Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 252
Trim: 6⅛ x 9
978-0-7425-4607-3 • Paperback • January 2006 • $43.00 • (£35.00)
978-1-4616-3653-3 • eBook • January 2006 • $40.50 • (£30.00)
Dr. Alan Levenson teaches Jewish history and thought at Siegal College.
1 Acknowledgments
2 Introduction
Part 3 PART ONE - MODERN JUDAISM: ATTACK AND DEFENSE
Chapter 4 SAMSON RAPHAEL HIRSCH'S DEFENSE OF JUDAISM: THE RECONCILIATION OF MODERNITY AND THE MITZVOT
Chapter 5 BARUCH SPINOZA'S CRITIQUE OF TRADITIONAL RELIGION
Chapter 6 MOSES MENDELSSOHN'S DEFENSE OF JUDAISM: BETWEEN REASON AND REVELATION
Chapter 7 ABRAHAM GEIGER'S DEFENSE OF JUDAISM: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
Part 8 PART TWO - RECOVERING TRADITION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COMMUNITY
Chapter 9 MARTIN BUBER: RESTORING THE JEWISH INDIVIDUAL
Chapter 10 FRANZ ROSENZWEIG: FROM ALIENATED EXISTENTIALIST TO BA'AL TESHUVAH
Chapter 11 THEODOR HERZL: A JEWISH MODERNIST FROM WESTERN EUROPE
Chapter 12 AHAD HA'AM (ASHER ZVI GINZBERG): A JEWISH MODERNIST FROM EASTERN EUROPE
Chapter 13 MORDECAI KAPLAN: A SECULARIST (RE)CONSTRUCTS RELIGION
Part 14 PART THREE - RECOVERING KEDUSHAH (THE SACRED) IN A PROFANE AGE
15 ISRAEL SALANTER: RESTORING "FEAR OF HEAVEN" TO HUMAN BEHAVIOR
16 ABRAHAM ISAAC KOOK: MYSTICISM AND NATIONALISM
17 JOSEPH SOLOVEITCHIK: HALACHAH AND EXISTENTIALISM
18 ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL: UNIVERSAL HASIDISM
19 CONCLUSION (MENDING THE WORLD/MENDING ISRAEL)
20 Index
21 About the Author
Every thinking Jew today is heir to Spinoza and Herzl, Buber and Rosenzweig, Kaplan and Heschel. Levenson has written an essential sourcebook for understanding the modern thinkers behind the various strands of Jewish life. Adult learners and university students alike will benefit from Levenson's artful blend of intellectual rigor and probing questions about the meaning of these thinkers for our own time.
— Rabbi Barbara Penzner, Temple Hillel B'nai Torah, Past President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Alan Levenson's anthology is the best textbook on modern Jewish thinkers available for college courses and adult Jewish learning today. He offers biographical background, historical context, a description of the author's significance and contribution, focused passages in translation, study questions, and suggestions for further reading. This book is at the top of my list for anyone who wishes to go back to the modern Jewish sources themselves.
— David S. Ariel, Siegal College of Judaic Studies, Cleveland
Alan Levenson's…book is clear, concise, and easy to use. Levenson writes an excellent introductory essay on each thinker and his analysis of their philosophy is thoughtful.
— Rabbi Amy Wallk Katz, Congregation Beth Shalom
The book is an excellent sourcebook for understanding the modern thinkers behind the various strands of Jewish life, and is an artful blend of intellectual rigor and probing questions about the meaning of these thinkers for our own time. This anthology is an excellent book for college courses and adult Jewish learning. Prof. Levenson offers biographical background, historical context, a description of the author's significance and contribution, focused passages in translation, study questions, and suggestions for further reading.
— Dov Peretz Elkins; Jewish Media Review
...a concise, accurate pen portrait of the thinker under scrutiny is followed by a description of his overall intellectual contribution....By the end of the book, the student will have a sound grounding in the major trends of Jewish thought over the last 350 years.
— Spring 2008; Journal of Jewish Studies
Alan Levenson provides a superb introduction to the many varieties of Jewish self-understanding in the modern world. His presentation is remarkably clear and fascinating.
— Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College