Suchergebnisse

This anthology of original essays by leading thinkers in the field gathers together in one place voices from diverse theological and practical commitments. Unlike other publications on Jewish bioethics, it adopts an explicitly pluralistic stance. The book addresses tension between the 'quality of life' and the 'sanctity of life' issues, and will be of interest to lay readers, graduate students of bioethics, and rabbis

Zohar applies Talmudic views on communal sin to contemporary political discourse by posing the question "Are we our brothers' keepers?" The essay addresses international responsibility to protect victims of oppression worldwide. This discussion is particularly valuable in today's political system where the national sovereignty of a state may attempt to outweigh the victims' claim of persecution. While asserting that economic sanction, primarilyboycott, in lieu of military action, is the most effective means of curtailing the actions of the oppressor government, he presents the views of Maimonides and Nachmanides on the Noahide Code of Jewish law. The former advocates full-scale embargo policy and holds all citizens responsible for acquiescing in the sins of their rulers and hence of communal sin, thereby justifying intervention. The latter, and more commonly accepted today, urges elimination of (direct or indirect) participation in the deeds of the perpetrators, the "clean-hands" approach, and hence allows for national boundaries to overshadow injustices occurring within them. Both types of boycott converge in that any transaction that fails to undermine the perpetrating regime is in some way facilitating its existence.

Intro -- Contents -- Table of Contents for Volumes I-IV -- Foreword. David Hartman -- Preface and Acknowledgments. Michael Walzer -- Introduction: The Jewish Political Tradition. Michael Walzer -- The Selection, Translation, and Presentation of the Texts. Menachem Lorberbaum and Noam J. Zohar -- Law, Story, and Interpretation: Reading Rabbinic Texts. Michael Fishbank -- List of Abbreviations -- Volume I. Authority -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Covenant: God's Law and the People's Consent -- Chapter 2. Revelation: Torah and Reason -- Chapter 3. Kings -- Chapter 4. Priests -- Chapter 5. Prophets -- Chapter 6. Rabbis and Sages -- Chapter 7. Controversy and Dissent -- Chapter 8. The Good Men of the Town -- Chapter 9. The Gentile State -- Chapter 10. The State of Israel -- Glossary of Names -- Glossary of Terms -- List of Commentators -- Index of Biblical and Rabbinic Sources -- Index of Names -- General Index.

This book launches a landmark four-volume collaborative work exploring the political thought of the Jewish people from biblical times to the present. Each volume includes a selection of texts-from the Bible and Talmud, midrashic literature, legal responsa, treatises, and pamphlets-annotated for modern readers and accompanied by new commentaries written by eminent philosophers, lawyers, political theorists, and other scholars working in different fields of Jewish studies. These contributors join the arguments of the texts, agreeing or disagreeing, elaborating, refining, qualifying, and sometimes repudiating the political views of the original authors. The series brings the little-known and unexplored Jewish tradition of political thinking and writing into the light, showing where and how it resonates in the state of Israel, the chief diaspora settlements, and, more broadly, modern political experience.This first volume, Authority, addresses the basic question of who ought to rule the community: What claims to rule have been put forward from the time of the exodus from Egypt to the establishment of the state of Israel? How are such claims disputed and defended? What constitutes legitimate authority? The authors discuss the authority of God, then the claims of kings, priests, prophets, rabbis, lay leaders, gentile rulers (during the years of the exile), and the Israeli state. The volume concludes with several perspectives on the issue of whether a modern state can be both Jewish and democratic. Forthcoming volumes will address the themes of membership, community, and political vision.Among the contributors to this volume:Amy GutmannMoshe HalbertalDavid HartmanMoshe IdelSanford LevinsonSusan NeimanHilary PutnamJoseph RazMichael SandelAllan SilverYael Tamir

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments. -- Contributors -- Introduction -- One. Christian Attitudes toward Boundaries -- Two. The Value of Limited Loyalty -- Three. Toward a Liberal Theory of National Boundaries -- Four. Hard Borders, Compensation, and Classical Liberalism -- Five. Territorial Boundaries and Confucianism -- Six Boundaries of the Body and Body Politic in Early Confucian Thought -- Seven. International Law, Boundaries, and Imagination -- Eight. Territorial Sovereignty -- Nine Islamic Perspectives on Territorial Boundaries and Autonomy -- Ten. Religion and the Maintenance of Boundaries -- Eleven. Land and People -- Twelve. Contested Boundaries -- Thirteen. Territorial Boundaries -- Fourteen. Group Boundaries, Individual Barriers -- Fifteen. Boundaries, Ownership, and Autonomy -- Sixteen. In Defense of Reasonable Lines -- Seventeen. The Ethics of Boundaries -- Index