The Course Explores the Relationship Between Judaism and Modernity
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The Existentialism of Martin Buber and Implications for Education
This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 69-4919 KINER, Edward David, 1939- THE EXISTENTIALISM OF MARTIN BUBER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1968 Education, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE EXISTENTIALISM OF MARTIN BUBER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Edward David Kiner, B.A., M.A. ####*### The Ohio State University 1968 Approved by Adviser College of Education This thesis is dedicated to significant others, to warm, vital, concerned people Who have meant much to me and have helped me achieve my self, To people whose lives and beings have manifested "glimpses" of the Eternal Thou, To my wife, Sharyn, and my children, Seth and Debra. VITA February 14* 1939 Born - Cleveland, Ohio 1961......... B.A. Western Reserve University April, 1965..... M.A. Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion June, 1965...... Ordained a Rabbi 1965-1968........ Assistant Rabbi, Temple Israel, Columbus, Ohio 1967-1968...... Director of Religious Education, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Philosophy of Education Studies in Philosophy of Education, Dr. Everett J. Kircher Studies in Curriculum, Dr. Alexander Frazier Studies in Philosophy, Dr. Marvin Fox ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION............................................. ii VITA ................................................... iii INTRODUCTION............................ 1 Chapter I. AN INTRODUCTION TO MARTIN BUBER'S THOUGHT....... 6 Philosophical Anthropology I And Thou Martin Buber and Hasidism Buber and Existentialism Conclusion II. EPISTEMOLOGY . 30 Truth Past and Present I-It Knowledge Thinking Philosophy I-Thou Knowledge Complemented by I-It Living Truth Buber as an Ebdstentialist-Intuitionist Implications for Education A Major Problem Education, Inclusion, and the Problem of Criterion Conclusion III. -
Theological Affinities in the Writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr.*
Theological Affinities in the Writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr.* Susannah Heschel T he photograph of Abraham Joshua Heschel walking arm in arm with Mar tin Luther King, Jr. in the front row of marchers at Selma has become an icon of American Jewish life, and of Black-Jewish relations. Reprinted in Jewish textbooks, synagogue bulletins, and in studies of ecumenical relations, the pic ture has come to symbolize the great moment of symbiosis of the two commu nities, Black and Jewish, which today seems shattered. When Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Henry Gates, or Cornel West speak of the relationship between Blacks and Jews as it might be, and as they wish it would become, they invoke the moments when Rabbi Heschel and Dr. King marched arm in arm at Selma, prayed together in protest at Arlington National Cemetery, and stood side by side in the pulpit of Riverside Church. The relationship between the two men began in January 1963, and was a genuine friendship of affection as well as a relationship of two colleagues working together in political causes. As King encouraged Heschel’s involve ment in the Civil Rights movement, Heschel encouraged King to take a pub lic stance against the war in Vietnam. When the Conservative rabbis of Amer ica gathered in 1968 to celebrate HeschePs sixtieth birthday, the keynote speaker they invited was King. Ten days later, when King was assassinated, Heschel was the rabbi Mrs. King invited to speak at his funeral. 126 Susannah Heschel 127 What is considered so remarkable about their relationship is the incon gruity of Heschel, a refugee from Hitler’s Europe who was born into a Hasidic rebbe’s family in Warsaw, with a long white beard and yarmulke, involving himself in the cause of Civil Rights. -
The Foundations of Martin Buber's Authenticity
University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 1974 Wirklichkeit and Verantwortung: The Foundations of Martin Buber's Authenticity James Patrick Glasson University of Rhode Island Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Glasson, James Patrick, "Wirklichkeit and Verantwortung: The Foundations of Martin Buber's Authenticity" (1974). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1537. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1537 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WIRKLlg RKEI T AND YEfl ANTWORTUNGi i:£1HF: FOUNDATIONS OF rv1.:.a..R rfI N BUBER'S AUTHENTICI TY BY .,TAMES PA1fRICK GLASSON A THESIS SUBMIT'rED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTEROF ARTS IN PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOF RHODEISLA ND 1974 THESIS ABSTRACT This study will investigate the foundations cf Ma-rtin Buber's authenticity. 1l1he problem of the foundations of authenticity arises in Jean-Paul Sartre who makes contra dictory claims when he says on the one hand there are no objective ethical values while on the other says "we ought to be authentic". The questions are 1 , Can authenticity be separated from objective values and still impose an obliga tion? And what are the foundations for saying "we ought to be authentic"? In the first section Buber's notion of Wirklich keit · (actuality) is examined and will be shown. to provide some legitimate foundation for authenticity oy implying an obliga.tion in reference to what man "ought to be". -
This Inspiring and Eminently Readable Book by John C
“This inspiring and eminently readable book by John C. Merkle, Heschel’s leading Christian interpreter, provides a lucid introduction to the Jewish thinker and activist’s God-centered thought. Written with earnestness, analytical subtlety, and faith, Approaching God demonstrates how Heschel’s radical interpretations of traditional Judaism can favor theological humility, religious diversity, and interfaith dialogue.” — Edward K. Kaplan Kaiserman Professor in Humanities, Brandeis University Author of Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America “John Merkle has pondered the thought of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel for many years. In Approaching God, Merkle provides readers with a discerning analysis of the wisdom of this eminent religious figure. Those who follow Merkle’s sensitive exploration of Heschel will partake of this wisdom themselves.” — Mary C. Boys, S.N.J.M. Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology, Union Theological Seminary Author of Has God Only One Blessing? Judaism as a Source of Christian Self-Understanding “John Merkle has produced a first-class study of the life and writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, a man who has deeply influenced today’s generation of theologians. Merkle has engaged thoughtfully with Heschel’s approach to the divine-human encounter and Approaching God will be welcomed by Jews and Christians alike. Readers of this work are extremely fortunate to benefit from the author’s lifelong interest in Heschel. The book not only provides an insight into this hugely significant Jewish theologian but also offers profound wisdom on the spiritual journey, daily undertaken by each and everyone of us.” — Edward Kessler Executive Director, Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, Cambridge, England Author of What Do Jews Believe? “Here is a lucid, powerful, and beautiful guide to one of the most compelling theolo- gians of our time. -
Below Are Recommendations of Non-Fiction Books of Jewish Content from a Small Group of People Involved in Jewish Engagement and Education
Below are recommendations of non-fiction books of Jewish content from a small group of people involved in Jewish engagement and education. The authors of these books span most of the range of Jewish practice and ideology. The list may look extensive, but there is much more to choose from. Feel free to ask your friends, neighbors and clergy for recommendations. Ports of Entry: Introductory Jewish Books Shimon Apisdorf, Judaism in a Nutshell (series: Passover, Israel, G-D etc.) Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews Arthur Green, Judaism's 10 Best Ideas: A Guide for Seekers Esther Jundgreis, The Committed Life Kerry M. Olitzky, Introducing My Faith and My Community: The Jewish Outreach Institute Guide for the Christians in a Jewish Interfaith Relationship Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin, Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism Mayer Schiller, The Road Back Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy Shmuel Waldman, Beyond A Reasonable Doubt American Jewish Experience Stephen Birmingham, “Our Crowd:” The Great Jewish Families of New York Arnold Eisen, The Chosen People in America Arnold Eisen & Steve Cohen , The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America Eli N. Evans, Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate Irving Howe, World of Our Fathers: The Journey of the East European Jews to America and the Life They Found and Made Michael Krasny, Let There Be Laughter: A Treasury of Great Jewish Humor And What It All Means Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism: A History Ron Wolfson, The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into -
Box Folder 67 4 Syllabi. 1990-1991
MS-763: Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman Collection, 1930-2004. Series I: Wexner Heritage Foundation, 1947-2004. Subseries 1: General Files, 1949-2004. Box Folder 67 4 Syllabi. 1990-1991. For more information on this collection, please see the finding aid on the American Jewish Archives website. 3101 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220 513.487.3000 AmericanJewishArchives.org WEXNER HERITAGE FOUNDATION Rabbi Irwin Kula • Houston/ 1990-1991 Academic Year Session fl: Are We the Chosen People? If We Are, What Are We Chosen For? As we near the end of the century, we as a people have ensured our physical survival to an unprecedented extent. We have attained levels of power, affluence and freedom that have radically altered the way we look at Jewish believing (faith), belonging (community) and behaving (halacha). Having ensured our physical survival, the question is now: survival for what? Having created a Jewish politics, what is the content of our Jewish culture? In this session we will explore some of the fundamental building blocks of Jewish thought and self-perception. What can we know or believe about God? What is the relationship between God and Torah (i. e ., revelation)? What do we mean by the notion that tbe Torah is the word of God? What is the nature and extent of the authority that God, Torah and Halacha can have in our lives? What do we mean by "chosen people"? "redemption"? "messiah"? Most important, how does what we believe about these issues • affect the communities that we build? Readings: Tanach, Genesis l; 12 Exodus 19; 20; 33:17 - 34:7 Deuteronomy 26:1-11; 30:15-20 Amos 1:1 - 3:2 Isaiah 2:1- 4 Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, pp. -
Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism
Tbojo.rnal ofj<wisb Tho.gbt •• d Pbilosopby, Vol. 9, pp. 69-105 © 1999 Reprints available directly from the publisher Photocopying permitted by license only Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism Ken Koltun-Fromm* Department of Religion, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041, USA Scholars of jewish thought have emphasized how modern jewish thinkers reread, indeed reinvent, the public character of jewish religious activity in the modern world. This essay will explore how such rereading is a political activity, one that challenges prevailing models of community, political status, and public religion. To gain admittance into European culture, education, and society, many nineteenth-century German-jews adopted a religious rather than national inheritance. They recognized themselves within a narra- tive of religious history divorced from national ties. But the stark contrast between religion and nationality should not obscure the political nature of jewish religious identity. 1 Nationalism was but one form of political commitment. For two nineteenth century German-jewish thinkers, the romantic turn to symbol offered an interpretive guide to reconceptualize jewish religious politics. The influence of the romantic concept of language and religion on the Orthodox rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) is * Tel.: (610)896-1485. E-mail: kkoltunf haverford.edu 1 For a recent discussion of how religious arguments justifY political commitments, see Ronald Thiemann, Religion in Public Life: A Dilemma for Democracy(Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996). 69 70 Ken Koltun-Fromm well known.2 Less so the romantic impact on the Reform rabbi Samuel Hirsch (1815-1889), due in parr to the scholarly neglect of his Luxembourg writings.3 For both, however, reinterpret- ing commandment and religion symbolically helped them to reevaluate the interplay between politics and religion. -
The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Z"L
The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l Byline: Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo is Dean of the David Cardozo Academy in Jerusalem. Thoughts to Ponder 529 The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik z”l * Nathan Lopes Cardozo Based on an introduction to a discussion between Professor William Kolbrener and Professor Elliott Malamet (1) Honoring the publication of Professor William Kolbrener’s new book “The Last Rabbi” (2) Yad Harav Nissim, Jerusalem, on Feb. 1, 2017 Dear Friends, I never had the privilege of meeting Rav Soloveitchik z”l or learning under him. But I believe I have read all of his books on Jewish philosophy and Halacha, and even some of his Talmudic novellae and halachic decisions. I have also spoken with many of his students. Here are my impressions. No doubt Rav Soloveitchik was a Gadol Ha-dor (a great sage of his generation). He was a supreme Talmudist and certainly one of the greatest religious thinkers of our time. His literary output is incredible. Still, I believe that he was not a mechadesh – a man whose novel ideas really moved the Jewish tradition forward, especially regarding Halacha. He did not solve major halachic problems. This may sound strange, because almost no one has written as many novel ideas about Halacha as Rav Soloveitchik (3). His masterpiece, Halakhic Man, is perhaps the prime example. Before Rav Soloveitchik appeared on the scene, nobody – surely not in mainstream Orthodoxy – had seriously dealt with the ideology and philosophy of Halacha (4). Page 1 In fact, the reverse is true. -
Martin Buber and Immanuel Kant on Mutual Respect and the Liberal State
Martin Buber and Immanuel Kant on Mutual Respect and the Liberal State Steven M. DeLue Miami University Buber’s and Kant’s views as to how to achieve mutual respect are intertwined, contrary to the way each would likely see the other’s position. To this end, the author discussed each writer’s view of mutual respect and shows how the deficiencies in each are made up for in the arguments of the other. The author concludes by suggesting that a conception of liberal civil society, at its best and most democratic, embodied both Buber’s and Kant’s views of mutual respect. I. Introduction: Buber and Kant on Toleration and Mutual Respect Toleration, often considered a central value in a liberal regime that is committed to provide to each citizen fundamental rights, can ironically be liberalism’s undoing. Toleration suggests a “live and let” live attitude toward difference. People who practice toleration learn to ignore what they distrust or do not understand. And what people distrust or ignore, they may over time begin to fear and later, as fear grows, to hate. And when this happens, toleration itself becomes the source of illiberal attitudes toward difference. Since rights are in part protected by sympathetic rights- regarding attitudes, the mindset emanating from toleration can make it difficult to secure the rights that liberalism promises. In consequence, toleration must be buttressed by mutual respect, which directs people to communicate with each other in such a way that they create spaces in society for difference to thrive and for the rights of others, no matter how different, to be preserved (DeLue, 2002, 16-18). -
1 Beginning the Conversation
NOTES 1 Beginning the Conversation 1. Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times (New York: Schocken, 1969). 2. John Micklethwait, “In God’s Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,” The Economist, London November 3–9, 2007. 3. Mark Lila, “Earthly Powers,” NYT, April 2, 2006. 4. When we mention the clash of civilizations, we think of either the Spengler battle, or a more benign interplay between cultures in individual lives. For the Spengler battle, see Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). For a more benign interplay in individual lives, see Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999). 5. Micklethwait, “In God’s Name.” 6. Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005). “Interview with Robert Wuthnow” Religion and Ethics Newsweekly April 26, 2002. Episode no. 534 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/ rwuthnow.html 7. Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, 291. 8. Eric Sharpe, “Dialogue,” in Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, The Encyclopedia of Religion, first edition, volume 4 (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 345–8. 9. Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald and John Borelli, Interfaith Dialogue: A Catholic View (London: SPCK, 2006). 10. Lily Edelman, Face to Face: A Primer in Dialogue (Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith, Adult Jewish Education, 1967). 11. Ben Zion Bokser, Judaism and the Christian Predicament (New York: Knopf, 1967), 5, 11. 12. Ibid., 375. -
A Novel Look at Moshe Idel's East-West Problem
Access Provided by UCLA Library at 05/07/12 5:15PM GMT T HE J EWISH Q UARTERLY R EVIEW, Vol. 102, No. 2 (Spring 2012) 289–296 ANovelLookatMoshe Idel’s East-West Problem DAVID N. MYERS UCLA MOSHE IDEL. Old Worlds, New Mirrors: On Jewish Mysticism and Twentieth- Century Thought. Jewish Culture and Contexts. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. Pp. 336. FOR MANY OF US in the field of Jewish studies, but not in the field of Kabbalah studies, our first encounter with Moshe Idel came in 1988 with the publication of his major work in English, Kabbalah: New Perspectives. Although he had been working in the field for more than a decade, from the time of his 1976 dissertation at the Hebrew University on Avraham REVIEW FORUM Abulafia, it was Kabbalah: New Perspectives that brought Idel to wide public attention, announcing his own substantial methodological and substantive disagreements with the towering figure of modern Kabbalah studies, Ger- shom Scholem. Since then, Idel has gone on to attain a position of international distinc- tion, publishing at a staggering rate in Kabbalah studies, and many fields beyond. In the process, he—like Scholem before and Wolfson and others after him—has used the study of Kabbalah as a gateway of inquiry into important methodological, theoretical, hermeneutical, philosophical, and historical questions. This leads us to the book at hand, Old Worlds, New Mirrors: On Jewish Mysticism and Twentieth-Century Thought, which is indeed an inquiry into important methodological, theoretical, philosophical, and historical ques- tions. It reflects Idel’s brilliant, capacious, probing, and wildly imagina- tive mind, as it ranges over terrain somewhat less familiar to him and his usual readers, but of critical significance to his overarching intellectual and cultural Weltanschauung. -
Abraham Joshua Heschel and Theology After the Holocaust Matthew Ae Net Denison University
Denison Journal of Religion Volume 1 Article 2 2001 Abraham Joshua Heschel and Theology after the Holocaust Matthew aE net Denison University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.denison.edu/religion Part of the Ethics in Religion Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Eanet, Matthew (2001) "Abraham Joshua Heschel and Theology after the Holocaust," Denison Journal of Religion: Vol. 1 , Article 2. Available at: http://digitalcommons.denison.edu/religion/vol1/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Denison Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denison Journal of Religion by an authorized editor of Denison Digital Commons. THE DENISON JOURNAL OF RELIGION Eanet: Abraham Joshua Heschel and ITheology after the Holocaust Abraham Joshua Heschel and Theology after the Holocaust Matthew Eanet "Life in our time has been a nightmare for many of us, tranquility an interlude, happiness a fake. Who could breathe at a time when man was engaged in murdering the holy witness to God six million times?"1 hen Abraham Joshua Heschel entered the national spotlight as a pro- found religious thinker and strident social activist, he bore the garb W and look of an Eastern European Jew. A man of short stature, Rabbi Heschel looked the way religious Eastern European Jews have for hundreds of years: the traditional dark-colored suit with the white fringes of his prayer shawl hanging out beneath his sport coat, a skullcap hidden beneath a black full- brimmed hat, and a long, thick gray beard. An American leader, Heschel was, in every sense, a European Jew, steeped in the traditional Jewish communities of both Warsaw and Vilna.