Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community

by Arnold M. Eisen

Overview

Arnold Eisen here calls for a fundamental rethinking of the story of modern Judaism. More than simply a study of Jewish thought on customs and rituals, Rethinking Modern Judaism explores the central role that practice plays in Judaism's encounter with modernity.

"Fascinating . . . an insightful entrance point to understanding the evolution of the theologies of America's largest Jewish denominations."--Tikkun

"I know of no other treatment of these issues that matches Eisen's talents for synthesizing a wide variety of historical, philosophical, and social scientific sources, and bringing them to bear in a balanced and open-minded way on the delicate questions of why modern Jews relate as they do to the practices of Judaism."--Joseph Reimer, Boston Book Review

"At once an incisive survey of modern Jewish thought and an inquiry into how Jews actually live their religious lives, Mr. Eisen's book is an invaluable addition to the study of American Judaism."--Elliott Abrams, Washington Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226195292
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	12/01/1999
Series:	Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism
Edition description:	1
Pages:	347
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1: Founding Theories of Modernity and the Critique of Jewish Practice
2: Twentieth-Century Theories of Modernity and the Study of Jewish Practice
3: The Distinctiveness of Modern Jewish Practice
4: The Politics of Jewish Ritual Observance
5: New Reasons for Old Commandments: The Strategy of Symbolic Explanation
6: Nostalgia as Modern Jewish Mitzvah
7: Buber, Rosenzweig, and the Authority of the Commandments
8: The Reconstruction of Jewish Tradition in Twentieth-Century America
Conclusion
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

I know of no other treatment of these issues [of Judaism] that matches Eisen's talents for synthesizing a wide range of historical, philosophical, and social scientific sources, and bringing them to bear in a balanced and open-minded way on the delicate questions of why modern Jews relate as they do to the practices of Judaism. -- Boston Book Review

Joseph Reimer

An insightful entrace point to understanding the evolution of the theologies of America's largest Jewish denominations. -- Tikkun Magazine

Samuel Hynes

Arnold Eisen has certainly chosen an opportune time to "rethink" the place of observance in modern Judaism....If Eisen's promiscuous use of religious language serves any purpose, it is to remind us what Judaism has lost in the various attempts to modernize it....Welcome though the current turn to ritual is, it seems unlikely to endure if it is not accompanied by a revival of a more far-reaching and spiritual sort. -- Commentary

David Singer