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‘The Stolen Light‘ by Izo Leibowitz from Amazon is quite entertaining. The blurb:

The annual migration of tens of thousands of Jewish men to the Ukrainian city of Uman is one of the most intriguing phenomenon in the entire Jewish world. Come share in the Uman adventures of Avi Neuman, a young, secular guy who gets caught up in a bizarre series of events in Uman that turns his whole life upside-down and introduces him to a mysterious spiritual world, where super-natural miracles are the norm. This one-of-a-kind tale is based entirely on true stories that were told by some of the people at the heart of the Uman experience. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and most of all – it will make you think.

True. I read it. There is a problem, however. The characters keep turning to Rabbi Nachman of blessed memory in what seems mighty akin to prayer. When things go awry some of them “prayed to God and Rabbi Nachman”. When things went well they “thanked both”. Personal Divine providence seems orchestrated a little too strongly by that same human being. Song lyrics are quoted which illustrate this same perspective.

I don’t think I have a problem with Breslov, but if it’s getting distorted into idolatry, I certainly do.

(As for going to Uman for Rosh Hashana itself, see my recent posts here, here and here.)

What is ‘epistemology’? A branch in the humanities concerning these two questions: What can man know; how can man know it?

Here is my opinion:

1. We must “choose” some goal or standard. Anything.
2. Logic cannot guide the initial, subjective choice.
3. We choose X (alogically, a-rationally).
4. Once we have accepted the yoke of X, we need to know how to do X.
5. Logic tells us how not what. We employ logic for the doing of X, such as grasping the source-texts of X.
6. There is nothing outside of X.
7. Q.E.D.

* Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you: X = Judaism.

By the way, we referenced the above article in our free, special ebook on answering atheists. To receive the full Hebrew ebook, subscribe to Hyehudi’s Daily Newsletter here.

‘Rebels in the Holy Land’ by Sam Finkel sounds inspirational. From the blurb on Amazon:

The farmers’ simple wish to observe the Sabbatical year of 1889-1890 despite their patron’s opposition thrust them into the swirling epicenter of worldwide controversy. Reviled by the Baron’s administrators, vilified in the press, ridiculed and nearly abandoned even by some of their religious countrymen, they stood firm. Their fight for what later became Mazkeret Batya sheds dazzling historical light on some of the very issues facing Israel today.

Here’s a book review from Jewish Action.

From here.