Andrew Pessin

The Jewish God Question

What Jewish Thinkers Have Said about God, the Book, the People, and the Land

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Jewish God Question explores what a diverse array of Jewish thinkers have said about the interrelated questions of God, the Book, the Jewish people, and the Land of Israel. Exploring topics such as the existence of God, God's relationship to the world and to history, how to read the Bible, Jewish mysticism, the evolution of Judaism, and more, Andrew Pessin makes key insights from the Jewish philosophical tradition accessible and engaging. Short chapters share fascinating insights from ancient times to today, from Philo to Jewish Plaskow. The book emphasizes the more unusual or intriguing ideas and arguments, as well as the most influential. Pessin introduces readers to key themes and thinkers and shares suggestions for further reading. The Jewish God Question is an exciting and useful book for readers wrestling with some very big questions.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Rowman & Littlefield
• Seitenzahl: 290
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. November 2018
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 22mm
• Gewicht: 594g
• ISBN-13: 9781538110980
• ISBN-10: 1538110989
• Artikelnr.: 51781774

Autorenporträt

Andrew Pessin is professor of philosophy at Connecticut College. In addition to his occasional appearances as "The Genius" on the Late Show with David Letterman, he is the author of a number of books, including The God Question: What Famous Thinkers from Plato to Dawkins Have Said about the Divine and The 60-Second Philosopher. Samuel Lebens is a research fellow in philosophy at the University of Haifa. He is chairperson of the Association for the Philosophy of Judaism.

Inhaltsangabe

Acknowledgments Introduction PART I: PHILO-IBN DAUD (c. 20 BCE-1180 CE)
Introduction to Part I Philo (c. 20 BCE-c. 50 CE) 1. On Beginning with "The
Beginning" On the Law, creation, and the cosmos 2. The People of the Book,
and the Book of (All) the People The Torah expresses a universal philosophy
for everyone Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (882-942) 3. What a Long, Strange Trip
It Hasn't Been The cosmos must have had a first moment of creation 4. Two
Ways of Being One There is just one god, who is "one," all the way through
Isaac Israeli (c. 855-955) 5. The Descent, and Ascent, of Man Cosmology and
psychology illuminate the way to eternal bliss Solomon Ibn Gabirol
(1021-58) 6. On the Matter of the Soul All objects, physical or spiritual,
are a combination of matter and form, and that is the secret to blessedness
Bachya Ibn Paquda (c. 1050-1120) 7. Do the Right Thing-for the Right
Reasons Duties of the limb are imperfect unless accompanied by duties of
the heart Abraham Bar Chiyya (1065-1136) 8. And God Did Not Say, "Let There
Be Man" Both scripture and philosophical reasoning demonstrate the
immortality of the soul Joseph Ibn Tzaddik (?-1149) 9. In the Beginning Was
the Beginning-of Time How to reconcile the eternal unchanging nature of
God's will with His creating the cosmos Judah Halevi (c. 1075-1141) 10. The
Philosopher's God The God who does not hear or care is not the God of the
Hebrew Bible 11. The Spiritual Lighthouse The children of Israel were
chosen for the mission of spreading the divine light 12. Home Is Where the
Heart Is The children of Israel belong in the Land of Israel Abraham Ibn
Ezra (1089-1164) 13. The History over the Mystery Why God prefaces the Ten
Commandments with a history lesson Abraham Ibn Daud (Rabad) (1110-80) 14.
The Unmoved Mover Philosophical principles prove the existence of the
nonphysical God of Judaism 15. What God Does Not Know, Despite Knowing
Everything Although our free actions cannot be foreknown, there is no lack
in God's knowledge PART II: MAIMONIDES-SFORNO (1135-c. 1550) Introduction
to Part II Maimonides (1135-1204) 16. Not That Many Are Called Very few
people are properly prepared to study the philosophical truths of religion
17. Speaking of God . . . On what can, and cannot, be said about God 18.
And Behold, It Still Is Pretty Good How the perfectly good, all-powerful
God could make a world containing so much evil Moses Ben Nachman
(Nachmanides, Ramban) (1194-1270) 19. Though the Messiah May Tarry, We
Should Not The Torah obligates the Jew to return to the Land of Israel 20.
The Messiah Still Tarries-Contrary Opinions Notwithstanding Contra the
Christian claim, Jews do not believe the messiah has yet appeared Hillel
Ben Samuel (1220-95) 21. The Ultimate Meeting of the Minds In defense of
personal immortality from the challenge of the universal intellect Moses De
Leon (1240-1305) 22. Sex as a Mystical Experience Jewish mysticism sees a
cosmos in which God battles dark forces, and seeks our assistance Abraham
Abulafia (1240-c. 1292) 23. What's in a Name? Only Everything Prophetic
Kabbalah leads the way to spiritual perfection and redemption Isaac Albalag
(late thirteenth century) 24. Agree to Disagree Sometimes both scripture
and philosophy are true-even where they disagree Abner of Burgos
(1270-1347) 25. Voluntary Actions in a Predetermined World Human freedom
can be preserved even in a world where everything is caused Isaac Pollegar
(d. c. 1330) 26. It Really Is "Up to You" Human freedom refutes causal
predeterminism Joseph Ibn Kaspi (1279-1331) 27. Distance Makes the Heart
Grow Harder Reading the Bible literally and naturally is preferable Levi
Ben Gerson (Gersonides) (1288-1344) 28. What We Talk about When We Talk
about God Our ordinary language does apply to God despite the great gap
between God and ordinary things 29. If God Only Knew Divine foreknowledge
really is incompatible with human freedom, and so must be rejected Aaron
Ben Elijah of Nicomedia (c. 1328-69) 30. You Should Get That in Writing On
privileging the written Law over the oral Law Moses Ben Joshua of Narbonne
(Narboni) (d. c. 1362) 31. Don't Do Everything Possible God knows the
cosmos by knowing Himself, and thus makes room for human freedom Chasdai
Ben Judah Crescas (c. 1340-1410/11) 32. Love of God over Love of Wisdom
Contra the philosophers, it is not knowledge of but love of God that
confers immortality 33. Keep On Keeping On Even an eternal cosmos requires
God to create it-and to keep it in existence 34. Determined to Be Free
There is foreknowledge and causal predeterminism-and freedom and moral
responsibility Joseph Albo (1380-1444) 35. Back to Basics There are just
three basic principles to Judaism, which also has the surest claim to
divine origin Yochanan Alemanno (c. 1435-1504) 36. It's in the Stars-and in
the Torah On astrology and the Hebrew Bible Abraham Bivach (Bibago)
(mid-fifteenth century) 37. It's Reasonable to Believe on Faith Knowledge
based on faith is superior to rational knowledge Isaac Abravanel
(1437-1508) 38. All or None Every commandment, large or small, and every
word of scripture is equally important Elijah Del Medigo (1458-93) 39.
Disagree to Disagree There's only one truth, and scripture always has
it-except when it doesn't Leone Ebreo (Judah Abravanel) (c. 1460-after
1523) 40. All You Need Is Love Love is all you need Moses Ben Baruch
Almosnino (c. 1515 - c. 1580) 41. Where There's a Will, There's a Way The
goal is to align not our intellect with God's but our will Obadiah Sforno
(c. 1470-c. 1550) 42. Do the Right Thing (Which Requires Knowing What That
Is) Moral perfection is an aspect of intellectual perfection, so both are
required for the good Jewish life PART III: SPINOZA-PINSKER (1632-1891)
Introduction to Part III Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) 43. One with
God-Literally Everything is God; and neither we, nor God, acts freely 44.
Gazing at Eternity with Fresh Eyes The modern age requires a rethinking of
the nature of the Bible, starting with a rejection of the supernatural
Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86) 45. Have Your Kosher Cake (and Eat It Too) An
observant Jew can also be a full citizen of the nation in which s/he lives
Solomon Maimon (1753-1800) 46. Don't Belong to Any Club That Has You for a
Member Spinoza is not an atheist, and Mendelssohn wrongly thinks you can
reject Jewish Law yet remain part of the Jewish community Saul Ascher
(1767-1822) 47. To Everything There Is a Season-Including Traditional
Judaism Modern times require a reformulation of Judaism, from a religion of
law to one of belief Leopold Zunz (1794-1886) 48. Those Who Can, Do; Those
Who Cannot, Study Modern scholarship (or "science") is essential for Jews
to become full members of society Solomon Steinheim (1789-1866) 49. Ya
Gotta Believe! The metaphysical doctrine of creation ex nihilo is part of
Judaism's essence Abraham Geiger (1810-74) 50. The More Things Change, the
More They Stay the Same The unchanging essence of Judaism itself dictates
Judaism's modern reform Samuel Holdheim (1806-60) 51. Love Your Compatriot
as You Love Yourself The spiritual mission of Judaism is best served by its
radical reform Moses Sofer (Hatam Sofer) (1762-1839) 52. Same as It Ever
Was Contra "reform," one should change nothing in Judaism unless absolutely
necessary Zacharias Frankel (1801-75) 53. Goldilocks Judaism Reform
jettisons too much, Orthodoxy jettisons too little; the middle ground is
just right Nachman Krochmal (1785-1840) 54. The Light unto the Nations The
Jews are a nation, with a spirit and history, but one with a special spirit
and history Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-88) 55. When Progress Amounts to
Regress The movement to "reform" Judaism amounts to the rejection of
Judaism 56. Positively Inauthentic The "positive-historical" school is no
more authentic Judaism than is the Reform school Israel Salanter (1810-83)
57. The Only Thing I Can't Resist Is Temptation The righteous life requires
methods of moral instruction and correction, based in Torah and psychology
Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795-1874) 58. Not by Miracles, but by Sweat The
ingathering of the exiles, through our own efforts, is the first phase of
redemption Leon Pinsker (1821-91) 59. We'll Do It Our Way Jews must
emancipate themselves in order to end the scourge of Judeophobia PART IV:
HERZL-LEBENS (1860- ) Introduction to Part IV Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) 60.
If You Will It, It Is No Dream The only solution to European antisemitism
is the establishment of a Jewish state Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsberg)
(1856-1927) 61. More Than the Jews Have Kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath Has
Kept the Jews Political Zionism seeks to solve the problem of the Jews, but
what's needed is to solve the problem of Jewishness Micah Joseph
Berdichevsky (1865-1921) 62. Not the Last Jew, but the First Hebrew On the
transvaluation of Jewish values, from the power of love to the love of
power Shalom Dov Baer Schneersohn (1860-1920) 63. (Don't Be) Another Brick
in the Wall Redemption will not come by the Zionists but by the messiah,
when the time is ripe Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) 64. Be Reasonable Judaism
is a religion of reason 65. At Home in the Exile Judaism, as a religion of
reason, should oppose political Zionism Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) 66. A
People without (Need of) a Land A people with a spiritual mission is not
tied to a land, but at home everywhere Martin Buber (1878-1965) 67. The
Ménage à Trois God is to be found in the relationship between I and You
Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934) 68. Building a Modern University with
Ancient Stones On the inauguration of the Hebrew University, and of a
renewed national life Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) 69. The Jew and the
Land, as Spirit and Flesh On the foundations of religious Zionism Mordecai
Kaplan (1881-1983) 70. Not as Jews, nor as Americans, but as
Jewish-Americans On reconstructing Judaism for the modern American Jew
Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-93) 71. From Sinai to Moriah, a Tale of Three
Adams Halachic man partners with God in sanctifying the world Leo Strauss
(1899-1973) 72. Reason versus Revelation and the Modern Predicament, Part I
Can either be the source of absolute truth, to resist the modern attack on
meaning? 73. Reason versus Revelation and the Modern Predicament, Part II
The past can teach the moderns why we should remain Jews Emmanuel Levinas
(1906-95) 74. Seeing God in the Face of the Other We experience God's
presence in experiencing our moral obligations to other persons Abraham
Joshua Heschel (1907-72) 75. God in Search of Man The experience of divine
concern is at the heart of authentic religious practice Eliezer Berkovits
(1908-92) 76. Man in Search of God The experience of divine concern is both
the foundation and endpoint of Judaism Hannah Arendt (1906-75) 77. The
Banality of Evil However evil the Holocaust was, Eichmann's own evil was
not radical but merely banal Emil Fackenheim (1916-2003) 78. The 614th
Commandment The authentic Jew must not give Hitler a posthumous victory
Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-94) 79. Idolatry of the 1967 Lands One should
serve God, for the sake of God, and leave politics out of it Hans Jonas
(1903-93) 80. God after Auschwitz The existence of evil is ultimately due
to God's revocation of His own power Judith Plaskow (b. 1947) 81. Made in
Her Image Feminist Judaism as a religion for all Jews Michael Wyschogrod
(1928-2015) 82. The Body and the Blood It is through God's preferential
love of the Jewish people that He is able to love all humanity Eugene
Borowitz (1924-2016) 83. A Covenant Theology On being committed to personal
autonomy and God, Israel, and Torah Rachel Adler (b. 1943) 84. A Covenant
for Lovers Building on the halachic past a foundation for a more
egalitarian Jewish future Tamar Ross (b. 1938) 85. Expanding the Palace of
Torah An Orthodox approach to feminism Shimon Gershon Rosenberg (Shagar)
(1949-2007) 86. Postmodern Times The need to reconcile Judaism with
modernity has become obsolete Samuel Lebens (b. 1983) 87. Living the Dream
A twenty-first-century solution to the medieval problem of divine unity
Afterword: Jewish Philosophy: Past, Present, and Future? by Samuel Lebens
Glossary of Hebrew Terms Sources Bibliography Index