Sacred Fragments - Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew

318 Pages·1990·1.392 MB·English

by  Neil Gillman

Sacred
Fragments

SACRED

FRAGMENTS

Recovering Theology

for the Modern Jew

NEIL GILLMAN
Original copyright © 1990 by Neil Gillman
First edition All rights reserved

Sacred fragments: recovering theology for the modern Jew /
Neil Gillman.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Clothbound ISBN –––
Paperback ISBN –––
. Judaism—Doctrines. . Judaism–th century. . Philosophy,
Jewish. I. Title.
BM.G 
.—dc –
CIP
For Abby and Debby
with abiding love

Contents
Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xv

I REVELATION:WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? 

II RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY:WHO COMMANDS? 

III KNOWING GOD: HOW AND WHAT? 

IV TALKING ABOUT GOD: SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE 

V SENSING GOD’S PRESENCE: EMPIRICISM 

VI PROVING GOD’S EXISTENCE: RATIONALISM 
VII ENCOUNTERING GOD: EXISTENTIALISM 
VIII SUFFERING:WHY DOES GOD ALLOW IT? 
IX RITUAL:WHY DO WE NEED IT? 

X THE END OF DAYS:WHAT WILL BE? 

Afterword: Doing Your Own Theology 

Index 

“Thereupon the Lord said to me, ‘Carve out two tablets of stone like
the first, and come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of
wood. I will inscribe on the tablets the commandments that were

on the first tablets that you smashed, and you shall deposit them in

the ark.’ ”
—Deuteronomy :–

“Rabbi Joseph taught: ‘. . . that you smashed, and you shall deposit
them. . .’ teaches us that both the tablets and the fragments of the
tablets were deposited in the ark.”
—Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Baba Bathra b