Description
Book SynopsisThe concept of the Jews as a chosen people is a key element of the Jewish faith and identity. This book explores the idea of chosenness from the ancient world, through modernity and into the Post-Holocaust era.
Analysing a vast corpus of biblical, ancient, rabbinic and modern Jewish literature, the author seeks to give a better understanding of this central doctrine of the Jewish religion. She shows that although the idea of chosenness has been central to Judaism and Jewish self-definition, it has not been carried to the present day in the same form. Instead it has gone through constant change, depending on who is employing it, against what sort of background, and for what purpose. Surveying the different and sometimes conflicting interpretations of the doctrine of chosenness that appear in Ancient, Modern, and Post-Holocaust periods, the dominant themes of Holiness', Mission', and Survival' are identified in each respective period. The theological, philosophical, and s
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"The concept of the Jews as a chosen people is a key element of the Jewish faith and identity. This book explores the idea of chosenness from the ancient world, through modernity and into the Post-Holocaust era. Analyzing a vast corpus of biblical, ancient, rabbinic, and modern Jewish literature, the author seeks to give a better understanding of this central doctrine of the Jewish religion. She shows that although the idea of chosenness has been central to Judaism and Jewish self-definition, it has not been carried to the present day in the same form. Instead it has gone through constant change, depending on who is employing it, against what sort of background, and for what purpose."-- Joseph Haberer, The Spring 2010 issue of Shofar
Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1. Chosenness as ‘Holiness’ 1. The Biblical Language of Chosenness 2. Ancient Jewish Literature 3. Rabbinic Literature Part 2. Chosenness as ‘Mission’ 4. Universalistic Jewish Philosophies: Spinoza and Mendelssohn 5. Jewish Emancipation and Modern Jewish Movements in Germany 6. Modern Jewish Congregations in America 7. Zionist Understanding Part 3. Chosenness as ‘Survival’ 8. Discourse of ‘Holocaust and Redemption’ 9. The American Experience 10. The Israeli Experience. Conclusion
