Wisdom of love [electronic resource] : man, woman & God in Jewish Canonical literature / Naftali Rothenberg ; [translated by Shmuel Sermoneta-Gertel].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rothenberg, Naftali.

Contributor:

Sermoneta-Gertel, Shmuel.

Series:

Judaism and Jewish life.

Judaism and Jewish life

Standardized Title:

Ayelet ahavim. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sex in rabbinical literature.

Sex--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Sex.

Love--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Love.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (235 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boston : Academic Studies Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Wisdom of Love strives to challenge the discrepancy between the way source texts relate to love and the way they are perceived to do so, introducing readers to the extensive, profound, and significant treatment of love in the Jewish canon. This is a book about love, not its repression; it is an opportunity to study the wisdom of love, not those who lack such wisdom and are unlikely to ever acquire it. The Wisdom of Love brings about not only a change in perception-recognizing the existence of the wisdom of love per se-but also the realization that this wisdom is the very foundation of religious wisdom as a whole, rather than a peripheral branch of it. All love derives from a single source: love between man and woman. It is from this source that all other manifestations of love, such as love of God, love of wisdom, and love of one's fellow, draw their meaning.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Introduction. Love in the Canonical Literature: Dealing with Cognitive Dissonance

SECTION I. THE ANDROGYNE UNITY; SEPARATION; DESIRE AND UNITY

1. The Androgyne Myth According to Plato

Chapter One. THE ANDROGYNE MYTH ACCORDING TO PLATO

Chapter Two. MALE AND FEMALE UNITY, PRIMORDIAL SIN AND REBELLION AGAINST THE GODS

Chapter Three. IN THE MIDRASH: ANDROGYNOUS ADAM

Chapter Four. IN THE KABBALAH: AN ETERNAL/DIVINE, SPIRITUAL AND HUMAN ANDROGYNE

Chapter Five. THE REBIRTH OF THE ANDROGYNE: JUDAH ABRAVANEL CITES PLATO AND MOSES

Chapter Six. SUMMARY: THE POWER OF MYTHS

SECTION II. A PROFILE OF THE SAGE OF LOVE

Chapter One. INTRODUCTION: THE PHILOSOPHER AS SAGE OF LOVE

Chapter Two. THE LOVE OF RACHEL

Chapter Three. THE SAGE OF LOVE "RESCUES" THE SONG OF SONGS

Chapter Four. PRACTICE AND THEORY IN THE WISDOM OF LOVE

Chapter Five. THE SAGE AND TEMPTATION

Chapter Six. LOVE THY FELLOW AS THE BASIS OF HUMAN SOCIALISATION

Chapter Seven. OPTIMISM OUT OF LOVE

Chapter Eight. ULTIMATE LOVE

Chapter Nine. THE ORCHARD OF LOVE

Chapter Ten. SUMMARY: THE UNIVERSAL SAGE

SECTION III. THE SAGE OF UNCONSUMMATED LOVE: JUDAH ABRAVANEL'S DIALOGHI D'AMORE

Chapter One. INTRODUCTION: PHILO AND SOPHIA

Chapter Two. THE SAGE'S DESIRE

Chapter Three. LOVE AS A UNIVERSAL PHENOMENON

Chapter Four. THE PARADOX OF ABSTRACT PERCEPTION

Chapter Five. LOVE AND BEAUTY

Chapter Six. WHEN AND WHERE WAS LOVE BORN?

Chapter Seven. UNCONSUMMATED LOVE

SECTION IV. WRITTEN FOR MEN BY MEN: FEMINIST REVOLUTION AND INNOVATION IN THE CANONICAL SOURCES

Chapter One. INTRODUCTION: IDENTIFYING REVOLUTIONARY AND INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN CULTURAL SOURCES

Chapter Two. A MONOGAMOUS MESSAGE TO A POLYGAMOUS CULTURE

Chapter Three. ONAH: THE OBLIGATION TO HAVE SEX FOR PLEASURE

Chapter Four. THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP AS PERFECTION: THE END OF MALE EXCLUSIVITY

Chapter Five. SUMMARY: INNOVATION AND THE NORM

SECTION V. CONTRAST AND HARMONY IN MARRIED LIFE: ON SPIRITUALITY AND ABSTINENCE

Chapter One. INTRODUCTION: THE DUALISTIC APPROACH

Chapter Two. MARRIAGE AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH: HELP OR HINDRANCE?

Chapter Three. CATEGORICAL REJECTION: ABSTINENCE IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH!

Chapter Four. THE DILEMMA OF ABSTINENCE FOR INDIVIDUALS ON A HIGH SPIRITUAL PLANE

Chapter Five. MOSES' ABSTINENCE

Chapter Six. ABSTINENCE: A PRECONDITION FOR LOVE IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF RABBI BAHYA IBN PAKUDA

Chapter Seven. RABBI JUDAH HALEVI'S REJECTION OF ABSTINENCE

Chapter Eight. SUMMARY: MAINTAINING BALANCE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-61811-098-5

OCLC:

606352554