New book announcement: Chochmo Ba’goyim Taamin, By Rabbi Yonason Rosman
New book announcement: Chochmo Ba’goyim Taamin, By Rabbi Yonason Rosman
By Eliezer Brodt
I would like to announce a concise new work which deals with some topics that are sure to be of interest to many of the readers of the blog.
The sefer is titled Chochmo Ba’goyim Taamin, written by Rabbi Yonason Rosman (182 pp.). The goal of the book is to deal with the famous issue of to what extent has Jewish thought and religion been influenced by foreign cultures? This new work explores the above question with its various controversial aspects. From Talmudic times to the contemporary period, from philosophy to music; information is culled from rabbis and academics alike, bringing the relevant material to the reader’s attention.
Here is the Table of Contents and the index of topics discussed in the book:
Currently the book has been printed in a very limited run; for people in the US it is available here at Mizrahi Book Store. If there is an interest, more copies will be printed.
For those in England and Eretz Yisrael please contact eliezerbrodt@gmail.com to reserve a copy.
8 thoughts on “New book announcement: Chochmo Ba’goyim Taamin, By Rabbi Yonason Rosman”
It would have been helpful, to provide a brief description about the author.
Yes, and his general intellectual orientation.
He is the author of
ספר ובחקתיהם לא תלכו (2008)
ספר טהר לבנו(2009)
and
ספר פתיחת האגרות (2016)
according to the catalog of The Library of Congress
Rabbi Rosman’s previous Sefer פתיחת האגרות was reviewed here:
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/509974/psichas-haigros-seforim-in-review.html
I read the whole book over shabbos. There are so many interesting points that I would review it during the week to take notes….
However….there are way too many sources from people who do not believe in תורה מן השמים. The books introduction and layout give an impression that it is intended for the general orthodox audience that is proud of their tradition. Reading it gives you a different impression.
What does chachma bagoyim have to do with תורה מן השמים?
If the sources to a torah topic are from those that don’t believe in the veracity of the Torah, then what’s the point. The book could have been titled חכמה בגוים עיקר, כי אין תורה בישראל!
If the book is trying to show that Judaism evolved from other cultures, then Geiger and Co.. are very relevant sources.
The secondary title השפעת העמים על יהדות במשך הדורות, is a better description.
I read the book, it very informative and interesting but at the same time, not what the title and introduction suggest.
Let’s call a spade a spade and let those interested in reading a quickly compiled collection of statements that believe that traditional Judaism is not what חרדים make it out to be, enjoy this book.
I haven’t seen this book and I’m very skeptical of these kind of books. They frequently go with the assumption that if something is so widely intuitively understood that even ancient non-Jewish books make mention of them it must be that we took the idea from them.
Interesting note: After coming to that observation I’ve seen that Xtian scholars also make that observation about those who try to invalidate their religion. So I guess my comment is also Chochma B’Goyim