Is There a Jewish Philosophy? Rethinking Fundamentals

by Roth, Leon; Ullendorff, Edward

• ISBN13: 9781874774556
• ISBN10: 1874774552
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press

Summary

Leon Roth (1896-1963) was the first Professor of Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He wanted to encourage his students to think, and to think about their Judaism. Typical of his approach is the question with which this selection of essays opens: in what sense can we talk about Jewish philosophy, and what can we expect to find if we look for it?
Defining philosophy as 'the search, through thought, for the permanent,' Roth argues that in order to say whether there is a truly Jewish philosophy one has to 'rethink fundamentals' - those elements in our lives, in history, in nature which appear to be not incidental and trivial but basic. The twelve elegantly written essays published here represent a selection of Roth's explanations of various aspects of his theme.

Table of Contents

Publisher's Note
Foreword
Note
Is there a Jewish Philosophy?	p. 1
Imitatio Dei and the Idea of Holiness	p. 15
Jewish Thought as a Factor in Civilization	p. 29
The Significance of Biblical Prophecy for Our Time	p. 74
Some Reflections on the Interpretation of Scripture	p. 80
Baruch Spinoza: His Religious Importance for the Jew of Today	p. 95
Judaism: The Elements	p. 108
Authority, Religion, and Law	p. 121
Moralization and Demoralization in Jewish Ethics	p. 128
Mysticism, Thick and Thin	p. 144
Back To, Forward From, Ahad Ha'am?	p. 156
Maimonides	p. 169
Bibliography of the Writings of Leon Roth	p. 180
Index	p. 191
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.