Modern Musar : Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought

Geoffrey D Claussen

ISBN 10: 0827613504 / ISBN 13: 9780827613508

Published by Jewish Publication Society Apr 2022, 2022

About this Item

Neuware - How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regarding virtue and character) explores the diverse ways seventy-eight modern Jewish thinkers understand ten virtues: honesty and love of truth; curiosity and inquisitiveness; humility; courage and valor; temperance and self-restraint; gratitude; forgiveness; love, kindness, and compassion; solidarity and social responsibility; and justice and righteousness. These thinkers-from the Musar movement to Hasidism to contemporary Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Humanist, and secular Jews-often agree on the importance of these virtues but fundamentally disagree in their conclusions. The juxtaposition of their views, complemented by Geoffrey Claussen s pointed analysis, allows us to see tensions with particular clarity-and sometimes to recognize multiple compelling ways of viewing the same virtue. By expanding the category of musar literature to include not only classic texts and traditional works influenced by them but also the writings of diverse rabbis, scholars, and activists-men and women-who continue to shape Jewish tradition, Modern Musar challenges the fields of modern Jewish thought and ethics to rethink their boundaries-and invites us to weigh and refine our own moral ideals.

Seller Inventory # 9780827613508

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Modern Musar : Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society Apr 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0827613504
• ISBN 13: 9780827613508
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 231W x 150H x 23D millimeters 231 millimeters width by 150 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 590 grams

About this title

Synopsis

How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love? In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regarding virtue and character) explores the diverse ways seventy-eight modern Jewish thinkers understand ten virtues: honesty and love of truth; curiosity and inquisitiveness; humility; courage and valor; temperance and self-restraint; gratitude; forgiveness; love, kindness, and compassion; solidarity and social responsibility; and justice and righteousness. These thinkers—from the Musar movement to Hasidism to contemporary Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Humanist, and secular Jews—often agree on the importance of these virtues but fundamentally disagree in their conclusions. The juxtaposition of their views, complemented by Geoffrey Claussen’s pointed analysis, allows us to see tensions with particular clarity—and sometimes to recognize multiple compelling ways of viewing the same virtue.

By expanding the category of musar literature to include not only classic texts and traditional works influenced by them but also the writings of diverse rabbis, scholars, and activists—men and women—who continue to shape Jewish tradition, Modern Musar challenges the fields of modern Jewish thought and ethics to rethink their boundaries—and invites us to weigh and refine our own moral ideals.
 

About the Author

Geoffrey D. Claussen is an associate professor of religious studies, chair of the Department of Religious Studies, and Lori and Eric Sklut Scholar in Jewish Studies at Elon University. He is author of Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar and is a past president of the Society of Jewish Ethics.