Jewish ethics in a post-Madoff world
Subtitle: a case for optimism
By: Moses Pava
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 206
ISBN-13: 9780230118195
Subjects: RELIGION / General; Jewish ethics; Jewish way of life; RELIGION / Judaism / General; BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership
Description: "The number and magnitude of the ethics failures reported on a nearly daily basis in newspapers and on blogs are seemingly unprecedented. The "castle is on fire," to borrow a rabbinic metaphor, and each one of us is faced with the question: Is there anything we can do about it? In this book, Moses Pava explores new and alternative ways of relating to Jewish texts and concepts. In doing so, he invents a nuanced, flexible, and sufficiently sensitive vocabulary to conduct productive ethical dialogues, both within and between communities"--

"This book is built upon the assumption that Jewish ethics and Jewish literacy are more necessary now than ever before in Jewish history. There is a paradox here, however. The tighter we hold onto the inherited tradition, the less valuable it becomes as a tool to help us lead ethical and meaningful lives, in community, in real time. The primary insight of this book is that we must not kill tradition by embracing it too tightly, nor must we jettison it by trying to forget it altogether. We must ease up on our grip without letting go of the reins, if we are to proceed forward. This book is most centrally about learning new and more complex ways of relating to an inherited ethical tradition grounded in religion"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: PART 1: Overview * Jewish Ethics in a New Key * Temptations of Tradition * Sacred Compromise * Renewing Jewish Ethics * PART II: On the Ground * Learning to Speak about the Elephant in the Room * The Art of Moral Criticism * Deal Breaker and the Money Laundering Rabbis * Loving the Stranger and the Fall of the Agriprocessors * The Problem with Income and Wealth Inequalities * PART III: Frontiers * "The Exaltation of the Possible"; title: Ethics and Play * An Optimistic Case for the Future of Jewish Ethics In a Post-Madoff World.