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13 - Revelation

from III - Modern Jewish Philosophical Theology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2012

Randi Rashkover
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Martin Kavka
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Zachary Braiterman
Affiliation:
Syracuse University, New York
David Novak
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

As most students of modern Jewish philosophy can attest, modern Jewish philosophers wasted little ink writing philosophical expositions of the biblical category of revelation. Moses Mendelssohn may have given an argument for toleration that did not deny revelation at Sinai, but Jerusalem mentions Sinatic revelation only in two paragraphs. Hermann Cohen, of course, defined revelation as the creation of man in reason. Revelation has rarely been an element of the modern Jewish philosophical tradition. Within this context, Benedict de Spinoza's philosophy has often been viewed as a catalyst of modernity's conscious move toward a secularized rejection of revelation, whereas Franz Rosenzweig's work has been widely acknowledged as a reaction against modernity's dismissal of the biblical account. The purpose of this chapter is to showcase the character of Rosenzweig's return to revelation but to focus specifically upon the role of desire in his view, so that Spinoza's analysis of biblical Israel in his Theological-Political Treatise serves as a foundation of this retrieval of revelation rather than a dismissal of it. In bold distinction from the rationalist trajectory characteristic of much Jewish philosophy from Saadia Gaon up to and including Moses Maimonides, at the heart of Spinoza's retrieval of the biblical account of carnal Israel is his analysis of the relationship between Jewish law and communal desire. Nonetheless, this chapter will argue that Spinoza's emphasis upon the role of communal need within a lawful society licenses a parochialism or self-interest that inevitably conflicts with wider culture.

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The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
The Modern Era
, pp. 399 - 426
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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  • Revelation
  • Edited by Martin Kavka, Florida State University, Zachary Braiterman, Syracuse University, New York, David Novak, University of Toronto
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
  • Online publication: 28 September 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521852432.015
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  • Revelation
  • Edited by Martin Kavka, Florida State University, Zachary Braiterman, Syracuse University, New York, David Novak, University of Toronto
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
  • Online publication: 28 September 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521852432.015
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Revelation
  • Edited by Martin Kavka, Florida State University, Zachary Braiterman, Syracuse University, New York, David Novak, University of Toronto
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
  • Online publication: 28 September 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521852432.015
Available formats
×