Tree Of Life, Tree Of Knowledge: Conversations With The Torah - Softcover

Rosenak, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813341590 ISBN 13: 9780813341590

Publisher: Westview Press, 2003

Synopsis

Viewing education through the prism of the Torah, Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge takes the reader through the stages of learning, growth, and self-development that characterize human lives. The journey begins with education as it happens in the home, moves on to the institutions of society, especially schools, and then on to the questions of identity and commitment which constitute the hidden agenda of informal educational networks.” The self-education of the individual is explored: When does one grow up”? What is really worth knowing? How does one cope with memories, illness, and anticipation of what lies ahead? This book examines some of the millennial conversation in an attempt to discover an educational philosophy in the Torah that can be relevant to life in the contemporary world.

About this title

Review:

Michael Rosenak's Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge opens a lively conversation with the stories and laws of the Torah. "What is worth knowing? Conversely, what is a waste of time, or corrosive of character, or simply useless?" Also, "How do we know which goods are worthwhile and which are trivial or harmful? On what grounds do we distinguish between the true and the insignificant or false?" Rosenak views education as a lifelong process, in which individuals journey through various "avenue[s] of educational initiation and encounter." These include parents' teachings, the Jewish communities' teachings from the Torah and relationship with the outside world, and a final stage of "self-education," in which adults, using the language and literature given them by their parents, their community, and the world, make their own choices about how to live. In detailed, learned explorations of each aspect of this educational process, Rosenak teaches readers to look for the common roots of the Torah's restrictive revelation of commandment and prohibition, and its revelation of "creativity, harmony, and the absence of boundaries." --Michael Joseph Gross

About the Author:

Michael Rosenak is Emeritus Mandel Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the faculty of The Mandel School for Educational Leadership. He has written extensively on issues in the philosophy of education, and specifically, on the theological dimensions of educational thought. He immigrated to Israel in 1957 and lives in Jerusalem.

About this edition

• Publisher: Westview Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0813341590
• ISBN 13: 9780813341590
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400