I hesitate to offer input, but because I’ve been in your shoes before, I’m hoping you’ll be open to my thoughts. My thoughts are basically this: Religion can be truly rewarding, and it can also represent a host of human values that we all hold dear, but it does not represent the entirety and the...
If I wanted to learn about the personal mystical experiences of the Chassidic masters, the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman, etc. where would I go? Are there any books you'd recommend?
I'm familiar with Rebbe Nachman and his Likutey Moharan, but I guess what I'm looking for is either a biographical...
I've met with a couple rabbis, graduates from Chovevei Torah and they are fabulous, passionate, Torah-centric leaders. Someone else in this thread said something similar: their words and works impress me consistently. One of them is R' Shmuly Yanklowitz who I believe is now in Arizona. He...
This is a great thread! I'm loving these answers.
I define G!d, first by acknowledging that no human being can define G!d, and that the nature of G!d far transcends man's conception or ability to conceive of it.
I can start by stating what G!d, to me, is not. Hashem is not a man, woman, or...
Maybe just Eshet (woman)? I won't knock you for calling me, "hey woman."
I want to preface by saying that I view morality in a slightly different way than perhaps many people do. I don't see it as a question of right and wrong, black and white; I see it more as a spectrum, at one end of which...
FWIW, I think icehorse's stance is dualistic but not condescending or pedantic. A genuine sense of curiosity, even if skeptical or suspicious, is fair - but I see a curiosity nonetheless as to the motives behind living a traditionally religious life, when many/most in the modern world gain...
I totally agree with this. Or, I *would* totally agree with this if I felt that this ruling accurately represents modern Conservative Judaism, which it doesn't.
This is only an issue inasmuch as any Conservative Jew actively observes mitzvot. As one myself, I find that most other Conservative...
This.
Also, lighting the Shabbat candles. I have yet to experience the feeling of sanctity, of relief, and of everything-is-now-alright-ness anywhere else except for each Friday night, when I close my eyes, place my hands in front of them, and welcome in the sabbath.
I loved The Heart of Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr -- this book was extremely enlightening and helped me understand the core essence of Islam.
I'd also recommend What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam by John Esposito.
Karen Armstrong's Islam is also very good but totally dry, and really more...
Absolutely! That was kind of my point when I was talking to my coworker. Just because we haven't heard of these teachers and scholars doesn't mean they don't exist.
Perfectly said. This goes for extremists of all religions and political causes, I think.
Thank you all so much for these...
As-salamu alaykum. :)
A coworker of mine mentioned the other day that he wished there was a Rumi-type spiritual leader around nowadays; a modern Muslim thinker that would give a peaceful, universal image to Islam. I told him that there are, and that there are many, but we just don't hear...