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The article explores the core values of Jewish law, focusing on the principles of "Darchei Shalom" (the ways of peace) and "Darchei Noam" (the ways of pleasantness). It discusses how the sages of the Talmud recognized the importance of going beyond rules to create a harmonious and ethical society. The text emphasizes the need for values-driven leadership to positively impact organizations and countries. It also delves into various applications of these principles in Jewish law and ethics, highlighting the importance of foundational values in shaping organizational culture and promoting ethical behavior. [Extracted from the article]

Medieval and modern Judaism in the context of the prevention of infectious diseases is clearly based on the documents of the sacred scripture of Judaism. Added to them are laws and requirements based on Jewish oral tradition. An important element was the creation of the Talmud. The Talmud also pays particular attention to bodily life in the following areas: in the category of caring for the human body, in the category of health principles, and in the category of treating diseases. The basis of the regulation of social life and the medieval diagnosis of diseases in Judaism were 613 mitzvot. The list of religious and rabbinical rules, based on empirical knowledge, represents a historical top in the field of pathological and epidemiological phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous quotations by medieval scholars from tractate 'Avodah Zarah of the Jerusalem Talmud are not to be found in extant texts. This has led some scholars to suggest that a long passage, probably dealing with the Noahide commandments, is missing from our extant editions. Other scholars have argued that this was not an original passage in the Jerusalem Talmud but rather a later addition known to these medieval scholars. This article presents for the first time a direct textual witness of this passage from the Cairo Geniza. This new finding raises the need to reexamine the question of the provenance of this passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leon Modena's Lev ha-Aryeh (seventeenth-century Italy) has long been recognized as the first Hebrew treatise on mnemonics. This article points to an earlier source: gate 90 of Isaac Arama's 'Akedat Yits@hak. Arama not only describes the locative memory palace developed by Roman orators and popular throughout Latin Christendom. He contends that the original memory palace was given by God to the Israelites and consists in none other than the central prayers of Jewish liturgy, the Shema and ve-ahavta. On Arama's reading, the Shema and ve-ahavta are designed as a sort of verbal memory palace to help store and recollect all the commandments. In addition to introducing Arama's memory device and adaptation of classical ars memorativa into Hebrew, I show how Arama's interest in memory reflects a departure from earlier trends in medieval Hebrew philosophical literature. Surveying Hebrew philosophical literature across Spain and southern France from the thirteenth through mid-fifteenth centuries, I argue that although Jewish authors conceptualized memory as a faculty and internal sense according to the framework of Aristotelian psychology, they did not seem to be especially interested in the subject of memory as compared with their Christian peers. I conclude by hypothesizing what may have precipitated renewed Jewish interest in memory in late fifteenth-century Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a first attempt to classify and present a group of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Hasidic texts as belonging to a specific literary genre: rationales for the commandments. In this category we include Sefer Toldot Ya'akov Yosef , by Ya'akov Yosef of Pollonye; Sefer derekh pikudekhah , by Tsvi Elimelekh of Dinov; Sefer otsar ha-@hayim , by Yits@hak Eizik Ye@hiel Safrin; Likute halakhot , by Nathan Sternharts of Nemirov; Derekh mitsvotekhah , by Menachem Mendel Schneerson; and, finally, Sefer be'erat Miriam , by Avraham Abele Kanarfogel. We survey the works broadly and relate them to one defined literary genre. In so doing, we offer a new framework for a scholarly discussion of the Hasidic occupation with nomos and kabbalah. We demonstrate how Hasidic works discussing rationales for the commandments simultaneously employ halakhic and kabbalistic perspectives, emphasizing the punctiliousness in their fulfilment, their theurgic efficacy, and personal-spiritual completeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the most recent work of Jürgen Habermas is analyzed, where he attempts to revalue religion in today's society and establish genealogical connections between secular contents and worldviews that emerged in the Axial Age, including Jewish monotheism. It is proposed that a genealogical approach to monotheism from the perspective of those involved should start from the undetected origin context that constitutes the ethical universalism of Judaism: the Noahide code. Narrative and conceptual elements of axial and non-axial cultures are analyzed, and their parallels with the seven laws of the children of Noah as the moral core of humanity are evidenced. The article discusses the Seven Laws of the children of Noah, also known as the Noahide code or Noahide tradition. It is suggested that this Noahide code can be considered as the "undetected origin context" of axial traditions, including Jewish monotheism. The possibility of finding Noahide elements in cultures of axial origin and in traditions that are not included in the axial analysis is proposed, with the aim of supporting the perspective of the Noahide code. Additionally, the importance of problematizing genealogy is mentioned in order to understand the familial connections that continue to function without reflection. This text discusses the genealogy of religious beliefs and the separation between faith and knowledge in the present day, originating from the Protestant Reformation. Limitations in Habermas' work are raised in relation to the equality of argumentation in dialogue. The importance of the Noahide code as the core of monotheism and its influence on worldviews is mentioned. Additionally, the universal Flood is mentioned as an event present in various traditions and its relationship with the Noahide laws. The text presents seven biblical laws that are binding for all of humanity, known as the Noahide laws. These laws prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, forbidden sexual relations, theft, murder, anarchy, and improper treatment of nature. It is mentioned that different cultures, including ancient civilizations, have legislated minimally on theft, murder, and sexual promiscuity to maintain internal order. Additionally, there are coincidences between biblical-rabbinic traditions and Andean-American traditions regarding the Flood, suggesting a possible universality in religious learning throughout history. The researcher argues that the name Wiracocha was not conceived as a creator ex-nihilo, but as the organizer of the world. In Andean cosmology, there was the idea of a Supreme Being that escaped any characterization and was not part of worship. Andean morality was based on the need for order in reciprocal and communal relationships, and not on reflections on individual virtue. The Noahide code is a common spiritual and moral possession that has influenced different traditions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The article discusses the relationship between Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism through the Noahide code. It is mentioned that Paul, known for his proselytism among non-Jews, directed his speeches first to Jews and then to God-fearing non-Jews. It is emphasized that the Church recognizes in the Ten Commandments the fundamental ethical precepts for Judaism and considers them valid for other nations. Additionally, the connection between Islam and Judaism is mentioned, as well as the influence of Abraham's teachings on Hinduism. The importance of the moralization of things is highlighted. [Extracted from the article]

The noted Jewish scholar Harry Wolfson (d. 1929) claimed in youthful writings that the fifteenth‐century rabbinic thinker and physicist, Hasdai Crescas, was a pragmatist. This essay introduces evidence that there are, indeed, significant analogies between elements of Hasdai Crescas's critique of Aristotle and elements of Charles Peirce's pragmatism. The essay concludes that Crescas's primary work, Light of the Lord (Or Hashem), displays a unique analogue to classical American pragmatism, which analogue I label "rabbinic pragmatism" and classify as a subtype of "Jewish pragmatism." The essay's central hypothesis is that Crescas's scientific reasoning is correlative to his Torah‐based reasoning. A second hypothesis is that the enabling conditions of this correlativity are the inquirer's relation to God as author of Creation and of the Commandments (mitzvah). I argue that Crescas's non‐finite mathematics (a potential source for Galileo) is correlative to his account of the non‐finite meanings of each Commandment so that each command displays fresh meanings in each new context of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a close examination of one of Nahman of Bratslav's early and largely unexamined texts, Sefer ha‐Middot. The question it addresses is whether one can call this a study of "ethics" or, in Jewish nomenclature, musar, a work that seeks to cultivate human behaviors and describe ethical formation. In addition, it asks whether Sefer ha‐Middot can be called a text of "virtue ethics" given its focus on virtues and their enactment. The essay argues that Nahman's peculiar metaphysical notion that all mitzvot are inextricably intertwined prevents any analysis of behavioral causality severing his "ethics" from any Aristotelian or Kantian tradition and brings him closer to Alasdair MacIntyre's notion of ethics as tied to traditional norms. And even with MacIntyre, the comparison is quite limited. Discussing "faith," the "zaddik," and "money," the essay explores Nahman's view of how these and other virtues are cultivated and achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commandment to send the mother bird from her nest before taking her eggs or chicks, known in Jewish tradition as shiluach hakan , is found in Deuteronomy 22:6–7. This essay addresses dominant perspectives on the mother bird mitzvah—its association with good luck, bad luck, and compassion—before showcasing rabbinic texts from Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud Hullin Chapter 12 that evince interest in birds as ingenious builders, as fathers and not just mothers, as queer parents and altruists, as rebel spirits who resist captivity even unto death and, finally, in birds as co-inhabitants of the earth whose lives are parallel to as well as enmeshed with our own. I offer here a bird-centric approach to the commandment, an effort to read it in a spirit of anti-anthropocentrism, drawing on animal studies scholar Matthew Calarco's notion of indistinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Article, we argue that rights play a central role in Jewish law. In Section I, we reconstruct Robert Cover's thesis distinguishing the West's jurisprudence of rights from Judaism's jurisprudence of obligation. In Section II, we present Rabbi Lichtenstein's theory that rights play no central role in Jewish law. We show that the theories of Rabbi Lichtenstein and Robert Cover have given rise to the idea that there are no rights in Jewish law, only obligations. In Section III we develop two types of arguments in support of our position that rights are central to Jewish law. Our first argument appeals to Hohfeld's analysis that rights are correlative of duties. Our second argument contends that certain mitzvot are best understood as protecting individuals' rights. In Section IV we discuss two ideas that underlie the "no rights in Jewish law camp." The first idea is that the category of mitzvah is best interpreted as obligation. The second idea is that an obligation to obey God's law implies a law comprised of obligations. We argue that both of these ideas are misguided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judaism is often presented from the outside as a religion of commands, prohibitions and justice demanding an „eye for an eye". However, Judaism is above all a religion of love. Love („ahava") in this tradition is inseparable from the concept of holiness, justice and mercy. Love is to be demonstrated by man on three basic levels: (1) love for God; (2) love of neighbor; (3) love for the newcomers who settled in Israel as guests. Fulfilling or not fulfilling the commands and prohibitions of the Torah results from the existence or non-existence of this love. Neither love nor hatred is enjoined by the Torah towards enemies, but God requires help in times of need for them. Love in the rabbinical concept combines an emphasis on various dimensions of knowledge (from all levels of knowledge - studying the Torah and the mitzvot mentioned therein to a fulfilled loving relationship with a woman) and the will to a certain type of action resulting from this, which builds mutual relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the issue of sustainability in the Jewish law. Topics discussed include commandments in the Torah and ethical principles that highlight sustaining the Earth and the creation of God, aspects of the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam or repairing the world which started in the early stages of the Mishnah of the second century, and the promotion of sustainability and environmental awareness in the legal framework of the Jewish canon.

Copyright of Biblica & Patristica Thoruniensia is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is not possible to understand the history and present day of Jewish women without placing them in the Jewish tradition, resulting mainly from religion which for centuries was the foundation of Jewish life, regulating its finest aspects. The article describes how the regulations of the religious Jewish law, halakha, determine the place of Jewish women in traditional society, and how the resulting adjustments relate to Jews according to gender. The analysis covers three so-called special women’s mitzvot, i.e. the lighting of the Sabbath lights, the separation of the challah, and the observance of the laws related to the family purity, as well as the resulting positioning of women within a clear apportionment into female−male, public−domestic, or culture−nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the theme of Jewish identity in the context of Passover. Topics include the personal significance of identifying with the Exodus from Egypt, the evolving nature of bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies as markers of Jewish identity, and historical choices faced by Jews, such as during the 1392 Castile and Aragon crisis and the Bar Kokhba rebellion.

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article provides an analysis of Jewish confraternity, dowries, and charity. It mentions that Elimelekh Horowitz published an essay in Tarbiz that signified the study of dowry and marriage in early modern Jewish societies. It also reveals that in analysis of the evolution of the commandment of assisting marriageable brides (hakhnasat kalah), Elimelekh placed it in the context of demographic restoration.