Judaism’s Great Debates: Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl

125 Pages·2012·0.72 MB·English

by  Barry L. Schwartz

Judaism’s Great Debates

The Jewish Publication Society
expresses its gratitude for
the generosity of the following
sponsors of this book:
Patrons:
David Lerman
and Shelley Wallock
Friends:
D. Walter Cohen
Wendy and Leonard Cooper
Rabbi Howard Gorin
Gittel and Alan Hilibrand
Marjorie and Jeffrey Major
Jeanette Lerman Neubauer
and Joe Neubauer
Gayle and David Smith
Harriet and Donald Young
University of Nebraska Press
Lincoln
J U DAI SM’S
G R E AT
D E B AT E S
Timeless Controversies
from Abraham to Herzl
RABBI BARRY L. SCHWARTZ
The Jewish Publication Society
Philadelphia
© 2012 by Barry L. Schwartz
All rights reserved. Published by the
University of Nebraska Press as a
Jewish Publication Society book.
Manufactured in the United
States of America
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schwartz, Barry L.
Judaism’s great debates : timeless
controversies from Abraham to Herzl /
Barry L. Schwartz.
p. cm.
“Published by the University
of Nebraska Press as a Jewish
Publication Society book.”
Includes bibliographical references.
isbn 978-0-8276-1131-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Judaism—History. 2. Religious dispu-
tations. 3. Judaism—Doctrines. I. Title.
bm157.s39 2012
296.3—dc23 2011046028
Set in Minion and Perpetua
by Kim Essman.
Designed by Nathan Putens.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Arguing for
the Sake of Heaven xi
Part One: Biblical Judaism
1 Abraham and God: The First
Jewish Debate over Justice 3
2 Moses and Korah: The Debate
over Holiness and Authority 11
3 The Five Daughters and the Twelve
Tribes: The Debate over Inclusion 21
4 David and Nathan: The Debate over
Accountability and Morality 29
Part Two: Rabbinic Judaism
5 Ben Zakkai and the Zealots: The
Debate over Resistance 39
6 Hillel and Shammai: The Debate
over Jewish Law 47
7 The Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem
Tov: The Debate over Spirituality 57
Part Three: Modern Judaism
8 Spinoza and the Amsterdam Rabbis:
The Debate over Boundaries 67
9 Geiger and Hirsch and Frankel: The
Debate over Evolution in Religion 79
10 Herzl and Wise: The Debate
over Zionism 87
Afterword 95
Notes 97
Room for Debate: Questions for
Reflection and Discussion 99
Further Debate: Recommended
Reading 103
Acknowledgments
Great appreciation is owed to my wife, Debby, my children, Nadav,
Talia, and Noam, and my parents, Barbara and Rudy, for their unend-
ing support during tumultuous times; to my students of all ages, who
studied and debated this material with me; and to The Jewish Publi-
cation Society and Behrman House, two great publishers who have
cooperated to make this book available in both adult and student
textbook editions.
Sincere and heartfelt thanks to David Lerman and Carol Hupping
of The Jewish Publication Society, David Behrman and Mark Levine
of Behrman House, Donna Shear of the University of Nebraska Press,
and Edmond Weiss.
Translations of biblical texts are from NJPS Tanakh, The Jewish
Publication Society’s 1985 English translation of the Hebrew Bible.
Translations of Rabbinic texts are generally mine, unless otherwise
noted. The actual debate texts consist of direct quotes (in italics)
together with my re-created dialogue (regular print).
— Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz
ix