Sixteen scholars from around the globe gathered at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies in the bucolic Yarnton Manor in the Oxfordshire countryside in June 2014, for the first (now annual) Oxford Summer Institute on Modern and Contemporary Judaism. The current volume is the fruit of this encounter. The goal of the event was to facilitate in-depth engagement with the thought of Rabbi Dr. Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, concentrating particularly on the historical ramifications of his theological and public stances. Consideration was given to his lifelong and complex encounter with the Modern Orthodox stream of American Judaism and the extent to which his teachings functioned as “the road not taken.” This auspicious gathering was most certainly characterized by deep appreciation for Greenberg’s original outlook, which is predicated on his profound dedication to God, Torah, the Jewish people, and humanity. But this was by no means gratuitous homage or naive esteem. On the contrary, those in attendance understood that the most genuine form of admiration for a thinker and leader of his stature—especially one who continues to produce path-breaking writings and speak out publicly—is to examine rigorously and critically his ideas and legacy. We are confident that the creative process that was nurtured has resulted in a substantive contribution to research on the religious, historical, and social trajectories of contemporary Judaism, and, similarly will engender fresh thinking on crucial theological and ideological postures that will ultimately enrich Jewish life. This volume offers readers a critical engagement with the trenchant and candid efforts of one of the most thoughtful and earnest voices to emerge from within American Orthodoxy to address the theological and moral concerns that characterize our times.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Editors’ Introduction
Adam S. Ferziger, Miri Freud-Kandel, and Steven Bayme
A Personal Retrospective
Modern Orthodoxy and the Road Not Taken: A Retrospective View
Irving (Yitz) Greenberg
Part One: Law and Theology
History and Halakhah
Steven Katz
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg’s Covenantal Theory of Bioethics
Alan Jotkowitz
Irving Greenberg’s Theology of Hybrid Judaism
Darren Kleinberg
On the Meaning and Significance of Revelation for Orthodox Judaism
James Kugel
Divine Hiddenness and Human Input: The Potential Contribution of a Postmodern View of Revelation to Yitz Greenberg’s Holocaust Theology
Tamar Ross
Modern Orthodoxy and Religious Truth
Marc B. Shapiro
On Revelation, Heresy, and Mesorah—from Louis Jacobs to the The Torah.com
Miri Freud-Kandel
Part Two: Past and Present
What Is “Modern” in Modern Orthodoxy?
Alan Brill
Can Modern Orthodoxy Survive?
Jack Wertheimer
Where Have All the Rabbis Gone? The Changing Character of the Orthodox Rabbinate and its Causes
Samuel C. Heilman
Modern Orthodox Responses to the Liberalization of Sexual Mores
Sylvia Barack Fishman
“The Road Not Taken” and “The One Less Traveled”: The Greenberg–Lichtenstein Exchange and Contemporary Orthodoxy
Adam S. Ferziger
Index
Editors and Contributors
Über den Autor
Steven Bayme serves as National Director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department, American Jewish Committee and as Director of its Dorothy and Julius Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations. He is also Visiting Faculty, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in Riverdale, NY.