Jewish Historiography between Past and Future. 200 Years of Wissenschaft des Judentums, ed. Paul Mendes-Flohr, Rachel Livneh-Freudenthal, and Guy Miron, de Gruyter, Studia Judaica 102, 2019
Ludwig Philippson’s (1811–1889) views on the philosophical impact of monotheism are stuck somewh... more Ludwig Philippson’s (1811–1889) views on the philosophical impact of monotheism are stuck somewhere between medieval metaphysics and modern idealism. Nevertheless, Philippson must be regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Jewish thought given his critical and non-polemical analysis of Christian theology—and it is certainly here that he makes the most profound contributions to the discussion of monotheism as a theoretical-theological concept and its impact on philosophical ethics in general. Motivated by the urgent need of demarcation from Protestantism, his liberal Judaism found in radical monotheism the ultimate criteria for measuring dogma and doctrine in light of eternal universal ethical principles.
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The study follows the reception of Maimonidean thought, and the Guide specifically, through the nineteenth century, from the first beginnings of early reformers in 1810 and their reading of Maimonides to the development of a sophisticated reform-theology, based on Maimonides, in the writings of Hermann Cohen more then a hundred years later."
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This anthology thus opens to the English-language reader a true treasure house of source material from the formative years of modern Jewish thought, bringing together writings from the very first generations, who imagined biblical and rabbinic texts and modern scientific research would produce a synthetic view of God, Israel, and the world. A general introduction and chapter introductions guide students and nonspecialists through the key themes and transformations in modern Jewish theology, and extensive annotations immerse them in the latest scholarship.
In der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erfuhren die traditionellen jüdischen Messias-Vorstellungen eine tiefgreifende Reinterpretation. An die Stelle des davidischen Messias-Königs und der Idee eines restaurativen Tempelreiches in Jerusalem traten Vorstellungen von einem idealen Weltenreich des Friedens und von sozialer Gerechtigkeit. George Kohler zeigt anhand von messianischen Texten u.a. von Samuel Holdheim, Salomon Ludwig Steinheim, Samuel Hirsch, Levi Herzfeld und Salomon Formstecher, dass diese neue Lesart des jüdischen Messianismus in der Moderne bereits in den 1840er Jahren beginnt - und nicht erst mit dem Philosophen Hermann Cohen (1842-1918), der in seinem Alterswerk die komplexe Theorie eines nichtpersönlichen ethisch-universalistischen Messiasreiches entwickelte. In den neu editierten Texten wird sichtbar, wie bereits Jahrzehnte vor Cohen eine ausgeprägte messianische Theologie entsteht, in der die Singularität des messianischen Ereignisses durch einen moralischen Prozess der Erziehung der Menschheit abgelöst wird. Das Judentum erarbeitet sich so eine Zukunftsorientierung, die der jüdischen Religion eine Existenzberechtigung in der Neuzeit gibt, weil sie die den beteiligten Denkern als missionarisch für die gesamte Zivilisation gilt.
[Jewish Messianism in the Age of Emancipation: Reinterpretations between Davidic Kingship and Eschatological Socialism]
During the first half of the 19th century, traditional Jewish conceptions of the Messiah underwent a profound reinterpretation. In place of the vision of a messianic king, new ideas arose about an ideal world. G. Kohler demonstrates that this new reading of Jewish messianism did not originate from the works of the philosopher Hermann Cohen, but instead, had already arisen during the 1840s.
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Jewish theology made it possible for those rabbis to transfer the modern
ideal of scientificity (Wissenschaftlichkeit) from their research on to their
daily professional practice. But also for an all-embracing understanding
and evaluation of today’s scholarship on the Wissenschaft-movement itself, the inclusion of theology seems to be reasonable: On the one hand it helps to clear up the persistent misunderstanding according to which
during the nineteenth century history became “the religion of the fallen
Jews”, meaning that turning to Wissenschaft was in itself a secularization process. The study of the pursuit of a historical-critical theology would demonstrate that this view is based on the confusion of the theological notion of ‘religion’ with myth and supernaturalism. On the other hand, the inclusion of theology in the study of Wissenschaft des Judentums seems to prove convincingly that this movement was not taking living Judaism down to its grave – but was in fact very interested in providing Judaism with a stable intellectual basis for a glorious future for conquering the whole spiritual world.
The study follows the reception of Maimonidean thought, and the Guide specifically, through the nineteenth century, from the first beginnings of early reformers in 1810 and their reading of Maimonides to the development of a sophisticated reform-theology, based on Maimonides, in the writings of Hermann Cohen more then a hundred years later."
This anthology thus opens to the English-language reader a true treasure house of source material from the formative years of modern Jewish thought, bringing together writings from the very first generations, who imagined biblical and rabbinic texts and modern scientific research would produce a synthetic view of God, Israel, and the world. A general introduction and chapter introductions guide students and nonspecialists through the key themes and transformations in modern Jewish theology, and extensive annotations immerse them in the latest scholarship.
In der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erfuhren die traditionellen jüdischen Messias-Vorstellungen eine tiefgreifende Reinterpretation. An die Stelle des davidischen Messias-Königs und der Idee eines restaurativen Tempelreiches in Jerusalem traten Vorstellungen von einem idealen Weltenreich des Friedens und von sozialer Gerechtigkeit. George Kohler zeigt anhand von messianischen Texten u.a. von Samuel Holdheim, Salomon Ludwig Steinheim, Samuel Hirsch, Levi Herzfeld und Salomon Formstecher, dass diese neue Lesart des jüdischen Messianismus in der Moderne bereits in den 1840er Jahren beginnt - und nicht erst mit dem Philosophen Hermann Cohen (1842-1918), der in seinem Alterswerk die komplexe Theorie eines nichtpersönlichen ethisch-universalistischen Messiasreiches entwickelte. In den neu editierten Texten wird sichtbar, wie bereits Jahrzehnte vor Cohen eine ausgeprägte messianische Theologie entsteht, in der die Singularität des messianischen Ereignisses durch einen moralischen Prozess der Erziehung der Menschheit abgelöst wird. Das Judentum erarbeitet sich so eine Zukunftsorientierung, die der jüdischen Religion eine Existenzberechtigung in der Neuzeit gibt, weil sie die den beteiligten Denkern als missionarisch für die gesamte Zivilisation gilt.
[Jewish Messianism in the Age of Emancipation: Reinterpretations between Davidic Kingship and Eschatological Socialism]
During the first half of the 19th century, traditional Jewish conceptions of the Messiah underwent a profound reinterpretation. In place of the vision of a messianic king, new ideas arose about an ideal world. G. Kohler demonstrates that this new reading of Jewish messianism did not originate from the works of the philosopher Hermann Cohen, but instead, had already arisen during the 1840s.
Jewish theology made it possible for those rabbis to transfer the modern
ideal of scientificity (Wissenschaftlichkeit) from their research on to their
daily professional practice. But also for an all-embracing understanding
and evaluation of today’s scholarship on the Wissenschaft-movement itself, the inclusion of theology seems to be reasonable: On the one hand it helps to clear up the persistent misunderstanding according to which
during the nineteenth century history became “the religion of the fallen
Jews”, meaning that turning to Wissenschaft was in itself a secularization process. The study of the pursuit of a historical-critical theology would demonstrate that this view is based on the confusion of the theological notion of ‘religion’ with myth and supernaturalism. On the other hand, the inclusion of theology in the study of Wissenschaft des Judentums seems to prove convincingly that this movement was not taking living Judaism down to its grave – but was in fact very interested in providing Judaism with a stable intellectual basis for a glorious future for conquering the whole spiritual world.