A third volume in continuation of his widely praised Encyclopedia of Jewish Values and Encyclopedia of Jewish Values: Between Man and Man, Rabbi Nachum Amsel presents and discusses issues that go to the core of the Jewish belief system.
About the Author:
Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel is the director of education at the Destiny Foundation and the author of The Jewish Encyclopedia of Moral and Ethical Issues and The Encyclopedia of Jewish Values Vols. I and II.
Praise for The Encyclopedia of Jewish Values:
“In this compendium, he connects values with traditional Jewish sources as a guide for Jews today and demonstrates that ‘every moral decision and issue, large and small, has a normative Jewish response.’
For the modern English reader, it is a superbly accessible overview.”
–Randall C. and Anne-Marie Belinfante, AJL News and Reviews
“He makes the point that he is not concerned with Jewish law, over which there have always been many disputes, nor Jewish thought, in which there are multiple viewpoints and divergent customs, but rather with values, the deeper, underlying set of moral principles that guide our overall lives and keep them clean and correct…. Rabbi Amsel’s writing is clear and factual, his tone reserved and intellectual…. making this book appealing to a wide audience….”
– Linda F. Burghardt, Jewish Book Council
“Rabbi Amsel is a graduate of Yeshiva University, ordained a rabbi by HaRav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, whose career centered for over 30 years on the enhancement of Jewish education all over the world. This book goes a long way in helping us to understand issues that confront us in our daily lives and are regularly discussed and debated in the public arena….
“This book aims to show you that every moral decision and issue, large and small, has a normative Jewish response. When people realize this, then they begin to ask, every time they are confronted by any moral issue in their lives, ‘What does Judaism say I should do in this situation?’ Then their lives will change for the better and they will become much more ‘Jewish’ no matter what their daily ritual practice is….
“Rabbi Wein writes that this book corrects ‘many of the errors of judgment regarding true and traditional Jewish views on many issues of society that trouble the modern world. It is well written, concise, and logical in its approach… the reader will be supremely impressed by the obvious wealth of research that went into its writing and publication.’”
–Alan Jay Gerber, The Jewish Star
“At about 5–10 pages per topic, Amsel does an excellent job of surveying the topic. He provides copious sources for those that want to do a deeper dive into the topic. This is a most worthwhile reference.”
–Ben Rothke, Jewish Link of New Jersey
“The essays contain so much material, rich in depth and breadth, full of insight and contemporary relevance… it is a gold mine of Jewish values…. Rabbi Amsel has a knack for finding interesting, relevant topics. This book is a vast resource of expert Jewish analysis on timely subjects.”
– Rabbi Gil Student, Jewish Action
“This is a wonderful research book that can be read directly as an informative and necessary work of knowledge about Judaism and the Jewish attitudes towards the moral and ethical issues of general and Jewish society. This is a book for every Jewish home and school.”
–Rabbi Berel Wein
Topics Include:
A Rabbi, Dead or Alive, Giving People Blessings: Allowed, Encouraged, or Forbidden?
Astrology: Is There a Unique Jewish View?
Christianity and Judaism: The Differences
Death and Mourning
Deciding Not to Have Children: Is There a Jewish View?
Dementia and Senility
Developing a Personal Relationship With God and Bringing Him Into Daily Life
Divine Providence: How Much God, How Much Us?
Does God Exist? How Can We Know?
Does God Have a Plan for the World?
Dreams
Driverless Cars: Ethical Dilemmas
Euthanasia and Abortion
Food and Kashrut
Is God Really Watching Us
Holiness
Islam and Judaism: Similarities and Differences
Jewish Prayer
The Jewish Attitude Toward the Golem
Kaddish: Understanding the Underlying Values of this Most Misunderstood Prayer
Life After Life
Significance of Bar Mitzvah
The Significance of Brit Milah (Circumcision)
Messiah
Minhag in Judaism: How Important Is It?
Miracles Then and Miracles Today
Mitzvot (Commandments)
Non-Kosher Tastes in Food and Lab-Grown Pork: Kosher or Blasphemous?
Prophecy
Purpose of Life
Reincarnation in Judaism
Ruach Hakodesh (Divine Inspiration): What Is It and Does It Exist Today?
Sanctifying and Desecrating God’s Name: What are the Jewish Obligations?
Science and Judaism: Conflict or Harmony?
Signs and Omens: Does God Send Us Signals Today?
Time in Jewish Thought
The Most Important Day in the Jewish Year
Which is the Real World? Is The Matrix Jewish?
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People: Several Jewish Approaches
Why Traditional Jewish Women Do Not Wear a Kippah, Tallit, or Tefillin