Michael L. Morgan : history and moral normativity /
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Michael L. Morgan is an Emeritus Chancellor Professor at Indiana University and the Senator Jerahmiel S. and Carole S. Grafstein Visiting Chair in Jewish Philosophy at the University of Toronto. On the faculty of Indiana University for his entire career, he has also held Visiting Professorships at the Australian Catholic University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and Yale University. A historian of philosophy informed by the continental and analytic philosophical traditions, Morgan has reflected on the key challenge of our day: how is objectivity possible in light of the historicity of human life? An interpreter of both "Athens" and "Jerusalem," Morgan has written on ancient Greek philosophy, modern Jewish philosophy, post-Holocaust theology and ethics, Zionism, and Messianism.
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Articles previously published. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004326514 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Rabbinic discourse as a system of knowledge : "the study of Torah is equal to them all" /
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In Rabbinic Discourse as a System of Knowledge Hannah Hashkes employs contemporary philosophy in describing rabbinic reasoning as a rational response to experience. Hashkes combines insights from the philosophy of Quine and Davidson with the semiotics of Peirce to construe knowledge as systematic reasoning occurring within a community of inquiry. Her reading of the works of Emmanuel Levinas and Jean-Luc Marion allows her to create a philosophical bridge between a discourse of God and a discourse of reason. This synthesis of pragmatism, hermeneutics and theology provides Hashkes with a sophisticated tool to understand Rabbinic Judaism. It also makes this study both unique and pathbreaking in contemporary Jewish philosophy and Rabbinic thought.
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1 online resource (xiii, 280 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-271) and index. :
9789004290488 :
2210-481X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jewish thought, utopia, and revolution /
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In response to the grim realities of the present world Jewish thought has not tended to retreat into eschatological fantasy, but rather to project utopian visions precisely on to the present moment, envisioning redemptions that are concrete, immanent, and necessarily political in nature. In difficult times and through shifting historical contexts, the messianic hope in the Jewish tradition has functioned as a political vision: the dream of a peaceful kingdom, of a country to return to, or of a leader who will administer justice among the nations. Against this background, it is unsurprising that Jewish messianism in modern times has been transposed, and lives on in secular political movements and ideologies. The purpose of this book is to contribute to the deeper understanding of the relationship between Jewish thought, utopia, and revolution, by taking a fresh look at its historical and religious roots. We approach the issue from several perspectives, with differences of opinion presented both in regard to what Jewish tradition is, and how to regard utopia and revolution. These notions are multifaceted, comprising aspects such as political messianism, religious renewal, Zionism, and different forms of Marxist and Anarchistic movements.
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"The selected articles are based on conversations and debates from a colloquium held in Vilnius (Vilna) in June 2012"--Page 2. :
1 online resource (viii, 211 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-199) and index. :
9789401210782 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Central Problems of Medieval Jewish Philosophy /
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This book deals with central issues of medieval Jewish philosophy. Among the subjects treated are divine immanence, the intellect, miracles, and esoteric writing and its limits. The work provides a new perspective on the history of Jewish philosophy in the Middle Ages. Relying on many as yet unpublished manuscripts, which enable it to offer new insights relating to such thinkers as Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides, it also presents a new and original perception of the dynamics of Jewish thought in general.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047416845
9789004148055
Winged Words: Benjamin, Rosenzweig, and the Life of Quotation /
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This is the first book to explore the role of quotation in modern Jewish thought. Weaving back and forth from Benjamin to Rosenzweig, the book searches for the recovery of concealed and lost meaning in the community of letters, sacred scripture, the collecting of books, storytelling, and the life of liturgy. It also explores how the legacy of Goethe can be used to develop new strata of religious and Jewish thought. We learn how quotation is the binding tissue that links language and thought, modernity and tradition, religion and secularism as a way of being in the world.
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1 online resource (307 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004680210
Jewish philosophy for the twenty-first century : personal reflections /
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Jewish Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century encourages contemporary Jewish thinkers to reflect on the meaning of Judaism in the modern world by connecting these reflections to their own personal biographies. In so doing, it reveals the complexity of Jewish thought in the present moment. The contributors reflect on a range of political, social, ethical, and educational challenges that face Jews and Judaism today and chart a path for the future. The results showcase how Jewish philosophy encompasses the methodologies and concerns of other fields such as political theory, intellectual history, theology, religious studies, anthropology, education, comparative literature, and cultural studies. By presenting how Jewish thinkers address contemporary challenges of Jewish existence, the volume makes a valuable contribution to the humanities as a whole, especially at a time when the humanities are increasingly under duress for being irrelevant.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004279629 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The future of Jewish philosophy /
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This anthology of original essays reflects on the future of Jewish philosophy in light of the Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers (Brill, 2013-2018). The volume assesses the strengths of Jewish philosophy, explores the place of Jewish philosophy within the Western academy as a critique of and contribution to the discipline of philosophy, and showcases the relevance of Jewish philosophy to contemporary Jewish culture. The volume argues that Jewish philosophy is more vibrant, diverse, and culturally significant than its public image implies. Special attention is paid to the interdisciplinary nature of Jewish philosophy, the institutional settings for generating Jewish philosophy, and the contribution of philosophizing to contemporary Jewish self-understanding.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004381216 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The value of the particular : lessons from Judaism and the modern Jewish experience : festschrift for Steven T. Katz on the occasion of his seventieth birthday /
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In this tribute to Steven T. Katz on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, Michael Zank and Ingrid Anderson present sixteen original essays written by senior and junior scholars in comparative religion, philosophy of religion, modern Judaism, and theology after the Holocaust, fields of inquiry where Steven Katz made major contributions over the course of his distinguished scholarly career. The authors of this volume, specialists in Jewish history, especially the modern experience, and Jewish thought from the Bible to Buber, offer theoretical and practical observations on the value of the particular. Contributions range from Tim Knepper's reevaluation of the ineffability discourse to the particulars of the Settlement Cookbook, examined by Nora Rubel as an American classic.
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1 online resource (xii, 379 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004292697 :
1873-9008 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Knowledge of God and the development of early Kabbalah /
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In Knowledge of God and the Development of Early Kabbalah , Jonathan Dauber offers a fresh consideration of the emergence and early development of Kabbalah against the backdrop of a re-evaluation of the relationship between early Kabbalistic and philosophic discourse. He argues that the first Kabbalists adopted a philosophic ethos that was foreign to traditional Rabbinic Judaism but had taken root in Languedoc and Catalonia under the influence of newly available philosophical materials. In this ethos, the act of investigating God was accorded great religious significance, and it was its adoption by the first Kabbalists that helped spur them to engage in their investigations of God and, in so doing, develop Kabbalah.
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1 online resource (x, 275 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p.[253]-268 ) and index. :
9789004234277 :
1873-9008 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jonathan Sacks : universalizing particularity /
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This volume features the thought and writings of Jonathan Sacks, one of today's leading Jewish public thinkers. It brings together an intellectual portrait, four of his most original and influential philosophical essays, and an interview with him. This volume showcases the work of Sacks, a philosopher who seeks to confront and offer solutions to the numerous problems besetting Judaism and its confrontation with modernity. In addition, the reader will also encounter an important social philosopher and proponent of interfaith dialogue, who articulates how it is possible to cultivate a culture of civility based on the twin notions of the dignity of difference and the ethic of responsibility. Jonathan Sacks has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from September 1991 to September 2013 and a member of the House of Lords since 2009.
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1 online resource (xiii, 147 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-147). :
9789004249813 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tamar Ross : constructing faith /
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Tamar Ross is Professor of Jewish Philosophy (Emerita) at Bar-Ilan University. She has written extensively on the Musar movement, the thought of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the ideology of Mitnagedism, and the relationship of Orthodoxy and feminism. Conversant with classical rabbinic sources and analytic philosophy, she champions the notion of cumulative revelation in pursuit of a non-foundationalist notion of truth, both religious and scientific. Responding to the feminist critique, she articulates an original and constructive Jewish theology sympathetic to the later stages of Wittgenstein's philosophy of language and to complementary motifs in Jewish mysticism. Her philosophy of halakha similarly builds on post-positivist legal theory, demonstrating the transformative influence of women's direct input on a legal system previously managed exclusively by men.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004317376 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Menachem Fisch : the rationality of religious dispute /
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Menachem Fisch is the Joseph and Ceil Mazer Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Director of the Center for Religious and Interreligious Studies, and former Chair of the Graduate School of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. He is also the Senior Fellow of the Kogod Center for the Renewal of Jewish Thought at the Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem. Trained in physics, philosophy, and the history and philosophy of science, Fisch has confronted epistemological questions and applied his answers to Jewish philosophy, integrating it into the larger discourse of rationality, normativity, religion, politics, and science. His work brings a creative combination of historical, philosophical, and critical insights to an analysis of Talmudic texts, thereby establishing a new and original understanding of rabbinic legal reasoning and religious commitment.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004323575 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tradition vs. traditionalism : contemporary perspectives in Jewish thought.
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This book is a first attempt to examine the thought of key contemporary Jewish thinkers on the meaning of tradition in the context of two models. The classic model assumes that tradition reflects lack of dynamism and reflectiveness, and the present's unqualified submission to the past. This view, however, is an image that the modernist ethos has ascribed to the tradition so as to remove it from modern existence. In the alternative model, a living tradition emerges as open and dynamic, developing through an ongoing dialogue between present and past. The Jewish philosophers discussed in this work-Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, David Hartman, and Eliezer Goldman-ascribe compelling canonic status to the tradition, and the analysis of their thought discloses the tension between these two models. The book carefully traces the course they have plotted along the various interpretations of tradition through their approach to Scripture and to Halakhah.
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1 online resource (235 pages) :
9789401206426 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Elliot R. Wolfson : poetic thinking /
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Elliot R. Wolfson is Professor of Religious Studies and the Marsha and Jay Glazer Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A scholar of Jewish mysticism and philosophy, he uses the textual sources of Judaism to examine universal philosophical topics such as the function and processes of the imagination, the paradoxes of temporality, and the mystery of poetic language. Working at the intersection of disciplines and refusing to reduce texts to their simple historical contexts, Wolfson puts texts spanning diverse temporal, cultural, and religious periods in creative counterpoint. His sensitivity to language reveals its fragility as it simultaneously points to the uncertainty of meaning. The result is a creative reading of both Judaism and philosophy that informs and is informed by poetic sensibility and philosophical hermeneutics.
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1 online resource (xv, 254 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004291058 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Arthur Green : Hasidism for tomorrow /
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Arthur Green is Rector of the post-denominational Rabbinical School and Irving Brudnick Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Religion at Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. Originally ordained as a Conservative rabbi, Green considers himself a neo-Hasidic Jew, identifying with none of the established Jewish denominations. He combines historical knowledge of the Jewish mystical tradition with an original constructive theology. Recognized as both a rabbi and a scholar, Green has sought to make spiritual pursuit an essential part of committed Jewish life. Through scholarship, educational work, and popular teaching, he has contributed to the growth and vitality of Judaism in America and helped promote neo-Hasidism as Jewish spirituality for the 21st century.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004308428 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
David Shatz : Torah, philosophy, and culture /
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David Shatz is the Ronald P. Stanton University Professor of Philosophy, Ethics, and Religious Thought at Yeshiva University. With rabbinic ordination earned at Yeshiva University and a Ph.D. with distinction in philosophy from Columbia University, Shatz is committed to integrating Judaism and secular wisdom. An analytic philosopher as well as a Jewish philosopher, he has written extensively on free will, ethics, epistemology, medieval and modern Jewish philosophy, and philosophy of religion. His writings cover such topics as autonomy, altruism, philosophical skepticism, science and Judaism, peer review, theodicy, biblical interpretation, Maimonides, modern rabbinic figures, messianism, fanaticism, religious diversity, and theology. Shatz is also editor of the MeOtzar HoRav series, which publishes manuscripts of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and is editor of the Torah u-Madda Journal .
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004326484 :
2213-6010 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A Jewish philosopher of Baghdad : 'Izz al-Dawla Ibn Kammuna (d. 683/1284) and his writings /
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For a long time, the study of the life and work of the Jewish thinker ʿIzz al-Dawla Ibn Kammūna (d. 683/1284) remained limited to a very small number of texts. Interest in Ibn Kammūna in the Western Christian world dates back to the 17th century, when Barthélemy d'Herbelot (1624-1695) included information on two of Ibn Kammūna's works - his examination of the three faiths ( Tanqīḥ al-abḥāth li-l-milal al-thalāt ), id est Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and his commentary on Avicenna's al-Ishārāt wa l-tanbīhā t - in his Bibliothèque orientale . Subsequent generations of Western scholars were focused on Ibn Kammūna's Tanqīḥ al-abḥāth , whereas his fame in the Eastern lands of Islam was based exclusively on his philosophical writings. These include a commentary on the Kitāb al-Talwīḥāt by the founder of Illumationist philosophy, Shihāb al-Dīn al-Suhrawardī (d. 587/1191) and numerous independent works on philosophy and logic. Since most of the manuscripts of Ibn Kammūna's philosophical writings are located in the public and private libraries of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, they were (and are) out of reach for the majority of Western scholars. The volume gives a detailed account of the available data of Ibn Kammūna's biography, provides an outline of his philosophcial thought and studies in detail the reception of his thought and his writings among later Muslim and Jewish philosophers. An inventory of his entire œuvre provides detailed information on the extant manuscripts. The volume furthermore includes editions of nine of his writings.
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Includes editions of 9 texts by Ibn Kammuna, in Arabic. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-263) and indexes. :
9789047409632 :
0169-8729 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A history of modern Jewish religious philosophy .
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The culmination of Eliezer Schweid's life-work as Jewish intellectual historian, this five-volume work provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary account of the major thinkers and movements in modern Jewish thought, in the context of general philosophy and Jewish social-political historical developments. A major theme of the work is the response of Jewish thought to the rise and crisis of Western humanism from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Volume One, "The Period of the Enlightenment," includes a methodological introduction to the larger work, as well as thorough presentations of Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Maimon, Ascher, Wessely, Schnaber and Krochmal. Capsule essays on Kant, Hegel, and Schelling highlight the issues they raise that would be of crucial importance for Jewish thought. \'Schweid introduces the reader to many writers and thinkers who pioneered a new approach toward Jewish law and lore [...]. This is a work which should be in every university and seminary library.\' Morton J. Merowitz, Librarian and independent scholar, Buffalo, NY (AJL Reviews, Nov/Dec 2011)
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1 online resource (xv, 361 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004207349 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A History of Modern Jewish Religious Philosophy : Volume III:The Crisis of Humanism /
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The culmination of Eliezer Schweid's life-work as a Jewish intellectual historian, this five-volume work provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary account of the major thinkers and movements in modern Jewish thought, in the context of general philosophy and Jewish social-political historical developments, with extensive primary source excerpts. Volume Three, "The Crisis of Humanism," commences with an important essay on the challenge to the humanist tradition posed in the late 19th century by historical materialism, existentialism and positivism. This is background for the constructive philosophies which sought at the same time to address the general crisis of moral value and provide a positive basis for Jewish existence. Among the thinkers presented in this volume are Moses Hess, Moritz Lazarus, Hermann Cohen (in impressive depth, with a thorough exposition of the Ethics and Religion of Reason ), Ahad Ha-Am, I. J. Reines, Simon Dubnow, M. Y. Berdiczewski, the theorists of the Bund, Chaim Zhitlovsky, Nachman Syrkin, and Ber Borochov.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004380608 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.