Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #394884 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

From the Publisher
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award!
Rabbi Neil Gillman addresses the most difficult theological questions of our time and, retaining the sacred fragments of Judaism, he urges readers to rethink and reformulate what they believe. Even after several years, this book remains a best-seller on theology & the modern Jew.

Customer Reviews

Excellent survey of modern Jewish theosophy
Gilman provides an excellent, scholarly introduction to modern Jewish thought on the topics that everyone wonders about, but few contemporary Jewish thinkers take the time to explore: how do Jews begin to think about G-d; how do Jews understand revelation, divine authority, and the human response to the Divine?

Gilman's exploration of these subjects is broad-ranging and well-documented, drawing on sources from within the Jewish tradition as varied as Moses Maimonides to A.J. Heschel, from Samson Raphael Hirsch to Mordechai Kaplan. Gilman's methodology derives heavily from the modern Western analytical philosophical tradition (for example, it might be helpful for the reader to be previously familiar with basic philosophical questions of epistemology, ontology, ethics and metaethics, and so on). Most importantly, Gilman provides his readers with the opportunity to explore their own thoughts on these important questions of Jewish belief, and allows them to see where t! heir thoughts fall along the spectrum of Jewish thought throughout the ages--a chance for the modern Jew to collect and regain the "sacred fragments" of the title.

Sacred Fragments is eminently readable from a lay standpoint and provides an excellent point of embarkation for further study, alone or (even better) in a study group format.