To Mend the World; Foundations of Future Jewish Thought

New York, N.Y.: Schocken Books, 1982. First Paperback Edition, First Printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Fair. xii, 362, [2] pages. Sticker residue on rear cover. Cover has some wear and soiling. Weak at pages 78/9 and strengthened with glue. Acknowledgments, Footnotes, and Introduction. Includes chapters on The Problematics of Contemporary Jewish Thought: From Spinoza Beyond Rosenzweig; The Shibboleth of Revelation: From Spinoza Beyond Hegel; Historicity, Rupture, and Tikkun Olam ("Mending the World") from Rosenzweig Beyond Heidegger; Conclusion: Teshuva Today: Concerning Judaism After the Holocaust. Contains Notes, Abbreviations,and Index. In this book, Fackenheim points the way to Judaism's renewal in a world and an age in which all of our notions about God, humanity, and revelation have been severely challenged. He explores the rupture in Jewish thought caused by modernity and reflected in the philosophies of Spinoza and Rosenzweig. He analyzes the systems of Hegel and Heidegger and shows us where philosophy can learn from life. Finally, he tests the resources within Judaism for healing the breach between secularism and revelation. Emil Ludwig Fackenheim (1916 - 2003) was a Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi. Born in Germany, he was arrested by Nazis on Kristallnacht. He escaped to Great Britain. Fackenheim was sent to Canada in 1940, where he was interned. He later enrolled in the University of Toronto and received a Ph.D. and became Professor of Philosophy. He researched the relationship of the Jews with God, believing that the Holocaust must be understood as an imperative requiring Jews to carry on Jewish existence and the survival of the State of Israel. Fackenheim's most important contribution to contemporary religious thinking was his clear account of how modern theology must confront philosophical issues. While he traced the history of modern philosophical thought in general, his analyses of Kant and Hegel are of special importance. No contemporary Jewish thinking can fail to encounter Kant's ethical challenge. Kant contended that only a self-willed, autonomous ethic is morally good. A religious ethic which is based on mere obedience to the divine will is morally suspect. Fackenheim examined this claim in a number of essays and sought to show that in Judaism the problem of God's unconditional demand is related to martyrdom and a sense of divine purpose. From Hegel, Fackenheim learned the necessity of taking historical processes seriously-in other words, the patterns of the past do indeed shape destiny. In both cases the Nazi experience is crucial. The Holocaust brought the question of purpose into direct light; God's unconditional command is ethical because it serves a purpose even if human beings cannot comprehend that purpose. Fackenheim asserted that Kant was wrong because he does not allow for the surprise that comes when human beings recognize a purpose that they cannot comprehend. The Holocaust also revealed God's presence in history, not as an inevitable hand but as a commanding voice. Listening to that voice enabled Jews to transform the reality of human history and thus move beyond Hegel.