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Hillel, September 2010
Hardcover
If Not Now, When?
Schocken
September 2010
On Sale: September 14, 2010
272 pages ISBN: 0805242813 EAN: 9780805242812 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
“What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor.
That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now, go
and study.”
This is the most famous teaching of Hillel, one of the
greatest rabbis of the Talmudic era. What makes it so
extraordinary is that it was offered to a gentile seeking
conversion. Joseph Telushkin feels that this Talmudic story
has great relevance for us today. At a time when religiosity
is equated with ritual observance alone, when few Jews seem
concerned with bringing Jewish teachings into the world, and
when more than 40 percent of Jews intermarry, Judaism is in
need of more of the openness that Hillel possessed two
thousand years ago.
Hillel’s teachings, stories, and legal rulings can be found
throughout the Talmud; many of them share his emphasis on
ethical and moral living as an essential element in Jewish
religious practice, including his citing the concept of
tikkun olam (repairing the world) as a basis for modifying
Jewish law. Perhaps the most prominent rabbi and teacher in
the Land of Israel during the reign of Herod, Hillel may
well have influenced Jesus, his junior by several decades.
In a provocative analysis of both Judaism and Christianity,
Telushkin reveals why Hillel’s teachings about ethics as
God’s central demand and his willingness to encourage the
process of conversion began to be ignored in favor of the
stricter and less inclusive teachings of his rabbinic
adversary, Shammai.
Here is a bold new look at an iconic religious leader.
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