Ecclesiastes: Annotated & Explained

Author:   Rabbi Rami Shapiro (Rabbi Rami Shapiro) ,  Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Publisher:   Jewish Lights Publishing
ISBN:  

9781594732874


Pages:   160
Publication Date:   14 October 2010
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Ecclesiastes: Annotated & Explained


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Overview

"Two thousdand, three hundred years ago an unnamed Hebrew sage known only as Koheleth, the Teacher, rocked the ancient Jewish world with a critique of society that shattered conventional notions of God, piety, politics and power. Speaking to a world not unlike our own - a world of increasing disparity between the haves and the have-nots, where corruption is rampant from the king to the courts, where the good suffer and the wicked prosper and where religion posits an idea of God that excuses the brutality of men - Koheleth offers a radically new view of life and how best to live it. Beginning with its opening broadside: ""Hevel havalim!"" - not futility or vanity as most translations would have it, but ""breath, vapour and impermanence,"" ECCLESIASTES teaches you how to live in a world where nothing lasts and justice is illusory; a world devoted to accumulating power, wealth, pleasure and even knowledge that leaves you drowning in anxiety and needless suffering. Neither revelation nor prophecy, ECCLESIASTES is a rational and counter-cultural guide to living with joy in the midst of uncertainty and insecurity. Ecclesiastes' God demands neither sacrifice nor adherence to commandments, but offers instead a practical lifestyle rooted in moderation, meaningful work and friendship. Rabbi Shapiro's translation of and commentary on ECCLESIASTES restores this ancient text to its timeless place as a guide to living sanely in an often insane world."

Full Product Details

Author:   Rabbi Rami Shapiro (Rabbi Rami Shapiro) ,  Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Publisher:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Imprint:   SkyLight Paths Publishing,US
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 21.60cm
ISBN:  

9781594732874


ISBN 10:   1594732876
Pages:   160
Publication Date:   14 October 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii Preface ix Introduction xv About the Translation xxvii Chapter One 3 Chapter Two 13 Chapter Three 27 Chapter Four 39 Chapter Five 47 Chapter Six 55 Chapter Seven 61 Chapter Eight 73 Chapter Nine 81 Chapter Ten 91 Chapter Eleven 99 Chapter Twelve 105 Epilogue (Chapter Twelve, Continued) 109 Bibliography 113

Reviews

Rami Shapiro's spirited translation and commentary rescue this great spiritual realist from official neglect and distortion. With zest and good humor shows us a courageous biblical personality who confronted the problem of life with wisdom from life. <b>Ray Waddle</b>, editor, <em>Reflections</em> journal; author, <em>Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes</em></p> </p> Rami Shapiro s contemporary and pungently poetic recreations of ancient biblical classics have inspired and instructed me for years. His Ecclesiastes is his most revelatory work yet. <b>Andrew Harvey</b>, author, <em>The Hope: A Guide to Spiritual Activism</em> and <em>A Walk with Four Spiritual Guides</em></p> Koheleth s wisdom of 2,500 years ago is amazingly contemporary. Rabbi Rami savors the wisdom as he enlarges our appreciation of [these] teachings. You won t be the same after reading this translation and commentary. <b>Sister Rosemarie Greco, DW</b>, Wisdom House Retreat Center, Litchfield, Connecticut</p> Wisdom from beyond traditional theology . Offers roadside assistance to the people on the ever-changing path. <b>Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi</b>, co-author, <i>Jewish with Feeling and A Heart Afire;</i> author, <i>First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit</i></p>


Rami Shapiro's spirited translation and commentary rescue this great spiritual realist from official neglect and distortion. With zest and good humor shows us a courageous biblical personality who confronted the problem of life with wisdom from life. Ray Waddle, editor, Reflections journal; author, Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes Rami Shapiro s contemporary and pungently poetic recreations of ancient biblical classics have inspired and instructed me for years. His Ecclesiastes is his most revelatory work yet. Andrew Harvey, author, The Hope: A Guide to Spiritual Activism and A Walk with Four Spiritual Guides Koheleth s wisdom of 2,500 years ago is amazingly contemporary. Rabbi Rami savors the wisdom as he enlarges our appreciation of [these] teachings. You won t be the same after reading this translation and commentary. Sister Rosemarie Greco, DW, Wisdom House Retreat Center, Litchfield, Connecticut Wisdom from beyond traditional theology . Offers roadside assistance to the people on the ever-changing path. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, co-author, Jewish with Feeling and A Heart Afire; author, First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit


HUNTSVILLE, AL Here's the truth, according to the ancient author of the biblical Ecclesiastes: Life is movement, impermanence, and fundamental injustice. But it can still be good, if taken on its own terms.Rabbi Rami Shapiro's translation and annotation of Ecclesiastes, part of SkyLight Paths' series of Illuminations, gets back to the heart of the Hebrew. It was written, Shapiro says, during an age much like ours when people were consumed with getting rich, when the poor were pushed off their land and out of their homes by creditors, when the beginnings of factory farming meant that farmhands had precious little land to grow their own food. Everything was changing, and the wise learned to find their satisfaction in the simplicity of good work and in good food shared moderately with good friends, not in piles of gold.Ecclesiastes, Shapiro writes, is tough, unsentimental and non-religious in the traditional sense. It's more akin to the writings of the Chinese Tao and the ancient Stoics than it is to the rest of the Hebrew Bible. Shapiro demonstrates that cross-faith and culture kinship with facing-page notes and quotations from works ranging from Marcus Aurelius and the Tao te Ching to the Bhagavad Gita and Qur'an.--Kay Campbell The Huntsville Times (02/24/2011)


Author Information

Rami Shapiro, a renowned teacher of spirituality across faith traditions, is an award-winning storyteller, poet and essayist. He is author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice, Recovery—The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice and The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature: Selections Annotated & Explained (all SkyLight Paths), among other books. Rami Shapiro is available to speak on the following topics: Writing—The Sacred Art: Beyond the Page to Spiritual Practice Stop Playing God: 12 Steps as Spiritual Practice Biblical Wisdom for Post-biblical Times: An Exploration of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Cultivating Compassion in Daily Life Hasidic Wisdom: An Exploration of Hasidic Storytelling, Theology and Contemplative Practice Saints and Sages: Biblical Prophets, Ancient Rabbis and the Building of a Just World Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Craftonis an Episcopal priest and the author of many books. She heads The Geranium Farm, an online institute for the encouragement of spiritual growth.

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