The Spirit of Renewal: Finding Faith after the Holocaust
The cataclysm of the Holocaust seems to forbid speech. Yet even in the heart of that darkness, sparks of sacredness were kept alive. From these sparks, Feld suggests, Jews and others can renew a faith and a language that recovers the holy.\ \ The Spirit of Renewal explores four key events that reshaped religious expression: the Babylonian exile; the Bar Kochba revolution; the Holocaust; and the establishment of the State of Israel. It opens the way to a powerful new understanding of the...
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The cataclysm of the Holocaust seems to forbid speech. Yet even in the heart of that darkness, sparks of sacredness were kept alive. From these sparks, Feld suggests, Jews and others can renew a faith and a language that recovers the holy. The Spirit of Renewal explores four key events that reshaped religious expression: the Babylonian exile; the Bar Kochba revolution; the Holocaust; and the establishment of the State of Israel. It opens the way to a powerful new understanding of the nature of God and the spiritual life. "Carefully analyzes how the Holocaust differs from previous events in Jewish history....Has forged a new theology of Judaism. Highly recommended." --Library Journal "A profound meditation on Jewish history [and the Holocaust]....Christians, as well as many others, need to share in this story." -- The Rt. Rev. Frederick H. Borsch, Ph.D., Episcopal Bishop of L.A. Jewish Book World By examining the classic as well as contemporary responses to major catastrophes or events, such as the Babylonian exile, the Bar-Kochba revolt, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, the author presents a highly sensitive and even poetic Jewish rejoinder to the Auschwitz phenomenon. A modern approach for today's readers.
\ Jewish Book WorldBy examining the classic as well as contemporary responses to major catastrophes or events, such as the Babylonian exile, the Bar-Kochba revolt, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, the author presents a highly sensitive and even poetic Jewish rejoinder to the Auschwitz phenomenon. A modern approach for today's readers.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ Throughout its history, Judaism has been engaged in a search for the meaning of the simultaneous existence of God and evil. In this updated reissue of his 1991 classic, Rabbi Feld, Jewish chaplain at Princeton for 19 years, describes that quest. Dwelling on watershed events in Jewish history, especially on the Babylonian exile, the Bar Kochba revolution, the story of Job, the Holocaust and the birth of the State of Israel, Feld argues that Judaism has always adjusted to reflect changing historical realities and renew itself. In particular, he finds that, after the Holocaust, there was an urgent need for Judaism to redefine itself and, more significantly, that even in the very midst of that unspeakable cataclysm there were glimmers of holiness in ordinary acts of kindness performed toward others by ``the walking dead.'' This beautifully expressed book provides inspiration for all who grapple with the problem of belief in a just God in an unjust world. (Apr.)\ \ \ Library JournalFeld, Princeton's Jewish Chaplain, presents a lucid analysis of four key moments in Jewish history. The Babylonian exile, the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans, and the Holocaust brought acute tragedy and a radical reinterpretation of the relationship between the Jewish people and God. The establishment of the State of Israel brought a spirit of renewal together with concerns about the exercise of national power. Feld has studied both the classic sources of Judaism as well as documents of the modern era to delineate changing attitudes. He examines the difference in Jewish thought between the idea of Isaiah as suffering servant of God, and the tragic figure of Job. He carefully analyzes how the Holocaust differs from previous events in Jewish history. In arriving at his conclusions he has forged a new theology of Judaism. Highly recommended.-- Maurice Tuchman, Hebrew Coll. Lib., Brookline, Mass.\ \
