Yochanan's gamble : Judaism's pragmatic approach to life / Rabbi Marc Katz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Katz, Marc, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rabbis--Office.

Rabbis.

Rabbinical literature--Criticism and interpretation.

Rabbinical literature.

Jewish ethics.

Jewish way of life.

Physical Description:

xxi, 245 pages ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Judaism's pragmatic approach to life

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press ; Philadelphia : The Jewish Publication Society, [2024]

Summary:

"Yochanan's Gamble investigates how the talmudic rabbis navigate their own ethical challenges - determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping the peace, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting greater good - thereby forging a pragmatic Jewish path for resolving moral conundrums today"-- Provided by publisher.

"Some two thousand years ago, the story goes, a rabbi named Yochanan makes the epitome of pragmatic gambles-wagering the entire fate of the Jewish people. In dialogue with the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, Yochanan acquiesces to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in return for a plot of land in a town called Yavneh. There, after the razing of Jerusalem, Jews will join with their teacher to reenvision a new Judaism-one not based on Temple rites but on real life in exile-laying the groundwork for our own vibrant Judaism. In Rabbi Marc Katz's novel examination, pragmatism is itself an authentic Jewish strategy to address moral questions. The rabbis of the Talmud model the process, demonstrating how to think situationally, weigh competing values, and make hard compromises. Leading rabbis ask, "What will work?" alongside "What is right?" They birth a malleable and nuanced system of law (halakhah) faithful to their received tradition and to the people and circumstances before them. By investigating how the rabbis navigate their own ethical challenges-determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping peace with neighbors, avoiding infighting, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting a greater good-Yochanan's Gamble forges a new Jewish path forward for resolving moral conundrums in our day. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue: Yochanan's Gamble

1. Recalibrating Truth

2. Upholding Compromise

3. Not Leading Too Far Out In Front

4. Abiding by the Wisdom of the Masses

5. Keeping the Peace with Neighbors

6. Avoiding Infighting

7. Employing Tools To Transform Law

8. Sinning for the Greater Good

9. Hedging Against the Misuse of Pragmatism

Final Thoughts: Yochanan's Uncertainty

Notes

Bibliography

Topical Index

Index of Sources.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780827615564

0827615566

OCLC:

1416744472