Israelis and the Jewish Tradition: An Ancient People Debating Its Future

By David Hartman

Book Overview

In this powerful book one of the most important Jewish thinkers in the world today grapples with issues that increasingly divide Israel's secular Jewish community from its religious Zionists. Addressing the concerns of both communities from the point of view of one who is deeply committed to religious pluralism, David Hartman suggests a more inclusive and inviting framework for the modern Israeli engagement of the Jewish tradition. He offers a new understanding of what it means to be Jewish--one which is neither assimilationist nor backward-looking, and one that enables different Jewish groups to celebrate their own traditions without demonizing or patronizing others. In a world polarized between religious and secular and caught within a sectarian denominationalism, Hartman shows the way to build bridges of understanding.

The book explores the philosophies of two major Jewish thinkers of the Middle Ages, Yehuda Halevi and Moses Maimonides. A careful analysis of Maimonides' approach to Judaism shows that messianism is not the predominant organizing principle that makes Judaism intelligible and significant, Hartman contends. He argues against Halevi's triumphalism and in favor of using the Sinai covenant for evaluating the religious significance of Israel, for this approach gives meaning to Zionists' religious commitments while also empowering secular Israelis to reengage with the Jewish tradition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300184115
• ISBN13: 9780300184112
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A courageous thinker

Rabbi David Hartman is a courageous thinker who dares to look honestly at the problems facing the Jewish people today, and to attempt real and innovative answers to them. He is also a distinguished Jewish thinker and scholar as is made evident in this work in his writing on the 'Kuzari' and on the Rambam. It is not necessary to agree with all that he has to say, but there is value in listening and thinking carefully to what this most engaged Jewish thinker has to say.

Romantic and Rational Judaism

David Hartman has applied his considerable intellectual talent to 1) articulate a problem facing contemporary Israel (and much of the Jewish people), 2) explore two medieval thinkers - Yehudah Halevi, the romantic, and Maimonides, the rationalist - regarding their attitudes toward both miracle and messianism, and 3) apply the insights of their two approaches to the current situation. Hartman illustrates the hopeful allure of Halevi, the enduring sobriety of Maimonides, and his own continuing concern for questions of political and social ethics which also characterises contemporary philosophical discussion. Quite worthwhile.

David Hartman is a MUST read

David Hartman is: kind, smart, compassionate, wise, learned and a good writer. All that is in evidence in this book, and more: An update on Israel, always welcome especially by one Who Know. And too few are in that category.