The central aim of this collection is to trace the presence of Jewish tradition in contemporary philosophy. This presence is, on the one hand, undeniable, manifesting itself in manifold allusions and influences on the other hand, difficult to define, rarely referring to openly revealed Judaic sources.

Following the recent tradition of Levinas and Derrida, this book tentatively refers to this mode of presence in terms of "traces of Judaism" and the contributors grapple with the following questions: What are these traces and how can we track them down? Is there such a thing as "Jewish...

This book examines the role of messianism in Zionist ideology, from the birth of the Zionist movement through to the present. Is shows how messianism is not just a religious or philosophical term but a very tangible political practice and theology which has shaped Israeli identity.

The author explores key issues such as:

• the current presence of messianism in the Israeli public sphere and the debates with jewish settlers in the occupied territories after the 1967 war
• the difference between transcendental messianism and promethean messianism...

The term 'rabbi' predominantly denotes Jewish men qualified to interpret the Torah and apply halacha, or those entrusted with the religious leadership of a Jewish community. However, the role of the rabbi has been understood differently across the Jewish world. While in Israel they control legally powerful rabbinical courts and major religious political parties, in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora this role is often limited by legal regulations of individual countries. However, the significance of past and present rabbis and their religious and political influence endures across the...

Was Israel founded by Czechoslovakia? A History of Czechs and Jews examines this question and the resulting findings are complex. Czechoslovakia did provide critical, secret military sponsorship to Israel around 1948, but this alliance was short-lived and terminated with the Prague Trial of 1952. Israel's "Czech guns" were German as much as Czech, and the Soviet Union strongly encouraged Czechoslovakia's help for Israel. Most importantly however, the Czechoslovak-Israeli military cooperation was only part of a much larger picture.

Since the mid-1800s, Czechs and Jews...

The twentieth century brought significant changes for many Jews. Some of these were dramatic, even apocalyptic, while others were more gradual shifts in ways of life and worldviews. As traditional lifestyles eroded, Jews began to develop a new understanding of the divine and its place in their lives.

Twentieth Century Jewish Literature examines how these radical changes manifested themselves in modern Jewish literature, by tracing the ways in which the Jewish writers of this period imagined and depicted the divine. In order to understand these writers' approach to the...

Spinoza is commonly perceived as the great metaphysician of coherence. The Euclidean manner in which he presented his philosophy in the Ethics has led readers to assume they are facing a strict and consistent philosophical system that necessarily follows from itself.

As opposed to the prevailing understanding of Spinoza and his work, The Role of Contradictions in Spinoza's Philosophy explores an array of profound and pervasive contradictions in Spinoza s system and argues they are deliberate and constitutive of his philosophical thinking and the notion of God...

Ab l-Barak t is often considered one of the most comprehensive philosophers of the Arabic-Jewish milieu in the medieval age. His extensive and unique philosophical theories, especially his theories in the particular sciences, were seen as a major challenge for the traditional conceptions of the Aristotelian school of thought during and after this period.

Ab l-Barak t al-Baghd d s Scientific Philosophy explores the core material of Ab l-Barak t s scientific studies, found in his "magnum opus "the "Kit b al-Mu tabar. "The book then locates these scientific theories within Ab l-Barak t s...

This book employs deconstruction as a way to interpret the Talmud. This methodology is then used to emphasise the logocentric and patriarchal nature of the text.