Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
It is uncommon to think that Jews were interested in happiness or that Judaism has anything to say about happiness. This book argues, to the contrary, that the concept of happiness was a central concern of Jewish thinkers; that rabbinic Judaism regarded itself primarily as a prescription for the attainment of happiness; and that the dynamic of the discourse on happiness captures the evolution of Jewish intellectual history from antiquity to the seventeenth century. Much of this book concerns the reception of Aristotle's Ethics in medieval Jewish philosophy.Arranged chronologically, the book shows how a certain notion of happiness reflects the intellectual climate of a given period as well as cultural exchanges between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Demonstrating the discourse on happiness as a dramatic interplay between Wisdom and Torah, between philosophy and religion, and between reason and faith, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson presents - to specialists and non-specialists alike - a tour of Jewish intellectual history.
Synopsis
It is uncommon to think that Jews were interested in happiness or that Judaism has anything to say about happiness. This book argues, to the contrary, that the concept of happiness was a central concern of Jewish thinkers; that rabbinic Judaism regarded itself primarily as a prescription for the attainment of happiness; and that the dynamic of the discourse on happiness captures the evolution of Jewish intellectual history from antiquity to the seventeenth century. Much of this book concerns the reception of Aristotle's Ethics in medieval Jewish philosophy.
Arranged chronologically, the book shows how a certain notion of happiness reflects the intellectual climate of a given period as well as cultural exchanges between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Demonstrating the discourse on happiness as a dramatic interplay between Wisdom and Torah, between philosophy and religion, and between reason and faith, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson presents - to specialists and non-specialists alike - a tour of Jewish intellectual history.