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The term “ethical monotheism” is an important marker of Judaism’s tumultuous transition into the modern era. The term emerged in the context of culture wars concerning the question of whether or not Jews could or should become emancipated citizens of modern European states. It appeared in arguments whether or not Judaism could be considered a Religion of Reason—a symbolic, motivational representation of a universal morality—and in debates about whether or not Judaism could or should reform itself into a Religion of Reason. This book is both a decisive departure from those discussions and an attempt to add a further, post-modern statement to their ongoing development. As a departure, it refuses to take for granted a philosophical conception of Religion of Reason as the standard for ethical monotheism according to which Judaism was to be evaluated or reformed. As a continuation, the book undertakes a phenomenology of Jewish modes of ethical religiosity that allows it to inquire about what kind of ethical monotheism Judaism might be. The introduction and the conclusion present the argument of the book and explain its structure. Readers may benefit from reading those sections first, and then going on to the evidence in chapters 1 to 5.
The Idea of Atonement in the Philosophy of Hermann Cohen (2nd ed, 2020)
Preface to the Second, ebook edition of The Idea of Atonement in the Philosophy of Hermann Cohen2020 •
In Cohen’s thought, “atonement” not only deals with the constitution of ethical and moral selves, but it also unifies Jewish and systematic philosophical spheres. The book title, The Idea of Atonement in the Philosophy of Hermann Cohen, said much the same, just shorter, but it also created the misleading impression that the book narrowly focuses on a particular theologoumenon. I assure the reader that it does more. Both parts of the title are relevant. It suggests, and the book demonstrates, that the thought-figure (Denkfigur) of atonement provides a helpful key not just to Cohen’s Jewish thought but also to his systematic philosophy.
Modern Judaism
Prayer and Worship2005 •
An overview essay for this handbook on modern Jewish prayer and worship.
CCAR Journal
Halakhah in Reform Theology from Leo Baeck to Eugene B. Borowitz: Authority, Autonomy and Covenantal Commandments[To appear in the CCAR Journal, Spring 2020] The inherent tension between Reform theology and halakhah is as foundational as it is enduring. At the outset, early Reformers in Europe such as Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) focused less on the project of developing an evolving Reform halakhah and more on what they saw as the necessary transformations of Jewish life and prayer precisely because Jewish law had failed to allow for these transformations. While halakhic considerations --as well as the accompanying political and sociological considerations-- were certainly part of their thinking about the transformation of Judaism that these Reform thinkers led, they focused more on the philosophy of Judaism that would provide the foundation for it. At its core, Reform Judaism sought the re-framing of Jewish life not by creating a new halakhah but, rather, primarily through the development of a new theology –through prayer and practice-- for a Judaism that could thrive in the modern world. ...Although later thinkers inherited the texts of rationalists of early Reform thought some mid-twentieth century American Reform thinkers, attracted to the existentialism of Buber and Rosenzweig, began once again to consider the place of God and halakhah in Jewish thought. However, for the most part, leaders of the Reform movement retained a primary focus on the adaptation of Judaism to modern life in America as the fulfillment of their Jewish duty and wanted it to allow them to be fully American.....
Page proofs of “Justice” published in The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy: The Modern Era, edited by Martin Kavka, Zachary Braiterman, and David Novak (Cambridge, New York, etc.: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 704-738.
CCAR Journal
Halakha in Reform Theology from Leo Baeck to Eugene B. Borowitz: Authority, Autonomy and Covenantal CommandmentsA study of the inherent tension between Reform theology and halakhah; from early Reform thinkers including Hermann Cohen to the development of Reform theology and its relationship to Jewish law in the work of Leo Baeck and Eugene B. Borowitz. (Pre-publication version. To be published, May 2020)
Modern Judaism
The God of Sinai, the God of creation, and the God of Abraham: three recent books in Jewish philosophy1996 •
European Journal of Jewish Studies
Zwischen den Stühlen? On the Taxonomic Anxieties of Modern Jewish Philosophy2007 •
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies
Ethics and Halakhah in Levinas2008 •
Reviews in Religion & Theology
Forms of Rabbinic Literature and Thought: An Introduction - By Alexander Samely2008 •
Reviews in Religion & Theology
Undergoing God: Dispatches from the Scene of a Break-in - By James Alison2008 •
Michael Fishbane: Jewish Hermeneutical Theology
"Michael Fishbane: An Intellectual Portrait"2015 •
The Review of Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbi Max Joseph: Between Reform and Zionism2016 •
1997 •
2019 •
Journal of Jewish Ethics
The Promise and Limits of R. Simhah Zissel Ziv’s Musar: A Response to Miller, Cooper, Pugh, and Peters2017 •
Paul and Philosophy. Ed. Ole Jakob Løland. Fortress Press, (submitted). 18pp.
Letter to the Parisians: Levinas and St Paul on the spiritual Israel, a written interview1988 •