History of Modern Jewish Religious Philosophy

Eliezer Schweid, recipient of the prestigious Israel prize (1994) as well as two honorary degrees, is Emeritus Professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University. He has published over 40 books on Jewish thought of all periods and contemporary topics and has commented frequently on the relevance of the legacy of Jewish thought to contemporary issues of Jewish and universal human concern.Leonard Levin (translator-annotator) has taught Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York.

• AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroductionChapter One: The Philosophical Foundation for Jewish StudiesThe Association (Verein) for the Culture and Scientific Study of JewryEduard GansImmanuel WolfLeopold ZunzChapter Two: The Science of History, Philosophy of History, and Reestablishing Judaism as the Religion of Reason (vis-à-vis Secular Humanism and Christianity)Historical DevelopmentJudaism as “Religion of Spirit”: The Teaching of Solomon FormstecherJudaism as Ethical-Religious Commitment: The Teaching of Samuel HirschReform in the Mode of “Religious Feeling”: The Influence of Friedrich Schleiermacher on Abraham GeigerChapter Three: The Political Philosophy of the National Haskalah Movement in Eastern EuropeIntroductionAdapting the Doctrine of Interfaith Tolerance in the Secular State: The Teaching of R. Isaac Baer LevinsohnThe Attack on the Rabbinic Establishment: Spinoza’s Influence on the Radical Hebrew HaskalahChapter Four: Revealed Torah and Kant’s Critical IdealismIntroductory RemarksThe Dialogue between R. Judah Halevi’s Teaching and the Critical Philosophy of Locke and Kant in the Thought of Samuel David LuzzattoRevelation and the Critique of Reason: The Philosophy of Salomon Ludwig SteinheimDiscovering the Inner Light of Torah: The Teaching of Rabbi Samson Raphael HirschChapter Five: Adaptation and Growth of the Inner Space of Torah in Response to HumanismIntroductionUltra-Orthodox Nationalism in Response to Reform: Rabbi Zvi Hirsch KalischerSystematic Grounding and Enrichment of Orthodoxy in Response to Humanism: The Teaching of the MalbimDeveloping the Halakhic Alternative to Hasidism and Haskalah: The Students of the Vilna GaonChapter Six: The Torah and the People: “Positive Historical” JudaismIntroductionThe General Social and Philosophical-Historical Background of the Conservative Movement: The Influence of Herder and SavignyAdapting Halakha to the Needs and Will of the People: Zechariah Frankel’s DoctrineDivine Providence and Ethical Mission in Jewish History: The Teaching of Heinrich GraetzChapter Seven: The Drive for Unity in the East-European Haskalah and the Turn to ZionismIntroductionDefense of Hasidism and Halakha from a Maskilic Point of View: The Peace Making of Eliezer ZweifelRelation of Religion and Nation in Judaism and the Way to Spiritual Zionism: The Peregrinations of Peretz Smolenskin’s ThoughtThe Dawn of Religious Nationalism: Jehiel Michal PinesFrom “Spiritual Nationality” to Secular “Natural Nationality”: Exacerbating the Controversy in the Teaching of Moses Leib LilienblumGlossaryBibliographyIndex