Synopses & Reviews
Franz Rosenzweig is one of the greatest contributors to Jewish philosophy in the twentieth century and is, with Martin Buber and Abraham Heschel, one of the Jewish thinkers most widely read by Christians. On Jewish Learning collects essays, speeches, and letters that express Rosenzweig’s desire to reconnect the profound truths of Judaism with the lives of ordinary people. An assimilated Jew and scholar of German philosophy, Rosenzweig was on the point of conversion to Christianity when the experience of a Yom Kippur service in 1913 brought him back to Judaism, and he began to study with philosopher Hermann Cohen. Seeking how to be an observant Jew in the modern world, Rosenzweig refused to characterize the traditions of Jewish law as mere rituals, customs, and folkways. His aim for himself and for others was to find Judaism by living it, and to live it by knowing it more deeply.The Wisconsin edition is not for sale in the British Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland, or South Africa.
Synopsis
Winner of France's 2004 Prix de Flore for his memoir The Romanian: Story of an Obsession, Bruce Benderson has gained international respect for his controversial opinions and original take on contemporary society. In this collection of essays, Benderson directs his exceptional powers of observation toward some of the most debated, as well as some of the most neglected, issues of our day. In Sex and Isolation, readers will encounter eccentric street people, Latin American literary geniuses, a French cabaret owner, a transvestite performer, and many other unusual characters; they'll visit subcultures rarely described in writing and be treated to Benderson's iconoclastic opinions about culture in former and contemporary urban society. Whether proposing new theories about the relationship between art, entertainment, and sex, analyzing the rise of the Internet and the disappearance of public space, or considering how religion and sexual identity interact, each essay demonstrates sharp wit, surprising insight and some startling intellectual positions. This is the first American volume of Benderson's collected essays, featuring both new work and some of his best-known writings, including his famous essay Toward the New Degeneracy.
About the Author
Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) helped establish Das Freie Jüdische Lehrhaus (Free House of Jewish Learning) in Frankfurt-am-Main. His most influential book is The Star of Redemption, and his German translation, with Martin Buber, of the Bible is considered the finest since Martin Luther’s.