The Jewish God Question

Andrew Pessin is professor of philosophy at Connecticut College. In addition to his occasional appearances as “The Genius” on the Late Show with David Letterman, he is the author of a number of books, including The God Question: What Famous Thinkers from Plato to Dawkins Have Said about the Divine and The 60-Second Philosopher. Samuel Lebens is a research fellow in philosophy at the University of Haifa. He is chairperson of the Association for the Philosophy of Judaism.

Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART I: PHILO–IBN DAUD (c. 20 BCE–1180 CE)
Introduction to Part I
Philo (c. 20 BCE–c. 50 CE)
1.On Beginning with “The Beginning”
On the Law, creation, and the cosmos
2.The People of the Book, and the Book of (All) the People
The Torah expresses a universal philosophy for everyone
Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (882–942)
3.What a Long, Strange Trip It Hasn’t Been
The cosmos must have had a first moment of creation
4.Two Ways of Being One
There is just one god, who is “one,” all the way through
Isaac Israeli (c. 855–955)
5.The Descent, and Ascent, of Man
Cosmology and psychology illuminate the way to eternal bliss
Solomon Ibn Gabirol (1021–58)
6.On the Matter of the Soul
All objects, physical or spiritual, are a combination of matter and form, and that is the secret to blessedness
Bachya Ibn Paquda (c. 1050–1120)
7.Do the Right Thing—for the Right Reasons
Duties of the limb are imperfect unless accompanied by duties of the heart
Abraham Bar Chiyya (1065–1136)
8.And God Did Not Say, “Let There Be Man”
Both scripture and philosophical reasoning demonstrate the immortality of the soul
Joseph Ibn Tzaddik (?–1149)
9.In the Beginning Was the Beginning—of Time
How to reconcile the eternal unchanging nature of God’s will with His creating the cosmos
Judah Halevi (c. 1075–1141)
10.The Philosopher’s God
The God who does not hear or care is not the God of the Hebrew Bible
11.The Spiritual Lighthouse
The children of Israel were chosen for the mission of spreading the divine light
12.Home Is Where the Heart Is
The children of Israel belong in the Land of Israel
Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1164)
13.The History over the Mystery
Why God prefaces the Ten Commandments with a history lesson
Abraham Ibn Daud (Rabad) (1110–80)
14.The Unmoved Mover
Philosophical principles prove the existence of the nonphysical God of Judaism
15.What God Does Not Know, Despite Knowing Everything
Although our free actions cannot be foreknown, there is no lack in God’s knowledge

PART II: MAIMONIDES–SFORNO (1135–c. 1550)
Introduction to Part II
Maimonides (1135–1204)
16.Not That Many Are Called
Very few people are properly prepared to study the philosophical truths of religion
17.Speaking of God . . .
On what can, and cannot, be said about God
18.And Behold, It Still Is Pretty Good
How the perfectly good, all-powerful God could make a world containing so much evil
Moses Ben Nachman (Nachmanides, Ramban) (1194–1270)
19.Though the Messiah May Tarry, We Should Not
The Torah obligates the Jew to return to the Land of Israel
20.The Messiah Still Tarries—Contrary Opinions Notwithstanding
Contra the Christian claim, Jews do not believe the messiah has yet appeared
Hillel Ben Samuel (1220–95)
21.The Ultimate Meeting of the Minds
In defense of personal immortality from the challenge of the universal intellect
Moses De Leon (1240–1305)
22.Sex as a Mystical Experience
Jewish mysticism sees a cosmos in which God battles dark forces, and seeks our assistance
Abraham Abulafia (1240–c. 1292)
23.What’s in a Name? Only Everything
Prophetic Kabbalah leads the way to spiritual perfection and redemption
Isaac Albalag (late thirteenth century)
24.Agree to Disagree
Sometimes both scripture and philosophy are true—even where they disagree
Abner of Burgos (1270–1347)
25.Voluntary Actions in a Predetermined World
Human freedom can be preserved even in a world where everything is caused
Isaac Pollegar (d. c. 1330)
26.It Really Is “Up to You”
Human freedom refutes causal predeterminism
Joseph Ibn Kaspi (1279–1331)
27.Distance Makes the Heart Grow Harder
Reading the Bible literally and naturally is preferable
Levi Ben Gerson (Gersonides) (1288–1344)
28.What We Talk about When We Talk about God
Our ordinary language does apply to God despite the great gap between God and ordinary things
29.If God Only Knew
Divine foreknowledge really is incompatible with human freedom, and so must be rejected
Aaron Ben Elijah of Nicomedia (c. 1328–69)
30.You Should Get That in Writing
On privileging the written Law over the oral Law
Moses Ben Joshua of Narbonne (Narboni) (d. c. 1362)
31.Don’t Do Everything Possible
God knows the cosmos by knowing Himself, and thus makes room for human freedom
Chasdai Ben Judah Crescas (c. 1340–1410/11)
32.Love of God over Love of Wisdom
Contra the philosophers, it is not knowledge of but love of God that confers immortality
33.Keep On Keeping On
Even an eternal cosmos requires God to create it—and to keep it in existence
34.Determined to Be Free
There is foreknowledge and causal predeterminism—and freedom and moral responsibility
Joseph Albo (1380–1444)
35.Back to Basics
There are just three basic principles to Judaism, which also has the surest claim to divine origin
Yochanan Alemanno (c. 1435–1504)
36.It’s in the Stars—and in the Torah
On astrology and the Hebrew Bible
Abraham Bivach (Bibago) (mid-fifteenth century)
37.It’s Reasonable to Believe on Faith
Knowledge based on faith is superior to rational knowledge
Isaac Abravanel (1437–1508)
38.All or None
Every commandment, large or small, and every word of scripture is equally important
Elijah Del Medigo (1458–93)
39.Disagree to Disagree
There’s only one truth, and scripture always has it—except when it doesn’t
Leone Ebreo (Judah Abravanel) (c. 1460–after 1523)
40.All You Need Is Love
Love is all you need
Moses Ben Baruch Almosnino (c. 1515 – c. 1580)
41.Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way
The goal is to align not our intellect with God’s but our will
Obadiah Sforno (c. 1470–c. 1550)
42.Do the Right Thing (Which Requires Knowing What That Is)
Moral perfection is an aspect of intellectual perfection, so both are required for the good Jewish life

PART III: SPINOZA–PINSKER (1632–1891)
Introduction to Part III
Baruch Spinoza (1632–77)
43.One with God—Literally
Everything is God; and neither we, nor God, acts freely
44.Gazing at Eternity with Fresh Eyes
The modern age requires a rethinking of the nature of the Bible, starting with a rejection of the supernatural
Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86)
45.Have Your Kosher Cake (and Eat It Too)
An observant Jew can also be a full citizen of the nation in which s/he lives
Solomon Maimon (1753–1800)
46.Don’t Belong to Any Club That Has You for a Member
Spinoza is not an atheist, and Mendelssohn wrongly thinks you can reject Jewish Law yet remain part of the Jewish community
Saul Ascher (1767–1822)
47.To Everything There Is a Season—Including Traditional Judaism
Modern times require a reformulation of Judaism, from a religion of law to one of belief
Leopold Zunz (1794–1886)
48.Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Cannot, Study
Modern scholarship (or “science”) is essential for Jews to become full members of society
Solomon Steinheim (1789–1866)
49.Ya Gotta Believe!
The metaphysical doctrine of creation ex nihilo is part of Judaism’s essence
Abraham Geiger (1810–74)
50.The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
The unchanging essence of Judaism itself dictates Judaism’s modern reform
Samuel Holdheim (1806–60)
51.Love Your Compatriot as You Love Yourself
The spiritual mission of Judaism is best served by its radical reform
Moses Sofer (Hatam Sofer) (1762–1839)
52.Same as It Ever Was
Contra “reform,” one should change nothing in Judaism unless absolutely necessary
Zacharias Frankel (1801–75)
53.Goldilocks Judaism
Reform jettisons too much, Orthodoxy jettisons too little; the middle ground is just right
Nachman Krochmal (1785–1840)
54.The Light unto the Nations
The Jews are a nation, with a spirit and history, but one with a special spirit and history
Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–88)
55.When Progress Amounts to Regress
The movement to “reform” Judaism amounts to the rejection of Judaism
56.Positively Inauthentic
The “positive-historical” school is no more authentic Judaism than is the Reform school
Israel Salanter (1810–83)
57.The Only Thing I Can’t Resist Is Temptation
The righteous life requires methods of moral instruction and correction, based in Torah and psychology
Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795–1874)
58.Not by Miracles, but by Sweat
The ingathering of the exiles, through our own efforts, is the first phase of redemption
Leon Pinsker (1821–91)
59.We’ll Do It Our Way
Jews must emancipate themselves in order to end the scourge of Judeophobia

PART IV: HERZL–LEBENS (1860– )
Introduction to Part IV
Theodor Herzl (1860–1904)
60.If You Will It, It Is No Dream
The only solution to European antisemitism is the establishment of a Jewish state
Ahad Ha’am (Asher Ginsberg) (1856–1927)
61.More Than the Jews Have Kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath Has Kept the Jews
Political Zionism seeks to solve the problem of the Jews, but what’s needed is to solve the problem of Jewishness
Micah Joseph Berdichevsky (1865–1921)
62.Not the Last Jew, but the First Hebrew
On the transvaluation of Jewish values, from the power of love to the love of power
Shalom Dov Baer Schneersohn (1860–1920)
63.(Don’t Be) Another Brick in the Wall
Redemption will not come by the Zionists but by the messiah, when the time is ripe
Hermann Cohen (1842–1918)
64.Be Reasonable
Judaism is a religion of reason
65.At Home in the Exile
Judaism, as a religion of reason, should oppose political Zionism
Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929)
66.A People without (Need of) a Land
A people with a spiritual mission is not tied to a land, but at home everywhere
Martin Buber (1878–1965)
67.The Ménage à Trois
God is to be found in the relationship between I and You
Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934)
68.Building a Modern University with Ancient Stones
On the inauguration of the Hebrew University, and of a renewed national life
Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935)
69.The Jew and the Land, as Spirit and Flesh
On the foundations of religious Zionism
Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983)
70.Not as Jews, nor as Americans, but as Jewish-Americans
On reconstructing Judaism for the modern American Jew
Joseph Soloveitchik (1903–93)
71.From Sinai to Moriah, a Tale of Three Adams
Halachic man partners with God in sanctifying the world
Leo Strauss (1899–1973)
72.Reason versus Revelation and the Modern Predicament, Part I
Can either be the source of absolute truth, to resist the modern attack on meaning?
73.Reason versus Revelation and the Modern Predicament, Part II
The past can teach the moderns why we should remain Jews
Emmanuel Levinas (1906–95)
74.Seeing God in the Face of the Other
We experience God’s presence in experiencing our moral obligations to other persons
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–72)
75.God in Search of Man
The experience of divine concern is at the heart of authentic religious practice
Eliezer Berkovits (1908–92)
76.Man in Search of God
The experience of divine concern is both the foundation and endpoint of Judaism
Hannah Arendt (1906–75)
77.The Banality of Evil
However evil the Holocaust was, Eichmann’s own evil was not radical but merely banal
Emil Fackenheim (1916–2003)
78.The 614th Commandment
The authentic Jew must not give Hitler a posthumous victory
Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–94)
79.Idolatry of the 1967 Lands
One should serve God, for the sake of God, and leave politics out of it
Hans Jonas (1903–93)
80.God after Auschwitz
The existence of evil is ultimately due to God’s revocation of His own power
Judith Plaskow (b. 1947)
81.Made in Her Image
Feminist Judaism as a religion for all Jews
Michael Wyschogrod (1928–2015)
82.The Body and the Blood
It is through God’s preferential love of the Jewish people that He is able to love all humanity
Eugene Borowitz (1924–2016)
83.A Covenant Theology
On being committed to personal autonomy and God, Israel, and Torah
Rachel Adler (b. 1943)
84.A Covenant for Lovers
Building on the halachic past a foundation for a more egalitarian Jewish future
Tamar Ross (b. 1938)
85.Expanding the Palace of Torah
An Orthodox approach to feminism
Shimon Gershon Rosenberg (Shagar) (1949–2007)
86.Postmodern Times
The need to reconcile Judaism with modernity has become obsolete
Samuel Lebens (b. 1983)
87.Living the Dream
A twenty-first-century solution to the medieval problem of divine unity

Afterword: Jewish Philosophy: Past, Present, and Future? by Samuel Lebens
Glossary of Hebrew Terms
Sources
Bibliography
Index