Jewish Thought

Tamar Ross reviews the challenges that the feminist revolution poses to the Jewish tradition and the possible ways of responding

Kabbalah and Hasidism Series

This book, the fourth in the series written by Prof. Dov Schwartz dealing with Rabbi Soloveitchik's thought, is mainly devoted to his work from the late 1960s

The chapters of the book are devoted to clarifying R. Shaul's conception of the issues discussed in Jewish thought in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period

A broad historical perspective informs this book, as well as an inclusive consideration of Rashi’s many and variegated writings related directly or indirectly to the Jewish-Christian polemic, which gained momentum in his lifetime.

The most important work of Maimonides' son, Abraham, expressing his original views on philosophy and Halakhah. Complete text with translation published for the first time.

This book discusses the philosophy of Aaron David Gordon, known primarily as a pioneer and Zionist role modelץ

This book brings its readers in touch with the fascinating character of Pappenheim through a comprehensive collection and a variety of her letters in German to Hebrew translation.

The central argument of this book is that the literature of the Sages in all its aspects contains a deep and fundamental disagreement about the nature of religiosity itself.

This book seeks to offer a different perspective on halakhic thinking and to view it as a battlefield in which struggles are held over the shaping of Jewish life.

The book deals with encounters of aesthetic motifs in Jewish art, especially in combinations of text and sound, literature and music.

Prof. David Ohana follows the secret of the homeland's charm and its mysteries, the issues it raises and the meaning of its existence.

This book is an annotated translation from Judeo-Arabic into Hebrew.

How do we think God? How do we talk about Him? What is our attitude to God and what is faith? This book seeks to address these questions and to propose a Jewish theology that encourages a moral posture in the world.

This most important book of Ibn Ezra, The Foundation of Awe and the Secret of the Torah, devoted to the numeration, classification and explanation of the biblical commandments, is written in an extremely short and enigmatic style. In order to make it acce

This book offers an exhaustive study of this intriguing synthesis between the rules of Hebrew grammar, agreed upon and arranged in the early scriptures, and the logical and philosophical assumptions created mainly in Greek thought.

This collection of articles, "A New Spirit in the Palace of Torah", is dedicated to Prof. Tamar Ross. The articles, written by top researchers in interdisciplinary fields, seek to touch upon questions of infrastructure that resonate with her thought, and

A selection of Shmuel Zanvel Kahana’s writings on the Shoah, published for the first time.

This book offers for the first time a systematic analysis of the totality of Schweid's ideas, and is the first step in presenting his thought at the center of Jewish and Israeli discourse.

First published in German in 1908 by Rabbi Max Mordechai Joseph, this book posits that the only way for religious Judaism to survive is Zionism. This original claim is the novelty of the book, which is now published for the first time in Hebrew.

This book includes two essays that document this polemic and shed light on the views of the most important thinkers who discussed the issue.

This book is part of an ongoing effort by Prof. Avi Sagi to create a Jewish philosophy that addresses the challenges of Jewish and Israeli existence in the present.

“A Treasury of Fables” is a comprehensive study of the book written by Isaac ibn Sahula in Castile in 1281, which is distinguished by two innovations.

According to Maimonides, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile on a human level. This will be proved based on his Mishneh Torah.

This volume is dedicated to Daniel Sperber, the world-renowned, Israel Prize-winning Jewish studies scholar, rabbinic authority, and mentor to many in Bar-Ilan University and beyond. It illustrates some of his frequently trodden and diverse paths.

In this book, Leon Wiener Dow shows that Franz Rosenzweig’s thought contains sufficient foundations on which to construct an approach to halakha.

This book contains Comtiyano's commentary on the Guide of the Perplexed, from a manuscript that exists in the Cambridge Library .

This collection explores different aspects in the writings of R. Yehuda Halevi using various methods to decipher the work of this great poet and thinker.

This book, the third in the series written by Prof. Dov Schwartz dealing with the thought of Rabbi Soloveitchik, is devoted to an analysis of the Rav's essays on prayer.

The anthology is based on lectures given at an international conference on French Jewry held by the Dahan Center, Bar-Ilan University.

This book explores the fundamental ambivalence of the Rabbis toward zealous activism.

In this book, the concept of the miracle is systematically examined from the viewpoint of the philosophy of Halakha.

This book contains a collection of articles on various aspects of Jewish life in France.

This compilation deals with religious works written in the span of 1,000 years by sages of Fez and other Moroccan communities about language, religious poetry and literature, interpretation and thought, established halacha and local regulations.

This book explores the thought of Moshe Unna, one of the founders of the Religious Kibbutz movement.

This book offers the first comprehensive research discussion of the meeting of music and Judaism in theology.

This book explores the “meta-halakhic” concepts of R. Auerbach's rulings, exploring their foundations, and comparing them with other contemporary religious rulings.

This book contains annotated documents which provide a picture of religious Zionism’s struggle with creating the State of Israel and saving Jews from Nazi persecution from the years 1939 to 1945.

The subject of this book is the analysis of the meaning of halakhic loyalty. Is religious loyalty exclusive? Is it up to the faithful to be obedient or to shape the world as sovereigns who should not give up their autonomy?

Rav Kook has, until recently, been recognized primarily as an original thinker and an intelligent philosopher of wide intellectual scope. However, alongside his broad horizons, Rav Kook was also an extraordinary religious personality, marked by a rich, sp

This volume includes studies that tackle ways in which Jews experience and conceive music both as individuals and as communities living in diaspora conditions.

This book examines the concept of inner religion as manifest in Judaism from bibilical times to the early days of Baal Shem Tov Hasidism in the light of religious studies. The book's analysis of the six dimensions of interior religion in diverse Jewish so

It is a widespread conception that prayer is the essence of religious fulfillment. In the eyes of many, prayer can be understood only on the assumption that it is an appeal to God. Moreover, even the prayers of non-believers are perceived as a search for

The figure of Moses, his leadership and his history, are recorded in the Torah, and he emerges as an impressive personality: lawmaker, prophet, leader and man. Ahad Ha'am remarked that the figure of Moses is a subject for the learned, but not for them

An annotated critical edition of Mordekhai ben Eliezer Komtiyano's Commentary on R. Abraham Ibn Ezra's Yesod Mora. Komtiyano was one of the leading Jewish philosophers in late medieval Byzantine. His commentary focuses on Ibn Ezra's statements regarding

This book offers the first comprehensive analysis of R. Joseph Albo’s philosophical-religious thought. This analysis is based on a careful and meticulous reading of the Book of Principles and emphasizes the stylistic-literary dimension of the text. The ma

This book analyses the attitude of Habad philosophers to Maimonides and their interpretation of Maimonidean doctrines. Maimonides was not viewed by Habad philosophers only as an eminent philosopher and rabbinic sage, but also as one who merited receiving

The possibility of the existence of original theology in modern Hebrew literature has not been systematically researched by contemporary scholars. Hebrew literature was considered to be a product of secular modernity, and consequently devoid of independen

This study deals with Baruch Kurzweil as a hero of the Hebrew Israeli cultural scene of the 1950s and '60s. Kurzweil's critical corpus known mainly for his work on S.Y. Agnon's fiction is treated here not only as literary criticism, but first and foremo

The Vilna Gaon's writings are all commentaries, thus making it difficult to assess his views on the central issues of Judaism. Now, for the first time, one of the more controversial issues in the Gaon's writings has been decoded: his views on the redempti

The volume deals with two main areas: religious customs of Ashkenaz and Jewish leadership in Ashkenaz in medieval and early modern times. The articles on customs examine the history of customs in early Ashkenaz in particular, and the development of variou

Collection of articles dealing with different views on Repentance and Redemption from a philosophic perspective. The collection focuses on the’approach of Jewish philosophers, beginning with the teachings of Rav Yosef Albo and the Maharal of Prague and co

This book is a study of the philosophy of R. Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, during the period between 1945 and 1965. The first section analyses R. Soloveitchik's great phenomenological work U'Bikashtem Misham. The second section deals with a number of his artic

In this book Dov Schwartz analyses the writings of R. Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, one of the most influential Jewish philosophers of this generation. Soloveitchik contended with Jewish as well as general philosophical sources and wrote in varied styles. This

An annotated critical edition of Heshek Shelomo, R. Shelomo ben Yehudaof Lunel's commentary on the Kuzari by R. Yehuda Halevi. This commentary was written between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century and it affords us a rare source of

This book examines the way in which Rabbi Ovadya Yosef deals with the challenges of modern life. His halakhic solutions are characterized by two guiding principles: inclusion and exclusion. Rabbi Yosef strives to encompass a broad public, including people

Translated from English and co-published with Yediot Aharonot Press, this book explores Einstein's philosophy of religion.

This book compiles over thirty years of study, during which the author has articulated and developed the concept of ''philosophic mysticism'', that is, the type of mysticism that grows out of rigorous philosophical reflection but clearly alludes to a myst

The present volume deals mainly with the connections between Islam and Judaism in the spheres of philosophy and mysticism. It includes also articles on various subjects: ablution in Islamic Law, the appearance of Muhammad in Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa, a comme

Study of medieval Jewish Messianism, analysing the two main messianic approaches, Apocalypticism and Naturalism. The author traces the tension between these two schools of thought through different periods of history and concludes that, at the time of the

A collection of articles focusing on different aspects of modern Jewish history. Common to all these studies is the conflict between tradition and innovation in modern Jewish society, as reflected in Jewish communities in the Diaspora, the Jewish Yishuv i

This volume presents a collection of rabbinic legends about the Book of Job and the man Job. The rabbinic sources include varied opinions regarding Job himself and the basic philosophical problems inherent in this text. This new volume includes material f

The subject of this volume is the tension inherent in Judaism between the sacred and the secular. The sources of this tension are analysed, and its manifestations traced from its origins in the biblical tradition to the modern-day public arena. Based on a

This book illuminates halakhic issues as depicted in the struggle between Mitnagdim, Maskilim and Hasidism. It includes literary analyses of selected works of Hatam Sofer, Abraham Lieb Benjaminson, Yehuda Leib Gordon, Shmuel Joseph Agnon and Haim Hazaz.

An annotated critical edition of R. Israel Najara's book of sermons, Mikve Yisrael…, from original manuscripts, with a comprehensive introduction. The book contains 40 sermons delivered on various occasions. R. Israel Najara, who lived in the 16th century

Prize for Jewish Philosophy of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 1997-2000 The book sheds new light on Jewish rationalistic thought of the late Middle Ages, particularly in Spain and Proven

By way of an honest and riveting account of certain periods in his own life, the author reflects on the meaning of Jewish existence today, and on some of the outstanding problems that are still with us after the end of the 20th century.

The book explores subjects involving magic, astrology and related areas, in medieval Jewish thought, and illustrates the way in which these fields of study formulated a distinct theology, contributing to Jewish cultural development.

This book traces the development of the debate between moderns (Aharonim) and ancients (Rishonim) in Medieval and Renaissance Jewish thought, from Sa'adia Gaon to Spinoza. It concentrates on the evolution of the moderns' response to the authority of t

A collection of essays on the Vilna Gaon and his School based on lectures delivered at two conferences that were held at Bar-Ilan University on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of his death. The subjects of the volume are: Halakhah and

A collection of essays depicting the figure of Abraham as reflected in texts from biblical to contemporary times, including Midrash, ancient and medieval philosophy, Kabbalah, as well as Christian and Islamic conceptions of Abraham as the father of th

The book discusses the problem of esoteric teaching in medieval rationalism. It interprets medieval Jewish philosophy in the light of intentional contradictions found in books written by medieval philosophers.

Levi ben Gershon, Ralbag or Gersonides (Provence, 1288-1344), philosopher, exegete and halakhist, as well as astronomer and mathe-matician is one of medieval Judaism's most interesting figures. This volume presents a critical edition of Gersonides' commen

The David Yallin Jerusalem Prize for Education and Hokhmat Yisrael, 1985 A model analysis of Maimonidean legal thought and method, including, among other topics, attitudes towards the state and its purpose, sources of political authority, etc. Discusse

It is widely recognized that poetical and theological texts are by nature paradoxical. This book is a first attempt to explore the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinic literature from this point of view. It includes a discussion of the typical antinomies charact

Contains more than 20 articles by the foremost scholars who have investigated the various aspects of Uri Zvi Greenberg's poetry.

Collection of articles by renowned scholars in Israel and abroad, dealing with social, economic and intellectual history, Bible exegesis and translation, philosophy and polemics, literature and linguistics. Based on lectures delivered at the Sixth Interna

The writings of Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) include biblical exegesis and theological treatises as well as a scientific corpus written for the first time in Hebrew, which can be regarded as ''the beginning of Hebrew Science''. In this book the author

The book includes articles written by distinguished scholars, examining the relationship between morality and religion, from the point of view of general and Jewish philosophy.

Taken from a manuscript that reached Turkey after the Expulsion from Spain, the sermons focused on death and the eternity of the soul and were delivered on occasions such as weddings, circumcisions, festivals and funerals.

A critical edition of Kinath Haemeth by Y.L.’Myzes and Mishnath Elisha ben Abuya by M.L. Lilienblum. The role of the Rambam and Elisha ben Abuya as archetypes in Hebrew satire is demonstrated.

A selection of articles presented to Emanuel Rackman, including essays on his personality and his contribution to the Jewish and academic communities. The articles reflect Prof. Rackman's main fields of interest: Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Law and Halakhah

The book, Rosh Amana (1494, Italy), by Rabbi Yitzhak Abravanel, the renowned Bible exegete who was exiled from Spain to Italy, deals with the principles of Jewish faith. In his broad analysis, Abravanel relates to his predecessors, particularly Maimonides

Studies in the thought of different philosophers, presented in the form of comparative analyses of pairs of thinkers, such as: Buber and Levinas, Hermann Cohen and Franz Rosenzweig, Pascal and R. Yehuda Halevi. This book sets out to establish a ''new-

What is the significance of the definition of the’State of Israel as a Jewish state? What is the nature of relations between the Jewish State and Diaspora Jewry? And what place does religious tradition hold in the life of the nation? These are the central

The essays in this volume are devoted to the study of diverse trends in Jewish thinking, comprising Rabbinic Thought, Medieval and Modern Jewish Philosophy, Kabbalah and Hasidism.

A critical edition of this anti-Christian philo-sophical polemic written by R. Hasdai Crescas, author of Sefer Or Ha-Shem, which throws light both on his thought and on the medieval Jewish-Christian debate. Translated into Hebrew by R. Joseph Ben Shem-

An analysis of the satiric works written by Israel of Zamosc and Mendel Landsberg, including a critical edition of Landsberg's unpublished manuscript.

Isaac Breuer, philosopher, jurist and writer, grandson of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, developed his own original philosophy, encompassing the principles of Kant on the one hand and the mystical world of Kabbalah on the other. The book contains articles

The Holon Prize for Rabbinic Literature and Hokhmat Yisrael, In the Name of Moshe Haim Shapira, 1988 The book examines the interaction of prayer, early Piyyut and Heikhalot literature, tracing the various stages of development of the Siddur and prayer

Prof. Eliezer Stern was involved for many years in religious education in Israel, both as a theorist and an educator.

A collection of articles on the vital issues of Israel's unity, Jewish identity, Hebrew language and their significance for education.

This is the first attempt to deal with R. Yehuda Halevi's thought in a complete and comprehensive manner, describing the systematic relationships between the various conceptual entities. The development of Halevi's thinking is described in its entirety, d

The Irgun Zeva'i Leumi, Lehi and Hagana resis-tance organizations claimed from their very beginning that their resistance to the British authorities was sanctioned by Jewish tradition. This study examines the plausibility of their claim to represent tradi

The Haifa Municipality Avraham Kariv Prize in Literary Criticism, 1992. In this book the author illuminates the polemic-satiric elements of the works of Tuvia Feder, Meir Israel Bresselau and an anonymous writer. The texts of these satirical works, two

Issued in honour of Leon Nemoy, scholar in Judeo-Arabic and Karaite studies, contains essays in Hebrew philosophy, literature and bibliography, Islamic studies and Karaite texts.

The tragedy of the ignorance concerning the Holocaust and its significance. Was it an exceptional phenomenon or the continuation of a process?

A sharp, basic analysis of various philosophical methods and an examination of the theoretical weight and spiritual significance of modern philosophy.