A01=Geoffrey D. Claussen
Author_Geoffrey D. Claussen
Category=QRAB
Category=QRAM1
Category=QRJ
Compassion
Conservative Judaism
Courage
Curiosity
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eq_isMigrated=2
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Forgiveness
Gratitude
Hasidism
Honesty
Humanist
Humility
Inquisitiveness
Jewish Ethics
Jewish History
Jewish Studies
Jewish Thought
Jewish Tradition
Judaism
Justice
Kindness
Love
Orthodox Judaism
Philosophy
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reform Judaism
Religion
Religious Ethics
Religious Studies
Religious Virtues
Renewal
Righteousness
Secular Jews
Self Restraint
Social Responsibility
Solidarity
Temperance
Truth
Valor
Virtue
Product details
- ISBN 9780827613508
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Apr 2022
- Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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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.
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.
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.
