HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY IN THE THOUGHT OF ELIEZER BERKOVITS
Thesis submitted for the degree of “Doctor of Philosophy” by
DAVID HAZONY
Submitted to the Senate of the Hebrew University July, 2011
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This work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Warren Zev Harvey Prof. Aviezer Ravitzky
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HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY IN THE THOUGHT OF ELIEZER BERKOVITS
Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Berkovits’ Life 4 Berkovits’ Methodology and Aims 7 The Present Study 22 Influences on His Thought 30
PART 1: MORALITY AND LAW 40
Introduction: Jewish Law in a Modern World 40 I. Values in Halacha 44 II. Consequences vs. Intentions 63 III. Body vs. Spirit 80 Conclusions 94
PART 2: HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY AND JEWISH NATIONHOOD 98
Introduction: Zionism in Jewish Religious Thinking 98 I. Collective Identity in Judaism 104 II. National Sovereignty 115 III. The Implications of Exile 133 Conclusions 143
PART 3: THEODICY AND RESPONSIBILITY 146
Introduction: Evil in the Shadow of the Holocaust 146 I. The Holocaust in Theological-Historical Perspective 161 II. History as Man’s Responsibility 166 III. The Silence of God 187 Conclusions 217
CONCLUSION 223
BIBLIOGRAPHY 230
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