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Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life »

Book cover image of Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life by Neil Gillman

Authors: Neil Gillman
ISBN-13: 9781580233699, ISBN-10: 1580233694
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Date Published: September 2008
Edition: (Non-applicable)

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Author Biography: Neil Gillman

Book Synopsis

The Torah is replete with references to hearing God but precious few references to seeing God. Seeing is complicated. What we look for and see are traces of God's presence in the world and in history, but not God. In order to identify those traces as reflections of divine presence, we need to re-examine how we see, what we see, and how we interpret that information.

Table of Contents


Introduction xi Part I Seeing God Connecting the Dots 3 Faith in a Silent God 7 Perceiving God's Presence 10 God's When and Where 14 God, Hidden and Revealed 17 Discerning the Hand of God 20 The Value of Atheism 23 The Mystery of the Red Cow 26 Holy Tension 30 Abraham's Faith and Doubt 33 Looking and Seeing 36 The Holiness of Yom HaAtzma'ut 39 Mundane Miracles 43 Remembering to Remember 46 Remember and Forget 49 Part II Images of God The Divine Wrath 55 Testing God 59 The Rebuke 63 Unshakable Covenant 66 Symbol or Idol 69 Face to Face with God 72 The God of Jonah 75 Arguing with God 78 Schoenberg's Midrash on the Golden Calf 81 Two Solitudes 84 God Is Moved 87 El Elyon 91 An Emotional Roller Coaster 94 The Ambiguities of a Metaphor 97 A Single Sacred Spot 100 When Liturgy Is Problematic 104 Selective Memories 108 Part III Revelation and Law Narrative and Law 113 Sinai Was a Moment 116 Boundaries 119 Aggadah and Halachah 122 The Best Interest of Judaism Clause 126 In the Presence of a King 130 The Fanatic 134 Cosmos and Chaos 138 Moments of Darkness 141 A Written Record 144 Part IV Suffering, Death, and Redemption The Challenge of Job 149 Suffering and Redemption 152 Private and Public 155 From Redemption to Reality 159 Confronting Death and Resurrection 163 Confronting Chaos 167 Ultimate Vulnerability 171 Separations 175 Death Is Over 179 Redeeming God 183 From Cosmos to Chaos to Cosmos 186 We Are Hagar 190 The Prophet and the Person 193 Redemption and Destruction 196 The Dread of Time 199 Jacob Lives 202 Interim Eschatologies 205 A Drama of Life and Death 209 Suggestions for Further Reading 213 Index of Torah Readings 215

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