Showing results by author "Juan Marcos" in All Categories

In 1942, in Kaunas, Lithuania, the occupying German forces decreed that any pregnant Jewish woman would be summarily executed. On August 26, 1942, a Jewish woman realized she was pregnant and approached her rabbi, Ephraim Oshry, seeking advice. He determined that an abortion was necessary to save her life. The situation was something no woman or rabbi should have to face. But the scenario was real, and Rabbi Ephraim Oshry ruled based on Jewish law.

Samuel Usque in The Consolations for the Tribulations of Israel examines the trials and misfortunes of the Jewish people in an effort to both comfort and encourage Anusim (forced or coerced converts to Christianity). For Usque, in the context of his audience, “history” serves to alleviate their pain, to convince them of the reasons for their current predicament, and to convince them that an immanent redemption was soon to be realized. The Consolations have often proven inaccessible to many readers. This work focuses on providing a review of the key concepts.

Of all the Jewish thinkers that arose in the 20th century, none stands out as revolutionary and as controversial as Mordecai Kaplan. Kaplan was paradoxical. Despite his commitment to Jewish life as generally recognizable to traditionally oriented Jews, his theological predilections were such that the fundamental nature of Jewish religious identity was transformed in his reconstruction of Judaism. While Kaplan was vilified by many Orthodox and finally excommunicated by the rabbis of Agudath Israel, not all his right of center critics were ready to dismiss him completely.

An Israelite father; a Canaanite mother. A young boy is caught between two worlds during the time of Samuel the Seer. Captured by the Sea Peoples during a battle, he is enslaved and taken to the Philistine stronghold of Gath where he meets two young girls who will shape his future. All the while, he remembers his friend, a beautiful Canaanite girl, and wonders whether he will ever see her or his parents again.

We live in a radically different world than we did just a year and a half ago. The world has experienced unprecedented fear due to COVID-19. Consequently, most countries have undergone lockdowns, social distancing, and mandated masks because of the worldwide pandemic. The concept of community and its importance has radically changed in the minds of many people. This especially applies to religious communities, and the consequences of this are disturbing. This work discusses the importance of religious community from a Jewish perspective, but also emphasizes other religious traditions.

In the context of Crypto-Jewish individuals and communities, both in the Iberian Peninsula and in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of the New World, as well as in India, the knowledge of and distinction between halakhah and minhag persisted. But as contact with established Jewish communities (in particular, in Spain before the expulsion), with rabbis, and with Jewish texts lessened, the overall knowledge of Jewish practice and beliefs diminished. This short work explores the practices and beliefs that characterized the dual identity of crypto-Jews.

In traditional Judaism, the revelation of the Torah at Sinai was a miraculous event. It is the foundational event of the Jewish people as a nation. The rabbis perceived God's continued involvement in creation, but also saw limitations on how divine intervention functioned in the realm of Jewish law. Discover the fascinating manner in which Torah and prophecy were understood and how each had its proper domain.

Thousands of Jews forcibly converted to Christianity in Spain and Portugal were subjected to religious persecution for continuing to adhere to their ancestral faith. The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions lasted for centuries, and when their attention on Judaizers ended, they switched to other concerns, including Protestantism, bigamy, and blasphemy. The Inquisition typically conjures up images of intolerance, persecution, and violence, and rightly so. Many people think of it as a reflection of the spiritual, scholastic, and scientific darkness of the medieval period.

At first glance, the topics included in this volume may appear to be a series of disjointed and independent essays. These topics, in my opinion, cover recurring themes and questions that define much of Jewish theology. Any attempt to address Jewish theology comprehensively would require many volumes. This work is focused on a few key concepts only. It is intended for the beginner but hopefully contains sufficient information to also be of interest to the more advanced reader and prove the starting point towards greater study.

The destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and the Babylonian exile that followed, could have spelled the end of Israelite identity. But the return of exiles, first under Zerubbabel, and again under Ezra and Nehemiah a generation later, resurrected Isra-elite identity and opened a new chapter in the history of Israel.

Cada tradición religiosa incluye una forma de oración ó meditación. Siendo este el caso. ¿Qué es exactamente lo que caracteriza a la oración judía como Judía? La oración utiliza los modismos de la Biblia hebrea y de los sabios de Israel. La Biblia hebrea es el fundamento de la fé Judía. La meta de este libro es proporcionar al lector una introducción general a lo que es la oración judía, además de algunas de las prácticas que se llevan a cabo dentro de la misma asociadas con ciertas oraciones las cuales son fundamentales.

In 2006, I was attending several week-long classes at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago. One of the classes was titled “Who is a Jew?” and was taught by my doctoral advisor, Rabbi Dr. Byron Sherwin, of blessed memory. The course discussed biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern perspectives on the question. As Rabbi Sherwin was accustomed to doing, he typically included unusual cases for us to consider. Decades before, a student at the Spertus Institute had stirred some controversy.

The relationship between Judaism and Christianity has been acrimonious throughout most of history. Often confronted with persecution, with arguments of Divine rejection, and with religious practices and beliefs that appeared pagan and even idolatrous to them, most rabbis viewed Christianity negatively. However, quite surprisingly, not all rabbis viewed Christianity in this light.

This story tells the tale of a boy with an Israelite father and a Canaanite mother. A young boy is caught between two worlds during the time of Samuel the Seer. In the first volume, he is captured by the Sea Peoples during a battle; he is enslaved and taken to the Philistine stronghold of Gath where he meets two young girls who will shape his future. All the while, he remembers his friend, a beautiful Canaanite girl, and wonders whether he will ever see her or his parents again. The journey continues in this volume.

Why should any Jew in their right mind wish to consider or perhaps reconsider, Christianity from a different vantage point? It is a fair question. There are potentially many reasons. Intellectual honesty is an important one. This book seeks to explore alternative approaches to Christianity that permit Jews to consider it as something else besides idolatry without abandoning traditional Jewish theology.

Is there a type of thinking that can be characterized as Jewish? If so, what is the difference between the Jewish thought and non-Jewish thinking? Does the Bible reflect a type of thinking? Is it linear? Does it correspond to Platonic or Aristotelian thought? How does rabbinic logic work? Are there polarities in the Bible? Discover this and much more in this fascinating aspect of Judaism.

The history of Jews in Spain and Portugal spans more than 1,000 years. By most measures, it is even longer than the large-scale settlement of Jews in the land of Israel, which was interrupted several times in Jewish history. Legends ascribe the arrival of the earliest settlers to the days of the biblical prophet Obadiah, but archeologically speaking, the first record of Jews is much later.

The link between the religion of biblical Israel and the religion we now identify as rabbinic Judaism is often controversial. The controversy is often linked to theological agendas rather than an honest approach to Israel’s history. The religion of ancient Israel is linked to rabbinic Judaism is many ways. The two are linked by a shared belief in the one supreme God who created the world, chose the the Jewish people to be His people.

Únete a Juan Marcos Lecuona en este podcast en el que estaremos hablando de temas teológicos de forma sencilla, práctica, y relevante.

""La verdad es que no tengo mucho que contarte. Llegaste tarde. Paseabas con tu bicicleta holandesa a un lado. Tus tacones golpeaban el suelo como gorriones suicidándose contra la ventana. Me sonreíste con media boca. No lo olvidaré. En tu boca lo imposible tenía razones para existir...