Suchergebnisse

The identity of contemporary Jews is multifaceted, no longer necessarily defined by an observance of the Torah and God's commandments. Indeed, the Jews of modernity are no longer exclusively Jewish. They are affiliated with a host of complementary and sometimes clashing communities—vocational, professional, political, and cultural—whose interests may not coincide with that of the community of their birth and inherited culture. In Cultural Disjunctions, Paul Mendes-Flohr explores the possibility of a spiritually and intellectually engaged cosmopolitan Jewish identity for our time. Reflecting on the need to participate in the spiritual life of Judaism so that it enables multiple relations beyond its borders and allows one to balance Jewish commitment with a genuine obligation to the universal, Mendes-Flohr lays out what this delicate balance can look like for contemporary Jews, both in Israel and in diasporic communities worldwide. Cultural Disjunctions walks us through the labyrinth of twentieth-century Jewish cultural identities and commitments. Ultimately, Mendes-Flohr calls for Jews to remain "discontent," not just with themselves but also and especially with the reigning social and political order, and to fight for its betterment

This volume of essays takes as its point of departure Martin Buber`s principle of dialogue, which he applied as a comprehensive hermeneutic method for the study of various cultural phenomena. The volume critically evaluates the methodological purchase to be gained by the introduction of Buber`s conception of dialogue in political theory, psychology and psychiatry, and religious studies.

When the German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig entitled his 1926 collection of essays on Jewish and universal cultural topics Zweistromland-a land of two rivers-he meant to underscore, indeed celebrate, the fact that German-Jewish culture is nurtured by both German culture and the Jewish religious and cultural heritage. In this thought-provoking book, Paul Mendes-Flohr explores through the prism of Rosenzweig's image how German Jews have understood and contended with their twofold spiritual patrimony. He deepens the discussion to consider also how the German-Jewish experience bears upon the general modern experience of living with multiple cultural identities.German Jews assimilated the cultural values of Germany but were not themselves assimilated into German society, Mendes-Flohr contends. Yet, by virtue of their adoption of values sponsored by enlightened German discourse, they were no longer unambiguously Jewish. The author discusses how their identity and cultural loyalty became fractured and how German Jews-like other Jews and indeed like all denizens of the modern world-were obliged to confront the challenges of living with plural identities and cultural affiliations

Through a textual and contextual analysis of Martin Buber's scholarly disquisition, Königtum Gottes (1932), the article focuses on his critique of political Messianism. This critique is addressed to his friends who participated in the Bavarian Revolution of 1918/19, the political theology of Friedrich Gogarten and Carl Schmitt, and given trends in Zionism. This article discusses the affinities of Buber's critique of political Messianism with that of Max Weber who like Buber called for a political and ethical re-valorization of the everyday. This call is contrasted with Walter Benjamin's political Messianism, whose dialectic in effect endorses a similar ethos.

For Gustav Landauer, literary critic and anarchist, scholar of mysticism and participant of the Bavarian revolution, culture and politics occupied the same spiritual space. While identifying with ethical socialism, his Jewish sensibility increasingly gained over the years, not only, but in great measure due to Buber's influence. This volume assesses Landauer's literary and political activities, paying particular attention to his impact on Buber

Intro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Foreword - Paul Mendes-Flohr -- Acknowledgments -- Editor's Note -- Introduction: Free Associations-An Intellectual and Political Profile of Hayim Greenberg - Mark A. Raider -- 1. The Meaning of Zionism (1922) -- 2. Policy and Labor (1923) -- 3. East and West (1925) -- 4. Sabbatai Zevi: The Messiah as Apostate (1926) -- 5. Our Stand (1934) -- 6. Jew and Arab (1934) -- 7. Revisionism (1934) -- 8. Notes on Marxism (1935) -- 9. To a Communist Friend (1936) -- 10. Open Letter to the Third International (1936) -- 11. An Answer to Gandhi (1939) -- 12. Leon Trotsky (1939, 1940) -- 13. Prayer (1940) -- 14. Einstein Discusses Religion (1940) -- 15. Psychoanalysis and Moral Pessimism (1940) -- 16. Chosen Peoples (1941) -- 17. Socialism Re-examined (1941) -- 18. The Myth of Jewish Parasitism (1942) -- 19. Go to Nineveh (1942) -- 20. Halakhah and Agadah (1943) -- 21. Bankrupt! (1943) -- 22. Concerning Statehood (1943) -- 23. Notes on the Melting Pot (1944) -- 24. The Universalism of the Chosen People (1945) -- 25. Current Alternatives in Palestine (1947) -- 26. Patriotism and Plural Loyalties (1948) -- 27. Concerning an Israel Constitution (1949) -- 28. Jewish Culture and Education in the Diaspora (1951) -- 29. The Future of American Jewry (1951) -- 30. Church and State: Seven Theses (1952) -- 31. Religious Tolerance (n.d.) -- Notes -- Glossary of Terms -- Index.