W. Gunther Plaut is an internationally recognized rabbi and scholar, and one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century. He was born in Germany, but in 1935 fled the Nazis for the United States, where he became a rabbi. He served in Chicago and St. Paul, and, from 1961 to 1977 was Senior Rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Upon his retirement he was appointed Senior Scholar.
Published on the occasion of his ninety-fifth birthday, this collection of sermons delivered over a period of fifty years includes discussions about religion, faith, and God; ethics and values; being a Jew, Reform Judaism, and Israel; and aging and death. Each sermon is as relevant and meaningful today as it was when first delivered. W. Gunther Plaut is an electrifying speaker who held his audiences spellbound with his charisma and wit. This anthology of his sermons is a fitting tribute to the wisdom and spirit of this great man!
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-336)
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 296.4/7
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781550027396 9781770702790
- LCCN
- BM740.3
- LCCN Item number
- P58 2007eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (338 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00225120 (OCoLC)700698624 (CaOOCEL)433353
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Jonathan V. Plaut Editor 1
- The Selected Sermons of 4
- Jonathan V. Plaut Editor 4
- Contents 8
- Introduction 12
- Acknowledgements 16
- The Individual and the Cosmos 20
- Is Religion Necessary 27
- Faith and Religion in a Secular Age 34
- Ytà tÇw ZÉw 44
- How Can I Believe in God 46
- The Search for a Personal Faith 53
- The Pursuit of God 61
- The Pursuit of God II 70
- I Pray Because.... 78
- Faith as a Means to Trump Pessimism 86
- The Need to Believe 92
- Who Is the God I Can Believe In 98
- Believing in a God Who Is Not Almighty 105
- Xàvá tÇw itÄâxá 110
- On Having Time 112
- Love Thyself 118
- Word and Deed 123
- The Meaning of Life 130
- The Challenge of Freedom 136
- Our Disposable Society 144
- UxÇz t xã 152
- Why Remain Jews 154
- The Impossibility of Being a Jew 162
- The Counterforce in Human History 168
- Who Is a Jew 176
- Exile and Israel 184
- Gods Laughter 190
- The Rescue of God 197
- Jewish Universalism 205
- Its Easy to Be Orthodox and Hard to Be Reform 216
- Conforming and Reforming 221
- What It Means to Be Religious 226
- From We to I 231
- The Sins of Reform 237
- Israel 248
- Surrendering Jerusalem 255
- Is Israel Necessary 262
- Our Responsibility to Israel 269
- My Israel 276
- Tzx tÇw ZxÇxÜtàÉÇá 284
- The Descent From the Mountain 286
- Becoming Old 292
- Wxtà 298
- Escape From Reality 300
- Death 304
- The Search for Personal Immortality 307
- On Life and Afterlife 312
- God and My Wife 319
- XÇäÉ 324
- Chazak vEmatz 326
- W. Gunther Plaut Bibliography 19972003 328
- Sermon Lecture and Article Titles by Occasion Delivered 338
- Jonathan V. Plaut Editor 346
