To Broaden the Way: A Confucian-Jewish Dialogue

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Lexington Books, 2006 - Philosophy - 323 pages
To Broaden the Way suggests that the texts of both the Jewish and Confucian tradition talk in riddles of a special kind: riddles, which are introduced - and answered - by religious forms of life. Using a 'dialogue of riddles, ' Galia Patt-Shamir presents a comparative perspective of Confucianism and Judaism regarding the relatedness between contradictory expressions in texts and living conflicts. The Confucian riddle is characterized here as a mystery to be deciphered by self-reflection, under the assumptions of a harmonious community, and a unity of being. The Jewish riddle is characterized as a test to be responded to, under the assumption of a disharmonious community, and a necessary rapture in reality. This book expands the dialogue between traditions, and offers both a method and an implication of the question, 'what is religion about?

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Contents

Where Religions Meet Learning a Way and Ways of Learning
3
What Literature Mirrors Biblical Themes as Universal Themes
43
How Philosophy Suggests From Understanding Texts to Understanding Life through Living Riddles
63
DEALING WITH IT EQUIVALENCE UNIQUENESS AND UNIVERSALITY IN CONFUCIANISM AND JUDAISM
109
From Eden through Babel to the Land of Moriah Life as Perpetual Test
111
From Earth through Man to Heaven Life as a Mystery
167
Confucian Way as Living a Riddle
241
Chinese Glossary
295
Hebrew Glossary
301
Bibliography
305
About the Author
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About the author (2006)

Galia Patt-Shamir is Senior Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies at Tel-Aviv University.