Overview

Contemporary Jewish Theology: A Reader presents the most comprehensive collection to date of Jewish religious writings from the latter half of this century. Featuring selections from both pre- and post-World War II thinkers, this carefully constructed anthology highlights the enormous range of theological viewpoints and methods that have characterized Jewish theological reflection in modern times. An extraordinarily rich compilation, it represents many different perspectives, including those of Orthodox thinkers and feminists, Israelis and Americans, rationalists and mystics, and post-modernists. Extensive introductions place these writings in historical and philosophical context and identify the fundamental continuities and tensions among contemporary Jewish thinkers. Following a general introduction, the volume is organized into four parts. The first section includes representative selections from the major Jewish philosophers of the early twentieth century (Cohen, Rosenzweig, Buber, Kook, Kaplan, and Heschel). The second part includes recent essays on God, creation, revelation, redemption, covenant/chosenness, and law. The third section provides seminal essays on the Holocaust and the modern State of Israel, topics that have held tremendous importance for Jewish thinkers over the past few decades. The book concludes with a symposium on future directions in Jewish theology at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and also provides extensive suggestions for further reading. Contemporary Jewish Theology: A Reader is designed as a companion volume to the editors' earlier book, Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader (OUP, 1995). An exceptional introduction to contemporary Jewish thinking, it is an essential text for courses in Jewish thought and theology.