Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge: Conversations with the Torah - Hardcover

Rosenak, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813365619 ISBN 13: 9780813365619

Publisher: Westview Press, 2001

Synopsis

Viewing education through the prism of the Torah, Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge takes the reader through the stages of learning, growth, and self-development that characterize human lives. The journey begins with education as it happens in the home, moves on to the institutions of society, especially schools, and then on to the questions of identity and commitment which constitute the hidden agenda of “informal educational networks.” The self-education of the individual is explored: When does one “grow up”? What is really worth knowing? How does one cope with memories, illness, and anticipations of what lies ahead? This book examines some of the millennial conversation in an attempt to discover an educational philosophy in the Torah that can be relevant to life in the contemporary world.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Rosenak is Emeritus Mandel Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the faculty of The Mandel School for Educational Leadership. He has written extensively on issues in the philosophy of education, and specifically, on the theological dimensions of educational thought. He immigrated to Israel in 1957 and lives in Jerusalem.

Reviews

What is worth knowing? How do we distinguish what is worth knowing from what is not? In Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge: Conversations with the Torah, Michael Rosenak applies the discipline of Torah study to the philosophy of education more generally. Although the book is a bit too scholarly to reach the parents and teachers to whom it is directed, it is also provocative, drawing on Torah commentators such as Hillel and Rashi and addressing important issues in Jewish education.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Rosenak, a leading philosopher of Jewish education, divides this scholarly work into four parts. In the first part, "Parents and Children," his concern is with the parent-child relationship. Part 2, "The Community," deals with the community's teaching through Torah. In Part 3, "Inside Out: Learning about Ourselves and Others," the author examines the question of how, in the face of other, sometimes "idolatrous" languages and sometimes pagan literatures, shall we defend ours? Part 4, "Learning about Ourselves: Jewish Self-Education," "brings us to those later stages of life in which all education is self-education," as Rosenak posits. This is a penetrating study that elucidates the Torah, education, and the human condition. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Jewish education, whether it be within the family, at school, in the community, or by oneself throughout life, is a "great conversation" about "the possible meaning of life and allegedly good or correct ways of conducting it," observes Rosenak (Jewish education, emeritus, Hebrew Univ. in Jerusalem). Here he explores major texts within the Jewish tradition, following the chronological order of the general path of life, as discussed by commentators, kabbalists, and modern thinkers. He goes on to describe "specific conversations these texts have generated that reflect and illuminate fundamental philosophical questions arising in Jewish education." Rosenak argues that meaningful and effective Jewish education must be based on a balance between order and restraint (symbolized by the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden) and freedom and potentiality (the Tree of Life). A profound work of educational theory and philosophy; recommended for synagogue and academic collections. Marcia Welsh, formerly of the Guilford Free Lib., CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Westview Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813365619
• ISBN 13: 9780813365619
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400