Heschel s Playlist - The Library of Jewish Thought

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1 Heschel s Playlist - The Library of Jewish Thought Lehrhaus Judaica תנא (תנאים Tanna (plural: Tanna'im From the Aramaic word meaning "reciter" or "repeater," Tanna is the term used to designate the Jewish sages whose teachings are recorded up the Mishnah and its contemporary works, from the middle of the 1st century until about 220 C.E. אמורא (אמורים Amora (plural: Amora'im The term used to designate the rabbis of the fourth to the fifth centuries whose views are cited in the Talmud. The word means "speaker" and originally referred to the officials in the academies whose job was to speak aloud the words of the rabbi before the public, but it came to denote the rabbis themselves. The Talmuds: Babylonian - בבלי Palestinian The Babylonian or Bavli, the compilation of the commentary on the Mishnah by scholars in the Babylonian academies; approximately at the end of the fifth century. This is much larger and more significant than the Jerusalem Gemara. The Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud predates the Babylonian by about 200 years, composed c CE. Like its Babylonian cousin it comments on many sections of the Mishna and includes the written discussions of generations of rabbis in the Land of Israel (primarily in the academies of Tiberia and Casarea). Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of Israel as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud only seldom cites the Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version contains the opinions of more generations because of its later date of completion. For both these reasons it is regarded as a more comprehensive collection of the opinions available. On the other hand, because of the centuries of redaction between the composition of the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, the opinions of early amoraim might be closer to their original form in the Jerusalem Talmud. Midrash Raba A collection of rabbinic interpretations contains on the Chumash (Five Books of Moses) and the Hamesh Megillot (Five Scrolls, from Ketuvim, the Writings). Genesis Raba is the midrash on the Book of Genesis. Rashi - Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki The Rashi Commentary A grape grower living in Northern France, Rashi wrote the definitive commentaries on the Babylonian Talmud and the Bible. Rashi pulled together materials from a wide variety of sources, wrote them down

2 in the order of the Talmud and the Bible for easy reference, and wrote them in such clear, concise and plain language that it can be appreciated by beginners and experts alike. Almost every edition of the Talmud printed since the invention of the printing press has included the text of Rashi's commentary side-by-side with the Talmudic text. Many traditional Jews will not study the Bible without a Rashi commentary beside it. Rambam - Maimonides; Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon The Mishneh Torah The Guide for the Perplexed A physician born in Moorish Cordoba, Rambam lived in a variety of places throughout the Moorish lands of Spain, the Middle East and North Africa, often fleeing persecution. He was a leader of the Jewish community in Cairo. Greek thought, particularly that of Aristotle, heavily influenced him. Rambam was the author of the Mishneh Torah, one of the greatest codes of Jewish law, compiling every conceivable topic of Jewish law in subject matter order and providing a simple statement of the prevailing view in plain language. In his own time, he was widely condemned because he claimed that the Mishneh Torah was a substitute for studying the Talmud. Rambam is also responsible for several important theological works. He developed the 13 Principles of Faith, the most widely accepted list of Jewish beliefs. He also wrote a discussion of difficult theological concepts written from the perspective of an Aristotelian philosopher. Ramban - Nachmanides; Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman Ramban was the foremost halakhist of his age. Like Rambam before him, Ramban was a Spaniard who was both a physician and a great Torah scholar. However, unlike the rationalist Rambam, Ramban had a strong mystical bent. His biblical commentaries are the first ones to incorporate the mystical teachings of kabbalah. Ramban was well known for his aggressive refutations of Christianity, most notably, his debate with Pablo Christiani, a converted Jew, before King Jaime I of Spain in Ramban could be described as one of history's first Zionists, because he declared that it is a mitzvah to take possession of Israel and to live in it (relying on Num. 33:53). He said, "So long as Israel occupies [the Holy Land], the earth is regarded as subject to Him." Ramban fulfilled this commandment, moving to the Holy Land during the Crusades after he was expelled from Spain for his polemics. He found devastation in the Holy Land, "but even in this destruction," he said, "it is a blessed land." He died there in 1270 C.E. Do not confuse Ramban with Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (see below).

3 Baal Shem Tov- Besht - Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, was the founder of Chasidic Judaism. Although many books of his teachings exist, the Besht himself wrote no books, perhaps because his teachings emphasized the fact that even a simple, uneducated peasant could approach G-d (a radical idea in its time, when Judaism emphasized that the way to approach G-d was through study). He emphasized prayer, the observance of commandments, and ecstatic, personal mystical experiences. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov The great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov (see above), Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (sometimes called Bratzlav, Breslau or Bratislava) was the founder of the Breslover Chasidic sect. Breslov is a town in the Ukraine where Rabbi Nachman spent the end of his life, but some say the name Breslov comes from the Hebrew bris lev, meaning, "covenant of the heart." He emphasized living life with joy and happiness. One of his best-known sayings is, "It is a great mitzvah to be happy." Collections of his Chasidic tales (or tales attributed to him) are widely available in print. Bachya ibn Paquda Second half of the 11th century Duties of the Heart Little is known about the life of Bachya ibn Paquda but that he lived in Sargasso. He wrote at least twenty piyyutim, but he is famous for his book on living morally. Written originally in Arabic in 1080 CE, "Duties of the Heart" was translated into Hebrew in the mid-12th century. It is a fascinating combination of Jewish and non-jewish material. The style is Muslim, but the book begins with a focus on the physical obligations in a man's life: the ritual and ethical mitzvot. Bachya's innovation reveals itself in the second half of the book, focusing on "the duties of the heart," the inner life of Jews. The duties of the heart include: belief in the existence and unity of God, trust in God, love and fear of Him, and repentance. The prohibitions against bearing a grudge and taking revenge are also examples of duties of the hearts. Bachya explained that he wrote this work because the duties of man's inner life had been sorely neglected by his predecessors and contemporaries whose writings had concentrated on religious observances, that is, the duties of the members of the body. To remedy this deficiency Bachya wrote his work, which may be considered a kind of counterpart to the halachic works of his contemporaries. Just as their halachic compendia contained directions for the actions of the religious man, so Bachya's work contained directions for his inner life. "Duties of the Hearts" is modeled after the works of Muslim mysticism, which attempt to lead the reader through various ascending stages of man's inner life, toward spiritual perfection and finally union (or at least communion) with God. Like their works, it is divided into ten "gates" (chapters), each of which is

4 devoted to a particular duty of the heart, which the Jew must observe if he is to attain spiritual perfection. The ten chapters deal with the affirmation of the unity of God, the nature of the world disclosing the workings of God, divine worship, trust in God, sincerity of purpose, humility, repentance, self-examination, asceticism, and the love of God. Judah Halevi The Kuzari One of the greatest poet/doctors produced during the Golden Age of Spain was Judah HaLevi He made his living as a physician to the Spanish king and his nobles, specializing in diseases of the rich and powerful. In his spare time, he wrote more than 800 poems in as many styles as were known in Arabic-loving Spain. He wrote more than 350 piyyutim, poems used in prayer services and many poems mourning the fact that he and other Jews were not in their Holy Land. Judah HaLevi's religious attachment to the Land of Israel influenced Jews for almost a thousand years. His eloquent longing for a return to Zion resonated in the hearts of Jews who saw themselves living in exile. Here is one of his poems about the Land of Israel: My Heart is in the East My heart is in the East and I am at the end of the West. How can I taste what I eat, how can I enjoy? How can I pay my vows and pledges while Zion is in the ropes of Edom and I am in the bonds of Arabia? It would be easy in my eyes to abandon all the good of Spain, as it would be rich in my eyes to see the dust of the destroyed Holy of Holies. Judah HaLevi elaborated his position on Israel in his brilliant philosophical book, The Kuzari. Basing his plot on the true story of a tribe, the Khazars, who converted to Judaism, he described how the king of Khazar decided to choose a religion. The king invited a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jewish philosopher to his court to describe their religions. Obviously, the Jewish philosopher was the most convincing, and the book ends with the king of Khazar becoming a Jew. Judah HaLevi describes, through the book's Jewish philosopher, the unique traits of the Land of Israel: just as some land is more fertile than other land, the Land of Israel is the only place in the world where prophecy can occur. Just as some languages are more capable of expressing poetic feelings and emotions, only the holy tongue, Hebrew, was capable of receiving divine prophecy. In addition, according to Judah HaLevi, just as some beings are more naturally adept at physical prowess or intellectual pursuits, only the Jew has the elevated soul to allow him to achieve a special covenant with god. Thus, the most special relationship a human could have with the Divine would be attained by a Jew in the Land of Israel speaking the holy tongue.

5 Isaac Ben Solomon Luria - The Ari Kabbalah s greatest period was under the charismatic leadership of Isaac Ben Solomon Luria, known as the Ari ( ). By the time of the Ari, there were two separate foci of Kabbalah. One form was primarily theoretical: it attempted to understand the hidden secrets of the Divine and understand the Jew's role in the eternal universe. The other form was practical: it attempted to harness the power of the Divine and use it to change the world. Practical Kabbalah involved amulets against illness and evil spirits and even enabled the advanced practitioner to bring clay to life. Through discussions with his disciples, the Ari provided a philosophical system to the discipline of Kabbalah that has influenced Kabbalah even to this day. He did practically no writing himself; his system and his teachings were written down by his primary disciple, Chaim Vital, after the Ari's death. It is impossible to describe Lurianic Kabbalah, but with the understanding that all descriptions are already false because words oversimplify, this is an attempt. Before the appearance of the Ari, one of the primary cosmological realities of Kabbalah was that there are ten separate levels (called sefirot) of creation. The lowest and least spiritual level is, of course, our world, the physical. The Divine transcends all of these levels, but the Divine's emanations are the creative force for each of these levels. The Ari began by noting the interrelationships of these different sefirot. Rather than being independent, they are interconnected and sub grouped, corresponding to five aspects of the Divine. Luria concentrated on the process of creation. Originally, the Divine created with too much of the Divine's emanation. It was more than any creation could bear (even spiritual sefirot), and that original creation exploded, producing shards that poison all subsequent creations. Those shards, TOO MUCH OF GOD'S EMANATION, are the source of what we call "evil" in our world. In order for any creation to take place successfully, the Divine had to contract the creative emanations through filtering sefirot. The sefirot thus acted like a set of screens, limiting the amount of divine emanation that could penetrate. This process of contracting the Divine emanation is tzim-tzum.