Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner's Theology of Meaning

Alon Shalev, Ph.D., is a research fellow and faculty member at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. His main interests are philosophy and theology of meaning in\of life and political philosophy.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Rabbi Hutner – the Early Years1.1 Youth 1906–19281.2 Years of Wandering: 1928–19342 Rabbi Hutner – the Later Years2.1 First Steps on American Soil – 1934–19382.2 The Rosh Yeshiva – 1938–19642.3 The Final Years of Wandering: 1964–19802.4 Concluding Biographical Remarks3 Pachad Yitzchak – Historical-Bibliographical Analysis3.1 On Authoring3.2 On Esoteric Writing3.3 On Publication4 The Intellectual Infrastructure of Pachad Yitzchak4.1 Teleology I: Anthropocentrism4.2 Teleology II: Theocentrism4.3 Dualism4.4 Eschatology4.5 Intellectual Infrastructure in Sum: Existence and Significance as the Foundations of Rabbi Hutner’s Thought5 Existence, Significance, and Singularity – the Core of Pachad Yitzchak5.1 Authenticity and Meaning5.2 Yeḥidut: Hutnerian Authenticity5.3 Ḥashivut: Hutnerian Meaning5.4 A Theologian Searching for Meaning, with Existentialist Tendencies6 Torah and Secular Knowledge in Rabbi Hutner’s Thought6.1 Distinct Domains: Torah and Science6.2 “Prevention of Supremacy”: Secular Studies7 Post-existentialist Theology7.1 Being-towards-Death7.2 Rabbi Hutner and Futural Projection7.3 Perpetuality, Eternity, and Truth7.4 Being-towards-Eternity8 Rabbi Hutner and His Sources8.1 Musar8.2 Hasidism8.3 Kabbalah8.4 Hutnerian Religious Naturalism8.5 Rabbi Hutner the Exegete9 Conclusion – Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner’s Thought and LegacyBibliographyIndex