Synopses & Reviews
For thousands of years the Jewish tradition has been a source of moral guidance, for Jews and non-Jews alike. As the essays in this volume show, the theologians and practitioners of Judaism have a long history of wrestling with moral questions, responding to them in an open, argumentative mode that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of all sides of a question. The Jewish tradition also offers guidance for moral conduct by individuals, communities, and countries and shows how to motivate people to do the good and right thing.
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality is a collection of original essays addressing these topics--historical and contemporary, as well as philosophical and practical--by leading scholars from around the world. The first section of the volume describes the history of the Jewish tradition's moral thought, from the Bible to contemporary Jewish approaches. The second part includes chapters on specific fields in ethics, including the ethics of medicine, business, sex, speech, politics, war, and the environment.
About the Author
Elliot N. Dorff is Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University, Visiting Professor at UCLA School of Law, Chair of the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and a Past President of the Society of Jewish Ethics.
Jonathan K. Crane is the Raymond F. Schinazi Junior Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University's Center for Ethics.
Table of Contents
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction - Jonathan K. Crane and Elliot N. Dorff
I. Jewish Ethical Theories
1. Introduction: Why Study Jewish Ethics? - Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane
2. Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible - Elaine Goodfriend
3. Ethical Theories in Rabbinic Literature - Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert
4. Ethical Theories in Jewish Mystical Writings - Joseph Dan
5. Ethical Theories Among Medieval Jewish Philosophers - Warren Zev Harvey
6. Spinoza and Jewish Ethics - David Novak
7. Mussar Ethics and Other Nineteenth Century Jewish Ethical Theories - Ira Stone
8. Ethical Theories of Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber - Jonathan K. Crane
9. Ethical Theories of Mordecai Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel - Matthew LaGrone
10. Ethical Theories of Abraham Isaac Kook and Joseph B. Soloveitchik - Lawrence Kaplan
11. Ethical Implications of the Holocaust - Michael Berenbaum
12. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Reform Movement - Michael Marmur
13. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Conservative Movement - Shai Cherry
14. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Orthodox Movement - David Shatz
15. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Reconstructionist Movement - David Teutsch
16. Feminist Jewish Ethical Theories - Judith Plaskow
17. Postmodern Jewish Ethical Theories - Martin Kavka
II. Topics in Jewish Morals
18. Introduction - Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane
19. Bioethics: The Beginning of Life - Elliot N. Dorff
20. Bioethics: The End of Life - Daniel Sinclair
21. Bioethics: The Distribution of Health Care - Aaron Mackler
22. Bioethics: Current and Future Issues in Genetics - Laurie Zoloth
23. Jewish Business Ethics - Barry Leff
24. Jewish Sexual Ethics - Danya Ruttenberg
25. Jewish Environmental Ethics - Arthur Waskow
26. Jewish Animal Ethics - Aaron Gross
27. Jewish Ethics of Speech - Alyssa Gray
28. Jewish Political Ethics in America - Jill Jacobs
29. Jewish Political Ethics in Israel - Reuven Hammer
30. Judaism and Criminal Justice - Laurie Levenson
31. Jewish Ethics and War - Asa Kasher
List of Abbreviations
Biblical, Rabbinic, and Medieval Sources Index
Subject Index