About the Author
David Birnbaum is known in academic circles as the author of the Summa Metaphysica series: an overarching metaphysics. He is a graduate of Yeshiva Dov Revel, Yeshiva University High School, CCNY and Harvard. God and Evil (1988), the first book in the landmark Summa Metaphysica series, has been assigned as a Required Text at universities around the world, and was a Book of the Month feature selection of the Jewish Book Club. The work has gone through Five Printings and eighteen thousand copies to date. The author is known as a leading conceptual theorist. Over 50,000 sets of Summa Metaphysica are in circulation globally. Summa works have been reviewed by over fifty leading journals worldwide, including feature stories at over a dozen. The three–volume Summa Metaphysica series was crafted over a thirty-six year span, 1982–2014. It was the prime focus of a major 3+ day international academic conference at Bard College (Annandaleon-Hudson, NY), April 2012. [see www.Conference1000.com]. Jews, Church & Civilization – Birnbaum’s multi–volume integrated Jewish TimeLine work – was crafted in the 2002–2012 period. David Birnbaum’s works have been used as course texts at over a dozen colleges, including Brandeis, Hebrew University, Yeshiva University, Hebrew Union College, Tel Aviv University, Emory, JTS, Bar Ilan, and Union Theological Seminary, among others. A long time ago, he taught “The Science of Strategy” at the New School in NY. He lives and works in Manhattan.
*T
HE
C
AD IG M
FP
R OTENTIAL PA
"...a major intellectual triumph and potential conceptual breakthrough"
HE
C
AD IG M
C
TM
O
3
FP
OTENTIAL PA
* – AJHS Heritage Journal New York
– Dr. Sanford Drob Founder, NY Jewish Review – Professor William Johnson Brandeis University – Rabbi Benjamin Blech Yeshiva University
nd Evil (1986) nd Good (2005) anscendent Dynamic (2014)
$17.00 / book
Nevertheless, it is truly fascinatingI that N FanI established N I T E scientific P O T theory ENTIAL & based on experimental evidence and mathematic models is in such a strong E X T R A O R D I N A R I AT I O N agreement with a philosophical theory of Conceptual Theorist Birnbaum, New and developed independently of any formal natural history research. This is Paradigm Matrix New Paradigm Matrix unlikely to happen by chance alone. TM
– Dr. Andrei Alyokhin Professor and Graduate Coordinator School of Biology and Ecology University of Maine Orono, ME
www.philosophy1000.com
God and Evil (1986) God and Good (2005) The Transcendent Dynamic (2014)
$17.00 / book
DYNAMIC
Therefore, it is reasonable to propose the Quest for Potential∞ as a working hypothesis for explaining the impetus behind the cosmic dynamic.”
THE
– Professor Masako Nakagawa Villanova University
TRANSCENDENT
The very basic laws of ecology describing the growth and regulation of populations of living organisms appear to fit the metaphysical model of the cosmic Quest for Potential∞ proposed by David Birnbaum. Obviously, ecology is only one of many sub disciplines within the rather broad science of biology, and biology is only one of many natural sciences (albeit a very important one). Therefore, this observation alone does not serve as an immediate and decisive proof that the Quest is indeed the major driving force behind each and every natural process.
– Nahum N. Glatzer Boston University
New Paradigm Matrix
SECULAR MAN
TRANSCENDENT THE
DYNAMIC
INFINITE POTENTIAL & E X T R A O R D I N A R I AT I O N New Paradigm Matrix
AD IG M
MIC WOMB
SPIRITUAL MAN
...[Summa provides] a modern and original approach to answering millennia-old questions, Summa represents a bold attempt to formulate a unifying concept of the Universe.
*
OS
New Paradigm Matrix
R OTENTIAL PA
“Birnbaum considers Quest for Potential∞ to be ubiquitous and overarching holy cosmic dynamic. All of the countless components of the Universe, including humans, are striving towards the full realization of their particular potentialities....
INFINITE POTENTIAL & E X T R A O R D I N A R I AT I O N PRAISE FOR SUMMA I
FP
HE
O
*T
MIC WOMB
RELIGIOUS MAN
*
OS
– Professor Emeritus John Wheeler, Princeton
New Paradigm Matrix
*T
MIC WOMB
*
OS
O
TM
R
Summa I
back cover
“A Major Work in the Philosophy of Religion”* “…there is no comparable volume offering such a comprehensive, authoritative and intelligible discussion of the problem… a remarkable effort to offer a fresh approach.” Paul Mendez-Flohr, Professor of Philosophy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Editor, Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought
“…an original, and, in this reader’s opinion, a very promising point of view… the author gathers a philosophically coherent and, in the end, highly modern insight… a unified metaphysics…”
Louis Dupré, Professor of Religious Studies, Yale University
“…a major work in the Philosophy of Religion…a masterful achievement…a novel and satisfying approach… a major intellectual achievement.”
*Cannon William Johnson, Professor of Philosophy, Brandeis University
“…a major contribution to the Jewish conversations through the ages, on theodicy, and the problem of evil generally.”
Dr. Norman Lamm, President, Yeshiva University
“David Birnbaum brings the rich resources of the Jewish tradition to bear on the universal problem of theodicy. The result is a new synthesis… I can certainly recommend it as a fascinating contribution to the philosophy of religion which merits the attention of Christians and Jews alike.” John J. Collins, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame Editor, Journal of Biblical Literature
“God and Evil represents a bold attempt to formulate an ingenious theory, which, drawing upon creative reinterpretations of classical Jewish doctrine, places the Free Will Defense within a broader metaphysical framework…”
Rabbi Walter S. Wurzburger, Professor of Philosophy, Yeshiva University, Editor, Tradition
“All who read this book will find much instruction, insight, and material for reflection…I find the overall thesis of the book touching and inspiring…”
Rabbi Irving Greenberg, President, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Scholarship (CLAL)
“A major work…a great intellectual and spiritual effort”
Joseph Dan, Professor of Kabbalah, Hebrew University
Summa II
back cover
“…a major intellectual triumph and potential conceptual breakthrough” from the Foreword by KHALIL “…Birnbaum feels no compulsion to obey the rules that his intellectual predecessors followed. Building on the foundation of ancient Jewish principles, Particularly Kabbalistic ones, he is not afraid to draw on Eastern principles of temporal circularity, concepts from biology and physics that have yet to be applied to metaphysical issues, or insights from other scientific and humanistic disciplines that have been left untapped in philosophy. Asserting that previous attempts to characterize the essence of the cosmos have fallen short for heir lack of an adequate conceptual arsenal, as exemplified by Maimonides` and Aristotle`s impasse, he consolidates these eclectic influences into a defined set of metaphysical `tools`. Birnbaum present these tools at the outset of god and good. He then uses them to build a model that is applicable to all the arenas from which its influences were initially derived. The implications of Birnbaum`s original – markedly straightforward – doctrine therefore, range from the most general to the most specific. The doctrine is unified by the central thesis that unbounded potentiality pulls both the individual and the cosmos towards a Divine Ideal. Potential is universal. Potential is the nexus…” Praise for summa I
“Masterpiece”
from major reviews on Summa I
Jews, Church & Civilization
David Birnbaum’s Jews, Church & Civilization is a uniquely distinctive work on the extraordinary historical odyssey of the Jews. Birnbaum starts not with Abraham, but somewhat more adventurously, with the ‘origin’ of the cosmos as we know it. The author uniquely places the Jewish journey within the context of Western and Asian history and advance. Playing–out themes of the ebbs–and–flows of empires, discovery and exploration, scientific, intellectual and artistic advance, Birnbaum injects history with spice, flavor, irony and texture…. $90.00 / 7-volume set [Softcover]
Crucifixion of the Jews The
related conference:
David Birnbaum’s The Crucifixion (of the Jews) is a uniquely distinctive work on the extraordinary historical odyssey of the Jews during a pivotal slice of history. This work focuses on the 1300 year time frame bracketing the emergenceof Christianity in the First Century, followed by the Christianizing of the Roman Empire post–Constantine, and finally, by the ending of the Crusades c. 1300 CE. Via the mode of an integrated TimeLine, the author focuses on the crushing historical forces at–play. The Jewish nation which entered this period, is unrecognizable from the Jewish nation which emerged….
[Softcover] 400+ pages
$30.00 / set
[Softcover] 300+ pages
120 Guardian
God’s
Angels
God’s 120 Guardian Angels is Birnbaum’s mode of explicating his signature theme– “Holy Quest for Potential.” Birnbaum conceived-of – and proposed – the theme in his first book God and Evil (1988). The author posits that “Quest for Potential” is the core and underlying dynamic of the cosmos. Using his construct of “120 Guardian Angels,”Birnbaum focuses on assorted eclectic slices of the universe, and on some important metaphysical themes which directly relate to his metaphysics. $12.95 [Softcover] 200+ pages
Lost Manual The
The “Lost Manual” work plays with the applicability of Birnbaum’s Quest for Potential∞ metaphysics – from the Summa Metaphysica series on an INDIVIDUAL level. The work maintains that Quest for Potential∞ drives not only the COSMOS as well as the DIVINE but also, the INDIVIDUAL. All are in1:1 parallel relationship to one another. The Quest for Potential∞ metaphysics would support the proposition that “enlightened Self–Actualization” is front–and–center in human development. The Lost Manual is a self–actualization / human potential pathfinder – as well as a 21st century (alleged) “Wisdom Book” – along with several other treats... $11.95 [Softcover] 100+ pages
Cosmic Womb of Potential The “Cosmic Womb of Potential” nourishes, enhances, and sustains the cosmos.... A womb woven within a womb within a womb.... ad infinitum Nourished, enhanced and sustained within this womb, we live and grow, and attempt to thrive and advance.... Potential is the amniotic fluid of the infinitely expanding multi-layered Cosmic Womb... The Cosmic Womb of Divine Potential sustains and advances life and all potential – stretching forward to the far reaches of time and infinity.... $14.00 [Softcover] 300+ pages
coming soon
Sanctification
Edited by David Birnbaum & Rabbi Benjamin Blech
from Essay for ‘Sanctification’ book by Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks ... And there is the priestly task of kedushah, sanctifying life by honouring the sacred ontology, the deep moral structure of the universe, through the life of the 613 commands, a life of discipline and self-restraint, honesty and integrity, respect and love, the code set out in the chapter of the Torah that opens with the momentous words, “Be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Other cultures and faiths drew inspiration from its wisdom and prophetic traditions, but kedushah remained a specific Jewish imperative that made us different. Even so, it contains a message for the world, which Jews bear witness to whenever and wherever they remain faithful to it. Our vocation remains, to be mamlechet cohanim vegoi kadosh, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” - “The Ethic of Holiness”, August 2012
Prof. Howard Avruhm Addison Rabbi Yitzchak Blau Prof. Michael J. Broyde Rabbi Shalom Carmy Rabbi Aryeh Cohen Rabbi Eliezer Diamond Rabbi Alon Ferency Rabbi Menachem Genack Rabbi Jeremy Gordon Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot Rabbi S. Tamar Kamionkowski Dr. James Kugel Rabbi David Mescheloff Dr. Tamar Ross Dr. Michelle Sarna Rabbi Jonathan Slater Rabbi Joel B. Wolowelsky
Rabbi Amitai Adler Rabbi Benjamin Blech Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka Rabbi Yehonatan Chipman Rabbi Martin S. Cohen Prof. Elliot N. Dorff Rabbi David C. Flatto Prof. Miriyam Glazer Rabbi Michael Graetz Rabbanit Chana Henkin Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky Rabbi Rivon Krygier Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff Rabbi Francine Roston Rabbi Sid Schwartz Rabbi Shubert Spero Dr. Avivah Zornberg
>> MESORAH MATRIX: Participants to-date January, 2013 Rabbi Brad Artson Dr. Judith Bleich Rabbi Nina Cardin Prof. Geoffrey Claussen Rabbi Alan Cooper Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum Rabbi Barry Freundel Rabbi Ozer Glickman Rabbi Daniel Greyber Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels Rabbi Michael Knopf Prof. Gail Labovitz Rabbi Avram Reisner Rabbi Sol Roth Dr. Lawrence Schiffman Dr. Suzanne Last Stone Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg
Rabbi Saul Berman Rabbi Chaim Brovender Prof. Elisheva Carlebach Rabbi Alfred Cohen Rabbi Yeshaya Dalsace Rabbi Yoav Ende Mrs. Rachel Friedman Rabbi Hillel Goldberg Prof. Robert Harris Rabbi Jill Jacobs Rabbi Simcha Krauss Rabbi Asher Lopatin Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Dr. David Shatz Rabbi Ira Stone Rabbi Noam Zion
David Birnbaum Editor-in Chief
10 - BOOK SERIES 100+ Essayists
Sanctification
Tikkun Olam
Birkat Kohanim
The Kaddish
Modeh Ani
Search for Meaning
Havdalah
Betrothal / Ha-rei Ath
Eheyeh asher Eheyeh
V’Shamru
THE SPARK OF THE INFINITE DIVINE
red= in-progress
Benjamin Blech Yeshiva University, “Understanding Judaism”
James Kugel Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible
Martin S. Cohen Editor, ConservativeJudaism, JTS
Michelle Sarna The Tikvah Center, Educational Alliance
Jonathan Sacks United Hebrew Congregations
Shalom Carmy Yeshiva University, Tradition Magazine
Bruce Chilton Bard College, Yale University
Lawrence Schiffman Yeshiva University
Peter Atkins University of Oxford, Lincoln College
Saul Berman Encyclopedia Judaica, Edah
21st CENTURY PUBLISHING
NPM1000@yahoo.com
www.NewParadigmMatrix.com Elisheva Carlebach Marcelo Gleiser Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Graduate Center, science blog 13.7 CUNY
Emanuel Feldman Tradition Magazine, Ariel Chumash
Menachem Genack Orthodox Union, Norpac
Shlomo Riskin Ohr Torah Stone Colleges, Efrat
Suzanne Stone Yeshiva University, Center for Jewish Law
The highly anticipated
Masorah Matrix Series has three books underway so far: Sanctification
Tikkun Olam
Modeh Ani
co-edited by
co-edited by
co-edited by
Rabbi Benjamin Blech
Martin S. Cohen
Dr. Michelle Sarna
Mesorah Matrix [ Mesorah1000.com ] is a major – and potentially landmark – intellectual-spiritual-philosophical endeavor. The plan well-underway is to publish 10 separate books – each on a very focused Jewish theme – under the Mesorah Matrix umbrella. By the end of 2013, over 100 leading authors/ essayists globally will be involved in the decade-spanning project.
There will be a total of 5-7 renowned independent editors, each responsible for 1-3 themes/books. Each book, in turn, will have 10-15 separate essays – each by a separate essayist/author. The publisher is seeking vibrant and erudite pieces for this major endeavor – from Judaism’s elite across the global spectrum.
The focused-purpose and raison d’etre of the series is to more fully draw-out the spiritual and transcendent embedded within Judaism. These are sometimes referred-to as Elyonoth or ‘Higher-Sphere’ themes. The intent of the quiteunique 10-volume series is to be ‘transformational’.
The Editor-in-Chief of the over-all series is David Birnbaum of Manhattan, author of the Summa Metaphysica philosophy series (independent of Mesorah Matrix). [ see www.Philosophy1000.com ]
Order Information via Amazon
www.AmazonX1000.com
via J. Levine
Shop online: www.Levinejudaica. com J.Levine Books & Judaica is located in Midtown Manhattan: 5 West 30th Street New York, NY 10001-4421 Our Store Hours are: Sunday 10-5 (Except in July) Monday - Wednesday 9-6 Thursday 9-7 Friday 9-2 You may call us TOLL FREE at 1-800-5JEWISH (1-800-553-9474) If you are in New York call 212-695-6888