Judaism’s Great Debates: Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl PDF
Preview Judaism’s Great Debates: Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl
Judaism’s Great Debates The Jewish Publication Society expresses its gratitude for the generosity of the following sponsors of this book: Patrons: David Lerman and Shelley Wallock Friends: D. Walter Cohen Wendy and Leonard Cooper Rabbi Howard Gorin Gittel and Alan Hilibrand Marjorie and Jeffrey Major Jeanette Lerman Neubauer and Joe Neubauer Gayle and David Smith Harriet and Donald Young University of Nebraska Press Lincoln J U DAI SM’S G R E AT D E B AT E S Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl RABBI BARRY L. SCHWARTZ The Jewish Publication Society Philadelphia © 2012 by Barry L. Schwartz All rights reserved. Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schwartz, Barry L. Judaism’s great debates : timeless controversies from Abraham to Herzl / Barry L. Schwartz. p. cm. “Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book.” Includes bibliographical references. isbn 978-0-8276-1131-3 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Judaism—History. 2. Religious dispu- tations. 3. Judaism—Doctrines. I. Title. bm157.s39 2012 296.3—dc23 2011046028 Set in Minion and Perpetua by Kim Essman. Designed by Nathan Putens. Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Arguing for the Sake of Heaven xi Part One: Biblical Judaism 1 Abraham and God: The First Jewish Debate over Justice 3 2 Moses and Korah: The Debate over Holiness and Authority 11 3 The Five Daughters and the Twelve Tribes: The Debate over Inclusion 21 4 David and Nathan: The Debate over Accountability and Morality 29 Part Two: Rabbinic Judaism 5 Ben Zakkai and the Zealots: The Debate over Resistance 39 6 Hillel and Shammai: The Debate over Jewish Law 47 7 The Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov: The Debate over Spirituality 57 Part Three: Modern Judaism 8 Spinoza and the Amsterdam Rabbis: The Debate over Boundaries 67 9 Geiger and Hirsch and Frankel: The Debate over Evolution in Religion 79 10 Herzl and Wise: The Debate over Zionism 87 Afterword 95 Notes 97 Room for Debate: Questions for Reflection and Discussion 99 Further Debate: Recommended Reading 103 Acknowledgments Great appreciation is owed to my wife, Debby, my children, Nadav, Talia, and Noam, and my parents, Barbara and Rudy, for their unend- ing support during tumultuous times; to my students of all ages, who studied and debated this material with me; and to The Jewish Publi- cation Society and Behrman House, two great publishers who have cooperated to make this book available in both adult and student textbook editions. Sincere and heartfelt thanks to David Lerman and Carol Hupping of The Jewish Publication Society, David Behrman and Mark Levine of Behrman House, Donna Shear of the University of Nebraska Press, and Edmond Weiss. Translations of biblical texts are from NJPS Tanakh, The Jewish Publication Society’s 1985 English translation of the Hebrew Bible. Translations of Rabbinic texts are generally mine, unless otherwise noted. The actual debate texts consist of direct quotes (in italics) together with my re-created dialogue (regular print). — Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz ix
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