Background
Sherwin, Byron Lee was born on February 18, 1946 in New York City. Son of Sidney and Jean Sylvia (Rabinowitz) Sherwin.
(A profound exploration of what a meaningful life truly is...)
A profound exploration of what a meaningful life truly is and what we can each do to make our own unique and beautiful • Offers the ingredients and strategies necessary to turn your life into a work of art • Takes contemporary culture head-on, demonstrating the challenges of living a spiritual, meaningful life in modern times • An ideal companion for anyone seeking meaning in their lives and eager to set out to find it Within each human soul, meaning flickers as a spark waiting to be ignited. Just as a sculptor starts with raw clay and crafts it into a singular work of beauty, so we are each responsible for taking the material of our own life and shaping it into something unique, beautiful, and meaningful. This process, which Sherwin calls soulcrafting, can make the difference between an empty life and one that has all the energy, completeness, and profundity of a work of art. Crafting the Soul examines what many of the greatest thinkers of the past have had to say about the meaning of life, then takes contemporary culture head-on, demonstrating how many facets of modern life prevent one from ever creating a spiritual, meaningful existence. It then presents all the ingredients necessary to turn your life into a work of art and offers strategies for achieving this. Infused with the deep spirituality of the author's thirty years of philosophical exploration, Crafting the Soul is the ideal companion for anyone curious about the meaning of life and eager to set out on an intellectual and spiritual adventure to find it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892817046/?tag=2022091-20
(Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian,...)
Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian, Abraham Joshua Heschel, warned of a "second Holocaust" - a spiritual genocide against Judaism that American Jews were perpetrating on themselves. By engaging in assimilation and secularization, he argued, Jews were losing their religious identity and, through it, their identity as a people. In Faith Finding Meaning, Byron L. Sherwin makes the case for a return to Jewish theology as a foundation for restoring Jewish authenticity and for reversing self-destructive assimilationist trends. Rather than focusing on the abstract theological concepts presented by Judaism, such as the existence and nature of God, Sherwin shifts the center of the discussion to the quest for individual meaning. As more Jews seek to affirm Judaism as a faith, they are increasingly asking two questions: What is Judaism? How does Judaism address my quest for meaning? This volume constructs a portrait of the Jewish faith that is deeply rooted in both classical and modern sources of Jewish thought. Jewish theological thinking can be understood as a response to such visceral existential issues as living in a covenantal relationship, finding God in the world, approaching sacred scripture, and committing ethical deeds. Finding this sort of individual meaning through Jewish theology is, Sherwin argues, the viable path by which Jews in the contemporary world can maintain identity amid assimilation. Faith Finding Meaning will engage anyone seeking a refreshing new approach to interpreting Jewish theology and a guide for faithful living as the Jewish people move into the future.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199978573/?tag=2022091-20
( Determined to bring his wife out of her own slump, Rabb...)
Determined to bring his wife out of her own slump, Rabbi Jay Loeb practices a bit of magic based in the ancient Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah to help the perennial underdogs, the Chicago Cubs, win the World Series. In this modern-day tale, the rabbi suspects that his wife, Tamara, is having an affair. However, he feels no relief upon learning that her true obsession, and the cause of her erratic behavior, happens to be the hapless Chicago Cubs, whose prospects for the pennant are no better that year than they had been since they last appeared in the World Series in 1945. With his wife's law practice, family life, and health in jeopardy, Rabbi Loeb takes matters into his own hands and secretly performs a kabbalistic ritual in Wrigley Field that removes the park's legendary Billy Goat Curse. While the Cubs become invincible at home, they continue to struggle on the road, and upon discovering the cause of their new-found success, Cubs management commissions Rabbi Loeb to apply his kabbalistic knowledge to help the team go all the way. Ever mindful of his desire to restore his wife's well-being, Rabbi Loeb takes measures to neutralize other curses that have plagued the team—and help the players develop the spiritual strength they need to prevail.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0976487403/?tag=2022091-20
(According to Jewish scholar Byron Sherwin, while Jewish t...)
According to Jewish scholar Byron Sherwin, while Jewish tradition always emphasized the nexus between thought and action, theory and practice, modern Jewish scholarship severed that relationship. Modern scholars seem prone to over-specialization in minute sub-areas of Jewish studies or limit their scholarly investigations to specific texts that are written in specific lands during specific periods, without surveying the breadth of classic Jewish sources. In contrast, Sherwin draws from the vast resources of classic Jewish texts in a quest for solutions to today's troubling concerns, offering a novel agenda and methodology for contemporary Jewish scholarship.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815624905/?tag=2022091-20
(Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian,...)
Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian, Abraham Joshua Heschel, warned of a "second Holocaust" - a spiritual genocide against Judaism that American Jews were perpetrating on themselves. By engaging in assimilation and secularization, he argued, Jews were losing their religious identity and, through it, their identity as a people. In Faith Finding Meaning, Byron L. Sherwin makes the case for a return to Jewish theology as a foundation for restoring Jewish authenticity and for reversing self-destructive assimilationist trends. Rather than focusing on the abstract theological concepts presented by Judaism, such as the existence and nature of God, Sherwin shifts the center of the discussion to the quest for individual meaning. As more Jews seek to affirm Judaism as a faith, they are increasingly asking two questions: What is Judaism? How does Judaism address my quest for meaning? This volume constructs a portrait of the Jewish faith that is deeply rooted in both classical and modern sources of Jewish thought. Jewish theological thinking can be understood as a response to such visceral existential issues as living in a covenantal relationship, finding God in the world, approaching sacred scripture, and committing ethical deeds. Finding this sort of individual meaning through Jewish theology is, Sherwin argues, the viable path by which Jews in the contemporary world can maintain identity amid assimilation. Faith Finding Meaning will engage anyone seeking a refreshing new approach to interpreting Jewish theology and a guide for faithful living as the Jewish people move into the future.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195336232/?tag=2022091-20
(Imagine a world where the normal human life span is 150 y...)
Imagine a world where the normal human life span is 150 years, where worn-out vital organs are routinely replaced by spares, where after death you will retain consciousness for eternity in cyberspace, where nanotechnology will enable you to transform a plastic bottle into a filet mignon for you to share with your android spouse. Scientists anticipate such a world within a century. Even now many signs of such biotech "progress" are with us. Accelerating developments in genomics, reproductive biotechnology, bionics, artificial life, genetic engineering, and related fields are compelling us to reexamine our most deeply held beliefs about ourselves and our world. As we do, the figure of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created looms large: many people today see our predicament through the lens of the Frankenstein story, whose lesson is that humans should not "play God" or tinker with the toolbox of nature, at the risk of tragedy and catastrophe. Yet there is an available alternative both to the Frankenstein vision and to the ebullient enthusiasm of those who anticipate a riskless future. It is the most famous and influential post-biblical Jewish legend, the story of the golem―the creation of an anthropoid by mystical and magical means. Retold and embellished in twentieth-century literature, art, music, drama, film, science, technology, and popular culture, the golem legend has become a metaphor for our times, a resource for applying the wisdom of the past to the perplexities of the present and the challenges of the future. In Golems Among Us, Byron Sherwin briefly traces the fascinating history of the golem legend in Western culture, then shows what lessons it holds for us in navigating a safe journey―philosophically, theologically, ethically, and in public policy―through the minefield of social and biological engineering in which we now stand.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566635683/?tag=2022091-20
(After establishing a vision of and a methodology for "doi...)
After establishing a vision of and a methodology for "doing" Jewish theology, that vision and methodology are applied to a number of issues of major theological concern. These include: love and law, awe of God, the problem of evil, Holocaust theology, theologies of the human body, theological ethics, and eschatology. Utilizing a remarkable range of classical sources from Hebrew Scriptures to Hasidim, Talmud to Jewish philosophy, medieval Jewish mysticism to contemporary political theology, this volume demonstrates how theology is an artform informed by erudite scholarship and honed by analytic skill.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0773496351/?tag=2022091-20
(Judah Loew, better known as the Maharal of Prague, was a ...)
Judah Loew, better known as the Maharal of Prague, was a pivotal personality in late medieval European Judaism. Best known from the popular legend that credited him with the creation of a golem-an artificial human with superhuman powers-his true importance lay in his comprehensive exposition of a unique expression of Jewish mystical theology, his call for a reformation of Jewish communal life, and his influence on subsequent Jewish life and thought. Byron Sherwin's lucid exposition of the life, legend, works, and ideas developed in Loew's massive writings 'reveals the concealed' by unravelling the often obscure nature of his mystical theology, his polemical jousts against past and contemporary Jewish scholars, and his innovative programme for social and educational reform.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904113508/?tag=2022091-20
(How to Be a Jew: Ethical Teachings of Judaism can be desc...)
How to Be a Jew: Ethical Teachings of Judaism can be described as a Jewish self-help manual. The authors offer translations of significant passages from the most important works of Jewish ethical literature. They clearly show modern readers that while these writings might be old, they are not obsolete, and while the conditions of human life have changed over the centuries, the human condition itself is essentially unchanged. By introducing readers to the major works of Jewish ethical literature, the authors illustrate that this Jewish genre offers 'a road map for the individual committed to the creation of the supreme art-form - one's own life.' Chapters include 'How to Believe in God,' 'How to Deal with the Ego,' 'How to Die,' 'How to Behave Sexually,' and 'How to Parent.' Rabbis Byron Sherwin and Seymour Cohen, both highly regarded scholars, have brought together their expertise and passion for their subject. To the reader who cannot study these texts in their original languages, they offer access to the treasure trove of Jewish ethical literature, choosing important passages from such classics as the Kuzari by Judah Ha-Levi, the Zohar, The Path of the Upright by Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto, Duties of the Heart by Bahya ibn Pakudah, and Nachmanides' Commentary on the Torah. Accompanying their selections are in-depth essays that review the ways that Jewish ethical literature has treated these universal subjects. As the authors explain, Jewish ethical literature deals with the most intimate problems of human experience. This literature was written 'not to inform but to transform' the reader. How to Be a Jew: Ethical Teachings of Judaism is, itself, just such a book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876684789/?tag=2022091-20
(Demonstrates how the wisdom of the past - found in classi...)
Demonstrates how the wisdom of the past - found in classical texts that comprise Jewish religious tradition - can forcefully address the moral perplexities of the present. The text delineates a methodology for Jewish ethics, which the author applies to a wide range of issues.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815606249/?tag=2022091-20
(In the first book to explore Pope John Paul II's view on ...)
In the first book to explore Pope John Paul II's view on interreligious dialogue, leading scholars from Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism respond to his writings and speeches on their respective traditions, and the relationship between those faiths and Catholicism. Contributors: -Pope John Paul II -The XIV Dalai Lama -Robert Aitken -Masao Abe -Jose Ignacio Cabezon -David M. Gordis -Mahmoud Ayoub -Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi -Michael L. Fitzgerald -Wayne Teasdale
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570752605/?tag=2022091-20
college official Religion educator
Sherwin, Byron Lee was born on February 18, 1946 in New York City. Son of Sidney and Jean Sylvia (Rabinowitz) Sherwin.
Bachelor of Science, Columbia University, New York City, 1966. Bachelor of Hebrew Literature, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1966. Master of Hebrew Literature, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1968.
Master of Arts, New York University, 1969. Doctor of Philosophy, University Chicago, 1978. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Jewish Theological Seminary America, 1996.
Professor Jewish philosophy and mysticism, Spertus College Judaica, Chicago, since 1970; vice president academic affairs, Spertus College Judaica, Chicago, since 1984.
(A profound exploration of what a meaningful life truly is...)
(Imagine a world where the normal human life span is 150 y...)
(In the first book to explore Pope John Paul II's view on ...)
( Determined to bring his wife out of her own slump, Rabb...)
(Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian,...)
(Over four decades ago, the pre-eminent Jewish theologian,...)
(According to Jewish scholar Byron Sherwin, while Jewish t...)
(Demonstrates how the wisdom of the past - found in classi...)
(After establishing a vision of and a methodology for "doi...)
(After establishing a vision of and a methodology for "doi...)
(Judah Loew, better known as the Maharal of Prague, was a ...)
(How to Be a Jew: Ethical Teachings of Judaism can be desc...)
(Will be shipped from US. Brand new copy.)
Member Midwest Jewish Studies Association (founding president), American Philosophical Association, Association for Jewish Studies, Rabbinical Assembly, American Academy Religion, The Authors Guild.
Married Judith Rita Schwartz, December 24, 1972. 1 child, Jason Samuel.