A Heart of Many Rooms

David Hartman

Description

“This work is not addressed only to scholars of Judaism or theologians, but also, and primarily, to all Jews and non-Jews who would like to share the thoughts and struggles of a person who loves Torah and Halakhah, who is committed to helping make room for and celebrate the religious and cultural diversity present in the modern world, and who believes that a commitment to Israel and to Jewish particularity must be organically connected to the rabbinic teaching, ‘Beloved are all human beings created in the image of God.’”
—from the Introduction

With clarity, passion, and outstanding scholarship, David Hartman addresses the spiritual and theological questions that face all Jews and all people today. From the perspective of traditional Judaism, he helps us understand the varieties of twentieth-century Jewish practice and shows that commitment to both Jewish tradition and to pluralism can create bridges of understanding between people of different religious convictions.

Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Part I Family and Mitzvah within an Interpretive Tradition 1. Judaism as an Interpretive Tradition 2. The Joy of Torah 3. Memory and Values: A Traditional Response to the Crisis of the Modern Family 4. Torah and Secularism: Reflections on the Active and Passive Dimensions (Din and Rahamim) of Jewish Spirituality Part II Educating Toward Inclusiveness 5. Creating a Shared Spiritual Language for Israeli and Diaspora Education 6. In Search of a Guiding Vision for Jewish Education Part III Celebrating Religious Diversity 7. Celebrating Religious Diversity 8. Revelation and Creation: The Particular and the Universal in Judaism 9. Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Heroic Witness to Religious Pluralism 10. An Open Letter to a Reform Rabbi 11. Israel's Responsibility for World Jewry: Reflections on Debate about the Conversion Law Part IV Religious Perspectives on the Future of Israel 12. Zionism and the Continuity of Judaism 13. Widening the Scope of Covenantal Consciousness 14. Aliyah: The Transformation and Renewal of an Ideal 15. Auschwitz or Sinai? In the Aftermath of the Israeli-Lebanese War 16. Yeshayahu Leibowitz’s Vision of Israel, Zionism, And Judaism Index

Sujets

• Spiritual Growth
• Philosophie et théologie
• Israel
• David Hartman
• Hebrew school
• Judaism
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 05 décembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580237048
• Langue: English

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To Bob Kogod,
a dear and devoted friend,
who shares my aspirations for a modern renaissance of Judaism
This book was generated as part of the ongoing research of the Richard and Sylvia Kaufman Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
The Center explores and encourages new spiritual possibilities emerging from the confrontation of the Judaic tradition with modernity. The Shalom Hartman Institute, founded in 1976, is an advanced research and teacher-training center whose mission is to meet the new intellectual and spiritual challenges facing the Jewish people resulting from both the rebirth of Israel and the full participation of modern Jews in Western culture.
A person might think,
Since the House of Shammai declare unclean and the House of Hillel clean, this one prohibits and that one permits, how, then, can I learn Torah?
Scripture says, Words the words . These are the words . All the words have been given by a single Shepherd, one God created them, one Provider gave them, the Lord of all deeds, blessed be He, has spoken them. So make yourself a heart of many rooms and bring into it the words of the House of Shammai and the words of the House of Hillel, the words of those who declare unclean and the words of those who declare clean.
(Tosefta, Sotah 7:12)
C ONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION

P ART I
FAMILY AND MITZVAH WITHIN AN INTERPRETIVE TRADITION

1. JUDAISM AS AN INTERPRETIVE TRADITION
2. THE JOY OF TORAH
3. MEMORY AND VALUES: A TRADITIONAL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS OF THE MODERN FAMILY
4. TORAH AND SECULARISM: REFLECTIONS ON THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE DIMENSIONS ( DIN AND RAHAMIM ) OF JEWISH SPIRITUALITY

P ART II
EDUCATING TOWARD INCLUSIVENESS

5. CREATING A SHARED SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE FOR ISRAELI AND DIASPORA EDUCATION
6. IN SEARCH OF A GUIDING VISION FOR JEWISH EDUCATION

P ART III
CELEBRATING RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

7. CELEBRATING RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
8. REVELATION AND CREATION: THE PARTICULAR AND THE UNIVERSAL IN JUDAISM
9. ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL: A HEROIC WITNESS TO RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
10. AN OPEN LETTER TO A REFORM RABBI
11. ISRAEL S RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORLD JEWRY: REFLECTIONS ON DEBATE ABOUT THE CONVERSION LAW

P ART IV
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL

12. ZIONISM AND THE CONTINUITY OF JUDAISM
13. WIDENING THE SCOPE OF COVENANTAL CONSCIOUSNESS
14. ALIYAH: THE TRANSFORMATION AND RENEWAL OF AN IDEAL
15. AUSCHWITZ OR SINAI? IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE ISRAELI-LEBANESE WAR
16. YESHAYAHU LEIBOWITZ S VISION OF ISRAEL, ZIONISM, AND JUDAISM
INDEX
About the Author
Copyright
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SINCE THE FOUNDING of the Shalom Hartman Institute in 1976, I have had the privilege of being in the company of serious committed intellectuals whose research agenda grew from a commitment to affect a change in the moral and spiritual quality of Jewish life today. Being in their company has been an inspiration for my thinking and writing. It has been a privilege for me to participate in a community that does not view relevance as compromising the depth of scholarship.
Besides the congenial and inspiring atmosphere of this community of scholars, I am grateful to the leadership of the Shalom Hartman Institute for providing the support that makes the Institute a compelling environment. This book is dedicated to the president of the Institute, Mr. Bob Kogod, who is a devoted friend and a driving force in inspiring the Institute to focus on the central issues confronting world Jewry today. His friendship and dedication are a source of strength for me and for the entire community of scholars.
Dick Kaufman, president of the American Friends of the Shalom Hartman Institute and his wife, Sylvia, introduced me to their Muskegon community where I had the privilege of participating in their Jewish-Christian dialogue. My essay Judaism As an Interpretive Tradition grew out of a recent discussion with Father Richard Newhouse. Joan Porter, a participant at the Muskegon dialogue, believed that my work had importance for both Jews and Christians. I am grateful to her for providing the Institute with a generous grant so that I would be able to devote my time to the completion of this new work.
I am grateful to Stuart Matlins, publisher of Jewish Lights, for his support and enthusiasm; to Elisheva Urbas, for her guidance in editing the text; to Jennifer Goneau for her aid in the book s production; and to Larry Shuman for his superb promotion of the book.
My deep gratitude and appreciation go to Ruth Sherer for her kind assistance, dedication, and hard work in typing and re-typing this manuscript for publication. My wife Bobbie and my children have always been a great support through all of my work. I pray that God will bless them all with long life and good health.
PREFACE
IN PREPARING THIS volume, I decided to include, along with new essays, several reworked and revised chapters from my earlier works Joy and Responsibility and Conflicting Visions . It was very moving to reread many of my earlier essays on Israel and to sense the enthusiasm I had felt in having been given the privilege of participating in the dynamic social and religious struggles of Israeli society. In the early period of my aliyah, I believed that there was a way to build bridges between secular and religious groups in Israeli society. In presenting a covenantal appreciation of Israel s rebirth, I attempted to articulate a religious response without falling into messianic triumphalism. How optimistic and enthusiastic I was!
Coupled with my renewed enjoyment of my earlier excitement and enthusiasm, I was also deeply pained by the contrast between what I had hoped for and what was in fact the reality of Israeli society. There are tendencies within certain sectors of the Orthodox religious community in Israel and the diaspora toward intellectual insulation and sectarianism. Instead of bridges of mutual understanding, there are deep chasms of animosity and distrust between religious and nonobservant members of Israeli society. There is a demonization of North American and Israeli religious leaders not identified with certain Orthodox approaches to Torah. The Who is a Jew? issue refuses to go away. The delegitimization of Conservative and Reform conversions in Israel remains a live legislative option in the Knesset. Leibowitz s critique of my writings (see the chapter on Yeshayahu Leibowitz in this volume) appears more accurate as a description of Israeli society than my analysis of the possibilities of creating a shared value language.
Nevertheless, in spite of the growth of militant fanaticism, I still cherish the conviction that a committed halakhic Jew need not feel threatened by different understandings and interpretations of normative Judaism. A Heart of Many Rooms expresses my continuing belief in the possibility and necessity of building educational bridges between different sectors of the population in Israel and throughout the Jewish world. If we fail to build these bridges, we are in danger of splitting Israeli society and of creating sectarian forms of Judaism in the diaspora.
My refusal to give up hope is rooted deeply in my early religious upbringing. My parents were pious, observant Jews, totally committed to their children s Torah education. During all the years of my youth, I never once heard the language of demonization and exclusion ( They re heretics! They re not part of klal yisrael! ) so prevalent in modern-day religious discourse. From my parents home, I learned that a family dedicated to a Torah way of life can feel secure without drawing sharp lines defining the boundaries between insiders and outsiders.
This work is a direct result of intense intellectual dialogue with Elliott Yagod, my friend, student, and philosophical colleague. We discussed, and worked on together, each essay. Without his devotion and cooperation, this work would not have been completed. Words cannot express adequately my appreciation and gratitude for all he has contributed throughout the years to my thinking and to my written work.
It is also important for me to mention that A Heart of Many Rooms focuses not only on social and religious issues that surface in Israel. Living in Israel has given me the opportunity of addressing visiting Christian theologians and pilgrims seeking a deeper understanding of Judaism. Following in the spirit of Maimonides, I am committed to the religious task of making Judaism intelligible to a wider human audience. In leaving the ghetto, Jewish thinkers were given the opportunity to articulate their faith commitment to the non-Jewish world.
Reborn Israel has created interest in the modern Israeli historical drama. In coming back to the land, we have returned not to an insulated ghetto existence but rather to a particularism informed by openness to a larger human world. I believe there is a serious Christian audience that wants to understand Judaism in its own terms and not only as a precursor to the Christian story. Many essays in this volume present a phenomenology of the Judaic experience where Jewish commitment to mitzvot is not dist