Authors: DovBer Pinson
ISBN-13: 9780765700063, ISBN-10: 0765700069
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Aronson, Jason Inc.
Date Published: February 2000
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Meditation and Judaism is a comprehensive work on Jewish meditation, encompassing the entire spectrum of Jewish thought_from the early Kabbalists to the modern Chassidic and Mussar masters, the sages of the Talmud, to the modern philosophers. Both a scholarly, in-depth study of meditative practices, and a practical, easy to follow guide, Meditation and Judaism is for anyone interested in meditating the Jewish way.
This clearly written work is a comprehensive study of Jewish meditation, offering an in-depth study of Jewish meditative practices through history. Rabbi Pinson (Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music), currently the Rosh Kollel Dean of Advanced Studies in Vancouver, Canada, offers a refreshingly substantive addition to a field rife with misinformation. Pinson refers to various secular thinkers, but his great strength lies in his masterly knowledge of the Jewish sages, among them the seven Chabad Rebbes, the Maharal, the Baal Shem Tov, the Malbim, the Rosh, and many others. He traces the historical evolution of meditation in Jewish thought, showing how these Jewish sages have addressed the subject. Pinson also shows expert familiarity with classic Jewish texts, such as the Tanakh, mishnah, Bavli, Zohar, and Sefer Yetzirah. A welcome addition to the field of meditation and Judaism, this scholarly book is recommended for synagogue libraries, meditation centers, and public libraries with deep collections in Judaica.-David B. Levy, Beth Avraham Synagogue Lib., Baltimore Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
1 | Meditation ... a Jewish concept? | 1 |
2 | Defining meditation | 19 |
3 | Extraordinary phenomena encountered through meditation | 45 |
4 | Preparing for the meditative session | 59 |
5 | A classification of Jewish meditations | 85 |
6 | Meditation and the five senses | 121 |
7 | The four who entered the orchard : the spiritual trappings of advanced meditations | 143 |
8 | The spirituality of the Torah as it relates to meditation | 163 |
9 | Intellectual analytical meditation | 179 |
10 | Divine ecstasy : achieving the state of no self-awareness | 227 |
11 | The Ayin of Jewish meditation versus the nothingness in other meditations | 239 |
12 | Character refinement- meditating to achieve a better self | 265 |
13 | Eight steps to meditation | 275 |