Judaism's Great Debates

Timeless Controversies from Abraham to Herzl

Barry L. Schwartz

• Publisher: The Jewish Publication Society
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780827611856
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of this book possible: David Lerman and Shelley Wallock; 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; and Harriet and Donald Young.

Ever since Abraham's famous argument with God, Judaism has been full of debate. Moses and Korah, David and Nathan, Hillel and Shammai, the Vilna Gaon and the Ba'al Shem Tov, Spinoza and the Amsterdam Rabbis... the list goes on. Jews debate justice, authority, inclusion, spirituality, resistance, evolution, Zionism, and more. No wonder that Judaism cherishes the expression machloket l'shem shamayim, "an argument for the sake of heaven." In this concise but important survey, Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz presents the provocative and vibrant thesis that debate and disputation are not only encouraged within Judaism but reside at the very heart of Jewish history and theology. In his graceful, engaging, and creative prose, Schwartz presents an introduction to an intellectual history of Judaism through the art of argumentation.
Beyond their historical importance, what makes these disputations so compelling is that nearly all of them, regardless of their epochs, are still being argued. Schwartz builds the case that the basis of Judaism is a series of unresolved rather than resolved arguments.
Drawing on primary sources, and with a bit of poetic license, Schwartz reconstructs the real or imagined dialogue of ten great debates and then analyzes their significance and legacy. This parade of characters spanning three millennia of biblical, rabbinic, and modern disputation reflects the panorama of Jewish history with its monumental political, ethical, and spiritual challenges.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Arguing for the Sake of Heaven
• Part One: Biblical Judaism
• 1. Abraham and God: The First Jewish Debate over Justice
• 2. Moses and Korah: The Debate over Holiness and Authority
• 3. The Five Daughters and the Twelve Tribes: The Debate over Inclusion
• 4. David and Nathan: The Debate over Accountability and Morality
• Part Two: Rabbinic Judaism
• 5. Ben Zakkai and the Zealots: The Debate over Resistance
• 6. Hillel and Shammai: The Debate over Jewish Law
• 7. The Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov: The Debate over Spirituality
• Part Three: Modern Judaism
• 8. Spinoza and the Amsterdam Rabbis: The Debate over Boundaries
• 9. Geiger and Hirsch and Frankel: The Debate over Evolution in Religion
• 10. Herzl and Wise: The Debate over Zionism
• Afterword
• Notes
• Room for Debate: Questions for Reflection and Discussion
• Further Debate: Recommended Reading