Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism: Text, Theory, and Practice

Description

In the race to discover real solutions for the conflicts that plague contemporary society, it is essential that we look to precedent. Many of today's conflicts involve ethno-religious tensions that modern wisdom alone is ill-equipped to resolve. In Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism, Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth asks us to consider ancient religious and traditional cultural solutions to such present-day issues. Roth presents thirty-six case studies featuring third-party peacemakers drawn from Jewish classical, medieval, and early-modern rabbinic literature. Each case is explored through three layers of analysis - text, theory, and practice. The first layer offers historical and literary analysis of textual case studies, many of which are critically analyzed here for the first time. The second layer examines the theoretical model of third-party peacemaking imbedded within the selected cases and comparing them to other cultural and religious models of third-party peacemaking and conflict resolution. The final layer of analysis, based upon the author's personal experience of religious conflict resolution and peacemaking, looks at the practical implications of these case studies as models for modern peacemaking. Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism serves as an inspiration for fostering indigenous practices of third-party peacemaking and mediation in the modern era. cover Half title Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Terms and Methodology 1. From Muhammad to Sulha: Religious and Traditional Cultural Models of Third-​Party Peacemaking 2. Judaism’s Paradigmatic Third-​Party Peacemaker: Legends of Aaron, the Pursuer of Peace, in Classical Rabbinic Literature 3. From Rabbi Meir to Beruria: Legends of Third-​Party Peacemakers in Classical Rabbinic Literature 4. From Rabbi Yosef Syracusty to Rabbi Nissi al-​Nahrawani: Historical Accounts and Stories of Third-​Party Rabbinic Peacemakers in Medieval and Early-​Modern Rabbinic Literature 5. Rodfei Shalom, Metavkhei Shalom, Pashranim, and Nikhbadim: Historical Accounts and Stories of Third-​Party Lay Peacemakers in Medieval and Early-​Modern Rabbinic Literature Conclusion: The Text, Theory, Practice, and Scope of Third-​Party Peacemakers in Judaism Notes Bibliography Index