📖 Jewish Science and Health: Textbook of Jewish Science, by Rabbi Morris Lichtenstein (Society of Jewish Science 1925)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=52661

Date: 2023-09-12

Last Updated: 2023-09-16

Categories: Personal & Paraliturgical collections of prayers

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Jewish Science movement

Excerpt: Jewish Science and Health: Textbook of Jewish Science (1925) presents the philosophy and practice of Rabbi Morris Lichtenstein's "Jewish Science movement" (an uncoordinated response to the then popular Christian Science movement), which he also referred to as "Applied Judaism." Rabbi Lichtenstein emphasized the efficacy of visualization in the practice of prayer, and lacking that, the use of affirmations. . . .

Content:

Jewish Science and Health: Textbook of Jewish Science (1925) presents the philosophy and practice of Rabbi Morris Lichtenstein’s “Jewish Science movement” (an uncoordinated response to the then popular Christian Science movement), which he also referred to as “Applied Judaism.” Rabbi Lichtenstein emphasized the efficacy of visualization in the practice of prayer, and lacking that, the use of affirmations.

The innovation of this work is that, as an instructional manual, it is oriented to a personal practice rather than communal or ceremonial use. While scriptural verses and affirmation formulas are provided for practice, the work provides a theoretical basis for the efficacy of prayer as a personal activity engaged in private. Although the work lacks any annotation or any citation references, it pioneered a non-denominational and individually-oriented approach that later teachers, such as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, developed later on in presenting the meditative and prayer practices of earlier ḳabbalists and ḥasidic teachers.

This work is in the Public Domain due to the expiration of the term of copyright for the copyright holder listed in the copyright notice (ninety-five years having passed since its publication).

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (digital imaging and document preparation)

Co-authors:

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  Name: Morris Lichtenstein
  Bio: Rabbi Morris Lichtenstein (1889–1938) was the founder of the Society of Jewish Science. Born in Lithuania, he later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1916, becoming the first Eastern European student to ever study at the institution. Lichtenstein served as a rabbi in Amsterdam, Troy, and New York City, where he received a masters degree in Psychology from Columbia University in 1919. He briefly served a congregation in Athens, Georgia before moving back to New York to marry Tehilla Hirshenson in 1920. Together they founded the Society of Jewish Science in the early 1920s.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Lichtenstein
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/morris-lichtenstein

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