewish Homeland 39

Veteran's Day and the War of Kings 41

Malachi and Morality 45

Jacob aka Israel 47

4 December 54

Hanukkah, Joshua and Jericho 54

Hanukkah and the Hellenists 58

Amos and Pearl Harbor Day 61

Righteous Politicians and the Pre-Millennial Theology 65

5 The Egypt Joseph Knew 70

The Egypt Joseph Knew - Slavery and Adultery 70

The Egypt Joseph Knew - Prisons and Dreams 75

The Egypt that Joseph Knew - Education, Science, Medicine and Surgery 79

The Egypt that Joseph Knew - Religion and the Priest 82

6 January 87

Martin Luther King, Jr., Moses and Slavery 87

Fail Fejzic, Lincoln and Washington 90

The Jewish Calendar 95

The Jews in Egypt, Babylon, and South Africa 98

7 February 102

Obediah and Palestine's Partition - Ancient and Modern Edomites 102

Shabbat Zachor 106

Dr. Elders, Tamar and Onanism 108

Seethe a Kid in its Mother's Milk 111

8 March 115

Ta'anit Esther, Fasting 115

Elijah versus Baal 117

Taxation 120

Rite of the Red Heifer 123

9 April 126

Song of Songs and Passover 126

Jonathan and David 130

Moral Behavior of Leaders 132

Elisha's Yahweh and Rabbi Kushner's God 135

10 May 140

The Fifth Commandment and Mother's Day 140

Lag Ba'Omer 142

Reconciliation Between the Vatican and Israel 145

Blasphemy 149

11 June 154

The Priestly Blessing and Peace 154

Shavuot 156

Homosexuality 160

Looking Back on the Millennium, Penance, Prayer and Fasting 164

12 July 168

The Rite of Women to Inherit 168

Tisha B'Av, The Day of Mourning 170

Character of a Leader 171

13 August 173

Marriage with an Enemy Woman Captive 173

Book Reviews of: "Ghetto of Venice" by Ricardo Calliman 174

"Sir Moses Montefiore" by Myrtle Franklen & Michael Bor 176

"With All Your Possessions; Jewish Ethics and Economic Life" by Meir Tamari 179

"When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough" by Harold Kushner 182

14 Lingering Thoughts 186

The Unabomber and the Decalogue 186

Thomas Henry Huxley 193.

Notes:

Series of articles originally published in the Bulletin, a monthly publication of the Temple Beth El in San Pedro, California.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780761839507

076183950X

9780761836353

0761836357

OCLC:

191891682