Background
Solomon Schechter was born into a family of Hasidic background in Focsani, Romania, in December 1849.
( The classic statement of the ideas which form the relig...)
The classic statement of the ideas which form the religious consciousness of the Jewish people at large, by one of the great minds of Jewish scholarship of our century. His creative scholarship, compelling English style, and warm personality have given this book lasting influence on Jew and non-Jew alike. Includes the original preface of 1909 and the introduction by Louis Finkelstein.
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(Excerpt from Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology This last...)
Excerpt from Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology This last circumstance - besides being productive of bitter polemics, as just hinted at - could not fail to create new theological values, as the modern phrase is, leading, for instance, to the emphasis upon the significance of the Law and even the Oral Law and other doctrinal points, which, though questioned by none, were never before stated with such distinct ness and in such a challenging manner. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Few writers have crafted such a classic statement of the ...)
Few writers have crafted such a classic statement of the nature of and concepts within rabbinic theology as did Solomon Schechter. Aspects of Rabbinic Theology distills for the uninitiated the basic principles, concepts, and ideas of Judaism, particularly as they are found in the Talmud and Midrash. Noted Jewish author Louis Ginzberg could say of Schechter, "He showed the . . . special Jewish conception of God and the universe, the special Jewish interpretation of the Bible." Key aspects of Jewish theology, such as the election of Israel, God's relationship to Israel, and the place of the Law, receive careful examination and vivid explanation. The notion of sin as rebellion and the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, under Schechter's steady hand, likewise are disclosed in fresh and thought-provoking ways. Moreover, since "There is hardly any miracle recorded in the Bible for which a parallel might not be found in the Rabbinic literature" (from the introduction), any student of Judaism or Christianity readily recognizes the tremendous potential for increased understanding. Though written nearly ninety years ago, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology remains a clear and useful distillation of the essence of rabbinic Judaism.
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(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
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(Excerpt from Studies in Judaism The volume presented her...)
Excerpt from Studies in Judaism The volume presented herewith to the public, under the title, Studies in judaism, Second Series, forms, like the preceding series published some ten years ago, a collection of detached essays and articles written at long intervals and called forth by various occasions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Solomon Schechter was born into a family of Hasidic background in Focsani, Romania, in December 1849.
After a traditional education in Jewish schools in Romania and Poland, Schechter studied at the rabbinical seminary of Vienna and at the universities of Vienna and Berlin.
In 1882 he settled in London as a tutor. In 1890 he was appointed reader in rabbinics at Cambridge University. During the next twelve years he held several academic posts, including curator of Hebrew manuscripts in the Cambridge Library and professor of Hebrew at University College in London. During this period, in addition to numerous journal articles on Jewish history and theology-later published in book form as Studies in Judaism (1896, 1908, 1924) and Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909-Schechter published critical editions of rabbinic texts: the Talmudic tractate Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (1887) and two Midrashic texts, one on the "Song of Songs" (1896) and one on Genesis (1902). Schechter's most notable achievement, however, was bringing to England much of the archive of an ancient Cairo synagogue, including thousands of fragments of manuscripts and documents shedding light on a millennium of Jewish history. Schechter's scholarly work henceforth centered on this material. His chief works were The Wisdom of Ben Sira (with C. Taylor, 1899), portions of the Hebrew original of the Apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus; Saadyana (1903), new material on the 9th-century Jewish scholar Saadia Gaon; and Documents of Jewish Sectaries (1910), dealing with the 16t-century Zadokites and the Karaites, a medieval sect. In 1902 Schechter assumed the presidency of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York and devoted the rest of his life to developing this institution and its constituency. In England, Schechter had been mainly a scholar; he now became the spiritual leader of Conservative Judaism and, to a certain extent, a leader of American Judaism. In 1913, attempting to unify American Jewry, he established, and served as first president of, the United Synagogue of America, an organization of Conservative Jewish congregations in America. Viewing the rebirth of Jewish nationalism as embodied in the Zionist movement as integral to the revival of Judaism, he was active in American Zionism. His other contributions included service as chairman of the committee that prepared the new English translation of the Bible later published by the Jewish Publication Society of America; editor of the department of Talmud for several volumes of the Jewish Encyclopedia; and coeditor of the new series of the Jewish Quarterly Review. He died on November 20, 1915.
(Excerpt from Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology This last...)
(Excerpt from Studies in Judaism The volume presented her...)
( The classic statement of the ideas which form the relig...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(Few writers have crafted such a classic statement of the ...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
He advocated the concept of the unity and solidarity of Jews throughout the world. He viewed "the collective conscience of Catholic Israel as embodied in the Universal Synagogue . .. as the sole true guide for the present and future" development of Judaism.
Quotations:
“You cannot be anything if you want to be everything. ”
“In short, the Gaon was a one-sided, severe ascetic, and would never have deserved the title of a good father, a good husband, an amiable man . .. [T]here is no occasion at all for pitying Mrs. Gaon. . .. Saints are happy in their suffering, and noble souls find their happiness in sacrificing themselves for these sufferers. ”
“Self-complacency is the companion of ignorance. ”
“By vulgarity I mean that vice of civilization which makes man ashamed of himself and his next of kin, and pretend to be somebody else. ”
“Ages employed in making history have no time for studying it. ”
In 1887 he married Matilda Roth. They had three children.