Jewish Thought in Dialogue

This carefully crafted collection of essays, Jewish Thought in Dialogue, offers creative interpretations of major Jewish texts and as well as original treatments of significant issues in Jewish theology and ethics. The collection includes philosophical readings of biblical narratives, analyses of topics in the thought of Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and critical and constructive examinations of divine providence, religious anthropology, free will, 9/11, evil, Halakhah and morality, altruism, autonomy in Jewish medical ethics, and the epistemology of religious belief. The author frequently brings Jewish philosophy and law into dialogue with contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. The book serves scholars and students of Jewish philosophy and law and is suitable for inclusion in syllabi of undergraduate and graduate courses.

This carefully crafted collection of essays, Jewish Thought in Dialogue, offers creative interpretations of major Jewish texts and as well as original treatments of significant issues in Jewish theology and ethics. The collection includes philosophical readings of biblical narratives, analyses of topics in the thought of Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and critical and constructive examinations of divine providence, religious anthropology, free will, 9/11, evil, Halakhah and morality, altruism, autonomy in Jewish medical ethics, and the epistemology of religious belief. The author frequently brings Jewish philosophy and law into dialogue with contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. The book serves scholars and students of Jewish philosophy and law and is suitable for inclusion in syllabi of undergraduate and graduate courses.

Sources and Credits. Introduction. ESSAYS IN INTERPRETATION: The Bible as a Source for Philosophical Reflection. Maimonides’ Moral Theory. Worship, Corporeality, and human perfection: A Reading of Guide of the Perplexed, III: 51-54. The Integration of Torah and Culture: Its Scope and Limits in the Thought of Rav Kook. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and the Ambiguities of “Openness”. Science and Religious Consciousness in the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. THEOLOGY, METAPHYSICSAND ETHICS: Divine Intervention and Religious Sensibilities. From Anthropology to Metaphysics: David Hartman on Divine Intervention. Is Matter All That Matters? Judaism, Free Will, and the Genetic and Neuroscientific Revolutions. “From The Depths I Have Called To You”: Jewish Reflections on September 11th and Contemporary Terrorism. Does Jewish Law Express Jewish Philosophy? The Curious Case of Theodicies. Beyond Obedience: The Ethical Theory of Rabbi Walter Wurzburger. “As Thyself”: The Limits of Altruism in Jewish Ethics. Concepts Of Autonomy in Jewish Medical Ethics. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF: The Overexamined Life Is Not Worth Living.