Showing results by author "Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez" in All Categories

The Chronicles of Canaan continue with Eliel the young warrior serving the newly appointed King Saul in his quest to save the Kingdom of Israel by fighting Ammonites and sorcery in Endor.

"Tikkun Olam" is a ubiquitous phrase in many Jewish circles. What does it exactly mean? Many Jews think it means social activism, environmentalism, or political involvement. These are often seen as the vehicles for bringing about a better world. However, what do traditional Jewish sources consider as Tikkun Olam? Tikkun Olam is a Jewish approach to redeeming the world through Israel’s history and spread of the knowledge of God throughout the world. Discover what this means by examining Jewish texts.

The year was 1391. Spring was about to turn into summer. By the end of the summer, 80 Jewish communities in Castile and Aragon were torn by violence. A third of the Jewish community had been murdered. Perhaps another third of the Jewish community had converted. Only a third of the Jewish population remained intact. While their conversions had initially been met with a grand celebration by their Christian neighbors, those Jews who had yielded to baptism to rescue their lives and those of their families eventually proved a thorn in the side of the church. Could they be trusted?

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.

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.

The Book of Chronicles and the Book of Kings depict different versions of King's Solomon's rise to power after the death of King David. Each book emphasizes critical elements which relate the theological concerns and agenda of their authors. Discover the fascinating differences between these texts and what they convey to the listener regarding the importance of kingship, monotheism, idolatry, intermarriage, and much more.

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.

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.

Three events transpired in 1492 in the Iberian Peninsula, which had tremendous ramifications for years to come. The first was the conquest of Granada, i.e., the last Muslim stronghold, by Castilian and Aragonese forces. The victory ended eight hundred years of Islam-ic rule. The conquest of Granada eventually also led to the conversions of many Muslims to Christianity, the phenomenon of Crypto-Islam, and the eventual expulsion of the descendants of these converts in 1609.

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.