The book describes a fascinating encounter between astrology and magic, exposing how Hermetic magic seeped into Jewish literature and Jewish philosophy. Following astral magic in its convoluted course, this original work sheds new light on rationalist Jewish thought in the Middle Ages. Having attained its authority mostly from its use in medical practice, astral magic also developed a theology and provided a key to biblical interpretation. Judah Halevi, Nahmanides, and others explained the meaning and influence of the commandments according to magic-astral models and techniques, generating a...

This book deals with central issues of medieval Jewish philosophy. Among the subjects treated are divine immanence, the intellect, miracles, and esoteric writing and its limits. The work provides a new perspective of the history of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Relying on many as yet unpublished manuscripts, which enable it to offer new insights relating to such thinkers as Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides, it also presents a new and original perception of the dynamics of Jewish thought in general.

Joseph B. Soloveitchik's philosophy plays a significant role in twentieth century Jewish thought. This book focuses on the first stages of Soloveitchik's philosophy, through a systematic and detailed discussion of his essay Halakhic Man. Schwartz analyzes this essay at three main levels: first, he considers its complex writing style and relates it to Soloveitchik's aims in the writing of this work. Second, the author compares Halakhic Man to other contemporary writings of Soloveitchik. Third, he lays out the essay's philosophical background. Through this analysis, Schwartz successfully...

Religious Zionism is a major component of contemporary Israeli society and politics. The author reviews the history of religious Zionism from both a historical and ideological-theological perspective. His basic assumption is that religious Zionism cannot be fully understood solely through a historical description, or even from social, political, and philosophical vantage points. This book is the first study on this subject to be published in English.

Religious Zionism is a major component of contemporary Israeli society and politics. The author reviews the history of religious Zionism from both a historical and ideological-theological perspective. His basic assumption is that religious Zionism cannot be fully understood solely through a historical description, or even from social, political, and philosophical vantage points. This book is the first study on this subject to be published in English.

The third of a three-volume series, this book contains Eva Jospe's Reason and Hope: Selections from the Jewish Writings of Hermann Cohen, together with two essays examining Cohen's continuing importance and relevance. As Dov Schwartz suggests in his introduction to the volume, Jospe believed that Cohen's Jewish Writings had the potential for influence and impact on the American Jewish intellectual, and would enrich the ethical and religious life of the Jewish community in America. Her selection of passages to translate, as well as her decisions regarding what to omit, served these purposes....

The second of a three-volume series, this book contains Eva Jospe's Moses Mendelssohn: Selections from His Writings, together with an article dealing with Mendelssohn's enduring significance. As Raphael Jospe observes in his introduction to the volume, despite the welcome growth in recent years in the availability of English translations of Mendelssohn's works, Eva Jospe's Selections (including some of Mendelssohn's private letters) remain valuable for their clarity, for the logic of their organization, and for the important insight they provide into Mendelssohn's personality and convictions....

This collection includes two symposia, on "The Renaissance of Jewish Philosophy in America" and on "Maimonides on the Eternity of the World," as well as other studies in medieval Jewish philosophy and modern Jewish thought. Contributors include: Leora Batnitzky, Ottfried Fraisse, William A. Galston, Lenn E. Goodman, Raphael Jospe, Steven Kepnes, Haim Howard Kreisel, Charles Bezalel Manekin, Haggai Mazuz, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Alan Mittleman, Michael Morgan, David Novak, James T. Robinson, Norbert M. Samuelson, Dov Schwartz, Yossef Schwartz, Kenneth Seeskin, Roslyn Weiss, and Martin Yaffe.

Faith: Jewish Perspectives explores important questions in both modern and premodern Jewish philosophy regarding the idea of faith. Is believing a voluntary action, or do believers find themselves within the experience of faith against their will? Can faith be understood through other means (psychological, epistemic, and so forth), or is it only comprehensible from the inside, that is, from within the religious world? Is a subjective experience of faith fundamentally communicative, meaning that it includes intelligible and transmittable universal elements, or is it a private experience that...

Joseph B. Soloveitchik's philosophy plays a significant role in twentieth century Jewish thought. This book focuses on the first stages of Soloveitchik's philosophy, through a systematic and detailed discussion of his essay Halakhic Man. Schwartz analyzes this essay at three main levels: first, he considers its complex writing style and relates it to Soloveitchik's aims in the writing of this work. Second, the author compares Halakhic Man to other contemporary writings of Soloveitchik. Third, he lays out the essay's philosophical background. Through this analysis, Schwartz successfully...